We have a situation...

The Girl Effect: The Clock is Ticking

Check out this video above. It's an important message and we can all make a difference. The particular organisation I support is about empowering adolescent girls who live in Kibera.

Click here to go to my September 2009 post about the Kibera slum.

No sense nonsense

My hateful vacuum cleaner decided to stop working for me this morning. The ‘bag full’ light is staying on which indicates to me that there is some kind of blockage somewhere. The bag is most definitely NOT full, the filter is clean and there’s no visible clump of debris anywhere screwing up the works.

It wasn’t sucking though. And my carpet was decidedly unclean. And I have friends coming for lunch. Sigh.

I took a deep breath to stave off the desire to throw the horrible thing across the room and instead I performed some rudimentary diagnostics. I ascertained that it is the hose causing the problem; there’s suction into the machine with the hose off and therefore logic tells me the problem is the hose. I ran another hose (the garden one actually) through the vacuum hose to dislodge whatever offending material was stuck in there but…nothing; there is no blockage.

Arrgghh!

By now I was feeling increasingly frustrated and though I should have been preparing lunch, I loaded the contraption into the wagon and headed to the local vacuum cleaner ‘experts’ who have confirmed my diagnosis. The problem is the hose. We hooked up my vacuum with their hose and it sucks like (insert whichever grubby euphemism works for you) so they checked my hose for a blockage using their industrial sized sucker/blower machine but…nothing.

Again.

They’ve ordered me a new hose and were kind enough to give me a loaner until the new hose arrives at the end of the week, but I’m still completely mystified – a hose is surely a piece of corrugated plastic wrapped around air; what the f**k can actually go wrong with that? Is there something technical about hoses that I don’t know?

Anyway.

I have now vacuumed the house with the little loaner machine and it did a pretty good job I must say. I have made the salads for lunch and put a pitcher of margarita in the refrigerator to chill. I’m about to start skewering the marinated chicken and vegetable kebabs for the barbecue and am hoping that the rest of the day will go to plan. I still need to squeeze in a shower before my guests arrive in an hour so I better get moving.

What have you got planned for Sunday in your house?

‘twas the day after Christmas

What are you up to on Boxing Day?

I can’t help but wonder how many of you are passing the day today in the same way that am; nursing a hangover of yesterday’s excess of extended family or food or alcohol or, as in my case, all of the above.

Boxing Day in New Zealand is a public holiday so excepting those poor souls in the business of retail, the rest of us get to lay about and try to shelter from the heat. We can eat leftovers all day and maybe venture out late afternoon for a walk or a dip in the ocean.

Does everyone even call today Boxing Day? I understand it’s called that because historically in England today was the day the ‘poor boxes’ were opened and the proceeds distributed to the needy, but, as per my usual disclaimer, I could of course have this wrong.

Anyway my point is that I reckon that Boxing Day is the poor cousin of Christmas Day. It’s the recovery day. It’s sad really; it’s the plain younger sister; it’s the day that’s doomed forever to be the day after the day before.

Today I’ve decided that this must change.

I for one am standing up and declaring my newly recognised regard for Boxing Day. It’s a day that doesn’t expect too much from us; it costs nothing to celebrate; there’s no fuss, no god bothering; no stupid hats; no over-rich food; no decorating requirements and it has way better movies on TV than Christmas Day does. Boxing Day is absolutely everything I want in a holiday and I regret taking it for granted in past years. Who’s with me?

Enjoy your Boxing Day everyone, relax and catch your breath after the madness that is Christmas. 

I’m off now to take the dog for a walk at the beach; I may even have a swim.

Christmas eve and all is well

I’m sitting on my little patio sipping a delicious pomegranate cocktail and munching on fresh cherries while waiting for some friends to arrive for Christmas eve drinks (and a barbecue later). 

It’s a clear blue sky day and it’s getting a bit warmer as the afternoon progresses. Even though it doesn’t get horribly hot in NZ, we do have very thin ozone which equals a killer sun. This reminds me I better go slap on some sunscreen and get the sun umbrella out before I start to grow a melanoma glow.

Have a merry Christmas all.  Stay safe and enjoy your loved ones if you’re lucky enough to be spending time with them this season. Stay warm if it’s cold where you are and stay cool if it’s warm.

