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01 October 2015
Rose Road House Picture Gallery
30 August 2015
Sam & Jan's Brazil adventure
We left for Brazil on the second of April, as soon as I had finished my last lecture before Easter, so as to eke out as much time away as we could.
We flew Nelson - Auckland - Santiago - Sao Paulo with Lan Chile, in the tightest packed cattle class we have yet experienced. On the Auckland - Santiago leg I sat next to a Kiwi rugby player who was playing and coaching in Argentina. He was a very well-built bloke who was so cramped in his seat that I felt sorrier for him than I felt for the two of us!
He had the aisle, and when we arrived, I warned him that we would get up a lot, and invited him to take the window seat if he would like to be undisturbed. However, the poor guy was claustrophobic (what a flight to be claustrophobic on!). So every time Jan or I needed to get up, this poor bloke had to painfully unpick himself from the seat, back out into the aisle (which was only just wide enough for the airline trolleys), and let us out, only to have to repeat the process when we came back.
He and I had a great old yarn though about coaching and leadership... thank goodness, as for some reason I had my eyes stapled open and only managed about an hour of sleep.
If you don't want to read what we did, shortcut it by watching the video:
Arriving in Sao Paulo on Friday evening, we found Ana, Camila and Beto waiting for us through customs, which was fabulous! Célia was at home, preparing dinner. So we hopped in the car and hit the lava line of red tail lights on the north-west motorway, along with what seemed like half a million other Paulistas on their way out of the city for the Easter weekend.
We were both shattered when we got to Piracicaba, but it was so great to be with the family. Célia and Beto had so, so kindly given us their bedroom (with them taking over what had been Ana's bedroom I think - I never did quite work out whose room it had been). This generosity was because Célia and Beto's room had the only air conditioner, and they thought we would be more comfortable with the ability to keep cool. Kind!
However, I don't think the end of the world would have stopped me sleeping that night.
The next day we went for a meander around Piracicaba, had lunch at a friend's restaurant along the river, did some sight-seeing (seeing the real places from Ana and Camila's Rotary presentations), had drinks at a street bar... and I was exposed to Caipirinha. Yum! Although Jan didn't like it - too limey or lemony for him - this was to prove my cocktail of choice each and every night in Brazil.
We met Ana's boyfriend, Chico, who is a lovely, gentle man. He and Ana seem well suited.
On Easter Sunday we headed back south-east to Sao Paulo to join the extended family in their Easter celebrations, which was fantastic. Thirty people gathered for a pot luck lunch served on a very slick logistics operation of trestles and seats appropriated from various uses in the house, or supplied by the attendees. Even though we hardly knew a word of Portuguese, we were so warmly embraced by the family we didn't feel a moment of awkwardness.
They even kindly celebrated my birthday, along with three others from within the family happening around the same time, which was really lovely (Jan and I had been too busy with packing and organising to bother marking my birthday, though we had had a family dinner at Krauts the weekend before).
The next day was Piracicaba for quiet walks, lunch and shopping. Camila had gone back to her Uni in Campinas to finish off some projects. We went to the Piracicaba Uni, which was very spread out park-like campus, and had lunch at the main restaurant which was open to all comers for lunch. Buccolic!
The day after we headed to Serra Negra with Beto and Celia to visit a coffee plantation in the area (fascinating), have lunch in an alpine - or as alpine as Brazil gets - resort, then to visit Célia's brother, Alessandro (sp?) in a gated community, and lastly to see the family bach. A full day, but lovely. Then another quiet day, doing laundry, walking along the Piracicaba river, visiting museums and having lunch with Beto at a riverside restaurant, and going to visit Camila's uni, flat and having pizza in Campinas.
The next day we left for Rio, having brought Camila back to Piracicaba the night before. A bit of a marathon drive for Beto - about twelve hours, with a stop at Camila's favourite motorway restaurant for us - the name of which escapes me ...beginning with 'F' like Frango or something - to finally experience what she was talking about (and it was very good).
Wow - what a blast Rio was. Such a beautiful city. Loved every minute of it - and that really felt like the holiday for all of us. We drove around Tijuca Forest National Forest on Corcovado Mountain, and visited the Chinese lookout and Christ the Redeemer. We visited Ipanema, Copacabana, and Prainha Beaches (and what I didn't know was that each beach has a different footpath mosaic pattern). We visited the Lapa steps and went to US-import restaurant, Outback, for lunch (the deep-fried onion.... mmmmmm!). We rubbernecked at houses and the riotous colour on a long and narrow drive around the hills. We took the cable car up the Sugarloaf to see the sunset across Guanabara Bay, toward Niteroi.
