Emma's Christening and Urenui

Richard and I drove to Urenui on Friday after work. We checked the tyre pressure and filled up the petrol in Mobil. Richard bought two pies and some V for our journey. I was singing songs on the way, and we talked. Urenui is close to the beach, and even though it was quite dark, I saw the ocean and it's very beautiful.
I have seen Richard's home's picture, but the real thing is nicer. We are greeted by Shirley Ann and Alan. I didn't feel too well because the bug has finally caught up with me, my throat is hurting and my nose kept running. I was hoping that I wouldn't get sick, but it still happened.
Dinner was delicious and simple. We were tired after all that driving and work.
Richard took me to explore the farm on Saturday. We rode to the back of the farm, up a very steep hill, and saw 27 goats, lots of sheep and cattle. The Stop sign was really funny. Richard put the sign up in the middle of the farm, and of course, we have to stop and look both ways. Dan put up some new fence and races in the farm, still some unfinished fences to put up.
I love the water fall, but it was really difficult to access. I thought I couldn't do it, but I am glad that I made the effort to see it. It started to drizzle, and I was really cold. We got back for lunch, and I ate so much!
Bronwyn and her family arrived that evening. Sam is very cute, and Emma is a very good baby. She hardly cried the two days she was at the farm. She laughed a lot, and was curious and looking at everybody. Sometimes, it's difficult to understand what Sam is saying, but I got used to his speech after a while. He's very energetic.
We went to see Stacey and Dan's farm in Stacey's company car. She is a rural manager for National Bank. I almost fell asleep because I had too much to eat.
I fed the lambs that were running around in the paddock. They are so cute! They are also very strong so I had to hold on to the milk bottles.
Richard and I went to Urenui beach on Sunday. It was very quiet and beautiful. We walked from Urenui River towards the beach, and Richard said that he and his family used to come and hang out in the beach in the summer. We went to his primary school and climbed up the fort, also visited his grandparent's graves in the cemetery. Looking at the graves, it's difficult to believe that one day we will lie here and our spirit will depart.
Emma's christening was short and sweet. The pianist was a bit wobbly and we didn't know most of the songs. The ministers were very kind and funny.
All the relatives came back to Richard's place to have lunch. We took photos with Emma, and talked outside under the sun. Bronwyn likes the present. The cuddle bug and socks are cute and handy for the baby and Sam.
We washed the car before leaving Urenui, and watched half the rugby match.
This weekend is filled with happiness and I am glad that I am with Richard. His family is cool. I miss my family. Annie has written to us saying that we haven't seen each other for a such a long time! It's time for me to plan a trip back to Taiwan.

There's so much to do on Friday

I was packing last night for going to Richard's place in Urenui. Just felt like bringing a lot of stuff, but I know I don't need that much. I will wear my new pink and white stripe skirt and the pink top. I have also brought some clothes so I can change.
I am looking forward to see Richard's family and the farm. However, I have a fear of horses. I hope I can overcome that fear this weekend. It's strange, I am not afraid of sheep and cattle. Cattle and bulls are larger than horses. Maybe it's because horses are taller than cattle? This will surely be a good adventure for me.
Mum gave me some gifts that I can send to Richard's mum and sisters. I have managed to wrap them when my experiment is running. Mum suggested that I send Richard's mum a nice scarf, and I think the bag will be suitable for Bronwyn, make-up for Natalie, and the flowery scarf for Stacey. What should I get for Richard's dad? It seems kind of funny that I have got the gifts to the woman folks but not Richard's father.
I asked my boss about compensation for the glasses and he said that it's fine. The policy is that the company will pay up to $280 for the lenses and the eye test. It will help a lot.
The rugby world cup will be on tomorrow. I don't know if I can get up that early after the long drive, but I will certainly try. The rugby players are learning French and the publicity is great. Kiwi blokes are certainly invading Paris as I am typing. Good luck, All Blacks! Richard also promised that we can go goat shooting. Saturday will be a man's day.

