Ah, retirement.

In our residents newsletter recently, there was a YouTube address listed for a talk about the stages of retirement.  Jeanne and I watched it and both thought the guy did a good job of speaking, but we also believed that his message was light on really useful information and a bit heavy on patting himself on his back.  Doesn't matter.  Because of his address, we talked over coffee this morning a little about our own retirement experiences so far.  And then we left on this morning's outing; which was about as nice a way to spend our retirement as I can think of. See if you don't agree.  

Those of you who have read this blog for years know that I generally attend any wine-tasting events that Maison Vauron puts on.  Perhaps you're tired of seeing them.  

Well, Jeanne has not attended one in many years, so the fact that she came along today made attending this one special for me.  

BTW, Jeanne and I each tasted just two wines of the 20 that were being offered. We enjoyed the ambiance of the place, the vibe, if you will, but really didn't care to work our way through all those choices, and end up light-headed before noon.  

Approaching...the weather is beautiful.

The entrance. 

We had a frost this morning for the first time in two winters.  Before we started to sample the wares, we ordered coffees and almond croissants, sat by a window and relaxed for a bit. We let the early crowds flow around us.   

We were finally ready to explore and sample.  First, grab a glass.  

There's Jeanne again, trying a medium-bodied wine from 'The Valley of Bears' area of France.

  Paying for her choice. 

 I like walking these aisles.  

There were lots of choices of cheese to try.

Here, there are crepes being produced. 

Really interesting sausages.  

It would take a long time to try each of these.  

We are about to leave.  We've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  We'll definitely have to do this again next year.   -djf

Return to the Fish Market, part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of my walk from Britomart to the Fish Market.

As you can see, we're off the Sky Tower again, (whew) and the pedestrian bridge over the harbor has been lowered.  We can continue.

Do you have some extra cash that you don't know what to do with?  This boat is for sale.  

We ate here once a few years ago.  Enjoyed it.   This area has lots of trendy restaurants.  

Here we are.  They've repainted this building a couple of times in the last 11 1/2 years that we've lived in New Zealand.  

There are lots of shops, bistros and interesting places inside, but as usual, I'm here fairly early in the morning and most aren't open yet.  They're waiting for the lunch crowds to arrive.  Therefore, I'll just show you a few shots. This is the first and main fish retailer.  

These are not self-service tanks.  These may need some special handling to get these critters bagged up for the customer.  Those are significant claws.  

Years ago, when we first came here, there was a giant sandbox in the corner of this area. The boys would spend their time in it while we adults sat and talked at one of the tables.  Good memories.  

Just outside the Fish Market. This is a very popular place, especially in the summer, when dozens of people can be found eating their takeaway lunches in the shade.   

I've left the Fish Market now and am on the wharf nearby, looking toward the city.  

I've turned now almost 180 degrees and see the harbor bridge. I've used quite a bit of zoom for this one, the bridge is actually about 1.3 kilometers away.  

I'm just about to re-cross the pedestrian bridge here, you can see its triangular supports in the lower left.  No waiting this time, so I don't know how our intrepid Sky Tower walkers are doing. 

I'm just about back to Quay Street, that runs along the waterfront. 

Our excursion is over.  We're in front of Britomart.  The Western Line trains leave from two levels down, every 20 minutes, so no matter when you arrive here, you don't have to wait very long.  The trains are generally waiting, so you can go down and find your seat.  Very convenient. 

Thanks for coming along today.  I don't know what I'll show you next week, but I should be back with something.  Take care.   -djf

My long-awaited return to the Fish Market

Welcome, or nau mai.  We celebrated Matariki this past Friday.  The appearance of this star cluster, also known as the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, just before dawn, is part of what marks the Maori New Year. I learned from some friends, Les and Judith, as we shared a cuppa in the café, a little more about what Matariki means to the Maori people.  

The themes of this holiday are remembrance of the past, celebrating the present, and looking to the future. It's a very logical and positive way to begin the new year.  

For today's post, I'm going to share some photos I took while I walked from Britomart, our main train terminal in Auckland, to the Fish Market, a historic part of the waterfront.  

