AS: Life downunder

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Comments

  • ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
    Congratulations APW! Very happy for you.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Congratulations indeed, APW!

    Loth, even to a total non-gardener like me your new place sounds idyllic.

    Avocados on tap!!! **sigh**
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Congratulations on your new job APW. If I worked in a library I'd have to work hard at not picking up the books and losing a couple of hours.
  • ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
    Strange drops of water are falling from the sky.

    I fear not enough for the farmers, but it's a start.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Wish I could send them some of our little drops, not to mention the sprinkling of snow on the Port Hills.

    Just has a phone call from my sis-in-law. My brother with Parkinson's has was appears to be some kind of mass in his abdomen and is going to hospital for tests. He is past the stage where I can pick up the phone and talk to him. Suddenly August (when I have my tickets booked to go to Wellington) - seems a long way away, :cry:
  • Hugs, Huia.
  • What a lot has been going on while I was staying away from the Ship!
    Huia, I have a friend who I always wish a Happy Birthday Month, so I hope for you too good things arriving for a month – or more!
    Loth, is that Heaven that you're moving to? It could be from the fruits of the earth that you describe.
    Rexory, I wish many years of peace for you – an occasional Sunday service to take if you like, by way of pocket money – you can visit us if you come to New Zealand; we're Presbyterians, would you mind? We've been vacant for almost two years (we must be too picky).
    APW I really MUST drive up the coast one day (maybe I'll wait for the spring). I haven't seen your library but I should sniff the air for the welcome odour of books. Enjoy!!
    GG
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Thanks for the birthday wishes GG. I'm heading up your way in early August for my brother's birthday, but have decided not to go to this year's conference at St Andrews. I'm still trying to work out my budget on Super, and it was one or the other.

    I looks like the Regional Council have decided to scrap the bus route that takes me to the branch of the Library I use most :heartbreak: so I'm hoping that the new Central Library is up and running by October, otherwise I will be seriously upset. On the other hand a new cycle track is being built that goes past the Mall where the library is, so maybe I will get fitter instead, as long as my knees hold out.

    Thanks for the hugs Loth, I have realised I might be overreacting as sis-in-law tends to be a bit overdramatic, but I find not being able to talk to my brother is hard.
  • APWAPW Shipmate Posts: 46
    Thanks everyone. Its 15 years since I last managed a library, so no doubt there will be things to learn. All visitors encouraged.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    I'd love to visit in August as I'd like to see you again and that's one of my favourite parts of the North Island, besides which libraries are one of my favourite destinations. I hope there is a bus or even train service nearby.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Managing a library sounds like a lovely job, APW. When I was a student, I worked as an assistant in the local library in the summer holidays, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Huia - sending hugs. <votive>
  • LothlorienLothlorien Glory
    edited May 2018
    Yesterday was quite mild, around 25° in Sydney. The temperature is dropping here as the wind comes up from the Alps where there was snow overnight and more expected.

    Coconut and butternut pumpkin soup for lunch for today and tomorrow. It is simmering and smells good. I adapted the recipe as is normal for me. A large onion, some garlic. Curry paste, all cooked together. Chopped half a butternut pumpkin. Several kaffir lime leaves, washed and added whole. They are easy to pick out and the flavour still works.Large tin of coconut cream and some stock. Simmer till cooked and blend with stick blender. I would really like to add some coriander which I love . Alas, none in house. It means another tin which will not need packing to move. Am running pantry stocks down and freezer too.
  • Drama here today not yet fixed.

    Under Sydney end of the building adjacent to storm water canal is a very high under pass from street to McDs and BP at front on main road.

