Solo Sewing

About a month ago I was lent a sewing machine!!!!  Dave's mum lent it to me.  She even lent me an afternoon of her time to teach me how to use it!

She brought the fabric and a pattern for me to make a little girl's pinafore dress.  I figured it would take me two days to finish such a project, but we knocked it out after lunch just before I had to head to work!  Kathy was patient with my slow use of scissors and my not so lead foot on the machine.

I was pretty pleased with my first project, and apparently Dave's niece likes it too

I'd been wanting a sewing machine for a while.  I kept thinking about pillows, curtains, skirts.....  Of course, once I had a sewing machine, I had no idea where to begin!  I was still a beginner with this machine.  The little dress had definitely educated me, but I wasn't exactly ready to start making designer dresses!  After searching the internet for a bit I decided an apron would be a pretty a good place to start.  I LOVE aprons.  Granted, I already have 3, so I didn't really a need another.  But, I figured I could always give it away.

I found a free apron pattern online and printed it out.  Well, I printed the instructions out, I had to actually make the pattern using baking paper and the measurements from the instructions.  At the bottom of the instructions, among the notes and variations, was the idea of a reversible apron.  I though, how cool would that be?  You could choose which design you felt like wearing!

I didn't have anyone really in mind when I went to the fabric store, but I fell in love with a couple of kiwiana designs: one black and white kiwi bird and one lime green background with blue pukeko birds.  It seemed like a great contrast for a reversible project!

Fortunately, the saleslady added the cost of the fabric up for me before cutting the cloth (while wandering the shop I'd mentioned I was a beginner).  I was a bit short on funds that week, so I would have felt like a total knob going over what I could  afford!  The lady then pointed out the cheaper (and plain) fabric behind me.  I decided she was right, no point blowing my bank account if I was only going to screw up and need to start again!  I opted for the cheapest "calico" (cream) cloth to start.  I decided the bold red cloth would make a nice contrast. 

I didn't have an actual plan in mind when I started.
 The instructions told me to make a rectangular pocket, but that seemed kind of boring.  After cutting out both sides of the pattern I was left with lovely curved sections that would make perfect little pockets.  I decided two little red pockets would look better on the calico side than one big red rectangle.  

The instructions didn't go into detail for making a reversible apron, but I knew I could sort it out (after all, I'd just had plenty of experience sewing seams on a small scale!)  I was smart enough to realize that I would have to start with my pockets, or else I'd end up sewing though both aprons! LOL

  I was super pleased with my first efforts!!!

I was particularly pleased with these pockets for two reasons:

•   I'd followed the directions and made them stand alone pockets (meaning I sewed them together, turned them inside out to be a free floating pocket, and then sewed them on.....which seemed like a lot of work really)
• I had sewn a pretty respectable curve :)

The white pocket I made for the red apron was a contrasting rectangle. This time, however, I decided to skip sewing the pocket first and just sew a piece of fabric onto the apron.  This pocket seemed to be just as secure as the little red pockets but required a touch less sewing (and less fabric, as there is now "back" to the pocket).  ....Does any of that make sense?.....

I decided that a plain white pocket seemed pretty boring.  I'd spent some time flipping through the machine book and had found an "appliqué" setting (used to sew patches with a zig zag stitch).  I decided I'd try using this stitch to add some interest to the pocket.

I was pretty pleased with the result, especially since I didn't get an iron-on bonding stuff to make it stick in place first.

However, I did notice the slight puckering around the large heart and decided that I probably wouldn't be able to do it on a smaller scale, so I scrapped the little heart in the upper corner 

Now the the pockets were all done, all I had to do was put it together!  It wasn't a tough job and really wasn't that time consuming.  However, I did have to make the ties.  I'd decided early on that I was not using ribbon (that didn't sound very sturdy) and thought that having contrasting ties on each side of the apron would be cool.  Sewing the ties wasn't that bad, but it did take a while to turn the long tubes of fabric inside out with a wooden spoon! LOL.  

The whole project took me around 1.5 weeks, but really only 4-5 days working part time in the afternoons.  I was SO stoked the night that I finished the project.  I ran around the house wearing my apron on one side and then other.  Then I made Dave take pictures.

I'm not really sure at what point I decided to make this apron for Kathy.  I know it was pretty early into the project, because I quite enjoyed top stitching the red pockets for her.  In fact, I enjoyed this project all the more knowing that I was giving it away.  Not only did it seem like a good way to say "Thank You" for lending me her sewing machine (indefinitely), it would make a great mother's day gift!!! :)  hahahaha, I also remember thinking, as I was sewing crooked seams, "the great things about mothers is that it doesn't matter what you give them, they are always happy to have something homemade......no matter how imperfect it is!" LOL.

Thank you Mum, for trusting me with your sewing machine!!!!

Oh, and in case you're wondering.....I sent my mom back in the USA flowers.  I couldn't give mum such an awesome gift and not get mom anything!  Turns out, mom got a great deal.  I bought her live chrysanthemums, but she got a huge live Azalea!!!!  (and it is huge, I saw it over skype).

My first bike accident

Dave and I purchased ourselves mountain bikes in January.  I had been telling Dave how much I'd like to buy one after returning from America, as I would no longer have a gym membership and it seemed like a good way to get exercise.  Dave's big Christmas present to me was a gift certificate for a bike!

We took a day trip up to Auckland to buy a brand new bike for me (on sale!) and pick up a good quality used bike from a Trademe (think ebay) seller for Dave.  While we've only gotten into the mountains once with our bikes, we've greatly enjoyed the faster transport to our respective jobs (as we both previously walked unless foul weather required a car).  I started biking 30 minutes every other day and then upped it to 40 minutes every other day with shorter rides every day.  Within 6 weeks of owning a bike I fit my clothes better and felt stronger than I did after 3 months of nearly daily gym attendance!  Of course, after nearly a month off of my strict workout schedule, I'm back to where I started - knackered after riding through town!

