Beck'nd for a Capital Visit

Yay, Wellington today!! After a busy morning of packing and cleaning we left around 11 am giving ourselves a huge pocket of time to get to the airport for our afternoon flight - or so we thought. I hadn't worked the hour-before-check-in into the equation, nor had I made allowance for emergencies...one hardly thinks you're going to have a ruptured spleen happening on the way, or a burst appendix - either of which could have been the case when Caleb started crying in pain about 40 minutes into the drive. His pale and grimacing countenance gave us cause for concern, so after a quick and fruitless stop in Heinz, we found the doctor's rooms in Ashburton where Caleb was seen fairly quickly. I had visions of sending Nick to Wellie on his own while Caleb and I spent the night in hospital, but by the time he was seen the pain was already easing and we just had to put it down to posture, seatbelt and cramp-inducing belt-tightness. Hurried off again and tried to ignore the speedometer; arrived in Christchurch and got the car sorted out with Peter and Michelle Moore who graciously hosted it instead of our leaving it at the airport, thereby saving many $$$, and checked in suitably timeously. Phew! Boarded the plane, took a deep breath, exalted in the take-off, and then nearly fell apart during the very turbulent climb. I do not like hurtling through the skies in a large and heavy tin; when said large and heavy tin shakes and rattles then small boys' arms must endure death grip from mummy dearest who was all the while assuring them that there was nothing to fear. No worries, they were loving it. We were in the air for all of about 15 minutes before beginning the bumpy descent which ended in a tame version of the notoriously rough Wellington landing. Ugh. Happy to be on land again. And after that extensive preamble, let the sweet times begin!! Mike and Candice Beck and little Charis were there to meet us; our friendship was instant and the bond of brother- and sisterhood strong! The men headed off in one car and us ladies in the other to their home in Porirua, which is actually not in Wellington at all but is an entirely separate district with its own council. Spent a very relaxed first night together chatting, chatting and chatting - the gals swapped recipes and I guess the men discussed the finer points of theology. Caleb and Aaron had their first taste of x-box...racing cars and skateboarding had them hooked. This was mostly how we saw them over the next few days - and that was okay by us as it's certainly not the norm!

Mainly about Manuka

Poor Aaron has 98% laryngitis; he is frustrated at not being able to chit chat or even laugh. Other than a barking cough and no voice he seems fine, so we decided not to go the route of doctor's visit. Instead, I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about Manuka Honey - I've heard that it's good for a few things and has some anti-bacterial properties. Aaron didn't like it diluted in hot water or with lemon, but rather ate whole teaspoons of the stuff, swishing it around slowly in his mouth. As it happens this is exactly the right treatment - I did a bit of reading up on the stuff and found that it has a justifiably large following with its many health benefits. It's even good for burns and wounds, applied directly to the skin! New Zealand boasts being the only maker of this honey as it's made from the Manuka Tree which grows in the wild here. God's creation is totally awesome. The proof is in the patient though so we'll see how Aaron is in the morning. It's been a rainy day for the most part but we had a bit of blue sky by about 8 pm. Tomorrow we're off to Wellington for five days!

A friend's great aunt's lacy cookies' delight

Ah, good old @home holidays...not as much fun as being away somewhere or spending time with friends, but good for catching up on 'stuff'! My passport is expiring in May and with that my NZ work permit in April. Yikes! Got on to the application this morning, hopefully leaving myself enough time as it needs to be processed in Pretoria. Definitely a matter for much prayer. No opportunity to sleep in this morning as the boys' secret plan unfolded...they had asked me to leave my cellphone in their room with the alarm set for 6.30, but in their excitement they woke themselves ahead of schedule and got up just after 6. At 6.30 I was invited to the diningroom for coffee and toast - bless them, they certainly earned their reward points. I didn't complain about the time of day or that there was so much milk in the coffee it was barely lukewarm. And I also didn't point out that I normally have muesli for breakfast and not toast with no toppings! They're such lovely boys. During the morning we had a surprise visit from the Hughes family, having had little opportunity to chat last night. Dafydd pastors the church up north, and we were thrilled that they had made time in their holiday to call in. The chilly drizzle let up in the afternoon and by 4 pm the sun was shining and it was glorious outdoors again. Nick got to more wood chopping and mowed the lawn; I made pizza for tea and baked a batch of cookies. The original recipe is from the great aunt of my friend Genevieve; I've modified it slightly so am posting it here too; I shall call them simply "Aunty's Lacy Cookies". And I'm issuing a warning as did Gen - they are highly moreish and sweet enough to hurt if you have cavities!

110g butter
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Melt the butter in a large microwaveable mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Cover baking sheets with baking paper. Drop small drops spaced far apart (cookies will spread). Bake at 180C for 10-12 mins.

