Here's our closest fast food place.  Every town has lots of Chinese food + fish and chips take aways.  When Mork and Mindy's is closed, their sign says "Gone Fishing".
Terms and expressions:
say bum bag, not fanny pack!
a bach is a holiday home or beach house
a ranch slider entrance is a sliding glass door
a koha is a gold coin donation (from Maori tradition)
good on you - good for you
I'm poppping out for a bit
cello tape is our scotch tape
Better not take off that pretty jersey; I might pinch it
so flash
#8 wire, like we fix anything with duct tape
haven't seen you in donkey's years - for ages
a grammar school is an academic HS and not a primary school
We started last weekend by going a see The History Boys at the Globe Theatre.  Apparently the play won a Tony in 2006.  It was a community theater production and was very well done.
On Saturday morning we started our drive (went about 350 km this weekend) to explore the Wairarapa region.  When you open google maps, you'll see that it is southeast of Palmy.  We drove on a winding road to Castlepoint and enjoyed the beauty of the Pacific.  Rx REALLY wanted to go swimming, but he had to be satisfied with walking on the beach and the rocks.  On Sunday, we did some wine tasting in the Marlborough region.  We also did some tasting at an olive grove and a gourmet chocolate shop - bought our staples except coffee/tea.  That's all I have time for tonight.  After 2 weeks playing hooky, Rx and I went to dog club tonight for much needed obedience practice.  See ya.

As we left to explore a new region, I was concerned that the morning fog would obscure the sheep sightings.  However, the sun burned through, and I was not disappointed; most sheep so far. Mike, I'm not tired of them yet.

Our Saturday night cottage

Our view walking out of the front door.

The dogs were excited to be included in this weekend's adventure.  Found our accomodation on petscancometoo.co.nz (NZed). 

I'll write about the weekend when I'm caught up and not sleepy; in the meantime, enjoy the pictures.
To see ALL the weekend pics go to:  https://picasaweb.google.com/115133267095590644390/Wairarapa?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Castle Rock

Here is Mike Acocella's comment for our blog:
"I had a very nice time visiting Wellington and Palmerston North. Wellington, for one of the smaller capital cities I have seen is very compact yet has all the conveniences of a large city, with an extensive waterfront. The "suburbs" (Palmerston North being one of them) are "islands" in the middle of a mostly agricultural/rural area. I was a bit surprised how self contained it was, with all sorts of "mom and pop" stores around a town square. It even has some cultural activities going on (i.e. jazz concerts, and live theatre.) There was more than one bookstore within a 5 minute walk of each other, which is something you don't see in the US anymore. Everything is walkable, including a 15-20 minute walk from the center of town back to the house. What a concept - you can actually walk everywhere, and on sidewalks no less. We could take a cue in the US from that."

Think of Mike as he travels back to Virginia.
Palmerston North to Wellington to Sydney to LAX to Washington, Dulles;  long layovers in each city.
Tomorrow, I'll be attending an office staff meeting at noon, and a GP peer review in the evening.   Learned today that having the receptionist ask the patient the reason for the appointment is a novel controversial concept.  I had suggested that care would be more efficient if i knew why the patient was coming in before I brought them into the room.  
Expressions:  It's good as gold.  I feel like a box of fluffy ducks.
Sorry to muck you around.

Saturday, we went to windy Welly.  We took an informative tour of the Parliament buildings.  Took the pic of Kate Shepherd apartments to remind me of the suffragette that helped New Zealand become the first country in the world to give women the right to vote in 1893.  Her image is on the NZ ten dollar note.  We picked up Mike at the airport, and took a night tour at a wildlife sanctuary.  We did see kiwis walking around, but couldn't get pictures since it was dark and we also didn't want to stress the birds.  Sunday, we had a nice walking tour of the city.  The weather was cool; but sunny, and w/o wind!

