Breaking Point?

That's where I was yesterday. I am very stressed at present. I am doing a presentation to the National Immunisation Conference next week and have got sooo much work to do to get it ready. I am also involved in a second DHB (sorry District health Board) presentation, again, work needed on that. At work I am involved in reviewing the NZ Immunisation Handbook, which is due for re-publication, have a 6 monthly report due in etc, etc.... I am also waaaaay behind on my GDITE and the final assignment is due in the day after conference. Add to that I have 2 major meetings for the Waikato Youth Music Association (which I chair) in the next fortnight, the Xmas events are beginning, oh, and I'm meant to be training for Taupo in 2 weeks time and, well you can see where my stress levels are. Today is one precious day in about 6 weeks when I have nothing specific planned and tonight is only one of 3 nights in over nearly 3 weeks. Yesterday I drove to Diane's in Matamata, and we went in her car to Te Aroha where we were participating in a cycling event. My plan was to do the 42km route with the girls, then cycle back to Diane's (another 40km) in the afternoon, and drive home form there. I won't go out with those doing the 80km ride because they cycle fast and I am a plod er. With hindsight I should have cycled with Lindsey on the 80km route. He came in way after the others and did not enjoy it as he did most of the ride on his own. I also would have got home by 2.30pm instead of 4.30pm. The ride back on my own was OK (I am listing to the Twilight series on my iPod) except for the wind. I groaned out loud occasionally during the last 10km's as it was sooo hard. I barely got above 16km/hr as opposed to the 23-32km/hr I usually do. Got home to find the house in the same tip it was when I left (I was teaching Wed and got home at 11pm, out at band on Thursday and Friday and left home 7.30am Sat), Eric had been butchering a side of beef all day and was tired and crotchety. Alice seemed to have spent all day clearing her bedroom floor (which still was not clear) and writing essays with no thought of helping Eric or even putting the shopping away I had done on Friday night. When I made a tea and sat down (well fell into the chair) I felt like Eric resented me taking a break (he's adamant that he didn't) but I fell asleep in the chair anyway. We were going out to a surprise 50th birthday party in Hamilton for Kathy. A band mom and mother of Alice's nearly boyfriend - Kent. It was a pot luck and Eric was making a bobotie but it was not going to be ready until the last moment to get us there for 6.30pm. Alice then said it was a 6pm start - opps. I jumped in the shower and went to change the head on my lady razor but after about 15 attempts couldn't because I could not see what I was doing. My eye sight is shocking. I screamed so loudly in frustration that Alice and Eric came running and my throat hurt! I threw the razor at Alice for her to sort out which she did and then she shoo-ed Eric out, muttering, probably something along the lines of "Mommy's gone mad leave her alone".

We finally got to the party and ended up having a really good time. Well I had a good bottle of wine and certainly felt a lot better. Richard and Robyn were also there as were Liz and Steve (other band parents who we really enjoy). Sarah (flute), Alice (clarinet) and Kent (alto sax)played some music along with Kent's brother Ash (drums), Steve (tuba), Patrick (Steve's son- trumpet) and some other trumpet players. All totally un-rehearsed and great fun. I so admired that they could all play music so well that they could come together and just play and have such good fun - and give others such pleasure. Kathy was totally overwhelmed by the occasion and Ray had done a fantastic job pulling it off in total secrecy. I didn't have my camera but pinched Kent's. When I get some photos I'll post them.

Mark popped in last weekend. He had just arrived from the UK and was on his way home. It was great to see him. He had not seen Cheryl, Myles and Laura for 4 1/2 months which was hard on them all. Still, Cheryl arrives in a few weeks and we will catch them just before we head off to South Africa on 17th Dec. They will be gone when we get back though. Not sure what there plans are after that.

We have friends of Mom and Daddy staying with us at the moment, Maxine and Gary. They are on an LSD trip (look, see, decide) and bought a house in Cambridge this week. We haven't seen a lot of them as we haven't been around really. Maxine is a nurse so I have set her up with some meetings with people about work. Gary is an electrician.

