And the waterfalls and creeks, what is life without water, right?
This was a spectacular day and after we left here, we drove down to the temple,
another hour away. This is cattle country and many cows, you think their beef
and dairy would be really cheap. Oh well.
I wish there was a way to post pictures not in just a big long row, any comments on that?

So, what do you think, a little bit of heaven here?

Close ups

The flowers were just spectacular/a vision of possible
Garden of Eden descendents.

We tried to get this lily pads to grow in our lake,
but we could not overcome either the turtles
or the freezing winters...maybe when Dave actually retires, we will be more successful.

As you can see, the lily pads can take over the
whole pond, so we will have take care with that
too.






The Lotus festival was
held now because the lotus flowers were blooming. They are held in very high regard in Eastern societies and religions. It begins life in dark mud and then as it grows and reaches the light, it becomes beautiful. It is a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. Many Hindu and Buddist gods are depicted sitting or standingon the Lotus flower for this reason.

Dave's bad leg forced him to sit much of it out, though that was not such a terrible idea, he enjoyed anyway. Someone a few years ago cleaned out this space and totally beautified it.

We drove down to a water flower park for a lotus festival...fun!

Sights along my walk

I love the trees here!
Wish that go inside and sit for a while...oh well

I begin each day with a walk...to St. Heliers, the little village on the bay we live near. I take the long way down there...40 minutes. I visit library, post office, bank etc. Unfortunately, I also go past about 10 bakeries but so far Iam doing OK with that. The shorter way home, 20 minutes, is like a stair stepper, almost all up hill, like walking to Vicki's house. The houses here beautiful, trees beautiful...village is cute. I sit on a bench by the bay and read for a while, it is a nice routine, very peaceful here. Now I just need a dog to walk.

Driving

Yep, learning how to drive on the wrong side of the street. I do a driving lesson every nightto. Dave is out on weekends trying to buy a car for us. We have been given this rental car for two months so we can have two cars through our first visitors, my sis and Dave's sis. I promise, I am trying to learn how to drive safely!

The other photo is of the auto auctions they have for used cars. The used car business is very competitive here. We have been advised to stick to asian cars rather than american or european. Wish us luck1

How does one delete a picture once it is

uploaded????

We really are glad to be here in New Zealand; I think we are getting a slow start but then remember we are only in our second week here and have been moving slowly because of past surgeries. I am establishing a routine that I enjoy...sitting at my little desk to do my blogging, facebooking, emailing, some genealogy and some family history...playing a little too much! Reading, TV...all of these bad habits...oh well.

I hate to admit how much time we spend here,
but as we watch TV we do accomplish other things too, like blogs. By the time Dave returns home, he is pretty tired and doesn't do much else right now...other than my nightly driving lesson.

The end of Dave's first day of work at Middlemore.
He had a good day, claimed he was one tired
turkey and then passed out for a while. His back
is doing well from his surgery but unfortuniately,
the pain down his leg is awful. He can barely walk by the time he gets home...so we don't do too much right now.