Then all too soon the five days were over, and Ana and Chico had to head back to their work. Beto, having driven the twelve hours there, also drove the twelve hours back, stopping at the heritage marine town of Paraty (est 1597) on the way home to Piracicaba for a late lunch, some shopping and sight-seeing, before driving on to Piracicaba.
The next day we went to Botucatu to see Ana Julia Delgado, along with Camila and Célia. It was lovely to see her again, and to meet her father (who most generously gave us some aged cachaça - the sugarcane-based alcohol that Caipirinha is made from). Ana Julia's unofficial step-mother makes amazing mosaics out of egg shell, so I took lots of photos to pass to Ellie F when I got home (Ellie is really getting creative with these now). Ana took us sight-seeing around Botucatu and we visited a coffee museum in the Uni grounds there (focus is on agriculture in that region - gorgeous, spread-out campus like Piracicaba's one). We also went up on a rise which looked like the edge of a rift valley where we could see for miles. I took lots of photos, but not quite enough to make a full panorama. This was a SERIOUSLY big view.
Finishing off that day at an all you can eat pizzeria, the next saw us head back to Sao Paulo, for some more sightseeing, a trip to all-you-can-eat beef restaurant, Fogo de Chao, and to stay at Ana and Camila's cousin Elika's apartment, which she generously lent to us. I didn't eat meat at Fogo de Chao, but there was a buffet table of salads. I made it halfway along one side before I was so full that I was in danger of doing a Roald Dahl-like exploding child.
We had a fantastic couple of days, before it was time to wedge ourselves into another tin tube and head home. Again, largely sleepless. And late. And we missed our connector in Auckland (apparently Lan Chile are habitually at least an hour late - so if you are planning a trip, go AirNZ into Argentina instead, or allow four hours between your arrival and your onward flight).
Food finds: funnily enough, mostly drinks. Abacaxi com Hortela Suco - that is, Pineapple juice with mint. So refreshing. And Suco de Caju - this is cashew fruit, very nice. Who knew that cashew nuts are the stalk?! And, of course, Caipirinha.
The Martins sent us home with presents for the other Rotary host families, and a swag of memories. We hope they come back to New Zealand to visit soon: we were so seamlessly and warmly looked after, we have some real host responsibility to live up to.
It was the most fantastic holiday. Thank you so much, the Martins family!!!
Jan & Sam
We flew Nelson - Auckland - Santiago - Sao Paulo with Lan Chile, in the tightest packed cattle class we have yet experienced. On the Auckland - Santiago leg I sat next to a Kiwi rugby player who was playing and coaching in Argentina. He was a very well-built bloke who was so cramped in his seat that I felt sorrier for him than I felt for the two of us!
He had the aisle, and when we arrived, I warned him that we would get up a lot, and invited him to take the window seat if he would like to be undisturbed. However, the poor guy was claustrophobic (what a flight to be claustrophobic on!). So every time Jan or I needed to get up, this poor bloke had to painfully unpick himself from the seat, back out into the aisle (which was only just wide enough for the airline trolleys), and let us out, only to have to repeat the process when we came back.
He and I had a great old yarn though about coaching and leadership... thank goodness, as for some reason I had my eyes stapled open and only managed about an hour of sleep.
If you don't want to read what we did, shortcut it by watching the video:
Arriving in Sao Paulo on Friday evening, we found Ana, Camila and Beto waiting for us through customs, which was fabulous! Célia was at home, preparing dinner. So we hopped in the car and hit the lava line of red tail lights on the north-west motorway, along with what seemed like half a million other Paulistas on their way out of the city for the Easter weekend.
We were both shattered when we got to Piracicaba, but it was so great to be with the family. Célia and Beto had so, so kindly given us their bedroom (with them taking over what had been Ana's bedroom I think - I never did quite work out whose room it had been). This generosity was because Célia and Beto's room had the only air conditioner, and they thought we would be more comfortable with the ability to keep cool. Kind!
However, I don't think the end of the world would have stopped me sleeping that night.
The next day we went for a meander around Piracicaba, had lunch at a friend's restaurant along the river, did some sight-seeing (seeing the real places from Ana and Camila's Rotary presentations), had drinks at a street bar... and I was exposed to Caipirinha. Yum! Although Jan didn't like it - too limey or lemony for him - this was to prove my cocktail of choice each and every night in Brazil.
We met Ana's boyfriend, Chico, who is a lovely, gentle man. He and Ana seem well suited.
On Easter Sunday we headed back south-east to Sao Paulo to join the extended family in their Easter celebrations, which was fantastic. Thirty people gathered for a pot luck lunch served on a very slick logistics operation of trestles and seats appropriated from various uses in the house, or supplied by the attendees. Even though we hardly knew a word of Portuguese, we were so warmly embraced by the family we didn't feel a moment of awkwardness.
