The Thursday with nothing

Hi,

The weekend approaches.  Hooray! 

Tonight we'll watch some TV and we have a lot of tasks around the house to get through tomorrow.  Sunday we have a social whirlwhind lined up.  John H is arriving in Wellington for the day after attending his gran's funeral in Dunedin this week.  Can't wait to see him.

The ride in was great this morning - clear skies.  Bit of wind.  Dry roads - which is the main thing.

Best get on with it.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with no karate

Hi,


It's a happy birthday to my mother today! Hooray! I hope she has a wonderful day. It is lovely in Wellington - so far. Hahahah. They promise a midday change to a southerly with a chance of rain. But for now, my ride down the hill was lovely this morning. Bit of a strong wind from the north - but dry and not too cold.

I rode home last night a little late. Where are these days that are getting longer? It was dark enough for me. But a nice ride. And I found the boys at home relaxing - they were both too tired for karate. Had something to eat and chatted with Mike on the couch before he went off to tramping club.

When he got home, we watched television and apparently I fell asleep draped all over Mike. He has no idea how much I saw of the programee we were watching. Actually I have no idea myself. I thought I saw quite a bit. But it is all quite hazy.

Have a wonderful day - especially Mum!
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Cubs, but not for me

Hi,

By all accounts (Mike and Toby's account actually) the Cubs evening last night was the best evening ever!  The karate sensei Adam Lang gave a great talk to the Cubs and they were enthralled.  So much so that Adam said he will come back to present again next term.  Part two!  Cool.  I missed last night due to work commitments, but I'll make sure I am around for the next one.

My work colleague was intrigued to hear we had the karate sensei coming in to talk and when I was chasing Adam up to make sure he was coming, my work colleague joked that Mike would have to stand in and deliver the session.  I had visions of Mike busting a broom handle off and waving a makeshift bo staff around while narrowly missing the heads of Cubs that got too close.  Lucky it didn't come to that.

This morning is a glorious morning here in Wellington.  Blue skies, bit of dry, cold wind.  The roads were completely dry and I hurtled down the hill.  My front disc brake is making graunching noises that I have fleeting concerns about.  I must take it in for a service.

I also need to take in my ski boots this Saturday to see if someone can fix them.  I am tired of losing my toenails every season.

I have a big day at work today.  Got to deliver a session of my own - talking for three hours in front of people.  Yikes.  Hahahah.  Lucky I am not shy!  What?

Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela

Just wrote the date down...

And it is a happy birthday to Michelle!

Love you. 
Aunty Angela, Uncle Mike and Toby.

The Monday with nothing... Nothing but work, that is

Hi,

Turns out I had a mammoth amount of work to get through and didn't finish until 1930.  By this time, Mike had decided I needed collecting from work and driven home.  Isn't he nice to me?  Ate dinner and wandered down to bed.

It is Toby's last week of term 2 now and he has a project due in this week on money.  Heheheh.  He seems to be getting there with it.

Sally let us know that our friends are moving to Auckland.  So Toby won't have Jack around as a friend for much longer.  Bit of a blow.  What is it with Auckland pulling all our friends up there?  We're just getting loads more reasons to holiday up there.  I see lazy summer holidays being whiled away in the far north for years to come.

Busy at work again today.  And tomorrow.  In fact, I am looking forward to our ski week (9-13 July) as a good break!

Have a fantastic day!
Love,
Angela

The weekend with nothing

Hi,

The sofa exerted an almost inexorable pull over me and I spent a few hours reading there over the weekend.  What a pleasant way to while away a few hours on a weekend with nothing much on.

I had dinner out on Friday night with Sally and Andrew at a Mexican place on Molesworth St.  The starters were good and Sally's tostados were very good.  I tried mole again (a chocolate based sauce over chicken) and have decided I do not like it.  Didn't like it the first time and didn't like it the second time.

Mike came and collected us and we dropped Sally and Andrew off home before heading to our house to collapse into bed while watching the first Transformers movie.

