So a packet of chocolate peanuts is $2.00 from the supermarket. Ok, rubbish food is cheap! But if it makes you happy why not? Happiness is in short supply in 2020.

This story is dedicated to my friends and family in Texas as hurricane Laura bears down on them on top of the Beastly covid 19! In the middle of summer it should be pool parties and cold Coors (my Texas drink of choice) but NO….they are hunkering down, praying that the wind and water will keep away from their homes!

The week has passed and a search for dads phone has produced nothing, we can only assume that it is now part of the road (having dropped from his pocket and yours truly running it over)

Sunday saw me take a big chunk of time out from jobs of any kind and dedicate my day to a jigsaw, kindly donated from my cousin (who has canine babies). The end result was two chewed pieces and four pieces missing ( presumably more than chewed!)

This flowed over to my evenings after my work day and “voila”….

Puzzle number two complete by Wednesday evening. My addictive nature has seen me sitting at the kitchen table well into the evening – while the Sky Australian news blasts away in the background (dads entertainment of choice).

Another week of hello fresh meals with a twist! Some distributed to the workers at dans house, a leftover meal for Al and Sue, and tonight, Jax cleaned up the last one cooking at ours for Steph and I (a vege risotto) while dad and he enjoyed a blokes dinner of sausages, mashed spud and greens!

August has presented its usual mix of winter weather: sunshine, rain and chills!

My friend at Waiwera sends me daily images of dawn, storms and dusk…this one plagiarised from his library, promising one thing and delivering another. So it is winter; we always expect the unexpected.

And as we roll into the last quarter of 2020, it seems isolation, jigsaws, face masks and family only are our future (at least for the next few months). We all have places we want to be, people we want to hug and adventures we want to have. Sorry guys it’s all chocolate peanuts and jigsaws….at least for a while. Even if we move to a restrictive level 2 we are looking at period of rolling in and out of lockdown, and parties of 10! Not looking promising for a couple of 60ths on the horizon!

In the meantime we all pray for our friends in Texas, Russ’s second home and one I have come to love!

For all you humans who took the last lockdown to clean out the clutter and can now enjoy each other’s company and smell the roses, consider yourselves lucky.

At my new abode, I find myself knee deep in sorting and cleaning and clearing out (and sharing out) loved ones belongings.

Dad and I spend my weekend doing all the jobs he thinks up during the week. Yesterday (Saturday) was huge with boxing and bagging and putting names on stuff to go here, there and everywhere. Dad got on my tail at every step, sans hearing aids…as all day (probably on the hour) I mentioned to go put his ears in! Finally (after 8 hours of repeating everything three times, and getting rather short on voice and patience) at around 3pm I was a little more vocal and forceful and got told I sounded like Sandy. Obviously I am not attacking the situation correctly – be a bit ruder and I get a reaction.

George tidied up the last of his UK work in the morning and then went and helped Dan shovel metal as, renovations progress in winter, he was knee deep in mud and a metal spread was much needed.

I did get a quick trip to drop bags at doors and pick up prescriptions (for dad) from the chemist, but not before the realisation that Dad had misplaced his phone (you know the $20 old Nokia little black type). A call ensured it was going straight to answer phone, so a thorough phone hunt got underway. In car (we went to doctors and xray on friday), under chairs and at all the Allan hot spots and not so hot spots around the house. Concluded (me quickly, dad eventually) that it must have fallen out of his pocket either at doctors or radiologist, I can check these places on Monday. Or maybe out of his pocket on the road as he was getting into car and I’ve run it over! Replaceable…but stressful!

Day over, time to build one of these, yes we’ve been religiously ploughing through another week of hello fresh. Friday night Dad decided – let’s have a break, fish and chips-didn’t need asking twice! And last night, after my hectic day, I modified some wrappy, mincey, cheesy, spicy Mexican thing into “spaghetti bolognase” and salad! Five minute preparation and I only had to supply the pasta. A great success and less stress.

It’s hard to be happy sometimes, when our world is so uncertain. In my case, keeping busy throws all thoughts to the bottom shelf to creep out in the middle of the night to keep me awake.

Tensions and tempers and personalities clash in times of stress (and a second lockdown is certainly this) For some it is easier to walk away, for some just carry on, for others stuck in the middle, you just try to keep calm and keep the peace.

Just be kind to each other and kind to our canine babies. Smiles and waves (the social distance way) and virtual hugs are paramount to our sanity!

A lockdown weekend of overnight single digit temperatures and inland frosts, daytime blue skies, sunshine and sea swims!

Saturday was planned but took a few detours with some “sorting out” jobs, while George got behind the vacuum and mop. I almost got an afternoon nap in the sun, but the gardening jobs were calling (and so was dad).

