Merry Christmas!

Ours will come and go before most of you will have yours.  Merry Christmas!

I have never thought that I would do a Christmas letter but this is one I guess - oh dear!

We are busy keeping old traditions - baking is delivered to our neighbors - and making new traditions - we will be having a bbq on Christmas day!  There are folks at the hospital that are away from their homes so we are hosting them for burgers and sausages on the barbie - FUN!  I cannot let go of the Christmas brunch meal though, so we will share our egg casserole, sweet rolls (not as fine as mama's), and an introduction to cheese grits with our new dear friends Jenny and Jan.

Jenny is in her 80's and is quite a spitfire!  We get along just fine.  Sometimes we have a cup of tea but more often we have a glass of wine!  I found a bag of lettuce on my front porch from her garden yesterday.  I shared some really nice mango with them.  Love good neighbors!  I am used to that from home - Peggy, Len and Jeannie, Becky, and more.

Our first year has been so wonderful and not without some struggles.  The travel and the new friends, the new, easier way that we think about things, the movement - exercise and earthquakes - have all been factors in the success of this year.  Adrian is happy with his work!  He enjoys the walk to and from work!  He is reading and studying journals of Radiology, teaching the up and comings, taking on a leadership role - who'd have thunk it?!?!  The trips we have shared - New Zealand, Australia, Spain, France!  Facetime is great when someone answers!

AND

It is really cold and drafty in the house - no central heat, no double paned windows, food cost is HIGH!  Choices are very limited.  There is no Chex cereal for reindeer food! Who knew that coriander is cilantro? corgette is zucchini? stinky french cheese is not available everywhere?!?  Skype and Facetime can have a bad connection when you really need to talk to your mama and daddy!

All that being said, we talked tonight about how hard it will be to leave.  We talked about our original plan had us leaving now.  We are glad to be staying.  We really love it here.  We also really miss our families, our friends - Adrian NEEDS a golf game with Harry and the boys! I long for the ease of sharing the day to day with my lifelong girlfriends.  An Indian meal with dear friends, Timi's porch for heart-felt conversation, dropping in to hug mama and daddy, dinner with kids at Nero's - we miss all that!

The world has not ended and it should have by now.  I do not think anyone can foretell such events so we dismiss that just like we dismissed all of the election talk.  This is the place to be if you do not want to be yelled at by the media in regards politics, or anything else for that matter.  Nice to be able to turn that off!

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you.  Either you are close by and we can hug your neck or you are further away and we can send you big hugs and kisses, either way, xoxo...

so thankful

We have had our first pumpkin-pie-free Thanksgiving and we lived through it.  We quite enjoyed it really.  We opted for a roasted chicken - turkeys are big and really expensive! - and we enjoyed an apple crumble for dessert.  We all thought it was just fine!  We love the internet even more as we were able to be with the Richardson side of the family for their pre-meal celebration - we laughed with Maddie, saw the sun in Anna's hair, saw the love in Richie's eyes, had a cyber glass of wine with dearest Peggy, chatted with Jack and Colson - go Coast Guard;-) - spent some time on the porch with Daddy, talked with Mom and Aunt Jacque in the kitchen!  What could be better than that!

We have been enjoying some sunny, windless days as spring comes on.  I have even been hot!  There are still times of chilly, windy days and cool nights but we are all feeling the lifting of the winter blahs.  It is really strange to see all the Christmas decorations in the shop windows with summer clothes and sandals.  As far as I can tell the weather in Nashville is about the same as here right now with the strange warm weather there.

Grace had a fun birthday with a party for 18 of her friends/classmates.  They played capture the flag in the backyard and decorated Christmas ornaments.  Hard to imagine that it has been 10 years since she arrived - she is a lovely young lady and is thriving here.  I am loving watching these girls grow...

We are coming up to the one year mark and as most of you know we have opted to stay on for at least six more months, more likely another year.  Now that I am getting used to the price of things being high, I can only say that this is a great place.  Life is easier, the pace is slower, there have been so many benefits!  There is so much to be thankful for...

sheep racing!

We spent Sunday in Fielding (about 15 minutes up the road) at the Manawatu A&P Show (I have no idea about the A&P, maybe agriculture and pigs, who knows??).  Anyone remember Fair Park back in the day?  A county fair is what it was.

