Knotty Knickers

Soup!

I LOVE HOT 'N' SOUR SOUP!

Had some in Queenstown with my British ex who is living there and has just received his New Zealand residency.  Our meeting went well.  It's been over a year since we last saw each other and one could have expected more awkwardness.  Happily there is a chocolaterie as well as a Chinese restaurant and we were able to chat and eat all at once.  Oh, and I bought some make up.  Which I'm sure was a very exciting thing for him to hang around for.  

But really, I'm still exhausted from all the travel and being back in class took it out of me, so all I have to blog and tell you about is how I truly, dearly, entirely, completely love me my hot 'n' sour soup.  June 28th I'll be spending one night in the states and I've arranged with a friend to go to Mao's Kitchen in Venice - they've got some of the best hot 'n' sour soup!  Brown rice too!  YEAH!

The First 2 Days Roadtripping

Beside chatting away with my driver, we didn't do much on the drive down. It was a good long day - 12 hours from brekkie in Nelson to touchdown in Queenstown. The place with the menu below was not a gem. Made me miss greasy American diners, I must say. And the lady saying when I asked what the soup of the day was, 'Kumara, that's sweet potato' without so much as a pause to see if I would ask what kumara is...that was insulting. I nicely replied that I wasn't so American I wasn't aware of that. Oy.

At some hour, with no more daylight and little attention left for continuing the drive, we stopped. In Haast. This was where we rested for a bit. I think the name is the best EVER. And if I had any chance of properly presenting the inside I would show you that too. It had antlers along every beam. Tons and tons of antlers. It was a super fab example of roadside bar environment.

This trip was a nice little holiday from Nelson. A friend of Kat, DJ, is a wedding DJ/MC from Wellington who travels about. The past month has been nonstop weekend work for him and this was sort of the last big event before the season slows. It's an 11 hour drive and I basically just managed to invite myself along for the ride. I may decide we need to create an Adventure Boy category, but as DJ is one of only a small number I've ever met not related to me I'm not going to do that swiftly. Still, it was nice.

I'll post the real adventure fun photos tomorrow, though you've had a taste of it yesterday with the car woes... Today I just want to note how very odd it was for me to spend so much time with a person who is immersed in the wedding culture and seems to enjoy it. At my going away party at Snow White's we were talking about marriage for some reason and and Snowie said she couldn't really imagine me and matrimony going over well together. And then she laughed and said that was hysterical because she herself was at my wedding. I know that it should seem as if because I've gotten divorced I'm not easily matched in her mind for marriage yet those of you who know me will understand it isn't quite that. Still...it was a funny moment. And because of my, hmmm - shall we say, animosity towards the social construct that is marriage, hanging out with DJ was totally bizarre. Fun and weird. As I told Miss Lit, I feel as if the weekend gave me some deep and meaningful insight into my own feelings around being in a relationship. Only I don't recall what that was! Ah well. I'm not near enough yet to anyone to be worried about such things presently.

It might only be Leonesse who appreciates the Denny Crane posing above, but we just had to when we saw the chairs! Too bad it wasn't night, it wasn't whiskey, and that James Spader didn't appear like he has in my dreams.

Crippletown Day

We saw this place on the Nav machine and detoured just to see the place for ourselves. It rather set the tone for the day.

Not long after the stop our right rear tire/tyre went.

We had stopped at a 'Cheesery' and so had supplies to cope with this set back. After our picnic we carried on until the call of nature compelled my travel mate to pull over. He stopped the car and next thing you know...it wouldn't start again.

I have never had such an eventful day of roadtripping! Still - look at the view I had-

Just to prove that it wasn't a fully shit day, I present to you pictures of us about half way through the long haul and after some wonky fun at Moeraki Boulders. Quite the chipper adventurers, don't you think?

I Got All Vain Again

Hope you can read the captions. You know, I take time with them. I try to be witty. Otherwise it's just a naked me, and that's fine and all, but most of you who read this do so with a total lack of lust for me, so I don't want to bore you with what you aren't interested in. Though I know my make up is always a treat...

Where I Was Over Easter

Courgettes & Cats

This in one of my loaner flat cats. The other one is quite a cranky lady - very amusing and intriguing. She brings out my 6 year old self - though I've managed better than I used to and am without battle scars so far. I'll try to get her photo sometime soon. Pretty much this is the good one and I'm actually going to ask Sam and Sophie if she's been renamed that. And no, my kitten mittens are apparently not moping about missing me. Mr. Moo is sleeping on the hot air vents (self medication for his runny nose perhaps?) and Thai is doing whatever it is that he does - 6 years on in our relationship and I still haven't sorted what that is actually. But, lest they think that other cats posted on the blog should mean they've been booted from my heart, take this as fact: I'm sleeping with my Buck neck pillow in my arms because it's the closest thing to Mr. Moo in heft I've got with me. When it's not in my arms I place it near my body on the bed and it simulates Thai's heavy white bod. Note too that my mind is preoccupied with trying to figure out how I might best knit a cat to stuff with woolly fleece and snooze with. Yes. I miss my cats.

Oh - and the courgette blossom? Apparently sprang to overnight after my spoken disappointment with the others being dead by the time I thought to go round with the camera. Sophie alerted me to it this morning before I headed out to the Buddhist Centre. (I'll tell you all about that next week after my retreat there.) Lovely flower isn't it? 100% New Zealand made!

Healing Bloom

From Sophie's garden. I was sadly too late on the squash (courgette) blossom photo shoot.

A&P Unit 4

That's me, Marie, and Alex.

The Smart Board is AWESOME! Took about a half hour to sort out the first page though...

I have boy hair. I am eagerly waiting for it to grow out and be cute. A blow dryer might help, but I've no power outlet in my bathroom. Anyhow - focus on how I'm hard at work in class and learning!