I am the son and heir of nothing in particular (The Smiths)

Photo by Mikael Cho on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

In case you were going to ask me if I'm getting excited yet (with seven weeks to go before leaving NZ for the UK)...

'Sort of, not really' is my stock answer.

What gives, Wozza?

Wishing myself somewhere else runs counter to my 'be here now'. If I start thinking too much about what's to come, I'll neglect the here and now. Simple, huh!

In addition to that, the guilt sets in if I get too excited - SWMBO is always giving up more than I am during our moves. As she says, "I need a base", so she misses her possessions more than I do.

Instead, I subscribe to Hsing Yun's words: humans have to refrain from their external cravings in order to seek treasures of the inner mind.

So, during this stage of the move, I can appear to be  annoyingly glib about leaving possessions behind. 

A case in point: I was told off for my tractor post a while back. I loved the tractor but my practical brain told me I couldn't store it anywhere, I couldn't take it with me, it was going to need more and more TLC mechanically speaking and I just don't have the know-how. That didn't mean I didn't appreciate all of Brian's work. I really did!

The tractor's fate was sealed when we left Stratford really.

The family heirloom fits into that category too. Unfortunately Ross has decided his concrete making days are over so I have had to make a dispassionate decision, as I did with the tractor. 

Doesn't mean I don't love that concrete mixer to bits though!

Love and peace - Wozza

Sometimes they found it, sometimes they kept it, often lost it along the way (Jack Bruce)

Wie geht's?

Having spent another weekend throwing away stuff, I can't pretend I've got the Marie Kondo tidying gig licked yet.

This weekend saw us saying goodbye to Myrtle, our faithful Massey Ferguson 1940's tractor - sold to a parent from my school. The Minister of Defence (father-in-law Brian Smith) did a lot of work to her recently and she was going beautifully but it needed to be done.

And disposing of four boxes of unwanted Mojo magazines. Real Groovy didn't want them (only copies of Record Collector hold their value apparently), nor did The Piggery second hand bookshop.

So I donated them to the local second hand shop in Maungaturoto.

Neither action felt like much of a wrench. The initial pleasures I derived from these objects is enough.

Then I got stuck into my books again and hauled four boxes to The Piggery. She bought two box loads and I'll donate the rest (some Beatle books among them).

Again - didn't feel like any kind of betrayal to my past (I've stored and moved all this stuff around many times over the years).

I feel I'm almost there with the books, however, I've felt that before.

CDs are next. SWMBO thinks I should get rid of them all but that's not true, that's impossible.

But I am being more brutal this time out. And it's amazing how the pile is growing.

Update coming next post!

Love and peace - Wozza

Sunburnt impedance machine (Mugstar)

We live in a society people!

We also live in a mechanical age and mechanical things go wrong.

There seems to be a conspiracy going on at Red Phoenix Farm from time to time when the mechanical things get together and collude to stop working all at once.

The tractor, the outdoor fountain's transformer, the chain saw and the cross trainer all conspired against me recently.

It's so aggravating!

I am not a mechanical person. I am interested in using said appliances but I am not skilled in fixing them when they stop.

The tractor's 'distributor' became 'live' recently and the tractor suddenly (as I was driving it) stopped. It's being fixed now having been towed to a local mechanic. Yeh him!

The transformer? Apparently I was sold the wrong kind and so 6 months later it stopped. Isaac's Electrical (Waipawa) are making good with a replacement. Yeh them!

The chainsaw's chain guard failed, it developed an oil leak and the starter pulley thing wouldn't retract. Under warranty, Mitre 10 Mega Hastings had it fixed it in a matter of hours. Yeh them!

And so to the cross trainer. It developed a bizarre message 'ERR4' on its display and has not worked since the start of November. Bought in Al Ain, it has been a faithful companion since then but it now needs expert remedial action and I have not the skills.

I took off the cover to the resistance motor section and looked at the wires and mechanical things like I do if a car stops and I open the bonnet to look at the motor stuff. Pathetic!

I should have learned my lesson from Fielding Melish!!




This is all so frustrating. Sometimes I just wish I lived in a less automated world (if you thought I was going to wish I was a different person who could fix these things you don't know me at all).  

If you know where I can get it fixed (or if you have a spare Execu-cisor going), I'd love to hear from you.

Love and peace - Wozza