The weekend with Mike away

Hi,


Mike headed away on Friday to the mountain and Toby and I had a good weekend relaxing at home after our previous hectic weekends.

I took photos of the building work.  Our house is our castle at the moment because we have a moat around the front door and a drawbridge (although I can't pull it up and the Jehovah Witnesses made it to the front door on Saturday morning).

Building work at our place

We have a drawbridge - that doesn't draw

I made brunch for Toby (bacon and eggs) and he declared them good.  Woot!  We watched a funny/scary movie Saturday night at home.  The Cabin in the Woods.  It was silly.  But kinda good too.

Toby woke me at 3.15am and said he couldn't sleep.  I said he could get into Mike's side of the bed and within seconds he was asleep!

Sunday morning I got up early and headed to the gym in Evans Bay.  What a view from my spin class.  Did a run after it too.

Nice view from my spin class

Grabbed Maccas for Toby for a treat on my way home.  Tidied up.  And did the laundry.  Mike got home late.  I was asleep already and yet to hear lots of details.

Parent teacher interviews tonight.  I cleverly made them for 6pm.  Should be easy to get there!

Have a fantastic week!  Hope my sister's had a good birthday.  And tomorrow is Karen's birthday!  I'll ring her when we get home tomorrow.

Oohhhhh.  Birthdays!

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with work

Hi,

Happy birthday to Shona and Sharon for tomorrow.  It might be a significant birthday.  Or they may be turning 21.  Depends how they feel on the day, I guess.  21 is also significant.

Mike texted me that our car was ready for a pickup and I needed to get there before 1730.  So I finished work and walked as fast as my wee legs could manage to Torrens St and picked it up easily.  And given its location, it was an easy drive home up through Aro.  Woot!

Cooked tea for me and Toby when I got home.  Spag bol - seemed like a good one as Toby polished off an awful lot of it.

Mike got home late and was almost immediately into bed.  He's packing for his weekend up at Ruapehu this morning.  yeah, you and I both know he will be missing something crucial, like clean undies.  Hahahahah!

Toby and I have the weekend in Wellington.  Sunday looks good so I will try to either get a ride around the bays in, or another session in the gym.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday that was a blur

Hi,

I rode home after a day that just went from crazy to manic.  The ride was good fun - the evening was still and clear.  Got home and cooked tea for me and Toby.  Mike got his put in the fridge (tramping club night).  Toby wolfed down the fish - I had made a crust with panko breadcrumbs and baked it in the oven.  Mmmmm.

The evening disappeared (bit less blurry than my day) and before I knew it, Mike was home.  He stayed up to unwind and eventually came to bed.  As he did so, I noticed the weather outside had changed for the worse.

This morning has widespread rain and a bit of wind in the capital.  Apparently there is surface flooding around.  Anyway, I caught the bus in, because I am soft.

Have a brilliant day!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with nothing much

Hi,

I did enjoy my ride home - but with a Spin class at midday sapping some of my energy, I did notice the ride was a little tougher than the day before.  Something about a hill that takes 8 - 10 minutes to ride up will do that to you, I guess.

I got home and cooked tea.  Home made burgers tonight.  Mike got home as we were ready and we all ate them.  Yum!  We also went over science revision for Toby's test on Thursday.  Acids and bases.  Goodness, it's like dredging up concrete from the depths.  But we got there - mostly.

Fell into a coma and had a pretty good sleep.  Enjoyed my ride back in as it is clear and calm today.  But the weather is set to clag in - a lot!  Thursday and Friday look to be awful.  Toby and I have decided to stay in Wellington and avoid another weekend away.  But Mike is headed up to the mountain.

Time for a tea and the day to start in earnest.  Enjoy yours!

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

Hi,

Ok - doing it tough on a Monday.  I think I was constantly remembering the wonderful weekend with Toby down south.

Lamb and roast potato smash - with mint aioli

I rode home and enjoyed that despite the late hour.  It was already dark.  Doh!  But it was my first ride home in a while and a good way to unwind after the tough day.  Perfect recipe.

It did take a while to get my head into the cooking zone.  But it was an easy recipe - lamb with roast potato smash mixed with mint aioli.  Toby wolfed it down - with seconds.  I must remember that potato recipe.  Back to our own meals tonight - I will do fish for the Tobster.

Mike got home late and ate the dinner and enjoyed it too.  Then we squeezed in a bath.  Not that we squeezed into the bath.  I mean we managed to fit time for a bath into our evening!  Hahahah.  Ok - we also squeeze physically into the bath too.  Remember we bought a two person bath just for this purpose!  It was a great way to relax.