There were championship pigs! goats, chickens, alpaca shorn and not, ostrich parents with their wee babes and their eggs (one equals 26 hen eggs!) quiche for days!  We watched boys on motorcycles jump with two spectacular crashes - no serious injuries, just limping.  There were helicopter rides, old pump engines and tractors (Dad, you would have loved it!).  Something for everyone.

alpaca, cute but get too close and they spit!

trucks, tractors, monster trucks, ferris wheels!

There were hotdogs, fries, cotton candy, ice cream - fair food! Families with their lambs on a leash.  Puppies for sale.  Horse riding competitions - jumping and dressage. Sheep racing with gambling!  We bought an arm band for $2 in the color of the outfit our jockey was wearing.  If that sheep came in first, you were the proud owner of a new coffee cup.  We were hoping for green or blue but, alas, yellow came in first - must have been hungry as there were pans of food at the finish.  We had never seen that before!

getting ready for the big start

just before the crash!

Then the main attraction - bull riding - ok, i know, this is a small town in New Zealand - there are no big towns really - but who would think that the bull riders would have just come back from Vegas and the PBR Championships.  They knew how to ride a bull!  The bulls were wild - snorting and kicking and bawling and putting on a show... The bull riders were holding on and waving their arms and climbing the rail to get away from the horns.  It was terrific!  We will be following the circuit!

Then for the intermission show there was mutton wrangling.  What, you ask, is mutton wrangling??!!  It is sheep riding by children between 6yo and 12yo.  We did not get the girls registered in time to participate but they are quite keen to do it next time.  There is a corral of sheep and kids and the kids get on their backs and hold on tight!  The gate is opened and out they come like a shot.  The kids either fell off or slid around almost under the bellies of the sheep - that lanolin in the wool makes for a slick ride, I think.  What a hoot. We were all laughing and hollerin'!  Real entertainment.

I have told you some of the differences but here is another - Kiwis do not holler!  They are quiet and buttoned up in every sense of the word.  I like it.  I like the calm and peace and reserve.  I also, as some of you know, like to holler.  Well, bull riding just needs some good ole hollering.  So I did.  Well I sound different, they notice.  I can get loud, especially when there is a cowboy riding a bull - how can you not SHOUT!  By the end of it they were hollerin' with me!  Ride 'em cowboy!

Prince Charles and Camilla will be in Fielding in the next week or two - the best Farmers market is there and they are interested in visiting the stockyards too.  Sorry they were not here to enjoy the Manawatu A&P Show... Very glad we were.

Boo! only in the States!

Our first Halloween in NZ, a success by our standards.  We were warned not to get our hopes up - It is an American thing - is what we heard.  Many people do not participate in Halloween.  So we modified our expectations - we did not think about big trucks loaded with costumed, over-candied children riding on hay bails.  We did not think about yards decorated with skeletons and cauldrons smoking with dry ice, spooky sounds coming from darkened doors.  We thought instead about spending time together and bringing a bit of home here.

As it turns out many people do not participate in halloween.  There are printed signs that have a picture of a pumpkin with a big red line through it.  There were many signs that said - No Halloween here, Thanks.  (Always polite).  One lady even opened the door, saw the children in costume, slammed the door, locked the door, watched us go from the front window! WOW!  How about that for culture shock.  They are private people.  they are people with religious beliefs that do not include Halloween.  Who knows why but Halloween is, in fact, an American thing.

The wonder is we had a blast!  Kelly, my boss, good friend, confidante, guide in all things NZ and Australia (she is from there) - invited us to go through her boxes of costumes she had made - we had great success - and to go out with her children.  Her son James was very excited and invited other children.  There were seven children when all was done and they looked great.  They had fun.  They used their best manners even when people were not participating. We picked up other children from school that we knew and another mom joined so I had a chance to get to know her better.  We found homes that were decorated (not by American standards but there were skeletons!).  One lady had forgotten to get candy (can you imagine forgetting?!?) and gave the children grapes from her fruit bowl!  they were safe to eat...

We came home with small bags and bellies full of candy, better knowing our friends. That is success in any language!!

a little history...

Hola!

We are finally just over the jet lag...  What an incredible journey!  The highlights according to the children - "meeting Janet and Paul", "seeing the cave dwellings", "meeting Guy and Tessa", "it was the best holiday ever!", "seeing the actual cave paintings", "spending time with new family"...

