Jack and Katrina's Place

It has been a February of warm stable weather, which has made for some beautifully still and clear evenings. Although the days are shortening the sun sets well south of west and with such clear skies, the afterglow persists. In this hour after sunset peace reigns in the house, if not the world, and a magic calm descends on our valley. These evening skies after the fierce oranges and yellows have faded, have a strange metallic sheen. I call it the 'silvery light' and this photo is the closest I have yet to capturing it. The silvery light in the sky reflects off the tree leaves around us, giving them a sheen as if in bright moonlight, with colours barely perceptible. If you've read Lord of the Rings, this is the elven light, when elves and other creatures emerge. In this image even the familar and mundane power pylons take on an erie beuaty. It is a fun thought, a moment to contemplate things unseen, unknowable and to reconsider what might be possible.

After all the hilarity in the gym we went upstairs for the party part, with party food. Katrina made Guy a beautiful catepillar cake which as you can see is modelled on his beloved 'Katie' catepillar. Katie is one of Guy's 'babies' and can often be found wearing a nappy (tried puttng a nappy on an 8 legged invertebrate?). The catepillar cake was an attempt to encourage one of Guys non-railway interests, as you can see it almost worked. The other photo shows the table beautifully laid out by cousin Danielle, with Harrison making a dive for some fruit kebabs. Harrison is the little bloke in dungarees watching with the other little boys as Guy unwraps one of the many thoughtful presents his generous friend gave to him. A really fun and successful day, deftly project managed by Katrina.

well Guys birthday was actually on the 8th of January but all his little friends were away on holiday. In addition the plan to hold it at the local community centre that run 'tumbling tots' adventure sessions was complicated by the centre being closed througout january for maintenance. Nontheless we finally got it all arranged and Guy and 12 of his friends had a fantastic time running around and playing in the gym.The bouncy castle was a big hit.Then they brought out the bubble machines to everyones dleight, Guy is trying to pop them with his nose.

We took a Sunday trip to Aotea Lagoon to give Guy a chance to ride his scooter. It was a bright sunny Wellington day so he was kitted up with his sunhat, sun glasses and his miniature cycling gloves his big cousins gave him for his 3rd birthday last month. He is well pleased with his gloves because they are just like the ones Jack wears when riding his bike to work. Aotea lagoon has a great miniature railway that circumnavigates the lagoon. The lagoon is actually a section of the Porirua estuary that was enclosed when the motorway was built. The train is a replica of the NZR mainline engines and has been there for about 30 years, Jack and his brothers used to ride on it when they lived there in 1981. Guy had a great time on the train and chasing it on his scooter.

If you're friends with Katrina on Facebook you might have seen her expressing her views on the possibility of Jack purchasing an aeroplane. What she was actually talking about was a suggestion from some of Jacks friends at the aeroclub that he should join them in syndicate to own a Nanchang CJ-6. The CJ-6 was a Chinese built training aircraft developed from a Russian design, with a 285 Hp radial engine, aerobatic and with lots of old fashioned coolness. Split 10 ways the price was less than a 2nd hand japanese sports car, so it was worth considering. In the end a quick tally up of all the other things on our to do list lead to the inescapable conclusion that Jack would not be able to particpate in flying the machine this year, which sort of defeated the purpose of joining the syndicte.

Nonetheless here are some photos of Jack 'trying on' the Nanchang. Guy was quite happy in the cockpit (I was watching where he kept his fingers, especially the gear up lever) Guy pointed to the back seat instucting, "you sit there Daddy, will you show me how to drive it?" Well maybe in a few years, though we might have to get you hat to replace the train driver's one Guy.

Some of the other things we like doing in Auckland; Having Cushion fights with Uncle Anthony, riding on the train at Cornwall Park, and sitting on Mt Eden looking east across Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf toward the Coromandel Penisula.

The other big adventure we had in Auckland was going on the Glenbrook Vintage Railway. It is located about 60km south of Auckland so we saved it for the last day and visited it on our last morning before we drove back to Wellington. Unfortunately it was raining off and on, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of our two train spotters.

Christmas in New Zealand is less about snow and sleighs and lots about sand and sunscreen. In Auckland there are a string of inner city beaches to chose from and we had several picnics at Mission Bay and St Heliers Bay. Great to see Guy digging in and enjoying himself as Jack spent many hours on these same beaches as a child, mostly in the care of his Grandparents. We were joined by our cousins and their families, and Georgia enjoyed playing with Guy in the sea breeze even if she didn't quite understand his need to run a round and throw himself in the sand.