vilakins | Recent Entries

10. It’s International Bagpipe Day! Are you a fan of bagpipe music?
Luckily I enjoy it, because this part of the country was settled by Scots, and there are at least two pipe bands at every occasion. Twice a band turned up at a restaurant during our meal, which was deafening; al fresco bagpipes are definitely better. Soon we'll have the Good Friday sunset bagpipes on Lookout Point, which is a lovely occasion, there above the sea. They finish with Amazing Grace as the sun goes down behind the mountains.

11. Have you ever won a prize for something?
Several at high school, all academic and mostly in the form of books, plus second prize in a piano competition. Since then, I can't think of much.

12. Do you save all the spare buttons that you often find on shirts and other garments?
I do, in a small box. I've almost never had to use a spare, but I've raided the collection for new knits.

14. International Day of Action for Rivers – a day to ensure rivers are clean and available to all. Are there any rivers or streams near where you live?
Yes, one that runs through the gardens below us, through the town, and out to sea. This day is defo not celebrated in this country under our right-wing government who only care about the rich and the (also rich) polluting dairy farmers. >:(

22. Today is Gryffindor Pride Day – are you familiar with the Hogwarts houses? Did you have 'houses' when you were at school?
Yes, I'm Ravenclaw. At primary school I was in Blue house, and at two different high schools in Wilson (not named after the same person as they were in different towns, so very weird), and in the last high school, Stanford. As they only competed in sport, I had no input to house marks. Feh.

25. When you were at school, what games did you play during break/recess with your friends?
You might not know them, but hopscotch, French skipping, four-square, and padder-tennis. None at high school.

28. In 1944, the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren sprained her ankle and began writing down the stories she had made up for her daughter. These turned into the novel "Pippi Longstocking". Have you read it?
Two or three times - love them and the eccentric Pippi. Greg's red electric car is called Pippi Longrange. :D (My white one is Liberator or Libby; see icon.)

1. What’s your favourite pastime?
Reading. I like a lot of other things too, like knitting, drawing, and playing board games, but reading has always been top.

4. In 1882, Britain’s first electric trams ran in East London. Do trams still operate in your area?
Not in this small town; we don't even have buses! Auckland has the Wynyard Quarter tram and Dockline Tram. Christchurch has a city circuit tramway, mainly for tourists. We went on it a few years ago, and it was definitely worth it - fun and with a very informative driver. As far as I know, that's it for the country, sadly.
If not, have you ever been on one somewhere else?
I used to travel by tram almost every day when I lived in Frankfurt. Loved them!

5. The piano company Steinway & Sons was founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City in 1853. Can you play the piano?
I went right through grade 8 at school (as far as you could here), but I haven't played for years. I used to be praised for technique, but was told I lacked expression even though I thought I was putting it in. Being on the spectrum maybe? My sister made mistakes but they preferred the way she played.

6. How often do you write a cheque / check to pay for something these days?
Never; they phased them out here a few years ago. Do they still have them in your country?

They've found that humans have a potential third set of teeth. This explains why my father had a whole new set come through when he was 15, meaning he had to have the whole second set pulled. I used to wonder whether he was a throw-back, more evolved, or an alien. None of us kids got a new set, so that ended with him. I still wonder what set his buds growing. They were just normal healthy teeth FWIW, just an extra set.

12. Have you ever crossed the equator?
Six times.. Once was on a ship and there was a massive party with a friend chosen to play Neptune, and lots of people thrown in the pool. The other times were obliviously on planes.

15. Do you like to watch reality TV shows?
Hell, no. And I doubt they're reality anyway. I except things like bake-offs (ours and UK's) and the Chaser quiz show, but the rest are crap. I did watch one episode of a buy-one-of-these-three-houses show because it was local and involved a friend buying another friend's house in this town. What a crock - Martin's stuff was already in the house he theoretically chose. OK, the money they paid him helped with his move, but I never watched another one. Recently a similar Australian show was in the news for featuring a house the people actually built.

19. What is your favourite flavour of chocolate (for example, with mint, salted caramel, with nuts or something else(?
Pretty much anything is fine (see below for the one that isn't), but maybe hazelnut? Peppermint with dark chocolate is good too.
Is there a chocolate flavour combination you dislike?
Yes, I HATE salted caramel, in any form. I like caramel, but this stupid practice has ruined most of it. I always have to ask in cafes whether any caramelly slice I fancy is salty. Next thing, they'll smoke it - I've seen smoked vanilla! Far too much is smoked these days, and I have to read ingredient lists in the supermarket because they put smoked paprika in innocent chilis and vegetable soups. I used to like paprika too. :(

I've gone through the list for anything I can talk about rather than just answer yes or no.

