Lynne Taylor

wednesday

another gorgeous day
have set up shannon's computer to use in the library, so a 20 minute walk can see us all blogging, and me doing a little work as needed.
yesterday we heading to the marion shopping complex, longest in the southern hemisphere. bought some odd things that seemed essential, like muffin trays (i have a desire to make muffins, must be all the time i am enjoying) and coloured pens (i like australian stationery!)
steve saw a dolphin this morning, but the girls and i didn't despite keeping our eyes pealed on our 20 minute beachside walk to the library. perhaps we'll have more luck on the way home.

it is good to have girls big enough to cope with lots of walking ... buses don't always go exactly where we expect!

have a good day

In Adelaide

having a great time.
I could become used to this life of leisure!

We enjoyed a weekend off as a family, visited the central market, went to church, Mt Lofty, a delicious cafe for lunch in Stirling.

We also visited a lecturer at the college who lives with his family up in the hills on a large property. Had a wander through the bushy scrubby stuff with loads of gorgeous wee flowers poking through (including carnivorous plants munching on insects). They have several kids so shannon and kayli had loads of fun playing and adventuring with them.

We're living in a little apartment near the beach in Glenelg South.

We are all good.

Steve started teaching his missional church course today.
Library has internet access, so that is great!
More later.

So long, farewell

We are off on sabbatical tomorrow morning.
Steve is doing loads of interesting work and I am Looking After Our Children.
That will require me to do loads of exciting things.
I am really looking forward to relaxed time with them during the day, and with Steve and the children on evenings and weekends...

i plan to keep on blogging. well, actually i plan to blog more! it has been a little frenetic over the past 4 months, and i haven't gotten to blogging much (be assured my children were fed and cared for even if the blog wasn't tended!)

the children will be blogging here and here

i plan to blog from here, and am considering another "30 days in September" discipline

so watch this space!

turning down a coffee

a text from steve,
having picked up the kids from school,
enquired if i was free for coffee now...

my reply?
"plumber under floor occasionally needs me to fetch things like spade.
so no, but you go enjoy"

how many tradespeople does it take to install a dishwasher?
3 so far, but we may need another smaller plumber if this one can't dig through!

a body can't walk on its nose

I was in a friend's van yesterday as we picked up a small yacht and a desk from a transport company.
the yacht (a moth, lovingly referred to as Red Sail (bet you can't guess why), renamed Daisy when some letters fell off (not sure where the y came from, perhaps a reworked R) and now known affectionately as DM (for Danger Mouse of course)) used to be my uncle's, and my brother had it in auckland for the past 13 years.
it was coming back to christchurch as it couldn't make the move with brother to australia and my nostalgic family couldn't bear the thought of it leaving our whanau.
the desk was my gran and grandads, has been with brother for the past 20+ years, but being happily munched by borer couldn't cross the tasman, and so i happily claimed it for this next season of its journey.

so these items were shipped to chch and needed collecting from the transport company.

new yacht owner works and lives way out of town and couldn't collect it after work and return home before dark. so she called me, "could i..."

yyyyyyyyes. i said
and stewed about how i could do this.

i can do many things
but i have NEVER gone frontwards with a trailer, let alone backwards.
(oh, have gone forwards in tractor with trailer attached, but only between rows of fruit trees, no cars, turns, speed to worry about)

so i decided it was beyond my level of comfort and expertise.
it is good to have things beyond ones level of comfort and expertise.
i am comfortable with that
i don't need to do everything!

a phonecall to handyman friend
who had earlier in the week prepared cupboard for new dishwasher
"May i buy another hour of your time?"
saw us set off to matipo street
in n's van
with j's trailer
to collect items.

maybe i could have done it myself
but it prob would have caused an ulcer.
and i didn't need to do it myself
much better to ask for help from those who are good at such things.

thanks!

World famous in New Zealand?

My demographic roadshow has come to an end...
see here for article...

brrrrr

This from the met service

don't thnk it's that cold here, but looks pretty impressive nonetheless
(Kayli was "iceskating" or perhaps skiing on our deck before school, sliding with stick as pole)

NZ's biggest morning tea

this is a great way to raise awareness and funds about donestic violence

Between 9-20 June 2008, Preventing Violence in the Home (PVH) and Bank of New Zealand are asking all Kiwis to host a morning tea to help fund a national helpline for victims of domestic violence. On average in New Zealand 14 women, 10 children and 6 men are killed by a member of their own family every year, but we can help prevent many of these tragedies.

I wish i'd been aware of it sooner... can i squeeze it in?

... or would it increase my stress levels too far and thus make me neglectful of MY kids??? :)

Learning to (show) love

On Monday Steve picked a rose from our garden
and gave it to me, with words of love, taken from our wedding vows.
Little Miss 8 watched.

Later, she appeared
with another rose
in vase, ribbon tied around it, and a note with words of love.

This is how she learns to show love
by watching love in action
and imitating.