Samoa - final entry

Piccie of our fale.

It’s now 7pm-ish Thursday evening 16th July. I am sure of this as we fly at 6.40am tomorrow. We are back at the Outrigger after 3 nights at Taufua Fales. This place feels like luxury compared to the fales. We are in the main building, upstairs. The rooms are much nicer compared to downstairs, quite colonial looking. The bed is hard as rock so I’m glad we only get to kip in it for a few hours. We have a taxi booked for 4am to take us to the airport. I was sick last night. We had lobster among other things for dinner. Within a few hours I had taken to the loo and although only sick once it was a long and miserable night. Dashing to the loo meant extricating myself from the mossie net, climbing out of bed without squashing the girls on the floor right beside us, literally no floor space, then a dash through the other fales on the beach and across the road to the loos. I was so dehydrated this morning that I nearly fainted when I tried to shower and had to give up. When the kitchen opened I got a cup and mixed some rehydration fluid which certainly relieved the muscle aches and stopped me feeling like I was about to pass out every time I moved around. It was all a bit of a repeat of the last night in Tonga in Feb last year!! I haven’t eaten today and the tummy feels quite delicate but I am certainly over the worst of it.
Before getting ill last night we watched a display put on for us on the deck of the dining area of local dancing, music and fire eating/dancing. The Samoan ladies dance in a very similar way to the Maoris and where dressed beautifully, but the men’s dances are quite different, lots more clapping and far less aggressive. As usual they called up spectators to learn the moves and, as ususal, Eric was called up. What is it about him that he always gets picked? True to form Eric applied himself and really got into it. Quite amusing knowing how much his legs were hurting. Both legs. The one with the hole in and the other one because he had tried to use it to protect the injured one. All very enjoyable the dance display, not watching Eric suffer - as if!!!

This morning after checking out we headed back to Apia by a different route to the one down, heading west then cutting up the only road across the middle of the island. About 20 minutes out I said to Eric “You did collect the stuff from the safe didn’t you.” The look on his face was answer enough and did not require the “Oh Shit!” confirmation. Thank heavens I asked then and not 3 hours later back in Apia. After heading off for the second time I found navigating a challenge, which you would think impossible with so few roads but it was. We stopped at one of the few T junctions and had a conflab. Matters were not helped by the signs only being given for 2 of the possible 3 directions and not being able to find any of the places on the map! We agreed on a route and after 15 minutes decided we were going the wrong way. Harriette then chipped in and we got back on the right track. Saw a stunning and very long waterfall on the way back, Papapapaete we think. If the photos come out I’ll add but the falls looked lost in the mist. I think this was the highest waterfall I’ve ever seen, excluding Victoria Falls. Actually, we’ve just discussed that statement (Eric is now sprawled across the bed next to me, under the fan, reading) and we think that they were even higher than Victoria.

We got back to the Outrigger at about 2.30pm and after a much needed cup of tea, Eric and I checked out Sliding Rocks. Well that was after we found it! We drove round in circles for ages. None of the roads have names and nothing seems to follow the map! Now bearing in mind that Eric was struggling to walk at this point, we arrived, paid out 2 tala each and headed towards the rocks. Only to look down well over a hundred steps that we needed to descend to get there!!! Bless him, Eric pressed on but we decided not to swim when we got there as the pools and rock slides meant an additional lot of climbing. I also, was feeling far from energetic. Very pretty though and I think worth the effort.

(Post Script back in NZ). Here endeth the story of our trip. Taxi arrived and got us to the aiport. Uneventful return but I must say I was impressed with the planes we flew on. Either new, or newly re-fitted. I was expecting the bottom of the fleet planes for flights to a remote island but no, very plush planes and heaps of seat room (or maybe that's because my bum's not so big these days!!!)

Samoa 2

Another hot day:

The computer says it’s Thursday but I’m not sure if that’s NZ time or not. I think it’s Wednesday here! We are now in the Aleipata area of Samoa, on the south east corner of Upoulu Island, one of the country’s 2 main islands. The beaches here are stunning, real Bounty advert stuff as you can see. This photo is taken from exactly where I’m sitting. and the second one is taken looking up the beach to the left from the fence you can see (that's Eric on the beach).

We hired a car from the Outrigger (with a huge, but usual Tala 2,000 excess, about NZ$1,400). It is little and spanking new, or looks it. It is parked alongside the road (which about 1 car every 2 hours passes) and this morning Eric noticed that someone has hit the rear bumper!!! We will have to wait and see what the cost is but it will almost double the cost of our holiday. We were told the car would be ready for 9am. That obviously meant 9am Samoan time because it was closer to 10.30am when we got it. We then drove down here on the only road that comes this way. Samoa is typical tropical island with gorgeous beaches (this side of the island anyway) and lush, hilly hinterland. There are coconut trees everywhere. As you drive around you see small piles of coconuts long the roadside which I gather are collected for the industry. Many of the houses are fales, that’s roof structures with no walls. Very few possessions evident and the poverty is glaring. Everything looks incredibly run down, but brightly painted originally. A pleasant thing is that children do not accost you every 2 minutes and tourists are advised not to give money to them. Such a contrast to S.Africa where, when you drive through poor areas, the children run in their tens, if not hundreds, after you begging for sweets and money.
Today, whatever day that might be, we went to To Sua Trench. It’s about a 20 min drive from here. Mind you driving at 30mph feels fast and I told Eric to slow down twice. Yes, this is Michelle typing!!! We entered some well kept and very pretty gardens and walked down towards the trench. This turned out to be a hole in the ground developed from a blow hole originally I would guess. You looked down to a stunning green-blue pool about 60 – 80 foot down with a diameter of about 50 foot. I don't think you can really appreciate the depth from these pics but you get the idea.

Stunning eh! Of course, no barriers to stop you tumbling in but, the preferred route was a very long wooden ladder. Eric managed it but when asking him just now how far down the water was (I'm not bery good at judging height) he said “My eyes tell me 20-25m but my leg tells me 500m!!” Poor guy, his injured thigh has been put through its paces this week. A very long walk uphill to Robert Louis Stevenson's last home and then climbing this ladder. That's us swimming in the last piccie!(Writing interrupted by the arrival of Janet and Ken, a S.African couple living in NZ whom we met last night).

