You'll remember that Tuesday was "forgot my shirt and wallet and had to borrow money and buy a shirt" day.
Well, as Angela said, yesterday was an even huger morning disaster. It all started pretty well, I was at work relatively early, on time for my morning meeting and looking forward to my morning coffee.
Until I knocked over my plunger, just as the meeting was starting, and sent hot coffee and coffee grounds everywhere. Over the table, over me, over the carpet. Only redeeming feature was that I missed all the IT equipment.
So after an embarrassed session cleaning up and trying to dry the carpet out, I had an awkward hour sitting in wet, steaming clothes, running through options on how to fix things. Did I head out and buy a new outfit? I do need to buy a suit (still! - Karen & Scotty, remember our aborted mission in Sydney?) But that would be quite expensive, and I'd need to wait for a suit anyway. Do I go home? I'd ridden in, so timewise a taxi would be the only option. Expensive. But cheaper than quickly buying a change of clothes? On balance, yes.
So off I went, and drove back in with new clothes and (I'm learning my lesson now) emergency shirt and emergency pants.
During the cleanup I was conscious that my ankle hurt a bit - the coffee had run down my leg and onto my sock and soaked in. But when I got home I discovered I had a huge blister and more skin that kindof fell off around it. Now I've got a great big burn. Feels alright, I'm putting aqueous cream on it and letting it breathe. Angela thinks it's bad, but I reckon it'll heal up okay. Injury to insult though.
Today I was extra careful to pack everything I needed. Ironed and de-linted shirt and two pairs of pants (for more emergencies). But I still made it to my bike before I found I hadn't actually put that shirt in my bag. And now I've discovered that I don't have my work shoes here - so I'm slobbing around in my bike shoes.
Tomorrow I bring emergency shoes. Then, the only thing I won't have is emergency underpants. Watch this space...!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Wednesday with choir, tennis and karate - followed by tramping club for Mike
Hi,
Toby was singing "Non nobis domine" to me after school today. It was beautiful, and I think he can sing better than me already. Now I know many of you that know me will be laughing at that because you know how well I sing. But in all seriousness, Toby knows when to sings other notes. Unlike my flat singing that hardly changes - but can be very enthusiastic at times! From what I can gather, his choir music repertoire is extremely varied. "Non nobis domine" and "Cartoon heroes" are the songs he was singing yesterday.
Mike had a catastrophe yesterday involving a full plunger of coffee and his clothes. This meant he leapt into a taxi to get home. Put on a wash (to remove substantial coffee stains) and changed and drove back into town. He also now has a fantastic burn on his lower leg from coffee scalds. It looks awful. Blistered and quite large (maybe 3 or 4 cm diameter).
Anyhow, that meant we could drive home later than usual and still be on time for karate. Jack attended too and they learned another throwing technique. I think Toby enjoys those sessions.
Home for tea and then Mike left for tramping club. I was comatose by the time he got back. Slept like a log.
Today is beautiful again in Wellington. Enjoy it if you live here!
Love,
Angela
Toby was singing "Non nobis domine" to me after school today. It was beautiful, and I think he can sing better than me already. Now I know many of you that know me will be laughing at that because you know how well I sing. But in all seriousness, Toby knows when to sings other notes. Unlike my flat singing that hardly changes - but can be very enthusiastic at times! From what I can gather, his choir music repertoire is extremely varied. "Non nobis domine" and "Cartoon heroes" are the songs he was singing yesterday.
Mike had a catastrophe yesterday involving a full plunger of coffee and his clothes. This meant he leapt into a taxi to get home. Put on a wash (to remove substantial coffee stains) and changed and drove back into town. He also now has a fantastic burn on his lower leg from coffee scalds. It looks awful. Blistered and quite large (maybe 3 or 4 cm diameter).
Anyhow, that meant we could drive home later than usual and still be on time for karate. Jack attended too and they learned another throwing technique. I think Toby enjoys those sessions.
Home for tea and then Mike left for tramping club. I was comatose by the time he got back. Slept like a log.
Today is beautiful again in Wellington. Enjoy it if you live here!
Love,
Angela
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Tuesday with Cubs, glorious weather and the BBQ
Hi,
Cubs last night was great fun. Mike had bought exactly the right number of sausages and bread and sauce and he was almost exactly reimbursed for the amount he spent. We had a wonderful autumnal evening and Mike led a fantastic tramp through the Otari bush. I even got a chance to see the 800 year old rimu tree at the top.
Home to feed up Toby (he has decided he doesn't like sausages) and then to bed. Phew! Great effort, Mike! I'm quite confident the Cubs know a lot more about tramping now too.
The weather is lovely again here today. But our temperatures have dropped. 18 expected today. But lovely.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Cubs last night was great fun. Mike had bought exactly the right number of sausages and bread and sauce and he was almost exactly reimbursed for the amount he spent. We had a wonderful autumnal evening and Mike led a fantastic tramp through the Otari bush. I even got a chance to see the 800 year old rimu tree at the top.
Home to feed up Toby (he has decided he doesn't like sausages) and then to bed. Phew! Great effort, Mike! I'm quite confident the Cubs know a lot more about tramping now too.
The weather is lovely again here today. But our temperatures have dropped. 18 expected today. But lovely.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
About a 6 out of 10 performance this morning
... Toby slept in this morning - until 7:50am! - but he did pretty well getting himself ready. He was grumpy for the first 5 min or so (which I can completely understand and sympathise with) but came right very quickly. He ate his breakfast well but created a bit of a delay by making toast. (He just goes off and makes his own toast, with honey but no butter, which I'm pretty happy with).
So in the end I was ready but waiting for him. I filled in time by putting away camping things from the weekend, and tidying a bit. Toby volunteered to walk to school by himself, since he'd made me late! (Actually we got off pretty well on time). Then he ran (at 16 km/h) to keep up with me as I cycled along the road to his school.
Beautiful ride down the hill - fine, clear and calm. Wonderful views of the still blue harbour and the mountains behind, shadowed and layered ridge by ridge to the south Wairarapa. But autumn is definitely in the air - I had my rugby jersey on. I seemed to time it between the traffic peaks, and had the roads quite nicely to myself.
(And yesterday I hooned up the hill - 9 min and 2 sec. I normally do it in 11 min plus. Don't know how I managed it! But I was pretty crippled after that. Mrs Mahoney saw me straight afterwards said she was considering ringing an ambulance because she thought I was injured!)
When I got to work, alas, I discovered that all this earliness and waiting had gone to my head and disrupted my normal 'panicked running about' schedule. So I'd left without my swipe card, wallet - and, er, shirt. So now I have a nice new shirt bought with Angela's credit card.
So in the end I was ready but waiting for him. I filled in time by putting away camping things from the weekend, and tidying a bit. Toby volunteered to walk to school by himself, since he'd made me late! (Actually we got off pretty well on time). Then he ran (at 16 km/h) to keep up with me as I cycled along the road to his school.
Beautiful ride down the hill - fine, clear and calm. Wonderful views of the still blue harbour and the mountains behind, shadowed and layered ridge by ridge to the south Wairarapa. But autumn is definitely in the air - I had my rugby jersey on. I seemed to time it between the traffic peaks, and had the roads quite nicely to myself.
(And yesterday I hooned up the hill - 9 min and 2 sec. I normally do it in 11 min plus. Don't know how I managed it! But I was pretty crippled after that. Mrs Mahoney saw me straight afterwards said she was considering ringing an ambulance because she thought I was injured!)
When I got to work, alas, I discovered that all this earliness and waiting had gone to my head and disrupted my normal 'panicked running about' schedule. So I'd left without my swipe card, wallet - and, er, shirt. So now I have a nice new shirt bought with Angela's credit card.
The Monday with no Keas but lots of Cubs prep
Hi,
This glorious weather is lovely. My ride in was heavenly. Not even crisp enough for a jersey under my flimsy, yet bright, fluoro jacket.
Last night we rode home together (aaahhhhh - mind you, Mike is powering up the hill at the moment and I had no hope of keeping up) and I started tea while Mike packed away the tent and got the gas tank on (Ma - you weren't here so I ran out of gas!). A quick spaghetti bolognese and then we were off to Otari Wilton Bush for a practise run of the Cubs walk we're doing tonight.
As the end of daylight savings approaches, we wonder why we haven't walked in Otari Wilton Bush more often. We had such a nice time. It got dark quickly under the bush canopy but we had our head torches so it was all good.
Home and bed for Toby and off to buy tonnes of sausages for the Cub BBQ tonight. After the walk! Heheheheh.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
This glorious weather is lovely. My ride in was heavenly. Not even crisp enough for a jersey under my flimsy, yet bright, fluoro jacket.
