Quote for the day:
“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” Anne Frank
Day seven started and ended with another stunning autumn day, sun shining, clear blue skies and no wind. While out walking this morning I found my first feijoa. Haven’t tasted it yet, still a little hard. Who doesn’t love feijoa season? Perhaps we can share favourite feijoa recipes, but only tried and tested ones please.
From your comments regarding current reading, trilogy books seem to be a theme. I guess it helps having all this spare time.
How is day seven going for you? Settling into and making the most of ‘living in your bubble’ or getting a little tired of it? For those of you feeling a little sorry for yourself being isolated at home, this is my suggested cure for you.
5TTBTF
When I was living and working in Vientiane (Laos PDF) back in 2007, I went through a low/tough period. Was I depressed, don’t think so, perhaps more needing a break or change of environment. Anyway what I found worked then and has every since is identifying ‘5 things to be thankful for’ each day. At the end of each day I’d write down five things to be thankful for, simple things such as: I’m healthy; I have a good home to live in; I have money: I’m experiencing another culture – get the gist. What surprised me was how quickly my mental attitude changed and I started seeing so many positives in my life. Even now I often say to myself ‘what am I thankful for’. I find acknowledging what I’m thankful for brings a sense of peacefulness and contentment.
How do you cope with down-times? Love to hear your strategies?
Current Project – help please
One of my goals during this lock-down is to clean-up my rusted outdoor table and chairs, getting rid of the rust and then repainting them. My current method is using a drill with wire brush attachment, or using a handheld wire brush for those more difficult to get to places.
If you have done this type of restoration before, I’d welcome any suggestions.
To-Do Lists
Cut my driveway hedge cut today – yippie its looking pretty good. One big hedge to go, that will happen on Friday.
So, how is your To-do list going? Making progress or not? Love to hear your progress or not!
How is the grape harvest going in Blenheim?
Till tomorrow, take care out there and stay in your bubble – GoldCard Gal 🙂
Lockdown day 8.
A week gone already:
I suppose this means that unlike the peace and calm of recent mornings, tomorrow will see the return of our heroic sanitation men:
Will nature’s dawn chorus be overwhelmed by the cacophony of diesel engines at full bore harmonised with the smashing of bottles and tins.
Ivan Denisovich and Robinson Crusoe had no such interruptions to their misery.
In respect of noise, one of the more pleasant aspects of our current conditions is that Radio NZ Concert (Almost lost only last month) has re-gigged their programming.
At eleven am each day, a music program for children has been introduced with pieces like Peter and the Wolf. Narratives with the music are the formula and spoken by people such as Merryl Streep and Geoffrey Rush.
Other programming reminds me more of the classic days of radio with more music and less ego pumping chat.
For me, the selection that seems to evoke this current time and experience is the first violin concerto of Max Bruch. Always popular but it seems to me to fit well with the current atmosphere.
We had brunch again today as getting out of bed seems to be getting later each day.
I suppose the lack of general noise from neighbours leaving for work and school is creating mornings more like Sundays everyday.
This tardiness did not stop my industry of de-thatching the lawn: Manitoba is completed! Although after the time and effort needed, I feel that renaming might be appropriate, ”MOSSvale” springs to mind.
Saskatchewan and Alberta are next. Two of the bigger prairie provinces, but with 3 weeks to go and some more of this perfect weather, I think we will do an Ed Hillary. (As another contributor has so eloquently described)
Still no Injuns!
Perhaps they have migrated over the border into Trumpania and become trapped when the borders were sealed.
The Tour de Garage was scheduled to start a little later today.
It is a transition stage with just the rolling countryside of the front garden and a non technical finish by the fridge. If we play our cards right we should get through intact and without time losses.
We still have a full team but after yesterday, following his herculean effort, we have some concerns as to whether Davo will be able make it through all 28 days.
Fortunately one of the new UCI rules in respect of the decimation caused by Covid 19 is that teams can draught in new riders should others fall by the roadside.
We have waiting in the team bus Neville “The Machine” Ferguson. Neville has been putting in some monstrous strava rides at the training camp in the Southern Alps and is champing at the bit to put his coffee cup down and join the fray.
As predicted the windtrainer was relatively kind today, (Must have been listening the PM) and the peloton used it as a recovery ride. This was probably on the cards since that De Ghent fellow, as he so often does, made a break immediately at km 0 vanishing up the road too far to catch.
After this it’s into the high country. Hopefully we can stay there with the skinny mountain goats. The word around the peloton is that the Italian’s will make a move tomorrow.
And it’s “good night” from him.
Unhurried In Hamilton:
Another well documented and humorous read “Unhurried in Hamilton” thank you. Glad you’ve joined with “The Machine” of Wanaka, will surely make for interesting racing!! 🙂
Thanks Heather, this is my first thing to be thankful for; for you being in my life. glad to have your brother as my husband, our two kids in the USA , lovely friends and neighbours and beautiful weather. It is such a delight to go for a walk with not so many cars on the streets, everything so quiet and peaceful and the glorious sunshine. People are making the effort to be pleasant while adhering to all the new rules.