This week started off well, the ride to the SPCA I volunteer at every Monday is not strenuous, but it takes about 10 minutes one way.  The ride to grandmas takes about 10-15 one way and I did that on Tuesday.  Today (Wednesday) wasn't look like it would be too flash weather-wise, but I was going to get a decent ride in after running errands in town....I've since scrapped that plan.

It's not that my accident has severely damaged me or my bike and it's not that I've been put off biking all together, but finding yourself lying in the middle of the main street is a little off putting for riding further in the day.

I'm only vaguely aware of the incident really. I was biking down the main town road (Pollen street thankfully, not the actual highway a road over) when a lady opened her car door in front of me.  I don't even remember the door opening.  All I really remember is finding myself and my bike in the middle of the lane!  I registered no cars were coming down the road (either direction) and got up.  A lady was half out of her car slightly behind me. She was asking if I was okay if I was hurt.  All I could think was to get out of the road, get out of people's view.  I didn't really know what to do. I wanted to yell at the lady for opening her door, but there was a part of me that wondered if it was my fault.  Was I not paying enough attention?  I told the lady I was fine, walked to the sidewalk and started down the road to the next errand I had.  I wanted to sit and cry, I was shaky, my hand hurt, I was SO glad I wear a helmet every time I cycle.  I didn't want to talk to the lady responsible, I didn't want anyone to ask me if I was okay.  I locked my bike up a few blocks down and went in search of saffron (in Thames...I didn't think it possible, but we do have some!).  When I came out of the shop, a blond lady came up and said she was so sorry.  Was I okay?  Was the bike okay.  It was all her fault and she wanted to take responsibility, she said.  I told her I seemed to fine and the bike probably too.  She gave me her name and phone numbers.  I'm too call her if the bike needs fixed, she'll pay for it.  She said she always tells her kids to watch out when getting out of the car.  She said she'd seen the car coming/passing, but hadn't seen me.  I felt bad for not talking to her sooner, for making her follow me down the street!

I said goodbye and thanked her for the details.  I unlocked my bike and found that the chain had been dislodged, not surprising.  I put it back in place and then biked to Dave's work.  The bike seemed find, the handlebars somewhat askew.  I just wanted to cry still, to get a huge hug, but Dave still had 10 minutes before lunch.  I told him what happened, he asked if gave the person an "ear full". LOL  I waited for his lunch break and then got the hugs I wanted.  He straightened my handlebars out before going back to work.  I told him I'd go home and take a bath, but then I decided I should keep to my plan and finish my errands.  Instead of biking through the mall parking lot though, I locked my bike in the park and walked a bit further.  I made my purchase and then treated myself (with tip money!) to a vanilla latte and the most delicious neenish tart!  I relaxed on the coach and read a tramping (aka hiking) magazine and let my shock wear off.

Feeling refreshed, relaxed, and calmed I took my bike the back way - down the coastal walkway (for bikes too) and back to the house on the least busiest roads.  My bike seems to fine now that the handlebars are aligned and I'm not bad either.  My left arm is pretty sore and my left hand a bit bruised.  I'll probably be wearing the long sleeved shirts at work in a few days to cover the nasty bruise I'm sure to have, but no back, neck, or even head pain to worry about.

While I sometimes wish I lived in one of the dynamic and cultured cities of Auckland or Wellington; today, I've never been more happy to live in the slow paced town of Thames.  If I'd been in a busy city I probably would have been run over by the next car in the road!

My Garden: in progress

Tomorrow I fly to the USA for 4 weeks!  I spent a bit of time today tidying my garden up for while I'm gone. I know it's going to be mental when I get back though! The tomatoes are going to be CRAZY and possibly even ripe?  The pumpkins may have taken over by then too. LOL (laugh out loud).

I've been meaning to do a post on my garden for ages now.  I got distracted in my last blog and ended up writing about last year's garden! hahaha.  I've written a whole heap of things for this blog.....but, as usual, I know want to change it all (this is why I rarely revise papers I write!).  So, I think I'll scrap round one (which has a couple of cute antidotes I suppose) and just go with a more easy to follow format similar to my previous blog:  each of my plants gets it's own spot :)  Probably far less writing for me and far more pictures for you! LOL

At the end of summer last year, Dave gave up a large junk of his lawn so that I could attempt to have a winter garden. I had hoped that bringing the plot away from the fence would allow the low rising sun to get over the fence's shadow, but in reality the tip of our round only got a small amount of light.

I did put a few plants in: the silverbeet (aka swiss chard) grandma give me hung in through winter to give us yummy silverbeet pies this spring.  I got a few turnips, but the radishes were eaten by either slugs or ants.  I ended up letting them go to seed

Radish flowers

The onions (and weeds) did pretty good in the two spots I placed them.  They are slow to start and take about 8 months until you can harvest.  I'm pretty pleased with my results:

Row of onions among grass weed and turnip (left)
 (10 Sept)

Onions getting bigger! (28 Nov)

Onions today! (21 Dec)

While waiting for the wet winter to pass, I also planted garlic (which never even sprouted!) and shallot (I'm pretty sure they are doing something; they have lots of green).
I also bought my first ever flower bulbs.  I was delighted with my first spring Hyacinth (a bit worse for the slugs) and my lovely Japanese Iris

I quite liked my surprisingly bright anemone also.

Windswept and rootbound,
but starting to fruit

I planted capsicum (sweet/bell pepper) from the seeds of a store bought pepper sometime in late summer/early fall.  I was surprised to find EVERY seed sprouted! Capsicums, however, don't like the cold.  That meant they had to be in the warmest room of the  house; the dining room where the fireplace is.  We had a lovely forest of plants as our centerpiece throughout all winter!

