Cider Rules

Long ago, in another life, when we were Happy Young Publican Husband, aka, HYPH, & Meggie, we would quite often be invited to attend various functions to launch new products or beverages in our line of Liquor dispensation. Often these were fun filled affairs, with the sampling of many of the products offered in generous oversupply.

One such occasion was for the launching of a new Cider, released on the market in a fresh attempt to attract the monied, & foolishfashionable, young guzzlers of sippers of alcoholic beverages.

Cider had never known much popularity as a drink in New Zealand, & in fact I had never tasted it in my life, & I doubt HYPH had ever tried it either. We had English friends who said they had had it, but didn't drink it now.
Perhaps I know why, now.

This launch party for the New Cider, Strongbow, was to be held at a very new venue, called the Old Orchard, which had recently opened, & was being touted as a lovely function centre.

I did not particularly care about the idea of Cider. I had my favourite alcohol, & safely limited myself to only that particular drink, & left it at that.

Hyph was not fussed about going to this launch, but we had some friends in another Hotel who were going, & I was eager to see this beautiful new "Old Orchard".

Off we went. It was indeed a very nice venue, all tastefully decorated for the launch of Strongbow. There were 2 varieties of cider- I can't even remember the names of them now. Plentiful food in the form of nibbly small things were on offer, & everyone was encouraged to help themselves to large cold glasses of cider.

It seemed to taste very nice, this new Cider drink. The four of us began to find it was in fact increasingly pleasant, as the evening wore on. It was a very warm evening, & the atmosphere was very romantic & convivial somehow. The food was delicious, & the Cider got better with each tasting.

The launch came to close, we all bade each other farewell. Strolling out into the night air the first hint swept over me. I suddenly felt a great deal less than sober! HYPH amitted he felt strange. Our friends were finding they had lost their vehicle. In fact they had lost all sense of direction! Another party had stumbled, fallen down, & couldn't even seem to find which direction was up!
Much laughter was heard all about the carpark.

It is a terrible thought now, but in those days it was almost acceptable to drive after functions such as those. Luckily we all made it home, but it taught me a few valuable lessons. One, was to never ever under any circumstances drink cider of any type again!
I can see why it is called StrongBow! It has the kick of a mule. The resultant hangover was what it must feel like after going 12 rounds of boxing!

Who would think that a drink made from the humble & innocent apple could wreak such havoc on a person's well being the next day! Monumental is how I would decribe the hangover. Not just my own hangover either. Comparing notes it was discovered a lot of us had been cured of the Cider light, forever.
Cider Rules for me, are Dont Ever Touch It!!

It didn't dampen my admiration for the Old Orchard, though, & I did attend another function there, & still enjoyed the atmosphere & ambience of the place again. I do believe it is still running today.

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It is another hot day here, & alarmingly 'bright'. In fact it is glaring!

We went out to some excellent garage sales, & I had a great day, with very generous finds.

I took this photo from the car, as I waited for my daughter. Just look at that blue sky.. blindingly beautiful, I would imagine, if you are in the northern grim grip of winter. It is very hot so the colours refect that fact, I rather feel.

I bought a brand new pair of sweet modern, leather shoes for my granddaughter, for $3. The girl they had been purchased for, refused to even try them on! Incredible. My DGD loves them, & my daughter wished they had been her size.

I found a wonderful small electronic 'computer' for our Grandson. He was so happy with it, & loves the fact it has a screen & a keyboard just like a laptop computer. That cost me $4.

Daughter J had been lamenting the fact that she didn't own a gravy boat, & I chanced upon one with a saucer for $1.

Gom found a novelty lamp he fell in love with, & I found a paper shredder, & some great books for both of us, for next to nothing. It was one of our better days.

I love meeting the people too, & saw the work of a woman who engraves glass. Just spectacular. She also paints so she is a very talented lady. Her husband is immensely proud of her art, he told us.

Aren't these trees lovely. That is a Eucalpyt, -Gum tree- to the left with a palm underneath. I don't know what the lime/yellow tree is, but I love them, & they are so fresh looking all summer.

Our daughter currently has no car, due to major breakdown of the damn thing..

I went & visited to deliver the treasures I had found, & stayed while she took the car, & did her shopping. Gom stayed home, & had a leisurely brunch, & kept the dogs company.

Now it is drowsily steamy & we are slumped about, trying to keep cool.

We won't be using Cider as a cool aid!!

The Yardbirds, Heart full of Soul.

Morning Mist

This pic was taken off our balcony yesterday morning, as the sun crept across the trees in the Valley. A lone wreath of morning mist, from domestic fires, I suppose, just lay across the valley like a girdle across Rumbalara.

It was a chilly beginning to the day, but as the morning wore on, the sun was surprisingly warm, & I was struck by the various colours on this pretty tree, on someone's front lawn.

We were out garage sale-ing. For once, I did remember to take my camera. Our daughter & grandson came with us, & DJ fell in love with this cottage, with the pretty tree. She would have liked me to take a photo of the house, which had a lovely vernadah with pretty furniture & pot plants. Not knowing the owner, & not wanting to trespass, I didnt venture onto the property.

We had a mixed lot of sales to visit. I got some books for very little, -one of which is the Time Travellers Wife, which has been getting some good blog reports, so hope I enjoy it.

We found some beads with laces for SG, so he was happy. GOM ended up bookless, but he didnt seem to mind. It was one of those mornings when toys were not about. Mostly furniture. Not what we wanted.