I’ll catch all of my lovely bloggy friends after Christmas and remember; you can’t make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

Louise

I dropped Rory off here to Westhaven Marina earlier today where his dad’s boat is moored so they can go sailing for the day.  The sea breeze was lovely and I almost wished I could tag along.

Grinch

I just can’t seem to summon any enthusiasm at all about Christmas this year. It’s the 12th today and not one decoration is up; no tree, no window dressings, no wreath on the door. Thankfully I have at least done my Christmas shopping.

My health problems are getting me down and to add to the general misery work is so freakin’ busy and I now need to be away on Monday and Tuesday  again but I have this huge presentation to deliver on Thursday as part of my study and I haven’t even finished it yet – eeeeeeeeeeeek!!

I’m barely keeping panic at bay.

I wasted a whole day off work yesterday when I should have been working on my presentation. We had our Christmas work function on Thursday night and I drank far too many margaritas and consequently had a very sore head. I didn’t do anything except sleep and feel sorry for myself all day yesterday. The work do was great though; dinner and drag cabaret – heaps of fun.

It’s my sister-in-laws 40th birthday party tonight but there’ll be no drinking for me so I’m dedicating Sunday (tomorrow) to be a study day. A good productive day should help me feel a bit more in control.

Sorry for being a whiney Grinch.

Aww shucks Kyle

It’s award time again folks and I’m delighted and flattered to accept this award bestowed on me by Kyle from Out Left.

Kyle is a creative type who lives and works in stunning New Hampshire with his partner Stan. He and Stan are passionate about their 19th century home and beautiful gardens of which we occasionally get to see photos. Kyle is also a movie buff and provides great reviews for those of us who need a bit of guidance. 

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Apparently I am supposed to share 5 things that I enjoy before passing this award on to more worthy recipients.

Friends: There’s nothing I like more than settling down in comfy chairs for a good catch up with a friend. It’s even better when we can relax over a chilled and fruity Sauvignon Blanc. 

Food: Be it Middle Eastern or Italian or Thai or Greek or Indian – you name it I love it. The more flavoursome the better.

Learning: I undertake some formal learning every year and right now I should be working on a presentation that I’ll deliver on the 17th as part of  my current objective which is a diploma in Public Sector Leadership.  I’m nearly half way through this now after working on it part time for the last 6 months.

Coffee: Love it, can’t live without it.

Books: I’m afraid to say I’m not intelligentsia; for me it’s about a great story that’s not a chore to read. My favourite authors are Margaret Attwood, Sebastian Faulks and Wally Lamb.

And now to the fun part. I’ve made lots of new friends blogging but here are some of my favourite gals. Always great for a laugh are…

• Joanne at Moving Forward Half Speed
• Lori at Family Trees May Contain Nuts
• Kathryn at From the Inside…Out

At the next two sites I do more lurking than commenting due to the intimidation factor, but whether they know it or not I always read and greatly enjoy their wit and intelligence.

• Intelliwench at Post-Raphaelite Sisterhood
• PENolan at Menopausal Stoners

Thanks to you all for brightening my days. I’ll pop a comment on your latest post to let you know about this. Sorry to those of you who don’t want such awards – do with it what you will.

Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving day to all the ‘merican folks  who might happen across this here blog.

Have a great day, eat drink and be merry (and thankful of course).

Culture and cappuccino

 

 

 

My sister and I are both fans of painter Rita Angus and we decided today to check out the latest exhibition of her work at the Auckland City Art Gallery. 

Rita Angus was a feminist and a pacifist and was one of this country's pioneer modern painters. She was prolific for over 40 years until she died in 1970. I particularly enjoy the oils she painted in her later years - here are four of my favourites.

Central Otago

Boats in the Bay

Fog, Hawkes Bay

View from Tinakori Road

I had been hoping to buy a lithograph of ‘Boats’ to have mounted for my bedroom wall but the $90.00 price tag was unfortunately out of my range. Instead we treated ourselves at the patisserie a few doors down – fabulous creamy cappuccino and delicious lemon tart.

It was a good part of a great day out, I hope your Sunday is as much fun.

**EDIT** I will post about what we got up to this morning, before the gallery, at some stage over the next couple of days.

Clearing Kibera

Photos uplifted from website of the Affordable Housing Institute:US. Click to enlarge.  

Most of us would have heard of Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. It’s a massive squatter city of over 600 acres with more than a million inhabitants. It’s possibly the most densely populated place on the planet and it sits right in the centre of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. See the link following for the highly informative Oneworld.net television doco about Kibera.

