I know things change...

 It's been fifteen years since I moved to New Zealand. I have adjusted to a lot of things that living on a small island presents.

I have learned to live without filter/drip coffee and drink instant. When I first got here, I could get a cup of filter coffee in a coffee shop while Hubby had some fluffy, strong stuff, but not any more. 

Before you ask, there are very few places to buy ground coffee and the ones we tried did NOT suit at all. Hubby recently found a place that will send us Folgers coffee, but over $100 shipping for 3 large cans is more than I can bring myself to spend, even if Hubby is willing.

Upon my arrival, I could buy grape jelly at any grocery store. Strangely enough, it has not been found anywhere for a few years now. A member of a FB group of Americans in NZ found some a while back and we were all jealous! I guess all those grapes they grow here are for fancy-schmacy wine now!  Actually, most of our stuff is imported from Australia since we are too small to manufacture very much for ourselves. So, I guess I can blame it on Aussie.

I am not sure how Pizza Hut and Dominos pizza in the US and other countries have changed in 15 years, but they advertise terrible abominations here.  Ground beef/mince, Peking Duck, smoked salmon, spinach, cranberries, prawns. And then there is the 'swirl' of sauces on top--aioli, hollandaise,  BBQ sauce. *shudder*  What happened to simple Italian sausage with cheese? Progress? This is why we make our own now and then, but I still can't find Italian sausage in the stores very often.

Twenty years ago, if you had told me I'd have these 'problems' I would have laughed. But, life throws you a curve ball sometimes, and you have to adjust your swing. But the biggest change is that I realize that many of the 'problem' I have are because I'm old and set in my ways.

Ah, life is always interesting.

A new experience

I've been in NZ for about 15 years and haven't seen anything really 'new' in 

a while. Well, that ended today. As usual, I needed to use the public toilet

while we were at Castlecliff Beach with Missy in Whanganui. We found

the doorway and walked inside to find the stalls, as we usually do.

 One stall had no toilet and we were a bit taken aback because neither of the

other two toilets had any toilet paper dispensers. Fortunately, I usually have

tissues in my pocket and they came to our rescue.

On the way out, I was waiting for Missy and looked around a bit.
That's when I found it. We had totally missed a large sign

that instructed us to take the toilet paper from the one dispenser just

inside the door!

 It struck us as really funny that we had missed it and Hubby probably

though we had lost our minds when we got back to the car!

We still don't know why one stall was empty but that's a mystery

for another trip.

Jersey Boys onstage

Hubby surprised me with the chance to sit with a few hundred other gray-haired fans at the Wellington Opera House to watch the stage musical Jersey Boys over the weekend!

What a wonderful performance by all and, of course, the music was magical!!

I am copying an article from 'aucklandlive.co.nz' to tell you about the cast (in case the article disappears). 

They were ALL really talented and the audience seemed to enjoy ever minute of the performance. You sure couldn't tell that all but 'Frankie Valli' were New Zealanders! I can't praise them enough for their work. If you get the chance (and are 'of a certain age), you should see this show.

Producers of JERSEY BOYS – THE STORY OF FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS are delighted to announce they have secured one of the world’s best musical theatre artists to perform the role of Frankie Valli in the Tony Award-winning musical’s seasons in Auckland and Wellington, from May.

 

Hayden Milanés, who has travelled internationally playing Frankie Valli in Broadway’s hit musical JERSEY BOYS, arrived in New Zealand from New York last week and will join an outstanding New Zealand-based cast.

To land the role of Frankie, the actor needed to be 5’9” (175cm) or shorter, have a strong tenor with sweet and strong falsetto, and be able to sing in the style of Frankie Valli: strong tenor to high A or B plus strong falsetto up to treble G; be charismatic and charming; a very strong actor (comfortable with narrative text) and have a gritty side as well as a polished veneer, and must be comfortable with traditional four-part harmonies.

Director Grant Meese explains that no stone was unturned to find a Frankie in New Zealand. “We went out to all New Zealand agents and held open auditions in Christchurch and Auckland but were unable to find someone with all these special attributes.

