An old post....

For some reason, I was reading an old post that I wrote back in 2011 and thought I would share it with those that read my blog today.

It was entitled, 'Who has the Power?'

I'm the type of person who finds logic very comforting. I need to know all the 'why's before I can truly understand the whole picture. For example, back in the dark ages when I went to college, my biology teacher couldn't tell me 'why' a cell decides to divide--I was just suppose to accept that it does. Well, that wasn't happening and I didn't do well in the class. [Of course, later on, when they invented microscopes that could look inside a cell, they found that there was, indeed, rhyme and reason for what a cell does. *insert 'I was right' dance here*]

Of course, sometimes, the logic thing can take my brain on tangents that are better left untaken. One example is our juvenile next-door-neighbor. I wondered how my calling the noise control people on him affects his wife. Does he take it out on her by yelling at her? Does he make the house walk on eggshells because nobody knows what to say? But then, I realized that I shouldn't have that much power over his life and he's a fool if he gave it to me!


And I think about the silly person with the 30-year grudge I posted about earlier. Why is she letting me affect her after all this time? I k now I'm good, but didn't know I was THAT good!!


I think about someone I know that wants me to tip-toe around and never get loud because, in their far, far away past, somebody yelled at them and made them feel bad. Sorry, kiddo, being loud sometimes is who I am. Our family gets loud. That's who we are. You need to deal with it. Why are you letting someone who is probably dead (or, at the very least, not even aware of their impact) have power over you a half a world away and several decades later? I don't want to be able to make you feel bad by reminding you of someone in your past. Nobody should have that much power.

So for all those people whose lives are governed by the words and deed of others, I say, Life is about choices. 

Choose to believe that God loves you exactly the way He made you.
Accept that you are worthy of respect and love simply because you're breathing.
Choose to overlook other folk's imperfections if you want them to overlook yours.
Quit letting other people decide if you are going to be happy. No one should be able to make that decision but you.
Decide to be happy every morning!

rerun 03/09

I have learned many interesting points and many new uses for words since I was in Kansas.  You can read about 'new' stuff I have already posted about here  and  things I have learned about New Zealand here.

I'm sure the list will be never-ending, so I consider this a continuation of the list....

Where 'vacuum' is a verb in the US, they use 'hoover' here.

The dot at the end of a sentence here is called a 'full stop'.

I find the made-up word 'mugwump' very amusing.  It means, well, nothing specific really.  I asked what a bird on a fence was called and wonderful, understanding Hubby told me it was a mugwump. Never having heard of one before, I asked if that was a native of New Zealand.  He shrugged and said "I don't think so.  Any bird that sits on a fence with his 'mug' on one side and his 'rump' on the other is a mugwump."  [He was treated for minor injuries at the Emergency Room and released.]

Over 1/3 of this whole country is set aside as land reserves.

'Trainers' are not people who help you exercise here.  They are athletic shoes.
I guess that's not any stranger than calling them 'tenny-runners' when I was a kid.

All the rolls of kitchen things like foil and waxed paper and saran wrap come as plain rolls.  They don't usually have boxes much less any cutting edges built into the box.  I have learned to tear them rather efficiently.

Pound cake, chili, home-made mac and cheese were all new to my new family.

I still can't get a decent saltine cracker.  We have one brand, but they are way too thick for my liking.  Hubby thinks they are fabulous, though.  Interestingly enough, there is a NZ brand called Jatz that tastes exactly like a Ritz. And they sell Ritz crackers, too.

The small towns all roll up the sidewalks early and don't bother to open the shops on weekends. Just the hardware/garden centers and maybe a couple other stores on main street ('High Street') are open on Saturday mornings. Liquor stores, the video shop, convenience stores and some of the many owner/operated 'dairies' are usually open.  There was a poll taken by the newspaper concerning weekend-shopping and it has been the front-page news for the last 3 weeks.  Yes, that's how small this town is.

rerun 5/09

It's weird living in a wee country that you lose a day of your life getting to. You find that you have taken most everything around you for granted.

