Good morning on Mon, Mar 15

Hi,

What a lovely morning this morning - and after quite an eventful weekend.  It started at about 4.15pm on Friday when the big storm hit Wellington with speed and ferocity.  Quite spectacular to watch from our office.  Needless to say, Mike and I chickened out and took the bus home.  There was a bus skewered on a bollard on the corner of Willis and Lambton Quay, so nothing was getting past down Lambton Quay.  So Mike said we should go to Farmers as the buses will get re-directed through the back streets.  Sure enough, after 15 minutes, a 14 pulled up, mostly empty and we climbed in.  We were soaked by the time we got to Toby and soaked even more walking home with him.

Into the car and off to buy chippies for the Gilbert/Lewis Friday night takeaway.  Just as Mike got into the car with the dinner, Andrew rang and as the storm had broken the trains to the Hutt, he was at a loose end.  Not anymore.  We sped down the hill to collect him, and Sally came too!  So it was a chippie fest at the Lewis household.

Nice to John again after his journey to Canada for his mother's illness and funeral.  He got birthday presents (as did I) and we'd forgotten completely.  Oops.  Sorry John.  We'll rectify that!  I have some good reading ahead of me.

Toby got some Benjamin hand-me-downs as we scootered out of the Lewises.  Somehow Toby and I had missed the exit of Mike, Sally and Andrew and for a while we thought they had forgotten about us entirely.  Everything had been cleared out except our shoes - hanbag was gone, jackets were gone.  Very funny.  But they were all sitting in the car for us both.  I dropped Mike and Toby off at home and drove Sally and Andrew out to their house.  Good opportunity to sing loudly for me.  But only on the way back!  I wouldn't subject Sally and Andrew to too much of that!

Next morning Mike packed for his tramp and Toby and I left for my haircut.  Then off to swimming where Toby swam very well.  Next week we're away for swimming and it is rebooking day.  So I have sorted that already with the swim office. 

We went back home to relax before shopping for the Kea sleepover and heading to the Scout Hall.  We arrived and carted things into the hall.  Everyone started arriving and I cooked up sausages for everyone.  We ended up with 11 children and 3 adults and it all went very well.  Aidan is officially a New Zealander now as she wrestled with the Zip, and won.  Zip hot water systems are an institution in New Zealand community halls.  It is a part of my childhood to hear the Zip whistling as it boils.  Aidan can now fill a Zip, wait patiently for it to boil, knows the whistling will turn itself off, and can empty the contents into a vessel for use elsewhere.  To see her stricken face at the doorway when the Zip started whistling as she worried how to turn it off was unforgettable.

The kids all loved the toasted marshmallows after tea and the laptop episode of Man versus Wild where he went to Hawaii was well received.  Then to bed and I sank into a coma as I worried whether I'd be able to get to sleep with all the rustling.

When I woke Toby was off his sleeping mat and on the wooden floor.  So I cuddled him up to me on my mattress and fell back to doze for a bit.  Morning came and Aidan helped me cooked a ton of bacon and eggs.  Ryan's family had supplied the eggs from their chooks.  Yummy!  Aidan suggested I use bread as an egg mould and that worked a treat as we had no spatula to turn the eggs.

Aidan rushed the kids off to their first hockey game (I hope it went well and I hope to see photos) and we tidied up and left as well.  The pans all scrubbed up well, even the bacon ones!

When Toby and I got home we decided to eat the leftover Chocolate Thins.  Not a good idea as when I went over to get one, after Toby had started on them, I noticed mice nibbles on the end one in the packet.  So Aidan did hear mice during the night!  Hopefully the mice were clean eaters and Toby will suffer no ill effects.

We had lunch and went to collect Mum to go shopping.  The mirror shop was shut so we went to Woolworths to get groceries.  Then Mum started feeling sick again (migraine perhaps) and so we dropped her home and went to our house instead of staying for tea.  It's a shame for her.

Mike got home soon enough after his successful tramp and we had tea and Mike rang his parents about the architect plans and we all went to bed.  Phew.  As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela