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

Ending the SI adventure

Sadly we left Queenstown and Arrowtown.  Two really spectacular places - Adrian has a CME meeting coming next month in Queenstown so we are all excited to get to go back - the girls are going to give snow skiing a try!  Remember we are coming in to winter here.

So, next stop Franz Josef glacier on the West coast.  Our sadness at leaving a great spot was soon diminished by some of the most unspoiled, glorious landscapes that any of us have ever seen.  We drove past many large lakes - such blue water - surrounded by mountains. We stopped several times just to enjoy the views.

one of the many lakes...

We stopped to see the pancake rocks and Adrian took some great photos of the waves crashing in.  The pancake rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki are something to see.  For the more adventurous sort there are great treks through and around the park.

pancake rocks

 

Most of the land is owned by the Department of Conservation so is untouched.  We commented that this is just how God made it!  The beautiful and wild Tasman Sea was on our left and wild jungle and rainforest on the right as we drove up the coast.

west coast, NZ

Have I told you about CarCam?  Well I like to take pictures out the window of the car - it drives Adrian crazy!  Probably part of the reason I enjoy it so much!  AND some of the photos even turn out - I figure it is digital so who cares how many trash ones you take there might be a gem among them.  So he drives and I shoot, Grace reads and Abigail talks, sleeps and/or vomits.  That is pretty much how it goes...  We were going through all the pictures one night this week and Adrian said, "I am not sure I realized just how prolific car cam had been."  Well, we all know that what he meant in Tennessee speak - Good Lord woman! You took a lot of pictures!  We are culling through them slowly but surely.  We sent some off to be printed on canvas - they turned out nicely.  We are filling the bare walls with them and it is a really affordable way of doing just that.

glaciers with low cloud overlay by car cam!

Back to the trip - We stayed in a cabin in Franz Josef and spent the afternoons at the spa pools - warm, relaxing and fun!  We had a nice meal and relaxed in our cabin.  There were lots of helicopters coming and going.  We decided to forego that adventure for Abigail's sake (no amount of dramamine worked in Queenstown).

We continued on to cape Foulwind at Westport with more spectacular views and a wonderful spot to stay just down the road from the lighthouse.  We went on a tramp to the seal colony and saw weka birds living wild in the park. The weka is a flightless bird that is very feisty and curious.  The girls loved seeing them up close!

weka

We had a meal at the town pub and met the barefooted proprietor and several of the townsfolk.  Friendly!!!  Our hosts were lovely and very accommodating - the Steeples Cottage was a really super place with beautiful gardens.

Grace and Abigail checking out the beach at Westport Seal Colony

Fortified with dramamine that was swallowed! rather than chewed! off we go to Nelson for our final stop before heading home.  Along the way we came upon the longest swing bridge in NZ.  Of course we had to stop and check it out.  Are you aware that I am horribly and irrationally afraid of heights, bridges, things that are in the air that I can see through...  This met all the criteria of inducing great fear and sweaty palms.  As I type this my heart rate is up and I am starting to sweat - irrational I know but don't we all have something that evokes that response?!?  Surely this bridge would not collapse just as my family reached the center - surely if the children could do it, I could too.  So I screwed up my courage and off we went - Abigail stayed close enough to check on me but not too close to be able to hear by moaning and groaning.  I am typing so you know that it did not collapse, I did not die of fright and I can claim that I DID IT!  And I did it twice - you have to get back to the car park, right??  There was a hike on the other side and we had a fun time!

crossing the swing bridge

On we go to Nelson where we walked on the beach, picked up shells, had a nice meal at an English pub in a renovated horse barn. We visited the Hoglund gallery in Richmond and commemorated our trip with a pair of birds and a vase.  (They are on the windowsill above the sink in the kitchen and the sun shines in so nicely and casts colorful prisms on the tile - a treat every day!)  We met Marie and had a nice chat with her.  They move to Australia in the winter because the tourist activity diminishes in NZ.  They have a gallery and studio there too. 

walking on the beach in Nelson

Back to the ferry and home again, home again, jiggetty jog.

The South Island of NZ is spectacular with its mountains, glaciers, beaches, the wild Tasman Sea, rain forests, the beautiful people.  We conquered fears, learned to swallow dramamine, learned to tolerate CarCam, laughed and cried and made some really special memories.  We were so blessed with great weather and safe travels.  What a glorious two weeks, thanks for coming along...

the ferry coming in to pick us up in Picton

Queenstown!

