As most of you know, this past week hasn't been that great. Sean's Nan died on the 14th so there has been grief and the stress of settling everything and a funeral on top of an already stressful time of year. It may seem like the worst time of year for this to happen, but as it is, we'll be heading down to Tairua now and it will be a good separation and time for relaxing and hopefully being a bit more at peace.
Ele, the Italian exchange student that Graeme and Anna hosted 3 years ago arrived the morning that Nan passed away. I felt bad that she was thrust into such a difficult situation right away. She has been excellent, however, and we are getting along really well. Thursday night, I believe it was, Sean, Ele and I went for dinner in the Viaduct at Mexicali Fresh and drove around the city a bit after walking up Queen St. (most all of the stores were closed already at 6ish - I mean, really people, 6?!) After that we went over Ponsonby way to Franklin St. to walk and see the Christmas lights. We got there when it was still a little light outside but by the time we were finished it was fully dark. We got an epic parking spot as well just a block up. It was as easy as it could have been. Beautiful and Christmasy and fun!
this last house was just off Franklin
there was a little band playing jazzy (good jazzy) Christmas music on the porch
Nan's funeral was really nice. There was just a celebrant officiating and Anna and her sister Helen each read something short as did Graeme and Helen's daughters. Ele stood with me as I read what Natalie had written. Everyone held up really well until the end when a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" as we got up to leave. Anna and Graeme had tea and nibbles back at their house afterwards and Ele and I plated sausage rolls and made tea and coffee. Anna had taken Nan's teacups and saucers out and people had their tea out of them which I thought was a really special touch.
flowers from my family to the Ridlers
And I was able to find a dress to wear which saved me a LOT of day-of stress. I know it sounds petty, but it may have saved me from a meltdown. I made the picture smaller to somehow make up for the sheer tackiness of actually having taken and posted a picture of myself in a dress I bought for a funeral - on the day of the funeral.
Thanks for all your prayers lately. I am really looking forward to seeing my Mom and Dad really soon. I wish I could see all the rest of you as well. Someone should really look into cheap teleportation options. I've finished all the Christmas gift baskets for Accent Tools and they've been handed out. Now all that's left is wrapping a couple of odd presents, packing a bag for the beach and buying a few fondue and cookie ingredients. Aieee. Is that all? Are you sure??? Christmas is, in turns, coming too quickly and not quickly enough.
one day you will be mine, jack lloyd.
So, being as I haven't written in QUITE A WHILE, I thought it best to jot a few things down this evening. Things have been humming along here. Life is busy with work and just recently with Thanksgiving (which turned out really well, thanks for all the support and recipes).
cornbread #1 before I tripled the recipe - that's an apple slice for scale
the kumara and pumpkin whip actually tasted remarkably like sweet potatoes YAY with cashew crunch in the topping instead of pecans
the thanksgiving table - note the touch of harvest orange with gerberas and embroidered clothChristmas is coming soon and I will be sending out a few cards on Monday (handmade, so a very few).I dropped Sean off at the airport this morning. He will be in Christchurch at a beach called Taylor's Mistake over the weekend as Chief Instructor at Senior Guard School. I don't know about you, but I'm impressed. ;) Anyway, after I dropped him off I went to Newmarket to pick up a couple of gifts/shop while I was on the other side of the bridge. I found a pair of jeans that fit really well for NZ$90 on sale for what the salesgirl and I found out was, to both our amazement, NZ$14! EPIC. I also bought some "Bob Soap" (get it - Bob Hope; there's also a glittery bath fizz called Bling Crosby) soap from Lush. It's a Christmas relase and it smells like orange, cinnamon and cloves.
my piece doesn't look this flashyGot a burrito a little after 11. I think I was their first customer (since they open at 11). It was tasty as per usual. All in all, it was a good morning. It was my first time by myself in the city and crossing the bridge alone! Baby steps. Hahaha. I've only been here 3 months. Some other recent purchases -
cotton and dark brown/grey leather with metal button and buckle/buttons closure reverses to wool and rusty leather with teal button and same closure
a handmade reversible purse for NZ$190 (YIPES)
some mismatched melamine cups and plates from the Hospice Shop about NZ$3.50
a turquoise bangle about NZ$5
set of sheep paperclips NZ$2 (the sheep clench the papers with their buns - hence the fart joke)
and a pair of canvas ballerina flats NZ$25.My next/last two weeks at work will be spent taking pictures of the children for Christmas in the hope that their parents will buy a few. Hey, if it makes me some extra money and I don't have to sweep chicken fried rice off the floor after lunchtime, I'm there.