    An almighty bang mid morning. A truck had hit the plumbing pipes at height of underpass. No idea how it happened, it is very high. Water everywhere like a broken water main Firies turned up and shut the main. That made building alarms go on all over the place as sprinkler system and alarms are connected So he turned water back on We now have water through building but the pipe is still broken. Fortunately basement car park was not flooded as most ran down slope to canal. All this in a torrential downpour of rain which lasted a couple of hours.
  • APWAPW Shipmate Posts: 46
    Huia, not only is there a train, but the train stop is almost opposite the library (if you ignore a shop and a parking area in between). Be lovely to see you.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Yay, I love trains, especially that place where it emerges from the tunnel and Kapiti Island appears in view and then, on the return trip, coming out of another tunnel and Wellington and it's Harbour are revealed. I really wasn't looking forward to coming up because visiting my brother is difficult ( not his fault - Parkinson's) so I try to find something I will enjoy doing.

    Huia - doing the happy dance , much to the surprise and disgruntlement of Georgy-Porgy who is Trying. To. Sleep.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited May 2018
    I'm sure G-P, f&f will find a way to get back to sleep ... :mrgreen:

    Loth, it's just as well your sprinklers didn't decide to automatically test themselves when the water was turned back on - that's the last thing you'd need when your flat's on the market! :anguished:
  • Huia and APW
    Or we could go together in. my car.

    GG
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate
    Happy day today as our newest grandchild (#5 for us) born last night in our local hospital. Named Reuben - not so common as some other names discussed in the lead-up. We are minding his 3 year old older brother for a few days while Mum recovers. Took him in to visit today with no dramas. But some confusion of the name with that of Batman's sidekick Robin.
  • Congratulations to all, Tukai. One of mine is Reuben, but as a second name.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Congratulations, Grandpa Tukai, and welcome to planet earth to Reuben! :smiley:
  • Greetings and blessings to the youngster.
    My eldest grandchild is Reuben, now aged 12. Not so uncommon. His brother (turning 8 this month) is Aubrey, and I've heard of several other Aubreys.

    I have cut and juiced 19 limes (electric juicer obtained with some Flybuys that were about to expire), cut skins into smaller pieces and shredded them, between showers, with my traditional shredder which has to be bolted to the barbecue table (it's like Mum's traditional mincer). All done in short bursts over three days because they are quite tiring. Shreds and juice are now packed into an ice cream carton to wait in the freezer until I have time to make them into marmalade – the easiest part of the process.

    Tomorrow I shall have a sitting down job.

    GG
  • Well done, GG. I am the odd one out in the family. I am not really fond of marmalade in any shape or form. I will eat lime and ginger, but not often. The other day I cleaned top shelf of fridge carefully. Two part jars of marmalade went. They haven’t been touched in three years or so since son moved out. I could not be bothered trying to get someone lined up to take it.
  • APWAPW Shipmate Posts: 46
    If anyone needs limes, we have a generous superfluity at our house. I have frozen juice and peel for baking purposes, and am adding juice to every glass of water I drink. All sorts of dishes have had lime added to them. The tree is drooping down with the weight of them. Which is wonderful since I love them. I can't quite understand why they are something like $14/kilo in the supermarket.

    Be glad to see you Huia and GG - I'll try and make sure to have some time in lieu owing for your visit so I can stop for a longer lunch.
  • APWAPW Shipmate Posts: 46
    Lothlorien, I'm with you on marmalade. Neither of us like it in any shape. Fortunately nobody has given us any. We tend to be given honey, since several of our friends are beekeepers, and that we can use.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    edited June 2018
    Huia and APW
    Or we could go together in. my car.

    GG

    That's a generous offer GG, but I would like to travel that route by train for nostalgic reasons. I know it won't be as warm or friendly tho


    Horrible drizzly day here - and rain for the next 6 days. I want to hibernate,
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    We very rarely have marmalade in the house (although people used to give us jars of it) - D. wishes he liked it, but doesn't. I quite like it, but I rarely eat more than a bowl of cereal for breakfast (and that only when I'm working and feel I ought to eat something before I go out), so it's not really worth our while to keep it.