In this picture, you see Kapiti island to the right.  We could see the South Island in the distance on the left.  We took the picture from Fishermans Table restaurant in Paekakariki.
https://picasaweb.google.com/115133267095590644390/Wellington?authuser=0&feat=directlink         
A few of this week's words:                                     
larrikin      mischievous person
lollies        candy                       
rate payer taxpayer
g'day         hello
see ya       bye
hire            engage

The kiwis are truly appreciative of the Americans that were here during WWII.  These flags are hanging in Old St Paul's church.  Apparently, there were over 20,000 US Marines stationed in the Wellington region.  After watching a video about it (mentioned malaria cases), we thought of grandpa's experience in this area,
and wished he were here to answer our questions.

 

The Wanganui River meets the Tasman Sea

After a rainy cold 3/7, the sun came out and I had a brilliant day.  I dropped Rich at the hospital, and spent the day exploring.  I had a wonderful dose of sheep, cows, interesting sights and beautiful scenery.  Enjoy the pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/115133267095590644390/Wanganui2?authuser=0&feat=directlink  On the way home, we stopped for a cuppa in Bulls.  Welcome sign as you enter town says "No udder place like it."  Work tomorrow and then Wellington on Saturday.  Looking forward to having Mike A here for a few days; sorry that Bobbin couldn't come with him.  Missed obedience this week, but had a good agility drill tonight.  Rx did all kinds of weave entries, but doesn't like the collapsible tunnel here either.  I want to hear how everyone did at the show in Albuquerque last weekend.

Live, from the state supreme court of New York!
Sorry we couldn't be there when Lauren was sworn in to the Bar this AM,
but glad that Mike was there to represent the family.
Lauren is now officially an esquire.
Here is the link to our weekend pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115133267095590644390/Taranaki?authuser=0&feat=directlink
Not in the mood to write too much this time, but I'll give a brief summary.
It's been raining for 2 days, and I got an unsettling e-mail related to my Pres office.  Doesn't sound like my practice will be waiting for me when I get back to Alb.

We postponed the river ride and went through Wanganui to Hawera where we climbed up the water tower.  Drove along Surf Highway 45 (look on the map) up to New Plymouth.  Enjoyed rolling hills, but saw fewer sheep; lots of cows.  Took Chaddy's charter around the Sugar Loaf Islands.  Look closely on the rocks to see a few seals.  Caught a salmon that we would have taken home if we had an ice chest for the next day's car ride.  Enjoyed a little of the award winning coastal walkway.  Look at our pic in front of the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.  Had lamb shank for dinner (feel I should try lamb at least once or twice while I'm here).  Sunday, we enjoyed Tupare, one of the local gardens, and drove into the National Park to have no visibility.  Had lunch in Stratford; saw the clock tower, but we weren't there to see Romeo and Juliet come out of the glockenspiel.  Then went to Nigel Ogle's Tawhiti Museum (no time for Traders & Whalers).  Between the Puke Ariki museum at the New Plymouth i-site, and this one, we learned a lot about NZ and Maori history.  Interesting to think about the land wars here going on around the time of the US Civil War.
Road signs: slippery when frosty; merge like a zipper; sealed roads (vs paved)
Lauren, I did make a dog friend, who said "bet your kids aren't keen on your shifting here".
The fair-weathered American didn't go to dog club last night because of rain.

