Beyond COVID-19 NZ

Another day dawns (with drizzly rain). More writing to be done. I thought the project was complete - but there was, in actual fact, more tweaking and fiddling to be finalised. T's to be crossed and I's to be dotted. Photos to source and sort. Details to double check. I'd been doing all this for what seems like days - but  there's always more. I'm not sure how editors of daily papers do it! I vacuumed with my $39 vacuum cleaner - it really does make this awful chore pleasurable and I whipped around in a jiffy.  I had a cheese and onion toasted sandwich for a quick lunch, and pumpkin soup with Vogels slices for dinner. Today, there wasn't a lot of time for prep, cooking or even eating.  Outside it drizzled away and I didn't care, I was on a countdown mission. And I completed it. Phew.  I have papers all over the table, all over the coffee table, all over the bed. I have kept them away from the kitchen bench! Tomorrow I will sort them out, work out what I need

Sunday 29th November 2020 Good grief, we're almost into December. It doesn't seem possible but it's true.  I actually had a lazy Sunday! I had a lie-in, read the papers online. I tried to stay away from my laptop as much as possible although did have work to do here and there.  It was quite windy and annoying drizzly rain came through around the middle of the day.  I decided I'd watch some Netflix. People have mentioned this show and that but none of it has really taken my fancy. I've watched a bit of this and that over the year - and two episodes of Season 1 is usually enough for me to go "Well, I tried it, but it didn't fit". I never got why people raved.  Today I tried two shows - Schitt's Creek (Canadian about a wealthy family that lose everything and have to go and live in a godforsaken town they bought years ago as a joke). It's won all sorts of awards, and it does have it's moment, but when the internet crapped out and it disappeared

Another day mostly on the laptop - despite it being a stunningly beautiful blue-sky day. It did start off howling a real gale, but it ended with perfection.  I realise that, lovely as the letter C is, it is also the most annoying letter in the English alphabet. Having got hooked into Words with Friends (a Scrabble app with a difference) it's the words that have a C in them that are the most difficult to work with. There are no 2-letter C words, either beginning or ending with C. And it can stymy everything! If you can place a C in a position that means no one can access a double or triple letter or word, then you have done well. This afternoon, after sending off my drafts, I treated myself to a glass of rose on the deck. Heaven.  Then I went for a very swift walk to the beach - how stunning it was.  Then I thought I'd go to a movie in Matakana - and I did. David Byrne's "American Utopia". OMG it was amazing. I'm an avid Dave Byrne fan and love all his music. H

I was either on my phone, email or laptop virtually the whole day to complete the newsletter draft. I did pop across the causeway mid-morning to get some fresh produce from a lovely Dutch woman who grows and sells all sorts of lovely veges. She's the partner of an old friend from early Omaha days - Roger, who makes and sells fab honey. Leonie also makes fab beeswax wraps using Roger's beeswax! She showed me how she makes it, fascinating.  They both sell their products at the Matakana Market on Saturdays. Leonie recently won "best stall" - you can see why from the photo below! Friend Lynn in Matakana called over early afternoon with some of her handmade soaps which she started making during Covid and I'm keen to try. With my encouragement, she is going into full-on production and sales! She's English and although our connection is recent, it is strong with so many commonalities. She's a Virgo too so we go "snap" very often! We went for a quick 20

Okay, so I'm pretty tired as I type this - after 1.30am, after a long chat with sister Jacqui, whose bar is going well but not without challenge. The late hour is not that unusual but I am totally buggered from a week's worth of solid writing and concentration. I truly am absolutely almost deleriously gaagaa  with writing! I've spent the entire day today on my laptop (except for a quick "supply trip" and a15 minutes walk to the beach at 7pm). You'd be buggered too!? Around 4.30pm I went into Matakana. I was in the 4-Square (aka mini supermarket for those outside NZ) - they sell virtually everything and the staff are the best. It's a local godsend.  I was wandering around wanting some veges and cheese - and OMG I could not believe my eyes or ears. There was a family (obviously [shamefully] local or you probably wouldn't be shopping here)  who gave me the heebeejeebees beyond what I can even write about adequately.  The mother was shouting and screaming

Well I barely left my laptop today. I have nearly completed the Omaha newsletter. A bit more writing and editing to do in the morning and then it can go off for review by the committee before being sent off for design and layout. It's been a mammoth few days doing little else but working on wordsmithing, research, writing etc.  I'm glad I was up here because Brett had phoned last night to say the internet had gone down yesterday - I suggested it would be because of driveway works - and it was, they had cut the cable with the digger! He rang tonight to say it was fixed, but I simply couldn't have got by with no internet today of all days.  So that's my third computer glitch - the first, my desktop dying; the second, my laptop mouse conking out; the third, internet problems at home.  Actually last night he was also ringing to say that Indi had gone missing - he hadn't seen her that morning, nor in the evening. He was very worried as it's not her normal pattern - b

