A trip up to the Hastings hospital today. I have to have a driver as they put stuff in my eye to dilate the pupils so Jill is it. On the way back we had a little cruise around where we used to live in the 1980's when I was winemaker for Te Mata Estate and my, haven't things changed? Magnificent houses full of affluent people ,(well they'd have to be!) but probably with less people living in them than your average humble residential suburb. At the end of Te Mata Road is Te Mata Cheeses and their cafe. Just a "cafe sandwich" but it was magnificent! Beautiful crusty bread full of soft cheese, sliced corned beef, salad and guacamole. Before that , a trip to Aratiki Honey nearby where you can taste different honeys and follow their very well laid out journey from flower to honey and the bees life. We bought some bulk honey, poured into a container we had brought with us, as, although we had not visited since 1985 we knew the facility was available. In addition one can buy small pots of honey of a myriad flavours. Made a note that we would like to take some grandchildren to see their display- very educational. You can try a range of honeys and little spoons are provided in a self serve counter with pump pots supplying the honey. I met some Chinese visitors who asked if it was ok to try honey so we showed them how and got into a conversation with them. He was from China and she was from Hong Kong and that stimulated some conversation regarding our time in Hong Kong last year. Nice kids.
Then back home with me still squinting in the sun!

Bit of early morning entertainment this morning. Grandparent's day at kindergarten. Arrived at 10 am to see 30 kids stuffing their faces with more food than the average Ethiopian eats in a week! It's 'break' time. We don't think too much how lucky we are compared to much of the world. Most of what those kids had brought in their lunchboxes was healthy stuff. Bananas, grapes, mandarines, some cookies and a pot of yoghurt , crackers and one kid had a big plastic box of popcorn. They have a long work bench with a vice , a saw and some hammers , a fine collection of nails. They also have some non-obtrusive supervision, I guess, in case someone wants to hit someone on the head with a hammer to see what happens.
We've had 3 days of cold winds and rain and this is the first day with sunshine so I got the job of rushing home and hanging out the washing to make the most of it. Managed that skillfully with no pegs left at the end! Then preparing for some concreting in the near future which involved some digging and soil shifting so a useful excuse for a laze in the spa with bubbles.

Time flies!

I should have been keeping this blog alive while we were overseas last year. It seems like years ago already. I flit back through our photos and it's like looking at somebody else's trip. It was not really a surprise to me that people the world over, be it Hong Kong, Bangkok, Portugal, Turkey, Cyprus or even good old England that people are friendly. Every nation has it's ratbags but if you smile at them they smile back- even if there's no common language, they appreciate your efforts at sign language.
On a bridge in Istanbul, I had a discussion with a fisherman of about 10 years old, that went on for a quarter of an hour and neither of us had a clue what the other was saying! But we parted laughing!
Not only am I now 70! But I am now grandfather to eight! Not bad for an only child! My 70th birthday in November was the first birthday where it has hit me! I'm getting old! When I was 20, 35 was old. When I was 35 , 45 was old. When I was 45, 60 was old and now I am old like all the other 'old' people. Statistically I've got 10 years left but I can't complain- I've outlived my father and mother, neither of them made it this far and I'm still pouring concrete and chopping firewood and walking the dog.
I must try and post something now and again.

And another one!

Maybe it's as you get older and nearer to the point yourself that deaths have more effect on you. Last night we heard that one of Jill's relations had died after a stroke . I'd never met the 77 year old and Jill only remembers him from her teenage years, but somehow it gets more personal than, say , the death of Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett, with all due respect to them, it's not family. No matter how extended, it's not 'whanau', to use a very useful Maori word.

Yep! I was right!

My neighbours' son did die a few days back. As they say, no parent should have to bury their children. Burying is the children's job.
Peppy the ridgeback fell down and couldn't get up last night. I had to help him up and lead him to bed. It was so sad! All that night we checked on him and planned a vet call in the morning, but when we got up his was quite perky. So we deferred it again.
Today I repacked our emergency kit. No earthquake yet but you never can tell- better to be prepared. Food, water , sleeping bags- enough for 3 days the govt advise. I must say, I wouldn't like to be outside at this time of year, it's bloody cold out there. Maybe it'll come in the summer!
Jill's gone out to a Jewellery party, a bit like a tupperware party, but jewels! Fancy leaving me in charge!

Exercise?

I don't think I'm getting enough exercise! I don't mean stuff like walking- I do plenty of that. Not long ago I walked the Woodville rail & tunnel track. A once a year thing run by the Woodville Lions as a fundraiser , walks through 3 tunnels and 8km long. Not steep, of course, because trains don't like steep, but still it was no problem. I went with eldest son Stephen in case I needed a 'carry' but no problem. No, what I mean is anaerobic activity. Stuff that makes me puff, so I jumped on Jill's exercycle which has an onboard computer that tells you how far you've gone, what your heart rate is , what speed you're going and how many calories you have consumed . I thought I'd concentrate on distance! Only one kilometer but I started of on 2min 45 secs. Next day was 2min 34secs and today 1min 54sec. I don't think that is a world record but it's a start- and it did make me puff!

Sacred images

I've just heard that somebody else has found an image of the Virgin Mary in a puddle or a damp patch! I've already informed one of my contacts that I have an image of Jesus, Mary Magdelene and all their children, in the freshly dug soil of my vegetable garden. Unfortunately it is obscured by the fact that all the surrounding dirt is exactly the same colour!