Books and Baking

We are expecting visitors from Hamburg later today so I have spent a little time poring over a new recipe book - Robyn Martin bakes: quick and easy favourite recipes, which has all the old Kiwi classics given a new twist either with a new ingredient or prepared in a more simple way ie in a pot! Suits me. I made a Louise cake slice but couldn't find my slice tin (at first) so made it in a large Christmas cake tin) which was not quite big enough. The middle soggy bits, I have consigned to the freezer to be used in a trifle one of these other days.

Then I made some peanut brownies from the Edmonds book and called it a day after that. I remember the olden days making 4 or 5 things one after the other to fill up the tines. This was in my teenage years when I did a lot of baking for the family. My mother concentrated on hearty and healthy meals , followed always by a milk pudding - semolina and fruit, banana custard made in a fluted yellow bowl, baked macaroni or vermicelli pudding with sultanas and cinnamon, bread and butter pudding, not to mention all the fruit sponges, apple pies and crumbles. Makes me tired thinking about them.

Jigsaw

This 1500 piece jigsaw occupied our dining room table and a lot of our time for a couple of months but it was lovely to see it finally finished and now back in its box ready for the trip to the op shop where it came from originally.

Rangitoto Island and the Baches

I hadn't been to Rangitoto for at least 15 years when I half- killed myself keeping up with the Vermont St kids on a school trip to the summit. We didn't look at the baches that time as they are off to the side round the coast. But now the Dept. of Conservation has preserved one as a little museum - all the traditional bach furniture - old wirewoves made up with candlewick bedspreads, dressers, kitchenalia, aprons, oven cloths and the like, Crown Lynn and floral cups and saucers, old tins, all as the bach was when it was vacated on the death of the owner. Many of them were pulled down as that was the policy then to return the whole island to being a reserve. There are still a few owned by descendants of the first owners and their proud owners , bachelor men, showed us around their 1930s abodes with great pride. We were on a guided walk taken by Susan Yoffe, who did her MA thesis on the Rangitoto bach community some years ago. She was very knowledgable and informative about the history of the island, from the Maori inhabitants to the prisoners who lived and worked on the island making paths and roads, stone walls and fireplaces in the 1930s. The beautiful hardy kidney fern is found only on the island I think. After the walk inthe company of other members of the NZ Historic Places Trust we had tea outside accompanied by scones, jam and cream eaten off a great array of bach china, of the Crown Lynn or floral variety. The summit will have to wait for another occasion, as we were not suitable shod for such an expedition, having had to rise very early to get the ferry at 9.15 am and were not adequately equipped (or as it turned out inclined).

Ngatea Water Gardens, Kaiaua and Hunua Falls on a Very Rainy Day

Last Friday was the monthly day trip for March which we had booked for and I became increasingly worried about going on, in the course of the gale the previous two evenings and days. But then , the Historical Society goes on its trips, rain or shine, and rain it was this time. I layered myself in all sorts of unglamourous and ancient rainwear from the bach to get myself half-dry to the pick-up point round the corner in Elizabeth Street where another couple of drowned rats were waiting at Judith's place for the bus - which necessitated another dash when it stopped at the corner a little while later. However once on the motorway in our nice velvety upholstered bus all was semi-forgotten and before we knew where we were we were at Drury for our first pitstop as they call these coffee and loo breaks. McCafe was the cafe of choice for D and me and we got a nice big bran, carrot and walnut muffin to cheer us up (Wouldn't cheer everybody up !)

On to Ngatea through rolling countryside, all very sodden and green with very little other traffic on the back roads, arriving at Ngatea round 11 in time for the aptly named water gardens. I gave my fellow travellers a good head start of about 10 minutes so I could gallop round in about 3 minutes and not be impeded as I charged around. Which worked fine for the first 2 minutes, when I was left regretting I had not gone back for one of those riduculously big umbrellas and I got WET. There was a beautiful lily pond , a selection of rustic looking seats with corny signs on them, quaint mini-edifices , some bedraggled looking ducks and - a nice dry spotlessly clean beer can museum with nice soothing music in it. The only trouble was, it was the farthest place from the next driest place, the exit! However spent a few minutes longer than I would normally have had, just to show D what happens when collecting gets out of hand (and me too). It was a sobering sight seeing all those empty beer cans especially my favourite (fyi) Lion Red. (I prefer it in a glass out of a bottle actually).

