June 24th Portals To The Underworld

I have never really taken much notice of them before, but they have been there. Secret portals to the Underworld. I found various ones whilst on my walk with Minnie today.

The first one was of concern with the initials F. H.  I think this is for the Fool Hardy

Next up we start getting more serious. V... obviously Vandals only are allowed down this portal

Then it gets very serious, this one is for Hard Core Criminals only

There is some semblance of social conscience down there. You have to be 10 and over to enter

This is where the big boys step in. The tough guns. The James Bond's of the Underworld. The Secret Service

Yes, yes I confess! I watch too many movies and my brain has been Hollywood-ized!

June 23rd The Dull Wear Dash

The wonderful view I had looking out my car windscreen

Why I had this view is because I decided I would head out to buy myself some lunch. I had a hankering for some battered Bluff Oysters. When the hankering comes calling, you don't muck about. You indulge your desires. So Bluff Oysters for lunch it was.

Now because it was a quick dash to the best fish n chip shop that makes battered Bluff Oysters worth salivating  over  (5 minute drive each direction) and the wait inside is longer, I thought it would be safe to do the dash without getting dolled up to go out. Comb of the hair, bleary eyes, forget any jewellery,  footwear - nothing special. You get my drift. Except as always happens when I decide to do a dull wear dash - I bump into a customer. Inside the Fish n Chip shop.  I didn't even see her until I hear the stomach dropping words 'Hello Irene'.  I cast a glance and there she is - in all her resplendent glory. Perfect make up,  perfect hair,  perfect clothes - accessorised just perfect. A perfect vision - and as for me? Leggings, big thick hoody and looking the total opposite. In a Fish n Chip shop.

But I did end up with a damned good lunch

June 22nd Black and White Theme

Out on my walk with Minnie today firstly we encountered the unusual. I don't know where the occupant of this wheelchair was. It was certainly empty and there was no one around at all. We were the only living things on the street (well apart from birds, ants, spiders, hidden mice, maybe the odd rat - you get my drift)

I decided my photos for today required a Black and White theme. It was a very dismal and grey day, and not a person in sight on our entire walk

I am so glad this isn't our house. I have never seen a living occupant here, but there are vehicles at times.

Roses are taking a battering in the wind and rain

June 21st Bad Grammar

Today was the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year. So whilst the days will now start getting longer, they will also start getting colder, which is enough to drive any man, or woman, to drink or to dig out the stash of happy pills.

One thing that did brighten up my day however was this very bad spam supposedly received from Apple. Oh no, my iTunes account is going to be closed down. Oh no I face hell and damnation.

Take a minute to read the very bad English wording throughout the entire body of the email. Please Spammers, if you are going to spam me, can  I ask that you at least use the correct grammar?

June 20th Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Or this heading should read Goodbye Yellow Leaf Path. It was a bit overwhelming to be on this path with Minnie today. At least I had no problem spotting her

Actually just the following comment, which has nothing to do with this photo. Because I am having a brain fart moment, I actually had to google how to correctly spell Goodbye. Was it one word or two words? I did have it spelt correctly, but just in case any of the Word Police were reading, I wanted to have it right. But then it lead me to thinking: why is Goodbye one word, and yet Good Morning is two words? 

June 17th to 19th Being Social With A Side Of Pumpkin

The weekend was a social one for us. Friday started with the monthly gathering for the cards, ie our monthly card evening with Cristina, Crae and Bryan. We always play 2 games each time. Now if I had won at least one of those games, I would have a lot to say. But I didn't win. So instead of focusing on an extremely rare and negative outcome, I am just going to say what a wonderful social evening we had. A good time was had by all. We got to bed at some ungodly hour which doesn't suit these creaking bones of mine, and to quote those famous words of Arnie... I Veel Be Buck!!