Saturday I was up early and had an appointment in town.  When I got home with the butter afterwards we had breakfast.  Bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese.  Yummo.

Mike then worked on tramping club stuff, and Toby worked on his project.  This is when the sofa exerted its pull for the first time.

Toby organised a playdate with William and I dropped him off despite the radio saying if you had no reason to travel, stay on the sofa.  Good advice if you ask me!  Hahahah.  But Toby had other ideas.

Come 5pm I went to collect him and then I cooked tea.  We watched the rugby (Ireland were destroyed) and went to bed.

Sunday morning the wind had died away to nothing.  The sofa again pulled me to read.  Mike again had to work, on day job stuff this time.  And after lunch Toby pronounced he was bored and wanted to play with Duncan and Emerson.  Bit too late to organise that so I took him to Te Papa.  Mike met us in town and I got my iced coffee from Joe's Garage.  See Facebook for the evidence.  Toby enjoyed his iced chocolate.

Toby and I then went to see Brave in 3D and I loved it.  Toby also enjoyed it.  Mike did still more work, back on tramping club stuff again.  Whew!  He tells me he made good progress.

Home to iron for the week (boring) and watch a movie with Mike.  Great fun!
Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela

The Thursday with nothing for me and Toby...

Hi,

The harbour is beautiful this morning - my ride around the waterfront was lovely.  The harbour is so still and the blue skies and beautiful sunrise made my day! 

Yesterday I got a lift home with Rex in his car.  We shoved my bike in the back and my two Fly Buys parcels (pizza stone and non-stick pan) and I was home with everything in one piece.  Contemplating carrying it home on the bike wasn't looking like a lot of fun.  I cooked dinner for me and Toby and we relaxed for the evening. 

Mike went out beer tasting with work and Andrew went as well.  He tells me the MC knew his stuff and knew a lot of the NZ craft brewers personally.  He told them all about how the beers were made, what the difference is between stout and porter (ratio of roasted barley to chocolate malt, apparently), the history of why the different malts and hops are as they are and who likes what sort of flavours internationally, and so on.  They must have had fun as they got home after midnight and Andrew stayed the night.

It is almost the weekend!  Hooray!  The weather is looking mighty fine today (Friday) and again on Sunday with some indeterminate weather tomorrow.

Mike might be headed off for a tramp with Andrew.  We shall see.  I need to help Toby with his project work for school and that is about all I have planned.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with karate

Hi,

Every third Wednesday it is my turn to collect Toby and Alex at 4pm from the bus stop and take them home.  I rode up to the Wadestown library and got to the car minutes before their bus arrived.  Perfect timing.  Took them home and started dinner.  I even attached Mike's headlight to his bike.  It has only been lying around for a year waiting for him to attach it.  I saw it, I saw Mike's bike and so I put it on.  I love having hours of extra time in the day to get things done.

We had a nice tea (Alex ate with us) and then I took Toby to karate.  I sat reading while he sparred with various partners.  Then home to bed because by the stage even my layers of clothing had started to let the cold seep in.  The only thing for it was pyjamas and the electric blanket.

Mike got home from tramping club meetings and also hit the bed.  We slept well (well, we did - Toby did another sneak - he says he isn't sleeping well).

I got soaked riding in this morning.  It is raining quite hard and my bike gear it wet and strung out over my desk below me futilely hoping to dry out before I need to pull it all back on in 8 hours time.  Nice.  Squelchy.

Have a fantastic day!
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Cubs

Hi,

I rode home yesterday and stayed quite dry - we are having a fair bit of rain at the moment.  Mike got home about ten minutes later (no - we didn't start the ride together - hahahahah) and was a little wetter than me.  At Cubs we heard the rain pelting down hard and I am sure it rained during the night.

Toby sneaked into our room last night at some stage in the wee hours.  We usually sleep in the same bed on Fridays after watching a movie, but lately we have moved Toby to the couch in our room because he is so huge there is no space in the bed!  And it was there that he sneaked to.  He knows better than to try and wake us up by crawling into our bed, no doubt. 

