A mussle farm in the sounds
This Saturday’s Recipes by The Pioneer Woman
3 years ago
Sunday, November 30, 2008
On Christmas...
I came across a Christmas card when I was browsing in the post shop yesterday.
"I believe in Christmas and the wonder of the day- Stockings hung & carols sung & Santa and his sleigh... in gifts wrapped up with care, Trimming trees and families and memories to share...
I believe in Christmas and in wishes that come true, To know the worth of peace on earth for those who love and you. Merry Christmas. " a (www.johnsands.com) card.
I had to buy it because I thought it had a great message- one that is so easy to forget when you're grumpy with your printer for running out of ink when you're printing Christmas letters, or braving the lines at the shops, or trying to find something to buy for that impossible to buy for friend or relative. :) It put things a little bit back in perspective for me, so many thanks to John Sands.
We had the greatest day yesterday- it was the classic summer day- and was pretty much the first one of the season. Blue sky, warm, absolutely lovely! I went for a run today first thing and yikes did I ever get hot and sweaty. I'm going to have to stick to the early morning or late evening runs- I think- as the weather warms up. I'm still trying to get back in the groove of the running bit actually- averaging only about one run per week for the last 4 weeks. Running to lovely Tahuna beach continues to be my reward. I love that place...
"I believe in Christmas and the wonder of the day- Stockings hung & carols sung & Santa and his sleigh... in gifts wrapped up with care, Trimming trees and families and memories to share...
I believe in Christmas and in wishes that come true, To know the worth of peace on earth for those who love and you. Merry Christmas. " a (www.johnsands.com) card.
I had to buy it because I thought it had a great message- one that is so easy to forget when you're grumpy with your printer for running out of ink when you're printing Christmas letters, or braving the lines at the shops, or trying to find something to buy for that impossible to buy for friend or relative. :) It put things a little bit back in perspective for me, so many thanks to John Sands.
We had the greatest day yesterday- it was the classic summer day- and was pretty much the first one of the season. Blue sky, warm, absolutely lovely! I went for a run today first thing and yikes did I ever get hot and sweaty. I'm going to have to stick to the early morning or late evening runs- I think- as the weather warms up. I'm still trying to get back in the groove of the running bit actually- averaging only about one run per week for the last 4 weeks. Running to lovely Tahuna beach continues to be my reward. I love that place...
Friday, November 28, 2008
November winds down...
I totally CAN'T believe it's almost December and Christmas is around the corner. The weather just doesn't seem to make it seem like the right season- and there is decidedly less Christmas music etc. playing on the radios and in the shops here than back home.
I took my car in this week to get the wing mirror glass replaced. Living on a skinny street meant that someone smashed into it and it broke a few weeks back. For the tidy sum of $35, I again have glass, however it didn't take long to discover there also must have been damaging to the casing as it quickly half detached. I need to be handy- get some glue and try and fix it. Can't wait! And also am looking forward to leaving skinny street for some not skinny street in the not too distant future.
I've sold something on http://www.trademe.co.nz for the first time. Good bye and good riddance to my old law text. :)
I took my car in this week to get the wing mirror glass replaced. Living on a skinny street meant that someone smashed into it and it broke a few weeks back. For the tidy sum of $35, I again have glass, however it didn't take long to discover there also must have been damaging to the casing as it quickly half detached. I need to be handy- get some glue and try and fix it. Can't wait! And also am looking forward to leaving skinny street for some not skinny street in the not too distant future.
I've sold something on http://www.trademe.co.nz for the first time. Good bye and good riddance to my old law text. :)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Elections...
Last Saturday NZ held a general election. The ballots were huge- to have enough room on one side for all of the parties- and the other side was the local district candidates- so that you could cast both your party vote and your local electoral vote. You also had to be careful to put it in the correct box- I was on the general roll- not the maori roll so my ballot needed to go in the general roll box.
When the results finally came in Saturday night, Key's National party received the highest percentage of votes. Next was Labour. Under NZ's MMP proportional representation system, a party has to either get an electorate candidate elected, or 5% of the vote to be allocated votes proportionally. Although Winston Peter's party got a higher percentage of votes (at over 4%) than several of the minor parties, they hold one seat each because they elected someone in a riding. If National gets 40% of the vote, it will get approximately 40% of the seats in Parliament. If it won 25 of those seats as a candiate vote, the remainder would come off the list. John Key was top of the National list & Helen Clark (the PM) was top of the National list. The interesting result you get is that a candidate can lose their electorate seat, but still get in on the party vote. (I believe this happened with the LAbour candidate in the Nelson riding who lost to the National party candidate).
Key has made an alliance with the Act party who have 5 seats and another minor party who has 1 seat. They're also trying to ally with the MAori party. It sounds like people from these parties will get ministerial responsibilities- but outside of cabinet. NZ has to be used to minority governments- it is what they get constantly under MMP. The governmentwill be opposed by the Greens/Labour and another minor party who has 1 seat.
On election night during her concession speech, Helen Clark indicated she would be stepping down as Labour leader and a new leader would be selected by Christmas. I thought at the time that it was a very quick leadership race. Things happen differently in NZ, I have learned. The new leader is ALREADY in place, several days after she stepped down. He stepped in with no opposition. Stephane Dion could be replaced tomorrow- if he was in NZ instead of Canada. Interesting...
I've finally finished my tax course. YAY. At least I hope yay. I sat the paper on Tuesday. Results won't be back for something like 4 to 6 weeks. I really hope that phase of life is over. Being a student was great. But being a student and working is another story.
