From Sunrise... To Sunset...

I've been parked at one of my favourite places - Uretiti DoC camp - for the last week.
The weather has been varied with sun and some wind, some heavy rain and lighter showers.
Typical Northland end of autumn weather.
Fishing was possible a couple of times when the wind was off shore from the West - but no fish biting our bait.
I've been reading - as my last two blogs have indicated...  Also drinking more water, think I'm nearly up to my 2 litres a day.
It's a lot when I'm not used to it and I feel water logged often - but, I read,  it takes about a month for my body to become properly hydrated - then we will see...
I've also been walking more. I really enjoy walking and especially along the beach. It's right on my doorstep so no excuses.
These photos were yesterday, a heavy overcast day with the sea, sand and sky a symphony of grey then such a surprise in the evening to look out my window at the unexpected sunset.
It was a really nice end to the day.
I'm moving back to Whangarei today.
Outside things getting started on my bus...
So watch for photos of change and progress.
Also in keeping with the 'more exercise' resolution, I am looking at a second hand mountain bike that motor  homers returning to the UK want to sell.
So keep in touch... More things happening!

I'm Continuing To Read...

The same book...
It's fascinating.
In Phillip Day's books some things are repeated...
I own and have read lots of books on various aspects of health in my journey to take ownership of my own health and wellness needs.
Sometimes I read new things...
Things I absolutely did not know before and this except below is one of them...
I was reading the chapter on 'yeasts, fungi, parasites, bacteria, etc' and came to the heading...
'The connection between parasites and cancer'
"Cancer is a healing process that has not terminated upon completion of its task. Candida and other trouble-makers have a powerful ability to hurt our bodies, their thread-like mycelia penetrating and invading the walls of human cells to take root and feed. This damage initiates a healing process of these infected cells which can proceed uncontrolled into into a cancer tumor. This cancer is further fueled by the sugary diet of the patient which, in an acidic, anaerobic environment, produces alcohol waste products through fermentation, which in turn fuels the cancer further.
As fungi and yeasts, and their progeny - tumors - thrive, they secrete enzymes of their own to depress the immune system of the cells around them and rob them of their oxygen, thus maintaining their ideal fermentation environment, enabling them to invade and corrupt more cells.
Here we have the dynamic connection between parasites/yeasts/fungi and cancer ... cancer occurs commonly in areas of the body hosting tubes, ducts and storage areas where blood sugars can become trapped and bereft of oxygen, for this is where the critters can feed most gluttonously. Blood clots, stagnant lymph fluids, injuries that won't heal and benign tumors are also prime spots where blood sugars collect and provide fodder for opportunistic parasites. These then thrive and damage cells, which trigger the healing process, which replicates these mutated cells into tumors, etc.
Killing overgrowths of Candida, amd other parasties is not the only task necessary for a full and complete remission from diseases like cancer, heart complaints, multiple sclerosis and AIDS.
A reorganisation of your body into a well nourished, oxygen-rich, active and toxin free environment is essential to ensure that you cut off the food supply to these insidious and selfish beasties, and boost immune function and cleansing to restore your body to its rightful health."

If cancer is an issue in your life or in your family do look for his book...
'Cancer: Why We're Still Dying to Know the Truth.'

Heart Disease and Cancer are the two leading causes of death...
Why?...
It's the question about everything I had asked all my life and I'm still finding answers about all sorts of things.
The general doctors don't tell us these things...
Why?...
Well maybe the cure isn't in pharmecutical drugs and the standard radiation therapy.
If its not then the big drug companies don't make any money...
And that's what it's all about...
So why would they promote any other cure?
Is it time to take responsibility for our own health...
I think so.
If the above excerpt is true, and I see no reason for it not to be, but I don't have any references to support it until I buy the 'Cancer...' book...
Then our health and longevity is all up to us - the individual.

I bought my last two books online through Fishpond and ABE Books who both deal in new and second hand books. Both, including postage, or in one case free postage from the UK were very cheap.

Another Book I'm Reading...