On to the township of Ngatea for lunch at cafes of our choice, as disappointingly for some, we were not able to have the planned fish and chips outside at the world-famous Kaiaua Fish and Chip Shop because of the rain and they didn't have enough room inside for a busload of us. Not to worry - we will all probably live longer with less cholesterol. It didn't worry me. I am philosophical these days about most things, as most of us were.

Then we motored on down to the coast at Miranda to look at the godwits before they wing their way back to Siberia. Not that there were too many birds around - we did see a flock nestled down beside a pond which just could have been godwits, and did see some favourites - seabirds like pied stilts and seagulls.

Spent some time at the excellent visitor centre at Miranda and looked at the displays on the various birds and had time afterwards to walk along the beach a bit and pick up a few shells as a souvenir.

Our last stop was at the Hunua Falls which I been to in my student days. Camp Adair was there and I remember sleeping in very small 2 bed cabins and not getting much sleep . Needless to say the Falls rivalled Niagara Falls (when I first typed it with its typo it looked just like Viagra with an N ) with all the rain and gales we had had, and it was a raging muddy sight with a great volume and noise, all its own. At this point words fail me. But the sun did come out again and by the time we got back to Orewa the tide was in and it was 23 degrees and great swimming weather.

Ponsonby Posting

Spent the weekend at home , for a change. Our Hauraki Gulf trip had been cancelled due to heavy rain on Friday. As it left from Half Moon Bay I was not too disappointed but we did not do very much with the day apart from the usual meandering along Ponsonby Road looking at the shops in the morning and a visit to the food hall in the evening.

In between I made a second batch of peach chutney from a new NZ book from the library, Pick, preserve and serve by Chris Fortune - this recipe containing cinnamon , cloves and grated fresh ginger and tastes very delicious. Our Golden Queen peach tree is laden this year and so far the peaches have been spared brown rot and attacks from the birds.

Sunday we sallied forth to Newmarket to look at whiteware seeing our frig had leaked a trail of water across the kitchen floor during the night and by the time we had got from the Warehouse at one end of Broadway to Farmers at the other end we succumbed to a 10% discount offer on an already reduced price on a new stove and frig and ordered these to be delivered Tuesday.

Peaches

Spent the weekend at Waiheke where I passed a good part of each morning preserving these peaches. It involved a lot of peeling and eating and needless to say was I pleased when the morning's quota was done. Took a couple of kilos home to turn into peach chutney which I did this afternoon. It is rich fruity chutney with preserved ginger, raisins, spices and onion from the Edmonds Cookbook. The rest left on the tree next weekend will definitely be just for eating!

Once Upon a Time

Two exhibitions I enjoyed last week and today are the fairy tales and fantasies for children one in the library and the gardens in art exhibition, Enchanted Gardens, at the art gallery.

The fairy tales one spans the 19th-20th century mainly and it is very interesting to see the different ways different artists have illustrated the same book eg Peter Pan by Mabel Lucie Atwell and Arthur Rackham. The contemporary illustrators bring a new dimension to old favourites. A lot of these books are familiar to me from my own childhood - eg the Fairy books by Andrew Lang and the modern fantasies and animal fantasies from E's era.

The Enchanted Gardens exhibition was a treat - beautiful flower photographs by Ernst Haas, flower paintings by NZer Karl Maugham, garden sculpture, engravings, even a knitted tea cosy by Heather Nicholson, (knitting guru), shaped like a house with embroidered flowers climbing up the front of it.

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

Well not the mists, but the rest is apt. Went to Orewa on the weekend and my neighbour up there offered me some damsons from the high up branches of her tree so D picked some and I made a batch of delicious damson jam the next morning. Also made some damson chutney a couple of weeks ago with some of last year's (frozen) harvest.

Over at Waiheke I will be leaping into action and doing something with the peaches - bottling, chutney probably. we are going over for Waitangi weekend.

Sculpture Walk at Waiheke

Did the sculpture walk on our last visit to the island, always a treat. This year there were 25 diverse works. It was Anniversary Day and very hot on the island. My friend Janet came with us and was good company. The views were stunning and the headland a great setting for the sculptures.

