I started this blog as a way for me to keep family and friends, (over 8,000 miles away) up to date on what I (and Dave), are up to. After a while, I felt bored with the daily writing and not having internet access readily available at all times for posting and adding pictures. That being said, I want to continue writing and posting about things that interest me- art, food and gardening, (and of course Dave and teaching).
I am looking forward to school holiday coming up in 2 weeks, which will give me 6 weeks off!!! More time for blogging??? We shall see. I am also looking forward to finding my camera, which is lost at the moment. This will allow me to get all the photos I want.
Another cold got me this week, which is annoying since I never get sick. On the bright side, I have already called my boss for work tomorrow telling them I am sick. It has been raining for 12 hours straight, so it may flood down at school in Mitimiti which will make my calling in not matter anyhow. Either way, I will be playing hookie and going to my other job at Oturu School, to get caught up on all my projects before prize-giving this Thursday.
Dave is building screens to cover the windows in our little house and I have been reading food blogs most of the day. Lazy, rainy Sunday.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Garden update!
Our gardens are growing so well!!! (I have misplaced my camera so when i find it, i will post photos). :)
Over the past 6 weeks, Dave and I have planted the following in our garden:
100 tomatoes: green zebra, tigerella, cherokee purple and sungold
60+ peppers: jalapeno, ancho and california wonder (our marconi red didn't sprout).
30+ cucumbers: pickling & green dragon
20 eggplants- tokyo black
100 squash: pumpkins- musquee de provence, spaghetti, zucchini, yellow crookneck
100+ garlic plants (actually, we planted these almost 6 months ago and they are almost ready for harvest).
200+ Genovese Giant Basil
30 Swiss chard (called silver beet here)
200+ bean plants: dwarf fire tongue, cannelini white & purple teepee
4 melons- jenny lind
heaps of leeks, spring onioins, nasturtiums and cilantro.
We also have containers with chives, rosemary, sage, thyme, a lime tree, rhubarb and lemon grass.
My goal for this weekend is to spray round up around the concrete pad that our batch and caravan are on, which hopefully will kill the kikuyu grass. Then, I want to pull out the spring flowers in the front and fill it with all the flowers/ perennials i started from seed, (borage, nepeta, echinacea, rudbekia, Snapdragons, celosia, sunflowers, eryngium, and i think i'm forgetting some).
I have got another cold from the kids at school, but oh well. I'm happy cause i weighed myself and i've lost 15 pounds since i visited the states in August!!! woo-hoooo!!!! A bit more to go and I will have dropped all the weight I put on when I quit smoking. :)
I also have been planning ahead a bit so we can store all our produce we are growing. We can put our sign out in front of the driveway and people can buy stuff, but I also just got some 1L & 1.5L canning jars to keep our pickles and tomatoes in. Yeah!!!
Over the past 6 weeks, Dave and I have planted the following in our garden:
100 tomatoes: green zebra, tigerella, cherokee purple and sungold
60+ peppers: jalapeno, ancho and california wonder (our marconi red didn't sprout).
30+ cucumbers: pickling & green dragon
20 eggplants- tokyo black
100 squash: pumpkins- musquee de provence, spaghetti, zucchini, yellow crookneck
100+ garlic plants (actually, we planted these almost 6 months ago and they are almost ready for harvest).
200+ Genovese Giant Basil
30 Swiss chard (called silver beet here)
200+ bean plants: dwarf fire tongue, cannelini white & purple teepee
4 melons- jenny lind
heaps of leeks, spring onioins, nasturtiums and cilantro.
We also have containers with chives, rosemary, sage, thyme, a lime tree, rhubarb and lemon grass.
My goal for this weekend is to spray round up around the concrete pad that our batch and caravan are on, which hopefully will kill the kikuyu grass. Then, I want to pull out the spring flowers in the front and fill it with all the flowers/ perennials i started from seed, (borage, nepeta, echinacea, rudbekia, Snapdragons, celosia, sunflowers, eryngium, and i think i'm forgetting some).
I have got another cold from the kids at school, but oh well. I'm happy cause i weighed myself and i've lost 15 pounds since i visited the states in August!!! woo-hoooo!!!! A bit more to go and I will have dropped all the weight I put on when I quit smoking. :)
I also have been planning ahead a bit so we can store all our produce we are growing. We can put our sign out in front of the driveway and people can buy stuff, but I also just got some 1L & 1.5L canning jars to keep our pickles and tomatoes in. Yeah!!!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
not yet gone.... catchup over the past 5 months
well! it has been nearly 5 months of no blogging. WHOOPS!!! A lot has happened in that time.
Our gardens are in full-throttle with 100+ tomato and bean plants, 200 basil plants 50 peppers, 10 eggplants, 30 cucumbers, dill, onion, garlic, swiss-chard, nearly 100 lettuce plants and the list goes on. SOME ONE BETTER LEARN THE ART OF CANNING!!! And that someone is me.
We also have 5 hens, 1 rooster and 8 chicks at the moment. We originally started with 2 hens, then a friend brought over 1 rooster & 1 hen, then another friend brought over 2 hens, then we ate a rooster cause he was too damn loud. (Dave dealt with him, cleaned him up and I cooked him into a beautiful soup). Voila! Another hen has gone 'clucky,' (where they start sitting on the eggs to hatch them), so we could have another round of chicks in 3 weeks time. We shall see. The chicks are so damn cute!!! I'll take some photos and get them on here soon enough.
I am still working at Mitimiti, (the school that is an hour away), which turned into a mess. The original Principal went on 'stress-leave' because his son had a brain tumor.... 2nd Principal came in and his wife ran off with another man to Australia. There is no 3rd Principal, so that's a bit of a pickle. I am in the senior classroom (5th-8th grade), 2 days per week and the kids are pretty hostile. They are upset that they have had so many different teachers this year and although the school had a fund-raiser which brought $10,000 to the school I am not able to purchase some materials like paper and oil pastel for the kids to have some fun during the last 3 weeks of school. I in turn, am a bit over it, but continue to have a smile on my face at work and deal with it.
My other job is amazing. I'm at Oturu school, which is an environmental school focused on hands-on learning. They make their own olive oil, beauty products and food from their gardens. I am there 3 days per week working in the gardens with the kids, weeding, planting, organizing and making signs and artwork when it rains. I love it there and have applied for a full-time position in the 1st and 2nd grade classroom for next year. I should know soon if I am to interview for the position. FINGERS CROSSED!!!
Dave and I are great! Caught a bit of a cold last week, but all is well. Dave is putting finish on a beautiful guitar he is building for a custom order, as well as starting a ukulele to sell to a woman I work with. I am very proud of him and happy that his business is slowly taking off. I admire him for his hard-work, dedication and having the courage to know what he wants in his life and push for it. Most people in this world are too scared to go after what they want and end up working boring jobs that bring no reward aside from a paycheck. I am happy living frugally, providing most of our own food and being rich in more ways than money can provide. Paying off my student loans still and will be for the next couple years. That's life for now.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Our gardens are in full-throttle with 100+ tomato and bean plants, 200 basil plants 50 peppers, 10 eggplants, 30 cucumbers, dill, onion, garlic, swiss-chard, nearly 100 lettuce plants and the list goes on. SOME ONE BETTER LEARN THE ART OF CANNING!!! And that someone is me.
We also have 5 hens, 1 rooster and 8 chicks at the moment. We originally started with 2 hens, then a friend brought over 1 rooster & 1 hen, then another friend brought over 2 hens, then we ate a rooster cause he was too damn loud. (Dave dealt with him, cleaned him up and I cooked him into a beautiful soup). Voila! Another hen has gone 'clucky,' (where they start sitting on the eggs to hatch them), so we could have another round of chicks in 3 weeks time. We shall see. The chicks are so damn cute!!! I'll take some photos and get them on here soon enough.
I am still working at Mitimiti, (the school that is an hour away), which turned into a mess. The original Principal went on 'stress-leave' because his son had a brain tumor.... 2nd Principal came in and his wife ran off with another man to Australia. There is no 3rd Principal, so that's a bit of a pickle. I am in the senior classroom (5th-8th grade), 2 days per week and the kids are pretty hostile. They are upset that they have had so many different teachers this year and although the school had a fund-raiser which brought $10,000 to the school I am not able to purchase some materials like paper and oil pastel for the kids to have some fun during the last 3 weeks of school. I in turn, am a bit over it, but continue to have a smile on my face at work and deal with it.
My other job is amazing. I'm at Oturu school, which is an environmental school focused on hands-on learning. They make their own olive oil, beauty products and food from their gardens. I am there 3 days per week working in the gardens with the kids, weeding, planting, organizing and making signs and artwork when it rains. I love it there and have applied for a full-time position in the 1st and 2nd grade classroom for next year. I should know soon if I am to interview for the position. FINGERS CROSSED!!!
Dave and I are great! Caught a bit of a cold last week, but all is well. Dave is putting finish on a beautiful guitar he is building for a custom order, as well as starting a ukulele to sell to a woman I work with. I am very proud of him and happy that his business is slowly taking off. I admire him for his hard-work, dedication and having the courage to know what he wants in his life and push for it. Most people in this world are too scared to go after what they want and end up working boring jobs that bring no reward aside from a paycheck. I am happy living frugally, providing most of our own food and being rich in more ways than money can provide. Paying off my student loans still and will be for the next couple years. That's life for now.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
30th June 2011
I’m sitting in bed, tipsy from wine and full from a lovely meal Tasha cooked tonight. Tasha is the teacher here in the Kindergarten-4th grade classroom here in Mitimiti, and she cooked a lovely meal of chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes, a veggie medly and some hard boiled eggs. Yum and hearty! We had a nice time catching up about life and the what not while drinking wine….. where we went to school, how we grew up, partners, etc. I had a great time!
I also had a great day at school today. ERO came to visit on Monday and Tuesday this week, so it was nice to come in and not have to be on my tippy toes. (ERO are the people who conduct school inspections here. They look through your plans, ask questions to you and the students and give feedback in the end). Today, I taught the students how to make exquisite corpses and they turned out quite nice! ☺ Then, we worked on our artwork we had started on Monday. We had begun drawing birds and sea life that are Native here, and they really are looking beautiful!!! ☺ I will post pics soon.
After art, we played games all afternoon. Dodgeball, statues and more dodgeball! The kids were into it and I needed a break, so it was totally awesome!!!
Now, I’m sleepy and wined. Gnite.
I also had a great day at school today. ERO came to visit on Monday and Tuesday this week, so it was nice to come in and not have to be on my tippy toes. (ERO are the people who conduct school inspections here. They look through your plans, ask questions to you and the students and give feedback in the end). Today, I taught the students how to make exquisite corpses and they turned out quite nice! ☺ Then, we worked on our artwork we had started on Monday. We had begun drawing birds and sea life that are Native here, and they really are looking beautiful!!! ☺ I will post pics soon.
After art, we played games all afternoon. Dodgeball, statues and more dodgeball! The kids were into it and I needed a break, so it was totally awesome!!!
Now, I’m sleepy and wined. Gnite.
21st June, 2011
Just re-reading my entry from yesterday while eating dinner here in Mitimiti. MMMMMMMMmmmm….. I had leftovers from last night, which consisted of rice, swiss chard, a baby butternut squash, onions and garlic. Not as much food as I may usually eat, but I have to ration because I was asked to work an extra day, but I only brought enough food for one night. Either way, stretching it wasn’t too bad and I will have a paid day tomorrow to work in the resource room and get it organized. Sweet as.
ERO is coming to visit the school this coming week. ERO is the group that conducts school inspections. Our school is quite a mess and I’m sure everyone is on edge about their visit. The classroom I’m teaching in was the library, the original classroom was condemned in the first term of school and the class had to relocate. Hence the reason I have to organize all library materials in the resource room tomorrow. I hope their visit goes smoothly and they don’t ask me too many questions. (They will ask what you are teaching, how you are implementing the intended learning outcome and how that is shown in both you planning/ curriculum and in the students work. Yikes).
Anywho…. That’s all I got really. I wish I had some cheese and crackers to eat. Ha! Oh well. G-nite!
30th June 2011
ERO is coming to visit the school this coming week. ERO is the group that conducts school inspections. Our school is quite a mess and I’m sure everyone is on edge about their visit. The classroom I’m teaching in was the library, the original classroom was condemned in the first term of school and the class had to relocate. Hence the reason I have to organize all library materials in the resource room tomorrow. I hope their visit goes smoothly and they don’t ask me too many questions. (They will ask what you are teaching, how you are implementing the intended learning outcome and how that is shown in both you planning/ curriculum and in the students work. Yikes).
Anywho…. That’s all I got really. I wish I had some cheese and crackers to eat. Ha! Oh well. G-nite!
30th June 2011
20th June, 2011
Has it really been 3 weeks since my last entry? Jeez. It reminds me of when I was growing up and I would try to keep a diary. I would write something in it involving my friends and what boy I had a crush on, and then POOF! 6 months later or sometimes even a year later, I would open that diary and start writing again, having different friends or different crushes and say that I promised to write everyday, or week. Oh well, at least I’m writing when I can.
Lately, I have been writing mostly when I stay over at the school house after teaching in Mitimiti. I’m not really sure why I didn’t write 2 weeks ago when I was here, but last week I came down with the stomach flu while I was here and that’s why I didn’t write then. It was brutal!!! I have not had a flu for years, and this one kicked my butt and made my stomach shrink. I’ve been trying to keep it that way, so I am eating less and loosing weight. Woo-hoo!
Anywho, things are going well overall. I’ve been having some major growing pains lately, but all to be expected. I do not have any friends out here and it makes me feel a strong anti-social side in me that has been growing in recent years. I miss having my close friends and family nearby. That being said, on a super-positive note, I paid off one of my small student loans for $1,550 a couple weeks ago. Also I made a $1,700 payment on my student loan today and anticipate making another $2,000 payment when I get paid next week. ***(Since leaving Chicago, I have paid off $8,000 in credit card debt, $27,000 in student loans, from working hard, selling everything I own and collecting some inheritance from my Mother’s parents passing). I need to keep things in perspective. I have a rich life right now, living and doing what many people often do not have the chance to experience in their lifetime; teaching in a beautiful country-side, living in a one-room cabin and caravan with no lighting, cooking on a 2 burner gas-cooker, gardening and growing most of our food. Life is good, I just need to fight my anti-social behavior right now and give our friend Jen a call. She is the sweet eccentric artist we know. I need to push my creative side right now, I’m dying to have a creative release!!!
GOOD NEWS: Just before I came into the house, Doug, (the Principal), asked what my plans were for next term. I told him that I didn’t have any other solid work lined up and I would love to stay, if that was on the table. Doug told me that he would mention to the school board that he would like me to stay for next term and potentially into the 4th term. Wooo-HOOOO!!!! Now, this doesn’t mean I will get the job for sure but it is a step in the right direction!!!
Also, Dave has been commissioned to build 1 ukelele and is building the most beautiful guitar! (He will build 2 ukes at once because there is another woman who is potentially interested). Either way, it is great that he has another sale! Also his guitar that he is working on is so beautiful! It is black walnut, totara, (I think), and some other woods I cannot remember. Either way, he has cut these beautiful inlays in the guitar around the sound hole, the bottom, back and sides which look absolutely amazing!!! Also, the contrast between the walnut (dark brownish- purple) and the totara (almost yellow) are insane! I absolutely love it!!!
Abrupt, sorry, but its 730 and I’m off to re
Lately, I have been writing mostly when I stay over at the school house after teaching in Mitimiti. I’m not really sure why I didn’t write 2 weeks ago when I was here, but last week I came down with the stomach flu while I was here and that’s why I didn’t write then. It was brutal!!! I have not had a flu for years, and this one kicked my butt and made my stomach shrink. I’ve been trying to keep it that way, so I am eating less and loosing weight. Woo-hoo!
