It is July, midwinter--still getting used to that. We are past the shortest day, so someday soon it will be light by 7, but not now. I went to a conference in Dunedin, a far piece south of here--almost to the bottom of the South Island--last week, and it was even darker there, and colder, but nothing like Kansas cold. It was a university town--30,000 of the 110,000 inhabitants are students--and the oldest university in New Zealand (that's not that old...maybe 100 years? maybe a bit more?). I liked it, but really didn't get to see much of it because it was dark by the time we got done with the conference every day, and I didn't really have time to linger. Emily stayed in the boarding house at her school, and enjoyed it, at least for a five-day stint. Joseph held down the fort at home, eating nothing but chicken tenders and pizza, as far as I can tell.
The day after I got back was Book Character day at Emily's school, and I realized as I dropped her off that this is the Halloween equivalent here. They barely celebrate Halloween, and not at all at school, so I'd been kind of sad she was missing out on dressing up and parading around--but then they have this day, which is the culmination of Book Week (they have some authors come and talk to them--not sure what other things go on), when they get to dress up as a character from a book, and they talk about it for weeks, and come in an array of costumes, from casual (a bow and a book, and you're Matilda) to elaborate (I saw a girl in an enormous hoop skirt and wig struggling out of a car). Emily was Robin Hood's daughter. Don't ask me what book that was.
Joseph was off long before dawn this morning to a "fixture" in Auckland--that is where all the sports teams from one school go to another school and play all of their teams. Joseph is on the chess team, and looks a little out of place with all the jocks in their school track suits...then tonight, at midnight, he and a friend are going to the opening of the last Harry Potter movie. Complex emotions. I have no idea what his are. Then, Friday morning, he leaves for Greece and Italy, with his school Classics class.
My sister Sarah is here, hanging out with Emily during the day, as Emily is on the break between terms (she has three weeks). She has been here two days and is nearly recovered from the trip, I think. She and Emily and Charlie walked to Hamilton Gardens, a big park a good walk away, between rain showers yesterday.
We've got the basics of Manford's memorial garden put in, now, and I can see it out the living room window, where he spent his last month. There is a Japanese maple in back of the Buddha, but it is just a stick right now--and the flowers are barely there, but in time I think it will be lovely. I am working on some mosaic on stones at the hospice art therapy group to add one of these days.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Twenty years on
We have celebrated, and weathered, Manford and my 20th wedding anniversary this week. The last month or two have been hard, I suppose the reality of loss setting in and work no longer working as a way to get away, so I approached the anniversary worried, and with a bad cold. Most of our big days are spread across two days here, now, since the date comes first here, then in the US, and we are not sure which is the real anniversary. So on the 26th, here, I had lunch with a friend who brought beautiful flowers, and had a massage, and at home with the kids we lit a candle after dinner and looked at wedding and honeymoon pictures (which Emily loves to do). We remembered many friends and family that way, some of whom are gone, some changed a lot, some changed very little. Then on the 27th, I had six friends over and we opened the bottle of wine Manford and I brought back from St. Victor la Coste, where we spent much of our honeymoon. The wine was a bit harsh, but the company was good, and we toasted Manford.
This time of year is the most confusing for me here; I don’t know if that is worse this year or if it is just the juxtaposition of it being May, but so clearly autumnal, that I can never figure out what the date is, and feel very disoriented. Here they would say “disorientated,” but I can’t bring myself to do that. It is a beautiful sunny day at the moment, but there are big grey clouds hanging about and it could change rapidly. We have some amazing varieties of fungal life growing in the garden, the most spectacular of which is called a basket or lattice fungus, apparently, and it looks like something man-made. First there is a small roundish brown egglike thing in the grass, and then out pops a white structure like a latticework ball, about as big as a softball. A few days later, it collapses and stinks. Apparently it is part of the “stinkhorn” family, but it is definitely not hornlike.
At Easter, we went on a trip to Wellington and then on to Nelson, at the top of the South Island. All three of us went to Wellington, and ate good food and explored for a couple of days before Joseph went up to Young Friends Camp at Whanganui, and Emily and I went on the ferry to the South Island. We drove to Nelson, and spent four days there. It was a bit rainy, but on Good Friday (which is a holiday there, along with Easter Monday) it was not yet rainy and we got to go sea kayaking and got very close to a dozen or so seals. I also learned to try to steer with my feet (the double sea kayak has a rudder controlled by foot pedals) and coordinate paddling with Emily, which was challenging because she has learned to kayak in smaller single kayaks where she steers by paddling strategically or chaotically, depending on her whim. At least she has gotten over her previous habit of dropping the paddle every ten minutes.