Last night we rode home together (aaahhhhh - mind you, Mike is powering up the hill at the moment and I had no hope of keeping up) and I started tea while Mike packed away the tent and got the gas tank on (Ma - you weren't here so I ran out of gas!). A quick spaghetti bolognese and then we were off to Otari Wilton Bush for a practise run of the Cubs walk we're doing tonight.
As the end of daylight savings approaches, we wonder why we haven't walked in Otari Wilton Bush more often. We had such a nice time. It got dark quickly under the bush canopy but we had our head torches so it was all good.
Home and bed for Toby and off to buy tonnes of sausages for the Cub BBQ tonight. After the walk! Heheheheh.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Monday, March 28, 2011
The weekend camping
Hi,
What a great weekend, although it seemed to fly by and I wonder what happened to at least one of the days. Friday night Mike went home to collect Toby and I went out to see the NZSO at Michael Fowler. Christine had arranged it and Josh was coming as well.
Turns out that waiting on the corner of Michael Fowler at 5:30pm means I see loads of people. Saw Kara (she was actually coming too), saw Mike W in his car driving past. And eventually saw Christine and her family too. And Josh. Phew!
Josh and I popped back to shift my car and just managed to catch up with Christine before we went in. The concert was very good. Bit of Mahler. Bit of Beethoven. We were in the third row almost in the centre. I loved hearing the pianist's stool squeak slightly as he shifted weight. Great fun!
Afterwards I drove Josh home. Squashed in a glass of water and then drove back to Sally and Andrew's house. Mike and Toby had been invited over for dinner and a brazier night. So Toby suggested camping there. When I arrived Toby was asleep and everyone was chatting quietly around the dying brazier. I had followed the rain from Waikanae to Lower Hutt!
Into bed and a good sleep before swimming. Sally walked into the market and I had a yummy croissant for Breakfast - in the tent! Toby swam well and then we were off to Waikanae to camp there too.
In Waikanae we decided to hit the beach. Josh needed sand for his project (setting paving stones) and a good excuse to let the kids run around. And Lulu!
Back home for tea and wind down for the evening. We slept well in the tent once more. We were all out like lights.
Sunday was another leisurely breakfast - ta Josh! Then off to Sally's place for her birthday lunch! What an amazing lunch! As usual. Mike and I quickly hopped back to our place to collect Sally's present. Mike then struggled with the wifi at Sally's house. It would not work there for some reason. So we took it back home, where it worked immediately. Stupid routers! Does seem weird.
We did pop over to Mike's parent's new flat in Epuni. Very cute wee place. I hope it suits their needs well.
Home to collapse into bed. Time for another week to start.
Have a great week!
Love,
Angela
What a great weekend, although it seemed to fly by and I wonder what happened to at least one of the days. Friday night Mike went home to collect Toby and I went out to see the NZSO at Michael Fowler. Christine had arranged it and Josh was coming as well.
Turns out that waiting on the corner of Michael Fowler at 5:30pm means I see loads of people. Saw Kara (she was actually coming too), saw Mike W in his car driving past. And eventually saw Christine and her family too. And Josh. Phew!
Josh and I popped back to shift my car and just managed to catch up with Christine before we went in. The concert was very good. Bit of Mahler. Bit of Beethoven. We were in the third row almost in the centre. I loved hearing the pianist's stool squeak slightly as he shifted weight. Great fun!
Afterwards I drove Josh home. Squashed in a glass of water and then drove back to Sally and Andrew's house. Mike and Toby had been invited over for dinner and a brazier night. So Toby suggested camping there. When I arrived Toby was asleep and everyone was chatting quietly around the dying brazier. I had followed the rain from Waikanae to Lower Hutt!
Into bed and a good sleep before swimming. Sally walked into the market and I had a yummy croissant for Breakfast - in the tent! Toby swam well and then we were off to Waikanae to camp there too.
In Waikanae we decided to hit the beach. Josh needed sand for his project (setting paving stones) and a good excuse to let the kids run around. And Lulu!
Back home for tea and wind down for the evening. We slept well in the tent once more. We were all out like lights.
Sunday was another leisurely breakfast - ta Josh! Then off to Sally's place for her birthday lunch! What an amazing lunch! As usual. Mike and I quickly hopped back to our place to collect Sally's present. Mike then struggled with the wifi at Sally's house. It would not work there for some reason. So we took it back home, where it worked immediately. Stupid routers! Does seem weird.
We did pop over to Mike's parent's new flat in Epuni. Very cute wee place. I hope it suits their needs well.
Home to collapse into bed. Time for another week to start.
Have a great week!
Love,
Angela
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Thursday with user group and Toby gets wet
Hi,
I had my user group last night and that means pizza and chatting to people. I heard a good technical session, so I was happy.
The funniest thing happened when Mike and Toby came in to pick me up. Toby loves jumping around the fountain in Midland Park. It has stepping stones scattered throughout the water. Last night one of his near misses came to fruition as he over-jumped a stone and I saw him land in the fountain up to his waist in water. Cold water.
Mike and I burst out laughing at the look on his face. He was unsure whether he would face the wrath of his parents or not. But as we had nothing else to do but go home, what else could we do but laugh. He squelched to the car, clutching his dry toy (Wags - same as Tyler's dog - he is flavour of the month again) which he had managed to keep safe above his waist as he landed in the water. He made puddles on the road waiting to get into the car (Mike spread out a blanket to protect the car).
First thing when he got home is he had a shower. Funny chap.
Friday today! Yay. I think we're off to the NZ Symphony Orchestra tonight. Or some of us are.
Swimming tomorrow. Camping in Waikanae (and picking up a huge ladder Mike has bought off Trade Me). Sally has a birthday lunch this weekend too. Can't wait to see everyone.
Have a great weekend.
I had my user group last night and that means pizza and chatting to people. I heard a good technical session, so I was happy.
The funniest thing happened when Mike and Toby came in to pick me up. Toby loves jumping around the fountain in Midland Park. It has stepping stones scattered throughout the water. Last night one of his near misses came to fruition as he over-jumped a stone and I saw him land in the fountain up to his waist in water. Cold water.
Mike and I burst out laughing at the look on his face. He was unsure whether he would face the wrath of his parents or not. But as we had nothing else to do but go home, what else could we do but laugh. He squelched to the car, clutching his dry toy (Wags - same as Tyler's dog - he is flavour of the month again) which he had managed to keep safe above his waist as he landed in the water. He made puddles on the road waiting to get into the car (Mike spread out a blanket to protect the car).
First thing when he got home is he had a shower. Funny chap.
Friday today! Yay. I think we're off to the NZ Symphony Orchestra tonight. Or some of us are.
Swimming tomorrow. Camping in Waikanae (and picking up a huge ladder Mike has bought off Trade Me). Sally has a birthday lunch this weekend too. Can't wait to see everyone.
Have a great weekend.
Toby and I were late! But we sorted it out
Well, Toby and I both slept in by an hour! An hour!! Organised panic ensued. Toby was REALLY good. Instead of the usual prodding he takes to get ready, he got himself dressed and then wandered into the kitchen and made himself toast with honey. Fantastic!
We got ready in time, well close enough, but not quite close enough - I drove in to save that last 10min. There's roadworks at the bottom of our street and traffic was banked halfway up the hill - I'd never seen that before! Lucky I know the rat runs and a quick U-turn, followed by a run down the road we normally bike down, and a dive into the traffic stream off a give-way, and I made it to work on time.
And now it's Friday. Yay!
We got ready in time, well close enough, but not quite close enough - I drove in to save that last 10min. There's roadworks at the bottom of our street and traffic was banked halfway up the hill - I'd never seen that before! Lucky I know the rat runs and a quick U-turn, followed by a run down the road we normally bike down, and a dive into the traffic stream off a give-way, and I made it to work on time.
And now it's Friday. Yay!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Wednesday with choir, tennis and karate
Hi,
Apparently choir went well. Tennis too. I rode to karate furiously, but missed it all. In fact, I missed Mike too. He drove down the only bit of road I didn't ride up exactly when I wasn't there. But he came and picked me up and we went out to dinner with Jack and his dad. Jack had attended the karate lesson with Toby and by all accounts seemed to enjoy it.
We went to The Oaks Satay Noodle place. It was pretty good. Fed 5 people for $70. Not too shabby.
Then Toby and I came home (via a quick look at Pulsar Maxx - they have action figures, comics, Pokemon trading cards and stuff like that) and went to bed. Mike came home after tramping club and we fell asleep in super time!
Today is lovely. My ride in was great. William was walking to school as we got to the top of our street, so Toby walked with him and I rode from there. So I was a wee bit earlier than usual. But I have the Dynamics User Group to attend tonight after work. Should be good. Our first one for the year.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Apparently choir went well. Tennis too. I rode to karate furiously, but missed it all. In fact, I missed Mike too. He drove down the only bit of road I didn't ride up exactly when I wasn't there. But he came and picked me up and we went out to dinner with Jack and his dad. Jack had attended the karate lesson with Toby and by all accounts seemed to enjoy it.
