Birthday Weekend

It's been a wee while since I wrote here. Lots has been happening and I've had little time to reflect on what exactly that has been. But now, I'm taking the time to put something up I've had floating about in my head for a while.

In early February my parents gave me a birthday present. Unfortunately, they weren't here and I wasn't there with them. So instead of a book or something else, they gave me an experience. I was to find either a cooking class or sailing trip that could be made into a weekend away and they would pay. After searching about on the internet, I settled on the Akaroa Cooking School. A relatively new business in Akaroa on the other side of the Banks Peninsula from Christchurch. We found ourselves a cute little cottage to stay in, through Kokopu Estates and we were set.

After coming home from work Friday afternoon, we spent some time racking the leaves and packing our bags. Finally, we got into our (new) car and headed out of town towards Akaroa. It's about a 2 hour drive, and unfortunately, we left with not quite enough time to get there in the light. So we spent a good 10 minutes driving around in the dark before we found the right road up behind Akaroa and discovered our cosy little cottage beside a wee creek. We unloaded our weekend supplies (telescope, quilting, food and clothes) and made our way back into town to find some dinner. After a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant, we set up the telescope and spent the night staring up at the stars.

[Kokopu Cottage - our home away from home for the weekend]

[Consulting the star chart to locate our next destination for the telescope]

The next day we relaxed. We wandered along the beach in Akaroa, found some food for dinner that night, discovered the wood-fired bath and made use of it and, ultimately, we relaxed. It was a gloriously sunny day, with Bell birds singing all around us, the babbling brook laughing along and the ripe apples and feijoas just falling into our hands asking to be eaten. In the evening, we cooked up some local salmon with a tasty feijoa salad and some couscous, then climbed into bed to make sure we were well rested for our busy day of cooking ahead.

The next morning, after packing up, we arrived at the cooking school at 10am in time to imbibe in a lovely breakfast tart and learn about what we were to be cooking that day. From rhubarb to lamb, sorbet to smoking, we were going to do a lot of cooking. We put on our aprons and got right into it. We began by making up the chocolate sorbet so it would have enough time to cool. Then we moved onto the beetroot relish for a later dish. Finally, we made up some delicious poached rhubarb with a nut crumble and greek yoghurt. This was matched for our tasting pleasure with a nice glass of sparkling local wine. Then it was onto a wild mushroom risotto with truffle oil and yummy parmesean. After enjoying a plateful of this (with some really nice red wine), we went outside to hot smoke some salmon. This was made along with yoghurt and a lentil salad. Throughout the loveliness of making these tasty dishes we talked about food, starting and owning a food business and the joys of being your own boss (along with the more difficult bits). The entree dish we created was roasted lamb loin with a kumara puree (lots and lots of butter is the secret here), served with a herby mayonnaise, beetroot relish, and some steamed greens. Another delicious wine pairing later, we stumbled back into the kitchen to finish our day off. Chocolate sorbet (made at the start), berry compote and chocolate molten cake to be precise. All washed down with a tasty glass of locally made port. Fully satiated and feeling just a little bit torpid, we waddled out along the beach to recover for our drive home.

[Not only was there lots of food being created, but some great conversation too]

[Hot smoked salmon with Greek Yoghurt served on top of a puy lentil and spinach salad]

[Roasted lamb loin with kumara puree, beetroot relish, herb mayonnaise and veges]

[One plate of chocolatey goodness]

Once we had recovered enough, we drove up the hill and decided to take the scenic route home. Up along Summit Road, it takes a little longer, but the views were absolutely fantastic. One side of the hills were bright and sun filled while the other seemed to boil over with cloud. We stopped and watched at one point, where the clouds poured over a saddle and down into the adjacent valley. Eventually, we made our way home and went to bed without any dinner.

[The view Northwest along Summit Road]

Thank you mom and dad, it was an absolutely wonderful weekend.

Homesickness

The changing of seasons, especially from summer to fall, always makes me long for home. A sense of cosy comfort, a place to curl up with my knitting (or quilting), warm tea and watch the world change in its own infinitely beautiful way. As much as I am enjoying Christchurch and New Zealand, I find myself of late feeling quite unsettled and nesty. I look through home decorating books, browse the blogs of young mothers and try harder and harder not to think about what we'll do after I graduate. Most importantly, make a home.

I'm homesick for a place that is still only in my dreams. Just waiting to be born.

Hmmm. . . . . I have an idea.

___________________________________________

In other more exciting news, we helped one of our friends celebrate his 30th birthday. He's a big car guy, so we whipped him up a sporty green '77 Corvette Stingray (which just happens to be his - in real life too, not just cake life).

It proved a success and was later followed by a smaller and more economical mini (which was also devoured).

Stephen's Birthday - A trip up to Tekapo

Last weekend was Stephens birthday. He's been working really hard at school for the last month and a half, so I wanted to do something that would take his mind out of work mode for at least a couple of hours. 3 hours southwest of Christchurch, towards the interior of the island is Lake Tekapo. A huge, cool blue-green glacial fed lake nestled into the mountains at one end and emptying into a massive wide valley at the other. The township of Lake Tekapo is situated at this end. There are some rounded hills around the town, marking the boundary between steep mountain crags and flat tussocky plains. It is on one of these rounded mounds that the Mount John Observatory sits.

