Hi,
Well, I was all set to tell you about our lovely evening yesterday but I see Mike stole my thunder. You may wonder why I was unaware of Mike's post. Well, when we got home last night I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I vaguely recall Mike wanting to blog, but I never saw any of it.
I also had an impressive ride yesterday. Jonathan's house is in Wade St and from Wadestown Road up to Wade St you have to climb Roscoe Terrace. After the slog up Wadestown Rd, you hit the bit that levels out behind the library. Roscoe Terrace goes up steeply from there (so no time to regain any energy) - with about 100m of road that is tarsealed goat track straight up a cliff. My legs were like jelly at the top and the stop sign was a welcome sight.
This morning is exceptional here in Wellington. Blue skies and no wind. My ride in was lovely. I've already eaten my Weetbix and polished off the nice cup of tea. Let's see what the day holds in store.
Love,
Angela xx
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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Dinner with Aidan and Josh
All that biking was mainly so that we could all go around for dinner with Aidan and Josh. We got to see their new house and eat yummy home made burgers. Mmm-mmm! Toby was very happy to see Duncan and Emmerson and play with them. If we'd been thinking, and adventurous, we'd have sorted out a sleep over with them I think.
Angela left work around 4:30 to retrieve Toby from his play date and drive him around. After a lot of procrastination and delaying the inevitable, I slunk out of work an hour later. I really wasn't looking forward to the ride up the hill at all. But it was great fun. As luck would have it we all ended up pulling up outside their house at exactly the same time, too. Angela had brought me a change of clothes and I had a quick shower there so ended up refreshed and human!
So after a great evening of conversation punctuated by climbs onto the roof to retrieve various flying toys, off we set armed with plenty of books from their bookshelf. It was so nice too for me to be able to put my back-pack and all my junk into the boot of the car and ride home au natural (so to speak). I think that Josh and Aidan were a little bit horrified I was riding back in the dark, but I think their minds were set to rest when I showed them my day-glo jacket and dazzled them with my freshly batteried-up strobing lights.
And I rode this morning (2)
19.85km, 1h 22m 15s, avg 14.48 km/h, max 58.9 km/h (down the hill from crofton downs to the bottom of Wilton Bush).
That included a 12 minute slog up Old Porirua Road.
When I rode from Southbank to Camberwell I'd do that sort of distance every single day. But they don't build Melbourne like they do Wellington!!
Now I'm lying in bed gulping water.
And I rode this morning
Angela worked out the logistics just nicely so that I had to take Toby in by bike, and then after work I have to ride to Khandallah (about 10km away, up the side of a mountain), and finally I have to ride home. Whew.
It was all good this morning - but only cos I don't have a 9am meeting. In spite of getting up at 6:15, and getting Toby up at 7:00 sharp, guess what? We weren't riding down the hill until 8:08 and I didn't get to work until 9:00. It's all about the end game - it doesn't matter how well the morning goes, it's all down to the time between the words 'ok Toby, it's time to go now' and when we're actually leaving the property. Take your eye off the ball in those critical minutes and it's all over.
My stats were: 8.23km, 32min 57s, avg 14.99 km/h, max 54.6 km/h. Not too bad for all the up hill and down dale with Toby on the back. Oh, and I think I'm more cautious coming down the hill now - I'll always have a 55 km/h or so max cos there's one section that's straight and clear that you can fly down, but I think I go a bit slower on the windy bits now. I certainly did today, there was traffic and pedestrians and suchlike to play with me...
Yes, yes, I was thinking as I rode in that Sally probably has moved to the Terrrace. Woo Hoo!! Lunches in Midland Park. When? Today?
It was all good this morning - but only cos I don't have a 9am meeting. In spite of getting up at 6:15, and getting Toby up at 7:00 sharp, guess what? We weren't riding down the hill until 8:08 and I didn't get to work until 9:00. It's all about the end game - it doesn't matter how well the morning goes, it's all down to the time between the words 'ok Toby, it's time to go now' and when we're actually leaving the property. Take your eye off the ball in those critical minutes and it's all over.
My stats were: 8.23km, 32min 57s, avg 14.99 km/h, max 54.6 km/h. Not too bad for all the up hill and down dale with Toby on the back. Oh, and I think I'm more cautious coming down the hill now - I'll always have a 55 km/h or so max cos there's one section that's straight and clear that you can fly down, but I think I go a bit slower on the windy bits now. I certainly did today, there was traffic and pedestrians and suchlike to play with me...
Yes, yes, I was thinking as I rode in that Sally probably has moved to the Terrrace. Woo Hoo!! Lunches in Midland Park. When? Today?
Good morning on Thurs, Jan 29
Hi,
I had a pleasant surprise on the ride in this morning. As I popped out of parliament carpark I bumped into Sally walking to work. Her work location has changed to 1 The Terrace. So we chatted for a bit. Now we have to sort out lunch halfway down The Terrace and make it a regualr event!