We had a good time, but punctuated by the realization that everywhere in New Zealand (and the rest of the world) is either somewhere I went with Manford, or somewhere I didn’t go with Manford. Maybe we need to work on taking him with us, still. Happy Anniversary, my love, and everyone else who remembers it.
This time of year is the most confusing for me here; I don’t know if that is worse this year or if it is just the juxtaposition of it being May, but so clearly autumnal, that I can never figure out what the date is, and feel very disoriented. Here they would say “disorientated,” but I can’t bring myself to do that. It is a beautiful sunny day at the moment, but there are big grey clouds hanging about and it could change rapidly. We have some amazing varieties of fungal life growing in the garden, the most spectacular of which is called a basket or lattice fungus, apparently, and it looks like something man-made. First there is a small roundish brown egglike thing in the grass, and then out pops a white structure like a latticework ball, about as big as a softball. A few days later, it collapses and stinks. Apparently it is part of the “stinkhorn” family, but it is definitely not hornlike.
At Easter, we went on a trip to Wellington and then on to Nelson, at the top of the South Island. All three of us went to Wellington, and ate good food and explored for a couple of days before Joseph went up to Young Friends Camp at Whanganui, and Emily and I went on the ferry to the South Island. We drove to Nelson, and spent four days there. It was a bit rainy, but on Good Friday (which is a holiday there, along with Easter Monday) it was not yet rainy and we got to go sea kayaking and got very close to a dozen or so seals. I also learned to try to steer with my feet (the double sea kayak has a rudder controlled by foot pedals) and coordinate paddling with Emily, which was challenging because she has learned to kayak in smaller single kayaks where she steers by paddling strategically or chaotically, depending on her whim. At least she has gotten over her previous habit of dropping the paddle every ten minutes.
We had a good time, but punctuated by the realization that everywhere in New Zealand (and the rest of the world) is either somewhere I went with Manford, or somewhere I didn’t go with Manford. Maybe we need to work on taking him with us, still. Happy Anniversary, my love, and everyone else who remembers it.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A month later
It seems like it has been a long month, though most of what is happening is not to us--upheaval of all sorts in many parts of the world. Here, Emily has happily joined the ranks of the myopic...she has been waiting for years for the coming-of-age that getting glasses seems to represent for her. Or the joining the family, or something--she felt left out being the only one without glasses. Now she is not different any more, and seems to be adapting well to wearing her glasses most of the time, though she doesn't really need them all that much...
We enjoyed visiting with Carleen and Bob Franz, from Lawrence, over the last week or so--Carleen was here visiting a friend in Taupo, and then Bob joined her and they came her for a couple of days, during which she graciously taught one of my classes and talked with some people at Emily's school about learning disabilities--maybe sowing some seeds to come back and do more exploring.
Charlie and I have been enjoying morning walks in the part, but the dawn comes later and later every day, and is encroaching on the time I need to prod Emily into getting ready for school. Our time has not changed yet, but will in a couple of weeks. The weather is still lovely, though--almost like Fall sometimes, then slipping back to summer. I was corrected in the tea room, though, for calling it Fall. Autumn.
I have been trying to fathom structural equation modeling, which I think was not really invented yet when I took statistics. The good news is that I am starting to putter around in some data that has been sitting here for nine months, waiting expectantly(maybe appropriately, being as it is about pregnancy). But there is always more to know, more to learn, more to do.
We enjoyed visiting with Carleen and Bob Franz, from Lawrence, over the last week or so--Carleen was here visiting a friend in Taupo, and then Bob joined her and they came her for a couple of days, during which she graciously taught one of my classes and talked with some people at Emily's school about learning disabilities--maybe sowing some seeds to come back and do more exploring.
Charlie and I have been enjoying morning walks in the part, but the dawn comes later and later every day, and is encroaching on the time I need to prod Emily into getting ready for school. Our time has not changed yet, but will in a couple of weeks. The weather is still lovely, though--almost like Fall sometimes, then slipping back to summer. I was corrected in the tea room, though, for calling it Fall. Autumn.