The way people live here is real subsistence culture but then the waiters all seem to have ipods and cell phones and the cars are all newish and shiny. I can’t quite get my head round it. One waiter here does a guided walk which I did yesterday. The walk was on his property which extends up the mountain behind his house. We had a talk on the medicinal properties of the various plants he grows and roasted some beans in the kitchen, which comprised of a thatched cover over a small stone fire using one old frying pan. We sat on the ricketiest of seats and watched him husk, open and desiccate coconut. He then wrapped the desiccated coconut in what looked like a loose ball of string (the fibre being stripped leaf that is cobbled together). He then literally wrang it out into a coconut half and gave us the coconut cream to drink. It was delicious! Luckily there were only 3 of us on this walk (as opposed to 19 the previous day) so we got a real drink, not just a taste. In fact he went and found some more coconuts and did it for us again. This first piccie taken on the walk with the roofs of our fales just visable in the distance. (Is the plural of roof roofs or rooves Carol??) Note the fire behind the coconut squeezing, this is what they cook on!

Samoa, 30 degrees C and very humid

Sometime Sunday evening.

Do you know that really hot humid feeling, that constant stickiness? Yes? Well that’s what I’m experiencing at the moment. We are in Apia, Samoa. That’s the other side of the date line to NZ and somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 4 hours flying time from Auckland. We acquired air miles when we flew to the UK and said we’d use them on a Pacific Island trip. We left NZ in the depths of winter, which seems almost surreal now. Our flight got in at 2.30am, 17 hours before we left Auckland. And they say time travel hasn’t been invented. We were held up at the airport with Swine flu screening. When I say we, I mean that literally, well Eric and Alice! In NZ everybody has colds and flu. Eric, H and A have/had the usual winter colds. I, I hasten to add, have been fine! Anyway, on the plane we filled in forms which listed symptoms. Eric and Alice had to get their temp done and Alice had to have nose swabs taken. The pictures are hazy as the camera steamed up in the humidity and heat coming off a relatively cold aeroplane.

Ironically it’s Harriette that’s poorly now. Anyway, we finally arrived here at 4.30am. We are at the Samoan Outrigger. The room is a small breeze block construction which was basic but clean.

I was not impressed initially but have got quite used to the place now and am very comfortable here. We had a bad experience in Tonga with our last night in Nuku'alofa so I only booked 2 nights here in case it was the same. Our plans now are, 3 nights here, which takes us until tomorrow, and then we are hiring a vehicle and driving to the South East of the island and staying in a beach fale. A fale is a basic, uprights and palm thatch roof structure with mattresses, on the beach. There are no beaches here in Apia, Samoa’s capital, but the ones further down are meant to be spectacular. After 3 nights there we will return here for our last night, well part of night, we have to be at the airport at 3am to fly home.

As I type I am sitting on the deck of the Outrigger while I sup G’n’T and Eric and Harriette cook pasta in the adjoining kitchen. Eric has just bellowed at the Harriette, something about you stupid child then blaming me for the stupid genes (which of course I disputed), much to everyone’s amusement. Most of the other guests are med students from Edinburgh (girls) and Belfast (boys), on their electives at Samoa’s only hospital.

Yesterday we walked up the hill to Robert Louis Stevenson’s home for the last years of his life. The walk was hard work, just a street but very uneven and intermittent paths, quite steep and very hot and humid. It was a pleasure to be there as it was decidedly cooler there with a nice breeze.

The afternoon and today we have just lounged around the Outrigger, reading, swimming and playing cards. Real chilling out stuff.

I know I haven’t blogged for probably 6 months. Life just seems to get in the way but a few comments from friends saying they miss the blog has inspired me to try and catch up. Also, I actually have the time at the moment. I must say it is incongruous sitting in such a poor, 3rd world country with a laptop typing. I hasten to add I am doing so in Word and will transfer on to the web when I get home.

So, where to begin? Life plods on a Cedar Lodge much the same. Eric remains busy at work, though overall the practice is noticing the economic downturn. Eric has been made an Associate Solicitor, with a pay rise of about $60/year!!! I am still waiting for him to earn a decent salary! He should be a partner next year which means we will then be shelling out for a loan to buy him into the partnership. I am struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel. Thank heavens for his police pension. Without that we’d be bankrupt!

Having declared how poor we are I am now going to contradict myself by saying we have booked a 6 week holiday in South Africa! Thank God for a police pension and credit cards!!! We fly out on 17th December and go straight to Lynne and Vaughn’s. From there we go, with L, V and all Lynne’s family to a game reserve for 20th – 27th December. There are 18 of us in a lodge. The reserve does not have the big 4 (lion, buffalo etc) so it is safe to leave the lodge on foot/bike and explore. Something you can’t usually do in a game reserve. We are all very excited about it, especially since I booked the flights last week. We then go back to Jo’burg where we leave the girls for a night or 2 while Eric and I disappear for a romantic few days for our wedding anniversary. Then it’s back to Jo’burg, collect the girls and head South to Wilderness, on the Garden Route and West of Cape Town. There we will stay with Trish and Simon, Eric’s sister and brother-in-law. They live in Shropshire but have built a house in S.Africa to retire to. They will be in S.A. while we are there. We plan to explore the area, and head up towards the Western Cape which is one part of S.A. I am not familiar with. I must say it is the most exciting trip we have planned in ages. I just hope it lives up to our expectations.

After S.A we have resolved to get to Australia for our next short haul trip, and Canada for our next long haul, possibly on the way to the UK. I also, would like to get out to Majorca to Eric’s sister’s place the next time we get to Europe.

Eric got to the UK in May for Trish and Simon’s wedding. We did contemplate all going but that would meant we would not get to S.A., no contest in the girls eyes, particularly as they recently went to the UK and it’s been 8 years since we were in S.A. Eric had a good trip and spent some quality time with his parents who, while fit and healthy, are in their 80’s. It was much better for him to that alone where they could all give each other their undivided attention and I am sure they appreciated him.

