Our surrounding neighborhoods and the 'secret' ways within them

When I started this blog, I said that its purpose was to share our adventure of discovering New Zealand with any of you who would care to learn about it. That continues to be its focus. Most of the time, I have tried to show you grand adventures we have undertaken or at least moderately interesting ones. Sometimes I have shown you items of more 'subtle interest'.  Some might even call them boring, who knows?  The one about benches comes to mind as an example of one that lacks high adventure. Low comfort maybe.  But I think that they all, the great and the small, have their place on this blog because everyone of them shows you yet another piece of the pie that is New Zealand. 

With that statement in mind, I give you yet another offering of a quiet and unexciting nature. 

Today's post will show you some of the neighborhoods around us. Henderson's population is around 40,000 I'm told, so this little photo-essay is showing your just the tiniest tip of the iceberg that is Henderson. 

Not long after we began walking Amiri to school, way back when, a neighbor noticed that we invariably walked him along all the main streets. This neighbor, an Asian lady, stopped us one day and said, "You go that way, it's shorter." I took this kindly person's advice and walked in the direction that she had pointed, but was very unsure that it was the smartest thing to do. I wondered if I had heard correctly. I walked to the very end of the street she had indicated before I spotted a 'shortcut.' This shortcut eliminated two blocks of walking. What a time saver when you're walking a 5 year old, and twice a day besides. 

Since that time, I have discovered that many of the neighborhoods around here are connected at some point with what the Kiwis call walkways. Today's series of pictures will show you some of the neighborhoods around us and some of the walkways between them. I hope you don't nod off to sleep while looking at them. I promise you a livelier topic next time. 

Many of the walkways are camoflaged.

Here's one that is two shortcuts in one. Where the walkway angles left up ahead, you can also take a right.

This is the view down the right hand walkway. When you get to the end of this walkway, you find that there is another one, (below) that extends all  the way to the Paremuku Park.

Some are plainly visible.

Two of the walkways take you past tennis courts that all the residents of the neighborhood share.

This is the first shortcut that we were taught by the kindly neighbor. 

This one leads from a corner of the 'turf' at Summerland school into a neighborhood next to it. 

This one leads from just above Summerland Primary on Summerland Drive into a very exclusive neighborhood. All the houses here are $2.5 to $3.5 million I'd guess. Maybe more.  

This one is quite a distance from our house. It's on Sturges Road and I pass it on the way to Henderson. As you can see, it has fallen into disrepair. I don't know why. Not a popular shortcut I guess.  -djf

Britomart and environs

It occured to me that although I've mentioned Britomart several times in relation to going to Auckland, I've never done a post on Britomart itself. So, I thought I had better do it. Here it is... 

I've just stepped off the train here, I'm looking toward the way we've come in, that would be back toward Newmarket. The trains are subways for about half a mile. 

Here, where the trains come and go, we are on the 2nd level down from the street. I'm looking toward the escalators and the britomart building. 

This is looking up at the ceiling above the trains. Big sky light. 

 In line for the escalator to the ground floor.

This is the main floor of the older side of Britomart. 

We're on Queen Street looking back at Britomart. If you watch the video I've placed next, you'll see that Queen Street in front of Britomart has now been 'planted' with artificial grass and is pedestrians only. There is new construction going up across the street and there are plans, over the next 5 years, to build a new train line from Britomart that runs for a while below Queen Street, then veers off to the southwest. This Britomart area is going to look very different in the future. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=961SHRIwQr4


The older portion of Britomart is now closed for renovations (look back at the header picture)  and all business will take place on the opposite, newer side of it. 

Let's go and see that part now.  

We're back in the center of Britomart, facing away from Queen Steet.  We're looking too, in the direction that the trains, two floors down, leave the city center. 

This little boy is kneeling on top of one of the line of skylights above the train terminal below. We're facing the 'new' entrance of Britomart. 

...That's a fast kid. This is looking 180 degrees from the last picture and that same little boy has moved down to the next sky-light. He has several more to go.  He got there so quickly...wonder if he's 'popcorning' from one to the next? Looks like he's preparing for another leap.

There is a farmers' market held each Saturday morning in the area defined by the picture just above, and by the next two below. Honeys, cheeses, breads, and lots of fast food stands with goodies like mussel fritters and bacon and egg toasties make it fun to visit. 

 'Bean Bag Central'   ...oops, a bit of finger in the scene

...Yep, same kid again in the fountains...gotta cool off from his exertions on the sky-lights. I'm getting  tired out from just following behind.