Blown in

We had a hot nor'wester blowing today - a good opportunity to have washing drying on the line. I hate wasting good weather! Our morning service was well attended with several families back from holidays; Nick is continuing his Acts series. The boys and I have set up a new work/reward system using magnetic Spiderman action figures which came with Thursday's Happy Meal. The spidermen climb slowly up the fridge, and once they have reached the allocated space a monetary reward is given. Caleb was fully into the whole idea - he almost entirely took over the making of the spaghetti bolognaise for lunch! I was pleased not only with his diligence but also his attitude in being so open to learning from me - so he has now had instruction in garlic and onion chopping techniques and the method of cooking pasta. During the afternoon the boys came up with a secret plan but being secret I wasn't allowed to know. Had Dafydd and Maria Hughes and the family from Palmerston North with us in the afternoon service; I had not met them previously (admittedly, I met Dafydd at Nick's induction in Feb last year but had no recollection of the event - too many unfamiliar faces at that point!) but Nick stayed with them in July last year when he was up there for the FRBCNZ meeting and School of Theology. We extended an 'open home' invitation to all who were left standing around after the 4.30 service as there seemed to be no rush for people to leave (and by this time the nor'wester had given way to a rain-sodden southerly) but by 6.30 when no one had arrived we assumed no one would, so popped out to the shops thereby entirely mucking up the whole point of an open home and consequently missing both the Phillipses and the Bothas. Fortunately the Bothas were accommodating of our faux pas and came back (which is not to imply that the Phillipses were not flexible, but let's sweep it all under the garage door). Ended up having some excellent laughter-filled conversation with Andreas and Danielle along with their sensational biscuits and the stragglers from my last batch of cookies.(Erika, this one's for you! Your sister says she's not photogenic but I don't believe her in the slightest.)

Back in town

Last day with the Bucklands...we hadn't really stated our anticipated departure time but with us still needing to do my rostered church-cleaning, prepare slides for Sunday's worship and get music together, we needed to be home reasonably early. We had such an enjoyable and productive morning though that we were glad to delay the leaving until after lunch. It had started blowing gales by the time we were ready to leave so we said hurried goodbyes before shutting the doors against the wind. We thank the Lord for a wonderful few days with old acquaintances who have become better friends! Stopped for ice-creams at Burger King in Christchurch and were home by about 4.30 pm.(Above: Nick caught us unawares during a photography discussion; below: "Everyone can pull a funny face like this," said Nick).

Heaps of bluffing

Woke up at 7 am - suitably late and appropriately early for a breakfast of semolina which tastes far better than it sounds. Lazed about chatting and drinking coffee (I don't usually drink cups and cups of coffee but with the creamy milk it was too good!) before remembering that we had decided to go for a walk. Got ourselves together and drove the short distance to Hurunui Bluff Road for the walk which took us through the Banks Battery walk on St Helena! Different scenery from the top, but so often we find ourselves drawn back to sections of the island. It was a great walk, climbing most of the way to a lookout hut at the top where we mid-morning'd before turning around and heading back - about an hour's walking in all. Ready for more coffee when we got back to the homestead, and lunch of home-made pasta and sauce. Enjoyed more fellowship and coffee while Hannah slept, and in the afternoon went for a swim at the Hawarden pool which is outdoors but heated. Enjoyed a braai (Caleb insisted that we call it that - you don't call it a bbq when it's with SAcans!) with pork chops, salads and corn on the cob. Yum! Relatively early bed time for the kids after watching the first half of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but the grownups stayed up chatting and laughing until late. Too much coffee :)Hannah, so delightfully oblivious of the anti-girl force-fields which surround all nine-year-old boys, got herself comfortable.

Buckle up for a farm experience!

Nothing to report on from yesterday - just my last day of work - so I'll launch straight into today which was a red-letter day on the calendar: our holiday with the Bucklands! Brendon and Nick studied theology together in SA around the time our Caleb and their Rachel were born (Rachel is twelve days older); after that we kept in touch through our various emigrations and moves. They are based in Hawarden, an hour north of Christchurch, so our journey took us through Christchurch first where we stopped firstly at McDonalds for lunch, then at the Airforce Museum of NZ which boasts free admission and "one of the world's premier military aviation collections". Had a good look around there before moving on through the city centre as I had located a material shop I wanted to visit - we found the shop and all I can say is 'disappointing'!! It was a long and unnecessary detour and we are again reminded how blessed we are to sit in Timaru's non-traffic! Saw some of the earthquake damage - roofs with missing chimneys covered over with plastic; bricked wall fronts removed from their concreted inners like bark off a tree. Finally arrived at the Bucklands after what the boys would consider an epic journey (having been contextualized to 10 minutes maximum on a typical journey) around 4 pm. We last saw the Bucklands at church camp in October but because of our abrupt departure we hadn't had much opportunity to chat - in fact, despite our having known the family for so many years this was the most time we've ever spent together, but the connection was instant and honest; the boys also didn't take long to feel at home with Rachel, Ruth and Hannah, who are all three just lovely - each in their own extremely different personalities. Indeed, it was quite a pleasure for us to meet such interesting and charming little girls. Before tea we made a quick excursion to a dairy farm where milk was acquired - almost straight from the cows! We caught the end of the milking which was just as the boys and I had learned about in school last year, and then the Bs filled a bucket with the freshest of fresh milk you'd ever get - and despite having just been inside the cows, already chilled through the machinery process. A pork roast with potato, sweet potato, carrots, rice and marrows was on the menu for tea - Belinda is a relaxed and competent hostess and everything was superb. And then it was time for the promised pig farm visit - Brendon manages the 'grower section' of the largest outdoor pig farm in the southern hemisphere; this is no dinky little operation, with about 25,000 pigs in his section and another 4,000 breeding sows with their little piglets, and the procurement of half of the south island's straw for bedding. The weaned piglets were gorgeous and hilariously comical as they scuttled away like frightened sheep, hoping that their statue-like immobility would act as camouflage, before carefully coming back to sniff us. And for the record: piglets don't oink, they squeal like babies having their toes pulled off. The ready-for-market pigs were definitely not cute - a writhing mass of noisy, smelly, dirty, big, grunting bodies is a sight to behold, with an average of just under 100kg per body. To be fair, the smell was not from the pigs themselves per se, but from the day-long-trampled effluent-soaked straw which would be replaced in the morning. The ammonia was overwhelming, but on the whole it was quite an experience to get the inside view of such a huge and efficient operation.Pork sausages in the making :)