It doesn't take long....

Just a few days after Christmas, there are 1834 listings on trademe (NZ version of ebay) under the category of 'unwanted gifts'. I hope none of the gift-givers decided to check on their gifts.

Merry Christmas!

Pohutukawa --NZ Christmas tree

One Minute on New Year's Day

What a fabulous way to start the new year--praying for someone else, in circumstances beyond our comprehension!!

I stole  got this from Recovering Church Lady today and wanted to help out. She got it from  Ignite the Fire at Building His House.

One Prayer, Many Nations 

The purpose of the New Years Day Concert of Prayer is to focus our hearts, minds and spirits together in praying for the abolishment of the international sex trade. Unifying our hearts, with intent, causes the Father to hear and respond.
Join us anytime on New Years Day. A simple prayer will be provided for you to pray or to use as a guide in prayer. It is not how much we say, but the heart behind our prayers that is heard.
Speak the prayer in your heart or out loud. Join with others, give it to your friends and set a time of the day or even create a Skype call with those you know around the globe. Be creative as you desire. We want you to have freedom to express in your own way, yet focused on a common thought.
One day human trafficking will be a thing of the past, today it is a insult to our societies, our intelligence and our faith. Prayer has power, God listens when we speak. One Prayer - Many Nations! is a piece in the puzzle fighting for the abolishment of human trafficking.
Please join us New Years Day and pour your prayers with others from around the globe.
Thank you,Byron

http://bhhinc.blogspot.co.nz/

Please spread the word!

Speaking English

When I started this blog, I put a lot of thought into the 'description' (the words under the title at the top). I thought NZ culture would be something that I 'got over' and used to, but NZ English still messed with my head, even after 6 years.

Like these:

Sausages look like a fat American hot dog, but boy, they don't taste the same. There's nothing American that I can compare it with, but thanks to a persistent husband, I have found that  'frankfurters' are, indeed, what an American hot dog tastes like. And something called 'kranskies' are the same taste and texture as polish sausage. Yum.

Bacon is a strange thing to get used to. NZ bacon looks like a hunk cut off a ham and sliced up, usually about 6-inches across. You can get several types of bacon, but they still look like ham to me. American  bacon is called 'streaky bacon' here.

Jelly is jello and, of course, jam is what I want to call jelly.

Pudding is a general word for dessert and 'custard' is what I think of when I hear 'pudding'.

I have conceded that I won't get Italian sausage on my pizza from any of the pizza places here, even Domino's. I can find it in the supermarket occasionally and make my own, and that's more fun, anyway.

I have also realized that any sort of American type of cake will only come from my oven. The big thing here is called lamingtons which care basically sponge cake dipped or spread with stuff like chocolate or jam and coconut. They also like pavlova, which is a cross between a meringue and sponge cake. There's nothing wrong with these sweets but it's just not very filling like American stuff.

I have convinced my family that good ol' pound cake is the way to go for cake. Of course, any cake that calls for shortening is out of the question here since it costs about $7 for 8 ounces. Yep, you read that right. Don't get me started on the prices of other things here.....

The longer I'm here the more I am resigned to the prices and lack of availability of things here. Maybe some day they won't be a shock and maybe some day I won't have to translate from American to Kiwi before I understand what we're talking about, but that hasn't happened yet.

*edit*  I just learned that letterbox is English and mailbox is American, the former being simply a slot in the door through which mail is deposited. The mailbox, of course, being a container for mail. Who knew?!

Kitty crack

For the second time, we got a free package of these treats in the mail last week. I don't know what they put in them, but I've never seen a cat actually beg for anything like ours does for these things.

It's truly like Grace is on crack and looking for another 'hit' any way she can get it. Hubby rationed them 3 at a time for her, but that didn't stop her following him around and meowing like there was no tomorrow. I had never seen her so aggressive, and she sure was his best buddy. Until she figured out that she wasn't getting any more. I've never seen anything like it.

The guy across the street had trouble feeding his cat anything else after he 'treated' his kitty to some of these things--she wouldn't eat for days, waiting for her fix.


I wonder how the makers of this kitty crack could use their power for good...? They certainly get a cat's attention.

5 years of being married

It's hard to believe that today marks 5 years of a marriage begun in a boat in the Tasman Sea...

...with a reception on the beach of fish and chips and a John Deere cake

A lot of living and loving and changing and coming and going has happened since that day and I wouldn't change a minute of it. There's still a lot to do here, on this South Pacific island and I plan to enjoy it all with my sweet Hubby, whether it's mooing out the car window at cows or just enjoying a walk in the park.

Or have a few more giggles like when  the little girl in this picture told us that she wanted to sit on this bench with her brother and there was one 'over there' we could sit on. I asked her if she could say, 'Please' and when she did, we got up to move.

We heard someone from their table say, 'Did she just throw those two off the bench?'.
Hubby just smiled and nodded and said, 'Yes, she did!' as we walked away. Hay, you can't have what you want if you don't speak up!


Here's to another year of strange things to giggle about. Happy anniversary, Kev!