sunrise in queenstown

sunrise in queenstown
Originally uploaded by mmm gin
Mornings in the mountains are always a treat. Over the long weekend blue and I headed down to Fiordland to check out Milford Sound and the beautiful scenery. We got a late afternoon start on Thursday so ended up stopping halfway in queenstown for the night. We woke up to the sun creeping over the mountains and the moon still high in the sky. There were also lots of great little low clouds in the valleys and over the lakes. I made blue stop several times so I could take photos.

anzac biscuits

Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and anzac day is April 25. Not to generalize, but it is kind of like Memorial Day in the states (not to be confused with Labor Day ;). It marks the day of first major military action by Australia and New Zealand (in WWI, btw that sentence was totally plagiarized from wikipedia).

Anyway anzac day is great for 2 selfish reasons. 1: I get the day off work. 2: anzac biscuits.

These delicious little gems are little more than oats, sugar, butter and coconut. mmmm... I added some sultanas (slightly different from raisins) and chocolate buttons to half. I worked from two different recipes: eating out loud had one up and the australian government did too (I figured they would know what they are talkin' 'bout). There are only very slight differences between the two.

needles, of the nonknitting variety

Last week all (most) of us staffers at work went to the student health services and got our flu shot. It was weird getting a flu shot in spring, but it isn't spring at all. It's fall and feeling more and more like winter, which is depressing. The days are so short now. It's 5:30 now and already dusk! But back to the flu shot... So the department shouted (they say that here when someone else picks up the bill :) the shots for the staff (at the STUDENT health center), but per usual left the students to fend for themselves. Not that blue would get one anyway, but the fact that the benefits offered to the student's at the university seem to be continually downsizing is disconserting. I haven't been here long enough to know if conditions were ever that great for the students; all I know is they are way worse than they were in so' cacalaca (aka south carolina). That being said, the support from professors is way better. 

Moving right along to nonknitting needle number two. I got acupuncture today! I've had an issue with my hip ever since I slipped on some ice and gave myself the bruise of a lifetime. After several bouts of physio (aka physical therapy) both in the U.S. and here, it still ails me. So I decided to try something new. It was pretty interesting, but not scary at all. The needles were very small, I didn't feel them go in. He then sent electrical pulses through them to loosen up deep tissue (electro-acupuncture). It was a relatively relaxing experience and I hope it helps. So far it feels a little better...

unthrown flowers

We just got our photos back from the photographers and are really happy with them. This is my beautiful bouquet that turned out just how I envisioned. I avoided the tradition of throwing the bouquet for a few reasons. But now my bouquest is dried and the white flowers have turned brown :(

For my sisters (bridesmaids) I wanted pommanders (aka flower balls). I was also very happy with how they turned out.

Simple green hydrangeas for the men. For blue's buttonhole I had a koru (fiddlehead) added in. The silver fern is a national symbol here in NZ and koru images are very prevalent in Maori culture where it symbolizes new beginnings, rebirth and all that jazz (We also had a koru on our invites).