September 2nd to 4th The Weekend Of The Three 'Fs'

From Friday, it was certainly going to be the weekend of the three Fs, which was Friends, Family and Food. Friday evening started off with our monthly game of cards. I am going to sweep reference to this particular evening under the table and make very little mention of it. Well I have to confess this is only because I came last. There were only the three of us playing this evening (Cristina and Crae decided they would rather travel Europe then enjoy the pleasure of our company - hmph) and then to rub salt into my wounds, I lost! Yes I lost the game. All kudos to Bryan, who managed to come first. But as I said we won't go there

Let's quickly move on to Saturday. It was family day. My little sister was back for a short visit as it is her birthday, which meant dinner out.

Obviously I didn't take this photo, but it was too nice of a get together for me not to be included

Sunday was a lot quieter for us. George actually worked (yes a 7 day week this week). He managed to get home early enough to get his foodie project underway. He has had a wonderful, wonderful piece of Pork belly in a rosemary brine this week. It was finally time to smoke it.

In the first frame of each photo we have the BS photo - get your mind out of the gutter. That stands for Before Smoking!!  And the second frame is the AS photo, ie After Smoking. The neighbourhood was treated to the smell of smokin' bacon in the afternoon. It is now hanging to dry, and we are salivating as we wait for the time we can enjoy it.

And that's a wrap for the weekend. Good times, good company and good food. Who could ask for more?

September 1st There Is A Nosy Neighbour In Our Neighbourhood!!

Yes, there has been confirmation today that a nosy neighbour resides in our neighbourhood!  And that person is ... drum roll.... wait for it......... ME! 

I was driving up the driveway and happened to spy the following down in our neighbour Bryan's yard. He is the one who has a difficult time winning at our monthly card games and I am sure history will repeat itself this evening. Anyway back to what I spotted at Bryan's.  A bit of retroactive history, that has really seen better days. George has never seen one before, but I sure as heck remember Mum having this type of old wringer washing machine, as did every other NZ household back in the day.

Oh, and don't worry I did do the right neighbourly thing and get Bryan's permission before letting myself loose in his kingdom.

August 31st A Little Bit Of Rosemary In My Life

Well it was getting to 7pm and I still hadn't taken a photo of the day. I have to confess as to some stomach churning as to what I could do. I started giving various elephants the eye - who is photogenic, who looks good in this light? Those were the questions going through my head.

Whilst all this was going on, George was outside doing his bits and bobs. He came inside and said to me 'Hey,  have you taken your photo of the day'?  Well, I don't need to tell you what my answer to that was. He then invited me to see his project. I went into the garage and the smell of Rosemary (which obviously I can't photograph) was thick in the air. I don't know if you remember me posting a photo the other day of a piece of meat buried in salt? Well it now looks like this

August 30th This Is a Rarity

Look what turned up in our letterbox today. All the way from India, confirmed by the Indian stamps. The envelope, addressed to George, was typewritten, as in by a very old school typewriter. The sender? A Dr Anand from an Indian Leprosy Mission in Delhi.

Needless to say the letter was binned. However it was so unusual to see an envelope in our letter box like this.

August 29th GRRRRR!!

Not a great start to the week. It was supposed to be the day for the Pinking Of The Hair. My appointment was at 11:30, which meant making sure as much work was completed, so I could 'nip' out for a few hours in the middle of the day.

Of course that didn't go to pan, and I ended up in a frantic rush. Only to get there, and to find out that my stylist doesn't work Mondays any more, and this has been the case for the last month, but no one thought to check her scheduled appointments.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Stay calm. Mistakes happen. Calmly reschedule and turn around and go home

August 27th and 28th Weekend Wherefore's

Another weekend rolled around. On Friday, it was sitting there extremely tantalising, and before you could whistle Dixie (if you could whistle, as I have to confess that is something I can't do), the weekend was over.

Weather conditions went from one extreme to the other each day. Friday and into Saturday, winds howled at gale force conditions and rain was pelting down. George decided to put his butcher hat on for the following

Yes, something is buried in a lot of salt, and will be for I am not sure how long, but a while. Watch this space for the mouth watering results to follow........   sorry I just had to leave the computer to go and grab a tissue to wipe the saliva off my chinny chin chin!