Tessa trying out her flying wings
at the Science Museum

The conference in Valencia was great and Adrian learned heaps!  Many of the sessions were appropriate for the work he does and the ones that were not were well done.  We had fun at the opening night dinner - Adrian was the best New Zealand recruiter!  He did not enjoy his paella at all as he was speaking with new radiologist friends about the wonders of New Zealand and how terrific doing a long term (one year) locum is!  He is right of course.  The closing dinner and flamenco dance performed by an xray tech and her partner - why she does xray I do not know -
was terrific.  We really had a nice time.

Arts and Science Center buildings 

While in Spain we were met by Guy and Tessa!  Adrian was thrilled to see two of the three (Alex is busily working so could not join us).  They seemed very happy to see their father. The girls and I enjoyed it too.  We were able to spend some time in the city and at the hotel pool together.  We shared meals and good conversation.  Adrian took them all to the Science museum while I was learning to make paella and they all had a really good time by the sound of it.  The Arts and Science Centre in Valencia is an architectural marvel!  Gorgeous inside and out.  Enjoyed time walking around the old city of Valencia  The Central Market was something to see with a huge array of meat, fruit and veg and chicken heads and chicken feet, nuts, whatever you wanted.  The architecture in the old town and the Cathedral were awesome.

old town Valencia

in the Cathedral - statues of kings

fun!

Guy and Tessa left on Friday to head to Barcelona for some young adult fun and we left on Saturday to drive the 7 hours to our gite in Domme in the Dordogne region of France.  This region is at the heart of the prehistoric cave painting and dwelling area.  There is evidence there of human life dating back 35,000 years - yes that is thirty five thousand years! - shocking and amazing and really quite hard to grasp.

The last 45 minutes of our travel from Spain was spent on tiny roads not intended for automobiles but for knights in shining armor...

We eventually found our gite down a farm track past an abandoned car and a hungry horse.  The gite was a converted pig sty and had been done out well by the British owners and their son in law Ben.  That night we drove the two miles into Domme through a 13th century castle gate and found what turned out to be our most frequented restaurant, the Auberge de la Rode, in the tiny village square of this ancient hill bastide.  The Knights Templars were imprisoned here in the 13th century.  We had a great prix fixe meal.  Foie gras is the local specialty - the girls love it!  It was walnut season as well so the salads and desserts reflected the abundance.

Adrian's sister, Janet and her husband Paul joined us for the first week.  What a treat!!!!!  This was their first encounter with the girls and a great time was had by all.  We spent the week exploring the local chateaux and ancient caves while having some good evening meals.  We loved seeing Castelnaud and the jardin de Marqueyssac (gardens).  During our travels, Paul even stopped the car to let me take photos!  While not so great for the traffic situation it was great for me.

dinner in the gite

Highlights of our time in this area included visits to Lascaux II ( the original caves have been closed to the public but not before Adrian and Janet went there on a family trip as children), Rocamadour where miracles occurred as recently as the 1600's and the cathedral is built into the rocks, the Chateau at Commarque, a ruined 13th century castle built over troglodytic dwellings in an ancient river valley, and seeing 13,000 year old cave paintings at the Font de Gaume.  We waited for almost two hours to get tickets to one of only a few viewings daily.  What an incredible experience.   We went by gondola into the depths of caves at Gouffre de Proumeyssac to see the Cathedral de Cristal's huge stalagtites and stalagmites - mites go up and tights come down(;-) thanks Janet...).  We also went to the Chateau des Milandes, the former residence of Josephine Baker - a french obsession.  We can highly recommend a visit to this area by anybody.  We were worried that two weeks would be too long but in fact we could have stayed much longer. You know I could go on for a long time and use lots of words but I will spare you and just say - What a great time! What a learning experience for all of us!

Domme

Adrian and Janet overlooking the valley from the
cave dwellings at La Roque Saint-Christophe

cave dwellings at La Roque Saint-christophe

La Roque Gageac from the Norbert River Boat

Dordogne River

The trip back started with a six hour drive through near hurricane winds down to Barcelona.
Followed by a 48 hour epic journey with almost enough Dramamine and not nearly enough sleep.  We have come to love the bustling Dubai airport which at both 2 am and 6 am is heaving with people.  The shopping there is world class and there were many people going at it full throttle.  We, however, were the zombies moving through to find our gate.  Kuala Lumpur was just a blurrrrrr.  Melbourne was very quiet from 2am - 7 am and Auckland was a great place for a short nap.  Again my driver did a stellar job from Wellington to Palmy under very brutal conditions of lack of sleep, grumpy family and there are more conditions of note but I cannot remember them.

