auckland photos

Here are some photos from our all-too-brief trip to Auckland last week. There is never enough time to do all the things we plan. Except there is always time to eat at Fatima's. I wish they would open a Wellington store.

Mum's new house, photo taken from the driveway

The view from one of the upstairs bedrooms; that is a river (well, large creek) in the middle ground. Not as scenic as the last house, but it could be worse...

This is our family, as interpreted by my potter cousin. Too much symbolism to detail here, but basically she was moved to make something for us when Dad was told he had 6 months to live. There are words from his favourite hymn engraved around the two biggest pieces, representing G & D.

In the kitchen (je suis a la cuisine) - novel use of a wine rack for a non-drinker

The chocolate bunny we brought to Auckland for my brother got a bit broken, so Jeremy made a small modification to enhance the drama..

Business class Air New Zealand seats, bought from TradeMe for a pittance. Mum just bought a home theatre system with a projector and screen and surround sound and everything, and she thought these would be fun. And it is rather fun to have a tray table and foot-rest while watching Shortland Street.

My thirteen year old brother, who is now taller than me (he doesn't look too upset about the bunny..)

I didn't know Bex was still taking photos...

At the Easter Show, on the ghost-train-that-wasn't.

Me winning the slide race...

Dispute still rages - I got to the bottom first, but J slid for longest. We called it a draw.

for now

I saw Little Children with some friends in the weekend; a film in the World Cinema Showcase. I enjoyed it, although there were a few disturbing parts. And afterwards I liked fighting the cold and wind to get to my nice, cozy house, and my nice, cozy husband.

I am in the enviable position of having too many good books to read, in fact there are six (!) waiting until I finish my current book. I am reading Colour, by Victoria Finlay, (birthday present from brother), at a rate of half a chapter a day. This is unusually slow for me, but at least I am reading consistently, after a reading crisis when I finished my Honours degree. I can't decide which of the books to read next, and have started dipping into another already, reading a page here and there. I am a compulsive book-starter, and often have four or five books next to the bed, something for every mood.

I have a meeting in five minutes to discuss a publication I am editing, to be published in November. I am looking forward to starting work on it, although the manuscripts won't be sent to me until July! Plenty of other assignments to keep me busy in the mean time...

birthday treats

There are lots of things to write about. They can be roughly divided into 'good' and 'bad'; I'll only write about the 'good'. (The 'bad' is more hospital visits, more needles, more aches and pains, and more things I don't want to broadcast to the whole internet)

So, some good things. On Monday, it was my birthday, and Jeremy and I went out for dinner. It was delicious; I had fish and he had veal. J gave me a book I've been wanting for a long time, so I have been reading it and trying to savour, rather than devour. My favourite present was from my Mum:

This is a salt 'n' pepper shaker set and some butter dishes, made by Crown Lynn for Air New Zealand in the mid-twentieth century. I've been hankering after something from this range for a few years, but could never afford it on trademe. Mum said she saw an s'n'p set for $140! But she paid a far more reasonable price. So my desire for this crockery design has been satiated, and now I'll have to find something else to collect. But aren't they beautiful?

The other main good thing that has happened is the arrival of passionfruit at the fruit markets. These are my most favourite fruit, followed closely by limes, lemons, nectarines, and berries of any type. I am a fruit fiend; my husband, strangely, is not. (All the more for me!) I intend to buy up large when it is nearing the end of the (regrettably short) season, and make more passionfruit syrup. I have a fabulous recipe for a lemon curd and passionfruit syrup cake, but the store-bought syrups are too sweet for my liking.

And that's all for now. A beloved family member is coming to visit next week, but my most favourite family member is going away next week. So it may be a bit lonely, although there is plenty of work to keep me busy. Holidays soon, but holidays always mean assessments.