. . . we're not in kansas anymore! This afternoon has been extrememly blustery. I'm glad that I'm now inside where it's safe and warm. Went out to the mall and got Sean another Christmas gift and a turquoise plastic bangle for me. I also purchased some brown packing paper to decorate for wrapping gifts. No word yet as to how I'm actually going to decorate it. I also got some semi-ribbon wire that looks quite interestingly modish. Like how a christmas soundtrack from the sixties might look. All red and silver wavies.
Last Saturday, Sean and I went to Otara Market. It's like a smaller OCC Swapmeet except substitute Mexicans for Pacific Islanders. And Asians. I told Sean that I expected to hear "PASALE PASALE PASALE" being yelled down the aisles, but I was not to be so privileged. Didn't buy anything except some nectarines, but we came quite late (around 11:30 and it ends at 1, which you know means that some are packing up at 11). There were some deliciously dodgy looking food caravans, but we did not partake. P.S. I've decided that if I ever have a caravan it will be painted turquoise like this one:
and it will be called the Turquoise Bean.
After that we went to a couple of antique shops and then to One Tree Hill (which is now tree-less after an act of vandalism {socio-politically motivated, of course} by a group of Maori guys). I had completely forgotten that we went up there until I looked at my photos. Oh, how the days go by.
Sunday was also Guy Fawkes day, and even though fireworks had been going off randomly for the last few days, we turned off the lights in the house and watched a few being lit off on Milford Beach. God, who was, of course, not to be outdone by the pyrotechnics, gave us a beautiful full moon.
This week at work was alright. I was scheduled for Inside/Art, which meant I made play dough and drew lots of pictures to color. I stapled a bunch of black paper together to make a big surface and a few kids painted the "night sky" with white and yellow paint and some glitter. And I tried to do a project where the kids blew thinned paint around a piece of paper to make a tree, but the kids that participated were mostly younger and didn't really listen, so it was paint splatter mixed with spit (because that's what happens when little kids try to blow through straws) and some glued on feathers and cardstock circles. I was going for "bubble trees" but hey, splatter and circles is still just fine for two, three and four year olds. Went wakeboarding Monday evening and was able to stand for quite a long time, which is pretty cool. Didn't do anything fancy, but I did alright, so I'm happy. My back KILLED the next day, though. I'm sure it was partly wakeboarding and partly bending over short tables and sitting on tiny chairs all day long. Work is fine for the most part, and I'm finally getting paid now that I have an IRD number. Which is so much better than working at that place and NOT getting paid. Hopefully I'll start to feel it's worth it outside of helping those kids. Which is basically why I'm sticking around. At this point I don't see myself going back after Christmas. That's fine, though, since I haven't committed past the beginning of December. It's just too much for too little, but I am learning a lot, and I will be sad to not have a positive impact on those kids (which I hope I'm imparting now) after I leave.
P.S. I didn't actually try the Smoked Kahawai (a kind of fish) Pie that was made for the kids' lunch on Tuesday, but, umm, NO.
But, all aside, I have no idea what I'll be doing this weekend, besides church on Sunday. Sean has a bouy setting training thing at Mairangi Bay on Saturday and maybe Sunday too. Anna and Graeme will be in Tairua. So, it might be more Christmas shopping for me. Or I can just figure out what I'm going to put on that brown wrapping paper.
ta.
I read a blog this morning - rosylittlethings- about posessions you have from your childhood, and how your childhood tastes (in things/decoration) can transfer into adult preferences. I wondered if that was true of myself, but nothing came to mind, so my mind flitted on, and it wasn't until a while later while I was in the shower that I recalled the only two book series I can remember checking out of the school library as a six year old. One was Angelina Ballerina,
and the other, the Blaze books - like Blaze and the Grey Spotted Pony.
Now there are many other books over time that have interested me, like Corduroy, the Ramona books, The Boxcar Children books, Trumpet of the Swan and Stewart Little, King of the Wind [one of my favorites-while in college I stumbled across John Cole's Bookshop in La Jolla (now closed and being refurbished by the historical society) and the older lady behind the counter told me something like the Cole's had actually encouraged Margurite Henry to write King of the Wind], Island of the Blue Dolphins, the American Girls collection, and others, but those came to mind and stood out as a general dichotomy of my personality. I realized that I am still much like I was in grade one.
I still love the frilly things in life and I would still love to ride off on a horse into some great adventure.
That is all.
a rainy weekend on the coromandel
Hi. Yes, I know it's been a while.
Firstly, Labour Weekend was really good, if not really wet. Driving down to Tairua we passed the "Calves - Weaners" sign, which is hilarious if you say it out loud.
Also quite nice is the Pink Pig Cafe
Saturday dawned overcast and it turned out to be just a taste of the weather to come. Sunday was overcast and drizzly and Monday howled and rained off and on. Everyone seemed keen on patrolling though, despite the weather. I don't quite remember how Sean ended up doing push-ups, but Alicia decided to make it a bit more difficult.