Anywho, things are going well overall. I’ve been having some major growing pains lately, but all to be expected. I do not have any friends out here and it makes me feel a strong anti-social side in me that has been growing in recent years. I miss having my close friends and family nearby. That being said, on a super-positive note, I paid off one of my small student loans for $1,550 a couple weeks ago. Also I made a $1,700 payment on my student loan today and anticipate making another $2,000 payment when I get paid next week. ***(Since leaving Chicago, I have paid off $8,000 in credit card debt, $27,000 in student loans, from working hard, selling everything I own and collecting some inheritance from my Mother’s parents passing). I need to keep things in perspective. I have a rich life right now, living and doing what many people often do not have the chance to experience in their lifetime; teaching in a beautiful country-side, living in a one-room cabin and caravan with no lighting, cooking on a 2 burner gas-cooker, gardening and growing most of our food. Life is good, I just need to fight my anti-social behavior right now and give our friend Jen a call. She is the sweet eccentric artist we know. I need to push my creative side right now, I’m dying to have a creative release!!!
GOOD NEWS: Just before I came into the house, Doug, (the Principal), asked what my plans were for next term. I told him that I didn’t have any other solid work lined up and I would love to stay, if that was on the table. Doug told me that he would mention to the school board that he would like me to stay for next term and potentially into the 4th term. Wooo-HOOOO!!!! Now, this doesn’t mean I will get the job for sure but it is a step in the right direction!!!
Also, Dave has been commissioned to build 1 ukelele and is building the most beautiful guitar! (He will build 2 ukes at once because there is another woman who is potentially interested). Either way, it is great that he has another sale! Also his guitar that he is working on is so beautiful! It is black walnut, totara, (I think), and some other woods I cannot remember. Either way, he has cut these beautiful inlays in the guitar around the sound hole, the bottom, back and sides which look absolutely amazing!!! Also, the contrast between the walnut (dark brownish- purple) and the totara (almost yellow) are insane! I absolutely love it!!!
Abrupt, sorry, but its 730 and I’m off to re
Sunday, June 19, 2011
31st May, 2011
It’s 630 in the morning and I woke up from having some bad dreams. I also had bad dreams on Sunday night. I think I’m just having one of those rough patches. I just hope that it goes away before school starts today. Gonna go do some exercises to get my body going. ☺
30th May, 2011
Last week, I ended up only working 2 days, which was unexpected, but nice. ☺ I was really exhausted needed the time off. The reason school was cancelled is because where I teach, there are mountains and it rains quite heavily sometimes and when it does, school is often canceled due to flooding.
Yesterday was a bit of a rough day…. I was trying to do good by mowing the grass. However, the grass was over a foot tall, so I had to push the mower while making it do a wheelie the whole time, it was a bit much and of course, I broke it. Then Dave tried to jump-start the tractor to try getting that thing working so we could mow some of the grass that was out of control. Everything was fine, but then the handles on the jumper cables started melting. Shit! So, we drove into town to buy some new ones because they didn’t belong to us, they were Dave’s step-dad, Matt. Oiiii. The day ended with a nice dinner though. Kathy made a nice pork roast, which was then fried up carnitas style. Yum! Dave and I made guac, homemade tortillas and refried beans. It all was really delicious.
Today, was a grueling day and by the end of it, I was completely gutted. (An expression out here, meaning upset.) The kids were really pushing me, and the day ended with me dismissing them to catch the bus, then I went into the classroom to be alone and shed a few tears. Uhhhhh. They were at the end of their rope by the end of the day, being completely disrespectful. Before dismissing the students, I couldn’t get them to do Karakia, which is the Maori prayer they finish off with. I was trying to get the students to listen and do what I asked, repeatedly, (which is my mistake). Then, the staff members who were having a meeting stepped outside and all the students started doing Karakia. It made me feel so small. All these people have to do is walk and the kids listen. On the other side is me, I put in so much effort, with no avail. I went into the class and the Principal, Doug came in a few minutes later to see how my day went and I couldn’t help but tell him I felt like crying, which I did a little. Oh well. Today is over.
Doug invited me to dinner at their house and his wife cooked up a lovely mutton leg, potatoes, pumpkin, peas, gravy plum sauce and a rhubarb baked custard. Delicious. I’m gonna try to let today go and have a better day tomorrow.
Yesterday was a bit of a rough day…. I was trying to do good by mowing the grass. However, the grass was over a foot tall, so I had to push the mower while making it do a wheelie the whole time, it was a bit much and of course, I broke it. Then Dave tried to jump-start the tractor to try getting that thing working so we could mow some of the grass that was out of control. Everything was fine, but then the handles on the jumper cables started melting. Shit! So, we drove into town to buy some new ones because they didn’t belong to us, they were Dave’s step-dad, Matt. Oiiii. The day ended with a nice dinner though. Kathy made a nice pork roast, which was then fried up carnitas style. Yum! Dave and I made guac, homemade tortillas and refried beans. It all was really delicious.
Today, was a grueling day and by the end of it, I was completely gutted. (An expression out here, meaning upset.) The kids were really pushing me, and the day ended with me dismissing them to catch the bus, then I went into the classroom to be alone and shed a few tears. Uhhhhh. They were at the end of their rope by the end of the day, being completely disrespectful. Before dismissing the students, I couldn’t get them to do Karakia, which is the Maori prayer they finish off with. I was trying to get the students to listen and do what I asked, repeatedly, (which is my mistake). Then, the staff members who were having a meeting stepped outside and all the students started doing Karakia. It made me feel so small. All these people have to do is walk and the kids listen. On the other side is me, I put in so much effort, with no avail. I went into the class and the Principal, Doug came in a few minutes later to see how my day went and I couldn’t help but tell him I felt like crying, which I did a little. Oh well. Today is over.
Doug invited me to dinner at their house and his wife cooked up a lovely mutton leg, potatoes, pumpkin, peas, gravy plum sauce and a rhubarb baked custard. Delicious. I’m gonna try to let today go and have a better day tomorrow.
25th May, 2011
Its 640 AM here in Mitimiti. I woke up at 6am, a minute before my alarm went off and MAN, the wind has started blowing something fierce right now!!! Crazy.
Anywho, I woke up early to do some sit ups and push ups, get ready early and finish typing up a mixed algebra worksheet for the year 8 girls that are in the higher maths at level 7.
I’m a bit tired this week, today will be day 2 of 4 for work for me. I am teaching at Mitimiti again this morning and then I will be at Pawaranga Thursday and Friday. Plus, I am spending the night down there cause I won’t have a car Friday morning. I let the registration on the car expire and you have to get the car inspected and get a current ‘Warrant of Fitness’ before you can re-register the car. So, Dave will bring me to school on Thursday and pick me up Friday afternoon. Sweet.
Next week, Doug, (the Principal and teacher out here in Mitimiti), asked me if I could work on Mondays and Tuesdays starting next week. Which is fine, I only will have 2 days off, then back at work.
I believe that end of next week, Dave and I are going down to Whangerai for him to purchase some finish for one of his guitars. I would just like to get out!!! On the way back, we were going to stop in Paihia, which is supposed to be a cute little town with a place called the ‘Sugarboat’ that we would like to try eating at. Its supposed to be a boat on the water that has live music and Dave would like to try getting some gigs there. Either way, I am excited to get away and have some excitement to ourselves.
Yesterday was Dave’s sister’s 12th birthday. I wasn’t home for the occasion, but she had already celebrated by going for the weekend down to Whangerai, shopping and staying in a hotel for 2 days. What happened to birthday parties? Crazy. Anyhow, we probably will have a sushi dinner for her this weekend as well. AND, I made red velvet cupcakes for her birthday, and her Mom made brownies topped with the leftover cream cheese frosting I made and M&Ms. I think that’s insane. Maybe skip the sushi dinner? Sheesh.
Okay, the sky is turning indigo. Its dusk. I should get ready. Bye!
Anywho, I woke up early to do some sit ups and push ups, get ready early and finish typing up a mixed algebra worksheet for the year 8 girls that are in the higher maths at level 7.
I’m a bit tired this week, today will be day 2 of 4 for work for me. I am teaching at Mitimiti again this morning and then I will be at Pawaranga Thursday and Friday. Plus, I am spending the night down there cause I won’t have a car Friday morning. I let the registration on the car expire and you have to get the car inspected and get a current ‘Warrant of Fitness’ before you can re-register the car. So, Dave will bring me to school on Thursday and pick me up Friday afternoon. Sweet.
Next week, Doug, (the Principal and teacher out here in Mitimiti), asked me if I could work on Mondays and Tuesdays starting next week. Which is fine, I only will have 2 days off, then back at work.
I believe that end of next week, Dave and I are going down to Whangerai for him to purchase some finish for one of his guitars. I would just like to get out!!! On the way back, we were going to stop in Paihia, which is supposed to be a cute little town with a place called the ‘Sugarboat’ that we would like to try eating at. Its supposed to be a boat on the water that has live music and Dave would like to try getting some gigs there. Either way, I am excited to get away and have some excitement to ourselves.
Yesterday was Dave’s sister’s 12th birthday. I wasn’t home for the occasion, but she had already celebrated by going for the weekend down to Whangerai, shopping and staying in a hotel for 2 days. What happened to birthday parties? Crazy. Anyhow, we probably will have a sushi dinner for her this weekend as well. AND, I made red velvet cupcakes for her birthday, and her Mom made brownies topped with the leftover cream cheese frosting I made and M&Ms. I think that’s insane. Maybe skip the sushi dinner? Sheesh.
Okay, the sky is turning indigo. Its dusk. I should get ready. Bye!
17th March, 2011
Its around 6pm here today and I am in Mitimiti, which is beautiful. The weeks are flying by and I am really enjoying teaching here in NZ. Six of my students were out today doing their film project, but I should have all 19 of them tomorrow. Today all 13 students visited the health caravan, which is run by a lovely woman named Bridget and is a traveling semi-truck completely decked out inside with carpet, video, sound and cool lights. She uses that space to educate kids about their bodies, healthy social behavior, not to smoke, etc. That ate up nearly 2 hours of the day and the other part of the day we worked on reading and writing poetry. Sweet!
I also started using Kari Miharo’s with the students. (Kari Miharo is a Maori phrase that is used like ‘caught being good’ in other classrooms). This motivated the students to focus on their work and be quiet while doing so. Choice! At the end of the day, I drew 3 names out of the box and gave those students a lollie each, (lolli-pop). I will continue doing this cause it is a constant way to remind kids how they are behaving during class. As the week progresses, maybe on Friday, I have stickers to put in the prize bag so kids can get more than just a sucker. Even though I may be aiding in their tooth decay, it’s better than solely giving out detentions. ☺
After work, around 4, I walked down to the beach and spent nearly an hour down there walking against the harsh wind. Whew! (I’m getting stoked about it though cause I don’t have to squeeze into my pants when I put them on!) ☺ When I arrived back at my sweet little house, I showered and took my homebrews out of the freezer. Whoops, slushy beer! Oh well.
This week, I will have 4 days here in Mitimiti and will figure out tomorrow if I will drive back to say hey to Dave and chill at home for a night, or just stay here for 3 nights. Either way it will be good. I can get some work done here and have quiet after being with kids all day, or I can go home and be with my sweet man. Not bad if you ask me.
Oh, and the Ministry of Education adjusted my pay out here, I got a 50% raise and tomorrow will be paid the nearly $3,000 in back-pay they owe me. So nice! That will pay off one of my small student loans I have and makes me sooooooo HAPPY!!!
I’m off to prep for the morning reading activities. G’nite.
I also started using Kari Miharo’s with the students. (Kari Miharo is a Maori phrase that is used like ‘caught being good’ in other classrooms). This motivated the students to focus on their work and be quiet while doing so. Choice! At the end of the day, I drew 3 names out of the box and gave those students a lollie each, (lolli-pop). I will continue doing this cause it is a constant way to remind kids how they are behaving during class. As the week progresses, maybe on Friday, I have stickers to put in the prize bag so kids can get more than just a sucker. Even though I may be aiding in their tooth decay, it’s better than solely giving out detentions. ☺
After work, around 4, I walked down to the beach and spent nearly an hour down there walking against the harsh wind. Whew! (I’m getting stoked about it though cause I don’t have to squeeze into my pants when I put them on!) ☺ When I arrived back at my sweet little house, I showered and took my homebrews out of the freezer. Whoops, slushy beer! Oh well.
This week, I will have 4 days here in Mitimiti and will figure out tomorrow if I will drive back to say hey to Dave and chill at home for a night, or just stay here for 3 nights. Either way it will be good. I can get some work done here and have quiet after being with kids all day, or I can go home and be with my sweet man. Not bad if you ask me.
Oh, and the Ministry of Education adjusted my pay out here, I got a 50% raise and tomorrow will be paid the nearly $3,000 in back-pay they owe me. So nice! That will pay off one of my small student loans I have and makes me sooooooo HAPPY!!!
I’m off to prep for the morning reading activities. G’nite.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
16th May, 2011
Dave and I had a great weekend! The past few weeks have been so busy working on building our little house, and on the weekends,we’ve been working harder than during the week trying to get everything finished. So this weekend, the house was built and we could work a little easier on doing what we wanted to accomplish on those days.
Friday night, we celebrated a bit and cooked up a nice meal of Monkfish tacos with homemade tortillas, salsa, guacamole and pico de gallo. Divine!
Saturday, I went for a jog on the beach while Dave stayed home and played guitar. When I came back, we made a delicious meal in celebration of finishing our space. I cooked up some chorizo, onions and eggs and we ate that with some leftover guacamole, cottage cheese and salsa. Yum! Oh, and MIMOSAS!!! What a treat! I
After breakfast, we sipped on our drinks and finished our bottle of sparkling wine while Dave worked on priming the house and I worked on a new painting. Great day. In the afternoon, I called my bro and then called my house and caught up with my Dad and Uncle Pat for a bit. It was nice, they were funny and waiting for their 2nd dinner of Quonset pizza to arrive. Ha! I would do the same, I’m sure. Pizza is so yum! (As they say out here, instead of yummy).
Dave and I both showered up at the house and walked back down to start cooking up some dinner. We usually have to start cooking around 5pm cause it gets dark by 6 o’clock and cooking outside in the dark is not super fun. We had so much food leftover from the night before, we had fish tacos again. ☺ All we had to do was roll out tortillas, flour the fish and cook both of those up. Sweet as. (Another expression, instead of sweet).
After dinner, we made a fire in the grass by one of the dead tree stumps in an attempt to burn it down. The fire was nice and Dave introduced me to the phrase, ‘Hippie television’. Hilarious. That night we stayed up pretty late and I’m not sure what time we went to bed, but we had fun watching the fire, petting cats and sipping our homebrews.
Sunday morning, I went down to the beach to get a walk/ jog in before it rained. Much of the day it was cloudy off and on, which always makes it difficult to get motivated. Anywho, I found the cord for my camera and uploaded pics to my computer finally. I made a folder for Dave to send to his Dad and one for me to upload to Facebook, then headed up to the house to skype with my fam. I got to talk with my Dad, Mom, Pat and Lupe. It was nice. Lupe has a new puppy which is super cute! She is a little white fluff ball with a dress on. Hilarious!
While I was skyping with my fam, I also was trying to upload pics to Facebook… because it takes forever to upload anything here cause the internet is so slow. So, ½ way through the download they stopped working and I had to start over. It took about 2 hours for me to get all the photos uploaded, then deleted the duplicates, putting them in order and giving small captions. Needless to say that by the end of the computer process, I was ready to do something. Dave and I decided to head down to the beach in a little bit to catch the sunset and drink a couple beers. Perfect! Before we headed out, I made a fococccia bread dough to use for making pizza for dinner. Mmmmmmmm. Just before we headed out, it started raining. Buggar! Oh well, we decided to go anyway and by the time we got out of the orchard, we could see that it would blow over.