The compost got shoveled around the mandarin and lemon trees providing a perfect platform to poke the alyssum in “wherever I felt like it” …. as per Sandys instructions! The pots with dead plants on the deck got hauled by George around the back – another direction from Sandy and random dead plants and live weeds got disposed of, Sue, Al and George tag teaming!

Trudi arrived around 4pm, being alone, she is our bubble extension in level 3, and assisted with round two of the “Hello Fresh” production…Keeping me company while I chopped, diced and prepared (an hourish) for a Sri Lanken chicken curry! George had taken a run around the estuary (11ks) followed by a bath (and a nap would have been in there somewhere) but he was on cooking duties!

Easy Mum! Yes George the hard bit is done…just tip the (already prepared 20 ingredients) into the pan in order! Actually, while I had my doubts that dad could stomach two Asian type meals in a row, we “all” enjoyed this one!

Sunday broke in more of the same glorious weather and our mission today was to wash (by hand) all the cars…so right now that is four! Dads big SUV, the Hyundai i30, the old Punto and the older Merc (who is destined for a new home). So Dads car got moved onto the road, the Hyundai had a good inside vacuum and clean out, then the target of our mission got attacked – the Merc! Vacuum, sugarsoap upholstery and vinyl and pretty much everything – dad bars bugged the windows.  Hand washed the outside paintwork, polished the chrome, tyre shined the bumpers, toothbrushed the rims and rinsed with a sponge and dryed with a beach towel! Let me explain: as many will be asking where is the hose in this equation. Aucklanders will, the rest of the world won’t, understand that we are still on water restrictions from the summer and using a hose is a no-no. Nearly through winter – this does not bode well for summer garden watering. (p.s on the car cleaning….the Punto got an inside clean)

Dad sat in the sun and George and I dropped the old girl (with for sale signs on) down to the roadside, on the busy walkway, to see if there were any bites. Ok, my friends, we are talking about the Merc not me! By this time the Merc was a much more attractive proposition.

Next stop some drop offs to the boys at Waiwera and a mid winter summer day swim….

For George ….. while I took a moment and a social distance coffee with my friend John gazing at the sea!

John is the caretaker of Russell Rose, who is blooming in his spa area. I have so many plants to look after in my current residence and cannot provide the TLC that John can at this time!

After a (very) quick ocean dip and a moment at the beach, we returned to Dad and some interest in the Merc. We collected her off the streets and brought her home in readiness for a social distance viewing. A couple of young chaps, quite keen, but want to swap their car and flick in a bit of cash.. the days of deals are long gone.  I am wanting to reduce car numbers not add to them! We’ll see, we plan to send her out on the streets again today and see if she generates some more lucrative interest!

A glorious (and busy) winter summer weekend ended with a dry pork fillet, mashed potato, baked carrot and beetroot and probably the least tasty “Hello Fresh” so far! But not without the fiddling around beforehand to get it all ready! Three down two to go! Looking forward to “breakfast for dinner”…… eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomato and toast!

Saturday 15th August, 2020 lockdown take two, day three. It’s looking like a golden winter/spring weekend and we are all at home staying safe. Interesting word home, maybe this says it all…

As humans it’s all about people, those we love and those we’ve lost, but embracing the living is what this crazy world is all about. As we march through 2020, our lives are controlled by the governing bodies. We roll with the punches, many of us are feeling pretty bruised right now.

Kiwis are pretty resilient and the business confidence strong this time, as we know we can bounce back once this outbreak is under control. And it’s up to us Aucklanders to behave and keep the rest of the country safe. Those idiots who all leapt in their cars and camper vans at 11pm on Wednesday night and headed to other parts of the country to escape lockdown three (only Auckland at this level) are selfish and thoughtless and must have really enjoyed sitting in traffic jams in the middle of the night. The rest of the country will keep our economy rolling on and us all in jobs!

On the (new) home front, Dad, George and I are settled into our daily routines. George has set up his makeshift gym in the back gazebo, and finding Sandys yoga mat very useful! I am working from home, in between household duties, and Al (dad) has a good supply of books (for now).

We received our “Hello Fresh” weekly care package. For my offshore friends, this is dinner food (everything included) for five meals. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, a two hour marathon of preparation last night produced a gourmet spread of Turkish tabouli and koftas (I think). Said meal devoured in 10 minutes..however I did use every spice, vege, packet of stuff in the bag and there was no waste. George and I quite enjoyed the change from meat and three vegetables, not sure Al was quite as excited! Thank goodness the cook is not on dishes, I think I used half the cupboards of bowls and pans and knives etc.

So now as we wake to a chilly 7 degrees Celsius in our neighbourhood, the plan for today is cleaning and clearing. Bonus, dads lawn mowing man came yesterday so the mowing job is only the carpet! I will look for Sandys guidance when we get into the garden area as this hobby is not my forte and I will try to only cull weeds!

