The Goose

“...Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God..." (Ruth 1:16)

So, I met this goose the other week when I was over at a friend's to help tail some lambs.  She's an interesting goose. She came over from a neighboring paddock. The speculation was that she had a big squabble with her partner (as they mate for life), and came across to mingle with the sheep on this paddock! Intermittently, there is loud honking from the paddock she came from. She just ignores him. She has been happy here for the past 2 years.

There is a lot we can learn from this goose...

Such is life!

The Artist

I can't help but be astounded by this artist! Hong Yi is her name. My brother knows her, but I don't. Anyway, please enjoy some of her work displayed on YouTube.

Many of us do use the right side of our brain from time to time, and will come up with something that makes our day. Better yet, someone else's day!

Here's my bit of the friendly/devil dog, Knightly. He's originally Korean who relocated with Bryn's cousin to Canada, and is now a proud supporter of the Canucks!

So, have a go. Try it out and see what the other half of your brain is capable of! :D

New Beginnings

I do suffer from times when I thought "What if I have a do-over". The most recent trigger for such thought is my failed-to-rise batch of scones. I changed the recipe by adding more wholemeal flour, over kneading and added too little baking powder despite a little voice in my head saying "Follow the recipe!". So, if I were to do that all over again, I would follow the recipe!

In just under two years, this exciting new plan for quake shaken and damaged Christchurch city is released. Very exciting indeed. It is a chance for the city to have a do-over. No excuses for "I wish there is more carparking here" or "Why didn't they put a park there" or "Let's go to Auckland or Wellington for the play or that ballet". They released this video yesterday evening to attract investors:

More detail can be found on this PDF from the Christchurch City Council. 

Life often throws us a curve ball. It can be a massive earthquake damaging a city, putting us in a position to rebuild from scratch. It can also be as simple as ruining a perfectly tested recipe by changing it! However, most of the time, the shades of it so gray with the journey so difficult that we often feel as if we are going nowhere.

If you're one to not believe in anything, then science tells us the universe is about 12 to 14 billion years old,  and humans have only been around for 200,000 years. Putting that into a 14 day perspective, humans have only been around for 17 seconds. That would mean you and I as individuals would have only been around for about 8.5 millisecond if we live to 100 years old. 

Relatively, we're like... nothing.

Don't lose heart.
Don't give up.
Don't fret.
Just live.
There is always a new beginning.
If there is none, just make one up.
Who would find out?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ... You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11,13

On the flip side of the coin, is life too short to be following recipes? :D

Egg and Soldiers... and Ceramic Painting

I think it is luxury to have chances to be a child again. Not to re-live my childhood, or anything like that. It was done, and I am happy where I am with an adult brain, job, a doting husband, driver's licence, and the list goes on! But to be child-like amidst life's complexities.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" 

Matthew 16:14

Growing up, I always wondered about that verse in the bible. Do children get special favor? But don't all children grow up? What then? I think we become more legalistic as we get older, maybe even jaded by responsibilities, bills, commitments, and relationships. We can also be quite hard on ourselves. There is always something we can do better, someone we aspire to be, some things we would like to have and some kilos to lose because the metabolism slows!

So, sometimes, we forget to smell the flowers, to sing, to trust, and to love. 

In my work, I adore seeing children for their well checks, their colds, their broken arms, vaccination, and others. It is a chance to be silly - looking for kitty cats in their ears, listening to weetbix in their tummies, giving them neck massages (to feel for lymph glands) and much more. At the end, I enjoy putting a little star stamp on their hands, whether or not there were tears. Because they have been a star. On the other extreme, I do see cases where children get hurt and have their childhood stolen from them due to abuse. Not necessarily sexual abuse, but also neglect, emotional, and physical abuse. 

I dedicate this blog to all children around the world. Let them not be forgotten. I also would like to dedicate this to all people. Let us not forget to be child-like amidst life complexities. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,

All the King's horses and all the King's men,

Could not put Humpty Dumpty together again.

Ceramic Painting at Go Potty Ceramic Studio

The colours brightened after sometime in the kiln

Egg and soldiers for breakfast on the decorated eggcups

Friendly Faces of North America

I should have read the National Geographic photo tips before going on this trip. Well, next time perhaps. Regardless, let me share with you 5 tips I have learned and found useful for myself.

Tip #5 - Do bring along at least one very good zoom lens. You don't want to be attacked by a mother or hungry bear, or risk swimming with the whale. It is definitely not worth losing the camera in the process of getting the best shot! It is also respectful to these local creatures, of course. It is their home after all.

Tip #4 - Wear quiet clothing. You know, clothes with materials which do not make noises when you walk. I do not think brightly coloured clothing matter. Do bear in mind the animals always see you. Well, except for this red squirrel we came across in Lake Annette in Jasper, Alberta, Canada. It was engrossed in relocating its hidden nuts from last summer that it was unaware of us observing a couple of feet away. 

Tip #3 - Go out at dusk and dawn. That is when they are out and about. If there is none, you can get some really nice sky/scenery shots in exchange.

Tip #2 - Pay attention. It is really easy to be distracted by the beautiful scenery around and missed a quietly grazing animal behind a tree, etc. Or to be having a stimulating conversation with your travel companion, or just sleeping because you have been travelling the last 10 hours.  

