The Monday with cooking together

Hi,


Ecletic mix of photos for today's blog.  Hahahah.

I met up with Mike and Andrew for lunch at Blowfish (mmmmm, sushi) and found a new iced coffee drink so I bought that.  I am sorry to say it was yucky.  Made with UHT milk.  UHT milk will be great in the apocalypse, but I don't want to drink it until then!  I threw most of it in the rubbish bin.

Such high hopes

Rode home the long way (well, the medium way) up Ngaio Gorge.  I had to collect our passports from the courier office as we missed them when they got delivered home.  Mike and I have new passports.  Yay!  The ride up the gorge (and up from Crofton Downs and up Norwich St itself) felt easier than the last time I did it.  Which would have been about 18 months ago I reckon.  Must have been a bit of a southerly.

Got home and Mike wasn't too far behind me.  We cooked tea together and enjoyed it.  Lemon tarragon chicken thing.  Mmmmm.

Yum!

Noticed the milk date on my milk before I poured it over my Weetbix.  The year is going so fast.  It's not too far off the shortest day of the year.  Jeepers.

10th June coming already.  The year is disappearing - fast!

Went to bed fairly early and I accidentally read my book until it was finished.  Why do I do that?  Hahahah.  So it was a slightly groggy Angela that stumbled out of bed this morning for my run.  However, knock me down with a feather!  I did my fastest time in months and months.  6.07 per km.  Ooossshhh!

Rode into work and enjoyed a dry ride - albeit with wet roads.  We've got southerlies for a few days with rain.  So I made it in nicely dry and probably between showers.

I have a session at the gym after work today.  RPM class.  Apparently you ride with a bunch of people in a dark room on a bike with an instructor and loud music.  I have no idea what to expect.  Apart from lots of puffing and sweating.  I'll let you know tomorrow.  This might be what sways me to join the gym.

Have a wonderful day.

Love,
Angela

The weekend with Benjamin's 21st birthday party

Hi,

What a lovely weekend.  The weather was really quite bad - apart from most of Sunday daylight hours when it wasn't too bad.

Friday night was dinner out with work at a Thai place on Cambridge Terrace.  Toby and Mike came along too.  There were about 14 of us.  From there we went to Cafe Eis and I discovered their cafe latte gelato.  Mmmmm.  So good.

Soon it was time for the Improv night at Bats.  We went in a chatted for a while before the session started.  We trundled into the room and had a ball for the next hour or so.  Awesome fun.  Toby absolutely loved it.  And you learn a bit about your colleagues when they call out random things that come into their minds.  Jess's super power would be shooting chocolate from her hands.  Woot!

We walked back in the rain to the car and fell into bed around midnight.  Up fairly early as we had an appointment at the Wellington Chocolate Factory.  The poor weather meant the tramping part of the day was cancelled.

Edible roasted cocoa beans

Bag of raw beans

The chocolate grinders

The chocolate factory was great.  The woman giving us the tour was so enthusiastic.  We got to try a bit too.  Mmmmm.

We left early and headed to Maccas for lunch (they have an all day breakfast now, so the boys think they can lure me there.  Turns out they were right).  Then off to Wellington Beds and we bought a new mattress for our bed.  Toby will get our one.

Over to Miramar to see an Op Shop (but it was closed) and back home.  We watched a movie on Saturday night.  Slightly disturbing.

Next morning Mike got a migraine as he woke.  Bad news as he was supposed to be leading a leadership practical session and he would have been puking through it for sure.  He called in Josh and Josh stepped into Mike's shoes (as did Andrew).  Mike was very grateful and went back to sleep.  I got up for my run and Mike got up too.  Josh came to collect the stuff for the course and headed off.

After my run I got ready for my bike ride.  I met Sreejith at the train station at 1pm and we rode out to Sally's place to collect Celia and James.  From there we rode up Waiwhetu up to Upper Hutt.  Had a great time until Celia misjudged the kerb up to a bike path and came a cropper.  She actually came out of it in not too bad a shape.  Bike also survived.  But we stopped at the next cafe (Subway) and had a hot drink to recover.

