The House Seems So Quiet

Monday, March 30, 2009


With Mark off for a few days and Ro at school, we're enjoying a sort of empty-nest syndrome. Get up late, eat a leisurely breakfast, walk downtown, run a few errands, etc... We've finally mailed off the last of our wedding thank-you notes. Thank you to everyone who was there, in body or spirit!


The Kwangchow Chinese restaurant down the block always looks packed in the evenings, so we figured we'd give it a try for lunch. Their smorgasbord (i.e. buffet) was a little small by US standards, and the food was just okay. Sherry's given up eating lamb since our visit to the Agrodome, as she can no longer put out of her mind where lamb comes from. Mark, on the other hand, harbors no such guilty conscience, and enjoyed the lamb with Satay sauce immensely. Too bad for Sherry that was the best dish they had. Most of the other dishes were overcooked or oversauced. The desserts were pretty good, if you like half a dozen different ways to prepare meringue. At least they had real chopsticks; they had jasmine tea, too, but you had to brew it yourself with the selection of teabags on the buffet.


When we picked Ro up from school, he spent probably a good half-hour playing in the schoolyard with his "mates" after the bell rang. We were all tired and spent the rest of the day at the apartment, chilling on the deck, eating popsicles in the warm afternoon sun, watching Ro blow bubbles and doodle on his writing pad. He's getting quite good at drawing letters...and monsters. Sherry made a delicious dinner - the best lamb (for Mark) she's made yet. She says she took it out of the oven when it still looked nauseatingly bloody to her; the result was a perfect medium-rare. Even Ro scarfed down his "five bites" (one for each year he is old) of steak and his "candy potato" (kumara with brown sugar on it), although he constantly turns around in his chair to peer over the balcony, and has to be reminded to face the table. Not sure what's so fascinating about the sidewalk, but he seems to love it. For those of you who haven't figured it out, lamb and beef are super-cheap here, and very high quality. Imported things like orange juice, though, are crazy expensive. After putting Ro to bed, Sherry stayed up late to watch the season premier of Flight of the Conchords with Mark.


For the uninitiated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Conchords

Ro playing in the schoolyard

Ro with classmate Henry giving chase

Ro and his "mates" playing with a giant rubber band

A Taste of Old Tauranga

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sherry and Ro drove Mark to work, then stopped by McDonald’s for breakfast in the play area before a planned excursion to the Tauranga Gem & Fossil Show, sponsored by the Tauranga Mineral Club. While at the play area, Ro became fast friends with a boy his own age who was over on holiday from Australia with his family. Sherry enjoyed talking with the parents, Audrey and Marius, while Ro played with their two boys whose names Sherry actually didn’t catch. The boys ran around screeching at one another playing dinosaurs for about two hours, just having the time of their lives. Audrey and her husband are actually from South Africa, and have been living down under for a year, trying to make a permanent move. We compared culture shock notes, like for example, how Kiwis (and Aussies apparently as well) call mealtime or snack time “tea.” There is no tea involved, but to have a snack, they will say, “Let’s have tea.” It’s quite cute.

Sherry told them about how on the first of Ro’s meet-and-greet days at his primary school, the announcement that she’d seen at the Kindy simply said it was to last from 9:30 until 11:30, and to bring “tea.” Then, she went on to tell them she’d carefully packed Ro’s lunchbox, along with two teabags for herself and Mark, thinking all the adults would sit around to tea while the kids played and ate lunch. What a surprise to find out there was no tea with “tea.” Marius and Audrey laughed, having had similar experiences when they arrived in Melbourne.

After saying goodbye to new-found friends and getting their contact info (in case we want to visit them in Melbourne), Sherry and Ro went on to the Tauranga Historic Village for the Gem show. The Village is an open air museum consisting of historic buildings, and home to over sixty community groups. However, it no longer operates as an historic village. There are still several arts and crafts groups in the village and a functioning museum radio station, Village Radio. Visitors are welcome during special events, like the one today. It looks like an old settlement, with old wooden clapboard homes topped with tin roofs, an old church, a blacksmith shop, and the Wood museum.

