The Tuesday with an impromptu night out

Hi,

After a frantic day at work, Mike said yes to me heading to this with Celia and Ange!

Nerd Nite

The stage!

Chenda joined us at the last minute too.  And we enjoyed some food at Leroys, before the speakers came on.  We heard about calculus, cider making and internet memes.  I reckon Mike and Toby would have loved it!

Yep - I had an awesome time.  And Celia drove me and Ange home afterwards.  Bonus!  Celia and Ange are such a pleasure to know.  I am lucky.

Mike and Toby looked after themselves.  They even cooked tea and didn't try to keep the local takeaways in business.  Woot!  And I slept pretty well as well.

The day looks ok here although the weather is getting into winter and definitely cooler.  And wetter.  Mum better crack out her jerseys for a visit here.

Have a wonderful time today doing whatever it is that you are doing.

Love,
Angela

The Monday at work

Hi,

I rode home and enjoyed windless conditions - woot!  What a lovely evening.  I cooked tea for me and Toby, but Toby was distinctly unimpressed with pulled beef stroganoff.  I liked it.

Cooking the pulled beef strognaoff

Dished up

And when Mike got home from a late working day, he also enjoyed it.  And the leftovers.

I had a great sleep - probably still resulting from the tramping exertions of the weekend.  Great.

And I lovely ride into work this morning despite the wet roads from overnight light rain.  Busy day today.  But brekkie with Fran first up!  Yay!

Have a fantastic day!

Love,
Angela

The weekend with tramping

Hi,

After drinks on Friday to say goodbye to Anna, Mike and I collapsed into bed.  Toby was already with Isaac for the weekend.  It did mean an early rise Saturday morning to get packed and away early enough to get brekkie and buy groceries for the weekend.

Mike walking with some of the punters

We were only a wee bit late for our departure from the Catchpool car park.  And not the last to arrive.  It was great to see Isy, Phillipa and Bharat there.  As well as some others from other Nepal trips.

My feet in the riverbed

And warming my toes in front of the fire in the hut

Our walk in was under the cover of trees, so the light drizzly rain was nothing.  And it had stopped by the time we got to the river.  But after lunch in the hut, when the others decided to go for a walk, it started raining again.

I pitched the tent ready for me and Mike for later in the evening and settled into the hut with Phillipa to make the fire and chat.

Everyone got back and we ate snacks before cooking a lovely tea.  Dal bhat.  And it was yummy.  When the cards came out, I went to bed.  Read for a bit and was well asleep by the time Mike came to bed at 10pm.

We slept well despite the loud rain on the tent.  And we had a lazy morning contemplating getting up.  Had some brekkie, struck the tent and we were all leaving the hut by 9am.

The river was up and we slightly discoloured so we practised safe rover crossings all the way back up to Turere bridge.  Had a fast walk back - via a memorial to a chap that drowned near the bridge.  And met at Caffiend for lunch again.

Collected Toby from Isaac's house on the way home - had a bath and then off to see the latest Warren Miller film.  Toby won a prize that we entered while there.  He has a free ski tune from a place on Ohakune.  Cool!

Back home via an urgent stop at the supermarket to tide us over for lunches for the week.

A great weekend.  Had loads of fun.  Toby saw the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  He said it was good!

Have a lovely week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with nothing much

Hi,

After a busy day at work, where I did manage to get to the gym for a spin class (yay!) I rode home and really enjoyed that.  Got tea for Toby and waited for Mike to get back from his tramping session.

Once home, he had a lot of homework so he stayed up in bed, typing really loudly.  Hahahah.  Took me ages to fall asleep.

My ride in was lovely though.  The weather is dry and still.  But the forecast for the weekend isn't as good as it was at the start of the week.  Cold southerlies with rain.  Toby is off to visit Isaac this weekend and Mike and I are tramping with the Nepal crowd.  Should be good fun - even if it is a bit cold and damp.

We also have tickets to see the new Warren Miller film on Sunday night.  Should inspire me for my ski season.

Have a brilliant weekend, whatever you get up to.

And a midday migraine for Mike.  :-(

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday that is also confusing

Hi,

What a difference a day makes!  I got a haircut finally last night and now have contrasting iced coffee photos!

