In Tonga

Sesi had been on about us going to her home in Tonga

for the longest time.

At first we were going with her family,

then just SaraMegan with us so she could meet her family,

but in the end it was just a girl's week in the sun.

Leaving at 620am is never a good time for a flight but

as Tonga is in the same time zone as New Zealand

it meant we arrived at 930am

going straight to the beach.

We stayed the first two nights at Keleti Beach Resort

in our wee fale named after the kids in the family who own the place.

It was mostly just me and Sesi there,

as its the end of the tourist season,

the whales have passed by on their way to whereever they go and

it's starting to get really hot.

But first thing was to have a nap.

Besides being Kiwi's going to the beach early in the morning

is a foreign concept.

Our sea is so cold that being near it too early gives you cold goosey bumps.

Not so in Tonga.

After our nap we wandered down to the beach.

A wee cove sheltered by a small cliff and a reef,

a perfect wee place for a first afternoon easing into a holiday.

The reef stopped the huge brakers smashing in on the swimmers.

You can see these weird rock formations as you fly in.

A long line of what looks like large lilypad shaped rocks that are just a few metres off the beach.

It was Saturday afternoon by the time Sesi and I had napped, talked and talked

then dragged our tired selves to the beach.

Once there, there was only us and a group of young Tongans

enjoying a picnic in the sun and playing in the water.

Sesi and I had forgotten one key item for the day

and that was food.

I mean we had a tonne of chocolate as gifts but no actual food.

The kids were eating sugar cane,

like from the actual sugar cane cane.

Chopping off bits and munching on it until all the sweet sugary juice was gone.

As they left Sesi did the Tongan thing of asking if they had any to share,

they didn't but instead they offered us some chicken which was very welcome.

To be fair, Keleti Beach Resort has a restaurant.

We were just too lazy to walk back up to go to it.

The guys at Keleti Beach Resort took great care of us.

Including taking us shopping at roadside stalls for coconuts and

helpful things like cracking open the coconuts for us to drink and eat.

Delicous food, watching the sunset at a seaside table, relaxed conversation, lots of fun and teasing.

Plus lovely Titree the guard dog joined us.

Not bad for a first day on Tonga.



iPhone

I'm back from leave.

Back to the rural world.

Seriously how many people consider going to a suburb a good holiday?

Am I weird?

Do I deserve to suffer this angst?

Who would swap this sunny back yard for this?

I guess I would, because I have.

It pains me.

It's Wellington in case you didn't recognise it.

issssues and dramas

The week before Christmas,

I got the call I wanted to have.

Fletchers who are the contractors to the

Earthquake Commission (EQC)

called to say they would be at our house on the 16th January

to fix all the earthquake damage.

Fantastic!

Sweet!

Great!

Shaka brah!

Chur bro!

My house will be all better before the winter.

I do feel slightly guilty that we are getting our marginally damaged house

fixed ahead of people whose houses are worse

but our subbies are based in the different town.

Anyway last Wednesday,

three working days before the subbies arrive

they phoned to say it would be better if we weren't in the house.

I'm sorry, what now?

Where do you go for two weeks when you have to

continue your normal life?

I live in the country.

Our options are not expansive.

Oh that's right....

there is no accommodation for rent, lease or

borrowing in Leeston.

Only people we know well enough to stay at your house

are allowed to visit Leestonians.

I have a big Fireside Church meeting on Tuesday,

very important people are coming to tell us our Ward boundaries are changing.

Peter is flying to Hamilton on Wednesday morning.

I have meetings in Christchurch all day Wednesday.

I have a mean meeting with the bank on Wednesday afternoon in Leeston.

I AM BUSY!

I NEED TO BE NEAR LEESTON!

I NEED SOMEONE ELSE TO PAY FOR THIS!

Luckily our insurance pays for accommodation

so Mags and I will decamp to Methven.

Mags goes on Tuesday.

Me on Wednesday after all the meetings.

We'll be away for two weeks.

I wonder if the builders will feed the cats?

I am a little bit excited cause I cause I get to walk to work.

I get 40 extra minutes each day that I won't be driving.

I get to be near work.

I get to hang out with my lovely workmates.

I am little bit concerned at leaving strangers in my house.

I am not looking forward moving most of the furniture

out of the house tomorrow.

Or moving it all back in either.

I am looking forward fresh paint,

new ceilings and

a house that doesn't shake at the slightest breeze

because the piles are shonky and

I swear all the nails are wiggling loose.

I keep expecting the walls to collectively fall outwards.

I hope, hope, hope that everything goes to plan.

it's the quiet time

of the morning.

well 4am usually is the quiet time.

And boy am I craving quiet time.

As much as I love having a house full of family

I need my space

and my house just isn't big enough.

So I wake up early early

and set the fire

and try to nap on the couch.

Believe me, I so admire

anyone who can sleep sitting up,

on a couch, on the floor,

in a hammock,

anywhere other than a bed.

I am a sleep in the bed girl.

As I may have mentioned a few times

I LOVE MY BED.

But I wonder if it's my bed that I love

or is it that I just love being in bed.

Maybe I should say

I LOVE SLEEPING

cause I truly do.

P.S. My house is so small that when family come to stay everyone shuffles around the beds until everyone has a space.  Which is great in summer with long, sunny days not too flash in winter with it's short, dark, crying out to be in bed days.

a week in Wanaka

Five days and four nights

of peaceful, picturesque, restful holiday

in Wanaka

at Louly's parents bach

though I'm sure they call it a crib.

Who says the South Island isn't culturally diverse??

Do you think pronouncing Bach as in the composer

rather than bach as in batch would make holiday homes sound posher?