So we arrive at our town home on a very steep hill in Queenstown - nearly knocking off bunches of grapes from the neighbors fence every time we left the driveway.  It was quite a sharp turn from the base of the driveway down a lane to the road.  At the base of the driveway across the lane was the fence on which a grapevine was laden with plump purple grapes.  Not unlike other people of the male persuasion, Adrian cuts it close - the result was grape juice on the front passenger side bumper - passenger was quite uncomfortable with the closeness and as you can imagine had a thing or two to say about it.  This only encouraged the male driver to cut it even closer - well all is well that ends well - he did not knock down the fence and the grapevine was still in tact although a bit lighter...

There are lots of touristy things to do in Queenstown.  We did most of them.  Some of our favorites were zip lining - some of us overcame great fears to get through this one.  It was a great experience and we all loved it at the end of the day.

talented Adrian shot the platform as he zipped along

The gondola ride up the mountain to the luge ride was wonderful and afforded us some great views.  We all tried the luge.  Abigail unfortunately did not quite have the hang of turning so had quite a spectacular crash - I was behind her in my luge and was able to stop, drag her car into the grass (an Asian man crashed into us during this process but none of us was hurt) and then Abigail and I rode together the rest of the way down.  We made another run in tandem and had some laughs, all trauma forgotten until someone would listen to her tell the tale...

from the zipline

We went a few times to a small town close by called Arrowtown.  Gold was discovered there 150 years ago.  It is a charming town and was gorgeous with the fall colors in full view.  We did some window shopping, had lunch, went to the Arrowtown museum.  On the day that we were there we noticed that there seemed to be a large police presence on the streets, very strange in such a small quaint town.  We had seen the lower level of the museum and came up to the main level to leave and there were 100+ Asian people with a few non-Asians in the main area of the museum.  Adrian had his jacket over his arm and received lots of serious once-overs from men in dark suits, neck ties, ear microphones and large axillary bulges.  Come to find out the #4 Chinese leader was there with a very large entourage of body guards, security people, support staff, etc.  We read about it in the paper the following day, strange to be in the middle of that...

riverside walk in Arrowtown

Arrowtown's Chinatown - dwellings of gold miners

sky over Queenstown - WOW!

We found a painting in a shop in Arrowtown that we both loved so to commemorate our SI trip we bought it.  We asked the shopkeeper about the artist and she said that we should stop in and see him on our way back to Queenstown.  She gave him - Angus Watson - a call and with directions in hand off we went.  Gus has built his own home and has a cabin for rent at the back of his property.  It was very charming and inspirational as was Gus.  Gus had an accident some years ago and is now a paraplegic.  He had painted recreationally all of his life but his accident brought him to his painting full-time (the silver lining!! we think).  We have since bought another of his works and really enjoy having them in the room where we spend most of our time (I can see them from the kitchen).  We were quite taken with Gus and his charm, the home he has built, his artwork and gardens.  We hope to see him again before we leave.

One of the most incredible things we were able to experience was a flight from Queenstown to Milford Sound followed by a cruise to the entrance of the sound and flight back.  We booked a trip with Glenorchy Air - a wonderful, knowledgeable family-owned outfit that we would highly recommend.  After getting suited up in inflatable life jackets and being assured that they had never needed them the four of us boarded an Australian Airvan - no, really, that is the name of it! Off we went.  It was a gorgeous day and the views were unbelievable.  We flew over places where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. We flew past glaciers and glacier streams, waterfalls and then landed on an air strip in Glenorchy.  Our passenger boarded - an Italian University graduate on a 5 week holiday before starting work - and off we went to Milford Sound. I will not go on about the views but spectacular does not do it justice.  We boarded the ship for our cruise through the Sound.  We were escorted by dolphins and saw so many waterfalls and gorgeous sights.  The photos will give you some idea.  We flew back via Glenorchy and were taken over some of the largest glaciers.  We say one where two helicopters had landed and they looked like mosquitos because of the vastness of the glacier.  WOW!  This will certainly be a memory for all of us to treasure.

Milford Sound from the air

for Daddy and Big Dave

Pilot Richard, Co-Pilot Adrian

coming in to Glenorchy's grass strip
Lord of the Rings site

glacier lake

glacier from above

Lord of the Rings site

Queenstown landing strip

Adrian played golf at Jack's Point.  It is a really nice course with its own spectacular views.  He really enjoyed it!  Probably half a dozen times during the three hours that he played planes took off and dumped out people overhead.  He heard the screaming and saw the chutes opening and coming down.  Awesome!


oh and happy birthday daddy!!!

what now???