After Saturday's patrol, Alicia organized a bbq for the lifeguards (and family, etc.). It was basically sausages and a few haphazardly assorted sides like potato chips and salad. Sean and I ate with his parents beforehand, but Sean, who lost his voice earlier in the day, decided that the pavlova that was at the bbq would help his throat, so we went and said our hellos and swiped some dessert.
Driving home on monday was a bit of a chore. EVERYONE was on the road. We declined to take any detours and it ended up being a close to 4 hour drive back. (It's usually a 1.5-2.5 hour drive - depending on conditions) Here mom, a photo of Sean and I together taken while sitting in stop-and-go-but-mostly-stop traffic. I'm sure Sean will hate the way he looks in this picture, because that's the way he operates, but I think, hey! I can see his teeth! I like it! (Plus I think he's pretty cute all the time)
ALSO, I'll be starting 3 days a week at Discoverys on Monday. Hurrah! That means I'll know concretely when I'll be working. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 7-4. I'm happy that I'll have a solid 4 day weekend. (For possible travelling purposes.)
I worked on Tuesday from 10-2 just as a relief while one or two of the girls had a meeting. I took some pictures while I was there. My favourite little girl, Ayat (silent 't'), wasn't there, but her cousin Kiera (who likes to take whatever anybody else has) was there. They're a bit of a duo. I'll definitely try to get a picure of Ayat sometime soon.
I got to work a few minutes early and the over-twos were eating morning tea. It can be chaos, or it can be fine. Nobody ever really knows what kind of day it will be.
And finally, the caravan (camping trailer) break room. In the parking lot. That smells like cigarette smoke. Because pretty much all the employees smoke.
good times.
I have daydreamed about fixing that caravan up and going on a camping trip with it. It could be the coolest thing ever, but not like it is now. Actually, I still think it's pretty cool.
hi. it's 6:30 in the morning. off to piha today to sit in the car and read sense and sensibility while sean is out in the (today, supposedly quite) wild surf. i must be off.
loves.
I have now worked 3 times for Discoverys Learning Center. I am beginning to enjoy it more, but my back is hamburger, and I had a huge headache last night. I haven't had that kind of headache in a while. Sean and I went to an 18-30 year-olds bible study at the pastor of Calvary Chapel Auckland's house. It was really nice to meet a few people our age who are believers. I'm looking forward to going again and forming some good friendships. They had just started going through Daniel, last night covered the second chapter. We sort of got roped into a pantomime practice afterwards for the church's 8th anniversary celebration on Saturday (which we probably won't be able to go to anyway because we have IRB training at Piha). We were acting out the Lord's prayer as it was read aloud. So we were all in a line doing different motions and I must say, nothing brings people together like making total fools of themselves in front of each other. Particularly funny was seeing Sean doing these mimes right next to me. Golden. I'm really happy that we got to go together and I think it will be great to be able to continue doing things like that together. (when I say things like that I don't really mean pantomime, just bible studies and stuff)
Went out today with Anna to several different places. Just got back at 4 and I'm a bit tired and sore but I had a good time. It's always nice to see more of the city. Sean and I are going to go out this evening I think. I have no idea what we're going to do, but I'm sure we'll think of something. Shopping's not really an option because things close relatively early here and besides, I wouldn't want to put Sean through that after he's spent all day at work. Anna took me to a store that a friend of her's owns that has vintage jewelry and stuff. She got a necklace and bracelet, but I couldn't find anything I wanted. It makes me wish I wasn't so picky. I did buy eight beads at another shop though! Can you believe it? Eight beads!!! Epic purchase, I know.
I'm in the mood for frozen yogurt.
ta.
So, today was Day 1 at Discoverys Learning Centre. (note my disdain for the grammatical error that is 'Discoverys') Yes, that's right, it is only the day after my interview. Imagine how surprised I was to get a call yesterday evening when I was at the grocery store telling me the owner had called asking if I could work at 7:30 this morning. I was a bit shaken because as I'm sure you all know, I like to have time to think and prepare myself for things like A NEW JOB IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY. But, in the end (and when I say end I mean when she called back an hour and a half later), I said I would do it. And here I am. Tired. Smelly. Tired. Wondering what I've gotten myself into saying I would work tomorrow at 7 as well.
