The New Christchurch

A 'Container Mall', I think, the first of it's kind in the world, was opened at Christmastime in a part of the central city which has been reopened. In keeping with good old Kiwi ingenuity there are 27 shops and cafes, all inside custom designed shipping containers! With flowers down the street and buskers providing the music, it has a great vibe and it makes you excited about the future, about what the city will be like when it is rebuilt - innovative, green, community driven and safe.

Toi Toi, at the end there, great gift shop, love it!










The city skyline, dominated, not by skyscrapers, but by cranes.




Johnson's the grocer was somewhat of a Christchurch institution. The proprietor, Colin Johnson, who must be getting on a bit now, worked wearing his traditional 'olde worlde' white grocer's apron, in his shop in town, which was tantalizingly filled to the ceiling with shelves of interesting tins and jars of sweets and goodies. He is where you go to get a taste of England, a biscuit Boost, a Double Decker or a packet of 10p Polos for $2.00;)




It is wonderful to see him and his store alive and kicking again in the Mall. There is room in the new store to display a watercolour of the much loved and remembered original shop which was special to so many.




And, of course, I did my bit for the Christchurch Economy, I know they have been suffering since I left, I got a few little things, including, from Toi Toi,my very own little laser cut Cathedral:)




Love
Est xxx

Christchurch

We have been back in Christchurch for four and a half weeks but I haven't told you anything about it yet! Our lives have been busy since we got back, we have jumped back into everything so quickly, school, socialising, commuting, (buying a house!) and lots more commuting, my feet have been moving quicker than my brain (no comments please!) and I can hardly keep up.

The other day, I went for an explore in town, to see what has changed. In some ways lots has changed - I read in a newspaper article that an astonishing 771 buildings in town have been taken down up to now and there are 178 left still to be demolished - but there is still so much to do, and a long way to go before Christchurch has a city centre again.

Here's one that I stood and watched for a while, along with some other passersby. The building next door is on the list to come down too.




And this is as much as the city of Christchurch can see of their beloved Christchurch Cathedral, which people are still lobbying to protect.








Many of the old churches are in this state now. Both of churches in our parish are closed, and masses are taking place in the church hall.




Of course, we have friends who are still waiting for repairs, still awaiting the fate of their homes - demolition or rebuild - which is agonizing for them, they are in a state of limbo, unable to move on, and plan for their future. One friend's home has been deemed unsafe by a structural engineer, but they are still living in it, still waiting for updates - they are now resigned and have given up complaining.




The clock tower stopped at 12.51pm on 22nd February 2011.







We had a big aftershock on Friday, a magnitude 5.2, which is pretty hefty, and on the website it said it was the 30th biggest quake since the beginning. Alex was in the office in town on the third floor. It was pretty big for him, he called me straight away, but I was outside and amazingly hadn't felt it. In fact, I have only felt two shakes since we got back (yesterday morning, good 6.30am alarm clock) which is very lucky for me. Those two did put me on edge for the rest of the day, but keeping myself busy helps, and trying to be logical about them, that is helping me to be brave. The good thing is that I am not thinking about them all the time now, like I was last year - I'm now down to down to a much more manageable sixteen times a day;)

But, the people are different now. It is not the same as when we left. People are definitely more positive, a period of grief and loss and anger has passed and has been replaced by acceptance. People are more optimistic, more focussed on the future and on 'other' things, not just the earthquakes. Last year it felt like that was all we talked about, it consumed us all, and with shakes on a regular basis, the earth seemed determined for us to keep remembering. But now, with aftershocks on a few-weekly basis, rather than few-daily basis, people are able to move on, are able to exhale and breathe normally again.

The strength of people is incredible. The Christchurch heart is beating and the spirit is strong, people are getting on with their lives - cafes and businesses are popping up in different places, innovation and flexiblility is everywhere and the community is looking after one another - in that way, Christchurch is a great place to live.




The city is beautiful in the Autumntime, we have to remember that nature is kind to us as well as not. The trees in Hagley Park are a joy, and strolling around them on a crisp Christchurch morning reminds me of why I enjoy this city so much.




Stay strong Christchurch, it is nice to be back:)

Love
Est xxx

That Friday Feeling!

We are off to Wellington today for the Onslow Kindergarten Kitchen Tour 2012 on Sunday. After being involved in the organising of the 2008 and 2010 Kitchen Tours, it will be great fun to go and enjoy the tour this year, no stress and happy and relaxed in the knowledge that I have left my kitchen as a complete bomb site;)

I treated myself to a new suitcase for this occasion, and because we are going again in July, and, hey, a girl has to have a gorgeous bag for those unexpected romantic weekends away, hey Alex?!!?!

