A few favorite pics

As I have mentioned before, I developed a liking of photography since my arrival in this strange and exciting place [pun intended]. The rest of the family has also taken up picture-taking (an apparent change from the former lifestyle) and we have a great array of really good photographs.

We have also had a bit of exchange with cameras--from trademe of course! I think everybody is happy at the moment with their choices.

Here are a few of my favorites of late. Of course, they will be subject to change in the course of time, and I will update when that occurs. I hope you like them!

This is a mutant dahlia from our garden

One of the last pictures of Ginger with her little ones

The ocean will always be a treat for me

Gorgeous pine in Hollard Gardens

It never crossed my mind

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.

Things I miss

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] .

They'll sell anything here!

Last January we took a holiday down to the South Island, stopping at various places along the way, including Wellington. We stayed there for two nights at the Sharella aka Quality Hotel on Thorndon. Don't let the name fool you. Quality is not how I would describe it.

For starters, they could have at least sprayed the mold and mildew that collected over the shower with bleach or something before they painted over it!

But the best part was that there was a concert each of the two nights directly across the street in the Botanical Gardens. The music wasn't really all that bad--even when you're trying to chill out and watch tv in your room and you could look out the window and see the gathered crowd.

The classiest moment was when we came back late in the evening each of the two nights. The first night, a guy from the Lions Club started to approach us as we pulled into the parking lot. We ignored him and when we got out of the car asked what was going on. They were taking money for parking for the concert. [OK, I can understand trying to make a few bucks for a non-profit outfit.]

The second night, we apparently were a bit later to ge to the parking lot.

THEY HAD SOLD OUR PARKING SPACE ALONG WITH THAT OF ANY OTHER GUESTS WHO WEREN'T ALREADY PARKED!!!

You can imagine how we, and the other guests gathered at the desk for the same reason, felt. The Sharella sucks. Do not go there. They might just sell your car if you don't keep an eye on it!