Sunday 18 December 2011

Eleven O'clock and All's Quiet

The dishwasher is quietly (well, rather noisily actually but it doesn't create the right ambience for the post) purring away in the background as I listen to Elgar's Sea Pictures (Just for a change I'm listening to Della Jones instead of the definitive Dame Janet Baker recording from, I think, 1965 or was it 1968?  It was a long time ago anyway.) and take stock of the week that's just passed.  One way and another the 44 days 19 hours and 50 mins that have gone by since I landed in Napier have been some of the busiest at a stretch in this country that I can recall since the first time I came here in 2005.  And the last week has seen the busiest of those 44 days.  It's been  wonderful but I'm now looking forward to a quiet week in the run up to the Christmas weekend.

Today I woke with a start rather late at 0722.  Within a few seconds I was up and the kettle was on.  I was due out at 8am with Wendy and Martin to the Farmers Market in Hastings.  The odd thing about getting up so rapidly was that I had absolutely no recollection whatsoever of the dream that I'd woken from except to know that it was deeply unpleasant.  Perhaps that's why in the past I remembered so very few dreams because at one time I always rose within a few seconds of waking.  Now I often turn over and doze for a while.

The weather for the Farmers Market was cold but the rain had stopped for which we were truly thankful.  Unfortunately a combination of time spent actually looking and buying and the miserable weather meant that I took only a handful of photos.

Superb smoked fish - that's a couple of meals catered for.
A huge selection of artisan breads.  I didn't need bread today.
There's nothing better than carrots with their tops on and organic carrots are one of the few organic foods where I can taste a difference.
Note the wheelbarrow on the extreme left of the picture.  The clever ones were shopping with a wheelbarrow.  We had to make four trips back to the car.
All in all it was a successful morning and I think it may well be the start of a trend.  What I had not realised, because I'm never in Napier on a Saturday morning 'cos I play croquet then, is that there is a Farmers Market in the centre of Napier on a Saturday morning.

We got home around midday and I set about preparing a buffet for friends from Napier who had visited me in Scotland last year and The Family - a total of 12 to be fed. 

After a really wonderful, relaxed evening catching up everyone left and I'm now writing this and musing on how lucky I am.  Not only have I had a fabulous day, week and month but, given my propensity to over-cater I will probably have nothing to cook for the next four days anyway.
So now it's time for an early night - I should make bed before 1230!   Life's pretty good.

7 comments:

  1. Great shots. Odd that the baker does croutons. The first shot would make a great colour popped image.
    I love looking at your meanderings.
    I've got Robert Plant and the Raising Sands album on.......more relaxing than Elgar.

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  2. Green leaves, bare legs and fresh carrots makes the difference from our Christmas market...!

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  3. I'm glad it is, sleep well.

    SP

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  4. Thanks Adrian. I've got the image. Thanks. I must must must start making time to learn how to do that.

    Monica it was very cold so there aren't many bare legs. Now if it had been in the mid 20s where it should be at this time of year then they really would have been bare-legged - even me.

    Thanks SP. I did!!

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  5. The walnut honey bread would be very welcome right now :-) Yesterday afternoon, I have finished all the Christmas cookies in the big box given to me by a family friend who was once trained as a baker. They were sooo good!
    Sounds like you truly had a great time, but I understand your need for some peace and quiet now.

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  6. Adrian: I see you have mentioned Robert Plant again in a comment on another post. I must play Raising Sand today. I like Alison Krauss.

    Yes, Meike, I shall be back to get some different breads. I don't make bread when I'm in NZ.

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  7. Yes I can see it's cold for NZ. Looks like many a Swedish Midsummer though! (Not the ones we prefer to remember. But the other ones.)

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