The ride in this morning was damp again.  I cut off a driver going across the intersection behind the Beehive - this early in the morning they don't have a red arrow stopping them turning.  Oh well.  He was only doing about 10 km/hr and I was going faster...

Mike said there was a decent sized earthquake in Melbourne overnight!  Wow!  Move here, everyone.  Hope everything is okay.

Time for tea and to get stuck in!  Stay dry.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with nothing

Hi,

Mike and I rode home together last night - in the rain.  But surprisingly it stayed pretty light drizzle all the way home and we weren't soaked.  Got tea on (Toby's favourite - chicken schnitzels) and relaxed.  My goodness, that is about it really.  I love Monday evenings with nothing on. 

Tonight is Cubs night and we have a Karori history session run by the Karori Historical Society.  Should be interesting.  And I should know nothing at all about Karori and get zero on the quiz...

The ride in was a bit damp this morning - but not too bad.  Some car had dripped oil out of their sump on every bend down the hill so I was like a granny coming down.  Mike was oblivious and sped ahead of me.  He has my old mudguard on his bike and is very happy in the wet now.  Seeing makes things a lot easier.

Strange dreams last night involving old friends (Craig and Carolin) camping with us somewhere and then another dream with Karen exploring a massive double highrise apartment building complex in Abu Dhabi.  The 200 storey building was connected at the top by a light rail system.  Hahahah.  Karen, you're funny!  We were trying to get in to see some friend of yours that apparently lived there and you were good at blagging your way in.

Have a marvellous day.  I need tea.
Love,
Angela

The weekend with Mike's birthday

Hi,

What a wonderful weekend.  It started with the date night on Friday and I met Mike at the Levis jeans store where Mike bought two pairs of jeans and he looks good in them!  Then we went to Monsoon Poon for dinner and ate far too much of their lovely food.  At 8pm we went to see Prometheus at the Gold Lounge at Reading Cinemas and found out the Gold Lounge seats are too far apart for a date night.  Next time we're in the cheap seats!

The movie was a little disappointing.  The effects were great and the story wasn't too bad.  But something let it down.  My vote is for poor editing.  It feels as though they had to cut out a lot of back story and fill in explanatory scenes.

Anyhow, home to bed.  Toby was at a sleepover with John and Christine (thanks!) and we got up early to take the Corolla in to the mechanics.  I pushed the car out of the garage and Mike tried to crash start it rolling down our street.  But that failed to work so I drove down the hill in the wee green car and we jump started it with the jumper leads.  Then off in convoy to the mechanics.  I lost traction momentarily going around the Petone roundabout which was interesting.  Mike says it looked weird from behind!

We dropped the car off and then went to Go Bang for birthday breakfast.  It was a great cafe.  We grabbed takeaway coffees and called into see Sally and Andrew briefly.  Then back to the mechanics via the motorcycle shop where I sat on a few too-tall bikes.  Home, collecting Toby on the way.

Saturday afternoon was whiled away on the couch reading.  The book woke me when it thumped on the ground.  Hahahah.  Then preparation for Mike's birthday dinner.  It all went well and Mike (and Benjamin) got some good presents).  Felafel kebabs - yummy.  Mike and I adjourned to watch the rugby - that was a close game.  Eventually it was just us and bed!

Sunday Toby had a hankering to play with Duncan and Emerson.  So we arranged an afternoon out there and that went well.  Aidan and Josh had other friends over so we all chatted.  The boys played outside and inside (Minecraft absorbs them all).

Back home for tea and bed!  Now the week starts!

Have a great week!
Love,
Angela

The Thursday with nothing

Hi,

I rode home with Mike yesterday after a busy day at work, punctuated by a lovely lunch with Aidan and Josh at Wagamama.  I ate a bit too much though.  Mike kept on my tail all the way up the hill.  Where can I find a reserve of speed to leave him in my wake?  As he is wont to do, he analysed our different approaches to riding up the hill.  Apparently I keep the same power on and make ground up on the less steep bits, whereas Mike works harder than me on the steeper bits and finds he slackens off on the less steep bits.  Heheheh.  I fairly flew along Cecil/Mairangi though.  He got held up in traffic.  That's his story anyway.