We went to The Oaks Satay Noodle place. It was pretty good. Fed 5 people for $70. Not too shabby.
Then Toby and I came home (via a quick look at Pulsar Maxx - they have action figures, comics, Pokemon trading cards and stuff like that) and went to bed. Mike came home after tramping club and we fell asleep in super time!
Today is lovely. My ride in was great. William was walking to school as we got to the top of our street, so Toby walked with him and I rode from there. So I was a wee bit earlier than usual. But I have the Dynamics User Group to attend tonight after work. Should be good. Our first one for the year.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Tuesday I have forgotten
Hi,
It so feels like Tuesday again today to me. I am a bit confused. But it is Sally's birthday today - happy birthday! Cubs went well last night. Mike had all 25 or so kids making bows and arrows. There were only two cuts to bandaid over and several bows to restring. It felt chaotic but it went well.
We met another mother that knows Sally super well. Cubs feels like a Sally Appreciation Society. We even saw Stephen last night, collecting his son (they also know Sally). Toby said last night - "It's just like Aunty Sally is there with us". I think Sally would have run for cover when there were arrows being let loose at times last night. And no - we did not bring an apple for someone to practise shooting off the top of someone's head. It was a recommendation, but I think that particular story can wait for a night when there are no weapons to hand.
Toby has joined the choir at school and that is on Wednesdays. So he has choir, then tennis after school and then Mike will collect him for karate. He has joined the choir because they sing cool songs like... Batman! Really? Ok then.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
It so feels like Tuesday again today to me. I am a bit confused. But it is Sally's birthday today - happy birthday! Cubs went well last night. Mike had all 25 or so kids making bows and arrows. There were only two cuts to bandaid over and several bows to restring. It felt chaotic but it went well.
We met another mother that knows Sally super well. Cubs feels like a Sally Appreciation Society. We even saw Stephen last night, collecting his son (they also know Sally). Toby said last night - "It's just like Aunty Sally is there with us". I think Sally would have run for cover when there were arrows being let loose at times last night. And no - we did not bring an apple for someone to practise shooting off the top of someone's head. It was a recommendation, but I think that particular story can wait for a night when there are no weapons to hand.
Toby has joined the choir at school and that is on Wednesdays. So he has choir, then tennis after school and then Mike will collect him for karate. He has joined the choir because they sing cool songs like... Batman! Really? Ok then.
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Monday with lovely weather and a nice ride home
Hi,
Monday was supposed to be quite horrid in terms of the weather. But the promised southerly change was a bit slow in coming and I rode home in lovely weather.
I collected Toby and we went home and prepared homemade burgers. This is one of Toby's favourite meals. And we have a whole fresh pineapple, so I chopped off a big slab of it and cooked that up for Mike's burgers. He likes pineapple in his burgers. Toby and I think fresh pineapples are lovely. On their own.
I then went out to collect some things from another Cub leader for Cubs tomorrow. We're making bows and arrows. I hope it goes well.
Busy at work today and I have a meeting on Lambtom Quay from 3pm to 5:30pm. Mike is also going and we drove in so we have some chance of collecting Toby from Skids, feeding him and getting to Cubs for the evening. Toby's toasted ham and cheese sandwich is sitting in the fridge waiting for the frypan at 6pm. He'll have to eat it in the car!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Monday was supposed to be quite horrid in terms of the weather. But the promised southerly change was a bit slow in coming and I rode home in lovely weather.
I collected Toby and we went home and prepared homemade burgers. This is one of Toby's favourite meals. And we have a whole fresh pineapple, so I chopped off a big slab of it and cooked that up for Mike's burgers. He likes pineapple in his burgers. Toby and I think fresh pineapples are lovely. On their own.
I then went out to collect some things from another Cub leader for Cubs tomorrow. We're making bows and arrows. I hope it goes well.
Busy at work today and I have a meeting on Lambtom Quay from 3pm to 5:30pm. Mike is also going and we drove in so we have some chance of collecting Toby from Skids, feeding him and getting to Cubs for the evening. Toby's toasted ham and cheese sandwich is sitting in the fridge waiting for the frypan at 6pm. He'll have to eat it in the car!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Monday, March 21, 2011
The weekend with gorgeous weather
Hi,
What a lovely weekend. The weather forecast is not superb, but this morning's ride in was so nice! It might be a different story by the end of the day.
Friday evening was a quiet time with me and Toby watching a movie. Saturday kicked in with swimming and Toby swam well again. He really is getting it sussed. Mike took the time to get the plumber in and cap off the downstairs plumbing. But we met up at Sally and Andrew's house to collect the bouncy castle. Sally and Andrew weren't around but we checked out their house anyway. Saw their new fancy television on the wall, and their old one in the spare room. Mum and Dad - when you're in town next, book that room! Way better comfort than our offering. Heheheheh.
We were getting ready to go for a walk up Mt Kaukau when we got a call from "John". I heard Mike say "Oh, hi John". And I wondered if it was the John we were walking with, or the John we were dropping the bouncy castle off with. Turns out neither! It was John - Mike's cousin. He was in town with Nic (sans children) for Nic's cousin's wedding and they popped in for 30 minutes. So good to see them.
Mike dropped off the bouncy castle when that John called and then we met the other John for a walk! Funny!
Mt Kaukau was heavenly. Not a breath of wind on top. Probably one of three days like that all year I'd guess. And such as easy walk. We went up Simla Crescent and down into Johnsonville train station. Two hours, including walking with Jack and Toby and eating on top.
Jack came home for tea with us and Toby was chuffed to play with him for a bit longer.
Sunday Mike took to continuing the demolition of the green room. During the weekend he (and Toby) have taken out the wall between the old toilet and the green room. And now it has no ceiling and hardly any gib left. Toby loves lending a hand. He hammers the gib out with gusto.
We also tried to make a bow and arrow as a practise run for Cubs on Tuesday night. It was a bit tricky but I think we have a working prototype now. We have had some failures. And we gathered bamboo from a local source but it was the sort you can build scaffolding with - not make a bow with! We went and bought stakes from the garden shop!
Then off at 4pm to the class picnic behind the Wadestown library. Lovely weather - no wind. T-shirt and shorts.
Home for more demolition and bed! Phew!
Have a marvellous week. I know my parents are "home" in Australia again. I hope they settle in quickly!
Love,
Angela
What a lovely weekend. The weather forecast is not superb, but this morning's ride in was so nice! It might be a different story by the end of the day.
Friday evening was a quiet time with me and Toby watching a movie. Saturday kicked in with swimming and Toby swam well again. He really is getting it sussed. Mike took the time to get the plumber in and cap off the downstairs plumbing. But we met up at Sally and Andrew's house to collect the bouncy castle. Sally and Andrew weren't around but we checked out their house anyway. Saw their new fancy television on the wall, and their old one in the spare room. Mum and Dad - when you're in town next, book that room! Way better comfort than our offering. Heheheheh.
We were getting ready to go for a walk up Mt Kaukau when we got a call from "John". I heard Mike say "Oh, hi John". And I wondered if it was the John we were walking with, or the John we were dropping the bouncy castle off with. Turns out neither! It was John - Mike's cousin. He was in town with Nic (sans children) for Nic's cousin's wedding and they popped in for 30 minutes. So good to see them.
Mike dropped off the bouncy castle when that John called and then we met the other John for a walk! Funny!
Mt Kaukau was heavenly. Not a breath of wind on top. Probably one of three days like that all year I'd guess. And such as easy walk. We went up Simla Crescent and down into Johnsonville train station. Two hours, including walking with Jack and Toby and eating on top.
Jack came home for tea with us and Toby was chuffed to play with him for a bit longer.
Sunday Mike took to continuing the demolition of the green room. During the weekend he (and Toby) have taken out the wall between the old toilet and the green room. And now it has no ceiling and hardly any gib left. Toby loves lending a hand. He hammers the gib out with gusto.
We also tried to make a bow and arrow as a practise run for Cubs on Tuesday night. It was a bit tricky but I think we have a working prototype now. We have had some failures. And we gathered bamboo from a local source but it was the sort you can build scaffolding with - not make a bow with! We went and bought stakes from the garden shop!
Then off at 4pm to the class picnic behind the Wadestown library. Lovely weather - no wind. T-shirt and shorts.
Home for more demolition and bed! Phew!
Have a marvellous week. I know my parents are "home" in Australia again. I hope they settle in quickly!
Love,
Angela
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Thursday with a girls night out
Hi,
After having an awful day at work (broken servers) I went out for dinner with some women from work. One of them is getting married soon. We went to Casablanca on Cambridge Tce and enjoyed some Moroccan food. Then we wandered to Courtney Place for a drink. Mike and Toby popped in and picked me up. Nice evening.
Tonight is Mike's turn with some work colleagues from his last work. I have a movie lined up with Toby at home. I'm looking forward to that!
