A Nod to Mom and a Few Other Things

Although most of the people reading this probably didn't know her, my Mom, Doris Emerson (she-hated-her-middle name) Laing, moved on to wherever it is that people move on to, early in the morning, October 22nd. Given that she was 93, it's not like it was unexpected, but there was no prior indication that it was going to happen just then. She walked to the bathroom in the middle of the night, sat down on a cabinet and never got up. Of course, at age 93, every day could be considered a bonus, or from another perspective, another day of marking time.

As far as anyone could tell, her memory, at least of the past 50-or-so-years was gone, but she had related to me several times that she had just had lunch or gone shopping with her mother or her sister, both of whom were long passed. For all I know, in her mind she may have been younger, living a pretty normal, active life…just one that wasn’t too obvious to any around her. Still, it’s sad, and despite her age, a shock, but maybe a bit of a blessing. Rest in peace, Mom.

Meanwhile, back in New Zealand, Chris and I just returned from our big World Music Choir Concert in Nelson (our nearest big town). I’ve mentioned in previous posts that we’re in a local choir that sings music in languages no one understands, with words we can’t pronounce…we just try to do it in the same way, right or wrong. Our group of 25 singers was one of 5 choirs to perform. We did a few songs as a combined choirof 115 people plus 6 songs of our own. If you’re curious, and have $20 NZD’s to spare, the CD will be available in a week or so. If you can’t get it from Amazon, we’ll try to round up a copy for you. Actually, if you’re on the US Dollar, that’s an excellent price considering the exchange rate is really good right now ($.55 USD = $1 NZD). Or get two or more, they make great Christmas gifts.

The performance went quite well. The venue, a large cathedral (see photos) was sold out, and I judged the audience response to be a bit more enthusiastic than straight pity applause. Actually, they stood up at the end, but I wasn’t sure if it was a standing ovation, or if they were just in a hurry to leave.

I’ll attach a couple recent photos of my veggie garden so you can see that I’m at least doing something constructive. We’re getting a good mix of sun and rain, so the plants are going nuts. Unfortunately, so too are the leaf-eating caterpillars, which are actually baby, white moths. I just inspected every leaf of every brassica plant (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi) and gleefully mashed the ones I found into a green paste. I’m trying to figure out how to mount a dead one as a warning to others. A skull on a stick would be ideal, but I don’t think they have skulls…and hanging would be difficult as they don’t have necks. In the meantime, I’m sprinkling them with some (yes, organic) powder and have a net over them to keep the nasty parent-moths out. And…my first broccoli is ready to eat, so I think that means I am winning.

I did have two tragedies the same day, last week. My first 5 strawberries, which were about ready to eat, were swiped by some pesky blackbirds, and something sheared off an incredibly productive cucumber plant right at ground level. Oooo, was I bummed. In an act of random retribution, I ran over a blackbird with my car the other day.

In case you don’t know, this is my first real garden, and if you haven’t done it yourself, you should also know it’s a bit addictive once you commit to it. I find myself at gatherings talking insect control and the relative merits of cow manure vs. seaweed as fertilizer. If I were still in Homer, I expect Rosemary Fitzpatrick and I would be hanging out.

I am actually working, yes, for money…doing (surprise, surprise) carpentry. I’m doing an addition to a cottage at a retreat compound, and this is the first time I’ve been a hammer-for-hire for many years. I’m regressing in so many ways, it’s frightening. I just hope the diapers and crying jags don’t come on too quickly. The grounds of this place could be a set for a movie; large limestone outcroppings, manicured lawns and lots of fruit trees. You can see it by Googling Golden Bay Retreat New Zealand.

Chris has a new interest/activity. She’s taking a Waka Ama class. Waka’s are Maori outrigger canoes which are very stable to one side and terribly tippy to the other. Each boat has six paddlers using canoe-type paddles. Her last class was spent learning to right an overturned boat. Fortunately, the weather is warming. From the class she could graduate to a membership in the “club”, which competes with other NZ clubs in races. I'll try to get a photo to attach to my next posting. She definitely looks the part in her new paddling togs. Of course, the first rule of any sport is, "Look good."

Tourist season is just kicking off, with more and more rental vans driving through the neighborhood. Paddy (Abby’s boyfriend) Kinney and his brother Matt are currently traveling somewhere in NZ in a van they bought. Since cars are one thing that’s relatively cheap here, it’s a pretty common thing to do if one has a month or more to drive around. Even if you take a loss on the price of the car, it’s still cheaper than renting for a month. With all the travelers in NZ, you can buy an outfitted van for $2500 to $3500…complete with bedding, cooking gear, cell phone; the works. Here's a photo of one I found online and the description of the accessories.

"Has a double bed sized platform in the back with single mattress (can supply double mattress at your expense), lots of room underneath for storage. comes with gas stove, pots, pans, plates, cups, chairs, solar shower, water containers, cutlery, Pillows, blankets, sheets and more!"

Both Ian and Abby show up the 2^nd week of December. They’ll join Paddy and Matt then head up to Golden Bay for an exciting visit with the older-yet-wiser set. I’ve been saving up several tidbits of parental wisdom to pass on to them, which I expect they'll remember as the highlight of their trip.

In the meanwhile, Larry and Barbara Holman will arrive just about the same time. All should be here for winter solstice and Christmas. Ahh, Christmas in shorts and sandals (“jandles,” here). For some reason, even in NZ, Santa still has the traditional suit and hat with fur trim, and they play I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas and Winter Wonderland in the stores & TV ads. And most TV ads manage, somehow, to incorporate snow in their pitch. I'm not sure if this says something about New Zealanders or American consumer influence on the rest of the world. But at least in Takaka, mob tramplings of employees are rare.

Although we haven’t had any long-term adventures lately, we've had some little ones. We took one, wind-tossed kayak trip with our 80 year old neighbor Pat a couple weeks ago, and I went on a scalloping trip with another neighbor. There are productive scallop beds just a 10 minute row from our beach…the limit is 50 each. Not your jumbo Alaska two-bites-per-scallop size, but very tasty.

Yesterday, we took a drive up to the north tip of the South Island to a beach called Wharariki. It's a pleasant walk through sheep paddocks and over fences to a pretty spectacular place with cool rock formations, seals and large sand dunes, which in combination with 60

MPH winds, pretty much removed the stratum corneum (look it up) from our exposed legs and arms. Cheaper than the peels (I think that's what they're called) that people (mostly women people) pay for, I suppose. Came home with a good deal of sand packed in our ears.

Today is a warm up round for the annual Paton’s Rock Invitational Golf Tournament up at Pat and Fran’s 9-holer in preparation for the real thing on December 6th. The longest hole is about 60 feet and played with 60 year old, wood-shaft putters. I’m giddy with anticipation, yet quiet nervous, hoping that I don’t drink too much beer to affect my game.