Ice Cream Maker

It seems that every time I donate something, I come home with something else!

Today, I dropped off five bags of goodies to the Habitat For Humanity store and thought I did really well not to enter the shop.

But then I went to K-Mart department store to buy coathangers, and found this little cutie to bring home as well.

It is an Anko Mini Ice Cream Maker. It only makes a cupful at a time - perfect for me and my half-cup-only size desserts. 

And I can make it with healthy ingredients like yoghurt and real eggs.

It's always exciting to have a new toy to play with!

Margaret xx 

Shopping

I've been shopping again!  The first purchase was a new garden chair for myself as the old one was in danger of collapse.

I think it sits well in my little garden, and hopefully will last 10+ years like my last chair did.

My other purchase was a German-made crystal basket that I found in the thrift shop I'd just donated three bags of stuff to.

One thing into the home for several things out - I'm choosing to class that

as progress in my ongoing declutter battle!

Margaret xx 

Paeroa Antiques

TODAY I SPENT A FEW LOVELY HOURS IN PAEROA, THE "ANTIQUE CAPITAL" OF NEW ZEALAND.

I FOUND THIS LOVELY POTPOURRI HOLDER AT 'JUNK & DISORDERLY '

LUNCH WAS A SAVOURY AND CAKE AT 'COURTYARD CAFE'

BUTCHERY SHOPS ARE A RARE FIND THESE DAYS, SO I WAS THRILLED TO DISCOVER 'BURTON'S BUTCHERY' WITH ITS FRIENDLY BUTCHER, AND CAME HOME WITH A BIG BAG OF MEAT!

OF COURSE, IT WAS MANDATORY TO STOP AND SAY HI TO THE BIG ICONIC FIZZY DRINK BOTTLE (L&P IS NOW MADE IN AUCKLAND BUT IT BEGAN IN PAEROA).

I THOUGHT THE "BUBBLES" ON THE GROUND AROUND IT WERE RATHER COOL.

IT REALLY WAS A GREAT DAY OUT.

MARGARET xx 

Half Cup Puddings

 

I love food!  Eating delicious meals is something I really enjoy.  The trouble is, as I grow older, I’m finding I need to adjust more and more how and what I eat. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am sometimes using chopsticks to help me eat a bit slower.  I’m also trying to watch the portion sizes that I serve myself. 

The recommended size of one serve of pudding/dessert is half a cup, which doesn’t seem very much but is actually quite adequate.

Dinner just doesn’t seem complete without something sweet to finish with, and I’m afraid fresh fruit doesn’t usually do it for me (even though I enjoy it for breakfast and lunch).

Feeling guilty about what you eat is a terrible way to live, so I am not going to deny myself the pleasure of eating pudding.  I just want to control how much I eat.

And so it was that when I went op/thrift shopping last week, I was delighted to find these two wine glasses that hold half a cup each. 

Don’t you just love the neon blue colour of this blueberry jelly? Although I shudder a little to think what colour it will make my insides!

I only make up half a packet at a time, so I can finish it within two days.  I will have one tonight and the other tomorrow night, and eat them (slowly!) with a small teaspoon.

The other item I was delighted to find was this decorative china plate.  It is one of a 1996 Bradford Exchange issue by artist Lena Liu, and I just loved the whole pretty picture it made.

We continue to have hot weather here, often quite sultry.  Thankfully it is a little cooler in the mornings so I can get things done around the house.

The pets struggle a bit.  Son gives the rats cold ice cubes to gnaw on and they spend a lot of their time sitting on stones and staring out the cage towards any air movement (we often have a fan directed at them).

The cats find the coolest spot they can, usually the concrete beneath the carport in the shade.  They sprawl out with their bellies on the ground, and their fur seems to all be standing up on end (the worst of being a long-haired cat).  We brush them both regularly but they are still shedding hair.

This is Mittens enjoying the deck before the sun began to bake it.

I hope your day is a good one 😊

Margaret.

 

Ginger and Pickles

 

A friend and I went to Cambridge yesterday and visited some thrift stores while there. 

I haven’t done this activity for quite a few months now, and was surprised (and mildly horrified) at how much prices had increased. 

Selling secondhand donated goods helps raise money for charities, but also helps those who can’t afford to buy things new.  Unfortunately, or so it seems to me, the emphasis has now shifted to the raising money part of the equation and I feel sorry for those who are struggling to make ends meet.

My friend and I both managed to find a couple of little things to bring home.  I liked the small white and blue china lady, and am always on the lookout for beads to add to my collection. 