Off to bed and I stupidly read for far too long.  The cat tucked under my knees while sitting up in bed.  She has this routine where she curls up there until Toby comes in and says goodnight.  Then she runs out and follows him down to his room for the night.

The cat may run our house.

Right.  Time for a cuppa.  I think my day yesterday was so hectic I never got to have a cup of tea.  That was probably why it was a tough one!

Better sort that out right now.

Enjoy your day.

Love,
Angela

The weekend in Methven

Hi,

Toby and I had a great weekend, although it ended up with no skiing involved whatsoever.  We left late on Thursday - our flight was delayed an hour.  Mike happily sat with us until we got on our flight.

Thrifty were fast and we were negotiating Christchurch airport in our Nissan xtrail within 20 minutes of landing.  It did make for a late arrival at Pudding Hill Lodge.  I appreciate the manager staying up to greet us at midnight and show us to our room.

Same room as last time.  And we got to stay there as the accommodation had (unfortunately for them) had 75 people cancel a conference at short notice.  Ouch!

Cold morning on Sunday

At midnight, the storm hit.  And what a storm.  We had solid rain for two days with no let up.  Any driving involved a lot of floodwaters and roads were closed around the province.

But we got to Primo for brunch on Friday.  Enjoyed our meal there (although we had a long wait and Toby's poached eggs were hard) - my iced coffee was good, despite the wait.  Not too sweet.

Iced coffee at 130

Our usual driving conditions on Fri and Sat

We got some new ski pants for Toby and some gloves that work.  Bonus!  Still optimistic we'd get to use them at this stage.

Bought some groceries to keep us going for a bit and headed back to our room.  However, dinner wasn't put on and Toby got hungry around 8pm.  Weetbix weren't good enough - and neither was an entire (small) round of brie.

We got in the car and attempted to get to Methven.  Our usual route got flooded and in the dark we couldn't see the other side - nor the sides of the road.  We turned around and tried another way.  We hit more flooding and Toby decided then he'd rather gnaw off his arm than drive through floods.

Primo iced coffee

Toby checks out The Ambassadors 

Saturday morning saw us head into Methven late for another brunch.  The floods had dropped a bit and we got there ok through several flooded roads.  Good car!  Went to Cafe 130 and had a nice brunch.

Rental car leaving Pudding Hill

Got more groceries - enough to keep us going through the night.  But once back at Pudding Hill, we heard dinner was on.  Doh!  We said no and stayed in our room eating bread.

We packed up and paid - ready for the 2.5m of snow and a sunny day forecast for Sunday.  And yes, the day dawned with stunning weather.  But the huge dump of snow meant the access road had 8m snow drifts and the crew were so busy trying to get access sorted, that delays meant we were looking at a midday opening.

Toby and I headed to the access road at 11am.  We were in a queue along the bottom road about halfway back to SH73.  And soon had other cars banked up to the highway.

We put our chains on, in anticipation of a drive up the hill once it opened.  Or, I did one.  And then three lovely men asked if I needed help.  So they took over and were very nice.  Although the chap putting the driver side one on said he'd never done this before.  And it showed.  But brute strength works wonders and the chain got on and looked tight.

He did say we should check with chain staff further up the hill.  Hahah.

But, after waiting for 2 hours, we got the word from Mt Hutt staff that it was a 1.30pm opening.  And after I did the maths on the hours, I realised we'd be lucky to be skiing by 3pm.

Toby and I took the chains off (much faster than putting them on) and headed to Chch.  We wanted to see a movie, but once we got to Riccarton Westfield and queued up, the session was full.  We then went to the airport and dropped off the car and checked in.  Our flight was overbooked, but because we were super early, they checked us onto an earlier flight.

Yay for Mike collecting us early.

Great weekend.  Still 0 for 2 in the ski stakes though.  Better luck next time.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with a haircut

Hi,

After the stunning morning, the forecast was entirely accurate when it said it would cloud over and rain by midday.  That is exactly what happened.  As I stepped out for my Spin class at 12.25pm, the road had some rain falling on it.

I caught up with Steph about some work stuff before heading to my haircut appointment.  Sat there and enjoyed the pampering that comes with a haircut (well, someone is sort of playing with your hair and you kind of have an excuse to close your eyes for a lot of the time - so I find it relaxing, so long as not much conversation is expected).