Ronan at the Wood Museum

Aside from enjoying the many rocks, gems, fossils, and crafts on display along the “streets” of the Village, there were members of the Mineral Club on hand at their store, showing how they cut and sand rocks for jewelry, as well as grind and polish larger specimens in their collection. Ro collected six pieces throughout the day, including an Apache tear (obsidian), Amethyst, Quartz crystals, an aquamarine crystal, and a fossilized shell. Each piece was no more than NZ$2; most were fifty cents.

Ro chatting with a guy carving Maori necklaces

Ro captivated by a real microscope

Another curiosity at the Village is the House of Bottles Wood Museum. Ran by Scott and Trish Goodwin, they use wood fence posts from pioneer farms around NZ and create interesting art out of them. Scott Goodwin has transformed them into handcrafted bottles, plates, bowls, and even children’s spinning tops. These recycled native timbers make unique souvenirs and are all hand crafted on site.

Feeling sympathetic for the local “Girl Guides” who had set up a booth to sell their “biscuits,” we bought a box of cookies that are in no way like our Girl Scout variety back home. Although tasty, there are only two kinds: shortbread or chocolate-dipped shortbread. It really got Sherry craving those delicious Samoas and Tagalongs back home. HINT! HINT!

Sherry and Ro left the Village and went to the Tauranga port to enjoy Subway from the other side of Pilot Bay. While there, Ro (as usual) had quite the following of seagulls as he threw them crumbs from his sub, squealing with delight as they would swoop down and grab them. They retired for the afternoon at home to relax and await Mark’s call from work. Ro starts his second week of school tomorrow, so it’s off to bed early tonight!

These gulls have spotted their meal ticket

Ro blowing bubbles on our balcony

Clowning Around

Saturday, March 28, 2009

While Mark started the first day of his weekend shifts, Sherry and Ro enjoyed Saturday morning cartoons, then headed down to Blake Park across from Ro’s old Kindy to check out the circus in town for the weekend. The “Aotearoa Circus” is a small, eclectic group of human acts, no animals. Complete with clowns, trapeze artists, comedy, aerial entertainers, balancing and acrobatic acts, it was a hit with all, especially the largely under-12 audience. Ro enjoyed himself immensely, although he got a bit protective when one of the clowns gave Sherry a rose and motioned for her to kiss him. Further adding to the comedy, Ronan leaned over across Sherry and told the clown, “Hey, don’t mess with my mom!” Aotearoa is the Maori word for New Zealand, by the way, and means “Land of the Long White Cloud.”

Ro using the bike rack at Coronation Park as a gymnasium

Ro looks like he's levitating

Ro enjoying the half-pipe at Blake Park. Skateboard ramps and parks are everywhere here!

Knife juggler at the Aotearoa Circus

Ah, the Joys of Parenting

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Ro on his makeshift throne earlier this week

After working three evenings straight, Mark finally had a day off. Up bright and early, Ro was playing with his crayons and his kid-size scissors, cutting scrap paper into different shapes. Somehow he got the idea that cutting his hair would be a good idea, so snip-snip he went. He ended up with a bald spot a couple inches back from the middle of his forehead! Sherry was upset at first, but we soon realized that we had done the same thing when we were kids, and didn't have any difficulty learning the lesson as soon as we got to school...lol. Mark took Ro to school this morning since Sherry had some errands to run.

While Mark was driving him to school, Ronan exclaimed from the backseat that he didn't want to go.

"Why not?" asked Mark.

"The teachers are mean to me," said Ro.

"How so?"

"They tell me to do things."

"Like what?"

