Hello from the home country
Mostly I think of myself as Australian these days, except when I come back home & remember just how amazingly awesome New Zealand is. It's the woolly weather and the beautiful bush and all the pretty houses, I think.
I have been back about 4 or 5 days. I missed my last flight from Auckland to Wellington - I was exhausted when I left Perth and had a migraine through most of the flight - so I think by the time I hit Auckland and had a couple of hours to myself I just shut down. I just slept right through the flight. That was an expensive and somewhat upsetting exercise and I hope never to repeat it.
I told mum and dad that I wanted to do nothing but sit and blob and eat things that I remember eating that I can't get in Perth - but it turns out there are too many things to eat and not enough time, and I am feeling quite uncomfortable from all the eating now.
I bought a set of mixing bowls from a local potter. Apparently he's like a family potter, in that my fam have been visiting regularly for years, and I used to like to watch him work when I was wee but I don't remember. It was nice though - I'm totally going to be a person who bakes bread, I think - I really enjoy doing it, and I think more and more that I would like to go down that route anyway to avoid some of the stuff that gets added to commercial bread.
I've been staying in Featherston - which is a country town just over the Rimutaka ranges from Upper Hutt, where Dad works now. Upper Hutt is a satellite city off of Wellington - a bit like Mandurah, and Featherston is the first country town on the train line out. A couple of stops up is Masterton which is the regional centre - kind of like Northam, I guess - where all the infrastructure for the region (hospital, secondary school etc) lives. About 10-15 minutes up the road (from F'ton) is Greytown, which is a bit York-like - it's got antique shops and pretty houses, and people like to visit from the country. Featherston however is a little bit dying if it weren't for the commuters. Nice though.
..and my battery is about to die.
I have been back about 4 or 5 days. I missed my last flight from Auckland to Wellington - I was exhausted when I left Perth and had a migraine through most of the flight - so I think by the time I hit Auckland and had a couple of hours to myself I just shut down. I just slept right through the flight. That was an expensive and somewhat upsetting exercise and I hope never to repeat it.
I told mum and dad that I wanted to do nothing but sit and blob and eat things that I remember eating that I can't get in Perth - but it turns out there are too many things to eat and not enough time, and I am feeling quite uncomfortable from all the eating now.
I bought a set of mixing bowls from a local potter. Apparently he's like a family potter, in that my fam have been visiting regularly for years, and I used to like to watch him work when I was wee but I don't remember. It was nice though - I'm totally going to be a person who bakes bread, I think - I really enjoy doing it, and I think more and more that I would like to go down that route anyway to avoid some of the stuff that gets added to commercial bread.
I've been staying in Featherston - which is a country town just over the Rimutaka ranges from Upper Hutt, where Dad works now. Upper Hutt is a satellite city off of Wellington - a bit like Mandurah, and Featherston is the first country town on the train line out. A couple of stops up is Masterton which is the regional centre - kind of like Northam, I guess - where all the infrastructure for the region (hospital, secondary school etc) lives. About 10-15 minutes up the road (from F'ton) is Greytown, which is a bit York-like - it's got antique shops and pretty houses, and people like to visit from the country. Featherston however is a little bit dying if it weren't for the commuters. Nice though.
..and my battery is about to die.