The Tuesday that was just like the start of the working week because it was

Hi,

Well, there you go.  Back to work with a thud after an awesome weekend away.  I did catch up with James yesterday and heard his news from his weekend.  And I may have talked a lot about my weekend too.

With James

Got home after a PT session at 5pm and sorted out food for Toby.  Mike got home around 8pm after his Meet Up session where Andrew presented (I wanted to go - but it didn't work out for me).

Slept like the dead again - I suspect I am still quite tired from the long weekend. 

I chatted to Tu (a guy I sometimes see on the bus) this morning and he showed me video from his night before.  A wee baby bird fell through his window last night and he put it in a carton and has started feeding it wee worms.  Tu's ginger cat is looking after it.  Our cats would have eaten it - but Tu's cat was intrigued and looking after it.  The video of the wee bird opening its beak for worms was so cute.  And the cat trying to snuggle up to the bird to keep it warm was the best!

Tu said his friends are now calling him Dr Tulittle. 

:-)

Went to Spin.  Fave instructor.  At least the music had improved from the dire 90s stuff that seemed to comprise the setlist last week.  I think she is moving through the decades and the continents.

The day here is superb.  Made me wish I was waking in my tent on the grass flats near Totara Flats.  Hmmmm.  Getting a cup of steaming Rooibos, eating some porridge and scrambled eggs (not together), reading a book.

Enjoy your day!

Love,
Angela

The long weekend to Auckland

Hi,

What an amazing weekend - Toby and I both said it felt like we crammed a week of fun into that long weekend.

We left Wellington bang on time at 4pm on Friday with Elly and Mike meeting me and Toby.  Drove out to Porirua and collected Doro from the train station.

Traffic was slow in an unusual place - Pekapeka way rather than Pukerua Bay.  We stopped in Levin and stocked up on snacks to get us through to Bulls.  Kebab time.

Got up to Whakapapa around 10.30pm.  Fresh snow wasn't a problem, fortunately.  We all shared a room and Toby and I were asleep pretty fast.

Up at 5.30am to get dressed quickly and head out the door by 6am.  Even Toby managed it super fast - good on him.  Mike stayed in bed rather than braving the cold that early.  He was looking forward to a hard day skiing anyway.

We saw the coming dawn and the day looked fantastic.  Fresh snow crunched under our feet as as walked to the car.

Toby leaves before dawn

Crescent moon pokes over the horizon

Feet in fresh snow

We didn't get to Auckland until 11.15am.  Quite a bit slower than I thought it would take.  We stopped in Matamata for Maccas for brekkie.  The Hobbiton picture on the wall enticed us to buying tour tickets for Monday morning.

Continued to Auckland and then went to check in at Knights Inn, close to the ASB Showgrounds.  Lovely customer service at Knights Inn, even though we arrived very early for our check-in - thank you.  The whole reason for this trip was to visit the Auckland Armageddon.  And the fact that one of Toby's favourite YouTube team was there for it.  Mega64.  I tried to watch some videoes so I would know more.  But it wasn't quite me they were aiming at.  Toby though - totally in their marketing sights. We went to The Warehouse to find something for Toby to present to Mega64 for them to sign.  He settled on a Blu Ray DVD of The Meg.  Hahahah.

Turns out when the Mega64 team saw it, they thought it was hilarious.  They crossed out the word "The" and added an "A" after Meg.  And the number 64.  And they all signed it.  They even put a pic of the signed DVD on their Twitter feed later that day.  Awesome work, Toby!

signed copies of our new blu ray today pic.twitter.com/Np2yygkB9c

— Mega64 (@mega64) October 27, 2019

While Toby was at Armageddon, I met Arthur for lunch at Forestry Cafe.  Yummy!  Then we walked to the flanks of One Tree Hill and went to the planetarium.  $2 to get to wander around the exhibit.

Auckland planetarium fun!

That's me!

