Busy days

I've not been posting much due to an extreme bout of to-do list itis. Somethings on my to do list have been really fun and relaxing. This weekend we went to two different dances. One was in a garage in an industrial part of town. Think 'rave' for the over 40 set, in 1920's evening gowns, dancing to a band that I can only describe as probably what was playing in the non-urban centers of America in the 20's and 30's. Banjo, fiddle, upright bass... but with horns too.  I actually have no idea what it could be best described as, but we enjoy it.  There was a few songs that I could lindy hop to, so that was great. They also had a dozen vintage cars that we could sit in.







Sunday night we went to a 'tea' dance. It was an interesting collection of dancers from the ballroom scene as well as the swing dance club. Sometimes we crashed on the dance floor, but it was really fun and lovely to see all ages dancing. It also was right on the water so it had a lovely view on the balcony. This is the view from a stop light not far from it:)

Last night I was up till 1 trying to get going on a poster proposal for ASHA – the American Association for SLP's. The conference this year is in Boston and if I can organize my finances, I hope to go regardless of what happens with this poster proposal. I reckon its good practice, though I probably need a better work area. My joints were killing me after hours of typing on the couch.  Plus my only available references are the few books I brought with me... 


Luckily Traveler made me some dinner, so I wasn't too exhausted. It was quite tasty, I must say.

Another day in the life of me...

Today I drove out over the hills to the Wairarapa region. It kind of reminds me of Eastern Oregon and Montana. Here is photo on the way back to Wellington.



I also took a couple photos on my way home from the bus stop today. Here is the view around 6:30.


I still find it fascinating that people put car parks on their roofs


and I really like the skate parks here (look toward the bottom of the valley)

too bad all I learned to do was slide down my friend's half pipe that his dad built in his barn – in a sleeping bag. Yeah I was a complete dork then too, but given my accident track record with skiing, motorcycles, and even crashing a parked car (as in my car was parked, not me hitting a parked car) probably good I didn't try to learn to skate board.

Laher flows in New Zealand...

In case the american media paused to look at world events such as the Laher in New Zealand, never fear all is well in our household.  and here is a video link from one of the local media outlets.

video

Cuba Street

Here are some photos from Cuba Street down town...

Otari Wilton Bush

Last weekend we join up with a group of other immigrants to enjoy the Otari-Wilton Garden. It is a lovely place dedicated to native plants and trees.

We had a picnic and quite a few kids were playing on the grassy hill nearby


Then we walked through the regenerating bush/forest.

In this free public garden there is even a 400 year old Rimu tree.

The stream also was a highlight for the kids to play in.


Its pretty nice that this is only a 15 minute bus ride from downtown and a 20 minute walk from our house. We ended up walking back after our lovely afternoon. Here is a bit of what we saw..

some lovely stainglass...


the wellington sewer drains..

and most intriguing of all...


if you look closely the firemen have placed their boots and all on the sidewalk so they can run and jump into them. I am pretty sure that they were on duty and had just gone out to play cricket with the radio on in case of a fire call. Everything was set up so they could just jump in and go and when we walked by the Karori fire station the garage was empty. I guess its better to be out getting exercise than just sitting around the TV waiting for a call. Don't know if this would be allowed in the states, but seems fine to me:)

Evening routines

We've been coming home after dark more often now that we're taking swing dance lessons and I'm slowly finding people to fiddle with. (note if any of you are coming this way, I am interested in having someone bring my violin and/or sewing machine from home...)

Some nights there is a lovely effect of the sun setting behind the ridge here in Karori...


my camera can't quite capture the light peaking through the windows of the houses on the ridge.

I'm also trying to get more creative with my cooking. Here is a recent adventure:



I definetely can't get enough spinach here after the spinach dramas in the states just before we left. I am going through a couple pages of it each week.  No popeye effects yet though:(

Misc moments from the past 2 days

Stopping for petrol ($75! for a tank) on highway 2
The first randomn moment is dedicated to Aiden.... this is what the commute looks like between the bottom of Lower Hutt (i.e., Petone) and Wellington.   This is about 10:30 am this morning after the daily traffic jam resolved.  On the train it is about a 15 minute ride.

towards Petone


looking across towards Eastbourne

towards Wellington


The fire alarm at work
These photos are dedicated to Jacob.  This was the 4th or 5th drill we have had so far, but this one may have involved actually smoke somewhere given the numbers of firemen that visited and entered the building. Couldn't have been too severe as no one made the  mobs of office people move away from the building.







The telecast symphone concert....
Tonight we stumbled on the coolest thing.  In civic square they had speakers and a projection screen set up.  People were gathering so we joined them and had a picnic.  Suddenly the sound of an orchestra tuning poured from the speakers.  20 minutes later we heard applause over the loud speakers, with a pause for a single violin A, another round of tuning, and then a pause for the conductor to appear to be greet with another round of applause.  The screen was in full sunlight, and more or less useless, but the music was amazing with people hanging out on lawn chairs, on the lawn, and just chilling on the concret.  It was so lovely to just be with people, wind in your hair and a hint of the sea on the air, while live music was played. Yes it was over a loudspeaker, but it have a live feel to it. As the sun set behind the buildings, corners of the screen began to reveal the visual portion of the live feed.  We had to leave before the entire screen was visible, but it was fun to see the live camera angles zooming in and out and cutting to different angles. It was like watching a sporting event with all the camera angles, but it was the NZ symphony and this was all just a free public event.  It was so much more comfortable being able to move, lay down, or pace - the sitting bit always got to me when I went to the symphony hall in Oregon and distracted me from the music.  I also couldn't see well in the real halls, about here the zoomed in projection was much easier for blind shannon-girl...


