Wow - I cannot believe where the year has vanished to so quickly.
It has been a while since I updated everyone on what we have been doing: that is partly to do with the fact that we were away for a fortnight on the North Island tour, and then came home with colds. I am now finally getting over it, over a month later. However I will do a condensed version!
North Island tour was great - lovely weather, and the stand outs for me were Cape Reinga and Waitangi, once more. Even Jan said he would like to spend a few hours at the Cape, just soaking up the atmosphere. It really feels like a special place.
I have just finished putting together the photobook - which you can view at http://momento.co.nz/gallery?cpid=10281&auth=51a346aa4bccd3.10433652. Ana, another exchange student from Brazil, who lives about an hour away from Camila, came to stay last weekend and helped me finish it. The book will hopefully be printed and will get to all the Northern Hemisphere students in time for them winging their way home at the end of June or beginning of July. Karin, who spent lots of time here with Camila, is going home to Sweden, as is Kazu - to Japan. I think they both have had a very full year!
We won't be taking the tour next year: we will need our holidays for my brother's & Donna's wedding in Rarotonga, and for going to Brazil. That will keep us busy. Then the year after is Oma Friedel's 100th birthday in Germany - in the midst of the German winter. That will probably be a holiday where we don't have a free suitcase to bring chocolate back in!
Last weekend, as well as Ana, we had my folks, Mike, Donna and some of their friends - eighteen of us in total - here to help celebrate my Father's birthday. We had a BBQ with loads of food. I also had a wine for you, John! We had a lovely afternoon, and Graeme & Julie offered to housesit for us, if we end up needing someone - and if Amy isn't available, of course!
Speaking of Amy, she is now working at NMIT and studying online. I think she is really enjoying being back in Nelson too. Jan & I will hopefully catch up with Frits & Kathleen as well, the weekend after next.
Jenny came to stay a couple of weeks ago, which was great. I picked her up from the airport & we went home, drank wine, ate crisps and talked. Jan had orchestra practice so had to catch up later. We dropped her back out to Bunty & Donald's house - and stayed for hours, catching up with the whole family's news.
Last weekend I was doing some washing, only to have the machine shudder to a halt. Wouldn't go, ended up with an error message. Jan thought that perhaps there might be something stopping the pump draining, so opened the hatch to manually drain the pump... to find that the pump drain wouldn't open. So he juggled it around and managed to unstick it. To find the following cache of extras! And the really amazing thing is that we don't own any hairclips!
This coming weekend we have the Founders Book Fair. I am organising volunteers from our Rotary club: we have traditionally handled the security on the first Saturday. It runs for a week here in Nelson, one of the largest second hand book sales in the country. We will get the chance in our breaks to stroll about & buy. Last year I picked up some antique management books; the year before a Bill Bryson hardback (the ‘Short History’ one). Jan got a matched set of Neville Schutes, and some old engineering “how to” books which are hilarious. Surprises every year. I have just started slumming on Vernon Coleman – totally escapist lite ‘mystery’ rubbish – but hopefully someone will have de-dunged their bookshelf and I will benefit from their purge.
I still love my iPod! I have just been reading - listening to - 1421 and 1434 by Gavin Menzies, about the Chinese exploration of the world. They are both very interesting books, and followed well on me re-listening to Simon Winchester's The Man Who Loved China, biography about Joseph Needham who created, wrote, researched and project managed the Science and Civilisation in China volumes (which runs to something like twenty seven thumping great tomes).
Jan might be going to the US to a conference in November, and I might be going to Queenstown for one - in the same week, if you can believe it!
Dogs are in general OK, though Flissy is getting very frail, and wobbly in her back legs. We have bought little boots for her to help keep her more stable on the polished floors.
Right, that will do for now. More later.
Jan & Sam
