Muy bien!

We had such a great day last Saturday. First of all the weather rocked the house - it was warm with no wind and we got out of the city and into nature. We went to Staglands, which is a wildlife park about 45 minutes outside of Wellington. Ondine had been to the zoo this last week twice, so all around it was an awesome week for frolicking with animals for her. The place is really nicely laid out and pays lovely attention to detail - and just like the zoo - you get really close to the animals. In fact at Staglands, you are few fences at all and many chances to hold and pet the animals.

See Brad's Flicker site for more shots too

But the highlight of this amazing Saturday was the organic blueberry farm we stopped at on our way back. Yet it wasn't the blueberries that sent us over the moon. It was the MEXICAN FOOD we had! Yes, believe it. The farm is run by David, a Mexican, and his American wife Mandi and their son Sam. David's mother Rosita visits for half the year from Puebla, brings her own ingredients with her, and runs a mexican cafe each weekend while she is here. I swear to you that the chilaquiles Brad and I had were as good or maybe even better than anything I've ever had before - in the US, Mexico or Central or South America. We met our friends Carrie and Cory and their daughter Bethen (who is 4 months younger than Ondine) at the farm and they introduced us to the owners. Carrie and Cory lived on a farm across the river before Bethen arrived and Carrie still has horses she rides and takes care of on their old land. They actually have a big teepee that we all might put up on the land for an overnight one day - cool!

Anyway, the oddest thing has been how much Spanish I've spoken since I got here. Totally unexpected. About three weeks ago I met Gina from Colombia (who is married to a Mexican working at the consulate) with her kids at the museum who told me about "Arco Iris" (rainbow) - a Spanish language toddler group. Sadly, I went two weeks later but didn't find them -- apparently they were in some other room that I didn't discover. Anyway, I ran into another mom (Inez, from Argentina) at the zoo who is the head of the group and told me they are on break until next week. I will report back on that once we go. So in the last month, between Gina, Inez and David, I've been chatting in Spanish more than I thought I would the entire time I would be here. And the most amazing news is that director Guillermo del Toro is now confirmed to direct the two Hobbit films, so will be living here for about 4 years - and hopfully bringing lots of Mexicans with him! I should have never stopped speaking Spanish to Ondine!! When I do now, she can get frustrated with me - but I will persevere.

It felt really, really good for us to get out of town, into nature, on a beautiful day and eat amazing food with friends. We needed that.

Hasta lluego!

Belated B-day Post

As you all know from the earlier post, Papa turned 70 this year (unbelievably!!!). My sisters, mom and I all worked our tushies off to give him the surprise party of his life - and we did! While we were at their place in the desert before we left for NZ, my entire family plus many of his close friends snuck in to their house while he and my mom, Jerry and Charlene were at the Indian Wells Tennis matches. He walked in to a home filled with family, friends and margaritas. We all had a grand time, even the head honcho himself said he loved it - which was a big relief since he had told my mother never, ever to throw him a surprise party. I think his biggest surprise was how much he enjoyed it. Hats off to my sisters and mom for all the hard work and excellent party planning - and thanks to all who made the effort to get there.

And the best part for us, selfishly, was that we got to spend fun time with our family.

With Nana at the park! Ondine will ride side car to Gus any day.

Wow! You can watch TV in bed??!??!


So a guy walks in to this bar, see...


deWitt deCaussins in the sun

Kimberly and Patrick goofin' at Mario's
(photo courtesy of Marisa Sladek - thanks sis)

We love you Nana and Papa!

Cab-i-oke

This is a back-blog. As many of you know Brad and I left Ondine for a night with my folks and drove to Vegas. We went to see "O", Cirque du Soleil's water show. It was cool but I for one am fully sated on Cirque du Soleil for a looong time. Maybe I am just jaded or maybe I've seen too many, but I thought I was going to say "wow" a lot more than I did. The whole pool/stage is fully impressive though.

