Cricket is cool!

It’s cricket time in the northern hemisphere and the kiwi team is currently doing a tour of England, which I figure makes this a perfect time to tell you about my first cricket experience! Back in (hot, hot) February I went to my first live match, and it was awesome! =) We saw the Black Caps (NZ) versus England in a one-day international match in Napier. I shall hazard a guess that most people reading this know little about the game of cricket, and I can’t say that I know all that much more than you do, but I’ll try to shed a little light on the subject. =) First of all, matches range in length from five-day test matches right down to the newer 20-20’s which only last a couple of hours. The one we went to was somewhere in the middle of those two- it was a one-dayer, so we were there for about eight hours. =) Also, cricket is a little bit like baseball, but only a little bit. =) There are pitchers (bowlers) and batters (batsmen) and catchers (wicket keepers), but their roles are really not all that similar to baseball players’… Ah, methinks it far beyond my expertise to explain it well, so I refer you to Cricket Explained for Novices. That should clear everything up. =) One wacky thing about cricket is that they don’t alternate batting like in baseball. In our match, England batted for a few hours and then after lunch (yes, lunch!) NZ had to “chase” the number of runs England had racked up. (In this case, England got a whopping 340 runs! That’s a big number to chase!!) It was weird to just sit and watch England bat for 3 or 4 hours before NZ even got a turn! Another thing that’s odd is that tons of the players are bowlers. In baseball, pitching is really specialized, and half the time those guys never even have to bat! But here, each guy can only bowl ten overs (1 over = 6 balls bowled), so you need at least five guys who can bowl on your team, and nobody ever bowls more than one over consecutively, so they’re always moving around into different fielding positions and switching bowlers and that kind of thing. Also, this was only a one-day match, so the teams wear whatever colours they want, but in a 5-day match everyone on both teams has to wear white! It’s surprisingly not all that confusing and it looks quite nice on the pitch! My favourites from this match are Daniel Vettori (NZ’s captain and awesome bowler), Jesse Ryder (always seems to being doing something cool like getting people out), and Jamie How, who scored 139 runs all by his lonesome! On the English side I like Stuart Broad, but only really because he looks just like Malfoy from Harry Potter and he’s tall and skinny. (That's him with hirsute Ryan Sidebottom to the right there.) He also gave away a ton of runs this match, which worked out well for NZ. =) So, what happened, you might ask?!?! After eight hours of hard work, it really came down to the very last ball- as far as I can tell, NZ should have come back to win it, but some mishaps right in the end made it less and less likely until they scored one last run on the last ball that tied the match. I would have been really disappointed if we’d lost, but a tie is okay. Probably fair, really. Glad cricket doesn’t go into extra innings; we would’ve need our sleeping bags! :o

Snow!

Old Man Winter has officially arrived! As I sit here in our warm and cosy lounge (in my pink fluffy bathrobe) I can see big, chunky snowflakes falling outside the window... Oh, it's just lovely- see? =) I love it when it snows! =) In honour of the first snow of the season, I think we should talk about all things snowy! =) First of all, what is snow? Whence does it come? How do I get rid of it? Could I see some pictures? Look no further than All About Snow! And about the structure- could it really be true that no two snowflakes are alike? Find out more about snowflake physics here. Oh- and all of those animals who live in the snow- they're so cute and fluffy! =) There's the adorable arctic hare; there are arctic foxes and white ermines (see photo) and unimaginably cute harp seals, and polar bears, of course! And who could forget the snowy owl? It even has snow in its name! =) Speaking of things with snow in the name, there's that guy from Canada called Snow who had a big hit in 1993 with the (bordering on ridiculous) song "Informer"- you can see the video here. And there's the band Snow Patrol (I guess somebody has to keep an eye on that Canadian guy if he's gonna go around informing on people all the time), who are from Ireland and do a lot of good stuff, including the hit "Chasing Cars." Even though they're Red Hot, the Chili Peppers also got in on the snow action in 2006 with their song "Snow (Hey Oh)." I really like that one, though I have no idea what he's on about... Wikipedia offers some insight here. If all of of this doesn't satisfy your snow curiosity, you could go to Snow College! I don't know what they really teach there, but surely there's something about snow in the curiculum? Ahhh, snow! =) I hope it's a little bit warmer where you are, but I'm perfectly happy to hang out here and watch the snow. =)

Hello, Winter? Is That You?