Well I am going to get up and potter now.

A Saturday Posting for a Change

Another Sunday morning. I should be working on my course but instead I'm here. I am doing a 'Graduate Diploma in IT in Education' (GDITE). The first module is online and I have not really got into it. I have gone weeks without looking at the site and am really busy at work so it keeps dropping down on my list of priorities. It is also very primary school teaching focused and so not relevant in that sense to me (I teach adults). Anyway, I will press on with it.

It's a long weekend here. Yesterday was gorgeous. I went on a bike ride up Taotaoroa Rd and back. It's 15km long and seriously, and I mean seriously, hilly and windy (going round bends windy not weather windy!). It is the first real ride I have done this year. The hills nearly killed me. I could have easily been sick at the top of one of them, but coming down was so exhilarating. I got up to 60km/hr on one :-) . I am meant to be doing an 80km section of the Round Lake Taupo challenge http://www.cyclechallenge.com/index.php?id=34 in late Nov and have to get some serious training in to get fit enough for that :-( I then spent the day pottering in the garden. I weed sprayed the drive (350m of it) and strimmed the paths in my veg plot and started tackling the huge amount of weeds in there. As we are away for 6 weeks from Christmas I am in a dilemma as to whether to plant lots of veggies that we won't get to eat or put large parts of the plot to rest and have nothing when we get back. I am advertising for a house-sitter for the 6 weeks we are away do hopefully we will have someone in who will keep on top of the weeding (assuming I can get on top of it first!!)

Today we are vacillating between another day at home (I will go out with the peddlers, Eric will kill a few sheep for the freezer) or a day ticky touring around the Coromandel. I think the former will win and we can go out tomorrow.

Tsunami Horror

We have been shocked by the earthquakes and tsunami's hitting the pacific region, mostly the ones in Tonga and Samoa. Lalamonu is the worst hit area of Samoa, which is where we stayed in July. In fact if you go to this link
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_objectid=10601073&gallery_id=107687
and scroll down to picture 64 (4th up from bottom in left column), the guys are standing at almost the exact spot where our fale stood as far as we can work out.

It makes my winging about last weekend, when we had real water problems at Cedar Lodge, seem pathetic.

It also sounds like 2 sisters, in their 20's, from Matamata may have been killed in Samoa. I feel sick with sadness for all the loss and suffering.

A Water-less Weekend

The last blog was the week from hell and this one could be 'What a bl**dy awful weekend' but, because I'm a generally optimistic type, it isn't. It has been an awful one though. It's Sunday morning and I am hoping things are on the up now.

It started on Friday night. I took Alice to Youth Band practice, we leave at 4.30pm. Harriette had gone in to Matamata after school to shop for a dress (had an 18th birthday party on Saturday night). She was meeting Eric at the car parked behind his office at 5pm. She called in at 4.30pm and he said he'd be done by 5pm. At 4.55pm Eric was asked to swear an emergency affidavit. He went out to tell Harriette but she had popped round to the bank (having left a message attached to the rear view mirror. However, Eric did not get in the car so did not see it. He got cross that she had cleared of without telling him! He then went back to office, Harriette returned and waited... and waited....... She repeatedly texted Eric but, of course he did not reply. So, by the time he emerged at 6pm she was pretty cross (understandably). I am guessing they rowed on the way home. Harriette had bought hair dye but when she went to use it there was no water. Eric then had to investigate this in the dark. Someone, we assumed the neighbour Ian, had turned off the water pump. He turned it back on but there was still no pressure so we had to be left with no water overnight. In these situations we use buckets of water from the pool to flush toilets and have bottles and bottles of stored water. When Harriette relayed the office mix up to me later Eric went balistic at her. Alice then sprung to Harriette's defence (she should be a human rights lawyer, she's a great one for springing to the defense of someone she feels has been treated unjustly) and a huge row followed.

