Melbourne is crazy awesome.

One of the benefits of living in New Zealand is that Australia is relatively close to visit. I spent last weekend in Melbourne with my husband, for whom this was his first trip to Oz (I'd been once for a quick trip to Melb in 2009). We booked a glorified backpacker's hotel, (the Formula One) which was sparse but right downtown, quiet, and appeared to be secure. Melbourne has a mix of very old and new buildings, as the photos show.

 Melbourne was "bought" from the native aboriginals and grew up due to it's port and the gold mines. There's a nice museum at the Treasury Building, where you can visit the thick rooms where they kept all the gold.

There are frequent trams that go all over downtown.  We rode them to the St Kilda free music festival,

 where we saw awesome motorcyle stunts and I bought a lovely green opal directly from the miners, to New Quay with it's modern and expensive looking new developments, where we ate good Greek food, and to Little Italy where we had massive piles of pasta with a bottle of chianti. We were walking distance to the river, the Flinders Street Station (1910), Federation Square, where the visitor center is, Hosier Lane, where there's great street art,

and shopping, including a vinyl record store.There's lanes and alleyways t hat have unique shops and cafes, and with the excellent public transportation system, everyone uses it and walks places.  Unfortunately, I forgot my thyroid medication (Eltroxin), which I have to take every day, so we spent a good portion of Saturday trying to figure out how to get it. I only needed two days worth, so I asked at the pharmacy, where I was told that I had to have a prescription from a doctor in Australia and that I could only buy 200 pills. We managed to finally track down a clinic that was open on Saturday afternoon, but the asshole doctor said that he would have to charge me $96 for a visit. I explained that I only wanted the prescription, I can't get the cost of the visit reimbursed from the gov't since I'm visiting from NZ, and my travel insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions. He still said no, and I think he was a total A-hole for that. It's not like it's an addictive drug or anything. He could have charged me $30 or $40- I would have paid that. Instead I walked out.   

Then this street art sort of described how I felt. But, as I mentioned, Melbourne is crazy awesome so we had a good time anyway. And that should be the last time that I ever forget to pack my medication.

We also were impressed and very jealous of Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market, where sections of the market are devoted to seafood, meat, chicken, fruit and veg, dairy, candy, bread, deli, and cooked food.  Auckland has a historic old Victoria Market, but it's full of mainly tourist crap.

 Too bad this picture is a bit out of focus. That's Zeus (4.5 mo) on the left, Fargo (11.5 yrs) in the middle, and Ruby (3 yrs, Zeus' mum) on the right. I took it just before we left for Melbourne. Fargo had his belly shaved for an ultrasound a couple weeks ago, and this showed neoplasms on his liver and adrenal gland. He's still playful and has a good appetite, but has been losing weight. It feels like you can feel every bone when you pet him.  I've been boiling chicken and rice for him for probably 5 weeks, and I could probably do it in my sleep now. I've switched him over to browned ground beef now, and will see if there's any Science Diet kibble that he will tolerate (he has GI issues). I don't know how much longer he will live. The vet wouldn't give us any estimate, because every dog is different.  There is no treatment that is going to cure him.  He's the only one that hasn't pissed me off by waking me up this morning.

This street art from Melbourne makes me think of cancer- spreading, poorly defined, scary. One of the books I've just taken from the library is called The Emporor of All Maladies, a history of cancer. I've read a few pages, but have put it aside until I finish Johnathan Frazen's The Corrections (which is so intimate and voyeristic, funny and sad, and familar- really enjoying his prose, so like a painting).

I am a bad blogger.

I haven't updated the blog in at least a month, and I think this is the sort of thing that I should do twice a month. Part of the problem is that I work at a computer for my job all day, so I really don't want to spend more time at it in my free time. The other part is that I've been busy and sometimes lazy. We're all aware of how much I like watching movies and spending time with my adorable pets, so that takes time too. And my husband needs looking after as well, so there's not much effort in the blog. It's summer, and so there's a multitude of reasons to not be inside.

I have tons of cherry tomatoes ripe now. I'm eating them with everything; they are delicious and sweet, and the skin is not too tough like they sometimes can be.

My sister has a lovely Ridgeback pup, Titus, and he has a super temperament. Here his is on their land in Kaiwaka, NZ. Sitting on his arse with his tongue hanging out- cute as!