Some of the kids were darlings. Some terrors. There were good parts and bad parts. I sped over to Sean's work on my half-hour lunch break and walked across the street from his office to a lunch bar, scarfed down a chicken pie and turned around and sped back justintime for my break to be over. And I'm wondering to myself if the 8 hours with demanding, crying, attention and strength sapping "over-twos" is worth the 10 dollars an hour that I'm getting for relief work. I'm pretty sure it would only be 13 if I was working part time, but I really don't know. All I know is that I'm sore and I need a shower.
love.
i have a job interview on wednesday (tuesday for all of you guys) at a preschool/daycare place. i'm pretty sure it's for substituting or aiding, but i'll find out more at the interview. anyway, it would be great if you could keep that in prayer for me. i would really appreciate it.
thankth
Here I sit, eating a "Zespri" golden kiwifruit.
Last week was fairly normal. Not much on. Sean had ambulance duty on Tuesday night, so I stayed home and had a banana milkshake (which was just that - banana and milk, if there is ice cream in a milkshake here, it is often referred to as a thickshake) and read some of a book called "Adventure Stories for Girls" which I picked up at the Red Cross Op-Shop in Brown's Bay. I had rented the new Pride and Prejudice, but I couldn't get the TV to turn on (which we later realized happens quite a bit and you have to turn the outlet off and then on again to get it to work). Wednesday, Sean was in Hamilton until about 8 o'clock, so I made a quesadilla watched some tv. I forget, but either Thursday or Friday I went to Ike's Emporium in Brown's Bay, which is like, my new favorite store. I only wish I knew how to sew. They have the most odd assortment of bits and pieces. Plastic jars full of notions and buttons and large bolts of material for like $3 a metre. Some of that material is really cool. And they have paint and canvas (nicely framed canvas) for a really good price, so I bought a few small canvases (canvasses? canvi?) and a slightly bigger one, some paint and a couple of brushes. I figured, I could paint whatever I wanted with whatever I wanted and I didn't need to worry about it being "right". So when I got home I painted a version of that photo from an earlier post of Java gazing out at the ocean in Tairua.
Friday we really didn't do anything, but Saturday. . . Oh, Saturday. We went to the Air New Zealand Fashion Week 4U Designer Garage Sale. Now, there were full day tickets in which you could see a runway show of the designers' best looks, walk around and drink and eat and generally feel like you were a part of something you weren't really a part of, or you could just pay $10 and get a chance to score some discounted designer clothing. I opted for the less expensive, more profitable option of the designer garage sale.
I am happy to report that I scored some very nice buys. As follows.
Caroline Church Summer 06 skirt was $505 bought for $120
Caroline Church Summer 06 skirt was $405 bought for $70 - the actual color is closest to what's inside the circled area - actually it is green like this picture, but it looks like this color also in some lighting situations - it's sort of a pale grey-green-seafoam
Unkown Designer leather belt $35 - it's long and wraps around twice and has a leather button/button hole closure
Unknown Designer leather wallet $25
So for $250 NZ or $167 US, I got some pretty cute stuff. I think my favorite is the belt. It was the one thing I saw and was like, YOINK! into my hands before anyone else touches you! We actually ended up being first in line to get in the door, also, as a strange and wonderful twist of fate had it. The security guard had been telling people to go line up at the other entrance, but we hung out at the door and asked the other security guard where you paid to get in and he said, "here". A few minutes later a whole throng - okay throng by nz standards - okay about 50 women came briskly walking up the sidewalk, vying for position. Oh, Snap! Who's first in line? We are. By the way, I just want to thank Sean again for going with. What a sport holding my sweater and my empty cup of tea.
Anyway, after that we went to Ellerslie and had lunch, mowed Sean's lawn, went to Sylvia Park (a new mall near his house - just made a once through - malls are small compared to US malls) and then came back to his parent's house and mowed their lawns. We went out to dinner and I had some overpriced veal-wrapped asparagus and Sean had some good chicken bacon tortellini in a creamy mushroom sauce. They were good, but the sauce was indeed mushroomy, too bad I'm not a huge mushroom fan. Overall it was a really epic day.
Sunday was really good as well. We went to Sean's friend's baby's christening (that's a lot of posessive apostrophes). I took pictures for them at the church and some of the family after at a really nice morning tea at a nearby historical park. After that we went to see Nan. We brought her some flowers which she seemed to enjoy. In the afternoon we took the SeaDoo out for a long ride around a couple of the islands in the harbour. The weather was really nice, but there was wind, so most of the ride was really choppy. My butt feels like I've done a bunch of lunges while somone punched me in the rear. It doesn't hurt all the time, but when I sit down on something hard it smarts a little. haha. It's getting better, though.
Yesterday Sean's parents came home from Europe. They had a really great time. I recieved a poster featuring some of the works of Antoni GaudÃ, a black t-shirt with a rhinestone Eiffel Tower and "Paris" on it, and a great big Toblerone from Switzerland! Everyone is settling back into a normal routine. It will be different now that they're back, but it will be more realistic, and that's what I came for!
much love