Can you tell which photos are the "before" ones and which are the "after" ones?

Little Peckish this morning 

It's huge!

Ti Kouka - more refined iced coffee - but more wild hair

Ti Kouka iced latte gets my approval

I got home yesterday and cooked spaghetti and meatballs for me and Toby.  When Mike got home late he kept on saying how nice the house smelled.  Funny!

This morning I caught up with James and Kate from work for a working brekkie at Little Peckish.  Great time was had!

Toby has a science test today - I hope he goes well.  I have enjoyed reciting periodic table elements with him.  I know have the first twenty elements back in my mind (I was a bit rusty from my high school memories).

And the day is beautiful here.  Cold and crisp.

Enjoy your day!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday that felt like Friday - honest

Hi,

I got home after another crazy day at work to hear that Mum is coming over for Andrew's big birthday bash in early July.  Yay!  Made my day.

I cooked tea - chicken and ginger with rice.  It was so good.

Right ratio of chicken to vege

Mike got home after his day refreshing his first aid certificate.  He's now certified.  Again.  And maybe slightly certifiable.  Don't you think?

Nice ride in this morning.  Roads were just a tiny bit slick from overnight rain.  And I have a haircut tonight.  I'll be able to see.

Have a great day.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with Toby at hospital

Hi,

Well, at midday I got a text from Toby saying his PE teacher thinks he has a broken thumb.  That escalated into Toby going to A&E and me cancelling work stuff to go and meet him there.

Work was crazy too - loads of issues.  So I delegated a bit and met Mike (he had the car) and then drove to the hospital.  I eventually found a park underneath the hospital and found Toby in the emergency department.  I got to him around 2pm I guess.  He'd been there since 1pm.

I wasn't there long (long enough to eat my lunch) before they called us into the minor treatment area of the ED.  We got X-rays pretty quick and the nurse was fascinated with Toby's bendy joints.

There was a young chap in the bed to next ours that seemed to be a builder of some sort and had a sore hand.  I heard his name at one stage, but thought nothing of it.  But when they took us up to the ortho clinic, he came with us.  And as the ortho receptionist asked for his papers, she said his name.  Corey Smith.  And it still didn't register.

Toby and I settled into the busy waiting room.  And I am slightly mortified to admit that we both fell asleep on the hard chairs.  People must have been astonished.

Anyway, I jerked awake and 1 minute later Tim walked past.  Tim is Isaac's father and an ortho surgeon.  And on-call.  A few words later and we got seen by Carl the registrar and Toby got a splint on his thumb and an appointment in a week.

As we were leaving, a scooter hurtled out past us and Toby said it was the young guy with us.  Then I realised that it was Fran's son!  I can't believe I didn't put two and two together until we were leaving.  I blame stress over Toby for my lack of brain power.

Anyway, I cooked tea when we got home.  Fish.  Mmmmmm.

Fish with pea smash

Busy day chasing up stuff ahead.  I hope Toby is ok at school.

Have a brilliant day!

Love,
Angela

The weekend in Wellington

Hi,

What a quiet weekend.  I got yup early on Saturday with Mike and he dropped me off at the gym for a spin class at 8.30am.  There were 4 punters by the time the receptionist came in at 8.40 and said she couldn't find the instructor.  Oops.

I put my ear buds in and rode to my own music for 45 mins.  It was ok.  I did have to find my gym shoes afterwards because all my sports shoes had ended up at work in my locker.

A collection of shoes in my work locker

Spin class on Saturday

Iced latte at that cafe that starts with "M" - with Mary

After my non-class, I met Mary and we had a coffee across the road together.  At that cafe with nice coffee that starts with "M" and I have no idea what it is called.

Mike collected my new skis from the courier depot and then took me home.  Later we went out to get a shower head replacement at Bunnings and caught up with Andrew before heading home via the supermarket.  Mike fixed the shower - yay!

I went around to Ange's house for tea and watched Captain Phillips.  It was a great movie.  Back home to finish watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Mike and Toby.  Dubious pleasure.

Sunday was Fairly quiet.  Off to Yum Cha with Chenda from work with the boys.  We went to Regal (upstairs in Courtney Place).  Very nice.  Mike went into work and Toby and I went home.

