Tuesday 30 June 2015

June 29th Shake Rattle 'n Roll - Testing Testing

I have just discovered a new app for taking photos, and was extremely sceptical. Photographic subjects that move will be shown as moving. I decided to test it on my solar dancing elephant, and yes it works. Not perfectly as he looks like he is experiencing an earthquake and has more of a shake on than usual - but the app isn't too bad


Monday 29 June 2015

June 27th - 28th Oh Crumbs and He Croaked It

Saturday was quiet. However in the morning it was great to have a well overdue catch up with friends, whilst George worked his little butt off.  I decided for dinner we would have crumbed fish. I don't know why but when I do the flour, egg and breadcrumb thing -I always have lots of flour and usually some egg left, and maybe a few crumbs.  Usually if they are the right quantities I will make some little patties out of these. The flour is seasoned so they actually are a nice little snack.

Today I mixed the left overs together, and they resembled crumbs. Fortunately I have a thinking cap I wear at times, and I decided to fry the crumbs in a little butter and oil.  Why?  Because the next day was a Chicken Roast day with my famous Cauliflower Cheese, and usually I top that with crumbs.

I can report that the experiment went well, and the Cauliflower Cheese had a nice crumby oomph to it.


Well as for my subject heading as to he croaked it. George worked Sunday as well, so I took Minnie for her walk.  We made this shock discovery on the footpath by the  park


He actually appeared to be gasping his last breaths, which was sad. Even sadder is that I am no Princess and couldn't give him the kiss of life, and had to leave his little body there.  I hope his passing was due to aging years. 

On a final note, I took a couple of photos and he looks fairly scary close up! I am glad I'm not a Princess


Saturday 27 June 2015

`June 26th Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Somewhere over the Rainbow
Far Far Away
There is a place I would like to go to
and maybe I will get there some day

It has to be over the seas
It has to have an ocean breeze
It has to have a sky of blue
and an ocean I can dip my toes in too

Somewhere over the rainbow
far far away
There is a place I would like to go to
especially when I am working on a winter's day




Friday 26 June 2015

June 25th Listen To The Beat Of Humdrum.......

Another humdrum day,  Which is good as it is proof that I am still alive and kicking.  One source of concern is seeing this sticker going up on a sign in front of the neighbour's house. Oh oh, does that mean we are going to have to kick someone into training?

Fortunately this neighbour is at the front of our house on the road frontage, and we do have shrubbery dividing us from them for privacy. There never used to be shrubbery, and If I went to draw the bedroom curtains at night, I could see if he was having a tinkle in the little boys room.  We have fixed that problem, but they are still neighbours, so let's hope the next lot that move in are as good as this last lot.


And that was another day. Another frosty evening, with an anticipated minus 3 degrees celsius expected, which meant a great view of a clear sky as the sun went down


Thursday 25 June 2015

June 24th Nuts

Not much going on around here.  The southern parts of New Zealand are reaching record Winter temperatures. The Polar blast is being felt all over NZ. We have had something like our 4th frost in a row, and even north of Auckland had frosts.

All of the above could quite easily make us all go bah humbug, it's cold, it's freezing.  Yes it is, but one thing I am so grateful for is the fact that I am safely snuggled up in the warmth of a home and have shelter.

So there is nothing nuts about me. But these 'nuts' on this tree intrigued me today. This tree is part of our daily walk and I have never seen the tree in bloom as such. It never actually flowers, and these are a first.


Wednesday 24 June 2015

June 23rd A Very Large Juke Box

This location is home to the Classic Car Museum (well worth a visit), and attached to it is The Juke Box Diner.  The Juke Box is well lit up at night, but the facility is usually  open only during the day.

This evening however I was attending an Americas/Rocky Mountains trade function and so managed to finally get a photo of the rooftop Juke Box at night. Usually we are driving past and it can only be seen from a distance. So allow me to share a photo of this well lit up location.




Tuesday 23 June 2015

June 22nd Avocado Eating Dog!

Don't you just love the English language? Looking at today's heading, you would be forgiven for thinking an Avocado was eating a dog, and the sentence was shortened to grab your attention. But no, the real intent of the sentence was to share a photo of Minnie having her greens. She absolutely loves Avocado and we always have to leave scrapings in the shell for her to have a go at. However this isn't 'the case with all greens. That girl can spot a pea from a mile off, and I have seen her take a mouthful of her food and then proceed to spit out one pea at a time, on its own. She is very discerning when it comes to which type of green she will eat



Monday 22 June 2015

June 20th - 21st The Shortest Day of The Year

Well not only was it the shortest day of the year, placing us slap bang into early winter evenings, but it also felt like a very short weekend. Weatherwise there were two total contrasting days each day. Saturday was extremely bleak and wet, but that didn't stop us in joining in the celebrations for wee Ella's 3rd birthday. And as with all little girls' birthdays being celebrated worldwide the theme was Frozen. The meal was Teppanyaki, which never fails to disappoint.