Next in line from Britomart is the Atrium. This is as far as we go today. The trains are still
directly below us. The Atrium is full of trendy, pricey shops. You can also descend to the trains from inside the Atrium. 

Looking up in the Atrium.

Since I can travel for free, I came into the city today for some treats. I started at Pandoro, a bread store on Queen, and got a 5-grain loaf, a seeded-sourdough stick, and some Irish milk buns. 

Since "man shall not live by bread alone", I also stopped at Countdown and brought home some steaks and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvingnon. 

Let's get back to the train. 

On my way back, I walked a half-block over, away from the docks and toward the city and saw this. The Sky Tower is probably about a 20 minute walk from here. If I had walked half-block the other way, I would have seen this.

 Britomart and everything I've shown you today lies just across Quay (pronounced key)

Street from the wharves and docks. No container ships being unloaded right now. 

I was thinking as I walked though the city today about how much I was enjoying myself. There are sights and smells everywhere. I noticed one little shop called the Un-Bakery. It's only about 10 feet wide and you have to climb up six or eight steps to reach the little display case. It has a sign on the wall that said they made raw, healthy delights. Hmm. Maybe I'll check it out another time, but it sounds vegan-ish to me, and (polite disclaimer) while vegan may be a very healthful dining choice for some, (end polite disclaimer) I usually give it a pass. I noticed a really skinny young couple up there, working. I wonder if they are married and this is their business? Well, I wish them well.  

I thought next of how much I must have changed to be enjoying a city so much. After all, for most of our married lives Jeanne and I have lived out in the sticks. But then I realized that we actually started our marriage out in a city; well, a bunch of them really. A month touring Europe and seeing Paris, Munich, Rome, Pisa, and more. And then three more months living in Madrid. While Jeanne attended Spanish classes each day, I explored the city by subway (Metro). On weekends, we took the trains to various towns around Spain. Always exploring. Always trying new things. 

I realized that after we returned from Europe, and settled down in, of all places, Carney, that I felt isolated much of the time. Thank goodness for Northern Michigan University and it's TV and radio stations that provided us, in those pre-computer days, with a semblance of a connection to the world. 

I think that many times God looks at our longings and considers them a form of prayer. How else do you explain the fact that I have been given, after paying my dues in the workplace for 35 years, just what my heart desired for all those years? Who knew?...

Ah, here we are back at the entrance, now we'll just go downstairs...

On the escalator down, Swanson via Newmarket on track 5 (lower right hand corner) is what I want.

Descending to train level now, looks rather empty...that won't last long. 

Relaxing in the center car of a three-car electric train as we approach Sturges Road. (I can smell the bread in my backpack) 

p.s. Jeanne had a sore back and so sent me to the city today unsupervised... well, except for all of you, that is. Glad you came along.    -djf

Old guys remember...we can pull up stuff from forever ago....

I like being old. Well, maybe not all of it. I feel as though I should still be able to run. I really do. Every time I try though and a shuffle comes out instead, I quit in a huff. (or maybe I should say in a huff and a puff)  Every time I want to read or examine something closely, I have to find my reading glasses first. (I have upstairs and downstairs pairs, that helps.) Some print on grocery items is so tiny though that even with my glasses on, it's impossible to read. (since when did nano-printing become so commonplace?) That really annoys me. 

But I like being old. For one thing, I'm out of the work-place. I still marvel that I no longer have to suit up, talk the current jargon of the business world, try to make my mark. And, although I don't look forward to the process and act of dying, I do look forward to knowing the ultimate mystery. When faith becomes experience.  Wow. That'll be something. Indescribable really. 

And there are compensations to being old. I don't hear as well as I once did, but I remember...boy, do I remember. I've read (don't remember where) that short-term memory for seniors sometimes deteriorates, but that long-term memories become richer. I think that's true. And at my age, I have so many memories. I've done a lot of stuff. 

And today's computer can provide the audio and visual portions even better than my brain does. YouTube is a time-machine. I love it. With it I can see into the past and so many times I get excited, because I remember living what I'm seeing. Having approximately 60 years of experiences to draw on compensates for any current limitations. 

Today's post is going to expand a little on something I mentioned not long ago. I said in my post about Laphroaig that I liked to hear how different artists treated the same song. In this post, I'm first going to give you three versions of a classic, that originated in the black/white era of tv. This is yet another departure from 'life in Aotearoa', but I didn't get any complaints last time, so I'll chance it again. 

I remember sitting in the wing-back chair in the corner of our living room and watching Leslie Gore belt out, You Don't Own Me. She seemed so worldly to me then. Now I look at that video and say, "Yipes, girl! Did you mean to look like that?"