Bigger Fruit!!!!

Having babied these plants for MONTHS, I was as nervous as a mother letting her child ride her bike alone for the first time!  Would they survive the slugs?  Should I have waited for a less windy day!  Will it be too much direct sun all at once?  I put the 6 pepper plants out on the same day as two store bought tomatoes and an eggplant.

The tomatoes have been doing well, a bit to well actually. I didn't manage to keep their lateral shoots trimmed, so I've had to tie a million different branches to the stakes!  I got a little ruthless today and broke off several well developed laterals, just because I couldn't be bothered supporting them!  As you can see, these two tomatoes have gotten quite bushy!  The little plant in the middle is one of the capsicums.  I've had to tie it up to support he massive fruits :)

My potatoes have done pretty well too!  I can only hope that the massive amount of foliage is producing lots of starchy tubers under the dirt!  It's a touch annoying having them take over the path, but hopefully our patience will be rewarded.

Planting seedlings

While we are really happy with what we've got going so far, the two big crops (we hope) this year will be the sweet corn and the pumpkins!  Dave planted out corn seedlings from the farmer's market as well as popping a few seeds in the ground.  The seedlings are already producing silks and tassles, while the seeds are well established and on their way.

tassels being formed

I have 3 different pumpkin varieties, started from seed.  I've really enjoyed watching their fast progress!  I'm pretty sure they will have taken over by the time we get back.

My baby seedlings on 11 Nov

11 December

and TODAY 21 Dec!

We put in drip line last month.  The idea being we could put a water timer on it for 90 minutes each morning.  We have yet to get the timer going (one from the store was broke, another shipped out without the important attachment piece!)  We are hoping to get something sorted tomorrow before we fly out!  I can't have all my lovely plants die from lack of a plan!

Oh wow, I wonder what everything will look like when I get back!?!

I actually have more photos (the lettuce garden, the plum tree in blossom and fruiting (we ate a few plums yesterday!), but I just don't have the patience to upload them all.  I'm sure this is plenty for all of you anyway ;)

Hopefully I'll post again fairly soon - with some pictures of a white Christmas :)

Happy Holidays!

My Garden: a look at last year's work

Kat tree already for planting

I've been back in New Zealand, living with Dave, for a bit over a year now. While I go through restless periods every so often, wishing I was travelling again, I am generally quite happy being settled.
 One reason for being content is my ability to have a garden.....and cats.
  I LOVE Dave's two kitties.  (Gardening and cats really go hand in hand anyway.)

From the moment I arrived last November, the garden was being created (well, actually, before I landed!  Grandma had been growing tomato seedlings for nearly a month before I arrived so I wouldn't be starting from scratch!).

Grape tendrils

Dave was more than happy to let me have free reign over his bare dirt - as long as I didn't mess with his grape vine! LOL (laugh out loud)  While Dave is more than happy to enjoy the fruits of the garden, he has never been one to water or weed.  Had I not taken over planting tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, peas, beans, etc he would have been quite content to occasionally spray the weeds and look at dirt while he mowed the lawn.  However, along came Mel! :)

A quick look my facebook (FB) album "Back in NZ" shows that the main garden item to get FB recognition was the tomato.  Between the photos of our work on the house and trips up the coast lies photos of our first tomato turning yellow to red to being eaten.

My next FB album "Coromandel Life" shows a bit more variety in my garden pictures, recognizing potato flowers, purple bean flowers, and cats rolling in the dirt.  I'd say the highlight of last year's garden was: .... in no particular order.....and with now attached links (just pretty colors)......

After a long wait the tomato is FINALLY ripe!

The tomato. As previously mentioned, grandma (Dave's grandma that is) grew them for me as a surprise for my welcome home party.  Dave had thought I'd be arriving too late to start a garden from scratch - little did he know what he was in for!

The radishes.  I dug in heaps of compost to the orange clay outside our kitchen window.  We grew turnips too, but the radishes are much more photogenic. I love all the different colors!!!  

The kumara!  WOW.  How could kumara not come to mind the first time I think about last years garden!

Dave lies amongst the kumara vine. The bushy bit
by his head are potato plants.

Kumara is a New Zealand icon. It's basically a sweet potato and comes in gold, orange, or purple skin colors. Grandma gave us a few shoots she didn't want from her garden.  They went mental! This picture was taken before we decided to just mow the vines.  In the center of the viny madness is a couple of potato plants too, they didn't produced much though.  The kumara, however, produced surprisingly well! I harvested a few MASSIVE roots and lots of average sized roots.  I was harvesting for months before wet winter weather set in and made the few unharvested ones turn to mush.  

Corn!

The sweet corn.  Corn was Dave's idea.  He LOVES corn, so figured why not have some of our own.  It did fairly well, we got at least 4 edible ears off of 2 plants.  The other two were transplanted a month or so after their first planting (from seedlings).  They weren't getting enough sunlight and so they were growing really slowly.  Transplanting them to more light helped them grow, but they didn't get too big before it was time for them to produce (they must be on an internal clock of when to seed - makes growing and harvesting easier I suppose!)

The Dahlia went wild once it had dirt!
Corn plants on each side.

The Dahlia.  Another one of grandma's cast offs.  She had a tuber lying about her yard, unburied yet trying to grow.  She knew how much I liked Dahlia's - as a reminder of my dad and his "dinner plate dahlias".  The hardy tuber should enjoyed it's chance to really shine!  WOW.  It went a bit nuts, taking up heaps of room in the garden.  I was able to divide it several times when I dug it up in the fall.

