Looks like we all made it with no loss of life and not too much damage, so go team! The major casualty in New Zealand was our beauty sleep, as we all got another Civil Defence alert at 6.30 this morning. The only upside was the hilariously snarky thread on Reddit New Zealand.
My phone just made the terrifying screechy noise that means a Civil Defence alert. Like the other Pacific nations, we're waiting to see what the tsunami following the Kamchatka earthquake brings us. I'm not too worried for us: we only have an advisory, not a warning, and Russia is a long way away. I'm a lot more worried for Japan.
The last time we had a tsunami warning, we ended up with a wave 3cm (just over 1 inch) higher than usual. I hope that's the case this time too, for us and for every other country under threat.
The last time we had a tsunami warning, we ended up with a wave 3cm (just over 1 inch) higher than usual. I hope that's the case this time too, for us and for every other country under threat.
Post holiday, pre holiday
Jul. 17th, 2025 10:10 amI got back from my month in Western Australia early in July, and it's taken me this long to get out from under everything that had piled up while I was away to post. Sigh.
We had a fantastic month. Perth is a lovely city with stunning botanical gardens, although we didn't spend a lot of time there. Most of the trip was spent in small country towns, which in WA are separated by endless open country. I did a few long drives, the longest being the eight-hour drive from Esperance back to Perth across the interior. I covered thousands of kilometres while I was there, and it was great to see so much of a state I've never been to before and which is very unlike the Eastern states.
WA has an amazing number of national parks and an equally amazingly organised number of trails. Using their special app, we did hour-long walks through the bush pretty much everywhere we went. Getting out in nature and being active turned out to be exactly what I needed after a stressful few years.
It was winter, and we had some rain, but not enough to get in our way (good quality rain gear always goes a long way). Previously this trip was booked for last October, which is spring and wildflower season - and then I found out about WA's fly problem. If you've never encountered an Australian fly: they're maddening. They move really slowly, are hard to discourage, and worst of all congregate around your face trying to get at the moisture in your eyes and mouth. Last year was a particularly bad year for flies, and when I saw pictures on social media of people literally covered in a blanket of them, I felt I had no choice but to move the trip. I'm glad I did. At the most northerly point we visited, Kalbarri, there were a few flies even in winter. I took my hat and flynet, which were helpful, but it was difficult to brush off the few flies that landed on us and half a dozen managed to get into the car. And that's in the winter.
WA is also incredibly hot in the summer and hotter than I'd like in the shoulder seasons, so winter temperatures were just fine for us. The other advantage is that there were so few people on holiday at that time. On most of our bush walks we didn't encounter any other people. Australians are super lovely and friendly, but as someone firmly convinced that the outside is far too peoply, this was sheer bliss.
Oh, and also, despite my fears I DIDN'T GET COVID!!! There was definitely some around, and far more at the end than the beginning, but I masked on the plane and anywhere indoors and was fine. It was so encouraging to know I can travel without Covid being an automatic sentence. Travel is my life and I've missed it soooooooooooooooo much.
And now, back home I've plunged straight into trip prep again, as we're booked for a month in Japan in January. These trips were originally meant to be more than a year apart, so six months is pushing it, but I didn't want to put it off now I have my travel-fu back. And I can't wait.
Edited to add: I didn't see a single snake or spider! Most of the roos I saw were sadly roadkill, but I did see one bouncing across the road ahead a couple of times - fortunately far enough away not to hit the car.
We had a fantastic month. Perth is a lovely city with stunning botanical gardens, although we didn't spend a lot of time there. Most of the trip was spent in small country towns, which in WA are separated by endless open country. I did a few long drives, the longest being the eight-hour drive from Esperance back to Perth across the interior. I covered thousands of kilometres while I was there, and it was great to see so much of a state I've never been to before and which is very unlike the Eastern states.
WA has an amazing number of national parks and an equally amazingly organised number of trails. Using their special app, we did hour-long walks through the bush pretty much everywhere we went. Getting out in nature and being active turned out to be exactly what I needed after a stressful few years.
It was winter, and we had some rain, but not enough to get in our way (good quality rain gear always goes a long way). Previously this trip was booked for last October, which is spring and wildflower season - and then I found out about WA's fly problem. If you've never encountered an Australian fly: they're maddening. They move really slowly, are hard to discourage, and worst of all congregate around your face trying to get at the moisture in your eyes and mouth. Last year was a particularly bad year for flies, and when I saw pictures on social media of people literally covered in a blanket of them, I felt I had no choice but to move the trip. I'm glad I did. At the most northerly point we visited, Kalbarri, there were a few flies even in winter. I took my hat and flynet, which were helpful, but it was difficult to brush off the few flies that landed on us and half a dozen managed to get into the car. And that's in the winter.
WA is also incredibly hot in the summer and hotter than I'd like in the shoulder seasons, so winter temperatures were just fine for us. The other advantage is that there were so few people on holiday at that time. On most of our bush walks we didn't encounter any other people. Australians are super lovely and friendly, but as someone firmly convinced that the outside is far too peoply, this was sheer bliss.
Oh, and also, despite my fears I DIDN'T GET COVID!!! There was definitely some around, and far more at the end than the beginning, but I masked on the plane and anywhere indoors and was fine. It was so encouraging to know I can travel without Covid being an automatic sentence. Travel is my life and I've missed it soooooooooooooooo much.