The evening before we went to the opening of the miniature sculptures exhibition in the gallery and also the Mike Morgan one. He was there and I had a word with him as I bought one of his paintings several years ago. The little 2 storey villa he painted was in Cowan St, just around the corner from us. It is called Solo mother with little house. He paints the same little houses, including ones like the 2 we had in Clarence St, 76 and 78 before we moved down the road to 95.

They had some nice Waiheke wine at the opening - Obsidian wines.There were a lot of people there so I didnt take any pictures of the small sculptures but we did go back a day or two later and look at them at leisure and savour them. The image of the quirky ceramics are items in the gallery shop by Brendan Adams.

Cabbage tree, pohutukawa, and Agapanthus above Little Oneroa

Weekend in Ponsonby

Spent the weekend at home for a change as both Orewa and Waiheke have holidaymakers in them. Quite enjoyed the change and did a variety of things - domestic and pleasurable, not that I find the domestic unpleasurable. Washed the curtains in the diningroom and put upsome new stripey ones I bought at the op shop (new). They look good. The old ones from the 70s will go in my study for sentimental reasons. They hung in our first little cottage in Clarence St.

Went up the road on Saturday morning and bought a pair of bermuda shorts and some 3/4 pants suitable for my exercise class at the Y which starts up again tomorrow. They were $8 each at the op shop and I bought a 1500 piece jigsaw for $4 so did quite well I thought. The jigsaw is of antiques and nicknacks on a very crowded table. Fortunately the last person to do it put it back in the box with large sections intact so it will get done a bit faster than from scratch. I have it on the dining room table and it is likely to be there for a few weeks to come.

Had a swim this afternoon down at Sentinel Road beach at Herne Bay. It was resanded before summer and is a nice little beach to swim in with the Harbour Bridge over to the right and the Chelsea sugar works across the ditch.

Pukekohe Post

Happy New Year to you and yours from deepest Ponsonby. Today we ventured forth to pastures new on the train in our quest to get to know Auckland again. Must be twenty years when we were last in Pukekohe, rather a nondescript little town with a main road of shops,with the station and library off to one side and not much else to recommend it. There is a pioneer cottage with shuttered windows which is only open twice a month on a Sunday so missed out on that. The library was worth visiting, a very large "bookopolis" they call it, with plenty of computers (but didn't seem to be free to visitors as they are in Auckland City libraries) . Nice to relax for a while and read the newspaper in one of their comfortable armchairs. Had the most delicious muffin - spinach and olive with a bit of onion, and cheese on top, and coffee at the cafe outside the library - Mocca it was called, then browsed the art in the community art gallery, also part of the complex. There was some interesting crochet sculptures , sort of firm like porcelain and the more traditional landscapes and still lifes. Nice jewellery made in the area too, but not as appealing to me as the selection in the Community Gallery on Waiheke.

Meandered through Pukekohe then the 20 or so kms on the bus this time, on the way to Papakura where we transferred on to the train again where I read my book "Native wit" by Hamish Keith all the way to the Britomart. It is worth reading for its expose of arty Auckland in the 1960s and beyond.

Christmas Eve

Here's wishing you a joyful, peaceful and happy Christmas. Ours has already started with our evening meal last night and our exchange of presents . I got home from work before six and Elisabeth and Dieter were about to put the cheese potatoes in the oven and Elisabeth was making a traditional Kiwi dip - onion soup and reduced cream which we had with some nibbles while we waited for the turkey roll to cook. Had some tiramisu with some bottled peaches and strawberries for dessert. Elisabeth's friend was there as well which was very nice having some company. After coffee and cookies we had our presents by candlelight. Elisabeth gave me dip and nibble set, a round bowl and little shaped dishes, making a circle set inside a shallow basket with a lid, which you can then use for the chips to go with it. It is from Vietnam and the most beautiful turquoise ccolour. Dieter had given me a new phone which am trying to master, having left the booklet at Orewa I think. I got Dieter some nice sporty looking shoes from there too last week for his present. Also gave him some seceteurs and gardening gloves and some pottery beakers for our Gluhwein. Dieter gave me some floral-patterned seceteurs which I will recognize as my ones.They are very pretty. Also a box of chocolate finger biscuits.

Today being Christmas Day we are going to 11am Mass at the Cathedral, followed by lunch or dinner afterwards. Elisabeth will join us again. Am not in a great hurry to get down to the island as the weather is not that summery. There was rain and cold yesterday and the night before.

