Another perfect weekend?

hitched back from west coast on friday. sweet english bloke from the UK, Richard, picks me up. He's keen to climb and runs to the boulders at castle hill for a quick onsight, then ends up staying. we wander around the city all day sat, looking for bouldering mat making supplies and cosutmes. Go to littleton market, find yummy chocolates from Shes chocolates, some vegges and some fresh fuji apple juice form local farmer. Go to get a nice coffee. Later, after I study for a bit in the park while rich continues looking for a bouldering pad, a stop at a random garage sale gives me my costume for the night!

Party at Liz's- good to see mark again. some nice costumes, me as jack skeliton, Rich as a skanky cop (rowenas costume) liz a witch, Abie's friend with an awesome masquerade mask. Ania from wien warm and bubly, nice to talk to. We used Morten's ginger brew and made dark and stormies, also used yummy drinks with littleton market juice and the vodka pear rich and I bought. people leave. richard shoudlnt drive so we stay. me Anjia, liz, richard begin acrobatics. first crossslegged rolls (in circles very fun) then headstands and hand stands. Rich then leads me through an amazing set of acrobatics, into tear drop. Then bases others and leads them through too. The amazing spider web decorations get torn down and we sleep in exhaustion.

Well I didn't sleep, mind awake and tumbling, I didnt sleep for a long time. Fitful and woke up early. so I went out on front porch to meditate - hard to find focus. then yoga on the upper deck as the sun rose higher and warmed up. I felt comfy in my new found pants. lazy morning, playing with balloons downstairs.... then off to the beach for a while. more hand stands. and I got buried in da sand completly! they couldnt see me! sand was nice and warm while wind zieht. go into coffee shop at the pier and enjoy a chai.

Then into town for slacklining sesh. Rosa falls asleep and we wrap her in my sleeping bag. Liz has amazing focus and got some really nice moments of balance on the line - SO sweet to see! Zoe - with sick dreds! - was from CPIT and good form in acrobatics. More hand stands, headstands, richard shows off flag and I kinda get half flag. Dragon was sweet, so was wallaby. On the line we tried some yoga poses, learning together. Teaching eachother zoe is close to standing from sitting, while I am close to spinning. we also did some juggling... just a tad.

ah...

Rich has sparked so much learning about body balance and posture!

Also then a bike ride into the wind to the beach (16km) only took 35 min. At ania's and marias a party is held and as I am early a sweet footbag sesh ensues. Great fun with maria. Also got out my sphere out for the first time in a while. Chris (a friend of richards) was captivated and stole my sphere often in following days and showed much improvment. Lots of Germans/Austriens at the party, so I practiced me Deutsche. Also was a feiry, prancing around with anna and chasing rosa and playing with an elephant pillow. sweet sweet

...much fun, a bit lax on the studying but i got what i needed done and had great connections with people!

Perfect weekend?

The combination of events that played out from Friday to Monday, both in and around Christchurch, made it one of the best weekends of my time in Christchurch.

Always mindful of the moon and it’s phases I headed out Friday afternoon to Sumner beach to await moon rise and hope for a nice sunset. The bike over was lovely and exhilarating, even into the wind I felt quick and fast as I lept from stop lights and sprinted over the bridge and along the coast. I first wandered the cave at Sumner, noting the play of sunlight and water as it rushed back and forth. I then alternated between kite flying in the light sea breeze, contact juggling, and juggling the pink volleyball I brought from the flat. The pale blue shadow of my sphere rolled over soft sand that caressed toes and retained the warmth of day.

As I waited with slack kite lines for the breeze to resume I noticed some folks setting up a volleyball net. I wandered over, kicking and juggling the volleyball. They had three little kids with them as well, two boys and a spirited girl. We got the net firmly anchored and soon began to play. The youngins would serve occasionally and the girl joined a bit more (though she was also involved in a sand throwing war with one of the guys). Fun relaxed game as the sun went behind Mt Pleasant (a bit of rosy cloud but nothing spectacular). The kids were getting tired and as dusk progressed we parted ways and hoped to meet again.

I had noticed a gaggle of young folks arrive with shovels and now went over to see what they were doing. I sat down with one of the girls looking on and conversed for a bit. They were a youth group originally come to make sand castles, instead they had made two deep pits and connected them with a tunnel. I shared my story and tossed the disk with some of the others. They unfortunately decided to destroy their tunnel and fill in their holes ‘for the safety of other beach goers.’ I thought this a shame but helped stomp on the tunnel and kick sand in the pit. They then went on their way. As I walked back to my things one of the boys ran out to me and asked if I needed a ride or place to stay. I clarified that I had a flat and had biked out, if they had room for a bike I might come but I was fine biking so dont worry about it. Very sweet kindness to receive. He ran back and I turned back towards the sea with a smile: the rising moon there broadened my smile as it shimmered in the waves. My bike back was a joy, even if it was cooler; swift exertion while waving at passerby and cars with a large smile.