Not much else to report. Toby went to the beach yesterday with KidsCo as the excursion. I asked him what beach he went to and he said "Sally and Andrew's beach". Heheheheh. But there was no swimming as it was cold (it did warm up yesterday afternoon though).
This afternoon Toby has a playdate with Jonathan and Dad will collect him from KidsCo and drop him off. I'll ride to Jonathan's house to collect Toby for dinner at the Tabors. The Tabors have moved to Khandallah - not far from my parent's house. Mike will ride his bike straight there - into the strenghtening nor'wester. poor chap. But it is good for him! Heheheh.
Mike went to the tramping club and has book in weekend tramps. In fact, on Feb 14 weekend all three of us are doing the Paua Hut walk. Woo hoo! Mike has booked in at least one other tramp for himself.
Have a marvellous day.
Love,
Angela
I had a pleasant surprise on the ride in this morning. As I popped out of parliament carpark I bumped into Sally walking to work. Her work location has changed to 1 The Terrace. So we chatted for a bit. Now we have to sort out lunch halfway down The Terrace and make it a regualr event!
Not much else to report. Toby went to the beach yesterday with KidsCo as the excursion. I asked him what beach he went to and he said "Sally and Andrew's beach". Heheheheh. But there was no swimming as it was cold (it did warm up yesterday afternoon though).
This afternoon Toby has a playdate with Jonathan and Dad will collect him from KidsCo and drop him off. I'll ride to Jonathan's house to collect Toby for dinner at the Tabors. The Tabors have moved to Khandallah - not far from my parent's house. Mike will ride his bike straight there - into the strenghtening nor'wester. poor chap. But it is good for him! Heheheh.
Mike went to the tramping club and has book in weekend tramps. In fact, on Feb 14 weekend all three of us are doing the Paua Hut walk. Woo hoo! Mike has booked in at least one other tramp for himself.
Have a marvellous day.
Love,
Angela
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
And I drove in this morning
Drove. All the way in! I even drove past a bus, then past a place to park and meet that bus!
Yesterday was just too much hassle. Toby and I rode to KidsCo and then I rode into work. All went pretty well but it took the best part of an hour door to door. By the time I got still-on-Sydney-time Toby out of bed and out the door, it meant I was late for an external meeting and then chasing my tail all morning.
So today we drove. Drove! All the way! And it was marvellous.
But things were even slower this morning. I slept in, Toby slept in, I had lots of jobs to do in the morning... but we were away by 8:15 and I was at work by 8:45. Wonderful.
We've been trying to coordinate a play date with Toby's friend Jonathan. It's pinned down to TOMORROW now. Toby has swimming with KidsCo today (I hope he has his togs - I didn't double check his bag!) so tomorrow afternoon he can go play with Jonathan. I'll ring and coordinate everything.
Tomorrow, though, we'll make a concerted effort to ride. As long as we're away by 7:45 or so, and I am terse (not chatty) with the KidsCo staff, then all should be fine. And it's good for me after all! My body ached a bit after all that up hills and down dales, especially with some extra ballast on the back.
Good morning on Wed, Jan 28
Hi,
It wasn't a bad ride in this morning but the southerly has given us lower temperatures than usual. And although it is forecast warmer for the rest of the week, rain is falling on most of the days! Never mind - because I have Monday and Tuesday off! Yippee! I'll spend some time with Toby before school starts on Wednesday. He needs shoes and a haircut. And quality time with his mother.
Last night Dad collected wee Toby from KidsCo so I didn't need to ride there to get him. It meant a nice early start to dinner. I think Dad might do the same again today if I'm lucky. Mind you, I have no idea what to cook for tea tonight. Hmmmm. Homemade pizzas? I'd better buy the ingredients today then.
Not much else to report. Our evening went well. I fell into a coma very early (perhaps it was 9.30?).
Have a great day. It is midweek, after all.
Love,
Angela
It wasn't a bad ride in this morning but the southerly has given us lower temperatures than usual. And although it is forecast warmer for the rest of the week, rain is falling on most of the days! Never mind - because I have Monday and Tuesday off! Yippee! I'll spend some time with Toby before school starts on Wednesday. He needs shoes and a haircut. And quality time with his mother.
Last night Dad collected wee Toby from KidsCo so I didn't need to ride there to get him. It meant a nice early start to dinner. I think Dad might do the same again today if I'm lucky. Mind you, I have no idea what to cook for tea tonight. Hmmmm. Homemade pizzas? I'd better buy the ingredients today then.
Not much else to report. Our evening went well. I fell into a coma very early (perhaps it was 9.30?).
Have a great day. It is midweek, after all.
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Good morning on Tues, Jan 27
Hi,
I think I rode to work in low cloud this morning. It was a weird misty rain that I think was just cloud! I didn't get very wet. However, Mike might decide against riding to KidsCo with Toby. Toby no longer has a date with Jonathan this afternoon so Dad doesn't need to collect him at 1330. But his friend Maddie starts KidsCo today so I think Toby will be very pleased.
