Something to blog about?'

So, I don't have the world's most exciting life.  Not even in New Zealand.  But I have been busy learning names, hearing stories and trying not to kill the natives when I am in the car.  Mind you, I am not alone in feeling that not all of them are the world's most careful driviers. I have been spending a fair amount of time getting lost, mostly because quite a few downtown streets no longer go through as they are in the red zone (no go).

Last Friday I took mine hosts to the airport about 10 in the morning and then went on to Sherlin Alpaca farms.  Sheryl, who owns the business with her husband Lindsey, is making me a vest from Alpaca wool.  It looks like it is going to be rather smart-cap sleeves and a bit of a collar.

While I was there, I was taking a look at Sheryl's garden and found humungus carrots.  Sheryl swears it is the alpaca poo.

The first day I was in New Zealand, Sue and I stopped at a fruit and vegetable store, to pick up some fresh stuff.  There was a fruit there that I had never seen, so we picked up a couple. At first I didn't particularly care for them--too flowery for my taste.  However, when I moved into Papanui, I found that my hosts had a few feijoa trees/bushes.  They are named after a Portugese botanist born in Brazil.  I have since aquired a taste for them which is not a good thing as I doubt that I will be able to find them in a grocery store in Canada.  I copied a bit of information from Wikipedia.
 "The fruit matures in autumn and is green and is about the size of a chicken egg.  It has a sweet aromatic flavour.  The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear gelatinous seed pulp and a firmer, slightly granular, opaque flesh nearer the skin.  The fruit drops when ripe and is at ist fullest flavor, but may be picked from the tree prior to the drop to prevent bruising. The fruit pulp resembles the closely related guava, having a gritty texture.  The feijoa pulp is used in some natural cosmetic products as an exfoliant."  I picked up some fruit from beneath the bushes  yesterday afternoon and cut a couple up.  The white fruit is the one I pared with a knife--then after photgraphing it popped it in my mouth.  Some people take a spoon and scoop the pulp out from the feijoa that have been cut in half.  I like the pared ones as the texture is much grittier-sort of like a greenish pear but fleshy.  Lynn, my hostess makes a wonderful cake from the feijoa, and one of the parishioners makes both jam and chutney.  I was thinking about an upside down cake with them --I should have enough.

At the end of last week, I went for a walk on a path that begins part way up our street.  It wanders along  behind a senior's villa/ home called Ngaio Marsh Retirement Village.  The walk goes for roughly two or three blocks and is bordered by native plants and grasses with a creek or culvert on one side.
 
I included the picture below especially for my friend, Gwen, as it appears to be a larger cousin of her favourite plant.

Tuesday of Week Three

Am finally recovered from cold.  Monday night last week, I had trouble getting to sleep.  After having finally drifted off, I was awakened by a rumbling noise and a shaking that lasted for about 20 seconds (you have NO idea how long 20 seconds can be).  It turned out to be a 5.3 earthquake, an apparently acceptable size to be able to talk about with real earthquake survivors.  Needless to say the trip to Wainui the following morning  where the Christchurch Clergy conference was held felt very long.  For the first time ever I experienced  a really serious car sickness feeling;  I think it was from the trip through the mountains--with my cold, my head would not clear properly--the way back was not bad at all.
This clergy conference was quite intense.  There was a speaker, a priest currently working in the field of social work who spoke about the difference required in pastoral care when dealing with survivors of natural disastors.  It made a lot of sense, I just hope I don't have to put it into practice.
This was nothing like a Huron experience.  For one thing, everbody brings a bottle or two of wine, and a couple volunteer clergy pour the wine.  The 'bar" is open just before dinner on the first night of the conference, but not during the evening.  Every one is gone to bed by about 10.  The next day it is open before dinner and after the last service.  Every one is gone to bed by about 10:30.
Like Huron, theere is a lot of time for worship as well as the speaker, but also a lot of small group discussions--this time focussing on how the church will be present during the rebuilding of the city, and how the churches will themselves will determine if they will re-build or if, indeed, they should.

