claire and i headed up over the hill out of Adelaide to a small German settlement named Hahndorf. the community was established by Lutheran refugees in March 1839. the majority of the Hahndorf’s fifty-four founding families were passengers on the Zebra, the third ship of Lutheran immigrants to arrive in South Australia in 1838. The ship’s . . . → Read More: HAHNDORF LOVLINESS]]>

claire and i headed up over the hill out of Adelaide to a small German settlement named Hahndorf. the community was established by Lutheran refugees in March 1839. the majority of the Hahndorf’s fifty-four founding families were passengers on the Zebra, the third ship of Lutheran immigrants to arrive in South Australia in 1838. The ship’s master, Captain Hahn, helped his passengers achieve their goal of settling together as a community to farm and worship their God as they wished. it is a quaint little community bustling with the weekend visitor traffic and activity. we liked it the moment we drove down the tree covered road which leads into the tiny town center – Main Street.

while perusing the various shops along the main street we decided to have a traditional German meal at the Hahndorf Inn – kransky’s, sauerkraut, potatoes and a very large beer for claire! somebody didn’t order the half pint as instructed. whoopsie! what do i know? pint, half pint…it was a glass of beer to me. anyways, a very fine meal if i don’t mind saying so. the sauerkraut reminds me of my childhood when mom used to make it as part of the family meal. i’m sure we’ll head back for another visit.

after our little meal, we headed down the street to the Hahndorf Candlemaker where our eyes got a good ol dose of eye candy overload. it is a wonderful little shop with candles a plenty as well as some other amazing German craftsmanship knick-knackery. we picked up a few lovely candles (one of which is burning in front of me as i type) and this amazing little hand carved tree sculpture along with a 6 pack of these cool little laser cut snowflake ornaments. the tree sculpture was hand carved in the small town Seiffen, Germany where the craftsman have to go through an intensive three year program to acquire the necessary skills.

the shop owners were lovely. very kind and helpful with all manner of inquiry. sadly, i didn’t get their names but i did get the business card of their husband/father, Eduard. so kind they were that when i inquired about the clown item lurking on the back shelf collecting dust in the dark (seen in the image above)  … they told me it was broken and that they didn’t have any more new ones. seeing my fascination and enthusiasm for the whole clown motif, they just gave it to me after a quick demo and explaining how it was broken. it is my hope that i’ll be able to get it repaired at some point because it does look like an amazing little animated bank.

after the lovely stop at the candleshop, we headed out to the studio of Sir Hans Heysen, a local artist we fell in love with when we saw some of his paintings in the local museum/art gallery. picked up a book of his works then called it a day as we had to get our little rental car back by 5pm. nice to have some free time to explore a little. ever since animation mentor started, free time has been something i’ve not really had. really have to enjoy it when the opportunity arises. being the first week of this new term, things aren’t that busy just yet.

goodbye little brother glenn.

i will always love you.

you will forever be sorely missed, yet never forgotten.

may you be . . . → Read More: HAVIN A LITTLE CRY…]]> because i’m allowed to . . .

goodbye little brother glenn.

i will always love you.

you will forever be sorely missed, yet never forgotten.

may you be at rest.

hey hey… just a quick update with not so much info where i mash some letters together to get you thinking. i’m not in middle earth anymore, go figure. the page has been turned and the only word on the next page seemed to be “UPWARD” – who am i to argue, right?

earlier today a co-worker . . . → Read More: A QUICK BREATH]]>

hey hey… just a quick update with not so much info where i mash some letters together to get you thinking. i’m not in middle earth anymore, go figure. the page has been turned and the only word on the next page seemed to be “UPWARD” – who am i to argue, right?

earlier today a co-worker gave me the most simple recipe for peanut butter freakin cookies. i LOOOOVE peanut butter cookies so i thought why not, givitame! i’ll bake some tonight … and i did. to my surprise, they’re supaYUM. as a bonus, they’re gluten free if that matters at all…check it:

1 cup peanut butter (this choice in PB will greatly affect the outcome, choose wisely)

1 cup sugar (i used raw sugar and i only used a 1/2 cup, you do what you want to do…i won’t force you)

1 egg

beat the living crap out of those three things. don’t be a sissy, use a fork. you’re not done till your arm hurts.

bake for about 8 mins at 350 or 180 depending which method you choose to measure your heat. watch em too because sometimes ovens don’t cook evenly. mine doesn’t and i had some border on burnt. stupid oven!

