10 August 2020
5 weeks post surgery! I've been back to the office for 2 1/2 weeks. I can walk up and down the 21 steps to the office several times a day with NO HIP PAIN! I do have some knee pain, but Dr. Hardy said he inflicted that on me. It is such a blessing to be able to walk and not have pain. And that means I get to enjoy this beautiful country even more!
Sunday afternoon, we walked through Hamilton Gardens. It is a beautiful garden of flowers and trees built on a landfill and is full of blossoming trees and plants. It is incredible.
As you can see, we are in the dead of Winter over here. Winter brings rain every day. Rain brings green grass and blossoms. For the second time this year, every tree has a flower on it. I have to share.
I was upset that you could see Dwight's hand in this picture, but then I realized it was good to show just how big the flowers really are. I swear they are in some kind of a race to see which one can grow the biggest!
Just a few more flower pictures.
And the peace lilies are at it again. All over the ditches and hills, growing wild, in all their beauty that all may see!
The worst part of winter is waking up to a 52 degree house. We really take central air and heat for granted in the US!
Instead of fences, hedges separate the land. This is an orchard of some sort. It is completely surrounded by a hedge to protect the fruit trees. The next picture helps understand just how tall these hedges are!
This was my first shopping day and real outing since lockdown started in March. My hip is feeling so good we hit all our favorites.
The Creme bun shop was the first place we visited.
The Grocery store. Of course we forgot our "bags" in the car and had to fill them in the parking lot. (This was $263 worth of food. )
And we did return our trundler to the assigned spot.
It is always fun to find something new in our travels. New Zealand is big on BIG replicas of things. This gigantic apple was at a store called Big Azz. Just out in the middle of nowhere. Go around a curve and boom! Big apple.
Down the road was Otorohanga. That is the name of the town. Here was another extremely large replica. This time of the Kiwi Bird. They have a Kiwi house there. Let's talk about Kiwi's. We have the best neighbor in the world! She has lived in New Zealand all her life. Back when we were in lockdown, we determined we were in the same "bubble" because we shared walls and driveway. (We live in a duplex) So we would do Sunday church together. One day I was talking about how I eat at least 3 kiwi's a day. Sister Owen started to laugh and said, "Sister Clayton, Kiwi's are people. You DON'T eat people. You eat 3 kiwi FRUIT a day!" So when we talk about New Zealanders, they are Kiwi's. When you talk about the delicious fruit, it is Kiwi Fruit. When you talk about the unique bird below, it's a Kiwi Bird. Kiwi birds are almost extinct. They are about the size of a large chicken, are nocturnal and the chances of seeing one in the wild is RARE.
So rare that we spent $48 to not see any kiwi birds at the Kiwi house. The enclosure was so dark because they are nocturnal, it was like looking at a black abyss. The Kiwi house needs to rethink this. Thank heavens they had these stuffed ones.They are very unusual loooking birds and have fur on them. They do not fly.
Had it not been for these friendly little red beaked parakeets, I would have been pretty upset to even be there.
The kiwi bird eggs are almost the size of an ostrich egg. They are HUGE!
We could have saved our $48 bird seeing fee if we would have waited till Sunday, becasuse on our way to church, we saw these wild chickens. The brood is growing! They just hang out along side the road. There is no farm close. Just chickens all over the road.
So here is the word of the week. Remember "wh" makes an "F" sound.
So lets talk about food for a minute. You know you are homesick for American Food when you eat out dated Cheeto's that are a year past the guaranteed fresh date. They were a little chewy. But OH SO GOOD!
You can't buy white only marshmellows here. My "Sticky Rice" (thank you Sister Owen's grandaughter that is 4 for setting me straight...) is always pink.
These are the Schofields from Billings. They are the MLS couple 2 1/2 hours away in Tamaranui. We look forward to Zone Conference when they get to come up. We get together and talk like Montanan's. We discovered a steak house called Smith and Mackenzies. If you want prime rib, you have call ahead and order it. It almost tasted like Montana Beef.
And of course I found two unusual signs.
I wonder what prompted this sign to be put up...
And this gruesome sign. Yikes! Looks like the beginning of a nightmare for a child...It was effective though. I was REALLY careful when I opened that door.
The Lord's work continues to roll forth. Having our New Zealand missionaries sent home and being reassigned has been a great blessing to our Mission. There are so many stories of our missionaries teaching family members and bringing them unto Christ. Here is just one story: The work will not be stopped until it has been completed. Watch this video when you have a moment.
Do you ever wonder why some people's lot in life seems to be a lot harder than others? We all seem to have different "lots". Some times I envy other people's "lots". Sometimes, I'm so glad I don't have another's "lot". I have come to realize that my lot in life is the one that I grow the most from and it molds me into who I am. I will keep my own lot, because I know that God is in charge and making a way for me to grow and be able to accomplish what I was sent to earth to do.
I wish you health, happiness, and peace. In a few weeks, we will have been out on our mission one year. 6 more months and we will be home. Not sure where home is, but we will be there.
Much love to you all,
Kia Kaha
Elder and Sister Clayton
I think I may be living in the wrong country.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you! The flowers are Beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteLove reading your stories and being your friends. The mission is much better with you back ‼️ So sorry you didnt see the Kiwis because they really are there 🤣. Kia Kaha‼️
ReplyDeleteAll I’m taking you the next time we go. We were pretty sure kiwis don’t really don’t exist...
DeleteSo good to hear from you. Happy you have a "happy hip"😊 The flowers look amazing.
ReplyDeleteLet's try again.....Eliese here. So great to hear from you. Doesn't it snow in NZ or doesn't it get cold enough? The grass is sure green.
ReplyDeleteElise: It snows in the South Island Mountains. But not where we are. Some nights it gets down to 31. And we have frost on our wind screens. (oh goodness, I couldn’t remember the word windshield. I had to ask Dwight what the glass on the front of the car was called.)
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