Saturday was quieter. So much quieter that my only focus was on food. George was throwing a steak on the BBQ for his dinner, and I opted instead to make a hearty Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup

Sunday finished off on a lovely note. My old friend Debby and her hubby Vinnie called in for a catch up. Debby and I met each other through an international travel  chat room on yahoo.com way back in 2000. And surprise, surprise we were both located in NZ - Debbie up in Auckland, and now recently moved here to Hamilton, my city of residence. So we have a long association. And they have effectively moved in to our 'hood, living maybe 1km away?  This definitely called for a catch up and for our respective partners to get to know each other as well.

Here's cheers to Vinnie (the only one willing to pose for a photo and a great baker of Banana Cake,  and who is allowed to return as he did quite like our home made wine)

June 16th Disconcerting?

Well this is just a tad disconcerting, and I never picked this up at time of purchase. Usually if there is a list of ingredients on a label, I do check out what my purchase is comprised of. I am not only talking food here, but also mouthwashes, toothpastes etc.

It was only today when I started a new deodorant already purchased (I must have had a lapse of concentration the day I put it in my supermarket trolley), that to view the ingredients, you actually had to peel off a top label. Which is where the barcode is, which actually could lead you to being accused of tampering?

Maybe I am being paranoid, but shouldn't this type of information be easily accessible without having to resort to lifting a label in a store? Which wasn't easy to do, as I did give it a go here at home. I think it's time to get the tin foil hat out of storage

June 15th Shock! Gasp! Horror!

No photo today folks. I know you must be wondering what is going on with the world. Is it ending? Is that a bird in the sky? Does this mean, does this mean. Oh no!  Does this mean the end? Irene did not take a photo.

Rest easy! The world isn't ending and I did take a photo. After all, I did promise over 5 1/2 years ago to take a photo every day, and I have never not yet met my promise.

The only problem is that the photo I did take is a very bad one. Then I got sidetracked. Well not really sidetracked. A certain four letter word got me thinking of other things. OMG.. You are thinking of THAT four letter word aren't you! The four letter word I am referring to is WORK!!  I would never have believed it of you. Get that mind of yours out of the gutter - immediately! This instant! It was work, work and more work.

Back to the one and only, allow me to present...... drum roll please..... my office ceiling!

June 14th Splash The Cash

New Zealand recently released a new set of style of bank notes. It wasn't until I actually received some $50 notes, that I realised how I very rarely see actual physical cash any more.

Coins are that few and far between, and due to changes a few years ago to them as well, I wouldn't have a clue as to what is what. Everything is all plastic fantastic

I remember reading in my teens (unfortunately many years ago) that cash would be replaced by little plastic cards and everyone pooh poohed the idea, thinking no way. And yet it has happened. Hence the reason for this photo. AlsoI think the bank notes look pretty cool.

June 13th It's A Wrap

It's time to offer some of the weaker garden plants some protection and give them a winter coat. Scenes like this are dotted all though our garden.  See you in three month's time Puka.

June 11th to 12th .. Sadness

I had a very quiet weekend, and you know what. I am glad I had a very quiet weekend. With the knowledge that I had my blog to write, I was wondering what photos I should use from the various ones taken each day of the weekend. That was my biggest dilemma.

Can you imagine waking this morning to the news of the biggest massacre in US history. I guess Facebook profiles will be changed to reflect the sadness and the grief being felt, but will this change things? It was just over 6 months ago we all  had the Paris flag across our profiles. It certainly does help us acknowledge our own grief and our own puzzlement as to what is happening with mankind. But it doesn't stop this hate happening.

The next thing I read on my Facebook feed, was this damning indictment of a part of NZ society.  This is the other end of the spectrum most of us never, ever see and don't want to see.  I am sure this is not just happening in New Zealand but is happening worldwide.

Just like the rest of you I have no answers. But on reflection I am grateful that my own personal biggest problem of the weekend was photography and blog related. Below are photos I took each day. Looking back, in hindsight, I am glad these were the photos I captured, and I am fortunate in my own personal life that this was my major dilemma.