~

As a fundraiser for earthquake victims and a thank you to all those who volunteered and assisted in the aftermath of the earthquake a festival of sorts had been organized for Saturday. A line up of kiwi bands were set to amuse the crowds from morning tell dark. I brought my toys and some lunch. I wandered Hagley park looking for a slackline but found none. So I went to the back of the crowed where the sound was fine and I also had enough space to get my kite out. But first I stopped where a disk was flying to meet a girl from boulder keen to climb and play Frisbee. We tossed for awhile, with some of the adolescent too cool kiwi kids joining in from time to time (trying not to enjoy it too much).

Danach I got my kite out and it’s swooping dives and tacks soon drew a gaggle of children leaping and chasing after it, my dives became more and more risky until at last a kid caught the kite (or did I fly it into him... ^.^) . It was soon relaunched and the ordeal repeated until the wind abated and I could no longer keep the kite from their clutches. Then they wanted to try and fly and when a bit of wind puffed I gave them a go. Two of the kids were twins and I had trouble telling them apart, another was very keen on punching me in the balls, not so nice. They all got a turn at the kite, with varying success and a few scenes of brotherly love.

I then left the kite to juggle a soccer ball a bit with some kiwis and then wander off to see if I found anyone I knew. I ran into Tom and his flatties and settled down to eat some lunch. A group of pissed kiwis near us was making some human pyramids and I decided to go partake. No kneeling pyramids here, we were doing it like the Chinese: standing on each others shoulders. We got three on the base to support one, then two. And then got four on the base to support two and three. Finally we got four-three-one! Three men tall we stood for a bit until balance was lost or one of the base collapsed and then we all fell down without incident.

Back with Tom and company we get out the Frisbee and toss around, tom keeps missing his throws and almost hitting people. All the while I’m getting festive and jumping, dancing about like a fool. A gaggle of girls comes charging by as a dancing phalanx, and then surrounds me and we dance and move. The song ends and they want me to lead a dancing phalanx to the front. I tell them to start it and I’ll join in and help recruit. A few minutes later they come by, I join in, and they fall back and force me to the front - oh well. Party on! I continue and call others forth to join the line while leading those behind in ridiculous moves. We go by the kids I’d seen earlier and they join in. The girls are year nines so I try and encourage the young lads to make the most of this opportunity to impress the ladies. Fun leading - dancing- performing. The kids follow me back to my friends and soon they are jumping all over them as well. We spin em around and wrestle and throw the Frisbee, and then dance when the girls show up - er dance more since I was always dancing. Oh and avoiding getting punched by that one boy... At last I carry the kids over to their parents as a ‘special delivery’ and run off before they can catch me again. Dusk is falling and my friends and I move up to the front for the lat songs where we mosh around and I dance my hair out. Cashel street I am waiting...

~

The moon is red as it rises over the city and I amble home to sweet dreams before an early morning. I meet Tom back at his place where we get a ride with Darren, Emily, kyle and Jon into Arthur's Pass. Tom and I tackle Avalanche peak to make use of our rented snow gear while the rest go on to otihake hot pools (and get eaten by sandflies! Hua-haha,haa). Steep but easy four hour climb to the summit. Coming out of the bush (you wont believe it but it was actually THIN bush: dry and slightly less than lush) was great and offered sweet views of the falls across the valley: devils punch bowl and Bridal Vail Falls. We get our ice axes out more for good form than out of necessity for the last hundred meters of the ridge. The ridge drops sharply right with dramatic rocks and gullies. The snow covered peaks farther west and a small glacier their draw our gazes from the trail at our feet. We gain the summit and some tens of minutes later the clouds begin to obstruct our view and then drift about us. But not before we eat lunch and some Keas (only alpine parrot in the world) show up to see what they can get. We joke about

one of them steeling an ice axe and then while I’m rummaging in my pack one grabs my big jar of peanut butter and soars off with his mate in tow crying ‘kea’ in triumph. Incredulous Tom watched the whole affair occur within a meter of him with his camera in hand... Useless! We slowly and nonchalantly make our way down, tom now having recovered form the previous nights beverages which he managed to keep down. The cloud never blankets us but the light gets dull and the views less magnificent - or not. We wander down the road in the village with thumbs out stretched, looking for a good spot to hitch from but without much thought. As we’re debating a sudden end in the side walk and whether it should continue up the little hill in front of us a car pulls up and lo we have a ride!

Und sind Deutscher! Girls without much of a destination, got a cheap rental car in picton and trying to drive and see a lot. I encourage them to take their time and stop frequently as we continue through Arthur's pass. They take my advice and lucky for us all the weather cleared and they got out to see the Waimakariri river bathed in sun. Gorgeouse vistas of blue water braided through the stones, tall mountains mountains rising steeply from the flat valley, and the receding snow line still sheathing the high peaks about the divide up-valley. Some cloud is about but coming into castle hill the sky above clears and we encourage the girls to stop and see the magical place. I show them some spots including a scramble past the nook pictured right to the top of a boulder and a high vantage. Then we wander about, Tom finds some cool little problems for me to try in my tramping boots. Margret has climbing shoes but no experience so we dont bother with the easy climbs I know and just make up our own little scrambles instead. And soon we just move, hold and, Dance on the rocks. Sweet new vision through which to interact with the stones. Dusk is coming, so we move out, scrambling down a neat shoot and tunnel. The sky meanwhile is under invasion, cumulolentuculars of a soft orange pink have moved in saucer like. Our departure from magic rock is delayed a bit longer: we walk slower (past the cows) to lengthen our exposure to the magical stacks of pancakes, floating above the giant mountains of scree.