I find many wine glasses today are too big, and these glasses are perfect for holding the regulation one-serve 100ml serving of wine – they are elderly glasses and have quite a different feel to them compared to today’s glass.

I especially loved this Beatrix Potter collectable.  It is a little shop that was operated by Ginger and Pickles (a cat and dog respectively) in one of the Potter books.

We have rain showers here today and are expecting thunderstorms tomorrow.  It’s a good day for puttering around inside and finding homes for my new little treasures.

Have a great day 😊
Margaret.

 

The Cheese Barn

 

I have been searching for a source of organic cow’s ghee to use in cooking instead of oil.  Ghee, an ultra-clarified form of butter, has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.

It contains medium chain fatty acids which aid in the faster digestion and absorption of food.  It also helps to stimulate the satiety centre of the brain, helping to control appetite (and promote weight loss!).

As with my butter rationing, I don’t intend to go overboard in using this.  Just sometimes, though, it is nice to make a pie crust or a fruit crumble pudding (I don’t make cakes etc any more, unless for a really special occasion), or I may want to grease my non-stick skillet. 

The ghee will be better to use than butter (I dislike using oil for these things as it always seems to go sticky and thick and yukky).

I found a place called Milkio, that claimed to be based here in Hamilton itself – only every avenue on their webpage that I explored came to a dead end.  When I discovered a different brand with an almost identical webpage (called Gold Leaf), I decided the whole lot was probably a scam.

Then I discovered a source at Matatoki, near Thames, called The Cheese Barn.  They were quite open about who stocked their product and also that they had their own shop (with address and hours) inside their cafe.

It was quite pleasant to drive over there this morning (even though it took 90 minutes each way) and enjoy the green countryside.  There was still some evidence of the recent floods, but nothing to hinder my travels.

I purchased my ghee with glee, and am looking forward to using it to grease the pan tonight when I cook up my Bean Burgers.

May your smile always be the right way up 😊

Margaret.

 

My Sofa Bed

 

In just over three weeks’ time, my dear daughter will be visiting us.  We haven’t met up since late 2018 so I’m counting down the days! 

When we have visitors stay overnight they are usually bedded down on an inflatable mattress on the floor.  Not the most comfortable but adequate for one night.

With the thought of finding something better for daughter’s longer stay, I visited the Habitat For Humanity shop to look for beds and found this sofa-bed instead.

The sofa is the size of a single bed, in excellent condition, and very comfortable to sit on.  The base folds out to create a full-size double bed, which should be much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.

This afternoon the shop called to see if I was home to accept delivery.  I was actually on the other side of the city, but came home immediately and was ready when the truck arrived.

Two lovely friendly young men carried it into the house for me and took the old Lazy-Boy chair away with them when they left.

Now I just need to rearrange the spare room so that everything will fit!

Have a great day 😊

Margaret.

 

A Lovely Morning

 

The weather has been gorgeous so far today (it is early afternoon now), with blue skies and sunshine and a light breeze.  

Perfect for getting the sheets dry!

I went to a couple of thrift shops before lunch, and came home with eight new tops.  I haven’t tried them on yet, but hope they fit – at $2 each I thought it was a bargain not to be missed.  If they don’t fit or look too awful, then I will donate them to another shop.

One of the shops is situated beside an office equipment shop so I popped in there on the off-chance they might have something suitable that I can use for a sewing table.

Yes!!  I am now the proud owner of a small rectangular table and an office chair on wheels.  They are both flat-pack furniture, so I will leave them for Son to put together for me.

No excuse now not to do some sewing!

Margaret 😊

 

Cold Feet

 

Us Kiwis love to wander around barefoot, especially during the summer, and I seldom wear shoes at home when the weather is hot.

However, with mornings growing cooler my tootsies are feeling the cold so I decided to buy myself some slippers for winter.   My previous ones lasted about three seasons, but were beginning to fall apart at the end of last winter and found their way into the trash.

I made my way over to Kmart department store and found plenty of slippers – big Ugg boots (too hot for me) and comfy scuffs (no foot support, which I need), but no shoe-style slippers.  However, I did find some shoes that could act as house shoes and double as slippers, and also some casual slip-ons that will be great next summer.

The shoes were all on special and, altogether, my three pairs came to $19.50.  Even if they only last one season (and I can usually get more than that out of them) they are a big bonus for my budget!

Stir-fry vegetables for dinner tonight, with some mincemeat and mushrooms for flavour.  

My turn to cook 😊

Bye for now,

Margaret.