The beach was glorious. We put our beers and cups in my purse and stared walking down to some lava rocks we could sit on. As we were walking, we saw a truck on the beach with a rope tied to a tire it was dragging. One of the people in the truck hopped on the tire and they had a good time driving and pulling each other around. Hilarious cheap fun!
Dave and I found a nice spot to sit and sipped our delicious dark ales as we watched the sun setting in the little patch of clouds. The sun put out these beautiful golden rays, peaking out of the clouds and making them glow. It was spectacular and I forgot my camera. Arrrrgh!
Here's a view of the backside our finished house and the caravan!!! :)
Our celebratory breakfast: eggs, chorizo, guac, cottage cheese, pico de gallo and salsa. Oh, AND mimosas!!! Yum!!!
Friday night, we celebrated a bit and cooked up a nice meal of Monkfish tacos with homemade tortillas, salsa, guacamole and pico de gallo. Divine!
Saturday, I went for a jog on the beach while Dave stayed home and played guitar. When I came back, we made a delicious meal in celebration of finishing our space. I cooked up some chorizo, onions and eggs and we ate that with some leftover guacamole, cottage cheese and salsa. Yum! Oh, and MIMOSAS!!! What a treat! I
After breakfast, we sipped on our drinks and finished our bottle of sparkling wine while Dave worked on priming the house and I worked on a new painting. Great day. In the afternoon, I called my bro and then called my house and caught up with my Dad and Uncle Pat for a bit. It was nice, they were funny and waiting for their 2nd dinner of Quonset pizza to arrive. Ha! I would do the same, I’m sure. Pizza is so yum! (As they say out here, instead of yummy).
Dave and I both showered up at the house and walked back down to start cooking up some dinner. We usually have to start cooking around 5pm cause it gets dark by 6 o’clock and cooking outside in the dark is not super fun. We had so much food leftover from the night before, we had fish tacos again. ☺ All we had to do was roll out tortillas, flour the fish and cook both of those up. Sweet as. (Another expression, instead of sweet).
After dinner, we made a fire in the grass by one of the dead tree stumps in an attempt to burn it down. The fire was nice and Dave introduced me to the phrase, ‘Hippie television’. Hilarious. That night we stayed up pretty late and I’m not sure what time we went to bed, but we had fun watching the fire, petting cats and sipping our homebrews.
Sunday morning, I went down to the beach to get a walk/ jog in before it rained. Much of the day it was cloudy off and on, which always makes it difficult to get motivated. Anywho, I found the cord for my camera and uploaded pics to my computer finally. I made a folder for Dave to send to his Dad and one for me to upload to Facebook, then headed up to the house to skype with my fam. I got to talk with my Dad, Mom, Pat and Lupe. It was nice. Lupe has a new puppy which is super cute! She is a little white fluff ball with a dress on. Hilarious!
While I was skyping with my fam, I also was trying to upload pics to Facebook… because it takes forever to upload anything here cause the internet is so slow. So, ½ way through the download they stopped working and I had to start over. It took about 2 hours for me to get all the photos uploaded, then deleted the duplicates, putting them in order and giving small captions. Needless to say that by the end of the computer process, I was ready to do something. Dave and I decided to head down to the beach in a little bit to catch the sunset and drink a couple beers. Perfect! Before we headed out, I made a fococccia bread dough to use for making pizza for dinner. Mmmmmmmm. Just before we headed out, it started raining. Buggar! Oh well, we decided to go anyway and by the time we got out of the orchard, we could see that it would blow over.
The beach was glorious. We put our beers and cups in my purse and stared walking down to some lava rocks we could sit on. As we were walking, we saw a truck on the beach with a rope tied to a tire it was dragging. One of the people in the truck hopped on the tire and they had a good time driving and pulling each other around. Hilarious cheap fun!
Dave and I found a nice spot to sit and sipped our delicious dark ales as we watched the sun setting in the little patch of clouds. The sun put out these beautiful golden rays, peaking out of the clouds and making them glow. It was spectacular and I forgot my camera. Arrrrgh!
Here's a view of the backside our finished house and the caravan!!! :)
Our celebratory breakfast: eggs, chorizo, guac, cottage cheese, pico de gallo and salsa. Oh, AND mimosas!!! Yum!!!
12th May, 2011
I woke up in the middle of the night while sleeping in the house around midnight and was so frightened. The wind was blowing and it sounded like a door was slamming under and around the house. At one point I woke up and turned on some lights and then the noise seemed to stop. Weird. I laid back in bed and then the noise started up again. I started thinking crazy thoughts about how there was a Maori ghost that wasn’t happy I was a Pakeha, (white woman) inside the school house. I laid in bed and prayed that the ghost would go away, which didn’t happen. Eventually, I got up and walked into the other room to see if the noise was coming from in there, which it was. The window wouldn’t close all the way, and the wind was pushing it around, so I put a small book in the space to close the gap and keep the wind from slamming the window. It was pretty hilarious though, to think that I was so terrified and thinking there was a Maori ghost that was fucking with me. Ha!
11th May, 2011
So, it seems that my evenings spent at Mitimiti will be my blogging time, since I do not seem to allow myself another time to do so. I’m sitting here eating orzo pasta with onion, tomato and cottage cheese. Ha! (I forgot the broccoli raab from the garden, oh well.) The weather is crazy right now!!! Wind and rain just started gusting up from the ocean onto the house. Crazy! Funny part is that I was going to call Dave to say hi for a minute…. But I have to walk outside to a pole that gets phone reception here…. Hmmmmm….
So anywho, things have been quite busy. Dave has been working on building us a ‘sleepout’, which really is a one-room house. It has ended up being 4.5 x 3 meters, with 4 reused windows, a pitched roof, which we will use to collect rainwater and a reused Remu door that is peeeeeerfect! We are hoping to be staying in it this weekend or when I get back from Mitimiti tomorrow. Wooo-hoooooo!!!!!
While he has been working on this for the past week and a half, I have been working on a painting, (sometimes) and making sure he and his brother are well fed. Bryan, Dave’s bro has been helping on weekends and after he gets out of work, which has been a huge help. Each day, I’ve been working in the garden, picking lettuce, making bread and doing other domestic things since I am not able to lift all the heavy boards and things they have been doing. We’ve been calling it our house for fun the past couple days, which is nice. We are excited to have a little space of our own. :)
I just got off the phone with him and he said he go all the windows in, cleaned out the inside and is going to start putting things inside so we can have a little celebration when I get back. Very exciting!!! Also, it wasn’t monsooning when I went out there, just very windy.
After work today, I drove about 17km to the nearest town called Panguru, which has a little shop and got some treats for the kids. Last week, I had told them that I didn’t want only punishment for bad behavior to happen, but also rewards for good behavior. I realized this morning that I hadn’t picked up any goodies for the kids…. I grabbed 2 boxes of these nut bars I had at home, but that only brought the total to 12 and there’s 19 kids. When I went into town, I was told that they had chocolate covered peanuts and those would be the cheapest route for getting the kids some treats…. For 8 small bags the total came to $12.50. At least the kids will get what they were told. I saw a couple of the year 5 students outside the shop, Nicola and Alicia and we talked for a bit. Nicola is a silly little spaz child, with a sad life and little attention span, she lives with her Grandmother who works at the shop and is not allowed to see her mother and sister who live 4 hours away in Auckland, (no idea why she can’t see them). Alicia is a nice, quiet girl. Both of them were so funny, sitting outside the shop. They were asking me if I was going to give out the chocolate covered peanuts one peanut at a time and I said, “No. You each get your own bag or chocolate covered granola bar.” Both of their eyes lit up and they were very excited about school tomorrow. This makes me feel good. Bribing is not so bad.
Sleepy monkey. Passed out while writing.....
So anywho, things have been quite busy. Dave has been working on building us a ‘sleepout’, which really is a one-room house. It has ended up being 4.5 x 3 meters, with 4 reused windows, a pitched roof, which we will use to collect rainwater and a reused Remu door that is peeeeeerfect! We are hoping to be staying in it this weekend or when I get back from Mitimiti tomorrow. Wooo-hoooooo!!!!!
While he has been working on this for the past week and a half, I have been working on a painting, (sometimes) and making sure he and his brother are well fed. Bryan, Dave’s bro has been helping on weekends and after he gets out of work, which has been a huge help. Each day, I’ve been working in the garden, picking lettuce, making bread and doing other domestic things since I am not able to lift all the heavy boards and things they have been doing. We’ve been calling it our house for fun the past couple days, which is nice. We are excited to have a little space of our own. :)
I just got off the phone with him and he said he go all the windows in, cleaned out the inside and is going to start putting things inside so we can have a little celebration when I get back. Very exciting!!! Also, it wasn’t monsooning when I went out there, just very windy.
After work today, I drove about 17km to the nearest town called Panguru, which has a little shop and got some treats for the kids. Last week, I had told them that I didn’t want only punishment for bad behavior to happen, but also rewards for good behavior. I realized this morning that I hadn’t picked up any goodies for the kids…. I grabbed 2 boxes of these nut bars I had at home, but that only brought the total to 12 and there’s 19 kids. When I went into town, I was told that they had chocolate covered peanuts and those would be the cheapest route for getting the kids some treats…. For 8 small bags the total came to $12.50. At least the kids will get what they were told. I saw a couple of the year 5 students outside the shop, Nicola and Alicia and we talked for a bit. Nicola is a silly little spaz child, with a sad life and little attention span, she lives with her Grandmother who works at the shop and is not allowed to see her mother and sister who live 4 hours away in Auckland, (no idea why she can’t see them). Alicia is a nice, quiet girl. Both of them were so funny, sitting outside the shop. They were asking me if I was going to give out the chocolate covered peanuts one peanut at a time and I said, “No. You each get your own bag or chocolate covered granola bar.” Both of their eyes lit up and they were very excited about school tomorrow. This makes me feel good. Bribing is not so bad.
Sleepy monkey. Passed out while writing.....
4th May, 2011
Time really is flying. Today was my first day back at work in Mitimiti at Matihitihe school, (what a mouthful). I can hear the waves crashing on the beach, have a full belly of pasta and a little red wine and am happy. A lovely woman named Ira is sharing the house with me tonight. She is a great teacher and worked with 6 of my students today, teaching them video work and will do the same tomorrow. Nice. I stayed until 6pm at work tonight trying to sort out some maths, reading and writing for the kids tomorrow…. Still need to finish the reading in the morning and get an art lesson together.
Ira and Tash, the junior teacher were hanging out for a while tonight and it was nice to have a bit of company. We talked about how Ira went on a 10 day meditation journey, complete with no talking and little movement. What a trip! Crazy. Tash is cool too, very funny and enjoy her company.
I called Dave from underneath the clothes drying rack, (which is the only place I can get a signal), but only had 3 minutes left on my phone plan so we briefly caught up before my phone cut out. Sounded like he had a good day building and was about to sit down to eat with his familia.
(I passed out while writing here… did not finish my thought). :ha!!
Ira and Tash, the junior teacher were hanging out for a while tonight and it was nice to have a bit of company. We talked about how Ira went on a 10 day meditation journey, complete with no talking and little movement. What a trip! Crazy. Tash is cool too, very funny and enjoy her company.
I called Dave from underneath the clothes drying rack, (which is the only place I can get a signal), but only had 3 minutes left on my phone plan so we briefly caught up before my phone cut out. Sounded like he had a good day building and was about to sit down to eat with his familia.
(I passed out while writing here… did not finish my thought). :ha!!
2nd of May, 2011
Busy days! This morning we started early, making tea and planting some of the new seedlings. Loaded the car with some snacks and our free window for Dave to make a new frame for at the workshop.
While Dave was working on building a frame for the window, I worked on doing laundry and editing his website, which was good! Picked Dave up around 1pm after he finished making a frame for the window and we headed back to the orchard. Dave got working on building the sleep-out and I got back to doing my chores and tidying.
Dave worked hard all day on the sleep-out by himself, building the frame for the walls and when Bry got home they were able to finish putting up the 3 walls that were built. Yay!
While Dave was working on building a frame for the window, I worked on doing laundry and editing his website, which was good! Picked Dave up around 1pm after he finished making a frame for the window and we headed back to the orchard. Dave got working on building the sleep-out and I got back to doing my chores and tidying.
Dave worked hard all day on the sleep-out by himself, building the frame for the walls and when Bry got home they were able to finish putting up the 3 walls that were built. Yay!
1st May 2011
Tomorrow is the start of term 2 in schools out here. BUT, I don’t start work until Wednesday!!! And I couldn’t be happier about that. The past 2 weeks have flown by and I’ve kept quite busy. During three days over break, I drove over an hour each way to school, downloaded printer software onto my computer so I am able to print down there. Also, I hung the artwork that the students have worked on down there…. And those days I will be paid for, which is nice. :)
Last week on Friday, Dave and I had a lovely dinner out at a restaurant called Acorn Bar & Bistro. We heard from a friend that the food was delicious, so we wanted to see for ourselves what it was all about, (especially since it was the first time we had been out to eat for dinner since I’ve been out here.) We shared a beautiful mushroom soup, Dave had pork belly, I had beef bourginion and we each had a glass of lovely red wine. What a treat!!! The couple sitting next to us was very cool too; they were around our parents age, she was a school teacher, he a builder. Our tables were seated next to us so that it was hard to have your own conversation, so they started one with us by asking if I was Irish or Canadian. Ha! Funny. It went on from there and they learned that we were living in a caravan trying to live frugally, pay off my student loans and Dave was beginning his career as a luthier. Kevin told us that he wished his daughter would learn how to be penny-savers like us, and we all laughed and enjoyed our meals together. They finished their crème brulee before us and after they had left, the owner approached and said, “The couple sitting next to you enjoyed your company so much and thought that you were such a lovely couple, they just paid for your dinner.” Dave and my eyes lit up, eyebrows raised and in shock, asked her if she was serious. She assured us that she was and that this was the first time anyone had done that in her restaurant. Wow! We were so giddy! As Dave and I were leaving, we told her we felt like we should do dishes or something, she introduced us to the Chef and Sous chef and we made our exit. Our meal was over $100 easily and it was such a treat to have someone else pick up the tab. :)
Yesterday, (Saturday), Dave worked on the sleep-out all day while I skyped with my family, worked on a new painting and made dinner. Today, I tried to help by scraping the paint off a used window we got for free, but after a while I was tired. I worked on my painting again and took a long nap; woke up to eat some chocolate and work on this blog. Laaaaazzzzy daaaayyyy.
Now I am sitting in the caravan while Dave and his brother, Bry are working on building us a room outside the caravan. They’ve been going so hard all day, even when its been raining and the power has been out all day so they have had to saw all the wood by hand. Such sweet men!!!! It will be a nice size, 3 x 4 meters, so we can put our bed inside along with a small table and chairs to eat or work at. I am really quite excited. Dave is going to make some shelves for the inside so we can easily stow all our crap and try to keep things more orderly. It can be quite difficult living in a small space to keep all the things put away. Even though we don’t have much, when we don’t put things away it gets cluttered very quickly.
Over break, I’ve also been trying to gather resources for teaching reading to the kids, which could be a challenge. The classroom I will be teaching is year 5-8 students, (5th-8th grade), and some of the younger ones can’t read. I am hoping that I can work on getting some of that organized tomorrow.
I’m so sleepy. Naps make it worse if you sleep too long, and that is where I am at. Sleepy monkey. Its only 430pm. ZZZZzzzzzzz….
I ended up drinking a b-vitamin energy booster and made us a lovely dinner…. Garbanzos, lentils and onions on top of lettuce… with cheese, salsa and guacamole.
Dave and I were asleep by 830pm. :)
Dave and his bro Bryan building the floor for our new monkey house!!!
Celebratory foamy homebrew after a long day of hard work. Thank you!!!
