Calling Dr. Vege, tomato emergency.

Gosh we are clever in NZ we can grow tomatoes horizontally.Plenty of tomatoes, but all green.

I've been out in the garden , weeding the vege patch and preparing the ground for some winter vege, brussel sprouts, onions and cabbage. This brings me to my "triffid" the tomato plant, I need a Doctor for it, I not sure what to do, the summer has been so bad that although I have lots of tomatoes on it they are green. What should I do, it's definitely getting cooler, the mornings are darker, there has been some heavy falls of dew and I'm worried about an early frost, so do  1. pick them soon to ripen on the window sill, 2. pick and make chutney or fry them in parmarsan (excuse spelling) and cornmeal. 3. leave them and hope we get a late blast of sunny days or leave another month and hope for the best. Answer on the back of a postcard please.........no don't do that, just my little joke. But all thoughts will be gladly appreciated.  The agapanthas are all done and the roses are gracefully losing their flowers, I might go to the Ellersie Flower Show next week,it's starting next Wednesday, just to see how they keep everything perfectly blooming till March, I bet they cheat somehow.   Oh I forgot too mention that the window sill for ripening the tomatoes gets little sun, the forces of nature are working against me, I could but them in the lounge window but would that make me one of those strange old ladies of my youth, read my mother who had tomatoes ripening all the house. No Contessa you don't have to reply to that comment. Love Aunt Bee.

A Maori war canoe or not?

This is a photo of the sea (obviously) but it was a really mean sea, and whitecaps as far as the eye could see.I'm trying to show how far the tide had come up, you'll have to take my word for it but it had been just a metre from the sand dunes. Now  there had been a full moon, but after the earthquake and resulting "surges"  on the weekend, they did predict all week we could expect continuing "surges" and I think this is one of the results.From afar this looks like an Maori war canoe, not that I've seen many Maori war canoes, but this did capture my imagination for moment.I'm wondering since there is nothing much between us and the South American coast perhaps this was on it's way from there and got a big push this week to arrive here on our bit of coast.A photo of the birthday boy, 19 on Monday the 1st of March, he is a lovely young man, with a great sense of humour, we love him dearly. It's also the beginning of Autumn yeah, it hasn't been a good summer, roll on the cooler weather and an end to the horrible daylight saving, Oh dear the daylight grinch is rearing her head again.

 I have decided that I will be walking on the beach for my exercise this year and not spending money, time and worry by going to classes. I came to this conclusion when it was time on Wednesday to go to my StepBasix class, I love the class but not the actual going into the class I hate, I feel like a large well feed NZ heifer, and so I thought, I love to walk/run and I love the beach so I'll combine the two and do something that doesn't feel like exercise, as it is for me a pleasure. Love to all Aunt Bee.

A mystery.

I  thought  I would show you my Agatha Christie collection, books (there are more) and DVD's, (there are more). Aggie as she is known in this family is my favourite number one author, she has been there  up there for  40 odd years and lets face some years have been very odd. I re-read them, which some people think is strange, and we often watch the DVD's( all seen before) if we are feed up with whats on TV. Aj loves Poirot and so does Basil he actually thinks he should have been around in the 30's. I did point out to really enjoy the 30's as portrayed in the stories he would have to be born rich, as the alternative is not that inviting, I couldn't see him tugging his fetlock or some such other thing saying "Yes Sir, I'll get on to right away".  I love everything, Poirot, and Miss Marple even Harley Quinn and the not so engaging Tommy and the annoying Tuppence, not to fussy over the actresses that have played Miss Marple don't have  a particulat favourite, although I am having a hard job imagining Julia McKenzie as Miss M. But I did see a DVD down at the mall starring her in it and as it hasn't been on telly yet, I'm thinking about buying it this week.  Of course it's Tom's birthday on the 1st of  March, he will be 19, he is a lovely young man, he's just started his 2nd year at Uni, he's dropped Law or that could be the other way round and he is doing Classics and Philosophy. I wont go into details, but his birth was a bit fraught and slightly truamatic, and I as I lay in the hospital recovering, Doogie Howsier came in and said I should be grateful I had him, and he was a miracle and it was unlikely I would have anymore children. 14 months later Aj was born and after that miracle we decided we had had our share, but I have never forgot that snotty little twit and his non-existent bedside manner.  You can see I have got over it well. So Tom's birthday looms and instead of buying the DVD for me, there is some thought I should get him a book with the voucher I printed off for a well known book shop and perhaps use the 50% offer off another book on him too. He's a great reader, thank goodness, as opposed to Aj, who comes out in hives if a book is anywhere near him. I shall also be making a dressing gown using the kimono patten and some Japanese style fabric, he loves or loved Japanese stuff, comics, food and history but when it came to learning Japanese he was terrible I don't think he knew being good at Kendo didn't automatically mean you would  be good at Japanese. Not a lot of photos, yes I have lost so many, the "men" are grumpy with me for being useless, I'll live. To hot to cook, so I'm off down the mall for cold meat and some salads for dinner. It is so hot here, but as the Aussie cricket team is arriving on Wednesday I'm sure the weather will change. If we can't beat them , we can have a fighting chance by freezing them, we have done it before, it's our only hope, Love Aunt Bee.

