We've been slowly gathering new furnishings for our house here. Our favorite site is www.trademe.co.nz. It's an online auction site. I have gotten really addicted to it. We have purchased beds, beside tables, dining table, etc. My favorite purchase so far has been a leather two seater couch and armchair for $37. I'm sure we will be getting what we pay for but hey, it will stand up to kids! Paint that sucker with Kool-Aid and lollipops, it only cost $37!
Gary's aunt and uncle are also moving to a new place and they have been extraordinarily generous. They gave us a sleeper couch and loveseat, mirror, heater, bedside table, queen bed and dressers. This furniture will NOT be painted with Kool-Aid and lollipops. They also stored it for us and rented a van to help move it. We are so grateful!
So Saturday when Gary's uncle moved our stuff over to our house, I made lunch. I made some really tasty burgers but my favorite was this very easy salad. Probably to make it really fancy you should do some extra steps so I've included those plus my own steps
Grilled Peach Salad
4 small to medium peaches, skin on
1 bunch of arugula (or if you're lazy like me, one of those mixed-leaf bags of salad)
1 ball fresh mozzarella (or if you can't find it, like I couldn't, then a round of goat cheese)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 batch fresh homemade balsamic vinaigrette (or if you can't be bothered, like me, a bottle of Newman's Own Lite Vinaigrette)
Salt and Pepper
Wash and halve the peaches. Make sure they're ripe! Hard peaches won't do it for you.
Go heat up your grill. Stack the coals on one side of the grill so you get some direct heat and indire-
Who am I kidding?
Get out a grill pan or plain griddle. Heat it up on high heat on the stove. Put the peaches, cut side down, and sear until caramelized on one side. Flip and sear again on other side. You'll have one caramelized spot on the peach fuzz. That's all you need. The key is a yielding, warm peach; it doesn't have to be sauteed all over.
Wash your salad mix and dry thoroughly. Place in bowl. Crumble goat cheese on top, or tear up your mozzarella and place it on top. Put red onion on top. Toss. Put warm peaches on top of salad. Serve!
I always leave the salad dressing aside so people can add it as they choose. This was a tasty summer lunch salad! I would imagine grilled chicken would taste great on this as well.
I wish I had a picture of this to post. Use your imagination!
Eat in your sun room, looking out at the bay. You know, as you do.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Decisions, Decisions
How do you decide what to take across the world with you when you move? We were offered an "allowance" for moving and with that we had to decide exactly how we wanted to get our stuff from Arizona to New Zealand.
We decided that since our decorating style for the past 8 years has been a fusion of college dorm chic and we've-got-kids, that it would probably be best to jettison our older, junkier stuff than to spend $15,000 to move stuff that was not worth half of that (which was more than our allowance was anyway). So, we spent some money on packing up a crate about the size of a car and purchasing some stuff here.
We're calling our new decor "minimalist."
Anyhow, when I was unpacking I was curious to see what had made it over here. We packed up the first week of November, and now, the third week of January, it was hard to remember exactly what was in there.
First priority on moving was kids stuff. I know that toys are expensive over here, and I wanted my kids to have their stuff that they love and play with. It was awesome to watch them rediscovering their treasures. It was Christmas all over again.
Next, we packed up kitchen appliances that are triple or more the cost here to use, along with an electrical transformer box so we could actually use them. We also packed the best of our clothes, quilts made my my grandmothers, sentimental heirloom-y stuff, and one really nice piece of furniture that we could fit in the crate.
Here are some things that also made it:
. . . my transparent, frayed, slightly pink from a wash with something else Morrissey T-shirt. I might need to frame this one!
I can't wait to sift through the clothing boxes. I'm pretty sure a knee-high pair of woolen Waikato socks are in there, which will come in handy soon!
We decided that since our decorating style for the past 8 years has been a fusion of college dorm chic and we've-got-kids, that it would probably be best to jettison our older, junkier stuff than to spend $15,000 to move stuff that was not worth half of that (which was more than our allowance was anyway). So, we spent some money on packing up a crate about the size of a car and purchasing some stuff here.
We're calling our new decor "minimalist."
Anyhow, when I was unpacking I was curious to see what had made it over here. We packed up the first week of November, and now, the third week of January, it was hard to remember exactly what was in there.
First priority on moving was kids stuff. I know that toys are expensive over here, and I wanted my kids to have their stuff that they love and play with. It was awesome to watch them rediscovering their treasures. It was Christmas all over again.