I have been trying to fathom structural equation modeling, which I think was not really invented yet when I took statistics. The good news is that I am starting to putter around in some data that has been sitting here for nine months, waiting expectantly(maybe appropriately, being as it is about pregnancy). But there is always more to know, more to learn, more to do.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Severe earthquake in Christchurch--not here
We are just hearing about the severe--not so high on the Richter Scale, but very damaging--earthquake in Christchurch today. No, we didn't feel it; it is very far away, but we are sad for the people there, and for the loss of some beautiful old buildings. I just saw a picture of the Christchurch cathedral, a centre city landmark which I think is in one of these old blog pictures, with the top broken off. I hear there has been loss of life (which fortunately there was not in the last big quake there) and much damage downtown. We can all hold them in the light.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Orlando report, while I still remember...
Time is slipping by; I went back to work this week, and am figuring out how to juggle and/or coordinate things. Emily tried out for Girl's Choir(which is a chapel choir, which means things I'm not sure I yet understand) for the third year in a row, and got in this year, much to her delight. This means she has rehearsal after school until 5 on Wednesdays (which is good, no after school care that day) and before school at 7:45 on Fridays (which is good, I get to go to work early, but this Friday we nearly forgot, which would have been a fatal error and she is convinced would have meant she was kicked out of choir, but I remembered at 7:20, five minutes after she got out of bed, and we made it...). Joseph does not have Chemistry, because of a scheduling conflict and a full class, so he has one open period this year, and is enjoying sleeping in on Tuesdays and planning two groups of Dungeons and Dragons followers. He is the dungeonmaster, which means he makes up the plot, kind of, and it seems to involve quite a lot of more careful notetaking than I've ever seen him do for school...
Step back three weeks, to Orlando...We spent one day at Harry Potter Wizarding World (or, more correctly, at Islands of Adventure, which includes HPWW), and one at Disney World Magic Kingdom. We stayed at one of the hotels affiliated with Universal, so we could just take a water taxi to HPWW, and got in an hour early, at 8 a.m. This might not have been Joseph's ideal plan, but I dragged him out of bed and we did go early, because I had insider's tips from the night before in the hot tub, when I talked with several young men who worked at HPWW. They said go to Olivander's Wand Shop first, because it has the longest lines, and then the Forbidden Journey, which is the Hogwarts Castle ride. So this is what we did.
As you can see in some of the early pictures, when we got there it was to a very empty park. There were a couple of dozen people from the park hotels, all making a beeline for HPWW. Islands of Adventure consists of six different themed areas--Dr. Suess (which Emily and I enjoyed), Marvel Comics (where Joseph went after HPWW), Tune Lagoon (old fashioned comics like Blondie and Popeye), Jurassic Park, Lost Continent (sort of vaguely classical mythology) and HPWW. Each has a few rides and/or shows, and lots of shops...
Harry Potter Wizarding World was very well done--it consists of an entry with a very small bow to the Hogwarts Express--part of a train and a little station, and a street that is kind of a blend of Hogsmead and Diagon Alley--it has many shops and two restaurants, the Three Broomsticks and the Hogs Head, though really they are the same building. Some of the shops are just storefronts, but there are plenty you can buy things in...a candy shop (Honeydukes), a joke shop (Zonko's), Flourish and Blotts, which should be a bookstore but is miscellaneous souvenirs...and Olivander's, the wand shop, where we did start. They let in a few people at a time into what is essentially a show in the shop, where Mr. Olivander picks and child (Emily was disappointed not to be picked, but enjoyed it anyway) and he goes through the process of having the child test out three wands, in roughly the sequence Harry experiences in the first book--the first wand makes all the wand boxes bang and rattle, the second collapses some shelves, and the third glows and makes magic happen...then you all move out and the parents of the chosen child get to buy the wand, if they so desire...and everyone else can buy a wand, of course. We have wands, so we did not need to buy one.
Emily was wearing Quidditch robes--the red and gold robe Sue Wine made, with minor assistance from me, for Joseph's long-ago Halloween costume. He wore it several years, and Emily has been making good use of it lately. Joseph just wore one of his regular Harry Potter t-shirts, and acting nonchalant...