Bit's and Bob's

You may be wondering why the photos of trees, they are trees in the "forrest" next door and I trying to show how in a NW wind how they move. They are very unstable and one has did blow down a few months ago. My other neighbour, not the owner of the "forrest", said not to worry it came down in the "southerly". But the NW is our summer wind and on Saturday it roared through.These poplars are for the chop and  I will be very grateful when it happens as I get very nervous when the wind  blows with force. Right did some baking on Sunday,These delicious biscuits," cookies" from recipezaar are quite cakey and truly lovely, they are recipe no. 350543, if you want to make them.Very nice oaty muffins again recipezaar, I need more roughage I have decided and as I hate with a passion porridge, I think these mufffins are a nice alternative, with a cup full of oats to make me feel virtuous or smug which ever you prefer.Yes, Dave what are you doing on the computer chair as far away from the family as possible ? Perhaps you bought a dead mouse into the house through an open window, the open window in my bedroom and perhaps you woke Basil and I up, to gloat and receive praise for your cleverness. But my screams of get it out did not please you and after following your plaything  out the back lawn (it was 4am), you came in and decided we weren't worthy your gift and sulked.Found one of the men had placed this old quilt at the end of his bed, it is an early orginal quilt and I had put it away as it has become fragile with use, but I've been told to leave it where it is as it is his favourite. So there the owls sit till I put together one of the quilt tops I have made but not quilted yet, hoping to do it by March or not. As it is Lent and I am useless at giving up things I decided to join in an informal way the 20 minuteers and do some hand quilting at least once a day for Lent not exactly a penance but if I do some of my UFO's it will feel like it. Haven't been at work for 2 days nothing serious just another ear infection, I am partially deaf in my left ear and can hear my heartbeat whoosh away in it, such an unpleasant feeling, lost my glasses too yesterday only needed Annie Sullivan to come along and pour water on my hand and I'd have been set. I have to finally admitt that my eyes have got worse, in fact I've been waiting for years for some improvement but that looks now like an old wives tale. You know short sighted people's sight improves with old age, don't you want to find an "old wife " and give her a good slap sometimes, for getting so much wrong. Love Bee

Tell me you have had a worse week?

O.k. here is the story from the horse's mouth. Last Wednesday I asked Basil seeing it was his day off could he do the registration on my car, I would leave him my money card (you know the one no-one is supposed to know the pin no. for) and then left for work in the said car. I got about a third of the way to work and then realised I had taken the car, although not essential for it's registration but as it was overdue by one day I had'nt wanted to drive it. One good thing to note, I have  found a quicker way to work the day before. I have told you that because there isn't much good  things in this story. Returned home, left my car and took Basil's. Basil rang me at work, he couldn't get a new " rego" as the car hadn't got a current Warrent of Fitness (WOF), I had apparently not done that when it was due in November 2009, so dear husband took car to WOF place near home presuming it would pass and they failed it. Rang dealership where we bought the car from and who have done all our warrents and said what had happened and they said they would fix everything straight  away. Grateful thanks for doing it so quickly,  but with much trepidation as to cost. They did get everything fixed , did the WOF and Basil returned to Post Office to do rego. I of course asked how much this had cost and he told a fairly reasonable figure plus $3.50, which when I asked what the $3.50 was for,  he replied I had bought him a well earned coffee.  He had the Thursday off but at 5.30pm  Wednesday night as we were discussing the mad day, he was called back to do a 12 hour hospital guard and so that really ended,what had been "a perfect day". To add to the chaos this week, I put $20.00 of petrol in my car this morning only to realise I had left my money card at home, husband had still had it, threw my wallet at the attendant as guarentee and raced home and got it, drove back to the petrol station paid my bill and went to work. I have decided to have a quiet stay at home this weekend. Only bright note made delicious Plum and Chilli sauce, although I got only one jar out of the plums, as so many of them had gone rotten, it is the most delicious sauce in the history of sauces, Aj said good enough to sell, high praise indeed.  Can't find my photos, so that's in keeping with therest of the week then isn't it,  Oh! I forgot to say I got up at 4am. to show Basil how to do something on the computer before he started work on the early shift ,as if you hadn't guessed, so here I am knackered but feeling better I have shared some of the week from hell with you, some parts of this story have been edited as I don't thing you need to read swear words but you can put them in yourself were appropriate, also there were other happenings which I have censored due to the fact I quite like my men and I want them to have some secrets. You know how it is they think I tell you everything. Ha, now that would be quite a different blog. Love to all Aunt Bee.

Loving the 60's.

These wonderful DVD's I got for $6.00, what  a bargain and you can see why Mayberry is my blog name and Aunt Bee is my alter ego. I loved The Andy Griffith Show when I was young and I remember going to With Six You Get Eggroll with my sister the Contessa (see sidebar) many moons ago. I watched the movie this afternoon, and in bit parts as hippie's were Jamie Farr (Corporal Klinger) and William Christopher (Father Malcathey), from MASH. those were the days, if I was totally honest I would say the movie wasn't very good, but Doris Day is one of my favourites and Brian Keith I  love too, so I will forgive them , but they did have chemistry together. Aunt Bee

Aj placed these CD's on the table the other day and said " I can't stand your music anymore could you please but these CD's in your car so we can have something decent to listen too".  As if Motorhead was ever decent music. What is wrong with, The Eagles, Patsy Cline , and Classical music I wondered. He said that he identified a song the other day in front of his mates as one of Doris Day"s and felt my brainwashing had gone to far. He has a wide ranging  musical taste and never worried about what his mates thought, but obviously he has been pushed to his limit.And no, Lemmy is not going in my car...........Jimmy Buffet rules.Tom thoughtfully got this book out of the library for me, he thought it would help as he knew my blood pressure is a bit of a worry. Please note I'm a young  53, 54 in April but not even close to 60. Busy weekend planned, drinks and nibbles Saturday night at a colleagues place, no Basil as he is on late shift and Sunday a wrestling BBQ which all the family will go too. In the near future another nibbles and drinks house warming and another BBQ then a Wedding dance in early March. It is usually either famine or feast in the social calender and it is going to be so busy. I'm thinking of making a wrap dress for the Wedding thingy, will have to go after work one day next week and look for material. Oh dear! thats going to be an imposition, not, yeah, love looking for fabric. Aunt Bee.