    I always enjoy it if we're having breakfast out anywhere though.
  • Just back from a month touring Japan to find that our new diocesan has 'invited' the parish to consider closing two of our three centres, change the parish name, and justify our continuing existence. The assistant bishop who met with the other wardens while I was still away was apparently completely ill-prepared. After a tumultuous decade, we were just beginning to enjoy stability, and to see some congregational growth. If anything, the 'invitation' has united the whole parish in a determination to prove the viability of the current structure.
  • LothlorienLothlorien Glory
    edited June 2018
    That must have been a nasty shock to the system, Barnabas. Prayers for you all.

    I just had a bit of a look. What a great looking crowd of young people there.
  • I'm off up the Sunshine Coast on retreat for the next few days. The conference centre, being a Methodist facility in pre-Uniting days, has a strict no-alcohol rule. Our forebears would turn over in their graves to see the dispensation granted to us dissolute successors 🍷
    From the information mail:
    "ALCOHOL - can we?
    Special permission for the Ministers retreat during the evening meal and evening activities – no spirits or mixes"
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    It's non-liquid mixing that's banned also.
  • Years ago I was an assistant cook at facilities near Dee Why run by Methodist church. Around four hundred attending. A spot check discovered one bottle of sherry meant for trifle fpr 400+ people. Talk about the commotion
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Good news for NZ skiers - the season has started. Bad news for the rest of us - the weather is cold and persistently drizzling.


    Georgie and I are hibernating :tired_face:
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Lothlorien wrote: »
    ... A spot check discovered one bottle of sherry meant for trifle ...
    There was a restaurant (unlicensed, but you could BYO) in Orkney run by a member of the Plymouth Brethren, and I remember my late father being very amused to note that they used liqueurs to flavour their puddings. I've since discovered that the mâitre d' also at one point worked for the local distillery.

    I don't know how this was received by some of his brethren ...

  • Lots of YayLots of Yay Shipmate Posts: 45
    I must say the directors of my Scripture Union beach mission were quite pleased when I introduced gin and tonics to the refreshments offered by the kitchen tent (I was a cook). When things were going pear-shaped elsewhere I would ask people (usually directors) to join Gordon and I in the kitchen to debrief.

    Oh yes. Hi folks. I have to turn my computer on to find my old avatar at some point...
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Yay, welcome back.

    I've had gin once in my life and wept copiously - never again.
  • Piglet wrote: »
    Lothlorien wrote: »
    ... A spot check discovered one bottle of sherry meant for trifle ...
    There was a restaurant (unlicensed, but you could BYO) in Orkney run by a member of the Plymouth Brethren, and I remember my late father being very amused to note that they used liqueurs to flavour their puddings. I've since discovered that the mâitre d' also at one point worked for the local distillery.

    I don't know how this was received by some of his brethren ...

    When I was with what was a fairly closed meeting, although not Londoners, the attitude was fairly ambivalent. It loosened over the years as with other ideas. No TV or radio gradually disappeared, especially for invalids, to keeping them out of sight in a different room to where visitors would be.

    Then overseas travel became more affordable and the older brothers were horrified to discover a totally different set of ideas on the continent and inUK.

    As to the Londoners (Exclusives), they were well known for the ability of those in leadership to put as way a good few pints and also to enjoy a frequent glass of something stronger.


  • mr curlymr curly Shipmate Posts: 42
    Massive amounts of Yay!

    I've started a new job this week, still in the denominational machine. More changes afoot (for the better) so it will be some time before things settle down.

    I think we're just about to start dismantling some of our Methodist "restrictions" on our church property. It's taken a while...

    Those with long memories will be astonished to know that Biggest will cease to be a teenager in a week. How did that happen?

    mr curly
  • How did that happen? Yes, youngest grandchild is now in high school here. how did that happen?
  • Lothlorien wrote: »
    That must have been a nasty shock to the system, Barnabas. Prayers for you all.

    I just had a bit of a look. What a great looking crowd of young people there.

    It's been a hectic few days in meetings to crystallise our case. Now the work begins to draft our submission in response.

