4/28/2012

And the light went on

A few weeks ago, as I was, once again, wondering why the door wasn't closed as I had requested on numerous occasions, I had an epiphany.

You see, in the perfect world inside my head, all the interior doors in the house would be left open for ventilation and heat flow and the door to the outside would be closed to keep out flies and other unwanted creatures that didn't fit through the cat flap (or turn the handle and walk in uninvited). But, alas, it seems that the very opposite is my reality.

And as I was standing there pondering that very situation, it hit me...

It hit me like a ton of bricks. And it made sense to my logical and ordered mind. I realized that 'it is what it is' and I fully understood the meaning of the phrase.

We all think differently and are capable of different concepts. I cannot change that. And the world won't end if everybody doesn't think like me. Of course, I am not convinced that it wouldn't be a better place if everybody thought like I do, but you can't have everything. It is what it is.

For example, if I were to be cranky about the toilet seat being left up (and Hubby can verify that I am NOT and this is simply an example) I would have, in the past, gotten a bit self-righteous and wondered why this simple thing was not always done, as it is not brain surgery. I would have envisioned gathering all the menfolk and demonstrating the simplicity of lowering the seat as a courtesy to the womenfolk (that would be me).

But now, I'm just glad that they feel comfortable enough in the house to be themselves.

If the towels are not put on the hooks to dry as I would like them to be, I simply tell myself that, at least, they know to keep themselves looking and smelling decent for the world and I don't have to nag them to get clean.

When the fingerprints are hard to get off the walls, I now appreciate that we all have our places in the family and the family is home to put the prints on the wall. We are together every night..

Now, instead of wondering why the world doesn't think of me first (*wrist to forehead and swoon slightly*) I try to have more positive thoughts about others. And realize that they just don't think like I do.

At the end of the day, it's not about him or him or her or me. At our house, it's about family.

4/20/2012

Rerun

My last post reminded me of this one that I thought I'd share-again.

I've been in New Zealand for 19 months now and I'm still surprised at the differences.


I was just thinking about the first time I was at a public thermal pool. It was outside of Auckland, in July--cold as can be--and a new experience on my second day in the country. My first reaction was excitement for a new experience combined with a bit of sensory confusion. 

Picture this: It's cold, it's raining on-and-off and we walk into the pools area. Some pools have covers stretched across them, some are totally open to the elements, some are totally enclosed, but all have steam rising in alluring abundance. We also see a varied combination of people: some in wet bathing suits running across the courtyard, others bundled in parkas and sitting at picnic tables plus many others in various in-between degrees of undress, some wet, some dry. It's a brand-new experience for me as I realized that this sight is an every-day occurance here.


The changing rooms are culturally different too, as they have a big common-room for dressing and common showers. Fortunately, I'm not a prude, so I don't have a problem with it, but I smile to myself thinking about some peole that I know that would end up changing into togs in the loo!!

4/15/2012

Tarawhata Hot Mineral Baths

For my birthday last week and his next month, Hubby got us coupons for several dips in the Hot Pools. It's soooo relaxing to sit for 30 minutes in a private spa pool filled with as-hot-as-you-like mineral water!

There are many such places in New Zealand that use the natural waters that bubble underground as theraputic waters--like Teddy Roosevelt used back in the day.

Here are some facts I found about the place we go to in New Plymouth.


The Historical Tarawhata Hot Mineral Baths were exploited following the search for oil in New Plymouth in. In 1909 the Bonithon Freehold Petroleum Company drilled a 3004ft (1 kilometre) well. They found no oil, but plenty of warm mineral water, which ran to waste until 1914. Then J Solomon, of New Plymouth built a 25 metre by 12 metre bath house which was used as a public swimming pool, as well as several private baths, all of which were enclosed in the same building.
In the mid 1960's the baths closed to the public. In 1999 the Bonithon Spa Health Co.Ltd re-established the Historical Bath House to a 5 star Mineral Health Spa.
If you still want to know more, follow the link below.
 I think this might be the best gift yet! 

4/10/2012

Some things cannot be un-seen

Today, I saw something that I wish I could un-see.

We have a channel that is dedicated to programs in the Maori (indigenous people's) language.

As we scrolled this evening through the few free channels that we have, I noticed on the Maori channel that it said 'Mr Ed'. Considering that Kiwis abbreviate everything I didn't think much about it the instant I saw it. A few seconds later, Wilbur and his horse came to mind and I had to back up to make sure that the show wasn't what my brain was trying to process.

It was.

It was the old 60's program with English subtitles and one man translating all the parts into Maori.

I have nothing against the Maori language but it's still something I wish I could un-see.

4/01/2012

They should have paid attention!

On Saturday, we went to the 75th anniversary of the NZ Air Force at Ohakea Air Force Base.  Otterboy wanted to go with his buddy, Maniac, from ATC (Air Training Corps--like ROTC but with different letters) but couldn't go on the vans because he's not a member. So Hubby (bless his planning and very intuitive heart) got tickets online and we planned a very early and very crowded day at the air field.


Hubby told me that, 25 years ago (on their 50th anniversary, in case you're not paying attention) the show caused the biggest traffic jam EVER and we opined about how this one would turn out.

We started out before daylight (something I don't usually do since I'm not a morning person) with a packed lunch and lots of coffee and were already in a bit of a back-up in Bulls, about 2 miles out. The traffic was already setting the tone for the day, but we still managed to get there about 9am, well before the air show started.

As it turned out, we were among the chosen few who actually got to see everything. Maniac and his group got there about a half hour before we left at 2pm and there were still cars lined up for miles coming in as we left! We also saw many abandoned vehicles along the road where the drivers had given up and walked to the base.

We had a good time but I'm sure everybody is relieved that it only happens every 25 years!


Here's a link about the whole fiasco. We are parked on the right in the 4th row!!

And you can click here to see some more photos of the air show on my photo blog.