24. It’s the International Day of Education – what was your favourite class in school?
Physics, chemistry, maths, and foreign languages. To the teachers' annoyance, they had to rearrange my classes to cover both languages and sciences; everyone else chose one or the other. Classes I disliked were, before year 11, history (unless ancient), geography, and social studies, and from year 11 on, biology and English. I really hated having to read set books, some of which were truly bleak, and write about them.

25. Are you making a conscious effort to keep fit this year? What activities are you doing?
I wouldn't say yes because I'm lazy and my legs aren't connected well to my brain (see below), but Pilates once a week, some walking, and I want to get back to Qi Gong at least once daily.

28. Most countries have at least one example of a long-running soap on TV. Do you watch soaps (have you in the past)?
I don't watch soaps at all, never did. The long-running one here is Shortland Street which is about a fictional hospital. It's been going for 32 years (!) and is the most-watched series here, but neither of us have seen an episode. I mention it only because a quote from the first episode became viral in this country: "You're not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata!"

1. Would you rather watch a sport or play a sport?
Watch. I have Developmental Coordination Disorder so I've always been crap at anything other than table tennis.

8. Have you ever been sailing?
Many times! A friend had a yacht and I used to go out for weekends with her when I lived in Auckland. We also had a small yacht when I was a kid which we sailed on the lake in Hamilton.

9. What’s the last film you saw (on TV / streaming / at the cinema)?
Flow, at the cinema. I feared for the little cat all the way through, so though it was beautiful to watch (and very weird at one point), I wouldn't say it was enjoyable because I was so tense. The whole world depicted also saddened and worried me - what happened to the humans, especially the cat's? Respect for the capybara, who wasn't bothered by anything that happened.

We've been away at the bach (local word for a little holiday house) by the lagoon in Waikouaiti so I haven't thought about posting. Ashley is 16 years old and on daily meds, so rather than take her to the cattery and ask them to dose her, we took her with us. Most cats hate any change, but she loved it there! The garden was full of interesting new smells and skinks (no, she didn't catch any) and I think she really liked the bach being so small as everything she wanted or needed was in easy reach with no stairs. We saw a lot more of her too as she was always close by instead of sleeping upstairs or under Greg's desk like she does here at home. I was nervous about taking her, but it was such a success, we'll go away again soon.

It's not that I've been too lazy to post, but that there haven't been many questions I could answer with more than a word or two, and sometimes that word was just yes or no.

19. How many pairs of socks do you own?
47 (just counted them on Ravelry), all ones I've handknitted because I hate commercial socks which have horrible and unnecessary seams across the toes which dig in, cuffs that are often too tight, and lack of stay-up-ness. My own knitted socks win on all three scores. But yikes, I had no idea I had that many.

22. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Haha, need you ask? I do like dogs too, and we always had both when I was growing up, but cats always fascinated me, little furry aliens.

27. Have you ever been boating?
Many times: mostly yachting but also white-water rafting and a little rowing. I wouldn't mind giving kayaking a go.

I wasn't grabbed by some of the early questions, and then forgot to look at the list because holiday mode. Here are some I could talk about.

8. Do you tend to text people or phone them and chat?
Totally text, or email! I hate phoning - getting or making calls. I'll look for any other way to contact people. Before I worked from home, I'd go and see people in person rather than phone, though it always pissed me off that while I was talking to them, they'd take a phone call. Assuming that's more important than the person right there is just rude. I have a friend who phones with a question and then rambles on randomly with ums, ahs, pauses, and long silences which don't seem to bother her, all of this for an hour or more, and I finally texted her and said how much I hate phone calls and please just text if she wants something. So the next phone call from her I just ignored, then texted her that I'd missed it, and what did she want? Much more efficient!

I gather I'm not alone in hating phone calls; several online friends do. What about you?

(And don't get me started on louts in cafes and restaurants who shout at their phones, or put them on speaker so their whole table can shout as a group.)

10. Has anything recently made you laugh out loud?
Lots of things - TV, books, convos with Greg. We have the same sense of humour. Hey, I've burst out laughing in public, just thinking of something funny.

13. What’s the weather like where you live today? Is it typical for your area at this time of year?
OK, not the most interesting topic, but it's chilly, often wet, and it's meant to be summer. I know summers here aren't great - autumn is the best season, and winter's not actually that bad - but it's been crap. Apparently it's the whole country though. Maybe February will be better; it usually is. The sun's shining right now but it's only 15C and, as usual, windy, and that's pretty good as this summer goes.

3. The Danish/American comedian and pianist, Victor Borge was born on this day in 1909. Are you familiar with his comedy style?

I am! They used to play his acts on TV as filler when I was a kid, and I remember the literal musical comedy with piano, but he also did phonetic punctuation and one I'd forgotten, inflationary language.