I have done this walk a number of times and shared pictures with you in the past, but it has been ages since I came this way. Covid ruined so many expeditions that I might have otherwise made.  So, I hope that even if you remember seeing a few similar pictures of this area of the city in the past, maybe you'll enjoy once again accompanying me as I wander.  I have enough pictures that I think I'll show you my adventure in two parts. 

 Two levels down in Britomart, I'm just off the 45 minute ride from Henderson and starting my day's journey. It was a six carriage train so I'm quite a ways from the escalators to the surface.  

This is outside Britomart.  You can see the Ferry Building in the distance. I'm going to be walking to the left down the street that passes in front of it.  

The building on the left side of this picture is new and full of retailers and options for dining. Very trendy. (And pricey) It's the first place tourists from the cruise ships will see as they enter Auckland. Many may not go any further, having found all that they need on their doorstep, so to speak.  

Here, we're looking down the length of the square in front of Britomart, which is on the left. In the distance, Queen Street begins and heads up the hill past the Town Hall until it ends at K' Road.  

This is tied up at Princes Wharf.  

I've been temporarily halted. The pedestrian bridge alarm started sounding, its lights started flashing, and shortly thereafter, it went vertical in front of me.  

The reason for the interruption is this whale watching boat heading out.  Probably the very one that we took a number of years ago.  

Hmmm. While I was waiting, I looked back at the Sky Tower, visible in the distance. I've always enjoyed taking pictures of the Sky Tower.  I looked closer at it as the minutes ticked away and was rewarded when I saw some walkers on the platform that encircles the top. 

It's still hard to see them.

Now we're getting somewhere.  

There is a guide walking with them, and another young lady that you'll see in the next shot.  

 

Notice the girl on the far left who is standing with just her toes on the platform. 

That walkway is 192 meters, or 629 feet above the pavement below.  It's 1.2 meters wide with no railings and it's somewhat windy up there. The average wind speed is 24 mph. It costs $160 N.Z (About $106. U.S.) for 90 minutes.  You can see both the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. By law, you are required to take and pass a breathalyzer test before venturing out. I believe they make a video for each person of the experience.  

Here is someone else trying it.     

I think this is a good time to end the first part of the Fish Market walk. I need to wipe off my sweaty palms. I'm usually okay with heights, but sheesh!  

Come back next week and we'll continue.  We'll stay on the ground the rest of the time.   -djf

A bit of this, a dash of that

In this post I am going to show you some products I have run across and some photos that I've taken. It will be a hodge-podge of sorts.  

First, I'm going to show you a size comparison between New Zealand and the United States, because I'm guessing that most of you have never compared the two.  The population of NZ was 5.12 million in 2021. The population of the US in 2021 was 332 million. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Zealand_%E2%80%93_U.S._area_comparison.jpg

Here is an interesting product I recently ran across.  It was available from Whisky and More, a business I have been very impressed with, for a number of reasons, ever since I first ordered on-line spirits from them. 

This is the salty, olive-flavored brine that is left over after Telegraph Hill Olives produces their many choices of olives.  

They send recipe cards with their product that suggest all sorts of uses, including a 'dirty olive martini,' which is what the lady on the label is sipping, while she cooks.  

Jeanne used some of it once when she first, lightly boiled some Swiss chard, and then fried the chard with pork chops.  It was amazing. I have to admit that I haven't tried it in a martini yet.    

I have a special fondness for olives. Many years ago, I decided that I didn't want to throw out the brine when I finished a jar of olives.  Instead, I dropped boiled eggs into it and let it work it's magic for a couple of weeks. Then, voila,  "olive-pickled eggs" were born.  

When Jeanne and I moved to New Zealand, and discovered that canned quail eggs were available, I immediately tried a batch and found that they pickled much faster than chicken eggs did, as you might expect they would.  And the boys loved them.  They became almost a staple in our house.  

I tried making a batch of olive-pickled eggs with this brine, but found that it produced eggs that were too strongly flavored for our taste.  I haven't gotten around to trying a batch with diluted brine, but I plan to.  

This next product wins the prize for being the hottest (spiciest) drink I've ever encountered. I didn't think that Sweden was known for blistering beverages, but that's where this is produced. The Ghost Edition on the label refers to ghost peppers. In its bottled state, this stuff scares me. When I first opened the bottle, I tried the tiniest sip I could manage. There was a momentary pause, and then I thought I might have mistaken the shot glass for a red-hot nail. This stuff is beyond words-hot.  But let me tell you how I drink it. 