I have asked Alice what has been significant for her about this year. Nothing she says. “And if your life depended on saying something significant that happened to you?” “I joined year 10”!!! Hardly exciting! She has joined Waikato Youth Symphonic Band, the next level up from Schools Band. That means I now have to travel into Hamilton 2 nights a week, Thursday for both of them to go to Schools Band (the one I manage) and Fridays for Youth Band for Alice. I can think of a hundred things I’d rather be doing on a Friday night than driving for 40 mins to Hamilton then occupying myself for 2 ½ hours whilst she practices, but then I guess I am not a mother to stand in the way of my child’s musical aspirations and enjoyment!! I must also say that the band is very good. And in reality, it’s actually only on alternate Fridays as I share travel with Cathy, a friend of ours from Walton who’s daughter also goes to Youth band. On the subject of the bands I have been planning our trip to Rotorua for the annual music festival. Rotorua is only an hours drive from us, less than 2 hours from Hamilton, so much easier to organise, and cheaper, than getting them all to Wellington like last year. The Festival is the first weekend of September. I must say I personally am not inspired by the music they are playing this year. I have also made it clear that I will not be managing the schools band next year!!! I really wanted to get them on a music tour of Australia whist I was manager but it just has not happened. I have not had the time to organise all the funding applications and fund raising that would go with it.

Well I will finish this blog for now as I am struggling to stay awake. The busy deck area has cleared as most people seem to have gone to bed and Alice and I still have the washing up to do.

Night night. Moxoxox

Bit's and Bob's in April

I'm sure I've blogged more recently than the Haitape Hill one at the top of blog at the moment!! Maybe I've blogged in Word and not loaded it onto the site. Need to check my USB sticks!

In brief, polytunnel is up and has pumpkins, courgettes, lettuce, radishes, beetroot, strawberries, beans x 2, various flowers, spinach, peppers, chillis, tomatoes and herbs growing. Eric has to put doors on this weekend as the temperatures have recently dropped. Very autumnal at the moment. Really cold mornings but gorgeous when the fog/frost clear and in tee shirts by lunch time.

Good Friday today and the girls have started their Easter hols. Harriette plans to join the gym and go as much as possible over the next 2 weeks to boost her weight loss efforts which are sluggish at the moment and that's being generous!! Alice probably has no plans but reading and computer use for the next 2 weeks! I actually have 6 days off. On the Tuesday I am off to Auckland to pick Mark and Cheryl up. Well actually Harriette is driving up!!!!!!! M+C are here to sort out housing and schools prior to their move here. We are sooooo excited. Mark has a job with Fonterra in Edgecombe near Whakatane, about a 3 hr drive from us. Their trip co-incides with Olivers 18th (Cheryls godson) and his mom Mandy's wedding to Ken on 18th April in Taupo. Brilliant timing.

We have had Alex and Ted with us for a few weeks. Alex is one of my friend Nicky's many sons! He and Ted are on their OE's after uni. They spent a few weeks with us and are now apple picking in Hawkes Bay on our friends Steve and Liz's orchards. After that they are heading off to the South Island and coming back here in May prior to their departure for Fiji I think.

Harriette has her first senior school ball in June. She went shopping for a gown 2 weeks ago with a girlfirend and found one she liked. Last Friday on our way to Raglan we called in and bought it. She looks gorgeous in it but you'll have to wait until June for photos. Whilst there I was just looking around the sale racks and found a gorgeous plain red dress which fitted perfectly (size 12 :-) I was delighted when I bought it. The dress was $170 reduced to $90 but the store had 30% off everything so it was only $60!! Harri's dress was also 30% cheaper so it was a good trip.

Generally, we are busy with the autumn tasks of woodchopping (remember we have over 20 trees felled late last year) and the usual fencing, leaves clearing etc. Although very pretty I do not like this time of the year as it heralds the onset of winter and that means I am going to be cold for much of the time for the next 5 months :-(

Visitors Again

We have visitors again. Alex is the son of my long time friend Nicky whom I did my first degree with. Nicky has more than her fair share of boys aged from about 6 to about 24. Alex is travelling with his friend Ted and they are in NZ for 3 months. They are based here but planning to travel and do some work. I organised yesterday for them to do some fruit picking on our friends Steve and Liz's farm in Hawkes Bay so they'll be heading off there late next week.The most exciting news we have had for a long time is that Mark and Cheryl, again long time friends (you get a lot of these as you get older!!) whom we met in the early 80's through Mandy and David, are emigrating to NZ. Mark and Cheryl have 2 children and live in Derbyshire. They are most most generous people I know and we love them to bits. Cheryl works ridiculous long hours as a high flying PA constantly spreading herself across UK cities and often abroad. She works between Nottingham and London and is a mum in her spare time!! I think she is looking forward to eing able to focus more on the latter role. They are on a reccie visit in April, which they have managed to time to co-incide with Mandy's second marraige to Ken and Olivers 18th. Olivers is Mandy's middle child and Cheryls godson. All great timing. M+C are staying with us until the wedding then heading off to Whakatane to suss out schools/houses etc. Although M+C have had a few trips out here and we stayed with them when we visited the UK it will be great to have them closer and be able to see them a lot more often.I am sitting in bed with the house reeking of Ylang Ylang which I am burning to mask the smell of very burnt popcorn. We are planning to hire Quantum tonight so I needed to watch Casino Royale last night to remind myself of how it ended. In the break Harriette decided to make popcorn. Despite me saying don't let it burn she decided to go to the loo whilst it was cooking. Burnt is an understatement and despite putting the pot outside the house still reeks this morning.Last weekend I had to take Alice into Hamilton to meet up with friends for a girlie shopping trip. These 14 year olds all looked totally gorgeous and had a great time. Robyn had been the other chauffer so we had a long sushi lunch and did some shopping of our own. I pointed out that despite being very good friends for several years now we have never been shopping together! It was very pleasant. This weekend is Harriette’s turn. She wants to shop for a dress for the annual school ball and another one for the wedding. I have to man a stand for Victim support (I am on the local committee) at the local flea market this morning so will take Harriette to work then do that, come home and do an hour or 2 in the veg plot before collecting Harriette (she's on a short shift) then going into Hamilton. Tomorrow (Sunday) I am doing a 5km fun run for the girls college. Harriette and Alice were going to do the 5km walk but Alice has cried off. Mind you she did have a stinking cold this week when I put the forms in. I have never run 5km before but I will try and do the whole thing. I have done about 4km. I haven't done much cycling lately. I did 55km last weekend but did not eat enough and was feeling quite ill after 45. I was rescued by a museli bar provided by a fellow cyclist. Must cycle in the middle of this week as I am participating in the Sarah Ulmer challenge next weekend where I will be cycling 65km. I don't plan on doing lots of these events it's just that I obviously support the college and I wanted to encourage my friend Helen who is just starting to get fit and is doing the 25km challenge next weekend. Harriette was going to do the 35km cycle but decided cycling bores her!!We had a big storm 2 weekends ago and some major boughs fell from the liquid amber tree on the drive close to the house. It took some branches out from the walnut outside our bedroom and smashed some of the new fencing. Eric had to get the chainsaw out to clear the drive before taking Harriette to work in the morning. Alex, Ted and Eric are going to finish clearing it this morning.Must go and take H to work now.