Then tomorrow is haircut time for me and Toby. Then swimming. Bouncy castle pickup and delivery. Walk up Mt Kaukau. Sunday is bamboo collecting and sample bow and arrow making (this is the Cub activity on Tuesday night) and a school picnic! Choice weekend, eh?
I think my parents come back from Hawaii, so they will be settling down somewhere near Brisbane. Ooooo.
Have a marvellous weekend!
Love,
Angela
After having an awful day at work (broken servers) I went out for dinner with some women from work. One of them is getting married soon. We went to Casablanca on Cambridge Tce and enjoyed some Moroccan food. Then we wandered to Courtney Place for a drink. Mike and Toby popped in and picked me up. Nice evening.
Tonight is Mike's turn with some work colleagues from his last work. I have a movie lined up with Toby at home. I'm looking forward to that!
Then tomorrow is haircut time for me and Toby. Then swimming. Bouncy castle pickup and delivery. Walk up Mt Kaukau. Sunday is bamboo collecting and sample bow and arrow making (this is the Cub activity on Tuesday night) and a school picnic! Choice weekend, eh?
I think my parents come back from Hawaii, so they will be settling down somewhere near Brisbane. Ooooo.
Have a marvellous weekend!
Love,
Angela
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Wednesday with Gilbert Logistics in force
Hi,
With Mike suddenly told he was attending a conference Wed and Thurs this week, our carefully laid meticulous plans went awry. I ended up having to drop Toby off at school and collect him in time for karate. I think Toby is almost ready to move up to the next class. Several of his friends have already moved up. Last night they practised a body throw and I can tell Toby loved it.
Then off to Burger Wisconsin and then quickly to the Scout Hall to eat it before Cubs started at 6:30pm. A quick wipe of sauce off Toby's face and we were ready. We drove to Evans Bay for the Sea Scouts session and enjoyed it immensely. Toby went out on the water in a row boat and had a ball. A late night but it was good fun!
Tonight I have a work dinner and Mike will come home early to get Toby. Tomorrow night is Mike's turn!
Bring on the weekend for some calm!
Love,
Angela
With Mike suddenly told he was attending a conference Wed and Thurs this week, our carefully laid meticulous plans went awry. I ended up having to drop Toby off at school and collect him in time for karate. I think Toby is almost ready to move up to the next class. Several of his friends have already moved up. Last night they practised a body throw and I can tell Toby loved it.
Then off to Burger Wisconsin and then quickly to the Scout Hall to eat it before Cubs started at 6:30pm. A quick wipe of sauce off Toby's face and we were ready. We drove to Evans Bay for the Sea Scouts session and enjoyed it immensely. Toby went out on the water in a row boat and had a ball. A late night but it was good fun!
Tonight I have a work dinner and Mike will come home early to get Toby. Tomorrow night is Mike's turn!
Bring on the weekend for some calm!
Love,
Angela
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Tuesday with nothing
Hi,
Finally an evening with nothing on. So we can recharge our batteries for today. Today Toby has tennis, closely followed by karate (involving his mother riding home furiously) and then off to Cubs. Tonight's Cubs night is at the Sea Scouts boatshed down in Evans Bay. Should be a good night. If a little cold.
Mike has a Sharepoint Conference in town to attend so he'll go right there after the conference. I told him to eat lots of lunch as he hasn't got dinner factored into his schedule. Toby and I have an 30 minute slot to get dinner into us.
Phew! And it is only midweek!
Busy at work, so I'd better get stuck back into it.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
Finally an evening with nothing on. So we can recharge our batteries for today. Today Toby has tennis, closely followed by karate (involving his mother riding home furiously) and then off to Cubs. Tonight's Cubs night is at the Sea Scouts boatshed down in Evans Bay. Should be a good night. If a little cold.
Mike has a Sharepoint Conference in town to attend so he'll go right there after the conference. I told him to eat lots of lunch as he hasn't got dinner factored into his schedule. Toby and I have an 30 minute slot to get dinner into us.
Phew! And it is only midweek!
Busy at work, so I'd better get stuck back into it.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Monday with Keas and parent/teacher interviews
Hi,
Ok - it's official. My son doesn't listen. Nothing wrong with his maths (my biggest fear from last year). But he doesn't listen well. I am not surprised by the "doesn't listen" comment. He's 8 years old. He thinks "Plants versus Zombies" is the only thing deserving of his time. Everything else is getting between him and his next strategy for surviving the "Zombie Apocalypse". I am surprised his maths is fine. This new maths homework book lets me see that he does know maths.
Then I rushed off to Keas where we played games outside. Good fun!
No Cubs tonight - it's on tomorrow night and at the Sea Scouts! Cool!
Mike is off sick today. He slept poorly last night and I think he needs a day to catch up.
The wind is strong this morning - but warm - from the north! Enjoyed the ride in!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Ok - it's official. My son doesn't listen. Nothing wrong with his maths (my biggest fear from last year). But he doesn't listen well. I am not surprised by the "doesn't listen" comment. He's 8 years old. He thinks "Plants versus Zombies" is the only thing deserving of his time. Everything else is getting between him and his next strategy for surviving the "Zombie Apocalypse". I am surprised his maths is fine. This new maths homework book lets me see that he does know maths.
Then I rushed off to Keas where we played games outside. Good fun!
No Cubs tonight - it's on tomorrow night and at the Sea Scouts! Cool!
Mike is off sick today. He slept poorly last night and I think he needs a day to catch up.
The wind is strong this morning - but warm - from the north! Enjoyed the ride in!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Monday, March 14, 2011
Ruapehu 12-13 March
Everyone knows the Ruapehu Lodge is where you go for winter weekends – for snowboarding, alpine adventures and the like. Summer? What’s there in Summer? Well, that was our mission – to find out.
I well know that the lodge is very comfortable for regular punters and families alike – which it needs to be, because snowboarding at Mt Ruapehu usually involves trudging up to the lodge in a blizzard, staying inside drinking coffee and relaxing while it sleets, snows and blows all weekend, and then grimly struggling back to the car and going home again. At least in summer, we’d only get gales and rain!
Our journey began at 5pm sharp as we set off. It’s never a good idea to start a trip to Ruapehu at 5pm on a Friday – but needs must. We met up with Simon, who was grabbing a ride from us, and collected Toby our son who was at After school car. And off we went, north along SH1, along with half of Wellington.
Sure enough, we met the queue for the Waikane lights at the outskirts of Paraparaumu. It was walking speed from then on – must have taken a good hour or so. Sigh. Not unexpected. Once we’d cleared Waikanae it all got a lot faster, although we didn’t make the famous Bulls Kebab shop for dinner – Levin McDonalds was as good as it got for us.
The fuel light came on just out of Taihape, which was fine. My game plan is always to fill up in Waiouru.
But I learned something that night:
You can't fill up at Waiouru anymore.
We pulled into Waiouru and tried all the petrol stations, one by one. Caltex - gone. BP - gone. Shell - going – there was a digger parked on the remains of the forecourt building. All replaced by truckstops with diesel and fuel cards. Disaster! We definitely didn’t have enough petrol to make the lodge. So there was nothing for it but to drive all the way back to Taihape to the BP that's there, and open 24/7. My new game plan is to fill up at Taihape!
(Since March, Z have built a shiny new petrol station so you can get petrol in Waiouru again. But I still don't trust it. Once bitten...)
On the way, my wife Angela started texting about the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan. So we sombrely listened to the news on the radio. It certainly brings you down to earth when these things happen.
So between the traffic, the dinner and the backtracking, it was 11pm by the time we got to the lodge. Six hours!! An epic trip (but not ‘epic’ in a good way). Next time I will definitely take an hour off work – or even work an hour later.
When we got there, there were still a lot of folks up and about, and we talked about the next two days’ activities. The original plan was some fairly easy 4 hour walks, plenty of stops for jellybeans - normal family tramping fare. But the two ‘normal family tramper’ families had not been able to make it, leaving Ally and Beth who were intending to have a great weekend being lounge lizards, and Rene, Tom and Vincent who were going to go hard to train for bagging Mt Taranaki the following weekend. So what to do? Nothing for it but for Toby and I, and Simon as well, to go hard with Rene.
Ally suggested a great route into Tongariro – head up to Mangetepopo hut and then head up the ridge opposite the Tongariro Crossing route – and this takes you straight to the top of Tongariro. This sounded really good and pretty easy to find, and so we decided that was for us.
So to bed we went, with me checking the news and texting Angela before I went to sleep. Angela’s parents were holidaying in Hawai’i, and there was a tsunami forecast for 3am! Was all good in the end though. Hawai’i is well set up for tsunamis so we knew it would be, even if it was a major one.
It was an early start the next morning and off we drove to the Mangetepopo road end. It was a quick, easy jaunt to Mangetepopo hut. I even heard that it wasn’t uncommon for folks to overnight there if they were driving from Wellington to Auckland – easy to get to and free with an annual hut pass! Great idea.