Night descended and I describe the bland countryside on the strait shot to Christchurch from Springfield - barring two slight curves, sorry. On the left we have what used to be pine forest and has been recently cleared and reseeded for cattle grazing, on the right giant hedges of the invasive gorse, on the left an asparagus stand I still haven't stopped at, more hedges, oh and you might see a hawk circling - if it wasn’t night. We drop off tom, and I get my bike and race off to guide them to my place - they clock me in their car and said I was going over 40kmh. We share food and make a yummy stir fry with beetroot and watercress adding to more common place veggies and with a peanut and coconut base. Enjoy some wine, tell stories, yack in German, share plans. Lots of smiles, and chocolate too,I finish the night adding some finishing touches to some sketches. The two get up early to experience as much of the drive up the east

coast to Picton as possible. Margret makes a yummy oatmeal and some tea which we enjoy before parting. Unfortunately Margret’s sleeping bag was discovered shortly thereafter under one of the couches. Luckily I had thier phone number, but it was off. I packed it up and sent it the following day up to aukland for her to pick up there. I do hope she still got to do the Tongariro crossing in spite of missing her bag.

The rest of Monday was precious as well, with lectures done and study week begun I had the day to myself and began by running errands at a leisurely pace. Saddly I forgot to bring a bag to the grocery store and as I was riding the plastic bag hit the spokes, ripped, and expelled its contents on the street: sending strawberries flying. I then dropped in on Liz who had caught fever. I took Rosa up for some toast and we wandered around outside, finding flowers and exploring the jungle seat. Nice to then sit inside with them, holding Liz’s burning head, lending my strength. But I had an appointment and soon rushed off through the sunny streets back to my own flat. I started chopping... I think there was rhubarb, if not there sure were apples and the strawberries I saved from road rash. Phoebe came and chopped a bit and then mixed the crumble to a perfect consistency. Put it all in an angle food cake dish and set it to bake while we explored wwoofing options. With the house smelling sweet we took the crumble out of the oven and sat on the front porch and ate the steaming amazing sweetness strait out of the pan in the golden sun of springtime in Christchurch.

I’d end there but I want to add that I played Frisbee for the first time that evening and had a great time subbing and playing savage for an afternoon, a few decent d’s and I thought my cutting was good if not too sharp. Throws a bit rusty, I couldn't thread the needle so well. A beer and some treats after as the sun set and then bike home with fabian for another yummy salmon Monday with the flat (and James and Grant of course, plus the none flatting flatmates Horst and Fabian)

Cheers! .

Domestic Sunday

Weekends come suddenly everyweek and the plans are always a scramble. This one was no different, and my visit to the weekly tramping club meeting provided no direction other than a possible easy day hike saturday in wet rainy weather. the same weather seemed to be all about the island and I had no desire to attempt to hitch the long road back north to sunny mountains. So I made no plans, went climbing with James in the porthills instead. kinda off day with our wall constantly confounding us, leading both of us to take wingers. Later we had some nice climbs though it was windy and sometimes felt as if we were gona get blown off the face.

I recall the events of sunday proper beginning in paragraph five if your pressed for time, otherwise - as all sundays do, this one began on a saturday. A lazy, uncommitted, uneventful saturday evening, on my own, eating dinner and contemplating my studies. Satisfied and full on the flattie's spaghetti sauce I was restless and the cheap rhubarb and other fruits I had sitting around hung in my mind. At Braeden's urging I gave in and whipped up a pear rhubarb crumble. As I put it in the oven Elizabeth responded to my query regarding a sunday trip to castle hill: "yup we're going, I wana leave around 8:30 and you can stay here or we can pick you up in the morning." I had a crumble in the oven so couldn't head over their just yet, but I replied that I'd check if people were still awake when my crumble was done and then maybe head over. At the prospect of crumble the response was: "yes, we will definitely be up! :-) ." Suddenly I was energized with purpose: deliver a crumble to friends.

Throw things in a bag for climbing at castle hill the next day, some other treats, and my hard drive of music and movies. I removed the crumble and delivered a large portion to Braeden to share ("three spoons? oh thanks nick I always wanted three spoons for my crumble." "I know you get over excited and eat the spoons sometimes so I put some extras in," I replied"). Then I carefully packaged it in my puffy jacket and placed it into my bag before grabbing by bicycle to race the 12k in nick style, making every light along the way!