We had a wonderful trip even with some rough spots and it was certainly one that we would do again even now with suitcases still holding special treats.  We really must spend more time in France.

Au Revoir...

and we are off...

We have been celebrating around here this week - Grace had a very successful dance with her schoolmates - they came in second for this region with their dance to the wiz (some of us remember that one).

 I had a birthday - thanks so much for a great two day celebration - the family treated me to snuggles and coffee in bed, then the sweet girls at work surprised me with gorgeous orchids, a sweet card, and lunch at a neat cafe called The Bee's Knees.  We had dinner out and I am the proud new owner of a gas-powered blower!  I have used it and love it!  I should get lots of use out of it as the wind blows what I blow right back where it started - it will be an ongoing battle - I don't have a chance of winning but I do love using my new blower!  I have lots of cards on the mantle and loved getting a package from Mom and Dad.  A great birthday - thanks!!

We continue celebrating - we are leaving in a day or two for our much anticipated trip to Valencia, Spain for Adrian's conference and France for holiday.  We will see family!! Guy and Tessa will be coming and the girls and I will see Kelsie in Alicante!  When we leave Spain we head to Domme, France.  Adrian's sister Janet and her husband Paul will join us there.  We are so happy to see family!!  It is what we miss being here.

Of course I cannot sleep as I am so excited so I spend time in the night looking on the internet at all the places we will be.  Not a great idea really because I get more excited and sleep is virtually impossible.  The travel time is around 36 hours for this journey.  We fly from Wellington to Auckland to Melbourne to Dubai to Barcelona - we will be shattered I am sure.  Luckily we will recover as we are still young!  Yes we are!  We are still young.  If I keep saying it...

We will be in touch during our time away but will fill you in on all the details when we return.

Did I mention that it has been sunny for five days in a row?!?!  We can walk in the back garden without our gum boots!  We do not sink in the mud - yahoo!!  Spring is indeed coming and should be in full swing when we come back.  There are gorgeous flowers blooming -

Victoria Esplanade lane

The girls are both riding bicycles like pros!  It is a gorgeous time to do that now so we have been outside a lot lately with the great weather and practicing our biking - we will have bikes in France and plan on using them.

The girls are sleeping, Adrian is at his journal club meeting with his peers to review articles of interest  and have food and a bit of wine.  They are good about getting together regularly.  Adrian is enjoying his work and is learning new things.  He is involved in the interviewing of consultant radiologists.  He is enjoying that and is getting a handle on the time differences around the world.  There was that one South African interview that may have happened at 3 am but never mind...  I better get the last of the packing done.  Until next time. xoxo

a little more of the weekend

We had our first ballet recital yesterday - It was a great success.  Here are some photos in our other blog, just click on the link... Photos  Each class did a ballet performance which was followed by a great performance of Peter Pan.  There will be another performance today and we will be able to purchase the video so that will be fun. Abigail really loves her class and said, "I hope ballet never ends!" - wonderful to love what you are doing, right?!?

We have had wild weather - high winds, rain hissing down with a few rounds of hail mixed in to make it all a bit more spicy!  We are warm and dry so all is good.  We love to see a storm and we are having lots of opportunities to do that.

We have only a few more basketball games - both teams have made it to the semi-finals!  I hear through the grapevine that there are children at the school who are imitating the American hollering at the games (Dad, you would be proud and Wubus, you would cringe remembering how Dad cheered you on!). As we say, the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.  The girls have come such a long way in basketball so maybe we will do it again next winter.  Summer sports are on the horizon, field hockey, touch rugby, and others, we will soon sign up...

Apparently the kids at school are begging for Grace to talk "hillbilly".  She does a really nice job!  When working in the library she has kids put away books and rewards them with some hillbilly talk.  Again that saying about the nut comes to mind.  They call me cowgirl - I like that!!!  If only I could find the boots - I came up empty in Australia as the pointy toe kind do not help a rancher much.  I am hoping to find a fancy, very pointed-toe pair in Spain - what do you think?  Matadors must need pointy toed boots, right?

