Heading Back to the U.S.A.

On Thursday of this week I will be heading back to the States to spend some time with Kell at Cape Cod.  Mallory will be staying here in Wellington. Perhaps we might see some dueling blog posts.  I will try to remember to post some pictures of Kell and I having fun.

The Petone Winter Carnival

Yesterday, Mallory and I headed north of the city to attend the Petone (Pa-toni) Winter Carnival.  We did not know exactly what to expect from the day of events, but we thought it might be geared towards families with kids which it was.  We did however get to brush up on a few New Zealand to American translations, they are as follows:

Candy Floss = Cotton Candy

Hot Chips = French Fries

Fire show = Fireworks 

The Carnival was on the water which was really beautiful, as always.  The real reason why we went, besides looking for something to do, was that of the fire sculptures!  Here is their advertisement said:

"Quickly becoming a landmark for the Carnival, the Fire Sculptures return but bigger and better than before! Watch local amateurs and nationally renowned sculptors create fantastic pieces of art during the day, and then see the creations burn spectacularly at night."

The gist of it is that they build things of wood and dried seaweed and then set them ablaze 

- very cool!

Not wanting to stick around to see the fireworks we headed into center Pentone to warm up in a local pub and to watch the rugby.  (Here you watch "the rugby" and go to "hospital". ) The bus ride back to Wellington was a noisy one with a full bus and a bunch of people just beginning their night out - it was like a moving party.

Home Decorating

We have been pretty slow to add things to the flat as of late.  Without me having a job and wanting to travel rather than decorate we have kept or money in the bank. That is until Saturday when we purchased this huge wall map!  I picked it up today and we hung it up when Mallory got home.  We figured if we were going to buy something to hang on the walls we ought to make it big. 

Before                                                     After

The map is from National Geographic and it has a lot of interesting thing on it including population density (bottom right).  Also note how the world is centered..........not what we are used to.

More Life Without Television

Below please note completed puzzle number two; although this is actually the third puzzle we have tried to build.  The second one was just too difficult so we gave up trying.  This puzzle, as well as the uncompleted one, were purchased from the local Salvation Army Store.  They were cheap but please note the three missing puzzle pieces.

I can not say we know all that much about building puzzles and how one gets better at it , are there strategies to improve one's performance?  We always wonder when building these things if there are competitions or conventions for puzzle builders - I would guess there are.  What would be the rules for a puzzle building contest any way? Not that Mallory and I are in any way ready for professional competition. 

 

 

New Zealand Film Festival Review

Today was the last day for the New Zealand International Film Festival.  Mallory and I ended up seeing five films: "I Killed My Mother", "A Town Called Panic", "The Double Hour", "The Killer Inside Me", "In the Attic".  Hands down the worst film was the U.S. made "The Killer Inside Me" against the other films it was a real disappointment.  Mallory and I have different favorites, she liked "A Town Called Panic" best and I really liked "I Killed My Mother"  but it is really hard to say because all of the films were so different and excellent for their genre. 

I you should get a chance to see them for yourself you should check them out. Two thumbs up.