"Like not to hit other people with things. And not to climb on the fence," said Ro indignantly as Mark tried to keep a straight face. But, he finally lost it when Ro called out "I can't breathe!" Looking in the rearview mirror, Mark could see the foam yellow earplugs Sherry had bought for Ro ("because he liked squishing them") firmly lodged in each of Ro's nostrils. Fortunately, he was able to extract them himself, sparing us a visit to the ED on Mark's day off.

Ro is getting to be so grown up, or at least thinks he is, refusing to let Mark come with him past the fence bordering the school. "I'm big! I can go to school by myself," he insisted, toddling off with a backpack that looks almost as big as him. Mark and Sherry met up later at McCafe for a late breakfast. Yes, that's right, the local McDonald's has an attached espresso bar, with decadent pastries, gourmet sandwiches, and real mugs - not paper cups. It conveniently overlooks the Playplace, which is one of Ro's favorite places - some things never change, eh?

Even though they get lots of admiring and curious looks on the tandem bike, Ro had been asking to walk to and from school all week, since in his eyes, "all the other kids walk!" Not true, of course, but the majority of them do. We walked to pick him up along Marine Parade, and were waiting for him outside his building when the bell rang. Getting there took about 25 minutes. Getting home, on the other hand, took about 2 hours. Of course, that included a stop at Te Ngaio Reserve to play. Mark showed Ro how to swing from his knees upside down on the monkey bars, which Sherry was less than enthused about. They even have a pretend surfboard mounted on a spring so wannabe surfers can practice their balance, or as Mark refers to it, the "ankle breaker." Ro is quite the babe magnet, and found a couple new "girlfriends" at the park, one of whom he wanted to follow across the street to the beach with her mom. After playing at the beach for another hour or so, we finally made it home for dinner.

Mark & Ro playing Morrowind. Note Ro's little bald spot

Ro's First Day of Primary School

Monday, March 23, 2009

Ro ready for his first day

Playing before class starts

Ro had a great first day...so great, in fact, that after school he left his classroom and went walking down the sidewalk with his new friend, Jack. After waiting IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING, not seeing him leave (gabbing with Isobella's mum), going in his class and finding it empty, coming back outside and catching a glimpse of him leaving the school gate, Sherry hurried down and caught him and Jack about 20 feet from the school on the sidewalk. "We're walking home, Mom, 'cause we're 5," states Ronan proudly. Sherry got the feeling that Ro is the leader here, and Jack the guilty follower. She told Ro that he was not to leave school grounds without her, ever, and if he did so tomorrow, he would be grounded. She asked Jack if his mum knew where he was, and he says "course." So, they waited there, because Sherry wanted to see if his mum REALLY knew he was there.

About 3:15, here his mum comes down the sidewalk, obviously distraught. She gave him a strict talking to, and the teacher Ms. Dohnt was close behind. Ms. Dohnt said she would give the class a talking to tomorrow about rules when the bell rings. Thus, Sherry met Justine, Jack's mom. On the way home they stopped at Tay Street Cafe for an ice cream (apparently a popular idea for other mums and kids, too) and ran into Isobella's (Ro's friend from Kindy) mum there as well.

Afterward, they stopped by Te Ngaio Preserve (a little hidden park with the old-school metal dome shaped monkey bars Ro loves), just off Marine Parade. While there, Sherry met two Irish sisters who live here (one in Hamilton, the other in Tauranga) out with their kids at the park. Jo (from Hamilton) was with her 15 month old daughter. Sherry exchanged numbers with Louise as they had a great talk in the park and she's only been here 4 months (Jo has been here for 2 years). They both loved Ronan's name, of course! Louise's girl Francesca will be 5 in June, and her little one is Annabelle (under 2), although she calls her Tinkerbell. Cute.