There is still beauty in the world, both in the organic and inorganic.

June 10th Travellers Galore

A holiday for me? No way Hose A! Oh how I wish. Temperatures have fallen, it is winter time. The sky seems to have taken on a permanent grey colour, with a little glimpse of blue every now and then. The sun has lost its warmth.

Was it only a week ago I was sitting on a deck, basking in short sleeves in sunshine,listening to crashing waves? That was the last glimpse of summer. And now myself, and many other NZ'ers are facing the realities of winter.

Which is where I step in due to my career choice. I start getting the serious phone calls to find customers holidays in sunnier and warmer climes close to home.Just today my focus has been on a luxury holiday on a small exclusive 5 star property on Aitutaki Island in the Cook Islands and flying Business Class. Next up don't worry what type of accommodation, but just get us a pool front room, and in Rarotonga. Noumea sounds nice - can you organise that? Next up let's go to Fiji,  Irene you decide,you know what we like. The last new booking... 8 days in Singapore is what we want for me, and the Mrs and the kids.

That was just today, and of course I have a lot of existing bookings being worked on. Meanwhile in my corner of the world, the inside temperature is reading as follows

And I am in a pretty good place, when you consider it is warm inside and my days focus has been on much warmer tropical climes. All I need now is a customer requesting that they pay and I travel with them as a personal concierge to pave the way at airports - as long as we can go our separate ways at the destination, and oh as long as I can have George accompany me, oh and as long as it is where I want to go and it is where I want to stay. Yep that's my dream holiday!

June 9th Colour Me Blue

Well Minnie's colour will be blue for the next 12 months. Her dog tag that is. Every year the colour changes so beady eyed dog officials can supposedly see if your dog is warranted and up to date. It was time for her renewal, which we did. However when seeing her new tag I realised a bit of a double standard exists here.

So it is alright to expect my female dog to wear a blue disc on her collar for a year. However in the nearly 12 years Minnie has been with us, she has never had a pink disc. If it's good enough for her to wear blue, surely it's good enough for others to wear pink for a year?

June 8th My Indulgence

Don't worry, this photo of a vacuum cleaner isn't what I am referring to as my indulgence. It's the person who operates it, that is. I employ a cleaning company to come in monthly or as required, and to do a good deep clean of the house. For what I think is a very reasonable rate, they supply all the necessaries from cleaning products to mops, vacuums etc.

Because I work very long hours at home, this is a wonderful indulgence so I at least get to enjoy the spare time that I have here at home.

What was different about today's cleaner, is rather than being a lady turn up, it was a man. You never know who is going to turn up, apart from a text the night before confirming they are coming. I know it was a naughty misconception of me, to feel slightly shocked when I saw a man (aged at least in his late 30's). But he did the best and most thorough clean yet

When it got to 6 o'clock and I was still at my desk, it was such a nice feeling to look out of my confines and see and smell a sparkling clean house

June 7th Makin' Bacon

So we went away for the long weekend

we brought home uneaten food, for which we did spend

so no way would I put it in the bin

to me food waste is an ultimate sin

So home came some bacon, so streaky and nice

George had some good cooking advice

cook a few strips at a time and make sure to drain all the fat

this makes it crunchy and it is all that

But now we have all this bacon to eat

in sandwiches, for lunches, or for whatever:

it still is a lot of meat!

June 3rd to 6th - An Extended Long Holiday Weekend

We decided to make the most of a long holiday weekend and headed to our favourite beach on earth, Pukehina. The house that we had previously rented was sold earlier in the year, so it was time to spread our horizons and branch out into something new. It had to be dog friendly, have wonderful ocean views - and a dishwasher wouldn't go amiss.

