Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Succulents


Succulents, originally uploaded by Amy Templeman.

If anyone knows what this plant is, please let me know.

Also, check out my flickr pics.

I'd blog about something interesting, but I'm not very interesting at the moment. Beach, beach, more beach, sewing, watching TV shows online, football, netball, cooking and cleaning. Oh ya, and working for 8 hours a day. That's all I've been up to.

I did, however, find an interesting website for those interested in laser cut designs. It's a NZ company called Ponoko. Check it out.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Weeks Where Nothing Happened...



Except for


  • completing immigration papers and more immigration papers by a very disorganized (and either a partially dyslexic or illiterate) Amy

  • crying a whole lot of tears (which resulted in bloodshot eyelids)

  • two days of hiking mountains

  • failing the warrant of fitness

  • fixing the car

  • getting the warrant of fitness

  • swimming in a mud flat when the tide was out because we were too impatient to wait 4 hours

  • more hiking

  • swimming in a waterfall

  • getting caught in the rain in a tent in the middle of a farmer's field

  • finding the solution to my motion-sickness problem

  • almost completing my beautiful dress

  • winning at quiz night

  • playing an epic 2-hour game of "gridiron" at Western Park with two people who couldn't speak any English

  • finishing reading Dexter in the Dark

  • participating in another (not horrible) netball loss

  • and watching nearly the entire Season 2 of Dexter



the last few weeks have been pretty uneventful.



Oh ya. And did I mention I have a full-time job?

Travis's 2-week accomplishment list would look very similar, except I don't think he cried, sewed a dress, or swam in a mud flat. Oh ya, and Dexter's MY thing. He thinks I'm in love with Dexter. Weirdo.

Photos to come... or just check out Amy or Travis's flickr pages.

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Dunes & Bethell's Beach


Waiti Stream, originally uploaded by tkw954.

For scale - those are people on the dune. They look like red and white specks.



Swimming, originally uploaded by tkw954.

I didn't know what to expect on our short excursion. Certainly not a gorgeous fresh-water lake nestled between the biggest sand dunes I've ever seen and rolling green hills dotted with cattle.

I could have stayed here all day, although my intention was to go to Bethell's Beach to play in the waves. Had we gone to Bethell's first, there would be no contest - I'd stay at Wainamu and walk home across the dune in the dark. Next time, I'm taking ALL of my gear on the hike to Wainamu (I had edited my beach gear before leaving the car - only brought hiking boots, sarong, and sunscreen. Note: hiking boots are NOT REQUIRED. CAMERA REQUIRED.)

Another note - after swimming exclusively in salt water for the past year or so, I noticed that swimming in fresh water required a LOT MORE EFFORT. Unfortunately, Travis and I couldn't perform the second part of our experiment. We treaded water in Lake Wainamu to see how high we could get our shoulders out of the water. Our shoulders just barely made it out of the water. At Bethell's, the waves were too churney and choppy to conclude the experiment. I'll have to try it out at Herne Bay. Maybe tonight.