I’ve mentioned a few times that our place loses the sun for a couple of months every winter. This means we all make the most of any chance to enjoy a sunny day in autumn.
So when Rosie the 19 year old cat, Poppie the 8 year old Bichon and Bella the nutcase puppy had a chance to lie in the sun last weekend, they took it.
On Sunday afternoon my lovely wife baked. We were going out for dinner at friends and she had offered to make the dessert.
She has a stable of excellent desserts she could have called on but decided to try something new – to bake a Torta Gianduja or Chocolate and Roasted Hazelnut Cake.
The only issue with this decision is that Jean is not a natural baker – as she is the first to admit. Something about the discipline of following a recipe runs counter to her “free spirit” approach to cooking in general. After each baking adventure she wonders aloud why she ever attempted the recipe, why baking is so complicated and stressful, and why she doesn’t learn from past experience.
Testament to the complication and stress involved is the state of our usually spotless kitchen at the end of Sunday’s baking odyssey.
February is birthday month at Kainui Road. Both Jean and I have had birthdays in the past week and we’d like to pass on a big thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes.
It was also a big birthday for Jean’s Mum and the family spent the weekend celebrating and relaxing on the shores of Pelorus Sound. But more of that in a future post.
Bella has that ability to look completely innocent – even when there is evidence to the contrary.
This is what happens when she goes rummaging through a wet garden looking for something to chew on – despite being taught not too.
While I was out and about Monday evening, Wellington put on display one of it’s “look at me” sunsets.
This gallery contains 11 photos.
After a brief pink period, the trusty Mazda MX5 arrived home pre-Christmas in resplendent red. It was immediately despatched to the trimmer for a new hood (the old one was a bit leaky) and the car is now as good … Continue reading
From the headline you can tell this post is going to be a bit geeky. And if you’re not interested in photography, it could be boring as well. Be warned.
A few weeks ago I purchased my first ever fixed focal length lens. It was a AF Nikkor 50mm 1.8D which is a lens Nikon have been making for the best part of 10 years in one guise or another.
It cost me the princely sum of $85 as it was second hand but in “near new” condition. The previous owner had his Nikon camera stolen a week after buying the lens. He didn’t replace the camera so the lens had been used only once. (No seriously, I believe what people write about stuff on Trade Me.)
Up until now I’ve always been a zoom lens guy. I love the flexibility of a good zoom lens and the ability to frame things as I like without having to rush towards or away from the subject. In fact I didn’t really see the need for a fixed length lens at all.
Recently I was watching the excellent video blog The Art of Photography and the host was extolling the sharpness of prime lenses and the discipline required to use them. The need to move around to frame the subject – sometimes to get in close and sometimes to back off.
And now after a few weeks with the 50mm lense I’m sold. The sharpness of this cheap little lens is amazing. The ability to accurately control depth of field is amazing and the 1.8 f-stop means photos can be taken in low light without any risk of the dreaded camera shake or resorting to flash.
If you don’t have a prime 50mm or 35mm lens in your camera bag, trust me, get one.
… a shepherd’s delight – or so the old saying goes.
Earlier this evening the sky over Wellington was delighting more than just passing shepherds. Not only was it glowing red but also yellow, pink, orange and some colour that might be called cerise.
After a glorious and calm summer’s day (I can say that as December is officially summer) the sun put on a fantastic light show to entertain us as it dropped slowly below the western horizon.
When it was first produced in 1989 the Mazda MX5 was hailed as the quintessential sports car – open topped, great handling and pretty to boot. I bought one of the first to come into New Zealand and have owned it ever since. It has been great fun to drive and has displayed that legendary Japanese reliability with over 130,000 kilometres on the clock and only minor repairs to show for it.
However in the last 12 months it has started to show it’s age. Not surprising considering the car is close 23 years old, it’s 13 years since it’s last repaint and 10 years since it’s soft top was last replaced.
With that in mind it was despatched to the excellent team at Classic Auto Refinishers in early October with instructions to “make it like new”.
Today they sent some shots of the car as it has progressed. The good news is it’s only a few days away from completion, the bad news is it’s still looking a bit pink.
After the paint shop, the next stop is the upholsters for a new (watertight) hood and then it’s as good as new – just in time for summer.
Trans Future 5 visit Wellington
Wellington is a harbour city so the locals take an interest in the various vessels that come to visit. Cruise ships are common these days, berthed alongside the container ships and various other freighters that use the port as they load and unload their respective cargos.
So if you see locals taking a picture of a ship it’s either something special or something else. This was something else. – maritime utility taken to it’s extreme.
As close as you can get to a floating brick.
Driving through Wellington over the last few weeks a recently painted piece of street art on the corner of Cable and Chaffers Streets has caught my eye. The entire side of a building is covered in sharks – of all shapes, types and colours.
I think it’s a work of genius.
It was also painted for a very good cause as part of Shark Awareness Week. To find out more visit: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9144732/Shark-campaign-hits-the-wall.
If you get the chance, take a look.
A week ago I published a post about the outbreak of Spring in our garden – heralded by the first shoot appearing on our grapevine. Well, a week is a long time in spring, as the photos show.
The inevitable drive towards summer is gaining momentum.
Our little puppy who used to fit in the palm of our hands is now a gangly 18 week old teenager with a mind of her own.
We’ve had a dog trainer come in and help us to wrangle her into line. She’s much better behaved but still has those moments of total abandon when she laps the couch repeatedly at full speed with no regard for anything in her way – whether it be me or Poppie or any piece of furniture that she runs into as her turning circle increases.
In the last couple of weeks she has worked out how to jump up on our bed and Poppie’s last haven of peace and quiet is now gone. But Bella seems to know that the bed is not a place to misbehave and it’s not unusual to find them both side by side, surrounded by their toys, sound asleep.
This gallery contains 2 photos.
It’s been a few days of shake, rattle and roll in Wellington. And that goes for the ground as well as people’s nerves. Around 40 kilometres south of Wellington and about 20 kilometres down, the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates … Continue reading
La dolce far niente 