I have been reading Jodi Picoult's Handle with Care which was hard to put down so ended up reading until 1.30am. At 4am Eric woke up feeling he had something in his eye. The next 30 mins was spent me trying to see what it was - nothing. He was in a lot of pain and huffed, puffed, tossed and turned through the next 2 hours. We finally fell asleep about 6.30am and woke at 9am. So, so far, big row, no water, no sleep and Eric with a very painful eye.

Saturday morning we got up and Eric set to the task of sorting out the water problem. When he turned the water on again he could see a water fountain from the front paddock. He fixed that and all seemed to be OK. I took Harriette to work (before the water had been fixed so she was still cross as she could not shower) and did a huge supermarket shop and things seemed to settle down. I replaced the tyre on my bike (it had burst 6km into my first bike ride of the year the previous Sunday), and finished my book. All was good until I went to make tea late in the afternoon. No water!!!!! So, poor Eric had to go back out and start all over again trying to work out the problem. He thought he'd sussed the problem but did not have the required items to repair so we had to call out the emergency plumber. We always end up calling them at a weekend when the call out fee is huge!! It's like Alice, she only ever gets really sick at a weekend. Before he arrived I had to pick Harriette up and convey to her that we did have water but now it's off again! Poor girl, it was really turning out not to be her weekend! When the plumber finally arrived Eric had relayed a whole new load of alkathene piping to by-pass the area he thought was a problem (some underground piping) and they attached it to the water tank. Still no water and they could not work out the problem was. So, back to basics, we walked the pipes again and found a separated joint and water pouring in to the paddock. Eric had not checked this in the afternoon (normally the first thing we would do) as he had done this in the morning. So, we had a call out fee for something we could easily have sorted ourselves. Anyway, at least we had water. Harriette, and the rest of us, got showers and we finally got out for the evening. Harriette to her 18th and Eric and I to a 21st for one of the girls in his office. I was not looking forward to it. Eric hates parties, loud noise and won't dance! On top of that he is tired and grumpy. It actually wasn't too bad, except for the speeches. The sound system did not work well and so lots of people at the back were talking which made things worse. On top of that the father gave far too many details about the twins conception, and the twins friends were only able to relay events of drunkenness that went into a cringingly awful detail. Note to self, what not to discuss at Harriette and Alice's 21sts. Anyway, Eric had a good few beers and lightened up significantly so was not hurrying me out the door at 10pm. In fact Harriette texted at 11pm asking us to pick her up.

This morning I was meant to be up at a reasonable time as Liz and Kenny were coming by early to pick up Liz's car that she left here on her way to Auckland. Liz was taking one son on to Rotorua for a football game and Kenny would carry on home with the other 2 boys so would not be in a rush. They are Sottish, have lived here, well in Whakatane for a lot longer than we have. Kenny is an ex-cop and now runs a kayaking business and does some work with youth (I think, not totally sure on that). I think Eric and Kenny would get on well. They missed each other on Thursday when Kenny collected Liz and so I thought we could have a coffee and chat this morning. Didn't happen though as we woke to find they had already been and gone! Oh well, another time maybe.

A Week From Hell

8.15am, Sunday morning. The news is on the radio. I'm obviously blogging earlier today as Chris Laidlaw hasn't started yet! Eric is sitting next to me writing up notes from his Flying Start Course (something all lawyers have to do before they can become a partner), Alice says she's been awake since 3am and is on the computer in the living room and I guess Harriette is on her computer, she's still in bed.