Brief Catch Up

I'm off cycling in a few minutes. I haven't been able to get out so much since the girls went back to school. All the music activities start up again and occupy 3 evenings a week. I did cycle round Lake Rotorua a few weeks ago with the cycle club and a few weeks ago cycled to Mom and Daddy's which is about 70km

Haitape Hill conquered

(Did you know, if you click on a photo in blog it comes up full sized in a separate window?)
I did it. Not quite the ride I meant to do but I got up Haitape Hill. This probably means nothing to you, unless you are familiar with the Taupo Bike Challenge. The challenge is 160km round the beautiful Lake Taupo, and can be broken down into a relay. I did the 3rd leg. The 4th has the dreaded Haitape Hill, about 2km long and steep. Being on the final leg it is a killer if you have done the whole 160km. I did not do it on the challenge as I was scared I would not get up it and was nervous of 40km let alone 40km with hills. As it was I also had a huge one but not as unrelenting as Haitape. Anyway, our team mate was not able to get up it, without stopping, and I was curious to know if I could have. At the changeover point, at Motouapa, there was a small campsite, on the lake front and a spit from a cute marina. I resolved that we would camp there and I'd do the 40km into Taupo. That's what we've done this weekend. Sort of. I always struggle with Maori names. I checked the websites for camping grounds and duely booked us into Motutere Bay campsite. On Friday I was working and Eric, although officially on holiday, had a settlement so had to go into the office to do the paper work for that. We aimed to leave at 5pm but I was working until gone then so we left at 6.10pm and Harriette drove (that meant religious sticking to speed limits!!). When we got there, thinking we were at the changeover point I didn't recognise anything!! We drove on a bit then went back and went to check in. Yes, they were expecting us. Bugger!! The campsite was huge, we hate crowds, and right on SHW1 (NZ's M1 equivilent). More to the point our site was about 10m from the road. It was late. I dropped Eric, girls and tent off and rushed off to find a take away. The fish and chip shop 6km away had stopped frying so I had to go into Turangi. Just got in before they stopped cooking pizzas at the only decent place open. I got back an hour later to find tent up, and amazingly, everyone still talking to each other. Then the teasing started. I had promised a quiet spot and here we were, feeling like we were camping on a lay-by on the M1! It was also blowing a hooley off the lake but very warm. The pizzas were great and I'd bought pre-mixed GnT's as a peace offering! The first piccie was not to show my bike, rather our proximity to the waters edge, 2 shows same detail in relation to the road!!



So, the bike ride. So much for doing the 4th leg. We were camped 10 km closer to Taupo so the route was 30km, not 40. I had mentioned to a colleague, Fe, who is seriously fit (Iron Man level) and lives in Taupo, what I was doing and she said she'd join me for the ride. She then added 3 friends to the mix - intimidating or what!!! On Saturday morning, after a terrible night being shaken awake at irregular intervals, Eric and I had a drive down to Motouapa. Eric agreed. This site would have been lovely! Walked round the marina and lingered longingly by a Bayliner boat (a large launch) for sale for $125,000. Got back, thinking I'd maybe cycle 5km and back to add the 10km and pretend I'd done the 4th leg but Fe and co turned up earlier than expected. They'd cycled down from Taupo. Todays bike ride was to be a warm up for tomorrow when Carey and Fe were going to bike round the lake!!!!! So, bolted a bowl of cornflakes, got dressed and headed off. And, well I made it. I think Taotaoroa Rd has been good training. In fairness, the weather was much cooler than the day of the challenge, and I had 10km less under my belt when I hit the hill, but, although it was hard, I never doubted I could get up it, once I started. Fe was great and stayed with me, chatting most of the time and coaxing me gently on. Needless to say she was not even breathing heavily. The others were way ahead of me. One day I'll cycle up hills without drawing every breath as if it were my last!! We got to Fe's place in Taupo and everyone was very nice and encouraging over my efforts.

While I'd been cycling Eric had taken the girls into Taupo for a 1 hr horse trek. They had passed us on the way, after the hill. Eric had the bike rack ready to take me back but, in view of the 30 instead of the 40km ride in I decided to bike back. That meant getting up the other side of Haitape but that was a slower ride. Still hard though. So yesterday, I did a 60km ride, albeit with an hour long break in the middle. I am quite npleased with myself! Came home Sat pm so we could continue with the polytunnel today. Very windy here though this morning.

Happy New Year for 2009

Happy New Year. May 2009 be very good to you all. Maybe I’m getting older but I find myself, ever more frequently, being so thankful for the life I have. The expression ‘living the dream’ so applies to us. That does not mean that our life is perfect, by any means. My biggest stresses are; the girls, that usual lazy, teenage selfishness that probably just means they are like any other teenager. Alice just completely ignoring me when I tell her to do something, or not following the very specific instructions I give (“Alice. Please empty the compost bin {onto the compost heap} then rinse and dry the bucket, put a sheet of newspaper in the bottom and put it back” 2 hours later {when I want to use the compost bin}, I find it dirty and on the drive haven fallen off the deck where it was dumped after being emptied), and Harriette arguing in a ‘why should I have to do that’ manner, every time she is asked to do something. The second thing is lack of time. So Hey, that's me and almost all of the rest of the female population!! The cash flow could also be better (which is true of lots of people also, but not many in Matamata I think) and I really do not want to be working full -time, but, other than that, life is pretty damned good. All these issues will be addressed though. I am determined to work on cutting my hours, hopefully this year. Eric’s salary should continue to increase, though the current economic climate will probably slow that somewhat, and he is due to be made an associate solicitor in April, and finally, the girls will grow up soon. Unfortunately, just when I expect them to grow out of these attitudes, and become the delightful adults I know they will be, they’ll leave home, and I cannot tell you how I am dreading that!!!!

