But lately, the 103-year-old says she has started to feel like she is getting ever-so-slightly slower than usual.
‘‘I’ve still got all my marbles and I don’t feel a day over 90, but I am starting to feel like I am getting closer to the way a 103-year-old person should feel — old.
‘‘I might have deteriorated a little bit recently.’’
So, rather than have a Great Gatsby-inspired birthday party, complete with flapper costumes, jazz music and dancing like she did to celebrate her 100th birthday, she celebrated her 103rd birthday yesterday with a more sedate and relaxing afternoon tea.
‘‘There will only be a few candles on the cake this year.
‘‘If they put all 103 on them, it might set the fire alarms off,’’ she quipped.
The Oxford Court Resthome resident said the secret to her longevity was to keep your body and brain active.
‘‘I’ve always done a lot of walking — and I still walk around here — and I think you’ve got to be fussy about what you eat and drink.’’
Mrs Nelson (nee Dowden) recently asked one of her sons if he would help her get some groceries for her room, and he offered to drive her to the local supermarket.
But she promptly scolded him, saying ‘‘no, we’ll walk, thank you’’ — and so they did.
She had done a lot of walking throughout her life, starting with walking to school in Mornington, because her family never owned a car until 1952.
‘‘I also enjoy colouring in, doing word searches, playing Scrabble and reading the Otago Daily Times.’’
Her most prized possession was her mobile phone.
Last year, she told her family she wanted to upgrade her phone to the latest model and asked specifically for the new iPhone 15.
Her sons were amazed she even knew what an iPhone 15 was, and said she was ‘‘worse than a teenager’’ because she was always on it, talking to her friends.
‘‘I’d be lost without my phone.
‘‘It’s great for my social life.’’
The best birthday present she got yesterday was to throw her healthy diet out the window temporarily, and have fruit and ice cream with her lunch.
‘‘That was a treat for me.’’
She was also looking forward to going out for a family dinner with her four sons, 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren tomorrow.
‘‘That might be an even better birthday present.
‘‘I enjoy my family very much.’’