I heard from some sweet girls in the States - thanks for calling!  What a treat!!!  We had a mexican feast that night to celebrate hearing from San Antonio - nachos with jalapenos, a $5 can of beans, chips, salsa, guacamole and Corona!  De-lish!!!

Now that our friends have gone to the UK our phone rarely rings - thankfully Adrian's sister Janet calls!  My dad calls too but we are not supposed to let Mama know that...  Just kidding mama, you know he would never do that!  He knows which side of the bread the butter is on...  We also hear from Adrian's sweet friend Harry - he does love those calls.

Off we go to the next performance, no pre-performance jitters here! just some urgency about getting the makeup applied - cute!  As our weekend comes to an end, I hope y'all enjoy the rest of yours. CHEERS!

saturday in palmy

windy and warm, sunny and nice, laundry is hanging out, children have ridden bikes without event! all the work is done.  Adrian has been watching the golf and a bit of tennis although with less enthusiasm than if the great Federer were still involved.  Abigail has her dance recital today, Peter Pan, at The Globe Theatre.  We are all very excited...

Last weekend we went to a gorgeous spot - Jan and Jim were right - Castle Point.  Here are some shots.

what's the difference?

It is a bit sad around here today.  My friend, gym partner, confidant and sushi eating pal is gone with her family back to the UK via Singapore and Malaysia where they will visit her family.  We had sushi for lunch today in their honor.  I know that people come and go but this week two sets of friends left, one to return to the UK and the other back to Texas.  Our lives are richer for knowing both families but we will miss them!  We will see them both again, I hope.  Bye AiLan, Jonathan, Jennifer and Jessica. Bye Jim and Jan... Haere rā!

I work with two women - one from Australia (across the ditch in Oz) and another from here, a truly lovely kiwi woman.  It is hard to find people from here - I met an Emergency Department physician from Huntsville, Alabama!  I was in a group of people - a South African, a Brit, a German, a Texan, and a Kiwi!  Talk about a melting pot!  With all these people from all these places there are lots of differences.  I don't want to think about all the differences between all the places from which people come but just about Nashville and Palmerston North.  Tennessee and New Zealand.  There are lots (heaps) and I will jot them down as I find them but here are a few.

There are about 4.4 million people in New Zealand in 103,733 square miles. There are about 6.4 million people in Tennessee in 41,234 square miles.  There is room here!   We walk to a lagoon where there are ducks and swans and now baby black swans!  Lovely to go feed them on the weekend.  We spend so much more time playing as a family now.  There is so much less stress in our home here. It is really balanced now.  Here people DO balance work and life.  They do not talk about it like we do in the States.  People go on trips, spend time with family, do stuff together.

baby black swans at Hokowhitu (pronounced Hawkofitoo) lagoon

The police do not carry guns and can pull you over for random breathalyser test - anytime day or night without cause... It happens - a friend was running errands and came to a road block where the drivers were funnelled down to one lane and asked to breathe in the tube - it was 9:30 a.m.!!!  Yes, she passed... Now that is a deterrent! The police ticket bicycle riders without helmets!

Here when someone calls my child precious I now know that it means something more like obnoxious/pain in the rear/spoiled... It has not happened except once...

When someone is making evening tea, they are cookin' dinner...  Took me a minute on this one, couldn't quite figure why people were stressing over making a cuppa (cup of tea or coffee)...

There are no hired crossing guards, teachers and students trained by the police manage the job beautifully at no cost!

There is no tipping.

There are heaps of differences at the grocery (market) - prices are high!  Fruits and veggies can only be purchased in season (prices outrageous otherwise), no graham crackers or grits, no Crest toothpaste, hamburger is called mince, chips are crisps, fries are chips, cookies are biscuits,  catsup is called tomato sauce, the eggs are sold from a shelf not the cooler... The avocados are very nice!  We love kiwi fruit. There is not enough competition in the grocery business to make prices reasonable and offerings more diverse...  Did I mention that there is not a hot wing anywhere - I have tried to find one and cannot.  I contacted the Melrose Pub and they gave me some pointers but I have not perfected it yet.  That will be one of my first stops when I return!!!  Hot wings, chunky bleu cheese, cold beer and laughter!  Looking forward to that!

We have choices for who provides our power, gas, cable, phone - who knew??  There is no central heat or air.  Proper insulation is not the standard if it happens at all.  There are no double glazed windows.  Homes can be really draughty.  We stay in our kitchen/family room with the fireplace going and get our bedrooms warm just before we go to bed.