And now, back home I've plunged straight into trip prep again, as we're booked for a month in Japan in January. These trips were originally meant to be more than a year apart, so six months is pushing it, but I didn't want to put it off now I have my travel-fu back. And I can't wait.
Edited to add: I didn't see a single snake or spider! Most of the roos I saw were sadly roadkill, but I did see one bouncing across the road ahead a couple of times - fortunately far enough away not to hit the car.
Winter Sun
May. 23rd, 2025 04:16 pmOn Monday I'll be leaving Auckland for a month in Western Australia.
Although I've been to Australia's east coast (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Adelaide) many times, I've never been to the west, which is a far more expensive trip. Australia is immensely vast. On a trip home long ago from London, we stopped briefly for refuelling at Perth Airport - the sun and bright light as we walked across the tarmac was a stunning contrast to the endless dull grey of a London January, and it felt like I was almost home, yet I still had another eight hours' flying to do.
Perth is probably the world's most isolated major city. Since I live in an island country thousands of miles from anywhere, that's absolutely up my street. I'm not so interested in Perth itself: except for a few days seeing the local sights and (obviously) dropping in on Uniqlo, Costco and IKEA, I will be spending the rest of the time in the far more sparsely populated areas to the north and south. All going well, I'll be driving a total of 3,000 km (around 1,900 miles) in small stages over the course of the month, with the only long driving day an eight-hour drive back to Perth at the end. It's pretty exciting, because thanks to Covid, this is my first overseas trip since I got back from Seattle/Vancouver in late 2019 juuuuuust before Covid hit. Although we've picked a destination for first post-beginning-of-pandemic travel that has limited people interaction, because I'm a good candidate to get long Covid thanks to an autoimmune disease I'm beyond nervous. But to travel again I'm willing to take the risk. Any good thoughts and offerings to the Covid gods would be appreciated.
Other than Covid, rural Australia of course always has its own dangers. There are no crocs where I'm going and although there are plenty of sharks it's not the right time of year for swimming. Since Australia has eight out of the world's ten most venomous snakes, I plan to be careful on rural paths, although I'm aware most Australians never even see a snake. What I'm most afraid of is a kangaroo leaping onto the road and crashing into my car, which is a very common occurrence and a potentially serious one. Dusk and dawn are the most dangerous times for this, so I'm going to be trying to avoid those times for driving.
There is at least one thing I don't have to worry about. Within the space of six months (a month ago, and just before Christmas), I've lost my two lovely seventeen year old cats. They both had ridiculously happy and long lives and brief illnesses at the end, and they both passed away peacefully at home purring in my arms, so I couldn't have wished any better for them, but it's been a pretty rough six months and the house feels so empty. The upside, however, is that I'm deeply grateful I don't have to worry about how they're getting on while we're away. I have a wonderful cat feeder who they loved, but I know they missed us a lot when we were away and it was impossible not to worry about them. It's very strange to know that's not an issue this time, but at the same time such a relief.
Although I've been to Australia's east coast (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Adelaide) many times, I've never been to the west, which is a far more expensive trip. Australia is immensely vast. On a trip home long ago from London, we stopped briefly for refuelling at Perth Airport - the sun and bright light as we walked across the tarmac was a stunning contrast to the endless dull grey of a London January, and it felt like I was almost home, yet I still had another eight hours' flying to do.
Perth is probably the world's most isolated major city. Since I live in an island country thousands of miles from anywhere, that's absolutely up my street. I'm not so interested in Perth itself: except for a few days seeing the local sights and (obviously) dropping in on Uniqlo, Costco and IKEA, I will be spending the rest of the time in the far more sparsely populated areas to the north and south. All going well, I'll be driving a total of 3,000 km (around 1,900 miles) in small stages over the course of the month, with the only long driving day an eight-hour drive back to Perth at the end. It's pretty exciting, because thanks to Covid, this is my first overseas trip since I got back from Seattle/Vancouver in late 2019 juuuuuust before Covid hit. Although we've picked a destination for first post-beginning-of-pandemic travel that has limited people interaction, because I'm a good candidate to get long Covid thanks to an autoimmune disease I'm beyond nervous. But to travel again I'm willing to take the risk. Any good thoughts and offerings to the Covid gods would be appreciated.
Other than Covid, rural Australia of course always has its own dangers. There are no crocs where I'm going and although there are plenty of sharks it's not the right time of year for swimming. Since Australia has eight out of the world's ten most venomous snakes, I plan to be careful on rural paths, although I'm aware most Australians never even see a snake. What I'm most afraid of is a kangaroo leaping onto the road and crashing into my car, which is a very common occurrence and a potentially serious one. Dusk and dawn are the most dangerous times for this, so I'm going to be trying to avoid those times for driving.
There is at least one thing I don't have to worry about. Within the space of six months (a month ago, and just before Christmas), I've lost my two lovely seventeen year old cats. They both had ridiculously happy and long lives and brief illnesses at the end, and they both passed away peacefully at home purring in my arms, so I couldn't have wished any better for them, but it's been a pretty rough six months and the house feels so empty. The upside, however, is that I'm deeply grateful I don't have to worry about how they're getting on while we're away. I have a wonderful cat feeder who they loved, but I know they missed us a lot when we were away and it was impossible not to worry about them. It's very strange to know that's not an issue this time, but at the same time such a relief.