  

The Header photo for this month is one of Tree Ferns in the Otanewainuku Forest near Tauranga.

 

Only As Good

 

“A workman is only as good as his tools” was an adage my husband was fond of using – usually when trying to convince me that buying some particular tool was a good idea!

But what he was saying has a lot of truth about it.

Seven years ago I purchased an Electrolux vacuum cleaner – it was small and didn’t have a lot of suction power but it was perfect for our caravan life-style at the time.

However, the last two and a bit years it has been seeing service in a three-bedroom house with two cats that love to leave little black Fur Deposits around the house, and it has been struggling to cope.

Actually it is not only the cleaner that struggles because so do I, especially when trying to pick up the fluff off the floor.

Yesterday I reached my limit and it sent me to the laptop to do some research.  Today I went to Godfreys at The Base (and had the most friendly helpful service from Arpit) and came home with a Hoover Allergy vacuum cleaner.

Wow, what a difference it makes to the carpet!  The change is quite incredible – from having a ‘clean’ carpet, we now have a ‘looks clean like new’ carpet.  What a joy.

Having the right tools for a job is certainly true 😊

Margaret.

This blog may sound a bit like an advertisement but it isn’t.  I’m just stating what happened and am not benefitting in any way from doing so. 

 

A Zwilling Knife Set

 

I had the good fortune this last week to win an online auction for a Zwilling J.A. Henckels meat carving set made in Germany.  

When I married, we were given a boxed carving set (knife, fork and steel) for a wedding present and used it for many years.

Over time, however, the box disappeared, the knife blade separated from its handle, and all that is left is a steel and fork buried in the bottom of a drawer.

Now I am getting rid of a lot of these things I no longer use, I decided to replace what I wanted with something that had some quality.

I loved this set as there is a gold embossed hunting scene on one side of the knife blade, and the box itself has another scene on the inside of the lid.  The handles are apparently made with antelope horn.

I did some research and Zwilling J.A. Henckels is one of the leading knife manufacturers in the world, which made my purchase feel even more special.

I have no idea how old the set is, and the lady I bought it off did not know either, but this will not stop me from the enjoyment of using it.

“A knife is only as good as the one who wields it”

Have a happy day 😊

Margaret.

 

22-02-2022

 

New Zealand uses the date format of day – month – year, which makes today’s date a perfect palindrome. 

Only, it doesn’t work if you are American and use a date format of month – day – year!

I think our humid hot weather has been catching up on me, and the last few days I have been struggling to do much of anything.

One day, however, I did manage to look in on a local charity shop and (of course!) came home with two more Little Treasures.

The bowl is cut glass, not crystal, and has a small chip on its exterior base.  I thought it would make a lovely container for a pot plant (perhaps for the maidenhair fern I have been wanting to buy for a while now), but I’ve discovered it also makes a great salad bowl!

My other purchase was this little pea pod salt-and-pepper set.  I thought it was rather cute, but it is so long since I actually used a proper cruet set that I have forgotten whether it is the salt that has more holes or the pepper – help!

Have a cheerful week everyone 😊

Margaret.

Fifty Years Ago

 

I always think it is strange how memories have no time frame to them.  Whether it happened yesterday or last month or decades ago, the memory remains the same and takes no account of time having past by.

In some ways fifty years sounds like a long time, but in other ways it is no time at all.  That is how I am feeling today, as it was fifty years ago that I first met my husband.

We met on a Blind Date, organized by my girlfriend as I never had a partner to attend a 21^st birthday party.  I am so glad she set us up together!

It was the start of a relationship that lasted nearly forty-seven years and left me with multiple happy memories, and gratitude that I was able to meet such a wonderful man and become his wife for so many years.

My Garden this morning

It has been a bit of a hectic week this week and I have spent very little time on my computer.  My apologies for not visiting anyone's blog.

One of my brothers had a triple bypass heart operation that never went as smoothly as was expected. He is on the road to recovery now and hopefully will soon be able to leave ICU and head into a cardiac ward.  It is always a major concern when a loved one becomes ill, and the longer I live the more it seems to happen.

Ginger, a scented-leaf pelargonium

Shopping has gone crazy this week.  Everywhere is full of Black Friday Week sales, Christmas is looming, the easing of covid restrictions means more places are open for business, and next week there is the threat of unvaccinated people with no ‘pass’ being not able to go to many places.  So it seems that this week, every man and his dog (as the saying goes!), has been in town.

I still went shopping though. 

I bought a new floor mop and bucket, and a yard broom, as well as a decorative box to hold my ironing while it waits patiently for me to get to do it.