Christmas has been quite relaxing. Almost minimal entertaining on our part, and hardly going anywhere, has really kept the pressure off. We had neighbours, Mom and Daddy, and friends for early evening drinks on Christmas Eve. As I had agreed to drive to Midnight Mass I had to keep off the wine. Mom and Daddy stayed on for supper (or tea as the evening meal is called here) and then we went to Mass. Well Harriette and I did, Alice was too tired and so Eric stayed at home with her. I actually think the real reason was he was just knackered! I am making my NY’s resolution to ease up on some things and not crawl through to Christmas 2009 on my knees yet again. Trouble is, I am not sure what to drop. My current thinking is to get a secretary for Schools Band to take some of the pressure off me there. Waikato Youth Music Association, needs some serious attention and I feel I should focus on that this year. We’ll see.

Back to Christmas. It was 2am before I got the bed on Christmas morning but the girls don’t wake us too early. I think it was about 7am when we woke, later than the usual 5.45 – 6.15am. We moved away from our traditional kedgeree for breakfast and had pancakes, fresh fruit and cream. Alice was in charge of breakfast, Harriette was doing veg and Eric the beef Wellington so, in theory, I was not required in the kitchen all day! Breakfast did not go to plan. In fairness Alice followed a pancake recipe. Since when have you seen a recipe that says ‘makes 8 pancakes’ make any more than 3, unless of course you have a midget frying pan. She was making tiny, thick pancakes that would not fold nicely into 4 and insisted that as long as they tasted OK presentation didn’t matter at all. Any other day maybe but not on Christmas Day, not in my books!!! She did her usual teenage rant and stormed off to the bedroom. I made a (bigger and thinner) batch of batter then retrieved her from the bedroom to help. By the time we ate she had calmed down!

The girls then unwrapped a pressie. After coffee and stollen (there was a bit of a gap between breakfast and coffee) and we headed off to Matamata. I make stollen every Christmas and always, something goes wrong!! This year I made 2. I use the Delia recipe from her Christmas book that I have adapted for breadmaker. I misread the flour amount and used too little. I decided to make another version by hand and it didn’t rise very well so I had 2 stodgy versions. I then realised that the yeast expired in 2007 (shows how much bread I’ve made in the last few years!!). This is a downside of having cupboards stocked ready for an earthquake or pandemic. Thins expire. I bought fresh yeast and yesterday made another stolen, this time for Richard and Robyn coming that evening (more on that later). Back to Christmas Day. The churches do a Christmas meal for those who are spending Christmas alone and we had volunteered to help serve. They did not need volunteers but asked if the girls would play some carols. They only had 2 days warning but, with Alice on clarinet and Harriette playing flute, they put a programme together. We then returned home and cooked our own lunch. As I said beef Wellington, from one of our own animals. Of course, It is actually still hanging in the chiller. Eric had to strip the fillet out on Christmas Eve. He was convinced that it had not hung for long enough but it was fantastic. Definately a 10 out of 10. The beef was accompanied by new potatoes (rocket variety, the nicest new potatoes I’ve had in years) and parsnips both from the garden. We also had a few roasted potatoes (for Eric’s benefit) as we were roasting the parsnips and asparagus and sweetcorn cobs. The asparagus season has just ended and sweetcorn are just appearing in the shops. I have a few plants in the garden but they are weeks away. The broad beans (that I planted very late), courgettes and peas, were all just a few days away from cropping. We’ve since had feeds off all of them. Dessert was chocolate cheesecake with blueberries and raspberries, made by Alice, her own choice. It was very nice and beautifully presented!

After dinner we unwrapped presents. Now there were 2 huge boxes which had no labels on. When asked by the girls I lied and said they were for Mom and Daddy but refused to say what they were. The girls weren’t convinced. On Christmas Eve as Mom and Daddy were leaving I had to go to the loo. On coming out I cried out to Alice that she hadn’t given Mom and Daddy all their presents. The 2 big ones were still under the tree. “oh well, never mind they can have them afterwards.” Now the girls did believe they were not for them. We let them unwrap all their pressies and then said they could unwrap the big parcels. We had bought them midi music systems for their bedrooms. They were rapt. And after unpacking them disappeared off to their bedrooms for the rest of the day! Not a major problem as it was 7pm-ish by now!

I made a proposition in early December that we only spend $20 on each other and try to buy as much as we can for that. I implied that that was all we would spend, except of course the $2-3,000 for my bike!!!! I must confess that Eric and I did not get organised to do this for the girls but the girls managed it. One of my presents was a nicely bound piece of music that Harriette composed for me called ‘Merry Christmas Mummy’. I was very touched! Eric got a collection of op shop ties and a gross shirt. The shirt was given to him as an example of what he was not to wear. And to make sure he didn’t wear it they bought it too small for him!!!!

I did not have much to unwrap as we had picked my pressie up several days before. I am now the proud owner of a Specialized road bike. It’s priddy, white, red and black! For the uninitiated Specialized is a make. I was cycling a few days later towards Arapuni Dam (28km from the house where Eric was fishing), and a guy called Jim caught me up. We had a chat and it turns out he leases land to our neighbours, Ian and Shirley, for grazing. I remembered that Ian had, months ago, suggested I speak to Jim if I was buying a bike as he is in the business. Jim said he was expecting my call (I had to admit I had totally forgotten!). Anyway, he said that Specialised is one of the 2 brands he would have advised I go for. I have the shirt (from my round Taupo ride), cycle shoes (with clip-on cleats), gloves, hat, repair kit, bright light, cycle computer – the whole kiboodle. I’m a very happy cyclist!
Boxing Day. Like Christmas Day the weather was not good. In fact, and to Eric’s horror, I lit the fire for a few hours in the afternoon. The day was a lazy one. Breakfast was smoked salmon and scrambled eggs cooked by Harriette assisted, or rather supervised, by me. She hasn’t got timings right yet, wanting to put toast on before starting anything else. Dinner was a seafood platter but the seafood was pretty tasteless which was disappointing. A few days later Eric did an Asian seafood meal a prawns satay, which was divine, a gingered seafood stir-fry with prawns, squid and baby octopi. A much better meal.

