Annual Christmas Epistle 2021

Ah yeah - seems only just yesterday I posted last years little life story for the year!  RE-reading that - NOTHING has changed!

Oh sure, the China Virus is doing its thing and Life is generally progressing - who knows in which direction. However - last night - we took Michael back to ED and he's been re-admitted into Ward6 - the Leukemia Ward!

Heaves a big sigh!!! 

Anyhow - here is a short overview from last year! 

PS - at least the post is getting to other places - many in Austria got theirs already!!! WHICH does not explain why post from Austria cannot get to NZ!!  Go figure. . . .


Have fun! 

 

 

 

 

Howdy. 

At point of drafting this letter we are sitting at the beach-campsite at Kekerengu inside our Bearmobile#2, with the sun streaming in and a fresh breeze coming of the beach!! A good time to draft our annual Christmas epistle.

Another year, another set of news. Last year we posted calendars excluding letters, to various points on the globe and it took anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months, and in one case still not being delivered! :( Hopefully this year it will be better and finds you all in good health if not spirits!!

Of course like all other countries we ended up being in some form of lockdown. Our virus free nation did import said virus and as I type Delta is running around freely, mostly in Auckland! Like many other nations, everyone is putting a lot of faith into being vaccinated.

Pam had worked from home for 2 weeks at the end of August – and found it easier going then at the last lockdown! Her commute time to work was exactly 35 seconds – so Reinhold had fun timing the lunches and dinners. They had to be on time on the table!!

One of the bigger news from us is, that we sold our trainer-wheels – yes the original Bearmobile was sold to a lovely couple in Taranaki (and as we are told, is having a great time still touring NZ). We had made the decision that we liked going away in a camper and really wanted a permanent bed made up in said camper; so that required selling our old one and buying a new van. We talked with the bank and eventually got our Bearmobile #2!!! It is a lovely big van with a bigger fridge and 2 single beds. Sadly due to Michael not being well and our Government restricting people movements, we have not been out and about as much as had wanted! However we did survive a mid-winter trip to Queenstown, where we caught up with Jonathan and his place of work (Remarkable Skifield). We’d just visited Jonathan when the next day the entire country was put in lockdown and we had to do a quick long trip back home!!

Reinhold has re-discovered his passion for woodwork and has set up a *cough* (TINY) part of his garage with tools and timber and been busy making things. Initially some 3d crosses were made (way to heavy to export). He also buys dilapidated furniture (coffee tables so far) and restores them to former glory days and then tries and sells them for a small profit (to cover the cost of tools and materials). Lately, one of his friends has been helping out – partly for his friends mental health and partly to be useful in his early retirement, and partly to keep Reinhold ‘honest’! Reinhold has celebrated his 60^th Birthday in June and is now “officially” classed as old – although still 5 years away from receiving NZ Pension and the much coveted ‘Gold Card’ which gives discounts to Seniors on selected activities / public transport etc! Sadly his “60^th Birthday gift” could not be realized – a trip away again to the Cook Islands for a mid-winter break! For one, we sunk most of our $$ into the Bearmobile #2 and also we still have big restrictions on international travel. Maybe next year!!!!

Michael is an ongoing concern! I lost count how many times we did mad dashes into the hospital for further ongoing medical care. He had to have a 2^nd Bone marrow transplant which came from Germany at the middle of March this year! That will be his last transplant. He told us the other day that he is on 14 Pills – just for breakfast!! It is a daily challenge to stay focused and remain positive. ONE day this will be all behind us too.

Jonathan has completed his Te Araroa walk in early April 2021 – a challenge to finish it in the end – so he can claim now, to have walked the length of NZ – all 3000km plus!!! He is keeping himself busy with his work at the skifield (hiring out of ski gear) and has picked up a summer job back at Milford Sound – so he is very happy about that! We may see him here for a week or two, in between jobs!

Have fun.

 

 

 

 

Hearing God????

