Petone is famous for its boutique shopping - all sorts of quirky shops to explore. Strolling Jackson Street, it's nice to see some retailers are decorating their windows for Easter. Of course, you'd expect the chocolate shop to be on to it ....
... and the same goes for the party shop.
But look at the bunnies on the British shop!
Oh, and look at the chicks in the shoe shop window!
The picture framer has a giant egg in the window!
And look at these gorgeous bunnies! Wait ... no, don't look at these gorgeous bunnies, children!
It might look like Cadbury's purple, but those are not eggs the bunnies are holding. You have sunk to a new low, Peaches and Cream!
These were words, spoken by Nixon, in his infamous resignation address to the nation, back in 1974. I remember where I was that day when I heard them. My sister was living in a crumbling old farm cottage, accessible only by a wandering track that lead to a bridge across a wee stream. The house was surrounded by paddocks that were full of flowering daffodils. We had earlier picked bunches of them, and she had retired to the bathroom for a nice mid-afternoon soak while I watched television. I remember feeling a little sad for Nixon, I have a tendency to root for the underdog and by this stage of the Watergate saga he was such a sad and broken man. He had clearly been involved in political shenanigans, much the same as most politicians, but had failed to adequately cover his tracks. While Americans seem happy to have fools and philanderers run their country, on this occasion a line was drawn in the sand and Nixon was judged to be well over it. Those words - I have never been a quitter - have often come to mind.
Waiting for action.
I have been enjoying the bubbly benefits of my new bathroom for a few weeks now, enjoying a relaxing soak while sipping tea, sometimes a light snack and possibly talking on the phone. But something has been missing. As my sister knew all those years ago, and what still is true to this very day, reading is an integral part of the perfect bath. But most of my reading these days involves my ipad. Facebook, newspapers, ePukapuka library books - I access them all on my wee mini. The perfect bath could only perfect be, if my ipad was there too. My friends said it couldn't be done - it was too risky a venture to contemplate, but those words of Nixon's echoed in my mind. And so I set out to achieve what others judged to be a folly. It has taken me a while to track down one of these bath shelves. This is an old one sourced from my favourite second-hand shop in Petone. It has really come up nicely with some boiled linseed oil. Further testing has revealed that the ipad works just fine through a zip-lock plastic bag.
Just add bubbles.
And so the big day has arrived, and I realise the possibilities for bath bliss are more than we could ever have imagined back in 1974. I'm thinking I will take the whole bath experience to a giddy new level and watch Episode 3 of Small Poppies, the new Rhys Darby television series that has been released by TVNZ 'on demand' before it is scheduled to screen. Isn't technology wonderful? Happy bathing, all!
