Inauguration 2009

I woke early and made my way up in the early dawn light to my neighbor's house. They had left the TV on low all night I think just so I wouldn't miss the event. I sat down like a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons. Food in hand and my face a foot from the screen.

It was nice to be an American today.

And then I walked back to my house to get ready for work, to feed my chickens, and to fret about my little personal worries.

But it felt like a brand new day.

Blue Lakes

I just spent a four day weekend near Rotorua for a rowing regata, but first a few words about New Zealand versus America differences. I know its been awhile, but I noticed a few more of differences this weekend.

I think I'll just focus today on how the McDonalds are rather 'flash' here (i.e., fancy).

They have a normal section and a cafe section (see counter above). Today I ordered a very lovely chicken wrap from this deli display along with a tasty iced coffee.
They make espressos and everything. It is common to see a couple mums ordering at the cafe and one of their 10 year olds begging for money so he can go to the other counter to get a box of chips (i.e., fries). Even the bathrooms are a step up from any Mackers (as it is called here) experience back stateside.I also think it is funny that the kids I row with call Rotorua Rotovegas as in it is the 'Vegas' of NZ. I guess it does host a few conferences and have some attractions like bungee jumping, sky diving and such. But it smells like rotten egg, hotels often have bathtubs that fill with steaming hot spring water, and there are polls of bubbling mud. Oh and there is a lake and it is not a desert and there are no huge casinos. But I guess there are similarities to be found.

But 10 minutes out of town is Blue Lake, which is partially heated by hot springs. A feature that is very nice when you are rowing in these conditions:
even more appreciated is when these conditions return:
There were heaps of people there, and Petone did fairly well.
We have room to improve for sure, but it was the very first time in an atheletic event I can remember where we had a very good chance to win and we just went out and did that very thing. No interpersonal dramas, no doubting ourselves, we just went out and did it.

Here are the boys team pulling away to take the lead.

We did the same thing in our fours race. We also placed 1st in our novice 8th final and came in second in the B final for the Club four race. Here is my team of fine people who are teaching me heaps about what it means to be a teenager in New Zealand. Yes, they were all born while I was in high school, but they are becoming some of my favourite people. And really what can be better than rocking out and singing along to ipods on a 6 hour road trip with 15 year olds who think you are almost cool. Nothing takes my mind off work this well. Plus I am doing way better this time around at being mates with 15 year olds than I did when I actually was that age myself.

Scenes from the road trip to and from the regatta:

Please note that these petrol prices are in Litres not gallons. Also, here petrol = gasoline, gasoline = propane, deisel is well deisel - but the rental van folks alway really check that I know what deisel is, cuz I'm a girl, even though the real risk is an American not knowing how to buy propane.

Views from now

At nights we often walk up to eat with our neighbors or at least have a cup of tea or borrow an ingredient for our dinner.


Often the neighbors' horses are near by and our chickens are most social. They race to us whenever we open the door... if you are wearing gum boots they are extra excited.


My mornings are about rowing. If you are wondering why I have little time to hang out, it is because I am exhausted by the end of the work day and I race in regattas every weekend at the moment. Some nights I run up hills of sand or steps.

Homesick for images of home

I am thinking of going to see Twilight because well.. basically I think I'll see glimpses of home.

For other movies filmed there, check out this link

I must be pretty dense because the only reason I've even heard of the Twilight books was that I caught the word "Port Angeles" on the page of a book one of my rowing team mates was reading.  I asked where the book was set, and she said Forks. I nearly laughed, because I drove through Fork for my honeymoon... and yes it is the MIDDLE of NOWHERE.  This is the 3rd book I've heard of set there though, which makes me laugh. Have these authors ever been there, or did they just pick it off the map as a place few readers would have ever been?

Again check out the link, it is really cool to me to see clips of Oregon based movie footage.

Gifts of the Season

This year I gave toasted almonds, decorated presents with red chillis, and well basically focused on food throughout the season. Fresh strawberries and in season tomatoes at Christmas has some advantages over holly berries I must say.

There were few gifts under our tree this year, however when I returned from rowing camp all that had changed. Christmas fudge and alcohol drenched bread had arrived from Trav's dad – one of my favourite Christmas traditions. Too bad shipping is so expensive to NZ, I really loved the dense boxes of fudge we received in Boston. I would drive home (all 1.5 hours of the commute) dreaming of the bite of fudge that awaited me. It often lasted until the spring. I'll just have to be in the Pacific Northwest some winter soon.

My mother also sent her traditional advent calendar, but as I age the little presents definitely get nicer. Or perhaps I am more appreciative.

Regardless it is so nice to hold something in your hand that your family touched, wrapped, and packaged to send you. Makes one a bit homesick.

Laura also sent us the coolest remote control winged toys. I know that the goats, creak, and our cooking would be a draw for most people, but now we have remote control winged toys. That must be a lure to come visit, eh?

So tonight we danced to random tunes I downloaded, made salmon, lite the candles, and just took it easy.   What did you do to relax after the holidays wound down?

Rowing Camp

I spent the week after Christmas at rowing camp. It was a very simple set up. Row at 6, 10:30, 3, and 7. Eat between each row. Sleep as much as you can. The food was wonderful, the setting stunning, and I really enjoyed getting to know all the other rowers. It was the best vacation I've had in ages. I completely forgot about bills, work, chores and my worries and just relaxed into the moment.

Plus the water was geothermally heated, which was very cool when you were standing in the brisk dawn morning air.

Here are a few shots from the training camp:

Living in the moment

New Years was spent at a really lovely party.  I was half asleep and then soon asleep thank to rowing 4 hours and then driving 10, but I do remember watching the host's daugher's huge eyes as she soaked up the party that she had missed every other year of her life so far.  It was a very lovely mellow party, but it was clearly incredible through her eyes.

We also all wrote resolutions to put in a top hat, then took turns drawing our resolution assigned to us by fate.  Ours:

• build a wood fired hot tub
  
• travel overseas for a holiday
  

I can't think of two more perfect resultions for us.

One of my self-drafted new years resolutions is to spend a bit less time online and more time living it up here in New Zealand.  So we set out New Years Day to do a bit of a hike. I was completely exhausted from rowing camp so we stayed close to home.  We drove about 5 minutes and started walking.










Then we realized we were closer to home thanwe were to our car so we kept walking.