Thank you Alison – we do have so much to be thankful for. When I was living in Laos I used to often think to myself “I’m very lucky my parents ancestors came to New Zealand all those years ago, otherwise life could be very different.” You have another 3 weeks of reduced car noise! 🙂
All good at Tamahere, Feijoas dropping so next time you are out for a walk bring a bag and collect from under the tree not the best ones yet but at least good for baking ideas. Forgot my meditation yesterday ooops, far too busy doing stuff, will do it today though. Great suggest: what am I grateful for, works every time, we all have soooo much to be thankful for even in these weird times. Just having the sun shining and the autumn leaves changing colour and being able to see them is a pleasure at this time of the year. The meditation down the gully was not as successful as I had hope as the ants and mossies kept biting, back to the comfortable chair for me. No bike today cleaned windows instead, how sad is that and no one to admire my handy work. At least Tony is trimming trees and enjoying his new chain saw. Until tomorrow keep well.
Thank you Carly for your daily happenings. Can’t wait I’ll be around later to collect some feijoas – thank you. Can imagine how hard it is to meditate when you have mossies and ants biting you! Sounds as though lots of jobs are being done at the Rolley’s lifestyle block – quite rewarding isn’t it! 🙂
Just to advise I did write out this informative update last night of Wanaka happenings but when I pushed post comments it said “suspected robot” This is the first time I have been called this:I want to be called a ‘machine’ when I’m on my bike but that hasn’t happened either : life carries on here : I visited the “Wanaka Tree” yesterday to pay my respects: 2 people present : yes the tree has changed but it’s not too bad: also there is debate here which outdoor activity is safe: Mt Iron is 😊 :Sticky Forest is@? (downhill maze of tracks for experienced people) (These activities are on the internet) The beloved and I will take a wee ride out today to our local cafe: we will sit outside and wonder what maybe: and say a little pray to the god of caffeine: until to next time: the un robot like I – Solution
Thank you “I-Solution” appreciate you taking the time to post your happenings. Are there signs of autumn down there? 🙂
Yes Autumn has arrived: frosts continue: beautiful clear warm days to follow: and oh so very quiet:still the neighbours are keeping us informed with daily chats: great to hear from you:and Colin; most entertaining : kind regards 🚴
Dear Robot in Wanaka:
It is great to see your postings with your thoughts and activities:
Let me assure you that the memory of your crushing “machine” like performances on Tuesdays in the Waikato are still with me.
If you were available here and now you would certainly be offered a contract to join our team and support me in the Tour de Garage.
Best regards
Unhurried in Hamilton
Somehow I’ve lost the daily comments. Surely you’ve been getting them. I enjoy what others are telling you too. I can’t find them 🙁
Great to hear from you Jan, no I haven’t been getting your comments 🙁 Oh what a shame would love to be hearing what is happening in your bubble! 🙂
Lockdown day 7.
Geese! More accurately Canadian geese.
It’s that time of the year when we see the northly migration of these aerial behemoths over the Waikato.
With so much quiet in the mornings the honking coming from of these squadrons as they lift off like WW2 Lancaster and B17 bombers from the recently cut corn fields setting course for the north, is clear and loud.
Which ones are honking?
What are they saying?
Is it? “This way you lot! follow me” – “Roger Wilco, Red Leader”
Or? “Are we there yet? “I want to go to the loo!”- “You should have used the field”
Maybe “goose” singing as in: “Show Me the Way to go Home”
What ever it is, none of these supposed Canadian geese seem to have the slightest inclination to help me with de thatching of Manitoba, let alone the rest of the prairie.
I have reached areas where “MOSS” seems to grow and spread like COVID19.
It looks so benign, soft and cuddly, but beware! Once it has infiltrated the lawn it takes over and is very hard to eradicate.
Sulphate of Iron does a good job and I have heard of horticultural witches using recopies containing washing up liquid.
All of these require a physical removal after.
Perhaps I can get mad noisy neighbour to drive the moss away with some loud piece of equipment. Today he has been at it constantly. I wonder what the Hamilton CC would think about it?
Lunch arrives with appropriate R&R.
In the garage today it is flat stage and while it is expected that the sprinters will have their day, the wife has removed the dried washing from the garage and there is likely to be a strong side wind later coming off the neighbour’s roof and through the window.
Perhaps we will see echelons forming.
I will have to be diligent and not get caught out too far from the front
Today is also much warmer than earlier in the week, making sure to have enough fluid will be vital. To that end I have set the wind trainer up next to the fridge which contains all of our beers and wines to be consumed cold.
Early on, the teams of Rick Van Looy, Cipo, McKewan, Cav etc., have taken control.
My team are doing their best to keep me in it but I fear that our Tuesday group at Gordonton are not quite in the same league.
Bruce “Davo” Davidson is working like Trojan to keep me near the front and his power statue is making both my job easier and the opposition’s more difficult.
Only 5ks to go, I look down, I am in a 42 x 15 with only one cog to go, sweat spreading out all over the floor.
2 ks to go, Davo swings over (I shall have to buy him a beer now). Then Sagon appears from nowhere! It hell for leather now, front wheels locked to back of lead out men.
Inside the barriers, a roar from the crowd!
Then it’s all over. Not sure who won but I have stayed upright, have not lost any time and better still, I shall be the first for dinner tonight.
Ahh dinner!
Venison steaks on the BBQ tonight. Should sleep and dream well.
Unhurried In Hamilton: