Quote for the day:
“Enjoy life. Have fun. Be kind. Have worth. Have friends. Be honest. Laugh. Die with dignity. Make the most of it. It’s all we’ve got”.
by Ricky Gervias
Welcome to day 22. Guess the exciting news for today is ‘we may be going down to level 3 next week”. That must be great news for many SME’s that can work safely and meet Covid-19 Health and Safety Requirements. For many of us life will continue on as it currently is with the ability to add another person/family to our bubble.
In case you missed reading day 21’s comments, click here to catch up on what has been happening to my regular contributors.
Thank you for those of you who were concerned for my well being when you didn’t get your regular evening/morning read. It will teach me for not checking. Normally I check my mobile phone to see if the blog has been posted, and last night I didn’t – lesson learnt, simple mistake but I should have known. Thankfully I wasn’t publishing a “breaking news” item.
Feature image
Tonight’s feature image (Protea bub) comes from Helen’s garden, thank you.
Rebuilding Paradise
Starting next Monday, 20 April, on TV 3 is Paul Henry’s “Rebuilding Paradise“, this is a brand new show. It’s been described “as a positive yet hard-hitting show, aimed at finding the truth about where we are as a nation as we come out of lockdown and what possibilities lies ahead for us in the future.” It will be broadcast four nights a week for four weeks, each episode is 30 minutes. I’m looking forward to it. Do you think you will watch it?
Cyclamen bulb
Yesterday, my neighbour showed me this cyclamen bulb she had dug out of her garden and asked if she could divide it. I wasn’t sure, so thanks to Mr Google I found the following instructions:
Dig up the cyclamen bulbs and clean off any soil from them. At this point, the cyclamen bulbs will look somewhat like a seed potato and will be divided in a similar way. With a clean, sharp knife, cut apart the cyclamen bulb, making sure each piece cut has a nub where the foliage would grow from.
The gardening glove has been included in the photograph so you can get some perspective on the size of the bulb. It is huge, never ever seen a bulb so large. Have you ever seen a cyclamen bulb so big?
Busy day baking
I spent all morning baking: home made muesli, Afghan biscuits for my friend Linda up the road who gives me the puzzle page out of the Waikato Times and I give her home made baking, a win win situation for us both. Also I made my dear Zimbabwean friends a batch of Rusks, special recipe titled Kim’s Rusks and given to me by them. They are delicious, not sweet, but very satisfying to eat. As you can guess they are quite firm and crunchy which makes sense. If you’d like the recipe let me know, I will publish it. Speaking of recipes, if you haven’t checked out the Feijoa Icecream recipe (from Patricia Rose) and posted by “Carly of Tamahere” in day 21’s comments.
My grandies noughts and crosses set is just about finished, put the final touches of paint onto it tonight, will have a photograph for you tomorrow night.
Making the most of feijoas
Here are some recipes to enable you to make the most of feijoa season by using every bit of them: 4 delicious ways to use feijoa skins.
Signs of autumn
Thank you Helen for the following signs of autumn photographs, great to have a different perspective.
Well that is it for day 22. I wonder what you have been up to today? Baking, completing odd jobs or just enjoying life? Look forward to hearing about your day.
Be kind and patient with yourself and everybody in your bubble. Take care – Goldgard Gal 🙂
Lockdown day 22
I am beginning to think that when lockdown is perhaps relegated downwards next week, and then after when it is terminated altogether and we are able to resume a more normal life, are people going to be ready and able to do so?
In our area, the early mass exercising, dog walking, jogging, cycling etc. now seems to have gone entirely. It remains eerily quiet until almost mid day and even then only broken by the mail person or couriers.
Additionally all those external projects appear to have been completed or have run out of enthusiasm, energy, or for lack of stuff from Bunnings.
Even mad noisy neighbour is pleasantly silent.
Curtains now remain drawn closed until long into the day. The street only becomes more active as the regular pre Covid19 walking neighbours and dogs reassert their normal presence.
Will they know when to get up?
Will they know where to go to work?
Will they still have jobs?
Only time will tell.
Today is the last rest day in the wind trainer Tour de Garage. While greatly appreciated for the recovery time it has turned out to be really timely and necessary.
The infamous pajama bottom that rudely interrupted what up to that point had been a stellar performance in the ITT yesterday, was proving to be very hard to extract from the mechanicals of the bike.
Fortunately we had Jono Clements, the best team mechanic this side of the black stump who worked valiantly through out the night and into today to make appropriate repairs.
So, tomorrow starts the final week. All teams have their problems but the Gordonton team with meat pies, pieces of deep fried fish and gallons of varying coffee’s from the truck stop café are fired up and ready to go.
This hiatus of course has allowed an uninterrupted day in the autumn workshop clean up.
The whole back side was today stripped and cleaned from ceiling to floor.
All hand tools, sundry containers and blister packs of consumables likewise.
Hand power tools all cleaned and serviced and replaced back into their allocated storage smart as nine pence.
Progress so far is occurring much faster than initially anticipated and so tomorrow perhaps the end wall and the other side wall can be attempted. There are however a lot more hand tools to clean in this area and how long that takes will determine the completion time.
Ahr! Dinner time.
Unhurried in Hamilton
Hi Heather exciting day today we ventured out to collect groceries from our first click and collect experience. Very painless and well organized. They did say I would need identification as we had ordered alcohol, however that did not eventuate, just another reason to celebrate grey hair and wrinkles. Unfortunately I forgot my brothers birthday today until I was reminded half way through the morning. Oh dear that is going to be an expensive present once lock down is over. Looking forward to a little more freedom after next week hopefully. Yes I will be watching Paul Henry’s programme sound very interesting. Off to read the next book in the 7 sisters series on this wet, windy afternoon.
That must have been exciting “Carly of Tamahere” going to collect your first ‘click and collect’? Thank you for your daily updates and enjoy that book 🙂
Love the photos Heather. Gives life to your enjoyable stories. My life is so different to yours. Am now working fulltime. Two stand up meetings a day. Technology used in the project had some hiccups so is to be changed. Not quite back to the drawing board. Getting lots of walking in which has been great. Both brother in laws continue to be a worry. I just wish I could hug them. Hopefully you and I can catch up over weekend. Let me know which day suits.
Thank you Denise, that expression a picture is worth a 1,000 words is so true 🙂
Yes please, Heather, I’d like to try your rusk recipe. And, re the feijoa ice-cream recipe, make that one and a half cups of feijoa (not 1 cup). Sorry, Carly, but at least next time you make the ice-cream it will be even more tasty.
Thanks “Patricia Rose” will publish the rusk recipe this evening and thanks for modification to feigoa icecream recipe 🙂