Anyhow, it's Friday!  Yay!  Mike and I have a date night (courtesy of John and Christine).  Buying Mike some jeans for his birthday tomorrow, followed by a dinner and a movie (Prometheus- the Alien prequel).  I am looking forward to it.  Tomorrow is his actual birthday so a nice breakfast in bed for Mike before Toby and I kick him out of the house.  Mike will try and jump start the Corolla from the MX-5 and drive the Corolla to Pitstop in Petone and ride his bike back home.  Maybe the long way?  Andrew - you should join him for a bike ride.  The car will be fixed in the fullness of time next week.  I hope.

Dinner at our house tomorrow night - come along!  Mike's favourite meal is on the menu - falafel kebabs.  Apparently.  Hahahah.  When asked for his favourite food he was hard-pressed to offer up anything.  I think the "Some things we like more than others but we eat everything in front of us" mantra may have meant he has no favourites (I am partial to my mother's roast lamb, with roast potatoes, peas and gravy - just in case you were all wondering).

Sunday we're free.  But with only the wee car.  So you get us in twos if you want us.  Or threes, if one of us follows behind slowly on the bicycle.

Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with karate

Hi,

I had a great ride up to karate after work (and work was frustrating enough that I needed a good, hard ride) but got pushed into the gutter by a car driver that had no idea whatsoever.  I had to step off my bike.  Can't car drivers wait for a second rather than compromising the health and safety of vulnerable road users?

Anyhow, we watched Toby for a short while.  The Corolla is broken - its battery is as flat as a tack.  Even the trickle charger (thanks, Dad) didn't make any impact.  So Mike drove the MX-5 home from karate and I rode.  The ride around the top of Northland to Wadestown is fantastic fun.  The bus (number 23) passed me as I got to the top of the road the karate is on.  And I passed the bus about a kilometre later and I had been in the garage for ages before it eventually drove past.  Bicycle is faster on that road!

Today is quite threatening.  I made it in without getting too wet - the mudguard worked well.  But it could easily pour with rain at any time.

Tomorrow is date night for me and Mike.  I have an evening of fun lined up ahead of his birthday on Saturday.  Hooray!

Have a wonderful day.
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Cubs

Hi,

Rode home last night and got rice on to eat with the slow cooker stew that was perfectly cooked when we walked in the door.  Choice.  Love the slow cooker.  We ate and were ready by the time Jack arrived.  Which was lucky as we left in plenty of time, to find the car's battery was flat.  Fortunately John was still there and he dropped us all off (and picked us up at the other end of the night).

Cubs was great fun.  Chaotic and rowdy (what had the parents fed their kids?) but they all seemed to love it.  Good.  We handed out a lot of badges.  Hooray!  One of the leaders couldn't make it.  I hope she isn't getting cold feet.  And Mike told the other leader that he wants to stop being a leader.  Ooooohhh.  Aaaahhhh.  Whereupon, the other leader promptly told Mike he would be away for the start of term 3 and could Mike step in.  Hahahah.  Mike will be our contingency leader.

And talking of the slow cooker reminds me - we used our brand new garlic press in anger to prepare the stew.  Josh, I have to say, this garlic press is a revelation.  Every shred of garlic was minced out and it left the papery skin only.  Our last garlic press just sort of mushed a little bit and skooshed the rest out the top.  Hahah.  No wonder Josh couldn't rest until he had purchased this wonder of kitchen equipment for us.  How lucky are we that we have friends that care about our lives in such a way.  Because, I have to say, not having used any other garlic press, I was completely ignorant that the world could be a better place.

