Piggles

Hubby came up with another first for me over the weekend--a pig show!

Some were being shown and some were being sold.

They were in pens where you could touch them and they reacted like family pets;

they snorted when you petted them and squealed when you stopped

because they wanted more! 

A couple of them fell over in ecstasy when you rubbed their backs!

It was nothing I had ever seen before!

Another older post

I found a second list of 'first's that I made in my early Blogger days.

When I was looking at the first list of things I had never done and thinking about things I never thought I would ever do in my life, I realized that the list has updated a bit since that post. Welcome to my world.

• get excited to see Pepsi on the grocery store shelf
• take my phone everywhere
• bake fun treats
• play Skip-Bo on a regular basis
• consider (and actually get) our version of TiVo
• search for brand names that I recognize from the US
• never shop at Wally World
• search unsuccessfully for popcorn to pop on the stovetop
• see deer, alpaca and llama farms along the main roads
• pay $100 to fill up the gas tank
• see sea anemones
• ponder insulation
• cheer out loud when I heard Doritos are coming to NZ
• enter local photo contests
• wonder how old the tv shows are and smile to find out when one is less than two years old
• drive a big station wagon
• see lighthouses
• have a bridge built for me
• get excited to find something that tastes like hot dogs (frankfurters) and polish sausage (kranskies)
• ride a gondola up a mountain
• take an interest in the Maori language to see what town names mean
• rarely leave the house without my camera
• see ads on tv that I think are tacky and tasteless
• buy fresh veggies every payday
• make bottle rockets with vinegar and baking soda
• experiment with 'exotic' cheeses while looking for a substitute for Meunster
• have a clothes dryer hung upside down over the washer
• call orange road cones 'rabbits'
• see geysers and boiling mud up close and personal
• eat Vegemite
• see black swans, wild pukekos, waxeyes, kiwis, wild goats, fantails, tuis
• be aware when American tv shows are on--as opposed to BBC or cable stations that are mostly through Australia

I'm sure there are more, but they are a part of who I am now and the line between 'then' and 'now' is quickly blurring.

A blast from the past

Since I have a few more followers now, I thought I'd repeat a post from '09 that still holds true--mostly.

I was thinking the other day about things that I never  would  have done if I hadn't moved to a whole new life on the other side of the globe.  As I wrote them down, Hubby reminded me of more.

I'm sure it will lengthen as time goes by, but for now, here's the list of things I never thought I would do:

• pull weeds
• worry about balanced meals
• buy brown eggs at the store
• snuggle on the sofa (I didn't own one in KS)
• be chased by waves
• watch the Simpsons
• dust
• recycle
• hang clothes out to dry
• consider myself responsible for wild ducks
• grow my own tomatoes
• see dolphins swim alongside a boat
• take a zillion pictures
• grow flowers in an old work boot
• do the 'titanic' pose on a ferry boat
• do the 'titanic' pose on a charter boat after my wedding vows
• hike through woods to see a waterfall
• stand on the beach at midnight
• wonder if flowers need moving for more sunlight
• check homework
• look 200 feet straight down while standing on a window 
• compost
• turn a plot of grass into a flower bed
• watch BBC programs
• search for John Deere tractors
• buy furnishings from the internet
• see sea anemones up close
• read the back of a seed package
• text proficiently
• sit in a tennis-court size hot pool
• chase trains
• kick a soccer ball around
• hear about--much less actually see--glowworms in a cave
• ride a train for pleasure
• learn some English history
• buy Swan plants to attract caterpillars
• drink instant coffee on a regular basis
• have a pet cat
• call the bush beside the pond 'George'

Looking back over this list, it seems I was saved from a life of boredom.

Things I had never done...part deux

When I was looking at the first list of things I had never done and thinking about things I never thought I would ever do in my life, I realized that the list has updated a bit since that post. Welcome to my world.

• get excited to see Pepsi on the grocery store shelf
• take my phone everywhere
• bake fun treats
• play Skip-Bo on a regular basis
• consider (and actually get) our version of TiVo
• search for brand names that I recognize from the US
• never shop at Wally World
• search unsuccessfully for popcorn to pop on the stovetop
• see deer, alpaca and llama farms along the main roads
• pay $100 to fill up the gas tank
• see sea anemones
• ponder insulation
• cheer out loud when I heard Doritos are coming to NZ
• enter local photo contests
• wonder how old the tv shows are and smile to find out when one is less than two years old
• drive a big station wagon
• see lighthouses
• have a bridge built for me
• get excited to find something that tastes like hot dogs (frankfurters) and polish sausage (kranskies)
• ride a gondola up a mountain
• take an interest in the Maori language to see what town names mean
• rarely leave the house without my camera
• see ads on tv that I think are tacky and tasteless
• buy fresh veggies every payday
• make bottle rockets with vinegar and baking soda
• experiment with 'exotic' cheeses while looking for a substitute for Meunster
• have a clothes dryer hung upside down over the washer
• call orange road cones 'rabbits'
• see geysers and boiling mud up close and personal
• eat Vegemite
• see black swans, wild pukekos, waxeyes, kiwis, wild goats, fantails, tuis
• be aware when American tv shows are on--as opposed to BBC or cable stations that are mostly through Australia

I'm sure there are more, but they are a part of who I am now and the line between 'then' and 'now' is quickly blurring.

Another 'new' experience

Since I arrived in NZ, I have had many experiences that would never have been possible if I had stayed in Topeka. Some, because of the nature of a different country in a different hemisphere. Some, because of having a ready-made family. Some, simply because it never crossed my mind before.

The latest experience is a combination of reasons, and I learned some new things--like:

• squirted whipped cream smells like over-ripe yogurt when not eaten immediately
• it's nearly impossible to take good photos when you are laughing your guts out
• sometimes, it's ok to smack your dad in the forehead with a cookie
• you should wash cream-covered clothes shortly after they are taken off

US vs NZ list

I was thinking the other day about things that I never  would  have done if I hadn't moved to a whole new life on the other side of the globe.  As I wrote them down, Hubby reminded me of more.

I'm sure it will lengthen as time goes by, but for now, here's the list of things I never thought I would do:

• pull weeds
  
• worry about balanced meals
• buy brown eggs at the store
• snuggle on the sofa (I didn't own one in KS)
• be chased by waves
• watch the Simpsons
• dust
• recycle
• hang clothes out to dry
• consider myself responsible for wild ducks
• grow my own tomatoes
• see dolphins swim alongside a boat
• take a zillion pictures
• grow flowers in an old work boot
• do the 'titanic' pose on a ferry boat
• do the 'titanic' pose on a charter boat after my wedding vows
• hike through woods to see a waterfall
• stand on the beach at midnight
• wonder if flowers need moving for more sunlight
• check homework
• look 200 feet straight down while standing on a window 
• compost
• turn a plot of grass into a flower bed
• watch BBC programs
• search for John Deere tractors
• buy furnishings from the internet
• see sea anemones up close
• read the back of a seed package
• text proficiently
• sit in a tennis-court size hot pool
• chase trains
• kick a soccer ball around
• hear about--much less actually see--glowworms in a cave
• ride a train for pleasure
• learn some English history
• buy Swan plants to attract caterpillars
• drink instant coffee on a regular basis
• have a pet cat
• call the bush beside the pond 'George'

Looking back over this list, it seems I was saved from a life of boredom.