I caught the bus home, as I didn't want a helmet to muck up my new hair style (such as it is).  I texted Mike what bus I got on, but because he'd told me work was having an issue, I didn't really expect him.  Anyway, I was engrossed in my book on my phone.  As I do when I catch the bus.  And eventually I get a text.  From Mike.  And it says "Look to your left".

Mike was sitting on my bus.  And given we were now at the university, he'd been there quite a while.  I laughed.  The poor man sitting next to me probably wondered what I was doing.  Mad!

We got home and I cooked tea.  Basically a shepherd's pie.  With kumara mash and beef/venison mince.  It was pretty tasty.

Toby and I are off to Christchurch this evening.  But a storm coming through will likely mean we just spend our time eating in cafes for the first two days.  But should the ski field open, the snow will be fantastic!

Back late Sunday!  Woot!

Have a fantastic time.  We will!  Skimming stones on the river is always on our agenda too.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with jam

Hi,

My son is amazing!  He made jam and perfected the mayonnaise that he tried yesterday with inferior ingredients.


We are now 1kg of sugar less in the pantry, mind you.  Wow!  But I have never made jam in my life.  Nor has Mike.  It tasted superb - if you like jam.  Mike has a lot of jam to eat in the next few days.  If anyone wants to try it, please come and visit Mike this weekend.  Toby didn't sterilise the jars, although he did take them straight out of the dishwasher, so they were clean.  So Mike needs assistance to eat it all.  Or make trifle.  Or something.

Looks real

Tastes great!

I made tea - but forgot to take a photo of it.  Doh!  Butter chicken curry.  But not as nice as my one, apparently.

Stunning morning

This morning is stunning here in Wellington.  Mike and I drove in to take the Subaru to the garage for a check up.  Something is rattling and grinding and the heater and demister all stopped working.  Lucky we have that 90 day warranty.

Have a wonderful day.  Enjoy some sun if you're in Wellington.

Love,
Angela

The Monday that felt like it took three days to end

Hi,

Am I sure it's not Thursday already? How can one day take so long to end?  Mystified.  Anyway, it started well with a yoga class at the gym at 7.15am.  Afterwards the instructor asked if I was new to yoga.  How could she tell?  Snort!  I struggled through and I think I'll go back.  It wasn't too embarrassing.

Fish with basil pesto and couscous

I got home and cooked tea for everyone.  A fish dish.  Toby always likes the fish dish.  Mike got home as we dished up too.  Perfect timing.

Then the boys went grocery shopping.  Toby wanted some things so he can make stuff during the day.  He made Russian mayonnaise yesterday and had to make it with olive oil.  It tasted pretty good!  Today he is trying to perfect it with the proper oil.  He tried to make me eat a mayo sandwich.  I mean - with just mayo.  Apparently that is how the Russians eat it.   I drew the line there.

Rode my bike in this morning for the first time in ages.  Dodgy weather and a soft disposition has meant I have been off my bike for over a week.  It was a good ride.

Have a fantastic day!  I'm looking forward to authentic Russian may when I get home tonight.

Love,
Angela

The weekend at Whakapapa

Hi,

I love today's date.  17/7/17.  That's pretty cool.  Even better if you had a birthday today.  :-)

We had an unusual but fantastic weekend.  After Mike called the van trip off around midday, we settled into a weekend of not really knowing what we would do.  At 5pm, the roads all opened again, but Mike decided it was too late to re-organise the van trip.  Instead, we decided to leave around 8am on Saturday in our own car - just the three of us.

What a great idea that was.  We ate brekkie at Paraparaumu Maccas and made fairly good time after that up SH1.

Captivated by the snow on the way up

The mountain looms over Waiouru

From Hunterville we saw a fair bit of snow lying on the high hills as we drove through the farmland.  Obvious why they had to shut the road.  The snow lay deep on the roadside in many places.  By Taihape, there was snow everywhere.

We decided against lunch in Ohakune, but made our way directly to Whakapapa.  However, even the storm hadn't made a huge dint in the snow depth there.  A lot of bare rock still.  And only the beginners slopes were open.  With a lot of people on them.  I decided against skiing.

We did see a black ute up-ended in the ditch on the way up.  We suspect a bit of speed may have contributed to that.  It must have been scary for the occupants.

But we went down to get the food from the food depot.  And Toby and I went for a walk and a sled. Mike joined us after his chores.