The ride down the hill was fun this morning.  I have ended up with a great bruise from yesterday's ride in but I am a bit perplexed as to how exactly it happened.  Anyhow, Mike and I hurtled down the hill.  I saw 55 on my speedo and Mike saw 56.2 on his.  Good conditions.  And a skiff of snow on the Orongorongos.  Lovely.  The waterfront was beautiful - the harbour reflecting the grey of the sky with a bit of bottle green in the mix.  The sunrise was a fiery glow up near the Tararuas.

Have a fantastic day!
Love,
Angela

The Monday with nothing

Hi,

I rode home with Mike last night in good conditions.  The weather was amazing - the day started possibly even more lovely than Sunday, and at about 3pm the rain came thundering down.  And by the time we rode home at 5.30pm, it was nice once more.

We got home and cooked tea and Mike got a lot of work done.  Then to bed and oblivion until morning. 

The ride into town this morning was fantastic.  The day is clear and a cold, strong southerly that left the roads bone dry.  So I hurtled down the hill, keeping my nose in front of Mike.  I think my lower centre of gravity helps.

Cubs tonight and we're in the den building things out of boxes.  Choice!

Have a great day!
Love,
Angela

The weekend with leadership course

Hi,

I collected wee Tom from Skids on Friday night because his parents were off on a date night.  Toby had finished his first tennis lesson for ages (he has started up again on Friday afternoons with Alex) and said he enjoyed it.  Apart from sandflies biting him.  Ouch!

We had dinner and the boys played games and watched television.  Mike came home and we were all into bed.

Saturday morning Andrew collected me at 8.30am and we went to our leadership course for the tramping club.  There were 13 of us and we learned quite a bit.  I think perhaps two day sessions on different weekends might be better.  I think a wee bit more content might be useful.  But it was excellent.  We learned about planning and contingency in the morning and navigation in the afternoon.

Andrew came back to our place at 7.30pm to watch the All Blacks versus Ireland test.  The Irish need to improve considerably to trouble the All Blacks next weekend.

Sunday was a lazy start - Toby and I made Mike get out of bed to get us breakfast.  Heheheh.  Toby then arranged a playdate with William at William's father's house.  So I dropped him off there in the wee green car.  It was such a lovely day.  Winter's in full force, and yet Sunday (and today) was glorious.  We got to Peter's house and knocked on the door.  Some strange woman answered but Toby walked in anyway.  We said hello and I asked what time I should come and collect Toby.  The woman looked at us and said "There must be some misunderstanding".  We asked if William lived here (which he did - honest!) and she said no.  Well, you can't really argue with that.  We couldn't tell her this most definitely was William's house.  Heheheh.  So we apologised and went back to the car.  Nope - it definitely was William's house.  The other houses looked nothing like his house.  So we called Peter and it turns out they had shifted.  Oops.  Toby and I had a good laugh about it.  Dropped Toby off and continued to the supermarket.

Back home with groceries and the next visitors for afternoon tea (Sarah, Hamish and Ryan).   We chatted about our ski weekend at the end of July.  Then they were off and Toby came home.  Off to Sally and Andrew's for family tea.

Good weekend.  The ride in this morning was great.  What lovely weather.
Have a great week.
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with karate

Hi,

Mike convinced me to drive home yesterday as the weather was really foul.  I have to say, despite thinking for 5 seconds it was a challenge, it was a good plan.  I drove home and met Toby at karate.  He had been to see Men In Black 3 and was dropped off at karate by Jack's Dad.

Toby wasn't feeling 100% so we left karate early and picked up Mike from work and dropped Adam (work colleague) off at home.  At home we realised we hadn't paid Toby's music lesson bill so I went out to see Vivienne and John to get them to write a cheque for it.

Vivienne and John's new couch is lovely - a deep brown and configurable.  Perfect for reading in the sun!

Ramble hasn't been well, but he is recovering fine now.  What a good pooch he is!