 I've been sick with the flu and spent the weekend in bed getting well.
I'm up and about today, feeling much better but still sneezing and nose blowing.
I hardly ever get sick, and when I do it's always the same thing - a cold or flu.
Daily I take the full regime of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C.
Now, more than usual I am eating raw garlic, ginger,onions...
All to endeavour to boost my immune system - which is where all sickness and disease starts.
Pursuing health, anti ageing medicines and uncovering the pharmacutical lies and marketing myths and greed, is one of my passions in life.
Primarily for myself then to pass onto others.
While I was in bed I started reading this book - it's a follow on from 'Health Wars' which I have already told you about.
Written by Phillip Day it puts the principles of longevity and healthy eating into action.
Phillip says he is strong, vital and has been disease free for 25 years...
I met him at a seminar recently and the evidence was before my eyes.
It also enlarges on the six principles of longevity...
1. Live in a toxin-free environment (as best we can)...
2. Strive to be an alkalised body system (80% akaline 20% acid)...
3. Be well hydrated - eat real salt (Himalayan)...
4. Eat natural, properly constituted food, a high percentage raw...
5. Exercise properly by regularly raising your heart rate...
6. Maintain an overriding optimism and positive spritiual outlook for the future...
My current goals are to drink more water...
2 litres a day not including tea, coffee, alcohol or soda's...
He provides 46 reasons why we should...
And do something more about exercise...
Lack of exercise produces a lowering of the body's immune defences and it's ability to absorb oxygen and keep circuation flowing freely.
Do you know that a brisk 20 minute walk activates fat-burning enzymes for twelve hours...
So a walk every 12 hours!
Interval exercise is best - which varies your heart rate with short bursts of intense activity - maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age.
So I'm thinking what to do about this, living, as I do in my house bus...
I think a bike would be the answer.
I can carry it with me...
And use it whenever I want to...
Every day!

Making Choices...

I saw this card the other day and bought it to send to a friend who has been very special in my life for a long time. 
A friend I really appreciate.
We have been through ups and downs together and come out the other side of both.
We have both had children and through the years we can tend to get swallowed up by others and feel we have lost our own identity and ask the question "Who Am I?"
This card says...
"Sometimes The Best Way To Figure Out Who You Are Is To Get To That Place Where You Don't Have To Be Anything Else."
 I love this picture of these 'old' girls laughing, enjoying themselves and not being self conscious.
Go girls go...
David Riddell, counsellor in Nelson, has a book of  'Daily Insights.'
One of them says...
"We do not discover who we are by searching for ourselves. Rather, we create who we are by the daily choices we make."
So 'Go girls go'...
If you haven't already done so, take the first step today in taking control and make different choices...
Unless you are totally satisfied with how you are of course!

Early Morning View Out my Front Window...

This morning I pulled up my blinds to be confronted by the dazzling lights of Auto Tech's workshop.
Shock horrors!
Was this the 'real' world of people going to work?
No...
I'm sure I live in the 'real' world in my bus mostly at the beach somewhere.
But I am very thankful for the guys at Auto Tech, they help to keep my bus going and safe on the road.
 Last night I parked in their yard in Whangarei.
Three little jobs needed finishing.
A spanner fuse - somewhere amongst the new battery set up...
A fuel gauge sender in the diesel tank so that the fuel gauge on the dashboard is correct...
And the flashing ignition light fixed - whatever the problem might be.
Well the first two got done, no problems, while I went shopping...
Yes again!
The ignition light turned out to be more of a problem.
I needed a new regulator - it lives in the engine close to the alternator that has just been repaired. Apparently one affects the other, and the regulator - for those who are ignorant like I was...
regulates the charge going into all the batteries...
I'm learning fast!
So an overnight stay was required while the part was delivered, the work was done and I was off.
Today I'm off...
Back to the beach where 'real' life happens.
A south west wind for long line balloon fishing this afternoon...

Yummy Pancakes...

I made pancakes for breakfast yesterday...
Shared them with a friend who told me they are his favourite breakfast.
I'm not in the mood for cooking first thing in the morning usually...
But sometimes I am.
These have Ricotta in them so they are very light.
I had mine with blueberries...
I keep a bag in my small freezer. I thaw them in a pot with a little water, add 1/2 teaspoon of cornflour and a spoon of honey to sweeten.
My friend had his with freshly squeezed lemon juice and maple syrup...
Both are delicious.
Here is the recipe
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes3/4 cup self raising flour (I put 1/2 cup white & 1/4 cup wholemeal)
2 tabs caster sugar (I used brown)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used milk powder)
150gr ricotta (think I put about 250gr & less milk)
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
1 teasp vanilla essence (I don't put this)
Mix flour & sugar (& milk powder if using )in a bowl, add eggs, milk ricotta, lemon & vanailla
Stir to combine.
Set aside for 10 minutes.
Cook in a non-stick pan till golden.
Make them big or small & serve with topping of your choice.

Shifting The House Batteries... A Wiring Nightmare!