Saddly Elizabeth was, as I had theorized, asleep on the couch. But Abby and Morten were chatt'n away and welcoming as ever. Liz did wake up, the crumbled was unveiled still steaming and sweet smelling and yoghurt was found. We all proceeded to nomnom on the scrumptious midnight snack. Tonight was the night we would loose an hour for daylight savings humdrum so movie thoughts were quickly rejected, especially once I realized my hard drive had not made it into my bag. The full tummy hilarity's subsided and people began to drop off. Liz found the couch and my lap amazingly comfortable. The couch alone was apparently more cozy than the bed downstairs even once I had extracted my no longer circulating limbs from under her. Thinking it silly, and smiling I sat down to do a bit of studying. Then Rosa woke downstairs and made sounds of distress. Those sounds only got worse when I went down to comfort her, and not wanting them to get too shrill I aroused mum who had quick success in easing Rosa back to sleep. The night was late, the moon was high, time had jumped and yet everything was the same, just now all of us were asleep.

Morning came to groggy faces, sleep deprived we slept through the alarms we forgot to set the night before. Our friends in lincoln were almost all assembled and ready to go to castle hill by the time liz had showered and I had prepared crepes n compote. When we heard no one in lincoln was needing our assistance to get to castle hill our motivation to drive the distance faded and the urge to soak in sunshine and catch some catnaps kept us from acting on our urges to travel.

With warm crepes wrapped around compote - leaving sticky fingers and smiles - we began sunday. The sweet smelling rhubarb accenting the primarily strawberry mash that filled the soft tortillas laced with bits of lemon, and lingered in the lounge long after they had settled in our tummies. There had been no spectacular sunrise, but the sun was high, the weather warm and a refreshing wind was blowing. We made our way around the house from sunspot to sunspot. From soft carpets, to cold glass. Onto soft wood, resting heads on shoulder, lying in the grass and smelling the fresh wetness of the evening's dew. Liz dozed as I tried to keep Rosa occupied and off her mum. Rosa summoned us all to sit on cushions that were a car and took us for a drive. A silent one because Rosa shushed Liz's and my boisterous singing of wheels on the bus go round and round. Lions were spotted en mass of course and chased us out of the car. Later when more lions were spotted I changed the theme. When using long straws to go fishing off the cushions that were now a boat I became a sea-lion when Rosa conjured up a lion. I dont think she quite understood what a kind of blubbery creature I was, but was entertained by my flopping and odd *roughing* noises non the less.

I decided on a shower. When I got out Rosa found all my scratches from bush and climbing adventures and proceeded to apply many plasters. Even as I write they still cover me as I am afraid of the pain that comes with removing plasters from hairy places. I remained in my towel, and Rosa seemed determined to remain nudiescaboody (a term my cousins and I used but which I have no idea how to spell) for the day and refused clothes. Plasters reminded me of my aches and pains. I retrieved some frozen fruit and a towel to ice my bothersome ankles. Rosa I think imitated me when she had me wrap some toilet paper around her arm as a bandage.

That 3 year old little girl has a little red push bike that she enjoys riding, and we went down the driveway to the quite street to ride around. It Reminded me of my bicycling on a wooden deck long ago. I kept her from zooming off down the hill by pushing her up and around on the culdesac. Walking back up the driveway we picked some flowers for mum and then discovered a secret path. So I picked up the barefoot Rosa and off through the woods we went on a little adventure. dodging branches and vines, I'd dip Rosa close to the flowers and delicately we would tiptoe around trees growing on the path. We came to thrones in the jungle, surrounded by light foliage, and enjoyed spotty sunlight. Still holding Rosa close to keep her warm in the shade and wind. She spotted a cool stick (when she says stick it sounds like pen) and used it to clean the armrests. Then we hollowed out the middle of the stick and stuck a flower in it. "oh! a lion!" Rosa spotted lions, I beat some of them off but then had to weave my way back along the trail to escape them. When we were back on the driveway I picked some interesting yellow blossoms off a tree. The blossoms swirling on the pavement became lions and we chased them off, or blew them up in the air to watch them drift away. We went back down the trail a few more times before returning up the driveway with the bike and some more flowers.

In the house rosa opted to ware a red princes dress for a time and we quietly prepared the flowers in vases and then presented them to Liz at her computer. "Ah, Tak." Then some skyping with family, and Rosa diving off the couch onto the big red beanbag with many a hard whomp. One whomp may or may not have been a bit too hard an impact but without crying and just a bit'a pouting Rosa wanted some ice. Rosa liked the way I had tied a towel around my knee to hold the ice in place earlier and had me fix her up the same way. Soon things were " aw bettah." Lions were spotted but Pete the talking hand puppet parrot chased them off. until Pete got caught and then the kick boxing kangaroo came in with her joey and beat off the lions. Then they both got their feet eaten by lions and Rosa had to rescue them!