 

 

Howdy

 

I do remember Don Camillo having lots of conversations with Christ from the Cross. Quite a lively discussions at times! Challenging at times as well as affirming! Those were the days!

Anyhow - I made mine - it is Purple-Heart / White Pine and Rimu trim!

(The trinity) !!!!

However I have not heard any Perls of wisdom's coming from the cross - and just realized - 

MAYBE 

it is because there is no Christ on the cross?!?!?!!

Hmmmmmmm

This of course would require an expert opinion! Who to ask????

Anyhow - I am really pleased how this turned out!!! I was going to to either sell it or give away to a worthy cause! Sadly there is no market for it in NZ and - it has grown on me to the point, I would find it impossible to give away!!! 

And you never know - I might hear the voice after all - ae Don Camillo?!?!?!

 

Have fun! 

PS:  Maybe I am not a good listener?????

When getting a spare part costs . . . . .

Yes - I owe a lot of woodworking tools and - unfortunately - I dropped one the other day! :(

 

This is one of them - and  I use it a lot - it is a nifty little "trimmer" not a 'router' per say but does most of the same functions!!  Yeah - I dropped it and promptly broke a tiny itty bitty little plastic wheel!  

So do I go and order a replacement part of do I toss it and get a full replacement!! Hmmmm - Yeah lets try and order a part!!!  Full credit to the hardware store - they were great to deal with - hassle-free and all!

So here is the Kicker - the full unit retails at NZ $ 79.-

The (plastic) part - (no bigger then a size 5 nut)  costs - wait for it . . . . . . . $ 27.50.-

Sighs

So I did the decent thing and thought about the landfill and spent mega bucks to stop the landfill from getting to full!!!  

Hahaha the packaging of it was overkill as well - it came inside a A4 sized bubble bag!!! And I do not really want to think about which part had a greater carbon footprint!!!

 Anyhow - all back together and working! I just have to be more careful next time and PLACE it softly on the work-bench!!!!

 

Have fun! 

 

 

 

PS - by way of comparison - this is how big the spare part actually was - you will see it fitted nicely  . . . .  

Don Camillo and God have a discussion

 

 

Don Camillo was unhappy to give up entirely on the idea of the flood, so he tried to salvage something from it.
You could at least make it rain a bit. The land is dry and the reservoirs are all empty.'
It will rain, Don Camillo, it will rain,' Jesus reassured him.
'There has always been rain. ever since the world began.
The mechanism has been set in motion so that it will rain when the time is right.
Or are you of the opinion that the Eternal One has slipped up in his management of the universe?'
Don Camillo bowed. 
'Very well,'he said sighing.  'I understand  what  you  are saying  perfectly.  
But if a  poor country priest can't even allow himself to ask his God for a few bucketfuls of rain, well forgive me, but it's disheartening.'        
                          
 

'You are right a thousand times over, Don Camillo.
All that remains is for you to go on strike in protest.'

Don Camillo was still unhappy and walked off with his head down, but Jesus called him back.

Jesus looked grave. 

'Fret not, Don Camillo,' whispered Jesus.
'I know that men wasting Gods grace looks to you like a mortal sin, because you know that I got down from a horse to pick up a breadcrumb.
But you  should  forgive them because They do not mean to offend  God.
They search  desperately  for justice  on  earth because they no longer have faith in divine justice, and just as desperately go after worldly goods because they have no faith in the recompense to come.
They only believe in what they can touch and see.
The flying machines, they are the angels of this infernal hell on earth which they are trying in vain to turn into a paradise.
It is a body of ideas - a culture — that leads to ignorance, because when a culture is not supported by faith, there comes a point where man sees only the mathematics of things.
And the harmony of this mathematics becomes his God, and he forgets that it is God who created this mathematics and this harmony
But your God is not made of numbers, Don Camillo, and good angels fly in the skies of your paradise.
Progress makes man's world ever smaller: one  day, when cars  run  at 100 miles a minute, the world will seem microscopic to men, and then  mankind  will  find  itself like a sparrow on the pommel of a flagpole and will present itself to the infinite, and in the infinite it will rediscover God and faith in the true life.
And mankind will hate the machines which have reduced the world to a handful of numbers and it will destroy them with its own hands.
But all this will take time, Don Camillo.
So do not worry, your bicycle and your scooter are in no danger for now' Jesus smiled, and Don Camillo thanked him for putting him on earth.

