Only in New Zealand?

The front page of the Auckland newspaper carried a story - Top Jockey in Intensive Care After Hunting Plunge - which started as follows: Top jockey Michael Walker was in intensive care last nightafter falling more than 10 meters into a gorge while pig hunting. Walker had to spend the night in the bush as one of two friends made the long trek out to raise the alarm. The 24-year-old was winched from a steep gorge at Okau, Taranaki, yesterday morning. He had slipped down a steep slope before falling a further eight metres into a narrow gorge. He suffered serious head injuries and, it is understood, a ruptured spleen and damaged shoulder. Taranaki Rescue Helicopter pilot David Manduell said Walker was saved from worse injuries by the dead pig he was carrying, which cushioned his fall into the gorge...(It is an interesting paper). Well my goals for the next seven days are to finish mowing the lawn, see a movie, and find a power cable and USB cable for my mP3 player, a SanDisk: if anybody has some ideas about how I could best do the latter task with the player, let me know at manfordb@gmail.com or manford_barber@hotmail.com, and thanks. We had clear skies and a "whole" moon, as a kid I was with called it one time, this morning. It is usually in the lower 40s in the morning, warming up as the day goes on and even if the ambient temperature is fairly low the intense sunlight warms you up. Emily gets to play badminton at school today, and sometimes soon Joseph will visit the local University library with the group of smart kids he is a member of, to get a library card. Take care. Manford

Manford's epiphany

Driving around town on the way to the barber shop I realized that while true that slow and steady wins the race sometimes you have to ramp it up - for examplek, when driving one has to ascertain if one can go or should wait and yield right of way to those coming from the right at traffic circles or turning right when one wants to turn left - and another example cooking class, where we have two hours to: listen to the instructor, prepare food, cook food, eat food, clean up. While I struggled mightily to cut up a hard squash (they are called pumpkins here) my partner pretty much cut up about four different other vegetables, some chicken, and dipped them in flour then in beaten eggs then in bread crumbs. Cook them in a litre of one hundred eighty degree oil, take them out when done, and later clean up your mess and the dishes you used - we are having the course at a local boys high-school. You serve the cooked things with finely cut cabbage and some tomato slices and in an ideal world with miso soup and rice. So went the first cooking class. You have to ramp it up because there is not time to lolligag. Emily sometimes goofs around in violin lesson, but seems to be learning a little in spite of herself. She is taking a course each Saturday that is supposed to encourage critical thinking - using visual stimuli as a base for this round - and Tuesdays goes to an hour long dram class that supposedly helps her increase her confidence and have sweeter breath, I believe though I am not sure of the latter. I am going to have to buy some new pants as the ones I currently have keep falling down even when buttoned and belted - all the walking and less eating has gotten my weight down to below 190 lbs. The weather this afternoon is beautiful, but as the year goes on it gets dark earlier and earlier - around six now. Well our best to all our readers. Thanks for taking the time to read thisk, and we wish you well. Manford

Some firsts and some other stuff

Greetings. It is Thursday morning here, Emily is home, she did not go to school because she felt unwell; Charlie is on the bed again; it is cloudy (yesterday was very fine - clear, blue sky all day). We had our first frost yesterday - had to scrape the windows of the cars we typically leave parked in the driveway rather than in the garage - so may change our parking spot to inside soon. The North Island had its first snow - a light dusting - in a few places - enough to get a picture of it in the newspaper. We have been following the political race between Obama and Clinton with some interest - will vote (truly far away) absentee this year. I start a cooking class in Japanese cuisine next week - first night is fried pork with cabbage, onions and beans, according to the ingredient list they sent to me. Joseph left yesterday for a two and a half day retreat with his JEEP cohorts - JEEP does not mean a car but is an acronym for Junior Enrichment and Extension Programme - I believe it collects the brighter kids into a group and offers them some special activities - Joseph hasn't said much about it. I ran across a fairly powerfully written book - "The Master Butchers SInging Club" by Louise Erdrich - if you find it I think you will at least find it interesting. I had my consult with my neurologist on Tuesday - he said I seemed a little better than at the previous visit and wants me to try one additional med that seems to cause people to be cheerier and move a little better. Then I recused myself from physical therapy because I felt I had received maximum benefit for my right arm - it still is somewhat sore in certain positions but time will take care of that, I think. This past Saturday I had a session with a practioner of the Alexander method - invented by an Australian doctor it felt like energy healing in some ways - the therapist works on reducing tightnesses in various locations with light touch - I will learn more about it as time goes by - I sure felt better after the session. Emily has been reading with her mom each evening - they are doing the Chronicles of Narnia now. The local busiinesses sure are heavily advertising Mother's Day - they are hurting for business, I read, and the economy has been hurt somewhat by rising prices for staples like milk (over four dollars for a two liter bottle at our neighborhood food store), and gasoline (near two dollars a liter). I am thinking about interviewing myself at some point in the future and posting it here - we will see if I can do it well enough to want to share - will ask about my impressions of, and experiences with, New Zealanders and about overall impressions of our lives and activities - if you have any questions you think I should be asking myself feel free to send them to me at manford_barber@hotmail.com. I hope all who read this are having a good year. Thank You, Manford