The purple dwarf beans.  These weren't grown in the garden, but in pots on the deck (along with some sweetpeas).  I love the deep velvety purple color they have! We enjoyed having these in our garden salads throughout summer, along with the snow peas I grew in another container on the deck.

I must not have taken a picture of the "apple cucumber" :(  We bought it from the farmer's market, because the idea of a round cucumber was so novel to me!  It didn't produce terribly well, but we got around 3 or 4 edible fruits for our salads.  Grandma told me she thought a lot of people's cucumbers hadn't done well.  True?  Who knows, but I felt better for it ;)

So, if this is last year's garden, what have I done this year???

My next post is nearly written answering that question, but I thought I'd tease you first ;)  Now, I'm off for a nap before work.....

It's not all work

It was just brought to my attention that it's been 5 months since my last blog..... FIVE MONTHS!!!!! Wow.  I can't believe I didn't even get around to sharing the fantastic 10 day trip to Idaho 5 months ago!  Sigh, I guess that's what happens when the motivation to write has been completely sucked out of you. I'm not sure where the motivation has gone; it hasn't sent me postcards or updates so I've no idea when it's coming back.  Even if you're not a follower of my blog, you may have felt the implications of my runaway inspiration: I am SO far behind my e-mail correspondence!!!!  I am at least 2 months late in replying to the same person that just e-mailed me to mention she misses my blog; she figures SOMETHING must be going on!

Well, to be honest - there isn't a whole lot going on! I work quite a bit, but sometimes not enough to keep my bank account full (just enough to save for our Christmas trip to USA). I work most every weekend, so that keeps me from spending too much money, or having too much to blog about.  That said; we have had a few outings.  The most recent being "Brits at the Beach", which just happened to coincide with our British friend birthday! 

Having a taste of British food: Yorkshire pudding & Pig in the hole

 

Here Joseph is checking out a few of the cars from his homeland 

 We've also indulged is some GREAT food!

Dave's improved sliverbeet pie: more
silverbeet (swiss chard) leaves & less
cheese (yes, you can have to much cheese)

Silverbeet Pie with garlic sauteed silverbeet stem and
 steamed asparagus & beetroot

Avocados from our flatmates office: we made a yum guacamole
 to share with a Canadian Couchsurfer

There's nothing better than food from the garden
(broad beans and beetroot), unless of course
it's being cooked FOR you!

So, life isn't all work!  There's going to the gym and eating well too! I'm working on keeping my gym motivation from running off to join my writing, but I only have 1.5 moths of gym membership left, so I HAVE to keep going with it (granted I did exceptional at going 5 days a week for over a month...until I severely sprained my ankle (I probably should have gone to the doctors, but then I'd have been on crutches and that would have cramped the paycheck)).  I am still going to the gym though - just not as enthusiastically.  Perhaps if writing my blog was tied to money I'd have more incentive? That's why I go to the gym - when I bought my membership I spent ALL of the savings I'd put aside since getting a job ($350 I think - yeah, expensive!).  I don't regret it though, I would be an absolute sloth if I hadn't started the gym to get me exercising during the wet, cold winter.  When I started though, I calculated that my membership cost between 3 and 5 dollars per weekday.  So - if I opted to skip a day, I was pretty much giving away $5 that day. That's kept me pretty  motivated to keep up the attendance....that and stickers. I bought colored stickers to put up each day I went to the gym: green for resistance training (3x a week) and blue for cardio (2x a week).

I have heap of garden pictures loaded onto the computer. I hope to get another blog out before Christmas vacation ;)  But for now.....I gotta get ready for work (for the cafe lunch rush), then go to the gym, then go back to work (for the restaurant evening shift).

Pavlova

I was first introduced to the “Pavlova” one and half years ago, at my partner’s birthday.  Though I had told Dave’s mum that I was making a rocket cake for the event, she brought a store bought pavlova, along with the traditional whipped cream and fruit toppings, for my education.  The store bought “pav” was tall, round, airy on the inside, and sugary crispy on the outside – reminding me of an angel food cake with the yummy overcooked parts all over the outside.  Kathy was sure to tell me not to expect such a tall concoction at Christmas lunch (just 1 week later), as most homemade pavs are notorious for falling and cracking (but still tasting good).  True to her word, the Christmas pav was quite a bit flatter; but that just meant there was more crunchy goodness of the outside and a less marshmellowing interior (which is good, but a bit too much for me when it’s as tall as the store ones). 

For those who don’t know (and that’s probably half my readers), pavlova is a type of meringue traditional to both Australia and New Zealand (don’t bring up the origin of the Pav when around more than one of these nationalities – they’ll both claim it as theirs…..though Wikipedia does credit New Zealand to having the first published recipe).  Pavlova is made using egg whites, sugar, vinegar, vanilla, and cornstarch (called corn flour over here).  Apparently (according to the same Wikipedia page) it is the addition of the corn starch that leads this meringue mixture to produce a light, marshmellow-like interior that nearly melts in your mouth. 

I’d been told that making a pavlova from scratch is not hard.  However, much like a lemon meringue pie, the thought of making one is daunting.  I had visions of a cracked, crumbling, and flat product.  Despite my fear, I’d been meaning to get around to giving this kiwi icon a go for a fair few months now.  I probably would have put off the attempt for a fair few more months if I hadn’t been thinking of kiwi dishes I want to serve during my visits back home.  While the pav is very often seen at Christmas lunches, I thought the airy dessert covered in cream, blue berries, and strawberries might make a nice addition to my Fourth of July spent stateside (red, white, and blue….get it ;). So, in an effort to present a reasonably accurate kiwi dessert, I’ve decided to make one pavlova a week until I depart (I’ve got 2.5 more weeks to go)…..