Next, we packed up kitchen appliances that are triple or more the cost here to use, along with an electrical transformer box so we could actually use them. We also packed the best of our clothes, quilts made my my grandmothers, sentimental heirloom-y stuff, and one really nice piece of furniture that we could fit in the crate.
Here are some things that also made it:
- Three boxes of books. I had to really cull through my collection. My most favorites are here. I ended up taking about 10 or 11 big boxes of books to Goodwill.
- Kids artwork, and random treasures. Including a hat made by a good friend for Seth when he was born.
- The unfinished cross-stitched family portrait. You can't see it, but there is a needle dangling out of it.
- My favorite froggie bowl and cup that my Aunt Danna gave me when Seth was born.
- A glass dish. From New Zealand. Bringing it back home, baby!
- This particular item has also been to Europe, Canada, through the West Coast. . .
. . . my transparent, frayed, slightly pink from a wash with something else Morrissey T-shirt. I might need to frame this one!
I can't wait to sift through the clothing boxes. I'm pretty sure a knee-high pair of woolen Waikato socks are in there, which will come in handy soon!
Monday, January 14, 2013
On the Road Again
One of the things I feared most about moving here was the driving. And it was mostly two things. First, there is the driving on the "other side." Lets just call it right-hand drive, since by no means is left-hand drive the only way other countries handle traffic.
I went about 5 days without driving. Each time we've come to visit, I have to orient myself just to getting in on the right side. "Feel like driving today?" my husband would ask with a chuckle, as I automatically walked to the right-hand side. "Ha ha ha," we both would grin.
My easy-entry into the world of driving on the right was shot to bits when we bought a car. Someone had to drive one of the cars home. I thought about letting Seth do it, but then grudgingly accepted that maybe 7 is too young to try it out, no matter how proficient he was when I first got my iPhone (he had it up and running and watching Lego Star Wars videos on You-Tube within 1 minute of being in his hot and sticky hand while I didn't even know how to answer a call).
Driving home was a 30-minute, white-knuckled journey of terror on the motorway. "These lanes are the Clip-Ons," my husband helpfully instructed as we drove along some outer lanes. "They were added to the original bridge and we all used to say, never ride on the Clip-Ons, they might fall into the bay! Hahaha!" Yes. Ha ha ha. Spontaneously start sweating. Visions of me plunging my two children into the icy waters below as the Clip-On crumbles away from the main bridge plague the entire drive over the bridge.
I used to be a somewhat rational person.
Anyhow, I made it home without incident. I've made friends with my GPS system - how did we ever exist before without GPS? I have named my GPS system Karen, so I can sing "Oh My Karen" when I'm feeling particularly fond of her.
Parking lots are worse than driving on real streets wtih real cars. In parking lots, I feel the most vulnerable, and it is easiest to slip into the old driving-on-the-left ways. Additionally, for some reason, actually parking the car in a space feels tough. I think the combination of new car and new driving orientation throws me off.
The second thing to fear is the dreaded roundabouts. I get them and they are quite handy little traffic flow facilitators. However, the right of way rules combined with signalling perplex me. I know I'm supposed to signal - but when? On and off? And why was that jackass behind me blowing his horn when I was clearly yielding to my right? Howya like my bird, a**h*le! This is how we do it back ho. . . oh, excuse me. I got a little carried away by this roundabout.
So in any case, I have mastered most of the driving. I will get these roundabouts figured out. I only head to the right-hand side of the car as the driver about 2 times a day.
And I almost never turn on the wipers instead of the blinker anymore.
I went about 5 days without driving. Each time we've come to visit, I have to orient myself just to getting in on the right side. "Feel like driving today?" my husband would ask with a chuckle, as I automatically walked to the right-hand side. "Ha ha ha," we both would grin.
My easy-entry into the world of driving on the right was shot to bits when we bought a car. Someone had to drive one of the cars home. I thought about letting Seth do it, but then grudgingly accepted that maybe 7 is too young to try it out, no matter how proficient he was when I first got my iPhone (he had it up and running and watching Lego Star Wars videos on You-Tube within 1 minute of being in his hot and sticky hand while I didn't even know how to answer a call).
Driving home was a 30-minute, white-knuckled journey of terror on the motorway. "These lanes are the Clip-Ons," my husband helpfully instructed as we drove along some outer lanes. "They were added to the original bridge and we all used to say, never ride on the Clip-Ons, they might fall into the bay! Hahaha!" Yes. Ha ha ha. Spontaneously start sweating. Visions of me plunging my two children into the icy waters below as the Clip-On crumbles away from the main bridge plague the entire drive over the bridge.