Friday, I got quite frustrated at work.  The terms, meds, and management differences started to get to me.  I think the fact that I had 3 new patients that were elderly with long problem and med lists contributed to the irritabilty.  Today, I saw 19 patients (1 no show) and did a procedure, and it all went smoothly; kept me quite busy, but it was enjoyable.
Some of the med stuff:
Monofeme and Levlen Ed   levonorgestrel 150mcg, ee 30 mcg
Noriday                                norethisterone
Pintarsol                               pine tar soap for dermatitis
Menthol 0.5% in Nutraplus Cream
Gees Linctus                        cough med with morphine and squill
Dermol for eczema              clobetasol
Duride Cr                             isosorbide mononitrate
Flixonase                             fluticasone
Glytrin 400 mcg/dose spray prn NTG
colecalciferol 1.25
seretide                                 fluticasone salmeterol propionate
Diastop                                 diphenoxylate, atropine
Diamide                                loperamide
etidronate cyclycally with Ca and cholecalciferol for osteoporosis
dothiepin for depression       TCA
still using triazolam
Mimms said valciclovir was subsidized, but had to change to aciclovir
HoLEP for BPH
saw Urol 2/7 ago
put in the IDC in the theatre (operating room is OT)
Kenacomb ear drops             triamcinolone, nystatin, neomycin, gramacidin
check for STIs
BP^ so commenced bendrofluazide 2.5 1 tab od
grommets                               pe tubes
symptoms were going on for a wee while
Alanase                                  generic Beconase
job done 4 weekly
"Hoffmann's negative"              same as Tinel's?
"cross adductors negative"        what does this test?
I've been studying the "Best Practice" recommendations for treating infections on the EMR here.  Won't list them all, but first line for dental is metronidazole 400bd + Pen VK 500 4x/d x 5 days.  Boils, cellulitis, sinusitis, conjunctivits - all different;  they do use Lotrimin for tinea, but of course it's called Canesten or Clocreme.  Too much on Friday, so I was frustrated.  OK now.
Time to go read about the FODMAP diet for IBS treatment.

I'm getting e-mails about friends trying to comment on the blog and it not working.  I wish I understood the problem.  I know that you have to use a profile from the list.  The google account is what most people use because they have a gmail account or can easily get one for free.  If you don't have a google account, or an account that works, you can sign up easily; and you only have to do that the first time that you make an entry.  So hit comments at the bottom, type in your post, and then hit comment as, and select a profile such as hitting google account.  So please try again and stay connected; we like hearing from you.

Wetlands at Ashhust Domain with Windmill Farm in background

Last Thursday was a social day.  While Rich was in Hastings, I went out with Jennifer and Jan to the Ashhurst Domain; took a short walk and had a little lunch.  Talked about experiences as mothers. For a few pictures cut and paste https://picasaweb.google.com/115133267095590644390/AshhurstDomain?authuser=0&feat=directlink
In the afternoon, I met my next door neighbor, Katherine, wife of a plastic surgeon in private practice, and part time nurse in his office.  They have a tennis court which is between our houses.

Happy Mother's Day!  We had a wonderful weekend exploring the part of the North Island known as the 'Naki.  I'll write about it after I upload the pictures and when I have more time.  Coincidentally, we got an e-mail about the area before we left.  Click on Where can you ski and surf on the same day? (Hint: It's "like no other")

See the crisp clear picture of the mountain?  All the postcards look like that; usually with a little more snow.  Here is what we saw:
There was a severe rain weather warning when we were in the park.  We do have some good weekend pictures to share though.
We stayed in a hotel in New Plymouth that had a comfortable firm bed, a bathtub, a sink with easy to work faucets, comfortable sitting chairs, and central heat.  Hard to come back to our house on  Featherston St.

prescriptions: noct., mane, non rep., mitte
ret if no better in 1/52
expressions: We flagged the trip to Foxton

Similar, but different:
Mother's Day here is this Sunday.  Father's Day is in September.
At dog club Monday night, those that won over the weekend shouted a cake.
The lady who called the heeling pattern shifted in with Des.  I think that means they're living together.
The address for the NZKC is Private Bag 50903, Porirua 5240
Patient care: for her pain she took Panadol and Nurofen
B blocker Selectol (no longer subsidized), Dilatrend (carvedilol) AKA Coreg
today I prescribed Pimafucort for nappy thrush
cc: painful knee in last 4/52
NPV shifting down from Taupo to Feilding
I prescribed Colofac (mebeverine) for IBS; was looking for Bentyl

Mike, thanks for the comments!  I enjoy them and would like more.  Haven't had any from dog school friends in spite of all the dog activities and pics;  and office/medical colleagues (except for Lee) probably aren't reading the blog, as no one commented about Pap smears on the side.  Rich is off to another outlying hospital tomorrow.  He'll be seeing patients in Hastings for 2 days.