The weather for the rest of the week looks fine - and this cloud is supposed to burn off by the afternoon. We shall see!
Mike and Toby had a good ride home from KidsCo last night although Mike got scared riding up the hill slowly when Toby decided to lean over and pick a flower for me! They nearly toppled over. And it was quite a main road too. Needless to say, Toby is now almost fully trained in road riding etiquette! Mike even says he has got Toby to stop honking as he pedals (honking is flopping the bike back and forth as you pedal hard). It was scary for me to go slowly up a hill and have Toby swing the bke back and forth. Very much the tail wagging the dog. And with his strong legs actually making a difference on uphills I was loathe to ask him to stop pedalling!
I hope you all have a marvellous day. I need my tea and Weetbix.
Love,
Angela
I think I rode to work in low cloud this morning. It was a weird misty rain that I think was just cloud! I didn't get very wet. However, Mike might decide against riding to KidsCo with Toby. Toby no longer has a date with Jonathan this afternoon so Dad doesn't need to collect him at 1330. But his friend Maddie starts KidsCo today so I think Toby will be very pleased.
The weather for the rest of the week looks fine - and this cloud is supposed to burn off by the afternoon. We shall see!
Mike and Toby had a good ride home from KidsCo last night although Mike got scared riding up the hill slowly when Toby decided to lean over and pick a flower for me! They nearly toppled over. And it was quite a main road too. Needless to say, Toby is now almost fully trained in road riding etiquette! Mike even says he has got Toby to stop honking as he pedals (honking is flopping the bike back and forth as you pedal hard). It was scary for me to go slowly up a hill and have Toby swing the bke back and forth. Very much the tail wagging the dog. And with his strong legs actually making a difference on uphills I was loathe to ask him to stop pedalling!
I hope you all have a marvellous day. I need my tea and Weetbix.
Love,
Angela
Monday, January 26, 2009
Good morning on Mon, Jan 26
Happy Australia Day to the Aussie contingent. Toby came home waving an Aussie flag so it is obvious he is coming home just in time to stop any brainwashing. Heheheheh.
He was very excited to see us at the airport. He ran through ahead of my parents. Mum and Dad were exhausted by their "holiday" and are recovering at home now. Toby was pleased with the helium balloons we had at the airport to welcome him back. He was even more pleased once we got home to see his bedroom and toys. He said how nice it was to be back in his house. He was all over me and Mike - I got many kisses.
We had a very nice evening with Vivienne, John and Benjamin. There were Christmas gifts exchanged and we had a Toby favourite meal - spaghetti bolognese.
Wee Toby went to bed very well. I read him a new book he got for Christmas (he loved it - it is called Dinosaurs love Underpants and he giggles a lot as I read it) and he climbed up to bed. After about 5 minutes he called out he wasn't sleepy. Not surprising as it was only 6pm Sydney time. I got him some books to read and I told him he had to stay in bed but he could read until whenever he wanted. There was no other peep from him. Well, apart from some reading noises for a wee while as he got into some book or other. I may well have fallen asleep before him but I don't know.
This morning I was late to work as I let Toby sleep in. He woke at about 8.15 - so not too bad. We rode to KidsCo on the bike and Toby is so much stronger now. He can pedal and help so much! I dropped him off and there was only a little moan about KidsCo. But he went straight to some toys and seemed happy. I left his bike locked to a post outside. Mike will ride to collect him at about 1700. He has his bike gloves, safety vest and a jersey in his backpack with his helmet attached.
I am very pleased to have wee Toby back. Mum said it may have been a little too long for his first big holiday without us. But I think it has made him even more independent. So, thank you to the Sydney family for looking after him so well. I can tell he loved it.
Have a great week! The weather here is exceptional!
Love,
Angela
He was very excited to see us at the airport. He ran through ahead of my parents. Mum and Dad were exhausted by their "holiday" and are recovering at home now. Toby was pleased with the helium balloons we had at the airport to welcome him back. He was even more pleased once we got home to see his bedroom and toys. He said how nice it was to be back in his house. He was all over me and Mike - I got many kisses.
We had a very nice evening with Vivienne, John and Benjamin. There were Christmas gifts exchanged and we had a Toby favourite meal - spaghetti bolognese.
Wee Toby went to bed very well. I read him a new book he got for Christmas (he loved it - it is called Dinosaurs love Underpants and he giggles a lot as I read it) and he climbed up to bed. After about 5 minutes he called out he wasn't sleepy. Not surprising as it was only 6pm Sydney time. I got him some books to read and I told him he had to stay in bed but he could read until whenever he wanted. There was no other peep from him. Well, apart from some reading noises for a wee while as he got into some book or other. I may well have fallen asleep before him but I don't know.
This morning I was late to work as I let Toby sleep in. He woke at about 8.15 - so not too bad. We rode to KidsCo on the bike and Toby is so much stronger now. He can pedal and help so much! I dropped him off and there was only a little moan about KidsCo. But he went straight to some toys and seemed happy. I left his bike locked to a post outside. Mike will ride to collect him at about 1700. He has his bike gloves, safety vest and a jersey in his backpack with his helmet attached.