View from a clip-on, while I was a passenger of course
I used to be a somewhat rational person.
Anyhow, I made it home without incident. I've made friends with my GPS system - how did we ever exist before without GPS? I have named my GPS system Karen, so I can sing "Oh My Karen" when I'm feeling particularly fond of her.
Parking lots are worse than driving on real streets wtih real cars. In parking lots, I feel the most vulnerable, and it is easiest to slip into the old driving-on-the-left ways. Additionally, for some reason, actually parking the car in a space feels tough. I think the combination of new car and new driving orientation throws me off.
The second thing to fear is the dreaded roundabouts. I get them and they are quite handy little traffic flow facilitators. However, the right of way rules combined with signalling perplex me. I know I'm supposed to signal - but when? On and off? And why was that jackass behind me blowing his horn when I was clearly yielding to my right? Howya like my bird, a**h*le! This is how we do it back ho. . . oh, excuse me. I got a little carried away by this roundabout.
So in any case, I have mastered most of the driving. I will get these roundabouts figured out. I only head to the right-hand side of the car as the driver about 2 times a day.
And I almost never turn on the wipers instead of the blinker anymore.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Electronic Mysteries
We came, we saw, we finally got into our apartment about 7 hours after we were supposed to. We got unpacked within a day and have a mountain of suitcases. It is literally as tall as I am, and totally empty.
So after a day of eating take-out (adjust the vocabulary; it is now take-away!), we went to the grocery store and did some preliminary shopping.
However, now I have some formidable adversaries in my way; appliances. They apartment staff graciously left information about how to operate them; they remain a mystery. I think I have the dishwasher figured out, although the last batch of dishes came out a touch greasy. The washer and dryer have a step-by-step guide that even (or maybe in my case, especially) an idiot can follow.
The oven and the microwave oven are the real mysteries. I have to concede defeat to the microwave. There is no way to figure this puppy out. I pretty much put a plate of leftovers in there, hit whatever buttons I fancy, and it either comes out or it doesn't. Trial and error, baby!
The oven has several mysterious pictures on it. All I can figure is that if you want to bake a cake, there is one setting. If you want to bake and run the fan, that is another setting. And then there are about 6 other settings that I have no clue about. Additionally, there is a magical combination that actually turns the oven on that I am drawing about 2/3ds on.
One thing I love, though, is the outlets. Seriously. So, you plug in your appliances; then each little outlet as an on/off switch. So if you plug in your phone to charge overnight and come back the next morning like one adult male of this household did, and say, "Hmmm, that's strange, I got almost no charge last night" I can nonchalantly say, "Did you remember to turn the plug on?" Practice your dirty looks now for when I brightly say that to you. I can take it.
Next experiment! - how to get a full flush on the toilet!
So after a day of eating take-out (adjust the vocabulary; it is now take-away!), we went to the grocery store and did some preliminary shopping.
However, now I have some formidable adversaries in my way; appliances. They apartment staff graciously left information about how to operate them; they remain a mystery. I think I have the dishwasher figured out, although the last batch of dishes came out a touch greasy. The washer and dryer have a step-by-step guide that even (or maybe in my case, especially) an idiot can follow.
The oven and the microwave oven are the real mysteries. I have to concede defeat to the microwave. There is no way to figure this puppy out. I pretty much put a plate of leftovers in there, hit whatever buttons I fancy, and it either comes out or it doesn't. Trial and error, baby!
This microwave is so mysterious, Rush should write a song about it, and film a video with swirling fog.
The oven has several mysterious pictures on it. All I can figure is that if you want to bake a cake, there is one setting. If you want to bake and run the fan, that is another setting. And then there are about 6 other settings that I have no clue about. Additionally, there is a magical combination that actually turns the oven on that I am drawing about 2/3ds on.
One thing I love, though, is the outlets. Seriously. So, you plug in your appliances; then each little outlet as an on/off switch. So if you plug in your phone to charge overnight and come back the next morning like one adult male of this household did, and say, "Hmmm, that's strange, I got almost no charge last night" I can nonchalantly say, "Did you remember to turn the plug on?" Practice your dirty looks now for when I brightly say that to you. I can take it.
These cute little outlets are like, "Oh, noooo!"
Next experiment! - how to get a full flush on the toilet!
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