Heather & Rod's Amazing (& Not So Amazing) New Zealand Adventures

It’s a relaxing Tuesday evening . . . . Rod has just cooked me dinner (as per usual, I’m so spoiled). As we settle ourselves down with our plates and a nice wine, all of a sudden, our cat Mitzer bowls through the cat door and all I can hear is a loud, urgent ‘peep, peep’ of some small animal! I scream, “Rod, it’s yours!” and I proceed to the highest point in the room. I am now standing on top of the chair in our lounge, half-eaten chicken breast forgotten in my mouth as I scream for Rod to ‘get it.’ Whatever ‘it’ is. You have to understand, I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to furry creatures brought home by the cats. Rod never lets me forget the morning I woke up and stepped on a large black thing in the hallway, ran screaming into the toilet AS HE WAS DOING HIS BUSINESS mind you . . . . in a hysterical mess screaming and crying that there was a rat in the hallway. After Rod zips up quickly in order to rescue me from this horrible beast, he saunters back from the hallway to the...

What a crazy week it's been in the Southern Hemisphere - tsunamis in Samoa, an earthquake that killed more people than the tsunami did in Indonesia, aftershocks in both countries and then an earthquake in Peru. Not to mention the hurricane in the Philippines last week that has left thousands and thousands homeless and killed hundreds. I think the earth is angry! Growing up in rural Pennsylvania there really weren't too many natural disasters that could harm you. The occasional heatwave . . . okay, get into the air conditioning. A flood - yes, there were a few of those that were quite major. Drought - - yeah, not the best of natural disasters when your family operates a Christmas Tree farm. Living in New Zealand this week, however, has brought a whole new reality to what natural disasters can really be like. The day after we came home from our beach house in Matarangi following a long weekend, our friends went up to stay for the school holidays. That morning, Rod and I were...

What a sad week for us ‘children of the 70s.’ The death of Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and now Michael Jackson . . . . my brain is on overload with so many memories associated with all three. Firstly, how many of my girlfriends had the Farrah ‘do?’ ALL of us had it at one time or another. Man, I had my curling iron heated up morning, noon and night trying to practice how to get that flick around the face just right. All I wanted was to grow up to be a pretty and cool as Farrah! What little girl didn’t? Most of my memories of Ed McMahon are of me hiding behind a corner or on the steps listening to my parents watch late night TV. When I heard ‘Here’s Johnny’ I knew it was really late and I was being quite naughty being out of bed! But, I’m most sad about the death of Michael! His music is associated with a lot of ‘firsts’ for me . . . . his Billy Jean album was the first album I ever bought with my own money. I can remember he had a sparkly silver outfit on the front. I’d play it for hour...

Well, my friends, I am getting older. Yes, as you know, I’m 40 now (I was going to say I’m in my 41st year, but that just sounds way too old!). And, in NZ, that means it’s time for your first mammogram. Prior to the Big Squeeze on Thursday, I had no prior knowledge of what it’s like to have a mammogram except for some documentary I saw once on 60 Minutes. I can’t even remember what the subject was, but I DO remember some woman’s really ugly, vein-striped boobs squeezed like a wet sponge by that horrible machine. This was 10+ years ago, but fresh enough in my mind to cause boob-squeeze anxiety, nonetheless. Although I had trepidation, I figured this is kinda like jumpin’ off the high dive (bad analogy as I stood there for 20 mins but ended up climbing back down the ladder). Anyway, I knew I had to just do it – and not think about it. So, I made my appointment for 3 weeks hence. Then, I just had to wait . . . . and think . . . . about my boobs squeezing in that contraption that beg...

A key life lesson we all learn early on during childhood is to use the ‘buddy system’ during risky situations. I’m sure you can all think of times when you’ve had to call on a buddy and put the ‘system’ into action. Swimming is a good one that comes to mind. I was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef eight years ago . . . . there were sharks and nasty looking fish and the risk of sea snakes, not to mention rough waves hitting me in the face as I tried to clear my airway. The risk of me drowning was rather high. So, the dive master made me stick with a buddy. Smart thinkin’. . . Tramping ( hiking, you Americans ) is another instance where the buddy system is a good move. When you’re lost in the dark bush ( woods, my US buddies ) on a cold winter night, you’ll be wishin’ you had a buddy just about then. Women attending University frat parties. . . . Yes, I can still remember the days, friends . . . . . . it is certainly advisable for all young women to use the buddy system under th...

Chapter 2 ..... I had a wonderful time in Athens. It is one of the most incredible places. Excavations of folks that lived there in 3000 BC. That's further on that side of Christ than this one! It's just incredible how all these massive stone structures were built so long ago. Ok, most of these were built around 2000 years ago, but what's a few years when you're talking thousands. And so amazing still.The Greeks just ooze sexuality and indigance, a marvelous combination that results in a very interesting culture. The food was fantastic and, of course, with Ouzo to finish everything off, you always go to bed happy!So, after a day and a half in Athens, it's off to Crete for the conference. It's only a 50 min flight from Athens to Crete. I'm feeling pretty confident in retracing the steps BACK to the airport...45 min later, all good. The flight to Crete was smooth, with the most amazing views over the Mediterranean coming into Heraklion, the major city o...

It's All Greek To Me Ok...Rod here. Please bear with me, as I don't have all the blogging experience that Heather has. But, she tells me that my recent experiences in the ancient world of Greece deserve a mention. so, here goes... I am currently on one of my round-the-world business jaunts. You know, the crazy 18 countries and as many hotels in 20 days. Everyone usually calls them 'holidays,' but those who've never done one can be very naive! Part of this trip has sent me to the wonderful country of Greece...the island of Crete to be exact for an international conference in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. Before you start thinking how rough I have it, I can tell you that putting such a conference in such a place is torture. Imagine the most beautiful setting on the Mediterranean Sea at a posh resort for 3 days, and all you get to do is sit inside window-less, air conditioned rooms listening to Ag & Bio Engr papers. Stupid really... Anyway, that...