Not only was he the man,  (ok one of two men….) behind my favourite most loved piece of machinery on Earth, he also cheated death, went to the top, was knocked to the bottom again and once more through a strong sense of self belief and unwavering determination, or just plain *not giving up*, he is there back at the top again.

I used to have mixed feelings about technology, at one time I didn’t even own an electric kettle, iron or toaster… but even then I wanted a Mac…. even though I wasn’t sure exactly what they did,  because they had something..from the word go… not just the little square smiley face, but they had soul almost. I battled and conquered Windows for 4 years before I got my first Mac… a beautiful G5…..and I could never go back. A Powerbook an iPod (brick version) and 3 iMacs later I now am the very happy owner of an iPhone…. so once again my love of Steve and all he stands for has risen right up there to its rightful place in the light….

If you love a good story, love the world of business, love art, lack self belief, have lost faith in the human race at all, or if you own a Mac an iPhone or an iPod… this book is a must read…. find out where that amazing gadget that changed the world came from.  Learn how to survive in the face of adversity and cry at the end :)

Another must see are two youtube video’s…. An old Mac advert from the 80′s which still stands strong today…. and a speech from Steve full of his enthusiasm, inspiration and belief.

I know most of the things a Mac can do can be done by a PC, a Mac in my opinion, just does it more beautifully, more intuitively….they shine right to the last piece of packaging. Sure they get thngs wrong at times, but thats how they became so great, learning from mistakes.

I almost believe my Mac has a soul…. it bring s a lot of love and joy to my life…..

These photo’s were taken on Wednesday November 19th 2003 …. My first day as a Mac Owner and Mac user….

Thank you Steve, Thank you Apple, and lets raise a toast…

To the Crazy Ones…. long may they walk this Earth….

I went to town yesterday, with my newly fixed brakes…. (*thanks Colm, me darling….*) and man it was horrid. Not only do we have all the tourists and all the hired camper vans with their wild and wonderful designs, but we have the mad Christmas shoppers too… traffic is at a standstill, no parks to be had in supermarkets…. blah… I need to emigrate at this time of year :) I have definitely downsized the season since being in NZ…. this is my 7th Christmas here…seems unbelieveable…

Still no regrets tho… still love NZ…. one great thing about being at the other end of the planet… there is always someone to talk to when you wake in the early hours. I couldn’t sleep last night and have been up since 3.00am…. but am so happy about it because I have been having the funnest convo woth my best mate in the UK. I LOVE my Mac…….cos it connects me to the wonderful people in my life and I love Dilly xoxo

Yesterday I got myself a present…. I deserve one…. so, with my Christmas money and Tax rebate and electricity rebate, and very little guilt for once…. I indulged.. well I tried to, I haven’t quite got it yet… Watch this space :)

My life for the past year or two feels like being on a very fast moving train, so fast that you hardly notice the scenery or stations as they flash past.  And you are sitting on this train unable to do very much at all. All you can do in fact is hang on for dear life and just hope it doesn’t crash….

I was reading an article this morning in a food magazine, the author asked why New Zealand imports most of its Balsamic Vinegar…. :)  I had to write to the editor, this being something very close to my heart…. I don’t often write to Editors..unlike Mr Bent, but he’s another story….

Balsamic Vinegar is made in two regions in Italy, Reggio Emilia and Modena.. it is made from the must (pressings that have never been fermented into wine) of particular varieties of grape, usually Trebbiano and it takes a minimum of 12 years to age. Traditionally the vinegar would be “started” using a small amount from a previous batch, some starters can be one hundred years old or more. If you are interested in learning more check this link and also good old  Wiki

The long production process is what makes traditional Balsamic Vinegar so expensive, and hard to find outside Italy, but it is worth the effort. I bought some 25 year old Vinegar in Asissi, and it is like a thick syrup with a slightly sweet flavour……wonderful stuff. The name Balsamic comes of course from Balsam which is a healing balm, and it was used many years ago as a tonic and restorative. Most of the vinegars labelled Balsamic that we see in Supermarkets are actually just flavoured vinegars, I only use the ones from Modena even for everyday cooking, but the special one…I take now and then in spoonfuls,its definitely a soul balm…like much slow food…

My bottle is getting low…. another trip to belle Italia is on my things I want to do list  :)

I’d like to go to the UK or Italy now in fact, away from this muggy heat…. this is the most humid summer to date in Nelson… and then we have the bloody sand-flies that Noah forgot to zap….not impressed! Once a winter child always a winter child I guess…

Candles burn for hope
flames flickering in the breath
of a nations prayers

Yesterday was a very tough day for New Zealand…. 29 men were lost, 29 men are mourned by families friends loved ones and a whole nation….

Don’t let these lost lives be in vain….. can we learn something from this? Life is precious, all life is precious, tough as it may be at times, it is a gift and it comes with no warranty.

Don’t be afraid to be who you are, to tell someone how much they mean to you…. and do it today…. Now is all we have.

Love, peace and strength to the families of the 29 miners.

walking on wet stones
riding the crest of a wave
is our happiness

lost souls together
on the edge of the planet
hanging on for life

walking side by side
tracking footprints in the sand
of four toed creatures

forest of tree roots
torn from their earthy moorings
little peoples caves

crashing ocean waves
hurling their debris to land
mass of broken hearts

So this is a recent breakfast.. homemade bread, given a wonderful golden colour by the addition of Bee pollen… and  English Breakfast Marmalade… I miss real marmalade, made with seville oranges like my Father In Law used to make….. have sent out begging emails :) You don’t seem to be able to buy Seville oranges in New Zealand, I look for them every January….

I really love Chilli jelly but I didn’t fancy all that dripping around…. anyway, this is what the jam looked like before the burning….. I used apples as a base…

I made a decent curry later to restore my battered chefs ego.. and found the best organic basmati I have ever tasted!

There hasn’t been much rain, but it suddenly became really cloudy and broody last night and we had lashings of the stuff… it was completely deafening on the roof… I love that sound! All the vegetables are getting ready for harvesting, but….. I need a few more weeks without frost, I am determined to get a couple of Spaghetti squash at least….. they have to be one of favourite vegetables in the world and I haven’t tasted one for over 5 years!

Winter is coming…. hurray!!  I love winter, that first smell of it in the air… firelight and dark nights,  wood smoke and the crackling of bonfires, candles and red wine, soupmaking season…. frost in the mornings, crunchy footsteps, the hunting and gathering of autumn and winter… in England when the summers were way too hot and humid, I used to get *SAD* in the spring!! I guess I was always upside down….