Long time no see...

Some of you are probably wondering where I’ve disappeared to, or whether I have given up blogging. I’m still here, promise. Finding time and energy to write anything of interest has just been a challenge the last couple of months. I do have a list of things to post, just need the brainpower to make it logical!

So what is taking all my time you ask? Mary Poppins is the answer! Since the director arrived from Wellington after Easter, rehearsals have seriously taken off. Most weeks have something scheduled 6 days a week. Luckily I am not required at all of those rehearsals since the other accompanist covers some of that time, but it has still been a big addition to my normal schedule of teaching after work.

The hard work is paying off though, and the show is coming together nicely. The benefit of attending so many rehearsals is getting an inside look at how it becomes a great presentation for the audience. The wardrobe and props arrived last week, and the cast is very excited to have the opportunity to use the actual items. Costumes are not in play yet of course, as wardrobe is making the necessary fitting adjustments. But Mary did get to try out her “sensible shoes” (per one of her lines in the song Practically Perfect), and we enjoyed a laugh over how long it took to put them on due to the number of buttons down the side.

From a music perspective, it is great to have the keyboard I will play in the shows. It is all set up with a plethora of exciting sounds, including Bert’s barrel organ, a lark, and my personal favorite: gingerbread stars! I get lots of magical, twinkly sounds in my part, and the occasional interesting combination of low strings on one half of the keyboard and celeste or marimba on the other!

In other news, it made my day one afternoon when I drove past the police station and saw an officer out front, in full uniform (hat included), pulling weeds J

The British and Irish Lions rugby team is touring New Zealand this month. Last weekend’s game against the Super Rugby franchise top contender was painful enough that even my lack of rugby knowledge could figure out we should have won that one. But maybe NZ will fare better this weekend when they play the Maori All Blacks! Also, the America’s Cup yachting final is coming up soon. Since it is NZ vs US, it will be interesting since US won last time!

A pair of hardy kiwi blokes recently had an interesting adventure. According to the story on the radio, they were enjoying a couple of drinks one night when they decided it would be a good idea to do a 150-kilometer (93 miles) hike through the Appalachians wearing nothing but jandals (think sturdy flip-flops). They then decided they had to stick to it and what do you know, they did it! Seems they had to carefully attach crampons in some places, or go barefoot in others, but they can now tick “major hike in jandals” off the bucket list!

Have a great weekend, more updates to come soon I hope.

Veronica Loop Track

We have been fortunate and had good weather the last couple of weeks. So I thought I should find time to squeeze in a hike because we really never know when we will be plunged into the damp rainy season, when I find it much harder to convince myself I am interested in embracing time with nature.

I made my way to the Mt. Taranaki visitor center and set off. I settled on the Veronica Loop Track since I had started it once but had to turn back. It is only a 3 kilometer track, but takes a bit of energy, as the first half kilometer is nothing but stairs!

Near the start of the track is the Ambury Monument. This is a memorial to a hiker, Arthur Ambury, who died in June, 1918 when trying to save another hiker who had slipped on ice.

The signs along the way entice you with the promise of a look-out. What I did not realize until after the hike was that to find the lookout, you had to go off the track just a bit, (up more steps of course) along a track leading towards a hug. Clearly I will just have to go back :)

Once you survived the stairs, there were two cute little bridges nestled along the side of the ridge, which led to a walk along the top of a ridge. An impressive view of the valley below was the reward for the climb, followed by a descent into Kamahi and Totara forest, a pleasant way to cool off :)

Who needs a selfie stick haha!

The Leaning tree of Veronica?

Cool Job

Since New Zealand is part of the Commonwealth, it is pretty common to get updates on the Royal Family. Last year's visit from Charles and Camilla was huge news over here, and major events such as the birth of the adorable little Prince and Princess tend to get prime spots in the news list.

Every now and then, we get an interesting tidbit that is not major news, but will make your day anyway.
Today is one of those days; the radio has given an important announcement for the Royal Family.

The Queen is looking for someone with UK Size 4 feet that can break in her new shoes. She needs them to be all ready for her to wear without concern of getting any blisters. The job entails walking the halls of the Palace while wearing the Queens new shoes. Unfortunately details such as whether this is full-time work were not included (who knows how often she buys new shoes!) :)

Thought I would pass on a smile, hope you are having a great day!

Color Run

I feel as if I have been a bit neglectful of you, my dear readers, this year. I have thought of posting more, but somehow it does not seem to eventuate into anything that you get to read. I could use the excuse of being busy. Which, I have been, but still. I could also say I assumed you would not be interested in the busyness, but who knows, perhaps you are fascinated by my schedule of go to work, go for a run, teach some kids piano, go to work, and so on and so forth.

A cute black kitty named Minnie is helping me write this today. She torn between walking on the keyboard and simply attacking my fingers because they are moving. So I should not be held responsible for any spelling errors :)

A recent fun addition to the busyness that is my schedule is rehearsals for Mary Poppins. Last night I got to attend the choreography rehearsal and be their live music for the major dances. We had a lot of laughs, between my wrong notes and their missteps, but it is also fun to see how it is all coming together. They did mention that maybe saying I could pick the speed was unwise on their part, as by the time we were done they felt it was quite a bit faster than they were used to. However, the choreography director's response was "Let's do it again!" so maybe it was good after all! The adorable young man who will play Michael (he's 9 years old) snuck over and asked if I could just secretly play it even faster :)

Anyway, to get to what this post was meant to be about: we had a rare sunny weekend and I was able to take advantage of the nice weather. Sunday morning was the annual color run down the Coastal Walkway. We started out at East End Surfclub, and ran 5k down the walkway to the port. Along the way we got wonderfully doused in color. So much that I am still trying to scrub some of it off, and my running shoes will likely forever be rainbowesque!  It was great fun though, and my co-runner decided she will happily join me in future silly events.
The best part of the run was arriving at the port where the monthly craft and food market was in full swing. We got Turkish for lunch and enjoyed a browse through the stalls.

