Thanksgiving Week

The 6 of us at Russell with Uncle Rus who took the photo and texted it to Loida back in the US while they talked on his cell phone....technology amazing.

The triumphant two on the swim platform in the bay at our house.

Phillip's birthday is always special. He is becoming a young man.

This beautiful overlook in rural off the beaten path NZ had the Maori graffiti and beer bottles at the overlook reminding me of some of the problems in NZ youth.

Our German neighbors nadine and Martin are both family practice doctors who have been here for a long time because of the lifestyle.

Their daughter Tiarre (pictured with Claire) speaks both German and English. Claire is taking German in school.


Tiarre's brother Tomiko and Andrew are in the same class at school and are both such cute little guys.Claire in 1850's costume with her triple ring symbol which in Maori means "Forever friends"

She used the rest of the dough to make this "I luv U" cinnamon roll for Uncle Rus's visit.

(Below) Lynn with one of his Bay of Islands Maori patients. "Ki Ora" is hello in Maori.Bay of Islands is where this patient is from (see pic below). In Maori culture, the land you are from is very important. It is even more important than where you live now. I like that about their identity.

Rugby and picnic on the beach. No adult was awake to take the picture of the 3 of us sprawled out in the nap.

It has been a busy but eventful few weeks. Purple crayon melted in the clothes dryer but I got the white guest linens washed up and dried anyway for our first house guest last weekend. My brother was here for a quick fun filled time. We went on a long Saturday drive through the country with a stop for a picnic, play and nap on a black sand beach. The kids have all started baseball and T-ball. Phillip is for the first time excited about being on a co-ed team which is pretty funny. With athletics club (track and field) and Andrew's karate they are all really busy right now. The younger 3 are at an old country public school which celebrated it's 150th year at the same site last week. Claire won a division of the bake sale for her Maori friendship symbol cinnamon roll. The school dressed in colonial fashion and had old time games, etc. Phillip's birthday was yesterday and we had a great evening of cheesecake, Butter Chicken (Indian dish he loves), and watching an old Batman movie (Michael keaton, Michelle Peiffer, and Danny Devito). We will have a paint ball party this weekend for school friends. Two sundays ago I sang at church because the 2 singers were both gone. Desperate times mean desperate measures but we all survived. My garden continues to grow with more fun than actual food production. I think each of us has had one strawberry but the salad lettuce has been abundant. The green and yellow "courgettes" (yellow squash and zucchini) will soon be big enough to eat. Pumpkin is called "squash" here but there will be no pumkin pie for Thanskgiving because there is no canned pumpkin (or cranberry salad either). I am going to try to make shift cranberry salad with cran raisens and boysenberry jello (which is called "jelly" here) but I am not very hopeful. Claire has become so brave. She and Lynn took a swim in the very chilly bay in front of our house. Wet suits are required. We have enjoyed our German neighbors who had us over for a barbeque. They had fascinating stories about growing up in Germany, the division/difference between East and West Germany, the wall physically coming down, and the slow pace of real unity in Berlin. I was reminded of the 2 day course I took on Maori and the treaty of Waitangi(1850's but still disputed agreement between the Maori and the English throne). I learned a lot about the history and differences between the 2 cultures. The maori spiritual culture is beautiful in many ways as they relate in humility to God and to their "Whanua", their close community. Lynn continues to enjoy seeing Maori patients and getting to know them. Their culture like other cultures is plagued with problems they are trying to address but underneath are people, beautiful people. The weather is getting hotter with a balmy 82 degrees today. I did the Kiwi thing and hung the clothes out on the line. While folding them inside I could tell a cricket was singing in the basket but I showed him back outside. We will be washing up the linens again in a few weeks as Lynn's parents and my friend Cheryl have ventured purchasing plane tickets to the southern hemisphere in the next few months. My brother will return for Christmas and we will be kicking up the beach barbeque and doning bathing suits with my friend Cheryl. Santa is traveling light this year but apparently comes to NZ on sheep not reindeer. In the mean time Thursday is Thanksgiving and we plan to have a feast with other Americans and a few curious Kiwis at the church Thursday night. I threw in a little about the meaning of Thanskgiving as well as the events of the US civil war with my kiwi neighbor today. It was a bible study but we got a little off the subject when I realized she didn't know much about US history. Anyway, I am really missing family and especially my Houser and Hadorn cousins as Thanksgiving was the time we all managed to get together in the same room. I might need Cheryl's sweet potatoes, Tracy's mac-n-cheese and Sherry's desserts at a coming home party in the Summer when I can try to beat Bucky in Rook, pontificate with Gus over coffee, and laugh with Chris this time about what I have learned about the English. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.