We were a team of bikes - according to a wee girl we passed

We rode back home via the motorway and caned it along there.  Sreejith and I peeled off and continued into Wellington.   I winded my way up the hill towards home while Sreejith negotiated more urban chaos to his place in Kilbirnie.

The next thing was starting almost as soon as I had my shower.  Benjamin's 21st celebration.  We went to Bella Italia in Petone and there were 14 of us.  Had such a lovely time.

The deli cabinet

 I had tomato basil and mozzarella salad.  Toby had chicken.  And Mike had some yummy pasta.

We went back to Sally and Andrew's place for dessert and tea.  Mmmm.  The chocolate birthday cake was so good.  And then I tried lemon cake too.  Yum!

Family dessert session

The desert trolley was amazing

My feet with lying socks

Back home via a mad dash to the supermarket to get essential groceries.

And into bed.  Toby didn't sleep well though.  Kept coming into our room to say he wasn't sleeping.

Hope your week ahead is good fun.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday that was so like a Wednesday

Hi,

Well, I went to the gym after work today.  It's just down the road from my work.  It was a trial pass for the day, just to check it out.  An instructor called Tom showed me around and gave me a few exercises on the leg machines to try.  I also checked out a bike they had.  It hooks into TV.  You can ride while watching Sky movies or TV.  How funny.  Or - get this - you can choose a course in Europe and it switches to video of the road and you can pretend you're in the Tour de France.  I think I was sold right there!

The bike computer

But - I have a follow up meeting with an instructor on Tuesday evening at 5pm.  I think I want to try their cycle classes.  Apparently they are really hard work.  Sounds like something I want to try.

I went back to work and hopped on my own bike and rode much less like I was in the Tour de France back home.  Mike had almost finished making tea by the time I got in.  Just for Sally, she can see our Chicken Tikka Pita Pockets meal.  It was ok.  I personally wouldn't rush to make that one again.

Looking as good as the recipe photo

Tonight is some Moroccan Lamb dish.  Mmmm.  Hold any raisins!  (If they are mad enough to add them in!)

The weekend looks relaxing - for me anyway.  Mattress shopping early tomorrow.  Followed by a chocolate factory tour and a day walk.  Then possibly dinner out with some people we know moving to the UK.

Sunday is Mike's leadership day.  I am hoping to get a bike ride in on Sunday afternoon.  But in the evening we have dinner out with Benjamin to celebrate his 21st!  Woot!  How cool!  Looking forward to that.

Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday that felt like Tuesday

Hi,

Oh - I am so confused this week.  I am a day behind.  How does that happened.  I am quite convinced that today is Wednesday.  And yesterday I was sure it was Tuesday.  My only consolation is that tomorrow, when it's Friday, and I think it's Thursday - and then I find out it really is Friday - I will be so happy!

I nearly didn't wear my purple shirt today.  That's how tricky this is.

Anyway, I rode home and avoided the torrential rain and wild weather.  I actually enjoyed my ride home - it wasn't too bad at all.  I had a headache for most of yesterday at work, but when I hopped on my bike, it disappeared.  And stayed away even after I got home.

It probably helped that the boys cooked tea.  Toby is cooking dinner for us one night a week and it started last night.  Toby was the sous chef and did most of the work while I read and Mike issued instructions and did a wee bit to help.  Next week Toby can do the whole meal.  Ooohhh.  It was good too.  Spag bol.  Mmmmm.

Off to bed pretty early and I slept like the dead.  It was hard to get out of bed for a run, but I am glad I did it.  Good pace this morning.  But I can get better.  And with that in mind, after work today I am visiting a gym to check it out.  I want to see if getting fitter can make a difference in my Round Taupo event this November.

Right.  Time for tea.  Have an awesome day.  Gee - May is almost done and dusted.  Weird how fast the year is going.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with date night with Toby

Hi,

I managed to get away from work to catch up with Celia and have an iced coffee.  it was a strategic move because Toby and I had a social club movie night with work that started at 8pm!  I might need caffeine to get me to stay awake that late.

Mixed Business iced coffee

Toby came to work around 5pm and I got a little distracted with work things.  But we left and caught the bus to Courtney Place.  We wanted Mama Browns for tea, but they are closed Monday and Tuesday.  Gah!  Off to Joe's Garage and we had a great meal there.