 

:) 

There is so much to unpack in this passage - I leave it to you though to do just that and come to your own conclusions!!



Have fun!  

 

 

 

 

 

0800sunnytourist beeing reverse engineered

https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/300363392/its-so-hot-in-dubai-the-government-is-paying-scientists-to-make-it-rain-with-drones

Well - what can I say.  Seems the folks in the dessert have heard about the New Zealand spraying program (if you remember - designed for clearing the skies for the tourists so they can take true blue dome day photos in their fav holiday spots)! 

Then they took the idea and reversed the idea!!  Good on them!! Not that this particular idea has been round  for a few years . . . . .

No royalties from the project will be forthcoming - so that is a bit of a bummer . . .




Have fun!

Does Humanity need to build another Ark???

News from around the world are not great.

Apart from a virus running rampart there is the annual rainfall season and many places have experienced floods!  Germany / New Zealand and China are the most recent places where there has been a decent rainfall creating "downstream" issues.  There is nothing funny about rising waters - it is a menace in many respects! Trying to "dry out" a house is different from drying a few clothes!  Of course people need to blame someone - anyone or something for their misfortune, and they shout from the roof - "Global climate change!"

Yeah right!   Nature will do what nature wants to do.  Has done so for millennia and will do for the next few millennia! 

Today's news-piece from our sometime honest writers ---->

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/300363391/china-blasts-dam-to-divert-floods-that-killed-at-least-25

If you get to the bottom of this article you will find the last paragraph - expressing the very thought I had for the last 50 years!!

snip --- China routinely experiences floods during the summer, but the growth of cities and conversion of farmland into subdivisions has worsened the impact of such events.  --- end snip

 Well duh - IF you build houses in what is historically known to be a flood plain - why are you peeved when there is a flood flooding your precious dwelling???  

W H O S  fault is that then!!!    Have a good look into the mirror, and leave Climate change alone!!

 



Have fun!

Don Camillo and Peppone

It has been a very long time - still remember the black and white films starring Don Camillo (the village priest) and Peppone (the communist mayor).

It is a delightful story - set and written post second world war in Italy i.e 1946.

Recently I discovered the (in German) films via YouTube! It is required watching of course!!

Then I came across the books which have at long last been translated into English! Thanks to Amazon and a credit card and international posting (which given recent Covid19 mailings IS indeed remarkable) they arrived here in less then 7 days!! yussss

The books themselves are a collection of stories - each duly published in the news paper way back in 1946 - short stories that can stand on their own.  The films took all of them and made them into a long storybook - weaving them through time and place. 

The thing that always has attracted me is that at times Don Camillo has "conversations" with Christ on the Cross as well as Mary (you know - the mother of said Jesus)!!  The dialogue is thoughtful and at times thought provoking.  

 Samples of them are:

"When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar, you mustn’t behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog. You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you to have a part in his hunger.”

------------

“It is right to hate sin, but not to hate the sinner.”

--------

“No, Don Camillo; you didn’t exactly steal it. Peppone had two cigars in his pocket. Peppone is a Communist. He believes in sharing things. By skillfully relieving him of one cigar, you only took your fair share.”

--------

“When God gives you an inch, don’t take a mile.”

-------

"When things do not go well, finding a way of making them go better always seems less important than finding someone to take the blame."  <----- love this one - so true even nowadays!!!