From there, we walked back past our hotel to Mt St John.  Turns out this walk was even better than I hoped.  Arthur is from St John in Canada, hence the interest.  But it was a perfect crater.  We got to the top and walked around the rim.  Good views of Auckland and the crater was fascinating.  The Maori had used it as a pa site and there were kumara pits to see along the rim.  Terraced slopes for fortification and gardens too.  All in all - awesome walk.

Mount St John crater

Back at the motel to settle in ahead of the rugby.  Toby and I went for a walk to find tea.  Ate from the local kebab shop - yum!  Rugby started.  Sent messages to Mike and Col.  But the game was disappointing.  The All Blacks were owned by England.  And sometimes we lose to a team that sparks up on the day and plays out of their skin.  This wasn't like that.  England just played a superior game and totally deserved to win.  By a far bigger margin too.  And their rugby is a new style - running, fast rugby.  All good.  All Blacks have to go back to the drawing board and innovate.

However, Sunday saw the Otago Spirit (women's team) win the Farah Palmer Championship final.  Next year they are in the big league.  Canterbury won the main league easily.

Otago Spirit win the Farah Palmer Championships.  Top league, here we come!

Toby went to Armageddon on Sunday too.  After brekkie at Forestry Cafe with me.

Off to visit the Sampsons Sunday evening.  Armed with a massive load of fish n chips.  And sauce.  We sang all night.  I loved it!

Sampson Singstar night!

The boys do a duet!

It was so good to catch up with them all.  And that is the last time I will be in that house.  They have sold and bought a place in Grey Lynn.  The pictures look lovely so I can't await to see that.  And they have done such a great effort on their old place.  No wonder that sold.

I eventually got too husky to continue singing and left around 11pm with Toby.  He decided we needed Krispy Kreme donuts then.  So we drove out to Mangere and went through the factory shop 24/7 drive through.  Hahahah!  Toby was so happy. 

Back to the motel by midnight and crashed into bed.  Up at 6.15 to shower and pack.  Toby also up in time.  And we left by 7am.

In Matamata by 8.50am and on the tour bus at 9.25am.  It headed to the movie set on a farm outside of Matamata and we had a guide take us through the set.  This was so much better than I thought it was going to be.  Toby and I loved it!

Yep!

Hobbit hole

Hobbit hole

In a hobbit hole

Selfie in front of a hobbit hole

With my new t-shirt from Toby from Armageddon.  Stop Wars.  Yep, he knows me.

Toby loved this place

So happy to find a forge!

Drinking ginger ale

Gorgeous place

The whole place is gorgeous.  Attention to detail is typical of Peter Jackson.  Toby was only pulled out of Hobbiton by necessary scaffolding on a dodgy chimney right at the end.  Otherwise, all on point.  Even the drinking fountains looked like they belonged in Hobbiton.

We got a ginger ale at the end in stone cups.  Toby found a forge - which he had been saying was missing.  So they even thought about that too.  The gardens were perfect.  Yep - I thought it was such fun.

I could easily go back.

We left Matamata after some lunch at 12.30pm.  Mike and Elly and Doro had caught a van ride back to Wellington, so Toby and I were free agents to get back.  We hit the queue at Otaki just south of Levin, still in the 80km zone.  And just crawled all the way through to Otaki until we got through to the south side of it.  Took an hour to get through that 20km section.

Back home by 7.15pm.  Mike looked after us.  I was so tired after taking 12 hours to drive (although that did include the 3.5 hour tour stop).  I had such a good sleep!

Sally looked after the cats - thank you for that.  Mike said they were happy to see him when he got back Monday afternoon.

Yay for a short week!

Hope you had a good one too.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with packing for the weekend

Hi,

It's almost the weekend.  And a long one for us here in NZ too.  Labour weekend.  Monday-ised.  Because in theory, today is Labour Day (25th).

Yesterday (Thurs) Mike asked me to Machete at 8am, so I convinced Sam to move our coffee date forward and asked him to join me and Mike.  Andrew also made it - so I made quite the impact at the cafe with all my men at once.  Hahahahah!

He tried to sneak a selfie - but I could see his face in the phone in the mirror!

