Blog me up Scotty

Putting the "H" in place names

2009-09-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well it's happened, the recommendation that what was Wanganui should be changed to Whanganui ... not quite set in concrete yet, but it's a step closer ... in honour of that, I'd like your suggestions as to other NZ placenames that could do with an additional letter or change of existing letter to give a more apporpriate meaning ... and perhaps a short explanation if you're being a tad cryptic.

Let me get you started ...

Shamilton (where it's happening? could this be a sham?)

Anzac biscuits

2009-05-31T18:23:00.001-07:00

Simple? yes ... delicious? of course!

Here's a recipe cobbled together from many sources ... from memory, mostly from the side of a packet of Uncle Tobys rolled oats ... simple but effective ...

Get the ol' oven on and heating up to ... you guessed it ... the standard 180 degrees ... (160 on my dodgy oven)

Melt 125g of butter in a saucepan over a low heat, add a couple of tablespoons of golden syrup, a tablespoon of water, and half a teaspoon of baking soda ...

While that's melting, sift a cup of flour into a mixing bowl, add a cup of white sugar, half a cup of coconut, a cup of rolled oats, and mix it together ...

Make a bit of a well in the middle of the dry stuff and pour the melted butter etc in .. then stir it all together to a regular consistency ...

Roll spoonful size portions into balls (about golf ball size or slightly smaller - personal preference - and don't compress them too much unless you want to bake tooth-breakers!) and place on a greased tray (or a tray with baking paper on it), push them gently down with a fork if you want them a little flatter ...

Whack 'em in the oven and bake for about 10 - 12 minutes ... keep an eye on them though, don't wanna overdo it! Take them out just as they start to darken around the edges

While they're baking, melt some chocolate buttons or similar and use a piping bag to drizzle the molten chocolate over the biscuits when they come out of the oven ... *** note: i made this bit up without trying it ... must say it wasn't that successful ... ended up spooning a dollop of choc on top and running a fork through it ***

Babies and weeks

2009-04-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

So, it was quite some time ago, PC (pre-children as it seems it's called) and i wrote here about not talking in weeks when it comes to childrens age ... i must now revoke that request, now have a child, and seeing the milestones reached sometimes daily, sometimes weekly.

We've hit 15 weeks, no, in fact 16 weeks today ... week 15 was an absolute joy ... he's really turning into a little man now, regular smiles, giggles, chats, he's found his hands and holds them quite often, sleeps great, wakes happy ... ahhh if only it would last huh? I figure we've got 4 or 5 weeks till the teeth start breaking through, and it all turns to custard ... but for now, may there be many more week 15's!

Strange Headlines

2008-09-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

we've all seen them .. strange newspaper headlines ... things that make us go 'hmmmm' ... so i thought i'd start collecting a few and putting them in here ...

Wednesday, 17 September 2008 on stuff.co.nz

Broncos say toilet sex was consensual

can't say i've ever herd a toilet say no??

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8:09AM Sunday Oct 12, 2008 on nzherald.co.nz

Police conduct post-mortem after death

I've always found after death is the optimal time for performing post-mortems ... the little buggers squirm too much if you do it before death ...

2008-09-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is not our puppy!

Home and Garden

2008-01-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

Lavender anyone?

The lavender had become something out of "The Day of the Triffids" .... it was time for them to go ... there's actually a letterbox in there somewhere, but you needed to fight off the bees and vegetation to get to it ...

So, 2 trailer loads to the tip later, a few natives planted, letterbox moved and painted, and we're done!

Wine Wine Wine

2008-01-15T19:07:00.001-08:00

Here we are at the Katikati Avocado and Wine Festival ... Saturday 12 Jan 2008 ... lovely day out in the sun ...

Start 'em young ...

And finish as you mean to go on!

Dogs Dogs Dogs

2008-01-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong .... I like dogs ... but - as the saying goes - "I don't think I could eat a whole one" ...

It's for a great cause

2007-11-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Finally, the last day!!

16 Movember ... are we there yet?

November, now more commonly known as MOvember, has arrived. Time to miss the top lip, and the handllebars, with the razor in the mornings, raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer. I offer my advance apologies to my lovely lady who far from enjoys this time of year, but a man's gotta do ...

