We've been away from the blog
for a while (both really busy with good things) so I'm going to make an
effort to make it less of an 'ordeal' to post. I'll just put up a few
photos and share things about our adventures without worrying about
format, syntax, and chronology:
Last
week Kiri and I returned to Nelson to attend the wedding of our friend
Erina. Kiri was Erina's bridesmaid, and both of us stayed quite busy
the day of the event - I didn't have a good chance to take a picture of
her, but she looked absolutely beautiful... You'll just have to wait
for the real photos to come out.
We always enjoy visiting Nelson, and here are a few highlights:
An amazing view of mount taranaki on the flight down
Arriving in Nelson and enjoying one of our favorite views
Citrus trees in full swing... These lemons are sweet enough to eat (just barely)
Pulling weedy nasturtiums to prevent the spread of an accidentally introduced butterfly that eats them
Tahunanui beach
And some beautiful spontaneous art on the beach (and some good poking around in tide pools!)
A visit to uncle Alan's bach on the boulder bank... A really beautiful, unique, and isolated place
A classic mug out at the bach... Lots of fun
We're unsure if it's a whale or a dolphin, but one of the many amazing things to be found on the boulder bank
My Grandad and I back in April, when we visited him at the hospital and had our last goodbye.
Kiri: We recently went to Nelson to go to my Grandad's funeral. He lived a
good long life and at the end he was ready to go be with God. We'll miss
him though, and I'll never forget the positive impact he had on my
life. My Nanna died almost twenty years ago, so I don't remember her
much. My American grandparents are both gone as well, so Grandad
represented the last of that generation in my family.
During the funeral I got to share a little about who he was and what he meant to me. It was hard to put things into words but I did my best. My Mum made it to Nelson just in time to say her farewell to him too, which was such a relief and we were all really grateful for this. At his funeral she (pictured at the podium on the right) shared about a portion of his life, as did each of his other three living children so that most of his life was covered. It was amazing to remember all the things he did during his life to help others and benefit the community he lived in. We saw this reflected in the many cards and flowers sent by others during this time. In general the Nelson community was very kind and supportive and had us into their homes for meals and visited the house to pay their respects.
The casket, scattered with leaves from his Liquidambar tree
In the above picture you can see the casket and on top of it his bible. We all were amazed by the highlighting (which you can see in the picture a bit). He spent time reading every day and tried to live out his faith in all he did. He held steadfast to what be believed and was an optimist until the end, rarely ever complaining.
Grandad's house for 50+ years, where my mother grew up and I have many fond memories.
Brian: There were several things that made an impression on me during the time before, and following Grandad's death, mostly I am
left thinking that everything happens for a reason. It was easy for
some (particularly Grandad) to wonder why he had to continue
suffering with cancer and diabetes, and through being bed-ridden with a
broken hip. Indeed, in the last months of his life, Grandad's quality of life probably seemed pretty low, but I think that the impact of
his life during that time was very high. I think the shared time at the end of Grandad's life was a time during which some relationships grew to a wonderful maturity.
While I visited him in the
hospital, Grandad said some things that were very special to me and
that I will always remember. For my part, I told him some new jokes,
although he was showing no signs of tiring of telling his old ones! The timing of the visit itself was important to me. Being
underemployed for several months has been very frustrating to me, but
being forced to focus on taking care of someone else was very refreshing
and helped me to renew my outlook on the job search and life in a new
place.
Kiri: After the funeral we spent the week resting and being with family. We shared a lot of stories about Grandad and the Cederman family life in their home. We looked at slides, cooked family recipes, and told old jokes. It was wonderful for processing and sharing what had passed.
Altogether though it feels strange, a certain sense of loss that I know many others before me have felt when a loved one is gone. I console myself by speculating that although these happy times and places have ended, others have already, and will continue to begin afresh.
The view from his potato patch in the backyard, surrounded by fruit trees and vines. A special place to me and others.
Brian: It was that view from Grandad's house, our over Tahununui beach and the Tasman bay, that led us to be a part of an unusual event in Nelson. I noticed a group of people standing down on the beach, and when I looked through my telephoto camera lens it appeared that they were standing around a large fish. I decided to walk down the the beach (about 10 minutes down the hillside) to check it out. As I came to the head of the beach, I realized that it was not a fish, but appeared to be a stranded dolphin - at that point I sent a message to Kiri and Mum to say that they should probably come check it out. As I walked closer along the beach, I realized that this was about 3 times larger than any dolphin - it was in fact a Gray's beaked whale, also called a Scamperdown whale. These whales only live in the Southern part of Southern hemisphere oceans - seeing one was pretty amazing, even though it was sad that it had died.
