pay for.
This is what is left of my share of the meal....I almost forgot to take a photo!!!for shame:)
I cant help thinking that there is something wrong with the food prices in NZ. Granted they pay their wait staff a living wage, for the most part (by law), but I remember paying about $17 just for the raw rack, at the supermarket.
Wally's Grill and Ribs on Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte, also sells ribs and other food by the pound. I believe the ribs are $6.99lb..cooked and ready to eat. That would be plenty for one person.
This came at the end of another Monday.
The catch on the electrical cupboard broke...it is plastic, and we went in search of a new one. We also had to return some square washers which Waz is going to put on the dock for Len to replace the round ones currently there. We finally found the right size for that job...after Christmas, I would think, but failed, after about 4 stores, to find the catch for the cupboard.
While at Ace Hardware, just around the corner, we found some superglue with an instant fixative that was being advertised on a small tv in store. How we found this stuff....I heard an Aussie accent, which is unusual, right? well, in the USA it is....and stopped to identify where it was coming from. We ended up buying the advertised product (see, it works!) and will now try to fix the broken plastic component with the glue, instead of resorting to online ordering for a new part, which would cost more in postage than the item ordered.
I had also called the pump-out fella...silly man gave us his phone number!:) and said that because our normal Wednesday pump-out was scheduled for Christmas Day, when did he want to come? He said today would be fine, and some time between 3 and 4pm. Great...that gave us time to go searching for our hardware supplies. We got back to the boat around 2.30, and made some lunch. Yes, I know, a bit late, but we ate Blueberry Buttermilk pancakes with no sugar added!!! for breakfast around 10am! Gentleman's hours!
We sat upstairs on the flydeck and ate lunch...it was so bloody hot!!! and that was the only place with some breeze. I had picked up a Real Estate book on the way out of Ace hardware, so we perused that while we enjoyed a cup of tea, post lunch.
The pumper didn't turn up until just after 5pm, but no worries...I was about to start sewing again.
Waz has two pairs of the same brand of trousers that were way too long in the leg (5 inches, to be precise!) so I needed to take them up so that he has something decent to wear out if necessary, in the coming week. They are tan colored, and I didn't have any thread, so that necessitated going back to JoAnn's just down the road. While there we did the rest of our food shop at the Publix supermarket next door. Sam's Club is great for most stuff, but when you only want four bananas instead of the 10 you get at the former, it requires some more creative shopping.
So, trousers were hemmed as the daylight waned, and we had to turn on the upstairs lights for me to finish. I packed up the sewing machine, which has been sitting up there for almost a week now, and put everything away. I guess I need to do some housework tomorrow in case guests want to come and look aboard.
Len is right now preparing food for the all day feast they call Christmas Eve. We have been told to bring our appetite tomorrow. This year we are spending Christmas Day with Len's business partner Tony and family. This is out of deference to Len preparing the Pre-Christmas feast, and because Stephie is pregnant! too much for one household to do both!
We, of course, are not allowed to do, or bring anything! Len has it all down to an art.
We will get up early tomorrow and wash the boat down while it is cool enough to do so. I am not liking the 85F heat, because there is plenty of humidity with it. My hair has gone frizz! Right now it is 9.15pm and it is 80F in the salon. I have just turned the aircon on in the bedroom, or I will not sleep tonight!!!! We have turned it off just as we go to bed, in the last couple of nights, but by morning it is very warm again.
We need to go walking shortly. A cuppa is waiting for me to finish this, and then we will take a long walk up the road towards the highway. We feel very safe around here.
We opened the gift from my sister in Oregon, this afternoon. I'm hopeless with prezzies! I used to drive my good fried Lois crazy, opening prezzies before my birthday or Christmas...in the end she sent them so they would be late! She got wise!!!
Ali sent us lots of goodies from Oregon...Filberts or Hazelnuts, Olive oils, dried cherries, and cherry chocolates and some lovely cucumber soap made with goat's milk, by a High School student. Very enterprising!
Oh, and some loose leaf tea! yay!
Ali is the most thoughtful gift giver. She is one of the busiest people I know, as a school teacher among other things, but she always manages to find the time for friends and family.
We have had fun choosing gifts for our hosts and their friends and family. It is nice to be able to find some NZ wines in the stores in the USA and we are very proud Kiwis, so happily give these for people to try.
I will try to take lots of pics over the next couple of days, without being intrusive...hmmm...oh well, TRY isn't a word I like...you either do it or you don't, so perhaps I will just DO IT!
Time for that walk before Waz starts snoring!!!:)
Ciao for now, and a Very Merry Christmas to you all Down Under in Kiwi land and Oz, and to our American / Northern Hemisphere readers, be safe in the cold and snow, and enjoy the reason for the season, if that is what you do, and for those who just love the excuse to get together with family and friends, have a safe and happy time. Let's hope 2014 is a great year for all. Good health, happiness and prosperity!
Take care of yourselves and each other.
Adieu.
Mon and Waz
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