That's my meal. Prawns with the wonderful Yum Yum sauce, Scallops with the best large roes intact and succulent salmon.




Moving on to Sunday. The rain subsided and the sun made a reappearance. It actually was a beautiful day. This time we were off to join friends for a late celebration of his 70th birthday. We got to know this couple as they were initially customers. They came here to meet me and pick up tickets and our friendship has grown from there.  So it was off to Waitoa to Bill and Beryl's (or the B & B) for a lovely Sunday afternoon catch up and meal. For privacy reasons they did not want their photo taken. However on the way to their home, we had to make a roadside stop for Minnie to do her business. We call this particular roadside stop 'The Chicken Stop' - there is always an abundance of chickens everywhere. Now we know why the chicken crossed the road. Because he wanted to hide from KFC!

No, No Charlie, not that way! That's the road to KFC



Saturday 20 June 2015

June 19th A Squatter!!

I went out and came home to find evidence of a squatter in the garage. The culprit left a trail, so the evidence was there to follow. Upon finding him however, he was a bit of a hard shell to crack!


Friday 19 June 2015

June 18th Mid Winter Blues

Come to think of it, why the Mid Winter Blues? There is absolutely nothing wrong with the colour blue. Just think of how glorious a blue sky looks, a tantalising blue sea (in the warm Pacific ocean of course). So why on earth when people are down do they say they have the blues?  It really should be called the darks? So today I had the mid winter darks.

Well not really, but it was grey, it was cold. A friend asked on FB for everyone to post their various temperatures and with us being everywhere in the world I could only sigh in envy at some of the temperatures posted. Here is a cut and paste of my reply:

15:26 Hamilton New Zealand 13 degrees C/55.4F No aircon but Heat Pumps x 2 are on full bore

And then to compound my misery, after posting that it was time to take Minnie for her walk. Well having heating going at full throttle can be a mistake at times. We ventured outside and I think we covered the usual distance in half the time. Compared to yesterday, no one was around to chat. Even Minnie dispensed with smelling power poles and blades of grass and weeing on them all, in the absence of dog's bums. Her little legs moved as fast as they possibly could.

On the up side... the shortest day of the year is just about upon us, which means we are slowly emerging from the Winter Tunnel.   And another positive I thought of today. Ramadan and its associated period of fasting has commenced for Muslims. I bet the ones in NZ are glad Ramadan falls early this year, and the daylight hours are shorter for them. There are always positives in life!

 

Thursday 18 June 2015

June 17th An Invisible Cloak May Help?

Minnie and I have stayed indoors for a few days due to me being both under and over the weather.  Today she obviously wanted out to explore the neighbourhood. Now you would think it would be easy to leave her until I either had time and wasn't bogged down with work or when I had finished for the day..

However! When you have a little pint sized thing imploring you with her eyes and then when that doesn't work, she starts whimpering. For all of her size, it is hard to ignore the sound of whimper, whimper, whimper.  Come on you mght think, what is a quick dash? But for us a quick dash never happens.

First, you round the corner of a dead end street to get to the park and you see the old man who really didn't want to live here, but moved here to be with his sick mother and she has now passed. He is a lovely man but every time I get his whole life story. So when I turn into his street and he is on the path, there is no turning back as it looks so obvious.  But I steel myself for standing there and commiserating

Next up, we head into another street and a certain house has a high fence with Beware Of The Dog Signs everywhere. The dogs always greet us with much yelping and carrying on from behind the safety of their fence, but have been ominously quiet for a while now. Just as we reached their driveway, the owner (never met her before) arrived home and said how she liked my hair colour. So I took the opportunity to ask how her dogs were as they had been quiet for a couple of weeks. Talk about an Irene Foot In Mouth Moment! I get the story how her partner left her, there was a huge financial blow out and for some reason the dogs were both put down. I left that place with her hugging me! We just met?

Down to the next corner, and there is no avoiding Monty and his Mum. A good fifteen minutes for Minnie and Monty to smell each other's bums and for me to catch up with his Mum Needless to say we pass on the bum smelling.

That should be it. I turn the corner into our street, and there is the lawnmower man home for the day enjoying a beer with his work colleague. Lawnmower man has a new addition to the family, a small dog and he is ironically named Rambo.  Who always leaves the premises and rushes to Minnie's side to also frolic in the aroma of her bum! More conversation ensues.