The conference doesn't end until about 2:30 on the last of the three days.  The clergy, like every one else in the country all have morning  and  afternoon tea, consisting of something wet and something sweet.  Instead of including that in the price of the conference, the clergy all bring treats for the teas.  I brought date squares. 

The picture above is taken from the porch of the YMCA camp where the conference is generally held.  The photo to the right is again taken from the porch, but is a picture of the Port Hills taken from the other side of where we generally view them in Christ Church.  The Y camp is in a place called Wainui, just across the harbour from Akaroa. 

There was not enough room at the clergy conference for all of us.   Sue, Phil and I and another member of the Christchurch clergy stayed at a cottage on the harbour.  It was about a three minute drive from the main site.  This photo was taken from the verandah of what is called the 'Beach House" (the originality of the name is stunning.)  At the left of the bottom picture there is a small bit of the promontory of land forming the Wainui bay and just behind it, across the water is Akaroa harbor, and that town itself.  I think somewhere Mike and I have a picture taken from the dock there of this same promontory and the town of Wainui.

It was a great experience, but I really like the Carmelite's cooking better.  On our way home over the mountains, we stopped to take this picture (above).  The azure colour of the shallow of the bay really was that shade--unbelievably beautiful view and really, really steep.

The picture  above is of Lake Ellesmere with the Banks Peninsula on the right. Ellesmere is the fourth or fifth largest body of water in New Zealand, depending on your source; it is not actually a lake, but a brackish lagoon.  The 'road' in front is the remains of an old railroad track built across the causeway.. The track goes on for miles, and I am not sure of  the location of its actual beginning and end..  The water in the lake is not for human consumption but the birds  don't seem to mind.  Most of the birds in this picture are terns and beautiful black swans.

 This last shot of the day is facing towards the Southern Alps.  What a great place this was to stop to stretch our legs this trip.

Tuesday of the Second Week

Things have been getting off to a slowish start.  The weather is hard to figure out, and Friday the sixth, I began to get a cold.  After getting some things done in the church, I took an opportunity to take some pictures of the garden  beside the church.

  It is a lovely tangled mix of things that apparently will continue to bloom for quite some time.
The residents of the Papanui area are planting herbs, brussel sprouts and chard now.  I may get some cilantro going so we can have fresh throughthe winter.



On Saturday Phil and Sue came by around ten o'clock to go out to Sumner to find the market stalls that used to cluster around the Museum and art gallery just a block or two away from Cathedral Square.  We drove to the place where it had been advertised as being, only to discover that on this partiular weekend it was closed.  Just as well since the weather, which was supposed to be fine, was anything but.  It moved from fine drizzle to downpour to drizzle again.  All of us were thoroughly wet, especially as we had to keep jumping out of the car in order to take pictures. 

Most of us have seen the place where the huge rock fell on to a (fortunately) empty Veterans Hall. There was a lot of damage right along that road.
Below is a beautiful church that was in wonderful condition; it did not sustain much, if any, damage during the recent quake, however the rock face behind it is so damaged now, the building is comdemned.  As you can see on the left, it has a lovely lych gate, something not uncommon to this area of New Zealand. " What is a lych gate?" I hear my North American friends ask.  To become informed on all things lych, follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychgate

On the way to Sumner we saw a rather unique form of barrier lining the highway to help protect cars from the still-falling rock.

Sea shipping crates.  Phil, Sue and I all  supposed that they would have to be full in order to be useful.  However, the next question is "I wonder what's in them".

 Sight seeing in the drizzle is pretty hard work.  So we stopped off for a half pint and something to eat.

As you can see, we really were quite damp.  Thankfully there was a fire going just to the left of Sue.

 I got home in time a nap, followed by dinner, Kieran had made a stew with some of the beef that he had brought from home.  It was heavily spiced with rosemary, parsley and oregano. His dad does what is called home butchering.  I understand it is like a private business for his cusomers home consuption. 
The next day was Sunday, and I was at the church early to meet with my lay reader, Emma.  In New Zealand the terminology for the lay liturgical assistant is "precentor" coming from the word 'cantor' .  The precentor neither robes nor preaches, but assists in the service.
Everything seemed to go well, the people were very kind, and both eight and eleven o'clock services were well attended. 
Tomorrow is the clergy conference for the Diocese of Christchuch--it starts at noon Tuesday and ends after noon on Thursday.  I will be sharing a house there with Sue and Phil.
BTW, my cold is in full bloom now, and I feel rotten from the throat up--tomorrow it will be better.

