Coping in the cold - Chewing films and visiting Chch's surroundings

After having had about three very active months at the start of the year, we thought it would be nice to just chill out a lot at home. I think we have been craving some good movies for quite some time, but the crux was always that our TV (which came with the house) is minute and watching movies on the laptop is not much fun.

The lovely evening view from our bedroom

A couple of weeks ago we did something about it...we bought a projector and an 80 inch screen. Now we have the full works and almost get the cinema experience. Ever since we got it all set up we have been watching LOTS of movies. Here are just some of the ones I would really recommend:

In the Shadows of the Moon: The surviving crew members from NASA's Apollo missions tell their story in their own words

Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Directed by the brilliant Tommy Lee Jones. The action takes place on the border between West Texas and Northern Chihuahua in Mexico, which is a hot spot for illegal crossings

The Machinist - A feel bad movie...still bloody good. Christian Bale lost more than 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist.

The Proposition - Written by Nick Cave. Another feel bad movie which shows how miserable Aussie was back in the day.

Jesus Camp- May explain why America is the way it is :-)

We managed to leave the cosy sofa a few times in the last few weeks, although it was pretty hard. Kim, a friend of ours, invited her friends to a birthday feast in Packhorse Hut a wednesday night. It was dark when we headed up to the hut from Gebbies pass and after a bit more than a 1 hrs run, Charlie and I joined the rest of the group who had arrived earlier to the Packhorse hut. We celebrated Kim with lots of nice food, cake and alcoholic beverages. The following morning was glorious and I thought it would be nice to wake up with these views every day. It would probably drive me a bit nutty after a while if I had to run for 1 hr and then drive for at least 30 min to get to work. The fun would wear off after about 3 mornings I think.

The entrance to the old Packhorse Hut.
Kim enjoying the views and being one year older
Morning glory: looking north towards Port Hills

On my birthday (a few days later), I went back to the same area. First I had gathered about 10 friends for lunch in the sun out at a vineyard south of Christchurch . Clare, Nick, Paul and Lara, Charlie and I walked up to the Packhorse hut afterwards.


Alpenglow on Mt Bradley
Another day of lovely views towards Christchurch and the Port Hills.