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This is a blessed spot, spoilt only by the people, in the central North Island of NZ. |
Size: 67 Entries
Created: November 14th, 2016 at 6:19am
Modified: July 21st, 2024 at 7:42pm
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Most of the time for me the glass is half empty. On rare occasions the glass is half full as with news of The Donald's activities.
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Much has happened in the world. We are just past the middle of 2024 and are slowly plodding through mid winter in NZ. It has been fairly mild so far but still a fair way to go. My wife Sharon and I are finally tying up loose ends with our business and embracing full retirement. We are now seeing many sunset industries such as print media, regular mail deliveries, the firewood industry and other sectors as technology forces change at breakneck speed. There was an attempted assassination on Trump and Biden has withdrawn from the race. These distracting sideshows are irrelevant in that the USA electoral system is broken. Whoever replace Joe will be the next president due to drop box and mail in voting. Fraud is now embedded.
My youngest son turns 25 tomorrow. A quarter century as I head for three quarters!!
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As we enter last month of Autumn there have been a few setbacks for our household. It is easy to be overwhelmed but I find it best to prioritise tasks and work on them one at a time. I was never a multitasker and leave that to my good wife. Nights are cooler now and we have had a few fires but days are nice and warm. Getting our chimney cleaned next week plus a rear baffle installed. NZ struggles on and new govt is meeting headwinds. This is more due to inexperience than anything else. Our education and health sectors are in crisis and there seems little hope ahead. Here doctors have to meet health targets to get fully paid by govt. So targets become more important than actually addressing any particular health needs one has. A disgusting state of affairs. In education we continue to churn out multitudes of functionally illiterate students. For any work requiring any degree of skill we use immigrant workers. A sad and of course ultimately destructive state of affairs.
On a positive note my youngest child, a daughter, has turned 23. I have no idea where all the years have gone.
Keep well and God bless. |
March 18, 2024 at 10:50pm
March 18, 2024 at 10:50pm
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| The days are becoming cooler here and nights are dipping to 4 degrees Celsius. A pleasant time of year but a harbinger of Winter . Life ticks along here. We are in throes of winding up our business and so far only a few fish hooks. New government is going ahead with its policies but has a very hostile media. Covid is behind us but is still resurrected when it suits certain parties. For me it was and is the biggest scam ever perpetrated on humanity. I look back with bewilderment on the excesses we were forced to endure. We will be attending a funeral in my home town in a couple of weeks. For my sister in law. It is an opportunity to meet relatives cousins and friends. That's all for now and God bless. |
February 19, 2024 at 5:45pm
February 19, 2024 at 5:45pm
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This not so New Year is moving at a fast pace. It leaves me dizzy. The world is not in good shape what with Navalny murdered by Putin. Navalny is a hero and showed outstanding courage against tyranny. He is an example to us all. USA elections look to be a contest between 2 old white men alas! In NZ our new government is yet to find it's footing.
For my wife and I retirement is a new and sometimes rocky path and we are still grappling with it. We are currently coming up against brick wall with bank and pension provider to have funds released to pay off a small mortgage and so leave us more cash for general expenses. Living on a fixed income is presenting a challenge. However we know we are better off than many. A good description is we are asset rich and cash poor like many Kiwis here.
On the bright side Autumn is approaching and it is a lovely time of year. We are cycling and walking dogs daily along our lakeshore and we know we have much to be grateful for.
