Do Jack Russells actually sleep?

Don't be fooled by the picture---she is only pretending to be asleep. Even after an hours walk this morning, quickly followed by a manic run at Onehunga Bay and then an hour and a half with her friends at the same place this afternoon, she still would jump in the car for another bout. She ran, played, chased her ball and tackled the much bigger dogs

  Let sleeping dogs, especially Jack Russells, undisturbed!

in the car at the end of her THIRD outing she still argued about getting in the car. It looks like she is 'resting' now, but experience has taught me that the slightest sound will have her charging outside to check on her domain. The good thing about this of course is that I have had plenty of exercise today and that she will sleep (with an eye open) for about 8 hours or more tonight. I wish there was a way of manipulating dome of her genes for me, but then again, people who know me would dread that prospect!

Onehunga Foreshore, April 28th, 2013

Things are moving pretty fast down at the bay. Trucks and heavy machinery are dumping fill and shaping the new beaches. I hope the onset of winter doesn't slow them down too much. I take Perdy at least twice a week to examine their progress and she is becoming excited at the prospect of being bale to frolic in the waves of one of the many new beaches. Sorry, Perdy----I don't think you will be allowed off the leach there, but hell, I say if Takapuna Beach, one of NZ's premier beaches can accommodate dogs, then so too can Onehunga. Maybe it's the rich lot over there who hold some sway with the 'local community board.' Who knows?

The trucks moving fill onto the new beaches.

 

Field Mushrooms for sale-----fantastic---or rip off

You make your own mind up. Every year we look forward to the road-side field mushroom vendors selling this delectable delight on Campbell Road, Greenlane, Auckland. The last two years were not good; indeed, I don't remember even seeing them. This year they were back, apparently picked about 100 kilometres form the city. Just as well, because we won't be able to find the rip-off merchant who was selling them. In our haste to pay out NZ$10 for a small bag we didn't check. Once we arrived home we quickly discovered that only the top few were  beautiful. The remainder of the bag contained MUSHROOMS THAT HARDLY LIVED UP TO THE NAME, 'FIELD MUSHROOMS.' They should have contained a label that read-----'beware these mushrooms have been trampled on by many cows and were picked days ago.'  But they were picked in a field!
Oh well, I guess next time we will ask to see beneath the surface so that we don't get ripped off. I turned them into a sauce and made sure I cooked them well. Please Mr Vendor----This time you got us, but hopefully Auckland based readers will pass on the word for innocent mushroom lovers to check the contents before buying. Damn, I just love field mushrooms. Thank goodness that I only eat small portions now eh.

Damn---you can't see my pictures if you are reading the blog on Facebook or Twitter

Sorry about that, folks. If I out pictures up, like the before and after ones re surgery, then you may have to access my blog through my website and then  just follow the links. I have set it up so that you can hook into the blog via the pictures, but I am sure that you can click around and find them yourself.
www.authorneilcoleman.com    Go look!  Now, if that doesn't work, then you risk being labelled as thick as me re technology! You don't want that now, so you.

I reckon I'm about half done, baked or call it what you wish!

It's the 27th April, about 3 and a bit weeks since my operation. Everything is going well and I am looking forward to going back to work. There is a real difference now and I have so much more to look forward to. Less food bills and way less medication. I sleep amazingly well now and have much more energy. I have even reinstated my goal re one day buying a camper van and travelling in my holidays; with Perdy of course.
I still have a love of food but it seems to be healthy food now and I love entertaining my friends. I can't eat much, even if I want to. I very quickly arrive at a point where I get the message--'enough boyo, unless you want an extreme reaction.' So far that has not happened. I have turned my love of cooking into making some pretty amazing dishes and because I eat so little, I have only the best!
Since beginning the Optifast phase and post operation, I have lost about 22kgs. What's that in pounds for my USA friends-----48.5 pounds---holly hell---that sounds a lot. For the UK that is 3.4 stones.
Now the hard part---losing another 15-20 kilos. That will take time, determination and exercise. I must, because even though I am smaller, there is a great deal of weight where it shouldn't be and that is the dangerous weight around internal organs. Many people have this. Some people are skinny on the 'outside' but fat internally.
Now a few before and after pictures!

That's most of my family--me on the bottom left on Xmas day, 2012.

Me minus 22kgs (half done!)

 

How much did that cheap garment you are wearing cost in terms of human life?

We all love to buy cheap clothing and for the most part the clothing comes from China. Labour rates have been very cheap there and workers live and work under a low wage regime and the conditions they work under would at best be described as 'undesirable.' However, these workers would be seen as 'lucky' by those in 'third world' economies, particularly in Bangladesh. It seems that as wages and conditions slowly improve in China the West is looking to import clothing from Bangladesh, where workers put their lives at risk, by working in terrible conditions, often locked in multi-story buildings where accidents occur and people die because they cannot escape. There have been many disasters and in the latest where hundreds died must serve as a warning to those of us who delight in purchasing a bargain. The fact is that our bargains are gained at the expense of these  lowly paid workers. There are reports that many are working for as little as $US16 cents an hour. Of course the Bangladesh authorities face a dilemma; workers need to work and any job is better than none. There is no welfare support in these countries. It is a matter of 'work of you don't eat.'
There is a responsibility on the West where we need to pay more for our clothing and other products and the companies who import the cheap products also come into the picture. They make huge profits and until they take a more moral view and the bargain loving public see the wider picture, then what we have witnessed in Bangladesh will be replicated in many other poorer nations. We cannot ignore the plight of our fellow human beings. If it means that we wear something a little longer, then so be it. I know---tell that to a struggling family in NZ and it may fall on deaf ears. That issue needs to be faced within NZ, but not at the expense of the citizens of Bangladesh. Their Government needs to take a stand and force better conditions in these factories that are no more than 21st century 'work houses.' It seems that Dickens wrote in a manner that reflects an age old issue--the plight of the poor in all nations, but so much worse in others. Get a grip NZ and perhaps extend the Fair Trade concept to the clothing we wear and at the same time address poverty in NZ.

China is now NZ's biggest export market! What will that mean for us?

The days when New Zealand saw the UK as the 'Mother 'Nation' have totally gone; consigned to the annals of history. That time in our history really went south when Great Britain failed us at Singapore in the Second World War. Yes, we still have excellent ties and cultural links with dear old England but the reality is that we are a Pacific nation with ever increasing ties to Asia, China in particular. This new reality will need to be reflected in our diplomatic relationships with the new economic giants we trade with. That is going to be difficult to 'swallow,' when some of these nations, particularly China follow policies that we have traditionally found hard to relate to namely those issues around human rights. Will we have to kow tow to China now and put aside our 'discomfort' in the name of economic survival? Yes, Australia will continue to be our ally in all sense of the word and the USA will remain in our sphere of interests. Maybe it is time for us to pursue a 'non-aligned' foreign policy stance and not get dragged into every war that our former economic masters have led us. It is a 'brave new world,' one that we must adapt to and perhaps take a less than holly ground stance about what constitutes what is 'right for us.' Scary thought eh.