We met Josh at 6pm at the Kelburn Pub to celebrate Josh's new job.  Woot!  The boys ate a Brussel sprout each and had identical faces.

The boys eat Brussel sprouts

Iced latte at that cafe that starts with "M" on Friday

Up early Monday to watch the MotoGP in town with Rodrigo.  Rossi crashed on the last lap.  Doh!

Toby is back at school and well.

The day is stunning here.

Enjoy your week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with stuff

Hi,

For some reason, yesterday at work all my meetings got cancelled and I actually had a chance to work through some things that have been languishing in my inbox or on my to-do list.  Yay for meetings that get cancelled.

Mike also managed to jump on my bus heading home, so we had a nice bus ride home together.  I am indeed a lucky woman.  We had dinner and chilled out watching You Tube science videos on the couch.

Toby is still off sick - but much better.  And I have a social club work event tonight - go karting fun and games!  I am in a team with Mary!  Woot!

The weekend looks like being a cold one - weather-wise.  I am trying to get a few things lined up.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with not much

Hi,

Wee Toby is still sick with his earache.  Poor kid.  At the doctors, the receptionist looked at him and said he looked more like 17 or 18 years old!  What???!!!  Bit like the time when I went to the doctor when he was 2 and the doctor said he was 4 or 5!  Weirdos.

Iced latte at Mojos in the Spark building

I did get a coffee date with Celia in yesterday - amongst the chaos.  My brief respite from the madness.  She's good to me.

Right.  Time for the day to start its craziness.  Have a wonderful day.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday that should actually be a Friday because my working week feels like five days already

Hi,

Tuesday?  Really?  I am stuck in some time warp - I am sure!  Toby went to the doctor for his earache and now has antibiotics and got his ears de-waxed.  But the ear person said his ear looks pretty bad, so he has another day off school.  And he isn't himself.  He is less than perky.  And some might argue that a 14 year old teenager is often typically just grunting and less than engaging.  But Toby is usually pretty good with us.  So this is different.

We were all in bed super early.  And as a consequence I have had the best, longest sleep I have had in ages.  Delicious.

Right.  Hopefully I get to the gym today.  Something has cropped up the past two days.

Have a fantastic day.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with Benjamin's party

Hi,

It was a day of celebration, really.  A work colleague celebrated 17 years here at work (wow!) so a bunch of us went out to lunch.

I rode home after work and got changed.  When Mike got home, the three of us hopped in the car and headed to Vivienne and John's place.  It was Benjamin's birthday.  Vivienne cooked a lovely meal and I ate far too much.  And birthday cake on top of that.  Although the coffee flavour polarised the diners.

It was good to see Benjamin.  He seems to be enjoying his new job and flatting with his mates.  We dropped him off home in Highbury afterwards.

I fell into bed, ruing the copious amounts of food and a late night when I have school the next day.

Time for the day to start!  Hope yours is good!

Love,
Angela

The weekend with Eurovision - and mothers day

Hi,

Happy birthday Benjamin.

A cafe affogato - I think.  Good 6.5

What a crazy weekend.  Hahah!  Saturday saw Mike and I out and about running some messages.  I think we got a few done.  Then we sat in a local cafe and tried their coffees.  It's the wee one that used to be French by the chippie coming up the main hill into Wadestown.    Mike wants to keep it in business.

While I was grocery shopping, I was at the milk section and had just run my hand through my hair (I desperately need a haircut) when a wee girl stopped, looked up at me and gasped out loud.  I really wondered what I had just done to my hair!  It must have looked scary to make wee girls gasp like that.  I took off down an aisle, pushing my trolley.

But she decided to run after me and came to a stop right next to me and stood, staring.  So I said hello.  As you do.  She said "Is your name Angela?".  Well, that was surprising.  But then I realised she must have been in the group of 50 kids I spoke to at the side school last week.  So I asked if she saw me there.  She nodded.  And I asked her if she'd talked to her parents about science stuff.  She nodded again.  So I thanked her for coming to say hello.

Towards the evening I went out to meet Celia, James, the wee girls, Gemma and her family and Jen to wander around some of the Lux installations on the waterfront.  Gemma locked me in on the footpath with my name in chalk under a UV light.  So I took a photo - and included my feet!

UV chalk!