It's like calling Mangere Bridge, Pont du Mongere.

Some people do that, eh Ni?

So Louly's little bach was the perfect place.

Comfortable, easy, relaxing.

Each morning the sun shone.

Each afternoon the sun shone.

Each evening the sun shone.

Y'know until it went down.

Each day I'd go walking,

find a posse on the edge of Lake Wanaka.

I'd wiggle down on the pebbly shore

between fallen trees

until I was out of any wind,

lie back and

watch the clouds scud across the sky

watch the shadows roam across the mountains

then watch leaves spiral down from the trees.

More than once I got a leaf in the face

and those suckers are falling with some velocity.

One afternoon I decided it was time to go see the next bay over.

I eased myself into the ute,

because moving with any great speed was out of the question,

and drove out towards Mt Aspiring.

I got to Glendu Bay

and was glad that I didn't over excited

as I had on my first day in Wanaka

looking at all the walks around the Lake,

and walked around to the bay.

I would still be there happily exhausted.

I do not do exercise at altitude.

I just love the ranges and mountains of Central Otago.

 I love the lakes and austere nature,

the plainness of it's beauty.

It's breathe deep confrontational style.

I wouldn't want to live in Wanaka,

for a bunch of reasons

but mostly that I would be afraid

I would become immune to it's beauty.

While I sat admiring the scenery,

locals would walk past

chatting on their cellphones as they walked their dogs.

Ordinary life was out of place.

I eavesdropped without any choice

on people who I assumed were tourists

based on their accents and foreign clothes

energetically marching along the paths,

talking in their loud voices about

women they knew,

these were older couples talking,

ok the men were talking

the women were silent,

which supports my argument that men are the more gossippier sex.

They nattered on about how the women were strange,

which I took to mean they were different to them

which I took to mean they didn't know these women well

cause otherwise they wouldn't be strange.

I ended my week feeling relaxed and good.

My weekend was less so

but that's tomorrows story.

St Valentine's Day - EnZed styles

Fooled you!

There is no real Valentine's Day in New Zealand.

What there is on the 15th February is

Fail! Valentine's Day

Conversation in the office filled with females

was that

only one of an office of nine women,

only one received anything

and that was in a new relationship

with bronc busting cowboy.

Cowboy's are always romantic.

I had great fun wishing Young Farmers

Happy Valentine's Day.

They get all flustered.

I swear that is my new (and old) favourite thing to do

get Young Farmers all flustered.

Very cute.

I also had a brainwave and thought to line up a candidate

for the Aussie Farmer Wants a Wife TV show

while their lonely hearts were on my guys minds.

We got a call last year with only a few days notice til they needed someone

from NZ on the Aussie Farmer Wants a Wife.

(Now showing on TV3 at 7.30pm)

The suggestions I had didn't pan out.

Maybe because the manly farmer types I thought of

are a little bit homophobic

so the delightfully sweetie darling of a man

who is a talent spotter for the show

(i.e. calls me to find him people)

phoned my boys and in his very sweetie darling voice

asked my boys to be on a dating show.

Ahhhhhhh......

computer says NO!

But being prepared is my new motto

that goes with "add it to the list".

I have organised for rugged, up for anything Jonny

to be our next Farmer Wants a Wife.

Well I teed up Jonny anyway.

Now I owe him

so may have to courier some baking his way.

Way to a man's heart,

on behalf of the TV watching public of two countries,

is through his stomach.

I wonder how much baking this is going to cost me???

Oh I do have to say that one of my matchmaking projects

is going exceedingly well

with flowers on Valentine's Day.

And that's no mean feat to get flowers delivered

to a Rural Delivery address up the back of nowhere North Canty.

Very cute couple.

Nelson, NZ

I claim Nelson as my South Island hometown.

In my line of business it's important to be able to lay claim to a South Island birthplace

otherwise no-one would ever speak to me.

The Central Otagans look at me oddly

because in reality

Nelson belongs to it's own parallel universe of sheer bliss.

 Is this not the most perfect place to spend New Year's day?

 Even if it was very windy and there was some sunburn

due to thinking I'd covered all of myself

turns out not my calves.

My companions were luckier/wiser and not only  lotioned up but wore actual clothes.

Jolly and I spent some serious discussion time in the warm sea.

To be honest, the sea was only warm in some places

it was little like wandering into a pee zone

except that it wasn't and I took comfort in that fact.

I drove home on Monday cause I was so tired,

I piked and slept on a mattress in the lounge

which in hindsight was dumb cause a tent would have been

so much more pleasant and cool.

When I arrived home after about 6 hours of driving

Penelope Darling and Clary greeted me.

I lie,

Clary followed my car up the drive and then circled it until I got out.

He got a big hug for his welcome.

That Penelope Darling ignored me.

Stupid Texel lamb, good thing she is going to taste good.

Isn't Clary cute enough to eat?

Cause he will be real soon.

a hippity, hoppty New Year

Last day today, last for 2010, already.

How did that happen?

I'm off to the sunny beaches of Nelson with Jolly and co for New Years

plus a day or two more.

I'm camping,

in Jolly's mum's backyard.

I'm quite excited about camping in a backyard.

Not in a camp ground,

not in the bush,

not with people all around,

not with no one around,

with hot showers, flushing loos and an excellent kitchen.

But first I need to go and meet the Master of Intrigue for brunch,

then drive for six hours so I better get my skates on.

Happy New Year to you all!

Thanks to those who sent me Happy Birthday wishes.

I had a lovely day with lunch at Melton Estate

and a Pavlova mountain with raspberries and cream.