We did go out to eat and see the strip as well, and like everyone else, took a taxi back to our hotel. The minute we got into this cab, the driver said, "HI!!", asked where-to, and then cranked the stereo blaring a quintessential Tom Jones, "It's not unusual to be loved..." and preceded to sing along at the top of his lungs to it. Before we knew it he was singing along to hit after hit and around block 5 I said something to him and he replied, "I love the cabioke!". I said, "karaoke?" He said, "NO! CAB-i-oke!!" and with that pulled out a rather large microphone and cued up another song (I actually can't remember what it was - I was so awestruck) and handed the mic back to ME to sing along. Of course I HAD to sing along!! But I barely could because I was laughing so hard. We got some of it on my cell phone videocam but hell if I know how to get that downloaded. It was such a Vegas moment. Unforgettable (except for the exact songs and some lyrics).

We also had a lovely suite and quite a nice sleep. Ahem.

(This one is courtesy of Brad)

Shit, Parrots and the Zoo

Ondine and I went to the zoo twice this week. The weather has been good so it was great timing to see the animals out sun bathing and in clear view. The Wellington zoo is pretty decent and reminds me a bit of the Oakland Zoo.

This morning we met up with our friend Carrie and her daughter Bethen. We brought a gift for Bethen from the states and I keep forgetting to bring it with me whenever I get together with them. On the drive to the zoo I realized I had done it again. I yelled out, "shit!", and my little parrot from the back seat said, "shit!" too.

Mark the day. First echoed curse word. Might just be the first of many I'm afraid...


(I kept laughing at the bear exhibit as I couldn't help thinking about Anchor Man, and kept envisioning Steve Carrell hugging and playing with the bear in the moat)

Big buurd! (looking at pelicans)

Monkey. Where is?

Miss you Esther

April 23rd marked 12 years since we lost Brad's mother to cancer. Every year we buy red roses for the house to honor her memory (she loved them and often drew them near her name in letters and such). We miss her dearly.

Aha!

Now I know what Ondine had! Because now I have it! Sadly, yes -- I am now with fever and sore throat... but the sun is out and we will head to the zoo to take advantage of the rare and stunning weather. Will take the camera and post shots of our trip at a later date.

Communication and Other Slowdowns

Sadly, our sweet Ondine isn't feeling well this weekend and has been feverish off and on. She may also be teething... or she has a sore throat... hard to tell but it seems her mouth is in pain. And then again it might also be due to the face plant and bloody lip she got at the slide day before last. Perhaps she really knocked her front tooth. Either way she has been waking crying inconsolably for some time before settling down again. When the boob doesn't even work, we know she's really OFF. Aww.

I have been trying to post videos and some photos with other narratives but this dial-up connections is jacking me. It just takes too long and then doesn't work. So I've decided to check in without a photo again.

We're starting to really miss all of you and since the internet phone isn't hooked up, calling has not been easy enough. I did however just buy a phone card that allows us to call the US for 3 cents a minute from a land line, so we we'll be making some calls out soon! Then I realized I hadn't explained the time situation yet, so here it is: we are currently 19 hours ahead of PST. The easiest way to calculate what time it is here is to jump to your tomorrow, and then subtract 5 hours. To us, you are yesterday plus 5. So now for instance, its nearly 4pm on Sunday, making it Saturday at 9pm for (most of) y'all. Get it? NZ has its own daylight savings time as well (and similarly adjusted it as did the US this year... which makes me uncomfortable in a way... like congress controls time now too?? WEIRD.) so this will change throughout the year. Stay tuned for changes - I'll let you know.

Also, Brad and I are both using Instant Messenger (IM) on Google, plus I also have a Yahoo account. So look for us to chat - it works really, really well actually (get in touch if you want to but don't know how). Thankfully, it seems to be something my crazy lo-speed connection can handle. I tend to be available mornings and during Ondine's nap times, which translates in to lunch and dinner times for most of you - roughly.

Get in touch! We miss you and love hearing from you.

Gotta go!

