Thursday, September 20, 2007

Stormy - Sept 21 in New Zealand


The stormy sea outside is in competition with "my three English girls" who are baking up a storm in the kitchen for tomorrow's party. We are launching my website and they are baking cheese nibbles, sesame balls, herbed cream cheese muffins and several other vegetarian treats.

In New Zealand with holiday working permits, they are on their "O.E." (overseas experience) for 8 months travel down under. I remember so well the joy of learning about new foods, vegetarianism, baking. It is great fun for me to share with them my helpful hints from my University studies in nutrition and my years gardening!

Poor girls, yesterday I had them repeating Maori names for plants and birds as well as English names:


"Kingfisher, the beautiful blue bird is? Kotuku."

"What are the yellow, orange and red flowers with edible leaves called?"

"err, uhmm"

"Nasturtiums. Say it with me, nasturtiums. Okay, let's think, nasty errr chums! Hot colours, red and orange...nasturtiums!"

"What's that large grass like plant with the iconic symbol for a flower? Flax."

"There's one that curls," Sophie said.

"Excellent...a koru or fern frond."

"And those are cabbage trees, said Lana, I can remember them because they don't look at all like cabbage."

Emma is just glad she's not driving and she is the only one of the three that do drive. Apparently, she drives very slowly. Sophie's mother has never driven since she got her driver's license. Easy in a country with mass transport. Impossible in California or New Zealand.

Bye!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

September 11



Today I'm thinking about learning to drive a digger. They are very handy around here and can do soooOOOooo much in such a short time. It is unfathomable to me how you dig to precise depths with one, but I could probably nut out moving plants, building ponds and placing rocks. Maybe that is what I'll do now that I'm a grown up baby boomer!

Out with the old

Another stranger/friend has come and gone...this was Sebastien from Belgium, a 26-year-old accountant who is travelling for several months and had come to me from South America. I think he really liked it here. He enjoyed the birdsong and the storm with high seas as well as his last day today...sunny and warm.

His project here was to take the remaining plastic off the derelict green house so we can put on the new plastic. He is calm and ordered and worked willingly, painting the battens or 2X1 boards that will hold the plastic on.

Today Sebastien left for Sydney.

I showed four local artists around my home and property today and I'd say they were pleasantly surprised! Panache was a word I heard, and they liked the wild colour and the occasional order amidst the Glorious Tangle.

In with the new...

Next week I have three young English women arriving. YAY! Before then I must compare 3 short stories by New Zealand authors, do a second course in using Outlook , plant lots of spring seeds and take a trip to Rawene for a society of authors meeting.

Greg has made a photo gallery for my website so soon I'll have pictures up for your perusal. We spent the weekend being sport nuts and watching the World Cup rugby, just for a change!

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Weekly Blogger!


Here it is Sept 2nd, and I'm blogging again, from the Glorious Tangle. Since last I wrote I've attended an interesting panel discussion at the Script to Screenwriters monthly meeting, an exhibition opening sponsored by LOOP Aotearoa and worked on my website. I also sat up until 2am, freezing, as I searched my genealogy on Ancestry.com. I need info in Russia and I am determined to find out where my mother's people came from. It appears we could hail from Liverpool! Who would have thought.
The picture is from the surprise belated honeymoon Greg took me on for our second anniversary last April. I thought we were off to Wellington but we were headed to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Oh the cocktails and warm weather. If you go there, check out Ian and Kay George's art gallery. Kay made the dress I'm wearing, including printing the fabric. My friend Nora Shayeb made my necklace.


Well, I have loads of deadlines this week including my first story for Playmarket magazine...about the controversy created in Waipu when the museum sponsored the production of James McNeish's play, The Rocking Cave.


I really must get to work now, so this is brief.


Bye for now, y'all.