I am very pleased to have wee Toby back. Mum said it may have been a little too long for his first big holiday without us. But I think it has made him even more independent. So, thank you to the Sydney family for looking after him so well. I can tell he loved it.
Have a great week! The weather here is exceptional!
Love,
Angela
Friday, January 23, 2009
Good morning on Fri, Jan 23
Hi,
Shhh - don't tell Toby but we have started decluttering his bedroom. It will require a lot of work again tonight but I think we'll finish it. Then we have Saturday to tidy up and I desperately need to get into the garden. It is a complete mess. However, I do have a few tomatoes on my plants and the gooseberry bush has sprouted some new leaves from its 2 centimetre shorn off branches. So there may be life left in it yet!
We probably need to do a run to the tip tomorrow with quite a few bags of rubbish from Toby's room. And I might get loads of weeds as well.
Of course, the biggest excitement is for Sunday afternoon when Toby and my parents return from Sydney. I spoke to Toby yesterday when he kindly took 1 minute out of his hectic play schedule to talk to me. Feel free to pop around for dinner on Sunday. It'll be an early dinner (and probably a Toby favourite like spaghetti bolognese). There are some presents to open for him still. And there are some Lewis presents under the tree too!
Oh well. There's Friday to get through still. The cloud is supposed to lift to display a glorious day. Bring it on!
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela xxx
Shhh - don't tell Toby but we have started decluttering his bedroom. It will require a lot of work again tonight but I think we'll finish it. Then we have Saturday to tidy up and I desperately need to get into the garden. It is a complete mess. However, I do have a few tomatoes on my plants and the gooseberry bush has sprouted some new leaves from its 2 centimetre shorn off branches. So there may be life left in it yet!
We probably need to do a run to the tip tomorrow with quite a few bags of rubbish from Toby's room. And I might get loads of weeds as well.
Of course, the biggest excitement is for Sunday afternoon when Toby and my parents return from Sydney. I spoke to Toby yesterday when he kindly took 1 minute out of his hectic play schedule to talk to me. Feel free to pop around for dinner on Sunday. It'll be an early dinner (and probably a Toby favourite like spaghetti bolognese). There are some presents to open for him still. And there are some Lewis presents under the tree too!
Oh well. There's Friday to get through still. The cloud is supposed to lift to display a glorious day. Bring it on!
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela xxx
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Good morning on Thurs, Jan 22
Hi,
It's a lovely day in Wellington again. The forecast is sunny for the next 4 days! Bring it on! This must be summer.
Last night Mike and I had a romantic evening in Porirua. We drove out there in the Corolla and went to The Warehouse to buy some storage crates in preparation for decluttering Toby's room. Then we went to Mike's favourite Indian restaurant (this is the romantic bit) where the staff recognised him from his time out there with NZDF. However, the tennis was showing so I kept watching it over Mike's shoulder. So the romance was pretty slim on the ground. Poor Mike. Heheheheheh.
Then we went grocery shopping at New World to stock up a bit. Then drove home. Mike was so excited by some of our crates, he immediately re-housed all our old photos. Some of those cartons are from when we packed up in Wellington back in 1997! Now they're gone and Mike is very pleased with the new storage option for them. So we snuggled into bed and looked at a selection of old photos. Nice.
Mike took the bus in today because his bike is sick and at the bike doctors. Hopefully he gets it back today.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela xx
It's a lovely day in Wellington again. The forecast is sunny for the next 4 days! Bring it on! This must be summer.
Last night Mike and I had a romantic evening in Porirua. We drove out there in the Corolla and went to The Warehouse to buy some storage crates in preparation for decluttering Toby's room. Then we went to Mike's favourite Indian restaurant (this is the romantic bit) where the staff recognised him from his time out there with NZDF. However, the tennis was showing so I kept watching it over Mike's shoulder. So the romance was pretty slim on the ground. Poor Mike. Heheheheheh.
Then we went grocery shopping at New World to stock up a bit. Then drove home. Mike was so excited by some of our crates, he immediately re-housed all our old photos. Some of those cartons are from when we packed up in Wellington back in 1997! Now they're gone and Mike is very pleased with the new storage option for them. So we snuggled into bed and looked at a selection of old photos. Nice.
Mike took the bus in today because his bike is sick and at the bike doctors. Hopefully he gets it back today.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela xx
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Good morning on Wed, Jan 21
Hi,
I think I will making a recording of the inauguration of Obama because the National Radio programme was playing it when the alarm went off and Mike leapt out of bed to turn on the TV. Mike never leaps out of bed. I might get it to come on at 5.59am every morning!
So, we watched the inauguration for quite a while. I like the hope that everyone seems to be feeling about this change. Fingers crossed.
Because we were leaving late, I had a shower at home to make sure it gave me more time once I got to work. However, we were 2 minutes away from work approaching traffic lights when they went out. And the bulding was in darkness when we got here. We switched on our feeble bike lights (feeble because they haven't been used since winter ended so the batteries are running down) and made it to the bike rack. The lift was running but dark so we kept our lights on.
When we got to the ground floor, all the lifts in the building were broken. Everyone was mulling around. Mike's bike had broken on the way home last night (he stopped and nearly fell off at one stage with some choice words, and then again a few hundred metres on). The hub is broken and you can freewheel the pedals in both directions! It catches every now and then and you can pedal properly. Mike made it into work ok, but he decided to take it in to get fixed as there was no action in the building. The bike should be ready tomorrow evening.
So, I got dressed in the dark in the ground floor toilets. I seriously wondered if my clothes were on right and what my hair looked like as I stepped back out into the bright light. I switched my bike light back on and walked up the stairs in the pitch black to our floor. Then the people that had either arrived bfore the outage, or managed to climb the stairs, all sat around chatting and listening to the radio to find out what was going on.
It is all back up and running now. And the American chap we work with has cookies and cake to celebrate a new beginning. Just perfect with my cup of tea.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
I think I will making a recording of the inauguration of Obama because the National Radio programme was playing it when the alarm went off and Mike leapt out of bed to turn on the TV. Mike never leaps out of bed. I might get it to come on at 5.59am every morning!
So, we watched the inauguration for quite a while. I like the hope that everyone seems to be feeling about this change. Fingers crossed.
Because we were leaving late, I had a shower at home to make sure it gave me more time once I got to work. However, we were 2 minutes away from work approaching traffic lights when they went out. And the bulding was in darkness when we got here. We switched on our feeble bike lights (feeble because they haven't been used since winter ended so the batteries are running down) and made it to the bike rack. The lift was running but dark so we kept our lights on.
When we got to the ground floor, all the lifts in the building were broken. Everyone was mulling around. Mike's bike had broken on the way home last night (he stopped and nearly fell off at one stage with some choice words, and then again a few hundred metres on). The hub is broken and you can freewheel the pedals in both directions! It catches every now and then and you can pedal properly. Mike made it into work ok, but he decided to take it in to get fixed as there was no action in the building. The bike should be ready tomorrow evening.
So, I got dressed in the dark in the ground floor toilets. I seriously wondered if my clothes were on right and what my hair looked like as I stepped back out into the bright light. I switched my bike light back on and walked up the stairs in the pitch black to our floor. Then the people that had either arrived bfore the outage, or managed to climb the stairs, all sat around chatting and listening to the radio to find out what was going on.
It is all back up and running now. And the American chap we work with has cookies and cake to celebrate a new beginning. Just perfect with my cup of tea.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Good morning on Tues, Jan 20
Hi,
We had a great weekend this weekend with three days off because of Wellington Anniversary Day on Monday. It started with our ride home on Friday afternoon after work to pack all our tramping and camping gear into the MX-5. We had to modify what we take due to a lack of space but it all worked well and we took off at about 1900 up SH1.
We stopped for tea at Te Horo at the cafe there that Mum and I found one day. The service was slow (but good so we didn't mind) and the highlight was Mike's comment about his pea and pear soup. Well, the food was actually extremely good (Mike's main was chicken breast and mine was beef fillet). However, upon tasting the pea and pear soup, Mike said "This is very nice. The pear cuts through the pea-ness" and wondered why I started chortling and had tears coming out of my eyes. He then went back over what he had said, and realised how it sounded and we both started laughing.
The late dinner meant a late arrival in Taihape but we pitched the tent and fell asleep very fast. next morning we were up and away early to Ohakune to meet the shuttle bus to the bottom of the Tongariro Crossing. We were disappointed at the late start to the walk (9am before we walked off) but pleased to leave the MX-5 in a safe car park in Ohakune. About an hour in I got a blister on my little toe on my right foot. Mike sorted it out but I had to loosen my boot and this caused a blister on my heel to develop.
The scenery was fantastic. We had a cloudless day and could see to the north and east for miles. The mountains all looked great. There were wee patches of snow left here and there (quite a long way from the walking track). There was a panic after Mike and I climbed the devil's staircase when we got out the camera and Mike squinted through the viewfinder and his contact lens flew out. Fortunately he had a spare in his backpack. He popped in the new lens and had no more problem but I was wondering what we'd do with a half blind Mike halfway up Tongariro.
There were people panicking on the scoria/scree slope down from the peak. We passed one woman crawling down and another grabbing onto her husband for grim death. Mike and I ate lunch at Ketetahi Hut at 1pm and from there it was downhill all the way to the carpark for 90 minutes. I didn't like that bit as my blisters were not co-operating and I was favouring one side. Still, we got there and waited for about 45 minutes for our shuttle back to Ohakune.
Mike wants to make this walk an annual event as he liked it so much. I was astonished at the number of people on the walk. Must have been easily 500 people. We met up with work colleagues as we waited for the shuttle at the end. They had started earlier but done the side slog up Ngauruhoe. We think Toby might have to wait for another two years to tackle the walk successfully.
We drove home on Sunday morning after breakfast at our favourite cafe in Taihape (Brown Sugar Cafe) trying to find gooseberry bushes at various garden shops. Unfortunately we didn't find any. Sunday we relaxed quite a bit once we got home. Monday however was a different matter. The top floor has been decluttered in a big way. We worked for hours getting it just right. Now we have the bottom floor to do - mainly Toby's room before he returns on Sunday! We have also decided to get Wilf in to fix the garage roof so we can put shelves in there and store some cartons from the green room. That should work a charm! The plan is all coming together. I worked on the linen cupboard and it looks great! I will even take a photo of it I am so proud!
I hope everyone has a great week!
Love,
Angela
We had a great weekend this weekend with three days off because of Wellington Anniversary Day on Monday. It started with our ride home on Friday afternoon after work to pack all our tramping and camping gear into the MX-5. We had to modify what we take due to a lack of space but it all worked well and we took off at about 1900 up SH1.
We stopped for tea at Te Horo at the cafe there that Mum and I found one day. The service was slow (but good so we didn't mind) and the highlight was Mike's comment about his pea and pear soup. Well, the food was actually extremely good (Mike's main was chicken breast and mine was beef fillet). However, upon tasting the pea and pear soup, Mike said "This is very nice. The pear cuts through the pea-ness" and wondered why I started chortling and had tears coming out of my eyes. He then went back over what he had said, and realised how it sounded and we both started laughing.
The late dinner meant a late arrival in Taihape but we pitched the tent and fell asleep very fast. next morning we were up and away early to Ohakune to meet the shuttle bus to the bottom of the Tongariro Crossing. We were disappointed at the late start to the walk (9am before we walked off) but pleased to leave the MX-5 in a safe car park in Ohakune. About an hour in I got a blister on my little toe on my right foot. Mike sorted it out but I had to loosen my boot and this caused a blister on my heel to develop.
The scenery was fantastic. We had a cloudless day and could see to the north and east for miles. The mountains all looked great. There were wee patches of snow left here and there (quite a long way from the walking track). There was a panic after Mike and I climbed the devil's staircase when we got out the camera and Mike squinted through the viewfinder and his contact lens flew out. Fortunately he had a spare in his backpack. He popped in the new lens and had no more problem but I was wondering what we'd do with a half blind Mike halfway up Tongariro.
There were people panicking on the scoria/scree slope down from the peak. We passed one woman crawling down and another grabbing onto her husband for grim death. Mike and I ate lunch at Ketetahi Hut at 1pm and from there it was downhill all the way to the carpark for 90 minutes. I didn't like that bit as my blisters were not co-operating and I was favouring one side. Still, we got there and waited for about 45 minutes for our shuttle back to Ohakune.
Mike wants to make this walk an annual event as he liked it so much. I was astonished at the number of people on the walk. Must have been easily 500 people. We met up with work colleagues as we waited for the shuttle at the end. They had started earlier but done the side slog up Ngauruhoe. We think Toby might have to wait for another two years to tackle the walk successfully.
We drove home on Sunday morning after breakfast at our favourite cafe in Taihape (Brown Sugar Cafe) trying to find gooseberry bushes at various garden shops. Unfortunately we didn't find any. Sunday we relaxed quite a bit once we got home. Monday however was a different matter. The top floor has been decluttered in a big way. We worked for hours getting it just right. Now we have the bottom floor to do - mainly Toby's room before he returns on Sunday! We have also decided to get Wilf in to fix the garage roof so we can put shelves in there and store some cartons from the green room. That should work a charm! The plan is all coming together. I worked on the linen cupboard and it looks great! I will even take a photo of it I am so proud!
I hope everyone has a great week!
Love,
Angela
Friday, January 16, 2009
Good morning on Fri, Jan 16
Hi,
All is fine and dandy in Wellington. The weather is still lovely and the ride down the hill was great. Mike and I packed for the weekend last night - it is just the two of us so we'll ride home after work and try and pack the MX-5 with our camping gear and head off. We're likely to walk the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. We'll head back on Sunday morning so we can continue the declutter process.
Duncan and Emerson turn 6 tomorrow and Toby has an invitation to their party on Saturday, Jan 31.
Not much else to report. Mike and I are looking forward to the long weekend.
Love,
Angela
All is fine and dandy in Wellington. The weather is still lovely and the ride down the hill was great. Mike and I packed for the weekend last night - it is just the two of us so we'll ride home after work and try and pack the MX-5 with our camping gear and head off. We're likely to walk the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. We'll head back on Sunday morning so we can continue the declutter process.
Duncan and Emerson turn 6 tomorrow and Toby has an invitation to their party on Saturday, Jan 31.
Not much else to report. Mike and I are looking forward to the long weekend.