Zadie love

(hooray, got images posted!) Okay, we're going back now a bit to catch up. These are shots taken on one of our final days in Alameda as a family. Larissa brought Zadie around to play with Ondine while Brad and I packed up, sold, or gave away all of our stuff. You can see that there is A LOT of love (and kissing) here! Thank you dearest Larissa for helping us out and thank you Zadie for your fun spirit and infectious grin. We miss you oh-so much!

HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!!!!

This is an older shot obviously but we love it because it expresses how much joy and love there is for Papa.

Papa, we love you SO much and send you huge BESOS today as you mark being a very young 70. We can't believe its true and all hope we'll be as vital and spirited as you when our time comes 'round. You're the best daddy, father in-law and papa we could all ever imagine and we are grateful down to our bones that you are in our lives.

Enjoy the day in Baja... we are certainly jealous of the good Mexican food you're eating at the moment!!

Con mucho carino,
Cari, Brad and Ondine

Shifting Again

I forgot to add "shifting" to the vocabulary list. It means moving. So we are shifting AGAIN today. This time we are leaving Mel's house and all her neato toys and things to return to Grace Cottage in town. Its a great little place and we love it but realized that it is located on the main pedestrian walkway in and out of town so last Friday night we heard revelers from 10:30pm to about 4am walking by. Ah well, it is still a lovely place to be and soon enough we will be in our house in Breaker Bay. I think I can 'shift" one more time after today and then I am DONE. It is time to nest, to settle, to decorate and make a place our own. It is kind of surprising how deep an urge I have for this, to have a place where I know I can BE and STAY and move in. I think Brad and I will both feel more rested and relaxed when that time comes.

Although staying with Mel has been great too. We've known Mel since we first arrived in 2000 and have stayed in good contact since then. Now she and Brad are even in the same department and she has been wonderfully generous and supportive of our move. She invited us to dim sum on Sunday to meet some of her closest friends with kids. Martin does sound at Weta and Gabby is an artist - they have another Ruby - she is 6 months old and precious. They live close to Weta so when we get moved in I hope to connect with Gabby for some park and playtime.

Brad is off work today which is such a treat. We had an appointment with our accountant (ugh... not good news there but not going into that now), and as we have to "shift" again this afternoon, he decided to take the day. We went to a cafe after our meeting and before we had to pick up Ondine from the nanny and luxuriated in an uninterrupted conversation. Ahh, adult time!

We are really doing fairly well. Sometimes the culture shock hits us, at random and unsynchronized times, and at other times we just forget where we are. I think we are both doing our best to try and stay positive through what we know is a challenging time of transition. There is so much more to take care of and DO, but we are taking it all one day and breath at a time - or trying to at least.

Love to all... more to come.

Our Ondine - photos!

My generous and talented hubby has donated some photos to me! Thanks Brad - gorgeous as ever, too.

Well there she is, our sweet Ondine. She has become such a HAM. I can't begin to go through all the ways that she delights and amazes us in one post; there will need to be many. Right now, as I keep saying, its her vocabulary and remarkably clear pronunciation that is blowing us away. It is just wild how much she hears and understands. We keep thinking she must not be there yet, and lo and behold, she's a league ahead of us. Lately its the adjectives that get me... like "its windy" (heh), or "baby's wet", and "Tigger is haaappy". In the last few days she even started using sentences in the form of a question. Like when we lost Ernie at the slide, she kept saying, "Ernie. Where is?" while turning up one hand in a Shakespearean acting movement. Then she would say, "in the car-car" while nodding knowingly, as that is usually where things are when we can't find them.

The one word we keep wanting her to say but she won't is "Ondine". She knows we are asking her to but she just refuses to even try. When we point to her in photos and say, "who is that?", she always says, "YOU!". Oy.

Vocab

Since I don't have images now I thought it best to begin with some Kiwi vocabulary. I wish I could convey pronunciation as well, but that is way too hard to do in writing. Look for future videos to transmit the kiwi accent.

I begin the list with the word "cheers", as it is not only the most ubiquitous but also I think my favorite. In fact, I have been using it in the states as well ever since we lived here earlier in the decade. Below is a list (in totally random order) of the words and phrases that come to mind now; more will surely follow.

