Slightly Nuts

I have always been a fan of peanut butter, crunchy not smooth, and New Zealand has some of the best ever.  Not long after moving here I was introduced to Pic's, made in Nelson and have been a fan ever since.  They are now putting their peanut butter into glasses appropriately decorated with iconic backyard objects.  Then last week I was introduced to Fix & Fogg, made here in Wellington.  More specifically I was introduced to their paprika and Kaitaia Fire chilli peanut butter.

They also do a dark chocolate peanut butter but I'm saving that for another day.

Signs of Travel

Last weekend I was in Picton catching up with friends who were over from Aus.  The weather was not great but it was a wonderful but it was perfect for visiting wineries and sampling local produce.  That included a brewery who are totally honest about how they make their beer.

Then last Tuesday night I picked Mum and Dad up from the airport and noticed that they have added to their parking signage.  Now to remember your row you have an animal to help you - A for Alligator and B for Butterfly.

Being Safety Conscious

It's been a wild week, single figure temperatures, hail and 100k plus winds.  I've been wearing a minimum of 3 layers - flannel, fleece, merino and puffer jacket.  Being such a safety conscious place there is an app for everything so that you can get warnings on your phone.  I've got the MetService, Civil Defence and the new one, Red Cross Hazard App. In a wild week though you do get a bit of information overload.

Coats

When I first arrived back in New Zealand I noticed that pretty much everywhere you went there were coat racks.  These were my first experience of massed racks, at a conference in Christchurch.

My new workplace has coat stands lined up along the wall and at this time of year they are full - coats, scarves and hats all lined up ready for any foray into the elements. The challenge is grabbing the right black coat or puffer jacket and not going home with someone else's.

Taking Advantage

After a big year (new job, new house, all new routines) and an even bigger week (whole new computer system at work) I succumbed to the lurgy.  Just a bad cold but enough to put me out of action for the weekend and give me a properly impressing husky voice and a half-way decent cough.

One of the outcomes of this has been the addition of a doona (or duvet depending on where you are) to the sofa.  As you can see the girls are taking full advantage.

Projects

I have found a weaving group to join and have also acquired 2 projects to exercise my mind and eventually my fingers.  The first came in a box from a lady in the South Island that I heard about from a weaver at work.

All of this will make a little feathered korowai/cloak, dolly sized. The other project is a lifesize cape that I'm learning to make from weavers in the group to catch up with what they have been doing.  Lots of thinking and planning needed for that before even gets to the stage of having things together.

New Post!

Yay, a new post! My Mum's benchmark of properly cold is snow on the Rimutakas, the line of hills at the top of the Hutt valley.  Petone is at the sea end of the valley and yesterday it snowed.  Not where I am but very close and with a lovely southerly coming off the water it was properly cold.  This was the view out over the harbour to the city...

 and this, if you look carefully, is snow up on the hills from the end of my street.