We played a game on IMDB where we'd ask questions about actors and the other would have to guess who they were.  Toby might have inherited the genes on my mother's side because he knows an awful lot about actors.

From there we ducked into New World and bought goodies for his lunchbox and the movie.  But what I didn't know was we were in Gold Class.  So I bought Toby a supply of food for the movie to arrive at key times.  Hahahah.  He loved it!  Although he knocked his big bag of Maltesers off the arm rest between us and had 50 chocolate balls beneath his jeans for a while.  We were both rummaging around in the dark picking up chocolate balls from under him.  Lucky we were at the end of the aisle and at the back.  No one was distracted.  Much.

We saw X Men Apocalypse and I enjoyed it lots. Went for ages.  Mike was waiting to take us home after it (he had come back from Auckland and then finished his beer brewing session and dropped Andrew home).  We got home and fell into bed and 10 mins later there was a huge thunderstorm.  Toby was running around very excited.  I refused to open my eyes.

On the bus with the boys this morning to get a few more minutes sleep after the excesses of the night.

The weather is amazing.  Heavy rain.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

Hi,

Well, after being cold at work most of the day I rode my bike home and it wasn't too bad.  Maybe it was a slight southerly.  Cold, but not too bad at all.  Enjoyed my ride home.

Started making tea.  Mike has ordered  My Food Bag and I made the first meal last night.  It was yummy.  We all ate it.  Toby tried to eat Mike's before he walked in the door.

Almost looks like the picture

We really tried hard to tidy up downstairs after tea.  But the lure of a documentary proved too much and Mike and I went to bed and watched The Celts.  Great stuff.  Although I did fall asleep sprawled over Mike's lap.  No idea what the Celts were doing in Germany now.  I'll have to watch it again another evening.

Rode in this morning in the rain.  But no wind, so it's all good.  Mike is boarding his flight to Auckland about now for the day.

Toby and I have a movie date with work - we're seeing the X Men movie.  Oooohhh.  And it's a late one.

Right.  Time for a cup of tea.  Have a fantastic day.  Stay dry!

Love,
Angela

The weekend with Toby

Hi,

Oh - I had a fantastic weekend.  Mike was scheduled to be busy most of the weekend with tramping related things.  So Toby and I had organised a weekend away for the two of us.

We left early Friday and got stuck in diabolical traffic and then horrendous weather as we drove to Otaki.  Toby ate Maccas at Plimmerton and then we crawled our way to Waikanae.  How anyone bothers with that car commute is beyond me.  The rain then lashed down not far out of Otaki.

We stayed at the Cottage Park Motel, on the north side of Otaki on SH1.  It was a cute wee unit, but only had Freeview on the TV.  And no free wifi.  But we enjoyed the accommodation.  Such a cute wee unit.  Like a log cabin.  With a mezzanine for overflow.

Our wee unit -  very cute

We were in bed super early and so we played the animal alphabet game.  Made it all the way to the letter T before we switched to naming States of America.  Toby (with a small amount of prompting) got to 25.  I was quite impressed.  How on earth does he even know Delaware exists?  This game sent us into a coma.

Up fairly late and showered.  We left to have breakfast in Otaki around 10am.  I bought my Icebreaker pants and Toby got a beanie.  Then at Kathmandu we got Toby a replacement jacket which made him happy.  It's funny, I knew his current jacket was small, but until he tried the small Mens size on, I didn't realise how small it was on him.

We went to the $2 shop and Toby loved the bootleg merchandise.  We bought a Sherk mask!  Toby loves it!

A Sherk mask

We left Otaki around 11am and drove past Shannon (remembering Owlcatraz for a later visit) and we were soon in Palmerston North, catching up with Iona and Col for lunch.  Great iced coffee at the Cafe Express (somewhere on the square).

Great iced coffee

We ducked into an art exhibition and they had art installations that worked off the electricity in your body.  By closing the circuit, something cool happened.  The umbrella was my favourite.  You held the handle and LEDs dribbled "rain" off it.  There was a dark room with paintings made with bioluminescence.  Awesome.