Until it is time to build my next “interesting” meal from a brown paper bag, all I know at this stage that it involves “Chicken Thighs”. The enclosed recipe with pictures will guide the way! Or not, I might trash it and build Butter Chicken.

12th August 2020, Auckland NZ rolls straight into lockdown three with a family from the Southside testing positive with no known contacts, and who have been in contact with maybe 100s! Shops closed, sports cancelled, activity once again limited to our own back yard! A new one for George and I, and one desperately in need of some attention! Lawns, gardens, hedge trimming and weed pulling.

My weekend ended devouring the last of the mussel fritters and enjoying some time at the beach. George returned from a weekend with his mates from the mountain (no skiing had) and dad took a road trip with his youngest son….at least we all left the house and had our own adventures, not knowing that three days later we would be put back in gaol to avoid a second wave of covid.

These times are taking their toll on everyone in many different ways, tension, stress, changes and uncertainty. Our lot is no exception and time will show us the way. We just need to remember we can’t save the world, fix everything or have our dreams come true all the time. I guess if we stay home, stay safe, be kind and eat well we will all be OK.

But a stroll around the garden and the daffodils are popping up showing signs of hope and life…

Some of us need to stay under an umbrella and keep our family close

Some of us like to stand tall in a crowd and dare to be different….

Some of us like to melt into the masses, and cruise through life on a smooth path, unnoticed and happy in obscurity….

Some of us are just comfortable anywhere, and blossom in any conditions, side by side with different species…

And some are waiting for their time to light up the world…

Is there a moral to this? I guess we all have different personalities, with different hopes and dreams. We all deal with situations in our own way; some ways may be right and some ways may be wrong but we all bloom one way or another, in our own time! And the world is just not perfect and neither are we!

Day to day we work, we play, we buy lotto tickets, we help others (or we don’t), we cook, we clean and we wear face masks when we go out.

After the last eight weeks of turmoil Sue returns to her happy place….

You know it’s been a good night when you wake up with a half eaten biscuit lying beside you in bed!

The week was frantic with

Gardening not done, a trip to the other side of the city to visit my workmates, Punto getting fixed (removing the dent from the drivers door where I remodelled it when roaring off to hospital one morning), working at home and packing up Dad for his weekend away….

George and I made a visit to the optometrist and yes, third time lucky, George found glasses to fit! I am replacing my scratched lens and getting a back up pair, as along with my phone, the one pair I own is always getting misplaced.

So, having dropped Dad in town Friday lunchtime for his adventure, I raced back for a few more hours work and loaded myself and food into the car and headed north to my bach in Waiwera. Stopping on the way at the supermarket to buy some treats for a lazy weekend. Only to realise, on arrival in torrential rain that I did not have a key! Changing cars and houses so often, my one key was back at silverdale! Jaxon to the rescue, or was it, time for a relaxed beer together! Which then led to the decision to go to the pub for a drink with the locals ( a once in 10 year event mainly due to the price of a jug being $28.00). A very unenlightening band was playing but that did not deter me from chatting and socialising for the first time in months! I proceeded to inhale a fair amount of my favourite bevy, make new friends, chat to old ones, until my other son Daniel came to the rescue, by this time much needed, and carted me back to the bach to cook my tea! I’m very blessed to have such good caretakers, Russ you have trained them well.

This morning I woke up (rather shakily) to sunlight streaming in the cottage! What a wonderful world! Threw myself under the shower, processed a bit of washing and visited with some more old friends…

The doves came to chat with me while I had my morning coffee. Mid morning the rain came in and Dan suggested a trip to maccas (perfect hangover cure) which I then followed up with trashy movies and live TV rugby….and a few naps! A much needed rest day.

By mid afternoon the sun burst through again and I took myself off for a stroll along the waterfront.

Welcome back to my world. This evening I am finally cooking the last of the Southland seafood…mussel fritters! Some more TV rugby and an early night…however I do have half a beer to drink as I had to open one to put a bit in the mussel fritters batter! Roll on Saturday night.

3rd August 2020, we really are deep in the kiwi winter, and adjusting to the new normal without our three loved ones.

Sue, George and Trudi have moved out of Waiwera (for now), frantic final shifting day yesterday. Russell Rose is being cared for by our friend John, so he can stay at Waiwera and listen to the sea. The cottage has reclaimed all its treasures, and the humans are displaced again. Our Australian neighbours are well and truly locked down (kiwi style) to try and send the dreaded virus packing. We are still getting cases at the border and international travel seems a far off dream.

Meanwhile, life goes on and another Southland seafood treat…

Bluff oyster fritters in (Speights) beer batter! George made the mistake of going out this night and only ended up with two! Al and Sue had a feast!