We prepared some lunch snacks: buttered toast for rosa, odd sandwiches of sprouts, humus, tomatoes, butter, compote, this and that... and the last of the crumble. After that Rosa had to be chased around the garden for a bit by us lions trying to catch and gobble her up! With Liz as the lion we ran and hid in the bathroom. But the lion didn't come to get us, so we sneaked out quietly - only to have the lion JUMP out at us and send us SHRIEKING! back to the bathroom closet! Rosa and I made a few more attempts that always ended in shrieking giggles as we ran back into hiding. Then I became the lion and surprised them a few times before deftly maneuvering to chase them upstairs. Then no one was a lion and Rosa shed her red dress to devour two large apple icepops without making a mess.

And somewhere in between Rosa thoroughly buckled up my back pack and put it on. she looked like a turtle!

Rosa and I again made our way outside, following Liz as she explored the photographic possibilities the flowering garden inspired. Large white wrapped up blossomes didn't interest rosa who opted for More biking instead. doing so we discovered odd hard fruit like blossoms perfect for throwing. We found a ball and kicked that around for a while starting on the terrace behind the house and ending up on the street below. Very interesting to watch Rosa follow and respond to the ball; kicking it, or trapping it awkwardly to then pick it up and throw it. I played warden and kept the ball from rolling too far down the driveway, but I think Rosa learned many interesting things watching the ball move on the incline. And later when I bounced it up and down the stairs, sometimes bouncing over her, sometimes stopping on the step before her, and sometimes bouncing between outstretched hands and off her head. Rosa was slowing down, the sun was getting behind the hill and I think her birthday suit was a bit cold. But she still wanted to be outside, so she picked the last of the tulips in the front bed.

Standing on the bench of the lower terrace, which had some sunlight, we reenergized. Then warmed into movement and began to dance around. A coffee table was our center and In an odd ritual involving the waving of a small batton we orbited around. Stuttering in halting motions, shaking arms and uttering odd grunty-whiny chants. Putting the batons down - pausing to open eyes clearly and observe each other soft smiles stretching cheeks - then picking them up and resuming. Occasionally we would flop down on the ground, sitting or on our backs, then hop up to keep shuffle-chanting. We moved back onto the bench that serves as railing about the terrace to soak in some of the last rays of sun. And rosa gathered some rounded river rocks and I naturally began to stack and sculpt with those she brought to the table. My balanced creations were admired, but had to be moved to a frisbee and were destroyed in the process, but Rosa was confident I could remake them.

And it was time to sleep a bit. Rosa helped me carry out her little mattress, then helped me retrieve the larger single so that I would have a place to rest too. But the sleep was short lived as lions soon snuck up and had to be chased off. The ball reappeared with Morten who told us dinner would be ready soon. I threw the ball up onto the roof to watch it roll down. Then somehow Rosa needed to be thrown up there - so I picked Rosa up and twirled her about, tossed her up and then flopped down on the mattresses to rest my arms. I promised Rosa three more tosses and after the last one twirled and flew her around and upstairs to dinner and hugs from mum.

Dinner of mashed potatoes and a interesting tomato carrot bean something dish which was tasty. Also a bit of sauerkraut that they made and had been ripening for a few months, I of course didn't much care for it. full bellies conceeded to chores, and we all danced each pirouetting and bowing to the rythms as I cleaned up the kitchen and the others cleaned up the lounge. They then set up an amazingly comfy space to watch movies using mattresses, pillows, couch cushions, duvets and blankets. I got some popcorn ready and we dimmed the lights for a feature film! Love Actually was chosen, and Abby was distracted from getting her studing done. After the movie, during which Rosa fell asleep full on dinner, popcorn, and milk, Liz in her usual 'I don't feel like moving downstairs' fashion decided to stay put in the nest of pillows blankets and such. Even with the heat pump and the day's summer heat it got cold in the night, leading me to grab an extra blanket from downstairs. Something was bothering Rosa and she slept fitfully. And with the time change I realized a bit late that the additional light filtering through the curtains was sun and not just the strong moon. So ended a sunday of Being - with a kiss for sleeping Liz and a murmured salutation as farewell, I sped off on my bicycle into the dawn light.

Ciao

Highlights

I'm rather annoyed that the photo compression software used by google/blogger is cutting out my highlight detail... I work hard ot get that detail in and t means you folks dont get to see the subtle cloud and snow detail in my photos... alas such is life.

in other news I just spent 2 hours trying to do something in photoshop... didnt work.

Disasters

Returning from my frivolous excursion down south I learned of the wildfire near Boulder. my thoughts, hopes, and love goes out to all those involved. Browsing around I have found a few videos which bring out some of the dangerous beauty of nature's whims.

Now looking at the happenings of Christchurch I have two, one I found to be rather enlightening as it shows the actual faultline and the lateral movement of the earth during our Earthquake.

this second reveals the variety of effects the Earthquake had on christchurch, though I my self have seen very little of the rubble

I hope you can enjoy. While these things scare me in many ways I was also rather comforted and glad to return to christchurch yesterday and feel again some of the tremors which still rock the place. It reminds us that the mother is there holding and molding us.

destruction?

greetings all. As some many or all of you may know, Christchurch recently experienced an earthquake. (I'm fine) . The rattling started about 4:30 am.