The reason this family of whales are called 'beaked whales'
Neither Kiri nor I had ever touched a whale before - it was incredibly smooth.
This whale was a 5.8 meter long female, quite large for this species and probably quite old. These whales often beach themselves when they are ready to die, so it is thought that it may have been time for this whale to go naturally. Whales are very important in Māori tradition, and several Māori locals performed a karakia, singing prayers and speaking blessings over the whale. It was really special for us to be a part of that ceremony, as we both have deep respect for the indigenous people of NZ, and we couldn't help thinking of the great man whose loss we were grieving while honoring this great animal.
The whale was loaded on a palate and taken to a burial site elsewhere. Haere rā tohorā (Goodbye whale).
We liked this photo because it looks like a tiny dog is standing on the whale, defending it from bystanders... accidental forced perspective photography
There was another unusual event later in the week as much of the South Island experienced unusually snowy winter storms. No snow fell in usually 'sunny Nelson', but the surrounding mountain ranges had beautiful snowy peaks:
Kiri: Over the course of the week we spent time with several special friends. On one occasion we went for a short "tramp" in the nearby Brook Waimarama Sanctuary with Aliesha. I used to volunteer in this conservation area back in 2007 and found it refreshing to return and see the tiny baby native trees growing beside their giant majestic parents. A nice reminder that we're all just in different stages of life and hopefully will reach our potentials. Ok enough sappy stuff (no plant pun intended...).
Kiri looking up into a Hedycarya arborea (AKA pigeonwood or porokaiwhiri)
During our walk we were followed by a Rhipidura fuliginosa (New Zealand fantail), a lovely little bird that flits about you when you're in the bush. It tries to munch up delicious insects you disturb while walking. Have a look at our video!
The lookout from Prince's Drive, AKA my favorite place in the world. Aliesha and Brian were excellent company.
After our walk we made it back to the other side of town in time for a sunset across the Tasman Bay. It had been rainy a lot of the week, so we were happy to get this stunning view. I have had many contemplative moments sitting on this bench, where time seems to stop and the world slips away.
As Brian put it - "We're getting pretty serious"
On the trip back to Auckland, admiring the Marlborough Sounds through the window. Wondering what's out there next.
Our tardiness in blogging has been due to an unexpected journey. No, not to the Lonely Mountain for treasure as in "The Hobbit" movie, however similar in that ours was also an adventure story set in New Zealand. Our journey was to the city of Nelson, a place at the top of the South Island. This is where my Mum is originally from, and where several family members including my sole remaining grandparent (Grandad Cederman) lives. It was about an hour-long flight to get there, which sure beats 15 hours of curvy mountain driving with a ferry inter-island crossing in the middle!
Nelson is the best place in the world.
A picture of Nelson from the plane.
We had received news that my Grandad suffered a heart attack and subsequent fall which broke his hip. After surgery he developed a serious infection and was in pretty dire straights. My Grandad and I are pretty close, as I lived with him and took care of him on two occasions 5 and 6 years ago (for 3-4 months at a time). I couldn't bear the idea of coming all the way back to NZ just to miss out on seeing him because we waited too long to get to Nelson. We also really wanted to be able to support him and other family members with our presence there. Thankfully my excellent academic supervisors and colleagues encouraged my desire to go visit so so off to Nelson we went for a week.
It was bittersweet to be back in Nelson, as I have so many fond childhood memories there, as well as those of a young adult between degrees, discovering who I was and what I thought of the world. It's a beautiful place and to me, filled with a sense of quiet peace and safety away from the world.
Panorama Brian took from one of our favorite hilltop spots looking from Nelson out onto the Tasman Bay.
We played a game of lawn bowls with the extended family and I captured a hedgehog one night!
But it was hard to see my Grandad in such a state as he was. Turns out that we had a very special week together though, sharing some of our favorite things (music, reading, conversation, and jokes...I think there was even a new one in there!). Brian was very supportive of me through it all and got the "official blessing" from Grandad, haha (seeing as he hasn't seen us as a married couple until now). That was pretty neat.
