Christmas Eve

Christmas is Coming

For me the pohutukawa in bloom puts me in the Christmas spirit. This one was seen at Pt Chevalier Beach on Saturday when we were out for a stroll along the beach. It was early evening and family groups were still enjoying their beach picnics. We celebrated in our traditional way the next evening by lighting the third candle on our Advent stand, enjoying some gingerbread cookies and listening to some nostalgic German Christmas carols.

Saturday Surprises

Was delighted to get a beautiful bouquet of flowers this morning as a result of a nomination by Tina and Warren, from Christchurch of late, now ensconced happily in Red Beach. I was really pleased and surprised. Fragrant lillies, roses, carnations, all sorts of beautiful pink flowers. Today has been a very special day. First my nephew and his wife came round for morning tea after returning from overseas this week after 2 years in Indonesia. Then we went up to see Eli's exhibition of paintings, Way of Sorrows, in the art school Graduate Exhibition - there are 12 portraits of Justin Bieber, portraits of the boy artist, his trials and tribulations as it were. I am biased but I do like them all.

Poppies

Good friend Carolyn M gave me these beautiful poppies from Bhana Brothers on Ponsonby Rd . We were marking my birthday belatedly by going for a walk. Bought goodies for lunch from Nosh - a specially delicious salmon mousse with capers in it, ham and ciabatta to go with the coffee and cheese I had at home already.

Seen in Silverdale

Spent a few days in Orewa this week and took in the Silverdale Market on Saturday morning , catching sight of these dear little alpacas huddled together for warmth and comfort. Could have done with one myself as it was cold and showery. Bought some old- fashioned chocolate fudge cake with biggish pieces of crushed wine biscuit from the stall outside the Bendon shop. The lady who proudly showed off her delicious looking home baking - date scones (minus the icing sugar and a decent height and texture) , anzac biscuits and the fudge cake, was proudly retro and one of the old- school bakers stuck in the 1960s time-warp. Purchased some Lindt chocolate and Buderim ginger from the next stand and rustled up a batch of ginger crispies from the Edmonds book for afternoon tea to which I invited elderly neighbour, Gladys, who does not see at all well and relies on the spoken word for news of the outside world. She knows all the local gossip so I am up-to-date on that front too. Later on I made a few little jars of the most delicious jam with some Central Otago dried apricots and some feijoas from the freezer. This is a recipe from the NZWW book of favourite recipes.

Bought a mandarin tree for $20 which is very good value. Just have to find a space in our rather crowded garden back in Auckland to plant it in. It is in flower so it will have to go in the garden soon, along with the butter beans, dill and sunflower seeds.

Auckland Marathon

Ever since friend Marlene and I did the 5km walk part of a fun run and walk round Epsom last year I have been on the look-out for a similar walk , and lo and behold with the Auckland Marathon's 5km walk segment starting up the hill and down the other side at Pt Erin this was the occasion I was waiting for. This time friends Sue and Pam joined in too and we were part of Len's Team, a Heart Foundation team of walkers from cardiac clubs and similar groups to our YMCA Never 2 Old Programme, that Sue and I belong to. ( Len being, Len Brown, mayor of Auckland) It was a beautiful day and great to walk the 5km under the bridge, round Westhaven to the Wynyard Quarter and across to Victoria Park where the race ended - and the picnic began. We joined some of the others at the Heart Foundation tent for a healthy gourmet lunch of venison stirfry with hummus, salad greens, nuts and parsley served in pita pockets. I have not tasted such deliciously tender meat for a long time and hope to try and replicate it some time myself. For the record Pamela and Susan were placed 236th and 237th in 1:02:03 and Marlene and I, 240th and 241st in 1:02:12. Len got 318th There were 333 entries in this event.

