The weekend with my mother getting her hip done and a lot of bike riding for me

 Hi,

I am a bit in tenterhooks with my mother getting her second hip done on Friday. Dad is updating us all - but I am super antsy about it all and would love to be over there. She developed a cough or something because Dad said she got x rays and they thought it was pneumonia at some point over the weekend. But - no! Thank goodness. Last we heard, she might be sent home today (Monday). And I think Shona is due up there soon.

Anyway, I had a perfect distraction on Friday as I headed out to the airport to meet Col at 7am. We had brekkie there - Ugly Bagel and a very nice iced latte. Col was catching the 2pm bus to PN for a long weekend to catch up with mates visiting from overseas. But I wish I had known her plans - I would have loved to drive her up to PN. But I already had plans and she had a bus ticket!

Hey there!

Giant eagle eyes off my iced latte from Ugly Bagels

I left Col at the airport with her route to the bus stop plotted out so she knew where to go. She was going to get more coffee and hunker down to watch planes arriving and read her book.

I got home - after a traffic snarl through town - and changed to head out on my bike for a wee bike ride. I did eat some of the grapes from the wine in Blenheim that Col had brought up with her. Delicious.

I got home grown grapes from Col!

I parked at the beach at the US Marines Memorial and rode up to Paraparaumu to visit with Jill from work. She was working from home. We shared a V and I met the two dogs she was dogsitting. Two black pups about 6 months old. Labradoodle types. Big boys. Like Ramble. But black.

Then back on my bike to ride back to the car. On the downhill stretch at the southern end of Paraparaumu - just before Poplar Ave - I felt something tickling my chest. I flicked a hand up to my necklace, thinking (okay - hoping) it was that. But no. Felt SOMETHING crawl down my t-shirt.

I slammed to a halt, and hauled my t shirt away from my body and peered down the neck of it. And to my horror of horrors I saw a giant (in my mind now it was the size of 3 wasps) wasp nestled in my cleavage.

A lot of panic ensued. Mainly manifested with silent screams of terror, a lot of jiggling and some punching towards my chest area. This continued for some time. The wasp did not enjoy this. But eventually I gathered enough courage to take another look down there. No sign of the wasp. 

I started riding again. My chest hurt a bit. I would continue until the toilets located where I had parked the car. My imagination told me there was a veritable nest of wasps in my t shirt but my rational brain did override that.

My face after a wasp stung me inside my t-shirt!

Got to the car and ran to the toilet and threw off my clothes. No sign of a wasp. But my chest was red and as it turned out over the next few days, very bruised.

Seems like the wasp went to town stinging me and I went to town punching my chest to kill it. No idea what happened to the wasp - never saw its dead body. But I punch like Tayla Harris (great AFL player in Aus - who also happens to box like a champ too!) if my bruises are any indication.

Bike and car

Anyway - back home and cooked tea. Sausage casserole. We ate outside in lovely evening conditions.

Dinner on the deck.

Snuggles under the duvet with me

Up Saturday to get ready for another bike ride. Met Sally and Andrew close to 11.30am at the same place as yesterday.

We all rode up the cycleway next to the expressway and had a stop at the same bakery at Waikanae as always.

Waikanae bakery iced latte goodness

Riding on the beach was a hoot

We got up as far as 4.8km south of Te Horo before the closed bike track stopped us. We backtracked a tiny bit then headed to the beach at Peka Peka. 

Andrew and I decided to ride south along the beach. Sally and Mike headed back to the cafe at Harrisons and then along the cycle path back to meet us later.

Sally captured Mike looking amazing

Sally snaps me riding across a road crossing

Riding along the beach was great on my eBike. Andrew found it much harder on his pedal powered bike. But he has legs of steel. We saw some nudists out enjoying the sunshine - I hope they used a lot of sunscreen.

Andrew and I ended up at Waikanae beach where we had an affogato flavoured iced cream cone. Then back to the trail and met Sally and Mike on the south side of the river at the expressway.

Mike with stripey sunburn

Getting the new security cameras sorted

Mike ended up with stripes on his head from sun getting through his slotted helmet. He looks like that villain in the rebooted Star Wars films. Darth Maul. Without horns.

Back to Sally and Andrew's place for tea and cleaning the bikes. Watched Everything everywhere all at once. We all enjoyed it. It was funny and serious.

Back home and to bed. Up Sunday to a lazy day. Mike wanted to get the hot water timer sorted. In the end we went to Briscoes and to see if we can replace our broken tongs. And we got better spatulas. Mike tried to get a casing for the new HWC timer but the mega centre did not have the depth we needed.

As we drove around, Mike heard cicadas in the back of the car. And as I type here at home, I can hear them in the bathroom. Moxley loves catching them and bringing them to us. I don't think they are really everywhere. But we hear a similar frequency and we get convinced.

We ended up at Sally and Andrew's place again - and stayed for tea. Back home and a wee bit of running around before bed.

Up to windy weather and rain looks likely.

Hope your week is ok. Enjoy whatever comes your way. I hope my mother is well enough to go home and she gets better.

Love,

Angela