Off to the mall and more bootleg stuff and a quick trip to JB Hi Fi.  Then we said goodbye to Iona and Col before heading to the new Captain America movie.  Ooosshhh. Civil War.  It was good.

Dodgy bootleg

More dodgy bootleg

It was dark when we left Palmerston North and headed through the Manawatu Gorge to Masterton.  A few slow vehicles but we got to the Copthorne by 6.30pm. Checked in and I had a bath.  Then we went to dinner and Toby got the steak.  Mmmmm.  Back to our room and Toby then had a bath.

He came back to bed and wanted to play the animal alphabet game again.  But I was asleep and I am unsure if I actually answered any - or maybe I said "turtle" 5 times.  Not sure!  Hahahah.  But we were soon both asleep.

Next morning we had brekkie and then checked out and Toby tested his skills on the confidence course.

Balancing

Climbing

More balancing

Turns out my son has awesome skills.  Yay for Toby.

Hopped in the car and headed home.  Mike was out doing Meetup things but got home soon.  Toby went swimming with Josh and the boys.  Mike tidied the laundry up and it is now amazing!  You don't have to climb over anything!  Wow.  Hallway is clear too.

Did my ironing.  Groan.  Mike did grocery shopping.  And we had a lovely tea together.  Woot!

Up early for my run and I felt good after a bit of a slack time recently.  Made a good time and did my 5km.  Yay for Mike kicking me out of bed.

The week stretches ahead.  Not sure if next weekend will have as much fun in store as this one did.  I loved Toby's company.  I am a lucky mother.

Have a wonderful week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with a quiet day

Hi,

Well, my migraine wasn't too bad - just made my head a bit woolly for the day.  It would remind me it was there every now and then.  I was probably wise to catch the bus home though.

I caught up with Roanne, Celia and Ange for lunch at Home on Stout St.  Had a lovely lunch.  Hadn't seen Roanne for a while so I found out she's been busy with her parents house.  We chatted away for a while before haring off for our afternoon work activities.  Ange is now off to visit her Mum in Perth for the best part of 2 weeks.  Woot!

I caught the bus home and went to bed.  But I didn't sleep until Mike got home.  He sorted dinner out and he kindly made me some.  Then it was the land of nod for me.  After I finished my book.

Up for my run - lucky Mike encouraged me to get out of bed.  I was unsure if my head would be ok or not.  But it was no trouble at all.  Time was a wee bit slow, but not too bad.

Now, 8 hours of work to get through and then I have some fun with Toby lined up.  He'll come to work after school and we'll train out to Petone around 4.15pm.  Pick up the wee green car and head off on our road trip.  Otaki tonight.  And Masterton on Saturday night.  Solway Park.  Mum took Toby there when we was a wee tacker and he loved it.  He always asks to go back - so I am taking him there.  He can swim and watch Sky TV and we'll have a nice meal on Saturday night.

Mike's mother arrives tonight so Mike will collect her and take her home.  Yay!  It'll be good to see her.

Mike is supposed to be leading some leadership course with Josh this weekend but I think it might be postponed.  Which is a shame, because that is why Toby and I are going on our road trip by ourselves - we thought Mike was busy all weekend.

And we're visiting Jurica and his family on Sunday afternoon.  What a weekend ahead!

Have a brilliant time.  Like Toby and me!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Andrew in the capping parade and Wednesday at home sick

Hi,

Tuesday was a great day.  I had a meeting with Ed and he bought me an iced coffee.  Mmmmm.

We also had a morning tea Marmite taste test for some of the recent influx of immigrants in our team that have never grown up with Marmite.  We had Vegemite and British Marmite to compare and contrast.  Eugene also supplied salmon roe and we all tried that too.  Turns out that no one had any strong aversion to any of it.  We must all be super adaptable.  But there were favourites.  Hahahah.

Then Mike and I caught up with Philippa to celebrate her birthday the day before.  We went to Rahzoo and ate lots.  As we were winding down the lunch, Sally rang and said Andrew was in the capping parade and passing our work right then.  So, I leapt out of my seat and told Mike and Philippa we had to run.  They were very obliging and ran with me.