Busy day in the carpark

We had a lot of fun playing in the fresh snow.  Snowball fights.  I laughed and laughed when Toby sledded down a hill and put the brakes on and a fine plume of powder drenched him completely.  He needed brakes as there were bare rocks at the bottom of the hill.  He looked like a snowman.

Gilbert selfie

Sunset

 The sun started to set, so we wandered back to the lodge and ate a yummy tea.  But not befire I took a photo of Mike and Toby - and when I looked at it, it really looks like Toby is taller than Mike now.  Pretty sure Mike has conceded the height advantage.   A family from Auckland was there with us - the Givenders.  Well, two families from Auckland, really.  And a German from Karori.  And it meant there were three 14 year old boys.  How unusual!

Sunday saw Mike doing a bit of chores around the place.  He painted and sanded and got more food up.  I cooked a chicken curry lunch with Patricia and her and her mother in law taught me how to make roti.  Mmmmm.  Best lunch!

We finally headed away at 3pm and there was still a lot of snow on the way back to Taihape.

Lots of snow still on the way home

View from the front windscreen

The traffic was awful into town from the expressway.  But we got unpacked (mostly) and into bed at a reasonable time.  We got home just after 7.30pm.

Smudge was happy to see us.  And now the countdown is on for Mt Hutt this weekend for me and Toby.  Yay!  Can't wait!

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with packing

Hi,

I have never had a week at work where I didn't ride my bike once!  Yep - this week has been a no ride week.  Luckily I have managed three days in the gym, so there has been exercise.  I reckon some of the days this week may have been a little less than fun on the bike.

Actually, Mike is going to make a go-no go decision at midday today.  All the roads are closed around Ruapehu.  In fact, from Hunterville!  I have never heard of that.  I have seen snow from Taihape through to the mountain before.  But to think there is snow closing roads from Hunterville is just incredible.

I hope we can get up there because the snow must be amazing.

And Toby and I have a weekend off down south next weekend.  We'll be heading to Mt Hutt for three days.  Staying at Pudding Hill Lodge.  Yay!  I have Friday off work.

I hope we get away this evening for our weekend fun!  You'll find out on Monday, eh?  Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with freezing weather

Hi,

What a freezing few days!  I haven't been on my bike.  I am so soft.

Unusual iced coffee at Cafe Neo

Got home and wondered if it would snow.  But it didn't.  Just freezing rain and high winds.  Toby is hoping for snow.

Mike and I met Bronwyn and Steph for brekkie this morning.  The iced coffee at Cafe Neo was unusual.  Ice, and sweetish coffee.  But with cinnamon on top.  At first I didn't like it.  But it grew on me.  6/10.

Right.  Time for the day to start again.  My PC was a bit broken.  After a reboot, it seems much better.

We have to pack tonight for our ski weekend!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday that really should be a Friday

Hi,

Really?  I have only been at work for two days this week?  What is happening there?  Some weird time warp I can only imagine.  No other explanation.

Ticker tape parade for the Cup

After a foggy start to the day it cleared for a fine, if chilly, day.  Perfect for the parade of the Cup through the middle of town.  You can't really tell from my photo, but it is a bit messy with lots of ticker tape being strewn around.

I got home and cooked spag bol for Toby.  He put so much cheese on his that it turned into glue.  Hahahah!  Mmmmm.  It was good for a change (we haven't eaten it for a while).

Mike got home after his tramping meeting.  And he has another one tonight.  Different tramping clubs.  He's so passionate and likes to spread the passion as well.  Good on him.

This morning is rainy and windy and cold.  Brrrr.  And it is supposed to get worse during the day today.  Ngauranga Gorge had a landslip during the afternoon yesterday and the three southbound lanes were covered in rubble.  And now we're expecting snow to 400m.  Down south is blanketed in snow.  Yay for the ski season starting.

I hope your day is warm and dry.  Hahahah.  Good luck with that if you live in NZ.

Have a brilliant day, anyway.

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

Hi,

What a weird day yesterday.  We had to get home early to talk to the landscaper about the garden.  I managed to get some work done after that before I cooked tea.

Salad....

Lemon chicken on kumara

Mike headed back to work to get some more stuff finished.  I was well and truly asleep by the time he got back.  Dinner was yummy - lemon chicken on roasted kumara.  And I made my own salad - not the carrot slaw they were after.

On the bus this morning - with Mike.  I can't believe he made the early bus.  He only got out of bed at 6.45am!  The bus leaves at 7am!  Hahahah.  He is so impressive.

It was still and foggy this morning.  It is supposed to turn to worms about the time we head home.  Glad Toby is tucked up at home for it.