Ronan the Vulcanologist

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Although we stayed close to home yesterday (Mark was on back-up call this week), we wanted to get away somewhere special for Ro's birthday today. Ro absolutely loves volcanoes - I think he's been fascinated by lava ever since seeing Star Wars Episode III, and he reads his volcano book almost every night. As luck would have it, we live right next to a belt of geothermal activity just east of us (which includes Rotorua), and there's a live marine volcano called White Island. To get there, we had to drive to Whakatane (the "Wh" is pronounced "F"), a little over an hour away. We got an early start, Ro especially - he woke up at 3am he was so excited about going to see a volcano, and wouldn't go back to sleep. Fortunately, he napped on the way.

The drive there was through some very pretty coastline and farmland, and we found the tour place without even looking at a map. Whakatane's not very big. They've got quite an operation going for the tours. White Island Tours has two boats leaving at alternating times, and their own motel, with a nice cafe (with some incredibly good croissants) and souvenir shop attached.

See link: http://www.whiteisland.co.nz/

Sherry thought for a bit and realized that this was Ro's first real boat ride. As we pulled out of the small harbor, past the iconic statue of a Maori girl at the harbor entrance, we watched New Zealand fade into the distance as we were served morning tea on the swaying, rocking upper deck of the boat. And Ro didn't even get seasick! Sherry, on the other hand, along with a couple of tween boys and a woman, got violently ill towards the end of the trip, which takes about 90 minutes. Dry land never looked so good, and due to her illness we were some of the first people ferried off the boat in the rubber dinghy. The transfer from the bobbing dinghy to the rock outcrop lined with rusty iron bars ("the dock") was a little tricky for Ro, requiring a helpful shove or two, but we all made it safe and sound.

Sherry & Ro on the Pee Jay V, pulling away from Whakatane

Ro enjoying the ride with Whale Island in background

Approaching White Island

We were all issued gas masks and hardhats to use on the island. The tour operators don't recommend the tour for kids under 8 years old, so Ro was the only young kid on the tour. We looked at today as a test of his maturity, since it required strict obedience for pretty much the entire day, as there was no shortage of ways he could have met an untimely end on this trip if he so chose. We are extremely proud to say that he passed with flying colors. In fact, he was consistently better behaved today than, well, before he could talk...lol. Although he got a little rambunctious towards the end of the boat trip back to the mainland, he was still in his happy place, with no whining in sight.

Ronan ready for whatever the island throws at him

Sherry & Ro on White Island

The interior of White Island is basically a desolate, almost alien-looking landscape, with steaming fissures, milk-white streams, bubbling pools of unnatural-colored liquid, bright yellow sulfur deposits, hollow domes of earth that can give way at any second, and a boiling lake - the color of which can only be described as green antifreeze. Most of the island is hollow, or at least VERY porous - you can tell by dropping a heavy rock on the ground and listening to the hollow "thud", which our tour guide demonstrated...at the end of the trip. The crater is constantly changing, with the biggest recent changes coming last November as a whole cliff face caved in to reveal a huge hissing vent. The island has gone through several failed attempts at sulfur mining dating back to the 1800's, and burned-out remnants of the mining factory can still be seen there.

The Hills at some steaming vents on White Island

"Follow The Yellow Brick Road"

Our tour group with a sideways-steaming vent in background

Ro likes the boiling green lake

Hard hat + scarf = Sherry Chic

Ro & Mark at a bubbling pool

Helping Ro across the stream

Ro at the old sulfur processing factory

No sooner did Sherry see the rocking boat from the dinghy on our return, than she began to get sick again. Over the course of about an hour, the rest of the passengers were loaded, some of us (i.e. Mark and some other passengers) went for a swim beside the boat in the key lime-green water, and lunch was served. Once the boat weighed anchor and started moving again Sherry felt better, as the waves weren't as rough on the way back. We got to see some of the exterior of the island on the return trip; a few parts of it were quite lush, with thousands of birds, but we didn't see a single scrap of vegetation in the caldera.

