Plan for next year: to try the whelks.

It was Auckland Anniversary (of the establishment of the Colony in 1842) weekend, which means one thing:  Seafood Festival!  We brought our appetite and had big fun. 

I started out with a paua fritter on sweet rawera bread.  The black paua meat is chopped up fine, mixed with onions and other spices, and fried on a grill into a crispy gorgeous little mess.  I know it looks a little like a cow patty.  You get over that quick once you taste it.

 It was so good, in fact, that I had to keep it going with some paua fritters.

The gentlemen shared a spicy salmon quesadilla.

We stood gaping for a while at the gruesome display at one of the stalls.  Notice the shark's blood running down the cooler.  Eeesh.

My favorite part is the impaled lemons on the sword-tips.  Safety first!

We enjoyed some calamari rings and shrimp kebabs (not pictured).  Then we moved on to a booth that had grilled shrimp in a sweet chili chocolate sauce.  That, my friends, is an unexpectedly GOOD idea.

With a little help from Daddy, Amiri even got to do some fishing in a kiddie pool.  He hooked a big one in no time at all and won some great prizes!

The grownups finished out the day with a little tiramisu and the boys got to have TWO different kinds of ice cream! 

Side note:  we were doing that thing where the adults spell the word so that the kids won't know what they're talking about: 'Hey, do you think we should get them some I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M?'; and then Amiri pipes up, 'Oh, yes, I want some ice cream!'   Busted.

And then we we binned our rubbish like tidy Kiwis and went home to relax.

And here's what was so tiring about it

The great big day consisted of a party at a nearby restaurant with some of their friends from school.  It was a baby disco, meaning that the restaurant had been baby-proofed, they arranged a DJ to play the music, and it was a good way to spend those after-nap before-dinner hours.  The boys had the best fun!


Although on the way home, I asked Amiri if he enjoyed himself.  He said, "No, because Asra and Humza weren't there."
 

Today was a great big day

It starts out like a Hitchcock story but then not

At work we had a problem with animals getting into the space between the roof and the ceiling.  We could hear little somethings scrabbling around up there.  So the maintenance guy came and shooed the animals out-- he said some birds flew away-- and then he tacked up some screen over the hole they were getting in through.

All was fine until we heard it.  peep peep.  peep peep peep.  peep.  peep peep.  This went on all day and all of us XXs in the office were dying of worry for the left-behind birds who'd been imprisoned.  peep.

There was no good way to get up into the attic to find them, so we did the next best thing and removed the light fixture that was closest to the peeps. 

And once it was out a little sparrow poked his head down and looked at us.  See him there in the shadows?

We opened up the windows to try to entice him to fly away.  But he wouldn't come out.   So we decided to leave him alone and go back to work.  After a while, one of the girls came bustling in, holding something very carefully in her hands.

A bird.  A tiny little baby bird.  It had fallen out of the hole onto the floor.  She found him by the copier.  We later found his brother shivering under my desk.

It was those two babies that we had been hearing.  They'd gotten locked in because they couldn't fly away.

So we made them a little home for the day.  A box with some paper from the shredder, some water, and some bits of bread.   They were very quiet at first, but later got more active.  And without the muffling ceiling in between, they said peep peep peep.

We debated their fate all day.  They had real feathers already and were probably big enough that they could forage for themselves if we put them under a nice tree or something.  But there was the issue of cats.  We'd already rescued them once; we couldn't leave them alone with those big peeps announcing that dinner was served.

We did some investigating and it turns out there was a bird rescue just down the road.  So after work our office pets were transported to a sanctuary where they could fledge in peace.
 

Picnics can be for brunch too

Last weekend we walked to Paneton, the French bakery.  We got some sweet croissants, juice, and a coffee for Mama's bean jones.  Then we went to the park and had a nice picnic at one of the picnic tables.

We watched the cricket games and enjoyed the bright sun through the green leaves.  Then we played and played on the playground.

Both boys completely wore themselves out in time for their afternoon nap.  Arram actually got a head start on the way home.

We were fine... after buying ponchos

On Friday, we went here.  It was awesome....

 
And, yeah, even though it rained all day and we are old and lame we totally showed Auckland that we still know how to have a good time.   We stayed up past our bedtime and everything.

(Why is it we're seeing so much more music here than we did in Los Angeles?)

Lack of improvement in the noodle+cutlery department

Wedding memories

Arram rocked out on the dhol at the mayoon.  Just look at that concentration.

They both got tired and had to have a little lie-down on the nice pillows.

Amiri looked pensive at the mehendi but ended up swinging with the girls by the end of the night.

All my guys know how to choose the most stylish footwear.  Even if they lose one during the wedding.