Another working week begins, the first of George’s last four working remotely as he has secured a kiwi job starting on the 1st of September. Dan starts ripping his house apart in readiness to rise from the foundations, 12 months of planning. Jaxon and Steph almost have a new bathroom and Sue and George are set up in Silverdale!

The boys, Jax and George headed to town for a night out….George certainly missed out on the maltese height genes…..another time another place….

Two years ago George in Malta with Cousin Sammy…

Now, it’s time for work as I ponder the list of jobs behind the scenes. I have sheds and storage of Russ and my stuff to sort, cars to fix ( the punto is slightly rearranged where I backed into her when racing to the hospital one morning), merc to sell, and stuff to sort for Al! Life is full of fun…but first a coffee and a breath.

The “only” good thing about a funeral is that you get to see lots of family and far flung friends who travel to farewell their loved one and support the living ones!

Sandy had a huge following and her life celebration was shared with 300 people….one of whom was my dear friend from Te Anau, laden with seafood (vacuum packed) from Stewart Island! For those offshore followers, Stewart Island is the third most southern of the New Zealand islands! A diamond in the south.

Monday nights dinner was Blue Cod, pub wedges and beans (for Al) salad for me! It’s a bit tough to smile these days but “blue cod” certainly helps.

Whitebait fritters and lemon wedges last night – another South Island delicacy! George and I added a few greens to our plates.

Continue reading “South Island Seafood” →

Saturday 25th of July 2020. Who would have ever imagined such a year of direction changes….

A week of canine visitors, visits and scraps – Floyd and Alfie (the black one) didn’t realise the other was allowed at Al and Sandys house. After a quick sniff the small one (Alfie) decided to stake his territory and bark….big mistake when the one you are barking at is 40 kgs heavier and doesn’t really like many other dogs anyway! Luckily Dan was “Johnny on the spot” to grab Floyd and save the obnoxious little ones life!

We now begin our journey without Sandy, Dads partner of 46 years who was snatched from us a week ago and who we laid to rest on Thursday in true Sandy Style….she at least had a few days to plan her farewell and the cousins, Sandys friends, Steve, my friends and boys worked so hard to make it all happen her way.

Daniel spent two days, second one under Dads direction, painting some of Sandys world on the coffin lid (chosen by Sandy, artwork directed by Sandy and Al)

Dad and I, after a hectic morning of asparagus roll making, garage cleaning, beer icing, vacuuming and three pairs of pants before we found the right ones! Lucky I had my two mates, Pam and Trudi, and my sons here to help get the house ready for the aftermatch activities. Steve, his wife and family arrived around 11am then went and had lunch before meeting us all at the church.

A mass of 300 turned up at the church, most staying for the afternoon tea and refreshments prepared by a wonderful team of Bonnici cousins and then back to Dad and Sandys (and now my new home) for an evening of story telling and more refreshments!

So we can’t all be angels all the time and my breaking point was when I got back to the house and realised the alcohol was limited to Heineken and wine and ginger beer. Those that purchased the liquid supplies (Steve and Dad) had forgotten that the chief cook and bottle washer actually drinks Speights! My reaction, while a bit harsh was nothing to what Sandy would have let them have! My sons to the rescue…and raced up the road to return with a box of the golden stuff! Seriously I don’t ask for much!

Crisis averted and not too many guests had to witness my tantrum…Sandy seemed very much with us all evening (probably even directed my tantrum) at a Bonnici et al family gathering…

People tell me to look after myself when I am too busy looking after others. The only time this year (2020) I have worn make up is to Jaxon and Stephs wedding in January(didn’t do a very good job) and it’s now July.

I think maybe my friends are saying it’s about time to put some lipstick on and brighten the day (Or face) and I might stop getting asked for my gold card (the senior citizens over 65 discount card!)

You know what, it doesn’t matter what you wear, what you look like, how much money you have in the bank when it’s time to say goodbye.

Another page in our lives closed yesterday, with Sandy taking another piece of our hearts with her (and her friends and Aussie family too).

Covid 19 has been bittersweet! It meant I was here (no travelling) for Al and Sandy through this and out the other side (whatever that journey is). It also meant Sandys beloved brothers, their family’s and friends could not be here to hug her through this. A casualty of Covid 19 that many have had the pain of not being where they really want to at critical times.

This most recent journey has been cruel and fast, and leaves us all gasping for breath. Just when you think you are treading water, a tidal wave swoops in and knocks you for six!

So Today is Sunday 19th July 2020….and we are in for a whirlwind week with a celebration for our Beloved Sandy on a Thursday! She wanted a party and she will have one….46 years is a long time for a McInnes to hang out with the Bonnici clan!

And maybe a little makeup will be in order for the second time this year….grey hair, well that’s kinda blonde now!

We keep searching for that ray of sunshine….even in Winter it can break through the clouds.