Below is a picture of my 2 year old Rottie, Ruby, roaming our land. There is not yet a fence separating our land from our neighbor's land, and unknown to us, there were some calves at the far end of this section. Ruby ran off chasing one of the calves, and wouldn't come when called. That was a shocking sight and very frightening. I thought for sure there would be an injured calf or my dog would be kicked in the head or break her back from an angry cow, but she made it back to me alive. I couldn't go get her because angry cows kill people (and dogs). There was no evidence of blood on Ruby's lips, and the cows were consoling each other in a fence corner, apparently uninjured. Of course we wanted to kick her ass when she came back to us, but we couldn't, or she would have been punished for returning to us, which is what we wanted.  I really hope

that fence gets done soon! 

Ruby is at that age where she is mature physically and feels like Master of the Universe. She has become quite independent and unruly, having today stolen an avocado off the kitchen counter, peeled it on the carpet, and eaten most of it, including the pit. A few days ago, she killed one of our laying hens that had bedded down in the yard for the night, having escaped from a hole in the fence of the chicken's yard. Earlier that same day, Ruby left the chickens alone while they roamed the yard and I was in the garden picking cherry tomatoes. But that night, she took the easy opportunity of a sleeping chicken without me around, and I'm very sad we didn't find the hole in the fence sooner.  For my part, I am working on her obedience at my club, Dogsport NZ, and hope to be ready for the BH test in April.  Dogsport NZ is a member of Australian United Sportdog Clubs. The BH is an obedience and temperament test, and I've done a BH with two of my other Rottweilers (Fargo and Bacchus). The rules can be found here. What they call Dogsport here is the same as Schutzhund.

My friend Roberta just had a healthy baby girl on Feb. 9th. On Feb 1st, my friend Ammie and I hosted a baby shower for Roberta. It was pretty chill and we ate some awesome food. My contribution was cheesecake, below. I mixed pink food color into the topping, but forgot that it gets all covered with crust crumbs, so you can't really see the pink. Oh well. The yellow kewpie doll was cute.

Also in February, we went to Nelson for a wedding and sailing. I'll put the photos in my next post, which I promise will be done in LESS than a month!

Sometimes you get disappointed, but sometimes you get happy.

My husband emailed me while visiting the US, "I just bought you the greatest thing. You will love it." He didn't reveal what it was, but said it was taking up most of his luggage.  I was advised by a friend to not get my hopes up, since this was a GUY buying a gift.  I was impressed when he unpacked it back in Auckland, and extremely happy when I got to use it the first time. What is it you ask? Check out the photo below:

That's me giving my dog Fargo a bath, with Ruby behind me.  The gift is a portable, propane water heater. 

You connect the hose from the faucet, the propane tube into the heater, and the white tubing in the center pumps out hot water to a shower head.  The temperature and water flow rate is adjustable.  The beauty part about it is the not freezing water! Much more comfortable for me and the dogs, and the soap seems to work better as well.   Usually doggie bath time is when we are all tired and sore, so to have the warm water takes away a bit of the discomfort. Also, Darin and I can take it up to our land in Maungaturoto and use it up there.  I really do love this little water heater! Isn't it adorable? It's so practical. Never underestimate the power of hot water!

This past week Guy Faukes day was celebrated. As Nov 5 fell during the week, the fireworks were scheduled for the weekend. We went to Kumeu to see the fireworks show on Friday night. We saw many fireworks going off from people's yards on the drive home.  As we turned onto Scenic Drive, we saw a dog running downhill as fast as he could go, down the middle of the street.  Darin stopped the car and I got out and tried to get him to come to me. He was so scared, and I was so worried about him in the middle of the street. People drive pretty fast coming down this hill, and sure enough, one was coming. I flailed my hands and yelled, Darin flashed his lights, but the jerk didn't even slow down. I saw the dog go on the opposite side of our car, into the oncoming car's lane, and fully expected to see a dog's body go flying through the air.  When he reappeared behind our car, I called to him again and he came to me. Whew! He was a sweet red Staffordshire Terrier, and had his tail tucked firmly between his legs.  I got him into the car, and we drove up the hill. We put him in a dog crate on our front porch and called the Waitakere City Council phone number on his registration tag.  Amazingly, someone answered the phone at 10 pm.  They called the owner and connected us. His wife showed up to pick up Simba a few minutes later; they live about 200 meters uphill from us. How great is that? What a happy ending! But it gets better:

The neighbor showed up with her daughter to deliver this sweet thank you. 

