The Tuesday that was like a Monday

 Hi,

What a funny old day. The rain came and went. The wind came and went. I ended up riding home and avoiding too much wind and rain. Had Jesper at work check the rain radar and saw my window of opportunity and rode with it!

Work iced latte - because I needed it

Another coat on the stairs

Got home and sorted a few things out. Made porridge. Started a dough. Made some pasta from leftovers. And then got stuck into the second coat on the stairs.

Mike got home after his run after work and made himself tea (same leftovers) and played with the cats. Then he took the cats downstairs via the outside steps. Smudge tolerated this really unusual behaviour. But while he was talking to me from the bottom of the stairs and I had finished and was surveying my handiwork from the top, Smudge escaped from the downstairs and started padding up the stairs.

She was so funny. Obviously sticky underfoot. And both humans watching her - one at the bottom and one at the top. Not typical for Smudge at all. Anyway, she decided to continue up. And we frantically peered at the stairs to see if there were tiny paw prints. There were not. Phew!

Eventually, after my dough stretching, I came downstairs (via the outside). And we went to bed with just Moxley downstairs. But then Smudge decided to come and scratch on our door, having braved the slightly tacky stairs once more. In the end, both cats were in our room as we went to sleep.

Up for the morning ride in for me and PT session with Quentin. Slightly spitting. And I bumped into Maureen as I left the bike shed. So I opened the door for her and she breezed in and we went up the lift together. I headed to the gym and did deads. 90kg. 2 reps x 4 sets. Oooshhh.

After work I have planned to do a wee run with Hope. Let's see how that goes. Might also get to yoga with Juliet if I am lucky.

Enjoy your day.

Love,

Angela

The weekend that was long and in Wellington

 Hi,

Mike ended up not going to Carkeek hut due to the atrocious weather. And it really was atrocious off and on over the weekend.

Instead, we concentrated on the stairwell. But the sanding and polyurethane took ages. The varnish needs 24 hours between coats. In the end I only got one coat on. Something to do tonight. And the cats can't wander around when we're doing it. So they get to stay downstairs while it dries.

Run in Otari bush

We got a run in Saturday morning in the bush before it started to pour down. Lovely. Mike did 10k and I did 4.5 - with a walk added in.

Walk up to flax clearing

Main aim was to get the stairs done. And there is a lot of work, so it is still not done. But I did get one coat of polyurethane on them all. Looks ok so we will persevere.

Time to start the varnishing

We met Sally at the gym and got a brunch with Andrew after it. And funnily enough, in the gym I spotted a PT that looked familiar. Then I remembered I sat next to her on my flight back from Aus in May 2022. My first post covid visit to Aus. She was a founder of Cryptid Women's Society in NZ and had been looking for ghosts in Ballarat. And she was also a PT. So my brain connected the dots and I said hello. Said I knew her from cryptid and the plane flight. And she was chuffed. Lisa. Funny.

First iced latte after gym

Second iced latte after gym

Derpy cat

Wally and Jason came over for a garage gym session. But I was gymed out already. We did have a cup of tea afterwards then Wally joined me on a bike ride up to the Skyline and down through the cemetery. Great fun. Hard for me.

Eyes

Bike ride with Wally

Started the varnish

Then it was all about the stairs. Got a coat on. Takes 24 hours to cure and needs 3 coats. So I know what I am doing this week after work.

What will it look like?

The floorboards under the wall

First coat done

From the top

Made bread

And biscuits

Elly popped in to say hello and pick up some overtrousers. Then it was time for tea. And we were in bed early.

Hope you all have a great week. Short one for me. I have Thursday off and I am flying to Blenheim at 1800.

Take care.

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with lots of things and a migraine for Mike

 Hi,

Blustery day here in Wellington this morning (Thurs). Yesterday was less windy and I think we have turned a corner with temperatures because it was actually warm this week.

Sourdough for Quentin

Busy at work yesterday. And Mike got a migraine early Wed morning and stayed in bed and slept until 4pm! Wow. He is still a bit woozy today.

I rode home after work and we had some tea. And we were not long out of bed. And I also slept like the dead. Mike had weird dreams and updated our chat for me to read in the morning.

Iona and Col and her trusty team won in their quiz last night. Wow. And the Silver Ferns blitzed the Diamonds for the second game in a row. Constellation Cup series now moves to Aus for the remaining 2 matches. Go Silver Ferns!

Up for an early brekkie with work this morning. Windy as I said. My ride in was certainly gusty.

Mike is not away for the weekend. He is going to celebrate Janine's birthday with dinner. And I hope to finish the stairs with his help over the long weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with work

 Hi,

Okay - this week totally made Tuesday feel like it should already be Thursday. Gah! But in some great news, Roz pinged me. Haven't heard from her in ages. Yay! Hopefully I catch up with her in AKL for the hockey. Choice!

Tuesday morning stunner

After gym iced latte

PT session was good on Tuesday. 62.5kg squats 3 reps x 4 sets. Then bench. 42.5kg 4 reps x 4 sets. Woot!

