The big 2-7

What another big weekend! Gordon and I were back up in Tirau to celebrate an American holiday, Thanksgiving. The Schofields keep talking about how next year they will come to us to celebrate but I think that its easier to celebrate up there for now. Plus, the state of the house has me appalled. Even if they don't care if my house is dirty, I care. I guess I've finally acquired Mom's tidiness when guest have come to visit. However, Thanksgiving was good and the day was sunny and beautiful. It got a little hot in the kitchen when we were cooking late in the day. Roger mentioned at least five times how much he liked the turkey because it was cooked just right and it was so easy to dry out a turkey. I had no hand in it. I just stuck it in the oven when required and turned the heat-up to cook it faster in the end. We had all the basics of the dinner, except stuffing because they're not fans of stuffing. Which is too bad because that's one of my favorites. For dinner we had mashed potatoes (chive and onion), brown gravy, green bean casserole, roasted kumara, steamed asparagus and savoury muffins. I couldn't find any canned cranberry either which had me a little upset but the German Chocolate cake made up for it. I think when we came home we ended-up with all the sweets and the Schofields got the leftovers, strange?

Gordon was on course this week so he got to come home early on some days and spend time with me. We also picked-up the birthday presents he ordered for me. A scrapbook with pages, a popcorn maker and a massage mat for the chair. We also got an ear thermometer because I noticed that we didn't have any type of thermometer in the house. We also sent away all of our Christmas packages for the States so it was nice to be able to send them off and not worry about them anymore. I also got some pots from a fast-growing friend, Kay Brown. I also got my NZ driver's license! Other than that, nothing exciting again this week. I've been taking care of the garden, making sure it's watered and everything. Oh, I did go to the doctor because I was concerned about some pain the chest. The doctor told me that he believed it was just esophagitis and nothing to do with my heart and I was perfectly healthy. He also recommended some activities for me and how to eat New Zealand food, which is very high in calories. It was a good first visit and made me feel good.

On Friday, he got off at about 10:30 and was able to come home and pack. We were able to leave the house at about 11:30 to go to Tirau. We ended stopping in Hunterville to have some lunch in a little picnic area and were able to mail off our Christmas cards. I really like them and I hope that everyone who gets one enjoys them as well. We then switched halfway and Gordon drove the rest of the way. We had to stop in Taupo though due to my upset stomach that needed some fresh air to feel better. We walked to the edge of the lake and sat for a bit. The town was busy due to the Lake Taupo Challenge. Its a bike race where cyclists ride around all of Lake Taupo, quite a big job because the lake is so huge. We saw tons of cyclists walking and when we were driving to Tirau. It made me glad that we were driving the opposite way.

Saturday started off late with Gordon and me sleeping in. It started off an a bad note for me. People like to open their windows here due to lack of air conditioning and these nasty flies start buzzing all around the room and drive me crazy. I saw a fly on the window and decided to take care of it. I ended-up missing him and breaking the window! Gordon took the rap for me, even though I told him not to. He says that these things happen and was more concerned with my arm and hand then the window but I was fine. I told Gordon that we need to invest in fly screens for our windows so I can open them in the summer. After that we went to the Woolworths in Putaruru because I found the pantry lacked some ingredients I needed for cooking and there was nothing for lunch in the house. We didn't start preparing dinner until 4pm. I must say that I timed everything pretty good and wasn't rushing around trying to get one thing done while doing something else. It helped that Gordon was there as my assistant. We had dinner and then birthday cake for me and I got to open my presents. I had Gordon's gifts, which included a picnic basket, and other family gifts and cards. I was very touched that Gordon's Grandma gave me a present. It takes awhile to realize that your part of another family. With the German Chocolate Cake we had hokey pokey ice cream, my favorite!

Sunday we made our way back to Bulls. We stopped on the side of Lake Taupo to have lunch. We also squeezed in a game of golf in Wairou. I was out after six holes which goes to show that I need to be playing more golf. Gordon was having a pretty good game until the last hole when he got into the trees and couldn't get out. He ended-up loosing his temper but I think he was just cranky because he was getting hungry. We stopped in Taihape to try the New Zealand version of KFC; I was appaled that they charged us 50 cents for BBQ sauce. The popcorn chicken was good though. We passed the rest of the ride talking about trips we would like to take around New Zealand, maybe before or while I was pregnant. There's a holiday display in New Plymouth that Gordon wants to take me to and that I want to see. I would also love a weekend in Wellington. Gordon wants to take me on the TranzAlpine train and the train trip to Auckland because of the parts of New Zealand you get to see.

We got home a bit late and I was trying to clean-up a bit because Scotty called and was stopping through Bulls on his way to Auckland. He ended-up leaving the Air Force and moving back to Gore for a bit. Now he has a job to get by on in Auckland until he goes to the UK or States to get a job he actually likes. I ended up cleaning the living room, the place Scotty would be staying, on Monday. Which actually consisted of putting more things in the spare room. I really need some bookshelves or something.