Last week on Friday, Dave and I had a lovely dinner out at a restaurant called Acorn Bar & Bistro. We heard from a friend that the food was delicious, so we wanted to see for ourselves what it was all about, (especially since it was the first time we had been out to eat for dinner since I’ve been out here.) We shared a beautiful mushroom soup, Dave had pork belly, I had beef bourginion and we each had a glass of lovely red wine. What a treat!!! The couple sitting next to us was very cool too; they were around our parents age, she was a school teacher, he a builder. Our tables were seated next to us so that it was hard to have your own conversation, so they started one with us by asking if I was Irish or Canadian. Ha! Funny. It went on from there and they learned that we were living in a caravan trying to live frugally, pay off my student loans and Dave was beginning his career as a luthier. Kevin told us that he wished his daughter would learn how to be penny-savers like us, and we all laughed and enjoyed our meals together. They finished their crème brulee before us and after they had left, the owner approached and said, “The couple sitting next to you enjoyed your company so much and thought that you were such a lovely couple, they just paid for your dinner.” Dave and my eyes lit up, eyebrows raised and in shock, asked her if she was serious. She assured us that she was and that this was the first time anyone had done that in her restaurant. Wow! We were so giddy! As Dave and I were leaving, we told her we felt like we should do dishes or something, she introduced us to the Chef and Sous chef and we made our exit. Our meal was over $100 easily and it was such a treat to have someone else pick up the tab. :)
Yesterday, (Saturday), Dave worked on the sleep-out all day while I skyped with my family, worked on a new painting and made dinner. Today, I tried to help by scraping the paint off a used window we got for free, but after a while I was tired. I worked on my painting again and took a long nap; woke up to eat some chocolate and work on this blog. Laaaaazzzzy daaaayyyy.
Now I am sitting in the caravan while Dave and his brother, Bry are working on building us a room outside the caravan. They’ve been going so hard all day, even when its been raining and the power has been out all day so they have had to saw all the wood by hand. Such sweet men!!!! It will be a nice size, 3 x 4 meters, so we can put our bed inside along with a small table and chairs to eat or work at. I am really quite excited. Dave is going to make some shelves for the inside so we can easily stow all our crap and try to keep things more orderly. It can be quite difficult living in a small space to keep all the things put away. Even though we don’t have much, when we don’t put things away it gets cluttered very quickly.
Over break, I’ve also been trying to gather resources for teaching reading to the kids, which could be a challenge. The classroom I will be teaching is year 5-8 students, (5th-8th grade), and some of the younger ones can’t read. I am hoping that I can work on getting some of that organized tomorrow.
I’m so sleepy. Naps make it worse if you sleep too long, and that is where I am at. Sleepy monkey. Its only 430pm. ZZZZzzzzzzz….
I ended up drinking a b-vitamin energy booster and made us a lovely dinner…. Garbanzos, lentils and onions on top of lettuce… with cheese, salsa and guacamole.
Dave and I were asleep by 830pm. :)
Dave and his bro Bryan building the floor for our new monkey house!!!
Celebratory foamy homebrew after a long day of hard work. Thank you!!!
22 April, 2011
I am loving the school schedule out here! 10 weeks on and 2 weeks off. It is Friday and I am coming to the end of my first week of holiday out here. OHHHH!!!! AND…. I got the job! 2 days next term I will be out in Mitimiti, (read previous post if you’re confused), spending one night a week in the house that overlooks the ocean. Lovely!!! And Yaaaaaaay!!!!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
11 April, 2011
At the moment, I am freshly showered, listening to James Brown and sipping white wine while looking at a gorgeous sunset over the beach in Mitimiti. I have been relieving here 2 days per week for the past 3 weeks, with this being the first time to spend the night. The major reasons I have finally stayed over is that the school is in the middle of nowhere and I have to travel on a gravel road for 20 kilometers of the 67 kilometer commute. I mean, where I live is pretty remote compared to what I’m used to, but this school is 17 kilometers away from the nearest small town and 1.5 hours to the nearest town with a normal grocery store, not a corner mart. That being said, its fucking beautiful here and I feel very fortunate to have to opportunity to stay here. The school has 3 houses that are seated upon a large hill overlooking the beach; one house is for the principal and his wife, one is for the teacher, Natasha who works with the little ones (kindergarten- 4th grade) and one is for relievers such as myself. What an amazing place. Eating some washed lettuce I brought to make salad for dinner and heating up some tomato, fresh basil, garlic and orzo pasta I made yesterday in preparation. Delicious!
So, I have neglected blogging lately and wish this wasn’t the case….. I’ll make it my goal to blog 1-2 times per week or more, hopefully. I used to do it everyday and then I was sick, started getting really busy with work, plus commuting and this got pushed aside.
Anyhow, things were a bit crazy this weekend because Dave’s sister broke her ankle in 2 places on Friday night. It was insane; there was no swelling, but after they did an X-ray 3 hours later, they discovered that she had a massive spiral fracture on her tibia and her growth plate on the front of her bone had completely chipped off. With that information, the Doctors decided that she should go to Whangerai to see a specialist and figure out if she needed to have surgery. So, Saturday morning, she took a 3 hour ambulance ride to Whangerai where they did an X-ray and decided they would do surgery to repair the massive spiral fracture on her tibia, and re-set her growth plate. Saturday, Dave and I jogged on the beach (which is a new thing and I’m very excited about doing it to help me get in shape), and then went to Hannah’s soccer team’s game to deliver their water bottles and some cut oranges. We stayed to watch the game and spent the rest of the day putzing around, playing music and making food. Sunday, Dave and I jogged on the beach in the morning, then made 50 liters of lager, I ripped out the tomatoes and planted a cold hardy variety, (its not even that cold here, just at night), then I started making food: guacamole and salsa to go with our Mexican dinner, tomato and orzo pasta for Dave and I to eat at our separate places on Monday/ Tuesday, washed heaps of lettuce, and got all that packed away.
Today was a good day at school. I only had 9 students for most of the day because some were off getting vaccinations and then 10 went on a field-trip to local streams to test their toxicity. Regardless of how cool that sounds, I was in a shitty mood that didn’t hit me until I reached the school. There was a position advertised for 2 -3 days per week release for the Principal and his 1st year teacher. (Explanation: Principal’s out here are frequently classroom teachers as well and are given 2 days out of the classroom to keep up with their Principal duties. Also, first-year-teachers/ beginning teachers are also given 1 day per week out of the classroom. These days are called release days). So, I had applied for this position and the applications closed on Friday. I found out Saturday that I did not get the position, which didn’t bother me at the time. However, when I was at school today and they conducted an interview for that position, I was a bit irritated. Later in the day, I was told that he still will probably need me, so I’m not too bummed about it. ☺
Also, after work, I found another serial number for Photoshop CS4 so I can continue editing and posting photos for Dave’s website www.benavidesguitars.com which was great. I then headed up to this lovely house on the hill, changed and headed down to the beach where I did my walking then jogging for 30+ minutes. I can run for 2 minutes, then walk for a few and continue on. Supposedly in 8 weeks, I will be able to run 30 minutes. I’ll be stoked when that happens. What really kicked my ass was walking back up the hill to the house, SHIT! I was winded, sweaty and red faced from climbing that grassy sand mountain for 10 minutes, not really from jogging. Either way, my legs are a hurtin something fierce right now which is good and it makes me feel guilt-free about this wine and pasta.
Tomorrow, I am hoping that we can read the Maori story/ myth of how this land was created and (based on the sweet ass children’s book I have, complete with illustrations), and the students can make their own artwork, which we can paint/ add color to somehow. It’s a really interesting story about how the Earth is the Mother and sky is Father, and once they have children their children start plotting on how to separate them. The only one who succeeds is Tane Mahuta, which is the God of the Trees. Look up Tane Mahuta on google, and you will see there is a Kauri tree that is 2000 years old and is massive. So, Tane Mahuta was the child who succeeded in separating his parents by slowly pushing them apart as he continued to grow. Strange and beautiful. I enjoy learning about Maori culture. Its built around nature and Maori’s are very appreciative and aware of the spirit within everything, hence whenever they take something from the Earth, be it cutting a tree or catching a fish, they say a short prayer thanking that being for its life and giving itself to them. I think it is beautiful.
Overall, things have been going quite well. I have had 4 days of work the last 3 weeks and after this week, school is on holiday for 2 weeks. I’m excited, and could really use the break. I have been a bit stressed cause the work I’ve had consistently in Hannah’s classroom is stopping. I was filling in for a woman who is pregnant, but has now passed her 1st trimester and won’t be sick anymore. Damn. Meg has said that she wants to cut back 2 days at Pawarenga, so hopefully I can get those 2 days per week and continue getting some other days at various schools. It hasn’t been a problem so far, and shouldn’t in the future but I’m a worrier.
Dave and I have been doing great; working well together at home, being creative, playing music, laughing and being fuckin silly. Its allgood. I think we’re both happy that I have this night down in Mitimiti though as we both have been craving some alone time, (I think); he’s been itching to record music and I could really use the time to catch up on writing and have some quiet time to myself. Its 8pm right now and I think I’m about to pass out. Guess that’s my agenda…. Read about the Maori Creation Story and get some zzzzzzzz’s. And since I killed the 2 mozzies that were in my room that is possible. G’nite.
Some artwork the kids were working on out here at Matihetihi School in Mitimiti.
The sun setting out of my bedroom window in Mitimiti
So, I have neglected blogging lately and wish this wasn’t the case….. I’ll make it my goal to blog 1-2 times per week or more, hopefully. I used to do it everyday and then I was sick, started getting really busy with work, plus commuting and this got pushed aside.
Anyhow, things were a bit crazy this weekend because Dave’s sister broke her ankle in 2 places on Friday night. It was insane; there was no swelling, but after they did an X-ray 3 hours later, they discovered that she had a massive spiral fracture on her tibia and her growth plate on the front of her bone had completely chipped off. With that information, the Doctors decided that she should go to Whangerai to see a specialist and figure out if she needed to have surgery. So, Saturday morning, she took a 3 hour ambulance ride to Whangerai where they did an X-ray and decided they would do surgery to repair the massive spiral fracture on her tibia, and re-set her growth plate. Saturday, Dave and I jogged on the beach (which is a new thing and I’m very excited about doing it to help me get in shape), and then went to Hannah’s soccer team’s game to deliver their water bottles and some cut oranges. We stayed to watch the game and spent the rest of the day putzing around, playing music and making food. Sunday, Dave and I jogged on the beach in the morning, then made 50 liters of lager, I ripped out the tomatoes and planted a cold hardy variety, (its not even that cold here, just at night), then I started making food: guacamole and salsa to go with our Mexican dinner, tomato and orzo pasta for Dave and I to eat at our separate places on Monday/ Tuesday, washed heaps of lettuce, and got all that packed away.
Today was a good day at school. I only had 9 students for most of the day because some were off getting vaccinations and then 10 went on a field-trip to local streams to test their toxicity. Regardless of how cool that sounds, I was in a shitty mood that didn’t hit me until I reached the school. There was a position advertised for 2 -3 days per week release for the Principal and his 1st year teacher. (Explanation: Principal’s out here are frequently classroom teachers as well and are given 2 days out of the classroom to keep up with their Principal duties. Also, first-year-teachers/ beginning teachers are also given 1 day per week out of the classroom. These days are called release days). So, I had applied for this position and the applications closed on Friday. I found out Saturday that I did not get the position, which didn’t bother me at the time. However, when I was at school today and they conducted an interview for that position, I was a bit irritated. Later in the day, I was told that he still will probably need me, so I’m not too bummed about it. ☺
Also, after work, I found another serial number for Photoshop CS4 so I can continue editing and posting photos for Dave’s website www.benavidesguitars.com which was great. I then headed up to this lovely house on the hill, changed and headed down to the beach where I did my walking then jogging for 30+ minutes. I can run for 2 minutes, then walk for a few and continue on. Supposedly in 8 weeks, I will be able to run 30 minutes. I’ll be stoked when that happens. What really kicked my ass was walking back up the hill to the house, SHIT! I was winded, sweaty and red faced from climbing that grassy sand mountain for 10 minutes, not really from jogging. Either way, my legs are a hurtin something fierce right now which is good and it makes me feel guilt-free about this wine and pasta.
Tomorrow, I am hoping that we can read the Maori story/ myth of how this land was created and (based on the sweet ass children’s book I have, complete with illustrations), and the students can make their own artwork, which we can paint/ add color to somehow. It’s a really interesting story about how the Earth is the Mother and sky is Father, and once they have children their children start plotting on how to separate them. The only one who succeeds is Tane Mahuta, which is the God of the Trees. Look up Tane Mahuta on google, and you will see there is a Kauri tree that is 2000 years old and is massive. So, Tane Mahuta was the child who succeeded in separating his parents by slowly pushing them apart as he continued to grow. Strange and beautiful. I enjoy learning about Maori culture. Its built around nature and Maori’s are very appreciative and aware of the spirit within everything, hence whenever they take something from the Earth, be it cutting a tree or catching a fish, they say a short prayer thanking that being for its life and giving itself to them. I think it is beautiful.
Overall, things have been going quite well. I have had 4 days of work the last 3 weeks and after this week, school is on holiday for 2 weeks. I’m excited, and could really use the break. I have been a bit stressed cause the work I’ve had consistently in Hannah’s classroom is stopping. I was filling in for a woman who is pregnant, but has now passed her 1st trimester and won’t be sick anymore. Damn. Meg has said that she wants to cut back 2 days at Pawarenga, so hopefully I can get those 2 days per week and continue getting some other days at various schools. It hasn’t been a problem so far, and shouldn’t in the future but I’m a worrier.
Dave and I have been doing great; working well together at home, being creative, playing music, laughing and being fuckin silly. Its allgood. I think we’re both happy that I have this night down in Mitimiti though as we both have been craving some alone time, (I think); he’s been itching to record music and I could really use the time to catch up on writing and have some quiet time to myself. Its 8pm right now and I think I’m about to pass out. Guess that’s my agenda…. Read about the Maori Creation Story and get some zzzzzzzz’s. And since I killed the 2 mozzies that were in my room that is possible. G’nite.
Some artwork the kids were working on out here at Matihetihi School in Mitimiti.
The sun setting out of my bedroom window in Mitimiti
27th, March 2011
Seems like the days are flying by and I am falling out of the habit of writing every day. I’ll have to work on that.
Dave and I just returned from a trip to Whangerai in search of work boots for him, more beer brewing equipment, shoes for me and whatever other random things we came across. We headed out on Saturday morning and had a great day, but was surreal at times also. One point in our drive, (traveling 100 kph/ 70 mph), I had to stop suddenly because the whole road was full of a heard of cows that were unattended and walking straight toward our car. I gave them a quick honk and they turned around and headed the other direction, but missed the gate they were coming out of. Dave quickly jumped out of the car, barefoot, and keeping a good distance from the cows got them back in the driveway they seemed to be coming from. I drove up behind him and waited for him to talk briefly with the aloof farmer and we got back on the road. Only, less than a minute down the road we encountered 1 giant truck off the road, a tour bus blocking the oncoming lane and a minivan pulled over trying to rescue a giant turtle in the road. This put us in hysterics. We knew that the day would be a bit strange from then on.
We arrived in town mid-day and putzed through the shops. Dave found shoes, but they were all out of my size in any shoe I liked. We found little restaurant on the harbor, had a couple beers, some bruscetta and salad. Yum!
The next mentionable weirdness was when we were walking through the frozen meat aisle of a butcher shop and Radiohead’s creep video was playing on a small VCR + telelvision above a deep-freezer. WEIRD! We didn’t buy any meat either, but instead headed to the grocery store for some snacks and booze. We picked up some eggs and potatoes for breakfast, veggies and dip for dinner, and a bottle of Villa Maria, Sauvagion Blanc. Then we got on our way to the campground.
