Few and Far between!

Life is so busy hardly get a moment to post these days, unlike when we were in CHCH!

The last three weeks have been interesting with a 'whole lotta shakin' go in on' in WGTN. Family home affected and EQC will be inspecting tomorrow.

Today we head off to the Otago Science Fair prize giving. Both Alana and Sam have been awarded prizes for their efforts. Alana looking at whether the Sleep Cycle App for iPhone really works as claimed and Sam for his work on taste.

This week Ann heads to Akl for a few days after putting up with me being away, in Akl, last week and the week before.

We hope to launch a new website for www.place2stay.co.nz soon. We are also moving the hosting from Crystal Tech in the US after four years to Adobe in Australia. It's proving to be quite an exercise to make the Website fully mobile compliant and able to be scaled on any size screen as well as compliant with all new browser requirements. Thank goodness for Errol our resident IT guru!

Both Mum and Errol have visited at different times this year and that has been good. I'll head up there late Aug early Sept for the 1 yr anniversary of Dad's death. We'll have a meal together then unveil the headstone.

In October my Aunt from Scotland visits and that will be another gathering, in Timaru this time, for those of us in the South Island. 

I'm leaving on an air plane!

Just had a anxious moment at airport seeing Blair off. Paige and I were waving to blair in the plane. Suddenly it dawned on me that Blair had my car keys with him on the plane and the propellers were just starting. I quickly checked my bag and no – I didn’t have any keys!!!!! I started franticly waving a key I had to indicate to Blair that he had my keys and he just calmly waves back, doing thumbs up as well. I was trying to work out what to do and dashed down to service desk to ask them to stop plane and get my keys when at the same time my name was called out over intercom. Got to desk to be given keys!!! Blair had realised before me and got them delivered. I guess he thought when I was madly waving a key at him through lounge window that I was acknowledging I had them. Finally get out of airport and realise I hadn’t taken any notice of where Blair had parked the car. Do you know how popular silver cars are? Am finally home!

Redwood Ride

A stunning day for us to head off into the hills behind Dunedin. Alan D, Greg P, Dave B, Simon G, Andre C (past Dunedinite now Perth Western Australia) and myself all took to our bikes (borrowed in to cases). Thanks to Paul C and Wendy B for extra bikes - Greg the blue suited you! Awesome riding and thanks to Simon for showing us the Second Weir track that really makes the whole area much more interesting and challenging to ride. The 'post mortem' coffee was good too.Thanks guys!! So, Perth is it next time?

Sam's Big Night In

Make your own free photo collage

Sam is 4th in on the middle row. This was a concert that he thoroughly enjoyed being a part of as he sung with the Southern Children's Choir.

Down on the farm

Today the kids and I went to visit friends who live and work on another friends dairy farm. After a yummy lunch, thanks Denise, Malcolm took me and the kids to feed the calves in the calving shed. He was great with the kids. There were various pens for calves who were sick and not expected to make it but were being given a chance through to those that were soon to go on the 'long holiday' as well as the keepers!

Here are some pics and a couple of videos.

The fun in the snow continued this afternoon

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Kids enjoy the morning's snow and a day off school

Here are a few pictures from this morning.

 

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The Perfect Storm

Well that's what it has been called. But it is yet to materialise. While we've had a bit of snow there's barely enough to toboggan on although we gave it a good try tonight and certainly had some fun. But it is no where near the heavy snow that was predicted and certainly no where near the severity of what we encountered in CHCH back in July. Perhaps it is yet to come.

Danielle had a good time out in the snow on the trampoline and was out there until sodden and cold. The thunder and lightening caused her to pause a moment but then she carried on happily. Paige was happy to give it a miss this time round.

Ann is at Mercy Hospital tonight. She had a colleague collect her in his car on his way in before the snow really settled and it's a FWD ride home courtesy of Mercy Hospital. If it does not melt over night I will be walking in with my Yak Trax on. It will be the first decent test of them since I got them. Ann thinks I have used them once although I cannot recall it was so long ago.

The snow on the road has been packed down by cars already and as it is very shallow it has become pack ice so chains will be no good.

Photos to follow, if we get some good ones.

Forsyth Barr Stadium Escape

A couple of times now the kids and I have tried to get to the stadium for a look and missed out either because it was too early in the morning (the official opening) or we were too late (public open day).

Yesterday, Saturday, Sam's choir (Southern Children's Choir) held a concert with the Melrose Singers and afterwards we thought we would do a little drive-by the now stadium is finished and open. Well we got more than we bargained for!! As we drove past we saw that the gates were open and people we wandering in and having a bit or a recon, cameras out and all. Not one to miss an opportunity for a free look, I quickly parked the car and said, "come on mate let's go take a look while we can!"

Off we went and soon found a group of people getting a bit of a tour. We tagged along at the rear briefly and then headed off on our own. We got right down to the pitch edge, way up to the top of the northern stand. It was so high I got the wobbles coming down!! Then we headed off to the Eastern end where there are 5000 temporary seats - this is where the stage will be for Elton's concert. We chatted to one of the stadium staff and got answers to our questions, we watched two guys walking over the top out beams roped on with steel cables.