Most of Kibera is built on piles of rubbish which subside and lead to regular building collapses. The whole place is prone to flooding and is heavily polluted by soot, dust, and other wastes. Open sewage routes also contribute to contamination. The combination of poor nutrition and lack of sanitation accounts for many illnesses. It is estimated that nearly a quarter of the 2.2 million Kenyans living with HIV live in Kibera. It’s a way of life so completely desperate it’s beyond the comprehension of most of us.

The BBC reported earlier this week (see here) that the Kenyan government has begun a long-term movement scheme which will rehouse all of the slums inhabitants. The clearance of Kibera is expected to take up to five years to complete - all residents are to be rehoused in brand new affordable housing around the city. The project has the backing of the United Nations and is expected to cost $1.2 billion. The new communities are currently being built and will include schools, markets, playgrounds and other facilities.

The first group of 1,500 people to leave Kibera were moved out on 16 September and were rehoused in 300 newly constructed apartments with a heavily subsidised monthly rental.

The removal process has now been challenged though and the Kenyan High Court has now ruled that the government cannot begin proper demolition works until the case is heard in October. The 80 plaintiffs that have filed the case are mainly middle-class landlords who lease the slum dwellings to the impoverished.

The rehousing effort is a fascinating and dramatic exercise in socialised housing on what must be the biggest scale ever attempted. There is significant risk that rehoused residents may have to share apartments with other families in order to afford the rent or that they might even move back to Kibera and rent their new homes to middle-class families so as to have money for food. Let's all hope that the Kenyan government, with the help of the UN and contributing nations, can find a way to mitigate these risks and make this work. 600,000 children deserve better.

Things that make me go hmmm

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realise you're wrong.

Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with? 

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish writing a text message.

Lol has often gone from meaning "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I'm in Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.  546 pictures? Don't mind if I do thanks.

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save the changes to my 22 page report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

I hate leaving my house feeling ultra confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about 1 in every 10 songs.

Why is a school zone 40kph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for paedophiles...

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

….and finally;

The other night I ordered takeaway Chinese food, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included 2 sets of plastic cutlery. Hmmmm. Someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least 2 people eating to require this amount of food. I was eating by myself.

Olfaction satisfaction

I have woken this morning to the smell of freshly baked bread coming from the house of my earth mother neighbour.  It took me a second to understand what had woken me and why I was salivating. I will certainly detour via the local bakery and pick up a couple of nice warm rolls on my way to work. I might even stop for an espresso so I can drink in that aroma as well this morning. 

Another of my favourite smells is newly cut grass on a summer afternoon. The noise of suburban lawnmowers in symphony can get tedious but the smell that later pervades the neighbourhood makes it all worthwhile.

In winter I always have fresh oranges, grapefruit and lemons in bowls in the kitchen and living area. I think the smell is the best air freshener of all during a damp winter.

What rocks your olfactory sense? What doesn’t?

Circus of the sun

We had a fantastic night last night at Cirque du Soleil. Our seats were great. The 2 and a half hour show flew by  so fast I couldn’t believe it was after 10.30pm when the house lights came up.

My shoulders, arms and hands were sore from clapping so much. 

 

 

 

Photos from the Cirque du Soleil website

We decided to make a night of it and ended up at a salsa club in the city dancing until nearly 3am. I was the sober driver so I was on water for the night and I am now very grateful – the friends I was with are all feeling jaded today while I’m feeling bright as a button.

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Just got back from the beach with Bonnie for an Sunday morning walk seeing the rain had stopped temporarily.  I headed to Piha on the west coast rather than the east coast beaches as there’s some kind of puffer fish toxin washing up in the Hauraki Gulf and a couple of dogs have died after eating washed up dead sea slugs. I’m lucky living on an isthmus with both coasts within easy reach. 

Piha was wild and windy but as usual there were a few very hardy surfers trying their luck out past the break. So you can get some perspective, if you swam 2000 km (1300 miles) due west from here you’d hit Australia. Around Sydney somewhere probably.

My lovely new car has now been christened with wet sandy dog. The west coast beaches have black sand (iron ore I think?) so it’s extra messy all over the car *sigh*.

I have a house load of teenage boys (well there are only 3 of them actually but they do seem to fill up our little place) all baying for food so I better wrap this up and go make the double batch of scones I promised.