They even kindly celebrated my birthday, along with three others from within the family happening around the same time, which was really lovely (Jan and I had been too busy with packing and organising to bother marking my birthday, though we had had a family dinner at Krauts the weekend before).
The next day was Piracicaba for quiet walks, lunch and shopping. Camila had gone back to her Uni in Campinas to finish off some projects. We went to the Piracicaba Uni, which was very spread out park-like campus, and had lunch at the main restaurant which was open to all comers for lunch. Buccolic!
The day after we headed to Serra Negra with Beto and Celia to visit a coffee plantation in the area (fascinating), have lunch in an alpine - or as alpine as Brazil gets - resort, then to visit Célia's brother, Alessandro (sp?) in a gated community, and lastly to see the family bach. A full day, but lovely. Then another quiet day, doing laundry, walking along the Piracicaba river, visiting museums and having lunch with Beto at a riverside restaurant, and going to visit Camila's uni, flat and having pizza in Campinas.
The next day we left for Rio, having brought Camila back to Piracicaba the night before. A bit of a marathon drive for Beto - about twelve hours, with a stop at Camila's favourite motorway restaurant for us - the name of which escapes me ...beginning with 'F' like Frango or something - to finally experience what she was talking about (and it was very good).
Wow - what a blast Rio was. Such a beautiful city. Loved every minute of it - and that really felt like the holiday for all of us. We drove around Tijuca Forest National Forest on Corcovado Mountain, and visited the Chinese lookout and Christ the Redeemer. We visited Ipanema, Copacabana, and Prainha Beaches (and what I didn't know was that each beach has a different footpath mosaic pattern). We visited the Lapa steps and went to US-import restaurant, Outback, for lunch (the deep-fried onion.... mmmmmm!). We rubbernecked at houses and the riotous colour on a long and narrow drive around the hills. We took the cable car up the Sugarloaf to see the sunset across Guanabara Bay, toward Niteroi.
Then all too soon the five days were over, and Ana and Chico had to head back to their work. Beto, having driven the twelve hours there, also drove the twelve hours back, stopping at the heritage marine town of Paraty (est 1597) on the way home to Piracicaba for a late lunch, some shopping and sight-seeing, before driving on to Piracicaba.
The next day we went to Botucatu to see Ana Julia Delgado, along with Camila and Célia. It was lovely to see her again, and to meet her father (who most generously gave us some aged cachaça - the sugarcane-based alcohol that Caipirinha is made from). Ana Julia's unofficial step-mother makes amazing mosaics out of egg shell, so I took lots of photos to pass to Ellie F when I got home (Ellie is really getting creative with these now). Ana took us sight-seeing around Botucatu and we visited a coffee museum in the Uni grounds there (focus is on agriculture in that region - gorgeous, spread-out campus like Piracicaba's one). We also went up on a rise which looked like the edge of a rift valley where we could see for miles. I took lots of photos, but not quite enough to make a full panorama. This was a SERIOUSLY big view.
Finishing off that day at an all you can eat pizzeria, the next saw us head back to Sao Paulo, for some more sightseeing, a trip to all-you-can-eat beef restaurant, Fogo de Chao, and to stay at Ana and Camila's cousin Elika's apartment, which she generously lent to us. I didn't eat meat at Fogo de Chao, but there was a buffet table of salads. I made it halfway along one side before I was so full that I was in danger of doing a Roald Dahl-like exploding child.
We had a fantastic couple of days, before it was time to wedge ourselves into another tin tube and head home. Again, largely sleepless. And late. And we missed our connector in Auckland (apparently Lan Chile are habitually at least an hour late - so if you are planning a trip, go AirNZ into Argentina instead, or allow four hours between your arrival and your onward flight).
Food finds: funnily enough, mostly drinks. Abacaxi com Hortela Suco - that is, Pineapple juice with mint. So refreshing. And Suco de Caju - this is cashew fruit, very nice. Who knew that cashew nuts are the stalk?! And, of course, Caipirinha.
The Martins sent us home with presents for the other Rotary host families, and a swag of memories. We hope they come back to New Zealand to visit soon: we were so seamlessly and warmly looked after, we have some real host responsibility to live up to.
It was the most fantastic holiday. Thank you so much, the Martins family!!!
Jan & Sam
08 August 2015
Farewell, Uncle Eddie
My Uncle Eddie was always my favourite Uncle. He had some great gifts that I very much enjoyed: his sense of humour, his kindness and his ability to discuss almost anything, anywhere. I loved his passion for unearthing history, and his energy in putting time in to find out the smallest detail.
