#550 - #559

Something Old !!!

Granny Smith spoke to a couple of old(er) friends who have managed to hit the ton - age 100 that is, nothing to do with weight or speed on the road. They mentioned that young people these days wouldn't know hardship, if it jumped up and bit their bum. They have it all too easy, with the government handing out money willy nilly. They should be made to work for any money the government gives them. Even if it was helping out old people or sweeping the footpaths. As for living to a ripe old(er) age, they put it down to simple living and hard work, which never killed anyone !!!


#551. Something New !!!

If you talk about something "new" in Auckland in the past week, it could of only meant one thing - not a small thing mind you, but a big thing. Well big as far as NZ goes. The stage 1 (22,700 square metres) of a new shopping centre which opened on Thursday, had more than a few people pulling their hair out, as traffic was backed up in all directions for 3 - 6 kms. One person was there at 4.30am and was joined by 1000's of people by the time the doors opened at 9am. In total there are 57 shops in the lst stage, with the main drawcard been the 12500 square metre shop offering all types of goods, including groceries. Talk about NZ been a nation of sheep - Auckland proved that on Thursday, when they turned out for the opening in the 1000's !!!

#552. Something Borrowed !!!

Who remembers "Jimmy Cricket" !!!
We borrowed him from a lovely lady marathon runner's blog - Living Down A Dream !!! There was a story with it entitled, "When You Wish Upon A Star" on her blog (Fri. June 9th) which is worth reading, so have a look. Don't forget to leave a comment.

#553. Something Blue !!!

We all waited with baited breath, to see what Muggins was going to pull out of the hat for his "blue" post !!! We thought we would be in for a rude surprise or two, but he left us eating humble pie as his post has nothing to do with what we thought he was going to dish up. He liked Jimmy Cricket, but he was already spoken for, so here is Muggins post..............short, but sweet.

The Most Common Expressions of the colour "BLUE" !!!

Truth; dignity; power; coolness; melancholy; heaviness; trust; reliability & belonging.

#554. Currently Reading

On last week's currently reading post, I mentioned that I had 2 books about Old NZ to give away. No one took me up on the offer, so I have shelved those two books for some other time. Does no one read books any more ?

This week's books are another of the same old NZ series, but the black & white photos are of the Bay Of Plenty & Gisborne area, that are shown in the 93 page book. The areas may not mean anything to anyone who has not lived in NZ, but the books are interesting never-the-less, as it gives the reader a great insight to our way of life in years gone by. It will be first-in, first-serve - all I need you to do is to email me your normal postal address. One bogger from within NZ and one blogger from another country will be sent out a copy of the book. Once the 2 emails have been received, I'll add a footnote to this post.

#555. Don't Be A Mug !!!

A friend happened to mention that he was thinking of buying a "new" car. Not a brand spanking new one of course, but one that was about 5 years old. He said the car dealers had offered him a really great deal, of no deposit and with payments of approx. $120 per week for 5 years. I said to him, that there was nothing wrong with the car he had at present - it got him from A to B, okay didn't it ? It turned that that a friend of his had brought a "new" car and he wanted to do the same. The car had a price tag of $20,000 - for cash that is. With the interest they were going to be charging him, doing the sums - $120 per week x 52 weeks x 5 years - he would end up paying $11,200 in interest on a car which 5 years down the track, would be worth only half of the $20,000 price tag - if that. So in effect, he would lose not only on the value of the car, but also have to fork out thousands in interest. It took a little while to sink into his thick skull, but he saw the light and no "new" car !!! He is going to spend $500 giving his old car a bit of a spruce up instead !!!

#556. My Favourite Foods.

Someone asked what my favourite foods were - well here they are, not in any particular order.........

Fruit - Bananas / Dairy Product - Cheese / Bread - Wholemeal / Meat - Sausages / Seafood - Mussels / Salad - Bean / Snack - Potatoe Chips / Spread - Peanut Butter / Poultry - Chicken / Grains - Rice / Vegetable - Kumaras / Breakfast Cereal - Muesli / Beverage - Milk

#557. Other Types Of Food.

I eat other types of food as well of course, but the above are my favourite.
As you see, I just like plain & simple foods. I eat when I get hungry - I don't sit down each & every night to a set time and have an evening meal. In fact most of the time, I don't eat an evening meal. I weigh 65 kilos (wringing wet) and have never had need to go to a doctor for any reason, for years and I mean years !!! I haven't even had a sick day off work for years either. So there is something to be said for "you are what you eat" !!! I am going to keep a diary of what I eat & drink each day for a month. You will fall off your chair, when you read what I eat. People eat too much, I reckon and their body doen't get a chance to get rid of the waste (a better word than the s word) so it builds up. Also when you eat a "big" evening meal before you go to bed - you aren't doing anything - just sleeping - so the "fat" is building up. A friend I know (not to mention any names) makes his breakfast, his biggest meal of the day and then just has a light dinner. It gives him all day to work it off, so to speak. Everyone is different though - each to their own.

#558. The Big Cup !!!

I made mention of the FIFA Cup on 21 21 21 Great Blogs To Read where I listed a blog as well as included the official website. Between Thursday 8th June & July 9th, there will be 48 games involving 32 countries, in the first stage and 16 in the second stage leading up to the final in Berlin. Brazil may be the favourite, but it never pays to discount the hosts. The 2002 event co-hosted by Japan & Korea attracted more than 30 billion visitors overrall, with the final between Brazil & Germany, attracting 1 billion viewers.

#559. A Great TV Program (For NZ'ers)

Nine twenty pm, Saturdays on TV1, (sorry, you would of well & truly missed last nights - the first in a 10 part series - from the 10th June thru to August 12th, is a new drama series which retells a treasure trovel of precious Maori stories. The first was called "Till Death Do Us Part", which told the story of Ohaki & Albie Bennett is a true love story, during the time of World War ll.

June 17th - The Warrior Priestess - Te Rangitopeora was a fearsome warrior who fought alonside her famous uncle, Te Rauparaha. Her story offers an insightinto the old world of the maori.

Its Not The Memories I Have, It's The Memories I Leave Behind