Now we had the first test for the boys – the face up to the opposite ridge. They tackled it with minimum complaints and lots of running back and forth. There were some little slips with smooth mud faces that proved irresistible to bum-slide down. By the time we got to the top of the ridge, we had three fairly dirty boys with us!
Once we hit the ridge it was a gentle up and down wander, with just a little bit more up than down. The boys wandered along chatting about whatever young boys chat about, and the adults pestered them to go faster. They mostly acceded.
Mt Tongariro was visible in the distance and it steadily got closer.
After a couple of hours the ridge turned into a spur and got steadily steeper. Now things got a bit more serious. The gravel track turned into a scree face, and the walking turned into a slog with one step up and two steps back. Hard work! Toby scrambled up with Vincent in hot pursuit – the two of them were light enough to mostly skate over the scree.
The top of the spur slowly, painfully got closer and closer and eventually… we popped up to the top and discovered we were within 100m of the summit! We found ourselves looking into big Tongariro crater, with the summit, which is really just the highest lump on the crater wall, off to our right.
Unfortunately, a bank of cloud chose to move over Ngaruhoe and Tongariro just at this time, after the brilliant blue skies we’d had on the way up. So the view from the top wasn’t quite as good as it should have been. We got there in time to see the Tongariro craters and the view out to the east before it clagged in.
After the obligatory photos and celebrations and jellybeans, it was time to head down again. Our plan was to follow the crater rim back town, and then take the Tongariro Crossing track in reverse, back to the Mangetepopo car park.
So we sauntered back down the crater rim, and took a quick detour to glance across to Red crater. It looked pretty ethereal – our only real look at a strange volcanic stained landscape. (If you don’t count Ngaruhoe looming over us constantly, that is).
Now we were back on the Tongariro Walk, steadily passing the straggler loopies, in their jeans and cotton tops, wondering how they would get home now they’d missed their transport out by over an hour. The clouds were also closing in and a very light rain was falling. Some of these folks were in for a pretty miserable time, as they got wet and cold as they hiked along to no ride at the other end. Oh well.
The children were getting pretty tired by now, even a steady supply of jellybeans was starting to wear off as an incentive. Chocolate was still working though. Tom was very inventive with his chocolate, carving it slowly with his teeth until it looked exactly like a chocolate fish. A work of art! It certainly made his chocolate last a lot longer than anyone else’s.
Meanwhile, Toby was complaining about sore feet. I told him to stop moaning and just get on with it. Eventually - eventually! – I thought I should maybe see what he was on about, and fished out some big lumps of gravel from the front of his boots. There were angry red dints on the front of both his feet. Hmm, maybe I should take notice of Toby’s ‘moaning’ a bit more often!
By the time we made it back to the cars we’d been walking for 8 hours, ascended (and descended) about 700m vertical, and had three very tired boys with us. They’d kept up a fantastic pace, it’s certainly the longest and hardest daytrip that Toby’s done.
We headed home to well earned dinner - thanks to Ally for cooking it for us! The boys soon perked up again with a few calories inside them, and played a fairly complex game of tag with the younger kids that seemed to involve cross dressing and stress balls and leaping from chair to chair. It all made perfect sense to them at least!
Meanwhile, us adults sat outside on the deck (must be one of the very few times that’s possible at the lodge!) and watched a wonderful sunset. Bright orange sky with Mt Taranaki silhouetted between two banks of clouds. Magic.
Two climbers, Pete and Ian, came in and stayed for the evening, so we chatted to them. Hopefully they weren’t looking for a peaceful, quiet lodge to stay at! They left pretty early the next morning for another day on the faces around Tongariro.
Next morning, we were up (somewhat) early, and soon cleaned up and packed up and said goodbye to the lodge. To justify the two days away, we felt we had to hit another track today, so we headed off to http://www.nationalpark.co.nz/hiking/tuapapakurua-falls-track. I’d been here on a ‘regular’ daywalk a year or so ago and loved it – it’s a real hidden gem. We found the access road much improved – it used to be goat track barely driveable with a 2WD car, but they seem to be putting a cycleway in so now it’s a really good gravel road. To get to the start of the Tuapapakurua Falls track, you head to the north-west corner of National Park, cross the railway track on Carroll Street (sealed), drive 2km or so up Fisher Road (gravelled), until you reach a road end just before a big wooden gate (the size of a deer fence). This looks to be the start of the new cycleway. The track heads off to the left, just past the road-end and before the big wooden gate.
The plan was to race to the falls, but after yesterday’s exertions and with Wellington beckoning - no-one was quite so keen! So instead we did a quick jaunt up to the ‘Taranaki lookout’, which promised a stunning view of Mt Taranaki. We got to see the clouds that hid Mt Taranaki, which was a more normal Mt Taranaki view. Oh well. That made it time to go back to our cars and take our weary bodies back to Wellington.
This trip just confirmed to me how great the lodge is as a place to hang out even when there’s no snow about. Whether you want to sit about and enjoy the view, do a gentle bit of wandering or biking from a great central base, or go hard and climb something impressive – the lodge is the place to do it from. It’s great for parties as small as 4 and as big as 30+, and in ‘summer’ mode you don’t have a head-scratching list of water valves to open and close when you get there either. See what it’s got to offer this summer!
The weekend with no Toby or Mike
Hi,
Mike and Toby left for Ruapehu on Friday afternoon/evening and I had the weekend to myself. Friday I spent reading and watching some movies before Sally rang to say Japan had just experienced a huge earthquake and a tsunami warning was in effect for much of the Pacific. I ran downstairs to confirm on the television and sure enough, the devastation was shocking. Watching helicopter footage of tsunami waves sweeping through the landscape was distressing. And Hawaii, in particular, Waikiki was under a warning and had sirens going off on the hour.
And of course, you know exactly where Mum and Dad were, don't you? Bang on the foreshore of Waikiki Beach. I sent an email to them, and then chatted to Sally and Karen. They recommended contacting the hotel. So I did and felt much better after I chatted to Mum and Dad and found them relaxed and informed. Mum had said they needed to pack, but Dad was adamant if they had to flee though the streets, the suitcases were not coming!
Turns out Hawaii did get reasonable waves hitting them, but Waikiki hotels were not hit by them. An earthquake locally may have troubled them a little, but Mum and Dad didn't feel that! Staying up to see what happened probably ruined my mother's jet lag progress. She's probably back on Aus time again!
I fell asleep on the couch watching the disaster unfold and woke when the waves were due to hit Hawaii. Saw everything was ok and went to sleep in my bed!
Saturday morning Mike had volunteered me to help set up the Wadestown Fair. So I walked there and chatted to Fiona (the neighbour with her stall) and got a good price for her first sale. Put up some streamers all over the park and walked home. Read all afternoon, and cooked up some lamb korma.
Then I got ready for Christine's party at the Penthouse Cinema. I squeezed into a dress and wore proper shoes. It was 40s glamour as a theme and whilst for me I was pretty glamorous, I doubt anyone else would have noticed. Heheheheh. I collected Vivienne who was looking glamorous herself (and had nice red lipstick as 40s women seemed to have exclusively). We ate nibblies and chatted before heading up to watch Casablanca. What a great movie. We even got chocolate hokeypokey icecreams as we entered.
Home to bed around 8:45pm. Pretty good, eh? I read for a bit and fell asleep!
Sunday I spent reading in earnest to make up for the activity on Saturday that ate into quality reading time! I like to think I did make it up. I finished one book and started another.
Then the boys came home and ate the lamb korma I cooked yesterday! I heard all about their adventures and I am sure you will too - soon!
Have a great week.
Love,
Angela
Mike and Toby left for Ruapehu on Friday afternoon/evening and I had the weekend to myself. Friday I spent reading and watching some movies before Sally rang to say Japan had just experienced a huge earthquake and a tsunami warning was in effect for much of the Pacific. I ran downstairs to confirm on the television and sure enough, the devastation was shocking. Watching helicopter footage of tsunami waves sweeping through the landscape was distressing. And Hawaii, in particular, Waikiki was under a warning and had sirens going off on the hour.
And of course, you know exactly where Mum and Dad were, don't you? Bang on the foreshore of Waikiki Beach. I sent an email to them, and then chatted to Sally and Karen. They recommended contacting the hotel. So I did and felt much better after I chatted to Mum and Dad and found them relaxed and informed. Mum had said they needed to pack, but Dad was adamant if they had to flee though the streets, the suitcases were not coming!
Turns out Hawaii did get reasonable waves hitting them, but Waikiki hotels were not hit by them. An earthquake locally may have troubled them a little, but Mum and Dad didn't feel that! Staying up to see what happened probably ruined my mother's jet lag progress. She's probably back on Aus time again!
