THE CURMUDGEON
The Old Girl drove back from Auckland today.
She stopped off at La Nonna bakery in Kaiwaka for lunch and bought herself a butter chicken pie. La Nonna make the best ones we've ever tasted.
She also bought a couple of La Nonna's cream and jam doughnuts.
I had mine for afternoon tea. These are seriously good.
My niece's 30th birthday is next weekend (the day before mine).
I've been looking in gift shops and on-line for a stained glass window hanging similar to the ones that we bought from the Tiritiri Matangi bird sanctuary island a couple of decades ago. I couldn't find a manufacturer or retailer so in desperation went to the Trade Me site. Sure enough, several came up immediately for which I used the BUY NOW function. They've arrived today, well in time for the birthday.
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| This double tui is the one I'll use for the birthday gift. |
I also bought these:
These will be added to the current collection we have:
Who would have thought that I'd get a post out of window hangings?
* Yes, I know that I've used this post title before as the more observant and technologically savvy readers will have noticed, given that The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ employs a clever search mechanism in the layout of their blogs but this song has been in my head most of the day: WAHOO - BLUR **
** Yes, I know the song title is 'Wahoo' or 'Song 2' not 'Woohoo' but I wish that you wouldn't be so bloody pedantic.
"We all change in our lifetimes. Physical changes and ageing is obvious as is our change in knowledge and awareness but more subtle perhaps are our changes in preferences."
The post covers my early, middle and later years and touches on the things I've ascribed to, thought, believed or followed at some time and how now I hardly give them a second thought. The draft isn't as long as anything that Marcel Proust wrote, not even his shopping lists but I discovered that for us mere mortals we can go on a bit when thinking about our lives.
Which gives me an opportunity to segue into this wonderful song I listened to a lot when at university.
MAN OF THE WORLD - FLEETWOOD MAC
Anyway, moving on.
I parked the 'THAT WAS THEN - THIS IS NOW' post because it was tea-time and I was watching the Olympics (that gutsy BMX rider Rebecca Petch is an amazing athlete). My dinner tonight was the second half of the meal I cooked last night - Thai Green Curry Chicken with Basil. 'GAENG KHIAO WAN GAI' or เขียวหวานไก่ in Thai.
The Old Girl is in Auckland so when I cooked this last night I took a bit of licence and added a few extra things that she frowns on - spring onion, green beans, sliced carrot and extra sliced chillis. I also, for the first time in addition to topping the dish with fresh basil, added during cooking, a big dollop of pesto which is largely crushed basil with pine-nuts, garlic and cheese. The result was stunning and is the best เขียวหวานไก่ , sorry, GAENG KHIAO WAN GAI, sorry, Thai Green Curry Chicken with Basil that I've ever made. Tonight I simply cooked some more rice and reheated the dish from last night. WOOHOO!
The women's sevens rugby is on later. I'm saving a glass of pinot noir to drink while watching that.
How's your evening going?
I'm watching the Olympics this week and next week.
The emergence of annual World competitions in nearly all of the Olympic events is having quite an effect on the Olympics (and the Commonwealth Games) with the best athletes placing more importance on the annual events. By the time that the Olympics come around most of the world rankings have been sorted.
On top of this is the very poor reputation that the Olympics governing committee (IOC) has. Like the world football (soccer) organisation (FIFA), IOC has been involved in scandal and controversy since ...... well, since forever. See LIST OF OLYMPIC GAMES CONTROVERSIES
You probably won't read that and maybe you are already aware of them but as you can see the scandals are numerous.
One of the latest ones and one that certainly shows up the greed of the IOC is how they have allowed Russia, under the guise of Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to compete at the Tokyo 2020 games even though Russia has been formerly disqualified from competing because of consistent drug cheating.
Russia as a country has been banned from competing at a range of major international sporting events over a state-sponsored doping programme that ran for many years. While we might assume many over the years who have competed in the Olympics have been drug cheats, this was on a different level.
