Winter Has Arrived

Our seasons start on the first day of the month in New Zealand and true to form, the day turned into a mini maelstrom. Although it started out calmly enough and with some sun, the forecast was for some rain. Soon after the stillness pervaded the morning, we began to see big dark clouds coming towards us. They kept coming and in time took over the entire day and into the night with blustery winds pounding the droplets by the bucket load onto our roof, our gardens, our windows, our weatherboards and those poor chickens huddled together under a barn roof. First it was a light rain and that subsided after a while with the promise of the solar rays returning. But that never materialized. It was an empty promise and it kept getting darker and darker. John had chosen to paint our concrete floor in our entry, toilet area and washroom despite the onset of the storm. I knew the paint would have a much harder time drying but only gave lip service to putting it off, which he ignored anyway, hell bent to do the job. Since I’m the one that has been nagging him to do that, I let him. But once it was done it took most of the day and some of the night to dry properly, which translates to... no loo for Lolly to use. But I survived until it was almost dry and put newspapers down for the one spot where it hadn’t fully dried.  And the area looks great. In the end we had to set up a fan heater because we couldn’t keep the door open, as it was too blustery and the cats wouldn’t have understood not to walk on the wet surface. They don’t read wet paint signs very well.

So tonight in honor of the impending cold weather, which we’ve already suffered from every season this year, I’ve cooked bangers and mash served on our candlelit dining table with our roaring blaze blazing away. We deserve to have this meal every once in a while, especially to bring in the coldest season we both have difficulty getting through, as a little treat. Although I personally try to eat healthy, which doesn’t usually include processed meats, the occasional dinner of such food isn’t something we do very often. So we can liven up our freezing selves already feeling the icy cold months ahead of us, by this one rare gesture of cheating. Actually, John has no problem with processed foods, particularly carbs. But then, thankfully, that can be saved for another day of my righteous indignation. Now it’s time to just dig into these comfort foods. Umm.