It's May. Sorry.

I'm sorry I've been so remiss...I think New Zealand is mostly feeling like just life now, and it feels like not so much to write about, though we have been busy. My mother and Vince visited for 10 days in April, and we all went to a bach (house) on the beach, including Charlie, and had a nice time. It is Autumn here, but the weather in April was still unseasonably lovely, little rain while they were here. It was cold at night (New Zealand Baches, in particular, have little heat. New Zealand houses barely have heat. The bach had a fireplace, and Manford made fires), but when the sun came out, it warmed us up. Charlie and Emily had no trouble immersing themselves in the surf, which was just out our back door, but the rest of us were a bit more tentative. Charlie chased seagulls and rolled in the sand, and generally got really really messy, so when we returned she went to the groomers and got a really embarrassing haircut, kind of a doggie buzz. I have finally posted pictures from this, after some technical difficulties...

and we also went to visit a Kiwi grower, learned many sound bites about kiwis, which, according to the guide, are the world's most nutritious fruit (he cited a Rutgers Univ study, so maybe that's true...), and are BEST grown here in New Zealand, on volcanic soil...and got to ride in the Kiwi Cart, a kiwi-shaped train...then, a few days later, we visited the other sort of kiwi, the original, bird kind, in a facility where they hatch kiwi eggs that have been stolen from the poor kiwi dads, who sit on them in the bush but are not very successful at helping the little ones to survive the first six months of introduced predators and other stuff--so they hatch them and raise them for six months, and then set them loose (complete with microchips and all)--it was a really interesting place, and we got to see several kiwis, which is very difficult to do in the wild, since they are nocturnal, shy, and rare. In the photograph, they were administering ear drops to one of the birds who lives there full time since a stoat ate its foot off...

Then Grandma and Grandpa left (still recovering in Sacramento, though they said the flight really wasn't so bad), and Emily had her 8th birthday. Small party, by Topeka Collegiate standards--there is no school directory, and it was over school holidays, and we managed to get some invitations out before the end of school, but I am feeling somewhat at sea without her friends' names and phone numbers...anyway, we had a good time at the New Zealand Magic horse show, at a thoroughbred breeding and sales place about a half hour from here--they did a very nice show, with several kinds of horses, from miniature to Appaloosa to Thoroughbred, and the kids got to pet most of them, and ride one at the end, and the fellow who did the show was the horse trainer (and Gandalf double) for Lord of the Rings (they say half the people in New Zealand were extras in Lord of the Rings, and I'm beginning to believe it. the psychologist who spoke to our students yesterday was a hobbit). and one of the horses we saw was a unicorn in Narnia.

Joseph is off tomorrow to a three day camp with his school Enrichment programme...they are to hobnob with each other, contemplate the meaning of their giftedness to society, and experience "flow." All that is not very New Zealand, really; they call people who stand out "tall poppies," and often try to cut them down. I am afraid Joseph is ducking a bit, but he does seem to be happy, has nice friends, and is maybe a bit excited about the prospect of the project they're to start at this camp, called the "in-depth study." Study of what? not clear. Undecided. Maybe he will decide. He says it's like History Day, but there is no paper involved, and no project, and no competition. The camp is New Zealand enough that they are to bring swim suits ("togs") and swim in hot springs. And they actually did have a meeting at the school (the first we've been invited to since we've been here) to answer questions from the parents, and I got to speak with one of his teachers...