In the process of repairing the alternator, which I have told you about before, it was decided by all brains concerned, that the house batteries should be shifted from their very inaccessible position in both back corners under the bed to the outside locker next to the starter batteries.
Also the house batteries needed to be connected to the motor and starter batteries via a Voltage Sensing Regulator.
This means - for those that were ignorant, like me - that the house batteries instead of relying totally on solar to charge, charge while the motor is running.
First the motor charges the starting batteries then this amazing switch sends the charge to the house batteries. On a long enough drive all batteries are charged and overflowing.
The brains and skill behind doing this is Geoff Spencer - pictured - who knew exactly what he was doing amidst the jumble of wires.
He lives not far from where I was parked at Uretiti DoC camp.  I moved to his place where he could work on a concrete pad, taking cover during the frequent rain squalls, instead of sodden wet grass.
As you can see he pulled out meters and meters of surplus wire.

 

The batteries had been installed under the bed so moving them required dismantling the bed and taking the wooden base out.
All this got propped up in my living room.
To make matters worse it was raining so nothing could be put outside...
I'm told adversity develops character!
So that done, the 'underneaths' were exposed.
Under the pink batts is the 210litre fresh water tank and either side of that one battery and more meters and meters of wires.
The end result, a very tidy outside locker with all the batteries interconnected.
Now the batteries are moved the resulting empty space will be made into lockers accessible from the outside.
Thank you Geoff, a great job. I will be going back to see him to install my new solar panel and reversing camera when my new cargo box and roof rack are built.

Gourmet Food From the Market...

I'm back in Whangarei parked in the Town Basin for a week. It's very central so I can walk to most places.
This morning I got up early and walked to the market.
It is a place of food delights.
I am limited to buying what I can carry home...
That's a good thing.
Today I found some Dutch cheeses, the 'Very Old Edam' won the 'Cuisine Champion Cheese Award 2012'.
I also got some Cumin & Blue.

To eat with these, some German Rye and Sesame seed bread
and a little onion baguette.
Some home made passionfruit curd and apricot & date chutney...
Extra large organic eggs...
Organic Sundried tomato & basil sausages and some fillet steak...
From Waima Hill...
It's so hard to find organic meat.
Spray  free avocados, capsicums, tomatoes...
And mandarins from Kerikeri, the seller told me haven't been sprayed for 25 years...
He also told me the supermarkets won't buy off him...
Shame on them.
Beautiful garlic...
Gluten free Pepperoni Salami from Kaitaia...
Some Orongo Bay, Bay of Islands, Oysters.
Crunchy little carrots.
My baskets were heavy but I made it back to my bus.
I will be feasting this week.
We are totally spoilt at this market, growers and producers from all round Northland.
All I need to do is go and buy it.
If you are in the area do visit, it opens at 6.30am till 10am...
So the early bird catches the worm.

Life's A Beach... Or Is It...

Life's a beach... Or so they say.
Which one do you prefer?
A friend sent me a clip from U Tube, of the most crowded, populated places in the world.
This is a beach somewhere in Asia.
The one below is Uretiti where I have just spent two weeks...
Wonderful deserted wilderness.
Is it what we get used to?
What we grow up with?
How we develop our personal space?
Whatever it is... I don't want to go swimming in this soup of people.
Uretiti, where I can walk for miles and not see another person...
Where I can pick up shells, gather shell fish to eat...Swim...
Kayak...
Play on my Boogie Board...
I know where I would rather be...
We are very fortunate in New
Zealand to have such wide open spaces.

How To Live Life... Stress Free!

When I was in Sydney recently visiting my daughter she had this on her fridge.
There's lots of this sort of thing around but I particularly liked the suggestions on this one.
All quite simple really.
In a book I mentioned a few days ago - 'Health Wars' - it mentions the impact that stress has on health and well being.
It is very destructive.
I'm going to print this poster and  put it on my fridge as a daily reminder...
Pick one thing each day and DO it...

Wisdom... Or Hindsight...

I saw this sign on the footpath outside a shop recently. It caused me to stop and, obviously, take a photo...
But also to consider the truth behind this thought.
Is life a game?
There is no restart button...
Unless you believe in reincarnation or similar.
So it made me wonder, what would I do differently if I had the opportunity...
What would I want to do again...
What do I want to do now...
If I could press restart, where would I go back to...
What age...
What event.
Or am I happy where I am, using the past as wisdom for the future.
Many philosophers would say we only have today...
Yesterday has gone...
Tomorrow may not come...
So for me I value today, I live it as if it was my last, have fun, love myself and others. Do something significant...
A walk, read a book, have lunch with a friend, enjoy the outdoors.
I'm doing all those things right where I am...
Today.

Beautiful Bohemian Bedspread...

As I settle into my new - to me - house bus I'm thinking about how I want to put some things in it to make it 'mine'.
I saw this beautiful spread on Moon to Moon, a wonderful blog for all sorts of decorating and interior and garden ideas.
I would love it make it - but don't know how.
If anybody knows how, or who could make it for me I would love to hear.