Love,
Angela
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Good morning on Thurs, Jan 15
Hi,
What another lovely day here. We had a breakfast before work with some colleagues and I always think it is a great way to start the day. The ride down the hill was fun and then lots of yummy food. How good can it get?
The wee green car was sorted in 2 minutes last night by the AA. Mike had decided against the tramping club night and he rang the AA as soon as we got home and then he started dinner. The AA arrived just as dinner was done. So we turned off the food and hopped in the MX-5 and drove out to Sally and Andrew's house to charge it up where we ate dinner and dessert and then drove home.
Mike foolishly stayed up till 1am reading the news on the internet but I was in a coma from about 10pm so I have no recollection of any of that. But he has already had two coffees this morning so either he is ok or he is so sleepy it is having no effect. I can't tell looking at him.
Needless to say, no decluttering happened last night. But at least we have dinner cooked already! And I need to pack for the Tongariro Crossing tonight. And perhaps get to the supermarket to pick up a few things for the weekend.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela xxx
What another lovely day here. We had a breakfast before work with some colleagues and I always think it is a great way to start the day. The ride down the hill was fun and then lots of yummy food. How good can it get?
The wee green car was sorted in 2 minutes last night by the AA. Mike had decided against the tramping club night and he rang the AA as soon as we got home and then he started dinner. The AA arrived just as dinner was done. So we turned off the food and hopped in the MX-5 and drove out to Sally and Andrew's house to charge it up where we ate dinner and dessert and then drove home.
Mike foolishly stayed up till 1am reading the news on the internet but I was in a coma from about 10pm so I have no recollection of any of that. But he has already had two coffees this morning so either he is ok or he is so sleepy it is having no effect. I can't tell looking at him.
Needless to say, no decluttering happened last night. But at least we have dinner cooked already! And I need to pack for the Tongariro Crossing tonight. And perhaps get to the supermarket to pick up a few things for the weekend.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela xxx
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
And why is the MX-5's battery flat?
Toby's taken to playing with the internal lights; and some unknown person left the passenger-side map light on, sometime in December.
Not saying anything.
But it's so flat that we can't get the alarm system to fire up, so we can't un-immobilise it - even with the Corolla hooked up to it and revving. Hopefully the AA man will have more luck this evening.
Not saying anything.
But it's so flat that we can't get the alarm system to fire up, so we can't un-immobilise it - even with the Corolla hooked up to it and revving. Hopefully the AA man will have more luck this evening.
Good morning on Wed, Jan 14
Hi,
It is an absolutely glorious morning here in Wellington. Hardly any wind and clear skies. A cracker of a day! The ride down was lovely. Mike wants to attend the Wellington Tramping Club meeting this evening but I am undecided whether to go.
I got an email from my sister to say Toby slept well but that she woke up with gunky eyes. Oops. We may have left a legacy in Sydney. My eyes are almost back to normal. Maybe another day or two of the drops and I won't look like the undead. I hope Karen only gets what Toby had. He had gunk once and that was it - no redness or anything. Go figure!
Last night we had grand plans to drive the wee green car to Waikanae and meet Sally and Andrew for dinner on the beach there. The green car has a flat battery. So flat we can't disarm the alarm. So we pushed it out the garage, drove the Corolla up to the back where the battery is and tried to jumps start it. Zip! So the car is now on the street waiting for the AA to arrive when we call them. We couldn't push it back up the hill to a safe place. If I don't go to the club meeting tonight I'll ring them when I get home.
So, we drove the Corolla out there instead of a drive with the wee green car to charge up its battery. The dinner was superb. I had a taste of everyone's meal and every dish was very tasty. It made for a late night though and Mike needed a coffee as soon as he got to work this morning!
So there you go. All fun and games here. Never a dull moment. Sometimes I long for some dull moments! Heheheheh. I'd get lots more books read that way!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
It is an absolutely glorious morning here in Wellington. Hardly any wind and clear skies. A cracker of a day! The ride down was lovely. Mike wants to attend the Wellington Tramping Club meeting this evening but I am undecided whether to go.
I got an email from my sister to say Toby slept well but that she woke up with gunky eyes. Oops. We may have left a legacy in Sydney. My eyes are almost back to normal. Maybe another day or two of the drops and I won't look like the undead. I hope Karen only gets what Toby had. He had gunk once and that was it - no redness or anything. Go figure!
Last night we had grand plans to drive the wee green car to Waikanae and meet Sally and Andrew for dinner on the beach there. The green car has a flat battery. So flat we can't disarm the alarm. So we pushed it out the garage, drove the Corolla up to the back where the battery is and tried to jumps start it. Zip! So the car is now on the street waiting for the AA to arrive when we call them. We couldn't push it back up the hill to a safe place. If I don't go to the club meeting tonight I'll ring them when I get home.
So, we drove the Corolla out there instead of a drive with the wee green car to charge up its battery. The dinner was superb. I had a taste of everyone's meal and every dish was very tasty. It made for a late night though and Mike needed a coffee as soon as he got to work this morning!
