Nashi and Parmesan

Friends from Scotland introduced me some years ago to the delight of eating pears with parmesan cheese; something I have done ever since. A few weeks ago I was given a couple of nashi. A nashi, for those who are ignorant of the term, is a fruit resulting from crossing an apple with a pear. It seems generally to be met with scorn amongst those with whom I am acquainted. I was advised to eat it cold from the fridge. Yesterday I had one with shaved parmesan. The texture of the nashi was similar to that of a Packham pear but without any flavour. Or perhaps the flavour is so subtle that it eluded my tastebuds.

The Scariness of Trees

Ever since I can remember I have been scared of forests. I can now cope with deciduous forests but it would take courage that I don't possess to get me to walk through a closely packed coniferous forest on my own and through any coniferous forst at night. The journey between The Cottage and The House involves negotiating a tree-lined drive. When The Cottage was built in 2007 and I came to live here (previously I lived on the outskirts of Napier) the journey at night was a trial for me and I only negotiated it with the help of outside floodlights on the House and Cottage and a torch (which could light up the whole of Napier). Tonight as I wandered down in the brilliant moonlight (without a torch and no floodlights) it ocurred to me that apart from the dangers of tripping over an unseen hazard or missimg my step I was no longer concerned about the darkness and the trees. After all these years......

Not A Straight Line

For those who recall the posting on a straight line (a riveting and most interesting dissertation) here is the sequal. This one is not a straight line!

Buying Vegetables

Near home is sort of market garden which grows...well you can see what it grows. The produce is spray free. It is exceptionally reasonably priced. We buy their produce because for those reasons and because it is so good. Apart from that it is great that one can still have a society where things can be bought at the side of the road on trust.

A Good Easter

I've just watched the late evening TV news and weather. Looks good.

Multi-tasking: My Environment

When I'm working on my blog or emails or doing anything in the study then, if it's the evening, I will watch the news or, if it's later, perhaps a programme on TV. I have the desk set up in the study so that I can watch the TV across the other side of the living room from my chair at the same time as I work on the computer.

A Beautiful Evening

Just before 6pm this evening Wendy wandered down with some mail for me and to have a chat before dinner. She brought down a small poesy of a rose and some lavender. I love flowers.

As it happened the Chili Bean Combo that I'd been making had just reached maturity and I also had a few portions of the pasta that the children enjoy and some of Aggie's Marmazoth left over and in the fridge. So when Martin arrived home everyone assembled to eat a hearty repast.

As there is no school tomorrow (Easter holidays) we all watched Sense and Sensibility: leastways everyone else did whilst I answered telephone calls.

So often the most enjoyable experiences are the unexpected and inpromptu ones.

Happiness Is

Playing in the leaves in the forest

The Soil Store: Completed

One of the projects at the croquet club this year has been making a soil store. Over the last few days Frank - the store's designer, construction engineer and general factotum - has, with members' assistance, been constructing bars over which the tarpaulin can be stretched without gathering pools of water. So now we have a soil store built to outlast all but our very youngest member (and, at 15 years old, probably even her!).

A Snippet in Time

At around 0700 today I noticed that the temperature in Stornoway and Napier was, according to the gadget in my sidebar, the same. The difference is that our (New Zealand) temperature rose to 22 this afternoon whereas the temperature in Stornoway dropped to 7 deg.

The NZ Dollar is unpredictable against the GBP but is stronger than it was a few months ago (it went to 2.9). This is good news for NZ and travellers from NZ but not so good for me.

The GBP has strengthened against the Euro: a few weeks ago it was almost at parity: disasterous for UK ex-pats living in the Euro zone.