It’s almost winter here in the southern hemisphere. The leaves have changed colour and, alas, so have I- my marvelous tan from a summer spent (strategically) lazing around on New Zealand’s sandy beaches has faded away to almost the same pale, pasty grey as the sky was when I was walking home from work today. The days are getting colder and shorter and so am I (well, my hair got shorter last week), but through the cold and gloom I often catch myself smiling thinking about all of the exciting things that I associate with the colder seasons. And there I was this morning donning my scarf and gloves for the frigid three-minute commute to the office, grinning away for no outwardly apparent reason, when it suddenly dawned on me- this is not the winter that I know and love! :o I mean, it’s the end of fall (autumn for you non-Americans), so didn’t we miss my birthday? And what about Thanksgiving?! By my confused brain’s calculations Thanksgiving should have been last Thursday! Where’s my green bean casserole?! It feels like winter, but it’s all backwards! :o The thing is, I really love this time of year! I love the crispness of a clear fall day when all the leaves have just changed colour- the streets are beautiful, like rusted rainbows, with all of the reds and yellows and browns… Fall gives me such a cuddly feeling! I love the smell of the fallen leaves- it makes me feel all autumnal… Christchurch has been beautiful the last few weeks! But then comes winter which usually means sleigh bells and icicles and snow and Christmas with my family and hot chocolate… Now, don’t get me wrong- I don’t want to disparage a kiwi winter- I haven’t even experienced one yet! But I’ve started to wonder just what there is to look forward to in winter in New Zealand! =/ Once I got my head on a straight enough to realize that it’s actually May and that there’s no pumpkin pie or Silent Night looming close on the horizon, I started to wonder how all of these kiwis make it through such a dreary time of year without all of the good stuff! In our immediate family the birthdays start with my mom’s in late August and roll steadily by until November, so every month there’s something to celebrate. Then comes Thanksgiving- my favourite holiday (not so much for the massacring of native peoples as for the broccoli and mashed potatoes). And then it’s time to get in the holiday spirit, which means an endless rotation of my 100+ CD’s of Christmas music for a month! Everywhere you go there are decorations and twinkling lights, and there’s that special wintery Christmas tingle in the air… But not in New Zealand! Christmas is in the summer and they don't have Thanksgiving at all! I have conducted a little research, and though skiing and the Queen's birthday were mentioned, it seems like the main attraction here in winter is rugby. They're rugby mad down here! So, though I’m not entirely convinced it will be as magical as Christmas lights and candy canes, I’m going to the rugby next month- the All Blacks against England here in Christchurch. I’m sure it will be wonderful, and I may even love it more than I expect to, but I have to say- it’s just not pumpkin pie, is it?

Brrrrrr!

It’s cold in here! There must be some Toros in the atmosphere! (It’s okay if you have no idea what that means. If you knew instantly what I was talking about, it’s okay if you pretend you didn’t. Personally, I love Bring It On! I am not ashamed. I’ve got spirit- yes I do.) Anywho, it is chilly in Christchurch! Winter is upon us! (I don’t care about equinoxes and dates! If it’s this cold, it must be winter!) I suppose it’s not really any colder than other places I’ve lived, it just feels like it. There are two main reasons for this. First, a lot of the buildings here just aren’t as well sealed or insulated as they could be. (We live in an older building and I swear there are Antarctic winds coming from the edges of the bathroom window. The floor in there feels like a polar ice sheet. Penguins help me get dressed in the morning.) Secondly, there’s a definite lack of central heating. Some fancy folks have heat pumps, but a lot of people just use oil heaters (like the one next to which I’m huddling in the photo) and little fan heaters. (A rare photo, by the way, as shortly after it was taken I invested a giant, pink terrycloth bathrobe- like this- which I only take off when I’m in the shower or at work. It makes me look about 100 lbs. heavier than I actually am, and I bear a very close resemblance to that fuzzy guy from the Pink Batts insulation commercials. Surely Gordon has never found me so attractive. Whatever- I’m warm!) So I hope you northern hemispherians are enjoying the warmth of summer! And if it gets too hot, remember you can always come visit us (and the bathroom penguins) in icy Christchurch! (FYI: BYO bathrobe.)

Christchurch!

