How many grains of sand...

Shamelessly borrowed from websites, advertising for tourism. I hope I am not breaking any laws, or upsetting any businesses. The Bay of Plenty is a wonderful place to visit, and, a wonderful place to grow to maturity!

This is a pic of the spit of the Mount.

This view, here below, taken from the top of the Mount, looking South, or more realistically East South East,  depicts the Blowhole, with Motiti Island in the more distant background. I hope these give some perspective, to my story and the pics I have posted here.

 Of course here is the Mount, beloved by young teenagers, of my day,  as a 'Conquest'! We would walk our way around and up this Mount, and view the surroudings, and feel triumphant, at having achieved such a feat.
There might have been a hug or two on the way up... even a kiss perhaps.

When we were young school children, we would be bussed from our home town school, for a Picnic Day at the foot of the Mount. There was so much sand! Which I now consider in a different light!!
There were Donkey Rides. Poor docile Donkeys, they were so patient and long suffering.

I happened to notice, a strange item of news, while I was perusing a  Newspaper site, of the New Zealand Herald . It concerned this  beach of my childhood.
A beach, which featured in a large part of my growing/maturing  years.

The 'beach', (which perhaps should be known as Beaches),  is Mount Maunganui, and it has a small Mount, at the end of a spit of land, as in my nicked pic. One side opens onto the Ocean, and the other, is the Harbour side, which is calm, sheltered, and waveless.
It was an ideal beach destination when we were all ages, since the Harbour side was mostly shallow, and ideal for small children to learn to swim or just paddle.

The Ocean side, was where we went to surf the waves and swim in the sometimes,  mighty breakers of foam, as they hurled themselves endlessly to the sandy shore.

I have previously posted this picture of myself, on the left,  and a little friend, Norma, - we still keep in touch today. In the background can be seen, what I think, is either Motiti Island, or the Mount.

This was taken at approximately the same location, as the first photo, but this time I have 'grown up'. I was a trainee nurse, and much of our spare time was spent at the beach!

Looking at the pic, to the left is the Blowhole, and Motiti Is.  is once again in the background.

This next was taken in a rock hollow at the Blowhole, which we frequently visited to watch the water blast up through the hole in the rock.. I can remember the name of my companion, but I am wondering who took the photo?? I have no idea, as I felt just the two of us made the trip, on one of my days off. Obviously not the same day as the bright photos.

This is rather chilling, as it would seem to be in almost the exact location of the "Bones on the Beach" photograph featured in the Postcard. It was taken on the same day as the standing photo, on that grey sand.

Somehow this is horrible to see. I was intrigued/saddened/horrified,  by the postcard, and the accompanying article in the NZ Herald.

I somehow found this unutterably sad.

I do not have any religion, but I do feel much respect, for those of us who have gone before. I have many Maori friends, who were 'local',  and I am so shocked to think we were never made aware of this event. None of my family have any memory of this happening. I am surprised to think it was not local folklore. Why did no one tell us? I feel crass, somehow, not to have been aware.

I find I think of the grains of sand, and how they are filled with the grains of our beloved, who have gone before.

After all, we are all one!

Tina Arena, Now I Can Dance. I LOVE this song!!

Comforts...or are they?

Much is written these days about so called "Comfort Foods".

I know I am somewhat of a freak, when it comes to my choice of "Comfort Food".

Chocolate has never been my choice. Offer me a Chocolate, or a Grilled Cheese dish, ~and Grilled Cheese will win every time!

Or better still, offer me Cheese and a Flaky Pastry, plus, perhaps an onion/combination,  and I am gone! My "Ultimate Swoon" Food!

Offer me a steak, I will shudder. But offer me fish, of almost any type, and I will be transported with delight.

I am not mad about Mussels, nor Pauas. Pipis, or Cockles,  I can take or leave- these days preferably leave! Though in our young days we would -cruelly, I am ashamed to admit- bit the 'toungues' off the raw Pipis as we dug them out of the sand.
I am appalled now, to think of this hideous act, and I wish I could apologise to every Pipi I maimed, or wounded!

I do love a rich Vegetable Soup, and I love Barley as an ingredient for any Soup. Comfort Food indeed, to my palate.

Potatoes score high in comfort food lists, and any method of cooking them, meets with my approval.

Something I do find, of late, is a love of salt.

I suspect this is not a good thing. Salt, tends to make one's aging body retain fluid, which is not desirable for many reasons. Fluid retention, and Heart disease, being two of the major "No No's"

Given the choice between a few chocolates, or a bag or two of Potato Chips, or Crisps, and you can have the Chocolates, I will take the the Chips or Crisp- call them what you choose.
Those awful yellow "Cheese" snacks? Let me have them~ salt and all!

I do love Asian style dishes, with the sweet/salty/sour tastes, and I tell myself the vegetables are extremely healthy! And the delicate Seafoods,  which go so well with the wonderful salty, soupy, dishes, of Asian influenced Cuisine.