I fell asleep on the couch watching the disaster unfold and woke when the waves were due to hit Hawaii. Saw everything was ok and went to sleep in my bed!
Saturday morning Mike had volunteered me to help set up the Wadestown Fair. So I walked there and chatted to Fiona (the neighbour with her stall) and got a good price for her first sale. Put up some streamers all over the park and walked home. Read all afternoon, and cooked up some lamb korma.
Then I got ready for Christine's party at the Penthouse Cinema. I squeezed into a dress and wore proper shoes. It was 40s glamour as a theme and whilst for me I was pretty glamorous, I doubt anyone else would have noticed. Heheheheh. I collected Vivienne who was looking glamorous herself (and had nice red lipstick as 40s women seemed to have exclusively). We ate nibblies and chatted before heading up to watch Casablanca. What a great movie. We even got chocolate hokeypokey icecreams as we entered.
Home to bed around 8:45pm. Pretty good, eh? I read for a bit and fell asleep!
Sunday I spent reading in earnest to make up for the activity on Saturday that ate into quality reading time! I like to think I did make it up. I finished one book and started another.
Then the boys came home and ate the lamb korma I cooked yesterday! I heard all about their adventures and I am sure you will too - soon!
Have a great week.
Love,
Angela
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Thursday with packing for the weekend
Hi,
Have I mentioned the nip in the air in the mornings now? It wasn't there last week. The seasons move on. Soon my legs will be numb when I ride into work. Which is fine! But when they start to thaw, then it is uncomfortable.
Last night we rode home and Mike flew up the hill on the tail of a road cyclist. He normally takes between 11 and 12 minutes to get up the hill - last night with a pace-setter to follow he did it in 9:30! He had to meet the house painter for a quote for the rest of the house and the garage, which all sounded good. I collected Toby and wandered home.
Mike and Toby did some more demolition work in the green room while I cooked tea. Toby is really keen to help with the demolition work. He swings a mean hammer! He removed most of the north wall of this room, mainly by smashing it into very small pieces.
Then I helped Mike and Toby pack for the weekend. They're off to the Lodge at Ruapehu. I can't go because I have Christine's birthday party on Saturday night - Vivienne is coming too. Should be a good one. It's at the Penthouse Cinema in Brooklyn and we're seeing some old movie. Not too sure what (because of last minute copyright negotiations!).
Not much else. Had an email from my parents in Hawaii. They are in some fantastic resort style hotel right on Waikiki Beach. Apart from the frantic nature of touring they seem to be having fun. Perhaps their second week will be more relaxing. The beach certainly looks nice to me. I found a webcam on their hotel roof and I have asked them to stand by the pool tomorrow morning so I can see them! Heheheheh.
Right. Busy day at work so I'd better find that steadying cup of tea and get stuck in!
Love,
Angela
Have I mentioned the nip in the air in the mornings now? It wasn't there last week. The seasons move on. Soon my legs will be numb when I ride into work. Which is fine! But when they start to thaw, then it is uncomfortable.
Last night we rode home and Mike flew up the hill on the tail of a road cyclist. He normally takes between 11 and 12 minutes to get up the hill - last night with a pace-setter to follow he did it in 9:30! He had to meet the house painter for a quote for the rest of the house and the garage, which all sounded good. I collected Toby and wandered home.
Mike and Toby did some more demolition work in the green room while I cooked tea. Toby is really keen to help with the demolition work. He swings a mean hammer! He removed most of the north wall of this room, mainly by smashing it into very small pieces.
Then I helped Mike and Toby pack for the weekend. They're off to the Lodge at Ruapehu. I can't go because I have Christine's birthday party on Saturday night - Vivienne is coming too. Should be a good one. It's at the Penthouse Cinema in Brooklyn and we're seeing some old movie. Not too sure what (because of last minute copyright negotiations!).
Not much else. Had an email from my parents in Hawaii. They are in some fantastic resort style hotel right on Waikiki Beach. Apart from the frantic nature of touring they seem to be having fun. Perhaps their second week will be more relaxing. The beach certainly looks nice to me. I found a webcam on their hotel roof and I have asked them to stand by the pool tomorrow morning so I can see them! Heheheheh.
Right. Busy day at work so I'd better find that steadying cup of tea and get stuck in!
Love,
Angela
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Wednesday with Toby sick at home
Hi,
Wee Toby is coming down with a cold. My mothering intuition can tell these things - the bright green snotty nose just gives his Dad the clues. Heheheh. Yep - poor wee Toby wasn't up for a day at school yesterday. I don't think he was overly sick, but just enough to produce lots of tears and some fantastic retching. He's such an actor. Anyhow, time to call in sick to work and comfort him a bit.
When he has a sick day, the rules are no television, no computers and stay in bed. This worked well for the most part. I decided to clear out the pantry (we inherited a lot of food from my parents as they couldn't take food to Australia) and re-organise it. Toby started reading (an allowed activity) and ploughed through books. Then I got some audio books for him to listen to as well.
After lunch I tidied the house a bit (so Ruth can lux on Thursday morning without sucking up valuable items) and the around 3:30pm lay down on the bed to read with Toby. Finished one book, started another and then I fell asleep. I guess the rules were fair game for Toby then. When I woke up an hour later, I noticed he was watching a DVD. Hmmmmm.
Made dinner and Mike came home. Mike finished the shelves I didn't touch in the pantry and now it looks stunning. He also tidied up outside where he'd dumped some torn off gib.
Then inside to watch a special episode of Time Team - they went to Orkney. Such a great episode. I love Orkney. I watched it twice. Once while Mike said he was coming "In 5 minutes" and once when he finally came in!
Mike and Toby are off for the weekend to Ruapehu (I hope Toby's cold is ok). I'm off to a 40th birthday party (hopefully with Vivienne, if she's still free on Saturday night).
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Wee Toby is coming down with a cold. My mothering intuition can tell these things - the bright green snotty nose just gives his Dad the clues. Heheheh. Yep - poor wee Toby wasn't up for a day at school yesterday. I don't think he was overly sick, but just enough to produce lots of tears and some fantastic retching. He's such an actor. Anyhow, time to call in sick to work and comfort him a bit.
When he has a sick day, the rules are no television, no computers and stay in bed. This worked well for the most part. I decided to clear out the pantry (we inherited a lot of food from my parents as they couldn't take food to Australia) and re-organise it. Toby started reading (an allowed activity) and ploughed through books. Then I got some audio books for him to listen to as well.
After lunch I tidied the house a bit (so Ruth can lux on Thursday morning without sucking up valuable items) and the around 3:30pm lay down on the bed to read with Toby. Finished one book, started another and then I fell asleep. I guess the rules were fair game for Toby then. When I woke up an hour later, I noticed he was watching a DVD. Hmmmmm.
Made dinner and Mike came home. Mike finished the shelves I didn't touch in the pantry and now it looks stunning. He also tidied up outside where he'd dumped some torn off gib.
Then inside to watch a special episode of Time Team - they went to Orkney. Such a great episode. I love Orkney. I watched it twice. Once while Mike said he was coming "In 5 minutes" and once when he finally came in!
Mike and Toby are off for the weekend to Ruapehu (I hope Toby's cold is ok). I'm off to a 40th birthday party (hopefully with Vivienne, if she's still free on Saturday night).
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Monday with no Keas
Hi,
Monday went well - I was busy all day at work and the ride home was a welcome respite. I did find it a bit tougher than usual riding up the hill. But I blame the kilos of groceries in my bike pannier. It does make it harder.
Mike was going to ride straight to the Scout Hall to help with the wet tents from the weekend, but I was just starting dinner when he rang and Toby and I had to drive in to get him. He had a meeting and couldn't get away on time as he was planning. He dropped us at home and went to the Hall and Toby and I made dinner.
We had just started to eat when Mike got home after putting away all the tents. Hooray! They were dry!
Toby has a great day lined up. He'll be collected from Skids by Jack and his Dad and taken to Karori Park for bike riding (Toby took his bike to school) and then he'll have his first midweek sleepover. Ooooo.
We're off to see The Kings Speech tonight. By all accounts (and I have heard a few) it is a great movie.
My parents are in Hawaii enjoying some warmth and fun. I can't wait to hear what they think of it. It seems to be a rainy time of year for them (I checked the weather forecast yesterday) - a bit like Samoa I guess. Karen went there years ago and told me I needed to go one day. She thought I'd enjoy it. And I bet I would too. Hawaii is one hour ahead of NZ (so three ahead of eastern Australia) and a day behind. So they are currently in Monday! Funny, eh?
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
Monday went well - I was busy all day at work and the ride home was a welcome respite. I did find it a bit tougher than usual riding up the hill. But I blame the kilos of groceries in my bike pannier. It does make it harder.