Then we sped on over to Hogwarts, it still being before 8:30 in the morning, and there was no line for the Forbidden Journey, which actually turned out to be something of a disadvantage. They have designed the ride so that you walk through the castle, presumably slowly if you are in line. We kind of dashed through, not taking sufficient time to appreciate the detail, which included talking pictures and interesting magical instruments. We went through Dumbledore's office, which had a hologram of Dumbledore talking, and the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, where Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking, and dashed onward. Later, Joseph and I went back and realized that these were setting up the premise to the ride. We were students, going to a History of Magic Lesson (boring, taught by a ghost), and Harry, Ron and Hermione were scheming to fly us out of the castle to escape the lesson (the Forbidden Journey). We arrived in the Griffindor Common Room and sat in chairs (the ride) and took off. The ride was a bit harrowing. If I hadn't been worried about Emily being traumatized, I would have enjoyed it a bit more, but really she was ok, an parts of it were fun...I liked the parts where we were flying on a broomstick, following Harry out over the castle and landscape. I wasn't as fond of the parts where we were approached by dementors, giant spiders, and a dragon...I think Emily had her eyes shut through much of it, but somehow she seems to remember more of it than I do, or at least with more certainty about what happened when...They took a picture of us during it, and Emily has her eyes shut and her hands over her ears, I am gazing upward as if praying or god knows what, and Joseph looks carefully composed. Come to think of it, I bought a download of the picture, and so will get it sometime and post it if I can. Emily claimed to be very embarrassed by it, but did take the hard copy we bought to school last week...
All the rides these days dump you out into a shop, where you can spend hundreds of dollars, if you wish. We accummulated many odds and ends, but resisted early in the day. After the ride, we went to the Three Broomsticks for breakfast, including the first taste of butterbeer, which was a very sweet version butterscotchy creme soda. Then we wandered around Hogsmead as it got more crowded, and by 9:30 had basically seen it all...there are two more rides in HPWW, but they are both roller coasters and neither of the kids were very interested in going on them. Emily and I went to Suess Landing, where we enjoyed the colorful kiddie rides and went on Cat in the Hat three times and the CaroSeussal twice. There were almost no people there because all the new people had dashed straight for HPWW. Later we walked around the park with Joseph, seeing Captain America and Dinosaurs and all, and had lunch at Mythos, which claims to be the best theme park restaurant in the world. That may be true (the competition is not all that stiff); it was kind of like a real restaurant.
After wandering the now-crowded shops of Hogsmead and buying more Harry Potter stuff (two new shirts for Joseph, Emily's first HP shirt, a quill, keychains, cards, a Gryffindor cap and luggage tag...), we dragged ourselves back to the hotel to rest. Joseph and I returned later in the afternoon for a second look. It had been a cloudy but warm (for winter) day. I think it would be miserable in summer. At 6:00, just as Joseph and I were leaving to go back to the hotel, it started pouring, complete with thunder and lightening so that the water taxi did not operate and we had to wander around trying to find the other shuttle back to the hotel, getting thoroughly soaked and returning to find Emily hiding under the covers. We got room service and holed up in our hotel room, looking at our loot.
The next day, we had a more leisurely morning, not rushing to get to Disney World. Joseph might disagree, since anything that involves getting up before 10 seems like rushing to him. We took a cab to Disney World, which is a city, if not a county, of its own, about 20 minutes from where Universal's domain is. There are four theme parks and two water parks and thousands (probaby tens of thousands, really) of hotel rooms and hundreds of shops in Disney World. We went to the Magic Kingdom, the traditional Disneyland-ish park. With Fairy tale castle, Small World, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, etc. No Matterhorn, though. It was pleasant enough...neither of the kids is really into wild rides, though; Joseph went on Space Mountain, and Emily and I wandered around and enjoyed a Buzz Lightyear ride that involved shooting things. I dragged both kids to Small World, where we found they do have a small New Zealand bit, and to the Haunted Mansion, which was a bit much for Emily. So she didn't go on Pirates of the Caribbean, which was probably a good choice. We had lunch that was no competition for Mythos, and enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic, which was a 3D movie zooming through various Disney shows. I couldn't convince the kids to see the Hall of Presidents...another spin at Buzz Lightyear, some real American ice cream on Main Street, and we were done. Enough theme park for a few years...
Step back three weeks, to Orlando...We spent one day at Harry Potter Wizarding World (or, more correctly, at Islands of Adventure, which includes HPWW), and one at Disney World Magic Kingdom. We stayed at one of the hotels affiliated with Universal, so we could just take a water taxi to HPWW, and got in an hour early, at 8 a.m. This might not have been Joseph's ideal plan, but I dragged him out of bed and we did go early, because I had insider's tips from the night before in the hot tub, when I talked with several young men who worked at HPWW. They said go to Olivander's Wand Shop first, because it has the longest lines, and then the Forbidden Journey, which is the Hogwarts Castle ride. So this is what we did.