Oops! It occurs to me that whilst prattling on about all of our road trip adventures, I may have neglected to mention that we found an apartment and we’re living in Christchurch! We’ve been here for two months already! :o Time flies when you’re having yummy vegan pies at the Gravity Café! =) Christchurch is a lovely, gardeny city of roughly 400,000 people- it’s the largest city on the South Island and the second largest in the country (after Auckland). There’s a beautiful cathedral in the square (Christ Church Cathedral) which is especially striking at night when the stained glass is all lit up. The river Avon runs right through the centre of town, and there are all kinds of beautiful places around which to meander like the banks of the river and the botanical gardens. It’s all nice and flat here, too, so all that meandering doesn’t completely tucker you out. =) The city is up to its ears in used book stores- soooo tempting, but not so good for the weight of my luggage! Otherwise I could seriously spend days browsing in Smith’s Bookshop- a three-story book lover’s Mecca… Quite possibly the best bookstore I have been to in any country (though it must be said that the old Book Nook in Atlanta served me very well in days gone by). There are tons of great cafés and bars and movie theatres around, and they’re all very easy to get to from our prime central city location. =) Everyone should visit. =) So far we’ve had two houseguests. First was Keri, who only had two days with us due to our opposite travel schedules, and very unluckily for her those days happened to be the ones when we were moving into our new apartment! :o I wish we’d had a little more time together, but it was fun to catch up and make stir-fry together in our new place! (Here’s a picture of the three of us- Keri is showing her excitement about the variety of ice cream flavours NZ has to offer.) Then came Gretchen, with whom we had a great time wandering around the city, going out for coffee (see photo), and watching terrible movies on TV late into the night while gorging ourselves on “blobs,” our new favourite chocolatey addiction. (E-mail me if you want the recipe- they’re YUM!) It’s been great fun having visitors- next in line is our friend Jo from Nottingham! Can’t wait to see her in July! =) We love our cute little (coldish) flat in the Garden City, but miss all of our peeps abroad- hope to see some of you soon when you come for ski holidays in August! =)

Best Hostel EVER?

Back to the East Cape… Maraehako Bay Retreat really shouldn’t be called a hostel- the more correct term in New Zealand is “backpackers’ accommodation.” Besides, that word “hostel” sounds so… hostile. I never did like it much. So, best backpackers’ EVER? Well, if it’s not, it’s gotta be pretty high on the list! =) This place was awesome! We stopped there on the recommendation of a guy we met at Brian’s Place in Tokomaru Bay. We meant to just drive up and see if we liked it, but it was wayyy down a really steep, narrow driveway, and by the time we had navigated that and found a place into which to wedge our car, Pihi, our gregarious host, was right there with a warm and friendly greeting, and offered us the last double room he had left- a cosy caravan right by the water. =) How could we refuse? =) The Lonely Planet called Maraehako a “paradisaical hostel [that] owes more than just a little to Robinson Crusoe.” Now, admittedly, I'm not really up on my Defoe, but I couldn’t agree more with that paradise part! It’s a big, multi-level house with all kinds of steps and ladders and trees growing out of lots of decks and balconies, all of which look out onto the sea. There are nets and ropes and plants everywhere, and it’s literally right on the beach. This is actually the view from the window of our caravan. Beautiful! We spent our afternoon there paddling around the bay in the kayaks that are free for guests to use and climbing on the rocky shore looking at limpets and snails and such… After dinner we sat around the big driftwood fire and chatted with other travellers, and there was even a little singing. =) It was lovely. =) Though we awoke to crummy weather, we slept quite well in our cosy little room. =) I totally recommend this place to anyone traveling the Cape, but bring your sleeping bag if you’re staying in the bunks, because they don’t provide linen in the dorm-style rooms, and stock up on supplies before you get there, because you’re totally not going to want to leave to find a grocery store once you get sucked into this amazing place. =) I hope you get to go there sometime, and if you do, please say hello to Tiger the kitty from us. Prrrrrrr... =)

Too much travel, not enough SOUP!

Is this what I hear you saying? Could the distant rumble I hear be the combined voices of my ever-loyal readership (of two or three) humbly beseeching change? Does the bread-and-water diet of travel tales I have been feeding you leave you hungry for something with a bit more bite? Something you can sink your teeth into, perhaps? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that your cries have not fallen on deaf ears, my friends. I concur with your findings, and I second the motion for a shift of subject matter. To that end I shall dispense with the camping chronicles (for a limited engagement of one post only) to bring you a delicious, simple, and healthful recipe! =) Hooray! =) (Don’t worry- it’s easy to make, and it goes quite well with bread and water.) Have you ever wondered what to do with all of those pesky broccoli stalks once you’ve stripped them of their tasty florets? Do you hesitate to throw them in the trash (or have a small, broccoli-obsessed child who picks them out of the garbage and demands that you cook them)? And celery- the celery here can be HUGE! What am I ever going to do with all that celery?! It doesn’t even fit in out refrigerator! It turns out that the simple solution to this surplus of stalks is a scrumptious and savoury soup! =) I took the recipe from one of my favourite cookbooks, Cook Vegan by Richard Youngs. It has been tested on both Gordon and Gretchen (my friend Jess’s ex-housemate Amy’s sister who’s staying with us) who gave it two (or four?) happy thumbs up! I hope you will, too! =) If you try it, let me know what you think! =)

Broccoli & Celery Soup

Ingredients
1 ½ tbsp. sunflower oil
1 small onion
2 handfuls broccoli stalks
3 small stalks of celery
2 ½ cups water
2 ½ tbsp. soy sauce

Method
Roughly chop all the vegetables. Over a medium heat, briefly sauté the chopped broccoli and celery in the sunflower oil. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Liquidize and serve. Yum! =)