Have started my Christmas reading ,a McCall Smith , a Sunday Philosophers Club one, The comfort of Saturdays and have a new Maeve Binchy already at Waiheke, ready to be savoured.

Also have some knitting on the go - some socks in a very pretty multicoloured Opal wool, knitted on 4 needles in the round as socks are. It makes a change from patchwork.

Christmas Crumble

Invented a dessert for Chrismas entertaining the other day when my nephew Philip and his wife Rosanna came round for dinner - Spoonfuls of fruit mince added here and there to the apple and cinnamon added to the crumble topping of a normal apple crumble recipe. It is delicious and worth trying.

Went to Waiheke last weekend, writing my Christmas cards on the way over which was very satisfying as I tend to find other things to do at home and have been procrastinating. The garden was looking like a wilderness garden with the cinnerarias gone to seed. The pohutukawa was in full bloom and the deck was covered in a blanket of red stamens.

Mass the next morning at 9.15 and afterwards I came home straightaway as there was a market "Gifts-by-the-Sea" on the Surfdale Reserve. Bought some nice things - a new peg bag in a pretty cretonne material with fuchsias on it, and some herb spread x 2, and tamarind chutney to keep or give away. There was a lovely atmosphere there and I had a good look around, and again when Dieter joined me after his look around Oneroa. I got the 3pm boat back, and Dieter the 4pm as I had invited a friend to come around for some Advent cheer at 7.30, so didnt want to be too rushed for that. Got out the nice china, Stollen, gingerbread and we listened to some Christmassy music by the light of the three candles on our Advent stand.

Made some speculatius biscuits this morning which looks as though it will be my effort for this year. We will see.

A Blessing

A Hylanders Blessing


May your heart stay as active and young as your mind.May your kindness to others be returned ten-fold, in kind.May life's adversities be light, and easy to bear.May joy and peace quickly dry up each tiny tear.May you always be able to count on one good friend. May God's Grace light up your road, to its very end.
Thomas Hyland, Jr. -- Graces, Harpers 1994

Advent 2008

We celebrated the second Sunday of Advent in our usual reflective way with some seasonal music and coffee and chocolate treats sent over by our friends Ria and Gerd . These are Dominosteine - squares of gingerbread, jelly and marzipan dipped in chocolate and Aachener Printen, thein slices of gingerbread with crunchy bits , also encased in chocolate. Earlier we went to a concert of Christmas music in the old St Mary's chapel, where both Elisabeth and I went to school. The Schola, conducted by noted NZ composer, David Hamilton performed carols and sacred works, some of which were composed by David Hamilton especially for the Schola. St Mary's Chamber Orchestra performed various works including a couple of movements of the Christmas oncerto. A couple of the members performed solos, showcasing their talent. One of the former pupils of Sister Mary Leo, Lindsay Freer sang some of the carols that were sung in Sister's day and one that I sung, Oh Holy Night. The evening finished with a sung blessing, the words by Tom Hyland of which I will write down in my next post, as they are so beautiful, as is the music to them by David Hamilton.

Auckland Museum and Wintergarden

Took our visitors Eileen and Leny up to the Auckland Domain to look at the museum, fernery, wintergarden, and duck pond. There was an interesting exhibition of interesting quirky objects that are usually in storage - a stuffed water buck, a collection of 60s bathing caps.

Orewa

Had a lovely weekend up here recently . These are photos from good friend Eileen's disc.

An Auspicious Occasion

Well the first auspicious occasion passed memorably. I had the first of several callers around noon , good friend Marlene bearing a beautiful book wrapped in tapa cloth - a book about textile artists of NZ , right up my alley. I had made plenty of little sandwiches and had them almost ready . Started with a Bristol cream sherry which was also a birthday present.Then there was a ring at the door and there were Theresa and Sophia, with a bunch of pink roses and greenery and a nice present, a jewellery roll.
By the time they left and the next lot were expected I was feeling very tired as befits one of advancing years and had a little nap - my friend Pat Cowley came (a friend from St Marys Days) for afternoon tea, my friend and neighbour Margaret came too and there was quite a jolly atmosphere with lots of laughter. She left and then Pamela arrived w ith a lovely handmade card and some handcream. So you can see I was thoroughly spoiled. I had made some mini savoury muffins too and of course there was the piece de resistance - the Rocket Kitchen apricot almond cake . Gave people some to take home for their spouses in true kiwi party fashion and there was just a small wedge left by the end of the afternoon. Had another nap when they left in preparation for dinner out at Fortuna with another circle of friends.