And Manford and I are planning a getaway to Wellington (the capitol, an hour's flight south), to spend a weekend doing grown up things and eating grown up food. The national museum there, Te Papa, is supposed to be very good, though the main thing they have been in the news for lately is defrosting (the hard part) and dissecting (interesting to some) the biggest giant squid ever caught. Which I suppose means that Emily would never set foot in the place, but we CAN, if we want to. we could even look at the squid. Or not.

Take care, and enjoy the sun, or spring rain, or whatever comes--
Carrie

I did it!

Well, I finally did it - I drove fairly long distances from Hamilton. First to Rotorua (about one and a half hours) then to Pukehina Beach (about an hour). I drove our BMW with Joseph and Emily on board. Carrie drove the Honda minivan, with her mom and step-dad and Charlie. We rented a house that sat right on the beach - which was very lightly peopled this time of year (autumn here). Charlie had a great time running on the beach and into the water, chasing sea gulls and the occasional cat, but always returning to us (oh, well, guess I will have to figure out some other wayna to get rid of her). Emily had her usual great time standing or sitting in the water. Fortunately the house had a wood burning stove for it got down in the 50's at night (Farenheit) and grandma and grandpa with their thinner California blood got pretty chilled. I was pleased to find that I can drive on New Zealand highways with only a little fear - roads are definitely narrower and curvier than in Kansas, at least, sometimes very curvy though not on the route we took. Charlie's fur was well matted and dirty so we took her to a pet groomer who pretty much shaved her and she now looks much smaller - Carrie will be posting pictures. Emily laughed and laughed when she saw the new, littler Charlie, and poor dog now shivers in the morning chill. We have had a visit with the in-laws - yesterday went and saw some Kiwi birds at a center that incubates and hatches Kiwi eggs found in the wild and keeps them for six months before releasing them back to their home range - maybe Carrie will blog more about that. I hope everyone is well and having a good year. Take care. Manford

hot-diggity-dawg!

Hooray! We are getting rain as I write this around noon Monday (Sunday in the US). If it keeps up the drought will be broken. And the other positive news of note is that I passed my test and am the proud owner of a (temporary until the permanent one comes in the mail) New Zealand driver's license. I had to jump through some hoops to do this - earlier being evaluated by an occupational therapist and a driving instructor who had to pass me if I was to get the license - and they did and sent a report to my physician who did a physical and filled out a form - this I took to AA (the New Zealand equivalent of USA AAA) - and there took a written exam of 35 questions - you are allowed to get three wrong but I got them all right. You get instant feedback for each question because each of the three or four possible answers has a scratch off box before it - you choose the answer you like and scratch off that box and if it is the right answer you see a check mark and if the wrong one, a big old X. Oh, yes I had to have proof of having had a driver's license more than two years but could not use my current one because I got it last year so had to get documentation from Kansas regarding the initial date of licensure in that state. We got a reply from Kansas quite quickly - thanks to John for calling and getting the mailing address and other related information that allowed us to do that. On the downside my right arm is sore - but on the upside it is gradually getting better - healing does not go as fast once you hit the roaring sixties, I guess. Next adventure will hopefully be a cooking class - I can choose Japanese, Thai, Korean or Chinese, maybe a two day session learning about the Alexander technique and possibly a using your digital camera workshop. In-laws are coming later this week and we hope for fair weather this coming weekend so we can enjoy the beach at the beachhouse we are renting for three days. We attempted to go to a hot air ballon event Saturday but were late getting to the site and the crowd was much larger than we expected so we walked round the field and ambled back to our car generally going the opposite direction from most people and went and got takeout at the nearby KFC. Emily is making progress with her violin lessons. Joseph is going to a three day camp with his schoolmates who are in a particular class called JEEP (I don't know what that stands for but the class is for bright kids) in early May. Carrie stays busy at work. I stay busy at home. Well, thanks for your attention and I hope that all who read this are well and having a good year. Manford

Laryngitis, McCafe, the Running of the Sheep, and other stuff

It is Sunday midday, and I am muted by laryngitis, which I exacerbated by lecturing and running a long meeting on Friday, so I am voiceless this weekend, and trying to rest. It seems my respiratory tract is about the same, whatever country we're in...it has been pretty good; this is the first bad cold in a year. They say that this area is particularly bad for asthma and allergies, but they've said that everywhere I've ever lived. They do have different (and fewer) drugs here, though...pharmacies are small affairs, without the bewildering rows of options that Walgreens has, but also without the options I used to thing helped...oh well. When I asked for Zinc lozenges, they mused, and gazed at their (small) shelf of remedies, and said vaguely that they used to have those, but hadn't seen them in a while...Bendryl has been banned for some reason. Sudafed has been adapted, as it is in the US, because of the meth potential. There is tea and honey. and codeine is readily available, over the counter, oddly enough. it stops the cough so I can sleep.