As you can see in some of the early pictures, when we got there it was to a very empty park. There were a couple of dozen people from the park hotels, all making a beeline for HPWW. Islands of Adventure consists of six different themed areas--Dr. Suess (which Emily and I enjoyed), Marvel Comics (where Joseph went after HPWW), Tune Lagoon (old fashioned comics like Blondie and Popeye), Jurassic Park, Lost Continent (sort of vaguely classical mythology) and HPWW. Each has a few rides and/or shows, and lots of shops...
Harry Potter Wizarding World was very well done--it consists of an entry with a very small bow to the Hogwarts Express--part of a train and a little station, and a street that is kind of a blend of Hogsmead and Diagon Alley--it has many shops and two restaurants, the Three Broomsticks and the Hogs Head, though really they are the same building. Some of the shops are just storefronts, but there are plenty you can buy things in...a candy shop (Honeydukes), a joke shop (Zonko's), Flourish and Blotts, which should be a bookstore but is miscellaneous souvenirs...and Olivander's, the wand shop, where we did start. They let in a few people at a time into what is essentially a show in the shop, where Mr. Olivander picks and child (Emily was disappointed not to be picked, but enjoyed it anyway) and he goes through the process of having the child test out three wands, in roughly the sequence Harry experiences in the first book--the first wand makes all the wand boxes bang and rattle, the second collapses some shelves, and the third glows and makes magic happen...then you all move out and the parents of the chosen child get to buy the wand, if they so desire...and everyone else can buy a wand, of course. We have wands, so we did not need to buy one.
Emily was wearing Quidditch robes--the red and gold robe Sue Wine made, with minor assistance from me, for Joseph's long-ago Halloween costume. He wore it several years, and Emily has been making good use of it lately. Joseph just wore one of his regular Harry Potter t-shirts, and acting nonchalant...
Then we sped on over to Hogwarts, it still being before 8:30 in the morning, and there was no line for the Forbidden Journey, which actually turned out to be something of a disadvantage. They have designed the ride so that you walk through the castle, presumably slowly if you are in line. We kind of dashed through, not taking sufficient time to appreciate the detail, which included talking pictures and interesting magical instruments. We went through Dumbledore's office, which had a hologram of Dumbledore talking, and the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, where Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking, and dashed onward. Later, Joseph and I went back and realized that these were setting up the premise to the ride. We were students, going to a History of Magic Lesson (boring, taught by a ghost), and Harry, Ron and Hermione were scheming to fly us out of the castle to escape the lesson (the Forbidden Journey). We arrived in the Griffindor Common Room and sat in chairs (the ride) and took off. The ride was a bit harrowing. If I hadn't been worried about Emily being traumatized, I would have enjoyed it a bit more, but really she was ok, an parts of it were fun...I liked the parts where we were flying on a broomstick, following Harry out over the castle and landscape. I wasn't as fond of the parts where we were approached by dementors, giant spiders, and a dragon...I think Emily had her eyes shut through much of it, but somehow she seems to remember more of it than I do, or at least with more certainty about what happened when...They took a picture of us during it, and Emily has her eyes shut and her hands over her ears, I am gazing upward as if praying or god knows what, and Joseph looks carefully composed. Come to think of it, I bought a download of the picture, and so will get it sometime and post it if I can. Emily claimed to be very embarrassed by it, but did take the hard copy we bought to school last week...
All the rides these days dump you out into a shop, where you can spend hundreds of dollars, if you wish. We accummulated many odds and ends, but resisted early in the day. After the ride, we went to the Three Broomsticks for breakfast, including the first taste of butterbeer, which was a very sweet version butterscotchy creme soda. Then we wandered around Hogsmead as it got more crowded, and by 9:30 had basically seen it all...there are two more rides in HPWW, but they are both roller coasters and neither of the kids were very interested in going on them. Emily and I went to Suess Landing, where we enjoyed the colorful kiddie rides and went on Cat in the Hat three times and the CaroSeussal twice. There were almost no people there because all the new people had dashed straight for HPWW. Later we walked around the park with Joseph, seeing Captain America and Dinosaurs and all, and had lunch at Mythos, which claims to be the best theme park restaurant in the world. That may be true (the competition is not all that stiff); it was kind of like a real restaurant.
