Woolies count - 3

Top, tunic & socks.

A member of staff passed me on the smokers balcony when I was taking this and, no, I never do get tired of taking photos of the mountain.

Pink Shirt Day

Today is pink shirt day, saying no to bullying.  To support the cause we could wear a pink shirt to work.  Frighteningly I have 3; a 'business' shirt and two Tshirts - Captain Hedgehog and Perkins Paste.  Perkins Paste won.

I also discovered that no-one here has ever heard of it so have been educating my colleagues on the wonderfulness of this child friendly adhesive. 

A Wow Moment

Well, two actually.  I've just been in Auckland for a two day library meeting.  It was really great but basically just saw the inside of the hotel.  So wow moment #1 was when I did get outside - on the way back from dinner we turned a corner and saw this the Auckland Sky Tower.

 The next morning produced wow moment #2 - I indulged in room service brekkie and got this, totally posh muesli.  How often can you say that about toasted oats.

The Breakfast Club Graduates

And here we are (plus one husband).  The proud holders of a Certificate in Te Ara Reo Māori Level 4.  Who'd a thunk it, certainly none of us.

A small revolution

I spent part of yesterday at work helping people take over the museum.  You might remember that a while ago staff got the chance to write their own labels for items on display (here's mine), well yesterday we opened it up for everyone using special, extra large orange postit notes.  It was great fun and no real suprise to anyone that one of the most popular items was the shark.

 Mind you the Moa and a teeny tiny frog did quite well too.

 
 

National crisis

One of the unexpected side effects of the Christchurch earthquakes is that we are in the grip of Marmageddon (Google it!).  Kiwi Marmite is running out.  For a Marmiter Vegemite just doesn't cut it and we can't just import it, apparently the Kiwi recipe has evolved over time and UK or even Aussie Marmite just doesn't cut it.  It is so serious that Sanitarium have enlisted Sir Graeme Henry, recently retired All Blacks Coach to reassure us.  

Warning, contains cultural references.

Marmite should be back on our shelves in June/July.  Until then we are rationing and hanging tough with our fellow Marmiters.

Taking a detour

I drove to Hakwes Bay this week for a funeral.  It's the first time I've done the trip since the Manawatu Gorge was closed by a massive landslide.  They are still clearing it more than 6 months later so to go from one side of the Nth Island to the other you have to take the Saddle Rd. 

As you can see, the weather wasn't that flash but the signage was fantastic including the dayglow orange detour signs you can see in the background.  And when you get up into the hills you find yourself in the middle of the Manawatu wind farm - all up close and personal and a little bit distracting really.