Like television. In Kansas, I knew that the shows I saw were relatively new. I always figure the American shows we get here to be those that didn't make it very well--you know, the ones that TVNZ can buy cheap, after all, this is a small country with a small budget for EVERYthing. So, I was surprised to find that "Legend of the Seeker" is only a year old. Some of the BBC stuff on The Documentary Channel (Doco, in Kiwi) is 6 or 8 years old. On the bright side, all the BBC stuff is new to me.

OTC Sleep aids. I got something for Hubby last year and had to give his name and address because it is a "pharmacy only" medication. That's sort of halfway between a prescription and the first-aid cream and tylenol. As for myself, the only ones that work have doxylamine in them and they don't sell that in any form here.

Same stuff, different name, sort of.  They sell 'Snakes and Ladders' game for children here. I recall it as 'Chutes and Ladders' in the US.

We also have a Kiwi version of Monopoly, which is kinda strange for me, but fun.

I found a NZ cracker that is exactly like a Ritz. It's called Jatz. I can even find Ritz brand occasionally.

TV hosts are called 'presenters' here.

Dairies here are convenience stores--without the gas pumps. There are several in each town, even the smallest of places.

Pudding here is dessert. So when we have instant pudding for dessert, it get very confusing.

Even though this is a 'metric' country, they measure television screens by the inch. And eggs are sold by the dozen, not by 10s.

Main streets here are referred to as High Street, no matter what they are named.

There are about a billion types of cheese that you can get here (ok, not that many, but there are a lot, since dairy is one of the top exports). But, I have been trying to find my favorite, Muenster, ever since I arrived.  Hubby tries very hard to help and we have found some that are very good and a couple that are pretty close. Without his encouragement, I don't think I would have bothered to try new ones.

Different attitude  Any vehicle doing anything but driving straight down the street is subject to being passed, whether you're waiting for a space or slowing down to turn. Room is made on all the streets for this, with lanes for all traffic. Also, drivers here don't stop and let another car out of the angle parking along the main street, unless, of course, they want the parking space. 

I don't think it will be any time soon that I just fall into step and take my new homeland for granted.

trivia rerun 9/08

Some of these 'facts' are personal observation, some was blatantly stolen borrowed from various websites.


In New Zealand you can get milk from Bulls.


Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, has the largest Polynesian population in the world.

There is no tree on Auckland's One Tree Hill, but there was one until a few years ago.

Most native New Zealand trees are evergreen. Not pretty green, but definitely green.

The only accordion museum exhibition in the southern hemisphere is in Dargaville.

This country is the size of Colorado or the UK and would fit into the Caspian or Baltic Seas.

Lake Taupo, the big lake in the middle of the North Island, is the worlds largest volcanic crater.

There are over nine million beef and dairy cattle in NZ.

The Kiwi bird, which is about the size of a domestic chicken, lays an egg that is almost a quarter of its total body weight.

New Zealand is actually some 1,000 miles from Australia.

We have the world's:

largest flightless birds [ the kakapo],
largest earthworms,
greatest timber volume of any tree [the kauri]
heaviest insect [the Weta].

If you live in Gisborne, you are living in the first city to see the light of a new day.

New Zealand has one of the highest car ownership rates in the world, with 2.5 million cars for 4 million people.

We have the first documented case of 'exploding trousers'.

Unlike most countries around the world, New Zealand Pizza Hut offers chips with its deliveries.

New Zealand is one of only three countries that have two official national anthems.

The Wildfoods Festival is held in Hokitika, New Zealand each year. You can sample icky cuisine like possum pate and fried duck tongue.

Bungee jumping was invented here, as were
tranquilizer dart gun,
pavlova,
milking machines,
ear tags for animals,
disposable syringes,
blokarting and
zorbing--
THUS proving that there's not much to do here when it's raining!

We have won more Olympic gold medals, per capita, than any other country.

New Zealand has more punk rock bands per capita than any other country.

Here, same sex marriages, prostitution, soliciting, and brothel keeping are all legal.