An absolute gentleman, in the truest sense of the word.
My Aunty Diana chose her husband very well :-)
He has a very special place in my heart and memory. My first boxer was named after him (our family always was weird ;-D).
I put together a video clip of him, as I did for my Aunty Jill (of my Uncle Tom), using a favourite piece of music for both of them at:
:-(
Sam
An absolute gentleman, in the truest sense of the word.
My Aunty Diana chose her husband very well :-)
He has a very special place in my heart and memory. My first boxer was named after him (our family always was weird ;-D).
I put together a video clip of him, as I did for my Aunty Jill (of my Uncle Tom), using a favourite piece of music for both of them at:
:-(
Sam
01 June 2015
Peter Whipp: this is your life photobook video
We felt that such an important event should not go unheralded, so we threw a party, and took lots of photos. I was at that time deep in finalising my Master's thesis, so was going to compile a photobook when I got time.
We had the photos, I was just lacking some space to devote to the task. My teaching load suddenly went ballistic as one management lecturer left one week out from the start of Semester two, 2014. I had the capacity to devote more hours to teaching as my study load had dropped, so added two more papers, and arranged to teach summer school.
As a result, there as not much headspace available for creativity, so this project slowed to an almost stop... but there was slow progress.
In May 2015, I at last finished the album. I made a video of the album, which can be viewed here:
My father was delighted to receive a hardback book for his birthday, as was our once-estranged cousin Kim. My next little project is to make a better flipbook than the momento one that I posted on 30 April (as it only shows the left-hand pages!) of the great 80th birthday, hoping that this too will not take another year to finalise.
This is still in progress, and I will post an update as soon as it is complete!
Sam
11 May 2015
30 April 2015
This is your life...
I have been putting together a photobook for my Father's 80th birthday last year, as a present for this year's birthday. Take a look:
http://www.momento.co.nz/index/preview/id/2187122/auth/55419555dabf09.44898167?iframe=true&width=1200&height=800
Sam
12 March 2015
P'Terry and Death sauntered off into the dark sands...
Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.
The End.
26 February 2015
The Whipp family tree in pictures
This was created for Kim, to illustrate the Whipp family history, using the pictures that Aunty Jill had collected. The quality of some of the images isn't that great, due to age in some cases, as well as sometimes being due the fact that I had to zoom in quite a bit to extract head shots from the originals.
However, it provides some insight into how our family members age, and what those who came before us looked like:
Sam
However, it provides some insight into how our family members age, and what those who came before us looked like:
Sam
04 February 2015
Milking With Murray: selling Kiwis milk
Ah - Milking, with Murray!
Who remembers that? The music is Greig's 'Morning Mood'.
Sam
Who remembers that? The music is Greig's 'Morning Mood'.
Sam
31 January 2015
My Uncle Tom's Funeral
Hi all,
My Uncle Tom died in January this year, after having been in some rest homes and a hospital room at Oakwoods in Richmond for a wee while.
I learned at his funeral in Mapua that his favourite piece of music was Ivan Rebroff's Evening Bells, so I made a wee movie for my Aunty Jill, using some photos that I had, the funeral and a little of the music:
Aunty Jill seemed in reasonable health, and was well looked after by my cousin Gavin and his wife Estelle. Another of my aunts, Diana, came up from Christchurch (with a friend of hers), my parents and my brother and I went. It was very nice - despite the circumstances - to see everyone and to catch up.
Sam
My Uncle Tom died in January this year, after having been in some rest homes and a hospital room at Oakwoods in Richmond for a wee while.
I learned at his funeral in Mapua that his favourite piece of music was Ivan Rebroff's Evening Bells, so I made a wee movie for my Aunty Jill, using some photos that I had, the funeral and a little of the music:
Aunty Jill seemed in reasonable health, and was well looked after by my cousin Gavin and his wife Estelle. Another of my aunts, Diana, came up from Christchurch (with a friend of hers), my parents and my brother and I went. It was very nice - despite the circumstances - to see everyone and to catch up.
Sam
News from Nelson: January 2015
Hi everyone,
We have had a busy month or more since I last sent a report. To see much of it in video, watch here:
We have had Lara and Otto to stay, had our New Year's barbecue, been to the Mudcastle Christmas Party and had the Rose Road Christmas Party at Daniel & Diana's. We went up to Wellington for Christmas, and John dog-sat during his tour (very well organised!). We stayed with Brigitte and John in Wellington, and had Weinachten and Christmas lunch at Tina and Jeremy's.
Hartmut & Uta are with us at the moment, visiting us and attending the Adam Chamber Music Festival. They have been on a tour of the West Coast, and have filled their hearts with lovely places, and now that the concerts have started, get to add a musical score to remember their trip by. It is the first time that Uta has visited our house, so has been quite special.