As we got to Lambton Quay, Andrew was just passing.  Luckily Philippa lent me her voice and the chap next to Andrew noticed we were yelling for him and he nudged Andrew.  We got a huge grin and wave from Andrew.  It was a really special moment for me to see Andrew in the parade after all his effort over the past two years.  Good on him!  A masters degree.  Andrew has a few photos on Facebook.  I was so excited I forgot to take a photo.

Iced coffee with Ed at Mixed Business

Marmite tasting

More Marmite tasting

Anyway, I didn't feel well that evening at home and when I woke up I decided it was best to stay home.  I had to cancel a lot of meetings for Wednesday.  But eventually I could curl up in bed and recover.

The boys got home and I sorted out dinner for them.

But this morning I could have easily stayed home again because I woke just as a migraine was starting.  Groan.  So I took the bus in, because physical activity isn't the best when my head is a little tender.  Hahah.  So long as the day goes smoothly and I have no invitations to a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert, I should be sweet!

This morning's sunrise

Right.  Time to kick start the day.  Maybe a cup of tea will make everything better.  Enjoy your day!

Love,
Angela

The Monday with a wild ride home

Hi,

Well, work was work.  Busy.  But I managed to leave almost on time.  Yay.  It was still dry when I left work, but I had to fight a really strong wind all the way up Molesworth St.  And then when I got to Tinakori, these big, really wet raindrops came hurtling out of the sky.

I got pretty wet.  And had to fight to wind all the way home to keep upright.  As a consequence, i took the bus in this morning.  Hahahah.

Anyway, I got home and cooked tea for me and Toby.  Spaghetti Bolognese.  One of Toby's favourites and we hadn't had it for a while.  He was expecting tacos, so there was a little bit of confusion.  But he ate up his entire bowl and declared it the best Spag Bol ever.

We did some maths homework - he's learning percentages.  The teacher's approach with the "Would you rather..." questions made Toby very happy to keep learning.  There were a whole heap of things like:  Would you rather be bitten by 60% of 120 mosquitoes or 80% of  90 mosquitoes.

Fun.

Mike got home around 9pm from his leadership course.  Said it went well.  I was already in bed and listening to the wind outside.  Mike had trouble sleeping.  He tells me he bought a video camera at 1am.  I am yet to fully understand this concept.  When I know, I'll let you know more.

It's got 700x digital zoom! What's not to like!

Right.  Time to kick start the day.  We're having marmite and toast for morning tea at work today.  Some colleagues know nothing about marmite.

And Mike and I are meeting Philippa for lunch.  It was her birthday yesterday.  Woot!

Have a great day!

Love,
Angela

The weekend of wonder in the Wairarapa

Hi,

Yep - I had a great weekend.  Let's see.  What happened again?  Benjamin had a significant birthday yesterday.  That is huge news!

Friday I went home after meeting Mike in the local pub to have drinks with Bronwyn to celebrate her birthday and her last day at work.  We sorted out dinner and then relaxed before going to sleep.

Saturday I was up early and showered just before Ilske arrived to take me on a road trip in her 4WD.  She has a Suzuki Jimny and we were going to have a great day.  Ilske had the picnic ingredients and the car all primed.  Her route went in from Pahiatua and took in waterfalls and gravel roads - and the sea.  You always need to see the sea, if you can.

Iced coffee at the Clareville Bakery

Ilske arrived not long after 8.30am and I jumped in her car.  We took off, heading over the hill in good time.  The wind had abated quite a bit for our drive over the hill.  As we got close to the Clareville Bakery, I realised I came away without my handbaglet.  So Ilske kindly paid for my iced coffee and pie.  Mmmmm.  I had been here once before and remembered it as having great food and a good iced coffee.  It did not disappoint.  And it is one thing off my recent list of things to do again.  So I was pleased.

From there we went up to Pahiatua and past Aidan and Malcom's old place on Keith's farm.  It looks pretty good actually.  Into the back roads and some lovely gravel.  I started driving and the rain started.  With a good dose of wind.

Lunch stop

We fell off the road we wanted - somehow and ended up having lunch on the side of the road in the car.  Ilske had made an awesome picnic.  She made quiches and pasta salad. It was good.  I had a Rooibos tea and yoghurt to finish.  Perfect!

