Planes, trains and automobiles...

So glad to be home and in the routine - it is comfort.  Having been away for about 3 weeks being in the throes of loads of laundry, bare pantry, spider webs, kids on bikes, neighbors popping in to say hey, finding chargers and electronics, GLORY.  Love the travel, really.  I long for it when we are here but I am so glad to come back to base.

We left for Sydney - what a great city - vibrant, busy, handsome gents and scantily clad women - something for everyone!  Did all the tourist things - the opera house, ferry to Manly (named because the men there were manly!!), too scared to do the bridge walk.  Darling Harbor with the largest rubber duck art exhibit just for FUN! Enjoyed an afternoon at Fort Dennison with a re-enactment of a battle with those ugly Americans. This is my new favorite city!  You are right Jeff!

brush fire from the train

Indian Pacific train to Adelaide for some really hot weather - the hottest we have been since August in Nashville 18 months ago!  The train ride was special - dining car, seeing emus and kangaroos grazing in the outback, rocking during sleep (or trying to sleep).  Stopped at Broken Hill and went to the mines.  Great experience.  We saw a brush fire from the train and cried for all those affected - what a tragedy.

Adelaide was nice - slower and easier - then to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road.  Three sisters, 12 apostles (only 9 showing we reckon). Robe was a stop on the way and was one of the highest points of the trip.  We met the nicest couple where we stayed in the basement (with a veranda and path to a private beach, lovely antique furniture, wine and snacks and all the fixins for breakfast) of their home.  They are retired farmers (cattle, merino sheep, etc.).  Spectacular home and we wish we had been there for a week.  They invited us for wine and had an incredible view of the sea from their deck - what an amazing night.  The second woman we know named Tessa, and her husband Chips - fine folks!

On the way enjoyed a winery visit in the McLaren Vale, a market for bread, fresh fruit, olive oil and olives, cheese - nice picnic!  Saw lots of folks biking along the GOR - I have great respect for them, what a workout.

Finally to Melbourne for a bit of tennis, Australian Open - saw Serena's defeat, heard Azarenka (irritating!), was surprised by Andy Murray.  Melbourne Cricket Ground for Sri Lanka's defeat of  Australia in the cricket - I am trying to understand the rules but it was really fun - high energy fans doing the wave, hitting around the beach ball.  The Melbourne museum and scienceworks were terrific with a surprise Hot Rod Car show thrown in.  Let me not forget the Australia day parade.  It was called the parade of people and lots of different people there were.  FUN!  Accepting bunch, those Aussies.  It seemed to us that there was very little bigotry and that people were just accepted.  Live and let live.  We really like that.  The children are seeing people of the same sex, of different colours, of very different ways living life.  Accepting and loving, that is the way to do it I reckon.

Adrian had a very successful conference, learned a lot, saw some friends, made new friends, crossed off a few things on his list of to do's.  The floods came to Brisbane and then Sydney just before we left - what a country of extremes!  Crazy stuff... Sturdy folk...

Home we are to the same and nice surprises.  We have a new path to Jan and Jenny where we like to have coffee or wine and a good long chat, through the back garden so we can sneak back and forth at our leisure.  There are new ducks - a mama and five babies - hanging out in the yard.  We came home to a lovely birth announcement - Welcome gorgeous Sutton McCoy!  We are sending our best thoughts to a friend and colleague in Nashville - Chris B. we are thinking of you...   So glad that Amy J. and new baby are doing well, welcome beautiful Alexander.  Congratulations Hayden!

Dinners with kids, meals with parents, wine with friends, dancing with the girls, chatting in the break room, conversation and banter with colleagues, these are the things we miss. We are starting to develop those things here but it does take time.

Tell the person you are closest to how much you love them.  Share your sweetest thoughts and curb the others.  Life is short and precious and full of many wonders.  Watch for them...

Adventures abound no matter where you are...

Sydney harbour bridge

three sisters

aboriginal art

aboriginal art

must be a girls' trip saying! actually at a bowling alley bar in Sydney.  See, FUN!

Luna Park, Sydney

Cathedral, Adelaide

fruit of the vine, McLaren Vale

made from wine barrels 

Obelisk at Robe

Twelve Apostles

tandem biking the GOR

what a view!

Serena taking a minute before Sloan took her to the limit!

what a life!

Happy!

waiting on the bus all day...

1st baby King penguin born in Australia hiding on dad's feet

Hot Rod car show parking lot - love the truck Richie, what about you??

all in on the Australia day celebration.

Steve M.,  you would have loved it!

parade

parade winner, I reckon!!

xoxo

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