01 May 2018

April 2018

Today is the first of May and I think I'm not the only one wondering where April went. Work has been busy so most of my team feels pretty surprised that it's May already. Time seems to have started doing weird things, like today is only Tuesday but could swear that I've already worked more than two days this week. And last week, by the time ANZAC day arrived it felt like the weekend was desperately needed - but it was only Wednesday!

I guess one reason April has flown by is because work has been really busy. The science conference that I organise was last week and there were some last minute emergencies, and it didn't go perfectly on the day, but it was OK and feedback so far is almost entirely positive. I already have a list of ideas for next year though. And I'm lucky in that this year it wasn't just me making it happen, I have a new team-member that is working on some of my projects with me, and we have a support person to help with the logistics. Which is good because in April we were also running a tertiary level scholarship, and I've been organising the film schedule for a virtual field-trip, and there was this that we sponsored, so that was both really exhausting but led to a lot of good connections to get our curriculum resources noticed and used. This week I am catching up on things and then next week the craziness starts again.

Another reason April has been busy is the Airbnb. We have been pretty booked out, but a lot of short bookings instead of week-long stays, so that means a lot more work keeping the place tidy enough for first-time guests, making up the guest room every couple of days, and continually repeating all the things you have to say when someone first arrives. It gets exhausting. The novelty has worn off, and actually so has our popularity - I guess we're in the off season now and our future bookings reflects that. We still need to keep making money for our Europe trip, because we want to have a good trip and do lots of stuff and buy lots of things! So just to put it out there - feel free to send us donations!

So we are pretty busy but things are good here. We had a bit of a storm - and it was centered right over Wainuiomata. The thunder was so loud that it shook the house and woke me up, and at first I couldn't tell if it was thunder or an earthquake. The cat and dog didn't much appreciate it. We had freezing cold days and really warm mild days, so it's been hard to dress comfortably for work! My tomatoes have still been ripening, though after the storm a lot of green ones came down. I made a big batch of tomato relish and it turned out so well, that recipe is a keeper. My pantry is super full of jars of jam and relish now. I have also been sewing, making a dent in my fabric collection - but then on the weekend there was a fill-a-bag fabric sale at the op shop and I got more fabric. And this weekend there is a book fair so my book collection will grow too. When the weather has been good we've been working in the garden, clearing gorse and weeds from above the retaining wall. Now there are daffodils planted up there, and while in the long term we want to fill that space with useful plants, for now I have sprinkled a flower seed-mix to try and keep the grass away. It will look great in spring, I can't wait. Hopefully it won't all come up too early, while we are in Europe.

Plans for Europe, if you're interested and not feeling too jealous, are coming along nicely. We will spend roughly a week in Denmark, then Germany, then The Netherlands. We might do a day trip to Sweden from Denmark, and maybe a day trip to Belgium from Netherlands - but it depends how we feel when we're there. There is a big festival on when we're in Germany and an ELO concert in Amsterdam. We've been looking at museums to visit, and the best shopping spots. In Copenhagen is Europe's oldest amusement park (it's still functional) and a really big aquarium. In Germany we will mostly be in Hamburg but will spend a day in Bremen, where I spent time during my PhD, and maybe visit Lubeck which is famous for marzipan. In Amsterdam there is a cat-cafe and a pizza-cruise on the river. I'm looking forward to shopping, I want clothes and shoes, and buying lots of chocolate, eating all the great European foods and seeing lots of sights. My blog posts will surely improve greatly!

Until then, you can settle for pictures of the animals, the house and this skink that I found.








No comments:

Post a Comment