Back home to bed.  And this morning on the bus due to the bike in town.  But I look forward to riding home at the end of the day.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with no Cubs

Hi,

Due to the zoo sleepover at the weekend with the Cubs, we had Tuesday night off!  It's like a hall pass or something.  Last time this happened Mike immediately filled up his Tuesday night schedule with social things.  And I did the same this time.

I left work at 1740 to walk to the car. Jumped in and then sat in traffic for twenty minutes to drive the three minutes route to the university to pick up Aidan T.  Aidan had just finished a huge presentation and was in the mood for some food and a chat.  We picked up Burger Wisconsin and drove home.

Aidan had ordered a fish burger (hmmmm) but noticed immediately that her burger (in the fish bag) was not fish.  Toby, meanwhile, practised his male observation skills by eating three large bites of a fish burger before declaring he had fish.  Hahahah.  Poor Aidan then got a half eaten burger to finish.  But at least she got her food back last night.  Unlike on Saturday night when Mike ate her entire dinner.  Mike had lovingly prepared his own meal of sausages just how he liked them.  Aidan had also prepared her own meal of sausages just as she liked them.  Mike then sat down in front of Aidan's meal and started eating.  By the time Aidan got to the table, there was only one place setting with no one chowing down into the food.  But she said it wasn't her dinner.  Josh's meal was inspected but that wasn't hers.  Mike's meal had almost vanished by then, but the remnants indicated a high probability that it was her dinner.  And an inspection of Aidan's plate by Mike showed that it was indeed prepared exactly to his liking!  So perhaps Aidan might feel a little protective of her food around the Gilberts from now on.

We chatted for a bit afterwards and then I drove Aidan home.  The weather wasn't too bad at all, but I was smug as I pointed out the bus that was the train replacement service just around Plimmerton.  Josh had given us a garlic press that is so well engineered we can't wait to use it.  We need to cook something tonight with garlic, just because!  Oh - Aidan gave me a clove and it is still in my handbag!  Hahahah.

Today is another teacher only day for Toby's school.  Mike performed a community service yesterday with three boys (Toby, Alex and Jack) and looked after them.  He is doing the same this morning.  I think John is going to look after them this afternoon. 

The weather has taken a turn for the worse.  Bring it on.  Snow to sea level in the South Island.  Yes!  Today was the first time in three weeks that I could tell if the new mudguard works on my bike.  I declare it a complete success.  I rode down the hill this morning with my eyes open.  Oh - is that how fast it looks?  Yikes.  Apparently a galeforce southerly is supposed to kick in - just in time for my ride home.  Nice.

Today is the transit of Venus as well.  We will not get a look in.  There is no sun today.  And none of us will be around for the next one in 2117.  Must watch a bit on television tonight.  We did something for the last one (was it 2004?) in Melbourne - we went to the observatory in the gardens and they had telescopes set up.  Good fun.

Have a wonderful day.
Love,
Angela

Queens Birthday weekend with fabulous company

Hi,

What am amazing weekend - but we're all absolutely bushed.  And the next long weekend isn't until late October.  Jeepers!  How will we make it?  Lucky we have our ski week planned.

My parents are off with Jamie on a cruise for the next 10-12 days.  What excitement for them.  I hope they all have a lot of fun.

Mike and Toby collected me from work at about 6.30pm on Friday and we left Wellington immediately.  We must have double bluffed the exodus from Wellington for the long weekend as we had a trouble free drive up to Waikanae where we stopped for a cup of tea at the Tabor household.  They were all very well and looking forward to the long weekend.

We left there at about 8.30pm (a long cup of tea I have to say) and found our crib accommodation at Foxton Beach about 35 minutes later.  We managed to find the key and get in, but the first lights we tried didn't work so we thought we needed to turn power on.  Blundering around in the dark was weird, then I decided to try another set of lights at the same time Mike decided to check the light bulb.  The result was a smahed light bulb on the kitchen floor and the realisation we did have electricity after all.  Hooray. 

Mike pitched the tent and we made beds and we retired to the tent.  I vaguely heard the Sampsons arrive from their Auckland drive but I couldn't rouse myself for anything at that point.  Next morning we were up before them and made a cup of tea for them.  Kicked breakfast off and then they were away for their first orienteering event (the whole reason we're in Foxton Beach).

