It's a 'free-power day,' on the Coast, today!

   I suspect that opening would have read by friends on the 'Coast' with a sense of--'hey---really---for me too?' Sorry---one has to be with a certain company to achieve that status and this is the first one (I think,) for the year, for me.

   So how does this work? Well---one gets to chose a day whereby all power use is free for the day. I went online and chose today as my special 'power-free day!' Yesterday I had it confirmed and I was invited to be 'creative' about how I spent my free day! Wow---do I open up a front lawn cafe for the day, offering laundry facilities and car cleaning services as a side? Whilst walking Perdy along the beach collecting stones and Kauri Gum, I made some decisions, some bordering on the ----crazy!

   OK---ALL washing, for clothes, blankets, dogs, neighbours' cats, dusty plants,----anything can can fit in the washer and dryer will be WASHED and DRIED!
   Anything that can be charged will be charged. Bugger---wheres the elctric cycle and car when ya need it?
   If the temperature does not rise above 15C, then the heater (not the fire) will be used.
   Cooking will be done, but we don't feel like it so---WTF!
   The tumbler, processing the rocks I collect---daily, will stay on without me feeling guilty and I wish    I had the bigger new one that I have ordered from the USA was in action.
   No doubt the vacuuming will be done, but as I exempt from such duties, due to there being an          issue with the 'quality of my efforts'---well, I shall leave that to a better set of hands!
   Long showers will be taken---right to the point of running out the hot water, but not to the extent that dishes cannot be washed! (Another exemption in place---it's complicated!)
   I do not have an electric lawnmower, but i will plug in the battery that starts it!
   If the sun disappears, then the lights will go on!
   I may let Perdy play with the garage door opener--she loves to see it go up and down and then pretends to be frightened.
   We shall leave the TV on all day and play the radio in the kitchen, even if no one is in there.

If we actually 'do any of the above, I wonder if the bill will be that much more---we shall let you know. Now---the 6th load of washing and drying is about to begin!

Thank you Mercury!!!!!!!

PS---Other suggestions welcomed.
   

All that glitters is not always gold on the 'Coast.'

The Thames area has a long association with gold. Indeed, Thames was once the second biggest 'city,' in NZ, ranking after Dunedin and bigger than Auckland in the ealry 1870s. It had a reputation rivalling Russell in the far north, re it's many 'houses of 'ill-repute,' and for the sheer umber of such establishments. (I have heard figures as high as 90!). Of course once the gold became harder to extract (the gold had to be extracted by separating it from the rocks, involving massive stamping batteries and the use of toxic chemicals) unlike the nuggets that were found on the west coast of the South Island. The gold is said to be still there in the hills behind the town, but hopefully it will stay there, leaving the forest to retain that special character that we all love.
 
   There is of course another aspect to the 'forest,' that has a history all of it's own. The remnants of that association remain, but in much reduced numbers---the mighty Kauri. The timbers of this incredible tree were much in demand and it did not take long to deplete the once glorious forests that festooned the peninsula. Associated with the Kauri was another industry--the Kauri Gum'gold rush,' that was even stronger in the far north of New Zealand.

   That industry slid into history along with the gold, and the timber extraction 'cousins;' all three contributing to the development or 'plunder,' depending on your world view, of the area. Once again, there are remnants of those times. They wash up on to the beaches of the Coast, and it is the examples of these, that I love to find. I feel like I have come across little treasures when my eyes latch on to the golden delights.
   One must learn to distinguish between the quartz-like rocks and the Kauri gum, ascertaining at a glance the differences. One can kick, receiving a message that the 'sighted piece,' is lighter and therefore not a rock, or use the 'colour clues,' that are not always reliable. Timing for the search is important, and now I am entering the realms of secrecy. Hell--if I spill all of the hard come by secrets of the search, then I will be diminishing the supply of my new obsession and possibly endangering my 'apprenticeship' towards gaining 'localism status,' down here on the Coast!

   But---what I can do is put up a picture of a rock and a piece of Kauri

gum---the piece I collected from my 'source today.  ENJOY! OK---the one on the left is the Kauri gum and the other, a nice rock that will find it's way into one of my 'polishers.'