"Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards." Robert Orben

Today's offering will be a bit of a hodgepodge.  A bit of this and a bit of that, with an odd thought thrown in for good measure.

• 'A bit of this' is about cards
• 'A bit of that' are some quotes from Robert Orben
• 'An odd thought' relates to trying to find a cool glass of water.

'This' ...

A day or two before I left for New Zealand the first time, I went through my wallet and cleaned out everything that I didn't think I would need here. I kept one credit card, my driver's license and another ID card, but everything else got piled together. A big rubber band then condensed what I had obviously thought were the most important parts of my life into a tight little bundle. Which I stuck into a bottom drawer and haven't missed yet.  

I was surprised at the thickness of the stack of stuff I was leaving behind. (I also understood why my wallet had become uncomfortable to carry.) 

Now, after living here for better than 2 years, I have started to re-accumulate some cards. Here is the range of plastic that serves my needs now.  

The Kiwibank Visa card is what I use almost exclusively for every sort of shopping.  It draws each payment instantly from our savings account at the bank. It's fast, and I don't have to sign anything. At a store, I push a button for the type of card it is, put in my 4 digit pin and I'm out of there. 

The AThop card is what we use to ride the buses, trains and ferries.  You pass it over the reader at the beginning of you trip and at the end, and are charged accordingly.

The driver's license was surprisingly easy to get. A very simple eye chart test, a short form and about $80 is all it took. There is no Triple A here, it is AA and is a bargain at about $70 for a year's protection on the road. 

I'm proud of having a blood donor card again. I had asked a number of people how to go about finding a site to give blood and I couldn't get any clear answers. Finally, Allie heard about an opportunity to give at a local sports arena.  It turns out that the blood collection team sets up there 4 times a year.  Allie, Jeanne and I are all now in their system and will be regulars.  We took the boys with us this last time and I think they were very favorably impressed (albeit slightly squeamish about the needles) with the whole process. (free orange drink and cookies) 

The museum card gets me into the museum for free since I'm a resident.

Allie gave me a gift card for the shoe store and I still have a few bucks on it. 

Jeanne's cards are below. 

 

Jeanne says:   When my sister Dianne was visiting, I used my "I AM" card, as always at the War Memorial/Auckland Museum, while she had to pay $25.  The Museum has a natural history section, including dinosaur skeletons, and what I like best: the skeletons of the huge, wingless and now extinct moa. I think the most interesting part is on the geology of the islands, including volcanoes.  There is even a little trailer house you can enter and experience what it would feel like if you were inside your home and a volcano erupted in the harbor. Rangitoto Island is in the harbor, and it is NOT an extinct volcano.....good information to tuck in the back of my mind.

I got a library card almost as soon as I arrived, and Doug and I use it practically every week.  We can go online and order books, which arrive at the Henderson branch in a few days.  An e-mail lets us know when they are ready for pick up, and e-mails also remind us when our books are due.  The Farmers and Millers cards are for some very nice clothing and department stores.  They are not charge cards, but they accumulate points that can be redeemed at future purchases and also qualify the buyer for instant discounts.  The One Card works the same for the grocery store Countdown.

Finally, I am a "Loyal Nandos" customer.  "Nandos" means delicious barbecue chicken basted in hot peri-peri sauce.  Dianne and I enjoyed a lunch of chicken with medium and mild peri-peri, coleslaw and light fluffy dinner rolls after spending a morning at Kelly Tarlton's Undersea World.  You get a free meal when you've gotten 10 stamps. This is my second card. Practically every shop offers them, for services (roller skating, hair cuts), food, clothing, shoes, and every other imaginable product.  (Buy ten, get one free.)  I didn't get out all the cards I have.  My purse is about maxed out on places to put them.  Allie says I am a true Kiwi now because of all the cards I have collected. The Nandos card is shown because I thought Dianne would like to remember that windy, rainy day in November.  -jmf

'That'...

I don't know if any of you know the work of Robert Orben.  He was a comedy writer for many years, most of his career actually, but finally became Vice-President Gerald Ford's speech writer and continued after G. F. became President. I like many of his quotes and comments and thought that you might enjoy a few of them too. (You may have noticed that I often like to include a quote, at least marginally associated with the subject, at the beginning of my blog posts)

"Older people shouldn't eat health food, they need all the preservatives they can get."

"There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all."

"Never raise your hand to your children - it leaves your midsection unprotected."

"Sometimes I get the feeling the whole world is against me, but deep down I know that's not true. Some of the smaller countries are neutral."

Maybe some of you will want to research him a little more.  I like his tone...

'Odd thought'

What you are looking at here, is my shadow falling across the cover over our water supply line in the front yard. The handle of the on/off valve is a little hard to see because of the grass stems, but it lies at most, 8 inches or so below the surface of the ground.  

Because we had a water leak happen not long ago and had to have the line dug up and a fitting replaced, I discovered that the rest of the water line lies only about 18 inches below the surface.  

There is no need of course for the water lines to be buried deeper since we never have any frosts that could freeze the lines.  In the summer then, when the temperatures climb and the ground warms up, so does our water supply and it is impossible to get a cold, refreshing glass of water from the tap. We need to keep a carafe of it in the fridge. (We don't have a fancy fridge with built-in water) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amDo-KqUjpA

You've heard of perma-frost that affects the far north of course?  Well, we have perma-warm.  It's rather nice in some ways.  When we fill up the boys' splashing pool, they find it comfortable to jump in immediately.                                                         -djf