Murder in the Library

This was the title for the Ngaio Marsh biography book launch which we went to after work last night. Joanne Drayton, the author was in attendance and after the usual glass of chardonnay we settled down to an interesting lecture on the history of the crime fiction genre and Ngaio's place in it. I had bought a volume of the dictionary of New Zealand biography recently and was reading the article on Seager who was the superintendent of Sunnyside Mental Institution in the early days (1863-1887) and it was mentioned in that article that Ngaio Marsh was his granddaughter. I spoke to Joanne Drayton before the talk and asked her about the connection and she thought that Ngaio's love of theatre and the way she interacted and mentored her students would have been similar to the enlightened attitude that Seager had for his patients and his use of theatre and drama as therapy in those times when being in prison or a mental hosptial was so harsh. There was a display of Ngaio's crime fiction from the library's collection and I took one of the ones set in New Zealand out to read over the weekend. Will have to read Joanne's book to find out more about her life.

Stayed in Auckland last weekend and went to the Art Gallery to a tour of the latest exhibition Landscape and Light given by the curator Ron Brownson. This is landscape in a wide sense of the word and covers a lot of media. It is a very interesting exhibition and it was good to see some new works (Ava Seymour photocollages of state houses, and, punks in 1960s K Rd as well as old familiar ones ( a Colin McCahon painting of Takaka night and day , another, part of his Urewera mural, a Charles Blomfield one of the Waitomo Caves, a Bill Hammond painting of birds waiting to be stuffed in Buller's studio).

Rushed from there via McDonald's to St Patrick's to take in most of organ concert by Douglas Mews. It was good to hear the organ resounding loudly to the strains of two Brahms Choral preludes and other works (we didn't have a programme and have forgotten the rest of the composers and titles of the works we heard).

This month and next month there are 4 or more concerts in St Patrick's - choral and organ which will be good too go to too.

Lectures and launches

Over recent weeks I attended 3 lectures on Hochstetter , Hamel, a photographer and Augustus Koch, draughtsman, artist and surveyor given in conjunction with a Hochstetter exhibition in the library. They were very interesting.

The first was on Hochstetter and given by Sacha Nolden, who is writing a book on Hochstetter (and one on Reischek) and who also curated the exhibition in the library. Hochstetter came from Vienna and his world expedition was on the ship, Novara. They first called into the Cape Colony where Sir George Grey was governor, then to Ceylon, Singapore, China then to Sydney and Auckland in December 1858. He looked at coal resources in South Auckland and the Drury area, travelled to Kawhia and Pirongia , Taupo then went to the South Island and Nelson where he looked at mineral resources there especially gold, copper and coal. While he was there he had some contact with the German settlers in Ranzen and Sarau. Soon after he left NZ and on board the Novara were 2 Maori chiefs who went back to be trained as printers in Vienna. They later went back to NZ via London where they had an audience with Queen Victoria.



The second was on Hamel and was given by John Webster who is the curator at Ewelme Cottage in Parnell. He went out and about with Hochstetter in the Auckland area and his pictures are in Hochstetter's book published in both German and English with some years between the two versions.

The third was on Augustus Koch and given by Prof Ralf Brednich from Victoria University in Wellington. Koch was a pioneer photographer in 1858-59 and draughtsman. There is a short manuscript of his life in the Turnbull Library. He came to NZ for the second time on the Novara to illustrate the shipboard newspaper. He had been a political cartoonist in Berlin where he studied art at an early age. He was also a draughtman and surveyor and did some sketches which were included in Hochstetter's book. One was of the mission station church at Taupiri, another of artifacts they saw and also carvings at Tokaanu and Ngongataha . Twelve of his sketches were published and Hochstetter took the rest (round 100) back to Vienna where they disappeared. A lot of the material ended up in the Museum of Natural History in Vienna and while we were there a few weeks ago we trekked out to see if we could see some of this material, particularly Reischek's treasure trove (some pirated from Maori caves) but the museum was closed and has been for sometime they say. Koch later went to Napier where he was surveyor with the Land and Survey Dept., shifting to Wellington as Senior Draughtsman in the Public Works Dept, from which he was later made redundant. He earned his living as an artist, cartoonist , drew maps as he had done in Hawkes Bay, and was an illustrator eg for the book, Famous grasses of NZ by John McKay.

