Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Points of View

This is a picture of the view from the back window of my house, looking past the neighbours place. "So what?" you ask. Well I just noticed today that if I craned my neck just so I could see a rocky prominence (Centre, back of photo). This is significant because the rocky prominence has a name and is a major landmark in this area. In fact, my street is named after the prominence: Prominence View if you get my drift. All the time I have lived here, I have wondered why the street was so named when it did not actually provide a view of said prominence. I am somewhat relieved that we do indeed have a view of the rock. However, I am disturbed it took me 6 months to notice it.
I'll post a better shot of the rocky outcrop later. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, August 27, 2006

They Danced the Night Away...

On Friday night, the Home and School Committee hosted a Disco at the primary school. The children were invited to attend from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. As you can see, a conga line was started and the kids were having great fun. That's our Brenna in the blue and yellow clothing. More than 160 kids came out to dance, buy glow sticks and purchase "American Hot Dogs", popcorn and dilute juice. The committee members worked hard, serving the food and keeping the children safe but it was well worth the effort. The kids had a night to remember, and the committee has another $900 or so in the bank.
When I returned home at 8pm, I felt like I had stayed out past last call and was exhausted. I was shocked to find out it was only 8 and not midnight.Posted by Picasa

Wallflowers

 Posted by Picasa

Monday, August 21, 2006

The Maori Queen is Dead; Long Live the King

Today is a historic day in New Zealand. The Maori Queen, who died last week, is being buried today and her eldest son has been named as her successor. For more information, please check this link http://nzherald.co.nz/maoriqueen here.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Dancers' Delight

 Posted by Picasa

A Night at the Ballet

We have just returned from a "Showcase of Dance", presented by the girl's dance school. That's Miss A and Miss B in the foreground, video to follow in a few days. The girls attend a half-hour weekly dance class in which they are learning ballet, tap and modern dance. I'm not sure how they can learn all that in one lesson but it seems to work. The girls both enjoyed the production and the performances of the other students, some of whom are very accomplished. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Random thoughts on Winter in Northland

As you can see, our bananas are coming along nicely. It is the citrus we need help with. Andrew has been making marmalade and grapefruit juice and taking buckets of mandarin oranges to the office. I have been making orange muffins, fruit salad, lemon filling with crepes and Buck's Fizz (OJ and champagne). If you come to our house, you leave with a lemon. The neighobors are not coping any better, their lawns are covered with dropped oranges and lemons.

Speaking of lawns, ours needs a mowing. That's one of the drawbacks to the winterless climate. The grass keeps on growing. (Try to control your tears, please.)

As someone from the Northern Hemisphere, I find it startling when my friends complain of the bitter Antarctic wind. Although we are feeling settled here, I still think of north as colder and and July as summer. That is, I'm still a bit confused.

The girls have made a few minor concessions to winter. They often carry a jacket to school in their backpacks, but they are still barefoot.

Although the climate is mild, the houses are not well insulated. Thus, we find we are colder here than we were in Canada. I tend to cook more meals that require baking in the oven or cooking on the hob so that I can also warm up the kitchen. The girls often ask for a hot breakfast and have asked me to buy thermos flasks so they can have hot lunches at school.

Outerwear is very important. When planning what to wear the other Saturday night when we attended a social at the Yacht Club, I chose an outfit based on which coat I would be wearing, as I anticipated leaving it on all evening.

Yet for all the chill and rain, most of the winter has been lovely. Most days of the week I can get a load of laundry dry on the outside line...if I put it out early enough. Pearl and I go for daily walks on the beach, where she has the important task of chasing the seagulls and oyster catchers off of the sand.

And spring is in the air already. Daffodils have already bloomed and pollen from the trees dusts our car every morning.

Today is the one year anniversary of Andrew's arrival here in New Zealand. Posted by Picasa