Bend in the Weather

I recently posted about the lovely present my wife got me for our 10 year anniversary.

Sadly, the watch is no more.

Whilst I did really like the watch it did appear flawed.
I've had numerous analog watches over the years with day/date displays and never had a problem. This one however, just didn't wish to stay set.

As a result, everytime we set the day/date, we would find it irregular with it setting either the day or date. What didn't make matters any easier is that it had French days as well as English days. So half the time you ended up looking at MER for Wed, VEN for Fri etc. Whilst this in itself didn't bother me too much (though I would prefer an English only watch), the randomness of the day/date and also the incorrect time display made it more a piece of metal than an accurate time-keeping piece of jewelery.

Whilst away on our anniversary, we decided that it might be a good idea to return and get something that actually worked.

We weren't sure if it was the actual watch faulty or was the model in question.

Luckily, I was able to swap over the piece as Pauline purchased without me there, and was reassured that if 'he doesn't like it' I could exchange it for another watch.

Whilst I did indeed love the watch and the thought behind it. The quality I didn't.
I've had several Citizen watches over the years, and this is the first one that was of dubious quality. I like Citizen watches as they traditionally fit my wrist well and last forever.

After some reviewing and being scared off on a Day/Date combination, I decided on a Citizen Eco watch.

You've probably heard of those watches that charge themselves by swinging your wrist whilst you walk? Those are indeed Eco-Watches.
Things have moved forward in recent years, and they are now solar powered.

That's right -- solar powered!
So I have a very environmentally friendly watch now... no nasty battery chemicals.

It takes a full 12 minutes in full sunlight to charge the watch for 180 days (~ 6 months!).
The entire watch face is actually a solar panel. (Pretty funky 'eh?!).
How does it store that much charge -- there is a battery inside that stores the electrical energy - though it's not a traditional watch battery -- thus the lack of nasty battery chemicals. (So I'm told).

The watch actually fits nicely and it has a nice Fold Over Clasp with a button to release the band. This is much better then the clasp system and ensures the watch doesn't spring open. (This was a common occurrence on my pre-anniversary watch!)

For those technically inclined here's the run down:
Maker: Citizen
Model: BM6272-59P
Range: Eco-Drive 180
Casing: Stainless steel case and bracelet.
Design: Champagne dial with gold tone hands and markers.
Movement Type: Eco-Drive Solar Quartz
Crystal: Hardened mineral Crystal for Superior Scratch Resistance.
Water Resistance: Water Resistant to 100m.
Warranty: 5 Years Manufacturer
Charging features: Charges in Sunlight or Indoors, never need to change the battery. 180 Day Power Reserve. Low Charge Indicator and Time Reset Advisory.

The watch has been cleverly thought out. If the charge is low the second hand will only move every 2^nd tick for 4 days (giving you an indication that the charge is low). After that, the time will stop, however once you return it to some form of light, it will return the time back. (I haven't tried this so I can't comment -- it seems pretty damn hard to not charge the watch!

It will even provide a full day charge under normal fluorescent lighting when exposed for 2 hours.

Previous generations of the Eco-watches were quite expensive, some still are. However if you're selective in your choice you will find that you can pick up one for around the same price as a good watch. (I picked this up for under $200!).

So if you hate the idea of having to change watch batteries (I always seemed to have one watch that had a dead battery at any given time!) take a look at an Eco-watch.

How time flies.

Tomorrow (2^nd May) Pauline and I will have been married for 10 years!
It only seems like yesterday that we were two scared kids wondering what the hell we were getting ourselves into.

We can honestly say that it's been a great 10 years. Whilst like every couple we have our ups and downs, we generally have more ups then downs. We've both grown together and stronger as individuals.

This year, is a big year for us. We are building our first house, and potentially may start a family after that. So life moves on, always throwing more challenges and adventures.

To celebrate the milestone, we're heading away for the weekend.
I'm taking a few days off work to extend the stay. We're not heading too far, but enough so that we're out of mobile phone range and the hum of computer power supply fans for a few days.

We've decided to head up to Healesville. For those unaware, it's located North-West of Melbourne in the Yarra Ranges.


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There is tonnes to do there, and we indeed to make good use of our time! We're hoping to get to Healesville Sanctuary (Pauline is an animal loving nut - this is a must stop for us!), The Hedgend Maze, The Yarra Valley Railway (time permitting), as well as visiting a bunch of wineries in the region (Map here) (I wish to stock up the ever diminishing supply of good Australian Red/White wine I have.)

It will be good to get away for a quiet retreat and leave computers, mobiles, television and most of the usual suspects that distract us.

As I've already blogged, I got Pauline an eternity ring to mark the occasion. Pauline returned the favour by surprising me today with my own present!

She came home with a lovely watch. My existing watch had been banged up quite a bit and was in need of a new battery (though it did tell the time correctly twice every day!).

She couldn't wait to give it to me (she was planning on surprising me on the day and had to show me straight away!

It is indeed lovely, it's quite easy to read, balanced beautifully and quite an attractive piece of jewelry. I'm extremely happy with it. (I would of personally picked something like this - she has got my taste down pat!).

It's fantastic, we now both have something lasting to remember the milestone.

So we've packed our bags, getting the dog looked after and heading out early tomorrow. (Friday).
The camera has been thrown in so we will hopefully take some photos of the picturesque country that is the Yarra Valley.
Pauline's selected a lovely apartment for us to stay in, and it's been furnished in a lovely traditional Japanese style. I'm looking forward to staying there, as it looks divine.

I won't be near a computer or Internet access for half the week, so I suspect the Email will still keep rolling in.
For those of you wanting a response, please SMS me (I'm not sure when we'll have coverage), or wait for our return.

Whilst the weather forecast isn't ideal, it is strangely very similar to the weather we had on our wedding day! In any event we have a number of indoor and outdoor activities planned so I'm sure we'll have a blast.