On to Sunday. What a complete contrast  in weather. The sun was shining, the wind was still and it was a beautiful day.  Today George put on his photographer's hat (butcher one day, photographer the next - I did marry a very talented man), and we headed out to Raglan to see family and to take some photos for a holiday rental to be listed. Actually by the way, if anyone is heading to Raglan, and would like a nice 2 bedroom holiday apartment to stay at, within walking distance to town - ask away. So George took the photos, and we then enjoyed a late lunch or early dinner enjoying the views, of which I took no photos, as I was too busy sampling a damned good Pinot Gris - and I don't usually drink white wine. It was a very good drop!

August 26th First Of The Freesias

As we continue to regress back into obnoxious Winter weather, we also keep getting teasers for the Spring ahead. Our Freesias are in bud and a few of the coloured blooms are starting to show themselves. The white ones are yet to make an appearance.

August 25th The Resurrection of Noah

This last couple of days, I have expected to look out the window and see an ark go sailing past. The rain hasn't let up and has been constant. It has been heavy rain.

Wait! What did you say! You are wondering where my photo of the day is. Please refer back to the last paragraph. If Minnie refuses to stick her wee toosh out the door all day, don't expect me to. But ok, yes I did take one photo, and from our back door step. I wasn't going to venture any further for no man, no woman, and certainly not even for myself

August 24th Zee Chef Ees Een Zee Hoos

George has been getting his Romanian Chef hat on. Maybe he is just tired of my cooking and homesick for food from the homeland. Whatever the reason, I am not complaining. Earlier this week he excelled himself with a lovely Goulash dish. And tonight's dinner is a Romanian fish dish called 'Saramura de Peste'  - which roughly translated is Fish in a wonderful sauce made up of Tomato, Capsicum, carrot, chili, parsley and lots of garlic. Time to rub the belly in appreciation.

August 23rd Introducing Miss Saigon

This week I received this very special gift, which came to me all the way from Vietnam. Yes Miss Saigon was gently coerced into leaving her home country Vietnam,  and to come to NZ on a permanent basis, courtesy of Daniel and Briar's thoughtfulness

Admittedly she won't get outside much, but instead of sitting on a shelf all alone, here she will be treasured and enjoy the company of many others of her kind.

Isn't she gorgeous? That is wonderful embroidery detailing on her back.This is a gift I will always treasure, and remember the origin of.

August 20th to 22nd - A Big Oops

Well apologies for being just a tad lackadaisical (how's that for the big word of the week!) with posting. I have been here but time just pulled up her knickers and slipped away from me. The weekend and Monday, went faster than a rat down a drainpipe, faster than a, faster than a, well I think you get my drift.

That doesn't mean I didn't take photos. I certainly did. Saturday ended up being a 'Garden Centre Glories' day. We were chasing a new upright Rosemary plant for the garden. Yes we were successful, but also came home with an extra cactus. When George and I are out together, we are the worst possible influence for each other when it comes to purchases, as compared to when we shop on our own. Back to the Garden Centre, what a wonderful time of year to be in one. With Spring just around the corner the Magnolia trees are in full bloom (except for our piddly one at home that still hasn't flowered after 10 years), and there are wonderful blossoms everywhere

Sunday was spent enjoying dinner with family. Chico is trying to be a chick magnet, well in his case a bitch magnet.

Then we got to Monday. I had a very early start to make my way up to the big smoke, aka Auckland, for a training course. So not too much going on either. Apart from people that don't know the road rules and instead of indicating to merge slowly (like a zip) onto the motorway from the off ramp, decide to speed straight on and fit in come hell or high water. This happened to me both going up and coming home - I am pleased to say my brakes are extremely efficient.

August 19th World Photography Day

Yes. Someone, somewhere has decided that August 19th is World Photography Day. Which makes me wonder who decides that on a certain day of the year, it is going to be a World [insert event] Day. Is there a committee somewhere in the world, thinking that day would be good for that. And how does an event be deemed good enough to be commemorated world wide? Do the events for the year ahead get written on a piece of paper, and drawn out like a lottery, and at the same time a date. What if events coincide? What will happen when there are more than 365 (or 366 like this year) events per year. Will the world suffer? Will the world be blase from having too many events? 

