TGIF

Another week speeds by and to mark the end of it and the start of the weekend, joined other members of the Never 2 Old YMCA fitness group on a jaunt after the gym to the Art Gallery .  We walked down down Greys Avenue in the wanish  winter sunlight  and partook of a great flat white and a delicious  rhubarb and apple muffin at the Gallery cafe, before joining a public tour of the gallery with a knowledgable and enthusiastic guide,  Sally.  It was a great experience even although I have visited the gallery several times since its refurbishment.  The really old part was once the Auckland Public Library  which opened in 1887,  and where I started my library career in December 1966.  Now it is two magnificent galleries with old and new paintings in them.   Sally pointed out one or two key paintings in all the various galleries - the Victorian paintings,  the early NZ paintings, the Goldie and Lindauer portraits, the well-known Rita Angas portrait of Betty Curnow, the Frances Hodgkins works, Colin McCahon paintings and contemporary NZ art.

Gazed in wonderment at the  Flower Chandelier by Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa, an installation commissioned for the gallery's reopening.  He also did another installation  entitled Red, red plastic flowers on a branch floating in a pond of water outside the gallery.   That was taken down this week and a new sculpture  by a Tongan artist was installed there today.  They were selling the red plastic flowers in the Gallery shop and I bought a couple.  Sally told us that the Flower Chandelier will probably leave the gallery too at the end of the year to be replaced with something else so will be visiting more often from now on while it is still here. 

Saturday on the island

Mural outside Community Art Gallery

Local Butcher's shop

Victorian Gilt  - vintage clothing , bric a brac and textiles

Oneroa Beach from the village

Sign outside the CAB

Spent a pleasant Saturday on the island on an impromptu visit seeing the bach was supposed to have been let. Was quite pleased they didn't contact me and we could use it ourselves instead. Started off at the op shop in Oneroa where I shed myself of a beige leather jacket which had belonged to my mother.  It was placed on a rack with a $5 price tag so someone will buy it no doubt.



This picture by Susan Edge was callled Wine time (if I remember rightly)



Caption was She's looking a bit dotty (or something similar)

Made my way up to the library and Community Art Gallery where there was  a members exhibition as well as a Susan Edge exhibition.  The above two pictures took my fancy.

Birthday Baking

Celebrated Dieter's birthday over the weekend and made a couple of the usual cakes I make  - one a Linzer Torte is made with a spicy shortcrust dough with ground almonds or hazelnuts  and, traditionally, raspberry jam.  I make my version and use guava jelly which is delicious too, cutting through the sweetness of the pastry.   I used a Mary Anne  recipe originally printed in the Auckland Star in the  1960s. I have two big scrapbooks of such recipe clippings and am rediscovering old favourites as I ring the changes.

 Good friend Pamela made a Nothing Chocolate Cake  - no flour, no eggs, we'll say no butter -  I can't remember what else it didn't have in it that isn't good for people with allergies. It was certainly still decadently rich.   And I made Dieter's old favourites,  Alison Holst's Lunchbox Cookies  - containing golden syrup, coconut, walnuts and sultanas.

The cloth is a Hungarian one my mother once brought back from there, the china belonged to my Aunt Dorothy whose anniversary occurs about this time. 

The following day friends,  Roland and Rosalie came, a day later as they hadn't heard the phone ringing to invite them the day before, bearing a big German honey cake which Roland had made, rich, moist  and spicy  with a pound of honey in it and both ground and chopped almonds.   I made another old favourite, old friend, Leny's Dutch Apple Cake made with 4,3,2 shortcrust pastry and 1 egg,  filled with  parboiled apple cubes, cooled and  tossed with cinnamon, almonds, raw sugar, lemon zest and sultanas and topped with an egg-washed lattice and more flaked almonds and raw sugar. 

The pretty blue cloth was given to me many years ago by good friend,  Rae who knows how much I like applique and patchwork, which I still enjoy  doing.  I have an oven cloth on the go at present.

Whitianga

Hadn't been over to the Coromandel for many years so last week's road trip awoke many happy memories of past trips.  Motored over the Hauraki Plains and across the stylish new Kopu bridge over to Thames for lunch at the Checkers Cafe  where the seafood pies were delicious. Indulged my propensity for op shops with a browse around the Thames ones  but resisted temptation as the car was chokka with luggage for 4 already. No time for a real look around at the museum and old houses but a return visit is a must in the near future.

 On up the coast road to Coromandel, a drive with stunning views in places but also a very winding road.  Arrived in Coromandel as the township basked in the mid-afternoon sun.  Walked up and down the main street and was pleased to find another op shop and came away with 2 chokos at 10 cents each.  Looking forward to cooking them up this week and serving them in a cheese or parsley sauce.   Bought some smoked seafood at the little shop just off the main road to enjoy at a later stage - maybe in a chowder or fish pie of my own making.

Over the hills then on to Whitianga , more winding roads but thankfully they were not too busy on a Tuesday afternoon. Arrived at our comfortable unit, unpacked the car and dined after a long wait at the Mercury Bay Club.

Whitianga is quite compact and we enjoyed a stay-put holiday exploring the streets and beaches on our long walks, browsing the shops, including two op shops finding a small orange Tupperware cannister with a fluted lid for a couple of dollars. Took the ferry across the harbour to Flaxmill Beach where the two more intrepid members of our foursome had ventured past on their walk to Cook's Beach.

Tucked away in the side streets we came across a few old buildings which took my fancy.

The above picture is the three sisters at the lookout on the road to Tairua  on our way home from Whitianga. The one beneath is Dieter's  last and best photo taken at the same lookout.