Today is our 34th wedding anniversary;  we actually met in December 1972, so we have known each other almost 40 years.  I guess we tied a good knot back then!  We never celebrated our anniversary during winter before; today the morning dog walk was rainy, at lunch time it was windy, and this evening it was cold.  I didn't go to dog training tonight, even though it was the last one for the term.  We sure do miss Evi's classes.  Anyway, I guess New Zealand doesn't have many June brides.



Today's terms:
Have a natter about this and that - prolonged idle chatter or gossip
The child was spilling much less - to spill is to spit up.
A substitute teacher is called a casual or relief teacher.
He took off his gum boots before he stepped onto the scale to check his weight.  
From Wikipedia:
In New Zealand, Wellingtons are called "gumboots" or "wellies" and are considered essential foot wear for farmers. Gumboots are often referred to in New Zealand popular culture such as the rurally-based Footrot Flats comic strip. The farming town of Taihape in the North Island proclaims itself "Gumboot capital of the World" and has annual competitions and events such as Gumboot Day, where gumboots are thrown. Most gumboots are black, but those worn by abattoir workers, butchers, fishermen and by hospital operating theatre staff and surgeons are white, and children's sizes come in multiple colours.
The term "gum boot" in New Zealand is thought to derive from the 19th-century kauri-gum diggers, who wore this footwear, or perhaps because the boots were made from gum rubber. The term is often abbreviated to "gummies". New Zealand comedy character Fred Dagg paid tribute to this iconic footwear in his song "Gumboots".

I just listened to the song called "If it weren't for your gumboots" on You Tube.  It apparently is an iconic piece of New Zealand culture by kiwi icon Fred Dagg.  When we were talking about gumboots in the office today, Liz started singing the song.
More kiwiana:

• Afghan biscuit — a cookie/biscuit which contains cornflakes with a soft biscuit base, chocolate icing on top and a walnut
• All Blacks — national Rugby Union team.
• Buzzy Bee — wooden child's toy.^[1]
• Cardigan Bay — a famous racehorse from New Zealand, who was the first trotter to win a million US dollars.
• Chocolate fish — confection of marshmallow covered in chocolate, in the shape of a fish.
• Cookie Time cookies — a large chocolate chip cookie often sold individually and typically heated up before being consumed.
• Edmonds 'Sure to Rise' Baking Powder, the distinctive Edmonds factory (demolished in the late 1980s), and the Edmonds Cookbook.
• Footrot Flats — popular cartoon strip by Murray Ball.
• Gumboots — calf length rubber boots, usually in black^[1]
• Hāngi — Method of cooking using heated rocks buried underground in a pit oven.
• Hei-tiki — Māori neck pendant, often in plastic versions^[1] sold to tourists.
• Hokey pokey ice-cream — plain vanilla ice cream with added small, solid lumps of toffee.
• Jandals — beach footwear with a bit of sole but very little else. AKA flip-flops (USA,UK)
• Kiwi — native bird; its stylised image or shape frequently appears on things associated with New Zealand.
• Kiwifruit — fruit from a vine originating in China but selectively bred by New Zealand horticulturalists to obtain egg-sized fruit with green or gold flesh. In New Zealand it was originally called "Chinese gooseberry".
• L&P — a popular soft drink.
• Longest Drink in Town — since 1968, this iconic blue and red giraffe image has appeared on the side of paper cups used by dairies and icecream parlours for milkshakes
• Marmite — a dark and salty spread made from yeast extract, similar to Vegemite. New Zealand Marmite is distinct from British Marmite, in taste and recipe. Marmite is made in New Zealand, as opposed to Vegemite, which is made in Australia.
• Number 8 wire — a gauge of wire often used inventively and practically for applications other than for fencing.^[4] It is also used as a term that epitomises the "kiwi bloke" as someone who can turn their hand to anything.^[5]
• Paua — the polished shell of the native paua (abalone) shellfish, turned into jewellery and souvenirs or ashtrays.^[1] Once considered kitsch, it is starting to regain its popularity.
• Pavlova — a light and fluffy meringue dessert named after the ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova^[1]
• Whittaker's peanut slab - a chocolate and nut confection manufactured in Porirua that comes in various chocolate varieties
• Phar Lap — a horse from New Zealand, who won many prestigious races in Australia and North America.
• Pineapple lumps — confectionery made with a pineapple flavoured centre covered in chocolate.^[6]
• Railway crockery — a typically heavy style of crockery used in the state railway system^[1]
• Silver fern — native plant; its stylised image or shape is displayed on army insignia and by many of the national sports teams.^[2]
• Swanndri — a 100% water-proof woollen overcoat. Popular amongst farmers due to it being 'warm in winter, cool in summer'. Typically made in a tartan/patch work pattern. Often blue and black, or red and black in colour. Often worn in conjunction with Gumboots and/or Stubbies.
• Tip-Top ice cream.
• Watties tomato sauce (especially when served in a plastic container shaped like a tomato).
• Four Square supermarkets — especially Mr Four Square, the marketing logo.