The week from hell started off Friday a week ago. I got sick again. I had D+V, probably norovirus. Because of my lack of large bowel (colectomy for unlcerative colitis in 1995) when I get D+V I rapidly become dehydrated. In fact, because I had weighed myself Friday am, I knew that overnight I had lost 3.7kg (that's over 8lbs)!! No wonder I am on the verge of fainting every time I stand up. Now this really threw a spanner in the works for Mom's taxi service! Cathy had taken Alice and Claire to Youth Band in Hamilton (we alternate Fridays) and Claire stayed overnight as they had a sectional in Hamilton 6-8am Saturday. A ridiculous time I know but it means many of the members can make it prior to Saturday jobs and sports committments. Now Eric was on his course in Hamilton from 9.30am so the plan was, Eric would take them in early, watch them, have breakfast and generally kick his heels until 9.30am. I would feed out (silage to the 4 cows, chooks (not silage obviously :-) and dogs), then drive through to pick the girls up at 8am, come home, take Harriette to work for 9am in Matamata and drive through to Walton to drop Claire home. That was the plan anyway. What actually happened was; Eric got up at 4.30am to feed out then took Alice and Claire to Hamilton for 6am but had to bring them home. He literally dropped them off and hurtled straight back to Hamilton, just getting to his course on time. We then got a neighbour Shirley to take Harriette to work and drop Claire at her grandparents in Matamata where Cathy collected her. Eric had bought me some Gastrolyte in Hamilton (I had not replaced our stock we used up in Samoa) which made me feel much better. By 11am I was just about able to drive Alice in to Matamata for netball. I didn't have the strength to stand and watch so curled up in the back of the Mistral and slept! Harriette finished at 1pm so walked round to the courts and drove us home when Alice finished. Needless to say, Eric and I hit the sack at about 8pm Saturday night.

Sunday evening Mom and Daddy came over for a meal. I immediately knew something was wrong when I said the "Hi, how are you?" on their arrival. Daddy said he was being investigated for liver cancer (I hasten to add the subsequent liver scan was normal). Anyway, I asked why? Pain in that area and a blood test that indicates that he has cancer somewhere though I have seen his blood results and can't see what the doctor is talking about. I was very rational 'let's wait and see what the scan shows', 'don't put 2+2 together and make 5' etc but as soon as they left I completely lost it! Although my head told me it could not be true (Daddy looks disgustingly healthy, no weight loss) I was so scared! I spent Sunday night thinking it all through, our trip to South Africa would have to be cancelled, Daddy would either be dying or have recently died by December and we could not leave Mom, what would Mom do, stay in Paeroa, go back to the UK, move into a smaller house, Paeroa?, Matamata? It was awful! Anyway, thank heavens they had a liver scan arranged for Monday morning. I met them Hailton for this and it was normal. We all just about cried when the sonographer told us. The issue now is that he may still have cancer and where. The GP wants to repeat the blood test and I think he needs a colonoscopy (Daddy had bowel cancer in the 1990's which was resected.) Still, whatever it is there is almost no diagnosis as awful as liver secondaries.

So, after acute illness and 24 hours on an emotional roller coater Alice then got the bug and had Tuesday and Wendesday off sick. She was proper poorly and poor girls was on her own much of the time as it was the only 2 days of the week I was out and about. I did offer to cancel my appointments but she said not to. She slept most of Tuesday, well when she wasn't on the loo anyway.

Things then got better and I am hoping for an uneventful week. I was really hoping to spend the weekend gardening as we have had a couple of weeks of absolutely gorgeous weather. Harriette then reminded me that I had a Rotary convention on Saturday and on top of that it has hardly stopped raining since Thursday night. 4 of us went to this convention in Rotorua and I really enjoyed it. Picked up lots of tips to improve our local club. I must say Matamata is a very dynamic club but there are things that could be tweaked. As Eric was on the second day of his course the taxi service was again unavailable so Mom and Daddy came over and took Harriette to work and Alice to and from netball.

Today we plan to catch up with Richard and Robyn. It is calving time and so they are holed up on the farm for 6-8 weeks. I'll ring them shortly to see how their day is panning out and when would be best to meet them. Harriette and I will also go to the gym and Eric will swim (I am trying to get him to do some exercise and get a bit of weight off before we go to South Africa).

Well, I think that's all I have to report. I must go and get an email off to Schools Band. I really need to update them on all the arrangement for the Festival in September and all the playouts we have been offered over the coming months.

