Exploring the Land of the Long White Cloud

We've been waiting for you... ok I never even watched Three's Company but there aren't that many songs about doors I guess. As we wind up the finishing touches on the bedroom, we have a big ol' list of "little things" we want to do before we take on the next room project. Some of them are best if we get them done before winter rolls in.  Refinishing the door was a big one. As you'll see, it it was very weathered and worn. The wind and rain seem to team up and favour the left side of the door. If we left this to be, every day this winter we would shake our heads at the lack of care so we knew we had to do something. After much consultation with our local Guthrie Bowron branch, and our favourite paint expert at Mitre 10 (who is also named Katherine), we decided that painting it would be better than re-varnishing in the way it was. Although this rates a few notches below just buying a new door in my books. So one Sunday afternoon last mon...

This is kind of an old clip but since I haven't put up pics of the redone master bedroom yet, you can see a sneak peek of the shape of the room just after we got the new carpet installed. There's so much space for activities when there's nothing in it! Proper photos are forthcoming. I still have bedside tables to sand and stain, a set of drawers to dress up, lampshades to finish re-covering and some art to get on the walls. Then we shall unveil the project result! I know the wait is long but it's even longer when it's from our perspective!!

I just had to share this bit of props to NZ. Read this  article on the state housing waitlist . It's amazing that the waitlist for public housing is only 31 people long in our region, and what's more amazing is that it makes the news when it is. Given that I used to work for a provincial housing authority covering a population approximately the size of New Zealand with a waitlist that totaled over 10,000 people, I am impressed that the numbers are this low and that the wait is not so long that most people don't get the chance to be helped. Say what you want about things being a bit old-fashioned or backwards here but they certainly seem to be able to approach need in a way that makes a difference. Even the welfare here is pretty reasonable for people, which is great - there is a student category of allowance too. New Plymouth doesn't have the same levels of poverty that we would see in Auckland but even there it's not so rampant as we've seen in other citi...

Those shots are taken overlooking the glorious-ness that is Back Beach. On a recent weeknight walk, we dropped by to have a quick visit with friends who live near this beach and couldn't help but stop by the beach afterwards. This one has a legendary sand dune that you run down or ride a boogie board down. But don't run down it after a hot summer's day. The sand here is black which means it holds about a million degrees' worth of sunshine, even post-6pm. I suffered all the way down because the faster you go the deeper your feet sink with each step. Then the more burning you get further and further up your ankles and nearly to your calves. Lesson learned. A wee glance at the Blues vs Crusaders game we were lucky enough to catch on our weekend in Auckland. Back when we booked the trip, I was scouring the web for events happening while we were in the city so we could make the most of it. However, I stopped looking a couple months ago and we found out this ...

We had our lives changed on Saturday night. I know it sounds extreme but anyone who has done what we've done will know the feeling. We experienced Bruce Springsteen in concert. (Excuse the excessive use of superlatives that may follow.) Now, neither of us claim to be super fans but certainly fan-enough to drive 4.5 hours to Auckland to watch him play to a sellout crowd of 40,000. The show sold out in about 5 minutes back in September but we lucked out (in) and got two tickets. Yes, two way in the very back corner but tickets nonetheless. We had definitely missed the memo that the standard dress was supposed to be a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a bandana. But in a crowd of 40,000, nobody noticed we didn't match. We have heard he does a good show and the hype was building for months but we still didn't know exactly what to expect. I'd say this was definitely not something I would have ever guessed would start the evening: (If anyone is not yet familiar...