On a more mundane level I went to the launch of Paula Ryan's Summer Collection with friend Pamela at Smith and Caughey's after work on Wednesday. Over a glass of bubbles and canapes we looked at her stylie black and white clothes, with an occasional touch of colour . I liked them and went back to look at them on Friday and will try some on on another occasion, but they are hellishly expensive.

The next night we both went to the launch of a book on Charles Heaphy by Iain Sharp from the Special Collections Dept of the library. Heaphy was multi-talented - a painter, explorer and writer. Iain gave an interesting speech on his research, mentioning Papers Past a digital resource which has fulltext NZ newpaper articles from very early on. He mentioned a court case Heaphy gave evidence in in the 1870s in and showed just how much was to be found in these early newspapers and how Papers Past made it so much easier. We had some prints of his, put out by the Turnbull Library a few years ago but they have been sold on Trademe as we had too many prints. The picture accompanying this post is a Turnbull print of Aorere-Golden Bay (circa 1843) possibly by Charles Heaphy. We still have this lovely print with all boats in the cove and Maori hanging their fish to dry. And a book, also a reprint of his narrative of his travels in NZ. Didn't buy the book at the launch as there was a queue and I was feeling a bit tired after the rather nice chardonnay and dips and crostini so just went home.

Watch this space for next week's launch!

Lexulous.com

Am over my bereavement and have just had my new game of Scrabble in this reincarnation. Pleased to report I won but only because I had some much needed practice with good friend Marlene this afternoon who trounced me.

Another busy week with a trip to Orewa on Saturday to carry on with the weeding. Just a day trip as we had the German Reunification Day lunch at Sorrento where we met up with other German fellow travellers and some of our friends like Rosa and Marianne.

This years speech covered the early history of Germany from its founding in the 9th century as the the Holy Roman Empire, its name expanded to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in the 17th century. The first Reich was the Kaiserreich when the King of Prussia became the Kaiser of Germany in 1871. The second Reich was the Weimar Republic which came into being after the First World War after the Kaiser resigned and went to Holland into exile. We all know about the Third Reich . The speaker got faster and faster and the effect of the Lindauer was getting stronger and stronger that I didn't take much more in. However there was a toast to Germany, a lovely buffet lunch with salmon, beef fillet and chicken with various salads and apple cake and cheese cake for dessert.

Worked some of it off this morning at the Y and will carry on tomorrow.

Pam took this photo last week at Eaves Bush at the northern end of Orewa.

Bereft

I am feeling rather deprived as the Scrabulous site has closed down, euphemistically called taking a coffee break. Rather a long coffee break. I think it has something to do with copyright and Matell and them threatening them. Scrabulous.com has 600,000 members so a lot of us will be feeling the same. Consequently I have a lot more free time but no inclination as yet to do anything more constructive in it.

Went to the usual lunchtime concert in the library on Thursday, the last for the year. Friday there were drinks and a barbeque after work put on by the staff social club which I went to too.

Went to Orewa on the weekend to make a start on 3 months of weeds, one large plastic sack for each month so far. Had a nice visitor on Sunday, Pamela, with whom we had a nice walk along the beach and into Eaves Bush. With the start of daylightsaving we had a late departure round 7pm and felt we had made the most of the day.

Monday and Tuesday I went to the Y as usual and having burned up all those calories in advance , indulged at a cafe up the road in the afternoon with friend Theresa whom I usually meet up with in the school holidays.

Dined at the Ponsonby Food Hall after work then attended a lecture on Ostpolitik and the fall of the Berlin Wall by Peter Wilton, a New Zealander who has lived in Berlin for 37 years. It was interesting hearing about the events some of which we experienced ourselves in the early 1970s when we were in Germany.