Former World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Dick Pound described it as "institutionalised, government-organised cheating on a wide scale across a whole range of sports in a country".
If Russia is banned, then what are Russian athletes doing competing for a Russian team?
The compromise came after WADA's decision was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which lessened the punishment. Effectively, the CAS decision paved the way for this workaround.
It's not without precedent for athletes from banned countries to still compete. Kuwaiti athletes were involved at Rio 2016 after the Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended for "government interference" over a piece of legislation passed by the Kuwaiti government.
We live in a geologically interesting area - Whangarei Heads. The rocky pinnacles of Bream Head, Mt Manaia and Mt Aubrey are the eroded remnants of Whangarei Heads Stratovolcano that was one of the larger volcanoes in the Northland Volcanic Arc which erupted between 20 and 15 million years ago.
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A line-up of volcanoes: Mt Aubrey, Mt Manaia, Mt Lion and Bream Head . |
Our house is nearby Mount Manaia and below Mount Aubrey.
When we moved here 12 years ago I looked at the boulders atop Aubrey and wondered if they ever fall down. The beach and area below the mountain is littered with massive boulders and volcanic bombs but all look as if they had been there for thousands or millions of years. And then this happened:
Two years later we were to find out. A massive boulder, like the ones on the ridge above our house, on the other side of Mount Aubrey, rolled off and fortunately slid down instead of rolling down and ended up above some houses.
I'd kind of forgotten about this but was reminded of it when seeing this news clip from India today:
Nine tourists were killed in Himachal Pradesh in northern India when their van was hit by falling boulders. The mountain that the boulders fell from looks disturbingly like Mount Aubrey.I'm watching Olympic events on both the TV and on the computer. I bought a Sky Pass ($25) for access.
While waiting for events featuring New Zealanders and some of the major events I watch bits and pieces of other 'sports'.
Archery is interesting. I'd never watched it before. Surfing is OK as are some of the gymnastic events.
Skateboarding though is the stupidest sport I've seen. The venue is set up like an urban landscape with steps, walkways, handrails and balustrades. The boarders leap over things, go down steps and slide along the balustrades.
What the fuck!
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| This is an official Olympics venue |
This is what the stupid scrotes do in public places around town, annoying and interfering with the public. I'm forever remonstrating with inconsiderate arsehoes around libraraies and shops. See HERE
What's next in the olympics? Graffitiing? Public urination? Mugging old ladies? Bicycle stealing?
Look, I know that I sound like an old fuddy duddy but setting up a skateboarding venue like they have done legitimises the annoying and anti-social behaviour of boarders in urban environments. I've got no problem with a venue having challenges - jumps etc, but creating them as if it is the front steps of a public building is just plain stupid.
We sometimes get mist up here and one of our local mountains, Mount Manaia is known as the misty mountain but today we've been having a real 'pea-souper'. When we woke and opened the curtains it was a total white-out and now four hours later it still is.
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| The bay is covered |
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| Mount Manaia is shrouded |
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| Mount Aubrey can't be seen |
*AN UPDATE*
The sun is just starting burn off the mist.
Manaia is almost visible ...
*AN UPDATE ON THE UPDATE*
Yes, I was right. The Old Girl kicked me outside but to be fair she went with me on a walk to the now visible Mt Manaia.
It was a very pleasant walk. I've just got back and want to watch the kiwi cyclists at the Olympics at 2PM so still no Play Station for me.
We awoke to a cold morning. It's raining, grey and dreary so today will be an indoors day. I might even light the fire later. It's a reminder that even though the shortest day has passed we are still in the grips of winter. Sometimes we get the coldest weather in August!
August will soon be here. We are going to have a lot of family staying with us and at my sister's holiday place nearby. She's hosting a 30th birthday party for her second oldest daughter on 7th August. My birthday is on the 8th and my sister's on 24th July so it will be a triple birthday party. Should be fun.