Mike was going to ride straight to the Scout Hall to help with the wet tents from the weekend, but I was just starting dinner when he rang and Toby and I had to drive in to get him. He had a meeting and couldn't get away on time as he was planning. He dropped us at home and went to the Hall and Toby and I made dinner.
We had just started to eat when Mike got home after putting away all the tents. Hooray! They were dry!
Toby has a great day lined up. He'll be collected from Skids by Jack and his Dad and taken to Karori Park for bike riding (Toby took his bike to school) and then he'll have his first midweek sleepover. Ooooo.
We're off to see The Kings Speech tonight. By all accounts (and I have heard a few) it is a great movie.
My parents are in Hawaii enjoying some warmth and fun. I can't wait to hear what they think of it. It seems to be a rainy time of year for them (I checked the weather forecast yesterday) - a bit like Samoa I guess. Karen went there years ago and told me I needed to go one day. She thought I'd enjoy it. And I bet I would too. Hawaii is one hour ahead of NZ (so three ahead of eastern Australia) and a day behind. So they are currently in Monday! Funny, eh?
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
Monday, March 7, 2011
The weekend with the Cub Camp
Hi,
As an indication of the weather for the weekend, a Cub's mother rang me at 9am Saturday morning to find out if the camp was still on. Yep - it was great weather alright. So good Mike was the only punter left on his WTMC family trip. Needless to say, he didn't stay in a tent at the Catchpool roadend by himself. He went home to catch up on all the jobs we have missed doing for the last few weekends.
I went to the Scout Hall to collect some gear to take to the camp, while Mike took Toby swimming. By all accounts (well, Mike's account) Toby swam very well. Half the length with breathing! Wow! He'll be chasing Tyler's efforts in the pool yet. She had school swimming races on Friday and came in 5th place in the school over 100m. How amazing is that? She is so wee! Next year she'll concentrate on the 50m (freestyle and backstroke I think) so she can keep her strength up. She did well in those events: in her 50m freestyle heat she came 3rd and 2nd in her backstroke heat.
Look! I pasted in Karen's text and now I have a nicer font! Happy about that.
Meanwhile, while Toby was swimming I got to drive by myself to the camp. I sang loudly all the way!
Helped pitch heaps of tents - some of the Cubs have nailed the half slip knot used on the guyropes - others think they have and others know they haven't. I re-tied quite a few! I am a dab hand at that knot now.
Anne was in charge of the camp kitchen and she did an amazing job. The parents all chipped in and the organisation of the camp was brilliant. Bagheera and Chil are dab hands at it. I am trying to absorb all that happened to get it running that smoothly as next year it'll be me and Mike running it. Yikes!
We had lunch quite quickly after the tents were pitched. Mike and Toby arrived just before then and Mike took off again to get stuck into his weekend tasks. This lunch was a packed lunch from home. Toby had had lunch with Mike but was keen to eat again so he munched on some of my snacks with the other Cubs eating their lunches.
After lunch the Cubs all decided to go swimming in the freezing wee pool. Oddly they seem to like it. Lots of splashing and jumping. Then someone noticed a huge spider on the side of the pool. That coincided with the end of swimming. A parent called it "The South American Water Spider" and Toby was convinced by that!
Back to camp and into groups for kayaking and the confidence course. Toby's group was the one I followed and we tackled the confidence course first. It was great and Toby did very well. He was paired with Tom and they clambered over everything on their way around. Some of the older Cubs were used to the course from previous camps and had time trials.
Then we were into the kayaks and Toby had a ball. The wee lake was a great spot for it, with a small "beach" and some wooden rafts at the edge. At the end of the kayaking, Toby was leaping from raft to raft and then ended up in the lake like the other Cubs. He was loving it! A few goes on the flying fox and then back for afternoon tea.
The activity before dinner was a game of soccer and they all loved that. Dinner was cooked on two BBQs and a gas griller (courtesy of Ryan's father). We ate sausages in bread and salad. It was scrumptious.
As it got darker, we played Spotlight. Then we made up damper and the Cubs cooked that over the fire and supper was Milo and toasted marshmallows.
By 9:30 the Cubs were all asleep in their tents. The leaders and parents sat in campchairs around the fire (oh, my font has switched back) and chatted for a while (midnight apparently) but I escaped to my tent at 10:30 to read. I read a few chapters and slept like a log. Well, until the rain pelted down. But then I just rolled over and went back to sleep.
The rain was settled for the day however and Sunday was constant drizzly rain. Breakfast was cereals (hardly anyone ate Weetbix) and the griller was used for making loads of toast and the Cubs ate lots of that.
More activities including kayaking and the confidence course again. Flying fox was again popular. Then lots of eating to consume the food we had leftover. Morning tea quickly melded into lunch. Lunch was ham and cheese toasties under the same griller.
After lunch we struck the tents and it took quite a while to pack up everything. It's amazing what Cubs are good at getting things done and what Cubs need constant attention to keep them focussed. By 2:45 we were done and I gathered up Chelsea and Brennan and took them home with Toby.
We collected Mike on the way to Karori and dropped off the kids at the Sampson house while we hung the tents up in the Scout Hall. Phew!
Back home to eat dinner (thanks Mike) and I fell into bed exhausted.
No Cubs on Tuesday this week so we can recover from the experience.
Have a marvellous week.
Love,
Angela
As an indication of the weather for the weekend, a Cub's mother rang me at 9am Saturday morning to find out if the camp was still on. Yep - it was great weather alright. So good Mike was the only punter left on his WTMC family trip. Needless to say, he didn't stay in a tent at the Catchpool roadend by himself. He went home to catch up on all the jobs we have missed doing for the last few weekends.
I went to the Scout Hall to collect some gear to take to the camp, while Mike took Toby swimming. By all accounts (well, Mike's account) Toby swam very well. Half the length with breathing! Wow! He'll be chasing Tyler's efforts in the pool yet. She had school swimming races on Friday and came in 5th place in the school over 100m. How amazing is that? She is so wee! Next year she'll concentrate on the 50m (freestyle and backstroke I think) so she can keep her strength up. She did well in those events: in her 50m freestyle heat she came 3rd and 2nd in her backstroke heat.
Look! I pasted in Karen's text and now I have a nicer font! Happy about that.
Meanwhile, while Toby was swimming I got to drive by myself to the camp. I sang loudly all the way!
Helped pitch heaps of tents - some of the Cubs have nailed the half slip knot used on the guyropes - others think they have and others know they haven't. I re-tied quite a few! I am a dab hand at that knot now.
Anne was in charge of the camp kitchen and she did an amazing job. The parents all chipped in and the organisation of the camp was brilliant. Bagheera and Chil are dab hands at it. I am trying to absorb all that happened to get it running that smoothly as next year it'll be me and Mike running it. Yikes!
We had lunch quite quickly after the tents were pitched. Mike and Toby arrived just before then and Mike took off again to get stuck into his weekend tasks. This lunch was a packed lunch from home. Toby had had lunch with Mike but was keen to eat again so he munched on some of my snacks with the other Cubs eating their lunches.
After lunch the Cubs all decided to go swimming in the freezing wee pool. Oddly they seem to like it. Lots of splashing and jumping. Then someone noticed a huge spider on the side of the pool. That coincided with the end of swimming. A parent called it "The South American Water Spider" and Toby was convinced by that!
Back to camp and into groups for kayaking and the confidence course. Toby's group was the one I followed and we tackled the confidence course first. It was great and Toby did very well. He was paired with Tom and they clambered over everything on their way around. Some of the older Cubs were used to the course from previous camps and had time trials.
Then we were into the kayaks and Toby had a ball. The wee lake was a great spot for it, with a small "beach" and some wooden rafts at the edge. At the end of the kayaking, Toby was leaping from raft to raft and then ended up in the lake like the other Cubs. He was loving it! A few goes on the flying fox and then back for afternoon tea.
The activity before dinner was a game of soccer and they all loved that. Dinner was cooked on two BBQs and a gas griller (courtesy of Ryan's father). We ate sausages in bread and salad. It was scrumptious.
As it got darker, we played Spotlight. Then we made up damper and the Cubs cooked that over the fire and supper was Milo and toasted marshmallows.
By 9:30 the Cubs were all asleep in their tents. The leaders and parents sat in campchairs around the fire (oh, my font has switched back) and chatted for a while (midnight apparently) but I escaped to my tent at 10:30 to read. I read a few chapters and slept like a log. Well, until the rain pelted down. But then I just rolled over and went back to sleep.
The rain was settled for the day however and Sunday was constant drizzly rain. Breakfast was cereals (hardly anyone ate Weetbix) and the griller was used for making loads of toast and the Cubs ate lots of that.
More activities including kayaking and the confidence course again. Flying fox was again popular. Then lots of eating to consume the food we had leftover. Morning tea quickly melded into lunch. Lunch was ham and cheese toasties under the same griller.
