It's All about the "Hood"

Our neighborhood that is. We are continuing to have a wonderful time in Christchurch and the surrounding areas. I thought I would tell you a wee bit about the neighborhood we are in. It is just next to the ChCh convention hall, and only 4 blocks from the Catheral and the square. We are only 4 blocks from Hagley park, that is so wonderful to walk in. It has a large walking path similiar to our riverfront walk at home. It does have about the same radius and is nearly in the middle of the city also. Each morning we walk around the neighborhoods in the area and are finding some amazing shops and homes. I thought I would include a couple pictures of Mr. Collin Johnson. He has been in the same location for 48 years having inherited the grocery from his father. It is chock-full of everything English and Scottish and New Zealand. He is a lovely man and loves the theater and music, so we have gotten to know him well. His shop reminds me of Grandpa Curtis' first Thriftway (much smaller) and Jon says it reminds him of his Dad's pharmacy in Everett. Just around the corner and just across the street from us is the Caledonian society building. They practice the bagpipes in the evening in the hall and so we prop the windows open and catch snippets of the sessions. Just around the block behind us is Strawberry Fare. It is a wonderful restaurant owned by the lady who owns the apartment we have rented. If we look out our window, we can see the Avon River that runs through the city, and just across the street is a beautiful park called Victoria Park. That is where the flowers are planted (actually there are flowers all through the city).

Jon and I travelled north last week to the Waipara wine country. It is in the Canterbury Plains and has rolling brown hills this time of year. They grown Pinot Noir and Riesling grapes in this area and we have enjoyed sampling the Pinot, but the price of $90/btl is a wee bit steep for our pocket! Apparently this area is experiencing the worst drought in over 100 years. It looks very much like home in August, but the cattle and sheep are suffering, so when it rained hard yesterday, we were happy to be in it.

We also go together with friends Dean and Stephanie Kirk and 3 of their 4 girls on Saturday. We had a "picnic" at our apt. and I taught the girls how to geocache. Stephanie was an exchange student and stayed with Herman's in the 80's and so that is how we have met them. They are the nicest couple and the girls are really wonderful to be around. They said to say "hi" to all in Wenatchee and a special "hi" to Jerry Lawson from Steeeeephanie! On Sunday we attended services at the Cathedral and were treated to the choir again and then met with Lisa Glenn and her friend Beatty (sp) for coffee and catching up. Those girls are having a wonderful year of travel.

Monday was so warm and nice, that we decided to drive out of town to Sumner Beach. It's only 20 minutes from town and the tide was out, so we spent alot of the day walking the beach and watching the surfers. I took a picture, and notice the gray skies in the background. That is ChCh working up to a full night and day of rain.

Yesterday was a rainy "movie" day. We went to the Academy Cinema. We saw a foreign film called Priceless with French sub-titles. The theater was great as it held just 11 of us, all in large chairs with back pillows and felt very much like a private screening. The movie was really good and very cute and funny. Wayne and Joyce, it was very Audrey Hepburn-ish but 150 times better than BAT!!!!

Tomorrow is Valentines Day and we are attending a concert at the Cathedral with an opera singer, a violinist and several other performers. We're really looking forward to it. Next week the "Festival of Flowers" starts and so hope to get lots of pretty photos to share with all of you.

That's about all from here. We are having a great time.

Keep warm at home everyone. We've checked the web for a look once in a while and were surprised to see how much snow is in the passes. Missing all of you.

Jon and Joyce