Ta - this isn't what you think. Usually we Americans think it means goodbye, but here it means thank you.
mate - friend (duh)
toilet - bathroom. This one is continually challenging for me, as I still feel awkward and a little rude asking to know where the toilet is, but I have to remember it is perfectly normal here. When I do say restrooms or ladies room I get odd looks.
Togs - bathing suit
serviette - napkin
diaper - nappy
telly - TV
lolly - candy
jumper/jersey - sweater
jandals - flip flops
trolley - shopping cart
park - parking space
hobs - stove top
bench - kitchen counter
bin - trash can
elevator - lifts
motorway - highway/freeway
and my second favorite.... guillotine - paper cutter

then there are phrases you hear all the time:
"thanks for that"
"won't be a moment"
"good to go"

and cool words like "aw, choice!", "wicked!" (which sounds like "whuckud") or, "sweet as" (though this seems to have fallen down the list a bit - seemed more popular when we were here last).

Finally, one must remember when singing or practicing the alphabet with a child here, that the last letter is not "zee' but "zed". And also if you ask for a favor, be sure you ask for a favour.

There are MANY more translations to be shared, particularly around food and drink. The whole subject of tea and coffee will need to be its own post.


until then!

Here we go Part II

Ondine has just gone to bed so I am back. I am really making an effort to get this going as with most creative endeavors, it seems starting is always the hardest part. And I do consider this a creative endeavor and at the same time I don't want to elevate it so I get freaked out and shut myself down. That has been my pattern for TOO long, and its tired and boring. So, like I said, here we go.

Overall things are good. Especially when the sun shines. It's amazing how much this aspect can change every other aspect of my day. It is chemical, no doubt, and man oh man, I love me some of that vitamin D! Although you have to be SUPER careful down here with the sunshine. The sun is fierce, having less than normal levels of ozone to protect us feeble humans from scorching. I met a woman today through Mel who is my age or younger, who isn't a sun bather or anything, who had to have a big section of her face removed when a mole turned malignant. It freaks me out especially with Ondine. I think we will have a permanent bag of hats and sunscreen in the car at all times. But you didn't just hear my complaining about the sunshine! We know winter is coming so any sun we get is a huge bonus.

Since I don't have photos or video, I am going to keep things short and write often, rather than writing epic blog spots. I hope to keep you coming back for more after all. I need to tell you about driving on the wrong side of the road, all the different vocabulary, introduce you to many places and people, and keep you updated on our lives. There is much time and future blogging for that. And I really want to call it a day and finish my glass of wine.

Love to all - missing you all MUCHO!

Here we go

Ok then. The time has finally come to blog. With grim fear and trepidation losing out just slightly to naive abandon, I begin.

There is an urge to relay INFO and DETAILS all the time. I am going to try and resist that and instead aim for more interesting missives. We'll see how that goes, as sometimes its the juice in the details that we all crave. Unfortunately, between the VERY slow dial up connection we currently have (oy - long story) and the fact that we left the video cam software in our ocean freight, I may not have photos or videos to post here initially. Sorry 'bout that... I know that makes this all much more interesting.

This weekend marks the first in many many months when the day has begun with the question, "what can we do for fun today?" rather than, "what all needs to get done today?". HOORAY! And Wellington has decided to have great weather all weekend to boot. Not that I have amazing things to tell about the fun we've had, but I read a magazine and that was quite a joy.

We're staying with our friend Mel at the moment at her groovy pad overlooking one of the many bays surrounding Wellington. Ondine has had a hay-day with her awesome and varied toy collection, predictably getting attached to Elmo, Ernie and Bert and shunning some of odder, scarier toys higher up the shelves. Mel has Austin Powers magnets on her fridge, and this morning Ondine pointed to Fat Bastard and first said, "man". And then said, "a boob". Yep, you got that right my dear!

Talking with Ondine these days is such a treat. She hears EVERYTHING, so the time to stop cursing has certainly arrived. Ahhh, the little one is waking now... so I will wrap up and come back again later (this is going to be the way A LOT of the time).

more to come....