Short piano shtick on Dean Martin
Phonetic punctuation

Inflationary language

Trying to do some daily questions (kazzy_cee has good ones) is as close as I ever get to a resolution. Last year it lasted a few months due to cat worries*, so let's see. It's the 2nd here so you can tell I might not be prompt with the prompts.

1. The first day of the new year – do you have anything special to look forward to this year?
Not really, just some holiday time if summer ever gets here. There could always be something fun and unexpected; you never know your luck in a big city, as my mother used to say (not that I live in one). We used to plan ahead and book the cats into the cattery before going anywhere, but now that we just have 16-year-old Ashley, we're going to try taking her with us to the bach (little holiday cottage). I love being at the beach; it's a whole different relaxed feeling to town.

2. Day two of the new year - have you eaten all the goodies you bought for the festivities yet?
Nope, we still have two stollen and a large fruitcake (shut up, Americans; ours are delicious!), but they get better with age, so no hurry. We'll have the stollen in the next month or so, and the fruitcake can keep till winter. Because we don't have any winter celebrations in this country, it will be a small cheering thing then.

* Sebastian was ill and died; Ashley went suddenly blind while we were away on holiday but prompt treatment with BP meds - who knew cats got high blood pressure? - brought some if not all sight back and she's coping well.

I haven't posted for ages due to RL including losing one of the cats after a long illness.

However there is a current friending meme, and I've made a few overtures in the hopes of finding more. Reading people's lists of the sort of things they post has made me think about writing more about the things I do, read, and watch. And yes, I should also post some of the many photos I take though it's a bit of a rigmarole. Is there an easy hack?

I've found that since Covid lockdown (and the closure of a local cafe where I'd run into people I knew) I've withdrawn a lot, but this is the introvert's friendly place and I have to get back into it.

Just a selected few this time as we're on holiday and relaxing.

22. World Water Day - a day to remember that not everyone has access to clean, safe water. Has the water to your home ever been cut off?
Several times, for mains maintenance in the street. We're on holiday at Waikouaiti lagoon and will have to leave early on Friday because the water will be cut off at nine. Power cuts are much easier to cope with; water is just essential.

25. In Sweden it's Waffle Day - are you a fan of waffles and do you own a waffle maker?
Sort of, and no.
Have you a favourite recipe?
They're usually very sweet because of the toppings, but I have them occasionally at our local nano-brewery which serves Belgian-style beers and snacks. I really liked the savoury ones I used to get at a cafe in Auckland.

26. In 1881 Guccio Gucci, the Italian founder of the Gucci fashion house was born on this day. Do you own any designer items (or is there something you'd love to have from a fashion house if money were no object?)
Absolutely not twice over! There's a second-hand shop in town that's all "labels" and I've never been in it.

27. World Theatre Day - have you ever seen a live play at a theatre? What would be your favourite play to see on stage?
Far too many times to count! I love live theatre! And once again I am incapable of picking favourites.

28. It's National Weed Appreciation Day. Allowing a small portion of land (either in a garden, yard or in agricultural land), is being encouraged to help the insects to thrive. Do you take part in this, or are there areas where you live that have been allowed to be 'wild'?
All the land on the hill below our fence is wild, and there are lots of bees and butterflies in our garden anyway.

29. Pita bread is celebrated today - what is your favourite dish to serve with pita bread?
Felafel and hummus all the way - one of my all-time favourie meals - in this case I can pick a fave! I also use pitas as a pizza base: some salsa or chutney, onions, tomatoes, and cheese - yum!

15. In the UK it's Comic Relief Red Nose Day, a day to raise money for charity. Have you ever worn a red nose?
I think once, when it was first a thing here. I've seen them on cars too, but not for many years; it seems to have faded out.

16. In 1822 Rosa Bonheur, artist, was born. She specialised in painting animals. Have you ever tried to draw an animal?
Ha, yes, and usually failed! I enjoy drawing and am not bad at people and things, but despite my love of animals, I'm hopeless at them unless I work from a photo and keep it simple (see icon of our late Vic).

17. St Patrick's Day - are there big celebrations of the Patron Saint of Ireland where you live?
Not really, though pubs and bars promote it, and I sometimes went for a drink at lunchtime with colleagues before I started working from home. I never wore green though as I don't have any Irish.
On the way to the farmers market this morning I saw a couple in green, him in a bright green suit and hat, and her in green Victorian dress. I couldn't take a photo as I was in the car, but I rolled the window down and called out, "Top of the mornin' to yeh!" and he grinned and waved back.

9. Do you like meatballs? What is your favourite dish with meatballs? If you've made them, care to share your recipe?
No, because pork. I've found some recipes online using lentils or chickpeas which sound delicious, but have yet to try them.