The top tip in nature photography is patience. Wait long enough and the animals will do something for your shot. Except for when you are in Banff. The animals there are very much used to the noise of passing traffic, and they will carry on grazing through anything. To solve this problem, you may ask your travel companion to open and close the car door with some strength (but not to slam), and then keeping very still and quiet again. This noise will startle the animals to look up for a little, before going back to grazing. Slamming or talking too loudly may risk startling them too much. It is not recommended for their mental health.

Hm.. Disregard some advice that are just too silly, but do enjoy some of these friendly faces in North America: 

Squirrel @ Vancouver

Canadian Geese, @Lake Medicine, Jasper, AB, Canada

Heron @ Victoria, BC, Canada

Black-billed Magpie @ Banff, AB, Canada

Bald Eagle @ Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, Seattle, WA, USA

Ospreys and its young @ Banff, AB, Canada

Seal @ Fisherman's Wharf, Victoria, BC, Canada

Whale @ Tracy Arm, Alaska, USA

Mama and Baby Brown Bears @ Tracy Arm, Alaska, USA

Ground Squirrel @ Banff, AB, Canada

Golden Mantle Squirrel @ Johnson's Canyon, AB, Canada

Red Squirrel @ Lake Annette, Jasper, AB, Canada

Elk @ Bear Hill Lodge, Jasper, AB, Canada

Deer @ Banff, AB, Canada

Doe @ Banff, AB, Canada

Bighorn sheep @ Icefield Parkway, AB, Canada

Bashful Female Bighorn sheep

Brown Bear @ Icefield Parkway, AB, Canada

Black Bear @ Klondike Highway, Yukon, Canada

The Holidayer

The person on holiday.

 Bliss.

An opportunity arose to travel again, this time is for my sister's wedding in Columbus, Ohio. As a result, Bryn and I recently enjoyed an extended holiday to USA and Canada.

Total 9 days in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Total 10 days on a Rocky Mountain Road Trip, Canada
Total 1 day in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
Total 6 days in Columbus, Ohio, USA
Total 3 days in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Total 8 days on an Alaskan Cruise with the Holland American Line
Total 5 days in New York City, USA
Total 5 days in Seattle, Washington, USA

Things we did -

observed baby squids, and other marine life at the Vancouver Aquarium

ate bear's paws in Jasper National Park

tabogganed down the Whistlers, Jasper National Park

ran away from a T-Rex in Drumheller

saw downtown Manhattan from Top of the Rock

entertained by... strange things in Times Square, New York City

read strange things in Columbus, Ohio

witnessed my sister's marriage to her sweetheart, Jimmy!

compared height in Seattle

enjoyed toilet humour in Seattle

strolled along the pier in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

listened to local music in Juneau, Alaska

drank local produce in Alaska

crossed the border into the Yukon Territories, Canada

sailed amidst glaciers in Glacier Bay, Alaska

Bliss.

Poutine

Who would have thought? In fact, what were they thinking?

A combination of fries, curdled cheese and gravy?!

A popular dish in Quebec, Canada it is!

I personally find it strange as the French are renowned for their fine cuisine and delicate presentation. Surely it must be unlike them to throw some fries and cheese together before topping it off with a dollop of hot gravy! How sloppy! Maybe it's the Irish influence? I mean, they do like their potatoes, right?
 
The history of its making has been an interesting read. The word translates to "mess", and its creation is only less than 50 years ago. Apparently, a guy walked into a French takeaway shop and asked for curdled cheese to be added to his order of fries. The owner then told him that "it is going to be messy!", but he took no heed and went away pleased. This soon became a popular snack (before low-carb, Atkins and low-cal diet fads, of course). But it was restauranter Jean-Paul Roy who added velouté sauce to it as well as a patent in the 1950s! This  invention slowly spreads and various modifications of tomato sauces, cheese sauces and even BBQ sauces!

We did enjoy the dish very much when in Quebec City in 2010 for our honeymoon. Absolutely brilliant!

Bringing this back to New Zealand, we decided to make our own version of poutine just the other night! We had some leftover of beef stew and feta cheese. To make it more kiwi, we have used oven baked kumara chips. That was dinner with a bed of salad on the side!

It was pretty good!

Haggis

Still along the Scottish theme... I decided to make Haggis. Yes, from a tin!
(I thought it may just be too weird to ask the local butcher for lamb's lungs)

So, what is this Haggis?

Well, essentially it is sheep offal sausage with special seasoning and spices, oats and a "wee dram" of whisky! Scottish women use to turn offal to haggis for their herdsmen when they have to drive cattle in the highlands. It was also the share of the workmen in the slaughterhouse when a V.I.P wants a cattle to be slaughtered for meat.

Always, however, be wary of falling for an invite to a "Wild Haggis Hunt" when visiting Scotland. I guess even if you do, it is always fun to run around :)

I have yet to try freshly made Haggis. Conveniently, a can of premium Haggis can easily be purchased from a British expat grocery store - Johnson's Grocery Store. They were located on Colombo Street, of Christchurch but have since relocated to the new Re:Start Cashel Street Container Mall after the earthquake in September 2010.

Method:

(don't forget the "wee dram" of whisky!)

Serve on cracker:

or with mash, veggies and gravy!

Ith gu leòir! (Eat plenty!)