We ate at the food stalls - I had some nice meatballs.  Andrew joined us and he tried the Indonesian food van - quite good.  Andrew and I wandered off to see Alien Covenant.  Which was nowhere as scary as I thought it would be.

When I got home, I stupidly read until 4am.  Groan.  It made the 7am wake up for Eurovision a bit tough on me.

But, I was soon ensconced in lounge, on the floor, wrapped in my duvet.  And taking photos of the TV to show off the awesomeness that is Eurovision.

A man with a horse head - on a ladder!

Mad fans!

Turns out the residents of our house are not in tune (hah!) with European tastes in music in the slightest.  We placed the eventual winner somewhere near the bottom.  We're all mystified.  Why didn't the Romanian rappers-meet-yodelers get higher up the ladder?  Toby was quite upset at the result.  The horse head act I enjoyed got a middle of the table score.


Anyway, Sarah came around to watch the last half with us.  And I got pyjamas for Mothers Day (along with a present on order).  The pj bottoms have Tim Tams on them.  Very happy.

Mike had a migraine after the awful news that Portugal won.

Right.  Time for the day to kick off.  It is very busy looking.

Have a fantastic day.  We're off to see Benjamin for his birthday today.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday that was a blur

Hi,

Ok - the day disappeared in a blur and I ended up finding Mike after work and driving home with him.  I think the car was in town because Mike and Toby missed the bus and had to drive in to catch it (or at least, make sure Toby was on it for the remainder of his journey to school).

Got home and we cooked tea.  There is no photo because we ended up having chicken nuggets.  Not exactly a photogenic meal.

Mike has a movie night tonight - he's off to see the new alien movie - Alien Covenant.  I am now looking for a date to take me to see it on another night.  Any takers?

It is Mothers Day this weekend.  Happy Mothers Day to my mother and to Mike's mother.  I'm not sure if any other mothers will read this - but if so - happy day to you too.  And it is also Eurovision.  Mike and I will be getting up early Sunday morning to watch it in all its glory.  Come and join us if you are so inclined.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday in Auckland for me

Hi,

I was in Auckland for a flying visit yesterday.  But because it is Roz's day off (Wednesdays), she met me for lunch!  Woot!

Tourist - with wild hair!

Take the photo, Roz!

Did you take it?

Ok - yes, you took it.  And several others.

I need a haircut - that is one of the big things I discovered on my trip to Auckland.  Can't see anything.

And I met Arthur in the team in the Auckland office.  Also a highlight of my day.

Today is rainy and yuck in Wellington.  Never mind!

Have a brilliant day!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with no Mike until late

Hi,

Well, at least Mike is back now (as of late Tuesday night).  I got home and presented the best sushi to Toby for dinner and he was a happy young man.

Evidence I did the rubbish in Mike's absence

And I wasn't asleep when Mike got home, so I did manage to see him before my early rise this morning to catch my flight to Auckland.  Yes, we have traded places.

But I should be home at 7.30pm tonight.  Not too late.

And then back to normal for a bit.

Hope your day is great fun.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with no Mike

Hi,

Toby and I managed to get through the evening without Mike - but it was tough!  :-)

Fish with tomato pesto

I cooked tea - it was fish night.  Toby managed to eat his way through his portion and most of what Mike would have had.

The evening then disappeared - not sure where it went.  A bit of laundry saw to it, I think.

Chatted to Mike as I went to sleep - he had a good day in Auckland.  And now my day starts!

Have a fantastic day.

Love,
Angela

The weekend in Wellington for me and Toby but Ruapehu for Mike

Hi,

Toby and I had a quiet weekend in Wellington while Mike and Andrew headed up to the lodge and built bunks.  I haven't heard much about it as yet because I have hardly seen Mike.  I was in bed when he got home and he stayed up to unwind and I fell asleep.  Then he was up super early and is now in Auckland for today and tomorrow.

Toby and I watched a movie Friday night and then headed out to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 on Saturday evening.  Gold lounge.  Such fun - although Toby and I couldn't get the lid off our water bottle so we remained parched for most of the movie.

Lamb - always a winner!

Sunday was house work day for the most part.  Although we did try some shopping.  Toby couldn't find what he wanted but I did get him some new shorts for PE at school.