Recycling is done without question or thought.  It is a part of life here.  Approved garbage bags (biodegradable ones that the trash man will take) are $2.50 each and some weeks there are only one or two from our cul de sac.  People really take the environment seriously here.  People compost, the city council provides recycling bins and pick up.  We take care of and are thoughtful about the environment.  People bike/walk to work.  We hang our clothes to dry.  Kids are brought up this way.  It is smart.

The children do not wear shoes (flip flops are called jandals) and wear shorts and tank tops in winter!  The seasons are milder - not the shift in temps that we are used to but - wow! - it blows a gale here!  and does it ever rain - sometimes in the front yard while the sun is shining in the backyard or garden as it is called - even if there is not a flower or vegetable in sight.

There are no snakes or squirrels.  There are lots of birds, animals, flowers that we have never seen before.

Children walk or ride scooters or bicycles to school alone from a very early age, rain or shine, without parental supervision, safely.  People are more fit, less fat!  They move here - walk, run, cycle, scooter, etc...  There are great sidewalks and parks and gyms... Adrian's jeans are bagging off of him as a result of his walking!

There are flowers blooming year round here - my garden is full of blooms even in the winter!  lovely!

I dropped my phone in the road where I park my car while I work.  I realized it was missing, re-traced my steps and could not find it.  My co-worker called, I hunted, no luck.  I called the gym where I had been earlier, no luck.  I worked and hoped that it would turn up.   I received a call from Adrian in the afternoon, my phone was found!  I called the phone (again!) and a gentleman answered and gave me the address - He pulled over on the road, picked up my phone, tried to find me, returned my phone, reinforced my very strong belief that people here are NICE and GOOD!!!

I took Abigail to the dentist because I just knew that her permanent teeth were coming in above her baby teeth - I over-reacted come to find out (shocking, I know!) but we had an exam, an X-ray, and an appointment time slot - Guess how much I was charged?!?!?!  NOTHING!  ZERO! FREE!  See, reasonable, nice and good...  It helped that the kiwi dentist had a wife from Tennessee - I know, small world!

There are less rules - people mostly do the right thing... People help each other, are kind to each other, a lot like home really.  I believe more now than ever that we are all the same on the inside.  We may sound different, look different, but we all want the same stuff no matter where we are - peace, kindness, good friends, laughter, hot wings when you can get them.  Cheers!!!

Check out Abigail's accent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-nPWk9MNQ&feature=youtu.be

ski pics

heading to the slopes

like ducks to water

day two - cannot wait to get going!

TSS Earnslaw - coal fueled steam engine

The Remarkables

enjoying the boat ride

heading home from the plane...

check it out

So we love Air New Zealand - we have been with them on some great trips.  They are good to us.  They are funny.  We enjoy the video instructing us about masks and floatation devices.  So we want you to check this out!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZLBY3lYtsQ&hd=1

Funny as...

Australia

Brisbane

Mermaid Beach

Surfers Paradise at sunrise

We were so warm!  It was sunny during the first leg of the trip and overcast and rainy during our time in Cairns.  We were not upset about it - less worry about sunburn.  Kangaroos, koalas and kookaburras, crocodiles and cassowaries, wallabies and wallaroos, plains turkey and brush turkey, emus and iguanas, ok - lizards, but it worked...  Here is a brief overview of a great trip.  We saw so much - lots of sugar cane and fruit trees, tropical forests, wildlife, aboriginals - here are some of the highlights - 

The flight from NZ to AU was without event and took about 3 1/2 hours.  Brisbane looked like a great city as we went through to continue up the coast to the resort.  When we drove into the area in which we were staying - the Gold Coast  - and as we approached the beach we were so surprised - we were in Gulf Shores - it looked just like it!  We were told that we should go to all the theme parks close by but we did not.  We went to the zoo, hiked to waterfalls, spent time on the beach and at the pool, collected seashells, toured the town of Brisbane (the third largest city in Australia), went to Surfer's Paradise, took too many photos.  We met lots of folks from NZ  and from southern Australia who were, like us, escaping the cold.