Costco Expedition
May. 2nd, 2025 04:17 pmI know for most people reading this Costco is probably just a somewhat boring fact of life, but for New Zealanders it's SUPER EXCITING. I've always been fascinated by it because of its unusual system (this is why I've been to Disney parks several times too, despite having little interest in the Disney mythos - I just love seeing different and successful systems at work). However, because we had no Costco here and when I've been overseas I of course didn't have a card, I wasn't able to visit.
Then in 2019 when I went to Seattle,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
susandennis was kind enough to take me to her local Costco. At last! It was so much fun. So imagine my excitement when Auckland's VERY OWN COSTCO opened in 2022.
Except...I didn't really need a membership. A lot of what Costco sells, like packaged foods, I never buy. The pharmacy was no big deal because most of our prescription drugs are a flat $5. And it was too far away (about a 30 minute drive from me) to make it worth going for petrol [gas].
What's more, after it had been open a while, it had had so much of an effect at dampening prices in local stores that it apparently hasn't been so much of an amazing deal as it was when it started.
This was disappointing, because I still really wanted to go, but couldn't bring myself to pay for a membership just out of curiosity. However! This year I managed to talk myself into it, because I'm going to Australia soon and I'm renting a Land Cruiser that is thirsty in the petrol department, so I wanted to buy Costco fuel. Also, in January I'm going to Japan and thought it might be fun to see what a Japanese Costco has in stock. (This might seem like a weird use of time in Japan, but I'm going to be there for a month and won't be prioritising Costco over more Japan-only stuff.) Also, Costco is clearly one of the good guys when it comes to employers and so I didn't object to giving them money (an important factor these days).
Now, there are probably some people who think these are fairly thin excuses. Shhhh! They were good enough for me, so I bought a membership. As I own a business I got the slightly cheaper one (see, I'm saving money already) and today I set off to pick up my membership card and have a nosey around the Auckland store.
The first surprise was how crazy it was. When I went to the Seattle one, it was just, y'know, a shop. That people went to in a normal kind of way. However, this is our only Costco, and New Zealanders are cosmopolitan types of people who know about Costco and couldn't wait for it to get here. (Our first IKEA is opening soon, and I'm wondering how many years will have to pass before I can get in there without being trampled to death as well.) I knew our Costco had been a madhouse at the weekends ever since it opened, but that apparently demand during the week had settled down a lot.
So I was NOT expecting, when I got to their parking building on a Friday morning, to have to drive round and round in a queue of cars all looking for a park. I haven't seen demand like that since I was at the UK's biggest shopping centre two weeks before Christmas.
Eventually we got in, and man. It. Was. Busy. I dread to think what it's like at the weekend. But it was fun! I wasn't expecting to buy much, and it was true that not everything was cheaper (the famous toilet paper was significantly more expensive than the similar quality product at my local supermarket, for example).
But I found enough stuff that I needed, would keep or freeze, and was significantly cheaper to end up spending $650. Sounds like a lot, but I don't expect to return for at least a year. In this, I couldn't be much further away from the typical Costco customer, who makes 30 visits a year and spends $100 each time, but I bet a lot of New Zealand customers are more like me than like that. I know a lot of people out of Auckland have memberships and visit once a year to stock up.
Costco has recently partnered with DoorDash to offer delivery, so unless I find out the DoorDash founders are massive Trumpers it's possible I might shop with them more that way. A half-hour slog each way through Auckland traffic was pretty offputting. However, even if I never spent another cent at Costco, and putting aside the savings I made today, the membership cost was well worthwhile for the sheer entertainment value.
Then in 2019 when I went to Seattle,
susandennis was kind enough to take me to her local Costco. At last! It was so much fun. So imagine my excitement when Auckland's VERY OWN COSTCO opened in 2022.Except...I didn't really need a membership. A lot of what Costco sells, like packaged foods, I never buy. The pharmacy was no big deal because most of our prescription drugs are a flat $5. And it was too far away (about a 30 minute drive from me) to make it worth going for petrol [gas].
What's more, after it had been open a while, it had had so much of an effect at dampening prices in local stores that it apparently hasn't been so much of an amazing deal as it was when it started.
This was disappointing, because I still really wanted to go, but couldn't bring myself to pay for a membership just out of curiosity. However! This year I managed to talk myself into it, because I'm going to Australia soon and I'm renting a Land Cruiser that is thirsty in the petrol department, so I wanted to buy Costco fuel. Also, in January I'm going to Japan and thought it might be fun to see what a Japanese Costco has in stock. (This might seem like a weird use of time in Japan, but I'm going to be there for a month and won't be prioritising Costco over more Japan-only stuff.) Also, Costco is clearly one of the good guys when it comes to employers and so I didn't object to giving them money (an important factor these days).
Now, there are probably some people who think these are fairly thin excuses. Shhhh! They were good enough for me, so I bought a membership. As I own a business I got the slightly cheaper one (see, I'm saving money already) and today I set off to pick up my membership card and have a nosey around the Auckland store.
The first surprise was how crazy it was. When I went to the Seattle one, it was just, y'know, a shop. That people went to in a normal kind of way. However, this is our only Costco, and New Zealanders are cosmopolitan types of people who know about Costco and couldn't wait for it to get here. (Our first IKEA is opening soon, and I'm wondering how many years will have to pass before I can get in there without being trampled to death as well.) I knew our Costco had been a madhouse at the weekends ever since it opened, but that apparently demand during the week had settled down a lot.