Have a great weekend everyone. Enjoy the last of your summer you northern hemispheroids as I feel a distinct hint of spring in the air downunder – it won’t be long now. Spotted this tree on my way home from the beach an hour ago.

Unconsummated I presume?

Great story in yesterdays New Zealand Herald. Even Germans screw things up sometimes.

Bride spent wedding night with crate of vodka reports Reuters.

A German bride spent her wedding night flaked out next to a crate of vodka before being rescued by police. Cologne police were forced to rescue the 30-year-woman when the BMW she was unconscious in began to overheat in the sun. Once roused she climbed out of the broken window, still wearing her wedding dress. The boozy bride apparently had no idea where her husband was.

 

Photo courtesy of Essex Wedding Services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday to me!!

44 years ago today my tiny little mother gave birth to an 11lb (pre metric days here in 1965) monster.

I have another day off work today so I am heading off shortly for a leisurely lunch with my best mate and then to collect the new car later this afternoon. This evening a big group of us are meeting at my favourite Thai restaurant for dinner.

The family dinner was last night and lovely pressies were had including my favourite perfume, a new coffee mug and vouchers to spend at Repco on my new car (seat covers or whatever).

I’ve also been splashing out, ostensibly for my birthday, on tickets; me and 2 friends going to Cirque du Soleil on Saturday coming and another friend and I scored VIP Pearl Jam tickets for November.

Fanfreakintastic! Life is good!

Stingray for breakfast

The Waitemata harbour in Auckland has been host most mornings recently to a pod of up to 18 Orca who are on the hunt for stingray. The Orca are coming right into the shallows by the city beaches and putting on quite a show.

Thought I’d share some of the photographs that are around, none of which are mine as unfortunately my pitiful attempts aren’t worth viewing. It’s mid winter here and freezing so forgive the dull early morning weather. At least it wasn’t raining.

 

Photo: Jonathan Squires

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Glenn McNae

Photo: Brett Phibbs

Photo: Brett Phibbs

Apparently stingray are an Orca delicacy, they herd them into the shallows and it’s all on. They mainly eat the liver and leave the rest which worries the biologists as any toxins that the rays have been exposed to would be filtered by the liver and thus ingested by the Orca. At one stage when we were there multiple rays were leaping from the water trying to get away. Amazing stuff, dangerous too as I read that the barb of a stingray can kill even an Orca. Fascinating. Gruesome.

Extreme makeover

 

Just spotted this photo at the highly reputable www.mirror.co.uk

When did Ms Love get so malnourished? Me thinks she might be taking dieting to an unhealthy extreme.

Where are her friends? Why are they not making her pasta and refusing to leave until she finishes it?

The Great Food Robbery

Interesting story on Campbell Live here tonight for any Australian readers. 

Sounds like you guys are getting totally ripped off on food prices. We’re somehow paying significantly less here in NZ for your Australian products and this is despite our extra 12.5% GST which is payable on all goods.

Click on the todaytonight logo for the full story from Craig Kelly of the Southern Sydney Retailers Association. Sorry I can’t find the actual video anywhere online to link to.

 

Prepare to be plenty pissed off.

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As promised earlier here is a photo of Cathedral Square, Christchurch at night with the lights on.

Awww pretty.

 

 

 

After saying I was struggling earlier, here’s my second post of the evening… I’m making quite a liar of myself.

I’ve lost my voice

Figuratively that is.

I’ve been sick and was finally discharged from hospital on Saturday afternoon after more than a week. I’m still off work for another few days but I must be feeling much better because I was getting excruciatingly bored by yesterday.  To break the monotony I’ve come to hang out with a friend in Christchurch for a couple of days. Christchurch is a couple of hours flight south of Auckland (latitude 43°S).

My hotel is right in the middle of town and my room looks down on the square, the sculpture and the cathedral as below. If I remember rightly the sculpture lights up and looks quite cool at night so I’ll try and get another shot of it after we get home from dinner. 

Since I got home from hospital, I’m finding myself with a crisis of confidence - I haven’t been able to think of anything worthwhile to post about. Everything I write seems so banal. I’m hoping that a bit of a break from Auckland town might nudge me from my malaise.

Thanks to you all for your well wishes over the last couple of weeks. Every single message was truly appreciated – thanks heaps. I have a lot of reading to do over the next while to catch up on what I’ve missed, but not tonight – I’m off for a quick Thai meal before an early night as the flight etc has taken it out of me. I must admit to still feeling a bit fragile.