10. Hector Guimard, French Art Nouveau architect and designer. was born in 1867. Do you prefer Art Nouveau or Art Deco?
I love both, but Art Deco is a little ahead. I just love the optimism of the era. Since I have an Art Deco Servie icon, I've deployed it.

11. National Napping Day - do you like to nap? Can you power nap?
Not really. If I doze off over a book, I don't feel refreshed afterwards.

13. In 1998, Thailand declared the 13th National Elephant Day, a day dedicated to the conservation of its elephants. Do you own anything made of elephant ivory? Would you feel uncomfortable owning an ivory item?
No, and I definitely would. I'm not sure whether the piano I played as a child and teenager had ivory keys; that's all I can think of. I'm glad they no longer do that - I assume.

14. It's US National Pi Day! Will you eat a pie to celebrate? Have you ever entered a pie-eating contest?
Our dates are in a logical sequence and don't work like that. Actually I'm making a vegetarian lentil-based cottage pie tonight, but I suspect it doesn't count, not having pastry.

1. It is the Welsh St David's day. Have you ever eaten Welsh cakes?
From a saint to food seems a stretch. But yes, I've eaten and very much enjoyed them. A Welsh friend in Auckland used to make them - yum!

4. British Pie Week starts today, so there are lots of opportunities to make a pie! What would be your favourite?
The word 'pie' here means a meat, usually beef, pie (and the default in the US is fruit). Even though pies are so common here even service stations sell them - they're part of the culture and are many people's daily lunch - I don't like them as I hardly eat meat. I used to get a really nice leek and potato from a local bakery but they changed hands, and it's generally very difficult finding vegetarian options in the South Island anyway. My current go-to savoury pastry (not really a pie as such) is a chickpea-mix 'sausage' roll at a local cafe. I do like a fruit pie or apple turnover for dessert when out.
What is the default pie in the UK, meat or fruit?

5. Rex Harrison was born on this day in 1908; have you ever seen his version of Dr Dolittle (1967)? What about Eddie Murphy's (1998) or Robert Downey Jnr's (2020) version?
Yes, no, and no. I think of My Fair Lady more for Harrison though.

7. In the UK it's World Book Day and children often dress as their favourite characters from books and wear the costumes to school. Whom would you have dressed as?
What a wonderful idea! The trouble is, at primary school most of my favourite characters wore ordinary clothes, e.g. the kids from The Silver Sword, A Wrinkle in Time, or the Swallows and Amazons books. I know! Biggles! I loved those too, but I was a purist: they had to be WW1 or nothing. Actually, I could do a decent Biggles now, having the leather hat and goggles for my Steampunk airship pilot character.

The expiry date on my (glass) bottle of milk from the farm just down the road was 30 FEB 24. So, never then?

25. Do you know how to swim? When was the last time you went swimming and where?
I do, and everyone used to learn at school, but that no longer happens because schools can't afford their own pools. Certainly there's only one in this town and schools share it with the public (lots of conflict) but that's only their swimming teams, not pupils in general.
The last time for me was on holiday in the Bay of Islands.

26. Tell a Fairy Tale Day - have you ever read any of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales?
Of course! And some of them are a bit grim.

27. John Steinbeck was born today. Have you ever read The Grapes of Wrath?
Yes, back in high school. I never much enjoyed the books I had to read because of the associated analyses and essays expected, so I used to read and enjoy other classes' books without strings attached.

28. National Tooth Fairy Day - did you get coins from the tooth fairy when you were young?
Strangely enough, given that we didn't do Santa Claus, yes! I used to wonder what the fairies did with the little milky teeth, and imagined they built houses with them.

29. It's a Leap Year - what will you do with your extra day? Do you know anyone born on the 29th of February?
LOL, the same as any other day. It's not really an extra day as the calendar is a construct. That reminds me of the calendar riots of 1752 when people thought they'd lost 11 days of their lives. This seems to be a myth based on a satirical painting, but I suppose people who didn't get their birthdays that year were a bit miffed.
I don't know anyone born that day, but friends got married on the 29th because the date was available and they didn't care. They once got the only anniversary card I've ever sent.

February is almost over while I've been in summer mode (for different levels of summer, see below).

15. National Flag of Canada Day - are you any good at vexillology (the study of flags) or do you struggle to identify different flags?
When I did Roman reenacting, I was the legion's vexillarius, the standard bearer, so the meaning of the word was immediately clear. I'm very interested in flags because I loathe ours and the almost identical Australian one and would love to see us have our own without a foreign power's flag being part of it. A while back there was a very ill-conceived competition for a new design, and the entries chosen to pick from were so bad, nothing came of it. It should never be a competition, but designed by a professional who understands symbology and the simplicity a flag should have. My favourites are Canada's and South Africa's which get top scores for both and are instantly recognisable, and I believe both were created by experts, not school students.
OK, that was longer than I intended.