-------

As he passed by the altar, the Lord frowned down at him.
"Lord," said Don Camillo, "Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." "Don Camillo," said the Lord, "for some time now you've been skating on thin ice."  "With God's help, no ice is too thin," said Don Camillo.

-----

Don Camillo hastily put on the leather harness with the support for the foot of the cross, lifted the enormous crucifix from the altar and adjusted it in the socket. Then he sighed: "All the same, they need not have made this Cross quite so heavy." "You're telling Me!" replied the Lord smiling. "I had to carry it all the way up on that hill and I never had shoulders such as yours."

-----


“What should I do?” Don Camillo had inquired. 
“Anoint your back with a little oil beaten up in water and hold your tongue,” the Lord had replied from above the altar.  “We must forgive those who offend us. That is the rule.”  “Very true, Lord,” agreed Don Camillo, “but on this  occasion we are discussing blows, not offenses.”
“And  what  do  you  mean  by  that?  Surely  you  are  not  trying  to  tell  me  that  injuries  done  to  the  body  are  more  painful  than those aimed at the spirit?”
“I see your point, Lord. But You should also bear in mind that in the beating of me, who am Your minister, an injury has been done to Yourself also. I am really more concerned on Your behalf than on my own.”
“And was I not a greater minister of God than you are? And did I not forgive those who nailed me to the Cross?”
“There is never any use in arguing with You!” Don Camillo  had exclaimed. “You are always in the right. Your will be done.  We  must  forgive.  All  the  same,  don't  forget  that  if  these  ruffians,  encouraged  by  my  silence,  should  crack  my  skull, the responsibility will lie with You. I could cite several passages from the Old Testament. . . .”
“Don Camillo, are you proposing to instruct me in the Old Testament? As for this business, I assume full responsibility.
Moreover,  strictly  between  Ourselves,  the  beating  has  done  you  no  harm.  It  may  teach  you  let  politics  alone  in  my  house.”


------------------------------------

Jesus: "Sie spricht mit meiner Mutter"  (she speaks with my Mother)
Don Camillo: "Die Ärmste!" (Poor Mary)

-----------------------------

The underlying message within the many stories told - is that compassion and practicality are far better than religious or political dogmatism.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Camillo_and_Peppone

Have fun!

Who is a smart bear????

My fav quote from Yogi bear ---  "I am a smart bear - sometimes I am so smart - it hurts"  next minute he's flat on his face from his picnic basket robbing days - rubbing a sore spot on his head!!

or like this 

“I’m so smart it hurts.”

“It’s because I’m smarter than the average bear.”

yogi bear hunting picnic baskets

 

 

 

humpf - well - the other day I did feel rather silly

I used to be able to do this:

In LibreOffice - you used to be able to select a range of cells (some empty some not) and copy them - then select another spreadsheet or file and do a Paste/Link!! Meaning that when you update or fill a cell at the source - it would update and accurately reflect that change made in the destination cell's. 

Well for some reason LibreOffice would no longer copy EMPTY Cells.

In MS Excel and Lotus123 (yes remember that good software???)  it does copy empty cells! sooo hmmmmm

Research says you ought to be able to do this in Libreoffice - so there is either a bug or some software  program no longer providing the function!

  WHAT to DO?????

After a lot of trial and head scratching -- I found a work around!! 

Select any single empty cell - click in it - push the space bar once and hit enter! This will in effect add an "indent" into the cell - and voila it is no longer empty - but showing nothing - since  no text/data/formula etc has been entered into this cell yet! Now copy that cell and paste into your source spreadsheet as far and wide as you want / need too (or indeed the whole spreadsheet)  and paste it.

Now you can select your few cells and copy them and do the paste link cmd ( seeing it will recognize the cells now, seeing they are no longer "empty" and of course any future data entered in the source cell will be reflected in the destination cells!!) 

YUSSSSS

Where is my picnic basket with Nutella sandwich's !! 

 

Have fun!

