Tuesday 20th October - bucket lists

I have been talking with friends recently about our 'bucket lists' - those things which you dream of achieving or are planning to achieve. My friend Mark is very organised... every new year he picks one or 2 things and sets a target of doing before the year end... probably the way to go!

Some peoples' lists seem to be all about travel... Iceland used to be on my list of places to visit... but having seen volcanic New Zealand... I think it is more interesting... although I would still like to go to Iceland someday... it is on my B list at the moment. The North Western US states have been on my explorer list for a long time as has the Yukon in Canada... not this year!

Bucket lists change depending on circumstances and experiences... my list is much curtailed at the moment... still on the travel list is exploring Hawkes Bay mountain ranges especially the Kawekas... much more convenient and cheaper than the Rocky Mountains or the Cascades!

Another think on my list is making some furniture which becomes treasured as heirlooms... one of my northern irelander friends has told me of his delight at now possessing a piece of mine. I intend to have more of those!

The secret is to make your dream a reality! Plan for it!

That log cabin in the woods is much more fun than castles in the sky!

Tuesday 20th October - birthday

It's J's birthday today. He is 16.

He has not been driving on the road yet... a major relief!

Tuesday 20th October - the cat

Our itinerant cat seems to have disappeared. It has not been around for about 3 or 4 weeks.

The neighbours have put down weed-killer to kill their whins and thistles. Maybe the cat was poisoned... or maybe it just found a better home!

Tuesday 20th October - quail

As I sit in our study, a pair of quail are walking across the lawn. They are nesting somewhere on the section this springtime and are very tame. They come right up to the house... funny walkers :-)

There are pheasants nesting somewhere on the section as well. Their screeches can be heard now and again... new wildlife!

... and talking of wildlife, rabbits are appearing regularly... a young one even sits on the deck. Time for action I think!!!!

Tuesday 6th October - a blast of winter

We have had a cold blast of weather the last 3 days... Taupo has been cut off from Napier since Sunday. Over 300 cars were trapped in the snow drifts on Sunday! It took police and army most of 24 hours to rescue all the people.

Napier was cut off from any easy route north.

The southern exit was also cut off for about 24 hours when a rogue gunman went amok and started shooting at anyone he could see near Norsewood. He escaped across the countryside. The police had to search about 3,000 hectares. Farms were locked down and everyone told to stay indoors. Some dairy herds were not milked for 48 hours. The police took 3 days to find him! He was hiding in Norsewood Golf Clubhouse.

Hawke's Bay police are having an awful year with rogue gunmen...

Tuesday 6th October - mobile phones again

A good friend is having problems with an erratic heart rate....

... I am wondering if the mobile phone is a cause... I am deeply suspicious of our heavy use of microwaves near our bodies... especially if metal is involved like fillings in our teeth or frames of glasses or pens or...

I once said to my dentist in Templepatrick that my fillings were irritated by my mobile phone but he had not heard of that before... time will tell.

Tuesday 6th October - I'm back

I seem to have been hibernating for September...

Thanks to those of you who have been asking where the blog has gone...

It's reassuring to know there are some readers!