The campground was the same place we went to my first day on the island, and we decided to get a small room for $60, because camping would have been too wet. It was a decent room with a nice squishy bed. We hung out, walked the beach, ate our veggies while we drank our wine and chatted most of the night.
(Forgot my camera this weekend, sorry!)
Dave and I just returned from a trip to Whangerai in search of work boots for him, more beer brewing equipment, shoes for me and whatever other random things we came across. We headed out on Saturday morning and had a great day, but was surreal at times also. One point in our drive, (traveling 100 kph/ 70 mph), I had to stop suddenly because the whole road was full of a heard of cows that were unattended and walking straight toward our car. I gave them a quick honk and they turned around and headed the other direction, but missed the gate they were coming out of. Dave quickly jumped out of the car, barefoot, and keeping a good distance from the cows got them back in the driveway they seemed to be coming from. I drove up behind him and waited for him to talk briefly with the aloof farmer and we got back on the road. Only, less than a minute down the road we encountered 1 giant truck off the road, a tour bus blocking the oncoming lane and a minivan pulled over trying to rescue a giant turtle in the road. This put us in hysterics. We knew that the day would be a bit strange from then on.
We arrived in town mid-day and putzed through the shops. Dave found shoes, but they were all out of my size in any shoe I liked. We found little restaurant on the harbor, had a couple beers, some bruscetta and salad. Yum!
The next mentionable weirdness was when we were walking through the frozen meat aisle of a butcher shop and Radiohead’s creep video was playing on a small VCR + telelvision above a deep-freezer. WEIRD! We didn’t buy any meat either, but instead headed to the grocery store for some snacks and booze. We picked up some eggs and potatoes for breakfast, veggies and dip for dinner, and a bottle of Villa Maria, Sauvagion Blanc. Then we got on our way to the campground.
The campground was the same place we went to my first day on the island, and we decided to get a small room for $60, because camping would have been too wet. It was a decent room with a nice squishy bed. We hung out, walked the beach, ate our veggies while we drank our wine and chatted most of the night.
(Forgot my camera this weekend, sorry!)
13th, March 2011
Dave and I both woke up feeling much better today, I think the whiskey must have helped. ☺ He got up a couple hours before me, watered the garden and I stayed in bed and slept until 9. When I got up, we came back down to the caravan, made tea and I started making some potatoes and eggs while Dave worked on recording some music in the caravan.
A bit later, Dave had a sip of whiskey and mowed the lawn. Not the best choice of activities but he wasn’t feeling too great and wanted a little boost. Ha!
Not sure what happened the rest of the day…..
A bit later, Dave had a sip of whiskey and mowed the lawn. Not the best choice of activities but he wasn’t feeling too great and wanted a little boost. Ha!
Not sure what happened the rest of the day…..
Monday, March 14, 2011
12th March, 2011
Dave and I slept in the house on last night cause he started feeling really sick, the same way I did, with a sore throat. It seems like it all hit him at once though, as he is coughing and blowing his nose like a madman.
We woke up, took ibuprofen, ate some yogurt with fruit and tea with honey and felt much better after an hour. We decided to hop in the car to go look at Dave’s guitar at the Kauri Kingdom. This place is a major tourist destination and they were really excited to have Dave’s guitar for sale in there. We drove up there and the place is really amazing. They have a staircase that is built from a massive Kauri log, trinkets for sale, as well as beautiful turned bowls worth hundreds of dollars and a gallery upstairs. The gallery is where Dave’s guitar was, inside of a case with a mirror back for viewers to see all sides of the guitar; listed for $3250 with a beautifully written statement next to the guitar. Very proud of him. ☺
(Swamp Kauri trees were massive trees that at one point covered the Northern part of the North Island 45,000 years ago. The base of the trees sometimes reaches 35 feet across, they’re massive. Anyhow, an enormous tidal wave knocked these trees over 45,000 years ago and blew all of them over in the same direction. They were preserved because the soil is sandy up here and over the course of farmers running them over, they started being dug up and have become quite an expensive commodity. One cubic meter of this wood is worth $16,000. Anyhow, this is the wood that Dave has got his hands on and been able to build an instrument that is perfect out of. It sounds beautiful. :)
Here is Dave's guitar at the Kauri Kingdom
We picked up a coffee on our way out of the Kauri Kingdom and headed up to Cape Reinga, which is the Northern most point of the island. It turned out to be almost a 2 hour drive each way, but it was worth it. The scenery was really beautiful and reminded me of Ireland with rolling green hills full of sheep and cows. We arrived at the cape and it was an amazing site. The sea looked turquoise and green in parts and although we were up quite high, you could see to the bottom. Lovely.
On the way back, we had to stop at the only gas station along the way for some gas and hoping to get a meat pie, since we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Dave had 15 dollars in his wallet, so we punched in 10 on the old school gas pump and started pumping. We stopped the pump after what seemed like 30 seconds cause it wasn’t stopping or telling us how much gas we had put in. I went into the shop and spoke with the deranged toothless man behind the counter who told me we had put $63. 53 into our car. We found out that if you press the ‘fill’ button, which we did that the pump does not stop. Great. Dave tried his debit card, which didn’t work and I ran mine as credit, which finally worked. Thank god. I felt like I was on the Kiwi set for Deliverance and wanted to get the hell out of there.
Dave used the cash in his pocket to get a steak pie. The pies are delicious little snacks that are covered in pastry, slightly bigger than your palm and filled with a variety of goodness, this one in particular had beef, peas and gravy inside and it was a perfect sharing snack.
We got home and after a short while, I called my family, who were all getting back from my Grandpa’s wake. Although it was a sad time, it was nice catching up with all of them. I was able to briefly talk to my cousins, Ken, Frank, Roxanne, D.J., Scott, Tyler, and my Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave, Uncle Pat and both my parents. It was good to talk with all of them. My cold decided to be extra annoying while I was on the phone and kept my nose completely plugged up the whole time. After my Uncle Pat had told me that I should know that I should be drinking whiskey when I’m sick instead of beer, Dave and I headed back to town to the ‘Liquor King’ shop. I guess all I needed was a little encouragement. ;)
When we got back, Dave, Kathy and I had a little Bush Mills in a glass and sipped it in honor of my Grandpa Howard. Although, his drink was gin, I couldn’t handle gin at the moment and whatever we don’t touch now, will be drank a little of next weekend when it is St. Patrick’s Day. ☺ Sidenote- I couldn’t taste the whiskey. That’s how plugged up my nose was. All I could feel was the warm sensation in my mouth and going down into my stomach.
Dave and I made breakfast for dinner cause it sounded good. We whipped up some salsa, guacamole, potatoes, and eggs with chorizo. It looked good, and Dave said it tasted good, but I couldn’t taste a damn thing.
We slept in the house again and were in bed by 9pm.
Cape Reinga.....
We woke up, took ibuprofen, ate some yogurt with fruit and tea with honey and felt much better after an hour. We decided to hop in the car to go look at Dave’s guitar at the Kauri Kingdom. This place is a major tourist destination and they were really excited to have Dave’s guitar for sale in there. We drove up there and the place is really amazing. They have a staircase that is built from a massive Kauri log, trinkets for sale, as well as beautiful turned bowls worth hundreds of dollars and a gallery upstairs. The gallery is where Dave’s guitar was, inside of a case with a mirror back for viewers to see all sides of the guitar; listed for $3250 with a beautifully written statement next to the guitar. Very proud of him. ☺
(Swamp Kauri trees were massive trees that at one point covered the Northern part of the North Island 45,000 years ago. The base of the trees sometimes reaches 35 feet across, they’re massive. Anyhow, an enormous tidal wave knocked these trees over 45,000 years ago and blew all of them over in the same direction. They were preserved because the soil is sandy up here and over the course of farmers running them over, they started being dug up and have become quite an expensive commodity. One cubic meter of this wood is worth $16,000. Anyhow, this is the wood that Dave has got his hands on and been able to build an instrument that is perfect out of. It sounds beautiful. :)
Here is Dave's guitar at the Kauri Kingdom
We picked up a coffee on our way out of the Kauri Kingdom and headed up to Cape Reinga, which is the Northern most point of the island. It turned out to be almost a 2 hour drive each way, but it was worth it. The scenery was really beautiful and reminded me of Ireland with rolling green hills full of sheep and cows. We arrived at the cape and it was an amazing site. The sea looked turquoise and green in parts and although we were up quite high, you could see to the bottom. Lovely.
On the way back, we had to stop at the only gas station along the way for some gas and hoping to get a meat pie, since we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Dave had 15 dollars in his wallet, so we punched in 10 on the old school gas pump and started pumping. We stopped the pump after what seemed like 30 seconds cause it wasn’t stopping or telling us how much gas we had put in. I went into the shop and spoke with the deranged toothless man behind the counter who told me we had put $63. 53 into our car. We found out that if you press the ‘fill’ button, which we did that the pump does not stop. Great. Dave tried his debit card, which didn’t work and I ran mine as credit, which finally worked. Thank god. I felt like I was on the Kiwi set for Deliverance and wanted to get the hell out of there.
Dave used the cash in his pocket to get a steak pie. The pies are delicious little snacks that are covered in pastry, slightly bigger than your palm and filled with a variety of goodness, this one in particular had beef, peas and gravy inside and it was a perfect sharing snack.
We got home and after a short while, I called my family, who were all getting back from my Grandpa’s wake. Although it was a sad time, it was nice catching up with all of them. I was able to briefly talk to my cousins, Ken, Frank, Roxanne, D.J., Scott, Tyler, and my Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave, Uncle Pat and both my parents. It was good to talk with all of them. My cold decided to be extra annoying while I was on the phone and kept my nose completely plugged up the whole time. After my Uncle Pat had told me that I should know that I should be drinking whiskey when I’m sick instead of beer, Dave and I headed back to town to the ‘Liquor King’ shop. I guess all I needed was a little encouragement. ;)
When we got back, Dave, Kathy and I had a little Bush Mills in a glass and sipped it in honor of my Grandpa Howard. Although, his drink was gin, I couldn’t handle gin at the moment and whatever we don’t touch now, will be drank a little of next weekend when it is St. Patrick’s Day. ☺ Sidenote- I couldn’t taste the whiskey. That’s how plugged up my nose was. All I could feel was the warm sensation in my mouth and going down into my stomach.
Dave and I made breakfast for dinner cause it sounded good. We whipped up some salsa, guacamole, potatoes, and eggs with chorizo. It looked good, and Dave said it tasted good, but I couldn’t taste a damn thing.
We slept in the house again and were in bed by 9pm.
Cape Reinga.....
Thursday, March 10, 2011
11th March 2011
I haven’t written anything for over a week again. Eeek. Dave finished his guitar last Friday and we celebrated at the workshop by having a few beers and eating some sausages from the grill. Delicious! The following morning, I went with Steve and Dave to Greg and Terry’s property to finish milling a Kauri tree they had worked on a week or two prior. It was nice, (once the rain stopped), and Terry cooked up a delicious breakfast for us with sausage, eggs, mushrooms and toast. Sausage 2 days in a row!!! Yum.
We came home that night, made dinner and hung out at the house with Dave’s family. They were quite amazed with the guitar he made and Matt, Bryan and Dave all played guitar together. By the end of the night, I had to make an exit cause my throat was starting to hurt so bad, I needed to get in bed. In the middle of the night, I woke up cause my throat felt so swollen and painful.
During the week, I couldn’t really take it easy cause I had to work Monday- Wednesday. Oh well. The days were rough, but at least I was getting paid, or will on the 23rd. Tuesday I lost my voice by the end of the day, so Wednesday I tried to take it a bit easier, but each day I have had the worst headache, it takes 4 ibuprofen to make it go away.
Thursday, I did laundry and went back to sleep around 11am and did not wake up until 2pm. When I woke up, my head was bangin. Dave’s mom, Kathy gave me 2 15mg codeine and 2 ibuprofen and I felt much better. I went into town to pick up some groceries, then picked up Dave and made hummus and falafel for dinner with some veggies.
Today is Friday and I’m frustrated cause I got a phone call at 7am asking if I could work today. The most frustrating part is that it was Kaingaroa School that called. This is the school I applied for a teaching position for terms 2-4 because that teacher will be on maternity leave…. And this was the classroom I would have been filling in for today. So basically, the Principal called me to see if he could try me out for a day in the room I would be teaching in, and I had to turn it down cause I’m too sick. SHIT SHIT SHIT!!! I started 2nd guessing myself and crying after I got off the phone, but as I am typing this and coughing up nasty shit, with my head pounding, I should have confidence and know I made the right decision. I am to call him next week on Tuesday or Wednesday to see when I can come in to work in the classrooms that week. So, its not over.
Meg, (Bryan’s GF), apparently has been really sick too. Bry said she’s had wicked headaches, so much so that she didn’t go to work on Wednesday. She went to the doctor and he thinks she has a Strep infection, but in her blood, because all her mosquito bites are getting infected. There was a kid at the school we were teaching at last week, who had such a bad infection in his throat, there was puss and that’s probably what I have. Sweet.
I’m off to drink OJ, eat garlic and garden. Gotta get rid of this cold!!!
We came home that night, made dinner and hung out at the house with Dave’s family. They were quite amazed with the guitar he made and Matt, Bryan and Dave all played guitar together. By the end of the night, I had to make an exit cause my throat was starting to hurt so bad, I needed to get in bed. In the middle of the night, I woke up cause my throat felt so swollen and painful.
During the week, I couldn’t really take it easy cause I had to work Monday- Wednesday. Oh well. The days were rough, but at least I was getting paid, or will on the 23rd. Tuesday I lost my voice by the end of the day, so Wednesday I tried to take it a bit easier, but each day I have had the worst headache, it takes 4 ibuprofen to make it go away.
Thursday, I did laundry and went back to sleep around 11am and did not wake up until 2pm. When I woke up, my head was bangin. Dave’s mom, Kathy gave me 2 15mg codeine and 2 ibuprofen and I felt much better. I went into town to pick up some groceries, then picked up Dave and made hummus and falafel for dinner with some veggies.
Today is Friday and I’m frustrated cause I got a phone call at 7am asking if I could work today. The most frustrating part is that it was Kaingaroa School that called. This is the school I applied for a teaching position for terms 2-4 because that teacher will be on maternity leave…. And this was the classroom I would have been filling in for today. So basically, the Principal called me to see if he could try me out for a day in the room I would be teaching in, and I had to turn it down cause I’m too sick. SHIT SHIT SHIT!!! I started 2nd guessing myself and crying after I got off the phone, but as I am typing this and coughing up nasty shit, with my head pounding, I should have confidence and know I made the right decision. I am to call him next week on Tuesday or Wednesday to see when I can come in to work in the classrooms that week. So, its not over.
Meg, (Bryan’s GF), apparently has been really sick too. Bry said she’s had wicked headaches, so much so that she didn’t go to work on Wednesday. She went to the doctor and he thinks she has a Strep infection, but in her blood, because all her mosquito bites are getting infected. There was a kid at the school we were teaching at last week, who had such a bad infection in his throat, there was puss and that’s probably what I have. Sweet.
I’m off to drink OJ, eat garlic and garden. Gotta get rid of this cold!!!
1st March, 2011
Wow, I haven’t done any writing for a week. Originally I started this blog to be a journal of my experiences because it can become easy to forget all the things you do over the course of time. This past week was busy; stressful, emotional and fun during other times. Earlier in the week I found out my Grandpa was really sick and was in a hospice home, stress. It is hard to be away from family when someone is ill. I wish I could be around to help my Mother and support her. Wednesday, I taught at Ahipara, Thursday and Friday I was at Te Kura O Hata Maria, (which is a Catholic Maori School in Pawarenga). Thursday, I also found out my Grandpa passed away, while I was at school. Needless to say, that by the end of the week I was ready for some R&R. Saturday, we went into town in search of beer brewing supplies, and found SUCCESS!!! YAY!!! We then headed home and helped paint the house for a few hours, while sipping some vodka cocktails. I spoke with my family on Sunday, which was nice. Later on Sunday, Dave and I did some canning of salsa and pickles and then packed a tent, some food and pillows and went camping for the night. It was good to get away and we had a nice time, sipping some Coopers beers, watching the sunset and eating some random veggies.