I found this little beauty and after meeting the owner, it looks like this may end up being our new holiday home when we return to Pukehina

 Of course you have to celebrate a holiday at the beach, which I did on arrival

Every Morning was a frosty start

Fortunately our front deck was a sun trap, and many an hour was spent ensuring adequate levels of Vitamin D - even for Minnie

Signs of a frosty night ahead

Waking to this glorious sunrise

June 2nd I Am Doing It!!

After all these years, I have finally got all the processes underway to applying for New Zealand Citizenship. Even down to the necessary passport photos. Every single bit of documentation required, I  have sourced. I just need to get some copies witnessed and certified and it can be sent away

So after living in NZ for two long periods, the first being fifteen years, and the second being 31 years I am taking the first steps required. Let's hope I get accepted and the three speed camera fines I have incurred over the years aren't held against me!

June 1st A Lot Of Nothing...

Today really did not lend itself to photographic shots. My only face to face contact was with Minnie. And if I really tell you the truth, it was a bad hair day, stay in my dressing gown because I haven't got time to get dressed day, don't lift my bum off this chair day - all day. One of those days where you feel your butt is fused into the chair. I most probably have a leather imprint on my butt, and aren't even aware of it!

As for dinner? Well George ended up having one of those days and didn't make it home at all. So my dinner was, was, was... umm a piece of left over fish from the night before.

So the above is the realistic version of A Day In The Life Of Irene... I could give you the Hollywood version if you prefer?

May 31st Living With An Engineer

For food storage purposes we have a chest freezer, which due to it's size resides in the garage. I think it may be a 300 litre capacity. Actually I have no idea but that sounded good. I just know it is long and deep. As I write this it is cold and 8 degrees celsius outside, so please don't expect me to pop out to take a photo.

Back to our chest freezer. Because it is so deep it is easy to lose track of what is actually stored there. OK it's labelled, but with me being so short I can't even get to the bottom. If I tried to take something from the bottom and was home alone, I stand a very good chance of being swallowed into its frozen depths and not submerging again. And between you and me, if that happened, then 8 degrees outside would be a summer's day!!

I have gone into waffle mode haven't I! The reason for this blog is that with a chest freezer like this, which I constantly complain and make derogatory comments about, George's engineering background came to the fore.  We made up an inventory of the freezer contents as below

This has now been transferred to a spreadsheet. First world problems, because now I have to remember to update the spreadsheet when I either take something out of the freezer or add to it.

May 30th Two Sleeps From Winter

June 1st is looming. Winter is right here on our doorstep. We have lashings of rain, thunder (which I hilariously read the other day being referred to as Angel farts), lightning, and it is cold. Very cold. And going to get even colder if the weather experts are to be believed.

So it was a bit of a shock to see our Jade plant, the smaller of the money trees, full of new buds. The larger money tree has flowered, and this one has decided now would be a good time to have a growth spurt. I hope the young'uns aren't in for too much of a shock when the expected polar blast hits this week Fortunately we do not see snow here, but with the nearest snow fields a three hour drive away, we certainly do feel when it is snowing.

May 27th - 29th Minnie Munching For Green and Other things

How quickly they roll around. Another weekend has just flitted by, just as in now you see it and now you don't. Here today and gone tomorrow. Yes that is exactly what it was like.  And because I can't really believe it was here and gone, I am going to display my photos out of order.

Let's go backwards for a change and start with Sunday. Minnie does like her greens, as in grass only, and a certain variety only. To the extent that we have to leave a weedy patch in the garden for her to munch on  It wasn't hard to notice she had been having a spot of indulgence

This is the only green she will eat. If there are peas in her food, we have watched as she has expertly spat individual peas out across the floor, and she won't eat any dry food that is green. However when it comes to her grass.

Rewind to Saturday, and just like the week before it was time to check the lotto tickets And!!!!

