Yinzer in the Shire

Since January I have dreaded the question "Where do you work?" because it has largely lead to either the follow up of "What do you do all day?" or pity about how difficult it can be to be unemployed.  However, nothing could compare to last night when in the middle of telling someone about a venture I am starting up and explaining that I have only been in the country since January so it's not very far along, I was met with the comment "Well, you know that is six months!" Yes, I have been living in New Zealand for quite sometime.  If you want to get technical though, it's only been 5 months and eight days.  Just three months in I was beating myself up for not accomplishing much by my standards so I really appreciate a complete stranger questioning what I have been doing all this time. Prior to the move, I was obsessed with work.  I was finally working in a position I had spent three years pining for, at an organisation that sometimes frustrated ...

I originally dictated this post to Seth whilst hooping to the song "Hey, Phat Chick" by my dear friend Phat Man Dee. The first thing that makes Pittsburgh special is Heinz ketchup.   We are very serious about our Heinz ketchup, we except no substitutes, especially not Hunts.  Every proper Pittsburgher knows that you have to hit the 57 on the bottle to get the ketchup out.  This is how we sniff-out outsiders. We are so proud of our Heinz history that we have pickle pins and pins in the shape of Heinz ketchup bottles.  If you are of a certain age you probably have at least one.  We also have an entire history centre bearing the Heinz name, but unfortunately it has nothing to do with ketchup or pickles. If you ask an outsider what they know about Pittsburgh, they will likely incorrectly state that it is a city near Philly.  If they know any real facts about the city, they will probably mention the Pittsburgh Steeler's and be of the o...

As you all know by now, New Zealand is severely lacking in the pumpkin department.   You can buy fresh pumpkin soup in restaurants and canned versions in the supermarket, but they don't do pumpkin pie.  To purchase canned pumpkin you either have to order it from an American food store or get really lucky.  I got really lucky at one point and happened to find two cans of Libby's at the supermarket one neighbourhood over, you can see what I did with it here . You can imagine my surprise when I visited Saint Francis house, where my friends Mari and Ruth reside, and I was served up a pumpkin pie for dessert!  The following week Ruth surprised me by hand-delivering a pumpkin straight from a family member's farm along with the recipe they used. Now before we go any further I should warn you, New Zealand pumpkin pie is absolutely nothing like American pumpkin pie and never will be.  There are two reasons for this. Reason No. 1: They don't sell shortening he...

Yeah,  I am aware that the words cucumber and scones don't sound like they should belong in the same sentence, but today's recipe will show you just how wrong that preconceived notion is! Cucumber Scones MAKES APPROX. 12 SCONES Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp Italian herbs 1/4 tsp salt 6 Tbsp (85 g.) cold butter, cubed 1 1/4 c (6 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar, known as tasty cheese in NZ 3/4 c. milk 1 medium sized cucumber, sliced 1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese Directions:  Preheat oven to 150°C.  1. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, garlic powder, Italian herbs, and salt. 2. Add in the butter cubes and cut in with a fork until the butter forms pea-sized crumbs. 3. Mix in the cheese and milk. 4. Stir to combine.  After a certain point it may be easier to just use your hands to continue the mixing. 5. Once the mixture is equally sticky throughout, mould...

Moving your pet abroad is a decision you should not come to lightly, the process is time consuming and expensive.  It also requires a lot of foresight.   Considerations must be made and it might not be the best option for your animal depending on their age, health, and ability to deal with stress. Our cat Wednesday has been mine since birth and has been residing with me since she was weaned off her mother at six months of age.  She is also fairly young, it's just a few more weeks now till her fourth birthday.  That didn't make the decision to bring her to New Zealand easy, quite often I would wonder if I was doing the right thing by putting her through the stress of a plane flight and quarantine. Everyone's personal situation is different so before taking my advice I highly recommend checking the laws of your adoptive country and also consider the needs and temperament of your particular pet. Here is what worked for us: 1. Hire a pet relocation service. New...

Our beloved Wednesday had to be left behind after Christmas so we could prepare for our international move.  It was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever had to do.  You never realise just how much life an animal brings to a house until they are no longer there.  The first 24 hours without her I cried almost continuously.  I cried when I got out of the shower and she wasn't fighting to get the door open to see me, I cried when I went to bed and she wasn't there to curl up beside me, and I cried when I went to make breakfast and there was no extra mouth to feed.  It was the worst. As the move went on it became easier to prevent myself from thinking about her, but there were still those days. Seth's parents were wonderful caregivers, not only did they provide her with a loving household, they also made sure Wednesday had computer access so she could maintain her own blog and keep us up to date with her adventures.  This helped ease the pain distance c...

It may be summer in Pittsburgh, but it has been autumn in Wellington for quite sometime now.  Like most people when the air turns crisp and the days turn gray I reach for foods of comfort: maple syrup, chicken dumplings, and of course, what kind of American would I be without pumpkin pie? Unfortunately, New Zealand does not understand my love of all things pumpkin and even canned pumpkin is difficult to obtain.  Lucky for me I found a can of Libby's in the International section of my local Countdown grocery store.  Sure, it was around $3 per can, but it was totally worth it. Pumpkin Pie Spice Makes Approx 3 Tbsp 1 3/4 Tbsp ground cinnamon 1 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground cloves Recipe found at My Baking Addiction   Pumpkin Pockets Pre-made pie crust       In New Zealand I use Edmonds Sweet Short Pastry       In the States I use Pillsbury Refri...

Just because I get to wear pajama pants all day doesn't mean I'm not being productive! When I discovered that I would be unable to work full-time in New Zealand due to the visa I was granted, I decided that I would take advantage of this time and use it to develop my talents and create my own art.  So far I have focused on taking classes in hooping, circus, and sword fighting, but a long-standing goal of mine has been to create a stop-motion puppet made from wire. Sure, I know how to do stop-motion animation, but I tend to use paper cut-outs or Plasticine clay.  It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but over the past five years I have been teaching animation, not once have I created a wire-armature.   New Zealand seemed to be the perfect time to dive into such a project. Originally I planned on creating a short film based on a script Seth wrote in college, but the idea of creating three puppets and multiple sets in my first go was a bit daunting.  I began drawing ...