Running off my feet on Thursday

Mum called this morning to say that dad's not happy because the tyre had been punctured by a small nail on the road. Dad's angry because he reckons that I have drove to weird places. I told Frank about this, and he said that his tyres had been punctured twice. Once the tyre was irreparable, and he had to change the new tyre because the nail went through the metal mesh in the wheel. This had never happened to me before, and I dread going home now.
Work is full on today. I had to run a gel in the morning, purify DNA and transformation in the afternoon. However, busy is better than doing nothing. I also annotated the primers and typed up my notes from the papers I read.
Richard is a bit tired, I couldn't get away at twelve o'clock so we spent half an hour hanging out. The weather outside is really good. I love walking in the sunshine, even though this morning, it was quite cold.
Vic had given us a great morning tea this morning. Her sister and her made spring rolls and mushroom bread. I was so full!
I still haven't got the right lightbulb for my room, will have to get one somewhere. I tried to put it on last night, but it didn't fit. I also have to go to Farmers to sort out the receipt.
Richard had checked the weather this weekend. It's going to rain on Sunday. We will probably take the car. I hope dad will calm down a bit when I get home. I will just have to explain to him that the nail can come from anywhere. I haven't driven to weird places anyway.
Found some good songs on the internet, I have also tracked down cello and piano music in the library. When we have time, we can go to the library to borrow these music.

Gardens are beautiful

The sky was filled with grey clouds, but we decided to have lunch in Hamilton Gardens. It was a great decision because we need to get out of the lab and the building without open windows.
Richard and I went to the bakery to get lunch, I picked a small Sally Lunn. It's a delicious bun with coconut icing on top. We sat in the Herb Garden, enjoy the view in the afternoon.
The experiment didn't go very well, but the one that I ran overnight went quite well. Fuzzy was still doing her homework when Richard and I arrived home. We tracked down our glasses in Richard's room. His was under a pile of towels, not easy to find. Mine was on his desk. It's funny how we both lose things.
Mum made lamb chops last night. It was delicious. I also liked her preserved raddish. It's cool and sour, just to my liking. Dad talked with Richard about where his parents' farm is in Urenui. He remembered that Urenui was the home of a bird that sang beautiful songs. I am looking forward to the visit in Taranaki. Mum suggested that we should go to Taranaki on Saturday because we will be quite tired on Friday after work. I will discuss this with Richard.
Richard learned six more symbols last night. He's a very deligent student, but right now these symbols don't make much sense. They will make more sense when they are combined with the others to make Chinese words, but right now he's learning the top symbols. It's a pity that we don't have the first few textbook from primary school.

Mice and men

I spent most of the morning doing experiment with my boss. It's great to learn new techniques, and I had the opportunity to learn how to freeze tissues yesterday. You can't get away from reading papers when you are doing research, even though some of them are quite boring. I spent the afternoon reading away and making notes. Grant, the new father, poked his head in to our office yesterday afternoon. He's very happy about the baby, and we are very happy for him.
I managed to fix the chair in the afternoon as well, with my boss's help, I don't think I need to buy a new one. This will save some money for the group.
Richard came in lunchtime and gave me the beautiful red rose. I made a card for him in the morning. I drew dolphin, rabbit, cat and a flower on the card, and wrote some nice verses in it as well. However, I don't have vivids so I couldn't colour them in.
It was quite warm today, and spring is definitely here. Every time it rains, the temperature raises a little.
I went to the Warehouse to buy cheap shoes for mouse house, nice clothes and lint remover because there are three cats in Richard's place. There's a lot of cat hair on our clothing and hopefully the lint remover will get rid of the cat hair for us. Jasmine loves curling on Richard's bed. Candice and Scraggles also like to hang out on the couch. They are all nice cats, but it's inevitable that their hair will get on our clothes.
Richard cooked me very nice steak and tasty potatoes and veges. We finished our blueberry/raspberry ice cream.
I went home around ten and caught the end of The Medium last night. It was an interesting episode about Allison being possessed by a diseased woman.
Dad asked me to look for any sign of car trouble and have to inform him. He said he will also look at the car if we are taking it to Taranaki. Richard suggested to me this morning that we should hang out in Hamilton Gardens. What a great idea. I hope the weather holds out, though.