Had my hair cut today - lovely young Aimee who had been working out of a salon in Matakana, is now on her own, Way better. She snipped my hair at my place this morning - no mirror, all good. Had a coffee with friend/colleague this afternoon. And then wine with friends from old days of Omaha. Then long chat with friend in Auckland. Today I went and checked out the golf trophies at the Golf Club (research for an article) - it seems they've been unpolished for some time. Some of the name engraving is all but gone.  Plenty of trophies in the names of many families, including the Blyth Cup. A Junior Cup was started in 1979 - I won it in 1980! The Blyth Cup SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY: Accident ... So in follow up to yesterday's tragedy - today I heard that the guy who died in the river was an epileptic and may have had a fit. It still seems unfathomable how someone with a medical mishap created the mishap that the township is grappling with.  I still can't get my head around what I sa

It rained overnight - which wasn't in the forecast. It rained this morning too. Black clouds were a little ominous although the rest of the day was without rain.  Did a bit of work, fiddled around a bit, sorted a few things and then headed to Warkworth. I'd bought a wireless mouse for my laptop a few months ago but it keeps conking out so I was returning it. However, I got to the store and realised I'd left the dongle in my laptop. So no-go for return today. I'll have to return - with dongle! I do have a wired mouse as back-up meanwhile, ,but it's really annoying with the cable getting in the way. I always seem to have computer glitches come at once - did mouse, power supply conking out with my desktop - let's hope there's not a third thing! I'd parked my car in a small carpark and when I went back to my car I noticed some police/danger tape around the playground on the riverbank. Then I saw some fresh flowers on a bench and notes lamenting what was obvi

Well as a follow-up to Ziggy's race yesterday - turns out the jockey of the horse who shunted him badly got a 7-day suspension for careless riding. Good job, although it should have been more as it was a poor and dangerous piece of riding. Frustratingly, Opie Bosson (arguably NZ's top jock) is just a little untouchable and gets away with what others would simply not. It's neither right nor fair - but it's not uncommon - in life in general, not just racing.  Take a look at the footage of the race (link below), and you'll see the shambles ... look for the horse jumping from the widest gate with yellow sleeves and red cap - that's Saintly Way (aka Ziggy). Jockey settles him back, that's all good and about all you can do from his wide draw. He's making ground but gets a bump halfway through the race - can't see it on the footage but the stipes picked it up. That bump pushes him way wide so jockey opts to go forward - sooner than he'd like but best of

 A day at the races - it was fun but our Ziggy boy had more luckless moments. He drew wide, and we weren't hopeful. He got away well and then got across well (covering so much extra ground). Then he was bumped and shunted wide, so jockey Sam opted to move him forward. Coming round the bend Ziggy put his foot down - a bit too early but Sam really didn't have any option. He looked likely in the home straight ... until the jockey on the favourite shifted out to move forward - and ended up bumping another horse (almost dislodged that rider) and in turn shunted Ziggy sideways. I swear he left the ground and was moved a metre sideways by the motion. There's no coming back from that. His momentum was gone and there's no point in persevering as it was all over the moment that shunt happened. The other horse who nearly fell came last, and the favourite (the culprit) was second to last. We were ahead of them. I suspect jockey Opie on the favourite will cop a suspension. He's

Hmmm, I did say a few days ago that my computer was spitting out thousands of words a day. It seems, haha, that I've overworked it way too much - this morning it died. Aaargh.  I was working away and suddenly the whole screen was covered in loads of skinny bar-code type things, blinking away. What the ...?!? Aaargh.  Then it made a very loud whirring noise and shut off. Aaargh. Aaargh. I tried to reboot it. Nothing. Just the whirring sound. Yikes.  I switched it off at the wall and then back on again. Another cycle of whirring into brief action and then shut down. And a blank screen. Aaargh and Yikes (they're different!) Something was very wrong. Typical - right at the busiest time! And just as I'd been singing its praises for doing such a lot of grunt work! I rang Anton my trusty PC Fixit man and he said he'd send one of his men around later in the afternoon.  He usually comes himself but was busy so arranged for Simon to come and take a look. I tried not think about w

More writing today. Mostly focussed on article about the early days at Omaha, the people and what we got up to etc - see below and Share-Note for extracts of draft (not fully word-smithed yet) More sunshine. More driveway progress.  More mask-wearing - it became compulsory today to wear them on public transport and planes.  Watched a bit of Coronation Street - the saga of Oliver dying drags on and on. To be honest, I'll be glad when this storyline is over as I've had enough of Leanne ranting and raving and being rude and obnoxious to everyone, and blind and ignorant to everything! The whole thing leaves me cold - she's so horrible and screechy and it just goes on and on in every scene, that I can't even feel any pity or empathy for her. What were the script-writers thinking? It does not make for good tv. Not even sure why I'm watching it. But now I guess I'll have to watch on until poor little Oliver does die just to see the conclusion of what has been a long dr