JAM February

Six Foot By 2 Foot

How much do you really need?

You can’t have wings and roots!

Recently I have toyed with the idea of putting down roots, choosing a place, saving for a house deposit. Throughout history mankind has had a love affair with land. They have sought for it, fought for it, bought it, thought about more of it, caught it (inheritance), tried to thwart others from having it.

But really, HOW MUCH LAND DOES ONE NEED?

Miller’s Adventures (through Marie’s eyes)

A recap of our summer trip: We started in the South Island in Christchurch and stayed with some cousins for a day before heading up to “sunny Nelson” where we stayed a week with Jono’s aunty and uncle. We spent one day walking around Lake Rotoiti which was a beautiful hike through beech forests. Another day, we went to the Abel Tasman National Park and saw some beautiful beaches.

The interislander ferry took us to the North Island. It was nice to have a break to play cards and watch cricket (I’m starting to understand the game a bit) before landing in Wellington. Wellington was a very interesting city – reminded me of Seattle in some ways, a bit punk-rockish maybe. We were surprised that the backpacker’s place we were staying at upgraded us to a private room. To top it off, we found a burger place that had gluten free buns and were used to making food for people with allergies. It’s so refreshing to go somewhere and feel like they know what they’re doing.

After that we headed up to Jono’s parents’ house to spend Christmas with them and Jono’s sister’s family. They took us for a hike and showed us around their new town as we hadn’t been to visit them there before. They took us on a hike around a mountain that is also a peninsula, so quite a cool walk.

Next we went to Jono’s sister Pris’ house for a few days to play with the nieces and nephew before heading up to the far North to spend New Year’s Eve on our own at another backpackers’ place. We went and saw the new Hobbit movie (a must do while in New Zealand) and then went out to see fireworks over the water. It was beautiful. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep in the car on the way home; not really used to staying up that late.

Then we went to Jono’s sister Ruth’s house for a few days. I slept the first day we were there as I was feeling ill. I came upstairs after a nap and Jono announced that he found the culprit – there was wheat in the cumin that I had been using to cook our food. I didn’t realize that some spice brands mix additives in with the spices.

We hung out with Ruth and Jon for a week and I was introduced to online Settlers – we had a great time playing against each other. We’ve even had a few games since we’ve gotten back to Sydney.

We saw a few more people in Auckland on our way home. Pris took us to the Auckland museum for a day trip with the kids which was fun.

Then we came home and Jono went straight to work and I collapsed.

Marie’s Corner

I have a doctor’s appointment this week. My health has been up and down and I’m not sure what to do about it so I’m hoping the specialist will have some helpful advice. Prayers for healing are always appreciated too!

Life in the Big Smoke

I have come full circle from where I started my teaching career and am again the teacher of 3M in a classroom a little above where the original 3M portable room was located back in 2001.

THANKS

To the Seattle Seahawks for winning the Super Bowl just for us!! (tick tick Legion of Boom!)