The irony of the above is that the 'regulars' are aware I work from home,and always ask me how is work. So if it is a quiet day, I tell them. But days like today when I am only out because I got the whimpers and sulks from Minnie and I really am busy, I tell them. But it makes absolutely no difference if I say I am busy and really have to get back, because I still get the conversations. Which I guess what is being neighbourly is all about, and this is my neighbourhood. And Minnie's neighbourhood of course with the assortment of bum smelling going on!

Today's photo - I saw this inanimate object and it reminded me of the game when we were kids of Pick Up Sticks. I wonder if it even exists anymore? Imagine if each of these were coloured differently. Wow - now that would be a cool take on the game


Wednesday 17 June 2015

June 16th Aliens

Twas a dark and frosty night
Only 7pm but what a sight
Into my kitchen I did go
to find weird lights aglow


Tuesday 16 June 2015

June 15th To Party, To Party, To Party

Look at this very special birthday party invite we received. There is no way Papa George and Mama Irene would say no to this invitation to a very special 3 year old's birthday. We'll be there Ella. Now where is my Frozen costume?


Monday 15 June 2015

June 12th to 14th From the Inane Down to Memory Lane

 A fairly inane weekend. I was still under the weather, so didn't venture far. On Friday the furthest my little pudgy feet went, was outside the back door. Our Money tree x 2, which have been in residence in the same spot for over 10 years (one in a pot and the other planted in a small garden) have both decided to flower for the first time ever. Let's hope this is an indication that our bank accounts will be blossoming (yeah right!)


That was Friday. Saturday dawned and I still was feeling shady. Still feeling bleurgh and not ready to go too far.I think the supermarket heirachy would have been sent into total shock that I didn't make my usual Saturday appearance. What sent me into an even deeper shock was hearing that today was 'World Gin Day'. I kid you not! Not a drop passed my lips, but I thought I had better pay photographic homage to this wonderful institution


Well before you can say hey was that the weekend, Sunday was upon us. I finally felt like I was back to getting my groove on. I was offered the chance to take a trip down memory lane, to my previous in-laws house. Many a time was spent here enjoying family dinners, dropping kids off to be looked after. I even reminisced how they were non smokers and I was a heavy smoker back in the day. They were quite happy to get the ashtray out and I would sit puffing away in their house. Can you imagine that happening these days! In my defense, that sort of action was very common place back then - but still pretty exceptional for a house of non smokers to not object or even mind.

Now the house has been a rental property for 10 + years and is soon to be sold. 


So another link to the past is soon to be gone. Here is another photo that really travels back in time. Carpet circa 1950's?



Friday 12 June 2015

June 11th Into The Dark Side

Well today wasn't a gem for photography. The Gods decided to inflict a Migraine on me for the day, so I wasn't much chop.  All I saw today was a very darkened bedroom as I sought solace under the duvet. For which Minnie was truly grateful, as she got to spend the whole day snuggled up to me on the bed


Thursday 11 June 2015

June 10th Into The City

A trip into the bustling metropolis of Hamilton was required today. First up, I found this lovely wee Retro store, filled not with only collectables as such but all different types of ornaments, cups etc from years ago. Can you imagine my delight on seeing the following. I can remember one of these lamps in my childhood home - proudly displayed on the 'Stereogram'   - yes that is what it was called.


Then it was on to serious business, but at least the views were worthwhile. Fifty Shades of Grey?




Wednesday 10 June 2015

June 9th Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Yes, it was that time again.


Time to tidy up the tresses, add a bit of colour to the world and try and be arty farty whilst we were at it


Tuesday 9 June 2015

June 8th Ministry of Silly Walks.... Again

Another Day 
Another Tree


 Another Blade of Grass
Upon Which I can Pee


 Unfortunately this Bone
Was Too Big For Me


Actually just looking at the length of this bone, it is almost the length of a human thigh bone. I hope it wasn't!!  I saw it, and thought gosh that's a big bone and managed to divert Minnie's attention

Monday 8 June 2015

June 6th and 7th The Weekend..