But my happiest purchases have been some new pelargoniums.  Five, in fact.  

Harmony has pink flowers with a white centre, Really Red is red, Vancouver Centennial has pretty leaves, Lady Plymouth has rose scented leaves, and Ginger has ginger-scented leaves and pretty flowers.

Really Red really is RED!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend,

Margaret 😊

A Bagful of Delights

 

It is a beautiful day here today.  The sun is shining, the skies are blue with only a few fluffy clouds, and the temperature is beginning to feel like summer.

This little garden is loving it!

I made a visit to a local charity shop to drop off three boxes full of ‘goodies’ for someone else to treasure – and came home with a small bag full of ‘goodies’ for me to treasure.

At least I came home with less than I took.

The Queen Anne cup and saucer set cost me $15 but everything else was only $1 each, so I was quite happy with my purchases – a couple of table mats, a photo frame, a sweet glass horse and an iridescent kitty, a Victoriana photo album (with places to slip your photos inside), a book of vegetarian cooking, and a Country Diary book of decorating (following the style of Edith Holden).

I didn’t really need any of these items, but it always feels good to do some Retail Therapy (especially with the bonus of it being a bargain).

The cup and saucer set has been washed and used already. 

Fine china always seems to make tea taste so much better, don’t you agree? 😊

Margaret.

Saturday Morning

 

It is Saturday morning here.  The sun is shining (sort of), and there is a gentle breeze and lots of clouds.  I can hear birds chirruping and a plane off in the distance, so it is all quite peaceful feeling.

We had an awesome sunset last night, such intense orange-red colours that I wondered if there was smoke in the atmosphere.  My photo barely does it justice.

Yesterday I dropped my large cake mixer off at a charity shop.  It is simply too heavy for me to lift now, and I seldom do any baking so it was time to move it on to someone else.

Naturally, I had to wander around the shop afterwards.  Retail Therapy is good for the soul!!

I spent a grand total of $21.50 and came home with: a long scarf, a book about cooking root vegetables, a Famous Five book, a book about decorating your home according to the seasons, a baby’s frock that I think will look good on one of my teddies, two old-style prints (one of spring fruits and the other of autumn) (already hanging up in my room!), a tin to use for a teabag caddy, a china figurine set of a couple enjoying a cup of tea, and a sweet little hand-blown blue glass bird.

After all that excitement, I called in on a sister-in-law and spent most of the rest of the day visiting with her.

Enjoy your weekend everyone,

Margaret 😊  

Busy Days

 

Sometimes it feels like I am never home!  The week seems to have been filled with outings and one day has merged into another, and now here we are at the end of another working week.

I visited Te Awamutu, a neighbouring town, and went on a bit of a shopping spree.  I came home with some winter tops, new underwear, pyjamas, a couple of warm jackets, slippers and a pair of shoes. 

I seem to be one of those people who never wear out their clothes, and, quite frankly, I get a bit bored with wearing the same things over and over so some new ones are most welcome.

(It’s not like I have a lot of clothes, but I am not a minimalist either!).

New clothes ready to be washed before wearing

A visit to see my brother filled in a few hours.  His eye has healed quite well but the actual wound split open after the stitches were removed.  His specialist has said he will need to recut it and restitch it, especially as it is so visible on his face.

Yesterday I was invited out to lunch at Gordonton, a small village near Hamilton.  It was good catching up again with this couple, whom I have not seen for a while.

Of course, it was mandatory to visit The Farm Shop while in Gordonton, with their wonderful array of gifts and organic produce.  I bought a jar of raw honey sourced from Hamilton Gardens and the Zoo grounds, as well as a couple of pieces of homemade coconut ice that I was unable to resist.

I hope everyone is keeping well – I don’t seem to have had the time to visit anyone lately, so I hope you will all forgive me.

Happiness is keeping busy 😊

Margaret.

Supermarket Woes

 

It pays to check your supermarket docket!  This morning I was double charged for one item, and incorrectly charged for another.

I bought peaches and was charged for nectarines, which were dearer, so I questioned it.  But the poor check-out girl couldn’t get the item off the docket as every time she weighed my purchase she got a different weight.  It varied between 705g and 830g – not a good look.

In the end the supervisor offered me cash equal to the estimated difference between the peach and nectarine prices, which I accepted.

A quick check through the docket revealed one item had been charged for twice.  As this was a $7 item, I was glad to have it removed!