Monday was the big day. My birthday! It started out fine. Gordon made me breakfast and we decided that if it was a nice day we would go to the Cross Hills Nursery and garden. Since we had been gone for the weekend, there wasn't anything edible for lunch that day. We went to a bakery in Feilding to get a couple of sandwiches for lunch at the gardens. We had a slight disagreement in the car on the way to the gardens and I ended-up crying. One, due to my flux of hormones thanks to birth control and two, because having the disagreement made me end-up missing home. It made me think of how if I was in NM I would be going out to dinner with Ali and Mom and the family and we would have tons of fun and maybe play some guitar hero or Mario Party afterwards. Gordon apologized and we made our way to the gardens which was past a little town called Kimbolton. I felt bad for crying and making him feel bad. Usually when we have a disagreement, to make amends, I put my hand in his. It signals to him that everything is okay now.

The gardens specialize in Rhododendron and Azaleas. They were definitely everywhere you looked when you took the little paths. It was a nice ramble for my birthday. Every now and again you would catch such a beautiful fragrance in the air. I am definitely convinced that we should have a rhododendron in our little side garden. We were able to walk the whole area and take a couple of pictures. All of my pictures are on Myspace and Facebook if you want to see them. We took a couple of hours in the gardens and then had lunch. We went back through Feilding to do some grocery shopping for some essentials and ran into rain. We spent the rest of the day at home before we went out to dinner that night.

Gordon took me out for dinner on Monday to a place called LoneStar New Zealand. It was kind of like the LoneStart restaurants in the States but the menu wasn't anything like it. We had a lovely dinner and I ended-up with two desserts. One of them had a candle, which I didn't get any candles on my cake, so I got to make my wish and blow it out. It was a yummy pavlova with a berry sauce. The second dessert was a Banoffie pie, which was bananas, caramel and coffee flavored cream. It was oh so yummy in my tummy. I had the Johnny Cash Stash chicken for my meal which was stuffed chicken with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and other yummy things. I had to take some of it home because the chicken breasts were so huge! Gordon and I were placed at a little table off to the side, very romantic. Our server was named Sierra of all things! We were going to take a walk in the square of Palmerston North but it was raining when we left so the walk will have to wait for another day. When we got home, Scotty was there and having dinner, we left him a house key. We caught up for a bit then headed-off for bed.

Today (Tuesday) was chore day. Gordon likes to have at least one day for chores to do around the house. We had to go to Mitre 10 to get our stuff for the garden. We got our hose extension! No more trekking back and forth between the house and the water can to the garden to water my veggies! We also got some stake labels and potting mix for my plants and the garden and some bean poles for our green beans. Scotty then left to finish his journey to Auckland. We were starting to plant the rest of our seedlings into the veggie garden except it started raining so we had to do inside jobs. We were able to hang our wedding photos that we ordered. We also set-up our Christmas tree which is a small, 80 cm, fiber optic tree. Perfect for a starting couple but we will have to upgrade next year. I was hanging ornaments when there was a visitor at the door. It was my friend Kay Brown stopping by to wish me a Happy Birthday and give me a little yellow rose bush as a present. It was so nice and thoughtful of her. I received the first package from my family for birthday and Christmas. In it were two adorable pictures by Ainsley and Sierra, I have to find a place of honor to put them. I was thinking the fridge. I also got to see pictures thanks to Ali's included CD in the package. While Gordon went to work, I got busy on wrapping his presents and the presents for the Schofields included in today's parcel. So now there are presents under the tree. That's one holiday I celebrate eagerly, Christmas! Gordon hung my stocking over the fireplace and joked that he was going to fill it with goodies.

It finally cleared-up and we were able to plant again. Now our veggie garden is full and we'll see how our new transplants fare. I tried to be as gentle on their roots as I could be but I know that they will be going through root shock and some of their roots were intertwined with others. That's why I like punnets because its one seed per punnet and you don't worry about roots getting tangled. Everything that we've planted so far is starting to flourish. Our zucchini is like a plant on a mission to cover every square inch it can. The green beans are getting bigger and starting to grow up. The butter beans are getting bushier and the cucumber is sprouting new leaves and growing. Looks like Gordon and I must be doing something right. We ended up planting bell peppers, broccoli, butternut pumpkin, sugar baby watermelon, potatoes, kumara, cauliflower, carrots and lettuce today. Our garden is now full and there's no more space so hope for the best.

Tomorrow, Gordon is going off for a cricket practice in Palmerston North and I'll be doing errands in town while he's doing that. The day after, I'm on a mission to do some cleaning around the house with Gordon's house. The bath and loo need a good scrub down as well as the kitchen. That kitchen is perpetually dirty but I'm getting better at reducing the number of pots I use when cooking dinner. We hope to be able to attend Marton's Christmas in the Park on Saturday evening. There will be carols and things and it should be interesting, Gordon may be on duty crew so he might not be able to make it but I hope that he can.

I must admit that missing my family and the kids has made me thought of having children more and more. The job search is not being fruitful and babies take my mind off of my lack of a job for now. I think that Gordon and I are a strong couple. You always hear stories about couple's who have babies and it wrecks their marriage. I can't see that happening to us. If anything, it would strengthen our bond to know that we created another human together. Who knows when its the right time to have children anyway? I asked Gordon today if he was ready to have somebody else occupy most of my time, since a baby would do that. He replied he didn't expect me not to and that he would be trying to help me with the baby. I would really like everyone's thoughts on this topic. Whether its from personal experience or your own view point. How has having children affected your lives? Do you ever know when is a good time to have kids? Is it better to wait a couple of years in the marriage to have children rather than right off the bat? That's my food for thought for the week. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable turkey day with friends and family! I'll be back in a week with another update from the land of the long, white cloud.

Miss you and love you bunches! ~Nedra