We have the Sarau fair from mid-afternoon, which is more or less our local harvest festival. It celebrates the blackcurrant harvest. Although it is raining very, very lightly - what a blessing after a month of no rain! - I think the event will go ahead as planned. We will all go later in the day and wander around the grounds enjoying the local sights and sounds and catching up with our neighbours from further afield.
Jan, Warren and Mark (an NMIT colleague of mine) did a big day on the chainsaws and felled, split and stacked enough wood for three families for winter. Warren and his brother have, between them, a wood splitter which we were able to use. Fantastic. Otto & Lara were here at the time and helped for the day. It was a BIG workday for everyone. Mark has since been out for another session with Jan. I forgot to take any video - and some of those trees coming down sounded pretty dramatic!
When Otto & Lara were with us they went sailing with Craig and Katherine and Craig's two children, went to Tahuna beach for the day, went to Warren & Trace & Erica's, Lara made a charm bracelet with Erica - her Christmas present from us - at the Bead Gallery (while Otto helped Tracey weed the tunnel houses).
We had Magda and David to visit.We caught up with KT, KB, Bootie, Megan and Will.
We have booked our tickets for Brazil and leave NZ for Sao Paulo on 2 April, returning to Nelson on 20 April. Yay!
A busy month, having lots of fun. Talk soon!
Jan & Sam
We have had a busy month or more since I last sent a report. To see much of it in video, watch here:
We have had Lara and Otto to stay, had our New Year's barbecue, been to the Mudcastle Christmas Party and had the Rose Road Christmas Party at Daniel & Diana's. We went up to Wellington for Christmas, and John dog-sat during his tour (very well organised!). We stayed with Brigitte and John in Wellington, and had Weinachten and Christmas lunch at Tina and Jeremy's.
Hartmut & Uta are with us at the moment, visiting us and attending the Adam Chamber Music Festival. They have been on a tour of the West Coast, and have filled their hearts with lovely places, and now that the concerts have started, get to add a musical score to remember their trip by. It is the first time that Uta has visited our house, so has been quite special.
We have the Sarau fair from mid-afternoon, which is more or less our local harvest festival. It celebrates the blackcurrant harvest. Although it is raining very, very lightly - what a blessing after a month of no rain! - I think the event will go ahead as planned. We will all go later in the day and wander around the grounds enjoying the local sights and sounds and catching up with our neighbours from further afield.
Jan, Warren and Mark (an NMIT colleague of mine) did a big day on the chainsaws and felled, split and stacked enough wood for three families for winter. Warren and his brother have, between them, a wood splitter which we were able to use. Fantastic. Otto & Lara were here at the time and helped for the day. It was a BIG workday for everyone. Mark has since been out for another session with Jan. I forgot to take any video - and some of those trees coming down sounded pretty dramatic!
When Otto & Lara were with us they went sailing with Craig and Katherine and Craig's two children, went to Tahuna beach for the day, went to Warren & Trace & Erica's, Lara made a charm bracelet with Erica - her Christmas present from us - at the Bead Gallery (while Otto helped Tracey weed the tunnel houses).
We had Magda and David to visit.We caught up with KT, KB, Bootie, Megan and Will.
We have booked our tickets for Brazil and leave NZ for Sao Paulo on 2 April, returning to Nelson on 20 April. Yay!
A busy month, having lots of fun. Talk soon!
Jan & Sam
24 December 2014
Our Christmas Video Card
Our Christmas card, showing some large events of this year, is viewable here:
Sam
Sam
14 December 2014
News from Nelson - December 2014
Hi everyone,
In the past few weeks we have been a little less busy at work, which has been wonderful. it is the time of year where we have had several Christmas work functions to go to. Most of my work functions have been lunches, which have been a great time to catch up and talk - almost for the first time this year. Very enjoyable.
We have managed to get some jobs around the house done, particularly Warren and Jan flattening out around the house, putting down weed matting and covering it in shell. This means that there will be no great ocean of waist-high grass right up to the back door in summer; no more knotted hose-pipes tangled up in the weeds; no more hidden bark berries ready for unwary jandalled feet. I even got enthusiastic and bought a petanque set so we can enjoy the crunch underfoot outside in the lovely long summer evenings. I do need to buy one of those old hand lawn rollers though to flatten it all out (you know, those ones full of concrete ;-D). The work that Jan & Warren did is viewable here:
I have completed my Semester two marking, filing, and getting ready for moderation... just in time to start teaching summer school online (one day cross-over only). Additionally, my workload is not too bad as I have just discovered that there is a FAQ page function in NMIT Online/Moodle (I wish I had known about this three years ago!). I have been posting Q&A from my current and previous students, and asking my students to check here first before posting new questions. The FAQ page is proving to be a fantastic resource, and I think has already reduced my email load by half (despite there being 34 students enrolled).
