A Night at the Theatre

We had our first night of high culture in Wellington tonight - we went to see Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, featuring Ian McKellen.  It was a good show in a really nice place.  The whole night was pretty great and all in walking distance from our flat! Can not beat that.

Here we are all dressed up for a big night out on the town.

Bowling Night

Last night Mallory and I went bowling with our friends Nick and Nicky. Let's just say that it was a very educational evening.  First, we had to make a reservation for the lane.  Mallory and I were just going to show up and bowl - thanks Nick for taking care of that.  Then we discovered that it costs $15 a game per-person.  Needless to say we only bowled one game.  

Then we find out that the pins all have strings attached to them!  When you knock them down they get pulled up and reset.  So the strings added a new element to the game along with a short and non-slippery lead up to the line.  I do not think the pins were very heavy either.  Everything was condensed, not like the fine bowling lanes of Pittsburgh.

 But maybe I am saying all of this because we were solidly beaten by Nick who swore we were going to show up with matching bowling balls and shirts. :-)

Happy Father's Day

Today in the mail - or post as they like to say here - I got a package from Kell.  In it a custom design key chain that says "Dad" and a Father's Day card that Kell filled in the blank spaces.

 The card reads:

Happy Father's Day
He's as handsome as Johnny
He's as smart as a computer

He's as tall as a door
He's as funny as a clown
He's as happy as me
He's as strong as wood

He's as hungry as a pig
He's as nice as Mom

love Kell

Thank you Kell! I love you too! Dad

Noooo!!

Jamie shaved...



...and the Beard is no more

Lamb Shank Baby!

We all know that the sheep population is large here in New Zealand.  I have heard that there are four sheep for every person.  On the South Island it is ten to one.  As you can imagine there is lots of lamb to eat.  On Sunday, I gave it a go by cooking Braised Lamb Shanks.  As per usual of my cooking experience, I did not have all the proper ingredients so I had to improvise.  Even still this dish was one of the most delicious things I have ever put into my mouth.  I think we are going to try it again for next Sunday, this time with all the right ingredients.

 Here is the link to the recipe if anyone wants to try it:
Braised Lamb Shanks with Caramelized Onions and Shallots

Wellington Fern Globe.....

Or whatever they call it......

The Saga of the Beard

So even before I left the States I started growing out my beard.  I started it to please Mallory who has been asking me to grow a beard for years.  Today, because the darn thing was feeling like a sock around my cheeks and chin, I decided to shave it off.  But I could not do it.  Instead it got a good trimming.

Beard.......

Less Beard.......

 

Guess What This Might Be? (#2)

Here is our next contestant!

Click the photograph to find out what it is.  Its names is in the file name.

Guess What This Might Be? (#1)

Click on the photo and the answer is in the file name......

An Update on the Flat

Here are some new photos of our flat.  Thanks to Salvation Army and other stores the place is coming along nicely.  It is interesting because we want to buy what we need but remember how just recently we sold all of this stuff and someday will probably do it all again.

We made a deal with ourselves that whatever we bought from Salvation Army we would just donate back - so in a way we are just renting the furniture.

Bedroom - shaping up

Kitchen - looking good

Would You Like To Be My Neighbour?

Here are a few more shots of our neighbourhood as well as our flat.  Our flat is coming along nicely as far as decorating is concerned, thanks largely to the Salvation Army and the Warehouse, which is a cross between Target and Wal-Mart.

This is our house - our flat is around the right in the back.

Here are a few photographs of our street and neighbourhood streets.  Everything is basically on a hill/mountain.  From the water level/city center everything goes up.

 This is a shot walking down to the Museum and Adjacent Park

Finally here are a few photos of our "front door" and our backyard

Most homes in New Zealand have no heat, insulation or clothes dryers - although washing machines are pretty standard.  So anytime there is a sunny day everyone rushes to get their laundry done.  In this case the laundry is all ours.

Botanical Garden: Our First Fun Thing

We finally decided to go out and do something touristy yesterday! Thus far we've spend most of our time searching for a place to live, jobs, cheap thrift stores and the best place to buy groceries... oh and sleeping. Since we have successfully crossed of all of the above (well, we've got one job between the two of us) we figured it was time for fun. Here is our walk through the Botanic Gardens in Wellington.