God bless. |
January 25, 2024 at 4:35pm
January 25, 2024 at 4:35pm
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| So far we have had a good Summer and certainly far better than the previous one. Currently we have cooler weather as we begin the transition to Autumn. February here is normally a dry month and heralds the approach of seasonal change. We are doing OK and also transitioning into full retirement. Not as easy as it sounds. Lots of biking and dog walking plus slowly getting around to household projects. Sadly 2 days ago we had to put our oldest cat Molly to sleep. She was over 17 and ended up with almost total renal failure. We are still coming to grips with our loss. It hits me hardest when it comes to meal time for our animals. We now have 4 cats, 2 dogs, 2 budgies and a red eared Slider turtle. Turtle is 26 years old and never had a day's ill health. When we obtained her she fitted in a match box. Now she is the size of a large side plate. All is well and we are blessed. I see my subscription is up for renewal. I believe this site is good value for money. |
December 10, 2023 at 9:57pm
December 10, 2023 at 9:57pm
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| We are now 11 days in. From an abstract concept retirement is now a reality for us. It has been sad to close down our business but the removal of stress has been amazing. Circular distribution is a sunset industry and it uses yesterdays technology. Placing fliers and catalogues into mail boxes is labour intensive and as minimum wage has increased over the years has made competing with radio and TV increasingly hard. Low pay rates in the industry make recruitment difficult. I believe the industry will disappear in the next few years. NZ Post is struggling through lack of letters and is managing due to a huge increase in parcel deliveries brought about by online shopping. This ushers in other concerns like the high carbon footprint with all the vans delivering parcels. In our small street there are an average of eight courier van drop offs daily. Soon letters will only be delivered twice a week. In addition to fliers free to the mail box Community newspapers are under pressure. Recruitment difficulties because of low pay mean many suburban runs are classed as empty runs. Advertisers are becoming increasingly angry. There seems no solution for the industry apart from, like the old soldier, to simply fade away. Meanwhile our retirement beckons and who knows what adventures await? My wife and I wish everyone here a Merry Xmas and a great 2024. God bless you all. |
November 23, 2023 at 3:31am
November 23, 2023 at 3:31am
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| Big changes ahead for my wife Sharon and I. After 26 years we are exiting the circular distribution business also 'affectionately' as junk mail. We are retiring and our last day on the job is 30th November 2023. Not long to go now. I feel sadness but also relief and this is the right time. This last year things have not been easy. More on this to follow. I wish all readers a happy Xmas and good things for the New Year. God bless. |
September 24, 2023 at 6:43pm
September 24, 2023 at 6:43pm
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| Spring is here and currently a cold snap but we have had some good weather. A dry Summer is forecast. Also school holidays so hopefully this will give local businesses a shot in the arm. We are a tourist town after all. The elections are upon us and early voting begins next week. What direction will we head in? The choices all seem bleak. Nevertheless I am looking forward to a hot Summer as my wife and I prepare for retirement. We are still in process of exiting the junk mail industry and it is a case of when not if. Vince an old army comrade is having back surgery in a Singapore hospital. An all day operation so we hope he gets full mobility back. They say the back is both strongest and weakest part of the body. That's all for now. God bless. |
August 15, 2023 at 10:02pm
August 15, 2023 at 10:02pm
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| The last month of Winter is now half over and we continue through a day at a time. This year August has been much colder than the past few years but the grass has continued to grow, albeit slowly, through the cold months. The election promises/bribes are totally outrageous and will be a test of how dumb the Kiwi electorate really is. Election is now 2 months away. This country is in big trouble on many fronts and the politician contenders have neither the energy or intellect to halt our downward spiral. I recently turned 69 and am just grateful for my current spell of reasonably good health. My wife's memory remains excellent and for me this is finally becoming an asset. Our business ticks along as we continue with plans to fully retire. Two of my African soldiers from the Rhodesian Army are currently in UK attending a reunion. This makes me happy and I am grateful to whoever sponsored them. I feel tremendous nostalgia for those far off days during the bush war. The fires in Hawaii were horrific and my heart goes out. My motto in life comes from my parachute jumping days. 'Stand in the door'. God bless everyone. |
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| This morning we had a mass shooting in Auckland our largest city. Three dead, including the shooter, plus a half dozen injured; some seriously. It seems a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun was used. The shooter was on home detention for previous violent offending and had an ankle bracelet for monitoring. It was his own workplace he shot up. Oh brave new world. what will become of us as we endure successive bad governments. For now we mourn. I am deeply saddened and overcome. This is not the country I grew up in. |
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