First week in New Zealand

This photo was taken at the airport as I walked from the international terminal to the domestic when I changed planes.  The date was the 27th of April, 2011. 

 On Friday, the 29th, before we watched the Royal Wedding we went for a walk in on of Darfield`s tree plantation.  The berries on this plant were beautiful.  we went home, made and ate some dinner then sat down to watch the show.  Sue served fizzy wine at the appropriate time.

Below are the Alpacas from the same farm we visited last time we were here. T hey had their hair-cuts in January, around about the same time they give birth..   The Suri alpacas have their 'bangs' cut.

I am now pretty much settled in Christchurch.  I picked up my car the other day , then spentt an hour or so driving around with my host.

I have now handled several roundabouts, including the largest one in Christchurch; I am by no means confident, but am improving.  I am living in Papanui with a wonderful couple, Rick and Lynn. 

  Mike and I met them last time we were in New Zealand visiting with Phil and Sue. 

They are originally from Wisconsin via San Diego, and have been living here for six years; their ministry, evidently, is hospitality.  They have three houses in this subdivision and although two are now being lived in by people left temporarily homeless by the quake, they are generally used for folks from outside of NZ who are travelling through, frequently to the Antarctic.  Rick is an excellent cook, and I have already learned a couple tricks from him, and have taught him my roast garlic and kumara recipe (very similar to sweet potatoes) and also the cabbage salad recipe that I make which is a bit different from my sister’s.  

We had stuffed chicken and dressing with sweet potatoes and beans the other night, followed by ice cream.  I decided to try “Kiwi Surprise”, a lemon/chocolate blend that has little chocolate kiwis mixed in.  The chocolate kiwis were cute, but the lemon/chocolate blend was only so-so.  Lynn, who is still working, is an absolute delight and is quite happy to let Rick take care of the cooking. There was a young man here who just left the other day—Isaiah was over fly fishing for several months.  Last day of the season was Sunday, May 1st. Apparently, it has been the worst season on record, but I understand it is more about tramping the waterways and lugging about all the equipment.  The girls are leaving shortly, and then there will just be the four of us; the fourth is a young man from Nelson, NZ who is a teacher here – his second year –  this year he is teaching what we would call junior high.  Kieran gets up very early as school is from 8-1 since they are share a building with a school that had to close due to the damage it sustained during the earthquake.

The family circle is rounded out by two delightful dogs a yellow lab, Ollie, and a Norwich terrier puppy, Wilma. 

    Wilma will not get much bigger, good thing she has the energy for three dogs.  Ollie actually purrs almost like a cat when he is patted.

Sue picked me up to go driving yesterday afternoon when we had both finished work.  It was another good run.  We went to downtown Christ church, by passing the city centre, but able to go by Hagley Park.  I stopped at a vegetable store to buy some fruit and veggies; Phil works just across the road from that store in the temporary diocesan office so we collected him at the same time. We then went to the grocery store  to pick up the chocolate and Tim Tams for Mike and Yvan.  Sue will be delivering them when she goes to Canada later this month.  The downtown is not easy to move through.  Lots of streets are closed, but crews are working to get them open.

When we got back to Papanui, there was buffet birthday dinner going on for a friend of my hosts, and since Sue and Phil and I had been invited earlier, we were just in time for another super meal.  Rick makes a great guacamole, and another guest had brought crawfish canapés in Mary Rose sauce. A big ham dinner followed, more than enough to feed the army of 30+ people.

Today, I drove to work on my own, (it is close enough to walk in just a few minutes, but it was raining).

Moi and the Toyota Vitz (German for Joke)

  After work, I went to the Mall on my way home and picked up a road map that I can mark up, and a slow cooker so that I can make soup tomorrow.

I am taking this Friday off – I hope to catch a bus uptown to go to the Botanical gardens and the Museum.