Sponsorship is easy .... click HERE to be taken to the website, click on "Sponsor a mo", and search for my name ...

I'll post weekly updates of the facial furriness progress, i bet y'all cannae wait for that!

Labouring on Labour Day

2007-10-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

I must say, there's nothing like a holiday weekend, a bit of spring fever, and the promise of summer ahead to make you want to get out in the garden and get organised ... our house didn't have a very well structured outdoor entertaining area, so we dealt to that in the weekend ... now that the spa is in, we'd lost a bit of space, and it was time to extend ...

The Supervisor

The Workers ..

We Have Moved - again

2007-06-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the new place ... we moved in last weekend (middle of June) with the help of mates and family, and 'Doc' and his truck - the man's a legend when it comes to packing a truck!

2 storey, leading to the first problem, we couldn't get the bed up the stairs ... not to wurry - one new bed later we're all good. With any luck by the end of this weekend we'll be able to fit both cars in the garage .. that is of course assuming we can get a desk out of the garage and up the stairs ... who decided to buy 2 storey?

Anyway, we have an ok house and fantastic grounds ... and the cat hasn't done a runner so life is good. More pics to come ..

Favourite Unkle

2007-03-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to be a favourite in the eyes of a 0.27 year old?? (that's 10 days to those of you without a calculator handy) ... that reminds me ... i don't do months .. if you've got a child and I ask how old it is ... tell me in years ... not months ... "16 and a half months" means nothing to me ... do some creative rounding ... say "1 and a half years" .. i really don't mind the 6 weeks difference, believe me, I'll cope ...

Anyway, what was the question again? Oh yeah, favourite unkle ... well my sis 'n law has pretty recently spat out an offspring ... an adorable wee lass .. I'm sure the fact that she either sleeps, eats, smiles, cries, poos, or spews when she sees me makes me the favourite ... isn't that the way it works??

Footy o'clock

2007-03-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's that time again ... when a true supporter gets out there in the rain and supports his/her team ... tonite the mighty chiefs (who haven't lost a game for 2 weeks now) take on the Sth African "Lions" ... what better reason to don the colours, stand in the queue for a stale hot dog and soggy fries, get overcharged for a coke, then sit in the rain for 2 hours??

Watch this space for results ... or worse, watch THIS space for my results on the telecom virtual super 14 ...

A WIN!!! Definitely looked the stronger of the 2 teams .. not a great viewing spectacle, but you can't have everything ...

Off to Iggy's after the game for a Big Bad Wolf pizza ... good food and friendly service ... a good nite out.

How cold is cold?

2006-06-28T02:54:00.000-07:00

I'm back ... having survived a weekend in a cold place ... almost the coldest I've been in fact ... a place down the bottom (I use the term fairly loosely) end of the country ... Invercargill ... a quick trip down to visit friends, one completely surprised, the other in on it ... much fun. One performing in the local "Rocky Horror Show" stage production - excellent -

But the cold, did i mention the cold? A very big market there for thermals and jackets. One of the more unusual items I saw for sale down there was Jandals... I have no idea when any local would wear them?? Maybe on holiday, wherever they went ... as it would sure feel tropical next the their hometown ... Sunday was a pleasant day .. around lunchtime the mercury had crept up to the zero degrees celcius mark, super! Perfect time for a quick trip to Bluff. Thankfully there was a bit of windchill in the air to bring it back down below zero. Also a perfect day for a trip to the beach there "Oreti"... where parts of 'The World's Fastest Indian" were filmed ... quite enjoyed the movie (other than Sir Ant's accent - please tell me we don't sound like that!)

I have arrived ...

2006-06-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am. Moving with the times ... moving forward you might say? Or just about keeping up? I am now a member of the wider community known as bloggers ... all this technological stuff to keep up with ... computers, cellphones, email, playstations ... and now Blogs. Where will it end?

Well there goes 5 mins of my time on this cold winter day ... sitting in air-conditioned comfort? (i use the term loosely) ... beats being outside ... and I'm all blogged out.

Over and out ...