After five days, we flew on to Cairns.  Our flight from Brisbane to Cairns - about 1,200 km if we were to have driven - was uneventful.  We landed and drove to where we were staying, according to me.   We drove up the coast with the rainforest on the left and the rocky shores on our right for more than an hour.  We were unable to find our desired address so stopped to ask.  I approached a gentlemen at a counter of a hotel and showed him where we needed to go on the itinerary.
I knew immediately by his face that we were not in the right place.  UUUGGGHHH!  Unfortunately I messed up!  I suggested lunch and offered to drive to our hotel before I shared the news that it was almost back to the point from where we had come.  As I told the man who got us headed in the right direction, I was going to hear about this error for some time - Adrian has been quite generous with me and has not brought it up more than a few dozen times!

Trinity Beach Watcher!

Happily we arrived at our reserved spot.  They had not given away our room even though we were quite late.  We stayed in a wonderful condo on the beach - the managers of the property were lovely - would highly recommend Trinity Beach - Coral Sands!  Graeme and his lovely wife were so helpful.  They told us about Billy Tea's Chillagoe Caves and Outback tour and the Kuranda skyrail and train tour.  We did both and were so glad we did.  The day we went on the sky rail over the rainforest it was drizzling and cool - perfect to see the forest.  We were able to walk through the rainforest and even though it was raining we did not feel a drop as the canopy is so thick.  We saw were taught about the aboriginal culture for a short time and rode a train back to downtown Cairns.  Great way to see things and the girls first train ride.


Incredible country.  We learned about plants that cut and poison and climb their way to the top to have their own sunshine.  As we drove we saw wallaroos, wallabies in the wild - no kangaroos or dingos on this trip.  We stopped in at Jaques (pronounced Jakes) coffee plantation for a tour, tasting and introduction to some of the most tenacious people we had ever met.  They started their business in Tanzania.  The government ran them out.  They came to Australia started another plantation, the government burned them out.  They started yet again, the government sprayed insecticide and killed their plants.  They started again - what an inspiring and awesome story we were told.  What a great cuppa we were served.  Inspirational.  Can any of us say that we have held on to our dream and started over that many times - I hope you can because often that is the stuff of which success is made.

One of the highlights for me was the lunch at a local watering hole where Jim and Fred were drinking beer at the bar - well, of course to make mama proud, I visited with them (interviewed, really) - what a treat!  Jim is the manager of a cattle station and Fred is kept busy by his wife and kids and breaking horses.  They had lived in this town all of their lives and were happily into their beer.  I would have loved to spend the afternoon with them but alas, I was whisked away to go to the local brewery, Golden Drop Distillery in Mareeba.  This place made fruit wine and liqueur.  There were banana, mango, coffee, etc. trees - some fruits I had not heard of.  Most are sent out to market but some are distilled into more potent fare.  We had a coffee and wandered the plantation.


We went to the Cairns Tropical Zoo, drove through the rainforest on our own and found some incredible waterfalls (It is the winter and the dry season there now.  The waterfalls must be incredible when it has been raining!)  We hiked in the hinterlands to a wonderful waterfall.  The terrain of this very large country is so diverse.  The country has miles and miles of uninhabited land and we saw a glimpse of why.  It is winter there now and it was hot!  I can imagine that in the summer it is unbearably hot and humid - like Nashville recently I guess.

The other thing we became fascinated by was Australian rules rugby - it is wild - there are basically no rules and there were shirts being ripped off. WILD!  By the end of the first game we watched we understood that there were some rules even if only a few.

So we return to our home away from home - as my dear Bettye pointed out, our home is in the US!

We may be away but we still celebrated the 4th and ate hotdogs - American ones even! - as we toured the Botanical Gardens in Brisbane (American style hotdogs need not be taken for granted as they are virtually impossible to find in NZ).  The kids also had Kraft mac and cheese from a package - we cannot get that in NZ - they loved it!

Even though he preferred to forget it, we celebrated Adrian's birthday!  We had a great day and a nice evening, too.  I think he even had fun!