So I was NOT expecting, when I got to their parking building on a Friday morning, to have to drive round and round in a queue of cars all looking for a park. I haven't seen demand like that since I was at the UK's biggest shopping centre two weeks before Christmas.
Eventually we got in, and man. It. Was. Busy. I dread to think what it's like at the weekend. But it was fun! I wasn't expecting to buy much, and it was true that not everything was cheaper (the famous toilet paper was significantly more expensive than the similar quality product at my local supermarket, for example).
But I found enough stuff that I needed, would keep or freeze, and was significantly cheaper to end up spending $650. Sounds like a lot, but I don't expect to return for at least a year. In this, I couldn't be much further away from the typical Costco customer, who makes 30 visits a year and spends $100 each time, but I bet a lot of New Zealand customers are more like me than like that. I know a lot of people out of Auckland have memberships and visit once a year to stock up.
Costco has recently partnered with DoorDash to offer delivery, so unless I find out the DoorDash founders are massive Trumpers it's possible I might shop with them more that way. A half-hour slog each way through Auckland traffic was pretty offputting. However, even if I never spent another cent at Costco, and putting aside the savings I made today, the membership cost was well worthwhile for the sheer entertainment value.
Out the other side
Apr. 19th, 2025 12:45 amDespite the massive thunderstorm that's been going on for the last hour and a half, Tropical Cyclone Tam seems to have done its worst now. Parts of the country have been cut off by flooding and thousands of people are without power, but it was at least a lot less severe than Cyclone Gabrielle three years ago, which was the worst weather I've ever experienced.
We were fine, didn't get huge amounts of rain, and while the wind was pretty powerful, without my huge trees I wasn't too worried. Let's hope this is as bad as it gets this cyclone season.
We were fine, didn't get huge amounts of rain, and while the wind was pretty powerful, without my huge trees I wasn't too worried. Let's hope this is as bad as it gets this cyclone season.
Tropical Cyclone Incoming
Apr. 16th, 2025 01:00 amThe severe storm currently barrelling across the Pacific at us has just been upgraded to a tropical cyclone. Which at least makes me feel we weren't wasting our time today putting away outdoor furniture and clearing a couple of gutters, things I've learned the hard way are much easier to achieve before heavy rain and gale force winds are lashing the property.
Last year I reluctantly had three very large Leylandii cypresses cut down, precisely for this kind of situation. I was worried we'd have fewer birds in the garden, and we do. And we miss the shade on the deck, which we've had to partially replace with a Temu shade sail, which isn't as good. But they were partially dead and only going to get deader, and I was terrified that a strong wind would bring them down on the house, or worse, on a neighbour's house. I loved the trees and I miss them, but I don't miss that terror. And when the forecast turns bad I'm aways relieved that the trees won't be an issue.
Now all I have to do is worry about two friends who both have houses on sloping sections being flooded out. One of them had to have all her carpet replaced last time there was a similar storm.
Last year I reluctantly had three very large Leylandii cypresses cut down, precisely for this kind of situation. I was worried we'd have fewer birds in the garden, and we do. And we miss the shade on the deck, which we've had to partially replace with a Temu shade sail, which isn't as good. But they were partially dead and only going to get deader, and I was terrified that a strong wind would bring them down on the house, or worse, on a neighbour's house. I loved the trees and I miss them, but I don't miss that terror. And when the forecast turns bad I'm aways relieved that the trees won't be an issue.
Now all I have to do is worry about two friends who both have houses on sloping sections being flooded out. One of them had to have all her carpet replaced last time there was a similar storm.
Yes, there is some good news
Mar. 4th, 2025 01:07 pmI've been avoiding posting about politics, because I'm sure we all need a refuge from that. Here are my two exceptions:
1. Watching Keir Starmer come of out of No. 10 Downing St to hug Zelensky in the street while the crowd cheered was my favourite moment of the year.
2. It's easy to think nothing is happening to oppose what's going on in the US. However, it turns out that's not at all the case. Good news, enjoy!
https://substack.com/profile/133919651-ariella-elm/note/c-97273151
1. Watching Keir Starmer come of out of No. 10 Downing St to hug Zelensky in the street while the crowd cheered was my favourite moment of the year.
2. It's easy to think nothing is happening to oppose what's going on in the US. However, it turns out that's not at all the case. Good news, enjoy!
https://substack.com/profile/133919651-ariella-elm/note/c-97273151
Back from the beach. The weather was perfect, the water was warm, the location was beautiful, and best of all with internet turned off I didn't hear about the Felon and f'Elon once. I found that hoping they might spontaneously combust while I was away was very soothing.
I really needed a break to get a bit of distance from worrying nonstop about America, worrying for Canadians and Greenlanders, and worrying for my own country once the Eye of Sauron falls on us as it eventually will. Sitting on the balcony gazing at the waves gently breaking on the beach gave me space for reflection that they have been doing that since long before the emergence of humans and will no doubt be doing so long after we disappear. For the sake of my mental health I'm hoping to be able to hold onto that sense of perspective as the current catastrophe continues to unfold.