I was awakened by rumblings and, disgruntled and sleepy, thought: 'who the hell is making such a raucous, at this hour!" Awakening more and staggering off of the cushions that were my bed: "thats gota be alot of people, or rosa's turned into a giant..." The windows rattled and doors shook as I staggered to the window to look outside: "cant be people. Gusts of wind maybe?" My hand just drawing back the curtains my mind has finally kicked into gear: "Oh! must be an earthquake, I should go stand in a doorframe." And turning from the window saw a flash of light.

I realized it was an earthquake. Having done I rather calmly made my way to the nearest doorway into the hall, though I staggered slightly on the vibrating floor. Once in the door I relaxed significantly, my mind was comfortable and no longer cranking. I enjoyed the ride really, and as it faded walked out and surprised my hosts. One hadn't realized I was staying the night so was rather a bit more surprised to see me in the hall. Immediately after the first strike several after shocks shook the house and I darted back under my doorframe. Then things seemed to have settled so I opened the door onto the patio.

Behold a red-orange moon, quarter crescent, rising over the hill. A black void stretching through most of christchurch, with just a few strips of lights towards the distance. The stars, that I had strained to see earlier, shining bright above. And flashing in the darkness bellow, alarms blaring the cars protested their interrupted slumber. Beams of light, thrown by torches, flew across walls, buildings, and trees as people emerged from their abodes to explore and check the damage. which, locally at least, can be summed up with: "everything's under control. Situation normal. Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?" The lights were out and we lost a bottle of wine, Which I first smelled, and then stepped into, as I was looking in the closet for some milk.

Liz came up with rosa, and we watched the stars and wandering beams of light for a while before settling down to sleep the rest of the morning away. Sleeping didn't work too well, tremors kept occurring which rattled the room. While we didn't feel too pressed to get out again thereafter some made us nervous.

Morning came and we found a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. No disaster to be seen around (other than broken glass in the kitchen). The only clue to the nights events were the continued tremors and no power. We cooked on a gas camping stove, and went up to the terrace to overlook the city from the hills of cashmere and enjoy the sun.

Abby and Morten went for a bike into the city. They returned with discounted breads, confections, and tales of the city. At right is a Morten's reaction to the destruction he found (or caused?) on one corner. Older brick constructions suffered most: loosing bricks, and dropping chimneys, while other buildings lost gutters and signs. But we enjoyed the garden and out of the mild destruction decided to sew knew life and planted some seeds in the garden. Space was cleared for spinach, lettuce, rocket, and corriander, dirtying our hands and fingernails. The power returned so we had tea and toast for lunch. We ran around the garden pretending to be lions, chasing and being chased by rosa.

On such a gorgeous day a trip to the beach was in order! We sallied up and drove through town. Some roads were closed and flooded or with cracks and silt in the gutters.

But we got to the beach and enjoyed it's marvels. We ran into the sea, a freezing cold sea that wrenched the breath away. Under water one had no sense other than urgency. But above the waves one could enjoy, and splash quite happily and warmly in the sun, while the feet slowly numbed in the sea. I dug holes in the sand seeking crabs, only to find odd cavities and then a sand worm with what seemed many many legs. I drew in the sand. Rosa ran hither and thither, placed mud on my feet, splashed and sat in my sand pits. Abby and Morten gathered clams to make a yummy dinner. All this Elizabeth recorded with her camera.

In the end, as the sun sets, the world seems fine. A 7.4 earthquake, later downgraded to a 7.1, and tremors sometimes over 5 in magnitude seems to have little affected life. But the center of town is said to be more impacted, and I'm sure CNN has all hell broken loose. Here at home we boild our water for three minutes just to be sure. 38 hrs later the tremors still occur. and now I sleep.

Kakariki

The university of Canterbury's Sustainibility club goes by the name of Kakiriki. They do a variety of things and if you recall they are the ones who hosted the permaculture workshop. This past weekend they had a potluck friday night and did some volunteer work on Quail Island saturday.

The potluck on Friday had an interesting premise. Since it was friday the thirteenth we were to dress up 'in our scariest dress' and rather than bringing a dish we were to bring an ingridient and then the group would cook something yummy. I had no Idea how to dress, and my trip to the second hand store provided little inspiration (I found a pair of shiny purple jeans though...). I decided to dress up as genetically modified corn, just wear lots of yellow basically, and then had the idea of bunching up yellow shopping bags to imitate corn kernels. Kinda worked... I was more a wako yellow-bag superhero. I finished my costume off by wrapping my green tarp around my legs as the corn husks.

I biked through the light rain, en costume, and stopped by a vegetable store I had wanted to check out. Descent prices and I grabbed some avocados thought I thought people would like to augment my contribution of carrots. Not many people showed up, and the costumes were a bit lackluster. Gabby managed to turn herself into a very frightening dumpster dweller useing some shredded curtains from a dumpster. For food we had: carrots, avocado, strawberries, carrots, silverbeat... yea and then from the house we used staples and tofu. We decided to make a vegan quich. and while that cooked we baked some crackers to go with the avocado. cracker making was like christmas cooking cutting, I made a horsee!

