Aunties rock!

Aunty opportunities are definitely a winning feature of this trip - could bbecause I am the winning Aunty. Tonight was Aunty night at rugby practice - it seemed other aunties had missed out on their notifications. Great photo op, if only my frozen finger could push the button! So..I am now the proud (and warm!) owner of the club scarf and beanie, plus Resident expert on the club (hot) chips an kiwi hot dogs - on a stick of course. I can also still put a fairly decent boot behind a rugby ball!

Perth - Kids, cars and kangeroos

Walking through the tree tops in Kings Park

Arrived in Perth on Sunday afternoon and have been flat out since - sightseeing, eating (!), repo-ing cars, sightseeing, aunty-ing, sister-ing and having fun with 6 cute puppies who are only a few weeks old.  Wonderful weather is still with me - not bad for winter.  Enjoy the catch-up pics!

Nephew (Jake) and niece (Kiri) overlooking Perth)

Look, I'm the amazing Spiderman!

Bro broke out the Roller to take us shopping - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!

Stylin'

The classic tourist shot - kangeroos and a tourist.

Don't pay your car payment?  Look out for this bad boy!

Perth city

Melbourne, Australia

Finally, I qualified for a padded room...

...prison so doesn't suit me...

...so...Judge Judy beware!!



Really???  This is IT???

The view across the peninsular - gorgeous!

Happy 50th birthday to my dear friend, Raymond - same age as Tom Cruise and a whole lot less drama!

EARTHQUAKE!!

Nothing says 'home' like a good old earthquake!  So, last night at around 10:30, the earth literally moved (!) as we had a Force 7 earthquake.  Since I am back staying in the 3rd floor apartment I am sure our experience was somewhat amplified...fun, fun, fun!  So, for the uninitiated, the procedure goes something like this:

1. Ask the obvious ("Umm, is that an earthquake?")
2. Leap out of bed and lunge for the doorway - in a manner terrifying to small children.
3. Stand in said doorway/doorframe and debate evacuating or not (all three of us being in our pj's should be taken into consideration when making this decision)
4. Open door for the lovely, but terrified, neighbour from South Africa who is not really very earthquake experienced.  We didn't really have a doorframe to share with her but she was grateful for the company - and obviously willing to risk her life for same.
5. Breathe a sigh of relief as the rocking and rolling earth appears to have stopped.
6. Grab for Ipad/Laptop/other electronic devices to make contact with the outside world to make sure they are still there!

The quake lasted for 15 loooong seconds and I am happy to not have that particular home experience again!

Apartment living in the city

Cuz - she should be in real estate!

We are on the 3rd floor...on the left...

Dining room, lounge, patio, and a bit of the kitchen - compact apartment living!

 Apartment living is awesome..but you can't have much stuff (never work for me!).  The bonus is that housework takes about 30 minutes - if you go slow.  The 'location, location, location' of this one is perfect for walking everywhere around the city, with the car safely ensconced under the building much of the time.  When you need to drive, it's a quick wiggle around the concrete pillars, some skillful avoidance of the concrete walls, and even more skillful avoidance of the pedestrians on the other side of the garage door when you drive out!

Kitchen, dining room and some lounge

Hang up your bike - tidily!

My city

Wellington is right up there with the best cities in the world!  I love it! It is purposefully designed to walk everywhere - and I have.  Public transport is convenient and reliable - so people actually use it.   Additionally, being back by the sea is very rejuvenating - seeing it, smelling it and just being a part of it again.  You don't know how much you miss it, til it's not there.  Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some...

Shopping in the center of town

Te Papatongarewa - national museum

Looking down on the city



Sunday Farmers' Market - across from the apartment

Amazing produce!

Apartments I am staying at - right in town



Rowers on the harbour

Family and food...

The three f words - family, friends and food - that's mostly what this trip home has been about (if you haven't noticed).   These are also the things that are not necessarily transportable to the other side of the world so I am making the most of them while I am here.  Yesterday, cousin lunch at the beach..today, little girls' hockey at 10, followed by cousin lunch, followed by cup of tea with my aunty and uncle, followed by rugby with the All Blacks thrashing the Irish - not too much better than THAT!

