It’s All About Food (and Love, Actually)

I discovered that Rita is a very early riser, at 5:30 this morning she was meowing next to the bed wanting to have a treat. Luckily, I knew this was a possibility so I got her the treat and went back to bed for a bit. I hung my clothes up to dry, first time I’ve been able to do this since I’ve been in New Zealand, which is kind of funny, considering this is where I first started hanging out my clothes. Then I headed to the local coffee place that was very busy, lots of families with young kids now that school is out for the year. They had the usual cheese and date scones, but also a vegan cheese and watercress scone, so I tried that. It was delicious and quite spicy!

I had been wanting to check out a cafe in Scorching Bay which I heard was quite good, called Scorch-O-Rama. It was only about a half hour walk from where I was staying, most of it down hill, of course with a lot of stairs! Because a lot of the neighborhood is built on a steep hillside with good views, there were a number of  funiculars. I also came across a very old school metal playground that reminded me of the playground equipment from my elementary school, and it was sitting directly on grass.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, rain had been predicted but was holding off and the wind was minimal, so perfect Wellington weather. At Scorch-O-Rama I had a very flavorful seafood chowder, and splurged for a ‘boozy’ shake, the Volcano which has coffee ice cream and Kahlúa with chocolate flake on top. It did not disappoint! The décor was comic book and sci-fi oriented, with a hint of 80s video game. 

Instead of walking up all the stairs I had come down to catch the nearest bus to Annemarie‘s house, I decided a walk around some of the bays was in order. The water was a gorgeous shade of emerald green. Not far from Scorching Bay I found a red English telephone box that was now in use as a free little library! 

Going past Worser Bay (I don’t know the history behind most of the names of these bays, it would be very interesting to find out where they got their names) I saw a little boy being pushed by his mum on a long rope swing. Around the corner, out in the bay there was a gigantic, floating inflatable water structure! I have never seen anything like it – there were tons of kids having a blast, climbing, sliding and laughing. I really wish I’d had my swimsuit with me!

I had to laugh when I saw a house for sale and it indicated that the lot was sub-dividable. You technically could put another house in, but you’d have to build it right up the hillside, pretty much on top of the original house. So typically Wellington! I also saw a sign for an event that look like a ton of fun, the Seatoun Super Soaker Water-Fight, too bad it’s taking place after I leave!

After Annemarie and I caught up with each other and got our grocery shopping done for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I headed back home. The bus gods were with me this time, both buses I needed showed up on time so I only had a very short walk to get to my door, which was good since the rain had finally set in at this point. I decided to have an afternoon snack of peanut butter and crackers, and tried some of the flavored peanut butter that is quite popular here. It’s funny how many different types of peanut butter they now have in New Zealand. When I lived here there was just plain peanut butter and only one kind. Kids do not eat PB&J‘s and most kiwis I knew couldn’t stand peanut butter. Anyway, there is a PB brand called Fix and Fogg that does a collection of peanut butters called The Fire Trilogy. I made the mistake of trying each kind in the trilogy without reading the labels first. The smoke & fire and smoke & inferno ones were quite spicy hot, but manageable. The smoke & chaos peanut butter on the other hand was crazy hot because it included canine and Carolina reaper peppers. It took about a half hour and lots of plain crackers for my mouth to finally calm down and my eyes to stop watering. Lesson learned about reading labels!

After I recovered from my peanut butter adventure, it was time to get into the Christmas spirit and watch a Christmas movie. My favorite Christmas movie was on Netflix, so I settled into enjoy. Every time, EVERY time I watch the opening credits for Love Actually, I cry. I think I’ve seen the movie at least a dozen times, more than almost any other movie I’ve seen (besides the Sound of Music and maybe Muppet Christmas Carol). Maybe because I’m far from home at Christmas this year, and it’s being back memories of decades ago, I got weepy at several parts of the movie. I know the stories so well, and exactly how it’s all going to turn out, but it still gets me every time I watch it. Such a great movie (and if you disagree with me, you can just keep it to yourself!)