Here is my bag before I packed.




And here it is, after I packed!




Benny said to me this morning, 'Mum, you can't wear high heels on the plane today', 'Why?' I asked. 'Because you might damage the evacuation slide'.

I am not planning to use that particular exit Benny!!!

Another great quote from Benny, right up there with the story of 4 years ago when we went on a flight to Sydney, he sat down, put his seat belt on, took his tray table down, put his headphones on, and said, 'Are we stopping in Hong Kong?'.

Just taxiing now, better stop typing. After a magnitude 5.2 quake this afternoon, which I didn't feel as we were outside (I did wonder why the car was bouncing though) I am pleased that the turbulence will cease after we take off;)

Happy Friday to you all, I hope you have a great weekend!


Love
Est xxx

Fancy a Moonlit Bathe?

Sorry I have been offline for a few days, we have been moving, again! This time, to a place called Tuahiwi (good luck with that name all you non kiwis!) 30 mins north of Christchurch again, not too far from the first place in Ohoka. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to leave the house to get to school at 8am, rather than 7am. Today I am also actually back at 'home' today. When I was in Ashvegas I stayed in Christchurch all day as it was too far to go home. My car was my office, and I was eating there, reading my books, checking e-mails, and even doing my cross stitch to while away the hours! Actually, I did do a bit of parent help last week, as well as going on a school trip and going swimming with school too (the teachers didn't know what had come over me!) and Naomi loved me for that, so it wasn't all bad.

Now we are on a lifestyle block/hobby farm, along with sheep, cows, pigs, chickens and even an outdoor bathroom (but luckily there is an indoor one aswell)!











There is also a trampoline, swings, slide, 'pirate ship', tree house and three other children to play with, so Benny is in heaven.




There is the sign on the loo. I saw it before Benny and Naomi and thought, 'oh dear, how am I going to explain this one?'





I had my answer all planned out ('I don't know what they are Benny', with feigned confusion on my face - very cunning eh?) for when he came out of the toilet. He came out and said with a cheeky smile, 'Mum, I like that toilet, it says, "Please do not flush!"'

Good thing he is a typical eight year old boy!

Love
Est xxx

The Gardener's Garden

Thought I would share with you a glimpse of the beautiful life we have been enjoying in Ashburton these last two weeks at The Gardeners Cottage at Coniston.




Pukekos greet us every morning, and evening to and from school, they are pretty fast, this was the least blurred photograph I could get, there is often a great gaggle of geese too.




This little baby bundle of spikes was on the driveway the other day, he is only around 10cm long, I was so glad I didn't squash him. Actually, he was a pretty fast runner too!




Hey ewe!




Highland 'Coos', in the next paddock.










There is a chapel in the garden, where weddings are held.








The lake and the gardens are so relaxing to walk around with all the autumnal colours at this time of year.













There is a swing on the tree and toys and books in the house, and even bikes in the shed!







Naomi and Benny work diligently, transferring the wood from the woodshed to the house, using the trusty trike. Forget TVs and Ipods, for the last two weeks the main fascination is chopping the wood and making the fires. I am so glad they are loving it - it has to be done, otherwise there is no hot water for our showers!




And, look at the harvest from our garden - the walnuts are everywhere!




The cows and the snowy mountains, what a wonderful vista, a very special place.




Love
Est xxx

Just the Ticket

Today I stayed in Ashburton for the whole day, Alex is driving Benny both ways to school and Naomi took a mental health day, it is hard when you have just started school and you have to travel one and half hours to get there. It makes you very tired and just a little bit grumpy. I am sure our grandparents would disagree, I know they had to walk three hours, uphill (both ways), in the snow to get to school, but times have changed a bit since then, our generation are all a bit soft now.

Naomi and I joined our token Ashburton friends Jeremy and Christina and their new little baby Florence (Flossie) for lunch at a very lovely cafe in town and we were joined by Anna and my wee god-daughter Bella who made the mammoth trek from Christchurch to join us. Christina, Anna and I all drove in separate cars to get to the cafe and all found car parking spaces behind each other on the main street just outside the cafe (gotta love this provincial town living eh?).

We paid for our parking meters, I was very surprised, nay delighted to realise that the parking was a mere 30c, yes, you heard correctly, for a 30 minute stay (compared to the $4.00 an hour in Wellington and $3.10 in Christchurch, where there aren't even any shops to go to, this is a veritable treat!). Anna was caught so unawares that she inserted a two dollar coin into the slot before she even realised what was happening - we did tease her a little about that.