Anyway, a lovely cup of tea will make everything like unicorns and rainbows.

Enjoy your day!

Love,
Angela

The weekend in PN

Hi,

What a great weekend, even if it didn't quite go to plan.  I headed away from work around 4.30pm and managed to negotiate the traffic out of Wellington for a Friday evening without too much hassle.  I was in Palmerston North by 7:05pm.  Without stopping for anything.  Just the usual traffic snarls.

Chatted to Iona and ate roast veges with her.  They have a surfeit of cauli this winter in their vege patch.  It's not bad once roasted.  Managed to get the photos off Col's phone from the Nelson trip and onto a laptop.  Yay for knowing when to run an executable to get the drivers sorted so the laptop can see the phone.

A sore back (like, really sore) for Iona meant a bike ride wasn't looking too likely.  Mind you, my slight cold was feeling like it was about to peak and really, a day lazing about was probably a good idea.

Smudge this morning

Fell in love with this wee dog called Ruby

Iced coffee at some cafe attached to a homeware shop

Walk!

This amused me

Moxies iced coffee

Saturday morning saw Iona and I at Moxies to meet Carrie and Ed for brekkie while Col met her family to celebrate her nephew's 14th birthday!  Yay for birthdays.

From there we went back home to cook tea for the pot luck dinner.  Well, Iona cooked it.  We also went for a walk with Frida and explored some river bank.  Palmerston North is a little rabbit warren like for me.  No idea where I was really.

View!

Better view?  Hahahah.

After another cafe session to see the unveiling of some artwork Fleur did for some friends, we headed back home to collect the dinner and then drove to Whanganui to visit some friends to watch the rugby.  Dianne and Chris.  Shelly and Kate were there too.  The company was very welcoming and the food was superb - but I have to say I was completely taken by their wee dog, Ruby.  She is a West Highland terrier crossed with a poodle (maybe a miniature poodle by the size of her).  Soooooo cute!

I may have taken many photos of her.  But she was mostly a blur of fur.

The rugby was so exciting.  But anti climatic in the end as a draw on the night meant the series was a draw.  Good for rugby.

Drove back and may have got distracted by Wimbledon on the TV until the wee hours.  Up too early really.  But got those good oaty pancakes for brekkie.  Mmmmm.

Another walk before work called and I managed to get Iona's laptop into my work email and got the info needed to help the issue.  Then drove back to Wellington.  Got caught up in some traffic in the usual spots.  Coming into Porirua was like driving into the apocalypse.  Dark clouds that burst with rain as I got closer.

Off to the Mexican place next to the Roxy to meet Josh and the boys for tea before the new Spider-Man movie.  Woot!  Good fun.

It's school holidays and Toby is a happy camper.  He will no doubt enjoy the time off.

Have a great week ahead!  Thanks for my weekend!

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with a quiz

Hi,

The day disappeared in a whirlwind of activity.  But I did get two more punters for our quiz team.  Serge and Sam joined me, Dave and Rex for some fun at a fundraiser for Jo's netball team.

Jo, on the other hand, did not have fun.  Due to a storm in Auckland, her flight back from there (for work) was cancelled.  She was facing sleeping in the airport because accommodation was unavailable due to the third test coming up this weekend.  Fortunately she did get on the last flight - but well and truly missed the quiz.

I hope the consolation prize of the $50 bar tab and a bottle of Baileys eases the sadness.  Yes - we got second!  Ooossshhh!  And I got a t-shirt.  Or Mike got one (a Tui t-shirt)

Second!

Guess it was good I knew the Tate had collections in London, Liverpool and Cornwall.  Dave knew some obscure song by Genesis.  Yep - it was a good team effort.  If only we'd known more about the All Blacks and the netball team.  The sports round killed us.

Smudge visited the vet and got her jabs, worming tablets (she didn't like that) and had her temperature taken (oddly, she didn't seem to mind that).  Her walking is still a bit stiff but the vet wasn't overly concerned.  We're monitoring that.

Mike got home late after having an excellent dinner out with a mate.  He was very happy when he got home around 11.15pm.  Chatted away to me.  We planned my morning out and then we both crashed.

My morning was early.  5.15am.  Mike woke at 5.30 after my shower and asked why we were up so early.  He'd forgotten about my need to pack for the weekend.  I am heading to PN to cycle and watch rugby.  Sounds like fun - although the weather is a bit drizzly.

I got lunches sorted (well, one of them - the important one!) and packed the car and got away before 7am!  Yay.

