Don't feed the ducks (By Mindy)

A cute little duck couple waddled up to our porch yesterday. I went to grab the camera but they had waddled off, so I went to the front door to see if I could catch them in the neighbors yard. I opened the front door and found they were actually coming to visit us!



I made the mistake of give them some sunflower seeds and they became obsessed and wouldn't leave us alone



The pecked at the windows and even tried to come through the cat door!



We were locked in our house hiding from the grizzley beasts for hours. At night fall they finally disappeared. Today they returned. We weren't paying attention and they almost made it into the house before we noticed! Fortunately a huge truck carrying the boxes we shipped arrived and scared them off. Valuable lesson was learned--DON'T FEED THE DUCKS!!

Car troubles (By Mindy)

We headed out around lunch to go downtown to get some last minute things for our trip around the northern tip of the island. Our car started making some strange noises and all kinds of lights started flashing on our way there, but we made it. We gathered the things we needed and a few we didn't and began, what should have been a 20-30 minute trip home. Our car showed that is was overheating every time we would start up a hill and we would have to pull over and let it cool off after reaching the top--and there are a lot of hills between here and downtown. About 2 1/2 hours later we finally made it almost all the way home and decided to push it up the last long, steep hill. Bad idea. The car died, but fortunately we able to coast into a nice wide driveway. We sat with the hood up, flashers on hoping it would start again after it cooled off. After about 10 minutes we see a car backing down the street toward us. We sat watching it and were discussing how nice it was for someone to come back to check on us, and how that probably wouldn't happen in the States. Brandon walks over to meet them and after a bit of discussion I followed to see what the verdict was. Well, they weren't backing up to check on us at all. They had run out of gas a little further up the hill and were COASTING back down to the bottom to the petrol station. The guy kept asking us if we were just out of petrol b/c we could just coast down with them. Finally convincing them that our was broken down and not just out of gas. They got really miffed that we wouldn't move our car out of the way (they were rolling down on the side of on-coming traffic and were trying to stay mostly on the sidewalk). We watched with utter amazement as the rolled around our car and then back onto the sidewalk giving US a look of disgust just before rolling around a corner! We are pretty sure the car is a goner, but it was almost worth it to experience the pissed-off-out-of-gas-couple coasting downhill past us. We walked down to the house to ask if we could roll our car on into their driveway, which was more like a long dirt road. The lady that answered told us it was not problem, and asked that we left it next to the coffee table somebody had sat out the night before. We walked the rest of the way home. Sadly, our other car has just been diagnosed with a bad transmission. Fortunately it is still under warranty and the dealer is going to take care of it. We are just not sure what to do about replacing the other one. Please send Brandon some encouraging words. He is so upset that one car needs a new transmission and the other died all in the same week!

Officially Kiwi's (by mindy)

For all of you hoping our VISA's would fall through and we would have to return to the US--YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK!! We finally got our passports today with 2 cool looking stamps. One stamp lets us stay here and the other let's us get back in if we leave. We are now fully insured and get all of the great Kiwi medical discounts, which includes THREE months paid maternity leave. No, I'm not pregnant, I just can't believe you get that long!

Why orange you peeling it with a knife? (by Mindy)

Brandon and I have been fighting oranges, tangerines, and every other small orange, jucy fruit they have down here. We have been trying to peal them by hand, like we do in Texas. By the time we finish "peeling" there is nothing left but a horrifying globular mess and juice dripping down our arms. Exhausted we try to suck the remaining fruit off of the peel and lick our arms to try to feel like we've eaten an orange. We have even received injuries--The peel is so tough that your fingernail bends backwards and orange juice shoots up into the wound. Very painful. We kept complaining about our skills at picking out fruit thinking we were just getting bad fruit. Just when our fruit-picking-self-esteem was about to bottom out I took an orange for lunch (okay, Brandon packed me an orange for lunch). I watched two of my lunch mates peel their oranges with knives and thought "those crazy Kiwis, peeling their oranges with a knife". I then went began the ritualistic sacrifice of my orange. Fingernails were ripping back, juice was shooting everywhere I was crying a little bit and I heard someone say, "Haven't you figured out you can't peel New Zealand oranges like that?" and handed me a knife. And a napkin. Okay a couple of towles. They explained that they don't have that fancy breeding we have in the states that makes the skin easy to peel. I rushed home to Brandon grabbed his bandaged hands and cried out, "Don't lose another nail, don't get stung by juice again....USE A KNIFE!!"