More self help books. This time the how to get rich variety. They obviously didnt work, judging by the folk selling them. The pretty young girl even tried to give some toys away to SG, but he was having none of it. They were, I suspect the Macca's* variety... & for all I know he has them already. His father is apt to give in, & take him for a Cheese Burger, so he gets the toy. Nanna does not approve, so I guess what she doesnt know wont hurt her!

One very unusual lady was selling most of her large furniture, from her small villa. She had a lounge suite, with a 3 seater sofa bed, plus a 2 seater couch. At first glance they looked ok. She wanted quite a lot of money for them, & once we got close, we could see they were alive with cat hair!! I doubt it would ever come out, the cats must have been long haired cats, judging by the length of the hairs waving in the morning sun, as it streamed into the room. She told us one end of the sofa bed was 'shredded' by one cat! We quietly left, wishing her well!

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And early yesterday morning, Leo came rushing inside sneezing furiously. I couldnt imagine what could have made him sneeze as we really have no flowers he could get to. Or so I thought.

Later, I went outside, to discover a 'branch' of the Zygo Cactus lying on the table. The little hound must have jumped up onto the table on the patio, sniffed the flowers which are in full bloom, & knocked the branch off! No wonder he was sneezing, as the flowers have a lot of pollen on the stamens.

I had put the pot on the table to enjoy it, & keep it from being romped on by dogs, or SG's ball.

I have still made no decision on the sashing for the quilt blocks. DJ & I test drove a dark jadey green yesterday, but it did nothing for the blocks. We decided a blue would look nice, or perhaps a greener green. I dont have any red to test drive, so will have another think about it.

And bless Mary, she has sent me the instructions for the pinwheel cornerstones! So I can be making those while I continue to think. I didnt get any sewing done yesterday, so maybe today.

There is currently a thick white fog out over the valley, & I cant see Rumbalara at all! I thought it was foggy, as I was hot in the night. I think my body thermostat has broken!!

*Macca's is the local name for Mc Donald's.
This is an edit, hope the paragraphs stay in this time, but I wont hold my breath!

Odd little gripes...

Just a few odd little gripes today.
I have been doing my best to avoid the Televisual crap we are fed.
The so-called news, which is mostly utter rot. The 'Current affairs' which are just free advertising...or maybe it is not free?? Whatever, they try to pass it off an 'news.'

GOM likes his sport, which sees me vanish from the room. I dont mind if he enjoys watching it, & I can always either read or find something else to occupy myself. Or, I can always fall asleep!

But I was trapped watching a new series on the idiot box. A fresh variation on an old story. Gorgeous looking young things, male & female, dressed to the nines in wonderfully authentic looking period custumes. And swanning about in wonderfully authentic looking medieval sets, complete with animals, & old Oak trees, and ancient dwellings, ancient tools, ancient weapons.

And then they speak. The dialogue was obviously written by some clot who has no real knowledge of how language was spoken back in the period. Phrases such as "You owe me one!" "OK, Let's go!"

While I dont expect them to use the Shakespearian mode of speech, I also dont expect them to use modern, American slang terms. Especially when it is an English story, & English production. Nit picking? Maybe. But they lost my viewer interest. I just found it incongruous, & downright irritating, in spite of all the other visual treats.

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You probably know by now, GOM & I like to visit garage sales. I search for fabrics for the stash. And the odd neglected bear, which calls my name. GOM seeks out books, as he reads about 4-5 a week, which can get very expensive.

I find it very interesting to look at the books. I read quite different books to GOM, I like non fiction more than he does. I like to look at the type of books, and compare the people selling them. I am surprised when there are a lot of meditation, spiritual type books, & the vendors, are the rough & ready 'salt of the earth types'. I wonder if the books had been gifts. Or had they had a shift of consciousness, that didnt last? Intriguing always.

Yesterday we went to a sale that had a large table of excellent books, hardbacks, soft covers, large small. All 50cents each. Most of the books were in pristine condition. All were clean & had obviously been well kept, indoors.

I noticed a lot of them were for 'self improvement'. A lot of diet books, how to eat healthy, how to keep fit. How meditate, how to get the most out of life. I sneaked looks at the vendors. They did look quite fit, slim, & healthy. So perhaps they no longer needed the advice dispensed in the books.

There were also lots of novels, & GOM came away with a nice stash to read. We met a fellow Kiwi, who has promised to come & visit us. He really made us laugh, & his lovely Aussie partner seems nice also. He asked me if I was a Hori*. I laughed, & shook my head. He is, & proud to be so. And he speaks a language we can understand. They live close to us, so I hope they call in to visit.

I had to laugh when he asked if I was Hori. I am not really dark in colouring, & dont know that my features would indicate Maori ancestors. But strangely enough I have often been asked the same question. Our Great Grandmother, who was said to be Irish had quite a dark complexion, & we have often wondered if there is a dark blooded connection. It would be interesting to have one of those DNA tests, to determine if we have. My Beloved Brother keeps threatening to have it done. I think perhaps cost might prohibit him actually going ahead. haha.

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I am off out to a Doll Bear & Quilt show today. It has been moved to a Racecourse, which promises more space, so it will be very interesting to see if there are more traders than there were last year. I am stocking the wallet, just in case.


*Hori, pronounced haw-ry, is a slang term for Maori. It is a long time since I had heard it used & it made me laugh. The nice young man, who used the term, is a Maori.