The Week that Was

Went to a lovely piano recital in the library at noon which put me in a good space mentally. On Tuesday we went to SkyCity for a buffet lunch, show and a flutter on the pokies ($2). This was a group from the YMCA exercise group. It was fun. For an extra $5 we could go up in the lift for the view which we did and we even got a nice photo taken which we bought seeing it was of the 2 of us looking relaxed and happy. The view was stunning and there seemed to be some new features since our last visit several years ago - a new marina on the Shore for example.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jig

Pleased to have my other half back home again. He arrived home on Thursday and by Sunday we have slotted into the old routines again. Went to Waiheke for the weekend and had a relaxing time - a long walk Saturday and Sunday and a spot of gardening today - a couple of hours restores it to a parklike atmosphere, except for the overgrown trees which do rather overshadow part of the garden. This is Heritage week and there was a lovely display of old wedding dresses from the 1940s to 2000 in the Waiheke library. I still have mine of 30 years.
Had a full week with the YMCA on Monday and Tuesday then a catchup with 2 friends for lunch afterwards at Dida's and the Bakeshop, both favourite Ponsonby places.

Last weekend was E's 25th birthday so met up with her at the Ponsonby School Fair where I succumbed to a bag of books for $5, a bunch of tulips, some embroidered linen and some very nutty musli bars. Carried on the celebrations at the local gelateria then we went our separate ways - I went to Orewa to spend the afternoon and evening and came back to go to the investiture of a Pat Lythe as Dame of the Order of St Gregory for services to the Auckland Diocese. Some of her CathSoc friends were there and a few of us carried on the celebration at an Italian restaurant in the evening.

Looked at interesting art exhibitions at the Aotea Centre and one at at Art Station - Small Worlds and went to a piano lunchtime concert in the library Thursday - a Bach partita and Beethoven Eroica variations .

Home Alone

Into my second week of solitude in deepest Ponsonby. Had a good week at work last week from Wednesday to Friday and ate out at the Council cafetaria so I didn't need to bother with cooking food when I got home. Collapsed in a heap and went to bed early every night last week - the easiest way to get over the jet lag and keep warm. Had the electrician come and install an earth wire which I didn't know we didn't have until just before we went away. Also got a new meter box near the front door and a new switchboard in the hall.

Went to Waiheke on the weekend to see if all was well - and thankfully it was, as lovely as ever. The weather was great and I walked in to Oneroa to op shop and library (old habits die hard) and walked home along the beach. Had a very late lunch at home then walked along Surfdale Beach for some more ozone, then visited my neighbour Shona across the road who likes a chat about this and that, and who had kept an eye on our place while we were away. Invited her back for a cup of tea and more chitchat.

Holy Mass on Sunday for the first time in a few weeks which was very nice , seeing all the locals afterwards over a cup of coffee and cake (for Fathers' Day ) too.

Gardened a bit - shifted an apple tree that has not had apples on it for the 6 or so years we have had it and weeded ineffectually here and there. Parted with some clothes from my rag bag and threw one of the old bags out too. Hope I continue to make progress on that front in the future .
All spurred on my filling one of those pink plastic bags last week in Ponsonby and seeing it collected before I had a chance to change my mind.

Have started going to the gym again to build up my strength and stamina. The first day was hard - I could hardly lift the 2kg dumbells, or raise the 5kg bar. Today was a bit easier - did 3km on the bike in the allotted 12 minutes and managed the other exercises more easily. It was raining this morning so got out the car and wanted to drive up the road and park there, however I had to turn round and come almost the whole way back as people seem to be parking there all day. Went to see friend F in Vermont St this afternoon and had the same problem. Got home OK with car safely in garage Dieter will be pleased to hear.

Am beavering away listing a few things on Trade Me as usual - sold 2 books and 2 coins for Dieter last week. He of course has acquired a few more to compensate while away - loose change from the countries along the Danube and some lovely commemorative 10 Euro coins. At least they can be spent on one of our next trips, hopefully in 2 years time or maybe even next year.

A Dream Holiday

It certainly was a magical fortnight experiencing so many countries from the comfort of the Viking Neptune, whose crew came from the various countries we were visiting - Roumania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. Each day there was a tour to one of the capitals or into the countryside with free time to shop or visit museums. Serbia was a bit drab and our guide was always going on about the Nato attacks. Never mentioned the Bosnians or the Kosovans. They have long memories here where history is concerned, especially re the Turks who ruled over 500 years ago.