So we dined, and chatted. And did some face painting, some scary some benign - all beautiful. crackers (eith seseme seeds) were a sucess. We started snacking on the strawberries. ANd then the quich was done and a splendid blend of carrots onions and silver beat. For desert a Carrot cack appeared which was exceptionally moist and Delicious! we didnt bother cutting it and just ate fork fulls.

Saturday and I woke up late, jammed breakfast and lunch together and got to the UCSA building late to carpool to the ferry for quail island. We drove to littleton, which took much longer than I thought, but made the ferry that took us out to the island in littleton bay. On the island we gathered tools and went to a little vale of native brush which was planted 10 years prior. We were filling gaps that hadn't survived. Dig a hole, plant a flax or other native plant (whose name I forget), cover with a scrap of rug. Flax goes in the very wet, another in somewhat wet and the third plant went on the drier slops of the vale, plus another mix of plants went in to add diversity. It was beautifully sunny and I was afraid of getting burned but enjoying the warmth. talked to a kiwi who had traveled to Brekenridge and done some of the best skiing of his life. Another person, native of South Africa, had been to Colorado and skied with people from france who said they had the best snow of their life at winter park. cool stories to hear, and makes me miss skiing. We also planted in a drainage, on a rocky slope by the sea. more rocks than soil there and we had to poke around alot before finding places to plant.

We finished around 2-230 and had until 330 to explore the island. A cove nearby had about 6 sunken ships, steel ribbs poking out of the water. The tide was low and we wandered around and in the ships. Crabs fleeing into their holes, mussels everywhere, poking anemones and watching them cringe. Shoes sinking into the mud as the tide came in. The trail goes around the island and we enjoyed a leisurely walk back in the sunshine, at one point you could almost walk to a peninsula reaching into the bay had the tide been even lower. Past a quarry, some old huts that housed lepers and quarantined the sick in the first half of the 20th century, and past a beach to the jetty. There I watched the tide, caressing rounded rocks and fitting pebbles in grooves on the rocky slab shore.

Leaving on the Ferry I talked to Colin. He's older and started the reforestation effort on Quail island. In the 70's he did research in Colorado developing techniques for dating avalanch events based on evidence in the forest (he's a botanist). He spent a bit in Boulder and then was up in silverton and had the good fortune to enjoy all the beauty of southwest colorado; and to see so many mammals. Mammals are none native to NZ and so you dont really see nay in the bush, no squirrls, bunnys, pika, or moose etc.

That evening we had another little potluck where julie cooked the mussles she/we gathered at the sunkenships. I dont know if I like em, I ate em, but the wheat and white sauce was no good for me.

a Day

Monday.

Get up and moan about the morning, branches scratching at the window and making squeeching sounds. The noise of cars going by filters in. A bus passes in a mighty diesel roar. Push the cover up, folding the duvet over the sheep skins on top. cloths? oh my cloths... uh grab the merino top for the moment as it's light, comfy and warm.

Into the kitchen to prepare some food. Simple, it's already past 10:30 (as indicated by the bus passing) so no cuppa this morning, no eggs or pancakes (oh I should make french toast sometime...). Chop a banana, pour some Musli over it, mix and enjoy. listening to some classical music on the radio as I eat. Finished I take out bread, salami, tomato, butter, greens; slice the bread and tomatoes, stack it all up to make two sandwiches and put in a very fancy tupperware. Grab an apple.

Now to really choose some clothes, bah I need to do a wash, was going to do that but I got out of bed too late, tonight I guess. hmm, these will do. Brush teeth. search around my room to assemble all my school supplies and papers; and that pesky house key that keeps vanishing. Damn, still late always late... at 11:40 class is far away, but at 11:45 it's looming and then it takes another 5 min just to get the bike out of the garage (lord knows why!).

Try and sprint, as always, but that one light at fendalton rd always takes forever. Get to the engineering building and realize I forgot the bike lock. oh well. Put the bike in the bike parking cage that only students can access with a card, and use helmet as a bike lock... Yep, late, 12:03 as I walk into my Materials Science lecture and sit in the front row as Anil continues to lecture. Yay phase diagrams, fascinating things.

Then I have a two hr break, but not really. I go to the library to tackle a frustrating Energy engineering problem: a dairy factory is considering using a heatpump and a heat exchanger to use waste heat to preheat water, but I cant solve for the correct things. Consulting a few textbooks gets me know where and an hour and a half later I still don't get it and have to get to lecture. I swing by and turn in the frustrating assignment, with a brief explanation of my frustrations.

The prior class is taking it's time, which gives me time to enjoy my lunch outside the lecture theatre. Kapa Haka, maori performing arts: today we learned about the haka kamate, which was made famous by the Allblacks (NZ rugby team). Watched some movies of the Allblacks performing it, and it's evolution through time. talking about the positive and negative effects of the globalization of the haka, and some of the disrespectful imitations that have emerged. And I still havn't started my essay for that paper...

