update on Tahini

She is still missing... I pray every day that she is ok and will go home soon. 

Rain

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. We have been busy lately. Last week I had four days of subbing!! It was in a daycare, and the days were very long, but I'm not complaining! It was nice to do something different and spend some time with some cute Kiwi kids.  I love hearing their kiwi accents, they sounds so cute.

Over the last couple of days we have had heaps of rain. It has rained so much that the river by Kit's work is flooded. It normally about 1/2 foot deep and moving slowly, however since the rain it has surged to three feet deep and has turned into a rushing river. Kit said he saw people kayaking and surfing the river, which sounds very dangerous, but would have been great to see. The Otago Daily Times, the local paper, wrote this article about it.

 This is a picture taken a couple of months ago from Kit's office. The Leith River is below. This is what is normally looks like. (sorry its not the best picture)

Here are some pictures of the river today. You can't tell, but it was rushing pretty fast.

We hope you are all enjoying your warm summer weather!

Tahini

Say a prayer that our cat Tahini will come home soon. When we moved to New Zealand her and Marcello went to live with Kit's parents. They love it there, all of the trees and hunting. She has always been an adventurous spirit and we love her for that. She has been gone almost a week. We hope she is enjoying her time in the woods, but we hope she comes back soon. 

cockling

Over the weekend we went cockling with some friends. Cockles are salt water clams and are found very easily during low tide on the beaches. We went out with 6 other friends and "foraged" for cockles. Foraging may not be the best word to use since all you had to do was dig your hand in the sand around an  inch or two and you would find handfuls of them. We had a great time and made some new friends along the way. After you find the cockles you have to let them sit in salt water for about an hour, so they spit out the sand. We stopped for a warming drink on the way back home while the cockles did their business. Once we got back home we cleaned them, steamed them, and then ate them. That process took about three hours of cleaning and steaming. But we had a great "yarn" and a glass of wine while we waited. (A yarn is a new term we have learned lately meaning a chat or talking) It was one of the best Saturdays we have had here!!

Kit and I found some!!

Burt cleaning the cockles

Steaming

cutting up onion and garlic for the sauce

Caroline and Kate eating the steamed ones

The shells and the meat

Our wonderful cook, Christina!!!

Kit stirring up the sauce

Cheers to a great day!!!!!

Sandymount hike

Kit's Birthday was wonderful. We went out for sushi and drinks with friends on this actual birthday. Then on Saturday we had a party. The theme was "P", everyone had to dress up in something that started with the letter P. Kit was Peter Pan and I was a Peacock. Everyone really got into dressing up and we had a blast. On Sunday we went on a new hike on the pennisula that had the most amazing views. It was one of those beautiful days in Dunedin, where you drop all of your plans and head outside.

I started a knitting class, which I am loving. I already know how to knit, but I am learning some new techniques, making new friends and this week I learned how to spin my own yarn. Spinning my own yarn is something I have always wanted to learn and I was excited that my teacher had a spinning wheel and brought it in for us to play with. It was hard getting started, having my feet do something completely different than my hands. My teacher explained it like trying to rub your belly and  pat your head at the same time. I wasn't very good, but with practice I am sure I will get it down. I am still knitting my sweater and  it is actually starting to look like a sweater now! Here are some pictures from our hike. I hope everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying their spring, because we miss it!