I really needed a break to get a bit of distance from worrying nonstop about America, worrying for Canadians and Greenlanders, and worrying for my own country once the Eye of Sauron falls on us as it eventually will. Sitting on the balcony gazing at the waves gently breaking on the beach gave me space for reflection that they have been doing that since long before the emergence of humans and will no doubt be doing so long after we disappear. For the sake of my mental health I'm hoping to be able to hold onto that sense of perspective as the current catastrophe continues to unfold.
Inconvenient Plums
Feb. 3rd, 2025 11:52 pmJust when I'm going to the beach at the end of the week, my damson tree decided today to have all its plums in exactly ripe for picking condition. I net the bottom half of the tree and let the birds have the top half, and in return they let me know when to pick. I glanced out the window today and saw eight birds in the tree nomming away. A) adorable and B) uh-oh. No time to waste.
Fruit picking always sounds to me like you're swanning dreamily through a picturesque orchard in a floaty dress and a big hat, delicately plucking down a fruit from time to time and placing it in a quaint cane basket with trailing ribbons. Of course, if you've ever done it, you'll know that it's actually hard, sweaty, scratchy work, usually at the hottest time of the year. I'm only grateful I looked out the window at a time of the day that part of the tree was in shade.
Damsons are the bestest ever trees, especially for a terrible gardener like myself. They literally require not a single bit of maintenance, they're hardy and disease-free and they produce an absolutely stunning amount of fruit that makes the best jam in the world (if you like tart jam, which I do and so do my nearest and dearest). But hoo boy, they make you work for it. I sweatily and scratchily picked a total of 20 kg (44 pounds) of fruit, in a sweaty, scratchy hour. (And there was at least as much as that left on the top.)
So I had the plums, but then I had another problem: I had the plums. Normally I throw them in the freezer and make jam at a nicer time of year to have the kitchen hot than a humid February. But this year I picked way more fruit than I usually do because my mother has developed a damson jam addiction, which I'm more than happy to facilitate (the more calories I can get in her the better). Add that to the fact that I've topped up my freezer with as much chicken as I can squeeze into it in case bird flu arrives here, and I knew I had no chance of freezing more than a couple of kilos. So industrial level jam-making this week it is.
But argh, it's SO MUCH WORK. You're supposed to make jam in small quantities, but I cheated by looking online until I could find someone who would let me half-fill my Kilner pan (that's three kilos). The laugh was on me, though, as it burned on the bottom so I had to boil biological washing powder in it for ages to get the burn off.
I've tried various recipes, and the best one I've found makes you cook the jam over a low heat for a couple of hours: this means it always sets and keeps very well, but...it takes a couple of hours. And I've still got 17 kilos to go. It's going to be a very busy week.
Fruit picking always sounds to me like you're swanning dreamily through a picturesque orchard in a floaty dress and a big hat, delicately plucking down a fruit from time to time and placing it in a quaint cane basket with trailing ribbons. Of course, if you've ever done it, you'll know that it's actually hard, sweaty, scratchy work, usually at the hottest time of the year. I'm only grateful I looked out the window at a time of the day that part of the tree was in shade.
Damsons are the bestest ever trees, especially for a terrible gardener like myself. They literally require not a single bit of maintenance, they're hardy and disease-free and they produce an absolutely stunning amount of fruit that makes the best jam in the world (if you like tart jam, which I do and so do my nearest and dearest). But hoo boy, they make you work for it. I sweatily and scratchily picked a total of 20 kg (44 pounds) of fruit, in a sweaty, scratchy hour. (And there was at least as much as that left on the top.)
So I had the plums, but then I had another problem: I had the plums. Normally I throw them in the freezer and make jam at a nicer time of year to have the kitchen hot than a humid February. But this year I picked way more fruit than I usually do because my mother has developed a damson jam addiction, which I'm more than happy to facilitate (the more calories I can get in her the better). Add that to the fact that I've topped up my freezer with as much chicken as I can squeeze into it in case bird flu arrives here, and I knew I had no chance of freezing more than a couple of kilos. So industrial level jam-making this week it is.
But argh, it's SO MUCH WORK. You're supposed to make jam in small quantities, but I cheated by looking online until I could find someone who would let me half-fill my Kilner pan (that's three kilos). The laugh was on me, though, as it burned on the bottom so I had to boil biological washing powder in it for ages to get the burn off.
I've tried various recipes, and the best one I've found makes you cook the jam over a low heat for a couple of hours: this means it always sets and keeps very well, but...it takes a couple of hours. And I've still got 17 kilos to go. It's going to be a very busy week.
1. Are We Becoming ‘Numb’ to School Shootings?
I'd certainly like to know if Americans think they are. Obviously we don't have any in New Zealand: we've had only two mass shootings in our history, one of which was carried out by an Australian who came to NZ specifically to commit the atrocity, and neither were school shootings. What it must be like to fear being shot at school, I honestly can't imagine, and the vast numbers of them simply defy belief. I can't imagine anyone going to school or their families could ever be numb to that possibility, surely?
After a week like this where the world is burning and I feel helpless, I'm going to pretend none of that is happening and answer a question instead.
I'm going to cheat a bit here and say I don't have any, and apologise to the rest of the world for this tipping us into the Covid pandemic.
My bucket list items have all been travel-related, and the biggest item on my list was going to Antarctica. I finally made it in 2017. It was absolutely incredible and everything I could have hoped for. Because this was such a big deal to me, I opted not for the standard Antarctic cruise but a trip on a motor yacht with only seven passengers. I normally never talk about a "trip of a lifetime", because I like to think the door's open to return anywhere I want to, but in this case I knew it really was a oncer. First, because I did everything I wanted to do there, and second, because it was so bloody expensive. Travel has always been my top spending priority even when I should probably be opting for more sensible things, but this was scary expensive even for me.
