The Wednesday with karate

Hi,

I rode directly home last night expecting to get home just around the time Mike got back after dropping Toby off at karate.  Mike had a meeting with the Perth office arranged for 6.15pm to 7.15pm and I didn't look forward to the prospect of sitting in the dojo hall in my bike shorts for 90 minutes.  So I rode home to get changed.

But just as I rode into the garage, Mike and Toby arrived after Mike collected Toby from Yingjie's place.  We both got changed and I drove Toby straight to karate.  Usually it starts at 6pm on the dot, but we were 5 minutes late - yet they started late.  So Toby walked straight into the class as it was lining up.

Guess what?  Toby has passed his first grading in the Dragons class.  Mike and I are very proud of him (we didn't even realise it was a grading last week so he hadn't practised anything!) - he now has a Yellow belt (Dragons have a different class of belts to Tigers).

I chatted to another mother while I was there - she is a French citizen, from Geneva that has been here for nine years.  We watched her son get graded on his own because he wasn't there last week!  Nerve wracking.

Here is a photo of my finger and its great bruising.  I got it while using the axe to chop wood on Sunday.  Next time we have a girly weekend away, we're going somewhere where I don't need to wield an axe for warmth!  Hahahah.  But I have to say, I did feel virtuous at preparing large piles of wood for the next guests.

My weekend is looking fantastic!  Circus tonight with Toby (the circus is in town!), dinner at Waikanae tomorrow, Saturday morning at Play! in Petone while the wee car gets sorted, maybe a lunch with Sally and Andrew, playdate for Toby in Miramar, mountain biking with Andrew for me, Carter Observatory in the evening and Sunday family lunch.  Choice!  Can it be 5pm Friday already?  Please?

The ride in this morning was gorgeous.  The day is clear and cold (I even heard there was snow on the Tararuas) - my hands certainly attested to the freezing air temperature.  They were getting well on the way to completely numb.  A scooter popped up behind me on a steep uphill bit this morning but I stayed in front as we approached the downhill and I left the rider well behind me.  Couldn't even hear the scooter anymore.  Then my chain popped off.  So I had to stop and put it back on and the scooter rider probably had a grin on their face as they rode past me...  Pants!  Hahahah.  The roads were almost completely dry - my ride was great fun. 

Have a marvellous day!  I am off to find some tea.

Love,
Angela