don’t forget to shape them into perfect little circles and then smoosh a fork into the top of them in a cross hatch pattern. if you miss this part, they won’t taste as good…trust me, i know. this ends the cooking part of the blog entry. go bake something delicious right now!! next up, firsts!

you ever wear a shower cap?

well, i never had till the other day when i needed a shower before bed. usually i’ll pass on the idea because i don’t like going to bed with wet hair (its growing out again and getting quite long) so……..i see this shower cap in the bathroom. i think they’re part of the default female arsenal. after a quick think, i decide to give it a go, have my shower and then suddenly feel like a superhero when i exit my shower. i am CAPHEAD ruler of the moist nether regions where shower fog fills the air everywhere!! look for me, i am there. misty…

alright, this has distracted me enough. back to my upward trajectory. viva burgertheory!!

in-a-previous post i believe i mentioned that i was playing god and growing my own food – you should try it, its fun. tonight, after much patience and many watering sessions we (claire and i) reaped the benefits of all that waiting. above you will see my very first habanero chili pepper grown amidst the loving . . . → Read More: DEATH AND A DINNER GUEST]]>

in-a-previous post i believe i mentioned that i was playing god and growing my own food – you should try it, its fun. tonight, after much patience and many watering sessions we (claire and i) reaped the benefits of all that waiting. above you will see my very first habanero chili pepper grown amidst the loving sunshine and delicious rain from the almighty takapuna!

i wasn’t sure if it was harvest time or not so i took a gamble and plucked this gem from the ever fruitful plant. sure looked ready enough…doesn’t it? after i diced it up in preparation for addition to the salsa, i took a sample piece and placed it into my mouth not sure of what to expect. the typical floral aroma that habaneros are known for was present as was the obligatory heat you’d expect. for me, it was perfect. warmed my belly like a shot of the ugliest booze. R.I.P mr habanero.

claire touched a piece to her tongue and said “it burned my face off inside my mouth” which clearly makes no sense so it musta been hot because it interrupted her cognitive functions and caused her to speak in silly speak.

just as we sat down to eat, i tripped over this little guy who thought it would be a good idea to die right there in the path between the kitchen and the table. how inconsiderate, right? i gave him a water burial … and he’s still enjoying that because he just won’t flush. … R.I.P  silly wasp, where ever you end up.

earlier today, this cube was a mess and nowhere near as tidy as it seems in the photo above. yes, thank you .. thank you…

some people can solve this thing in under 7 seconds. i, unfortunately, don’t have that kind of time to dedicate to such an undertaking. i had to settle on 7 individual instructional . . . → Read More: NOT QUITE 7 SECONDS]]>

earlier today, this cube was a mess and nowhere near as tidy as it seems in the photo above. yes, thank you .. thank you…

some people can solve this thing in under 7 seconds. i, unfortunately, don’t have that kind of time to dedicate to such an undertaking. i had to settle on 7 individual instructional videos to unlock the mystery and chaos of the cube. was fun in a zen kinda way actually.

i guess i can cross that off my list of things to do in life. the thought of taking it apart didn’t even cross my mind.

now, what’s next??

firstly, check out this youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skkCpnCm7iM

166,608 views as of this post. i hope it gets many more views. many more. after all, this could . . . → Read More: WOW, TSA STRIP-SEARCHES A KID, DID I SAY WOW?]]> ok, this whole searching people thing with the porno scanner was kinda entertaining in the beginning…now it is getting a little out of control. if you aren’t fed up, you should be.

firstly, check out this youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skkCpnCm7iM

166,608 views as of this post. i hope it gets many more views. many more. after all, this could end up being your child and wouldn’t that be just lovely?

i found the link here at this forum where it appears concerned industry people gather to share their thoughts.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security/1150710-young-boy-literally-strip-searched-tsa.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security-222/

please share this around if you care.