Weekend report:  Started on Friday night with an excellent meal at a Japanese restaurant down the street.  Visited with Marilyn Aday, an American nephrologist that moved here after 3 tours with Global Medical.  On Saturday, Jennifer and Murray came for dinner.  Preparing the meal with our limited kitchen equipment was challenging (could have used a food processor or blender, and had to buy a larger pyrex dish), but the vegetarian meal was a success.  Deb, thanks for the butternut squash lasagna idea.  Tried peanut butter balls for dessert.                               

Today I drove to Wanganui to check out a "Champ" NZKC obedience dog show.  I put in the above pictures to illustrate that I never tire of seeing the sheep and cows and pastures and green rolling hills along the road between towns.  At the dog show, it was interesting to watch the events.  I won't begin to list the differences in classes, scoring, etc., but check out the pictures (2 are video) to see the scent articles, a little novice heeling, and the stays, as well as a few rally obstacles.  What I observed was that although it was an important show, with people from other cities camped in their RVs, and experienced judges, etc; the atmosphere was what we have at a fun match.  There was much less stress, anxiety and tension in the air (and not just because I wasn't showing).  Just like at my office, things are done in a more pleasant and relaxed way.  What I don't miss here is stress and anxiety; no worries. Cut and paste  https://picasaweb.google.com/115133267095590644390/ObedienceShow?authuser=0&feat=directlink  for just a little of the dog show.

Planning to go back to go back next weekend to take the Paddle Steamer on the Whanganui River (river in the picture on left).  Look carefully at the above 2 pictures to see a little of Mount Ruapehu in the background.  Ended the weekend with the dogs having a swim at Bledisloe Park.

This morning Jan and I enjoyed the Feilding farmers' market.  Stocked up on goodies for tomorrow.  Having Murray and Jennifer over for dinner - our first guests.  Bought cuttings of a leucadendron plant for the table (see pic on left to see Jan and plant); and bought lupin bread, which I learned is a bread high in protein and low in carbs.  Had a nice afternoon seeing patients.  Rich got home before me again - never happened in Alb.

I haven't written on the blog this work week because I was frozen and problem solving how to defrost and feel comfortable.  The houses here are not heated to our standards.  The older houses are not insulated and few have central heat.  People use heat pumps, space heaters, and fireplaces.  They say that there is a lot of asthma here because of the cold homes.  So why not install efficient heat?  I didn't want to complain because I am a guest in this country, and trying to adapt; however, when the weather turned cold, and I was up all night shivering, and the extra bedrooms felt like iceboxes, I started to wonder how I was going to make it through the winter.  Everyone planning a visit: get out your thermal underwear.

 This is the heat pump in the wall that warms underneath it very nicely and keeps the hallway an acceptable temperature.  You have to stand on a chair to turn it on and off.  The landlady thinks that the remote was lost 2 tenants ago and can't be replaced.

 These are samples of the space heaters in our bedroom.  The one on the left worked well until this week.  The one on the right just has a loud fan.  Another broken one was taken when we moved in, and not yet replaced.

 This is a wall unit in the "lounge" (family room) that we (and the landlady) can't really figure out how to operate (regulating the temp settings and timers); but it gets the TV room warm (where Kaylee sleeps at night).  The corner of her bed is in the pic.





So of course we could look for another house, but the chances of finding a short term rental that is available, furnished, accepts dogs, and has adequate heat ???
Hoping to soon acquire functional space heaters and an electric blanket.
Mike A, no worries, we'll have it sorted by the time you arrive in 2 weeks.  (like my kiwi lingo?)
Cheers