After wandering the now-crowded shops of Hogsmead and buying more Harry Potter stuff (two new shirts for Joseph, Emily's first HP shirt, a quill, keychains, cards, a Gryffindor cap and luggage tag...), we dragged ourselves back to the hotel to rest. Joseph and I returned later in the afternoon for a second look. It had been a cloudy but warm (for winter) day. I think it would be miserable in summer. At 6:00, just as Joseph and I were leaving to go back to the hotel, it started pouring, complete with thunder and lightening so that the water taxi did not operate and we had to wander around trying to find the other shuttle back to the hotel, getting thoroughly soaked and returning to find Emily hiding under the covers. We got room service and holed up in our hotel room, looking at our loot.
The next day, we had a more leisurely morning, not rushing to get to Disney World. Joseph might disagree, since anything that involves getting up before 10 seems like rushing to him. We took a cab to Disney World, which is a city, if not a county, of its own, about 20 minutes from where Universal's domain is. There are four theme parks and two water parks and thousands (probaby tens of thousands, really) of hotel rooms and hundreds of shops in Disney World. We went to the Magic Kingdom, the traditional Disneyland-ish park. With Fairy tale castle, Small World, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, etc. No Matterhorn, though. It was pleasant enough...neither of the kids is really into wild rides, though; Joseph went on Space Mountain, and Emily and I wandered around and enjoyed a Buzz Lightyear ride that involved shooting things. I dragged both kids to Small World, where we found they do have a small New Zealand bit, and to the Haunted Mansion, which was a bit much for Emily. So she didn't go on Pirates of the Caribbean, which was probably a good choice. We had lunch that was no competition for Mythos, and enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic, which was a 3D movie zooming through various Disney shows. I couldn't convince the kids to see the Hall of Presidents...another spin at Buzz Lightyear, some real American ice cream on Main Street, and we were done. Enough theme park for a few years...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Home again, home again...
We arrived back in New Zealand Tuesday morning, before dawn--an hour early, as I guess we had a nice tailwind. All our travels (on four different airlines) while in the US were fine, too, and we are grateful not to be trying to get around there this week...our sympathies to all who are snowed or iced in.
We spend Tuesday in a bit of a haze, but at least got all the suitcases unpacked, and the house looked great, thanks to our nice Italian housesitters. They seem to have had a mutually enjoyable time with Charlie, who is happy and furry and due for a trim. Sirius is also fine and enjoying the rain-enriched grass in the front yard.
Joseph started school on Wednesday, poor thing; he tried to shave off his beard (waited until that morning...) and ended up looking scruffy but clearly had made the effort so he didn't get in trouble at school...we will take him to the barber today to see if they can do it right. He is still working on straightening out his classes, but it looks like he will be able to take all he wants to, which would be Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Programming, Classics, and English. I have a list of mysterious school supplies to buy now--such as: 2B8 ruled 7mm, 94 leaf stiff covered lecture book (he needs two of these) and A415Z8 5 tab indices. Actually, this all goes fairly well at the stationery store, we hope, but sometimes by this time they are out of the more exotic math supplies. We'll see.
Emily started school today, with great excitement and some trepidation. She is in Year 7, which means she has moved upstairs. Her teacher is...something that started with C, and an Irish accent. She seemed very nice, and her closest friend was in her class, saving a seat for her. She wore the somewhat voluminous blazer of a girl who moved away last year and gave us her uniform, kindly, before she went...good thing, because her old blazer and all her (grubby, but official) ties seem to have disappeared into someplace I put them cleverly before we left.
And I have two days before I start back at work (plus the weekend). I will leave soon to have tea with a friend whose husband used to be in the hospice art group with us, and who died of a similar kind of tumor as Manford, while we were gone. Then I will do some of the medical appointments I have not got around to for the last six months (bone density, fibroid scan) and peruse the school supplies before getting Emily.
Yes, I will write about our trip, and Wizarding World. It was good. I spent much of yesterday afternoon going through pictures (I seem to have taken 786 of them) on our pokey computer, and then it wouldn't open the blog. More later, I promise. If I can get the computer to work, or if I buy a new one.
We spend Tuesday in a bit of a haze, but at least got all the suitcases unpacked, and the house looked great, thanks to our nice Italian housesitters. They seem to have had a mutually enjoyable time with Charlie, who is happy and furry and due for a trim. Sirius is also fine and enjoying the rain-enriched grass in the front yard.
Joseph started school on Wednesday, poor thing; he tried to shave off his beard (waited until that morning...) and ended up looking scruffy but clearly had made the effort so he didn't get in trouble at school...we will take him to the barber today to see if they can do it right. He is still working on straightening out his classes, but it looks like he will be able to take all he wants to, which would be Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Programming, Classics, and English. I have a list of mysterious school supplies to buy now--such as: 2B8 ruled 7mm, 94 leaf stiff covered lecture book (he needs two of these) and A415Z8 5 tab indices. Actually, this all goes fairly well at the stationery store, we hope, but sometimes by this time they are out of the more exotic math supplies. We'll see.