We had a great wedding anniversary bash, with DJ & Dilani coming down for a few days. Jenny came up from Christchurch which was fabulous too. We bought ourselves an anniversary present of two sets of Katie Gold candle sticks:
Amy H did a stellar job of filming our wedding anniversary celebrations. If you haven't viewed this yet, check it out:
Oma Friedel's former neighbour, Frau Steinmann, was killed in a car accident in Germany yesterday (Saturday), which was very sad. There is an article here.
Eberhard sent us a photo of the Ulm Munster, lit up for Christmas:
Keeping it brief this time as we are about to head out to a Rose Road Christmas BBQ at the Whitten's.
We head up to Welly on 24 December for Christmas with Brigitte and John, Jeremy & Tina, Otto and Lara. John will be looking after the dogs while we are away. Lara & Otto are coming for a few days from the end of December to the beginning of January. I think Hartmut & Uta will be coming down to us at the end of January for a visit and to take in some of the Adam Chamber Music Festival.
Our next time away may well be April, heading for Sao Paulo!
Sam (& Jan)
In the past few weeks we have been a little less busy at work, which has been wonderful. it is the time of year where we have had several Christmas work functions to go to. Most of my work functions have been lunches, which have been a great time to catch up and talk - almost for the first time this year. Very enjoyable.
We have managed to get some jobs around the house done, particularly Warren and Jan flattening out around the house, putting down weed matting and covering it in shell. This means that there will be no great ocean of waist-high grass right up to the back door in summer; no more knotted hose-pipes tangled up in the weeds; no more hidden bark berries ready for unwary jandalled feet. I even got enthusiastic and bought a petanque set so we can enjoy the crunch underfoot outside in the lovely long summer evenings. I do need to buy one of those old hand lawn rollers though to flatten it all out (you know, those ones full of concrete ;-D). The work that Jan & Warren did is viewable here:
I have completed my Semester two marking, filing, and getting ready for moderation... just in time to start teaching summer school online (one day cross-over only). Additionally, my workload is not too bad as I have just discovered that there is a FAQ page function in NMIT Online/Moodle (I wish I had known about this three years ago!). I have been posting Q&A from my current and previous students, and asking my students to check here first before posting new questions. The FAQ page is proving to be a fantastic resource, and I think has already reduced my email load by half (despite there being 34 students enrolled).
We had a great wedding anniversary bash, with DJ & Dilani coming down for a few days. Jenny came up from Christchurch which was fabulous too. We bought ourselves an anniversary present of two sets of Katie Gold candle sticks:
Amy H did a stellar job of filming our wedding anniversary celebrations. If you haven't viewed this yet, check it out:
Oma Friedel's former neighbour, Frau Steinmann, was killed in a car accident in Germany yesterday (Saturday), which was very sad. There is an article here.
Eberhard sent us a photo of the Ulm Munster, lit up for Christmas:
Keeping it brief this time as we are about to head out to a Rose Road Christmas BBQ at the Whitten's.
We head up to Welly on 24 December for Christmas with Brigitte and John, Jeremy & Tina, Otto and Lara. John will be looking after the dogs while we are away. Lara & Otto are coming for a few days from the end of December to the beginning of January. I think Hartmut & Uta will be coming down to us at the end of January for a visit and to take in some of the Adam Chamber Music Festival.
Our next time away may well be April, heading for Sao Paulo!
Sam (& Jan)
29 November 2014
26 November 2014
News from Nelson - Nov 2 2014
Amy H did a stellar job of filming our wedding anniversary celebrations
Check it out at
Sam
Check it out at
Sam
19 November 2014
News from Nelson - November 2014
Hi everyone,
Hope you are all well.
The last few weeks seem to have flown by. I have been up in Auckland at the CDANZ symposium and AGM. I just got back last night and am pretty bushed. I am supposed to be marking right now, but my head isn't in the right space, so I thought I would drop all of you an email instead.
John F is back, and is cooking again. Yay! Bonnie was very excited about John arriving, but took some time to migrate away from sleeping beside Coco at night. Now she is back with John each night, and now Coco sneaky-feets onto the bed with us so she has 'pack' to sleep beside. If I wake up and notice a canine invasion, I send her back to bed pretty sharpish. Jan is a whole lot softer than that.
We helped out at the Big Beach Cleanup with Nelson Pine a few weeks ago & got a reasonable haul of junk from around the cycle way. Jan has been building a new garden bed to the west of the house, which will be great for tomatoes, we hope. While progress is slow due to all the other things we have on at the moment, each week there is a bit more done.