So he used the mirror for an awesome selfie

Sam and I enjoying our drinks

Worked a bit late and then got home and cooked tea for Toby.  He had made lemon cake and the house smelled wonderful.  Had some for dessert and it was goooooood.

Toby made lemon cake.  Nailed it!

Packed after tea for the long weekend.  And got up early Friday to pack the car.  Mike and I drove in and we parked right next to my work.

Meeting Toby and Elly at my work at 4pm and Mike at the car.  Then Doro in Porirua and we're off up SH1 with everyone else.

Ruapehu tonight for a short sleep then up early tomorrow to get away by 6am for the drive to Auckland.  Toby is at Armageddon by 10.30am Saturday (meeting Jack) and I am meeting Arthur for lunch.  Then Saturday night rugby at the motel (I hope - they have said they have Spark Sports).  Sunday I may go to Armageddon with Toby.  And Sunday night with Lesley and Wally (I hope).  Dinner and Singstar?  :-) 

Up early Monday to head back to Ruapehu and collect the skiers and boarders and head home. 

Woot!  What a plan.  What can go wrong?  Hahahah.  There is no ferry involved - yet!

Enjoy your weekend.  Go All Blacks.  Go Silver Ferns.  Go Wales.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with a late PT session - cardio!

Hi,

Caught up with Rex in the morning - woot!  We had a good chat about all sorts of things.  It was bucketing down rain so Rex got a bit wet crossing the road outside Machete.  By the time we left though, it was fairly dry again.

Evidence of Rex

Cheers, Rex!

Got through the day, with a 4.30 PT session (trying to stop the 4.30am wake ups - not really sustainable with my boys galloping around the house until so late at night - like 10pm or something nuts).  Cardio.  OMG.  Quentin expects me to get faster than that?  So hard.  First up he has me do a sled push.  80kg.  Up and back twice.  I start fine - if you can call the first 5m the "start".  Because the rest of it is just a grind.  Then I jump onto a box.  I try to do as many as possible in a minute.  I am as graceful as the most graceless thing you can imagine.  Maybe... an uncoordinated elephant?  27 jumps by the end of a minute.  Ok - maybe I can get a little faster there.  Sprints.  5 times up and back.  He wants each lap to be 10 secs or less.  But I finished the 5 laps in 54 secs (ish).  That is hard.  Then squats with a weight.  20 of them.

Then he makes me do it again!

x3 all up.

Anyway, got home and waited for Mike.  Toby had a drama excursion - a one woman play to attend.  He got back just before 9pm.

And... Thursday today we do it all again.

At least it is sunny.

Got to pack my for weekend away with Toby tonight.

Mike had a red letter day yesterday.  Ooohhh.  Big news.

Have a great day.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Toby still sick

Hi,

Toby was still away from school yesterday.  Poor kid.  But now we have drugs.  Next time he gets an inkling of one - boom!

Sunny day pic

I did get an iced latte early on yesterday.  Yay!

I got home and made tea for Toby.  He was much better so we expect him at school today.  Thank goodness.

Mike got home at a reasonable hour too and was very chipper.

Our weather has turned to winter again.  Rainy and cold.  Brrrrrr.

Good spin this morning - except the instructor decided it was a 90s kind of morning.  No morning is a 90s morning!  Seriously.

Gah!

Have an awesome day.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with Toby to the doctor

Hi,

Yay for catching up with Andrew for an iced latte to start the week off like a boss.  Also saw Zaheer there ahead of his new contract with ANZ.  And met Sue (the other woman that does the quiz in the Dom Post every morning) and found out she works at Transpower and is finishing up there this week.

Mmmmm, iced latte

Yes, a social whirlwind of a day.  (Shudder!  Getting all extroverted for the start a working week. Gah!  Totally not my happy place.  :-p  )

But, Toby was sick with a migraine so we booked an appointment with the doctor and met him there (with Mike, who scootered there in 8 mins flat).  There is now a plan.  And an app for migraines to help Toby track things.  And we have drugs.