It was an incredible experience being there with so few people. On a normal cruise they herd you onto a small piece of land in your hundreds when you get off your boat, and you all mill around for a while until it's time to go back, whereas we could go anywhere we wanted to. Sitting on a beach surrounded by thousands of penguins was incredible, as was kayaking through slushy ice amongst icebergs. We even camped on the ice one night. But the best moment, and without doubt one of the biggest highlights of my life, was when as we were on deck a huge whale came right up to the boat, dived underneath and came up on the other side. There are no words, but it was an absolutely transcendent experience.
We booked a long time in advance, like three years, because there were so few places available (and we needed all that time and more to save for it), and I was terrified the whole time something would happen to stop us going. Even when we were in Punta Arenas the night before, there was some doubt as to whether the plane to Antarctica would be able to leave due to the weather. That can happen, and if the weather's really bad you might not get to go at all.
But we made it, and I was so grateful. (I'm even more so now, as since the start of the pandemic the cost of the trip has ratcheted up from wildly expensive but doable providing you don't mind eating ramen all the way through your retirement, to utterly impossible.) And I even got to cross off another bucket list item on that trip, as we flew home via Easter Island (which was amazing).
After we got home, it's not as if I didn't want to travel anywhere else. But I did think that despite travel being my absolute favourite thing to do, the Antarctica trip was so incredible that if for some unknown reason I never got to go anywhere again, I could probably make peace with that.
So the pandemic is, in fact, all my fault. I tempted the gods of travel, and they couldn't resist. Sorry about that, guys. I did get in a trip to Vancouver and Seattle in 2019, but only weeks after I got home from that we were in lockdown, and because I have to be Covid cautious that's the last time I went overseas. So no bucket list for me, but I'm too grateful for what I've already done to worry about it.
31. What are your 5 bucket list items?
I'm going to cheat a bit here and say I don't have any, and apologise to the rest of the world for this tipping us into the Covid pandemic.
My bucket list items have all been travel-related, and the biggest item on my list was going to Antarctica. I finally made it in 2017. It was absolutely incredible and everything I could have hoped for. Because this was such a big deal to me, I opted not for the standard Antarctic cruise but a trip on a motor yacht with only seven passengers. I normally never talk about a "trip of a lifetime", because I like to think the door's open to return anywhere I want to, but in this case I knew it really was a oncer. First, because I did everything I wanted to do there, and second, because it was so bloody expensive. Travel has always been my top spending priority even when I should probably be opting for more sensible things, but this was scary expensive even for me.
It was an incredible experience being there with so few people. On a normal cruise they herd you onto a small piece of land in your hundreds when you get off your boat, and you all mill around for a while until it's time to go back, whereas we could go anywhere we wanted to. Sitting on a beach surrounded by thousands of penguins was incredible, as was kayaking through slushy ice amongst icebergs. We even camped on the ice one night. But the best moment, and without doubt one of the biggest highlights of my life, was when as we were on deck a huge whale came right up to the boat, dived underneath and came up on the other side. There are no words, but it was an absolutely transcendent experience.
We booked a long time in advance, like three years, because there were so few places available (and we needed all that time and more to save for it), and I was terrified the whole time something would happen to stop us going. Even when we were in Punta Arenas the night before, there was some doubt as to whether the plane to Antarctica would be able to leave due to the weather. That can happen, and if the weather's really bad you might not get to go at all.
But we made it, and I was so grateful. (I'm even more so now, as since the start of the pandemic the cost of the trip has ratcheted up from wildly expensive but doable providing you don't mind eating ramen all the way through your retirement, to utterly impossible.) And I even got to cross off another bucket list item on that trip, as we flew home via Easter Island (which was amazing).
After we got home, it's not as if I didn't want to travel anywhere else. But I did think that despite travel being my absolute favourite thing to do, the Antarctica trip was so incredible that if for some unknown reason I never got to go anywhere again, I could probably make peace with that.
So the pandemic is, in fact, all my fault. I tempted the gods of travel, and they couldn't resist. Sorry about that, guys. I did get in a trip to Vancouver and Seattle in 2019, but only weeks after I got home from that we were in lockdown, and because I have to be Covid cautious that's the last time I went overseas. So no bucket list for me, but I'm too grateful for what I've already done to worry about it.
23. Do you like leftovers?
Like leftovers? I rely on leftovers. I only want to eat non-ultra-processed cooked from scratch meals, because they are le tasty as well as being le healthy, but do I enjoy the cooking or the time it takes out of my day? I do not.
So when I meal plan, I include three recipes that feed four and we eat them for two days. And I love that second day when I just get the whatever out of the fridge. Sheer bliss and I'm always so grateful to past me for feeding present me today.
It also clears the weekend of cooking, an extra treat, as Saturday is always a "second day" day and on Sunday we always have my sourdough with a speciality cheese (cheeeeeeeese) and depending on the season either a soup or a salad I've already made.
One thing I've learned from doing things this way:
I've seen a lot of stuff about meal prepping where they make you freeze the portions you don't eat on the day. This may be useful if you have unpredictable dinners with family members not necessarily all there at any given meal, but I don't have that problem and it doesn't work for me.