Katherine's 1920s party was interesting (Craig L's new partner): I went as a bit of a middle class matron and was the only non-flapper there. Someone said to me "Oh, yeah - that's right: there were ordinary people too" (!). I felt like a bit of a nit anyway, and that certainly didn't make me feel any more comfortable. Jan wore his tux and a red fedora (which was a little large so looked more like a stetson). He also had a machine gun which he had a bit of fun with for a while. We had a good catch up with a few NMIT old hands.
Last weekend was Dawn's birthday party, which John also came along to. There was lots of lovely food (including lots of vege things), and it was really nice to catch up with everyone again so soon after Dawn & Neil's house-warming.
We have caught up with Warren & Tracey at least once a week since they have been here, which has been great. Wonderful to have them so close, but we are also a bit cautious in case we spend too much time hanging out with them and overload them (which would be bad :-( ).
This weekend is our Anniversary BBQ which should also be great fun. And there will be no costumery for it (with the loathing that I have for it being so recently reinforced!). There are a few out-of-towners coming in, which will be great, including DJ & Dilani and Jenny L. We are catching up with the Boots on Friday night at Warren & Tracey's for drinks as they are in Nelson this weekend for a family function of their own.
We will be in Welly for Xmas, then Lara & Otto are coming for a few days from the end of December to the beginning of January. I think Hartmut & Uta will be coming down to us next January or February for a visit and to take in some of the Adam Chamber Music Festival. Then next April we aim to be in Brazil (back to Kiwiland in time for Beck's wedding if we can manage it), and we will both be up in Auckland in May for my graduation.
I will write more after the weekend and post some pictures.
Keep well!
Sam (& Jan)
Hope you are all well.
The last few weeks seem to have flown by. I have been up in Auckland at the CDANZ symposium and AGM. I just got back last night and am pretty bushed. I am supposed to be marking right now, but my head isn't in the right space, so I thought I would drop all of you an email instead.
John F is back, and is cooking again. Yay! Bonnie was very excited about John arriving, but took some time to migrate away from sleeping beside Coco at night. Now she is back with John each night, and now Coco sneaky-feets onto the bed with us so she has 'pack' to sleep beside. If I wake up and notice a canine invasion, I send her back to bed pretty sharpish. Jan is a whole lot softer than that.
Katherine's 1920s party was interesting (Craig L's new partner): I went as a bit of a middle class matron and was the only non-flapper there. Someone said to me "Oh, yeah - that's right: there were ordinary people too" (!). I felt like a bit of a nit anyway, and that certainly didn't make me feel any more comfortable. Jan wore his tux and a red fedora (which was a little large so looked more like a stetson). He also had a machine gun which he had a bit of fun with for a while. We had a good catch up with a few NMIT old hands.
Last weekend was Dawn's birthday party, which John also came along to. There was lots of lovely food (including lots of vege things), and it was really nice to catch up with everyone again so soon after Dawn & Neil's house-warming.
We have caught up with Warren & Tracey at least once a week since they have been here, which has been great. Wonderful to have them so close, but we are also a bit cautious in case we spend too much time hanging out with them and overload them (which would be bad :-( ).
This weekend is our Anniversary BBQ which should also be great fun. And there will be no costumery for it (with the loathing that I have for it being so recently reinforced!). There are a few out-of-towners coming in, which will be great, including DJ & Dilani and Jenny L. We are catching up with the Boots on Friday night at Warren & Tracey's for drinks as they are in Nelson this weekend for a family function of their own.
We will be in Welly for Xmas, then Lara & Otto are coming for a few days from the end of December to the beginning of January. I think Hartmut & Uta will be coming down to us next January or February for a visit and to take in some of the Adam Chamber Music Festival. Then next April we aim to be in Brazil (back to Kiwiland in time for Beck's wedding if we can manage it), and we will both be up in Auckland in May for my graduation.
I will write more after the weekend and post some pictures.
Keep well!
Sam (& Jan)
#LikeAGuy - what does it mean to clean like a guy? Jack Laurence
As a parody of the Proctor & Gamble Always brand "#LikeAGirl", Jack Laurence made "#LikeAGuy". I like it. Particularly the "Babe? Do I..."
Check it out at
Sam
Check it out at
Sam
10 November 2014
Lego Imagine Ads
Evan x (Evan's Blog) is a fan of Lego's ads. He posted their "Imagine" ads - see the compiled image below. The concept was by Jung von Matt; images by The Scope.
Can you figure out what they are? How many of them can you get?
Can you figure out what they are? How many of them can you get?