 Still  not enough to retire on. But it was lovely to hear the metallic trumpet blast and to read 'You Are A Winner'

Rewind further back one more day to Friday. Usually my weekend posts are only for the Saturday and Sunday, but as I worked most of Saturday, I had to forego my Friday post due to lack of time. Friday was actually lovely as there was a little hiatus in the middle of my working day, and I was taken out to lunch by absolutely wonderful customers (the ones holidaying up here from the South Island). They wanted to get together for one last time, whilst they were up here. So I was collected by chariot and whisked off to lunch at Good George Brewery.

Don't worry! This is not where we dined and only their promotional caravan. Here is where we had lunch, although our drink of choice was a Cider

May 26th Wacky Weather

We have had a few days of weather hell. To the extent that Minnie hasn't been walked for days. There has been torrential rain and winds. With Winter on our doorstep next week, the turn in the weather, while not surprising, is definitely not welcomed

What was surprising however was to wake up to a weird type of sky. Looking westwards it was the usual one monotonous blanket colour of dark, dark grey, showing another downpour was imminent. But turn your head to the left and the sky was blue as, with white fluffy clouds.

May 25th God's Gift To Working Women

The humble slow cooker. What a blessing for busy days. Except you do have to remember to take the meat out of the freezer for the next evening's meal.  Take a slab of meat, with apologies to Vegetarians, Vegans, Pescatarians and Pigs (it was a Pork Hock). Cover it with a packet of ready made sauce, with apologies to food purists, anti any form of sugar followers as I am sure there would have been sugar in the sauce and I forget to check, paleo aficionados - mmm not sure about them, oh and let's throw in an apology for any other food faddists I missed. 

End of day ensues and you have your main ingredient cooked and ready to go.

There was however one minor (?) problem. When dinner time did eventuate, George wasn't feeling the best due to a migraine. I actually wasn't that hungry either. Guess what's for our next dinner.

May 24th The Dinner Invitation That Went Awry

We were invited out to dinner, to be cooked for by my younger son and his partner. All good. But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Actually did you know that the line 'the best laid plans of mice and men' originates from a Robert Burns poem, and it should actually read 'the best laid schemes of mice and men'. See! As I  have often said this wee blog can be a tad educational at times too. And I managed to fill out a few lines and up my character count at the same time.

Back to our dinner. We had about 30 minutes until we had to  head out, when a god almighty storm struck complete with thunder and lightning. Then it was hark - is that my phone I hear? Actually it was, and due to being in another room in charge position, it could hardly be heard.

Gina, my son's partner, was ringing. She was stranded not far from our home and her vehicle window wiper's had decided to break. She couldn't see a thing, let alone drive the 20kms to their home. George ventured out in his shining armour (his car) to save the damsel in distress. She followed his lights to come back to our home. Which was fortunate as the rain was that torrential, it was impossible to see without window wipers.

Where was my son, Todd? Well he had an appointment and that went a lot longer than expected. He eventually turned up at ours. With the weather and other events conspiring against us, it was decided that dinner would be at our house.

You seriously didn't expect me to cook a dinner for four at 5 minutes notice did you? Do I look like Wonder Woman? I know there are times when I am the Nigella, the Julia, the whomever famous female celebrity chef of the moment is, in the kitchen. But really? Me? At 5 minutes notice? Get real folks. This is where the Colonel and his southern fried chicken saved the day. And it was finger licking good!

May 23rd For One Little Minute

Yes for one little minute, one tiny portion in time, my stomach fluttered. You most probably wonder what on earth I am on about. I am a sucker for purchasing the all elusive winning lottery ticket. It is my only vice (in gambling that is) in life.

Well... the Lotteries Commission very kindly provide a mobile app, so you can scan the barcode of your ticket and see if you are a winner or not. Which actually is very handy, because if it was 'The One' would you want to be in a public place when you found out. How could you keep your composure? I would be the short, fat, little lady attempting somersaults, hands in the air, acquiring an immediate love for religion and singing out Hally-Loo-Lah's - and all of this in a public space.