First of all, in my opinion things with vegetables in (and we eat a lot of vegetables) rarely freeze well unless they're something like a blended soup. One meal with previously frozen carrot coins that came out like slugs was enough for me.
And also, there's so much extra faffing required with freezing, what with the putting into containers and the labelling and the finding room in the freezer and the remembering they're in there and the defrosting. We're supposed to be saving time here, not adding an extra layer of labour. Eating the same meal two days in a row is far less complicated.
One weird quirk, though, is that on the day following a "second day" where I didn't have to cook anything, it invariably comes as a surprise that I now have to cook something else. Having one night where dinner's already in the fridge seems to signal to my brain that there's now an unending stream of dinners in there. Considering I've been responsible for cooking for decades, how this can shock me every time is a mystery. But there it is.
14. Tell about a time you slept outdoors.
I camped at one point for months, not because I like it but because it was the cheapest way to travel. The most striking night of all of them was the night my ex-husband and I spent in Hammerfest. It's in the Arctic Circle and we were there as part of a tour through Russia, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The weather was pretty cold - sometimes below zero C. At this point in the tour a lot of the other participants had wimped out and were renting cabins to sleep in, but we along with a few other people were determined to keep camping.
The weather that evening was decidedly dodgy. Then it developed into a full-blown rainstorm. The wind was roaring so loudly that we had no hope of sleeping whatsoever. During the night we had to throw on our rain gear and jump out to help another couple whose tent had completely blown away. (At least that was easier than it could have been as it was light all night.) At one point a local cat demanded loudly to be let in the tent and spent the rest of the night curled up on me.
What a memory. It was absolutely brilliant.
6. Who has more power the government or the people?
When I used to outline my plans for after I'd taken over as world dictator, my ex-husband used to say it would never work because "you have to take the people with you". And I think that's in the main true, but sometimes when that isn't happening it can take a hell of a long time to get rid of the government the people don't like. So, a bit of both.
Thanks to spiffikins for once again doing a sterling job of rounding up (and creating) questions for 2025. I'm going to try and do ones relevant to me this year if I can, as otherwise I hardly post at all. Since I'm living in the future in NZ, I'm starting with January 2.
2.Do you still listen to CDs or cassette tapes?
CDs, definitely, either the real thing or files I've ripped from my own. I've been involved in music since I was very young, have perfect pitch, and can't listen to mp3s because my ears can hear that a lot of the music is missing. It's very unpleasant. So I mostly listen to CDs or FLACs, although my true love is vinyl. You just can't beat the warmth and fullness of analogue.
spiffikins for once again doing a sterling job of rounding up (and creating) questions for 2025. I'm going to try and do ones relevant to me this year if I can, as otherwise I hardly post at all. Since I'm living in the future in NZ, I'm starting with January 2.2.Do you still listen to CDs or cassette tapes?
CDs, definitely, either the real thing or files I've ripped from my own. I've been involved in music since I was very young, have perfect pitch, and can't listen to mp3s because my ears can hear that a lot of the music is missing. It's very unpleasant. So I mostly listen to CDs or FLACs, although my true love is vinyl. You just can't beat the warmth and fullness of analogue.
Fruit Nirvana
Sep. 2nd, 2024 01:47 pmI don't post much here because my life is so desperately boring, but something very exciting happened this morning (don't get too excited, it will also be desperately boring to other people, but it's thrilling for me!).
We're mostly vegetarianish and eat A LOT of fruit and vegetables. How many? Well, one week the cashier who saw me every week at my fruit and veggie shop asked me how many people were in my family, and she visibly started when I said two:).
That fruit and veggie shop was so great. I'm not impressed by the prices and quality of supermarket produce, so it's worth it to me to make an extra specialist stop to get good stuff. I'd been going there for years, when last year the bomb dropped - they were closing as the landlord was converting the space into something else. Horror! I was really upset and so were a lot of other customers - every line at the checkout was filled with people commiserating with each other for several weeks before the closure. Fortunately the staff had all found other jobs before they closed, so we didn't have to worry about that, but it really left such a huge hole.
So at that point I was forced to find an alternative, and I decided to give a new delivery service a try. I'd tried delivery boxes before with other suppliers, but wasn't crazy about them for one reason or another. However, these people were getting a very good rap on NZ Reddit for both price and quality. And they also let you order whatever you wanted rather than just restricting you to a set box - that was important to me as I like to plan meals and shop to that plan to avoid waste.
So I tried them and they were pretty good. The prices were excellent (this was a huge deal last year when massive flooding meant cabbages were going for $8 even in season) and the quality in the main was good to great. And like my previous shop, they had a great range as they could buy things that were grown in too small a quantity for supermarkets to be interested in. They weren't perfect - occasionally something would arrive that was past its best, and their customer service was nonexistent (they just didn't reply to contact attempts) - so if that happened you just had to suck it up. But overall they were the best option, and the lower prices meant that the delivery fee of $7 still made them good value.
Then earlier this year, they increased the delivery fee to $10. Ooh. Bummer. That meant that before I put in my order I had to check the supermarket prices at the same time to make sure that I was actually saving money (some weeks I ended up buying from the supermarket instead). That was a pain that did not add joy to my Monday mornings, but overall it was still worthwhile.
