HUNDERTWASSER AND HEALTH

It has been over seven weeks but, finally, I am starting to feel better.  My cough/cold turned into a chest infection and ten days ago I went to the GP who prescribed some antibiotics and they seem to have done the trick.  I still tire easily but managed to go on our first outing this morning.

Luckily it was a tad warmer than the 4°C we had yesterday morning but we headed out well rugged up and went down to the Town Basin.  The Cupola for the Hundertwasser Art Centre was being barged up the river and craned onto the building after being covered in gold leaf.  

We arrived just before 8 a.m. and found a position across the river where we had a good view.

There were plenty of people there to watch

We then walked a short distance to the Bistro de Paris where we had a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict with a cup of tea.  On the way back to the car we spotted this artwork.

A bit further on we noticed that the Cupola now had its blue cap in place.

The weather was perfect.

WING RIB OF BEEF

Vegetarians read no further.

When we went to the Supermarket on Tuesday I was surprised to see a joint I have not seen for a long time, a Wing Rib of Beef, and it was on special so it came home with us.  It was a good sized roast and was in the oven on Wednesday and it was delicious.

Lots of roast vegetables and we barely touched the joint.   We had it again yesterday and today and I doubt if we have eaten half of it yet so some will be frozen and a cottage pie made as well.  Great value.

QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

It is not often we get periods like this but it has rained and blown right through the Long Weekend.  At times I thought the chimney was going to come down the wind was so strong.  We barely went outside the door for the whole weekend.  Looking through the window  the Tithonia Diversifolia or Mexican Sunflower that is just coming into flower was getting blown in the wind.  It is taller than me so catches the wind at the best of times.

Yesterday, Tuesday, there was a break in the weather and we ventured outside to survey any damage before going out to do various errands.  The above had some small branches broken so we removed them and put them in as cuttings.

The main damage was to the poor mandarin tree.

As it is still connected to the trunk we are hoping that by leaving it there the fruit will continue to ripen.

So the weekend was spent mainly by the fire reading.  Luckily on Friday I noticed these very late roses on an extremely tall stem still in bud and picked them and they are opening very nicely.  They would be battered if I had left them.

The weather is now showers rather than continuous rain and I just noticed a Monarch Butterfly on the Mexican Sunflower.

CHEQUES

I keep seeing advertisements that cheques will not be accepted after the middle of this month as they are being phased out.  I can't remember the last time I used a cheque.

It might be a couple of years ago as I used to bring a small annuity over from England by using a U.K. cheque and banking it into my New Zealand account but I started doing that by internet banking and it is so much easier.

I know my brother mentioned last year that his bank in the U.K. did not have internet banking which surprised me and was wondering about other places.

Are cheques still used where you live?   

Firelighters?