    We've begun some programs for young people which are just beginning to gain traction. Our current rector has been here less than two years, and both numbers and giving are up. We can pay our bills, which is more than can be said for other larger parishes. We're looking at new initiatives in worship and spirituality.

    From your time living up here, you would appreciate how different these communities are. The bishop does not seem to understand that our three centres are in equilibrium, and to pull one or two out will lead to the complete collapse of the parish.
  • Exactly, Barnabas.prayers and inspiration for you all.
  • ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
    Yay, Yay!

    So sorry Barnabas. So sorry.

    Cannot believe Biggest is approaching that age, Mr curly! And congratulations on the new job.

    I sent my resume to my former boss who said he'd ask around for me. I need to leave my current team; the not-so-new manager is doing my head in.

    Congratulations Tukai! And anyone else I missed. I have a stomach bug and I am currently, at 14:51, in bed.
  • mr curly wrote: »
    I've started a new job this week, still in the denominational machine.
    A neighbouring Presbytery Minister of yours, who used himself to minister on the North Shore before he (temporarily) saw the light and moved to the Sunshine State, is trying to sweet talk me into an Interim Ministry gig in his Presbytery. Which could be anywhere from inner west to the Blue Mountains, and Hawkesbury River to Picton. Keep you posted.
    And your news of Biggest makes me feel very very old .....
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Perhaps you're just very old, rather than very very. Just perhaps. So many names from the distant past on this page. Perhaps winter's keeping people indoors. Does anyone know how Orfeo is these days?

    Now hoping to retire at the end of this year. There have been enormous difficulties in working out how we can sell Madame but quite a few nibbles from prospective purchasers. One of these days, and in the meantime I'm plugging away now being in the middle of a long trial. I still enjoy it, but getting onto the train by 6.30 on a morning like this is not very pleasant.
  • I thought I had suddenly been transported to your area yesterday. We usually get much less rain than there. Yesterday there was a short time, about 30 minutes, where there was no rain. It became heavier as the day went on and rained most of the night. Much needed actually but I was able to stay inside.

    The purchaser for here is now not basically out of contact. Agent and I think this is possibly a cultural ploy to come in with a late and to me unacceptable offer.

    Fortunately the settlement in mountains is not dependent on this sale which will be the icing on the cake. Vendors there are very pleasant and want to give us lunch to explain a few things. We have furniture from them as they are moving to a smaller place. Tools and equipment. They will leave us the chooks as there are foxes where they are going and they do not have foxproof run yet.

    Best of all is that we are in agreement on hopefully moving settlement forward several weeks. Plans underway.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Gee D wrote: »
    ... There have been enormous difficulties in working out how we can sell Madame ...
    You're trying to sell Mrs. Gee D? :astonished:

  • Gee D wrote: »
    Does anyone know how Orfeo is these days?
    I was just wondering about him this morning. Has he even been on the new Ship?

  • It looks as if orfeo's got a log in for the new Ship (he comes up if you try @name. I've wondered about him too, and hoped all's well with him - but he did have an "interesting" hosting stint.

    @Piglet I wondered about the selling of Madame too

    @Lothlorien sounds really exciting about the move
  • Lots of YayLots of Yay Shipmate Posts: 45
    Unless Madame is actually his house, whom he’s very attached to, and we’ve been misinterpreting his posts all these years!
  • [quote="

    @Lothlorien sounds really exciting about the move [/quote]

    Yes Yay. Quite a few people doing similar, returning to living as multi generational family. All of us except grandson have done this before. We looked at well over thirty places to find one that suited our plans. Not just enough bedrooms and bathrooms, but personal space too. Pool, good grounds, studio and much more. Actually we all looked for places, but DIL did the legwork around to make a short list.

  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    edited June 2018
    I knew there were foxes in Australia - are they native? NZ doesn't have them. For some reason neither the settlers nor later arrivals brought them here, for which I am grateful. Both rabbits and possums do enough damage as it is, as do the odd wallabies which were introduced here.
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