Busy at work. Mike went for a run with Callan and then went out for drinks. I rode home after my meeting and finally relaxed and fed the cats and ate some tea.

In bed early to read then fast asleep. Until Mike got home late. No idea of the time. He fell into bed. Up early for PT session today. Moved from Thurs to this morning. Hopefully I remember that tomorrow. Hahah.

Have a brilliant day!

Love,

Angela

The Monday working from home with Mike

 Hi,

Despite working from home with Mike yesterday, it seems I did not take any cat pics. They did come and hang with us in the spare room though.

Lewis Road ftw

We chatted to Toby at lunch time - which was really nice. He was providing context for Mike's panel later this week where he is with a bunch of ADHD people talking about their journey. It was really interesting to hear Toby's view on it all.

After work we went for a run. Izard park then down the stairs into Otari bush and along to the end of the path before it hares up to the playing fields and back to the car park. Mike then went to Izard Park to get in his kms. I went for a walk up to the flax clearing.

Flax clearing

Home to sort things out for the evening and then bed. Had a good sleep. Up at 5.30am. Lovely ride into work today. PT session next.

Have a great day!

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington

 Hi,

We finally got some decent weather for our weekend. I got a few things done on Friday around the house. Got the garden ready for veggies.

Showing my sisters how warm it is in NZ

Cats sleeping close to each other

Made a sourdough loaf and met Barb ahead of her ferry trip to Havelock to give it to her. I got a pic of her eating it outside at her crib. Lovely weather and a lovely view.

For Barb

Buried by cats

Saturday Mike and I went to Park Run. Mike ran with me for the official 5k (and I got a PB for the year in it! Woot!). Then Mike ran to Lyall Bay and I drove there to sit and wait at The Botanist. We had a lovely coffee and quick brekkie.

Post gym iced latte with Jase

Home to shower then I dropped Mike at the train station for his trip to Brewtown for the Brewfest. He was meeting Andrew, Janine, Quentin and Joel and goodness knows who else.

I went to pick up Jason and Wally and we headed to Lower Hutt City Fitness for a workout. Not too shabby. 40kg bench for me. 3 reps x 4 sets. And some deads. With a few accessories. Then a coffee afterwards at Buzz.

Smudge smudging

The Botantist post Park Run

A rye version

Saw Sally and Andrew int he evening when I picked up Mike from their place. We watched a documentary on Apollo 13. Then home. Sunday we did a bit around the house. Mike took out the last of the framing in the laundry so we are ready now.

Got some seedlings into the ground. Yay! And into my pot plant holders. Let's see if any thrive.

Went grocery shopping. Cat stuff shopping. Baked more bread. Read some books.

Yeah. Lazy weekend. But it was lovely to have all the doors open and the sunshine.

Have a great week.

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with a walk home with Barb

 Hi,

Had a lunch with Mike at Press Hall and grabbed some groceries too. Good use of our break. We tried dumplings in Press Hall. Where Aroha used to be. They were okay - but they did not get many punters as we sat there to eat.

Walking home

Mike and I met Sally and Paul unexpectedly at Bin44 after work. That was super nice as a surprise. Good to see Paul and some pics from his fun in the UK with planes and trains.

Caught up with Barb after work to walk home. She took me a different way - we went all over. And now we have a goal. We want to go on every track on that hill. Yes!

Tried comet spotting

Got home and sorted the cats. Mike got home and we chatted to Lewis who is going to sort out the laundry. Woot!

Tried to spot the comet - but only half-heartedly from the deck. We can't see low enough to the western horizon.

Up for early morning ride in. PT session next. Yay!

I am going for a run after work with Mike. Then home. Bake bread. Prep another one. And bike ride Friday. Gym Saturday.

Woot!

Enjoy your weekend lots.

Love,

Angela

The Tuesday at work

 Hi,

No cat content. But just so you all know, Moxley is very naughty. Hahah. She knows we are careful if she is around when we open the front door. So now she waits out of sight then bolts through our legs. She did it to me on Monday and this morning (Wed) she did it to Mike. Hahah. He caught her and brought her back in.

Anyways. Yesterday I went for a run after work with Mike and Callan. I did 3k and they did 5k. And in the evening Kaustubh pinged me to ask if it was Mike he had seen on Wellington Live's social feed. Yes, yes it was. And good to chat to Kaustubh too.

Tuesday morning iced latte from French Kiss

Mike and Callan make Wellington Live's socials while out running

Anyways, we ate leftovers (or Indian curry out of a bag - that was Mike). I made more cold soaked porridge. And we were not long out of bed after some life admin.

Mike took the Wed morning gym session so I had a lazy morning and caught the bus. Was unsure if the road resurfacing would cause problems. No - the bus came.

Will the bus come?

It did come - and I got another French Kiss iced latte

Bumped into Khemry on my way to work. Wish most of my mornings had a chat to Khemry in them - what a lovely start to my day. She is excited about putting an offer on a house in Lower Hutt. Fingers crossed for her.

