Half-way through the term

5 weeks of term left, it is certainly passing by in a hurry...

It was nice to have dad stay last weekend, although unfortunately I was struggling a bit with a cold. I ended up spending most of Sunday in bed... Monday and Tuesday was bit of a battle at school, but I started to feel better by the middle of the week. Maybe it was because I was under the weather, but I had a craving for 'lolly cake' so I made some last week. I never used to even like it before I left for the UK, but the girls at school love it, & buy a lot of it from the tuckshop, so seeing them with it made me want to give it another go... It is another very kiwi thing that Will has also taken a fancy to.
It is definitely getting lighter in the morning and evenings, and it feels like spring isn't too far away... Our tamarillo tree is heaving with fruit that is just about ripe. We've enjoyed a few windfalls which have been very tasty. It was Will's first taste of tamarillo as they don't really seem to exist in the UK...

The garden is also starting to 'spring' into life. The camilias and rhododendrons are starting to bloom, and the stellar magnolia looks like it is going to be stunning. The Cleopatra magnolia has quite a few swollen flower buds that probably aren't too far from coming out. The fruit trees have their first blossoms starting to appear as well. It is an exciting time of year, especially

as it is the first spring in our new house, so we don't really know what to expect. I also planted some tulip and anenome bulbs, but I planted them quite late & the tulips have broken through the soil, but no sign of the anenomes yet.The garden is also attracting loads of birds, especially since they have discovered the nut feeders that mum made for us. There are green finches, chaffinches, sparrows and wax-eyes swarming the feeders (of which there are 3) every hour of daylight. It is quite entertaining watching the ensuing bun-fights as they jostle for position on the feeder. There are a couple of blackbirds who have also learnt how to feed from them, although they look very ungainly doing so... My favourites are the cute little wax-eyes. The tui watch on, feeling a bit left out... We need to start putting some sugar water out for them. Friday night was the year 9 dance, and being a year 9 form teacher I had to help supervise. I was on the 8:45-10:15pm shift, and while it was bit of a drag having to go back into school on a Friday night, it actually went by really fast, and it was nice seeing the girls who had all gone to a lot of effort to dress-up. In fact it worked out perfectly because Will had been to a concert in town after work (something to do with machines making music??!) then had gone on to have dinner & a few drinks at a pub afterwards with some of his friends. He was ready to head home as I was leaving the dance, so I picked him up & we went home together.

Last night we had Brendon & Keryn around for dinner, so it was an enjoyable evening catching up with them. Because it was nearly midnight when they left, & the All-Blacks/Boks game kicked off at 3am, I decided I might as well stay up to watch it... I'm glad I did as it was a cracking game! The Boks were very fired up, playing in front of a crowd of nearly 95 000 at Soccer City in Soweto, plus there was the added emotion of John Smit's 100th game. There were huge hits going in all over the place, and with the AB's behind with a few minutes to play, it looked like the Boks had done enough. However two incredible late tries meant victory to the All-Blacks. Going to bed at 5am meant that today has been a rather lazy & low-key day... In fact I haven't actually left the house today! I might flag the weekly shop & do it after-school tomorrow...

Next weekend is Founders weekend, meaning we get the Monday off school. We are heading off to the mountain, along with 3 other couples. We've got a chalet in Ohakune booked, & will leave on Friday night when Will finishes work. I don't ski, but am looking forward to getting away for a bit and enjoying the scenery.