Findings

Recently we've been tidying up the garage to make room for the wedding. I was going through some of mum's old clothes. I don't know how long you're supposed to hold onto them for. I've gotten rid of the ones I don't really remember her wearing, and kept some of the ones I wasn't sure I could just throw away.

While doing that, however, I came across a bag of stuff. Old cards, old photos, old receipts and user manuals and car service history. I found a really lovely photo of mum, back at her old school, with one of her old kids. She looked so happy, and that really was her happy place, with her kids. She loved them so much, wanted the best for them, tried to do everything she could to make sure that school was a good and safe place for them.

I found a couple of old letters she had received from one of her old friends, Pat. Pat seemed nice. She asked about me and when I was due. I was apparently due 3 days before I came out. She had moved to Australia. I believe she used to work with mum at Levene's.

I found a letter my mum had drafted to a hotel owner that had charged her credit card without her consent. I remember that time, it was a stressful time in her life. The story behind that was her and my nan had gone to Rotorua (or Taupo, I forget) for a wee getaway. While in the hotel, nan decided to boil some potatoes for dinner, and put the hot pot on top of the kitchen bench with no trivet. It damaged the bench, they told the hotel manager, the manager was cordial at first and then switched. My mum wanted to claim through her insurance, but before she was able the lady charged her credit card for the work/quote.

I found some birthday cards my mum had written me as a kid. She loved me so much. She was such a good mum. I wish I had appreciated that fact all throughout my life, but those fucking teen years are really shitty sometimes.

Found a picture of her in what would probably have been her second year of school as a kid. A class photo.

I miss my mum so much. Always.

York Peppermint Patties

My mum loved York Peppermint Patties. I can't remember the first time she got one, it could have been around 2012, it could have been later.

Our usual place to get them was from Martha's Backyard, which used to be on Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington, but eventually moved to the Mt Wellington Shopping Centre.

Trips there would normally be on the weekend.

I've always had a love for American culture, food being a big part of that culture, and candy also playing a big role.

York Peppermint Patties were never one of my favourites, I preferred the Butterfingers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Mounds, etc. But with mum having loved them, there's a place in my heart for them as well.

My memory right now is saying it was while she was eating a York Peppermint Patty she had her first seizure, but I can't be sure. There was definitely chocolate involved. We were watching Zodiac on Netflix, mum was on her couch, she just passed out, woke up, had no idea how much time had elapsed, she thought someone else had eaten the chocolate she had just been eating, her temperature spiked and her speech became just a little bit different. We took her to the hospital to get checked out and she eventually came home. (I wrote about this situation earlier)

It feels weird to remember my mum. Like, I shouldn't have to remember her. There shouldn't be that much disconnect from me and her. But there is, and I just have to.

Europe/Japan

I went to Europe for roughly 6 weeks in 2016.

I ended up crossing quite a few things off my "bucket list" or "goal list". I don't know what to call it really.

I wish I was able to have taken my mum. She would have loved it. I regret not having done more with her.

But the trip and the experience was awesome. It was almost non-stop "stuff". Just things, all the time. Off the plane, pick up a rental, wait like an hour to finally get it, drive for an hour out to the country, finally get to our Inn (AN INN!), shower, eat dinner, walk around the town, sleep, breakfast, drive... The roadtrip was amazing and pretty much like that the entire time from Heathrow upto Lochailort across to Portstewart, down to Cork, over to Dublin, checked out Snowdon, Pembrokeshire, over to Bath, back to London.

Ate at The Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal's Michelin 3 star restaurant. Met some lovely people all around the show. Just LOVED being there. Got to meet a long-time blogger friend over there as well.

Then we moved on to Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne, Munich, Venice, Florence, Rome, and finished it off with Santorini.

In Paris, we met a family from San Diego who were so lovely, and we caught up with them again in Venice.

It was fun to see my fiancé enjoying herself, and pushing herself, particularly up all the stairs in Italy!

I got to drive on the autobahn from Cologne to the Nurburgring. The most I did was 160km/h I think. I didn't drive myself around the Nurburgring, but paid for a Ring Taxi. SO MUCH FUN!

The food in Italy was immense. The history, immense. The people were very nice. Had a taxi driver in Rome who I taught how to say "Hello" in Maori.

Germany was, unfortunately, a very quick stop. As was Amsterdam. And I would love to go back.

Santorini was our time to breathe, and relax, after the craziness of the holiday, but I almost feel like we should have done it in reverse. Relax, then go adventuring.

After Europe, I spent about 5 days in Japan. Loved every moment of it, and again would have loved to have brought my mum with me. I spent that time partly alone, and partly with a mate who met up with me over there.

I desperately want to go back to Japan.

This year, I'm getting married to my fiancé, and we're going to San Francisco and New York City for our honeymoon. Can't wait for new travel adventures!