21 February 2011
Super tired this morning. I wonder if I have a bug, or need to exercise more…. Probably both. I had the house to myself today, so I hopped on the computer to get some teaching materials together. I found starting activities for a persuasive writing activity and gathered some info on an art project.
Went over to the school and met up with Jodi, who I am supposed to be working for the next couple days. We discussed what I would be teaching and I found out that I will only be working for her on Wednesdays, rather than Tuesdays and Wednesdays, (totally a misunderstanding by me, bummer). Oh well. This did stress me out though, so I rode my bike home and got the number for the school Meg works at to see if they still needed me to work the following day… which turned out they didn’t. After that, I wound up searching for jobs on the computer. There were a couple leads, so that is what I will be doing in the morning; dropping off CVs and giving my cell phone number to the schools in the area that already have me on their relief teaching list.
I went down to the caravan after I had finished my research and was ready to have some wine. Dave was already down there, so we poured some wine, caught up on our days, checked on seedlings, Dave played guitar and we started making soup and salad for dinner.
Sleepy monkies.
Went over to the school and met up with Jodi, who I am supposed to be working for the next couple days. We discussed what I would be teaching and I found out that I will only be working for her on Wednesdays, rather than Tuesdays and Wednesdays, (totally a misunderstanding by me, bummer). Oh well. This did stress me out though, so I rode my bike home and got the number for the school Meg works at to see if they still needed me to work the following day… which turned out they didn’t. After that, I wound up searching for jobs on the computer. There were a couple leads, so that is what I will be doing in the morning; dropping off CVs and giving my cell phone number to the schools in the area that already have me on their relief teaching list.
I went down to the caravan after I had finished my research and was ready to have some wine. Dave was already down there, so we poured some wine, caught up on our days, checked on seedlings, Dave played guitar and we started making soup and salad for dinner.
Sleepy monkies.
20 February 2011
Super sleepy this morning. It has been cold the evening, so he cicadas have not given their usual 630Am wake up call, they’ve been waiting until 730 or 8 when it starts to warm up a bit. After a slow wake up session, and typing for a bit, I went up to the house to call my family and check in. I didn’t have access to a phone yesterday while we were out, so I missed our usual time to talk.
Called my Mom first to see how my Grandpa was doing. Mom had already started drinking margaritas, and was in great spirits, literally. ☺ She said that Grandpa is doing good and that he has been much happier since they arrived. Either way, his overall health is not doing well and they do not expect him to leave the hospice home. I did get a chance to talk briefly with the fam and with Grandpa again and it was very nice to hear his voice when he’s more coherent, rather than waking him up. He was happy to hear from me and I think I got a laugh outta him.
Called Dad next and we had a nice time catching up. We both caught up on what eachother have been doing at work. I talked about cars, beer, making beer, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc, and we had a nice conversation.
After cleaning the caravan for a while, Dave and I headed out to Mangonui in the afternoon to explore again and meet up with Steve at some point.
Called my Mom first to see how my Grandpa was doing. Mom had already started drinking margaritas, and was in great spirits, literally. ☺ She said that Grandpa is doing good and that he has been much happier since they arrived. Either way, his overall health is not doing well and they do not expect him to leave the hospice home. I did get a chance to talk briefly with the fam and with Grandpa again and it was very nice to hear his voice when he’s more coherent, rather than waking him up. He was happy to hear from me and I think I got a laugh outta him.
Called Dad next and we had a nice time catching up. We both caught up on what eachother have been doing at work. I talked about cars, beer, making beer, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc, and we had a nice conversation.
After cleaning the caravan for a while, Dave and I headed out to Mangonui in the afternoon to explore again and meet up with Steve at some point.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
19 February 2011
Dave and I were excited to have new wheels, so we decided to drive down to Kerikeri to see what their farmers market was like and then head over to the Broadwood A + P Show, (Agriculture and Produce). It was a beautiful day and we wanted to get out and explore. It took an hour or so to get to Kerikeri, but the drive was absolutely beautiful with huge rolling farms and giant rock formations at one point. We stopped a couple times near Mangonui and Coopers Beach to look out at the beautiful shoreline and beaches.
Kerikeri is a somewhat posh town, that has a nice market but we found out that it is held on Sundays. Oops, we were a day early. So we found a place where we could each get something to eat for around $15 per person. It was a little Thai/ Kiwi place, Dave ordered fish and chips and I had the buffet, which I chose salad, spring rolls, rice and pork + potato curry, all the food was delicious. We were full and happy and since it was 1pm, we got back on the road toward Broadwood, this time with Dave driving. The car is really nice, but has a touchy clutch so it was a bit funny with Dave behind the wheel. I felt like we were in Driver’s Ed together, both laughing hysterically.
We got to the A + P Show and it was definitely an experience. We saw huge pieces of wood carved by men with chainsaws, sheep shearing and wood chopping competitions. INSANE. In the sheep shearing competition, the men grab sheep, throw them around and using electric shavers, cut off all their hair super fast. In the wood chopping competition, there was one man in particular who was SO GOOD! This man took maybe 16 swings with his axe at this giant log and the thing was split in half. He was so good actually, that they made him start a full minute behind the rest of the competitors. Nuts!
Since we got to the show late, we were unable to buy any Hangi because it sold out in an hour. Hangi is a Maori tradition where a variety of meat, and vegetables are cooked in the ground. It smelt delicious, but I’m sure there will be another time I can try it. We did manage to drink a couple Stein Lagers and have an ice cream. Super yum! (People out here don’t say yummy, they say yum. Weird, I know.)
After the show, we went to Bry and Meg’s place to hang out for a bit and see the puppies. The pups were so beautiful and humongous!!! Meg came to greet us and all the puppies were running around her feet, it was pretty adorable. We went for a little walk down to eat from the pear and fig trees. Delicious. After Dave and Bry measured some Magna Carpa trees for milling, we headed home; both of us were pooped.
We didn’t arrive home until 9pm at least, and while Dave watered the garden and made a delicious salad, (greens, avocado, cherry tomato and garlic), I threw together a quick curry of zucchini, kumara, onion, garlic, ginger, and lentils with brown rice. We passed out so fast, the only thing motivating me to brush my teeth was the fact that I didn’t want the curry staining them. Lame, yes.
Kerikeri is a somewhat posh town, that has a nice market but we found out that it is held on Sundays. Oops, we were a day early. So we found a place where we could each get something to eat for around $15 per person. It was a little Thai/ Kiwi place, Dave ordered fish and chips and I had the buffet, which I chose salad, spring rolls, rice and pork + potato curry, all the food was delicious. We were full and happy and since it was 1pm, we got back on the road toward Broadwood, this time with Dave driving. The car is really nice, but has a touchy clutch so it was a bit funny with Dave behind the wheel. I felt like we were in Driver’s Ed together, both laughing hysterically.
We got to the A + P Show and it was definitely an experience. We saw huge pieces of wood carved by men with chainsaws, sheep shearing and wood chopping competitions. INSANE. In the sheep shearing competition, the men grab sheep, throw them around and using electric shavers, cut off all their hair super fast. In the wood chopping competition, there was one man in particular who was SO GOOD! This man took maybe 16 swings with his axe at this giant log and the thing was split in half. He was so good actually, that they made him start a full minute behind the rest of the competitors. Nuts!
Since we got to the show late, we were unable to buy any Hangi because it sold out in an hour. Hangi is a Maori tradition where a variety of meat, and vegetables are cooked in the ground. It smelt delicious, but I’m sure there will be another time I can try it. We did manage to drink a couple Stein Lagers and have an ice cream. Super yum! (People out here don’t say yummy, they say yum. Weird, I know.)
After the show, we went to Bry and Meg’s place to hang out for a bit and see the puppies. The pups were so beautiful and humongous!!! Meg came to greet us and all the puppies were running around her feet, it was pretty adorable. We went for a little walk down to eat from the pear and fig trees. Delicious. After Dave and Bry measured some Magna Carpa trees for milling, we headed home; both of us were pooped.
We didn’t arrive home until 9pm at least, and while Dave watered the garden and made a delicious salad, (greens, avocado, cherry tomato and garlic), I threw together a quick curry of zucchini, kumara, onion, garlic, ginger, and lentils with brown rice. We passed out so fast, the only thing motivating me to brush my teeth was the fact that I didn’t want the curry staining them. Lame, yes.
18 February 2011
Today, I found out that my Grandpa had a stroke the other day and was moved to a hospice house for the last bit of his time. It was really sad to hear this and when I called him, it didn’t make things any easier. He was asleep when I called and we talked very briefly and after he said, ‘good night,’ a couple times I got off the phone with him. Sad.
I decided not to mope around all day, and make the most of it despite the sad situation. First, I stopped by Herekino School and dropped off a CV for relief teaching. The woman behind the counter was very nice and I hope to hear back from them soon! They only have 34 students in the whole school, split between 2 teachers. Sweet! Next, I went into town to do our grocery shopping for the week and pick up a few random things, like a yoga ball and a carboy for brewing beer. I went into the wrong paint shop to purchase the carboy, so that will have to be done another day. This really was an exciting day cause it was the first time I drove my new car, so I was able to do all these things independently. Also, it was good to get used to this new car, (a 1997 Toyota Starlet), driving on the wrong side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and use my left hand for shifting gears- very different.
After running around, I stopped by the workshop to say hello to Dave and let him know my Grandpa wasn’t doing well. Then, headed home and started making pickles. We have collected about a dozen pickling cucumbers that I started slicing, sanitizing the jars and making the brine. They ended up turning out great, except for the recipe for the brine had way too much salt in it, so next time I would reduce the brine to ½ what the recipe calls for. Here’s the link: http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/edillpickles.htm They really taste just like Claussen pickles, just make sure you reduce the salt.
Dave came home a bit later and we made a nice dinner. We watched the sunset while we ate our salads: mixed greens, garlic, balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes and avocados. The other part of the dinner was some delicious red snapper that Meg had caught, which Dave stuffed with onions and pan-fried and there were potatoes with rosemary, and garlic on the side. We ate this inside cause it was really late and the mozzies (what they call mosquitoes out here), were eating us alive.
I decided not to mope around all day, and make the most of it despite the sad situation. First, I stopped by Herekino School and dropped off a CV for relief teaching. The woman behind the counter was very nice and I hope to hear back from them soon! They only have 34 students in the whole school, split between 2 teachers. Sweet! Next, I went into town to do our grocery shopping for the week and pick up a few random things, like a yoga ball and a carboy for brewing beer. I went into the wrong paint shop to purchase the carboy, so that will have to be done another day. This really was an exciting day cause it was the first time I drove my new car, so I was able to do all these things independently. Also, it was good to get used to this new car, (a 1997 Toyota Starlet), driving on the wrong side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and use my left hand for shifting gears- very different.
After running around, I stopped by the workshop to say hello to Dave and let him know my Grandpa wasn’t doing well. Then, headed home and started making pickles. We have collected about a dozen pickling cucumbers that I started slicing, sanitizing the jars and making the brine. They ended up turning out great, except for the recipe for the brine had way too much salt in it, so next time I would reduce the brine to ½ what the recipe calls for. Here’s the link: http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/edillpickles.htm They really taste just like Claussen pickles, just make sure you reduce the salt.
Dave came home a bit later and we made a nice dinner. We watched the sunset while we ate our salads: mixed greens, garlic, balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes and avocados. The other part of the dinner was some delicious red snapper that Meg had caught, which Dave stuffed with onions and pan-fried and there were potatoes with rosemary, and garlic on the side. We ate this inside cause it was really late and the mozzies (what they call mosquitoes out here), were eating us alive.
17 February 2011
The kids were pretty crazy today. I will definitely have a talk with the principal before I teach this group again. However, now it is 4:30, I have gone for a long bikeride, am drinking my 2nd beer and snacking on some cheese and crackers so things aren’t so bad. ALSO, I am going to pick up my car shortly after Dave gets home from work so this is also very exciting. AND, I don’t’ have to work tomorrow!!! Or Saturday!!! Or Sunday!!!
Allgood.
Allgood.
16 February 2011
Similar story today: Worked at the school, but with Hannah’s class (Dave’s sister), which is such a nice group of kids. At school, the classroom teacher Jodi asked me if I would be interested in working 2 days a week for the next 5 weeks in her class. I was super stoked!!! This means that I know I have work to fill the next term and hopefully will be able to pick up some extra days. It is the type of situation where if I am around, they will ask me to fill in more if something comes up, so I hope this continues! Woooo-hoooo!!!!
Was so hungry when I got home though from not having enough food during the day, so for dinner we had a feast with brown rice, cottage cheese, salsa and a cooked mixture with green beans, onions, garlic, tomato, green olives and avocado. Stuffed monkies.
Was so hungry when I got home though from not having enough food during the day, so for dinner we had a feast with brown rice, cottage cheese, salsa and a cooked mixture with green beans, onions, garlic, tomato, green olives and avocado. Stuffed monkies.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
15 February 2011
Today was my first day teaching the ‘rougher’ group of year 7/8 students. Most of these students are Maori, which have a reputation for being a bit more rowdy and ‘cheeky.’ I found them to be quite lovely for the most part and although I was run a bit ragged at times, the day went smoothly and I enjoyed myself. In this particular class, their day starts off with swimming at 9am, which allowed me to see what their personalities may be like the rest of the day. It went pretty well, although some of the boys goofed off a bit. Meh.
The best part of the day was in the afternoon when I was allowed to help the students build a rainforest out of paper on a section of the wall. It turned out quite lovely I thought. :)
After class, I helped staple the rest of the papers up and went for a long bike ride.
Came home and fiddled around on the computer, then rode back to the workshop to see Dave and brought 3 beers for us to drink with Steve. Yum! Cold beer when you are hot is such a nice treat! Dave and I headed to the beach but it was cold, so we headed home to make dinner and rest.
The best part of the day was in the afternoon when I was allowed to help the students build a rainforest out of paper on a section of the wall. It turned out quite lovely I thought. :)
After class, I helped staple the rest of the papers up and went for a long bike ride.
Came home and fiddled around on the computer, then rode back to the workshop to see Dave and brought 3 beers for us to drink with Steve. Yum! Cold beer when you are hot is such a nice treat! Dave and I headed to the beach but it was cold, so we headed home to make dinner and rest.
13 February 2011
We woke up a bit late in the house cause there is only one window in the bedroom as opposed to 4 in the small caravan (which is also closer to the cicadas who start chirping at 6:30 am). It was nice to sleep in, and although it was only until 8am it made the day feel more like Sunday. We started tidying up the kitchen and began getting ready to go window-shop a property.
We got to the place and the people were a nice, eccentric older pair. The gentleman was bald on top and the bit of white hair he had on the back of his head formed long dreadlocks down the middle of his back. Anyway, we had a nice stroll around the poorly marked and managed 4.5 acre piece of property, which was beautiful nonetheless. There was a small river running through the property, which made the soil nice and loamy. Dave and I both got stung by a brutal wasp and at the last possible moment as I turned around after saying good-bye, I managed to make one of my final steps into a humongous pile of cow shit. My foot was warm, wet and covered with disgusting partially digested grass; I washed it off with the only water we had, our drinking water, laughed and hopped in the van.
Next stop: test-driving a 1997 Toyota Starlet. The car was a mechanic’s car who had passed away last year and was beautifully maintained, drove excellent and since we talked her down 500 dollars, we told her we would take it. This will be nice for independence!!! :)
We got home around 2pm and were starving cause we hadn’t eaten all day….. scarfed down some soup, tuna sandwiches and cheese and crackers. Yum! And then, sleepy…… Dave went to woodshop while I napped a bit.