Water... Water... And Not A Drop To Drink...

I had run out of water...
Oh dear?
I am very economical with water and at Uretiti DoC Camp there are fresh water taps so never a shortage...
But my 210 liter tank had run dry.
I suspect it's the marine toilet I have that is using all the water.
I emptied the grey water out onto the sand and there wasn't much...
So where has all the water gone.
Because I don't have any starter batteries or an alternator just now...
Still waiting for the alternator to be fixed...
Auckland must be a bit of a slow place!
I can't move my bus...
So the water had to come to the bus.
Too far to run a hose, also the taps here are very peculiar.
The best water flow taps have no handle to turn them on...
So a 'key' is needed...
Which I have.
I don't know what Doc woud expect people to do in the case of a fire?  No water.
So it was fill up all the 10 liter containers then, thanks to my friend's brain wave...
Pump it into the the water tank with the 12 volt bilge pump.
I have a 12 volt extension cord so it reached from the front of the bus where I plugged it in, out the door to the back of the bus where the water tank is.
9 trips to the water tap and 180 liters of water and the tank was full.

Muffins... From A Famous Source

I'm making muffins to eat with morning coffee...
What recipe to use?
For the past 26 or more years I have been visiting the Wholemeal Cafe in Takaka when I am in that part of the country. Find out more here.
It's a beautiful part of New Zealand and I have family who live there so it's been a regular place to go.
I love the food there and the ambience in the cafe. It has changed over the years, got bigger, and lost some of its original charm but is still a favourite place.
I have the 1st cookbook with 3 muffin recipies in it. The Wholemeal muffins are always good and this recipe is always successful.
I adapted the recipe to be Spicy/fruit muffins for Easter and have made them again since then.

Blueberry and Pineapple Muffins
3 cups plain flour (I put 2 white & 1 wholemeal. I use self raising)
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup or less)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I used 3 tsp)
1 tsp ground ginger
juice & finely grated rind of 2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
75g soft butter (I didn't put this)
1 cup milk (I used 1/2 milk 1/2 water)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple (I used 1&1/2 cups Xmas fruit mince)
1 cup blueberries
Icing sugar for sprinkling
Sift flour into a bowl. Add all dry ingred & mix with a fork.
In another container slightly stir eggs, milk, butter, lemon juice & rind, pineapple & pour over flour.
Fold together using a knife. Add blueberries last.
Do not overmix, they will be tough, mixture should look lumpy.
Spoon into well oiled muffin pans. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg C 12-15 mins or until golden brown.
Leave in pan 5 mins to cool. Lift out onto wire rack.
Sprinkle with icing sugar.
They are delicious and won't last long!

The Littlest Room...

I have shown you my bathroom before...
But now I am settling into my new home and learning how it all functions...
I have decided that the marine toilet that is currently installed is not something I am going to keep long term.
It requires pumping to flush and uses a lot of water.
These toilets are ideal for the place they are designed for - on boats where there is unlimited water.
But to use so much of my 210 liters of precious water that I carry is not ideal long term.
I have also been told that if they go wrong they are a 'shitty' nightmare to clean out and fix - considering there is a 135 litre holding tank underneath...
It might be full!
So I have been researching other options and the best so far is the composting toilet pictured here. If you Google 'Airhead Composting Toilets' you will find out about them.
This one would fit into my existing space. The liquids go into the front container which is emptied spearately. The solids go into a holding bucket that is part filled with damp peat, it has a crank handle to turn it over and in 2 months the result is a dry composted mix that can be tipped into the garden or into a rubbish bag for disposal.
No water is used at all!
If you have any experience with these toilets I would love to hear from you.

Books... And More Books...

I love books...
I love reading them...
I like looking at them...
I like being surrounded by them.
A while back there was a comment on my blog expressing interest in what the books on my shelf are...
So, as it's a wild wet day and I'm inside I thought I would tell you about some of them and about one in particular.

Lots of them I haven't read yet, that's why I have given them space in my house bus.
I have about 20 more boxes of books in storage, some university books, many specalist counselling books, some treasures that belonged to my mother...
So when I have read these ones I will either give them away or swap them for some more in my boxes.