17. Today is the beginning of Real Bread Week. Have you ever made your own bread?
Many times! I baked once a week at uni and we flatmates devoured both loaves over the weekend, one while still warm. I still use the same recipe as it's simple and delicious: wholemeal with sunflower seeds.

19. National Lash Day - have you ever worn false eyelashes or are yours long enough already?
WTH, seriously, lash day? And not even for masochists, I assume? Anyway, no and no. This is just weird.

23. It's Banana Bread Day; did you make banana bread during the Covid 19 lockdowns?
Nope, I think that was a UK thing. I did often make my sunflower bread and Irish soda bread.

24. What's the weather like - warmer or colder than the average for the time of year?
Yes and yes. It's been changeable, usually from day to the next, ranging from 15C to 33C. Three warm summer days in a row is a cause for celebration and wonder.

One week of holiday to go, and the weather's been crap: cold and often wet. Today looks beautiful and sunny but is chilly, more like late autumn than summer. :/

7. Safer Internet Day - how careful are you about passwords? Do you use a password manager or just use the same one everywhere?
I use LastPass and also a method of my own combining some German with site name.

8. Have you ever made homemade soup? Care to share your favourite recipe?
Yes, but I don't have a recipe. It's just any vegetables I have including onions for flavour and potatoes for thickness. Boil up with some vege stock and/or seasoning of choice, and blitz a little with a hand-held blender so there's still some texture. Serve with optional cheese or spring onions or whatever you like depending on the soup.

9. National Pizza Day. Have you ever made one from scratch? What are your favourite toppings?
Well, I've made lots using either split pitas or bought bases (preferably thin), but that's not really from scratch. My mother did though; she was an amazing cook. I like Mrs Ball's hot chutney, tomatoes, capsicums (AKA bell peppers), cheese, black pepper, and occasionally (gasp!) pineapple! Hey, it goes well with savoury flavours.

10. Do you own an umbrella and do you hate using them?
Yes and yes. I always carried a fold-up one in Auckland because rain could hit at any time, but here I only have one with me if it's actually wet or about to be. It mightn't be very hot down here, but it's much drier and far less humid.

11. International Day of Women and Girls in Science - can you name a female scientist?
Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Lise Meitner, Ada Lovelace (if computing counts), Hedy Lamarr (yes, really!) and our own very cool Siouxsie Wiles.

I'm on holiday, but realise that I'm getting behind in these, even though I'm cherry-picking them.

26. International Customs Day - have you ever been stopped at Customs when travelling?
Yes, just for standard agricultural checks when re-entering the country. I've had a corn dolly bought in the UK taken away for "extreme heat treatment", and the guy next to me told them to keep the sandals they took from him for the same reason. I got the corn dolly back a couple of weeks later, rather more brittle than it was.

27. Are you a fan of chocolate cake? Have you ever made one?
I am and have a great go-to recipe. For most cakes you start with creaming butter and sugar, then add dry and wet ingredients alternately. With this one, it all, including a cup of strong coffee, goes in one bowl and gets mixed up all in one go. It makes a beautiful, light, and moist cake.

1. Dark chocolate is now considered to have significant benefits for your good gut bacteria and is an excellent source of fibre and antioxidants. But you must eat around 20g (0.7 oz) containing at least 70% cocoa daily to get these benefits. Do you like very dark chocolate?
I do, and I've had 90% and over. I used to get a 95% from a Mexican cafe in Auckland, and though it was hard and dry, it was delicious.

3. What's your favourite way to cook/serve carrots on this Carrot Cake Day?
Raw. I love them as a salad too, grated and mixed with coconut and sultanas. If they have to be cooked (losing their flavour) then steamed and tossed in some butter and ginger is good.

4. It's British Yorkshire Pudding Day. Have you ever had Yorkshire puddings and have you ever made them?
I haven't had them often because they're not so common here but I love them! I made it a few times - I say 'it' because it filled a tray and was cut into squares to serve. If it's on a menu (rarely) I'll have it.

5. World Nutella Day - yay or nay on the chocolatey nutty spread? What do you spread it on, or do you spoon it from the jar?
I like it, but don't have it often. A thin schmear is good on pancakes or in a hot croissant,. I recently bought a local spread at a market which is made of ground hazelnuts and dark chocolate; pity it's not in the supermarket.

6. Can you use chopsticks? Can you play Chopsticks on the piano?
Yes. I have three sets (including Star Wars light sabres) but prefer my lacquered Malaysian set.
And no. I took piano to grade 8 but never learned to play that.

It's probably time for a few of these.