Emily started school today, with great excitement and some trepidation. She is in Year 7, which means she has moved upstairs. Her teacher is...something that started with C, and an Irish accent. She seemed very nice, and her closest friend was in her class, saving a seat for her. She wore the somewhat voluminous blazer of a girl who moved away last year and gave us her uniform, kindly, before she went...good thing, because her old blazer and all her (grubby, but official) ties seem to have disappeared into someplace I put them cleverly before we left.
And I have two days before I start back at work (plus the weekend). I will leave soon to have tea with a friend whose husband used to be in the hospice art group with us, and who died of a similar kind of tumor as Manford, while we were gone. Then I will do some of the medical appointments I have not got around to for the last six months (bone density, fibroid scan) and peruse the school supplies before getting Emily.
Yes, I will write about our trip, and Wizarding World. It was good. I spent much of yesterday afternoon going through pictures (I seem to have taken 786 of them) on our pokey computer, and then it wouldn't open the blog. More later, I promise. If I can get the computer to work, or if I buy a new one.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Halfway there (more, really)
We are in Sacramento, and halfway recovered from the flight, on which we did not get a lot of sleep this time, for some reason. We were in the middle of the plane, though we did get to sit together (it didn't look like we could when I booked it, but they shifted around easily). A friend drove us from San Francisco to Sacramento, and we all slept 10 or 12 hours last night. Today we accomplished the buying of shoes for everyone, as well as buying a lot of miscellaneous at Target...there is just nothing like Target in New Zealand.
Tomorrow we will be in Kansas, hoping to see snow everywhere but on the roads...
Tomorrow we will be in Kansas, hoping to see snow everywhere but on the roads...
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday
Yes, it is Friday here already, and we had the memorial service here today. It was held at the university chapel, where Hamilton Friends meet, and was very nice, except for being very hot...I guess we are usually there in the morning, and not in the heat of summer. Anyway, there were about 80 people there, which is more than expected, especially given that half of New Zealand is at the beach right now (possibly more than half). We had a mix of Quakers from Hamilton, a few from Auckland, and two families who where hanging around after Summer Gathering--and also neighbors, the kids' friends, colleagues, students, members of the brain tumor support group. Kiwis are shy, though, and not many spoke in the Meeting; one played "Amazing Grace" on the flute, which was lovely. One Auckland Friend is from Kansas, and she brought sunflowers. The kids had good support from their friends (as did I) and the powerpoint slideshow worked fine, thanks to technical support from the psychology department. As well as my friend Kyle, who figured out how to make the music files work (I don't usually have background music in my lectures...).
I will attach a picture of the Rimu casket with Manford's ashes. Most of them; we have some to bring to Kansas, along with all the necessary legal documenation to make sure we are not smuggling cocaine...
We are looking forward to the Kansas memorial, with people who have known Manford so well and so long. It is confirmed for 2:00 on Sunday, January 16th at the Governor's Row House. We will be arriving in Kansas on Friday evening, and staying about ten days, and then off to Harry Potterland in Orlando. Almost all arrangements made...
Now we are replete with Kiwi comfort food, which is unfortunately not necessarily compatible with my stomach...sausage rolls, bacon and egg pies. lots of them. and then there are asparagus rolls, which are overcooked pieces of asparagus wrapped in a buttered slice of white bread...we have some nice apple cucumbers from our garden, though, and pineapple and various fruit that were cut in inedible ways by the caterers and so were left over...we also have some large flat kind of cake I have not identified, but might be good. But mainly, we have about 20 servings of bacon and egg pie, which only Emily really likes...maybe she will be a Kiwi after all. She also likes meat pies (mince and cheese). Not fish and chips, though.
I will attach a picture of the Rimu casket with Manford's ashes. Most of them; we have some to bring to Kansas, along with all the necessary legal documenation to make sure we are not smuggling cocaine...
We are looking forward to the Kansas memorial, with people who have known Manford so well and so long. It is confirmed for 2:00 on Sunday, January 16th at the Governor's Row House. We will be arriving in Kansas on Friday evening, and staying about ten days, and then off to Harry Potterland in Orlando. Almost all arrangements made...