Hmmmm.  Poor kid.  Genetics, eh?  I bussed home with Toby and I am unsure if I have ever seen him that pale.  But he managed to hold it together for our journey home.  I had a wee tub at the ready from the doctor's office just in case (but given the size, I was concerned about overflow should I have really needed it).

Right.  The day started ages ago.  And it had hail too.  Now it is cool but sunny.  Weird weather.  Spring, eh?

Have a good day.

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington

Hi,

A Wellington weekend.  And a good weekend it was too. 

Little Peckish - iced latte with James and Celia

We didn't really know that it was Spook weekend until it was upon us.  Saturday saw me and Mike off to get groceries (that is - provisions) for the teenage onslaught.  And kibble for the cats.

Provisions for the teenagers

There were 7 teenagers sleeping over and watching schlock horror films. The Halloween props were out in force too.

We stayed up to watch the rugby.  Shame for the Wallabies (who knew I would ever say that?) and go the All Blacks. 

Also - how about those Silver Ferns yesterday?  A 1 point win over Aussie in Sydney.  Jeepers.  One more and we take the Constellation Cup for the first time since 2012.   Go, go!

Mike went to work for the day.  But Toby and I met him at 5pm and went to dinner (Gasworks - not a huge fan - vegetarian options are not fantastic) and we went to see Gemini Man.  Mike declared it "best movie in a decade" when he saw it on Friday night.  So...  The verdict from me and Toby?  "It was ok".

We were probably trying to compensate for Mike's enthusiasm.  It was a good enough movie.  But not "best movie in a decade" good.

Trailer for Rise of Skywalker was on.  OMG.  Dec 19.  I cannot wait.

Have a great week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with a bit of this and that

Hi,

Caught up with Rachael from work at Machete yesterday and perhaps it is the fact this was her first time taking a photo of me with my iced latte, but she captured my anticipation perfectly.  And it was purple shirt day too.

Rachael takes an awesome iced latte pic

End of the working week - and the weekend can't come soon enough.  Mike has plans to sort out our lives (gee - will two days be enough for that?) and I want to get a decent bike ride in on Sunday morning.

Toby is hopefully back at school - his day yesterday wasn't great fun for him (pukey).  But I brought home freshly made sushi (his fave) and may have made his list of "Favouritist Mother in the World" with that action.  He has a short list of mothers.  Well, okay - it's only got me on it anyway.

Time for the day to start in earnest.  Rainy here.  But Sunday is supposed to improve.  Woot!

Enjoy your weekend.  Go the All Blacks.  (RWC game against Ireland - huuuuugggeee!). 

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday that went ok except for Toby's migraine

Hi,

I do enjoy The Lab's take on iced lattes and I got an expected chance to have one late yesterday.  Woot!  Always a good taste and not sweet.  Reliable.  It gives Machete a run for its money.

Unexpected iced latte @ The Lab with Manisha

What else?  Oh yeah - Toby had a migraine.  Boo!  By the time I got home, he was a bit perkier.  I made him toast and fruit for tea and never saw him after that. 

When Mike got home, he chatted to him a bit.  Mike had been out with his mates for a burger - looked good to me when I saw his pics during the evening.

Up early to get into my PT session.  Bench press.  30kg.  Seemed ok.  :-)

Toby and I are heading to Armageddon in Auckland for Labour weekend.  Road trip time!  Oosshh!

Have a great day.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with work

Hi,

All work and no play makes Angela exceedingly dull.  Hahahah.  Well, actually, I did get to two Spin sessions yesterday, so I wasn't all dull.

Iced latte with Bronwyn on Tuesday morning

And a lunch at the curry place with Andrew.  So - boom!  Totally not dull.  Not edgy and bright either.  But not dull.  Maybe...  burnished steel? 

Ok - maybe I am now waffling.

Anyway...  Went to Spin after work.  And missed my bus by one minute so had to wait 21 mins for the next one.  But - I was really winning because Mike cooked tea!

Yes!

And fell into bed, full as a wee leech (my Nepal experience creeping into my unique vernacular there!) and happy.