Ninety-Mile Beach isn't.

New Zealand oversees two overseas territories, Tokelau and Ross Dependency (in Antarctica). We also keep an eye on the Cook Islands and Niue.

Wellington, the capital city, is windier than Chicago!

New Zealanders consume 4kg of chocolate per capita annually.

The Maori name of New Zealand is Aoteroa, which means "Land of the Long White Cloud."

Here, the driving age is 16, the consensual sex age is 16, and the drinking age is 18.

New Zealand has 6000 kilometers of coast line and nowhere is more than 120km from the coast.

There are no native predators here--no snakes or lions or tigers or bears, oh my!

New Zealand has every climate in the world.

Each year, New Zealand has about 100 to 150 quakes that are big enough to be felt. The last fatal one was 1968.

The longest road bridge in New Zealand is the Rakaia River Bridge and is 1,757 metres long.

The population of the city of Sydney, Australia, is greater than the entire population of the country of New Zealand. 


The city of New York has twice as many people as the whole of NZ.

We have one ski resort called The Remarkables and one called The Aspiring.

Ernest Rutherford, who is known as the father of nuclear physics for his orbital theory of the atom, was from New Zealand.

rerun 5/08

I amuse myself a lot these days by doing things I never thought about before.

I had my little boring routine in Holton, Kansas, and it served me well since I had no one else in the house to worry about or work around. I cleaned when I wanted, I washed and dried my one or two loads of clothes each week, cooked and baked when I felt moved, slept as long as I desired. It was perfect for one person.

Today, I hung clothes out in the rain. The fact that I actually hang clothes on a huge, rotating station in the back garden ['yard' for you yankees] is something that never crossed my mind in Holton. I just put the clothes in the washer and then the dryer and then put them away like everybody else, I assume. But here, I rarely use the dryer--mostly because not much is that urgent to be dried plus the dryer is in the shed ['garage' for you yankees] because laundry rooms don't usually have outlets for dryers, so it's not exactly convenient. But, since I'm a lady of leisure now, I really don't mind hanging clothes out. The slower pace of life allows for the time it takes and they get that 'fresh' smell to them.

And now I shall explain why I'm not crazy because I hang clothes in the rain.

Rain here is much finer than any I have ever encountered in the States, whether it was Georgia or Kansas. It is so fine that, most of the time, it doesn't even make raindrop puddles in the pond or any sound at all on the plastic sunroom roof. The patio deck being wet is a dead give away, but sometimes, I only know it's raining because I look up at the trees and see it falling against the dark shades of the leaves and I'm amazed at how much rain is really falling without notice. So I find that, even with the rain coming down the clothes will get dry in a few hours.

We do have stormy rain with pelting drops on the odd occasion, but that is usually at night. And thunderstorms are very rare here. I'm told it's all because of the mountain being between us and the ocean, but I will just take their word for that.

rerun 9/08

I wish you could go grocery shopping with me and see the limit there is to most every kind of foodstuffs. I can't begin to describe how frustrating it is when I am used to Walmart Super Stores!! Things like corn meal are non-existent, so I guess I will live without 'real' cornbread. Even chocolate chips or raisins are not always stocked, so I buy extra when they are.

I have learned to bake 'mince, bacon and cheese pies' [which are ground beef, ham and cheese in American]. You can buy them in most dairies, bakeries and restaurants, but it's always better when you make them from scratch and my bunch prefer bacon on everything!

I have discovered that there are several food items that I have cooked for years as staple foods but are 'new' to my NZ family. Among them are home-made mac and cheese, home-made soups, home-baked breads of any kind, cookies of any kind and cakes. Their favorites, by far, are Toll House cookies and American pound cake. [In case you're wondering, there are 'pound cakes' in many countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_cake ]

So, in tribute to those who have yet to experience my version, I gladly share it now.

Betty's Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 tsp flavoring

4 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

Powdered sugar for final dusting

Preheat oven to 325 (160C). Grease and flour 10-inch bundt cake pan.