14. National Dress up your Pet Day - do you have any pets? If so, did or do you ever dress them up?
I think this is more a US thing, assuming you mean silly costumes. And no. It's mean, undignified, fraught with danger, and people who do so deserve any scratches, bites, or assorted deposits in their shoes that might result. :D

15. National Hat Day - do you like to wear hats? What does your favourite hat look like?
Do I like to wear hats? Oh, yes! I rarely leave the house without one, whether a flat cap, fedora, hand-knitted slouchy beanie, or a sunhat. I love hats! I can't pick a favourite as I have a lot, but I'm very fond of the two I knitted in different colours and textures, and I've had compliments on those from strangers.

17. We're halfway through January - what's the weather like where you live?
Very changeable, anywhere from 18 to 32C. It's not a very good summer, but when it's fine and hot, it's excellent, and to be enjoyed as the next day might be chilly and wet. Today was around 29C, humid and thundery.

20. What is your favourite cheese on Cheese Lovers Day?
Once again, I can't pick one as I'll go for anything with a good flavour (none of that awful mild soapy stuff) that isn't smoked. I do love parmesan and a good strong mature gouda, and Norwegian brown goat cheese, but that's just a random few.

22. Have you any snow where you live? When was the last time it snowed in your area?
It's summer. Last winter we had some snow that lasted a couple of hours. Canadian friends were highly amused at adult neighbours running outside, all excited like little kids.

This list looks good, being a UK one by

kazzy_cee, and the only words capitalised are ones that need to be. I will have a go at doing the ones that interest me and see how long I last this time, but I'm cautiously optimistic (which is more than I can say about the year.)

1. New Year's Day is the first day of January in the Gregorian Calendar. Samuel Pepys began his diary on 1 January 1660 - have you ever kept a handwritten diary?
I did, when I lived in Israel. I wrote in an exercise book because I wanted to remember what I did there. I have no ide where it is though, after several moves.

2. Today is Science Fiction Day, Are you a fan, and if so, what is your favourite book, film or TV series?
Oh, yes, I'm definitely a fan! I'm not good at favourites, but: Babylon 5, Farscape, Blake's 7, all the old Star Treks and the original Star Wars trilogy, and The Mandalorian and most of the Star Wars TV series. Books are too hard for me to do because I read so many of them.

7. National Old Rock Day celebrates the history of the Earth. Back in the day, you could buy tumblers to polish your own rocks or stones. Have you ever done that?
No, but I knew a rock hound (as they called them here) when I was a kid, and once watched her polish her stones that way. There's a group in town but I have no idea if they use rock tumblers or some other more modern method.

12. It's National Pharmacist Day. Agatha Christie trained as a dispenser during the First World War. Have you ever read any Christie novels?
Ah, so that's how she knew so much about poisons! And yes, I think I've read all of them over my lifetime. I've just reread the first Tommy and Tuppence book because I remembered loving their banter when I was a teenager. It was still witty and very good, though somewhat right-wing.

13. Make Your Dreams Come True Day - if money, time and location were no option, what would be your dream?
To live in a house by Lake Garda - or any other lake in northern Italy. I live on the arse-end of the planet and have no rights to live in the EU, so that's not going to happen, but we did buy a little bach (which is what we call a small holiday house in NZ Aotearoa) beside a lagoon an hour south of here, late last year. It's peaceful and lovely with the ocean beach within hearing and walking distance. It's the closest I'll get, and that's good enough for me.
Though I do so envy those of you who can just nip off somewhere exotic for a weekend or so.

Bit behind on these. There's a lot happening here with house renos, Greg being away, and having to have an iron infusion because my count was still low despite pills (which I've now stopped).

The infusion was awful because the nurse was so bloody (literally) incompetent: putting the needle into a vein and out the other side (I still have a big bruise); having to wait for a doctor to do it properly; failing to get the attachment on the canula before blood went all over my hand; nicking the drip bag getting the iron solution into it so it started leaking down the wall... all while whittering on with a ditsy stream of consciousness. The practice didn't charge me, and fair enough too! If I need another one I'm going to make sure it's damned well not her.

9 – Professional Pet Sitters Week: Have you ever engaged the services of a professional pet sitter, or do you usually rely on family or friends to take care of your pets when you're away?
Actually I rely on catteries; I don't have family nearby and none of my friends are animal people. I tried a pet sitter once with my first two cats who used to go right off their food when I was away and look half-starved when I came back. I thought they'd be happier at home, but - not the sitter's fault - they still refused to eat.

10 – Middle Name Pride Day: Is there a story behind your middle name if you have one?
It's Ruth, after my maternal grandmother. When my mother was pregnant, she, a redhead herself, said to "drown it if it's a redheaded girl". Just a joke; she doted on me, though I don't remember that as she died when I was three.