I had the Saturday Blues
Because groceries I had to choose
The Grocery Blues got me
Especially when it came time to wait with my trolley


Sunday dawned and the blues went away
Today was to be a family day
A good ole Kiwi Roast dinner for seven
and the company was just heaven

But on an odd note, I think my cauliflower was trying to adapt to the household it was in. It was a normal creamy white on the outside and then when I cut into it, there were lovely hues of purple


Saturday 6 June 2015

June 5th Ministry of Silly Walks

Realistically today's blog should be labelled 'Minnie's Tree of Silly Walks' 

I am sure I have previously mentioned that Minnie walks me, and not the other way round. This most probably upsets all the dog whisperers and trainers of the world, but it has always been my thought that our time out is her time out. So I let her choose the course and duration. The routes are basically the same and she will throw in an extra add on, and just when I think she can't vary the route any more, she will surprise me. Today was one of those days. However I wouldn't have got to see this lovely sight if it wasn't for her. The Sun decided to have a spot of time out in a tree


Then I spotted this leaf on the ground, and to me it looked like a heart. I shared this photo with George later, and asked what he thought and was told it looks like a leaf on the ground! So maybe it doesn't look like a heart?




Friday 5 June 2015

June 4th Dining Out

Tonight we enjoyed a wonderful Indian meal out. There is nothing wrong with Food Court Indian meals, but when you dine at an Indian restaurant the meals are at a whole new level and different taste explosions. Of course the company helped make the evening more delightful as well, with the added bonus of this little one being present



Home we headed with full bellies. It's times like these that you wish you could stumble on to a sofa and be magically transported to your lounge room!

What we did notice when we arrived home is a lovely spooky moon. The sort of moon where you expect a headless horseman to come riding by!


Thursday 4 June 2015

June 3rd The Business Mentor

My only reason to pop out today was to get some engraving done, Which you would think would be straightforward. However when I went into the premises, I found the previous owner had retired and sold the business to his solitary staff member, a lovely Taiwanese boy. Well actually a man, as I found out in our conversation he was married. We had a lovely conversation together, ranging from this fantastic historic Taiwanese movie we had seen and the beauty of the Taiwanese countryside, to him feeling more a NZér now than a Taiwanese as he had lived here for 20 years, to how to remember passwords on your computer, culminating in me spending quite a long time sharing sales tips with him, and a lot of the should do and don't do of face to face sales. It was actually after I walked out and headed on my way that I wondered if I should call myself a Business Mentor. Hey that could be another job possibility (not if it involves leaving home each day!)



Wednesday 3 June 2015

June 2nd A Restaurant and Sunshine

You know what I love about my job? The people. OK sometimes some of them leave a lot to be desired and cause me to raise my eyebrows - which is the beauty of most of my business being internet based and conducted with people I may never meet. However then you have the treasures.

I have been dealing with a 68 year old Nana and she is an absolute delight. So much so, that when we caught up on the phone she had me in fits of laughter.  She lives 90kms (don't ask me to convert that to miles) away, and we decided that the next time she was in my neck of the woods we would meet up and enjoy a lunch together. Today was the day. Their holiday is all paid for and ticketed, but we have made a pact that everytime she visits our bustling metropolis (which thank goodness is quite often), another lunch date for us it is. In case you happen to be passing by, here is where we dined today. I personally can recommend the Smoked Cod and Whiskey Chowder. It is well worth a taste!


That was lunch done and dusted. Time to go home. We had dire weather warnings for today, which included thunderstorms, rain and gale force winds. When I left home to go out for lunch, it was raining. However in total contrast when I returned home the sun was shining and it was beautiful. It was also warm! It did not feel like a winter's day. Needless to say the lovely conditions only lasted a few hours, but it was long enough to get Minnie and her four little legs out for a walk. Here is proof of the beautiful afternoon we encountered


A ps as I am now writing this in the evening. The forecast thunder, gale force winds and torrential rain have arrived. There may not be too many Walks with Minnie this week.


Tuesday 2 June 2015

May 30th to June 1st From Fishing to Feijoada

This blog will encompass 3 days as we had a Public Holiday. Yay definitely nothing to be sneezed at. Well the first photo I did not take. George was supposed to work the Saturday,and then a life changing decision had to be made. He was asked to go fishing! What can a man do when presented with such a dilemma but follow his nose and fish. Which he is pretty glad he did, as he caught his largest snapper ever. This beauty weighed in at 14 1/2 pounds, and after photographic evidence was taken, the Granddaddy was returned to the deep blue to swim another day


Moving on, and walking home with Minnie from one of our weekend walks whilst she was sniffing her one millionth blade of grass, I stopped to look over the rooftops and thought I glimpsed our house I had no idea it could be seen, but if you look closely there is an elephant on the roof, which means yes it is our house.


The weekend finished with me getting my cook on. I decided to make Feijoada, which is a spicy Brazilian stew of Pork and Black Beans. This dish was beautiful and definitely one I will be making again. 


That was the Long Weekend for us. The last now until October as we hunker down for the winter months and enter hibernation mode