Since the lecture started late Corban held us over a bit, and I was a bit late for my Materials Science lab on the other side of campus. Quick lab, the tutor quickly tests some materials, we quickly copy numbers, he shows us some pictures and away we go! 'Have fun writing the 6-8 page write up' he says.

Thats the day. So I head home to do some reading and eat a full meal. I edit a geology on Ice Marginal Morains, which wasn't very good. For tea I saute carrots and gorgets with some garlic etc. then add some chicken I picked up from the butchers on the way home. Bring water to a boil and the pasta's ready at about the same time. mm yummy and then was I full. crap 6:30 already? gah, back on the Bike and down to uni!

Meet at the gear shed for the university of canterbury canoe club (UCCC) where we meet and secure kayaks to cars before driving off to QEII recreation center (and getting lost). We get there early anyways and so enjoy a bit of time in the hot tub before the pool frees up and we get in our kayaks and into the water. Tonight I'm not doing so hot. I get a few decent rolls and then just fail. paddle keeps hitting the boat and slicing into the water too much... I need to find the rigth equilibrium point to place my paddle at and then I know what to do. SO I fooled around and practiced my hip snap at the wall. Did some side stroke things to practice hipsnap and balance, which resulted in a few capsizings (then I'd try and roll, fail, and get resqued or wet exit) Great time!

Back from the pool, it's 10, bike home, eat a snack. mess with this and that, send some emails. enjoy sitting on my sheep skins on my bed and reading a bit. Thats my monday. oh and the weather was high clouds but not really any rain. Go to bed again with the branches squeeching and then my door half opening and letting in a stream of too bright light that disturbs my sleep.

Speed Deamon

I rushed through town this afternoon. Hopping buses to get there fast. But i left my card at home and had to turn around, catch a bus back and start all over. So i went back to uni and picked up the bike i was borrowing and dropped it back home. Then got the bus into town, quickly ran to town center to exchange some money and then hopped on a new bus to ferry road.

Arriving at ferry road i walked in the wrong direction, but then realized it. Walking back I passed several second hand shops and then arrived at Around Again Cycles. on stating my price range I was promptly directed to a neat little 14 speed Baur. An old road bike, drop bars and shimano levers on the down tube. Plus the bike is New Zealand made! The seat is a bit old and hard so that worried me, but I reasoned I could always replace it. After a few spins I deemed her worthy and told the owners I'd take a walk and be back in a bit.

I moseyed down the street to the gluten free bakery I had seen. They had 5 for the price of 4 deal on their frozen pies so i was excited to stalk up. But then I saw the price and had to refrain. I bought a 5 dollar steak pie which they warmed up for me. I should say mmm here, but it wasn't That good. I liked the wheat and dairy free gravy filling, would make a great stew, but the pie combo didnt knock my socks off. bread was fine, overall just didn't seem all there... it was missing something. And it was expensive.

I stopped at the second hand stores but didn't find anything. I then went to a little stationary store and bought some wool and needles for knitting!

I walked back to the shop and bought the bike; to which they fitted pedal cages and a bottle holder. I also bought a light! I then road home, turning an adventurous 1 hr bus ride into a half hour (ish). But I stopped at the botanical gardens to watch the ducks in the river and admire some late afternoon light. wandering along the bank of the canal I took this shot of a large non native but none the less pretty pine.

I spent the last of the day in a park, in the sun. Letting the suns rays bath me in gold as I began to read a short history of nearly everything and looking down at my new golden companion.

Work shop weekend!

This past weekend I stayed local and did a permaculture workshop. We learned the basic principles of permaculture, emphasizing that you start with what you have: the problem is the solution! We also did some functional analysis (after finding an artist who could draw a chicken) of chickens and wood stoves and such. What do these things need, what do they provide. Everyone liked the concept of Edge, the idea that things happen at boundaries, at the edge of shade, on the edge of pond, along the rock borders of paths, gardens, and stone walls. however I don't think we really learned what types of things we should put there...

We helped to build a herb spiral, which provides shade for shady plants and has sunny spots for those that like sun. So we learned how to lay bricks to make the form and then planted in leaf mulch (wonderful rich and black stuff). We learned of many interesting solutions and applications people had made in their own gardens and then walked around and suggested ideas for our hosts gardens (and chicken coop).

We were a lovely mix of people. Gardeners, students, professionals, teachers, vegans and omnivores, Hobbyists, die hards, and novices, all eager to learn, share, and help out. All of us eager to learn more and willing to share what we already knew. We all brought yummy foods to share for lunch. quiet a few raw vegan dishes and fresh breads and fruit also some sort of squash compote.

On sunday it rained so after finishing the herb spiral we decided to stay inside and I learned to knit! yay! now to make time to knit... Nicole taught me. She is a wonderful lady who lived in the netherlands and has been in Nz for the past 20, she reminds me of Alex Joslyn's mom. We then learned how to make sauerkraut and continued to share ideas on sustainability, gardening, diets, and health.

A wonderful weekend with great people. we've all exchanged emails so i look forward to staying in touch with them and we plan on doing some more workshops in the future!