Here is my first attempt:

Dave and I had checked out the internet several months ago, when I first mentioned wanting to try a Pav.  He immediately went to the Cowell’s website, stating that they must know how to make a good pav – since they are in all the grocery stores.  Before we trusted our faith in Cowell’s (who knows, maybe they want me to fail so I buy their perfect pavs!?), we checked out the Joy of Baking’s recipe too.  In the end, we stuck with Cowell’s recipe but kept some of the helpful tips from Joy of Baking in mind (such as making sure the sugar was dissolved in the egg whites by rubbing the mixture between your fingers: gritty texture = not dissolved sugar). 

Next was the ingredients.  Cowell’s recommends using the freshest ingredients possible.  I know the cornstarch was pretty old (been in the cupboard since I moved in!), but I was more worried about the eggs.  We had a nice walk in the sun (and chilly breeze) to get some new eggs (we picked up some krantzky sausages to try for lunch too, but that’s off the topic).  Speaking of off topic – if a typical American was to get off the plane and go to a grocery store here in NZ, there are two things off the top of my head that they would notice:  1) there is no orange/yellow cheddar cheese to be found, and 2) the eggs, while most likely located close to the milk, cheese, and other chilled foods, are not refrigerated!  I’ve mentioned this to several couchsurfing Americans and we all think it’s rather bizarre.  However, I’ve NEVER gotten sick on unrefrigerated eggs.  In fact, I’ve never even cracked a rotten egg!  (Though Dave and I do tend to do the water test on our old eggs before using them…..if they sink, they’re perfect; if they half float, half sink they are good for baking; if they float to the top, chuck them before you regret a cracked shell).  After reading the pavlova tip of making sure the eggs are at room temperature before using, Dave wondered if that’s the reason kiwis don’t refrigerate their eggs?

Anyhow – back to the main story!  Well, there’s not really much to tell.  After being sold on how yummy krantsky sausages taste (they have bits of cheese in them), I got the beaters out and started on the egg whites.  I used the recipe from Cowell’s and eventually had a stiff mixture.  Dave concurred that I’d hit the “stiff peak” stage and was ready to bake.

I used the 23 cm (9 inch) diameter marks I’d made previously (per Cowell’s directions) and spread the mixture into a near circle, piling the mixture on top too.  Then (after a short delay to warm up the oven that I had in fact not turned on, despite having set to temperature) I put it in the oven.

15 minutes later I was delighted to see that my pav had raised ever so slightly.  I turned the temperature down 20 degrees (celcius) and put the timer for 75 minutes…… 75 minutes later, I turned the oven off but left the pavlova inside.  This was one tip I hadn’t seen mentioned, but had been relayed to me by our café cook – “Don’t open the oven door, EVER, until the oven is cooled”.  I wasn’t taking any chances, I left that oven door firmly closed for the next 4 – 5 hours.

After letting our delicious dinner (of thai pumpkin and chicken curry, thanks to a recipe on the pumpkin soup can) settle a bit, I finally opened the oven door.
I must say, I was a tad disappointed

that it hadn’t kept it’s puffed up size…. Perhaps it was only an illusion that the pav had risen in the oven, but what I took out was the same size as the mixture that went in.  On the upside, though, it also hadn’t deflated to the thickness of a paper plate!  It was a slightly crackled in texture, but it was not cracked or crumbling. 

I put the knife in for the first slice, the outside cracked and flaked like a well cooked sugar coating should.  When I pulled the first slice out, it stayed nearly intact – breaking the quarter slice into an eighth.

The first bite?  Delicious!  Crunchy addictive outside, melty (possibly slightly too gooey) inside!  Dave confirmed that it tasted like a pavlova should, though I thought it was A LOT sweeter than I remembered.  I guess that’s why whipped cream and fruit is the traditional topping…..what else would you put on a cup of sugar carried in egg whites?!

Obviously, we didn’t eat the whole thing in one sitting.  While we were both somewhat tempted, the pure sugar rush was making me a bit ill and we were both full from dinner.  So, we put it back in the oven for the next day…..seemed like a logical place to put it, since that’s where it had spent so much time……

Of course, the next morning, when Dave got up for work, the pitfalls of storing pure sugar in a non-airtight environment became apparent……..

…….When Dave returned to our room after breakfast and lunch making, I asked (in a mumbly, sleepy voice from bed) “What’s burning?”.  His reply, “Nothing, I turned the oven on to get rid of the ants”!  Ooops!!!

Oh well, at least we weren't sick of my first pav!  We'll have a bit of help eating tomorrow's pavlova, we've got a couchsurfer from Germany staying for 2 nights.....wonder if she wants to learn to make a pav? :)  

Going home in a month.

So. I've been a bit lazy with writing lately....obviously!  I have had a few ideas, but never got around to getting my fingers moving.  I think I've been in a bit of depression lately.  Probably most of it is to do with my complete lack of exercise, but it's REALLY hard to get out of bed when it's cold outside!  haha  I've also had a hard time lately thinking about my dad.  It's weird how random scenes in the cafe will make me want to cry over missing him!  Dave knows I've been having a hard time lately.

However, I'm doing much better now. I'm still slightly unmotivated for doing anything, but I am typing aren't I? (probably because the Australian Tax Office website won't cooperate with my application to get my money back (it crashed and won't reload the page) and Koshka the cat is sitting on my lap (finally after thinking about it all morning) and I don't want to move her. LOL).  Anyway, I think the reason I'm feeling heaps better is because I'm going home in a month!!!!!

Yep, in 4 weeks and 2 days I fly out of Auckland and head to Boise.  I'm not really looking forward to the flight or the LAX airport, but I am so excited to see my mom, sister, friends, family, and MY CAT!!!!! I can't wait to cuddle Yang!  Unfortunately, the visit is only for 8.5 days (plus 2 days of travel) :(  I'm afraid I just can't afford more time off work, and I'm a bit afraid I wouldn't have a job to come back to if I could afford more time off!  I wouldn't have even made the trip for such a short time, except mom wants me to visit as much as I do and she jumped at the chance to split the cost of the ticket with me. Granted, she did pay more than her half!  I soooo very much appreciate her help!!