Then, I have two more versions of that song. I wanted to include Bette Midler doing a solo of it, that I had seen on YouTube some time ago, but it must have been taken down. I can't find it. I do have Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldy Hawn singing it. Every time I see how talented Goldy was I remember her on Laugh-In and in Private Benjamin. 

Lastly, I have it done, very, very differently, by Klaus Nomi. He is that same countertenor that did the second Dido's Lament on my other post. He died of AIDS back in the 80's but, what a voice. I remember hearing his recording of this song on Rush Limbaugh's radio program, when he used it to open a segment of his show. I was driving during lunchtime between the Khoury factories in Iron Mountain and Kingsford when I heard it. There is actually a YouTube recording of Rush playing the song on that show but I've chosen not to show it because he talks over too much of the song. Look it up if you like.

See what I mean about memories? Like Jimmy Durante said, but about jokes, "I got a million of 'em."

So, see what you think. I hope you enjoy comparing the song I've chosen today. I like that they vary so much from one another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDUjeR01wnU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_oFL_b719g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qPnTyrvAv0

I've also compared Heart of Gold by Neil Young to the way Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson did it. If Bob Dylan can win a Nobel Prize for his songs, Neil should certainly get something for Heart of Gold and for Old Man too. Memories cascade as I listen. Here are links just to Neil. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh44QPT1mPE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An2a1_Do_fc

Do you have some favourite songs from your past?  Fire up YouTube and find your memories brought back to life. (You could even watch a much older Neil Young and Willie Nelson doing Heart of Gold together, if you want.) 

Finally, here's one last one from my top ten list. Our Town, by Iris Dement and Emmylou Harris. I've tried to find somebody who might do it better than they did, but haven't succeeded... You know, I never was a fan of Emmylou in the past, wasn't a country fan, but hearing her contribution to this song...she is amazing. I probably should have paid more attention to her over the years...Okay, I've got to do the link to this one for you too, because I want to remember again...  

...Do you remember the last episode of Northern Exposure?  An excerpt from this song closed it.  -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v7dXA-LWVk

To each his own.

"To each his own," said the old lady as she kissed the cow.

I heard that old saying often as a kid. I understood it to mean that each person has a right to his/her own preferences. All well and good. But, I'm not going to discuss what it means in today's society. God help us. (That's not an old saying, I mean it.)

I'm using "to each his own" today to refer to the unique (to my experience at least) foods that cultures around the world enjoy. I've done several posts in the past about my interest in expanding my own knowledge of incredible edibles. Here is another one. I'm enjoying these because I'm in a place where Asian markets are common. I'll bet that any of you who have the opportunity to visit an Asian Market where you live could find these very products. 

The sapota is quite fibrous. Have a couple and you'll have no need of metamucil. 

The rambutan are sort of crunchy. 

 This stuff surprised me as I sipped it the first time. (an understatement) Strong and smoky. Tangy. Sweet. A bit too much for me at the suggested dilution.  I add about twice the water and find it more palatable. Good hot or cold.

I can't tell you how much fun it is to wander the aisles of a market and come across things like this. Gotta try it. 

And here it is. Flaky dough. Slightly sweet dense filling. I used the microwave to heat it. The oven would have made the pastry even flakier. Thumbs up

 Do you think tofu is bland? This is dried tofu. It has the consistancy of a sponge. But cut it or break it into chunks and add it to soup and it makes a very light textured bit. (of sponge) 

I don't have the 'guts' to try this one. In learning about this though, I came across a video that was made by a Japanese guy who really 'Loves this one'. He is a bit of a character. I can identify with him to a degree. I think I like anchovies the way he likes salted squid guts.

Watch him if you care (dare) to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYw0LGJj030

Oh, I also wanted to mention about the Shochu he talks about and drinks in his video. I tried a New Zealand version of it called Mana Shochu. It's made from kumara, a type of sweet-potato. It was good, something like a vodka, but I didn't know I should try it with hot water. Dianne, are you up for trying a hot drink with Jeanne and me soon?

http://www.manashuzou.co.nz/

I've talked before about reading about cassava as a kid. 

The cake roll is wrapped in a banana leaf much like khou tom is, but khou tom is rice and this is much denser. It's only slightly sweet and has the consistency of a very thick paste. Worth trying.It's one of those foods that is so bland that it's not very interesting except that it's ...

Steamed Cassava Wrapped in Banana Leaves!! Wow!!

The world is full of odd flavors. This was slightly medicinal, sort of.

Pine nut cookies. Very nice little flakey things that go well with tea. Or coffee. Or milk. Haven't tried them with Smoked Plum Drink yet.  -djf