Easter weekend

Easter is a 4 day holiday here in New Zealand. Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays. Shops close. Restaurants charge a 15-20% premium to cover the higher wages they have to pay. Most people leave town.

It is kind of like Thanksgiving, minus the shopping frenzy. Maybe next year I'll organizing a thanksgiving meal, given that it is fall here, but this year everyone we knew seemed to be leaving town. Plus its been a crazy sunny Indian summer that makes one want to barbecue and eat ice cream --- not gathering indoors to tuck into a roast bird and all the trimmings.

Actually I take that back about the shopping frenzy – there was a mini one Thursday night in anticipation of an entire weekend of closed grocery stores combined with a big meal to fix on Sunday. The shops are open nowadays on Saturday, but friends here say that the supermarkets were closed the entire weekend in years past.

Traveler has been working really really hard lately with his company. So hard he is complaining of a 'brain sprain.' I am not sure what that is, but I can vouch for real physical and mental effects that I am seeing in him.

I've been struggling with some minor health issues mostly related to the ovarian surgery I had back in 1998 and the implications that I now have to sort out. I am going through a wee period of 'its not fair' which I suspect will pass.

All in all, it was a perfect time to take some time to relax and have a proper vacation. Only problem – we've been so tired and overworked and down and out that neither of us really had it in us to plan a weekend away. Plus this weekend is a more expensive time to travel and one in which booking are essential – particularly with the great weather we've been having.

So our dear friends came to the rescue and offered us a key to their house as a home away from home while they were traveling. It has been a perfect weekend. I've completely relaxed.

Everything has a place at their home. I find it really easy to clean up and chill out here. They have novel things like a bathtub, long sofa, bed elevated off the floor, deck, and even a barbecue! In other words, perfect for relaxing.

We were even cheeky and borrowed their Frisbee golf discs to play a round of golf out in Upper Hutt.

Then were off to explore Kaikote Park

And we made some yummy dinner on their barbecue!
We finished up the evening with some reading followed by a movie.

Sometimes you just need to get away from your own house and all the worries, chores, and work it contains and reminds you of. I think this is even more important when you partially work from your house.

Give me some of that Limey Lime Soup

I was craving a specific flavour of soup this week. A rich tangy broth – with noodles

I was very happy when I attempted to make it out of thin air and came up with something that was just what I was looking for:

• I saluted onion, celery, and red chilis in vegetable oil
• After a wee while I tossed in some garlic and carrots
• Then added chicken broth and brought to a boil with a lime's worth of juice
• Tossed in some Asian noodles
• I added some chopped cilantro
• and some chopped bok choy
• and finished it off with another lime's worth of juice.

This was a much better success than my attempt at laundry this week... Somehow the hot water and small load size lead to a growing bubble column

One that I had to constantly scoop into the nearby sink. Hmmmm. Its never done that before or since.

Food and other... well really food is the only matter of matters today

I was clearing off the photos from my camera and I seem to have only taken pictures of food this week.

The night we had left overs from our friends. She kindly reminded me that reheating pasta with cheese in the oven is a useful way around the 'reheat pasta without microwave' problem.  Yummy!  The beans were from our local deli. I still have no idea what was on them, beet juice I think.



Then the night of pasta and shrimp salad.  I was going to make quesadillas, but shrip was way cheeper than cheese - go figure. It was yummy too.


And this creation I have renamed 'the most discusting looking piece of heaven EVER'  The recipe can be found here.


And my secret to making it taste so good and look so horrid is to saute the plums with sugar and butter in this skillet, then back the lot in it.


And as we speak, my lover / rock star of pizza making is preparing dinner... Yea me!

 

While you were sleeping

While my friends in Oregon were fast asleep (now that you are a whole 4 hours ahead, soon to be five -- curses to how daylight savings isolates me from friends and family back home), I was at the beach....



There is a story about fish somewhere, but I'd have to be reminded of it as I'm too tired to remember it at the moment.

While you were sleeping

Arts festitival

I've been trying really hard to keep myself busy. Yesterday I went down to check out Gravity and Other Myths, an outdoor circus show that is part of the Wellington Arts Festival. I am sure it's even more amazing at night, but I was seeing it with friends and their kids so we opted for the 3 pm version.

The guy introducing the main show did a great unicycle, guitar playing, sheet music on slacks hanger attached to head thing... ah thoughts of my father.

Them came the circus crew. It was such fun to watch.

Looks like the night show is pretty cool too, but last night we opted to head to a party with friends instead. I even dressed up a bit. We had a lovely time chatting with new people. A couple good friends were off to the Avatar wrap party to hob knob with famous and not so famous film folks. Its funny American famous faces can come down here and be completely unknown, particularly if their claim to fame is American TV.

ACC

One commenter on my last post mentioned that such play things would not be found in America... the whole "lawsuit waiting to happen" phenomenea.

Well tonight I was thinking about ACC... the people who bring you ads like this:



Tonight I was playing some sport. Another player appeared to dislocate a shoulder. I wish her a speedy recovery and having watched T's agony with his dislocated toe I hope she is treated quickly and with pain meds if that is their wish.

I ended up being the one calling 111 (NZ's version of 911). It was actually great to test the system, I feel safer already. However just as I was sorting out how to pronounce the name of the sports field, the injured player adamanently insisted that SHE DID NOT WANT an ambulance. In my head I heard "said as if she was uninsured/an illegal immigrant" and then thought "oh how American of me." I guess I am a bit dense for a speech therapist because what I didn't hear is that she has an American accent. Now I have no idea why she refused, but I would have done the same in America... you Americans know exactly why.... the $500 ambulance ride, the possibility of a several thousand dollar admission to the hospital, the inability to leave until you sort out payment, etc. I realized how much our behavior regarding our healthcare is shaped by our crappy health 'system' there.

What she probably may or may not have realized (and really when you are in that much pain you aren't open to new ideas or suggestions) is that here the ambulance ride would have been free, she would have had access to pain meds in the ambulance, and she would have been treated quicker by arriving at the A & E (accident/emergency, aka ER) via ambulance. Everyone was so confused why she made me hang up the phone (well 'cept the other Americans), and we're talking about 'harden up' Kiwis here who can suck up a lot of pain.

Why... the New Zealand ACC no fault accident coverage that covers EVERYONE on NZ soil. Yes, only residents get some of the 'work comp' like wage coverage, but bottom line - if you, even folks just visiting, get hurt here in an accident, your medical bills are covered and you can't sue. Now it isn't a perfect system, and I know my standards are really low after living in America, but I feel really blessed to be here when it comes to health care access.

On that note, here is one more ACC video for any of you contemplating a move:

So do these exist stateside...

..Sometimes I no longer know what is unique to New Zealand or just things that came out since I left. Has anyone seen these playground toys in the US? They are like a mini, tilted merry-go-round.

The rains finally come

After an extended sunny summer, the rains finally have arrived.  While it is quite possible that the sun will return shortly, its equally possible that the foreseeable forecast with be rain rain with a side of rain.

To get in the spirit of things, I had a lovely rainy Saturday.  

I donned my lovely wedding present from the Gray family (my raincoat) and washed my car.  I am sure there is a reason why more people don't do this, but I love skipping the rinse-with-hose step.

I also whipped out my secret power (aka access to a car/chauffeur) to go on adventures with my favourite local twins.  

The beach was stormy and reflective...

Then off for hard hats...

And milkshakes...

Checking out the firetrucks at the airport


And circus walking....