The Gilberts lounged around reading and eating for the main part of the day - conserving energy for the hectic evening schedule.  Heheheh.  We left the crib at 2pm and wandered to the Adventure Park in Levin.  Toby had it to himself as it was raining a bit.  Mike and Toby played on the hamster wheel a lot.  Then off to Otaki to look for jeans for Mike.  But we got waylaid by cafes and ate more.  Mike needed industrial strength coffee.

Eventually we dragged ourselves away from the wonders of Otaki to head to Waikanae for dinner.  It was a great BBQ of sausages and salad.  Very nice, thank you.  After an hour or so there (with me filling in Aidan on my work escapades from Friday and made me feel a bit better) we piled Duncan and Emerson into our car and Josh followed behind in Moby.  We drove to the Zoo where we had a Cub sleepover with Waikanae Cubs and Karori Cubs and Keas.

The Keas were taken away to the smaller venue and we filled the Archibald Centre with our gear and about 50 people (lots of Cubs and a few leaders and parents).  Then Alex took us on our Zoo tour.  Alex is a Zoo staff member and took us to explore parts of the zoo you don't normally see.  We saw the kitchen where 2 fulltime chefs prepare the food from 4am to 7pm each day.  There were two fridges - one for fruit and veges and one for meat.  We tried to feed the giraffes but they were too busy sleeping by then.  We made breakfast for the spider monkeys (egg cartons filled with porridge and raisins).

Back to the centre to get ready for bed.  Phew!  Late for some of the younger Cubs.  Josh took a Cub and the attached parent home to Waikanae as he was sick!  We had supper and went to bed.  I guess it was around 10pm for lights out.  Mike kept watch but they all went to sleep without any bother.  I slept well.

Up at 6.30am and I went to buy more milk for breakfast at the local New World.  Interesting life on the streets of Newtown at that time.

By the time I got back, breakfast was almost done and dusted.  Tidied up and the last bit of the zoo tour.  We fed the spider monkeys and enjoy some acrobatic antics.  Then packed up and left.  We grabbed Maccas on the way home and fed the boys (Duncan and Emerson) and then drove them home.  We had lunch there and then back to Foxton Beach.  The Sampsons were already home.

We had a leisurely afternoon and cooked tea (a Wally lasagne special - scrumptious).  There was a game of 500 and Lelsey tried to mark her students work.  But apart from that, it was very relaxing.

Off to bed in our tent quite late, and then up early in the morning clean up and to say goodbye to the Sampsons.  Then we packed up and headed home.  What a great weekend!

The Thursday with nothing - but why do I feel so busy?

Hi,

The weather is so unbelievable right now.  I bought this mudguard two weeks ago and fitted it there and then at work.  I was a bit concerned at riding down the hill with my eyes shut, you see.  The flicked up water and muck ends up right in my eyes.  Since then, not a wet road to be had.  I still have no idea if the mudguard works in reality.  But, of course, its mere presence is ensuring the rain stays at bay.  Powerful, eh?  And all for $25.

I rode home last night and achieved a new goal.  I didn't use my bottom front cog at all.  Stayed in the middle cog and rode up the hill with 9 gears to spare.  Woo hoo!  Bring on more hills!

Mike cooked a wonderful dinner last night.  Work had these Sealord (seafood company here) dinner packs containing fresh vegetables and tuna and pasta and cooked it up. It was really very nice. 

And no - it wasn't my glass of red wine in front of me.  Hahahah.

Friday - yay!  Got a long weekend.  We're off to Foxton Beach with the Sampsons (they are down from Auckland) and we have a zoo sleepover on Saturday night, dinner in Waikanae, lunch with Yingjie and a whole lot of fun to squash in somewhere.  I have my Kindle so I hope to read some too.

Have a fantastic day!  Have a marvellous weekend.
Love,
Angela