Waiting for the dinghy to take us back to the Pee Jay V

Mark swimming off White Island

Ro loved playing on the bow of the boat, although he had to be reminded more than once to "keep both feet on deck!" Eventually, he got cold (he had stripped down to just a pair of jeans and his hat), so he cuddled up with Sherry, who was already bundled up in her fleece, windbreaker, and scarf. Mark, meanwhile, was letting his bathing suit air dry on him.

Sherry & Ro sacked out on the foredeck

We got a real treat about 2/3 of the way home, as we encountered a school of dolphins. Simply magical! They were right underneath us as we peered over the bow - there had to be at least a dozen of them at one point, bobbing and weaving around the ship, and we watched them for a good ten minutes.

Dolphins cavorting off the ship's bow

Sherry was ravenous when we got to shore, since the little bit of lunch she had on the boat came right back up shortly afterwards. The cafe was closed, as was the nice restaurant next to the dock, but Mark lucked out and the Fish & Chips place was open. The fish was excellent, but Sherry's burger - uh, not so much. We got it as takeaway, and ate at the waterside park where Ro could play on the jungle gym. He's finally getting the hang of the "flying fox," which seems to be omnipresent at playgrounds around here - basically a metal ring on a track that you grab onto and works like a zip line. He discovered (with some coaching) that it works much better if you get a running start - no more getting stuck in the middle!


We were all exhausted when we got home, crashing on the couch with The Golden Compass on TV and some leftover pizza. A Saturday well spent...ahhhhh.

Ronan Turns Five!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Ro was up bright and early today, asking for his presents. We finally convinced him to wait until 1pm, the time he was born, for cake and presents. Sherry made a really cool-looking volcano cake, decorated with toy dinosaurs, then took Ro to Mt Drury Park until it was time for lunch.

Ro seems to find a new praying mantis pet every week

Ro's 5th birthday cake

Ro blowing out his candles

Enjoying the volcano on our balcony

Thanks to all of Ro's grandparents for sending cards - much appreciated! From us he got a set of Hot Wheel type New Zealand emergency vehicles, a mask that came with it's own painting kit to decorate it, a Nerf-type football with a tail and spiral grooves to help with throwing, some marbles, a pair of binoculars, some Ben-10 temporary tattoos, and a big Lego airplane set. After putting the airplane together, we spent the afternoon at Coronation Park throwing the ball around.

Ro always looks through the wrong end of binoculars first

Yeeahhh, baby!

Ro & Mark playing rugby in the park

Keep your eye on the ball!

Ro wanted pizza for dinner, so we got takeaway from Pizza Hut down the block. He must have been starving, because he ate 5 pieces and another piece of cake. Then he wanted to watch a scary movie, and as luck would have it, Cloverfield was on. He didn't seem scared by it - we'll see what happens in the middle of the night tonight.

Moving Day

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Today we had to move all of our stuff upstairs to our new apartment. It's amazing how much crap you can accumulate in under two months. Our new place is bigger, with a better deck and an arguably better view. Sherry took Ro to his second orientation morning at Mount Maunganui Primary, and he seemed more comfortable this time around. She made a point of not following him outside to recess, to see what he would do. He had a great time playing - too good, in fact. He was the very last student in the whole school to come back inside after the bell rang. He claims he didn't hear the bell. Then he claimed he didn't know what it meant. Sounds fishy.

The view from our new deck, looking north towards Mt Maunganui and Mt Drury

Looking south at Coronation Park

When Sherry and Ro got back, we had a last lunch in the old place and went upstairs to check out the new digs. Mark had already moved most of our stuff upstairs by that point, including Ro's bath toys. Ro was ecstatic when he saw the bathtub - he's been forced to take showers the whole time we've been here. Although he had to leave shortly for his last afternoon at Kindy, he immediately stripped down, ran a bath, and splashed around to his heart's content. Meanwhile, Mark availed himself of the other key feature of the new place - a separate half-bath. Sherry busied herself organizing the kitchen, amazed by how much more cabinet space we have now.

