Summer is here!

'spent a day at Shelly Beach down Helensville.  'twas a great day for a barbeque and just lounging under the tree.  Summer is here...and so is Christmas! 'wish our little Aaron was here.

Thanksgiving

Today, I am thankful for a lot of things:
- Friends, both old and new, who have prayed for us and wished us well.
- Being in a country that is safe and has lots of opportunities.
- A family who has been loving and supportive all these years.
- A son who his healthy and smart (and who I miss every single minute).
- A husband who is my #1 fan and cheerleader.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Basketball Full of Roses

We were once again blessed with a warm and sunny weekend.

The sun is bright, the sky is blue. This is just outside our main door.

Basketball and Fishing On a Saturday


Last Saturday my wife and I helped our landlord set up a booth at an all Filipino basketball tournament at the YMCA in Northshore. I'm not a basketball kind of person so I didn't enjoy it that much. What caught our attention though was the food. There was a stall that offers home cooked Filipino food. The sisig was very good and the laing was a piece of Bicol heaven in Auckland. Abby had beef steak and it was cooked to perfection. Apologies, I don't have a photo of the food...aesthetically, its not pleasing (a pile of meat on rice, in a styro plate) so I didn't bother.

At around 3pm we decided to pack everything then we went to Tai Ping and Countdown (supermarkets here in Auckland - someday I will write about it) at the downtown area to do our grocery. Several grocery bags heavier and a $100 poorer, we went to the wharf for a bit of fishing. It wasn't as successful as the labour day weekend fishing we did but it was enough for a decent meal of fried fish. We just caught bait fish which is ulam already for most pinoys. For most kiwis, if not all, what we caught is just fish food.

Bait fish makes a pinoy happy and full

Mass and Roses on a Sunday Afternoon

The following day, after hearing mass at Balmoral, Abby and I went to Parnell Rose Gardens to attend the Festival of Roses.

Marimba players provided the background music for an already perfect afternoon

We were greeted by music from a group marimba players which added to the relaxed ambiance of the afternoon. Aucklanders and tourists alike roam the food and souvenir stalls that dotted the whole ground.

Tourists and Aucklanders alike enjoyed watching the marimba players

Food and souvenir stalls litter the place

yum!

The star of the afternoon....the roses

The thorn among the roses?

Freshly made cones and delicious ice cream

We just couldn't resist the ice cream...danish ice cream in a freshly made cone?! We are only human.

A view of Auckland's marine port

The performances and the food made last Sunday extra special for us. What a weekend!