I crack out the lying socks

Scary hair at Saman's birthday coffee - good 8/10 iced coffee 

On Friday afternoon we went out for a coffee to celebrate Saman's birthday.  A really good local cafe.  Starts with M.  And they have a wee dog as their mascot.  I an taking Toby back there.

Right.  Time for a cuppa.

Have a great week!

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with wild weather and parent teacher interviews

Hi,

I met Mike on The Terrace and we drove to Toby's school.  Mike got a park right outside the office - ooossshhh!  Then we had the hour of speed dating all his teachers.  They all tend to same the same thing - he's good, and smart and if he put more effort in he'd be amazing.  He seems to cruise through things.  Apart from his PE teacher who thinks Toby is already amazing.

I dropped Mike off in town for drinks and headed home to see Toby.  We had tea together and then I went to collect Mike from the bottom of our street.  It was really awful weather.  Then we jumped in the car to collect Sally and Andrew and take them home.  The trains were having issues and the weather meant you didn't really want to be waiting around for the next one.

Busy day at work.  Mike has to pack for the weekend tonight.  And I have a session at the local school tomorrow morning talking about science with 5 year olds.  Hmmmm.

Right.  Time for the day to start like mad!

Have a good one!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with not much

Hi,

I had a great ride home - but I was a bit wheezy when I got home.  And now I think I might be getting a cold.  Let's see what happens over the next few days.  Like the analysis of my health as it slides into misery.  Or something.  Or nothing.  Hahahah!

I made pumpkin and haloumi korma for tea as I said.  And switched out the pumpkin and haloumi in Toby's batch for chicken.  He ate his happily and Mike and I enjoyed ours.  Perfect!

The korma cooking

The korma dished up

Mike didn't eat with us though - he got home late from a tramping meeting and then tucked in.

I read for a bit before some coma-like sleep through to about 5 minutes before my alarm went off.  I was going to run, but my running shoes are in at work in preparation for a lunch run today!  I think the extra sleep was a good idea though.

Time to kick off the day.  And I have school interviews this afternoon.  Like speed dating.  5 mins per teacher.  One after the other.

Have a great day!

Love,
Angela

The Monday with a cold snap

Hi,

It was really rather cold yesterday - a southerly swept up the country dumping the first snow for the season on the high points of the South Island.  It meant for a cold day when you stepped outside here in Wellington.

I met Mike after work because I had a late meeting down his end of town.  We caught the bus home together.  I cooked tea when we got home.  It was pretty good.

Dinner last night - chicken tarragon with Bulgar wheat

Tomorrow night looks like a korma made with pumpkin and haloumi.  Sounds odd.  Wondering if I should do a chicken version for Toby alongside it.

My ride in this morning was cold too.  My fingers were well on their way to being numb.  I never like the total numb feeling that makes it hard to brake effectively.

I need to tidy the house tonight.  It looks like there has been carnage.  I went into Toby's room this morning and it is hard to walk on carpet.  I wonder how he finds clean clothes through all the debris.  He must have a system that is just as hidden from me as the carpet in his room!

Have a wonderful day.

Love,
Angela

The weekend in Wellington

Hi,

We had a lazy weekend at home, making sure the spare room was still drying out and staying warm inside.

Smudge enjoying her new perch and the sunshine

Friday night we joined Celia and James for birthday drinks at Queen on Jackson - very nice pub.  Mike and Toby came out to say hi too.  Then we popped in to see Sally and Andrew.

Saturday morning Mike and I went to do some messages.  We queued for ages to get a WoF for the Corolla.  Mike bought mattresses for the lodge while I waited in the queue.  And we got some groceries.

Saturday night we caught up with Vivienne and John for some takeaways at their place.  Always a good fun evening.  Watched a movie when we got home - xXx 2.  It was ok - made me laugh in places.

And Sunday passed us by in a lazy blur.  But the storm last night was a big one - fierce wind from the south.

My S5 played up and wouldn't charge Saturday.  By the afternoon I was sick of using Mike's phone so I went back to troubleshooting the phone.  grabbed the air blower for the telescope and puffed out the charging port!  And it worked!  Yay!

It's a full working week this week.  What a shock to my system.

Have a great week!

Love,
Angela