I just had a thought! I wonder if I call upon my best mate Mr Google, if I can get a list of all the World Days, I could then do photos to match. I just hope there isn't a World Underpants Day.

Back to World Photography Day, here is my contribution from when I was walking in our local park today. I pinch myself when I see this sight, that we live in a very urban area and have this on our doorstep.

August 18th Elephant Love

The time is well overdue to share some elephant love. Allow me to introduce my doorstop, Hubert. Purchased from a Coromandel gift shop, and just like all my elephant buys, a purchase I definitely do not regret

August 17th Not Too Exciting

Another day with my butt glued to the chair, totally engrossed in work mode. However as it was a really glorious day, I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to sneak out for a walk with Minnie. We both need to up the Vitamin D factor, especially in light of the very bleak winter we have endured.

Minnie did get to meet a new mate in the street - but Minnie's new mate was behind a very big fence, so they were both deprived of a bum sniffing session. What was amusing is that there was absolutely no barking from either of them, they just communicated telepathically with each other.

August 16th Just Between You And Me....

It appears the bleak days may have gone. I don't want to tempt fate however It is still Winter here and  mornings are chilly but the days are absolutely heavenly And it is not just one singular day, but days in a row

I wasn't able to walk Minnie until much later in the afternoon today, and what a difference the weather makes. There were people outside their homes to greet. Minnie had a play with her BFF, Monty. Yes it certainly seemed that all was good in our little part of the world

August 15th You Must Eat Your Greens

Even Minnie realises the important of greens in her diet, and was on a bit of a grass search at the end of our walk today. However! Put some peas in her evening meal and being the dainty lady she is, she will expertly spit out each and every pea on an individual basis. Yes, we have flying missiles in the kitchen

August 15th Putting My Travel Agent's Hat On

For the second time in a week, I have had to put together paper documents and vouchers for customers. It is an extremely rare occurrence to do this, and I don't mind in the least. Plus a weekend is a quiet time to be able to do it. In today's electronic society, it seems coincidental twice in one week. Even my handwriting skills are getting a work out!

August 13th A Kiwi Feed

Tonight we ate out at the night markets. I opted for a Kiwi influence. A cup of creamed Paua (Abalone to the rest of the world). Sides which came with the Paua, were Maori Fry Bread and a can of good ole L & P, which is world famous in NZ.

Not the healthiest meal on the planet, but for a oncer in a blue moon, it was damned good. Oh and for the judgers - a further two bites is all I had of the Fry Bread, and maybe a 1/4 can of L & P. But no way would I share my Paua. That was mine baby, all mine.

August 12th Back For a Good Indian Curry

A lovely dinner out with Alvin and Alicia. When we used to go out for our regular dinners, it was us, Alvin, Alicia and Ella. Now there has been another addition to the family, and we have Esme joining us.

So it was a table for 6 (to allow for space for pushchairs) and a second time visit for us to Jaipur. This Indian restaurant is wonderful and I could eat here every week.

At the beginning of the night I almost felt like Irene No Mates. I was sitting in the restaurant on my own.

But that situation didn't last for long, and soon the entire table was occupied

August 11th Something Fishy

When you get photos of my dinner, you know there wasn't too much going on in the photography department today. A lot going on but just not worthy of a photo. Fortunately dinner was special. Salmon Fillets, with a moutarde (fancy word for mustard), Horseradish, Gin and Caper Sauce.

Getting rid of the pesky bones first is a must. I absolutely hate taking a mouthful of any type of fish and finding a bone.

Marinating before being transferred to an oven proof dish for baking in the oven. Usually we BBQ this, but I opted for the oven option this evening

August 10th Let Us Pray

We have had a few Praying Mantis around lately. I would expect to see them in the garden, but I am finding them attached to external doors, and yesterday's visitor was on the deck and seemed intent to head towards the house. I guess it is warmer inside. Interesting fact - the female Praying Mantis can lay from 100 to 400 eggs at a time - I hope her labour pains aren't too intensive.