I measure out about half an ounce and dilute that by  8 to 10 times with either tonic water or club soda and toss in some ice besides.  The CO2 being released from the mixers causes a pleasant tickling of my nose and upper lip as I prepare to sip it, but if I inhale at that point, I will find myself coughing. The bubbles are actually carrying some of the capsaicin compounds from the peppers. It's incredible.  I've never run across anything like this before. 

It has a cinnamon flavor predominately, but other fruitiness comes through as well. At the dilution rate I mentioned, I feel only a very slight tingling of my taste buds, so I know that I have tamed it. However, I don't drink more than half and ounce at a time because I don't want to shock the lining of my stomach more than necessary. It does taste good but I think this bottle will last me quite a while.  

This is a tiny trial-sized bottle from Finland.  It tastes like salty licorice.  I'm glad I tried it, and I like the flavor of black licorice, but not when it's this salty.  

Recently, we went out to lunch with friends Judith, Les and Kevin at the Swanson RSA.  That stands for Returned Services Association and reminds me of our own VFW in many ways.  

One of the cold entrees available that day was a salad-like dish called 'ika mata' in the Cook Islands or 'raw fish' in New Zealand.  Jeanne and I both tried it and found it entirely acceptable, very good in fact.  The fish had been marinated with other ingredients that had given it a firm, semi-cooked texture.  The only thing I can compare it to is the texture of pickled herring, although the ika mata is not vinegary.  

When I mentioned that, Judith told us that she loves Rollmops.  I had no clue what she was talking about at the time.  However, the next day at the supermarket saw me investigating a refrigerated display where I found the jar you see below.  I bought a jar for Judith in thanks for telling us about it, and a jar for us to try.  

They turned out to be very similar to pickled herring.  The differences are that these fillets of herring are rolled up tightly and held in place with little wooden pegs, are not quite as sweet as the pickled herring I'm used to, have a stronger vinegar taste and also contain a hint of dill.  We finished the bottle quickly.  I found the vinegar a little strong for my taste but Jeanne liked them just the way they were.  

We were invited recently by Evelyn to a hat party.  I decided that my hat would celebrate my years as a beach comber.  The picture shows my hat during production, although regrettably, I did not take any pictures of the finished work.  And it has now been disassembled.  

On top of the hat is the upper portion of a snapper skull, perfectly cleaned and shellacked.  In front of the crown are the upper and lower jaws from a puffer fish.  The white thing is an eight inch long barb from a sting ray.  

Later, I added a small star fish, various sea shells, and a section from a colony of tube worms. I could have come up with quite a few more items, but the hat was getting heavy and I chose to limit myself.  

About a five minute walk from our village, is the carpark behind Falls Bistro.  Next to the car park is a bicycle rental business and they also offer the skateboard track that you see in the background.  This area also often boasts works of art that are periodically rotated around the Auckland area.  Not long ago, I showed you a 'rainbow maker' in this location.  Today, it is this arrangement of shapes and patterns that captures the attention of all those passing by.   

Early morning, looking toward the northeast.  That's Jupiter above the Sky Tower and the Moon joining in.  

A closer view of the Moon with its Golden Handle showing on the right.  

Jeanne found this large preying mantis on our balcony this past April.  

This magnolia near the African Garden is blossoming.  (Taken on June 30, 2023.

This picture was taken a few days ago and shows part of our Market Day. As usual, it was a success. 

This coming Friday is 'Matariki Day' here in New Zealand, which signals the beginning of the  Maori New Year. 

This is a picture of Matariki, taken last year on Matariki Day.  I've always known this star cluster as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.

Well, that's it for this week.  I hope you found at least a few of those pictures interesting.  

Next week, I'm going to take you for a walk from Britomart to the Fish Market in Auckland.  I've shown you pictures of that area before, but it has been a long time.  Certainly well before covid entered our world and messed up so much.  I enjoyed walking down there again after all this time and hopefully, you'll enjoy seeing what I saw. (like a young woman balancing by her toes high on the edge of the Sky Tower's SkyWalk platform.)     -djf