I might get up in the attic again today to finish installing the duckboards. I also have to take down the three Arlo security cameras, charge them up and do a 'factory reset' as a couple aren't recording properly. Little bastards. The problem with modern technology is just that. It's modern technology so something always goes wrong with it or it just decides to reset itself. We need a kid on hand to sort out these, the phones, computers, smart TVs etc. Does anyone have one or two going spare? I could also send the little scamps up into the attic to install the duckboards and don't get me started about the chimneys.
Anyway, how's your day going?
I've taken some lamb mince out of the freezer and am going to make a shepherd's pie-type dish for tea being mince with sliced potatoes on top baked in the oven. Just the thing for a cold and rainy day.
* Not this.
I actually use Glyphosate which I buy in large containers at Mitre 10. The concentrate calls for a100:1 mix as it's so strong, It will be banned in New Zealand soon.
Glyphosate is being banned because of its potential link to cancer in humans, as well as potentially causing the death of important insects, such as bees. Biologists have sounded the alarm over the serious decline in insect populations that affect species diversity.
But I digress.
Up north here in Whangarei w've been battered (a favourite fish, sausage, pineapple or saveloy treat of Robert's) by storms and have been locked-down inside for a few days.
Today is fine though so I won't have much of an excuse to skulk around inside. I'll have to make myself useful in the garden, shed or underneath the house. I might also make myself useful at the top of the house, in the attic which has the advantage of being dry (if it rains) and I can skulk around out of sight of The Old Girl.
I want to check out the far reaches of the attic where I haven't been before. I've heard some bird activity in the north east corner of the hose and need to check out whether any have got in and are building nests. It's too high and too steep to check this from the roof outside.
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| Old photo of when we were replacing sone weatherboards. |
In the attic there are joists suitable to take my weight but as we have insulation in between and over the joists its hard to see where it's safe to walk. The ceilings are 14 ft high so it's a long fall if I went through. I don't want to create a floor over the whole area though as this will compress the insulation which reduces its effectiveness. I need to create a 'duckwalk' about 18 inches wide that I can crawl along. Unfortunately I don't haven't any suitable timber for this so will have to take a trip into town with the trailer.
How's your day going?
PAIN IN MY HEART - OTIS REDDING
For the last fortnight I've been experiencing sharp pains in my heart - or, I guess, in my upper chest.
At first I wasn't bothered apart from doing a Google search on 'pain in my heart' and, obviously seeing the link to the Otis Redding song above. All the 'medical' information I found discussed radial pain that extends down the arm as related to cardiac problems. The pain was intermittent but quite sharp and would happen two or three times a day. Yesterday morning, after another one I decided to call the doctors. I thought that it was better to be certain and that, if in a months time I had a heart attack and they asked me if I had noticed any early symptoms I'd be embarrassed to have to admit that I'd ignored them. The practice had a 2.30 slot for an appointment which I took.
At the doctors I discussed the problem and they did an ECG procedure, linking me to a monitor via wires to my arms, chest and feet. The result confirmed the AF (Atrial Fibrillation) that I suffer from but shed no light on anything else to suggest a myocardial infarction. They said that a specialised blood test would be necessary and I would have to get that done at the Emergency Department at the hospital. It was about 4PM at this stage and I asked if I should go there next week. They said that I had to go to the ED immediately and gave me a letter to take with me.
At the hospital, in the ED waiting room there were dozens of people and a big sign on the wall said "RED ALERT - EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IS OPERATING AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY AVERAGE WAIT TIME 2-3 HOURS". I checked in with the triage nurse, showed her the letter and said that I was told to come there for a blood test. She initially suggested that the blood test place was upstairs but when she asked me why I was wanting it I said that it was due to a suspected heart attack. Bingo! She immediately set things in motion and I was whisked away out back and a consulting room was found (amongst all of the bustle). A blood sample was taken and I was left for half an hour for this to be analysed. In the room there were two bed sections separated by a screen. At one stage a young woman was brought in along with her boyfriend/partner. I saw her as she was brought into the room. She looked to be about twenty. I couldn't help overhearing the reason that she was there and might relate this in a later post but Robert will be shocked.