I will leave work at 4.30pm and head up SH1 with the rest of Wellington.  It'll be a reasonable drive for the new car.  Over to Martinborough was just a taster.  Mike and Toby will look after Smudge and tidy the house and do laundry (well, in my mind that is what they will do).  In fact, while I am fantasising let's have Mike also do all the ironing.  Bwhahahahah!

Have a great weekend!

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with user group and no Mum now

Hi,

After working from home in the morning, Mike, Mum and I Ubered back into town and she dropped us off before continuing to the airport.  I know she got there safely because I got a text from her from the other side around 7pm.  Yay!  It was a great (short) visit.

Went to user group and had a great time as Rami has published a book!  So he told us all about the path to publishing.  What a tremendous effort!

Caught up with Sally and Andrew at Dillingers again (and I verified it is actually spelled that way after all).  JR and Paul were there so it was good to see them.

Mike came and collected me and we eventually went home.  Slept like I was comatose and have a quiz night lined up tonight.  Should keep me busy.

Time to contemplate a nice cup of tea.  Enjoy your day!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Mum's last evening

Hi,

Morning is gorgeous here

We had a spontaneous evening out at Dillingers (I think it is spelled differently to that - pretty sure there is a "e" in there, or some "r"s or something) mainly because I had a hankering for their key lime pie.  Best in the business!

Mum said her goodbyes to Sally and Andrew too.  So it wasn't just about me and my key lime pie.  As we sat down to a table (actually, Sally's table from Wed night as the staff had got the dates wrong and booked their Wed night table for Tues - so we got the Tues booking and moved the dates to the true night) I perused the menu and almost had apoplexy when I saw their key lime pie was no longer on the menu.

Bother it!  Apparently Five Burroughs has it on their menu and now Mike has a scheme to get me there to try that one.  It better be a good one.

Anyway, despite that and my rejected palate (I heard "quinoa" and thought it was key lime at one stage - I have issues now!) the food was great.

Dropped everyone home afterwards and enjoyed a long sleep.  Working from home early this morning before taking Mum into town and she continues to the airport for her flight home.

Stunning day today.

Enjoy yours!

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

Hi,

After a crazy busy day at work (ok - I guess I no longer need to remark on that as it seems to be the new normal) I met Mum down Lambton Quay and we went to the East Day spa.  I had a lovely facial while Mum went into a coma during her own facial.

She had had a good day with Mike's mother visiting for lunch.  They had a fine time, chatting away for ages by the sound of it.

Caught an uber home and Mum was astounded that we live in the future.  Hahah.

Mike cooked me tea and then we all did the Stuff quiz for a while before I went to bed.  I was seriously comatose and slept like a log until the alarm went off.  Imagine not waking before your alarm.  What a concept!

Another day with little respite in the calendar.  Madness.  Last day before Mum heads back to Australia.  Let's see if we can catch up with Sally and Andrew before she heads back.  I'd best ping them today to find out.

Have a wonderful day.  Happy July 4th.

Love,
Angela

The weekend with a big birthday bash

Hi,

What a busy weekend.  Saturday morning disappeared in a flurry of excitement and before we knew it we were off to Lower Hutt to collect Mike's mother on the way to Bella Italia for Andrew's birthday party.

Iced latte on Sunday with Mike @ Mojos

Gingerbread 50!

Cool cake

Food was good at Bella Italia

Andrew's parents were delayed due to some slightly scary health concerns, but it was not too long before they arrived to join in with everyone.

And what a party.  It was good to see loads of people from all over the country.  Family and friends.  Iona corralled the various streams of people and kept us mostly on track for the event.  The staff were great and the food was good.

Col and I escaped to watch the rugby downstairs on their big screen.  We slowly moved up tables so we were right under the TV by the end.  And joined by Mike and Toby, and then Thomas.  Disappointing match though.  Gah!

Back to the party to wind down and take everyone home.

The wee cat seems to have hurt her paw or foot.  She's a bit out of sorts.  But she seems to be coming right.

Sunday was brunch back at 40 WLW and what a magnificent brunch it was.  I ate lots.  Mike and I dropped Vicki and Alistair back at the airport before picking up some groceries and heading home.  Mike tidied up a bit during the day and soon I was collapsed in bed.

Up early again this morning to watch the Sachsenring MotoGP.  Good racing.  Made me wish I was there.

Got a date with Mum at the day spa after work today.  Yay!

Have an awesome day!

Love,
Angela