Rotorua and the Queen's Weekend

Warrior Number One

Warrior Number Two

Exploring the terrain around Te Puia

geyser at Te Puia

Redwoods

Mud Pool

Sunny Saturday in Palmy, reflecting on last weekend in Rotorua. We had a nice time, mostly sunny weather with one day of drizzly rain and cold - great for taking photos. Rotorua lies by the side of a flooded volcano in the center of a wide area of volcanic activity in the center of the North Island. There is the constant smell of sulfur from steaming vents throughout the area. Old geezers, oh wait I mean geysers, they pronounce geysers as geezers here, spout regularly with the pressure under the earth. We visited the Redwood forest, has a way to go to catch up to our favorite near Sonoma but very peaceful and lovely. In addition to all the geological attractions, there was also a cable car and a fun luge down the mountain which we had to try a couple of times! No accidents and a lot of fun! Rotorua is also a hub of Maori culture. We visited a Maori village at night complete with war canoe, haka, and cannibalism, oh, wait, no, it was really chicken. The trip got us in the mood for more traveling and in 3 weeks, yes we are counting, we are off to Australia to catch some sun AND mourn Adrian's 60th birthday. We are flying to Brisbane and seeing the sights before moving up the Gold Coast to Port Douglas, a good stopping off point for the Great Barrier Reef. Temperatures should be in the 80's, a big improvement on the not so balmy Palmy. More pics to follow.

Score!

Grace scored a basketball goal!!! She had a shot, took the shot and made the shot - cousins will be proud!!  Abigail is getting better but is still a little hesitant to get too close to the ball.  We did a little practice this weekend and we are coming along.  Swimming is going swimmingly - could not resist - and Abigail is loving ballet.  The week before I had written:  So the basketball is probably NOT something we will do again, the ballet is a keeper and the swimming is progressing.  They say they like basketball but - Abigail ducks, covers, and waits for the tornado siren when she is the intended recipient of a pass.  Grace has a perplexed look on her face from behind the area of play and is a great cheerleader when something good happens.  It is early days yet so I will keep you posted.  So you see, a little time really does change things!

Adrian was host to his department colleagues for their bimonthly meeting.  I made hot wings - they do not have them here - and other finger foods.  Adrian presented a riveting paper on solid renal masses and all was good.  One of Adrian's colleagues - a very talented woman - Catherine brought the girls hand puppets that she made - so special.

My dear friend AiLan is heading back to the UK in August so I am anxious to find another friend. I have several friends that I enjoy but none with a similar schedule or taste for spicy Asian food...  Jan and Jim will be heading back to Austin in a few months having really come to enjoy this experience.  They will have been here for a year.  Lots of people come and go from here.  We are certainly richer in the most important ways for coming.  I would encourage all of you to take a step back from the hustle and bustle, the money and things, the social commitments, all those things that keep us so busy - and look at what is nearest and dearest and what is so important - the simple sweet love of family.  Whatever your family is, whatever it looks like, however strange, wonderful, functional, dysfunctional, and remember it is YOUR family - who cares what the other ones look like, LOVE the one you're with...

I worked out and then dressed in boots and a dress to go to my first day at my new job!  I am doing some uploading of nursing journals onto the internet for a friend.  IT PAYS!!  I was with adults all day until I picked up the girls.  I really enjoyed it!  I will be working on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday until the project is completed - probably a few weeks.  I was not sure about being able to do this and keep up with my domestic goddess duties.  Amazing what can get done in a little time and how long it takes to get things done when we have loads of time.  All is good after day one.

I started a photography class last Tuesday night and that is going to be great.  It is a two part class to teach us the use of our DSLR camera and some photography tips. I had homework and these are the photos that I took - light, contrast, lines -

Queenstown

sculpture on back patio

roses out kitchen window - loads of late blooms!

We are getting ready for the Queen's Birthday weekend.  We are going to Rotorua to check out the hot springs - smell like sulfur - and the Maori culture.  We are going to see a haka and go to a hangi.
There are some really nice tramps - walks amongst other things! - that we are looking forward to completing without incident (we hope).

We are off to Australia in a few weeks at the next school holiday.  We are flying into Brisbane, spending a few days there and then going on to Cairns where it will be warm, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.  Someone will be having a birthday while we are there - not Abigail, not Grace, not me.  July 8 will be a day of great celebration.  Maybe we will be on the Great Barrier Reef or in Port Douglas, I will let you know of course.

It is getting cold here and there is no central heat or air and the windows are single pane.  We are getting the hang of it though.  Thank goodness the weather is relatively mild - no big fluxes in temperature.  We love a cloudy night so the frost stays away.  The sun warms up the house in the afternoon and our fireplace does a fine job in the evening.  Electric blankets get the beds toasty warm and then we are all hot-bodies for the night time;-)

So all is good in this far away land... I know that we would never have been able to have this adventure without Skype and the internet, such great ways of keeping in touch and in the know... xxoo