The Clayton's Mission Adventures

This week we picked oranges, lemons and mandarins. How many times as you eat a piece of  fruit do you take a bite and it is flavorless and not worth the calorie?  Well, that's not the case here. This is the way I remember fruit tasting 50 years ago. I think we are in the Garden of Eden...Although Cranky Pants might have to change his attitude if we were in the Garden of Eden. I didn't like the first picture he took and He didn't want to retake the picture. He told me I wasn't going to like his new selfie. I have to admit, he was right. That boy! I really need a selfie stick to replace his arms. Ya know the "Share a Coke with ...? campaign," Well the names have been changed in New Zealand,  We took an Elder to the airport and found an American Store in Auckland called Martha's Backyard! It has American things you can't get in the stores. We found Karo syrup, Ranch dressing, manwhich, Italian dressing, pumpkin, and cherry pie filling. Bu...

Peace Lilies grow wild here!  (Look closely in the background.) I made Dwight pull off the road so we could take a selfie. Do  you know how many peace lilies I have tried to grow in my lifetime and killed? They are like weeds here.They are so breath taking! Gotta get me a selfie stick. Dwight's arms aren't long enough and he gets cranky with me as I'm telling him to stretch farther... Every week, we discover something new and unique to New Zealand. If you want to buy a house, go to the house relocators. Pick out any house on their lot and they will move it to your property! Here are a few more choices... I still can't figure out what this sign means.  Or this one!  Something I love about New Zealand is the way they take care of their resources. When you go to the store--grocery, variety, clothing, you have to bring your own bags. If you forget to take them, then you buy new ones or carry your purchases out in your arms. Do you know how ma...

We feel like we are home. We've just have different friends. The entire Island is flowering. And the birds are so happy here. Peace Lily's grow wild. True story Our view out our kitchen window. The neighbor's PINK fern tree. I don't even know what these are, but every hedge is blooming. All the colors are fluoresant. I took the picture as we were flying past it and the sun was behind it.  The grass even has flowers in it! This is what you find in the middle of the streets. They put the arrow on there for us Americans who sometimes tend to forget which side of the road we should be driving on. The turn signals are on the right side of the stearing wheel. The wipers are on the left where the turn signals are on American Cars.  You can always spot an American. Our wipers are always giving the "AMERICAN  SALUTE" during a sunshiney day when we turn left and hit the wipers instead of the turn signal. Then you get so confused ...

Maori Hangi!!! I'm sure it is getting old hearing me say, "What a week!" But all I can say is WHAT A WEEK! We were invited to a Hangi. A HANGI is a traditional New Zealand celebration involving lots of food. It is usually a celebration of some sort. The Couple we are replacing were going home and a Maori daughter came home from a mission in Korea. So what did we do? Hangi! We ate. (Glad I don't have a scale. I'm sure I've gained 5 K's this week.)  Good thing I don't even know what that means. Brother Frew's son went hunting and shot a wild boar. It ended up in the ground. It cooked all day. It looked like a mound of dirt. No steam was coming out. The steam has to stay in the hole. If steam comes out, you end up with dry burned meat. The men started removing the dirt. Then it started steaming.  It was covered with a special cloth. Three different tarp like sheets When it was uncovered, this box was in the hole.  They...