It was nice to visit Hungary after 38 years. There were a lot more people out and about on the Sunday as their national celebration was coming up. They were rehearsing for the aerobatics display with small planes swerving under the bridges crossing the Danube, all a bit scary for me to watch. In the afternoon they opened the one big bridge and had a sort of fair with food, crafts and music. Bought some cherry strudel and listened to gypsy music before continuing on to the Ethnographic Museum with interesting collections of pottery, costumes, implements, etc.

We had been to Vienna all those years ago too and this time it was full of tourists with warnings about pickpockets. We had visited Schloss Belvedere in the morning and seen some Klimts and in the afternoon went to the Leopold Art Museum to look at rooms of Klimts and Schieles, the highlight of Vienna for me.

Then it was on to Germany - first Passau with its cathedral where we went to an organ recital (along with hundreds of other tourists), then Regensberg, with the pope's former cathedral and finally Nurnberg. Saw the infamous Zeppelin Stadium, left in a semi-derelict condition so as not to stir any nationalistic tendencies among those who might have otherwise be that way inclined. Bought some gingerbread in the market square.
Left the boat after Nurnberg and travelled down to Bonn to stay with friends and do a bit of sightseeing (History Museum, Rhein promenade, another museum) and have some retail therapy.

Have been home a couple of days and am very much looking forward to going back to work tomorrow!

Deepest Bulgaria

In the depths of Bulgaria at present - way up in the hills. Had a swim in the Black Sea near Varna yesterday. Internet access is not easy but will reply to emails in time. Cruise boat is great - about 136 people on board. Great meals and lovely scenery along the Danube. Good tour guides with lots of history. We are enjoying the history and archaeology we have been hearing about and seeing in the museums. Great art gallery in Bucharest too - European art like El greco, Impressionists, Breugels etc . Great Rumanian sculpture by Brancusi.

Singapore

Had a good trip from Auckland with not much turbulence and good Asian food on Singapore Airlines. Our hotel room was rather small and basic and didnt even have a teabag, just coffee and milo and 1 small bottle of water. Had a full day walking round Singapore today. The temperature would have been well over 30 degrees. Started off in Little India looking through some of the shops with their brightly coloured silks and embroidered fabrics. The National Museum would have been the highlight - it was refurbished over 3 years and is state of the art, dimly lit and sparsely furnished. You walk around with headphones and screen where you can hear and read all about the various exhibits - not all that many of them, but lots to listen and learn about the history of Singapore, most of which I had forgotten.

Then walked the length of Orchard Rd stopping for dumplings, noodles, roast duck and rice at the Meridien foodhall, then down as far as Tangs. On the way back called into Istana, the presidential palace which was having an open day in honour of the National Day. Lovely lawn and treelined drive and an openair concert of Indian string music. Hundreds of Singaporeans were taking advantage of the occasion.
At the other end of Orchard Rd at another foodhall we had egg custard tarts and strong sweet coffee , before picking up our luggage and catching a cab to the airport where we are now awaiting our next 12 hr flight to Frankfurt.

Storm

Auckland has been lashed with wind and rain this weekend with power cuts, flooding and the rest, from Northland southwards. Our neighbour came over to tell us our power lines were arcing where they enter the house at the apex of our front gable, sending me into a panic. Rang Vector but they havent been round so far. Then rang Geoff who says the worst that can happen is that the power goes off, for which we are not really prepared. The wind seems to have died down a bit, though out west and in Rodney there are a lot of people without power.

Maori Language Week

Went to a Waiata session at work last Friday and learned to sing Manu rere (If I were a bird...) ,a hymn and another song. Another new experience - complete with actions - not as easy as it looks.

End of Year Party at Work

This was the final celebration of the end of the financial year. The theme was stars in their eyes - I just wore my ordinary clothes with a sparkly top and sparkly bag. As usual lots of yummy cold and hot food - finger food, seafood, mini quiches, oysters in bacon (I think), satays, skewered vegetables etc etc. The wine and bubby flowed freely, though I restrained myself until after the presentations to long-serving staff. Duly got my $300 worth of vouchers for Westfield shopping centres and am looking forward to spending them in due course. They handed round chocolates and truffles at the end of the evening for dessert - I have a new favourite - Feijoa chocolates - a white filling inside a big milk chocolate.