11 – World Plumbing Day: We take indoor plumbing for granted – until there's a problem with it. Have you ever suffered a major plumbing emergency?
Twice I've had leaks in the connection to the washing machine, one due to the outlet hose being dislodged in an earthquake during a wash, the other due to the hot-water hose perishing and. Both floods dried out fine, but it's so annoying given that I turn off the taps when I'm not doing laundry.
Have you ever tried to fix a plumbing issue on your own? Did you succeed?
The ones above were easy enough apart from cleanup - just put the outlet back in the sink for one and replace the hose connections for the other. Apart from that, just replacing washers.

2 – World Book Day: What are you reading at the moment or what have you just finished reading?
I read a lot of books and like to swap between genres, or mix them like now: alternating between a fun space opera series and a connected set of stories about an Irish community. I'm also partway through one of Victoria Goddard's Nine World fantasies. They're in several series, all interleaving so It's hard to keep the timelines level. I've stopped this particular one until I catch up with another series it has spoilers for.

3 – What if cats and dogs had opposable thumbs day? What do you think our furry companions would be doing if they could open the cans themselves?
They'd be like curious, mischievous monkeys, causing havoc in the house as they investigated and played with anything they could get their paws on. Not that polydactyl cats who often have thumbs seem to use them.

5 – Fun facts about Names Day: Does your name have a meaning?
Victory of the people - yay!
Were you named after somebody?
A fictional character, Nicola Marlow from Antonia Forester's wonderful books (I very much approve), and my middle name is my maternal grandmother's.
How old do you think your name is?
Over 2000 years, being Greek in origin. There was a Nikolaos involved in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) but the name really became popular after St Nicholas the bishop of Myra, the inspiration for Santa Claus.

Do you think there is still a place in the modern world for unsolicited compliments?
Yes, of course! I have American friends who say they get compliments several times a day, but I'd say several times a year is the norm here, so I think it's a cultural thing; we're a pretty reserved lot. Because I think they make people happy, I do make an effort to compliment people, often strangers and usually women (hey, they need it more!), and judging by their surprise and pleasure, it's still rare here.

What is it like where you live?

24 – International I Hate Coriander Day: Do you love or hate coriander?
I love it. I believe that it tastes like soap to those with a certain gene, like brussels sprouts taste so horrible to me that I'm glad I don't live in the UK around Christmas. I do wonder though, are there Thais and other Asians with the soapy-coriander gene? That would make life pretty miserable for them.

25 – Real Bread Week: Real bread refers to any type of bread that has been made without the use of processing aids or any other additives and includes any type of additive-free bread (e.g. pita, paratha, tortilla, oatcakes, roti, bagels, etc.).
I love all of those!
Do you, or have you ever, made bread?
Yes, a wholemeal sunflower one, still the same recipe I used at uni
Do you use a bread maker?
Nope, it's a wonderful knead-free recipe: activate yeast and sugar in warm water for 20 minutes, add it to the rest of the ingredients, stir like a cake (I use a wooden spoon), let rise in a warm place till it's the right height, then bake. There's a fair bit of elapsed time, but not a lot of mine.
If you buy rather than make bread, do you look for bread that at least claims to be additive-free, made from organic flour, etc.?
I buy sourdough from a local German bakery that uses organic ingredients. Is that real bread if it uses yeast?

28 – Tooth Fairy Day: Did the tooth fairy visit you whenever one of your baby teeth fell out?
She did! We didn't have Santa | Father Christmas in our family, but we did have the tooth fairy. I believed in her too - one of my few gullible moments - and wondered what she did with all those baby teeth she bought. I imagined she built little pearly houses with them.

Tarrant icon because teeth.

8 – World Opera Day: Are you an opera buff?
Not at all. I do love some of the arias (do tenors and basses do arias?) but the whole on-stage thing doesn't grab me. Neither do most musicals for that matter, though some songs from them are great. The Rocky Horror Show is an exception to this.

9 – Read in the Bathtub Day: Do you read in the bath? Have you ever been reading in the bath and dropped your book into the water?
I rarely have baths, usually only if I feel the need to soak sore muscles. But yes, I used to read in the bath as a primary-school kid, right up until I dropped a library book in it and had to return it dried out, but with hugely swollen and corrugated pages so that it no longer shut.

10 – Umbrella Day: Umbrella or raincoat? Do you carry an umbrella or raincoat “just in case” if the weather looks doubtful, or do you take your chances?
Generally just an umbrella. When I lived in Auckland I always had a fold-up umbrella in my bag because the chances of rain were always high. Now I just take it if rain's predicted, which isn't usually. And if it is, it's hardly ever Auckland-style attack rain.
What types of umbrellas do you like? Do you keep umbrellas in different places to avoid being caught by unexpected rain?
A fold-up one for just in case, see above, and large vented ones in the house and in the car, because of high winds.