Cream together sugar, butter and flavorings [I sometimes use strawberry, orange and banana, but you can use your own combinations, or just vanilla]. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt and combine with butter mixture alternately with sour cream.

You can stop there for a delicious plain cake or add a cup of chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, dried currants, dried mixed fruit, coconut or whatever you like best!

Bake 70 to 80 minutes, until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.

Serve plain or with fruit [if yours lasts that long!]

Rerun 12/08

Remember the old, old, old western saloons where they served the young cowpokes "sasparilla"? [I bet that thought takes you back!] Well, I wanted to make the kids rootbeer floats, but there is no such thing as rootbeer in this strange little country that I live in. So we went to the supermarket chain that carries more imported items than the others and that's  where I found 'sarsaparilla'. I had always heard it was the same as rootbeer [even if it was spelled weird] and it worked quite nicely. The kids were impressed with yet another American delicacy. 

Paper dinner napkins are just not a part of the culture here. Some takeaway places have a stack of them on the counter that you can help yourself to but most don't even bother to offer them. I know that the first time I put them on the table, the kids asked 'what's this?' Now, it's a game at each meal to see who will be the last to put your napkin--sorry, it's called a serviette here-- on your lap!

Hubby's driving used to make me hold on for dear life--crossing the middle lines, especially around tight curves in the road--until I realized that there is rarely any traffic in the outlying areas. 

Tuis have the most melodious metallic sound when they sing. 

I love to listen to them and I am so glad they hang out close to the house.

Pukekos, on the other hand, sound like a strangling cat.

You can go anywhere, including restaurants, barefoot in NZ. Many children don't bother wearing shoes to school.

Morning glories are considered a noxious weed here because they spread so quickly. 

Long before I got to the age that I am, I quit thinking about running. I would tell people that I only run if the house is on fire and we would snicker. That was before I became supreme evil stepmom to pre-teens. I really didn't think my legs were capable of running--what with the muscle tone loss from my thyroid problem and being a bit on the 'fluffy' side--but, I do actually run! I don't run a lot, and it's not for long distances, but I actually run after soccer balls and cricket balls and chasing ducks away from the pond. I guess it's true that you should 'never say never'.

I had very little occasion to look at new stoves in Kansas, but I did notice that they were selling 'convection ovens' that had a fan in them. That seemed pretty uptown to me, since it didn't understand why one would want a fan in your oven. In this strange country, it seems those 'cookers' are the norm. It's not as bizarre as I had imagined since the only real difference is that you can cook at about 10 degrees C less if you use the fan. 

Most of the towns that we have visited have huge memorials to the veterans of all the wars that Kiwis fought in. That's pretty cool. Many towns also have a park named 'King Edward's Park.'

I put a poll on a forum I visit about whether or not others thought their fellowmen were polite or rude. From the votes and comments, I have come to the conclusion that Americans are by far friendlier than most Europeans. Thus, it seems that it is my duty to civilized the country of New Zealand--or at least raise the stepkids to be friendlier and more mannerly than the norm seems to be here.

Apparently, the whole 'outgoing' and giving American persona is a totally foreign concept, because the little old ladies who run the 'op shops' [charity shops] are genuinely surprised when we buy a little something and tell them to keep the change. I'm talking shock and stammering. Real shock. How sad that is.

And for those keeping track of the ducklings, we have had 65 babies in 10 broods this year. But it looks like the parade is coming to an end.  And, when it does, it will be for good because we are going to net the pond.  The first spring was cute with one brood, the second spring was also cute with two broods, but this is just a bit overwhelming!!

We will be concentrating on the poor fishies that have put up with the ducks.  There are some that are as long as hubby's size 13 feet! More on them later.

Rerun 2/09

These are one type of Maori potatoes that my hubby thought would be fun to grow.  They are purple, inside and out, and make very interesting potato salad!  They are called 'roke kuri' .  The literal translation is 'dog poo' (well, not exactly 'poo', but this is a G-rated blog).  Gotta love the Maori language.