So there you go. All fun and games here. Never a dull moment. Sometimes I long for some dull moments! Heheheheh. I'd get lots more books read that way!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Good morning on Tues, Jan 13
Hi,
I got a note from Karen this morning that wee Toby got a little upset last night going to bed. Karen seemed to handle it fine. I hope he's ok now.
Today is lovely here in Wellington. Mike and I enjoyed the ride in. We even survived the ride back up yesterday evening after 20 days of no riding.
Last night the decluttering progressed to the kitchen. The pantry has been done now and we will move into the lounge tonight. This is where the hard work will begin though. A lot of stuff from the bedroom and kitchen have ended up there as a staging area. So there is now a mound in the middle of the room that would excite archaeologists! We'll relocate all the CDs and DVDs and use the wooden chest to store some Toby toys that can live in the lounge. That should clear up the corners in the lounge and give us some space. The linen cupboard is after that! Then it'll be downstairs to Toby's room.
We're all go for doing the Tongariro Crossing this weekend. We have a long weekend this weekend in Wellington due to anniversary weekend. Anyone want to join us? Andrew has expressed partial interest. Kara perhaps as well. But definitely Mike and I are going. We will also hopefully collect another gooseberry bush as our kindly neighbour mowed our lawn and hacked the bush off at ground level. I was quite upset at the sight (or lack of it) of my favourite bush! So we're off to pursue gooseberry bushes and walk across the volcanic plateau.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
I got a note from Karen this morning that wee Toby got a little upset last night going to bed. Karen seemed to handle it fine. I hope he's ok now.
Today is lovely here in Wellington. Mike and I enjoyed the ride in. We even survived the ride back up yesterday evening after 20 days of no riding.
Last night the decluttering progressed to the kitchen. The pantry has been done now and we will move into the lounge tonight. This is where the hard work will begin though. A lot of stuff from the bedroom and kitchen have ended up there as a staging area. So there is now a mound in the middle of the room that would excite archaeologists! We'll relocate all the CDs and DVDs and use the wooden chest to store some Toby toys that can live in the lounge. That should clear up the corners in the lounge and give us some space. The linen cupboard is after that! Then it'll be downstairs to Toby's room.
We're all go for doing the Tongariro Crossing this weekend. We have a long weekend this weekend in Wellington due to anniversary weekend. Anyone want to join us? Andrew has expressed partial interest. Kara perhaps as well. But definitely Mike and I are going. We will also hopefully collect another gooseberry bush as our kindly neighbour mowed our lawn and hacked the bush off at ground level. I was quite upset at the sight (or lack of it) of my favourite bush! So we're off to pursue gooseberry bushes and walk across the volcanic plateau.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Monday, January 12, 2009
Good morning on Mon, Jan 12
Hi,
First day back since before Christmas. It is a very odd feeling. Wee Toby is still in Sydney enjoying a summer holiday stretching on and on. So we have no child and a huge list of tasks to get through.
Yesterday we decluttered our bedroom. This was easy as now all the stuff is in the middle of the lounge waiting for the continued decluttering to take effect in there too. That'll start tonight. I can walk all the way around our bed without jumping over stacks of books and boxes.
We also had lunch at Sally and Andrew's yesterday. It was hard to leave but we should have left sooner to get our bedroom sorted earlier. As it was, I was in a coma by 9pm as Mike finished up around me. Heheheh.
I have a dental appointment today. That'll be a plesant experience with my cold and conjunctivitis courtesy of Mike. Mike cleaned gunk out of Toby's eyes and then put his contact lenses in. So he got it and resembled a vampire for a few days with bloodshot eyes whereas Toby only had gunk one morning and nothing else. Now I have it and I look like I have been swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool for hours on end!
Hopefully I will write up a summary of the Sydney holiday. We had loads of fun! Maybe even some photos.
Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela
First day back since before Christmas. It is a very odd feeling. Wee Toby is still in Sydney enjoying a summer holiday stretching on and on. So we have no child and a huge list of tasks to get through.
Yesterday we decluttered our bedroom. This was easy as now all the stuff is in the middle of the lounge waiting for the continued decluttering to take effect in there too. That'll start tonight. I can walk all the way around our bed without jumping over stacks of books and boxes.
We also had lunch at Sally and Andrew's yesterday. It was hard to leave but we should have left sooner to get our bedroom sorted earlier. As it was, I was in a coma by 9pm as Mike finished up around me. Heheheh.
I have a dental appointment today. That'll be a plesant experience with my cold and conjunctivitis courtesy of Mike. Mike cleaned gunk out of Toby's eyes and then put his contact lenses in. So he got it and resembled a vampire for a few days with bloodshot eyes whereas Toby only had gunk one morning and nothing else. Now I have it and I look like I have been swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool for hours on end!
Hopefully I will write up a summary of the Sydney holiday. We had loads of fun! Maybe even some photos.
Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela
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