Instead, I can now do this in the confines of my own home. Well if I won that is. Which I thought had happened. The App scans the barcode, and then there is a metallic trumpet blast and your screen announces 'You Are A Winner'

That is when you hold your breath, you assemble all in the house if they are home, you are nearly peeing yourself with excitement, you survey your immediate surroundings to see if somersaults are possible, you plan your retirement - and then you click to see what you have won.

Which is exactly what happened today. Trumpet Blast. Breath held. Click. Here is the result.

May 21 - 22 A Weekend of Gifts

Saturday was busier than usual. I had South Island based customers visiting up here in the North, for whom I have done quite a few bookings and an online friendship has evolved. It was the perfect opportunity, with them having to be in our neck of the woods, to meet them finally.

They also happen to own NZ's largest lavender farm, and  coincidentally featured on a NZ television program just the week prior.  And they are dog lovers, with two small dogs of their own. Unfortunately because they flew, the dogs had to remain home, so Minnie was unable to meet some new friends as well. But we plan on rectifying that in the future.

The guys came bearing gifts - lavender based products from their own lavender of course, which really had us ooh-ing and aah-ing. And were thoughtful enough to not forget Minnie

This was especially brought back from their last trip to India for me

A wonderful evening with wonderful new friends. By the time they left we were well into Sunday. Yes it was well past the witching hour. Which meant Sunday was a slob and blob day, and the weather gods 'rewarded' us with inclement weather which removed any thoughts of guilt for being couch potatoes.

Our Orchids have been moved onto the front deck so they have some protection from rain, wind and frosts that will no doubt pop up now we are very close to Winter. As a thank you, there are lots of flower buds on all the plants. Obviously when we have more than one plant flowering, I will post a photo of all of them and the various colours

May 20th End Of The Day

It was nearing bed time, the time when I start my Snore Fest (although this has reduced in volume now thanks to a recent purchase). George was in full repose on one sofa fast asleep. Minnie was tucked up beside me, making sure that I was half off the sofa I was sitting on, and she had the other 7/8th's 

Yes, it was 9:30pm well maybe 9:00pm, oh okay even 8:30pm if I am to be totally honest. Come on,, give us a break. It has been a hard week and isn't this what everyone does on a Friday night?

But that isn't what I was going to write about! The reason I started, is because it was nearly time to go to bed, and then the thought struck me. I hadn't taken a photo all day. I had been at my desk all day coming to grips with a new computer program and here we were with the day done and dusted, and no photo.

Oh the shock! Oh the horror! A glance around the room. No, George wouldn't appreciate waking up to find there was going to be a photo of him asleep on the couch. Minnie would only lift one eyelid and glare, and tell me with that one glare to not even think about it. A selfie? OMG - that would shut this blog permanently down or readership numbers would plummet. There was nothing for it, but to take a photo of what I was watching on the screen. After all who doesn't love Mrs Brown's Boys and Mrs Brown. No matter how many times I have seen the same episodes, I still have a good belly laugh.

May 18th -May 19th Hello Again Auckland

I have been back in Auckland for my final two days of training. Not only can being in a classroom situation for a full on eight hours be exhausting, but also the 5:30am start on the first day to get there in time for a 9am start. Once you hit the big smoke, traffic is bumper to bumper and at a snail's pace.

Fortunately I only had to endure the 5:30am start for one day, thanks to a friend's generosity of the use of her home for the night - she is away, so it was much appreciated. I wasn't alone however due to these chatty little acquaintances, who were very camera shy when I tried to get up close and personal

May 17th The Money Tree

Our Money (?) Tree is starting to show flower buds for the first time ever, and we have had it for a very long time.

Oh my gosh! Does this mean we are coming in to money? Does this mean that financial riches are heading our way? Does this mean retirement is looming on the horizon? Does this mean when I board a flight, I turn left and not right?

I did rush to check our Lotto ticket and yes there was a win. A win I tell you, a win! All $7.00 worth - but it is a win isn't it?