A Merry Christmas

Our second year into the Christmas-during-summer thing, and we're learning to embrace it for the novelty it is (for now).

With temps in the mid-70's, we had a picnic brunch with friends on Christmas Eve, complete with strawberry shortcakes that Rocky made from scratch with freshly picked berries.

We had another brunch on Christmas day with a different group of friends (and introduced them to the glory that is Ro-Tel dip), featuring pancakes, crispy potatoes, and bacon cooked on the grill. And The Squidd tried his hand at cricket. In the evening, we went to the park and splashed around in the wading pools there. All in all, a nice weekend. Hope yours was, too.

Next up: New Year's!

The Squidd's favorite part about Christmas: Santa ate the cookies and only left crumbs!

Typical kiwi hiking wear

Rocky has been playing Risk and drinking scotch with the fellas once every few months. Now he can host at our place.

5.9

Lest we get too comfortable with stillness beneath our feet, we just had a 5.9 earthquake (around 2:pm) followed by a series of smaller ones. After nothing of note for months, this was a surprise.

We're fine, and The Squidd--our champion sleeper--slept through them again, as has been his way since the first quake September last year.

Public Service Announcements

Don't Drink and Drive

Mantrol

Don't Drink and Fry

I am attempting to find the Don't Eat Spoiled Food add as well as the Don't Have Too Much Fun at the Office Holiday Party add.  Folks, I wish I were kidding, but these ads are running continuously.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . . .

Nelson

On Friday we returned from a week-long trip to Nelson, a sunny, artsy town at the very top of the South Island. Rocky was there for work, so The Squidd and I tagged along. I'd been wanting to visit Nelson for a long time now, and I wasn't disappointed: beautiful, calm, sandy beaches and turquoise water; sunny, mild days; wineries and fresh fruit stands; galleries and artist studios . . .

And to top it off, I had a run-in with The Hobbit film crew. Well, the stunt crew for The Hobbit, anyway. They were staying at the same hotel we were, and I chatted with one guy in the elevator one morning as The Squidd and I were headed down for breakfast. As an aside, career geologists have a very specific look. You can pick them out from anywhere (hint: look for a bolo tie and hiking shoes). So in a hotel filled with hundreds of rock geeks, the stunt guys (read: muscle men) stood out like blinking lights. Very exciting.

Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving came a little early to our corner of New Zealand. Due to scheduling conflicts, we weren't going to be able to celebrate with friends on the actual day-of, so we decided to do it one week early.

We enjoyed our cross-country Thanksgiving jaunt to the west coast of the south island last year so much that we decided to reprise the trip. Two other American families joined us, giving us a grand total of 6 adults and 4 kids.

Dinner was delicious and unconventional, including sushi, spanakopita, and fish cakes, though the usual suspects also made an appearance (cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, pumpkin pie).

Weather was a bit spotty, but we had enough springtime sun breaks to allow some outdoor adventures, including the local Westport beach, Denniston plateau, Punakaiki, and Kura Tawhiti (Castle Hill).

This year, we're thankful for a lot of things, but mostly these: the continued good health and safety of the people we love; the opportunity to see new places, meet new people, and have new experiences; and last, but not least, the availability of cheese Doritos halfway across the world. Our Thanksgiving experience wouldn't be the same without them (tip o' the hat to Auntie Smeeches).

Love and hugs to you.

Halloween

It's spring in the southern hemisphere, which means cherry blossoms, tulips, and Halloween.  Had a little party with friends yesterday, complete with Pink Princess Palace Bounce House.  Oh, yes.  Mercifully, there were no injuries or crying fits, and I think everyone went home happy.

The Rocktopus

This contraption rotates as well as pivots.

How many legs have you broken rocktopus?

Kiwi Children's Playgrounds

In a land where bungee jumping and zorbing are considered tame recreational activities, playgrounds in New Zealand are how should we say this...are completely and utterly dangerous.  Wordy and I always remark that, "they would never allow that in the states!" at nearly every playground we go to...only to then snicker and give it a go.  So this is our first tribute to how playgrounds should be.


Tires, Timbers and Ropes...the Coolest!  It's really hard to portray how massive and fun this playground is for kids AND parents.

I call this slide the 'Arm Breaka.'  A two story drop with no lip on slick fiber glass.  Wordy caught some air on this one and almost hit the railroad tie only three feet away from the bottom of the slide.

I dub this weird spinning/tilted ring the 'Nut Cracka.' As best as we can figure, the main point of this one is to hurt you really bad.

Not in New Zealand