Vinnie you can live with us

because Vinnie you have all the best friends (like Oli), and a father who gives us his very own wild duck salami

A certain advantage to offspring

some of them bring home crayfish.
Oh yeah, oh my, oh boy.

 Charlie thought she had a new friend

 and then she licked it

and then we did.

Chargrilled with horseradish and lime, served with Caesar salad and who could ask for anything else!?

persimmons

Just in case you never saw a persimmon tree in fruit.

Big Fat Dog

One of the fave things to do is visit Big Fat Dog (the Big is mine....)
Breakfast Sunday was all the excuse we needed.

Fat Dog's a bit of a Rotorua institution - hard to get a table on a weekend, but the coffe and the portion sizes are worth the wait

my grandmother is a legend

Birthday time in Rotorua and while the food at the Dinstinction Hotel is nothing to write home about, it's clean and the staff are attentive and although we were the only people there for lunch, the 2 wait staff were patient and made the birthday lunch relaxed and enjoyable.

beaut burgers, inexpensive, fresh, delicimo

 so much fish and chips that a 97-year-old couldn't eat it all. Nothing left though.... Scrummy!

sensational big pots of mussels

How long since I saw banana split on a  menu? Years and years.

Best price on Moet in the whole wide world

Go Public! This sweet bar on Courtenay Place charmed us with the decor, the lovely music and the sensational price on Moet. $50 per bottle - we were sold. Or was that bought?

 

Jelly airplanes

Woop woop Air NZ!
Flew down to Wellington with Flipping what's their name? Jetstarve...
BUY a coffee? Not likely... 30 minutes check-in? Get a life...
Boring in-flight magazine? Keep it!
But AIR NEW ZEALAND on the other hand, on the way back today, had a choice of 3 treats - biscuit, pretzels or jet planes. Free. With tea or coffee. Also free. Yay! Stew was so sick from dinner out last night that he couldn't eat his. So I had them. And I love Kia Ora in-flight mag - I always pull out several articles to share with people.

I must admit to being a little bemused by the safety message delivered on-screen by Richard Simmonds ... quite bizarre. The staff stood rather grimly through it, when all we wanted was for them to join in. DO THE PONY! A little pre-flight 70's aerobics? All they needed was the bright lycra, a few sequins and big hair. Come on hosties, be a sport!

At least we no longer have to imagine them in nothing but body paint....

Bees can't be ignored, honey

Are you noticing articles cropping up in unlikely places lately, about honey bees?

Turns out (to those of us who didn't realise) that these small fellas are pretty darned important. Not only are we seeing a rise in home bee-keeping, but there are examples like the team of 4 girls from Oturu School (Far North of NZ). At this school the environment plays a big part in learning. Pupils sell produce from their bees and trees and olive pressings. The girl-team are making their way to take part in an international problem-solving competition  at the University of Wisconsin, after winning a place in a national competition. Their idea is to educate people about the importance of bees so that the dwindling populations of honey bees can be revived in New Zealand and globally.

Taggart Siegel, a film-maker who lives in New Zealand 3 months of every year, is also a mouthpiece for bees around the world. His documentary about them, Queen of the Sun, has received acclaim around the world. Seigel calls bees "the legs of the plant".

40% of our food is reliant upon bees - and in an agriculture-based country like NZ, that means we need to take notice.

High Tide Tea

When one holds a High Tide tea - as you do - there are certain visitors who must be expected, and they didn't disappoint.

Maintenance session at the rowing club turned into a bit of a do. Shared breakfast...yum!

Those Apple Strudel scones from Baker's Delight were awesome - cinnamon and sugar, lovely apple flavour.
Bacon. Maple Syrup. French toast. Orange Juice. Fresh coffee. Fruit. Luxury.

 Porridge with Evan's amazing stewed rhubarb

No rowing today, but who could resist coffee in a great big mug down on the water-line with scones and lashings of butter?

 The date scones are pretty darned good too...