There seems to be a trend in food color here.  You can read about purple carrots here. I found them quite tasty, a bit sweeter than orange ones.

And we have some purple cauliflower seed to plant later in the fall.

The food may be boring, as I have blogged about before, but it is colorful.

Rerun from 4/08

New Zealand is a great place. Really it is. It's just rather limited in every possible thing, except maybe cows, sheep and cheese.

There are a few things that I would consider bargaining for, though.

1) Lysol. There are a few air fresheners available, even Glade. But nothing I can find that is an actual spray disinfectant.

2) Hostess Suzy Q's. Most stores have fresh baked goodies. There are even bakeries that have wonderful local snacks. But none of them even remotely resemble or satisfy the taste for a Suzy Q or Twinkie.

3) Screen doors. What were they thinking when they set the standard for home building? There are places named after flying annoyances, for pity sake, so it's not like they aren't plentiful. Screens on the windows and doors would certainly cut down on the flies leaving gifts on the ceiling!! Yes, I'm talking about fly poo. It's disgusting, but apparently it's just part of life here. ICK!

4) Italian sausage. I would be willing to give up something serious for a supply of Italian sausage. They think bacon (ham, in the rest of the civilized world) is the great thing for pizza topping. It's fine, but it's not Italian sausage. And, for the record, barbeque sauce instead of tomato sauce should never be an option for pizza.

Digression on NZ food ----> Most foods here--including baked cheese snacks that resemble cheetos--have a sweetness to them. It's just wrong. They are not suppose to be sweet--you're suppose to be able to taste the food, not the sugar. Sugar is for things like peanut butter, but do you think they'd put it in NZ peanut butter? Noooooo.


5) Central heat and air. TV ads are abundant for heat pumps here, but I never hear mention of central heat/air. It can't possible be that much more expensive than having enough heat pump units to heat the whole house. Central heating would definitely omit the need for doors on every stinking doorway in the house.

I shall update this list occasionally, as I find things I should not have to live without [but, I do, so I complain about it] .

Rerun 8/08

I wrote quite a few lines before my blog got the benefit of actual readers and followers, so I thought I'd repost some things that you might find interesting.This is a post from August of 2008. Keep in mind that it's winter in our neck of the hemisphere.



It's still winter here and I'm so tired of rain. To keep from total boredom, I've been thinking about the garden  and trolling throught photos. Here are some thoughts on yet another rainy day...

If you got my email updates that preceeded the blog, you might remember that I fell in love with purple carrots. After some research by the googlemeister hubby, it seem that all carrots were originally purple. According to the fine folk at the carrot museum, http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html , they are making a comeback all over the world! So, if you see some in the grocery store, try them!



I don't recall ever seeing a sink like this in the States. They make perfect sense for those small places. Mostly, I find them in public toilets, but also in houses with a tiny guest bathroom (ok, it's not actually a place to take a bath, as hubby points out, but it sounds so much better than 'toilet'). They can have a tap at each end and serve their purpose well.



I miss having a decent fried egg with sausage patties or links. Breakfast eggs are more like poached than anything else I can describe. When it comes to pizza, a decent substitute for Italian sausage is fried ground pork with Italian seasoning. I have looked up recipes and the main ingredients seem to be fennel and anise, but I can only find fennel. How sucky is that!

It seems that the dominant male duck for this year's pond rights is a polygamist. He has shown up with two females for a couple of months now. Since ducks mate for life, I'm guessing that the 'other' female has lost her companion somehow and this pair have allowed her to be a part of the family. Kinda nice to think about it that way, I think. If he is, indeed, this year's winner, I wonder if there will be two sets of ducklings.

All in all, in the last few months--since hunting season, anyway-- there haven't been nearly as many ducks as in the past. It makes for a quieter day, but the females are still bold enough to peck on the window when hungry. For some reason, that makes me giggle each time they do it.  Can't beat it for a cheap laugh!

WOW!! The sun is out!! I'll take advantage of the weather and look around the garden. I have lots of plans, muahaha.