--
I've slowly started going for runs again at a terrible pace of about 1- 8 km run each week. I was planning on gearing that up, but my cold from Sydney has returned in full force. Hopefully it will not last long...
Petrol has dropped dramatically- its down to under $1.60/L now. Funny how cheap this now seems.
Seasonal produce is finally getting affordable again. My favourite red peppers have dropped from $3 each- I saw them for $1 at the grocery this week. Hurray!
Looking forward to summer... Days are longer and finally heating up a bit- it was up to 20 today and didn't even cool much over night last night.
When the results finally came in Saturday night, Key's National party received the highest percentage of votes. Next was Labour. Under NZ's MMP proportional representation system, a party has to either get an electorate candidate elected, or 5% of the vote to be allocated votes proportionally. Although Winston Peter's party got a higher percentage of votes (at over 4%) than several of the minor parties, they hold one seat each because they elected someone in a riding. If National gets 40% of the vote, it will get approximately 40% of the seats in Parliament. If it won 25 of those seats as a candiate vote, the remainder would come off the list. John Key was top of the National list & Helen Clark (the PM) was top of the National list. The interesting result you get is that a candidate can lose their electorate seat, but still get in on the party vote. (I believe this happened with the LAbour candidate in the Nelson riding who lost to the National party candidate).
Key has made an alliance with the Act party who have 5 seats and another minor party who has 1 seat. They're also trying to ally with the MAori party. It sounds like people from these parties will get ministerial responsibilities- but outside of cabinet. NZ has to be used to minority governments- it is what they get constantly under MMP. The governmentwill be opposed by the Greens/Labour and another minor party who has 1 seat.
On election night during her concession speech, Helen Clark indicated she would be stepping down as Labour leader and a new leader would be selected by Christmas. I thought at the time that it was a very quick leadership race. Things happen differently in NZ, I have learned. The new leader is ALREADY in place, several days after she stepped down. He stepped in with no opposition. Stephane Dion could be replaced tomorrow- if he was in NZ instead of Canada. Interesting...
I've finally finished my tax course. YAY. At least I hope yay. I sat the paper on Tuesday. Results won't be back for something like 4 to 6 weeks. I really hope that phase of life is over. Being a student was great. But being a student and working is another story.
--
I've slowly started going for runs again at a terrible pace of about 1- 8 km run each week. I was planning on gearing that up, but my cold from Sydney has returned in full force. Hopefully it will not last long...
Petrol has dropped dramatically- its down to under $1.60/L now. Funny how cheap this now seems.
Seasonal produce is finally getting affordable again. My favourite red peppers have dropped from $3 each- I saw them for $1 at the grocery this week. Hurray!
Looking forward to summer... Days are longer and finally heating up a bit- it was up to 20 today and didn't even cool much over night last night.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Grrr. Skinny streets & Elections coming
Last week I decided to go for my first run in AGES!!! I headed out about 745pm and didnt make it home until about 9. I decided to turn up hill and run along the tops of the hill instead of my normal route down the hill and on the flat. Wow. What a workout. A lot more of it turned into "walking" than running, particularly on the way out in gale force winds. I think I went a little hard for the first time in about 2 months- with me waking up during the night with cramps, cramps, and more cramps. This happens when I'm tired- and apparently my poor calves were tired.
I've continued to study for my upcoming tax final. It's only 9 days away- counting down to freedom from the guilt that hangs over my head when I should be studying or working on study. I've been in course for much of the past 8 months. It will be great to be done- so wish me luck! Despite the fact that I learn best by practising, I can say for sure that I miss classes- all self directed learning isn't my most effective way of learning.
I have mentioned the terribly skinny street I live on? Today I went out and found my car side window was smashed. Someone drove too close. Grr. I've almost had enough of living on beachville.
My voter card arrived today. I will "checkmark" to vote for both a party vote, and a candidate vote. The package also contained a list of all of the parties running and their list of candidates. Each party that gets 5% of party vote gets a proportion of seats. For example, if Labour leader and current PM Helen Clark lost her riding, she is # 1 on the Labour list vote, so as long as Labour took 5% of the party vote, she'd be in. National has a narrow lead in the polls, but the MMP system makes predicting results very difficult because of the play of the minor parties. Will Act, or the Greens, or NZ First align with National or Labour?? This could determine who is in power.
The days are getting longer , and its noticable in morning and evening. I'm lookin forward to summer!
I've continued to study for my upcoming tax final. It's only 9 days away- counting down to freedom from the guilt that hangs over my head when I should be studying or working on study. I've been in course for much of the past 8 months. It will be great to be done- so wish me luck! Despite the fact that I learn best by practising, I can say for sure that I miss classes- all self directed learning isn't my most effective way of learning.
I have mentioned the terribly skinny street I live on? Today I went out and found my car side window was smashed. Someone drove too close. Grr. I've almost had enough of living on beachville.
My voter card arrived today. I will "checkmark" to vote for both a party vote, and a candidate vote. The package also contained a list of all of the parties running and their list of candidates. Each party that gets 5% of party vote gets a proportion of seats. For example, if Labour leader and current PM Helen Clark lost her riding, she is # 1 on the Labour list vote, so as long as Labour took 5% of the party vote, she'd be in. National has a narrow lead in the polls, but the MMP system makes predicting results very difficult because of the play of the minor parties. Will Act, or the Greens, or NZ First align with National or Labour?? This could determine who is in power.
The days are getting longer , and its noticable in morning and evening. I'm lookin forward to summer!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
