Orewa in January

We were fortunate to get a week's accommodation in Orewa, long a family favourite holiday spot. The Trust accommodation is just across the main road from the beach, and right on the edge of the shopping centre - a prime site!!
"We" are Jayne and Jack, Desiree and I. And the objective was to do as little as possible for as long as possible.
The weather was variable (wasn't it everywhere?), but at least you could assume it would improve whenever it looked doubtful or rained, as it did - heavily - one afternoon.

	An unusual palm - very tall, and almost leafless
	This was the evening after the very heavy downpour

But daily walks along the beach and then by the estuary produced some arresting views and interesting patterns
I was also taken by the birds we encountered. This one flew, quite deliberately, into our unit, presumably looking for food. It wasn't willing to wait to be fed, but did repeat the visit later in the week.
These others were encountered either on the beach or in the estuary.

I floated lonely as a ship
Good old ubiquitous seagulls
Pukekoes are one of my favourite native birds - their colours are stunningly rich
	Note the scale of development occurring across the estuary!

Oh, and there were a lot of dogs being exercised on the beach, most of whom were either bird-chasing or retrieving sticks or balls, often from the surf, like this one.
On the final morning, as we walked the beach, off-shore was this fine vessel, probably one of the sail-training ships like the Spirit of Adventure.
One of the evenings was quite windy, which brought the wind- and kite-surfers out to play. The results were quite spectacular, although it began to rain while we were watching, and we weren't game to stay out in it and get closer to observe the action.
The best shots of the kite-surfers need to be seen as a sequence in a slideshow. This will open in a new window or tab. In particular, watch the two surfers in fron of the cliffs, as they "take off" from the surf with the wind. They both landed without incident.
NB: If the pictures are too small, there is another slideshow with images at 1024 wide.

A Sojourn in Napier

In early January, as Part 1 of a 2-Part holiday, we spent a week in Napier.
We stayed in the not very flash NZR Welfare Trust holiday accommodation serviceable but aging.
Sunday morning Desiree was keen to spend at the Farmer's Market in Hastings. So we did just that. And there saw this good example why simple signs are best and safest! Aaaargh: verbs and nouns confused. Stick to what you know!.
As there were, initially, just Desiree and I, we pleased ourselves about what we did and when. The major pass-time seemed to be an early morning walk (well, about 0900 IS early when you're on holiday!) along the Marine Parade.
Temperatures were mild, the days were sunny, and we took our time about things. We ended up visiting Clifton one afternoon, and had coffee in the cafe overlooking the beach and sea. I was intrigued by these clusters of 'sticks' off-shore. I can only assume they mark either some aqua-culture enterprise, or are fishing stands mounted in an off-shore reef.
We had lunch one day at the swanky Craggy Range winery, sitting outside in the sunshine in the picturesque Tukituki Valley, east of Havelock North.
We also spent a very pleasant evening catching up with Trish and Martyn - longtime friends and once-upon-a-time neighbours. It being Napier, we of course had a barbecue, which gave Marty the chance to show off his very new, very expensive, very shiny barbecue.
It has to be said however, that while the food was well cooked on the new appliance, most interest was sparked by their new anti-fly device! (Think of a fluorescent green child's plastic tennis racquet and you're about there!
And then late in the week, we were invaded by off-spring and attachments: Craig and Sarah drove their new car down from Auckland, and Jayne and Jack caught the bus from Ohope, and all for a change of scene!
Needless to say, Desiree had some activities planned for us all, so all I had to was drive.
Wineries seemed to dominate (funny that!) - first up Elephant Hill with it's striking weathered copper (green) cladding, and impressive wooden statue at the apex of the drive.
Then it was just down the road to Clearview Estate, with it's quirky installations in the carpark and herb and spice beds.
We finished the day with coffee at the Clifton Bay Cafe - Jayne & Jack amused themselves with "children's activity sheets", to the amusement of Sarah and Craig, while I pondered ... whatever was able to grab my attention!

Charlotte's Home

Charlotte is back from her sojourn in London.
That means two things
1. We now have a bevy(*) of dinosaurs decorating the house, and

2. The Giggle Quotient in the house has just doubled!

* What is the collective noun for a group of dinosaurs? Pod? Herd?

The End of an Era

Jayne has finished her secondary schooling at Hutt Valley High School. That severs a link that goes back to the 1970s.
Desiree and I both trained at what was called the Outpost (of Christchurch Teachers' Training College), which operated out of a prefab in the grounds of HVHS (the prefab is now the Marae). And we both had a 'section' (4 weeks of supervised teaching-practise) at the school.
I then got a job at HVHS in 1979, and worked there until I left teaching in early 1990.
Thereafter, Desiree worked there part-time (while the kids were young), and then full-time for a number of years.
Sarah Rose was a full-time student there for 5 years, Charlotte had 1 year there when Sacred Heart proved unwilling to accommodate her course preferences, and Jayne has just completed her 5 years full-time.
So, unless Desiree gets another job at HVHS, that's the end of our family association with the school!

Clever Clogs - Didn't She Do Well?!

Jayne finished her 5 years at Hutt Valley High School on a high note.
Earlier in the year we learned that she had been awarded an Excellence Scholarship by Victoria University, for achieving NCEA Level 2 with Excellence.

Massey University also awarded her a similar scholarship for the same reason.
These two awards lead to considerable soul-searching - Drama? Fashion? Art History? Massey (fashion)? Victoria (art history?)
And then, at the senior prize-giving (which I missed to my considerable chagrin because I was in Dunedin!) she was presented with a number of awards:

Distinction in English, Geography, Drama, Fashion Technology; Merit in Art History	The Pauline Wetton Cup for Drama
The David Kay Excellence Award as runner-up to Dux and Approxime Accessit Prize	Service to the School Council (Chairperson)

The Drama Prize is especially nice, because, on the shields which circle the wooden mount, is one for the year 200, on which is the name of her sister - Sarah Rose! Keeping it in the family! (Oh, and I worked with Pauline Wetton at HVHS, and knew her through Khandallah Arts Theatre, to which I belonged when younger.)
All of which got Jayne in the Hutt News again!