In other news, both cats are home and feeling much better. I acquired a pill-popper when we picked Sebastian up today so I can pill them by myself in the next two weeks.

5 – World Nutella Day: Do you like Nutella? How often do you eat Nutella?
I do! I don't eat it a lot, usually only eat on pancakes, which I make fairly rarely, or inside heated croissants where it melts so I have a sort of pain au chocolat. It's also a great filling for hamantaschen (as is marmalade).

6 – Chopsticks Day: Can you eat with chopsticks? If yes, how often do you use them?
I can, and I own some beautiful red-and-black lacquered ones I got in Malaysia, plus two Jedi light-sabre sets, blue and green, but they don't light up or hum. ;) I use them for sushi and other Japanese or Chinese takeaway dishes.

7 – World Ballet Day: Have you ever been to a ballet performance? Have you ever had ballet lessons?
One or two, with my parents. As for ballet lessons, my mother forced me and my sister to have them when we were at primary school. I couldn't walk till I was two and had to be taught things like how to skip, so I used to say my legs weren't well connected to my brain. It turns out I have motor dyspraxia AKA developmental coordination disorder (DCD) depending on where you live. Anyway, my mother thought it would help with my lack of coordination, but it didn't and I hated it. (Of course my sister was much better; she was always quite athletic.) I also took tap and I did rather like that, practising in our basement to get maximum noise: heel toe, heel toe, shuffle-hop-down, shuffle-hop-down... Actually I would mind doing tap now, or line dancing, as I could probably handle that.

First Ashley got blood in her urine so we took her in on Sunday (Monday being a holiday - our cats always seem to get ill on weekends) and after getting painkillers and pills for her cystitis, brought her back home. She improved a lot and got her scampery playfulness back. So far, so good.

Then two days ago, after he and Ashley had enjoyed their dinner, Sebastian jumped up on the stool by me as he likes to do when we're watching telly, then suddenly started circling anticlockwise. We were puzzled, but when Greg put him down on the floor, his legs, especially on the left side, were all floppy. I googled and the symptoms indicated vestibular disease which has sudden onset and comes right over a couple of weeks. Sebastian was panicked and panting, but we calmed him down and took him to the vet the nest morning, yesterday. He's still there as they want to know what might have caused it so they're doing tests, and he needed to go on a drip as he lacked the coordination to drink properly here, spilling the water all over the floor. We'll probably get him back tomorrow, but they'll give us a big crate to confine him so he doesn't accidentally hurt himself.

Ashley went back today for more tests as they wanted to be sure there wasn't a kidney problem, so they're both there right now.

Greg, who usually does the pilling, will be away for two weeks from next Monday and I'm so not looking forward to doing them and dealing with poor floppy Seb on my own. Sooo stressed about it all happening at once.

2 – Optimist Day: Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?
Definitely a pessimist - or realist as I prefer to call it. Greg tends to optimism and whenever he assures me that something good will happen (e.g. shithead won't get elected in 2016, Covid won't come here, tradies will get our house renos finished before we've been in it 7 years, or tradies will, you know, actually turn up to do it) I've been right just about every time. Realist.

3 – Take a Cruise Day: Have you ever been on a cruise?
No, but I've been on lots of ferries, here and in Europe, which isn't the same thing. A work colleague went on one of those decadently luxurious cruises pre-Covid - one-day stops in various European cities, don't scratch the surface - and that really doesn't appeal. A friend's parents have just left on a much smaller French cruise ship for the Antarctic, and I have to say I wouldn't mind that: interesting destination and French food!

4 – Ice cream For Breakfast Day: Have you ever eaten ice cream for breakfast (or for any other meal)?
I'm assuming that ice cream is the entire meal? If so, then never for breakfast, only for afternoon tea if that counts (and I suspect that's not a meal per se). A local seaside restaurant makes their own gelato and sorbet in delicious and inventive flavours, and we've been getting ice cream two or three afternoons a week this summer. We sit on the deck there and eat it watching waves hit the breakwater. Actually I haven't had so much ice cream since I was in Rome as I only ever bought a small tub each summer till now.

How do you feel about snakes?
I think they're beautiful. I've been wrapped by a 6-foot python in Thailand (some passing Indian tourists were appalled), and at the Snake Temple in Penang, in Malaysia had hundreds of tiny snakes crawling on me. It was slightly ticklish. None of the snakes were slimy, but dry, warm, and pleasant to the touch.

Would you ever keep a snake as a pet?
There are no snakes in Aotearoa NZ, even in zoos, so I couldn't anyway, but no, I wouldn't. No pets that need live food for me. I did meet a guy in London who had one. He said it seemed to cuddle up to him, but it was really only for warmth.

(Servalan icon because she's the closest I have to a snake.)

Klaatu barada Nico

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