Wednesday, September 29, 2010

WOW


Last Saturday night Steve and I fly to Wellington for the World of WearableArt show. A night of theatre, dance, colour, movement and art was promised, and delivered. Very unique and very Kiwi.

No cameras were allowed, but that was like waving a red flag at a bull – me being the bull. Here are a few pics. They're not the best but there was no opportunity to set up the shots like a true pro. Check out the official website for more.


The cutest part of the show by far were the little dogs dressed up as baby elephants. They definitely had the "Aawwh" factor.


When I reviewed my shots on the night, I thought they were quite good. But they next day, when the alcohol wore off, they didn't seem to be so fantastic – go figure!


This pic of me was taken at the waterfront in Wellington. (Included especially for Jordy who said there weren't enough pics of me on my blog.) We couldn't believe how beautiful and sunny it was. Something we hadn't seen in Auckland for quite some time.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

An afternoon in Matakana





Last weekend we drove to Omaha and Matakana for the afternoon to rub shoulders with the beautiful (and somewhat pretentious) people. We even spotted the hubby character from Packed to the Rafters at the beachside playground but he wasn't looking beautiful or pretentious. Wild weather was promised by the weather man and it was very windy, but we managed to avoid the storm (everybody did because it never came).

More supplies for the fire:


We had dinner at the pub before heading home. The girls were a bit freaked out by the taxidermy display but I told them to pretend they were dining at the museum.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A work of art

Last Friday night MENPS held their bi-annual Art Auction. In addition to the individual canvases each child completed, each class did a combined piece which went under silent auction. Then there were the professional pieces. It most entertaining on what people were willing to pay for them after a few drinks. All in all, it was a good fundraiser for the school.

Ava's class art work. Each animal is made up of itsy, bitsy pieces of paper.


Eadie's class art work. You can see the inspiration from Hundertwasser can't you?


Ruby's class art work. Each kid in the class created their own stamp then it was assembled in the form of a letter. I did lend a hand in putting this piece together.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

A year on...


Can you believe it is one year today since we left sunny Bris Vegas bound for the greener pastures of New Zealand. Well, they actually do have way more greener pastures that Australia but Australia is miles ahead in many other respects. But I'm not about to start comparing, as both countries have a lot to offer.

It was, and still is, our plan to make wet Auckland our home for a few years. We had initially told the girls our stay here would be three years but that was really to help them get their heads around the whole idea. And so, a year on, some of their recent comments have been:
"Wow, one whole year. That didn't take very long." – Ava
"I want to stay here for four years so I can go to ANI (Auckland Normal Intermediate) school." – Eadie
"It's been awesome bro. But seriously, it's gone pretty fast. And I love playing netball." – Ruby

Our move has bought with it some moments when each of us secretly would much rather have been back in Oz, but on the whole, I think it has been positive. Steve's job has meant that he has had to deal with pressures never previously experienced. But hey, that office with the "awesome" view of the Sky Tower and harbour bridge has to be earned! He has kept up his swimming and done "just enough" bike riding to ensure he doesn't crash and burn in the few cycling events he participates in. In his spare time he has made a couple of surfboards. This is quickly turning into an obsession and I'm a bit worried about where we're going to put them all. Each time he finishes one he knows where improvements can be made.


The girls have adjusted well. I know I've said that many times before but I really am proud of them and I think will they will be able to draw from the experience when they are confronted with challenges in the future. They've crammed loads of fun stuff into one year such as skiing, art lessons, trampolining, play ball, netball and flippa ball. Ruby and Eadie were involved in the senior school production called Safari. I went on an excursion to Ambury Farm with Ava's class where felting was one of the highlights.




I've been "philosophising" as some of my friends here like to call it. I look forward to my weekly discussion groups and it helps me keep everything in perspective. One the hard days, it reminds me to put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. I've also been quite hands-on at school whilst still managing to avoid being on any committees. I've met some great people who have been very welcoming and have a well-established network of women who I can have a coffee with. Finally, just this week, (drum roll please) I joined a swim squad! Yeah, I know, I can hardly believe it myself.

Friday, September 17, 2010

What's for dinner?


The other night we had steak and vegetable pie made with gluten-free pastry, of course. This is a really good short pastry and I'm always impressed with how it turns out. The recipe came from The Cook and The Chef. How I do miss Maggie and Simon.

Steve asked me if the pie was healthy and I had to break it to him gently that there is no such thing as "healthy" pastry :( But being home-made, it's the closest thing!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Drag out your dead - resuscitated!

This phrase was coined by Steve. It refers to a kerbside clean up services offered by many local councils in Queensland. It's great if your wanting to clean out your garage or the like. The problem is, the average person accumulates crap quicker than they can dump their "dead".



Here in NZ, people tend to drag out their "dead" as required, not being restricted by local government timelines. So if you're passing by and something catches your eye, it's yours! But you'd better be quick. I know this from experience which is why when I saw this discarded chair on my walk home one day, I knew I had to nab it there and then which also meant lugging it several blocks home. God how I prayed to not pass anyone I knew!


So, like the set of drawers, the chair sat outside waiting for me to summons the effort to do it up. Then I did it, but thought I'd wait till I made a pretty cushion to go with it before showing you. Guess what? I never did do the cushion but here is the finished chair which I am sitting as I write this blog.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Pretty bulbs


It seems the thing to do here in August/September is book a holiday to a sunny destination. Fiji, Samoa, Rarotonga and Queensland are popular choices. The reason is, although winter is apparently over, summer is nowhere in sight. We have learnt the hard way. In a couple of weeks we are heading back to Ruapehu for the last of the snow which is by no means a bad thing, but next year we will probably do as the Kiwi's do and go in search of the sun.


BTW, the reason there are so many rainbows in NZ is it's always freakin' raining!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Spring has NOT sprung

So I thought I'd show you some pics of Rorschach clouds I took on the weekend when the sun was shining.