I'll be several weeks to late for the family reunion my sister has planned, but I don't mind.  I'll be there for the 4th of July, which sounds like it will be at a cousins cabin - where I've never been!  Plus, I'll be home with family when 6 July rolls around....the day dad died last year.  Not a date to celebrate, but one that is hard to ignore. I look forward to remembering him without all the immediate sadness of his death.  I look forward to seeing my mom's garden.  I look forward to the hot summer sun.  I look forward to seeing my niece and nephew.  I'm just really looking forward to a vacation!!!!

Still a little bit American

Despite having lived in Australasia for nearly 2 years, I still have some American ingrained in me.

While my friends and family may have laughed when I spoke to them last July, many Kiwi's can pick that I'm American right away.  A lot of times people wonder if I'm Canadian (people always have, even when I was guiding in Alaska) and occasionally people swear I'm Irish (if you've ever heard a true Irish accent you have to wonder what these people are thinking to hear me as Irish!).  An American couchsurfering couple we hosted didn't think I sounded American, but I certainly don't sound kiwi either (despite all the slang I use).

However, it's the little differences that remind me that I'm living in a country I didn't grow up in.  In all honesty, there isn't a huge amount of differences between New Zealand and America.  McDonalds and KFC are as popular here as they are there, we sleep on mattresses, have dishwashers, watch American movies/TV, and have a pretty similar set of cultural standards (education, economy, environmental debate, farming).  The largest, and most glaring, difference to a new arrival would be the driving.  We drive on the left hand side of the road here - with our steering wheel on the right.  I'll admit, I still wander to the wrong side of the car sometimes!  However, I rarely have to repeat, in my head, to myself "Stay left, stay left, stay left" when turning a corner anymore.  Trust me, I used to!

I've adapted pretty well here.  I almost always say biscuit instead of cookie now, but I'm probably still half and half on calling fries chips.  Ironically, I sound more Canadian than ever now, having picked up on the kiwi use of "aye" after many comments.....though I haven't sorted out the subtle nuances of making the one word have many definitions: question, exclamation, indignant affront to my intelligence.

But regardless of how comfortable and natural I feel here in NZ (pronounced "N Zed"), there is one thing that will probably always get me.......The light switches!  To this day, it still feels unnatural to turn the light switch DOWN to turn the light ON.  This point made me chuckle (and write this blog) when it became so obvious this morning how much I haven't let go of my American "up = on" philosophy.  We have two light switches in the kitchen right next to each other.  I had only turned one on to make my breakfast.  When I went to turn it off again I saw one switch was down and one was up....... Now, I'm pretty sure I mentally said "Okay, the switch that is down is the one that is on.....so you need to hit the upside to make it go off"........
What do I do?  I turn the other light on!!!  Ah hahahahaha Ah hahahahaha   hahahaha.  Aaaahhhhhhh
It really is the small things in life!      :)

TOTAL Freedom

Today I am COMPLETELY free!

I have a  list of projects I could choose to work on (puzzling, poking holes in an old hose to make a drip line, painting and sealing Dave’s valentine  box,  reading, etc, etc), however I don’t really feel like doing any for those projects. J  Not a one of them NEEDS to be done today… tomorrow…. or even next week!  Ha, all of those projects have  been around (plus one or two more) for a few days  anyway (hello, valentine’s was 2 weeks ago!).  So what makes me EXTRA FREE today?

 On 16 February (Tuesday), 2 weeks and a day ago, my passport was returned from Immigration New Zealand (ImmNZ).  In it was not the 1+ year work permit for which I had been.  Instead, I had a 4 month permit!  Whoa, wait, what?  4 months!  I’m not leaving in June!  Turns out ImmNZ want a copy of my United States police certificate.  Once they receive the certificate, therefore verifying that I am of good enough character to be in their country,  ImmNZ will extend my work permit to Nov 2011.  I plan to apply for residency by January 2011 – when I’ll have to obtain ANOTHER copy of my police certificate!

On 18 February (Thursday) I mailed my police record request to FBI headquarters.  I had filled out the request, included a set of fingerprints (taken by a Thames constable on an official NZ police fingerprint sheet), and completed a credit card form for the US$18 fee (fortunately I still have American debit/credit cards ;).  I also took the liberty of including a copy of my passport, certified by a court clerk.  I’m watching my debit card transactions to find when the FBI will have actually received AND begun processing my request.  The FBI website tells me it can take 8 weeks to process the request….. good thing I have 13 weeks!  That gives me 5 weeks leeway for ImmNZ to process my new work permit.  Thankfully, ImmNZ isn’t charging me an additional processing fee!!! 

So – again….. why am I EXTRA FEE today? 

Well….because I’m employed!!!!!!!  Yep!  The day I received my work permit, I started looking for a job. ( I didn’t dare look for work before I was legally employable; I knew I would just disappoint myself when I found the perfect field/lab technician position being advertised and I couldn’t apply for it).  2 weeks later (to the day), I had dinner and went to bed knowing that I was an employed person! :-D   That means, that not only am I free to NOT look for a job today – I am free to NOT WORRY about getting a job!!!!!!!  WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO

My first day employed – and I don’t have to work! How awesome is that?

What is my job?  When DO I work?  This Thursday (tomorrow) and Friday night will be my first training days at Rocco.  Rocco is a tapas and wine bar that opened last year.  I’ve been wanting to visit the restaurant for over a year – but I never have the money.  Since I’ve been back in town, every time we walk past the old house (with fantastic outdoor seating and landscaping) I tell Dave that “when I get a job, we’re going to eat there”.  Ha.  Now I’ll be working there! LOL.

