Entries from December 2006 ↓

Annual berry overload whilst staying in the lovely warm Bay of Plenty:

The Mister’s batch  of raspberry jam:

Individual meringues with raspberry compote on New Year’s Eve:

The Orange Sister’s French toast & mixed berries for New Year’s Day breakfast:

Following on from our experiment, we turned this into a family game on New Year’s Eve!

My favourite newly learned thing: hold down Ctrl when using the Page Down key and you jump down page by page to the TOP of each page instead. Oh, and the same for Page Up. Very handy!

Love the lovely orange Christmas presents

• Dump box/coffee wacker (for used coffee grounds)


• Silicone spatula


• Umbrella


• Coin purse


• Tea towels


• Veuve Clicquot scarf


• Audi t-shirt


• Candle

And not orange but an absolutely fantastic gift from Mum & Dad – a cooking lesson at the Ruth Pretty Cooking School Can’t wait to see what lessons are on offer when the classes start again in March.

Did heaps of cooking this Christmas – way more than normal. Probably due to the fact that for the first time ever we were at home with no parents, just friends. Full photo documentary on the website but here’s a few selected snaps:

Will have to think about this one for a bit but I think I get it …

That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses.

Examples:

“I do not trust editorials that claim racial differences in intelligence.” 
 We would not know which editorials were being discussed without the that clause.

“The editorial claiming racial differences in intelligence, which appeared in the Sunday newspaper, upset me.” 
The editorial is already identified. Therefore, which begins a nonessential clause. 
 
NOTE: Essential clauses do not have commas surrounding them while nonessential clauses do contain commas.

Source: http://www.grammarbook.com

Welcome to Microsoft Office 2007 … very different. However, after a day of using it and eventually managing to carry out the basics in Word and Outlook, I’m getting used to it. It took me all day to find the quick print icon in Word though – one that I actually had to specify as wanting on the menu which I thought was strange.

Got challenged!! By the defence. After a huge delay following the first ballot we were taken into the court room at about 11am. I think I was about the 4 juror called up but I’m not sure if it was my clothes (opted for jeans and jacket this time), expression (vicious face looking down the barrel at all three lawyers), the accounting book that someone may have spied me reading in the waiting area, whatever it says about me on the electoral roll that the lawyers all fossick through when you’re name is called or my refusal of the bible as a crucial item to support me in being fair and honest, that caused them to challenge me. May have been an interesting case too – 8 counts of using funds that were due to the IRD inappropriately.

So, that’s it. Wonder how long until I’m called next?

I surreptitiously snapped this picture at Fuel WT this morning. How do these young guys keep their trousers up?? They have no hips. Gotta love those Jockey scants … <eyeroll>

I was such an old hand when I attended for Jury Service this morning. It was all so familiar seeing as I was there only 18 months ago. If you have served in the last 2 years you may use that as a reason to be excused but I’m not sure if this is just an option that exists or whether they track those who are called and/or attend and therefore don’t call them up again for 2 years. If this is the case, changing my name in the last 2 years obviously fooled them.

I was so well prepared for all the waiting – I took my Christmas cards and address list and stamps and got that job out of the way. Then I unveiled my book of accounting principles in the vague hope that in case that old  I’m-too-important-to-do-jury-service-in-my-suit look still didn’t prevent me from being chosen to sit on a jury, that looking like an accountant might!

Those of us who were not called in the first ballot were taken to a courtroom but I escaped that ballot as well so was on my way back to work by 11.30 with instructions to phone in tomorrow to see if I need to report again.