When it came time to go we trotted of to the gate through which we entered. Locked!! Oh no, stay calm I thought. As we turned to head off in a westerly direction the supposed tour party were coming towards us with cleaning equipment. Oops, apparently not open to the public after all! These guys were the cleaners getting a run down on their work.

As we came to the entrance opposite Logan Park we noted that all the gates here were closed as well. I spotted a wheel chair ramp and realised that the drop over the side from the bottom would not be that great. "Come on Sam, over the side, down on to that ledge, then hold on to the fence and drop, ok." "Yes Dad", came the nervous reply. Over we went and off to freedom.

East End

West End

Southern Stand

Sam's Ascent

Pitch

Roof

Sam's concert with Suzanne Prentice

Several weeks ago the primary schools held a combined choir concert with Suzanne Prentice as a fund raiser for World Vision. There were hundreds of kids and they performed superbly. To our surprise Sam was really looking forward to it and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Sam was seated on the left side balcony, not that there's a hope of seeing him!

No cameras allowed but took this with the phone.

In the Navy

Some time ago now Samuel and I toured the HMNZS Otago. This has turned out to be a controversial vessel with cost, performance, mechanical and fuel problems. We enjoyed our look. Apologies for photo quality. The Cannon camera died and I had to use the phone.

Sam's Kitchen Exploits

Sam loves getting into the kitchen! Whether he's making sherbert, muffins, soups or as in this photo parmesan cheese miniloaves. Bread is something he's been getting interested in lately as well. He has a great rye loaf that he loves to make too.

Jubilee Park

Our latest orienteering adventure was a little closer to home this week. Jubilee Park is just a few minutes down the road. A great park for sports and mountain biking or going for a jog. This time Danielle and I got totally cleaned up by Alana and Samuel who had a four minute lead and maintained their lead throughout. There were 23 markers to find this time rather than the usual 12. The track was shorter than what we have done in the past but the degree of difficulty compensated for this as a lot of the time we were in bush, and therefore the challenge to keep ones map correctly orientated was greater - no compasses in these events - all map reading.

Weetbix Tryathlon 2010

This is the third year Alana has competed in the Weetbix Tryathlon and she continues to enjoy it.  Because she has just this week turned 11yrs old, she had to enter the 11-15yr age grouping which meant a much harder challenge.  I commented before the race that this would be quite a challenge in comparison to previous years but her response was:  "Don't worry Mum, this is the beginning of my future"  Well there we have it then!

Alana is 19916

This year the distances were:
Swim : 200m
Cycle : 10km
Run : 2km

 

 

  

  

  

 

Alana gets her wings - it's ok no one was injured in the making of this video!!

Alana has actually done really well with flying the chopper. They are actually better than Ann and I. This was Alana's SECOND attempt and she has not replicated the landing since!! You'll be glad to know. Actually, I am amazed at how resilient this we toy is given its light construction. Staggering really.

Samuel gets his wings!

To have had something like this as a kid was unthinkable when I was Samuel's age. I used to just dream of having some walkie-talkies! I settled for a couple of old post office telephone hand sets, 2 large 9v batteries and and some electrical cable, and hey presto Errol and I had our own intra-room intercom. That's right we were in the same room talking over a two phone handsets!! We had to talk quietly enough that we could hear each other over the handsets but not across the room! Quite an achievement really. Enough of that - here is Samuel on his 'unthinkable' toy.

FLIGHT 1 FROM TODAY



FLIGHT 2 FROM TODAY

Bush fire

Here are a few evening shots of the smoke from the fire that was raging in the hills west of Outram, so I am told. These were taken from the deck of the house 3 1/2 hours after I first saw the smoke as we flew back to Dunedin from a days work in Invercargill. The apparently pretty pink sky is actually smoke on a clear night as the sun sets. See here for an impressive array of photos from Otago Daily Times photographers and here at the Berg's blog.

Last week's orienteering adventure

It was an easier course this week, the biggest challenge was finding the start. Ross Creek is a great gulley for exploring with one of NZ's oldest earth dams, if not the oldest and it is designed by a Donkin! Yes that's right Ralph Donkin. As far as we know he is not related to us in any way. There you go, a non claim to fame.

Awesome weather – but wait for it!

Today has been one out of the bag. Forecast for 29 deg C today in Dunedin. It was 27.5 after 5 pm when I got home.
I love this time of year as all the new students are coming to town and they ask themselves, as the wander around in their jandals and T-shirts, “hey what’s so bad about Dunedin after all?”. What they don’t realise is that in a few days the temp could easily plumet by at least 20 degrees C and then the only ones who wont change what they are wearing are the ones from Central Otago! I love the look of surprise and shock on the faces of the North Islanders!!

Alana starts Intermediate

Our wee girl has started Intermediate today – maybe she’s not so wee anymore.  Oh dear!  Despite the protests over having to wear a skirt, she was the first up and dressed this morning, urging the rest of us to be ready on time.  Doesn’t she look beautiful and oh so grown up.