Walnuts and Books.

Every day this week I have managed to spend an hour shelling walnuts. There are sacks to get through, so on goes the radio and lights in the shed and I hammer away on the firm metal work bench.The photo shows this morning's effort (and I can see one I need to remove ) which are put in zip lock bags and into the deep freezer - they will keep for ages there and not go rancid or get weevils. ( the shells then go as mulch under the avocado trees ) It is great to know that walnuts are really good health food. The oleic acid they contain ( monounsaturated ) helps lower cholesterol and is good for the heart and arteries. See

http://www.crackernut.co.nz/eatwalnuts.html . My own cholesterol level has started to creep up a little over the last few years so I am hoping eating lots of walnuts and macadamia nuts and taking fish oil tablets will help lower it. I have a friend who was told by her doctor to do just that as the meds she was taking, for that purpose, didn't agree with her. I would much much rather take natural things or food to rectify a problem.

At the moment I am 2/3 of the way through Jenny Pattrick's latest NZ book," Landings. " It is fiction based on fact and set on the Whanganui River at the beginning of the 1900s. As it is not too far from where I grew up I know the area and have often driven beside the river, down the Parapara Road, when I was teaching at Owhango ( south of Taumaranui ) in the 1960s. This is the 5th book I have read by her and like them as there is plenty of fact in the stories. Her 3rd book, " Catching the Current, " is still my favourite, as it was set in NZ and in the Danish Faroe Islands.
Today's 3rd photo was taken on Tuesday afternoon when the sun shone on our backs as we took a walk along the beach and back. ( Yes, that's Mt. Maunganui in the distance )