I hadn't written for awhile as there was nothing to write really. Life plodded on in the usual way and I don't have Carol's flair for relaying everyday wittisism's (mainly because I have such a poor memory that I cannot recall them!). This last week or two, however, life has been pretty hectic and I have not had the time to write!!
Last week (or I was it really the week before, is Sunday morning the end of a week or the start of it?!) it was just work really. I guess most of you will not really have much understanding of what I do, well........ I'll write about that another time maybe. Suffice to say I was very busy with the routine stuff until Wednesday evening when I had a meeting in Hamilton about the change in the structure of GP services in this country. We are in the midst of change at the moment (it's like home from home really, when was the NHS NOT in the midst of change?!). Everyone is totally confused and some people from the Ministry (quaint eh!!) came to explain it all to the practice nurses. That went on until 9pm so it was a late night home from work. On the Thursday and Friday I was in Rotorua for some education training. We undertake clinical assessments and had an update on that process. We also do a lot of the Vaccinator Training Courses around the country and each year IMAC (the Immunusation Advisory Centre, my employers) launch a new education package, so we got updated on that. We also had a regional planning meeting and allocated training. I volunteered to present the immunisation schedule as I still have the UK one stuck in my head. It is such a basic bit of knowledge and I am struggling to inwardly digest it and I am always surreptitiously checking it when relaying this information on, or testing someone on it!!!!!! I figured that if I present the lecture enough times I might remember it! The biggest difference (for my health visiting friends out there) is that they space the vaccines differently and kids routinely get Hepatitis B here. I originally found this out in our first year here when I checked the schedule following the death of Alice's classmate Casey from meningitis. I was quite relived to find that Alice and Harriette were protected from the strain that Casey had (Meningococcal C). Apparently they do not vaccinate against that here and at the moment are about to introduce a new Menningococcal B vaccine for the unique strain that they do have a problem with. Men C is very rare and not a vaccination priority. Unfortunately that did not help Casey's parents when they realised that she died of a vaccine preventable disease! And we do daily battle with people who refuse to have their kids vaccinated, and worse, indoctrinate others against the vaccine process. Enough, I'll get off my IMAC soapbox now!!!! Now where was I, oh yes, my excuses for not writing lately. Those 2 days (of absolutely foul weather I might add) took us to the weekend. Oh, one postscript on that. The training was in one of the many hotels in Rotorua which is a major tourist centre, mainly because the earths crust is so thin and they have have such major geothermal activity. (Lake Rotorua, like Lake Taupo was formed from a collapsed volcano). Our room looked over the geyserland and we watched it them erupting and steam bellowing up to the sky all day. Quite different to your view from your average training room in the UK!!
Our friend Robyn had her gall stones removed on the previous Monday (gosh I hope she doesn't mind me broadcasting that to the whole world - don't think she will!!, do you Robyn?!) and I was feeing guilty that I had not spoken to her since her return from hospital. We took the girls into Matamata on Friday evening to a small fair that they had and popped in to the Scott's on the way home. The operation had gone well (which I knew) and she looked very well, if obviously a bit sore still. We only meant to stay for 20 minutes but got chatting and left quite late. Eric got engrossed in their contract for a farm they have just bought (more about this big excitement in the future when it is more public knowledge here, not that I think anyone in this neck of the woods accesses this site, apart from R and R) as he was about to do contract and property exams the following week. We spent most of the rest of the weekend at home, Eric stuck in his books as he has been for months now, and me trying to keep the girls out of his hair. I took them into the pools in Matamata to try and get them to increase the amount of lengths they can swim. I know, we have a pool, but it is not 25m long and not exactly good for this type of thing. Anyway, it is warmer than our pool and, as I said, we are having terrible weather here. I can also leave the girls in the pool while I do shopping etc. after I've swum a bit.
The exams!!!! Poor Eric!!!! He did Contract on Monday and is convinced he failed. It was a rewrite of one of the exams he failed in July and he was so dissappointed with the questions. Very nebulous, conceptual stuff for which he could not utilise all the information he had inwardly digested over the previous months. He came through the door afterwards with a face like thunder and declared angrily 'Well that was a waste of time!"!!!'!!!!!. The following day was better but not brilliant. Tort and Property I think. One was OK and the other he was not so confident about. these exams are a real bind. All subjects that he has studied and passed in the UK, AND there is no choice in the questions. Have you ever written a paper where you have to do 2 questions out of 2? I certainly haven't, and as you are probably aware, I have written a few exams in my time!!!