10:30pm. sittin and waitin for the phone to ring. not too enthusiastic this evening. the early mornings and the insanity bird might be getting to me. if i only had a gun, i’d shoot that freakin bird…i don’t care what you say “beep beep beep beep” rinse, recycle, repeat ad nauseam.

not a whole lot to . . . → Read More: SITTIN AND WAITIN AND READIN]]>

10:30pm. sittin and waitin for the phone to ring. not too enthusiastic this evening. the early mornings and the insanity bird might be getting to me. if i only had a gun, i’d shoot that freakin bird…i don’t care what you say “beep beep beep beep” rinse, recycle, repeat ad nauseam.

not a whole lot to report when the nose is to the grind stone. i can tell you i find entertainment with the TSA (thousands standing around) and their porno scanners that have been recently drawing more and more public attention.

i absorbed all this and ya know, i don’t want to be scanned either … or felt up for that matter, thank you very much – at least not by any of those people. i applaud that guy for bailing on his flight. i would likely do the very same thing to get my message across. down with the stupid porno scanners. i’m not even gonna get into how bad they may or may not be for you. they never even properly tested them. do your own research.

i’ll be opting out if i have a choice.

“Those Who Stand For Nothing, Fall For Anything” – Alexander Hamilton

one of my co-workers came back to work yesterday after a little break bearing gifts-a-plenty. if my eye would stop twitching long enough i’d tell you more about it but for the time being, all you need is one word. WASABI

gonna go for a little taste test right now. wish . . . → Read More: FUNKY KAT]]>

one of my co-workers came back to work yesterday after a little break bearing gifts-a-plenty. if my eye would stop twitching long enough i’d tell you more about it but for the time being, all you need is one word. WASABI

gonna go for a little taste test right now. wish me luck…

newly relocated to auckland and finally employed, i felt it in my best interest to treat myself to a day of snowboarding. the weather promised clear skies and a storm had recently rolled through dumping new snow. supposedly.

with good intentions, i woke early (3am) and was on the road by 3:55am. i didn’t quite get . . . → Read More: A KIWI, A KID AND A SORE BACK]]>

newly relocated to auckland and finally employed, i felt it in my best interest to treat myself to a day of snowboarding. the weather promised clear skies and a storm had recently rolled through dumping new snow. supposedly.

with good intentions, i woke early (3am) and was on the road by 3:55am. i didn’t quite get the eggs and chorizo big breakfast like i had envisioned the night before but hey, its the thought that counts, right? who ever it was that taught me that, you are WRONG! i was hungry an hour later. bananas from the passenger seat had to suffice.

never having made the trip to central mountains coming from the northern direction before, i was bound to make a slight miscalculation with my directions, which i did…somewhere out of Hamilton. very confusing hamilton. my little miscalculation saw me run very nearly out of gas. right near the end and close to the line i took a drastic detour 9k out of my way toward this little “village” in the hopes that this “village” would have a gas station. mental note, “villages” don’t have gas stations. i did however meet a guy who informed me of this. he was up early packing his car for a morning departure with his family. he set me straight and i was off.

with the music turned off i drove in silence at a steady, slower than normal pace making sure to keep my RPMs down so as to conserve gas as much as possible. the “light” had not yet come on but was about to any minute. i just didn’t want that kind of stress that early in the morning…especially where i was. in every direction rural farmland and rolling green hills as far as the eye could see.

at the gas station where i took my sweet time pumping gas and stretching my C-shaped spine (stupid boy racer bucket seats), i noticed a car pull up. seconds later out pops the guy i spoke with a short while earlier about a gas station in the “village”. jeff was his name and before you knew it, his wife had introduced herself and they were packing their son’s ski gear into my trunk. i had adopted a kid for the ride up the mountain it seemed. i found it very odd, the notion of pawning off one’s son onto a total stranger; but that is one of the odd little old school quirks that makes life in New Zealand still a very beautiful thing. i introduced myself to their son Tyler and shortly after i used the rest room, fed the car a liter of oil and cleared the front seat of water bottle, maps, camera and hat we were on our way to the Whakapapa resort.

talk about being put into an odd circumstance, well, this was it. what do you talk about with a rather shy and quiet – i’m guessing 13 year old kid to whom you’ve just been introduced? well, lets just say i exhaused the topics rather quickly and then i introduced Tyler to the concept of the Audiobook. i was close to finishing this story so i had let it keep me company on my early morning drive. all in all, i think it was a success and when i asked him what he thought of listening to an audiobook, he said he thought it was pretty cool. =)

i won’t go into too much detail about the remainder of my day which included too much warmth, too many people clogging the queues, snow which was too mushy and too much pain in my little feets. i called it a day by about 1pm and headed back north – completely exhausted and very much over heated.

had to whip the car around when i passed by that kiwi sculpture cause it was hecka cool. had to have a photo. i love creative people.

holy crap! i just heard a huge WTF type explosion, maybe a crack house blew up!