I feel the need to catch you up on what is happening in our lives so I am taking a bit of literary license to interrupt the SI trip saga...

Did I mention that we had moved on the Wednesday before we left for the SI (South Island) on the Friday?  Well we did.  Granted it was very simple and only took a few car trips to get our suitcases and what few things - wooden spoons, skillet, dolls - we have amassed to the new house about 5 minutes from the other house.  So we moved, we packed and off we went.  We returned.  We unpacked.  We settled in.  The girls started back to school and Adrian back to work and I began making our home homely.  When we first saw the new house there was some terrific art on the walls and it was sunny and warm outside.  The house is larger, has more yard/garden space and 3, yes, THREE, bathrooms (one even has a large bathtub!!!).  Happy family!!!  When we moved in the art had been removed and it was still sunny and warm.  OK a great reason to by some art!  (We found a great artist on the SI trip - but don't let me spoil the next chapter.)

living room

one of the patios 

We are finally really settled.  The house is continuing to come together.  I sent some of our photos to a place that will put them on canvas to fill the walls and we have bought another Gus Watson piece - there I go spoiling the next chapter ;-)  The neighbors have three children that are happy to play with the girls - they are the same ages with a younger brother AND they have lots of outdoor toys!  There are two neighborhood cats that are learning to love us!  One that looks a lot like Adrian's Oreo back home.  The other is a mouse catching lover of a boy.

roses still blooming!

We have a great yard and gardens in which to play and work.  The view from the kitchen is great and we have lots of white rose bushes.  The girls' bedrooms are upstairs and they have a room for play up there too.  This move has had a huge impact on all of us feeling more settled.

Adrian continues to walk to work.  It is quite a bit further so he has been happily listening to books on his i-phone - the walk seems to take no time at all according to him.

hydrangea by laundry line

more gardens...

The girls have started a new term of swim lessons and have joined their very first basketball teams!  What a hoot that is.  Grace is the coaches' "project" as she is scared of the ball.  She will be player of the game if she fouls twice during tonight's game!  I think she has the potential to have her Aunt Mary Love's fire and determination!  Abigail is still in the "herd" mode that we experienced in soccer.  She is also very good at practicing her dance moves on the basketball court.  Rather than fight that battle we enrolled her in a dance class!  I am taking a six week photography class beginning the end of May - just to learn to use the camera really.  Adrian has become accustomed to his work and is settled in there.  They are so pleased with the contribution he is making (of course).

We have decided to stay on another year here.  We are all happy about the decision and excited that it will give ya'll more time to come over!  We have plenty of room now!  So that is the update on our lives.  Now back to the SI saga...

Twizel, Mt. Cook

Abigail

This was the leg we might all rather not remember - emesis, emesis and more emesis.  Yes, emesis means vomit.  Abigail did not do well on this part of the trip - the road was tortuous with lots of twists and turns and ups and downs.  It rained and rained. I could not find the dramamine. The upside was the sight of the spectacular glacier lakes.  The water was the color of the Caribbean.  Gorgeous!  We were able to see some of it up close and personal as we pulled over a lot!  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  We mastered the process of opening windows, emptying bags, and moving on...

Twizel was built as a town for construction workers on the local hydroelectric project.  From the Twizel website - Twizel is an alpine village situated in the Mackenzie District in the South Island of New Zealand. Twizel is the closest town to Aoraki/ Mount Cook and theTasman Glacier and the Lake Ohau Ski Field. Twizel is a fly fishing paradise with its countless streams, rivers and canals brimming with world record rainbow trout and salmon. Lake Pukaki, Lake Ohau, Lake Benmore the Ahuriri River and the Tekapo River are all nearby. 

Lake Pukaki in the mist

We went for a hike around the foothills near Mt. Cook.  The peak of the mountain was shrouded by clouds so we were hoping to awaken to a nice view. We did not see it until later in the trip on the leg from Queenstown to Franz Josef.  The photos speak for themselves so without further adieu...

Grace

Hooker Valley

Ahuriri River (I think)

So I found more dramamine that my friend Jan and my dear mother sent, and off we went to Queenstown.  We looked forward to being there for five days of pure tourist fun - Zip lining, luge riding and much more.  We met a new friend and find a special treat or two...