Home and Away

The month of October has been spent getting back in to the swing of domestic things after the excitement of the trip to China and enjoying the convivial atmosphere in Auckland provided by the Rugby World Cup. I was very keen to avoid the hype associated by the big matches so we escaped to Waiheke and Orewa a couple of times, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of beach and garden,

though the latter required some serious action before we could do so. The lawn and onion flowers were flourishing and have been cut down to size now, showcasing the self-sown cinnerarias, a splash of colour in our rather shadowy back garden. Went over the Bridge to Northcote and met up with Knitterati friends to look at a textile arts, and very fine embroidery exhibition by Olwyn Horwood, beautiful traditional work spanning several decades. It spurred me on to get out my patchwork but also to think about making something creative of my own , recycling some old bed covers and a woollen blanket I found in the hut at Waiheke . I only want to make something very small, just a reminder of days gone by. The following week went to the Art Gallery with the Knitterati again and looked at the NZ art. Being the school holidays and with many visitors in town for the rugby the gallery was full of excited people enjoying the fabulous new building and its contents after waiting an eternity for its refurbishment. The cafe serves delicious food too. I am going back there in a week or two to catch up with two old friends who worked with me in the library which coincidentally was in the old part of the art gallery in those days. (1967-68). When I came back from my OE and had returned to Auckland Public Library to work after a stint in Hamilton and Takapuna the library was in a new building across the road. Over the ensuing years even that building has been extended and refurbished several times and is a hive of activity, industry and enjoyment which is as it should be. October is a month of celebration, first another year older but for me the chance to see all my friends over a week or two or three, then our wedding anniversary which we are spending the way we like best - making an excursion to one of the suburbs we haven't been to for a while. Today it is to be Birkenhead.It has history in the form of the Chelsea Sugarworks which we are used to seeing from the Herne Bay beaches , leafy streets with old villas (I hope) and a new library , which for me is the main reason for going there! Can't resist libraries.

Exercise in the Park

Singing, balancing and moving while watching the world go by. Not to mention tai chi which is done too. I never had the time though the inclination to do so however. It had to wait until I got home and have started going to the Y again sporting my red panda T shirt with 24 pandas demonstrating the 24 movements.

Cruising down the Yangtze

Spent a few days cruising down the Yangtze in the Century Sky which had 306 passengers, 30 of us and several other Wendy Wu groups and other groups, all doing similar shore excursions in tandem with us. It is all very well-organized requiring early starts and sometimes late arrival back home in order to fit everything in. You need stamina which thankfully I had, and fitness to negotiate the many steps and stairs, both on board and off board.

The gorge scenery, dam and locks were spectacular, the small boat trip into the Three Lesser Gorges, even more so. This is on a tributary of the Yangtze.

Shanghai in Two Short Days

Shanghai is a super-modern city, the financial and shipping centre of China. It has a population of 23 million over an area of 6400 sq km. Hard for us to take in coming from a small country like New Zealand. Of lcourse there are plenty of skyscrapers, tower buildings and apartment blocks to accomodate everyone and the accompanying technological infrastructure to support everything, from the fastest lift (45 seconds to travel 88 floors, an ear-popping speed, I assure you) to the fastest train in the world (I forewent this pleasure).

I enjoyed my look into the past at the Shanghai Museum with its galleries featuring ceramics, furniture, jade, colourful costumes of the different ethnic groups in China , sculpture and bronze, all beautifully displayed and impressive. There was even a visiting exhibition of Maori art from Otago with beautiful tiki, kete and a dog fur cloak.

Visited the Bund area, an old economic centre along the river with colonial buildings from the 19th and early 20th century. We walked along the embankment promenade with lots of Chinese tourists, one of whom even wanted to take a photo of us with their elderly parents.

The lady in the lowest picture is separating silk worms from their silk. It is a very strong fibre and is stretched several times and made into duvet inners among other things, beautifully light and warm.

Back from Beijing

Slowly coming back down to earth after a wonderful holiday in China - Shanghai, Yangtze River, Chengdu and the pandas, Xian and the terracotta warriors and Beijing. It was gruelling at times as each day was jam-packed with activity, visiting different sights, eating out, lunch and dinnertime, then going back to the hotel or boat. Was pleased I was able to keep up with the rest of the 29 others in the group

and have never climbed up so many steps - over 1km of them through some limestone caves for a start, and the last lot going up the Great Wall of China which would have to be an exhilerating end to the holiday. Will be adding posts on the individual places visited over the next few days.