The rest of the weekend was lazily spent. We went to Waihi Beach for a 40th birthday party on the Sunday but that was rather boring. We didn’t really know anyone and most people were on the beach. Trouble is when we went over there we didn’t know who were the party goers so just had a walk and sat on the beach on our own for a couple of hours. We were able to leave early as we had arranged to have tea with Mom and Daddy.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was officially working. I managed the first day OK. The Tuesday was our 16th wedding anniversary. Les from Rotary delivered flowers, in Rotary tradition, so he was here for an hour or so. Then we went into Matamata to go out for lunch. The girls didn’t join us. They were more focused on hitting the sales with their Christmas money and said they thought we’d appreciate a romantic lunch on our own! We had decided to buy ourselves some feijoa trees as an anniversary present. The girls also bought us one so we had a trip to the garden centre for those.

Wednesday was sooooo hot. Eric phoned his sister Ava and so I stopped work to have a chat with her. Shortly afterwards Henry (another Rotarian) and his wife Ann called in for morning coffee. Henry recently broke his arm and spent several weeks in hospital, where I visited him a few times. He is the clubs sergeant and so as his corporal I have been standing in. By the time they left it had got very hot. I really did try to work but ended up giving up! Instead Eric and I spent the day on the deck reading, sunbathing and swimming.

Thursday, NY’s Eve Harriette invited some friends over for a sleepover. They planned to swim, BBQ, take over the cottage and watch videos for the night. It was really hot and apparently Rebecca was swimming at 3am! They are all still asleep. I am now going for a bike ride. A circuit, SHW29 towards Matamata, up Puketutu Rd, left onto Buckland Rd, down Todd and back down Taotaoroa Rd. Going that was means the last 10km is mainly, and seriously, downhill. Buckland is very up and down. Should be about 30km (PS it was 38.4km took me 1hr 40mins, got up to 70km an hour on one of the hills. Alright as long as you don’t think about coming off!!!).

Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebrations

Well it’s been a long time since I last blogged. It’s Sunday morning but too early for Chris Laidlaw. I woke, really hot at 6.25 and went down to the veg plot to put the irrigator on. It’s been a dry November with only half the normal rainfall, but cold. It’s only in the last 10 days that the temperatures have started to rise and we still have the winter duvet on the bed (though that might change today!).
I know I always seem to write that life has been hectic but boy has it been so over the last few weeks. I need to drop some things as life is far too cluttered. Alice even said to me recently “Mummy we never see you” after a particularly long stretch of evenings out. I haven’t had a piano lesson for 4-5 weeks as I have been busy every Monday evening. And since I last blogged I have added another, more time consuming activity to my life – cycling. More on that later.

Where to start? I’ll try working backwards from yesterday. 22nd December 2008 was Mom and Daddy’s 50th wedding anniversary. I guess in these days of ever increasing divorce rates and later marriages, this will become a rarer event in society. I know I’ll have to make 83 if Eric and I are to reach ours, which I'm sure we will!! After some investigating of appropriate venues I booked lunch at a café at a water lily garden out in the bush off Karagahake gorge http://www.waterlily.co.nz/ . The setting was lovely and the weather nice so we had tables under shade on the terrace. As Mom and Daddy have only been here for a few years it was a small affair with about 23 of us. Sharron, my sister, came from the UK for her first trip here and my Auntie Joan and her husband, Tom were over from Australia (Joan was married to Daddy’s brother Charlie until his death. She re-married to the lovely Tom in her 70’s). I had also organised for Harriette, Alice, Bec’s and Jac’s to play, along with Sarah doing some flute solo’s.
Ann had made a cake before she returned to England (Ann and Mike live 6 months here and 6 months in the UK each year) and I had been brandy-ing it weekly. She had also done some beautiful decorations. I was left instructions to put a white icing on nearer the time but found that too onerous a responsibility so found a local lady to do it. I was so pleased with it. Here is the result.

I was pleased with the way the day went. I left early with Harriette and Alice so we could collect flowers, my skirt that I had altered etc on the way to Mom and Daddy’s. Eric left later with Liz and Steve and collected Jac’s and Bec’s, dropping them in Paeroa so as not to spoil the music surprise. Daddy’s best friend from years ago was a lovely man called Colin who sadly died shortly before we left the UK. Colin and Brenda’s youngest son, Steve, married a kiwi, Liz and they now fruit farm down in Hawkes Bay. They are staying with us for the weekend so they could come to the 50th. Anyway, after giving Mom and Daddy their present (a beautiful bird bath/sundial, sounds naff but was really very pretty). We then left, leaving them instructions not to get to the venue before 12.30, I picked up J and B and headed off to the café to set up. Harriette had decided at the last moment to bind their music so was sitting in the café with binding machine getting stressed (I can’t think where she gets it from!). Anyway, they managed to get tuned and set up and Harriette was playing Golden Wedding on the sax as they arrived. They launched into their repertoire, playing on and off over the course of the afternoon. I was very pleased with them.

Lunch was casual and, I think, everyone enjoyed it. With coffee we bought out the cake and had a few short speeches and toasts, one from Steve which I was pleased about. The girls went off to play chess (they had a large garden set) so did not get too bored. Finally we headed back to Mom and Daddy’s for tea and cake then I dropped Jac's and Bec's home and we picked up fish and chips for supper. All satisfied with a good days work. On our arrival back at Cedar Lodge Harriette had to stop quickly to avoid the geese, and 5 one day old goslings on the drive. We were very excited as we have never had more than one gosling before!!