We had a lovely lunch where I managed to spend more money on Naomi's breakfast of bacon and eggs and a hot chocolate than spent on myself (when did that switch happen?) and we talked about babies and parking meters and Dora the Explorer until Jeremy could take it no more, made some feeble 'gotta get back to work' excuse and shuffled off to let us talk some more.

We said our goodbyes then Naomi and I stayed around for a little while to look at the gift shop and get a lolly cake (more treats for the 'sick' school dodger) before we were on our way.

We got back to the car, armed and so pleased with our purchase of beautiful paper plates to have afternoon tea in our new garden, and didn't notice that we had a $12.00 ticket on the windscreen, just for parking in a 30 minute car park for two hours. Can you believe it? Do they not know who I am?

Anna, you paid $2.00 - ha ha - but oh dear, we paid $12.30!

But the company (and the plates I am sure you will agree), were worth it, and I do get a $2.00 discount for paying within 14 days, if I remember, thanks Ashburton City Council;)

Here are the gorgeous plates, and yes, they are paper! Turns out Ashburton is rather stylish after all!





Photographed on location in the garden of our Gardener's cottage, in the very stylish town of Ashburton. I love them!





Just don't tell Alex about the ticket.

Love
Est xxx

Ashburton ahead of the times!

Breaking news!!! Ash'Vegas' is not the sleepy backwater most other NZ'ers think it is. Look what I saw in the New World Supermarket, a DVD vending machine! What pure and absolute genius!

Hired 'The Iron Lady', no drivers licence, forms or membership required, and loved it!

Yes, it turns out we did have a DVD player in the cottage after all, it's a good thing I married Alex, he is soo clever, he pointed it out to me. He said, 'look, it's that black box on top of the TV'. Ahhhhh!




Love
Est xxx

Happy Mother's Day

Last night, I tried to explain to Benny that on Mother's Day, the whole idea is that you DON'T wake your mum up in the morning. 'But I want to give you your presents' he said. Oh Benny, thank you, but honestly, I can wait until a bit later to get them. I told him to wake me up at around 10am.

So, this morning, I had two little monkeys on the bed at 7.15am giving me parcels and cards. He had woken Naomi up early especially too. Poor Naomi, she has just had her first two weeks at school, and she needs her sleep at the best of times (she takes after her mum)!

So, I was up and showered, dressed and eating home made pancakes (thank you darling husband) with bacon, banana and maple syrup by 9am - not a bad effort Benny, well done;)

I was very spoiled with 'The Hunger Games' book, the next of a TV series which Alex and I have been watching (which I cannot reveal the title of as it is our secret guilty pleasure) a chocolate heart from my angel baby and some matches from Benny, which isn't as strange a present as it seems, they a special matches for lighting the fire, with pictures of San Francisco and Paris on the boxes - for the fire in our new house.

I know I haven't even mentioned the house on the blog yet, but I am sure you all know about it already, as I haven't stopped talking about it ever since I first saw it on the Open2view. It is the one I went to see last week in Ohoka, and it is perfect, and we have bought it, conditional on building report etc, but hopefully it will be completely ours and we will be moving in late July/early August!!!

But in the meantime, I wish you all a late evening Happy Mother's Day, as, as we all know, the best part of a Mum's day is the end of it, when all our little angels are fast asleep and cosy in bed and we can sit down, put our feet up and have a relaxing glass of wine;)






Love
Est xxx

Classic Hits

As I was in the car for three hours yesterday and on Monday, the radio is now my new best friend. Never thought I'd say it, but Classic Hits is fab. Where else can you hear..

'Don't you want me Baby' - Human League
'Ordinary World' - Duran Duran
'Somebody I used to Know' - Gotye featuring Kimbra
and...
'You'll never take that away from me' by NZ'er Jamie McDell (if you haven't heard it, google it and have a listen, I think it's great, a very happy song)

all in the same hour?

The volume was up and I was singing like no one was listening - and it was a very good thing no one was!

Love
Est xxx

Music to my Ears

Naomi came back home after Fantastic Friday at school last week. She told me she had had a music lesson and showed me her lovely page, where she had written all her musical notes and she explained to me,

'This is four beats..


this is two beats...


this is one beat...'




'And this', she pronounced, with an air of authority, 'is....some headphones.'






Well done Naomi Skinner, you can blag with the best of them;)

Love
Est xxx