Personal Training Experience and Pictures of Ponsonby!

Won a session with a personal trainer for my uber attendance at the Y which I availed myself of on Friday. It was quite intense but not too mean as the personal trainer was our normal instructor, Claudia. Tried out several pieces of new torture equipment, designed to exercise vital muscles in relative comfort. These red leather "armchairs" are grouped in a circle becoming more like dentist chairs once you activate them. Then there was a roll of hard foam which I lay on, on my back on doing various other hard balancing acts, which felt like being on a tightrope for me, once I had got the hang of it!

Have been enjoying the pleasant weather and imbibing some of the local atmosphere enveloping the Rugby World Cup.

Art Galleries

Friday was one of my customary busy days out and about. Went to Henderson with the Knitterati to look at an exhibition of quirky sculptures made from bits and pieces of metal junk, recombined in very clever and artistic ways, done by this Dutchman who lived in NZ and latterly out West Auckland, Peter Sauerbier. He died last year, in his 70s or 80s he would have been. He was a real artist. This one is called Beethoven in the Family Car.

Also joined in a knitting group there. The old Corban estate is now an arts centre and the knitting group meets in a lovely old villa, and the gallery is in another old one. I am resurrecting a beautiful baby blanket I made for E when she was expected 28 years ago - pale shades of orange, yellow and cream, all natural dyes, handspun wool and handwoven, and turning it into a cushion cover for my very hard computer chair.

Today we went to the refurbished Auckland City Art Gallery, the first day it was open to the public again. Anybody and everybody was there revelling in the excitement of new art works like the giant flowers by Korean artist, Choi Jeong Hwa suspended from the atrium ceiling, the Impressionist and other paintings gifted by the Robertsons (the Picassos are my favourites) and the old favourites we remember from the old art gallery. It is wonderful to have Albert Park brought inside, as it were, with big glass windows a feature of this gallery. Fifty per cent more wallspace too for hanging pictures.

Of course part of the old part of the former art gallery used to be the library and that is where I started my library career all those years ago in the mid to late 1960s before going off on the big OE.

Milford to Takapuna Walk

Ended the week and enjoyed the balmy daffodil day weather with a long walk from Milford to Takapuna along beach, rocks, stone walls and beach again, pausing at beginning (for picnic lunch of ciabatta and Nosh's salmon dip/cum spread), in the middle for the Swiss Bakery's superb bishop's hat cookies, a large triangular butter cookie, encasing a hazelnut and cinnamon paste filling,

with coffee to go from that excellent glassed-in beachfront cafe near the Takapuna Camping Ground, and at the end, to go the Takapuna Library for a rest and a read. A blissful day and just one of many similiar pleasurable ones recently.

Winter weekend

Went to Waiheke for the day on Saturday, had the usual pleasant walk along Oneroa beach after taking in the latest exhibition of works by local award winners at the Community Art Gallery.

Last weekend visited the Wynyard Quarter in bitterly cold blustery conditions. Took refuge in the Fish Market for a few minutes espying these beautiful fish staring balefully at their prospective consumers.

On Sunday took the bus to the North Shore and after listening to a chamber music concert by Westlake students at a local church walked along Takapuna Beach in the late afternoon sun.

Brought in some of the fragrance and colour of the garden inside where it can be appreciated in warmer conditions.

Knitty-Gritty

The icy winter conditions beginning last Monday prompted me to finish the hot water bottle covers I had been knitting in response to a plea from the Christchurch City Mission. One was in a mock cable, the other in basket stitch. Am trying to decide whether I should make myself one now, seeing the nights are still so cold.

Malkovitch has a new hiding place - he spent a whole day sleeping in this bag of fleece wool on the windowseat recently and it is now his favourite sleeping place. I am prompted to do some spinning again, now that I have nothing else crafty on the go.

Discovered some hazelnuts in the kitchen cupboard which needed consumption so made this Linzer Torte - a spicy cinnamon and ground hazelnut dough , filled with Barkers raspberry jam with a lazy lattice top. I used a Mary-Anne recipe from my scrapbook from the 1960s in which I pasted cut-out recipes from the Auckland Star.