Mount John Observatory is a research-based observatory run as a joint venture between several Universities, of which, Canterbury is one. I was advised by one of my co-workers at Gateway, that if we approached the care taker of the observatory we might stay up in the research quarters situated on top of the mountain. So on Saturday, after waking to a cloudy sky and picking up things for lunch and dinner at the Lyttleton market, we headed off down the road. Fingers crossed that it might be clear enough to see a few stars that night.

We pulled up to the top of Mount Johns around 5pm and wandered down to the accommodation facilities just below the telescopes. We found our way in and were guided to where Alan and his wife, Pam, were fixing one of the telescopes. After a brief tour of the living quarters and our room (all blinds must be shut before sun down to ensure no light escapes at night), Alan took us around the station to show us the telescopes and talk about the research that is currently going on there. He and his wife are part of an ongoing project tracking N.E.O. (near earth objects - like asteroids) to help understand their orbits and potential threats to earth. A Japanese student was there working on the M.O.A. (microlensing observations in astrophysics) telescope looking at variations in starlight indicating the possible presence of a planet in orbit. He then left us to make some dinner and nap before the sun set at 9pm.

After a dinner of fresh corn on the cob and a good nap, Alan called us up to the 60cm telescope just up the hill. We grabbed our flashlight and headed up to meet him. The sky was fading to black with a thin rim of orange outlining the mountains and one star after another was poking its face through the blanket of night to make its presence known. We stumbled up the last little knoll and met Alan. The first thing he showed us was the Jewel Box nebula, a cluster of stars and gas tucked into the Milky Way (the picture is of the Southern Cross, see if you can find it - try using the two pointer stars). Then it was the Eta Carinea cluster, the 47 tucanae nebula, Mars, the Orion nebula, Saturn with its rings, star after star filled the tiny eye piece and filled our imaginations with such wonders. The whole time, Alan told stories about each one and wove throughout it how he had developed such a love and a wisdom about the sky above us. How he had helped survey the Mount Johns site when it was first established and how he had worked for 40 years on a project tracking asteroids. Before we knew it the moon was coming up and it was 11pm. Alan took us back down to the living quarters where Pam was working on gathering data on star emissions. We left them to their discussions and wandered up to the little cafe at the summit where each night, Earth & Sky offer tours for visitors. I got to use a tracking tripod and take some star pictures and we listened to some of the stories offered by the guides. By midnight, things were wrapping up and people were heading back down the hill. We walked back to the house and fell exhausted into bed. An absolutely glorious night of star gazing.

The next morning we said good bye to Alan (Pam was asleep as she had been up til dawn taking measurements) and drove back to Christchurch. This time, with clear skies the whole way. Back in town, Stephen went to school for a couple of hours to work on lesson planing, while I visited Fenella (and her mom and sister and brother-in-law and Briar) at her shop. With the help of Fenella and Briar, I designed and picked out the fabric for my first quilt. A fun one for Kieran. Hopefully, it will be ready for his first birthday next spring.

Weekend life

Last Friday Stephen and I went to our first Rugby game. It was the Canterbury Crusaders vs. the Wellington Hurricanes. The stadium (still half built) was packed and there was beer and fries in plenitude. I seem to have spent half the night watching the people around me to know when to cheer and when not to. In the end it didn't really matter as our team (yes, the local one) lost. And pretty badly at that. But the rain had held off so far and it was warm, so the night was not completely lost. We biked around for a bit and then went home.

The next day, I woke up, excited about the market that morning. Fresh fruit and veggies, meat and as-local-as-it-comes beer, there was even a chicken liver pate competition on this week. So it was to my dismay to walk outside and find my bike no longer locked up in the shed where I had left it the night before. Man was I ever pissed off. I mean it's not just stealing a thing, it's my mode of transportation, and it made Christchurch feel so much bigger and everything much further away. So I spent the day fuming about having to take the bus and looking at every single bike we went past to see if it was mine. Unfortunately we never passed my bike and I therefore didn't get the chance to jump somebody.

Sunday was much better. With the warm sun and quiet breeze it was hard to stay upset for long. Instead we packed up our swimming togs and headed down to the beach. After a picnic lunch, we played in the waves, body surfing, swimming, splashing, and just sitting. By the time we got out the wind had picked up just a wee bit to level of sand blaster and we decided to pack our stuff up and go for a walk. We watched surfers and kayakers play in the waves, before heading back to the bus and home again. And after a minor incident involving a sharp knife, the tip of my thumb and an excessive amount of tape and blood, we ate dinner, watched a James Bond movie and headed into bed.

The week has gone by relatively quickly since then. I've had several calls from various policemen to assure me they are looking for my bike. I have since purchased a new bike (one that will be covered by our insurance this time). And bogglingly enough I have also received a cheque for 220$ from my landlord who adamantly insists he should pay for it. To quote a childhood favorite of mine "These Kiwis are crazy!"

Today we celebrate Stephens' birthday. And in the tradition of Stephen, that means staying late at school (on a Friday) to finish up homework that is due late next month. I'm hoping to drag him back home at least in time for dinner and a cake, but we'll see. He is bigger than me.

Hope you're all doing well and enjoying spring,

Erin