Rainy today.  Boo!

Have a great day!

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work and school

Hi,

Monday, eh?  It came, meandered around through the bulk of the day and finally crawled off into the distance.  I got some groceries for Toby on my way home and sorted out tea for him when I got back.

I did squeeze in lunch with Mary.  That was a definite high spot in the bulk of the day.

Morning iced latte

Morning iced latte was an awesome way to start the day, too.  Yes!

Afternoon iced latte with James, my man!

Ok - James took two pics.  Obvs he knows how to zoom!  Lucky he didn't give me rabbits ears, I guess

Turns out James really wanted a coffee later in the day.  So - I got two iced lattes yesterday.  OMG.  I am over caffeinated.

I bought a Nepal souvenir home.  Geeeeeeeek!

I realised the only real souvenir I bought in Nepal was a mouse mat.  OMG.  I am such a geek.  Others had yak hats and gloves and slippers and wood carving print block things (you know who you are!).  And I got... a mouse mat.

But hey - it is the souvenir that keeps reminding me.  Every day.  At work.  I can move my mouse and go... I wish I was back in Kathmandu.

Weather has changed back to Spring uncertainty.  Looks like a bit of rain in the air.

Have a wonderful day. 

Love,
Angela

The weekend back in Wellington

Hi,

I have to say, I am so glad we had a weekend of doing next-to-nothing as I was still quite shattered.  Mike went out Friday night after work and got home late.  Disturbed the household a bit.  And then fell asleep.

And I stayed awake until 4.30am. 

Sigh.

Home grown iced latte with Celia

Celia came around in the afternoon to sit through our interminable photos from Nepal.  She is so stoic.  Good to see her and catch up.

Friday iced latte

Sunday saw me and Mike up for brunch at Hangar where Mike snuck a pic of Benjamin working in the kitchen.

Sunday brunch at Hangar

Some random male model that took a selfie on my phone

Back home and off to family dinner at Sally and Andrew's house.  Where we kinda inflicted the Nepal pics on people again.  Hahahah.

Had a great dinner - caught up with everyone.  And headed home to fall into bed.

Bring on a full working week!  Toby back at school too.  Oosshh.

Have a good one.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday back at work

Hi,

I got an iced latte at Machete!  Yay!

It's been 3 weeks in the waiting

Mmmmmmmm.

Managed to get through the day.  Oddly, felt like a box of birds at 1700.  Didn't bode well for going to sleep by a reasonable hour.

Mike met me at work and we bussed home.

Got home, and cooked tea.  Chicken schnitzels for Toby.  He was happy.  Then Mike and I voted in the local elections.  Took some time.

I have to post them in the ballot box today.  Don't let me forget!

Voting must have been the key as when I finally got into bed, I had the best sleep ever.  Right through to the alarm.  Bliss.

Friday today!  Woot!  Busy day at work in my calendar.  But then - it's the weekend!

Toby was up at 5.45am with me - weird.  We had brekkie together.  That was so nice.

Have a good one.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday back in Wellington

Hi,

Back in Wellington after an awesome holiday.  House all clean and tidy (thanks to Mike's Mum I am sure - and not Toby).  Toby all clean and tidy (that was all Toby I suspect).

Mike is blogging frantically whenever he gets a chance. 

We got home late Tuesday and recovered with a 12 hour sleep that night.  Oosshh!

My inbox is a bit crazy.  I think I know what I am doing for a lot of today.

Lots of towels at work

And when I got to the work sower this morning, it looks as though I might be the only person using towels.  By Thursday we're usually down to a few left for the week.

I will start making a dent in that pile.

Hope your day is a good one.

Love,
Angela

Farewell

Day 15 - Kathmandu Durbar Square, Boudhanath Stupa

Another early start today so we can get to Kathmandu Durbar Square before the crowds - and the admission fee.

Kathmandu Durbar Square is not to be missed, especially since it's an easy walk from Thamel where you're likely to be staying. The walk there and back is a highlight in itself, passing through alleys, crowds of locals and local markets and activity.

