Sweet baby cheeses! *

Well, I've only got myself to blame. I've done most of the easy ones and am now onto the longer term tasks which take a lot of time and effort to do. Or maybe it's just me?

I've continued to cook/bake through #35, the Edmonds cookbook. Trouble is that I'm now repeating recipes because they are 1. easy. 2. tasty. I need to get onto something different!

I need to buy two new tyres for #13 and #85.

This all conflicts with #41 and #52. *sigh*

Never mind. At least I'm still ticking along with this...

* nicked from Moata

Mahe Drysdale you're an inspiration

#53 Make homemade soup
Made soup - bacon bones, soup mix (pearl barley, lentils, peas etc) celery, onion, grated kumara, grated potato, water. Throw it all in a pot, boil, then simmer for a couple hours. Was a success - my lunch guest had two platefuls. Easy peasy. The closest to baking in cooking that I've found (where you combine ingredients then leave them alone for a while. )

#13 Cycle 'around' New Zealand
Bike has a flat tye and I have misplaced my cycle kit. Excuses excuses. Silly!

The poor man's tribble

#86 A-Z reading challenge - authors
Jordan, Robert "The eye of the world"
About three young men, two young women, one woman with magic and one dangerous man. Magic, prophecy, fighting, love. Epic by any sense of the word.
What did I think?
Better than the (several) previous reading. I'd forgotten just how much information was packed into the first book. Character development is well done. Action sequences exciting and occasionally heart-stopping. No tear this time - I think I had braced myself for it. Always been worried that the author would die before the series was finished - unfortunately this is a real possibility. Kia kaha e koro, stay strong. Recommended.
N.B. Apparently everyone thought book 10 was filled with not much as the plot threads were all bought together. Phew! I thought it was just me.

#46 Assemble Civil Defence kit
I've got two days minimum water for one person. It's not much but it's a start.

#13 Cycle 'around' New Zealand
On the wind trainer tonight and OMG. How depressing. Sloooow and useeless. I need to get back out in the wind and the rain and the sun to remember how to cycle. Bring on those hills - I want them.

#70 Read the books I own but haven't read
I have got to stop buying books.

Change of name by statutory declaration

#13 Cycle 'around' New Zealand
Still haven't heard from Transit but checking Wikipedia has give me an article which has a list. I'm going to use the total of State Highway 1 including the current A and B routes. At the moment that total is 2097.4

Now's not the time Munro

#54 Write a book for my niece
Apparently she had made her decision before clicking on the link.

#13 Cycle 'around' New Zealand
Added another 20km on the windtrainer. It's amazing how much better it goes when the tyres are pumped up correctly... Thinking about doing Round Taupo later in the year which will add on a few k's and also prepare me for #96 Do the Round Taranaki cycle early next year. I didn't have that great a time last time I did Taupo though so still thinking.

That's just crazee talk Mr Hickey

Update #13 -plus 15

Update #93 - Season one has arrived. Is it too geeky that I watched half an episode at work? And that I'm loving it?
Update #87 - still reading

Update #101 - tweaking to read "Plant a tree for Arbor day." There's an ARC planting mission on Queens birthday - the day before. Near enough is close enough I say.

update #50 - 3/5 days with no black worn to work.

update #52 - spent the pig money on icecream from the ice-cream van. yumyum! but. yeah. oops.

On a whim

Update #13 - plus 15km. I've decided to cycle the length of State Highway one. It's more achievable than around New Zealand. All it would take is one bad week and then suddenly I'd have to try and fit in a 100km ride on top of the normal 15km-a-day cycle. For a good read on cycling in New Zealand try "Long Cloud Ride" by Josie Dew. I've read all her other books (at least, I think I've read them all...) and she has a unique way of looking at the world. I guess you have to when you're cycling alone through foreign countries. :)

Update #93 - watch Dark Angel on DVD. I'm getting it from the library and the first discs from Season one have started coming through. Unfortunately it's discs 4,5,6 and not 1,2,3. 1 is on it's way, 2 is out and god only knows what's happening with 3. On it's way soon hopefully.

I've started '#50 Don't wear black to work for a week' by mistake really. Yesterday I wore brown and blue, today brown and red. Tomorrow I'm going to wear brown and pink. Tomorow I'll also be doing some washing.

Um, what else? Well, my friend has finally finished her list which has a number of very cool, challenging, exciting things on it. I'd link, but she's made it invitees only (so I'm hoping I'm going to get an invite!) BUT one of the things on her list (I think) is to plant a tree on her birthday which is this Saturday. I've suggested we sneak the list and plant it on Sunday at one of the Auckland Regional Parks - Tawharanui ( #7 Visit all Auckland Regional Parks.) I have a HUGE vehicle bill coming up so I can only give her time as a present. Isn't that all anyone wants though?

Added another 15 km to my cycling total #13

Started #87 Complete A-Z reading challenge - titles with Alta by Mercedes Lackey and "Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community" by Robert D. Putnam.

Started #20 Learn 10 poems by heart. The first one to learn is the Jaberwocky by Lewis Carroll. Actually it's learn again becuase I used to know it but I keep getting one of the verses misxed up with another one. practice, practice, practice.

I think I'll work on #100 Send Power company the key to the house tomorrow. All I have to do is find the spare key...

Cup of tea - some of the threes

Day two and it's all going well. I knocked off #63 - buy food from the Farmers Market this morning. Next time I'll check what time they open - I was there before they'd finished setting up! On a Sunday! I bought 2 huge bags of apples, 1 of mandarins, 1 loaf of bread and a pain au chocolate for breakfast. Hopefully all the fruit will last until next weekend. :)

I've also started on numbers 13, 35 and 93. I'm beginning to think that I should't have added so many that have more than one component to it. For example. #35 cook through the Edmonds cookbook - there are nearly 500 recipes in the book that I'll need to cook. Some are just for things like icing and sauces while others are more intricate. I'm also not going to bother with some of them - what will I do with 5 litres of pickled gherkins?

Update #13 - 23.56km. Haven't decided whether I will cycle the length of New Zealand or around. If I go around I'll have to cycle an average of 15km a day. Achieveable? Yes, but only just.
Update #35 - 4 done. Poached egg; lemon rice (very fragrant); beer batter; fish with parsley sauce.
Update #93 - I missed this when it was shown on tv all those years ago and thought it might be a bit of fun to watch it now. Unfortunately I got season 2 before season 1. I'm going to know how it ends before I know how it starts. Never mind. Gives me something to do while I'm on the windtrainer.