From here we found the waterfall we wanted to see and it was well worth it.  Easy walk down to the pool at the bottom.  It looked like a great swimming hole for summer.

Waihi Falls - near Weber.  Selfie with Ilske behind me

Feet!

View of Waihi Falls

Me doing the Little Mermaid impersonation

Once we left here, we headed to the sea.  The coast was stunning here.  Never been here before - it was a bit north of Castlepoint.  Beautiful.  I have to take Mike and Toby here now.

The sea at Akitio

We headed back home and it was dark by the time Ilske dropped me home.  The boys had had a lazy day relaxing at home.

Off to bed to watch a movie.  I think I fell asleep or made Mike turn it off.  Hahahah.  Sunday we were up early for Eurovision goodness.  7am start until around 11am.  We both loved it.  Australia was by far the best song, but got pipped at the last post by Ukraine.  Which was actually a song Mike and I thought nothing much about.  Go figure!

From here we went to the gardens and met Christine and her friends for a wonderful picnic.  Gourmet!  The food was amazing!  Chatted away and Toby and Tom had fun together.

The boys climbing in the gardens

Coming back down

Off to Queensgate to get some messages done.  I grabbed a few groceries at Countdown so I didn't have to go out again later.

Back home and Mike cooked tea and then fell asleep at the dining table.  Just like we have seen Toby do once or twice when he was around 10 months old!  Hahahah.

Mike couldn't keep his eyes open so we went to bed super early and slept like the dead.  I got up for my run and enjoyed that.  Rode into work and the roads were dry and it's not too windy.  Really.  Honest!

The Thursday with nothing after work

Hi,

We are having amazing windy weather at the moment.  I caught the bus home yesterday and found Toby still not very well.  Made him some toast for his tea and he is sleeping a lot.  He still looks a bit pale.

Mike worked late and I eventually drove in to pick him up. He was all about getting up early and working - and he did!  I almost fell off my...  Well, I was in bed.  Guess I could say I nearly fell out of bed.

During the night the wind gusts were so strong they woke me up twice.  Wow!  That never happens.

This weekend is full of excitement.  Ilske is taking me for a road trip in her jeep for some cross country adventure.  We'll go in towards the coast from Eketahuna. Picnic.  Sounds perfect!

Then Sunday is Eurovision and Mike is very excited!  Sunday afternoon I am hoping to catch up with Christine in the gardens.  Yay for the weekend.

Have a brilliant weekend yourself.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with Mike busy after work

Hi,

Wow - the weather was wild yesterday.  I rode home and scared myself silly in the rain and gusty wind.  Several times it was hard to keep upright.  I look at it as a way to further hone my cycling skills.  Who knows?  Round Taupo could be like that this year!  Hope not though.  With conditions like that, 8 hours would be fantastic.

Anyway, I got home and wee Toby was still quite sick.  Pale.  He's not at his best.  And he has another day off school today (Thurs).  Poor wee kid.  Hopefully he'll come right soon.

Mike was off at Occasional Brewer brewing up a batch of beer.  Sounds like he had a lot of fun.  Like usual.

He got home at a reasonable hour but he says he couldn't sleep and he listened to a podcast.  Obviously nothing wakes me up once I am asleep.

Brekkie and an iced coffee at Colonial 

 This morning (Thurs) I had brekkie with Steph and Nicky.  Mmmmm.  Great iced coffee and bacon butty.

Have an awesome day.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Mike busy after work

Hi,

I got some jabs yesterday.  Flu jab and a shingles jab.  Both shoulders are a little tender now.  Hahah.

I did at least get an iced coffee yesterday.  I met a client to go over some work and introduced her to my world of iced coffees.  She hardly flinched at all.  Good sign, eh?

Verve Iced coffee

I caught up with Ange for a much needed quiz session and then jumped on a bus after work and met Toby at his appointment.  It was short and sweet but Toby had a headache so we just came straight home.

Mike was out and about with Meet Up commitments.  He asked for a lift home afterward so I nipped back into town to grab him.  He worked in bed while I read.  Pretty sure I went to sleep while he was doing that.

