Leaving …

… New Zealand in the wee hours of the norning. Well, actually it will be just about daylight when the flight takes off, but the getting up and driving to the airport for the required 2 hours before international flights happened in the wee hours. I must say, traffic was a breeze!

It has been a delight getting to know Mark, sharing his home/family/work/life. And a real adventure in papermaking during the wet, chilly weather we have been having.

The rains continue with short windows of sun. Low lying areas are still underwater which I am told hardly ever happens. The Southern Alps have their first crowning of snow and they are lovely. A nor’easter came through this morning with a welcome warmth – hopefully the plane will lift off before the strong winds that accompany that warmth start up.

Just two quick days in Melbourne to do laundry, reorganize and repack luggage and have a last (for this trip, anyway) outing with Anne. Then on to Alice Springs where I will be busy teaching a bunch of small classes during the Alice Springs Beanie Festival. (You might want to check out the festival’s site – looks like a lot of fun!) I am looking forward to the Red Centre’s desert dryness!

Here comes the sun …

… and I am loving it!

Using that wonderful solar power, we got laundry almost dry in one day, the rest of the dozen of huge papers pulled, most of those sheets dried, and my feet warmed up! Of course, having a thick pair of woolen socks helps, too.

Movie night sort of fizzled out when we couldn’t get the DVD player working, but folding Matthew’s circulars for his new paper route filled the time sufficiently with a good amount of joking around. The boys are fun to be around – brings back good memories of my three growing up.i

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