The supermarket was extremely busy – many more people packed into the shop than when we are under lock-down restrictions.  One woman I spoke to said people were stocking up on things as we have now had three positive cases confirmed in the community in the last few days.

It must sound strange to countries suffering severe hardship because of Covid, that three cases can send so many people into a panic, but so it is.

However, added to the crowd were undoubtedly shoppers preparing for the long weekend ahead.  Monday is our Auckland Provincial Anniversary Day so everything in the upper half of the North Island will be closing down.

With the hot temperatures we have been having this week, I imagine a lot of families will be heading for the beach!

Stay happy and keep smiling 😊

Margaret.

Lunch and A Kettle

 

With so much of the world in lock-down, I appreciate that we are still able to meet together.  I was able today to have lunch with one of my brothers-in-law and his dear wife, in a hardware store café.

I ordered an Angus Beef burger, minus the bun (I never eat it) – the result looked a little messy but it still tasted good.  And, of course, the company was excellent and we shared much gossip and laughter.

It has been another hot day.  We had a lot of heavy rain overnight and the clouds are still looking threatening.  Everything is sodden and when the sun shines it is a bit like being in a sauna.

I had an Iced Chocolate Milk with my lunch to cool me down a bit.

The kettle we have been using is now several years old, so we have had a good run with it.  But the day before yesterday I lifted the lid to put water into it, and the handle fell off the lid!  At least we could put water in through the spout, but it was time for a new one.

I went looking around the hardware store after lunch and found this Sheffield kettle – and it was on special!  There was only one box left and it was right at the back of the shelf, so I had to ask an assistant to retrieve it for me – one of the joys of being vertically challenged!

We had a lovely birthday dinner last night.  It is the first time granddaughter has made a full meal by herself, and I thought she did very well.

I enjoyed going out for a while, but it is nice now to be back home sitting in front of the fan with a large glass of chilled water 😊

Margaret.

 

Supermarket Chaos

 

Two days of shopping left before Christmas, counting today which is already half gone.  All schools are now on summer break and most service industries are closing up for the next two to three weeks.

That is a lot of people wanting to go on holiday all at the same time – not only do late gifts and Christmas food need to be bought, but also everything that might be wanted to take away on holiday.

The result is total retail chaos, and this is nowhere more obvious than at the supermarket.  Son and I went there this morning at 8am and the place was already packed out.  Thankfully we were still able to find a carpark.

Patience is needed to shop in conditions like this – one has to cope with scarcity of available carparking, crowds of shoppers with trolleys, school children running riot, lots of store workers putting out fresh goods, queues at all the check-outs.

There was no social distancing and no masks being worn.  It was just like a 'normal' Christmas, only busier, and certainly did not have a joyous feel about it.    

The supermarkets are closed on Christmas Day and then will be open again.  Next week should be much quieter!

We bought only what we will need for the next few days and have no intention of joining the hordes of holiday-makers on the roads, most of whom will be heading for a beach somewhere on our lengthy coastline.

On a brighter note, in the middle of the supermarket carpark is a small flowering Pohutukawa tree.  It is often called the Christmas Tree as its unusual red flowers always appear at this time of the year.

The tree had several honey bees visiting it, totally oblivious to all the rush going on around them.

Don’t you just love nature?

Margaret 😊

Artisan Bread

 

Words fail to adequately describe the wonderful smell of freshly cooked bread.  It is a cozy warm smell that wraps around one and infuses the senses with a double dose of domestic harmony – and an overwhelming desire to eat some!

I had that experience this morning when I bought a loaf of organic sourdough multi-grain bread that had not long been removed from the oven. 

With a certain amount of will-power I managed to resist eating any of it until lunchtime, and then found it delicious and filling.  Artisan bread is so different to commercially baked bread.

I bought the bread while checking out two organic shops that I had heard about, and also purchased lamb sausages and beef patties as well as a dozen free-range eggs.

The chickens are allowed to roam free on an organic farm, with their houses being moved each week to a fresh location.  No colouring agents (to make the yolk yellow) are used – “What you get in our eggs is what the chickens make.”  We will see tomorrow whether they pass the taste test or not.

Neither shop had a very impressive range of organic fruit and vegetables so I avoided purchasing any of them, but did find a small shaker of dried sea-lettuce and this lovely comb.

The comb handle is made from sustainable sandalwood and the comb teeth are made using ox horn.  It has a very satisfying tactile feel and combs my long hair without any problems.

A quick visit to the local supermarket was needed to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables, and then back home before the rain arrived.

It is always a good feeling to get the shopping finished before the weather turns bad 😊

Margaret.