However, Rocco will probably not be my main serving location.  The owner of Rocco is opening a new pub in Town.  It will be located in the historical Brian Boru hotel; along with a small art gallery (apparently selling very expensive paintings by a famous guy I don’t know!).  “Brew” sounds to be niching into a sophisticated, yet simple, café with fresh (mostly local or handmade) food.  But, I’ll let you know when I actually see the place.  I believe they are opening the doors next Friday (12 March).  Brew will retain the old pubs liquor license, creating a venue for dinners and shows.  Saturday (13 March), three New Zealand comedians will be performing at Brew – dinner optional, free beer tastings!  I’m very excited to be included in the team that will be working at Brew!

Short update

Hi.  In case your wondering - I have not been killed or incapacitated by any of Australia's myriad of poisonous animals ;-)  I've just been SLACK!

In fact, I'm not even IN Australia anymore!  I know, the last post I wrote was about the beautiful Blue Mountains outside of Sydney.  My mom hadn't even been a week into her 3 week visit by that time!

Mom has been very patient with me despite her really wanting to read the blogs of her trip.  However, she told me a few weeks ago that it was okay if I didn't blog the rest of the trip.  Obviously I was having a hard time getting myself motivated to tackle the epic trip, so she told me she would be happy just having me upload the best pictures to Facebook (FB) for her..... 3 months later, I still have our last week of the journey to post on FB!  See - SLACK.  However, I am tackling that project right now - between randomly typing this.

Anyhow..... I'm back in New Zealand.  I flew out of Australia the same day as mom.  It worked out well, I was just about able to walk her to her gate - just about, apparently flights going to the US have extra security now; the gate was blocked off and boarding passes checked.  Shortly after mom's plane left I flew "home" to Dave (greeted, as expected, with a big bouquet of flowers and a HUGE smile!).

I arrived on the partner sponsored visitor visa.  I've pretty much been living the life of a kept woman ever since my arrival in November!  I pull my weight around the house - cleaning, gardening, etc etc - but I am starting to get antsy about having no money and Dave paying for everything.  Fortunately, I got my work permit last week!!! YAY!!!!!  So, the last week and half I have been desperate and antsy for a job!  LOL.  I've got my fingers crossed that the few leads I have will pan out in the next week or two.


Okay - I best get back to sorting through pictures for FB now ;-)  Here's my favorite out of the few I've sorted through already.....  It's my favorite because it is the epitome of our sunset picnic on the beach, our first night back from Tasmania.  It was such a lovely and relaxing evening after a LONG day of driving and wondering if we'd make to the park in time for sunset.... as it was, we were there ages before the sun neared the horizon!!!  And, we had nearly the entire beach to ourselves!

The Blue Mountains (outside Sydney)

The Blue Mountains begin approximately 50 kms northwest of Sydney’s central business district (Wikipedia).  The limestone plateaus and deep gorges are densely covered with tree ferns and eucalyptus.  In the warm air, supposedly, the eucalyptus oils evaporate and hang near the canopy, creating a hazy blue appearance in the distance (hence the name, Blue Mountains).

On the morning of 4 November, a Wednesday (as if actual day names have much use to a traveler who can rarely tell Sunday from Tuesday – except in how early the shops close; if they even open), mom and I woke in our Sydney apartment early.  I’m not sure either of us wanted to be up, but we had to catch our Blue Mountains tour at around 6:30 am (or was it 7:30?).

Anyhow, our bus was a touch late and, therefore, a bit in a hurry – a theme that was to prevail throughout the day.  We drove through the city and picked up a few more people before heading to our first stop.  While tours aren’t generally the way I travel when I’m solo (and broke or saving money), there is probably no other way that mom and I would have ever made it to “Olympic park”.  A stop at the 2000 summer Olympic site was not mentioned on the tour brochure, so we were pleasantly surprised.  The stadiums and sports courts are still used by teams and individuals – anyone can walk or cycle the area, though I’m not sure what the price is for using the tennis courts or pool.

The 2000 Olympic torch was converted into a fountain.  I have seen another girls picture where the torch is lit, but it wasn’t on this day.

The sculpture over the ticket office of the stadium was a double helix of bird feathers – each single feather sculpted after the national bird of each competing nation.

As we were trying to leave from this brief stop mom and I wondered if we would constantly be waiting on the same couples to board the bus at all our stops – of which there were many.  However, we had to have a bit of a chuckle a short bit later; mom and I ended up being the 2^nd to last to board after our wander about the town of Leura.  Thankfully, we weren’t THE LAST couple.  In fact, the bus even took a turn about town looking for the last couple – who did end up generally being the last to board each time.  In Leaura, we had a cup of tea and some MASSIVE “flower pot” scones (baked in terra cotta pots, bought some Australiana cookie cutters (alligator, koala, etc), and also a hat for mom (for our upcoming outback adventure).

Back on the bus, we continued to Katoomba.  One of the most well known landmarks of the Blue Mountains is the Three Sisters rock formation.  We were hoping the low clouds would lift by the time we reached “Scenic World”, but they didn’t.  We boarded the scenic train railway (once containing the steepest track in the world, but apparently an Asian country has since taken that record) and made our way to the gorge floor. We had been told several legends of the area, including the formation of the three sisters and the creation of the Lyrebird.    

The clouds draped themselves over the three sisters in a lovely fashion, however it was quite frustrating to miss the iconic formation – particularly from such a great vantage point at the lower train station. 

We continued down the path and into the bush.

The area was once mined for coal, so there were a few displays and overgrown relics left behind.