 

Amiri made a funny face at the shaadi.  Look at those dark circles under his eyes... he stayed up so late!  And Arram loved posing on the stage.

Those were some marathon parties.  Which of course necessitated some carbo-loading on the off days.

*A great big thank you for sharing to all our family members whose photos I totally ripped off from Facebook.  Y'all are so much more conscientious about taking nice photos than I am.

**miss you all
 

Speaking of brain teasers

This cracked me right up.
  

It's like mischevious elves delivered the numbers one night and people just decided to go with it

You know when you're driving in the US and you're looking for an address?  You're all, OK, I need 458 Smith Drive.  Well, that house there is 251 Smith, and now here's 265, so since they're odd-numbered I know that the one I need will be on the other side of the street, and it's coming right up, not on this next block but the one after that... And you do this little mental exercise and then ta-daaaaaa! there it is and you move on to the business of finding a parking spot?  Because there's a consistent pattern to the numbering system and the one you want is right where it should be?  You know what I'm talking about?

Yeahhhhh.  Not so much here.  Here, you look up an address and get a free brain teaser. 

One fun challenge is that buildings frequently have several numbers.  You might be looking for 458 Smith Drive, but the label on the building will say 457-500 Smith Drive...yay, it tests your basic reasoning skills! 

And there's no convention about Odds on this side and Evens on that side... they go where they go.  Oooh, this one's about observation. 

Or, now, this is a really amusing one:  sometimes, you'll be on the correct street, and within the correct number range, but the number you want just plain isn't there.   This one is called Communication Skills (also known as Asking The Right Question), because in this game you get to accost multiple passersby for directions until you encounter someone who knows that what you need to do is go down the alleyway, around the corner, and then into the back door.

Or my personal favourite.  This is when the bus gets to within ten or twenty numbers of the one you want, so you go ahead and hop off at this stop because you're so obviously nearby.  But, ooh, surprise, there's the delightful task of determining that you're still eight blocks away.  This one is called Testing Your Assumptions.  Although sometimes it's called Making Excuses for Being Late.
 

Our connected boys

In bed before lights-out, if they've been very good that day and have eaten their dinners, the boys get to play with Daddy's iPad for a while.  It's connected to the internet, so that means they get to watch Mickey Mouse videos on YouTube.  Their favorites are the 1930s-era animated shorts.

But because it's connected to the internet, there are actually all sorts of things they can do during their Relax With Technology time.  Email, for instance.  They have one-touch access to an email application.

So last night they wrote an email to their daddy.  It was waiting in his inbox this morning and he forwarded it to me.  And we had to go hug them immediately.  The email read, "Arram love mama and daddy and amiri".  

Amiri did the typing, obviously, but it would appear he was transcribing his brother's statements.  So this is what they discuss during all that sweet little-boy chatter while they're going to sleep.  And with the right tools they will write it down and tell us about it.  Now, after getting mail like that, how are we supposed to ever refuse them the iPad??
 

Some nerdery to demonstrate the importance of budgeting

When we were in the US, I commented on how inexpensive things seemed.  Then I got to wondering if maybe it was only on a few select items, or if it was the different sizing of the packages that was throwing me, or maybe the exchange rate. 

So I sat down and did the math.  To account for things like the exchange rate and different standards of living, I divided the average hourly wage for each country ($25.71 in NZ, $20.90 in the USA) by the cost of the item in that country.  That tells you the amount of time you have to work to afford the item.

To buy a McDonald's cheeseburger, New Zealanders have to work for five and a half minutes.  Americans have to work for three minutes.

A dozen eggs costs 14 minutes here.  Five minutes in the States.

Gallon of gas is 17 minutes in NZ (yes I converted liters to gallons).  It's 9 minutes in the USA.

A pair of jeans:  3.5 hours NZ.  2.0 hours USA.

Month's rent:  66 hours NZ.  44 hours USA.

Of course these estimates would vary based on where you live (probably moreso in the US than in NZ, where there isn't such a dramatic disparity between Rich and Poor.)  And this is based on gross income-- doesn't factor in the different tax rates. 

But still.  It seems that I wasn't imagining things; NZ really is more expensive.  There's less room for luxury in a NZer's paycheck.  Probably explains the frugal, no-frills attitudes around here.  

Then I played around with my spreadsheet a little.  Turns out that if the average US income dropped to $13/hr, then the relative costs of things would be a pretty good match to NZ.

A little picnic on the floor

They're eating chicken and coleslaw from Nando's.

Exterminate all rational thought

So, yeah, to follow up on Arram's difficulties, it's mosquito season again.  I gave the little guys some antihistamines tonight to draw down their welts, since there was apparently a regrettable sandfly invasion during recess today.