As I said, Sharron was over so I have been on leave for 2 weeks, apart from a day each week when I had teaching commitments. Sharron’s arrival at Auckland, Monday last week, caused huge problems as, after a 5 hour arrival delay (flight late leaving London so she missed her Hong Kong connection) she arrived with prescription medication in an unlabelled container. Customs held her up for about 4 hours, threatening to deport her etc, finally letting her in with a telling off. She was meant to get in around 8am and Mom and Daddy were collecting her, with me collecting Tom and Joan when they arrived at 2pm. I met M+D at the airport and they still waiting when I left with T+J!! Tuesday I worked. Wednesday was Mom’s birthday so they all came to us for morning tea then we went to Rotorua for the day. We walked around a thermal area then after lunch by the lake, went to the Polyneasian spas. Various naturally (very) hot pools, on the edge of Lake Rotorua. It was then back to us for dinner. Sharron then stayed with us. Next day I took her for a walk round the Mount (the only person I have ever known to be underwhelmed by it),with Harriette and Alice, and a swim in the hot pools there. It was warm but a little over-cast that day. Friday, Sharron and I went into Tirau to shop for a present for Mom and Daddy.
Saturday was a day we had looked forward to for ages. I had booked matinee tickets to Phantom of the Opera which was in NZ for only 3-4 weeks. We treated Sharon and Mom also. Sharron was not impressed with the idea and was convinced that she would not enjoy it (“I don’t want to be bored for 2 hours”!!). I think she did in the end but it’s difficult to say with her. Anyway, I didn’t realise it but I had booked middle of the front row so we were immediately behind the conductor, and within a hair’s breath of the flying chandelier!!! The show was spectacular and we absolutely loved it. I bought the CD for the girls and Eric told me they played it constantly for days afterwards. We then went to the Sky Tower for Sharron’s benefit (we’d all done it before) but she didn’t stay up there long as she was convinced it was moving and didn’t like it (though she did appreciate the spectacular views). We went down to Mission Bay to find somewhere to have supper but couldn’t find any parking! It was a lovely evening, probably the first warm weekend evening this spring, and I think the whole of Auckland had gone there. We therefore headed back to Remuera to the Thai Village and had a nice meal there. Sharron, Mom and I stayed in Auckland overnight and Eric took H and A home. We 3 headed up to the Bay of Islands (BoI’s) the next day. It’s about a 4 hour drive from Auckland. There we stayed about 8km outside Pahia. The day we arrived we went and booked Swim with Dolphins which Sharron kindly paid for. This was the one big thing she had been looking forward to. We then went for a drive round, up to the lookout point

and to Hururu Falls before heading off to one of the beaches north of Kerikeri. We then had a meal at 35o on the wharf back in Pahia. Tuesday was our only full day in the Bay and unfortunately the weather was not good for our day on the water. We toured around some of the islands delivering mail and saw a pod of dolphins with young (which meant no swimming) then headed out of the bay for a very rough 20 min trip to the Hole in the Wall. I felt quite unwell but there were lots of people a lot more sick than I was!! Back in the Bay we located a pod that we could swim with so we togged up into our wet suits, fins, mask and snorkel’s. We were then instructed to jump 12’ into a net on the side of the boat. I initially baulked at this but as first in the row I just swallowed hard and went for it, conscious of holding others up! It wasn’t so bad. The water was cold but I was expecting that being ocean water at the end of winter, and it took me awhile to get used to the cold, the gasping breathing and the mask, at the same time as trying to catch up with swimming dolphins. I wondered how Sharron was getting on and saw her briefly in the net but was under so much pressure as everyone on the boat was yelling and shouting directions at us that it was all I could do to swim and look. I did have 2 brief sightings as 3 dolphins swam under me but in a split second they were gone. All too soon, though Mom said it was a good half hour later, we were called back to the boat. Sharron had not got out of the net more than briefly and I found out afterwards that she had never used a snorkel and mask! If she’d have said beforehand I could have shown her what to do, particularly as Mom had said her problem when she had previously done this, was not knowing how to use the snorkel. Sharron also said the water was colder than she expected which she didn’t like. It was a great thing to do but I found the whole thing very rushed and was left wanting to do this again, but from a private boat and in my own time!!!
That evening, back on shore I took Mom and Sharron back to the motel and then headed back into Pahia to do a bush walk to a lookout point. I tried to run up but resorted to a fast walk as it was seriously uphill. I ran down! I then went to a bar on the wharf and had a quiet beer reading my book for awhile before going back to the motel for supper.
The next morning I was up and packed before Sharron so decided to walk into Pahia saying they could pick me up on the way, and if they missed me I’d meet them at the Fullers office at 10am. I did the 8-9km walk first on the road then picked up a bush walk then along the beach and round the heads, in 1 hr 25mins, stopping to admire views on the way.

If you’d have asked me to do that walk 2 years ago I’d have looked for any excuse not to, a year ago I’d have done it but not happily. This year I not only did it, I ran some of it AND I enjoyed it! I am so loving being reasonably fit. This did however detract from the enjoyment of being out with Sharron. I was so frustrated by how slowly she walked and I am sure she was fed up with me tearing off and chomping at the bit to walk at any and every opportunity.
We drove back to Paeroa stopping at Orewa for lunch and the Thai Village to pick up the camera that Alice had left behind!! I put Paul Potts on at full blast after dropping Mom and Sharron off having wanted to play it since Saturday (he does a piece from Phantom) but knowing Sharron hated classical music.
Wednesday I worked the day and Thursday and Friday was running around sorting cake, cards, presents, girls for rehearsals etc etc. It is such a pleasure to know that today, apart from doing a BBQ lunch for Steve and Liz before they leave I have nothing I have to do until tomorrow morning when I have a very early opticians appointment.

Sharron and I have never got on but I was genuinely looking forward to her trip. I was looking forward to showing her where, and how we lived, and seeing her reaction to this beautiful country. Unfortunately, although she says she liked NZ, she never smiles and so it’s difficult to appreciate if she is enjoying anything, very off-putting when you have invested time and money into trying to make things nice for her. She also never said thank you for anything (with the exception of possibly Phantom, though I’m not sure) which really grated on me, never offered one compliment and never even washed up a coffee cup when she stayed with us. I am sure from her perspective she’d say I am a stuck up snob who gloated in her weight loss and fitness (I don’t think I did). I am also sure she felt intimidated by us and way we live. We have absolutely nothing in common. She lives for her 2 motorbikes and her biking friends and we cannot relate to anything in each others lives or outlooks. It is all very sad but I guess that’s life.

