This blog entry features Ace (aka Dave) at Blackpool. Screaming Southerlies today, so strong that the unattended board somersaulted along the beach, and so strong that I literally could not hold the video camera steady.
We caught Ace at home afterward, eating lunch and holding a cold beer to soothe the blisters on his hands.
Me: How was it Ace?
Ace: Got my [..] kicked today. Overpowered. The board was catching air and it's impossible to get the right rig. Me: Are you going out later today? Ace: I'll keep an eye on it--underpowered yesterday--overpowered today. Windsurfing as I remember it from the old days.
If you had super powers, what would they be? A couple of weeks ago, I was eavesdropping while the kids were having some very imaginative play. Very complex story line, and I loved the super powers they each had.
Pascal is the goddess of living things. She has the power to communicate with any animal she likes. To deliver important messages, for example, she'll call beautiful and majestic eagles, who appear and carry messages for her.
Nikolas has the power of fire. Sometimes he saves poor shivering fishermen by warming them up, but if he's angry, watch out, because his power of destruction is fierce.
Isaac is a polar ice god. Even when there is no snow, he can create it, so he snow boards to get around, and he can shoot snowballs out of his hands like a machine gun to anyone who would harm his family. He's very protective of his family, so those bad guys better watch out!
There is also an imaginary little daughter/niece, named Scarlet (Sky for short), whom they were cuddling, carrying around, and protecting. She has power over waterand weather, and whenever it rains, we know that Sky is upset and crying. Pascal is very pleased that whenever the land is parched, Sky could bring it life (or withhold it). Nikolas thinks it's really cool that when she grows up, she'll be able to control the ocean and make hurricanes and tsunamis on a whim. Such power. Mwa ha ha ha!
So, what kind of deity would you be? Please post in the comment section!
There was an 8.6 earthquake in Samona early this morning, with predictions of a tsunami hitting Waiheke Island around... oh say about right now. There aren't any sirens or anything, so I wonder how they are keeping people off the beach. It's tempting to go down and take pictures, but I'll see if Ican observe it from our house instead.
"It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts," the centre said.
Winds were howling yesterday, but Dave probably should have taken out the boogie board instead. A couple of attempts, but he couldn't get past the breakers at Little Oneroa, especially since it was a strong on-shore wind. I'm glad he didn't trash himself on the rocks on either side. Our little protected bay can be down right frothy at times!
We are now the proud owners of some pretty sweet wind surfing equipment. Yahoo! Dave found some great equipment on trademe (NZ's version of ebay), and then disappeared for several hours on Friday. Nice. The winds were a little lighter on Sunday, but he still had a good time (or at least a great work out), and I can verify that because I couldn't hear him swearing from the beach.
Also, the kids and I had fun helping him rig and then hanging out at the beach, especially when Bryon and Rupertt showed up to teach us how to pass a rugby ball too. I'm still a little bit chicken to get back on the board myself, but I'm working up to it.
This is a delayed post about a wonderful weekend we had in August, where Bryon, Amy, Pascal, Helen, Andrew, Chuck, and Amy came over for the "Winter Blues" Festival. Blues, while sipping wine outside on a sunny day at a vineyard?? Doesn't seem right, but it was fun. Later that night, we went to a more appropriate venue (at the the ATV club house). None of my blues pictures turned out, but here we are the next day, hanging out at the beach, not feeling very "bluesy" at all.
Isaac had his school performance yesterday, where he played one of Jack's friends, a rowdy bunch of rock and roll boys, whose desperate mum gives them some magic beans, just to get them out of the house! Oh wait, (Isaac's line)"Here come the local hoods!" and all of the Little Red Riding Hoods come onto stage. Pretty cute, but I had to have Isaac explain the whole plot to me after wards. They end up singing and dancing for the giant (played by friend Sam), and he gives them a magic goose. When the mom asks later where they got the golden goose, they all said "It's a long story"
Here is my "rock and roll" boy, getting into character.
The Te Huruhi Senior production of "Wanda Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" was really cute, with each class writing and performing a skit. Nikolas played a tree, which gets turned into chocolate (yikes! Isaac was very upset at this part in the play), but then he gets turned back again and everything is all right. Doesn't he look very tree-like here?
They sang a lot of candy songs, so leading up to the performance our house was filled with "sweet" music like...
Lollipop, Lollipop, oooh lolli lollipop
and
Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go down
and
Wouldn't it be nice if the world were chocolate...
and
C-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e I just can't wait! I'd like to thank the person who invented chocolate!"
and a bunch of others. Sweet!
By the way "lollies" here are not necessarily lollipops, but refer to any kind of candy. This is some very important vocabulary that we are picking up here.
Laundry day, and I'm washing the boys' sheets today. I'm hanging the fitted sheets up on the line, the wind is blowing, and our favorite green-eyed tabby comes over for some loving. It's windy and cold, but I take some time out to snuggle with her, and then go back to hanging up the rest of the sheets. By the time I grab the laundry basket, I notice that the tabby had jumped up and is swinging inside one of the fitted sheets and is using it like a hammock. Sweet girl.
Well, even though we are at sea level, you can get pretty hilly runs here on the rock. Here's the elevation pics from two "MapMyRuns.com". Both are ~6 K runs, the top one from our house here on Huia St over along Queen St, and the bottom one from our house in Cobblestone, up to the Knob and back. The Knob run was considerably harder, and when you look at the elevation comparisons, maybe now I know why. :-)
Dave and I took Kei Te Lightning for a spin out to Kennedy Point this morning. We rode a few waves (ok, that's a little exaggerated), and we admired a neat little rookery near Surfdale. It must be Spring because all of the birds are paired up together. They looked like they found us mildly amusing, looking down from their nests at us, but otherwise didn't seem to think we were much of a threat. I like riding behind Dave in the kayak. We go much faster and farther than we do when I just imagine him there.
