Day 7, Level 1: Rich red sauce and rich red Amaryllis

-

At least the wind and rain was absent today. Am back at home - and barely left my office! Got through a bit of work, including the dreaded GST - two months comes round very fast.

Election things are heating up. I've all but switched off. I'll go and vote tomorrow. 

Michael came for dinner - I made kofta meatballs in a rich and tasty tomato/mango/harissa sauce, served with pita bread and various accoutrements and salad things. It got a big thumbs-up. The sauce was a real concoction - a bit of this, bit of that. It turned out really good.

The boys got stuck into the dishes and when Michael left, Brett went off and watched tv - so I skipped off to Wednesday quiz with my "second team" - Simple Minds! It's only 10 minutes away and I got there about a third of the way through. We came midfield. It was good fun.

I'd left all my inks at Omaha so will do today's word (Armor !?!?) tomorrow when I get back up there later in the day, all going well. This word doesn't really inspire me much either - perhaps I'll dream something up overnight.

My article that was in the Herald yesterday went online today - with some more photos. Here's the link:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/five-auckland-regional-parks-within-two-hours-drive/BQGJOZU5NWZZKP5MPYKT4OJ7JE/

SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
Amaryllis ...

Big red trumpet flowers. My friend Denise gave me a plant for my 50th in 2012 - even though I'm not at all green-fingered and have trouble growing weeds, it flowers beautifully every year around this time. That's 9 years of flowering! I've had it outside on the deck for a bit and it seems to like it. Framed by nikau palms, it's quite a lovely sight, with more buds (trumpets) getting ready to open. It's definitely the most enduring pot plant I've ever had in my possession! Must be a hardy specimen!

The red of these flowers is as rich in colour as my kofta sauce, haha!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 69, Level 1: Quiz (a decade of it), Venice, opera and incredible paper dresses

-
Image
Gorgeous day. Blue sky, no wind. Not too hot. On computer or phone most of the day sorting stuff so didn't see too much of it. But it was nice to know it was there.  Quiz tonight - we did well - and came 2nd (again!) by just one point. The team that usually wins and who we battle with won again. Oh well, we did our best. We'd thought it was the last quiz for the year but the final one is next week. So we go again ... maybe next week will be our winning one, to wrap the year up. Despite the strange year of Covid and lockdowns, quiz has provided a steady and pleasant interlude to everything else. It too, shut down of course in lockdowns - but we remember the weeks we were there having fun, not the ones we weren't. Always good food, wine and camaraderie. A few wins, a few placings, and a few duds. That's the nature of life in a nutshell.  Our quizmaster is a lovely young guy who, we found out tonight, has just completed his masters with honours. Not sure what he's stud...
Read more

Day Eight - IndiCat, Emmylou, Home and Dad

-
Image
A stunning April day today, I love this time of year. It was hot. The sunset was sublime. Omaha Photo of the Day - pure beauty right there Today, the 2nd of April, is my Dad's birthday (b. 1937). In 1993 we celebrated his 56th birthday with a family dinner at his favourite Thai Restaurant. A month later he was gone. He would have turned 83 today. Cheers Dad, wish you were here. Yesterday, I talked about Little Barrier looking like it was erupting (see photos from yesterday's blog). Today, every exquisite contour of the island was more clearly visible from Omaha shores than I've seen in a very long time. The clarity was astounding. Dad used to go on occasional fishing expeditions with mates to Hauturu/Little Barrier in the '70s/'80s. One time, however, the boat's motor conked out and even fearless Dad was worried for their safety. He was a GP, well-regarded to be able to fix just about anything in the human and DIY realms, but his recounting of events of...
Read more

Day 86, Level 1: Another post! Rain! And crawdads!

-
Image
Ok so I have done another post (it's become a habit, and habits are hard to break!) But do check back about my next blog ... it's coming Oh how it rained today. On and off, all day long. Heavy rain.  The day was a mix of sunshine and rain - often in huge deluges that hit the deck like the wrath of the gods. The tanks and plants loved every drop of it! And then - by evening - blissful sunlight with golden hued clouds.  And thus is the weather these days ... It blows away the cobwebs and rubbish ...! 6.11pm SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY: "Where the Crawdads Sing" ... Now here's a book worth reading. I don't read a lot these days, mostly write.  But a friend lent me this - and it was right up my alley.  Different, refreshing, and with a fabulous sting in its tail.  A story about humanity and nature that touches on just about everything life offers.  Gentleness meets resilience. Innocence meets revenge. Oh it's a good story.  I am so looking forward to the movie ....
Read more