Well I really must get up. I can hear Daddy and Michelle (Hudson - will explain later) I think is up, so I ought to get up and sort some breakfast out. I don't want to post this yet so have ticked the 'draft' box. If this is posted I will attempt to finish it later. if it isn't then you are not reading it so it doesn't matter!! I have also written this offline for the first time so am hoping I don't loose it all!!!!
Hello Again,
Well I didn't - loose it that is. We have just been into Matamata to New Zealand's famous 'Warehouse' ("the Warehouse, the Warehouse where everyone gets a bargin"), sort of Woolies but cheaper and on a bigger scale. I needed to get Harriette some boxer shorts. She has spent the last few weeks at Intermediate living in her school PE shorts. ie wearing them under her gymslip. I severly disapprove but it is an absolute essential in their eyes as the boys (prepare yourself for a shock) look up their skirts!!!!! Did you ever here anything so outrageous?!?!?! Anyway the girls have taken to wearing PE shorts or boxers to protect their modesty. I severely disapprove but remember how important such things were to me at that age. Hence the trip in to buy boxers. We all stopped off at the dairy (ie a small corner shop) on the way home for ice creams. Gary was famous for his enormous $1 ice creams and we were devestated when he announced he had sold the place. Jack, a Korean of very little English, has taken over, and while he has attempted to maintain standards it is not quite the same. Still they are still pretty good sized ice creams.
Now I mentioned Michelle and that Mom and Daddy are here. M and D arrived on Friday 20th having had a 3 day stopover in Singapore. They had never been there and I think enjoyed it. I took a days leave to pick them up and gave Alice the day off school. I had originally said that as Harriette could not go (it would not be appropriate to take her out of school) then Alice could not, but then thought why should Alice suffer because Harriette is at a different school? And I could do with the company on the 2 hour drive up!!! Anyway, she came. And Michelle is a friend of Eric's from school and although they haven't actually seen each other since then were aware of each others progress through Stan. Michelle is a sucessful accountant in London and decided to take some time out to travel. She left in September and has been in the Americas and stopped at Hawaii and Fuji on the way here. She arrived on Saturday (yesterday) and found her way down here by the evening. We would have picked her up but did not know when she was coming in. Yesterday afternoon we went to the rodeo!!!! The weather was not brilliant but at least the rain held off. It started at 11am but by the time we had got all these jet lagged people up and got ourselves organised it was 3pm before we got there. It was good fun and I would imagine if you took a picnic and had some sunshine it would be a fabulous day. Those guys are mad, no doubt about it! And no-one had their camera so no piccies I'm afraid. We had so much choice for what to do yesterday. As well as the rodeo, the Super 12 started (now of course you knew that didn't you. Didn't you?!) and the Chiefs our local team was playing our North Island rivals from Wellington, the Hurricanes, at our local stadium in Hamilton. I would have been keen to go but Kihikihi where the rodeo was was in the completely opposite direction to Hamilton and couldn't be fagged with all the travelling after 4 hours in the car yesterday. The girls were upset but I was able to appease them with an offer to get the TV out so they could watch it. We (ie the Chiefs) started off badly but ended up winning 20 - 7. Not that Eric and I watched it. Michelle arrived just as it started and just as I served pizzzas. We ate and then adjourned to the kitchen so Eric and Michelle could do 20 years of catching up. I went to bed and left them rabbiting until the early hours. Oh, the Super 12. I guess it's the Southern hemisphere equivilent to the 6 nations. S. Africa, Australia and NZ put up 12 teams. I must confess that I did not get to grips with it last year but plan to this year. I felt very 'out of it' not knowing what was going on. The other thing that was on was a firework display and concert in Hamilton as part of the Hamilton Gardens summer festival. I hope to get to the jazz concert on Friday. I am in Auckland Thursday and Friday this week so it depends when I can get back.