Good night from the deep (and freakin’ freezing) south of New Zealand.

Momma always said…

…that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I am determined to start making a better go of breakfast during the week rather than the current situation where Rory gobbles down his cereal standing at the kitchen sink and I grab something, usually unhealthy, when I get a chance later in the day at work. I want to be one of those families where breakfast is a sit down event. 

In my fantasy world, every morning there would be a clean and pressed plain white Irish linen tablecloth on the table and freshly squeezed chilled pulpy orange juice in tall glasses. Our places would be set with an eclectic but stylish mix of old fashioned pretty crockery and there would be rich dark cappuccino in beautifully glazed cups. Rory and I would sit down and chat for at least 15 minutes about our plans for the upcoming day.

We’d be eating…

IN SUMMER:

• Monday: A fresh made waffle with locally grown berries and yoghurt. 
• Tuesday: Light toasted muesli with fresh apricot and peach fruit salad.
• Wednesday: A buttery croissant with a slice of gruyere cheese and a couple of slices of tomato.
• Thursday: Kellogg's crunchy nut cornflakes followed by a hot piece of toasted Vogels bread with Marmite.
• Friday: Half a juicy pink grapefruit followed by a creamy banana and yoghurt smoothie.

 

IN WINTER:

• Monday: A cherry tomato and spring onion omelette.
• Tuesday: A bowl of porridge with sultanas, cinnamon and a wee sprinkling of brown sugar.
• Wednesday: A short stack of pancakes with real maple syrup and banana.
• Thursday: A poached egg on Vogels 12 grain toast with a drop of HP sauce.
• Friday:  Grilled chicken bacon with a toasted sesame bagel and cream cheese.

 

 

…or something like that *sigh*

How about you? What’s your idea of the very best week day breakfast options? Feel free to put me to complete shame and share your family’s breakfast routine.

Speechless

I had the best weekend. My girlfriends are truly precious.

It was almost sunny on Saturday, the first dry day in weeks. It was still chilly but was almost bearable in the watery sunshine. We slept in, breakfasted and then walked, talked and fished (I only caught 2 very undersized fish so both went back). We found a great cafe for lunch and later we walked again, this time to the fish shop to satisfy our need for fresh fish.

We went through the whole fire lighting process again when we got back to the bach so we could be warm and cook our fish on the coal range. It was a real novelty cooking on the range, we didn’t use the electric stove all weekend. We then ate and drank too much and talked and laughed late into the night. We had dragged the mattresses and blankets into the living area so we could sleep there where it was warmest.

We slept late again this morning and woke to rain. Just for a change. I have no voice at all today. It was a bumpy trip back on the ferry this afternoon but we’re home in one piece and all agree the weekend was a great welcome home surprise for Liz.

Have a great Sunday and Monday everyone. My working week starts again in just over 12 hours {sigh}.

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“A real friend walks in while the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell

…a few of my favourite things

Crème Brulee by Chris Caldes. Photograph by Carrie Russell

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Got this idea a couple of days ago from Dade Freeman’s great site It’s My Life. Thanks Dade.

My favourite things…

- Author: Margaret Attwood
- Beverage: Ice cold Jim Beam and coke
- Cologne / Perfume: Elizabeth Arden Red Door
- Dessert: Crème brulee mmmmmm
- Electronic Device: my Nokia E71
- Food: Thai (specifically yum nua and giang panang)
- Game: Pixel Junk Monsters
- Hobby: Mosaic
- Ingredients as a pizza topping: Chicken and capsicum
- Job (you've had): my current role (Operations Mngr)
- Kind of breakfast: Eggs Benedict with salmon
- Living or dead person: my fabulous dad
- Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
- Novel: I know this Much is True by Wally Lamb
- Organic Produce: Big fat juicy tomatoes
- Programme on TV: Outrageous Fortune
- Quote: “Do or do not, there is no try” (Yoda)
- Relaxation Method: sorry don’t know you all well enough to share this – let’s stick with ‘see favourite beverage as above’
- Song: Run to the Water, Live
- Time to wake up: around 6:00am
- Unusual Talent: None (only fairly normal ones)
- Vacation Spot: various NZ lakes and rivers
- Website: http://www.youtube.com/
- Xperience: travelling (especially south-east Asia) 
- Yoghurt: no thanks – yuck
- Zodiac Sign (your own): Leo