On a brighter note, I have found the most amazing store!! It sales ice cream in the front and SHOES in the back!!! Need I say more?

Who the Baby Daddy Be?

This is an e-mail "forward" I received, which I would have trashed, but for the fact that it reminded me of some former clients:

The following are all replies that Dallas, TX women
have written on Child Support Agency forms in the
section for listing "father's details". Or putting
it another way... Who's yo Daddy? These are
genuine excerpts from the forms. Be sure to check
out number 11. It takes 1st prize and #3 is runner up.


1. Regarding. the identity of the father of my
twins, child A was fathered by Jim Munson. I am
unsure as to the identity of the father of child B,
but I believe that he was conceived on the same
night.

2. I am unsure, as to the identity of the
father of my child as I was being sick out of a
window when taken unexpectedly from behind.
I can provide you with a list of names of men that
I think were at the party if this helps.

3. I do not know the name of the father of my
little girl. She was conceived at a party at 3600
Grand Avenue where I had unprotected sex with a man
I met that night. I do remember that the sex was so
good that I fainted. If you do manage to track down
the father, can you send me his phone number? Thanks.

4. I don't know the identity of the father of
my daughter. He drives a BMW that now has a hole
made by my stiletto in one of the door panels.
Perhaps you can contact BMW service stations in this
area and see if he's had it replaced

5. I have never had sex with a man. I am still
a Virginian. I am awaiting a letter from the Pope
confirming that my son's conception was ejaculate
and that he is the Saver risen again.

6. I cannot tell you the name of child A's dad
as he informs me that to do so would blow his cover
and that would have cataclysmic implications for the
economy. I am torn between doing right by you and
right by the country. Please advise.

7. I do not know who the father of my child was
as all blacks look the same to me.

8. Peter Smith Is the father of child A. If you
do catch up with him, can you ask him what he did
with my AC/DC CDs? Child B who was also borned
at the same time .. well, I don't have clue.

9. >From the dates it seems that my daughter was
conceived at Disney World; maybe it really is the
MagicKingdom.

10.So much about that night is a blur. The only
thing that I remember for sure is Delia Smith did a
program about eggs earlier in the evening. If I had
stayed in and watched more TV rather than going
to the party at 146 Miller Drive, mine might have
remained unfertilized.

11.I am unsure as to the identity of the father of
my baby, after all, like when you eat a can of beans you
can't be sure which one made you fart.

Yep, you guessed it right - you are all paying taxes
to support the above winners!

Interesting Pictures of Today's Wash

OK, so maybe the title is misleading -- "interesting" being relative. But this is what I did today. Not springing people from jail, but somehow more satisfying. I just hope I find a direction before the novelty of housework wears off.






The reason for the pictures is that we installed a new clothes line and I want to prove to Mindy that I do more than sit around here with my thumb up my ass. There is plenty of that too, but don't expect pictures. 

Spring is...Springing (By Mindy)

The weather is warming up and the plants are in bloom. Here are some pictures from our road!

Whatipu Point

Here are some pictures from our trip down the road to the beach at Whatipu. The first picture is of Manukau Harbour -- the harbour we live on. The other sea pictures are of the Tasman Sea. Whatipu is the point that separates the harbour from the sea. The Tasman Sea is that part of the Pacific between NZ and OZ (Australia).