And now for moments dedicated to my mother:)

this is my office



and this is an example of me trying to be more organized... look I even laid out clothes for the next day. If you look closely you can see the violin a very wonderful person lent me in anticipation of the upcoming fiddle camp I signed up for.


and these are limes... they are cheap limes as far as I can tell, but the thought of spending nearly $4 on limes and being thrilled at the price does seem odd. More impressive still is the color and shape and for the most part the flavor. As I write I am enjoying one of my favorite odd ball snacks - white cheddar cheese with lime juice sprinkled on top with crackers or chips.  It is an amazing combo  - honest!


and no, most things arenot this packaged here, this is from the downtown suppermarket that caters to office workers picking up a few things on the way home from work.  One day I should take a photo of the 30 person line for check out. They pass out candies and have TV to keep you calm, even though it actually is one of the fastest queues ever - typically less than 5 mintues.

Martinbourg Fair

Today we went to the Martinbourgh fair. It is a lovely drive away through a windy mountain pass – similar to hwy 6, without the Wilson River or the big trees. Anyway once there we shopped, watched people and had some coffee.

While I bought several items I love, the ones I feel most compelled to share is my new pair of shoes. Yes to those of you who have been reading this from the beginning, I have found another pair of shoes. My black Mary Jane Docs have finally become uber comfortable after a couple weeks of blisters.

Seems that I'm headed down a similar track here. I can't even take a photo of my new shoes on my feet because I already have hideous blisters – including ones between my toes.

Only good thing I can think of is that these blisters shouldn't interfere with my other shoes... convenient because although barefoot is very acceptable nearly everywhere here, it isn't at work.

Well these are the lovely handmade shoes that have caused my feet to look like either I whipped them with straps or let a small animal attack them mercilessly.

Here these are called Jandals (not flip flops) and are a staple of footware for kiwis. I've never ever owned a pair of flip flops, which might explain my feet's nearly alergic reaction to them. That said, I suspect they'll be like birkenstocks and once they and my feet have broken in they'll become a favorite source of comfort.

 

good people

On Thursday Trav's uncle and aunt stopped in for dinner.  They are traveling through on their vacation to NZ.  We had a lovely dinner out, but on the way home I realized that my bag was missing.

I searched the yellow pages and called the cafe. I knew that they were closing down just as we left so I felt prety sure that the bag was safe, but wanted to call to let them know I'd pick it up tomorrow.  

Well when I rang them up the lady said that someone was en route to my house!  I had an application, overdue I might add, in my bag that I had forgotten to mail. It had my return address on it and they were driving my bag to me.  What a relief - my wallet, camera, calendar, Boardmaker CD, digital record, $95 dollar bus pass (yes it would be my third month in a row losing it, but after only 1 day's use it would have been particularly painful), sunglasses that actually fit my face, and a few other assorted valueables were all in there - including my work mobile phone!  

I just popped out to the street and waved down a lost looking man who handed over my bag!  He commented that people here are friendly :)  made my day.

Cuba Carnival last weekend...

Last weekend, Cuba street had its annual carnival. Cuba street is an area known for fun funky alternative things like piercings, vegan pastries, coffee shops, etc. Reminds me of many areas of Portland, except that it is a Pedestrian mall so the road has been paved over and cars are not allowed. There are some fountains and and mini playground features to entertain people eating and drinking; though often the people watching is more than enough entertainment!

But back to the carnival... the actual fair during the day was alright with all the requisite features.

You have crowds and ample people watching


There is a variety of foods served

Several music stages with 20-30 minutes alloted to each act so you have a lot of variety

Kids dancing is a key ingredient for me and this youngster in particular was entertaining as he ran around with sticks.

My father would have been very disturbed by the number of kids running with eye destroying implements, but I choose amusement as my response – particularly when he saw this young man's juice container sitting between the man's knees. The young boy ran over with this sticks and began to beat the container. While some men would pull away to protect their 'jewels' this chap just laughed and encouraged the kid. It was lovely actually seeing the crowd interact with all the dancing kids.

That said, although the standard food, music, crowds, and kids were present there were a few other things that seemed different. I was particularly struck by the number of people hanging out. They were hanging out in trees

out windows




and even on couches they'd dragged to the middle of the closed off streets!


But the very best part was the night 'illuminated' parade. The streets filled with on lookers and there was a relaxed feeling to it. People were not kept an arms length away, candy was thrown into the crowd, and water and bubbles were also allowed!

It was a Rio theme, so there were many dancers... some very bravely showing quite a bit of skin.

People were exuberant and very glad to be part of the various floats

and I really loved these skeletons on this crazy bike contraption....




There were some other amazing parade moments, but my camera battery unfortunately died halfway through. The Wellington airport sent one of their fire trucks, which was shooting bubble/foam out of a cannon on the back of the truck. Just behind them were dozen of fire poi dancers... a good combo, until the kids start running into the bubbles to play with the fire dancers only feet away. But no one seems to get hurt.

There were also acrobats dangling from mini cranes driving through town, marching bands, and girls in heels playing with soceer balls by kicking them into the crowd!  Flikr has lots of photos under cuba st carinval and cuba street carinval.