28 December 2011

New Zealand recognizes Boxing Day as a holiday and, because Christmas falls on Sunday, Tuesday is also officially off. This would mean something if anybody worked anytime during the last week of December. The country reopens on the 3rd of January so we gave up getting parts or work done and beat over to Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf yesterday to tour vineyards, which are open, and muck about, which is best done with vast quantities of wine.

Spectacular weather for several days has given way to wind warnings and forecast rain so mucking about could involve muck. This turn of events may kindle desire for return to Pier 21 where rain is less inconvenient and costs are more reasonable... less unreasonable than on this boutique island.

And while we're on the subject, Amazon swapped out a dead reader (sat upon during passage in September to Fiji) with shipping both ways. They had previously upgraded a dead gen one Kindle for $39. Cool beans. Guess they want me to buy some books online. An entire world of trash literature is again at hand without inundating the cabin with moldering paperbacks.

Jan just bought new sunnies with polarization because she couldn't see well "with or without the old ones". Regrettably, she can see no better without the new ones. They do, however, look rather nice and work better when she wears them.

Jack