After the results of the blood test came in I was taken to another room and rigged up for an ECG. They took another blood sample and this time left the blood catheter (?) in my arm as a third sample would be needed in an hour. I was in the ED for 3 hours all up. During this time three helicopter loads of accident and other emergency victims were brought through. It was manic but controlled with the occasional call like - "We've got a guy bleeding out over here!" I felt like a fraudster lying where I was, feeling no pain and in much better nick than the others there. In the waiting room before and after I was dealt with there were of course the odd drongo who was just trying it on - wasting the staff's time but generally all the cases seemed legitimate.
I was amazed at the courteous, helpful and very professional manner of the staff - reception, administration, nurses, aides and doctors - and how regardless of the business and the stress, nothing seemed to faze them. I made a point of showing gratitude and, on leaving, going to reception and thanking the triage nurse and the admin person. They do a hell of a good job.
The tests came back showing that I hadn't had a myocardial infarction (heart attack) event in the last couple of weeks but they told me that I'd done the right thing in getting tested given my history of heart problems.
The written report goes in to quite some detail but what amuses me - and which I'll incorporate into the heading of my blog is this:
"Alert, conversant, speaking full sentences"
Back by popular demand there will be a new windows series coming soon.*
* The Curmudgeons Incⓒ wish to thank Richard (of RBB) for drawing to our attention that it has been a while since we have had a windows update.
Shame that England lost?
No, it's the shameful way that English football fans and stewards at Wembley acted before, during and after the final between Italy (who won) and England.
See this clip showing idiotic fans trying to break into Wembley and the thuggish stewards and volunteers trying to stop them.
Who are worse?
What's wrong with these idiots? Sure they haven't won an international tournament since 1966 so might feel a bit disgruntled but, really?
A lot of the rage by the typical white football fan is due to their sense of loss. Loss of empire. Decline of values. Immigration weakening their once dominant status. Confusion over Brexit. Covid-19 and loss of freedom. A whole lot of things beyond their control for which they don't have the maturity or coping mechanisms to enable them to handle things like intelligent adults. Oh, yeah, most of them are just stupid fucking morons.
They will take their rage to the streets, their workplaces, the pubs and then to home where wives, partners and children will bear the brunt of it.
"...incidents of domestic abuse rose by 38% when the England team lost and increased by 26% where England won or drew, compared with days when there was no England match"
I'm pleased that Italy won and only wish that they had won more convincingly to prove to the English thugs that the sport can be played properly without cheating - stars faking injury and pulling 'Hollywoods', fans shining lasers into the eyes of opposition goalkeepers -etc.
Oh well. I don't follow 'the beautiful game' anyway so it doesn't really matter to me.
She got back home early this afternoon after spending most of the week in Auckland. I missed her.
She handled the trip well and is in good nick. It's good having her home. I'll be able to get out and about again - golf, tennis - stuff like that.
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The Old Girl drove her down there and back. I missed her as well and it's also good having her home.
I'll light the fire this afternoon to make the house cosy. I spent the morning doing a bit of a tidy up which included packing things into large plastic containers and storing in the attic. The attic ladder has been a great installation with us now being able to make use of hitherto wasted space. The trick will be in not storing too much unwanted or unneeded junk up there instead of just getting rid of it.
The Old Girl went on a fancy food shopping spree bringing back items that we don't see so much in the shops up here - good cheeses, smoked salmon, chorizo, duck etc. It's not that we never see these but in Auckland the choices are better. She also brought back a box full of vegetables from the garden of the friends she was staying with. We'll eat well this week.
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Before you ask, tonight I'm cooking piccante chicken, an Italian inspired dish of chicken tenderloins lightly sauteed in a lemon and caper sauce which will be served with stir fried Udon noodles.
So, how's your Saturday?