And I got an iced latte. Asked for a bucket of it and the chap laughed. Said maybe they should bring in that size.

And now my day stretches ahead.

Run after work. And a walk home with Barb. Woot.

Hope your day is ace!

Love,

Angela

The Monday at work

 Hi,

Usual WFH day on Monday. It was so cold and wet and windy. Yuck. I pinged Mike halfway through the morning that I was cold at my desk in the office. And he checked the temp in our bedroom and it was 14C. So he turned on all the heat pumps. Before I knew it, it was cozy in the house. So funny.

Sourdough

Two cold soaked porridge brekkies

Mike got home after work quite late. But I made a quick tea (asparagus and Salmon) and that was all sorted. I also made us both porridge for the morning. Let's see what Mike thinks of that.

Up early this morning. 5.30am. Made sandwiches for us both with the fresh bread from last night. And I ate my porridge. It was ok. I think I can improve it.

Rode in. Went to the gym. 85kg deads. 3 reps x 5 sets. Phew.

Gym with Myra at lunch today. Then a run after work with Mike. That is the plan. But it is cold and it is a busy day. Who knows how I will feel.

Have a brilliant day.

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington for me and Mike away tramping

 Hi,

Big weekend of fun for both of us. Mike with Andrew and Janine into the Tararuas to bag Dundas Hut. And me at home to do all the things.

Friday stunner

Friday was gorgeous, if the northerly was a little strong and had a wee bite to it. But I was ready for my bike ride with Maureen on the new bike.

Made sourdough for Kara

Made bread before I left. And chilled with the cats too.

Smudge looking like a model

Then loaded up the car with its precious load. And away to Seaview to meet Maureen at 11.15am. 

New bike ready for its first adventure

She was a little late as apparently Placemakers has changed locations since the last time she was there. And I was at the new location. Which happened to be next to a bit of our workplace. Hahah. We unloaded the bikes and took off. And after 50m Maureen said:  errrmm, I have a problem.

Turns out her Sram gear battery was flat. She was stuck in a fairly low gear for the entire 40km ride we did. Lucky she has legs of steel.

I asked if we could still ride. Hindsight says maybe we should have just ridden to a cafe at that point. But what does hindsight really know before anything has happened? So off we went. Went to the 4 square and got lunch and stamps for Kara.

Continued to the bike shop at the road end to see if they had a charger for the Sram. No. But they were very nice. Pacey - thank you!

Headed south - with a handy tailwind. Around the corner to a lunch spot by the lakes. Then we attempted to ride around the lakes. This tested my riding skills with steeps bits and a bit of mud. Maureen was in one gear - remember! She stopped around a quarter the way around at a puddle across the track where the lake had risen. It was on a bend and we couldn't see how big it was. So I stepped onto some grass to see if I could see further. And promptly went into my shins into the lake. And still couldn't see.

Maureen was giggling. I said I had no problem continuing because I was already wet. She decided to keep dry feet and we rode back the way we came.

Maureen rides ahead

Top of the lakes

And back again

Had to contend with a fierce headwind and road works on the way back. Maureen went through a stop sign holding back traffic at one point. I waited. The stop/go chap got on his radio. But no one stopped her. I watched as she vanished into the distance. But luckily they let me go first. So I zipped up to catch her - with my gears and turbo mode. 

We said goodbye to each other and I went home to shower and pick up the bread for Kara. Got takeaways with her and we chatted for ages.

Hello Kara

Saw the aurora was sparking up so I headed home via the south coast. Parked the car and got to watched the show. At 9pm, I could see the faint aurora with my naked eye. But the camera picked it up easier.

Woah - big aurora

9pm Fri I saw this with my naked eye

Saw some green in the aurora too. So red bands, and green to the horizon. Such a lovely evening. Not many people where I was. I sat in my car at Breaker Bay, facing directly south.

Accidentally took a selfie

Left there at 10:30pm.

Good sleep.

Made more bread. Did a lot of gardening. Prepped for vegetables. Trimmed back the harakeke over the roof.

 

Another day another sourdough

Mike added my Spring Challenge number to my wall

Trimmed the harakeke

Sunday saw me inside as the weather finally turned. Did a garage gym session. 40kg bench! Woot! And then got stuck into sanding the stairs.

Finished sanding the stairs

I think paint

Mike got home as I tidied up. And he noticed as soon as he went down the stairs. Yay. We unpacked his gear. Had tea. And I made cold soaked porridge for brekkie.

Made cold soak porridge for brekkie

Off to bed fairly late. Mike missed his bus for gym and only made his bus for the GP appointment. I ate my cold porridge. It was fine. May need to tweak it.

Eating the cold porridge

And Monday sees it hosing down outside. Yuck. High of 11C. What?  Oh well. Back to normal weather then.

Enjoy your week. I need more iced latte right now.

Love,

Angela