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Off to a Good Start

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

Mom and Dad arrived safely in Christchurch Monday morning as Alan and I eagerly waited at the wrong terminal. Luckily we realized our mistake quickly and ran over to the international terminal for a long awaited reunion. We were so focused on just spending time together on the first day that we forgot to take any pictures, but we have since made up for that.

Arrival and First Two Days in Christchurch

Monday turned into a lovely day, sunny and warm. We walked around the neighborhood and fed the ducks at the park in the morning, then took a picnic lunch to the botanic gardens in the afternoon along with Al’s mom. Mom and Dad were troopers and managed to stay awake til about 10PM Monday night. It helped that it doesn’t get dark until 9:30 or 10 o’clock, so they didn’t even realize how late it really was. Tuesday was Mom’s first shopping day, so we strolled around the shops downtown while Dad and Al mucked around in a few music shops. We went out to dinner that night with Al’s dad, which was very good, then went to a pub for drinks and some live music.

That brings us to Wednesday when we packed up the van and took our first road trip out of town to Lake Coleridge. The scenery was even more striking than our past visits. The hills were greener, many of the shrubs were blooming with bright yellow flowers and soft pink wild roses. Dad chatted with a woman who has come to Lake Coleridge for 40 years and she said the area has had unusually high rainfalls and it certainly showed.

We camped in a little cove of shrubs that sheltered us from the winds, so we were able to relax and enjoy the very peaceful site. I know Mom and Dad were really awed by it all. Its just a unique landscape that you certainly don’t see in the southern United States. Its equally as spectacular at night since there is no light pollution whatsoever and the sky is filled with layer upon layer of twinkling stars. Before we turned in for the night, Dad, Al and I went out and did alittle stargazing. At the time there were a few clouds blocking the Milky Way and the Southern Cross, but Dad was amazed nonetheless. Of course within ten minutes of him going to bed the sky completely cleared and the entire night sky, Milky Way and all, came into crystal clear view. It is really a sight to behold and hopefully we’ll get other chances while travelling around the South Island to view such a magnificent starry night.

Lake Coleridge 13-14 Dec. 2006

We returned to Christchurch Thursday and rested. The folks are holding up really well despite travelling through so many time zones, but I think they were alittle tired at this point. Dad finally got to watch some cricket and I did my best to answer his slew of questions while Al was out playing tennis. That night we treated Mom and Dad to their first Kiwi fish and chips dinner, a longstanding New Zealand tradition.

Well, that brings us to today. We did alittle more shopping and ran some errands to prepare for our camping trip to the Abel Tasman. We’re going to the Saturday markets tomorrow morning and we have a few things planned with Al’s family the rest of the day. Then we leave for Nelson on Sunday, so we’ll share those pictures and stories when we get back next week.

Kia Kite!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

gradthanksdinner.jpg

We celebrated a very warm and delicious Thanksgiving meal yesterday. I squeezed by with a few minor disasters and one very good roasted chicken. I had to go with the chicken as I only found frozen turkeys in the supermarket, but it was really good. Along with the bird, I made stuffing, gravy from the bird juices, and peas cooked with alittle chicken fat (believe me, there was not a lack of butter and fat in this meal). My first disaster was putting condensed milk in the sweet potato casserole, which then became the dessert: a sweet potato crumble served with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. So the first disaster was averted, but the second disaster couldn’t be mended. As I took the brussel sprouts (with a bread crumb crust, Alan’s favorite) out of the oven to the table, I lost grip of the dish and they fell to the carpet. Saura didn’t see that as a disaster since she’s been eating the spoils for two days now.

Continuing on the topic of food, Alan and I broke out the grill for the first time this spring/summer. We had the best tasting sausages (aka “saussies”) I’ve ever had. We bought them fresh from the butcher (raw, none of that pre-cooked stuff for us!). We loved them so much we went back and nearly wiped them out of the rest, and had them bagged seperately so we could freeze them and thaw as needed. I’m definitely ready for a summer filled with barbeques and beer, mmmmmm.

Lastly, here’s a pic from Doreen’s graduation ceremony where she was the recipient of the Award of Excellence and the Dux Award. Pictured from left to right: me, Al, Doreen, Linda (Doreen’s sister), and John (Linda’s husband).

gradgroup.jpg

I’ve already packed away my books…

Saturday, October 28th, 2006
moregardenhgpond.jpg Rock Garden, Hagley Park I am officially done with studying until February, so...Woohoo! I felt relief that was almost equivalent to finishing the MCAT's after these New Zealand university exams. They are held in a ... [Continue reading this entry]

I Should Be Studying

Saturday, October 21st, 2006
moregardensprouts.jpg My window sprouts There is nothing like writing in the blog as a good procrastination technique. I'm really just having problems getting started this morning, so this is probably a fit exercise in waking up my ... [Continue reading this entry]

Spring Updates

Thursday, October 5th, 2006
springdaffodil.jpg Its been quite a while since I've posted here, but I've definitely been very busy with school. I have just changed my enrollment to the Masters of Health Science Health Information Management Program, so I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Soccer, Tennis, Cycling, Poker, Soccer, Tenn…

Thursday, June 29th, 2006
gondolaoverlook.jpg Mt Cavendish Overlook We went up the gondola, located south east of Christchurch, with Doreen today and had lunch at the top. Unfortunately we didn't see any snow, but it was a fairly clear day and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Snow Day

Friday, June 16th, 2006
snow1.jpg We awoke earlier this week to some cold slushy snow. We were pretty lucky since other areas of Canterbury had about a meter of snow dumped on them and some still have no power. [Continue reading this entry]