Here's yesterday's visitor. I have no idea if this is a male or female. I am not really into insects to the extent of picking them up. Just the thought sends me into a cold sweat

August 9th Jack was Here

Yes the illustrious Mr J. Frost Esquire, aka Jack Frost, has been to pay us a visit the last couple of mornings. He had his paint brush out and covered surfaces in a crisp white frost. I don't think I would like to be walking on this grass with bare feet!!

August 8th Loving Our Orchids

Our Orchids are coming into full bloom now and we are starting to get a variety of colours. So far we have pink, white and green. We are still waiting for the red to boom. Love looking out the french doors to this view on these winter days.

August 6th and 7th Paperwork and A Splash

And another weekend goes by. I actually spent Saturday afternoon working. I have very elderly customers off on quite an involved trip. She has been worried about the paperwork involved, on which part of their itinerary taxis are required, when transfers are booked etc etc.  So I did the right thing, and even though it is unusual in this day and age, I printed everything off for her and highlighted important parts.  It actually took over an hour to do this and I hope it does ensure safe and easier travels for them

 Sunday was great as I got to see my Granddaughter at her swimming practice. She certainly has advanced  and it was great to see her swimming ability has increased,and even doing a great dive into the pool.

August 5th Who Remembers These?

I can remember buying these Candy Sticks many years ago. They used to be candy cigarettes, and we thought it so cool pretending to smoke our candy cigarettes. Obviously that is very, very un-PC nowadays, and all they are now is a white candy stick. Also they are extremely sickly sweet. But I had no idea they were still being manufactured and on the market - with no red tip, so all they now resemble is a long skinny piece of chalk. These weren't mine, but I did get to taste one, and had to take a photo of the box (which is the same) for old times' sake.

August 4th The Drip

Just for something different, we had some rain today. Which resulted in a bit of overflow from our gutters. I managed to take photos of a a couple of drips/large drops in time

August 3rd This Is Bugging Me!

Today I saw this beetle in the garden, and have seen these before. I have always presumed it was a different coloured ladybird. And then thought maybe not. So I came inside and asked my best mate Mr Google, by doing a reverse image search.The result? Mr Google replied that it was an insect. Now it is bugging me if it is just a different coloured ladybird or something else. Can someone tell me please?

August 2nd The First One Is Here!

After a row of very bleak, very wet, very grey, very windy, ie very depressing days, today was beautiful. The sun was out, and stayed out all day - not just a little teaser. When I walked Minnie the temperature was 17 celsius (which is 62 fahrenheit if my everlasting and enduring best mate Mr Google is to be believed). And then to put the icing on the cake, when I got home, lo and behold I noticed our very first daffodil had popped out. .Yes Spring is nearly here - and as of this coming Sunday, daylight savings is only seven weeks away.

Let's give a big huge YEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

August 1st A Cloud In Solitary

Or maybe this cloud isn't in isolation and just needing some space to collect it's thoughts?

July 30th and 31st The Weekend That Was Brought To You By The Letter 'B'

It definitely was a weekend ruled by the letter 'B' - and I am not talking about the word starting with B that can not only refer to a female dog.... but also to myself at times.

Friday evening, as already blogged on July 29th, was taken care of by Bill - ie Before Bill/After Bill. When Saturday loomed, it was the usual. George at work, humdrum groceries. I rushed home as I was going to work the rest of the day, and then decided before I placed my butt on the chair, I would take Minnie for her walk, as there was a rare display of sunshine.

So off we trotted. We got to Minnie's boyfriend Monty's house, and was kindly greeted by his owner Margaret (a profusion of 'M's there (might have to keep that in mind for another blog). She excitedly told me I must come and see her Butterflies. Well we wandered into her garden and I have never witnessed such a beautiful sight in my life. These photos do not do it justice as I didn't want to get too close to scare off the Butterflies. One large shrub was totally covered in Monarch butterflies, with nearby Camellia trees also home to a few.

This was better than a TV show. I could have pulled up a chair and sat their mesmerised all day. But both Minnie's walk and work beckoned unfortunately.

Sunday? Well we started off with Sunday Brunch - no doubt you have heard of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's - well we had Breakfast at Bob's (my nickname for my little sister). A champagne (that was not the real champagne,but a good Spanish version) Breakfast, shared with Bob, Ian, Geoff and Deb. And this time George got to join us and wasn't away on a work jaunt.