If you missed Day 32 it was because I didn’t post a lockdown update yesterday! Instead I published this post about Wadi Rum, one of the highlights of our time in Jordan last November. Please read it and be amazed at these wonderful places on our planet!
My travel posts take me many, many hours to write. I have so many amazing experiences and photos from each place that it is hard to choose what makes it to the blog and what to leave out. I can spend several hours just making collages and selecting, downloading and uploading photos for one post. Then I want to write about details or history of a place that I need to look up as it was a few months ago now so I can’t remember. The last couple of days I’ve been working on a post about Petra, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Hoping to get it finished this week too.
This Anzac weekend I made what I think is my first ever batch of biscuits. While I enjoy cooking and baking I don’t think I’ve ever made biscuits. Most of my baking is raw gluten free/ dairy free slices or muffins/ loaves. I try and avoid refined sugar although during lockdown it’s made a come back in our house. Anyway yesterday I made Anzac biscuits… thought they’d flatten/ spread but they didn’t. They are pretty good but a bit hard… maybe in the oven a minute too long.
Antony has been working really hard recently. His staff haven’t been able to do the work he needed them to do so he’s been putting in big hours to try and keep on top of things. He is not sticking to his ‘no work in the evenings’ rule… but he did take most of Sunday off. We also played a quick couple of games of Splendor on Saturday night and watched a movie last night on Māori TV. Labyrinth of Lies is a (2014) German film set in the late 1950s/ 1960s and tells the story of a young lawyer keen to bring to justice the people whose crimes during WWII others were keen to ignore or cover up. It’s only on demand for 10 days for NZ viewers, but we would recommend it. It offers a fascinating look at the events leading up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. The way the population then had largely not heard of Auschwitz contrasts so much with the Germany that we’ve experienced.. so up front about its past. (Contrary to say Turkey whose national amnesia denies the Armenian genocide).
Yesterday I cleaned the toilets and bathroom as per usual but added in a few extra cleaning jobs, including dusting/ wiping all skirting boards and some door frames/ light switches. I also did a first ever clean of under the oven and beside it. Antony pulled it out and he vacuumed the floor then I cleaned the floor, both sides of the oven and the sides of the benches. There is a gap on both sides that food routinely finds its way into… so it was really good to get in there and clean up the last few years of spillages! While I was at it I also cleaned out the warming drawer (also much neglected in the 7+ years we’ve lived here) and the entire fridge (which gets cleaned quite often but had a vege bin in dire need of some attention). It was another sunny day so the fridge drawer and all the door bits dried quickly in the sun.
Today I went to the Green Grocer and to the supermarket (third time during lockdown). No queues and I got all I needed. In the Grocer I noticed they only had lemons from the US and they were bagged so I just walked on past but then when I was getting mushrooms the owner said, ‘Kate, aren’t you interested in NZ lemons? We just got some in today.’ I love shopping local where the owners know you and know what you like. When I got home, putting all the veg into my nice clean vege bin in the fridge felt really good!
I did some school work this morning making another Te Reo video for the year 8s. Looking forward to tomorrow’s staff meeting to see where things are at for Level 3. No point planning too much until after that. Looking forward to seeing these lovely faces again… and the rest of the staff not pictured.
I’m running another quiz through the TimeBank this weekend – Saturday May 2nd @ 8pm so have been getting questions together for that. If you want to join, click here for info and to register… anyone, anywhere can join in! Bit of lockdown entertainment 🙂 We have teams registered and some individuals who will be matched up with others and put into teams. Am trying to think of rounds that are quite different to last time – should be fun!
I made my dinner at lunch time while Antony was having a break from work (he’s my sous chef – chops everything up for me which is great especially while I have this hand injury). I’ve made ‘Magnificent Mushroom Soup’ – something a bit different. Last week I made was the most delicious carrot and ginger soup… and I’m thinking it might be time for tom yum soup again soon too, now I have got fresh coriander- a key ingredient! I let the mushroom soup cool and have now blended half of it (including all potato chunks) and merged it back together so it’s a really nice texture.
I’ve just done an EA Networks gym workout posted online this morning, taken a shower and now I’ll enjoy my soup before a game of online bridge with the Ashburton Bridge Club.
That’s it for Level 4 Lockdown! Tomorrow we start 2 weeks of Level 3 – which doesn’t look much different for us except I may be required to teach from school rather than from home online. My TimeBank work will continue as it has throughout Lockdown – with online events taking place of in-person events we usually organise. Take aways will now be available (Antony will be really excited if that means Fish-n-chips… I’m looking forward to a vegan dominoes pizza) and many other businesses will be able to trade – albeit with contact-less delivery/ pick up options only. I will be able to get some supplies from Simly Eco -the best wee store in Ashburton and quite possibly the best zero waste store in New Zealand!
The jury is out as to whether I continue these posts in Level 3 Lockdown. So if I don’t post one tomorrow, thanks for tuning in! Be sure to check out my Jordan posts… and Cyprus if I can be bothered writing about that… and then OMAN (#2 on my ‘best countries in the world to visit’ list). I really hope I can get up to writing on Oman before the memories fade, I’m especially to keen to write about one of the best weeks of my life, while 4WDing and freedom camping there! These travel posts will all be under the ‘exploring’ section of this blog. Ok ciao for now!