Sam
- Reference: Sheline, Evan (27 March 2012). Lego ad: Imagine (HQ images). Retrieved 31 October 2014 from http://evansheline.com/tag/cartoon-characters/
30 October 2014
News from Nelson - October 2 2014
Hi everyone,
Here I am again.
Jan has been on a week long residential course in Christchurch. He caught up with Jenny & Bertie while down there, and has come back with lots of plans for work: so all good... provided he gets time to implement what he wants to, and doesn't get road-blocked too much.
While he was away, I revamped my website and got my marks back for my Master's (A). All good. Had a few storms go through, but most haven't touched us here in the Moutere:
A couple of weekends ago, Jan had a concert with the Greenhill Community Orchestra at the Stoke Memorial Hall, which my Mum and I attended on the Sunday (photo of the rehearsal below). Warren swung by on Saturday and we gave him a hand to first load a trailer-load of his farm gear that he had been storing on our wetland, and to then off-load it at his place on Sunday. We even got dinner for our efforts (always stellar if I don't have to cook!).
Labour weekend we went to three of the Nelson Arts Festival shows: Black Faggot, White Cloud and Davinia Caddy. Of the three sessions, Black Faggot was the most powerful, but White Cloud the most enjoyable. I was thinking, on our way home from seeing White Cloud, that there is probably nowhere else on the planet where you can go to a tiny provincial theatre and have one of your nation's music legends play music and tell conversational stories about their childhood and family. It felt like we were being hosted in Tim Finn's living room. Black Faggot was confrontational, full of pathos, funny and thought-provoking all at once. Both these shows were absolutely stellar.
Davinia Caddy was good, and, as this lecture was held in the Granary Festival Café, we enjoyed a good coffee and a stonking chocolate chip biscuit while listening. We also caught up with Derek Sherwood for a good chat (and briefly with Kate between her performances).
All in all, a great labour weekend. Jan even managed to fell some trees, and I got a chunk of marking done. Jan has been very busy in the garden, and has recycled an old door from Nelson Pine as cloches:
John Fitz returns in a couple of weeks, bringing with him Jan's new bike, a Triumph Tiger:
Barb has been in the US (Maryland) for a few weeks, visiting Joe and his family, and got some great photos at Montego Bay & on Assateauge:
Next weekend we are helping out at the Big Beach Cleanup, and doing some more gardening chores. The weekend after that, we have a 1920s party to go to (...I have no idea what we will go as!). I will be in Auckland from Sun 16 to Tues 18 Nov at a CDANZ meeting, Symposium and AGM; and the weekend after that is our Anniversary BBQ. Man, where has the year gone?!
We may possibly have a trip to Dunedin to visit some family sites of interest next February, but we are unsure as yet. However, Jan & I are definitely planning a trip to Brazil next April (back in time for Beck's wedding if we can manage it), and we will both be up in Auckland in May for my graduation.
Right, that's all for now: more in a couple of weeks. Keep well!
Sam (& Jan)
Here I am again.
Jan has been on a week long residential course in Christchurch. He caught up with Jenny & Bertie while down there, and has come back with lots of plans for work: so all good... provided he gets time to implement what he wants to, and doesn't get road-blocked too much.
While he was away, I revamped my website and got my marks back for my Master's (A). All good. Had a few storms go through, but most haven't touched us here in the Moutere:
 |
| Roses Road looking east, storm going along the Nelson ranges, Oct 2014 |
 |
| Greenhill Rehearsal at Stoke Memorial Hall, Oct 2014 |
Davinia Caddy was good, and, as this lecture was held in the Granary Festival Café, we enjoyed a good coffee and a stonking chocolate chip biscuit while listening. We also caught up with Derek Sherwood for a good chat (and briefly with Kate between her performances).
All in all, a great labour weekend. Jan even managed to fell some trees, and I got a chunk of marking done. Jan has been very busy in the garden, and has recycled an old door from Nelson Pine as cloches:
John Fitz returns in a couple of weeks, bringing with him Jan's new bike, a Triumph Tiger:
 |
| Jan's new bike: Triumph Tiger 800, 2014 Reg |
 |
| Barb showing us this is definitely Assateague, Oct 2014 |
 |
| Patience (Joe's sister) & Barb, Assateauge, Oct 2014 |
 |
| Awesome light at Montego Bay: Joe reads while carrying Barb's shoes (!) |
We may possibly have a trip to Dunedin to visit some family sites of interest next February, but we are unsure as yet. However, Jan & I are definitely planning a trip to Brazil next April (back in time for Beck's wedding if we can manage it), and we will both be up in Auckland in May for my graduation.
Right, that's all for now: more in a couple of weeks. Keep well!
Sam (& Jan)
29 October 2014
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