Our late annual Christmas Epistle

Yup - I started the draft on 2 November 2020 - then set it aside for corrections, spelling etc. and to be completed and included in the 15 Calendars we usually post out pre Dec.  N e x t   day we were informed that Michael is back into the Hospital for a test and yup - they confirmed his leukemia has returned.  Thus the rest of our time since then, was consumed with trips to and from the Hospital and many things got - shall we say - re-prioritized!!! We spent Christmas day in his private hospital room!! 

The draft never got corrected - so here it is in its full faulty glory....

23 Oldwood St

Christchurch 8053

New Zealand

2 Nov 2020

Ooooooh is it this time of the year again – already???? Seems only like yesterday when I scribbled the last news letter together! So here it goes.

-----

Another eventful year for us but one with more highs than lows for which we are truly grateful. Trusting that you have all had some success in 2019 and wishing you all the best for a peaceful 2020!

    Humpf – this was the opening and closing line from our 2019 letter. I F only we had known then what 2020 would bring!!!!! As I type we hear that Europe is going for yet another lockdown thanks to the Virus ex-China!! It would be really weird if Christmas is being canccelled, already a number of Christkindl markets are not happening!! Sighs – where to begin ? ? ? ?

    Yes; we had our fair share of the Virus– and thanks to the large moat around our little paradise island we have escaped most of the drama! We too had a 4 week strict lockdown around March / April – then eased off afterwards. Our borders are still closed to returning Kiwis only (and “essential other workers”) - and any incoming persons have to be in a “managed” facility for 2 weeks – AND pay some NZ $ 3000!!! hmmmmm enough of this – lets try and be positive!

    We did manage to get away again for a few weekends in our Bear-mobile – including a chilly midwinter camp and a long week round trip that included two nights at Ross!! We give thanks for this ability as it is acting as a mental circuit breaker from all the bad news in 2020! We feel like being seasoned campers now, and are looking to take “our trainerwheels” off eg – selling it, and do an upgrade in the near future – a permanent bed would be nice! One of the downstream effects from this Virus-Year has been less, or no international tourists and at the same time an increase in Kiwis touring in their own country – so there is less then normal tourist traffic and still enough to make things busy!

    Reinhold has gone nuts and bought on the cheap a few dilapidated and severely neglected Rimu (nz native timber) coffee tables and then spend some of his lock-down time restoring them. He has sold 2 back, making some small gains in $$ - which will go towards buying a new power tool to complete the woodworking setup. His other creations involved making a few crosses (pics as always on FB) many of which have found new homes! Yes Margit – yours will be here waiting for you to take home – I am not posting it!!! Two other major woodworking projects were: making a very special Rimu coffee table and a larger CD book case for us; oh - and a special stepping-stool for MB so she can reach the upper shelves in the kitchen!!

    Pam has been very busy working from home during the lock-down (which brought it’s own marital challenges) and then back at work. Her workplace bought a new accounting software and its implementation is as long and as tedious as Tooth-extractions! She certainly has and is working LONG hours! Her reward for this is a brand new (it had only 5km on the clock) company car!

    A black shiny new set of wheels!! She is also very happy having splashed out in January for a new couch – one she found that would let her sit down on it and her feet touching the floor (turns out – it is the ONLY one in NZ that will let her do that) – and – due to virus and lock-downs it took 6 months for delivery!

    Michael continues his journey in Hanmer working as a sales person in a hardware store. He is more or less medically speaking on the good side – fingers crossed! Jonno of course lost his job at Milford and had to be here for lock-down – then went to a limited job in Queenstown for the ski season. He now plans to do the Te Araroa walk (https://www.teararoa.org.nz/) - all of 3000km down the spine of NZ (from the very top of the north to the bottom of the south)! Mid winter we said goodbye to our cat who had deteriorated and was not happy! Her ashes are now with Max’s ashes and awaiting interring as I type. Thus we are pet-free at the moment!

Have fun!