I love noodles, and find them to be Comfort Food Central

, to me. I adore Rice Noodles especially. But then, I also love just plain Rice!

I also have a love of Macaroni Cheese, a hangover from my childhood, when I loved my Grandmother's Mac Cheese more than any other food. And next day, sliced cold, it was devine!!

I still love Pasta, and regard it as a Comfort Food.

Do you have a Favourite Comfort Food?

Neil Diamond, Porcupine Pie. I know, I have posted this before, but I still love this version.

Treats

The evening comes tinged with pink edges, a seeming promise of a fine, and perhaps,  beautiful day tomorrow.

A treat from over the sea. This lovely little hanging, bringing sweet sentiments and the love of friendship. So very sweet. Thankyou Jane, of Marigold Jam.  Do  check out this blog, she writes the most delightful posts.

Another free treat for me, was an email message from another Blog friend. It is amazing how much better support can make one feel, even if it comes from cyber space, and caring friends unmet, in the flesh.
Thankyou Mary, you are a treasure.


****************

This, for me, was a treat to make. I have been trying to summon the Mojo to help me create this promised item, for my Dear Daughter J.
Yesterday the Mojo came home, and I made the complete item! I was so happy, and so is my daughter. It looks a little cream in the pic, but is actually Ivory. The lace is an old treasure I had kept and we found the perfect ribbon, along with some lovely velvet ribbon, also among my treasures.

I really did enjoy feeling like sewing again!

We have a very nice neighbour, who recently lost his 'Bride' of many years. He is now 80 years old, and is a remarkable man. He still rises every morning at 4am to go to train his horses. He says he doesn't know what he would do with himself, if he didnt still train the horses. He told he he takes flowers to the Bride's grave to celebrate her birthdays.
I had asked if he could remove a Privet, which had grown wild among his Bride's lovely Azaleas. Apart from being ugly, the Privet gives me severe hayfever.
As good as his word, he got his Grandson to remove the Privet yesterday, after having borrowed a saw from Gom. The Bride once told me that her Groom would not know one end of a hammer from the other!

That may be true, but he sure can train some winninging horses!

Blogger is infuriating me beyond endurance this morning.
I began this post last evening, and found it impossible to upload photos, due to 'maintenance'.

This morning, I had a little better luck, but simply can not upload 2 more photos I had hoped to add.

Gom is out in the kitchen, doing unthinkable things to the bench and other assorted items. I am trying so hard to remain in here, away from it all. I figure what I don't see, won't hurt me!

I am off out this afternoon, hopefully for some retail therapy, with my Dear Daughter. She is shopping for a bra. Never an easy task, and the last shop she tried, (which boasted it can fit any figure,) ridiculously told her they don't stock her size, but she could buy an extension to make one fit! WTH?? She is a perfectly normal, average size?
I need some pretty, comfortable,  sandals, since I can no longer wear heels and so wish us both luck!







Gomez, How We Operate.



Not Keeping the Balls in the Air.

So many missed opportunities for pictures! So many milestones to mark!
It seems I have missed most of them.

Where have I been? Where has my wandering mind been?

This is SG, Small Grandson, 'Almost Eight', which is a pretty special Birthday, after all. He came to share it with us, and he was so excited by his gifts and the magnificent Chocolate Cake his father made!!

Shockingly, I dont have the 'Now I Am Eight!' pics.

Nor do I have the wonderful Choccy Cake, made by Dad! pics.

Where was the camera? What was I thinking?

I was off on Planet Numb, I suspect, wandering about, bewildered, and lost.

I have no idea where most of this month has gone.

If anyone finds my Sewing Mojo, please send it back to me, as I really need it now, to complete something I promised to have made, before November.

I received a lovely little hanging, of which I don't have photos to show. Hangs head in shame. I promise I will have them for the next post.

My juggling all seems in vain, & the balls all fall at my feet.

However, I am not resisting the temptation to say, "What the hell?",  look at the balls lying there, & just walking away.

After all, if they need to be in the air, I am sure someone will throw them up. Or not.

Morty has been a true CAT. He refuses to remain an indoor cat, and I swear he gives us 'the Finger' now & then!
He is a rude, arrogant cat. He comes running indoors to yowl and talk, only to run off again, when I try to answer his queries, and set his mind at rest.

He adopted a shabby cardboard box his choice of 'slumber slot' in the evening, beside my chair.

Well, he has lost it now. He caught a poor little bird, and sneaked it into the house.
The first we knew of it, was some thumping, and leaping noises. When I went to investigate, I found the poor little critter, cowering in a corner of a bedroom. I rescued the little creature, and took it to the local Vet. I hope it will recover. It did not seem mortally wounded, though it was missing a few feathers.

I used Morty's Slumber Box, to transport the hapless dove. Morty is getting another, large, bell for his collar!

My little dog Honey is quite jealous and disliking of Morty. However, most mornings, I find Honey on one side of my legs, on the bed, and Morty, on the other side.
It seems a truce is reached in the night.

Would I could reach such harmony in my days.

Janis Ian, In the Winter.