Friday, February 27, 2015

Volvo Ocean Race..

 Some of you may remember that I have a nephew who has sailed in the Volvo Ocean Race five times. Being older and wiser now ((and married with two small children) he took the position of selecting and training the Abu Dhabi team this time around .He is "Permance manager" evidently.  He has to remain "match fit" so that he can replace one of the team if there is any injury or sickness.  

The boats are due in Auckland tomorrow. At this moment of time Abu Dhabi is ahead of the boats, five nautical miles in front of the Chinese boat. The lead changes , almost by the hour.  It's been a drag race nearly all the way from China. There are only six boats still in the race.  Auckland marks the half way point.  For the first time , all of the boats have to be identical , which makes a real race of it.  My nephew will be over for two weeks while the boats are In Auckland.  D.H. and I will be going up next Friday for the long weekend and hope to see him.  Not exactly gripping news for you all but it's exciting for me  !  I remember that you went to see the boats last time they are here (4 yrs ago )  Bee , so I'll be looking out for you when I'm up there !

Another hot day here today, We have an important cricket game tomorrow (World cup) NZ v. Australia. The country will come to a stand-still as we all cheer on our boys !!!

Marion.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Ummmm...May I remind you that....

Some of us are experiencing:
 Extreme Cold Warning Issued at 3:09 p.m. EST Thursday 26 February 2015 
Summary
A period of very cold wind chills is expected. A frigid arctic airmass will combine with light to moderate winds to produce wind chill values between minus 30 and minus 35 overnight and early Friday morning.
 
I shall commit Marion's picture of the beach, the sun and the beautiful blue water to memory as I sit here sneezing my head off (I'm determined this is not a cold but sinus itching) and Meg, my little monkey of a nearly 3 yr old Aussie, see below, who is quite enamoured of my sneezy Kleenexes and sneaking them off to her crate to chew, and head off to bed.  The notice warned people to dress in layers, wear warm socks, gloves, a hat and scarf in cold weather. Be sure to cover your nose to protect it (no problem there, it's covered in Kleenex tissues anyway.... Extreme cold warnings are issued when very cold temperatures or wind chill creates an elevated risk to health such as frost bite and hypothermia.  It also mentions no alcohol.  Hmmm....a  hot toddy might be just the answer for an impending cold, don't you think....Rosey in frigid Southern Ontario, Canada
 
 
 

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A walk at the beach..

The hot weather continues down here.  Today we went to the beach for some cooler air .  It was lovely down there, half and hour from home. Holly the dog , enjoys it too, we put her on the lead if we see anyone coming with a dog, today we had the beach to ourselves.  We have to keep an eye on her as she would disappear into the sand dunes if we didn't !


Sunday, February 22, 2015

I wonder if this will bring a smile to your face as it has mine.  This is Tobi, a parrot and its owner is an almost in-law of mine of whom I am very fond.  She and I have wonderful giggles when we get together and she has owned parrots (and bred cats) over the years.  He is sharing her oatmeal porridge this morning,
Rosey