Then! This morning! I was checking out my fruit and veggie order, which was about $38.50, and a message came up "You need to spend $11.50 more to qualify for free shipping".
FREE SHIPPING???!???!?!?!??!?!
NZ is not like the US when it comes to free shipping. We hardly ever get it, so we definitely don't take it for granted. And the great thing about THIS free shipping is that my usual order plus $10 for shipping mostly comes out around the same as an order which qualifies for free shipping, which means that essentially I can add $10 worth and get that for free! So exciting! This is the part that's probably desperately boring to others as I may be the only person who gets so excited by fruit and veggies that I struggle not to impulse buy them, but for me it's the best gift ever. Now every week I have ten free dollars to splurge on whatever! This week I spent it recklessly on salad items I haven't eaten since last summer (tomatoes at the winter price of $6! Woohoo!). Next week I think I might go wild on grapes. I have no idea why we don't grow table grapes here since the country is full of wine grapes, but our eating grapes all come from Chile or California. What with general post-Covid prices and the decline of the NZ dollar grapes are now $15 per kilo/$6.80 per pound and I haven't eaten any for several years now. So many delicious options! Really looking forward to this little treat every week.
We're mostly vegetarianish and eat A LOT of fruit and vegetables. How many? Well, one week the cashier who saw me every week at my fruit and veggie shop asked me how many people were in my family, and she visibly started when I said two:).
That fruit and veggie shop was so great. I'm not impressed by the prices and quality of supermarket produce, so it's worth it to me to make an extra specialist stop to get good stuff. I'd been going there for years, when last year the bomb dropped - they were closing as the landlord was converting the space into something else. Horror! I was really upset and so were a lot of other customers - every line at the checkout was filled with people commiserating with each other for several weeks before the closure. Fortunately the staff had all found other jobs before they closed, so we didn't have to worry about that, but it really left such a huge hole.
So at that point I was forced to find an alternative, and I decided to give a new delivery service a try. I'd tried delivery boxes before with other suppliers, but wasn't crazy about them for one reason or another. However, these people were getting a very good rap on NZ Reddit for both price and quality. And they also let you order whatever you wanted rather than just restricting you to a set box - that was important to me as I like to plan meals and shop to that plan to avoid waste.
So I tried them and they were pretty good. The prices were excellent (this was a huge deal last year when massive flooding meant cabbages were going for $8 even in season) and the quality in the main was good to great. And like my previous shop, they had a great range as they could buy things that were grown in too small a quantity for supermarkets to be interested in. They weren't perfect - occasionally something would arrive that was past its best, and their customer service was nonexistent (they just didn't reply to contact attempts) - so if that happened you just had to suck it up. But overall they were the best option, and the lower prices meant that the delivery fee of $7 still made them good value.
Then earlier this year, they increased the delivery fee to $10. Ooh. Bummer. That meant that before I put in my order I had to check the supermarket prices at the same time to make sure that I was actually saving money (some weeks I ended up buying from the supermarket instead). That was a pain that did not add joy to my Monday mornings, but overall it was still worthwhile.
Then! This morning! I was checking out my fruit and veggie order, which was about $38.50, and a message came up "You need to spend $11.50 more to qualify for free shipping".
FREE SHIPPING???!???!?!?!??!?!
NZ is not like the US when it comes to free shipping. We hardly ever get it, so we definitely don't take it for granted. And the great thing about THIS free shipping is that my usual order plus $10 for shipping mostly comes out around the same as an order which qualifies for free shipping, which means that essentially I can add $10 worth and get that for free! So exciting! This is the part that's probably desperately boring to others as I may be the only person who gets so excited by fruit and veggies that I struggle not to impulse buy them, but for me it's the best gift ever. Now every week I have ten free dollars to splurge on whatever! This week I spent it recklessly on salad items I haven't eaten since last summer (tomatoes at the winter price of $6! Woohoo!). Next week I think I might go wild on grapes. I have no idea why we don't grow table grapes here since the country is full of wine grapes, but our eating grapes all come from Chile or California. What with general post-Covid prices and the decline of the NZ dollar grapes are now $15 per kilo/$6.80 per pound and I haven't eaten any for several years now. So many delicious options! Really looking forward to this little treat every week.
Hope and Joy
Aug. 24th, 2024 12:35 am Prior to today, I'd never listened to a political speech in my life, but I listened to Kamala's nomination acceptance speech all the way through.
The content was nothing we didn't know, but that wasn't the point. What really mattered was the sensation of a new beginning, a very definite momentum, and a path out from under the dark cloud that's been squatting over our heads since 2016. It was such a shocking feeling to experience that it really brought home just how much we've been suffering and for how long. Maybe not so much for those of us outside the US, but it's made a massive difference to our lives as well and we've felt the depression too. Shepard Fairey has made a version of the famous Obama "Hope" poster for Kamala and labelled it "Forward", but I think he got that wrong. It should have been "Joy".
The content was nothing we didn't know, but that wasn't the point. What really mattered was the sensation of a new beginning, a very definite momentum, and a path out from under the dark cloud that's been squatting over our heads since 2016. It was such a shocking feeling to experience that it really brought home just how much we've been suffering and for how long. Maybe not so much for those of us outside the US, but it's made a massive difference to our lives as well and we've felt the depression too. Shepard Fairey has made a version of the famous Obama "Hope" poster for Kamala and labelled it "Forward", but I think he got that wrong. It should have been "Joy".