We also broke down and invested in chemical repellants for the house, the most common solution here in 'fly screens are silly' land.  We got a gizmo that attaches to the wall and sprays out a burst of something that they claim is All Natural but is probably some sort of mutagen every twenty minutes or so.  And because we want to get rid of the bugs without going all Naked Lunch for our trouble, we stuck it on an exterior wall so that it sprays out over the big balcony door that's the entry site of most of our trouble.

Between that and using the vacuum cleaner hose to remove the mosquitoes from our closets every night (the preferred hideout for mozzies-- now you know) the situation seems to be improving.  Now if we can just get the boys to stop scratching.
  

Comparisons

Commute time, holiday schedule vs. regular:

1. Rail replacement holiday buses:  100 minutes of exhaust fumes and motion sickness
2. Today-resumed trains:  45 minutes of reading or other amusement in air-conditioned comfort

Relative sweetness and edibleness (expressed as approximate body surface area covered with mosquito bites):

1. Daddy: 0.01%
2. Mama:  0.01%
3. Amiri:  5%
4. Arram:  10%* 

* He has 21 bites, each like quarter-sized.  I advise you to buy stock in the anti-itch cream companies.  Little guyyyyyyyy....

We love the beach!

Today we had a day at the beach.  First we took the ferry, which was totally entertaining.

It was a beautiful day and Devonport was as picturesque as ever.

We bought some sandwiches and snacks as we passed by a cafe.  Then we put down a blanket in the grass and had a picnic under the perfect picnic tree.  A seagull was interested and the boys shared their crusts with him.

And then we went down and tested out the water.  It was nice and warm.  Amiri jumped right in!  Arram was satisfied after just a little splashing and went to relax on the shady steps.

Here's what the sand is actually made of.  Crushed shells. 

Then we got dried off and played at the playground for a while.  The boys managed the slides all by themselves.  Then, clouds rolled in and the heat of the last few days abruptly broke.  We headed home feeling like our adventure had reached its logical conclusion.  Arram was asleep before we even got in the door.
   

He didn't want to at first but the next day it sounded like fun

Another mini-vacation during our trip

Before we went to Chicago, we stopped in Los Angeles for two days.  We stayed in a Venice hotel with character, and saw some really excellent friends that we've missed.  And we were able to visit the beach. 

Predictably, Amiri thought it was awesome and frolicked in the Que Frio! water, delighting in letting the waves chase him up and down the beach.  Arram is not in these photos because, also predictably, he was overwhelmed, wailing, and clinging barnacle-like to my hip.

It's so summer

We're back in the south seas!

We said our goodbyes and hopped onto four planes in succession.  We had six suitcases again, with 300 lbs of freight.  This time our luggage was primarily comprised of stock-up items that are either unavailable or ridiculously expensive in NZ:  Levis jeans, GrapeNuts cereal, proper underarm hygiene products, and about a gallon of contact lens solution.  Plus armloads of toys and books from doting grandparents, aunties, and uncles.

We took off from some truly bitter Chicago cold.  We ended up in a wonderfully temperate summer.  And, in the middle of all of it, we had a short but lovely and frangipani-filled layover in Papeete, Tahiti.  All told, the trip only took 35 hours, door to door, and it was relatively uneventful.  The worst problems were biological:  Arram had a mild fever, Amiri wet his pants while napping, and my ears ended up feeling plugged-up because they stubbornly refused to pop on the descents. 

It's really nice to be back home.  The weather is warm and beautiful.  Walking home from school today, Amiri said, 'It's so warm and sunny!  Mama, it's so summer!'  The city is quiet and sedate, since a good proportion of the population is still on holiday.  Although we were tired and slept like rocks after returning home, we weren't jet-lagged at all:  conveniently, the wedding schedule of staying up until the wee hours of the morning and then sleeping late happens to correspond with a good New Zealand work schedule, so we were pre-adjusted.  I was up and chipper this morning at 5 am.

Arram has transitioned readily to sharing the big boy bed with Amiri, although so far they start out by falling asleep in their closet-fort.  Tonight, I put them to bed and told just the one story, despite their pleas for more.  After lights out, I heard them talking.

Amiri:  We can tell each other stories.  Stories for the brothers.  Arram, you tell me a story and then I'll tell you a story.

Arram:  Dog.  Running.  Door.  Raining.  Cry.  Dog.

Amiri:  OK, now me.  Arram, you want to hear a Jack the Goat story?  Yeah?  Come on!

And then they scampered into the closet and closed the door.  I wasn't able to hear about Jack's antics but I'm sure they were amusing.  When I went to check on them later, they were both asleep, holding hands.