A (winter!) day at the beach with the cousins

Wine? I think I will! Cheers!

A family pyramid

Aunty Diane

Napier art deco...

Yesterday's adventures included multiple trips up the road to Napier.  Napier is the art deco capital of the world (note to my American compadres - that would be the whole world, not just the New Zealand world).  Great to walk around the shops and they are all art deco buildings, albeit a tad chilly on that particular day.

There-s snow on them there hills...

Napier - Methodist church

Napier - shops - art deco buildings in real use

Me and the art deco chick

Napier - more art deco real life buildings

48 years of stuff...

Today was the day for 'reduce, reuse, recycle' - 48 years of accumulation that Mum has managed to keep track of since my move to America, 11 years ago.  Did I mention boxes?  The hardest thing to decide about are all the childhood books that belonged to me, my brother and even my daughter! The handwritten names, special birthdays etc just make them too hard to part with (my earliest one was aged 23 months and it is Popeye).  The other hard thing is my mother needs a new broom (see pic below!).  We're on the way to the couriers tomorrow to figure out how much it costs to ship some stuff over...watch this space!

Green Acres is the place for me...

Roast chicken for tea last night - yum!

Cheese scones for lunch - hard to beat!  Was a great day for a walk around the neighbourhood with Mum and Jessie (her poodle).  The houses are great - some art deco and some just older places with cool designs. 

..and THAT, people,  is how a cup of tea should be drank!

Rugby day!

Rugby day!!!  Yes, the All Blacks play against Ireland tonight and I'll get to see it, live, at the right time on the right side of the world.  Very looking forward to that - especially looking forward to an All Black win. 

Finally got to eat my first meat pie yesterday - just as yum as I remember.  Also had to suffer through a custard square and a raspberry bun...is suffer the right word? Why can't we have meat pies in America???  SURELY it's not that hard...

First round of rain today - and, yes, I am in sleeves. Temp is only 7 degrees (that's cold in Celsuis OR Fahrenheit!).

Side notes - haven't had any fast food since I got here
                - half flush or full flush options
                - instant coffee reigns supreme - unless you're at the coffee shop

Pineapple lumps anyone???

Oysters on the half shell (fresh!) $9.95 1/2 dozen

Hastings town clock (very touristy shot!)

               even the dog eats homemade food - of course, that could be                particular to my mother's dog...

So...one of the best things about NZ is definitely the food - unfortunately!  Today I ate lunch in a church...well, it was in the 50's but that still counts, in my book. Now they make amazing food like the pumpkin soup pictured in the previous post, followed by carrot cake to die for - with a cup of tea of course...then I got to shop in the retro lolly shop next door - which was not originally a lolly shop either - confused?  If you remember eskimos, fairy mushrooms, jet planes, and spaceman cigarettes you will know what retro-ness I am talking about. 

Another highlight will be Coronation Street tonight and rugby v Ireland on Saturday!
Woohoo!

Food glorious food!

Pumpkin soup - Yes, I said pumpkin!

Scones with cream and jam                

Cup of tea by the fire                         

Kid in a candy store!                            

Hamilton to Hastings

So..-2 during the night and a tropical 3 degrees this morning...did I mention we don't do central heat?? My tropical island holiday continues...It is sunny during the day though so no sleeves for me! Catching up with whanau and old friends is the bestest! You pick up conversations and cups of tea like you just mised seeing them in the weekend, rather than the 4 long years it has been. in Auckland I stayed with a friend I have known since high school...yesterday caught up with my uncle in Hamilton...last night stayed with a friend I've known since I was 18...connections, people, it's all about connections.

Travelling south.  The pic above is Lake Taupo from the bus window.  It didn't even have to try hard to look stunning!

Off to Hastings to spend some days with Mum - can't wait! E Noho ra koutou!

Sights of Auckland city

Austin Powers out cruising around (!)

Bikes standing on their heads

LUNCH - in a breakfast sort of way! (REAL bacon...poached eggs...yum!)