Dinner- cabbage, cherry tomatoes and stir fry with zucchini, ginger, onion and green pepper, (no rice). Yum!
We got to the place and the people were a nice, eccentric older pair. The gentleman was bald on top and the bit of white hair he had on the back of his head formed long dreadlocks down the middle of his back. Anyway, we had a nice stroll around the poorly marked and managed 4.5 acre piece of property, which was beautiful nonetheless. There was a small river running through the property, which made the soil nice and loamy. Dave and I both got stung by a brutal wasp and at the last possible moment as I turned around after saying good-bye, I managed to make one of my final steps into a humongous pile of cow shit. My foot was warm, wet and covered with disgusting partially digested grass; I washed it off with the only water we had, our drinking water, laughed and hopped in the van.
Next stop: test-driving a 1997 Toyota Starlet. The car was a mechanic’s car who had passed away last year and was beautifully maintained, drove excellent and since we talked her down 500 dollars, we told her we would take it. This will be nice for independence!!! :)
We got home around 2pm and were starving cause we hadn’t eaten all day….. scarfed down some soup, tuna sandwiches and cheese and crackers. Yum! And then, sleepy…… Dave went to woodshop while I napped a bit.
Dinner- cabbage, cherry tomatoes and stir fry with zucchini, ginger, onion and green pepper, (no rice). Yum!
12 February 2011
Parents were gone for the day, so we went up to the house when it was raining. I found a property for sale on the computer and we set up an appointment to look at the place and to test drive a car on Sunday.
Dave recorded music while I putzed around on the computer blogging and what not. Liz was on facebook and we started chatting and I got her phone number again so I could call. It was great!!! To be honest, after not hearing her voice for so long, it made me miss her so much, but I tried not to let myself get too down about it. After having a glorious conversation with her, I called my house cause I saw my Momma on FB also. ☺ We had a nice chat and then I tried to get my things together so that Dave and I could go for a bike ride and a swim in the ocean before it was time to Skype with my fam. It was nice to talk with them as always. :)
Since we had the house to ourselves, we utilized having a kitchen for a night by making a delicious dinner, which consisted of Brown rice with onions, mushrooms, basil pesto on top and a huge salad. So yum!
Dave recorded music while I putzed around on the computer blogging and what not. Liz was on facebook and we started chatting and I got her phone number again so I could call. It was great!!! To be honest, after not hearing her voice for so long, it made me miss her so much, but I tried not to let myself get too down about it. After having a glorious conversation with her, I called my house cause I saw my Momma on FB also. ☺ We had a nice chat and then I tried to get my things together so that Dave and I could go for a bike ride and a swim in the ocean before it was time to Skype with my fam. It was nice to talk with them as always. :)
Since we had the house to ourselves, we utilized having a kitchen for a night by making a delicious dinner, which consisted of Brown rice with onions, mushrooms, basil pesto on top and a huge salad. So yum!
11 February 2011
Dave went to the workshop for a bit on Friday morning to finish the binding on the back of the guitar he is working on. He came home, and ? …….
To be quite honest, I’m writing this the following Tuesday, so I have no real recollection of what we did.
Pretty sure there was a bike ride in the afternoon cause it was so hot and we went for a swim.
To be quite honest, I’m writing this the following Tuesday, so I have no real recollection of what we did.
Pretty sure there was a bike ride in the afternoon cause it was so hot and we went for a swim.
Friday, February 11, 2011
10 February 2011
Today at school, I was in room 9 with the year 5/6 students. They were definitely more of a handful than the class from yesterday. One student in particular was driving me absolutely insane by the end of the day. I feel bad for her because of her social awkwardness, but she is such a sore looser and cries whenever a student makes fun of her so she is an easy target. I found out at the end of the day that next time if I want to calm her down, let her walk around the playground by herself. Good to know! Anyhow, it was a fun day. We did art all day!!! The students are studying rainforests, so they made paper animals. In the morning, they used tissue paper to collage on top of photocopied macaws, parrots, and butterflies. In the afternoon, they did the same thing, but with colored paper and they drew whatever animal they liked. They had fun and so did I. :)
After school, I rode my bike to the workshop, said hi to Dave , then headed home so Kathy could run some errands. I looked in the paper for used cars and ate some cheese and crackers cause I was starving. After Kathy got back I rode to the workshop and had a couple beers with Steve and Dave. It was nice to relax and have a few laughs.
I ate so much cheese and crackers for an afterschool snack that I wasn’t hungry for dinner, but after a while I had some salad and went to bed pretty early.
After school, I rode my bike to the workshop, said hi to Dave , then headed home so Kathy could run some errands. I looked in the paper for used cars and ate some cheese and crackers cause I was starving. After Kathy got back I rode to the workshop and had a couple beers with Steve and Dave. It was nice to relax and have a few laughs.
I ate so much cheese and crackers for an afterschool snack that I wasn’t hungry for dinner, but after a while I had some salad and went to bed pretty early.
9 February 2011
Today was the 2nd day working at Ahipara Elementary, and it was better than the first. I was in room 3, which is the year 7 and 8 students. (Same as 7th and 8th grade in the U.S.) Hannah, Dave’s sister was in the class and had assured me that her class was a really good, smart group of kids and that I shouldn’t have a problem. I was still weary, but the day went very smoothly and there were no major issues. Sweet!!!
Stopped by the workshop afterschool to see Dave, then rode my bike the back way, turned around before I got to the gnarly dog and rode back home. This added some kilometers and huge hills for exercise. I needed it. Dave said I was grinding my teeth in my sleep the night before. Stress is no good!
At home, I looked on the computer for information on getting a Tax Id number. I was told at school that until I have one, I will be heavily taxed; possibly up to 50 percent, so I definitely need to get that taken care of ASAP.
At home, we had some beer, relaxed and made dinner. Green beans with rice, salsa, beans….? I can’t remember what we ate…..
Here's an image of the front of the school with some small mountain in the background.
Here's and image of the front of the classrooms looking down toward the office.
Stopped by the workshop afterschool to see Dave, then rode my bike the back way, turned around before I got to the gnarly dog and rode back home. This added some kilometers and huge hills for exercise. I needed it. Dave said I was grinding my teeth in my sleep the night before. Stress is no good!
At home, I looked on the computer for information on getting a Tax Id number. I was told at school that until I have one, I will be heavily taxed; possibly up to 50 percent, so I definitely need to get that taken care of ASAP.
At home, we had some beer, relaxed and made dinner. Green beans with rice, salsa, beans….? I can’t remember what we ate…..
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
8 February 2011
Today was my first day relief teaching at the school. It was a good day, but happy it was over to be honest. I was a bit rusty on teaching after being out of practice since June and the students are still getting used to their routines and discipline. No one got hurt, so that's a good day to me.
I rode to the workshop to meet up with Dave, brought a couple beers by and we went to the beach for a swim. Clouds were rolling in when we got there, so we just hung out on the sand, caught up on our day and sipped our beers.
At home, I started drinking wine after a long day and we started trying to make something to eat. We haven’t had water for a couple days since the pump has been broken; making dinner with dirty dishes was a challenge. Anyhow, we had a good time and a delicious meal of zucchini fritters, kale salad, cabbage and salsa. Yum! Went to bed early after to make sure I had enough sleep for the little ones in the morning. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I rode to the workshop to meet up with Dave, brought a couple beers by and we went to the beach for a swim. Clouds were rolling in when we got there, so we just hung out on the sand, caught up on our day and sipped our beers.
At home, I started drinking wine after a long day and we started trying to make something to eat. We haven’t had water for a couple days since the pump has been broken; making dinner with dirty dishes was a challenge. Anyhow, we had a good time and a delicious meal of zucchini fritters, kale salad, cabbage and salsa. Yum! Went to bed early after to make sure I had enough sleep for the little ones in the morning. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Monday, February 7, 2011
7 February 2011
Today was my first day at the schools, which was an awesome experience. The teaching style out here is so much more relaxed, yet expectant of the student to be responsible for their education, which is nice and VERY different. Also, the students and teachers have numerous breaks during the day, which is nice and allows their brains to stay focused. School starts at 8:45 and at 10:30 there is a tea break for 20 minutes, 11:50-12:30 is lunch break, 1:30-1:50 is another break. Also, students have swimming for 30 minutes for some point in the day. Pretty great! They're so lucky compared to kids in the U.S., who oftentimes don't have recess or any breaks really.
Came home after school, and I was starving, so I had some snacks and then it was so hot that I passed out for a while. When I woke up, I got myself together and rode to the woodshop to meet up with Dave when he finished up. We went for a bike ride and headed to the beach for a swim and a couple beers. The water was great and quite refreshing. :)
At home we made pesto and pasta with tomatoes and a raw salad with kale, carrots, onion, avocado and sprouted mung beans. Yum!!!
Dinner!!!
Came home after school, and I was starving, so I had some snacks and then it was so hot that I passed out for a while. When I woke up, I got myself together and rode to the woodshop to meet up with Dave when he finished up. We went for a bike ride and headed to the beach for a swim and a couple beers. The water was great and quite refreshing. :)
At home we made pesto and pasta with tomatoes and a raw salad with kale, carrots, onion, avocado and sprouted mung beans. Yum!!!
6 February 2011
Woke up pretty early, and started with the usual morning chores. Dishes, coffee, watering the garden. The neighbors had started having a party last night apparently, or early this morning and woke me up laughing and singing at 5am. Dave and I were talking about it later in the day and decided that they had to be on P, (which is what they call Meth out here), cause there was no way people could laugh that hard for that long without being on drugs more than alcohol.
I started making some yogurt while Dave played his guitar. There are these cool packets out here that contain dehydrated milk and bacteria that are in yogurt, you add warm water, let it sit for 10 hours and voila! You have yogurt. Sweet as!
After a bit, I started making curtains for the caravan. We bought some turquoise fabric, its beautiful and ironically will match the caravan in some weird way. I finished 2 curtains for the back window while Dave helped Matt haul some dead trees around and then we headed to the beach. It was so hot!!! We rode our bikes there and had a blast!!! The waves were really strong that day and kept knocking me over, literally. Dave would get hit pretty hard, but always seemed to land on his feet. I on the other hand, would get thrown, with the bottoms of my swimsuit ending up around my knees. Dave would laugh and try to help me up, while I was laughing too hard to tell him that my swimsuit was off and I had to pull it up. One time my boob popped out and we decided to move away from groups of people. Whoops!
It was Dave’s parents anniversary today, so they met us at the beach after a while, we hung out in the little pools around the rocks. We gave them a bottle of vodka and some flowers to celebrate. Dave and I headed home soon after cause we were quite hungry. At home, we made a version of nicoise salad, which was cheap and delicious. I think it cost us $3.25 per person and was a great feast. (Free ingredients from the garden: lemon for salad dressing, lettuce, kale, green beans, and potatoes. Bought ingredients: Tomato= 25 cents, onion= 50 cents, eggs= 50 cents for 2, can of tuna= $2, garlic= cheap. It was delicious!!!
I started making some yogurt while Dave played his guitar. There are these cool packets out here that contain dehydrated milk and bacteria that are in yogurt, you add warm water, let it sit for 10 hours and voila! You have yogurt. Sweet as!
After a bit, I started making curtains for the caravan. We bought some turquoise fabric, its beautiful and ironically will match the caravan in some weird way. I finished 2 curtains for the back window while Dave helped Matt haul some dead trees around and then we headed to the beach. It was so hot!!! We rode our bikes there and had a blast!!! The waves were really strong that day and kept knocking me over, literally. Dave would get hit pretty hard, but always seemed to land on his feet. I on the other hand, would get thrown, with the bottoms of my swimsuit ending up around my knees. Dave would laugh and try to help me up, while I was laughing too hard to tell him that my swimsuit was off and I had to pull it up. One time my boob popped out and we decided to move away from groups of people. Whoops!
It was Dave’s parents anniversary today, so they met us at the beach after a while, we hung out in the little pools around the rocks. We gave them a bottle of vodka and some flowers to celebrate. Dave and I headed home soon after cause we were quite hungry. At home, we made a version of nicoise salad, which was cheap and delicious. I think it cost us $3.25 per person and was a great feast. (Free ingredients from the garden: lemon for salad dressing, lettuce, kale, green beans, and potatoes. Bought ingredients: Tomato= 25 cents, onion= 50 cents, eggs= 50 cents for 2, can of tuna= $2, garlic= cheap. It was delicious!!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
5 February 2011
Woke up round 7, Dave watered the garden while I made coffee and we were off to the farmer’s market. Yipeeee! It wasn’t rainy like it was the week before, so I was excited to see some more vendors. The market definitely was busier than last week. We picked up tomatoes, corn, 2 bags of onions, hot peppers, 3 avocados and some flowers for Dave’s Mom. The guy who sells the avocados is really nice and mentioned how I am going to be substitute teaching for her classroom. It was cute and funny how word gets around and this is such a tight knit community here. Love it!!!
At pack n save we spent a fortune on: 2 yogurt packages, brown rice, cottage cheese, orange juice, veggie bullion, some braeburn apples, a loaf of bread, dish soap, honey roasted peanuts, 6 bottles of wine and 2 cases of beer. The wine was on sale, so I wanted to stock up.
We then stopped in Empire Mart for hinges, a notebook, planner and to look at fabric for photographing Dave’s guitars. Then, we stopped by a car dealership and the gentleman who was working was a really nice guy. He directed us to a woman down the road who just put a for sale sign in a really nice car. We drove by the car and it was super cute!!! It has 55,000 miles on it, 4 door little grayish hatchback Toyota called a starlet, for $5,500. Hmmmmm…. Wondering if I should spend that much money on a car…. But its only around 4000 American dollars. Guess I’ll figure it out.
We came home, made breakfast with leftover rice, beans, some toast, eggs and salsa. It was pretty yummy. Dave finished putting the final bells and whistles on the screen door while I tidied up and then we Skyped with the fam. I loved seeing them again! Next week I will call a bit later though, cause they were just getting back from work. They told me about the blizzard and Thunder Snow. That’s insane!!!
After talking with the fam, Dave and I rode our bikes to the beach and took a quick dip. We were both sweaty, cause it was super hot.
We got home, started making snacks and Dave’s fam invited us up for dinner with them. How could we refuse? They are super sweet, plus, I was craving meat earlier in the day and they were having burritos. Yum!!! After dinner, we watched Chapelle Show and I nearly died! Its been so long since I saw that show, and its so funny!!! Nice way to end the evening.
Making Beet Soup in our 'kitchen'.
At pack n save we spent a fortune on: 2 yogurt packages, brown rice, cottage cheese, orange juice, veggie bullion, some braeburn apples, a loaf of bread, dish soap, honey roasted peanuts, 6 bottles of wine and 2 cases of beer. The wine was on sale, so I wanted to stock up.
We then stopped in Empire Mart for hinges, a notebook, planner and to look at fabric for photographing Dave’s guitars. Then, we stopped by a car dealership and the gentleman who was working was a really nice guy. He directed us to a woman down the road who just put a for sale sign in a really nice car. We drove by the car and it was super cute!!! It has 55,000 miles on it, 4 door little grayish hatchback Toyota called a starlet, for $5,500. Hmmmmm…. Wondering if I should spend that much money on a car…. But its only around 4000 American dollars. Guess I’ll figure it out.
We came home, made breakfast with leftover rice, beans, some toast, eggs and salsa. It was pretty yummy. Dave finished putting the final bells and whistles on the screen door while I tidied up and then we Skyped with the fam. I loved seeing them again! Next week I will call a bit later though, cause they were just getting back from work. They told me about the blizzard and Thunder Snow. That’s insane!!!
After talking with the fam, Dave and I rode our bikes to the beach and took a quick dip. We were both sweaty, cause it was super hot.
