Matariki

 Celebrating the Maori New Year

This is a new holiday in the New Zealand calendar, this  year is only the third year it has been celebrated nationally.

 I have to admit that it took me some time to work out my feelings about it as this is a cultural celebration belonging to the Maori people and as such has some aspects I'm not entirely comfortable with. 

I've come to the conclusion that those who wish to will celebrate in the way it is intended and others will treat it as another reason for a long weekend with the majority taking part in activities in much the same way as they would at Christmas or Diwali or other cultural celebrations - without having a full or true understanding of the celebrations.

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. In Japan it is known as Subaru and in Hawaii Makali'i, and by various other names throughout different cultures.

It is also known as the wishing star. Māori traditionally would use this star to set their desires and dreams for the year, commonly known now as New Year's resolutions. (notes from the internet).

The pictures above are our town's depiction of the Matariki cluster and it looks quite special in the darkness, much better than in the photos.

Whatever you are doing this weekend have a wonderful time.

Keep well, keep warm, keep cool and enjoy yourselves.

Diana

Winter time

We've had a lot of cold, wet, windy weather of late. In fact just what we would expect at this time of year. Winter. At least it hasn't snowed. I've probably told you before that I don't really enjoy the cold wintery weather but we live in the south of the south, so that's what happens. And Dunedin is a nice wee city, I enjoy living here. Except in the winter!  :)

We have had the occasional break in the clouds and one day were rewarded with this hint of a rainbow.

So in the mornings I've been cooking up a small pot of feijoas and then putting them in the freezer. Why a small pot? Because it's quite a time consuming job. So far I've done up a bucketful and have about half a bucket on the bench waiting. These ones are too small to give away except to family if they want them. 

They're falling off the tree before they are properly ripe and we don't always bother to pick them all up at this point of the season.

Today was one of my days for volunteering at the bookshop so was  my GKB's turn to make tea. When I started volunteering I suggested that he could get tea on the nights I was working. He hadn't thought of it but he is happy to do so, especially when I said I didn't care if it was sardines on toast as long as I didn't have to come home and start preparing a meal. So tonight it was 'greasies' or curry rice rolls and chips. Nice and easy, warm and filling and no dishes. What more could you want?

Have a good week, keep warm, or cool, 

whichever the case may be, 

and we'll catch up again another day.

Diana

Roll up, roll up

Well, that was a day and a half, that was.

Remind me not to do it again :)

I left home at 8;15 in the morning with my son and daughter in law to head to the church hall for cheese roll making. We had barely got things set up and the young people who were going to benefit from this fundraiser turned up to help. Well some of them did. Some came at lunch time and others went home.

We hadn't cooked the cheese mixture yet so started a little later than anticipated but we got going eventually. Yes, you cook the mixture and cool it a little and then spread it on the bread.

(No, it is not just grated cheese rolled up in a slice of bread).

And then you roll the slices. It's quite a labour intensive activity really and the young people got to see how hard their Mums had worked over the years doing this as a fundraiser for their various childhood activities. 

Cheese rolls are a southern NZ thing. People have their own secret recipes and don't divulge them. They're great as a snack or with a cup of soup on a cold winters day. We can also order them in a cafe for lunch if we want but usually only in the winter. Oh by the way, to eat them they're toasted and then a little butter spread on the top.

They're very popular as a fundraiser and they're sold by the dozen in bags, so the process is: cook the mixture, spread on slices of bread, roll and pack. And then make up peoples orders.

We rolled over 3400. 

We finally finished the cleanup and left for home about 7:30pm. I had a cup of tea, a hot bath and fell into bed and stayed there until mid morning the next day.

So please, remind me to leave it to younger people next time!