“As the role is unique in the world of musical theatre, we decided we’d go after the best in the world,” says Mr. Meese. “With Broadway and the West End remaining closed, and New Zealand being one of only a few countries in the world where people can enjoy live performance, Hayden said yes.

“We then had to apply to have him come into the country. All the correct processes were followed and we were given the green light. I guess you could say that all our stars aligned.”

Mr. Milanés joins an exceptional New Zealand-based cast that includes one of New Zealand’s finest theatre and television actors, Andrew Grainger, as gangster Gyp DeCarlo. A veteran of the West End, film, and television, Andy’s New Zealand theatre credits include Chicago, Billy Elliott, Guys and Dolls, and Six Degrees of Separation. Full bio here.

Tauranga-born Matt Cranleigh plays singer and songwriter Bob Gaudio. A graduate of the prestigious NIDA performing arts school in Sydney, Matt spent six years working in film and television in Australia and the UK,  including Dance Academy (ABC Australia), Home & Away (Channel 7 Australia), and The Great Gatsby (Warner Brothers). Following time in London, Matt’s career found its way back to its roots in musical theatre as he worked in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore with Disney and Universal.

Reprising his role as the reckless gambler Tommy DeVito is Fergus Inder (Chicago; Titus Andronicus; Jesus Christ Superstar; The Wind in the Willows, A Streetcar Named Desire, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; Wicked; and Les Misérables).

Andrew Coshan will play Nick Massi – the vocalist credited with training Frankie but ultimately leaving the group after tiring of their internal battles and flatting with Tommy.

A graduate of Otago University, Andrew has spent much of his professional career in Melbourne, receiving a Greenroom Award nomination for best performance in a supporting role, and then his professional musical theatre debut in the ensemble of The Production Company’s Thoroughly Modern Millie. Recently, Andrew made an appearance in Neighbors as River Hannlon. Andrew’s top New Zealand-based credits include Hairspray as Link Larkin, Mamma Mia as Pepper, PUNKROCK as Nicholas Chatman, Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Russell Dixon plays record producer Bob Crewe. Having recently directed the sold-out season of Mary Poppins at The Civic in Auckland, Russell’s credits include Wicked, Blood Brothers, Mamma Mia!, Miss Saigon, and Holiday Inn; Top Hat at London’s Aldwych Theatre,  and a cast member of in the UK tour of The Witches of Eastwick, playing the role of Joe Marino.

Playing radio personality Barry Belson is Lewis Francis, last seen on The Civic stage in The Book of Mormon.

After being on the Australasian tour of The Book of Mormon for nearly two and a half years, Barry is thrilled to be performing again in  NZ. While completing his Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Auckland (majoring in Marketing and Commercial Law), he trained extensively with Frances Wilson Fitzgerald at the Auckland Opera Studio. He was then successful in joining the NZ Opera Freemasons chorus from 2015 – 2017. In 2015 Lewis won the President’s Cup for Most Promising Vocal artist at the North Shore Singing Competition, and also won the John Bond Award at NZ Aria in 2016, for most promising vocal artist.

https://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/jersey-boys-us-star-to-play-frankie-valli

when you live on an island

...you can expect rainy days and drab photos, but that doesn't keep me 

from taking a lot of them, even roadside flowers out the car window.

 I enjoyed making my photos look a little better with Photoscape, as it

was very simple to use.

Well, now there is a better version that does a lot more than I ever wanted!

The new version of Photoscape X took very little effort to transform 

the shot (above) from rainy and drab to a flowery photo 

I would gladly post on my blog (below).

They have short videos to show you how each feature works. 

I could even take the cows out of the picture with one click on each one, 

but I decided to leave them in.

So, now you know what I'll be doing in my spare time! 

If you are looking for a good (and free) editing program, 

click 'photoscape x' .

I bought the Pro version as a way of support for using the free version all these years and it has even more of everything for a very small price.