After lunch we struck the tents and it took quite a while to pack up everything. It's amazing what Cubs are good at getting things done and what Cubs need constant attention to keep them focussed. By 2:45 we were done and I gathered up Chelsea and Brennan and took them home with Toby.
We collected Mike on the way to Karori and dropped off the kids at the Sampson house while we hung the tents up in the Scout Hall. Phew!
Back home to eat dinner (thanks Mike) and I fell into bed exhausted.
No Cubs on Tuesday this week so we can recover from the experience.
Have a marvellous week.
Love,
Angela
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Thursday with Bear
Hi,
Mike and I were busy at work, but Mike hurtled home to collect Toby for the big event. We caught up with Sally at The Lone Star and I enjoyed the meal. I did eat a bit too much though. Then we went to see "An evening with Bear Grylls".
I think Mike is right - it should have been better organised. We were treated to a surprise concert by Tiki Taane, which we enjoyed. Then Maria Quigley (the Children's Hospital events organiser) talked. Then Mark Ingles talked - he lost both legs on the summit of Mt Cook, trapped in a snow cave for 13 days. He was an inspirational speaker - very normal and passionate.
We then were treated to a comedian, who I am sure might be quite funny in a club setting after 5 pints of lager. But for a family audience, the swearing wasn't received very well.
Finally, when Toby was almost asleep, Bear came on. He talked on a couch for a while to some silly clown and then answered questions from the crowd. We saw a few clips on the screen behind them. Bear seems to be quite a normal chap. He said he sometimes eats Mars Bars from his camera crew. It was quite entertaining.
The weekend is full of Cub Camp. Toby has invited Bear Grylls along via Facebook. Heheheh. The weather is supposed to be awful, but I think it'll be fun.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela
Mike and I were busy at work, but Mike hurtled home to collect Toby for the big event. We caught up with Sally at The Lone Star and I enjoyed the meal. I did eat a bit too much though. Then we went to see "An evening with Bear Grylls".
I think Mike is right - it should have been better organised. We were treated to a surprise concert by Tiki Taane, which we enjoyed. Then Maria Quigley (the Children's Hospital events organiser) talked. Then Mark Ingles talked - he lost both legs on the summit of Mt Cook, trapped in a snow cave for 13 days. He was an inspirational speaker - very normal and passionate.
We then were treated to a comedian, who I am sure might be quite funny in a club setting after 5 pints of lager. But for a family audience, the swearing wasn't received very well.
Finally, when Toby was almost asleep, Bear came on. He talked on a couch for a while to some silly clown and then answered questions from the crowd. We saw a few clips on the screen behind them. Bear seems to be quite a normal chap. He said he sometimes eats Mars Bars from his camera crew. It was quite entertaining.
The weekend is full of Cub Camp. Toby has invited Bear Grylls along via Facebook. Heheheh. The weather is supposed to be awful, but I think it'll be fun.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Wednesday with karate
Hi,
I think finally Toby attended his correct tennis lesson for the term. Yay. And next term he will move up to full court tennis. That should be a lot more fun for him.
We think Mike's mother got home ok - mainly because she wasn't back at our house by the end of the day. So she either got to Dunedin fine, or is sleeping at Chch airport. Hopefully she got back ok. We were so busy last night we missed the opportunity to ring and confirm.
We walked to the bottom of Wadestown hill to collect the wee green car inf or a service and then collected Toby for karate. I took him while Mike cooked a great tea. Toby says "This chicken tastes delicious". Good!
Then Mike demolished the wardrobe in the green room and even got our internet back on. Toby and Mike promptly caught up on lost internet time! Heheheheh. I finished reading my book. Internet? What internet?
Mike also did a lot of WTMC homework - having no internet meant he couldn't keep things up-to-date recently.
Back to work. We have Bear Grylls tonight here in Wellington. I will ride home, change and collect Toby and then we'll bus back into town for tea and Bear!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
I think finally Toby attended his correct tennis lesson for the term. Yay. And next term he will move up to full court tennis. That should be a lot more fun for him.
We think Mike's mother got home ok - mainly because she wasn't back at our house by the end of the day. So she either got to Dunedin fine, or is sleeping at Chch airport. Hopefully she got back ok. We were so busy last night we missed the opportunity to ring and confirm.
We walked to the bottom of Wadestown hill to collect the wee green car inf or a service and then collected Toby for karate. I took him while Mike cooked a great tea. Toby says "This chicken tastes delicious". Good!
Then Mike demolished the wardrobe in the green room and even got our internet back on. Toby and Mike promptly caught up on lost internet time! Heheheheh. I finished reading my book. Internet? What internet?
Mike also did a lot of WTMC homework - having no internet meant he couldn't keep things up-to-date recently.
Back to work. We have Bear Grylls tonight here in Wellington. I will ride home, change and collect Toby and then we'll bus back into town for tea and Bear!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Tuesday with Cubs and a wee earthquake for Wellington
Hi,
We rushed home (as Tuesdays leave little time for dawdling anywhere) on our bikes, ate the sausage casserole I had in the slow cooker and left for Cubs. No time for anything other than eating, changing and driving to Cubs. I was on the "coming in activity" so I had to be on time. It went really well. We played Friend or Foe, and gave every Cub another Cub's name and they ran around the bush trying to find their 'foe' without being caught by the person hunting them. They seemed to love it.
Then we learned about this weekend's Cub Camp to Brookfields. We pitched a Scout tent (a gruesome canvas thing with no groundsheet) and learned the half slip knot for the guy ropes. I will be using our two person MacPac tent, thank you very much.
Home and into the shower for Toby. Wednesday is his school photo day so he had to look his best. His hair is far too long and even he has suggested he get a haircut.
Off to bed for all of us. But as we were almost ready to settle down at 10:10pm, we had a wee earthquake. It is actually the first one Mike has felt since we moved back to Wellington and the strongest one he has felt since the big Dunedin one. Our mirrored wardrobe doors wobbled enough to make a noise. Mike wandered down to make sure his mother and Toby were fine. It had woken Toby but he was oblivious as to why and went straight back to sleep. The news said that people were nervous about it. Earthquakes in Wellington aren't fun anymore.
Ok. Time for a cup of tea. The car is in for a service and the galeforce winds might prove an impediment to Mike's mother's return to Dunedin today. We shall see.
Love,
Angela
We rushed home (as Tuesdays leave little time for dawdling anywhere) on our bikes, ate the sausage casserole I had in the slow cooker and left for Cubs. No time for anything other than eating, changing and driving to Cubs. I was on the "coming in activity" so I had to be on time. It went really well. We played Friend or Foe, and gave every Cub another Cub's name and they ran around the bush trying to find their 'foe' without being caught by the person hunting them. They seemed to love it.
Then we learned about this weekend's Cub Camp to Brookfields. We pitched a Scout tent (a gruesome canvas thing with no groundsheet) and learned the half slip knot for the guy ropes. I will be using our two person MacPac tent, thank you very much.
Home and into the shower for Toby. Wednesday is his school photo day so he had to look his best. His hair is far too long and even he has suggested he get a haircut.
Off to bed for all of us. But as we were almost ready to settle down at 10:10pm, we had a wee earthquake. It is actually the first one Mike has felt since we moved back to Wellington and the strongest one he has felt since the big Dunedin one. Our mirrored wardrobe doors wobbled enough to make a noise. Mike wandered down to make sure his mother and Toby were fine. It had woken Toby but he was oblivious as to why and went straight back to sleep. The news said that people were nervous about it. Earthquakes in Wellington aren't fun anymore.
Ok. Time for a cup of tea. The car is in for a service and the galeforce winds might prove an impediment to Mike's mother's return to Dunedin today. We shall see.
Love,
Angela
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Monday that feels like it really should have been Tuesday by now
Hi,
First Monday at work for two weeks and didn't I notice that! Busy at work and then a furious ride to Keas (got there with two minutes to spare) and running around with the Keas wore me out. Fortunately Mike came to collect me and helped me do the dishes at Keas (someone hasn't been doing them for ages) and then we got dinner and collapsed at home.
Wilf The Builder has finished the garages and they look smart. We're waiting on the doors now but Mike has cleared the debris from building away and the cars are parked back in their space. We have even put some storage boxes into the roof space. Now we're going to put our French doors in the two bottom bedrooms and probably start some other work down there.
But, first things first. I need a cup of tea! Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
First Monday at work for two weeks and didn't I notice that! Busy at work and then a furious ride to Keas (got there with two minutes to spare) and running around with the Keas wore me out. Fortunately Mike came to collect me and helped me do the dishes at Keas (someone hasn't been doing them for ages) and then we got dinner and collapsed at home.
Wilf The Builder has finished the garages and they look smart. We're waiting on the doors now but Mike has cleared the debris from building away and the cars are parked back in their space. We have even put some storage boxes into the roof space. Now we're going to put our French doors in the two bottom bedrooms and probably start some other work down there.
But, first things first. I need a cup of tea! Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
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