So starting from the left...
Suduko It stimulates my brain in a different pattern.
Scrabble Players Dictionary, I don't play so much but used to play online with a friend,  I must get back to it.
'The Poisonwood Bible' came highly recommended. I've had it for a long time and haven't got round to reading it. Set in 1959 in the Belgian Congo, an unforgettable epic that chronicles the disintigration of a family and a nation.
'The Fatal Shore' by Robert Hughes, the fleet sent in 1787 by the British Govt to colonise Australia. An opus on the convict years. I have been on the lookout for this book for ages and found it recently in a 2nd hand bookshop.
'Six Hours One Friday'. I've had this book a long time, I've read half of it and want to finish it. Easter, Good Friday. Three bodies are nailed to three crosses, one of the bodies is that of an extraordinary man... Jesus. Find out why: Your life is not futile... Your failures are not fatal... Your death is not final...
'The Planets' by Dava Sobel, a science journalist, her most ambitious topic to date, the planets of our solar system, whether revealing what lies behind Venus's cocoon of acid clouds or recalling her personal encounter with moon dust, this intimate account is filled with fascination, beauty and surprise. I can't wait to read this.
And last but not least for today - 'Health Wars', by Phillip Day. Pub: Credence Publications. www.credence.org.
I recently went to an evening seminar given by this man who travels the world endeavouring to bring the facts in this book and in the many others he has written to peoples attention. It encourages us to take responsibility for our own health and well being and not rely so heavily on hospitals, doctors and drugs all funded by the huge encroaching greed of pharmaceutical corporations. It's a fascinating book with some truths that will shake the myths you believe.
 

Hunters and Gatherers...

The weather is getting cooler and it's the time of the year for lighting the fire.
My friend has a 'Little Cracker' fire in his bus.
I have a diesel heater.
We both love the fire so when we are parked somewhere long enough we gather firewood, cut it up into a wood pile
I love it...
It's very therapeutic and satisfying.
I climbed over the fence outside my door and fossicked in the sand hills. This is the area between the Uretiti DoC camp and the beach.
There used to be a lot of pine trees here but they have been cut down in the name of safety.
They were cleared from the camp area but left to rot in the sandhills...
So fire wood abounds.

 

Alternator's... And Auto Electricians...

My first breakdown...
I have a 120 litre 3-way fridge. It had been running on LPG.
I decided that as I only have 2 x 9kg LPG bottles that last about 20 days each...
And in the interest of being self sufficient and being able to get lost in the wilderness for weeks on end...
That I would switch the fridge onto the solar powered batteries...
At the moment I have 2 x 85watt panels on the roof feeding into 2 x 220 amp hour house batteries.
There is a meter inside that tells me how many amp hours are going into the batteries and what their level of charge is...
So everything was fine and life went merrily on...
Until Friday morning I decided to put some music on in the CD player that runs off the starter motor.
Funny...
It wouldn't go.
So I tried the CB radio which sits on top of the CD player on the front dashboard...
It wouldn't go either.
So nothing for it...
Start the motor...
But...
It wouldn't go either.
Oh dear! What now!
Call the AA Breakdown...
It's a good thing I have recently upgraded my membership to 'Motorhome Plus' which means they will come out to a vehicle as big as mine and tow me to a garage if needed.
So a mechanic duly arrived and isolated the problem...
The fridge is connected to the starter batteries, not the solar powered house batteries.
So it had drained the batteries while I have been parked.
This exposed another much older problem...
The alternator wasn't charging the batteries from the motor when it was running.
But...
Said the mechanic...
This is a job for an Auto Electrician...
Here's a name and number...
Give him a call.

This Auto El had his head under another vehicle somewhere else but would give me a call if he was free before next week.
A couple of hours later I got a call, his next job had been cancelled and he was on his way to me.

What a wonderful 'find' this man turned out to be...
A real 'old timer' who had grown up with these old motors and knew exactly what to do and what screws and bits needed to be taken out and fixed.
He made sense of the jumble of wires attached to the batteries.
I have an Isuzu 6BD1 motor, athough it's new to this vehicle 10 years ago, he told me it's a motor from the early 1990's.
The most reasurring thing was that he can fix the alternator, it needs new brushes.
He also took the batteries away to charge them.
When he brings it all back on Tuesday I will be up and running again.
We agreed that Uretiti DoC beach camp is a great place to be broken down and stranded. I wasn't planning on going anywhere for a couple of weeks anyway.
You can see how in these old Bedford's the motor is accessed - not the easiest thing. The engine cover is lifted off, the motor and grass below is exposed and in the recesses is the alternator.
The amazing thing about this man is that he can also fix the fuel tank guage which isn't working.
He told me where to go to get the Speedo re-calibrated - that isn't working either!
He is going to look at the wiring for the fridge and when I get a big roof rack made with more solar panels on one side and room for my kayak on the other side, he is going to wire in the panels and re-wire the fridge...
So my desire to be self sufficient for a long time will come to pass.
He is also going to wire in a reversing camera for me...
So in another month when all these things have happened...