Oh, and the cycling. Well I have actually found a fitness activity I enjoy. As you may have worked out, I was 'persuaded' into the Taupo challenge and found I actually enjoyed cycling after my first trip out with the Matamata Peddlers http://www.matamatapeddlers.org.nz/ (or 'Piddlers' as Eric calls them, a mock on the kiwi pronunciation) and a 25-30km trip. I was using a borrowed road bike with peddles that had a slip in for your feet. Imperative that you remove both your feet from these slip-ins before you stop. On one occasion, whilst out on my own, I only took one foot out and the bike leaned the other way (the saddle is seriously high to ensure the right peddling position). With nothing between my shoulder an the road, and gravity conspiring against me, I fell, coming a huge cropper.

Anyway I had Phil's bike for the challenge but had to return it at some point, which left me with only a mountain bike. Hence my wonderful Christmas present. So, now I'm away. The only downside to cycling over running (I still try to run occasionally), is it is very time consuming, something I don't have a lot of these days. I'm managing during the holidays with few after work activities on but not sure how it will pan out when school goes back. We'll see.

Trees down, drive done

I've found time to write, Sunday morning of course. Trouble is I'm not sure I have much to write. I was very excited to see 5 comments on the last entry. Have had hardly any for ages which is a bit disheartening, even though my core reason for writing this is to keep a record of our life for???? the children/us to read in our old age/good source to resolve arguments (we had venison last Xmas, no the Xmas before etc).

Anyway... when Harriette and I get weighed it seems that one always looses and one gains. Last week we both lost, even though Harriette only just lost (100g's). At least it was a loss. She gave herself a bit of a kick up the backside a few days ago when she realised that at her current average rate it will take her 72 weeks to get to goal. The ball is 9 months away. We both decided to have a 'perfect' week just to see how much we could loose, and to give ourselves a bit of a kickstart. We are both doing well and my weight is dropping daily. I always knew that daily weighing was the right thing for me and now the research backs that. In America they have a study on people who have lost large amounts of weight, and have kept it off for at least 3 years. They then look at what it is about these people that mean they can keep the weight off. One thing they found was that a lot of them weighed daily. Not right for everyone but certainly works for me. I am also 100% confindent that I will keep my weight off. Only just over 4kg off my upper goal weight now :-)

Our drive is almost finished. Anyone who has driven on it in the last 3 years will know that a 4x4 is a distinct advantage (all 3 of our cars are!). Well, we finally got the money organised (close on $10,000!!) and arranged with a local contractor to get the job done. The speed one guy with a digger worked was quite amazing. In 1hr 30 mins he had dug a hole you could fit a house in, in the paddock, pushed the remains of the enormous fire (tree stumps etc) into it and filled and flattened the land. I couldn't believe it. Anyway, they scooped out around the roots and pushed over about 20 trees from the slope on the drive and behind the cottage and workshop, leveled and spread metal on the drive, and finally graded and rolled it. We have had piles of fencing materials delivered and are just waiting on Scott to come and erect the post and rail fencing along both sides of the drive. The final job will be to plant some trees in the paddock and daffodils along the fenceline and it will be finished. The transformation so far is amazing and the views opened up stunning. We plan to move the window in our bedroom so we see them when we are sitting in bed.

I have spent a lot of time working on the Young Musicians Workshop which is on next weekend. I really wish I had been given the task earlier so I could have advertised in a more logical and comprehensive fashion. I got an email mailing list from the Ministry of Education (470 addresses) but did not have time to check which schools were on it. I also would have liked to have sent fliers out earlier etc. Still it's the first time I, or either of the conductors, have done it and we have lernt lots. We'll have about 45 people this year. Next year I want 100! WYMA, the organisation I am deputy chair for, is in a state of transition at the moment and there are a few problems with it. I am really hoping we can get things sorted over the next few months ready for next year.

The girls have been on school holidays this week. I have set rules about computer use which means off by 9:30am and not back on until they have tidied up and mid-afternoon, whichever comes later. This means they only get about 6-8 hours a day in front of the screen which they feel is so tough!!!! Apart from the bare minimum of housework, they read. Harriette undertook a spring clean of her bedroom yesterday, only because the alternative was working outside. They did manage about 45 mins outdoors. Harriette drove the truck and they both loaded up tree branches that the truck and digger had knocked/pulled down. We have had a large bonfire in the front paddock most of the week. Some of the wood has been there for years, since Ian and Shirley pulled down trees on the boundary, so burnt really well. Added to that, heaps of branches of cedar and it was an impressive bonfire. Carol we couldn't wait any longer for you to come back - sorry!! Carol, we also wanted to tell you that we rescued some of the burnt fenceposts (care of your fire) and have incorporated them into a fence running from the stable to the back paddocks.

Our Rotary club was hit by a tragedy last week. The 44 yr old son of one of our members was murdered in Auckland. As he left work a bloodied woman approached him asking for help. As he helped her a man attacked him with a knife and he died instantly. In NZ the police leave bodies at a crime scene for 1-2 days and so this poor family were behind a police cordon for nearly 2 days waiting for access to the body. I am sure the police could do things differently. Being able to see/hold/touch a deseased loved one is an important part of the grieiving process that these families are denied for too long. Needless to say Austin was one of lifes good people, a devout Christian, hard worker, father of 3 teenagers and a generally nice person. He was born and raised in Matamata so lots of people here knew him. So very sad, and such a waste. The murderer is under arrest and was known to the woman.

This weekend is being spent working on the block. It is one of those great weekends where we don't have anything planned. Eric is looking at fencing. I say looking, he hasn't done any yet. Yesterday we borrowed a neighbours tractor to do odd jobs. I wanted to retrieve some topsoil from the paddock where the big hole was but that wasn't very successful. However, Eric had great fun pushing/pulling up tree stumps (not from the drive, they've all gone. These ones were dotted around the paddocks from trees felled long before we got here) and pulling out some fence posts. Today he should be fencing. I weeded. As I've said before these mild (compared to the UK) winters are fine but the weeds grow 12 months of the year. Last weekend Eric and I went out to look at trees after dropping Alice at a friends dairy farm for an 18th birthday celebration. There was a huge downpour of rain and we took refuge at The Olde Creamery, a cafe out in the sticks. As we parked we spied a dilapidated polytunnel exactly the size that I want. We discussed with the owner and I am now waiting for her to speak to her husband but she thinks I might be able to have it. I have room in my veg plot, in fact it is exactly the right size, so I am very hopeful. Fingers crossed.