Our new apartment interior. Not crazy about the ivory suede couches and a 5 year-old

While Ro was at Kindy, we brought his birthday presents up from the car (we had hidden them in the trunk), wrapped them, and hid them again for tomorrow. Then Mark began working on his taxes, which took well into the night. He did take a break to go to the Bay with Sherry and Ro after Kindy to try to catch some fish. Yesterday, they had gone down to the pier and they could see the water around the dock teeming with tiny fish, so Sherry bought a pole net today so Ro could try his hand at fishing. Alas, no luck catching any today (we all gave it a go), but we soon retreated to Pilot Bay Beach where Ro happily played in the sand.

Mark & Ro trying to catch a few fish

Ro carrying water with gritty determination

Sherry & Ro start construction

Ro with his finished "sandman"

While Sherry fixed dinner, Mark took Ro down to the pool, where Ro had a frightening experience. He loves hanging onto and swinging around the steel banister handrail that runs down the center of the wide staircase into the pool. Standing on the bottom step, his chin touches the water. Well, he was hanging onto the pole, bouncing up and down on the edge of the bottom step, when he managed to miss the step and lose his grip on the pole at the same time. Suffice it to say, he sank the extra ten inches to the bottom of the pool like a stone. Mark was watching all this from the other side of the pool. After a couple seconds of "Is he going to surface or not?", Mark realized he wasn't moving up or appreciably towards the steps, just sort of running in place with his arms flailed out to his sides, his soaked bucket hat bobbing in the water above him. Rushing over to him, Mark scooped him up so he could breathe and grab the pole. All told, he was only under for 6-7 seconds, but the screams and blubbering that emanated from him when he surfaced could probably have been heard across the bay in Tauranga. He calmed down remarkably fast, but restricted himself to the hot tub for the rest of the afternoon.


Fortunately, our new deck is big enough for a table and four chairs, so we ate outside tonight since the weather was so nice - not sure how much longer that will last since we're getting into autumn here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

It was a rainy St. Patty's Day here on The Mount. To get Ro out of the house, we ran errands in the morning, then dropped him off at Kindy. Mark and Sherry hit Rosie O'Grady's pub for lunch to celebrate the holiday. Mark had the Limerick Lamb Shank which was excellent. Sherry on the other hand, had the Beef and Guinness stew, which sounded better than it was - the veggies and potatoes were barely cooked, and the whole thing wasn't hot enough. We sent it back so they could heat it up, but they forgot to bring it back out until we prompted them. At least the waitress was appropriately apologetic for the "muck up" and gave us a free round and a Death By Chocolate dessert.

Ro in his dragon costume during storytime at Kindy, his "girlfriend" Isobella on right

Sherry and Ro went to Blake Park yesterday on the way home from Kindy, where, as luck would have it, they were having registration for youth-league rugby. Ro wanted in, so she signed him up. He looked so cute in his yellow and green striped rugby shirt with a big #1 on the back; he wanted to sleep in it last night. Today while Sherry was preparing dinner, Mark took one for the team and took Ro across the street to Coronation Park to practice passing and tackling (we luckily had already picked up a souvenir rugby ball). They were the only people at the park, because the rain was coming down in sheets. Ro had a blast nonetheless, and strangely enough didn't seem to mind getting tackled (gently) in the mud. Actually, Mark needed to do little more than wait for Ro to run with the ball, run alongside him and bump Ro's shoulders with his hip, which would send him skidding across the grassy hill. When they were both getting tired of running around, Ro entertained himself by splashing through the puddles around the goldfish pond. According to him, at least, you can adequately wash your hands in a muddy puddle...lol.

Ro & Mark after a rain-soaked rugby session

After a quick rinse-off, it was into the hot tub back at The Anchorage to relax while Sherry finished dinner: meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes...mmmm...comfort food. It will be interesting to see how Ro does on a real rugby field...the season starts in April and games are on Saturday mornings.