So there you are. I think that brings you up to date. I am off now to phone my aunt in Australia. It's mid afternoon Sunday and I actually have nothing that needs doing. Bliss! Love to you all.
Michelle
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Saturday, February 07, 2004
A week or 2 down under
I have just read Carols blog for the last few weeks. She is such a talented writer. I could never write as well as that!! She seems to be awake more since Karaka (the big thoroughbred sales where they worked 25 hours a day for tuppence ha'penny). Leading up to the sales and immediately afterward she worked even more obscene hours than usual and often drifted in just to say she was too tired to eat and see you tomorrow. And all for the love of horses. Can't quite see it myself. She is really in a dilemma now as the reality of her May return to the UK is hitting home and she so wants to stay here. She moves up to the stud next week as Mom and Daddy arrive on the 20th.
I have spent today working in the garden. Nothing unusual there I hear you say but this was in the flower beds near the house. I had a rethink and decided that the overgrown casual look was basically a mess and have been generally clearing out and tidying up. I have managed about 10m and that took me all day!! My hands are ripped to shreds, mainly due to the rogue roses branches that I keep grabbing on to and I ache all over. I have been burning the rubbish on the drive, or rather trying to as the damned thing kept going out. When Carol said 'I don't have trouble keeping fires going' Eric replied along the lines of her cheating using whole trees!!! We dined this evening on home made burgers from home-grown beef and home made rolls and home-grown, and seriously scrummy, sweetcorn. At the moment we are harvesting runner beans, the previously mentioned sweetcorn and courgettes for Africa, as well as the usual salad veg. I am disappointed at the progress of the fruit trees. Our stock fencing sometimes proves ineffective and the cows have helped themselves to foliage on some of the trees, especially the olives. The weed suppressant is also not terribly effective, the caterpillars and beetle have stripped foliage on some trees AND the nectarines and peaches have leaf curl, despite being sprayed. I am going to have to pay them some serious attention in the future. Along the end of Taotaoroa Rd someone has planted up a paddock with fruit trees and box in rows, quite close together and they are looking much bigger than my trees. It is very disheartening.
Yesterday was a public holiday, Waitangi Day which celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Queen Vic and Maori. The treaty remains highly controversial to this day and the anniversary is often a time for Maori to be rude to the government. Don Brash, our recently elected leader of the opposition, the Nationalists, made a speech recently saying that if elected they would sort all treaty issues quickly then after that end all special privileges for Maori and treat all New Zealanders the same. Maori are up in arms as they get a huge amount of extra government resources. I think he is right though. He says resources should be allocated on the basis of need not race. I do accept that their culture should be respected but a lot of pakeha (European New Zealanders) are resentful of the special privileges given to Maori. Anyway when he went to the Waitangi marae (meeting house) as invited, he refused to enter as the Maori's would not let any 'mainstream' reporters in (only those from Maori stations) and then he was pelted with mud. 'Our great leader' (Eric's words) Helen Clarke also had a rough time when she went later in the day because of the foreshore disagreement (Maori say it belongs to them and Helen says it doesn't). NZ politics is something else!!
On the home front, Alice has decided to give up her piano lessons. I am torn really because I think that learning to play an instrument is important but, she has never practiced off her own back and has hardly touched it at all all through the summer holidays. I am also aware that we have just shelled out a huge amount of money for a years hire of an alto sax (used the money you left for Harri towards it Stan, hope that meets with your approval) for Harriette. She will also continue with the piano as she practices regularly and is making good progress. Alice has always been on about horse riding lessons and we may think about this for her now in as she has dropped her piano. She says she wants to do flute when she goes to Intermediate but I suspect this is because our friend Robyn teaches it! On the subject of Intermediate Harriette has settled in well we think. She is struggling, as she knew she would, with the increased demands on her fitness. She was in tears the other evening saying they had to run round the grounds twice as fast as they could and she just could not run that distance. She has since been 'training' in the pool doing 'laps'. I have also started taking them (well Harriette so far, Alice was left behind as she still had not tidied her room 3 hours after going in there to do it!!!) to the pools in Matamata to do some serious lengths. I also went in as with my new job I am even more sedentary than before!!