We got home, started making snacks and Dave’s fam invited us up for dinner with them. How could we refuse? They are super sweet, plus, I was craving meat earlier in the day and they were having burritos. Yum!!! After dinner, we watched Chapelle Show and I nearly died! Its been so long since I saw that show, and its so funny!!! Nice way to end the evening.
4 Feb 2011
Last day of professional development was awesome! I was a bit sleepy from drinking all that box wine, but it was a nice day.
We had a tea break at 10:30. The spread was unreal: scones with lemon cream, brownies, profiteroles, cheese and crackers, fruit and coffee. Sweet! Now I can go back to sleep. That’s one thing I do not miss about being in school, eating lunch and then sitting through a lecture. That’s why I’m a teacher. :)
The Professional Development was great, and when it ended we left to get back up to Ahipara at 3pm. The drive was beautiful. When we arrived, we stopped by the coast to check waves so Meg could surf later. They weren’t anything special, so we went back and stopped into the woodshop to say hi to Dave and see what he’s been doing with his new guitar. ☺ His guitar looks AMAZING!!! He really is doing such a great job and I am super proud of him. :)
Meg and I drove back to the Orchard, and once we arrived, she smoked a joint and I drank a beer. I really stinky and was locked out of the caravan so I went up to the house to shower. Dave’s family was home and we chatted a bit before I got in the shower. I told them how great the presentations were and they told me they were happy that I am doing so well out here.
For dinner, we made black beans and brown rice, with fresh salsa and cheese. Dave and I were both pretty pooped from not sleeping enough the night before, so we were in bed pretty soon.
Gallery at the wood shop where Dave builds guitars.
We had a tea break at 10:30. The spread was unreal: scones with lemon cream, brownies, profiteroles, cheese and crackers, fruit and coffee. Sweet! Now I can go back to sleep. That’s one thing I do not miss about being in school, eating lunch and then sitting through a lecture. That’s why I’m a teacher. :)
The Professional Development was great, and when it ended we left to get back up to Ahipara at 3pm. The drive was beautiful. When we arrived, we stopped by the coast to check waves so Meg could surf later. They weren’t anything special, so we went back and stopped into the woodshop to say hi to Dave and see what he’s been doing with his new guitar. ☺ His guitar looks AMAZING!!! He really is doing such a great job and I am super proud of him. :)
Meg and I drove back to the Orchard, and once we arrived, she smoked a joint and I drank a beer. I really stinky and was locked out of the caravan so I went up to the house to shower. Dave’s family was home and we chatted a bit before I got in the shower. I told them how great the presentations were and they told me they were happy that I am doing so well out here.
For dinner, we made black beans and brown rice, with fresh salsa and cheese. Dave and I were both pretty pooped from not sleeping enough the night before, so we were in bed pretty soon.
3 February 2011
Did not sleep very well, but woke up around 645 without the alarm.
The professional development was awesome! Everyone I was introduced to greeted me with hugs and kisses, which is how people are out here, but still it was really nice. Sheena had great information; I met a few Principals and was offered a 1 day a week position by the end of the day at Meg’s school. Yaaaaaayyy!!!
Before we headed home, Meg and I had a couple beers at a little pub in town around 2:30 and then we headed back to her property to check on her animals. The drive back to Meg’s place was absolutely gorgeous! The hills get much bigger out there and it was super lush. We hit up the little Superet on the way back and got a box of wine. The mountains were so extremely beautiful and I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!! Bah!!! I will have to post pics on these pages later….
First, when we arrived at Meg’s place, I heard the puppies. Her dog Jane had 7 pups 3 weeks ago and they were absolutely fucking adorable!!! Ridiculous. I could hardly stop petting them and always carried one around with me. We set our things down, poured a couple glasses of wine and set out on a walk around the property. First, we went down to the pear trees, ate a few of those. Meg showed me where they have some fig trees growing that are so massive!!! Then, we headed down to a pohuta kola tree, sat on a log and looked down the pasture full of honeybees drinking from Nepeta and onto the mountains below. What a sight.
A few hours later, Bryan pulls up the driveway. I walk out a bit later to meet he and Meg and Dave is with them!!! I thought he was staying at the orchard that night, so I was pleasantly surprised. :)
For dinner, Meg made an awesome smoked fish pie with some sweet corn. The fish pie was similar to a Sheppard’s pie with a creamed smoked fish on the bottom, mashed potatoes and few sprinkled bread crumbs on the top. It was awesome! Yum!
I fell asleep with spiders crawling on me and woke up to a rooster around 5am, but slept well otherwise.
The professional development was awesome! Everyone I was introduced to greeted me with hugs and kisses, which is how people are out here, but still it was really nice. Sheena had great information; I met a few Principals and was offered a 1 day a week position by the end of the day at Meg’s school. Yaaaaaayyy!!!
Before we headed home, Meg and I had a couple beers at a little pub in town around 2:30 and then we headed back to her property to check on her animals. The drive back to Meg’s place was absolutely gorgeous! The hills get much bigger out there and it was super lush. We hit up the little Superet on the way back and got a box of wine. The mountains were so extremely beautiful and I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!! Bah!!! I will have to post pics on these pages later….
First, when we arrived at Meg’s place, I heard the puppies. Her dog Jane had 7 pups 3 weeks ago and they were absolutely fucking adorable!!! Ridiculous. I could hardly stop petting them and always carried one around with me. We set our things down, poured a couple glasses of wine and set out on a walk around the property. First, we went down to the pear trees, ate a few of those. Meg showed me where they have some fig trees growing that are so massive!!! Then, we headed down to a pohuta kola tree, sat on a log and looked down the pasture full of honeybees drinking from Nepeta and onto the mountains below. What a sight.
A few hours later, Bryan pulls up the driveway. I walk out a bit later to meet he and Meg and Dave is with them!!! I thought he was staying at the orchard that night, so I was pleasantly surprised. :)
For dinner, Meg made an awesome smoked fish pie with some sweet corn. The fish pie was similar to a Sheppard’s pie with a creamed smoked fish on the bottom, mashed potatoes and few sprinkled bread crumbs on the top. It was awesome! Yum!
I fell asleep with spiders crawling on me and woke up to a rooster around 5am, but slept well otherwise.
2 February 2011
Today, I called the Principal back at Ahipara and she told me that I got 3 days relief work next week, and 3 days the following week. Awesome!!! This is so great cause they pay $220 per day, it is just down the road and 3 of the 6 days I will be teaching Dave’s sister’s class, so she can help me out. I am very pleased. :)
I called Meg back to let her know that I was really interested in going to this 2 day professional development she had invited me to. The session will be taught by a woman named Sheena Cameron. Everyone out here respects what this woman has to say, and the course will give me some good resources.
Dave came home early from work today cause his Mom told him that my work at Ahipara was definite and we had a few beers. Wooo-hoooooo!!!
I tried to get to bed early cause we don’t have an alarm clock and I had to leave by 730am for the class tomorrow morning.
I called Meg back to let her know that I was really interested in going to this 2 day professional development she had invited me to. The session will be taught by a woman named Sheena Cameron. Everyone out here respects what this woman has to say, and the course will give me some good resources.
Dave came home early from work today cause his Mom told him that my work at Ahipara was definite and we had a few beers. Wooo-hoooooo!!!
I tried to get to bed early cause we don’t have an alarm clock and I had to leave by 730am for the class tomorrow morning.
1 February 2011
Today was a really great day! I woke up and did the usual and Dave headed to the woodshop. I had a really hard time waking up, but after a bit, I headed up to the house to check my email, look for pepper spray online and see what Kathy was up to. Kathy said she and Hannah were going to meet up with Matt for lunch and that they could drop me off in town so I could run some errands and we could visit some schools so I could give them a copy of my CV. Perfect!!! I ran back to the caravan, changed my clothes, brushed my teeth, got my bag together with copies of my CV and Dave’s inhaler and we headed out. First stop was the wood shop to drop off Dave’s inhaler. Then we went to Pukepoto Primary School, which was very cool. I was quite nervous when I came into the school and Principal Murray was in with his colleagues planning for the first day of school and I had a chance to talk with them. I talked for a minute, presented my CV to him and he said, “I will put you on the list straight away, in fact possibly at the top of the list. So we keep things within the community.” That was great! Both of the women teachers he was planning with were very nice, and asked me if I had a partner. I told them yes, and they asked if he worked with Steve. It ended up being that Dave has met this woman, and the other woman asked me if we are always on ‘push-bikes’ together, and I found out that she owns the horses we ride by everyday. Funny. Things couldn’t get much smaller. I like it.
Next stop, town. I got dropped of for a couple hours while Hannah and Kathy had lunch with Matt. It was cool to get to explore a bit on my own. I picked up an extra set of finger picks for Dave, a couple cards, some dried beans from an organic grocer, 2 cute drinking glasses from the Salvation Army and browsed through the sustainable living section in the bookstore. Kath and Hannah picked me up and then we went over to Kaitaia Intermediate School, which is the same as a Junior High in the States. It was really cool! The Principal, Sue was the woman who greeted me. I introduced myself and told her that I was interested in filling in as a relief teacher. She sounded very enthusiastic and told me that they haven’t yet posted it, but they are looking for a teacher 2 days each week with 3 students that have special needs. Sweet!!! I would definitely be interested in doing that. Sure could learn a lot and have a lot of one on one time.
I came home that night, and soon as I came home, Kathy told me that a woman from Ahipara had called and said that she had some work for me!!!
Yaaaaaaay!!! Dave came home and was very happy to hear all my great news.
Next stop, town. I got dropped of for a couple hours while Hannah and Kathy had lunch with Matt. It was cool to get to explore a bit on my own. I picked up an extra set of finger picks for Dave, a couple cards, some dried beans from an organic grocer, 2 cute drinking glasses from the Salvation Army and browsed through the sustainable living section in the bookstore. Kath and Hannah picked me up and then we went over to Kaitaia Intermediate School, which is the same as a Junior High in the States. It was really cool! The Principal, Sue was the woman who greeted me. I introduced myself and told her that I was interested in filling in as a relief teacher. She sounded very enthusiastic and told me that they haven’t yet posted it, but they are looking for a teacher 2 days each week with 3 students that have special needs. Sweet!!! I would definitely be interested in doing that. Sure could learn a lot and have a lot of one on one time.
I came home that night, and soon as I came home, Kathy told me that a woman from Ahipara had called and said that she had some work for me!!!
Yaaaaaaay!!! Dave came home and was very happy to hear all my great news.
Monday, January 31, 2011
30 January 2011
Woke up round 730 this morning and did the usual routine. ☺ Dave watered the garden while I made him a lunch and did dishes. I had the strangest dreams last night. Dave and I were Iooking for an apartment, and then I gave birth to triplets. Shit, that would be a nightmare!!!
Dave went into the wood shop and I stayed behind looking at some teaching books Megan had given me. The books are written by a woman named Sheena Cameron and everyone out here thinks that she is really amazing in education. Megan is going to try to get me into a professional development that Sheena is running this Thursday and Friday. We’ll see, but I hope I can go to them. :)
After drinking coffee, I got ready and Megan took me down to Ahipara Elementary to talk to the Principal, Jackie Osbourne. This time, she was in her office so I was able to speak with her and give her my CV, which went very well. She said she would put my name on the list of relief teachers straight away. Also, Megan was with me and was pretty persistent so she said maybe I could volunteer once per week so I could get to know the staff and students, and the Principal though that was a good idea, and so did I. Maybe after this week, I can go in on Monday or Tuesday to get a feel for the school. That would be fun!
I came home and printed up a couple more CVs and took a nap, quite sleepy today. Woke up, got some beach things together, put a basket on my bike and rode to the wood shop to meet up with Dave when he finished up. We went for a quick dip in the ocean and then headed back home to drink beer, tend the garden and make dinner. I used a couple bell peppers from the garden and stuffed them with tomato, onion, garlic, zucchini and brown rice and we ate that with cottage cheese, kale salad and salsa. Yum! We’re really trying to get in better habits of being super frugal so that we can pay off my student loans ASAP, and start saving. So, Dave was drinking the nasty box wine with cranberry juice and I only had 2 beers. I think this week at the market, we may buy one of each type of box wine and mix them cause they are either very tart or too sweet. I sound like my Irish Grandmother who would mix the red and the white Carlo Rossi and think she was a genius for creating her own special blend. Ghettooooo!!! But who cares if its cheap and tastes alright.
Looking down the front of the Gallery and woodshop Dave works at. :)
Dave went into the wood shop and I stayed behind looking at some teaching books Megan had given me. The books are written by a woman named Sheena Cameron and everyone out here thinks that she is really amazing in education. Megan is going to try to get me into a professional development that Sheena is running this Thursday and Friday. We’ll see, but I hope I can go to them. :)
After drinking coffee, I got ready and Megan took me down to Ahipara Elementary to talk to the Principal, Jackie Osbourne. This time, she was in her office so I was able to speak with her and give her my CV, which went very well. She said she would put my name on the list of relief teachers straight away. Also, Megan was with me and was pretty persistent so she said maybe I could volunteer once per week so I could get to know the staff and students, and the Principal though that was a good idea, and so did I. Maybe after this week, I can go in on Monday or Tuesday to get a feel for the school. That would be fun!
I came home and printed up a couple more CVs and took a nap, quite sleepy today. Woke up, got some beach things together, put a basket on my bike and rode to the wood shop to meet up with Dave when he finished up. We went for a quick dip in the ocean and then headed back home to drink beer, tend the garden and make dinner. I used a couple bell peppers from the garden and stuffed them with tomato, onion, garlic, zucchini and brown rice and we ate that with cottage cheese, kale salad and salsa. Yum! We’re really trying to get in better habits of being super frugal so that we can pay off my student loans ASAP, and start saving. So, Dave was drinking the nasty box wine with cranberry juice and I only had 2 beers. I think this week at the market, we may buy one of each type of box wine and mix them cause they are either very tart or too sweet. I sound like my Irish Grandmother who would mix the red and the white Carlo Rossi and think she was a genius for creating her own special blend. Ghettooooo!!! But who cares if its cheap and tastes alright.
29 January 2011
Woke up before 7am, made coffee, Dave watered the plants, I composted the rest of the tomatoes as well as the eggplants and some small pepper plants. Then I started spraying the tomatoes with pyretrin and did a baking soda spray on the butternuts, pumpkins, cucumbers and watermelons to avoid more powdery mildew. Dave played his guitar and fixed the pump while I worked on the blog. After we finished these little projects, I started mowing the grass around the garden so we would have mulch for our veggies. I finished this up and using the pick axe, started pulling some of the grass/ weeds away from the kumara, watermelon and eggplant bed, composted the eggplants and then mulched all the veggies with grass clippings. While I was doing this, Dave started working on making a screen door for the caravan. This is super awesome of him!!! It means that we will have more of a breeze in the caravan, which will be sweet!!!
I went up to the house to do a load of laundry, shower and post some pics and blog entries. When I came back, I finished raking up my mess from weeding and Dave was almost finished with the screen door. Woo-hoo!!! He finished that while I raked some more in the yard and then we got on our bikes. We went for a ride to the beach, warmed up in the sun and took a swim. After jumping in some pretty big waves, we headed home to make some dinner. Dave had the brilliant idea of making small zucchini fritters and using them instead of meatballs in our pasta with tomatoes. It was delish!
He played guitar and we went to bed early. ☺
View of one of the mountains on our bike ride to the beach. :)
I went up to the house to do a load of laundry, shower and post some pics and blog entries. When I came back, I finished raking up my mess from weeding and Dave was almost finished with the screen door. Woo-hoo!!! He finished that while I raked some more in the yard and then we got on our bikes. We went for a ride to the beach, warmed up in the sun and took a swim. After jumping in some pretty big waves, we headed home to make some dinner. Dave had the brilliant idea of making small zucchini fritters and using them instead of meatballs in our pasta with tomatoes. It was delish!
He played guitar and we went to bed early. ☺
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