We had a great family Christmas Day this year in 2019

Christmas time in 2019 at Norris grove:

by Peter Petterson

We had a great Christmas Day in 2019. Everybody living in NZ attended Christmas dinner in Norris Grove in Taita, Lower Hutt. My eldest daughter and her two younger sons came up from Christchurch where they now live to be with us all. Actually she had her 50th birthday on the 27th December, a reason for another celebration two days later. We had a great barbeque then with a few extra guests, including one of her oldest friends and former schoolmate. So the siblings and their children, our mokopuna had a double reason to get together with their cousins. Only our third oldest grandson who lives in Brisbane now and has been in Australia for a number of years, and his young son who lives in Melbourne with his mother were missing. I had a few celebratory drinks with them, but it was freezing cold out in that wind, and this old fellow had to give up and go inside. Two great happy days with my family.

Just a couple of family notes: Tangaroa was off to Fiji and Japan after Christmas with his four mates from Christchurch. Hope they all had a fantastic holiday. Shaylin is due back in NZ in Feb 2020 after a year in Orlando, Florida, working at Disney World. She missed Christmas and New Years as well.

New Years 2020 was a quiet time, time with reasons on hold for another get together later in the year. See you all later on in Norris grove.

Time was with most of us, when Christmas Day, encircling all our limited world like a magic ring, left nothing out for us to miss or seek; bound together all our home enjoyments, affections, and hopes; grouped everything and everyone round the Christ.

Charles Dickens