He managed to get out of bed into a wheelchair on the last day or two of our trip. He's been through a lot.
It was good to see the rest of the family there too and be able to help with some tidying of the house. Grandad has an amazing backyard filled with fruit trees and vines he's planted (as well as a prolific vegetable garden in bygone days). So when not at the hospital or on a beach run or doing chores we had fun in the garden.
View from the backyard...inspiring enough for ya to grow some spuds? Worked for Grandad for 50 years.
Me collecting walnuts by the shed.
Brian chomping a kiwi fruit from the backyard vine. Biggest one ever!
Apple danish made from Grandad's apple tree.
Tea time, and always time to enjoy the view of the bay from the living room. A great place to process your life.
We are back in Hamilton now, but as of the latest update Grandad is steadily improving. His quality of life will never be the same, he may never be mobile or live in his house again, but for some reason (as he was begrudged to admit at first), God has kept him around on earth for a bit longer. Who knows why these things happen this way? But I am grateful to have gotten to see him and feel that when he does die, both he and I will be ok with it.
Other than our unexpected journey, life in Hamilton has continued to be more and more like home as we find our little routines and develop friendships. My friend Catherine at school (research support officer for my research group) has been exceptionally kind to Brian and I since my start at the University of Waikato. She likes giving presents and often supplies me with some sort of yummy food or exotic fruit to enjoy. At first it was kiwiberries, then involvement in a delicious cupcake baking scheme, then feijoas, and the latest was the most delicious passionfruit I have ever eaten!
Most delicious passionfruit I have ever eaten!!! (empty skin).
This week we got to enjoy some of the 5-day "Balloons over Waikato" annual festival in Hamilton! Hot air balloon enthusiasts and owners alike joined together in a fun international celebration of light, flying, and glowing things. I like all these things, and so naturally, enjoyed the whole affair. I also have determined that I want to get a ride on a hot air balloon before I die (but not right after moving to another country and it costing $200 bucks).
The first morning of the festival they launched balloons from multiple parks around Hamilton right at sunrise. Brian took this shot from our front yard.
The NZ Air Force gave an air show, which we enjoyed (also from our front yard). A lot of the events around here take place on or near the University grounds, which we live across the street from, so we lucked out since this was a highly attended event! Brian got a few pictures of this as well:
Whenever they released the smoke trails I hummed the "wicked witch" theme song from the Wizard of Oz.
At the end of this stunt the smoke formed a heart. awwwww.
It looks like fun to be a pilot. As long as you're not barfing.....
A fun twisty trick.
This weekend was the finale event called "The Nightglow", and it's one of the events Hamilton is best known for. There is a big carnival with games, rides and delicious junk food. We walked the 5 minutes from our house over to the university grounds to join in. I tried some of the famous cinnamon donuts (very tiny and tasty). Then we stood with the giant mob of people on the sports field complex and watched the light show, accompanied by music. There was a series of the mechanisms they normally use to heat hot air balloons and get them off the ground that turned on and off sending 6 foot jets of flame into the air!! Then there were the balloons themselves, which glowed brilliantly when the flames under them were turned on:
My favorite balloon was of course "Claw'd the Crab", featured on the right- but there were many beautiful balloons.
Brian getting his camera ready for some shots. We had fun despite his dislike of big crowds!
A very fun and laid-back event. It reminded me that despite a lot of the ugly, sad and broken stuff in the world, things like this festival can celebrate human creativity and playfulness.
The evening ended in fireworks!
So now, on my walk to work tomorrow, I'm expecting to see some firework debris. Here's a shot of a favorite part of my walk commute (after I get out of our neighborhood and across the street):
Sometimes if our bread goes moldy (most bread here doesn't have preservatives, so you have to eat it quickly), we take it to this lake and feed the ducks (which is a bad habit I love). You can probably see the green algae bloom already occurring on the nutrient-rich water....
I will end this post with a picture of some bread that will certainly not have the chance to go moldy...Brian made this batch yesterday afternoon and boy is it good! So glad I have a clever husband that likes baking bread. He won't have as much time to be a "house-husband" soon though, as he's landed two short-term contracts doing insect work, yay! It's been a hard part of the job sector to break into (as everything here is about networking and we knew no one, and entomology is not a big field). But Brian has persevered and I'm so proud and glad he will have a chance to work in something he is so passionate about.
