Still alive...
I haven't updated in a while because, let's face it, not much happens when I'm not travelling. There are only a few things really to talk about when I'm no longer throwing myself off planes and exploring beautiful mountains.
I stayed in Auckland for only a couple of days, and then there was the Family Day, for which the King children - though specifically not Heather and Pete, who cheefully abandoned us at the Farm to go fishing - won the Early Bird prize. That was pretty fun, actually; I hadn't had a chance to see most of the cousins before that. Sarah apparently didn't even know I was in the country...
There was the usual collection of odd races; this year they were all team events, so I joined up with Karla, Natalie, Phoebe and Michael and we actually won the three legged race (a complicated proceeding with three planks for our feet to be strapped to.) We failed relatively miserably at the other events, including the sumo wrestling (done with lots of tire inner tubes). There was the usual pig, and Jill produced a treasure hunt for us that had a puzzle to solve for every clue - though sadly no truly spectacular ones up trees or in rivers. The treasure was amusing, especially when Ian risked life and limb pulling the box from the midst of the ravening horde and spilling the treasure wantonly over the lawn so all the vultures could swoop in at once...
At the Family Day I did get an invitation to go work at Molly's for a while, weeding her garden and painting her house; sadly they couldn't take me immediately, so I stayed on at the Farm being their resident slave again for a while. Much easier to put up with when I know it's temporary! I actually emerge with my temper (relatively) intact, and my only injuries are hands full of splinters from using the log-splitter.
No new pets for me this time, and in fact I am told that one of the not-quite-so baby goats perished tragically in my absence because it wandered too close to one of the chained up dogs. The remaining two goats are now much more securely fastened, and still safely living the life of lawnmowers. Megan has a kitten called Static who they found somewhere on the farm; he's amusingly shy, and barely dares to leave her bedroom, but he is very cute when she can coax him forth. I'd steal him, but he seems to sense my intentions and hides under the bed when I try.
Tomorrow morning I leave Static the kitten (and the rather more aggravating cousins) behind again and I zwoop up to Molly's. I'm looking forward to fewer offspring and a cessation of the obnoxiously loud music that seems to be favoured here (and to a more luxurious accomodation than the caravan!) I'm only going to stay there until Mum comes down to NZ, though - not long now - and then I plan to head back down to Papamoa to meet up with her.
That's about it from me... No new photos that I really have time to upload... So I hope everything is going well back in England. I also hope, rather meanly, that you've been having worse weather than us - it doesn't seem fair that we're having thunderstorms in summer, though I know Dane is pleased.
I stayed in Auckland for only a couple of days, and then there was the Family Day, for which the King children - though specifically not Heather and Pete, who cheefully abandoned us at the Farm to go fishing - won the Early Bird prize. That was pretty fun, actually; I hadn't had a chance to see most of the cousins before that. Sarah apparently didn't even know I was in the country...
There was the usual collection of odd races; this year they were all team events, so I joined up with Karla, Natalie, Phoebe and Michael and we actually won the three legged race (a complicated proceeding with three planks for our feet to be strapped to.) We failed relatively miserably at the other events, including the sumo wrestling (done with lots of tire inner tubes). There was the usual pig, and Jill produced a treasure hunt for us that had a puzzle to solve for every clue - though sadly no truly spectacular ones up trees or in rivers. The treasure was amusing, especially when Ian risked life and limb pulling the box from the midst of the ravening horde and spilling the treasure wantonly over the lawn so all the vultures could swoop in at once...
At the Family Day I did get an invitation to go work at Molly's for a while, weeding her garden and painting her house; sadly they couldn't take me immediately, so I stayed on at the Farm being their resident slave again for a while. Much easier to put up with when I know it's temporary! I actually emerge with my temper (relatively) intact, and my only injuries are hands full of splinters from using the log-splitter.
No new pets for me this time, and in fact I am told that one of the not-quite-so baby goats perished tragically in my absence because it wandered too close to one of the chained up dogs. The remaining two goats are now much more securely fastened, and still safely living the life of lawnmowers. Megan has a kitten called Static who they found somewhere on the farm; he's amusingly shy, and barely dares to leave her bedroom, but he is very cute when she can coax him forth. I'd steal him, but he seems to sense my intentions and hides under the bed when I try.
Tomorrow morning I leave Static the kitten (and the rather more aggravating cousins) behind again and I zwoop up to Molly's. I'm looking forward to fewer offspring and a cessation of the obnoxiously loud music that seems to be favoured here (and to a more luxurious accomodation than the caravan!) I'm only going to stay there until Mum comes down to NZ, though - not long now - and then I plan to head back down to Papamoa to meet up with her.
That's about it from me... No new photos that I really have time to upload... So I hope everything is going well back in England. I also hope, rather meanly, that you've been having worse weather than us - it doesn't seem fair that we're having thunderstorms in summer, though I know Dane is pleased.