We kept an eye out on the forest floor for the elusive, ground dwelling, lyrebird. However, it wasn’t until we were near the end of the gorge walk that we spotted one – and that was only because I saw another couple intently watching the bush! LOL, some of the best wildlife spotting is found by watching other people and trying to find what they are seeing! Unfortunately, a couple of loud guys weren’t paying as close attention (or possibly weren’t interested) and went thundering down the board walk. While mom and I still got to watch the long tailed birds forage, they were scared up into the bush and far enough away to make a GOOD pictures impossible.

WOW!!!!  But here’s a fantastic Youtube link for great lyrebird footage and sounds…. Showing what good mimics these birds are (chain saw sounds!), but also great as showing their amazing tail feathers.

A couple other pictures from the gorge floor….

Mom getting ready to be tarzan on the massive vines of the bush.




A  large tree fern “koru” (aka fiddlehead)

Mom looking into a burnt out, still living, tree (turpentine I believe).

A termite mound

We took “The Cableway” gondola back to the top of the gorge and found that the clouds were lifting.  It’s not a fantastic picture because of the glass, but we had our first view of the “Three Sisters”. (Extreme zoom shot, but it saves you trying to see it through the crowd we were in).

Once at the top of the gorge again I struggled to find another view point from which to take pictures of the formation.  Unfortunately, being a theme park like area, the only good views were either on the gondolas or at the train platforms.  I managed to find this interesting shot as the clouds began descending again.  We all hoped that they would lift after lunch when we were at another view point.

While I agonized over the lack of a tree trimmed viewing site, mom occupied herself with trying to capture the sulfur crested cockatoos of the area (lured in to delight tourists with a nice big bird feeder).

After a lunch at the Katoomba RSA (returned and services’ association) we stopped at a few lookouts giving us a view of the high limestone plateaus and cliffs for which the Blue Mountains are famous.  The clouds were gracious enough to lift and even clear away, giving us a beautiful view of the lush bush and orange/grey outcroppings of rock.

Mom took this picture of the rock outcropping that looks like a dragon’s head.

When we reached the Three Sisters lookout the clouds had fully lifted and the sun was VERY warm.

There was an Aboriginal guy playing the didgeridoo at the lookout.  Our bus driver had told us he was in one of the “Crocodile Dundee” films.  I barely had the courage to ask for my picture with him (after putting a gold coin donation down), let alone ask him what character he had played! (LOL, it’s rather funny that such a shy person has traveled half way around the world!)

All of us tourists congregated around the bus at the appointed time, we had been grilled on how close we were cutting our timeline at the moment.  So I had to have a laugh that the driver was the one that was late!  By the time he showed up half the bus was off getting ice creams – despite the fact that food was not supposed to be on the bus.

We ended up at the Featherdale Wildlife Center with 30-45 minutes viewing time.  The first section of the center was an open area where wallabies and birds wandered at their leisure.  Most were hanging out behind the wooden dividers that kept us humans from harassing them, but one lone wallaby was patient while we all lined up to get our photos taken as we petted it.

While several of the wallabies seemed to have swollen bellies, telling us they had joeys in the pouch, only one gave us a great view of wallaby motherhood…… It appears to be painful, or, at the least, uncomfortable!

Most all of the birds were free to come and go.  Mom got her first view of the pelicans I’d been telling her about…. She was surprised at how big they are (enormous!); she had thought I was just over exaggerating their largeness compared to the US pelicans I’d seen.  The ibis, egrets, and ducks all seemed quite happy though.  Even these kookaburras weren’t bothered with a photo opportunity.

There were HEAPS of other animals, but most all of them made me sad – as their enclosures just seemed too small. Most of the wombats were sleeping, but one poor guy was just pacing one section of wall.  It was amazing to see a sea eagle in person, but all the bird cages – particularly the raptor ones – just seemed TOO SMALL!  This is the reason I don’t go to zoos anymore.  I don’t mind the free roaming wallabies or even the koalas in a tree, I don’t feel their lives are massively different from the wild (while koalas do have territories and move around in the wild, they are generally sluggish animals that will sit in one tree as long as there is food).

The cool part about this wildlife center, was that we actually got our picture taken with a koala this time…. For Free!  Koalas look extremely cuddly and soft, but their fur is actually really wool-like and a bit stiff.  Plus, they do have some pretty mean looking claws!

Since we were there we did look at the captive birds, dingos, and (my favorite) bats.  We took pictures of the albino wallaby and peacock.

Mom caught a great shot of a regular peacock with its tail up – it did a full display rotation before settling them back down.

Closing time found us all out in the parking lot – once again waiting for our bus!  Our guide must have been slightly stressed about getting us to our ferry on time, but he didn’t show it.  We pulled up to the terminal just as the ferry was arriving!  Whew, I hate to think how he would have entertained us for an hour until the next ferry! LOL

We had a nice, even if a little cool and breezy, ferry trip on the Parramatta River to Circular Quay.  We had good views of downtown in the distance as well as the riverside residences and their blossoming jacaranda trees.  I staked out my position at the front of the ferry as we closed in on the harbor bridge.  Afterall, I didn’t have any photos from THIS angle! LOL

Once we landed at Circular Quay we had the same problem as the day before – no free bus running L  I still hadn’t sorted out which bus took us by the hotel (easy question to have asked the concierge, I know).  So, despite a long day of getting on and off of a bus we again walked through the city to our rooms.  At least, this time, mom had a good idea of how far it was!

All in all, it was a great day.  We didn’t take a tour that took us to the Jenolan Caves, but neither of us minded at all.  I had seen several caves with Dave on his visit to Western Australia and I had caught one cave on Kangaroo Island with Kathy (Dave’s mum).  Mom said caves weren’t her thing, so we didn’t worry.  I think our smiles are telling of the day.