Eric has just come in to say he can't find the other 2 pillow cases (I stripped the beds earlier today). I asked him what I needed to report on blog since the lamb episode and he said 'that I ain't got no pillow cases' - so now you know!!!
The cows are hungry still. We still have not got our hay cut, on account of the incessant rain of late. This means we are 3 paddocks of grazing down. We are feeding them the little hay we have left from last winter and scraps from my veg plot (they are particularly partial to silver beet). They are so funny and now come dashing over as soon as I venture down to pick veg or garden. Ermentrude and Twink make the strangest guttural noise, almost like talking, though I'm sure they are just warning the others off 'their' snacks. They do have some grass, just not as much as they would like. I mentioned the rain. We've had heaps of it. The last 2 days have been dry and, Lo, we've even had some blue sky. And this is mid-summer!! I have to say that this afternoon has been very hot in the sun but the temperatures have been quite cool still.
Yesterday we drove to Otrohanga (about 90km away) to pick up golf clubs for Daddy. They have decided not to bring their golf clubs over this time (something to do with the frantic packing and re-packing when they left last time as they had bought so much they were overweight I suspect!) but buy some second hand ones here. They have been checking the local Loot online and sending me details of any they wanted me to check out. The directions these people gave me were rubbish and I had to phone them twice when I was there to find their house. Anyway with the golf clubs loaded up I asked them about the, what I thought was, shammy leathers hanging in the garage. It turned out they were tobacco leaves. I then realised they were hanging everywhere and saw the plants growing in their veg plot. The last time I saw tobacco growing was in Zimbabwe on a friend of a friends farm - I often wonder how they have got on under the tyrannical regime out there. Anyway the guy was retired and had given up golf because he couldn't afford it now (I bet you're choking on your tea Mom and Daddy!) and he was growing tobacco because he couldn't afford to buy cigarettes - I wonder if he didn't consider giving up instead. Mind you looking at the yellow of his beard and his fingers I guess that's a silly question!
Well you lovely people, I'm fit for my bed now. You will be pleased to know that Eric now has pillow cases, only because I went and did a 'Mommy look' and found them, guess where, in the cupboard with all the other pillow cases!!! I'll put it down to the stress of studying!!
Nighty,night.
Michelle
I have spent today working in the garden. Nothing unusual there I hear you say but this was in the flower beds near the house. I had a rethink and decided that the overgrown casual look was basically a mess and have been generally clearing out and tidying up. I have managed about 10m and that took me all day!! My hands are ripped to shreds, mainly due to the rogue roses branches that I keep grabbing on to and I ache all over. I have been burning the rubbish on the drive, or rather trying to as the damned thing kept going out. When Carol said 'I don't have trouble keeping fires going' Eric replied along the lines of her cheating using whole trees!!! We dined this evening on home made burgers from home-grown beef and home made rolls and home-grown, and seriously scrummy, sweetcorn. At the moment we are harvesting runner beans, the previously mentioned sweetcorn and courgettes for Africa, as well as the usual salad veg. I am disappointed at the progress of the fruit trees. Our stock fencing sometimes proves ineffective and the cows have helped themselves to foliage on some of the trees, especially the olives. The weed suppressant is also not terribly effective, the caterpillars and beetle have stripped foliage on some trees AND the nectarines and peaches have leaf curl, despite being sprayed. I am going to have to pay them some serious attention in the future. Along the end of Taotaoroa Rd someone has planted up a paddock with fruit trees and box in rows, quite close together and they are looking much bigger than my trees. It is very disheartening.
Yesterday was a public holiday, Waitangi Day which celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Queen Vic and Maori. The treaty remains highly controversial to this day and the anniversary is often a time for Maori to be rude to the government. Don Brash, our recently elected leader of the opposition, the Nationalists, made a speech recently saying that if elected they would sort all treaty issues quickly then after that end all special privileges for Maori and treat all New Zealanders the same. Maori are up in arms as they get a huge amount of extra government resources. I think he is right though. He says resources should be allocated on the basis of need not race. I do accept that their culture should be respected but a lot of pakeha (European New Zealanders) are resentful of the special privileges given to Maori. Anyway when he went to the Waitangi marae (meeting house) as invited, he refused to enter as the Maori's would not let any 'mainstream' reporters in (only those from Maori stations) and then he was pelted with mud. 'Our great leader' (Eric's words) Helen Clarke also had a rough time when she went later in the day because of the foreshore disagreement (Maori say it belongs to them and Helen says it doesn't). NZ politics is something else!!