A Frosty Morning at Cedar Lodge

I took these this morning from the top of our drive.

Swine Flu?? Don't know but Eric's proper poorly.

Sunday morning. Sitting in bed with feral (the cat) fast asleep. Eric has just struggled out to feed out, Alice is asleep in the cottage with friends (her birthday sleepover) and Harri hasn’t surfaced either yet.
My weight is going up!!! I suppose after a holiday and a week of cheesescake and birthday cake for Alice hanging around I have a bit of an excuse but.... it needs taking in hand. I made Alice a Nigella chocolate cheesecake for Alice last Monday but she lacked appetite for most of the week (she is very good at only eating when she’s hungry unlike me who eats for a hundred other reasons, hunger being low down on the list) so hardly touched it. I on the other hand, I tucked in every time I opened the fridge. I was in Auckland on Wednesday and Thursday and left instructions that it was to be gone when I got back. It wasn’t so on Friday Eric and I finished it. Poor Alice. She came home at 9.30pm from band practice in Hamilton fancying some and was mortified to find it gone!!!! I felt very guilty but no way am I making another one. I ran yesterday but was not going to go to the gym today. However, having seen what the scales say I guess I will.
Eric has been proper poorly. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I told him he should stay off, he had the most awful cough and rigors. He kept going in claiming he had too much work but it got the better of him by Thursday and he took 2 days off. I have been feeding out etc but this morning he has gone to do it himself. We’ll see how he gets on. Yesterday it was a gorgeous day and he pruned some trees while I was planting in the orchard and coped OK. At work we were surprised with a significant, if not huge, pay bonus this week. Although pretty broke (Samoa and S.Africa flights just paid) I decided to use some of it to buy fruit trees. I spent more than Eric expected and he was not happy!!! He then announced we had 3 bills to pay I was not aware off (including repairs to the water pump and feed). My attitude is it was money we were not expecting and it is exactly the right time of year to plant trees and I didn’t spend all the money. His attitude is my spending was frivolous I guess. These was no big row just a difference of opinion but it this was very unusual for us. Anyway I have bought: 4 plums trees, 1 each of persimmon, feijoa, apricot, nectarine, orange, 2 pear, raspberry canes also, some asparagus crowns and seed potatoes. The day was divine, warm and bright blue skies and I enjoyed planting. I have more to put in today but the weather looks the same, it’s frosty though. So today, when I get up, and get Harri up, it’s off to the gym, back for a late breakfast, tree planting, more tree planting, even more tree planting then a roast chicken for dinner. I was going to ask Mom and Daddy over for dinner but they won’t want to put themselves at risk from flu or colds so we’ll raincheck that. I am sure Eric’s not infectious but I don’t want to risk it.
I had some sad news on Friday morning. My Auntie Mary died during the night (our night). As a child I used to love going to Auntie Mary and Uncle Sid’s. They had an old bungalow adjoining the rugby fields of the University of Kent. Sid was a wonderful gardener and the garden was large (well as a child I thought so) and wonderfully kept. I remember in particular a holiday I had there with my cousin Pauline and another niece of theirs Valda. I was probably about 8-10. Sid and Mary had no children themselves. Uncle Sid died many years ago, quite suddenly of an MI (sorry, heart attack) and Mary then moved into the flat vacated by my grandparents when they moved into residential care. The flat was opposite her sister my Auntie Cis so had family close by until recently when Cis also died. In the last war (I mean the Second World War) Mary had worked as a nurse and I regret now that I didn’t talk to her more about those experiences. This is one of the big disadvantages of living so far from family, you are not there to support at times like this. I would have chosen to be there by her side during this time and know it put a little more pressure on family that were there that Mom, Daddy and I could not do our bit. We also will not be there at her farewell, again, very hard for us.
There is noise from the kitchen and I can smell chocolate croissants! I guess that means that Alice and co have emerged. Some are being collected shortly for church so I’d better get dressed. Until next time.

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