This morning is a bit damp and the wind has got up.  Slightly more typical May weather.  Not freezing cold yet though.

Have a lovely day.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with Mike busy after work

Hi,

Well, Toby got his days wrong and tried to meet me at his appointment after school.  At least it was a good test run for today, eh?  Anyway, he still got home before me.  But only just.  And he rang me because he didn't have any house keys.  I guess Toby's day was a bit "meh".

I made dinner for the two of us because Mike was running an outdoor leadership course with Josh for Meetup.  It will also keep him busy next Monday night and the weekend after that.  Good on them both.

Toby and I chilled out and Mike got home just before 9 pm.  So it all went well.

Mike has more tramping club stuff tonight - and possibly again on Wednesday night.  I have a shingles vaccine this morning and I'm meeting Toby after school for his appointment.  Busy day ahead.

Right.  Time to start the day.  Maybe some tea would be good.

Have a brilliant day.

Love,
Angela

The weekend celebrating with Amy and Martin

Hi,

Ok - that was an incredible weekend.  Packed so much into it, it was just great.  Let's see.  How did it pan out?

Friday was supposed to be packing, but in reality I only got most of my stuff together.  I never packed it.  And Mike didn't even start.  At least Toby was sorted.

Anyway, come Saturday morning, despite being awake super early, I just read and got distracted instead of finishing my packing.  As a result, we were still there when Josh collected Toby for his sleepover and we were late getting away.

We were supposed to meet Celia and James in Martinborough around 10.30.  But it was more like 11.15 by the time we found them and got our gear ready.

However, it was well worth it.  We rode from Poppies to the bridge next to the back road towards Masterton.  Some rolling hills made it interesting.  Flat is boring.  Right?  The weather was absolutely stunning.

Wairarapa scenery in autumn

Love my wheels

This is a controlled dismount.

Mike showing his technique

Church

Iced coffee at Margrain.  It was good!

When we got back at around 12.15pm, it turns out that Poppies was completely booked.  So Celia and James took us to Margrain, just down the road.  Hardly second best, if you ask me.  I had a wonderful lunch there.  Wow!

Back to our accommodation in Featherston.  We had a cabin booked (number 3) next to Ange at the Featherston Motel and Camping ground.  What a lovely wee place.  I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

We both showered and got ready for the reason we were here in the Wairarapa.  Amy and Martin were celebrating their wedding.  They are a lovely couple and to be invited to help them celebrate with their family and friends was an honour I was not expecting.  But, Mike and I feel privileged to have spent the time with them.

Congratulations!

They had a selfie photo album so somewhere there is a record of me being there, and perhaps the photos look a little like the one below.  Hahahah.

Kelly, me and Mike.  Yes - I am wearing a dress!

The venue was amazing. Tarureka Estate.  If anyone wants an amazing place to do something really special, this is a great option.  The food was great.  The ambience, superb.  The wedding was perfect.  It's the first wedding we've been to in years.  Seems as though we are no longer in that demographic.  Too old now.  Need to wait for nieces and nephews now.   Amy looked incredible.  Martin looked very handsome.  I cried.  Yep - a perfect day.

Back home around 11.30pm and fell into bed gratefully.  Up early for a bike ride with James and Mike to Martinborough.

Sunday morning bike ride

James at the lookout

Had a coffee there (I had a date scone - mmmmmm) and back.  Took us about 1.5 hours (maybe a wee bit more) - but that included the coffee stop.  Back in time to throw myself in the shower and get ready for the BBQ at that venue.

Mike and I had another great time with Amy and Martin and their friends.  Which included a lot of our friends.  It was basically a huge work function.  Hahahah.

Selfie time at the Sunday BBQ

Lovely grass

We left early to head back to Wellington and collect Toby from Josh's care.  Huge hugs for Amy and Martin and I have promised to visit for a ski holiday.  I am Tahoe bound!

Back home and a tidy up and the obligatory ironing.  I also did grocery shopping.  Finally to bed after an amazing weekend.

Thank you so much to everyone for filling my weekend up with goodness.

Have a great week ahead.

Love,
Angela