Love this country!

The Ahuriri

Where else in the world can you go and see sights like this?? I love this country! It was a great, relaxing Easter as well. Felt a little like summer but slightly colder.

Just by the Ahuriri Valley Track

More photos to come on my Flickr. It's almost enough to make me want to throw in my job and just go live somewhere that's NOT the city and wake up to the mountains every day :)

Freedom!

Well, it is officially Easter weekend for me due to a mix up in when Isaac's graduation is. (It's Thursday, not Wednesday)

But that's ok. Initially I was planning on spending most of Weds with the kitten, but that has obviously gone out the window now. So I am filling my day with things like baking and going to Journey Towards Easter and preparing for heading down to Ohau. Again, we originally weren't going any where for the holiday but with kitty gone it seems like a good time to get out of the house as it's a little uncomfortable-feeling here sometimes.

Sometimes I think I see the kitten sitting somewhere on the floor. It always ends up being my shoes or something like that. But I don't expect him to walk into the room as much any more :(

So tomorrow will be okay. Just me. My parents get back tomorrow so may stop in for a visit and Isaac and I are planning on trialing the delights of Wagamama tomorrow night as a pre-graduation celebration.

I feel that I will probably have to take a few deep breaths. But that's okay. I'm doing okay and that is really only due to the grace of God.

We are looking at places to move to. Places to buy. Looking into how much we can/need to borrow. It's all very exciting and grown up. I'm believing for the right place and the provision to get it.

Still haven't heard about the job I applied for. But that's all good. Supposed to hear by the end of the week - but I'm not there (haha). I'm not worried though, I still like my current job well enough and part of me would feel bad for leaving in such a time of change.

6 days off work! Whoop!

Complexity

Life isn't always easy
Complexity surrounds me
Some days it's not clear to see
Evidence of your majesty...

But I am hanging on,
To the one,
Who gives me life...

I am hanging on,
To the one,
Who gives me life...

I'd forgotten this song. Must be Easter if I'm thinking of Satellite. It so fits my mood right now.

Easter

I am truly sad Easter Break is over. It was such a genuinely relaxing, fun time. We spent time down in Ohau - met the new boy, who seems nice - and did lots of sleeping and eating and walking. And it gave me a really good opportunity to give the Pentax a serious workout. Then I got to jam at church for the Sunday service with a really awesome band - I'm a lucky girl! First time playing with the choir and not being in choir. Weird, but fun.

It almost sucks having to come back to work, but I guess life goes on...and money must be earned etc. Newspaper industry is truly high paced and crazy though. Today everyone seemed a bit on edge - the long weekend seems to have thrown everything out of whack. Not cool. Here's to tomorrow being better.

Photos!!! I took over 300 pictures on the weekend. Don't worry, I will spare people the majority of them...lol

Morning view from the Bach

Mountains :)

Windswept boy

One of Ohau's tourist attractions

The lake on a windy day :)

See? Windy :)

I love holidays :)

ESPECIALLY when holidays are up in the mountains with a view like this!!! Pretty right? It's the sun setting over the mountain. First afternoon there we decided that a little walk would be timely so that we could familarise ourselves with the countryside...

Mmm...look at the view...
Heh heh...what a poser :)

Jennifer tries to find huhu grubs

We had no luck with the grubs - thankfully! - but I did manage to get a stunning shot of the broken tree:

See? Pretty cool, huh?
In fact, I got many, many pretty pictures :)

We were really on the hunt for an elusive river. I don't know how it started. But we heard it and then we decided we had to find it...

We did find it in the end but it was more of an alpine stream than a raging river...


"Four teenagers wandered upstream on easter friday in the Alpine village of Mt Lyford. They forgot to calculate for nightfall and found themselves wandering onwards into the dark...lost FOREVER."

Which is how our story COULD have played out. Thankfully we are sensible and headed home not long after the upstream trek!


We did have some gorgeous views out there though! It was awesome getting away from civilization for a couple of days. We walked and picnicked and slept in and read books and/or trashy magazines. Great fun!!!

And it's not half bad being greeted with a view like this at 9.30 in the morning either!!

We also found a playground...

Hehehe...even the dog managed the slide :)

Puppy!!

Our *ahem*healthy*ahem* picnic. (That's Cointreau chocolate right there!)

'Nuff said :) - excepting that my hair looks red - which it's not!

After much walking we discovered ourselves on "One Ball Track" (haha!)

So, am now home and tired. (Surprisingly!) And I should really get my "a into g" and unpack or do something. But instead am eating tinned spag and typing out cheesecake recipies from old editions of Next Magazine and waiting for the boy to come by.

Hmmm...a nap would also be nice!

Camp...or lack thereof

I've never had a year not being at easter camp over easter. Well, actually I have. But not anything I can remember. Which is weird, because the majority of my years have been not at camp.

But still. As I sit here eating lukewarm toast and drinking coffee I can't help thinking...this is much better than camp. Camping in tents has never been my forte. And at EC I'd probably have been woken up over an hour ago after having spent a rather cold night in a sleeping bag surrounded by teenagers. I wouldn't be showering, but I'd at least make the trek to the loos to do my teeth and face after pulling on tons of layers first.

Then I'd be surrounded my excitable teenagers all day long.

And that's fine. Camp is awesome and I've always had a great time there. Isaac and I probably wouldn't be going out if it wasn't for EC last year.

But I'm glad I'm home and heading out of town for the weekend. Even if it is a "family" event. It should still be fun.

And after the week I've had, I deserve it :)