Hope all is well in your world and will (hopefully) write again soon!

A Ride to Remember

New Zealand is a land of outdoorsy-ness and extreme sports. Mountain biking, hiking (tramping), bungee jumping (first bungee jump was in Queenstown, NZ!), paragliding, sky diving, the list goes on. Marathons, iron man races, and long cycle trips are also popular. During both trips to the South Island, I noted an impressive number of brave souls who were cycling the Island. I enjoy a nice bike ride now and then, but I am definitely not hardcore enough to try something like that.

However, a couple of my co-workers have taken on such a challenge. Two brave ladies (who happen to be sisters) from our Customer Services team, along with their father and one sister’s partner are cycling from the top of New Zealand to the bottom!

They have titled their journey “A Ride to Remember.” It is in memory of a recently deceased family member who suffered from dementia and is raising money for Alzheimer’s research. They are also dedicating specific days of the journey to individuals. An example is a day they will ride in memory of the grandmother of a campground manager they have communicated with regarding accommodation.

The journey is 2,300 kilometres long (1,430 miles), and will take 28 days. It was intended to be 26, but due to road closures from the November Kaikoura earthquake, there is a two day detour. They started March 1 from Cape Reinga. Today they have a 92km ride from Turangi to Taihape. They will end in Bluff, Invercargill on March 28. The average length of a daily ride is about 100 km (62 miles). I don’t know about you, but for me that is a long ways to go on a bicycle when you factor in the curvy, hilly terrain of most New Zealand roads, as well as the potential for wind, rain, and flat tires.

The riders will be accompanied by a support vehicle, staffed by another sister and their mother, carrying camping gear, etc.  Due to impressive planning over the past year, they have been able to organize sponsorship for riding gear, rental fees of the van used for the support vehicle, and camping areas.

Some days they will have a bit of company from locals who ride with them for a ways as they pass through. Two other co-workers away last week for a meeting on the other side of the island were stopped at a roundabout. They spotted the riders so pulled off for a chat and some moral support. They have also met some of the linemen across the island that they regularly communicate with at work; certainly a unique way to have a face to face meeting!

I am amazed by what this family has chosen to do and think of them each day, hoping they are having fine weather and easy riding. For more information, visit the links below.

The fundraising goal is $20,000, in part through their Givealittle page: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/ridetoremember

News story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/88660294/Ride-to-Remember-for-Alzheimers

Alzheimers NZ webpage for their ride: http://www.alzheimers.org.nz/regions/wellington/news/ride-to-remember-(1)

Music Notes

Each year that I have lived in New Plymouth, the area has found something new to offer me in the music realm. This year is no different, bringing opportunities to keep me busy several days a week.

I continue to accompany a high school choir, which means weekly rehearsals and performances sprinkled throughout the year.

I am also still teaching from home, with 8 students this year. Each brings his or her own challenge to the job, as no two students are alike. Some of my high school students have chosen to focus on performance in some of their exams, which is an exciting opportunity. We have been selecting music to work on and I am happy to report some selections include pieces by American composers. We have already agreed to ignore my natural bias J But setting the bias aside, American music is rarely studied here so it is an opportunity for the students to explore a different genre.

As if all that was not enough, I decided to add participation in the New Plymouth Operatic Society’s production of Mary Poppins. Some of you may remember Phantom of the Opera from 2014, where I was a member of the orchestra. This year I have taken a step up and am rehearsal accompanist. It is a great opportunity to expand my ability to play choral and show scores, as I get to juggle under-scoring of scenes with accompanying the backing vocals during company numbers. It is great fun though. Luckily I am not completely on my own, as I am splitting rehearsals with another of New Plymouth’s great pianists since the volume of rehearsals requiring a pianist is steadily increasing.

The show will be on 6-22 July, should you wish to pop over for a show J

See below for details:

https://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=NPMARYPO17

Lake Mangamahoe

Last weekend we were blessed with a rare day of warmth and sunshine. This summer has unfortunately been a rainy extension of spring. Some days it's chilly, other days it is muggy (like today) and we have missed the endless hot days of sunny beautiful weather. So when we did have a nice day when I did not have to be at work, I decided I should explore one of the places around New Plymouth that I have not yet been.

Lake Mangamahoe is located just a few minutes South of New Plymouth.
The land was purchased by the council in the 1920s to be turned into a lake with a dam to water to supply the expanding area. It was named after the Mangamahoe stream, which flows into the lake. The lake is also used for power generation.

I knew it was a popular place for walking and mountain biking, but did not realize there was such an array of choices. I quickly found that I had given myself far too little time; oh well, I will just have to go back!
I chose to start at the far end of the lake, so that I could get the scenic view of Mt. Taranaki. Since it was late in the day I only did a short loop but I fully intend to return so I can do the entire lake circuit.

Power Station

Redwood glade

Swans!