On the home front, Alice has decided to give up her piano lessons. I am torn really because I think that learning to play an instrument is important but, she has never practiced off her own back and has hardly touched it at all all through the summer holidays. I am also aware that we have just shelled out a huge amount of money for a years hire of an alto sax (used the money you left for Harri towards it Stan, hope that meets with your approval) for Harriette. She will also continue with the piano as she practices regularly and is making good progress. Alice has always been on about horse riding lessons and we may think about this for her now in as she has dropped her piano. She says she wants to do flute when she goes to Intermediate but I suspect this is because our friend Robyn teaches it! On the subject of Intermediate Harriette has settled in well we think. She is struggling, as she knew she would, with the increased demands on her fitness. She was in tears the other evening saying they had to run round the grounds twice as fast as they could and she just could not run that distance. She has since been 'training' in the pool doing 'laps'. I have also started taking them (well Harriette so far, Alice was left behind as she still had not tidied her room 3 hours after going in there to do it!!!) to the pools in Matamata to do some serious lengths. I also went in as with my new job I am even more sedentary than before!!
Eric has just come in to say he can't find the other 2 pillow cases (I stripped the beds earlier today). I asked him what I needed to report on blog since the lamb episode and he said 'that I ain't got no pillow cases' - so now you know!!!
The cows are hungry still. We still have not got our hay cut, on account of the incessant rain of late. This means we are 3 paddocks of grazing down. We are feeding them the little hay we have left from last winter and scraps from my veg plot (they are particularly partial to silver beet). They are so funny and now come dashing over as soon as I venture down to pick veg or garden. Ermentrude and Twink make the strangest guttural noise, almost like talking, though I'm sure they are just warning the others off 'their' snacks. They do have some grass, just not as much as they would like. I mentioned the rain. We've had heaps of it. The last 2 days have been dry and, Lo, we've even had some blue sky. And this is mid-summer!! I have to say that this afternoon has been very hot in the sun but the temperatures have been quite cool still.
Yesterday we drove to Otrohanga (about 90km away) to pick up golf clubs for Daddy. They have decided not to bring their golf clubs over this time (something to do with the frantic packing and re-packing when they left last time as they had bought so much they were overweight I suspect!) but buy some second hand ones here. They have been checking the local Loot online and sending me details of any they wanted me to check out. The directions these people gave me were rubbish and I had to phone them twice when I was there to find their house. Anyway with the golf clubs loaded up I asked them about the, what I thought was, shammy leathers hanging in the garage. It turned out they were tobacco leaves. I then realised they were hanging everywhere and saw the plants growing in their veg plot. The last time I saw tobacco growing was in Zimbabwe on a friend of a friends farm - I often wonder how they have got on under the tyrannical regime out there. Anyway the guy was retired and had given up golf because he couldn't afford it now (I bet you're choking on your tea Mom and Daddy!) and he was growing tobacco because he couldn't afford to buy cigarettes - I wonder if he didn't consider giving up instead. Mind you looking at the yellow of his beard and his fingers I guess that's a silly question!
Well you lovely people, I'm fit for my bed now. You will be pleased to know that Eric now has pillow cases, only because I went and did a 'Mommy look' and found them, guess where, in the cupboard with all the other pillow cases!!! I'll put it down to the stress of studying!!
Nighty,night.
Michelle
From Alice
Hi it is soooooo hot here! Especially when your playing golf in the paddock in the bright sun! All I feel like doing tomorrow is sitting on the pool deck reading a good book listening to my Shania Twain CD and swimming!!!!!! BLISSSSS! Poor old Carol up at half 5 starts work at SIX!! We had a long weekend this week! Any guess? Going once........ Going twice......... GONE! WATANGIE DAY!!!!! Sorry I am soooooooooooo tired night.
Friday, February 06, 2004
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