The disappointment I refer to in the title was the recipe for Rogan Josh I prepared from a slick new cookbook I borrowed from the library, Curry, Classic and Contemporary by Vivek Singh. I had some goat meat from the freezer which I used in place of lamb, but the recipe called for leg and I had loin and shoulder, still on the bone. 

You would think that Rogan Josh made from scratch would be pretty awesome, right? I made a special trip to the market for whole cinnamon stick and black cardamom pods and ghee.  I cried my way through two large onions to make this, even doing the beetroot-in-a-soaking-bag trick to make the sauce red (didn't work so hot).  The result was edible, but not worth the effort it took.  I did have fun trying it though, and I recommend you listen to Metallica's S & M while preparing all the ingredients in advance.  I also recommend reading the recipe in full repeatedly before following it.  I didn't have any problems with the recipe but in the past I have had the unpleasant experience of burning the onions- that sucks.

Anyway, I have photocopied some of the other recipies and will try them. I bought some yellow splilt peas awhile ago and will have to try that some time.

Much less disappointing was the book Watchmen, the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Recommended!

Spring 2009, or October doesn't feel much like Halloween.

Spring is full on here, and the weather has been outstanding- well, minus the rain and wind, but it can't be nice all the time.  I hung out a few loads of laundry to dry on the clothesline, bought a few plants to replace the seeds that didn't sprout in my garden, made lemonade with lemons from my trees, and bought fresh strawberries and asparagus that are recently in season. 

We recently made some big purchases.  We bought a front-loading washing machine to reduce the amount of water we use, save our clothes from agitator abuse, and use less energy. We also got a new computer, another Dell, because the one we brought with us to New Zealand 3 years ago is on its last legs, so to speak. Darin uses it for work, so it's important to have a computer he can rely on.  Also, some new cookware has been purchased. The old stuff is still functional, so it will go up to the garage in Maungaturoto for use there. We have a propane camp stove up there that we use when we stay up there.  We were last there with about 24 bulls browsing around and vocalizing their unhappiness at our arrival.  Fortunately they respected the electric fence around the garage, and the dogs stayed away from them.  

Also, on that same visit to our "farm", Ruby hunted down, caught and killed a possum.  I was worried that she was bitten or scratched, but I couldn't tell if the blood on her was hers or the possum's. She had one small scar on her elbow, later, to show for it. After her gleeful, vicious, murder, she located the tree where another was located, and Darin shot it out.  This brings the total possums killed on our property to 3.  By the way, notice the pistol grip on the .22 rifle he is holding in the photo above. A change in NZ law required that he get a different firearms license and buy a new storage case.

So Halloween is just a few days away, and I don't have any plans. So I sent an email to my friends and asked if they wanted to dress up like a zombie with me and go on a pub crawl on Halloween. Only one of them emailed back to say he was busy. I probably won't do it on my own, because that's just not as much fun.  I've attached a picture from 2004, when we lived in San Diego, of me with my crazy friend. We had a lot of fun, but the drama was just too much. So when I moved to New Zealand, I vowed to myself, no more crazy friends.  But I haven't even met anyone crazy here, so that must mean that I am the crazy friend. I am sort of okay with that, because I know I'm, well, eccentric is probably a good description (deviant is too!).  I could also be considered an iconoclast. One of these days, if I am ever rich, I will buy about a hundred precious moments porcelain figurines, and make a video of each one being destroyed in a different way. Anyway my craziness or lack of it is not really the point. To me, the point is that people need to be reminded to be adventurous and playful and step out of their circle of comfort once in awhile, damn it! I need a crazy friend again, I guess. Even if I don't make a batch of fake blood and dress like a zombie on Halloween, I still may pull out the old severed neck application I'm wearing in the dead nun outfit (above). It looks pretty realistic. 