Our doctor here just had twins, and is working part time, so Joseph saw someone else to evaluate his wrist...story below--but we like the doctor, who is a 40-ish guy who wears jeans and running shoes, and has Simpsons stuff in his office. There are nurses around, but the doctor comes and gets you, and does not make you sit in a cold examining room and wait for him. His office is his examining room, and he does it all, and then you're done. There is a big doctor shortage here, as well as a nurse shortage, but at least the primary care docs don't seem overworked and overwhelmed. They see people of all ages--pediatricians are specialists for really sick kids--and some deliver babies. Most people (at least in Hamilton, which has more and better birth centres than most places) have a midwife as their primary provider for childbirth, and the midwife makes home visits before and after the baby is born. If you use a midwife or GP, or if you have complications that require an OB (they are generally reserved for complications), all your maternity care is paid for by the government. I visited the hospital's maternity wards this week, and they are awfully hospitalish, but are being remodelled to be more user-friendly--but the birthing centres are "posh," as they say here, and very pleasant. NO, I'm not thinking of having another baby--don't worry--just trying to understand the childbirth and parental support systems here. I may do some research on the women in the antenatal ward, who are at high risk of perinatal anxiety and depression.

McCafe: I had successfully avoided going to McDonald's (or Burger King) for the many months we've been here, but one day last month found myself late and hungry (it was 2:00) and near a McDonald's with this "McCafe" thing--someone had said it wasn't bad. So I went in, not expecting much, and was pleasantly shocked. I sat in a big leather chair, drank my organic lemonaide, and had a chicken and plum sauce panini (deciding against the risotto). It was not the best panini I ever had, but it was the best McDonald's I ever had. As I sat in my comfy chair and sipped, I could see through an opening to the regular McDonald's, complete with Playspace, just like every other McDonald's in the world--well, not fancy like the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's on Wanamaker, or the Jungle McDonald's on Gage, just ordinary McD. And I was grateful. I haven't been back--I prefer the multicultural sushi I can grab on the run--but I'd consider it.

Joseph's wrist: He fell out of a tree at the Wanganui Quaker Settlement--or, he might arge, the tree dropped him, when the branch broke under the weight of this boy, who is taller and taller every time I look, and was playing "Spotlight," a tradition and highlight of these Easter Family gatherings, a version of hide and seek, played after dark with "torches" (flashlights). Emily got spooked the first night, so she and I were in our room reading peacefully when Joseph crashed to the ground, scratching up one arm, and landing on his wrist. One of the people there was an osteopath, and he said he might have broken some little bone in the wrist, but it doesn't show up on an x-ray for at least a week, so he nursed it (except when he was playing cricket in PE, even after we wrote a note excusing him...) and it seems to be better.

We all had a good time in Wanganui, a nice small city about five hours south of here, where the Whanganui river meets the ocean. The Quaker Settlement has 16 houses, and a conference center, and "bush" and gardens and chickens. Some very nice people, from all over the world (e.g., Northern Ireland, South Africa, England, Massachusetts. And New Zealand). We drove back up a slightly different way, seeing a bit more of the coast, and spending the night in New Plymouth, in the shadow of Mount Taranaki, a Fuji-like mountain/volcano that Manford read has a 50% chance of erupting in the next some-number of years...don't tell Emily. On the way down we saw Mount Ruapehu, with snow on the ragged peak--last winter, it did erupt, in a relatively minor way, injuring one skier who was spending the night in a cottage on the mountainside. That's our local ski-run.

And then, last weekend, Manford and Emily and I went to the Running of the Sheep (Joseph declined). It was a moderately amusing small-town event, where the main street was blocked off, and there were various booths and rides, and then at the appointed time, 1900 sheep came running through town, and then we went home. No one ran in front of the sheep. Well, there were people on four-wheelers. kind of unfair, really. We got to sit on the cart, pulled by Clydesdales, to watch, because we were the last group before the big event.

And this weekend, I am resting, and Manford spent the day yesterday at a photography workshop in Tauranga (an hour and a half East, on the coast).

Carrie