My New Years

I had planned on having a quiet NYs in Nelson, however at the last moment received an invite to go out to my flatmate's boyfriend's friend's bach (aka cabin/cottage) in the Marlborough Sounds.  It was simply lovely... We were picked up by Phil and his boat and boated out to the Bach around noon on NYs eve.  It was amazing scenery, although I must say the kiwis roads are something else...  As Di drove out to where we parked prior to meeting up to catch the boat, my tummy started acting up a bit. Curve, followed by curve, followed by another curve all the way! :)  Anyhow it was a great bit of time.  A great bach, great people, and great scenery... Great weather too. I actually spent the first day of the NY sleeping under the stars... It's pretty hard to beat that... 

One of the men had a good time scouting out the rocks down by the jetty- he showed me little crabs, pointed out the jelly fishes, and the rock oysters... There were different shells too, than at Tahuna beach...  A fantastic NY, and I'm looking forward to 2007!

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Kelly's Kiwi Christmas...

I can't begin to say what a special day I had yesterday in the company of 2 of my lovely flatmates and the boyfriend of one of my lovely flatmates...  One of them said the best Christmas it could have been given that we were all away from family.  I think it felt a bit like that for all of us. It was the perfect weather for a lovely Christmas day- my first "green Christmas".

We pitched in as a team to organize our two big meals of the day, a blend of kiwi and Canadian traditions.  Breakfast was pancakes, bacon and hashbrowns with Canadian maple syrup and yummy fruit.  Supper was ham with potato casserole, a bean and mushroom casserole, stuffing, and salad. 

We spent part of our afternoon on the beach, complete with Mr. Sam the dog.  Rhonda and I raced to the ocean where I had my first real big swim in the ocean- and was really surprised to see how salty it was!!  Everyone laughed, but it isn't that unusual for someone from land locked Saskatchewan.

Today is boxing day and town is busy, but yesterday all was quiet- and even McDonald's was closed.  Just how it should be on a special day...  (And NO radio ads all Christmas day either...)

Wishing all of you the best this holiday season...

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The Eve of Christmas...

The day before Christmas is absolutely beautiful in Nelson this year.  AFter my little jog out to Tahuna today my flattie Katrina and I spent some time on the lawns and in the garden. I'm still considering a stroll out to the beach again- this time with Sam the puppy dog. We'll see...   Shortly I am off to shop for our Christmas dinner tomorrow.  I'm lucky to be able to spend Christmas with 2 of my lovely flatties and we've all been assigned our duties to be organized. I'm in charge of a potato casserole and desert.  We aren't having the traditional canadian roast- but Rhonda and I insisted on stuffing- luckily she is in charge of that!

I've had a few bits of touring around the region of late.  I was out with work a week or so ago and it took me out to Motueka and to Cable bay in the other direction. 
It doesn't take too much time on such a drive to remember why I love this place... Not only Nelson is lovely, but the region as well...

Merry Christmas everyone... As the NY approaches I'm reminded of an old resolution I read in the New York Times several years ago.  Every month to try something new- even if it's simple as trying a new recipe.  This little piece of advice has served me very well in 2006.   The road from Regina to NZ hasn't always been all highlights... But I am so thankful I took the chance to try something new in this wonderful country. 

Wishing you all the very best this holiday season- and in 2007 as well...

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A tradition..

There is an interesting kiwi tradition... Yummy Christmas cookies that you can order from work.  Either chocolate chip or a fruit/chocolate.  They come in a bucket and are yummy!!

Christmas seems far less commercial...  There is also no mega late night shopping every night here, and the radio isn't all Christmas music either....

It's wierd that you have to wait until 9:30 or so to even see outside Christmas lights...

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Busy week

It's been a while since I've been this red, but you know I've been known to say/do stupid things once in a while. Back in Uny a few of you called them "Kelly moments."

 

I walked out at lunch down to the Menswear shop to get my pants hemmed and this very sharply dressed man standing by the change room looked at me.  Assuming he worked there, I said I needed a pair of pants hemmed...  He said he didn't work there.  To cover up my "oops" I said "you are sharply dressed so I thought you might work in a mens shop".   He looked unimpressed. All I meant was it looked like he was wearing an expensive suit.  Ooopsy... It's been a while since "a Kelly moment" like that.

 

IT's a busy week this week.  Dance class winds up, a friend's Christmas tree decorating party, a dance night, my flatmates birthday (and hopefully a yummy dinner therefore??) etc.

 

Great weather forecast all week too!  Yay.

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A crazy idea...

This last week it occured to me that I wanted to run a half marathon.  There happens to be a popular south island one coming up in February.  I up'ed my kms today to 16 on today's jog.  It wasn't too bad.  The first 5 kms aren't so fun, but after that it gets easier (except that on the way back I was running into the wind!)  There are a few others who are going to go in from the area as well which will be good. I'm also keen to get some tips and a program from my former flattie who has done them before.

Yesterday a friend and  I went for a little drive out to a few of the neighbouring towns browsing for Christmas present ideas.  We visited the Grape Escape, Eyebright, and some cool store in Mapua.  I was pleased to find my work secret santa gift. Hurray! 

My dance class winds up with the big dance evening on Tuesday evening and I admit I am rather sad... I was having a great time. Hopefully it will start up again just after the new year. We'll see.

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I know, I know...

I'm terrible at updating this blog...  Bad Kelly!

I finished off my weekend in Auckland doing a lot of wandering... for example over to Newmarket. I was surprised at how not into the crowds of people I was, as I got caught up in the santa parade on Sunday.  I still loved Devonport though, but I'm no longer so sure I'd want to live in Auckland.  The traffic seems slightly nuts, although it wouldn't be nearly as bad if you lived and worked in the same area.

It was another week in Nelson.  The sun is shining brightly today and I had a nice visit with my old flattie as we wandered the market. 

I tried out the new italian pizza place in town last night with the really thin pizzas.  I like to think they are more healthy. :)  Also, interestingly had the first mcd's in a really long time... since it was a month end and we were in early we treated ourselves to breakfast.

Nelson is still beautiful... Summer here is great, but I'm curious to see what it's like once at the peak of the tourist swells.

Some sort of biker parade went through town today.  Tomorrow is the Nelson Santa parade which I will be walking in.  I missed the other neighbouring ones in Mot and Richmond.

Until next time...

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