Tim's Sidebar - post trekking fun in Pokhara

by guest blogger Tim

3 Oct - Pokhara

After Mike, Angela, Bharat and Phillipa left for Lumbini,  Jeanette, Anita, Tim went tandem paragliding. Some delays were experienced at the paragliding company’s offices, but late in the morning we were driven by another racing car aspirant up the tortuous hill to Sarangkot. We turned off the main road and continued up to the highest point, some 810 metres above Lake Phewa, where approximately 20 other customers were randomly launching themselves into the big air. After the compulsory 1 minute tuition by our pilot, we were off and heading smoothly along the hillside towards Pokhara. After 10 minutes we reached a place where there were some cliffs below us. These produced strong thermals and the sky was filled with at least 20 paragliders in close proximity trying to take advantage. At this point the paragliders started turning tight circles as they rose above the height of the starting hilltop and into the light clouds. The view over Pokhara and Lake Phewa was magnificent and all was quiet except for the occasional shrieks of excited customers.

Kathmandu free day

Day 14 - Kathmandu

Today is a 'free day' - we're in Kathmandu earlier than the rest of the group, coming by plane and bus over the course of the day. What should we do?

Flying to Kathmandu

Day 13 - Limbini to Kathmandu

We could have spent the afternoon whiling away the hours under the Bodhi tree at Maya Devi Temple - but we had a plane to catch. Soon enough we were back in our Suzuki van and driving back to the airport for our flight back to Kathmandu.

We did an important diversion to Pawan Misthan Bhandar, in the town of Siddharthanagar and just 5km from the India border. It's an amazing bakery full of locals, Indians and a sprinkling of tourists like us. We had yummy samosas and a sweet rice dish - served quickly and efficiently. We took away a box of pedas, their signature sweet biscuit.

Look at all the yummy things!

Limbini

Day 13 - Limbini

Tips

• We had half a day which was enough; but an unhurried full day would be nice.
• It was difficult to get a sense of scale and where you are, especially by car. Get a good map and read up prior.
• Shoes off in the temples, so flipflops or sandals.
• It is HOT. 40° hot. Start early, walk slowly and drink lots of water.
• Only Buddha's birthplace charges admission. Gate entry is fine. So we could have explored a bit the night before.

Pokhara to Limbini - from 4500m to 90m in 4 days

Day 12 - Pokhara (800m)-Limbini (90m)

(Link to larger map)

Another yummy Rosemary breakfast and our jeep to Limbini pulled up. The two of us, and Phillipa, Bharat and Expansion were off on a breakaway side trip while the rest of the group explored Pokhara (see Tim's sidebar).

To Pokhara by jeep

Day 11 - Birethanti-Pokhara

Breakfast at Birethanti guesthouse

After breakfast - and a little more shopping by Phillipa and others - we were off to the familiar 'gateway' bridge for our ride to Pokhara. Two jeeps met us as the road was too bad for a van. This also meant a Birethanti pickup instead of needing to walk down the 4WD track to Nayapul.

Angela's sidebar - Walking from Siwai to Berethanti

We left Siwai after a tea break to walk to Birethanti. Me, Bachan, Hai, Tracey and Karna. The harder (we thought) more interesting way compared to taking a cushy bus.

We spent a bit of time walking on the road as well as paths through farmlets. It was hot work as the sun finally peeked out from the clouds. After about an hour we came to an awesome tea house. Here is where I saw my first Nepali cat of the trip.  The garden was immaculate with produce growing everywhere. The sign promised organic veges and we could see exactly where they came from.

Special Tolka day and terrifying bus journey

Day 10 - Tolka-Landruk-Siwai-Birethanti

6am saw us up and beside Dad's chorten. Karna showed me what to do. We placed four bamboo sticks around the chorten then wrapped prayer flags around and surrounding it. Then lit incense and put incense sticks all in and around it. Karna left a rupee coin and a banana on the chorten. Then we stood, quietly, praying and reflecting. It was moving, and special.