I saw District 9 a few weeks ago, and enjoyed it.  I had recently watched Dead Alive (also known as Braindead), one of Peter Jackson's early movies, and found several similarities. For example, the young man who strives to please the mother or father-in-law, when in fact he is being manipulated by her or him, the sympathetic treatment of the zombies/aliens, the beautiful girlfriend/wife who believes in him, and of course the fun gore splatter scenes. I am really looking forward to seeing Zombieland, which is getting good reviews, and REC2. Both REC and REC2 are Spanish films, the second to begin immediately after the events at the end of the first. This film was remade as Quarantine in the US- I haven't bothered to see this, as REC was just THAT good. 

I've been reading a fair bit lately too.  I read Guilo (Golden Boy in the US)  by Martin Booth, which is a memoir of a childhood in Hong Kong, which is really fun to read, and well written.  I also read most of The Opium Wars, which was enlightening because many places in New Zealand are named after the British men responsible for the atrocity that was the Opium Wars: Auckland, Palmerston, Wellington, and  Napier. The book was overall rather dry, so I didn't finish it. It starts out well, with a horrifying description of British and French military burning and looting the Emporer's Summer Palace, China's extensive collection of buildings, art, and gardens.

I've just finished Julie and Julia, which was fun to read. Not too many of the books I read can make me giggle audibly, but this one did. I'm looking forward to this movie also. I was glad that it didn't end like I predicted it would. It made me think back to my early cooking experiences, which typically involved a box of Hamburger Helper, Rice-a-roni, or a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew. Life was so much simpler then. Now I have two boneless veal legs in my fridge, and only a vague idea of what to do with them, having never cooked veal before. In my defense, this is NZ veal, they are byproducts of the milk industry and were two for $25. What I really wanted was lamb shanks, but at $15/kg, that was a bit too dear. I am a huge fan of lamb now, whereas when I lived in the US, I don't remember ever eating it.

New Zealand news

Remember my blog about the NZ woman who was accidentally murdered by her family because she was supposedly cursed? The family was finally sentenced: no jail, only community service. I am disgusted by this, but I suppose there are worse things that happen in other cultures. Still, I don't want to see it happen here. Here's the article from the NZ Herald:

The Crown will not appeal the sentences given to five people found guilty of manslaughter after a Maori curse-lifting ceremony went wrong.
Janet Moses, a 22-year-old mother of two, died in a small Wainuiomata flat in 2007 during the ceremony performed by more than 30 whanau members.
Ms Moses drowned as water was forced into her eyes and mouth in an attempt to flush out demons. (note from me: they didn't call authorities until 9 hrs after her death)
The five found criminally responsible for her death received community-based sentences on Friday prompting calls from some quarters that Justice Simon France had been too lenient.
Crown prosecutor Grant Burston told Radio New Zealand the guidelines for sentencing in manslaughter cases were not as strict as for other charges.
It was within the sentencing discretion available to the court to give the community sentences and therefore the Crown would not be appealing.
Prominent defence lawyer Barry Hart believed the sentences were lenient but would not comment on whether race had played a part in the five avoiding jail terms.
Labour MP Trevor Mallard, however, sparked debate with a post on Labour Party blog site Red Alert titled 'It would have been prison if they weren't Maori'.
When challenged on whether a death during any religious or cultural ceremony would have been treated similarly Mr Mallard cited the conviction of Luke Lee in 2001.
A woman died during an exorcism performed by Lee. She appeared to have been strangled.
The self-styled Korean pastor was sentenced to six years' jail despite his claim he was attempting to force a demon out of the woman.
Mr Mallard, who lives in Wainuiomata, told Radio New Zealand he was surprised to receive criticism from fellow politicians for commenting on a court matter.
He said both Prime Minister John Key and Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia had spoken in support of the sentences.
"Both have said it's appropriate. I don't understand why they say it's not on for me to comment but it's okay for them to support it."
Mr Hart also supported discussion of sentencings.
"It's part of the democratic process. The judge can't sit in a vacuum."