Now we are replete with Kiwi comfort food, which is unfortunately not necessarily compatible with my stomach...sausage rolls, bacon and egg pies. lots of them. and then there are asparagus rolls, which are overcooked pieces of asparagus wrapped in a buttered slice of white bread...we have some nice apple cucumbers from our garden, though, and pineapple and various fruit that were cut in inedible ways by the caterers and so were left over...we also have some large flat kind of cake I have not identified, but might be good. But mainly, we have about 20 servings of bacon and egg pie, which only Emily really likes...maybe she will be a Kiwi after all. She also likes meat pies (mince and cheese). Not fish and chips, though.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Busy Days
The last two days have been filled with friends helping, and more food than we can eat, and we are making progress. We will have a memorial service here in Hamilton on Friday, Jan 7 at 2:00 at the University Chapel (which is where our Meeting meets). Then next week the kids and I will fly to the US, and it looks like we will be having a memorial service at the Governor's Row House (ok, this is only 97% confirmed, but I will say if it is different) at 2:00 on Sunday, January 16th. Where we got married, for those who are old enough to remember.
We will hang around Kansas about a week, hoping for snow, and then fly to Florida to visit Diagon Alley and Hogwarts and whatever we can find, then back to Sacramento to grandma, before slipping back to New Zealand in time for the kids to start school at the beginning of February.
Right now I am wearing out our poor little netbook trying to make all these reservations and preparations and so on.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, again and again.
Carrie
We will hang around Kansas about a week, hoping for snow, and then fly to Florida to visit Diagon Alley and Hogwarts and whatever we can find, then back to Sacramento to grandma, before slipping back to New Zealand in time for the kids to start school at the beginning of February.
Right now I am wearing out our poor little netbook trying to make all these reservations and preparations and so on.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, again and again.
Carrie
Monday, January 3, 2011
Manford died at 5:55 this evening, while we were gathered around him singing ("In the Garden"). Joseph and Emily were here and are doing well; Joseph has gone back up to the summer gathering to be with friends there and say good-bye (it ends tomorrow), but he is coming home tonight, and Emily and I are about to go to sleep, at last.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers; we know you have been with us.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers; we know you have been with us.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy 1/1/11!
It's actually 2/1/11 here, now, but I enjoyed yesterday not worrying about which way the month and day go. I still have to think about it, especially in the potentially ambiguous first part of each month...
The kids are still at Quaker Gathering, but will come down for a visit this morning, both to see Manford, who is fading a bit, and to try to solve the Sirius problem...I can't remember if I wrote about his escape from his frontyard pen on Wednesday. I don't know how he got out; I managed to tempt him with a particularly juicy piece of grass, but that was after 10 minutes of running around the yard...I hope they can observe him and see what he tries, because he has been missing some lovely days in solitary confinement in his indoor hutch.
Manford has been struggling with another urinary tract infection, and has been awake mainly only when it hurts the last 24 hours. They have increased his morphine, and he seemed to be sleeping comfortably most of the time, but he hasn't eaten anything or drunk much since Friday (2 days ago). I am learning many new skills I hope will never come in handy again...but have many friends, Friends, and professionals helping.
I had a nice talk with Sue and John Wine in Topeka yesterday, and heard it was almost as warm there as here a couple of days ago. The kids will be disappointed to hear that...they think it is always all snowy winter idyllic there now...it is summer idyllic here now, high of maybe 80, with a nice breeze.
Happy New Year!
Carrie
The kids are still at Quaker Gathering, but will come down for a visit this morning, both to see Manford, who is fading a bit, and to try to solve the Sirius problem...I can't remember if I wrote about his escape from his frontyard pen on Wednesday. I don't know how he got out; I managed to tempt him with a particularly juicy piece of grass, but that was after 10 minutes of running around the yard...I hope they can observe him and see what he tries, because he has been missing some lovely days in solitary confinement in his indoor hutch.
Manford has been struggling with another urinary tract infection, and has been awake mainly only when it hurts the last 24 hours. They have increased his morphine, and he seemed to be sleeping comfortably most of the time, but he hasn't eaten anything or drunk much since Friday (2 days ago). I am learning many new skills I hope will never come in handy again...but have many friends, Friends, and professionals helping.
I had a nice talk with Sue and John Wine in Topeka yesterday, and heard it was almost as warm there as here a couple of days ago. The kids will be disappointed to hear that...they think it is always all snowy winter idyllic there now...it is summer idyllic here now, high of maybe 80, with a nice breeze.
Happy New Year!
Carrie
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