(My Jazzcat in the photo above)

A few weeks ago, hundreds of dead fish washed up on some north Auckland beaches. No cause was immediately apparent. When a few dogs died after visiting the beaches, and apparently some dolphins, people paid attention. Determining the cause has taken what seems like ages. It still isn't fully understood. The blame is being put on some sea slugs that may have fed on some dead pufferfish, which contain a deadly tetrodotoxin. The puzzle just doesn't fit. The council put up warning signs, but the total dog deaths is up to 5 now. From the New Zealand Herald:

Another dog dies on 'toxic' Auckland beach

7:38PM Thursday Aug 20, 2009

The public should continue to keep children and dogs away from beaches in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf while the source of a mystery toxic poison is investigated.
Five dogs have died and 14 fallen ill after visiting the beaches.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) said tetrododoxin, a potentially fatal and extremely poisonous neurotoxin found in puffer fish, has been found in dead sea slugs and the vomit of one dead dog.
The latest dog died after exercising at Stanmore Bay during the weekend.
Government scientists were investigating the death.
"We don't know the cause yet, but this new death may be linked to death and illness in other dogs," ARPHS clinical director Dr Julia Peters said.
ARPHS's advice to the public:
- Children should not be taken to Hauraki Gulf beaches;
- dogs should not be taken to the beaches;
- other visitors to the beaches should not handle any marine life;
- people should not swim at beaches, but swimming off boats is considered safe; and
- people should not collect shellfish from the beaches.
"We know that going to the beach is a favourite pastime for Aucklanders so these warnings are not made lightly," Dr Peters said.
"We understand people's frustration at this constraint on their lifestyle but our overriding concern is to protect public health."
Poisonous sea slugs were a new risk and the service was concerned for people's safety, Dr Peters said.
"If a child eats or puts one of these creatures in their mouth it could be potentially fatal."
Sea slugs live on the sea bed. They are found in shallow and deep water and may be washed up.
It was not known how the slugs collected from Narrow Neck beach had acquired the poison.
Anyone exposed to sea water or life who develops symptoms within one to two hours should seek immediate medical attention.
There are no restrictions on recreational fishing at the beaches.

This is a photo of Ruby. She is cuddled up on at least two pillows on the sofa. She and Fargo are off to the kennel on Saturday, so Darin and I can get away on a vacay to Niue (pronounced Nu-way). We just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary! How is that possible?

One year in New Zealand!

I've just returned from a trip to Napier, in the region known as Hawke's Bay, where we celebrated the one year anniversary of my arrival in NZ. The drive is about 5-6 hours, depending on how often you stop. We stopped in Taupo at the Hot Springs there, where we soaked our muscles and got prune-skinned. There are pools of varying temperatures. Unlike the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua, the water here appeared clear and didn't smell. The setting is nice, but can't compare to the view at the Polynesian Spa (visited back in Feb).

Our lodging was in Eskdale, about 15 min drive north of Napier. I found the Cornucopia Lodge through doglinks, and I chose it because she allows dogs. The owner has 3 Border Collies and competes in agility trials. She made us breakfast and a lovely evening cordial and handmade chocolate. Her property has plenty of lawn for ball chasing. Fargo was well behaved and got on well with the youngest collie who was cute as can be. We left Fargo in his crate on the covered porch on Saturday so we could enjoy the gorgeous sunny day touring around. We visited Esk Valley, Kim Crawford, and Clearview wineries. There are dozens of wineries in Hawke's Bay, but 3 was all I could manage tasting. We stuck to the whites, because the reds are a bit weak in our view. We can get really good Cab Sauv and Merlot from Australia. We had lunch at Te Mata cheese cafe, then visited the Arataki Honey center. Napier, I should mention, is a beautiful seaside city with many gardens. We picked a good time to go because everything seems to be blooming now, and the flowers are just lovely. Also, the baby lambs and cows are gamboling about the grassy pastures. We'll plan another visit to Hawke's Bay sometime in the future, for a longer time.

Last weekend, Fargo and I met up with sister Barb and her two Ridgebacks, friend Holly and her Ridgeback, and new friend Hsin-Yi (from the Expats in NZ yahoo group) and her Great Dane at Waiatarua Reserve, where the dogs can get off-leash exercise. Afterwards, Holly and her partner Steve joined Darin and I at Hallertau Brewery, where we had some delicious beer and small plates (see photo). Holly's blog is CaliforniarefugeesinNZ, linked here on my blog. Sadly, I had to say goodbye to one of the Americans I have met here, Rhonda. She intends to come back in a few years, probably for good. I hope she can manage the transition back to the US, in Kansas, of all places.

In the next blog installment, I promise to post photos of the Symond Street Cemetery, which is really cool. And haunted. With what, you ask? Check back in about a week and see!

BTW, the NZ All Blacks Rugby is continuing to totally rule the 2007 World Cup, woo hoo! They are great fun to watch.