The Wednesday with spin

 Hi,

Managed to grab a coffee with Kris and Mike came along. Good to chat about the work things.

Iced latte with Mike and Kris

Spin  - we did end up with 8 of us

Walked to the gym after work for Spin. I was early for the 1730 session. And it looked like it was a video session because there was no instructor. There was a staff person getting the monitor hooked up.

Anyway - 8 of us turned up. And nothing happened at 1730. So someone went to get the reception person and she kicked it off with apologies.

And we sat through an intro. Then - the menu came up. A punter decided to try. Worked the remote and got it started. Then he got the fans working. Yay for that punter.

Back to work afterwards. And a ride home. Mike was working late so I didn't see him for a while. Dough was all stretched by the time he got home. 

Off to bed. Up to ride in early for PT session. Bench 40kg 5 reps x 4 sets. Sunrise looked good.

Sunrise from work

Data brekkie after gym.

Boom!

Brekkie crew

Busy today. And Dairnie leaves today too - so drinks after work for that.  Haircut tomorrow. Maybe a bike ride - if the weather is ok.

Trapline over the weekend too.

Hope your weekend is good fun. My parents get back from their huge travel adventures this weekend. Yay!

Love,

Angela

The Tuesday with dinner at Rosella

 Hi,

After a day working from home it was easy to get into the car and go find a car park to meet up with Sally and Andrew for dinner.

Cats next to each other

Rosella

Mike walked in from work and I met him just outside Rosella Wine Bar. Sally was already in loc so we waited for a few mins for Andrew - and then the experience started.

Customer service was excellent, The food was absolutely lovely. Andrew and I had the chef's choice vegetarian option. Sally and Mike had the meaty one.

The tastes were fantastic. Creative and bold in places. My fave might have been the bread and the dip starter. No idea what the white creamy dip was - but the parsley oil was top notch. Zucchini charred with cheesy top was delicious. Yep. Would recommend.

Drove Sally and Andrew home via the Z EV charging station at Petone. Huge new array of EV chargers there now.

Electrons are flowing

And home to fall into bed. Up for a ride in and PT session this morning. News that Taylor Swift has got engaged broke early this morning. Oohhhh.

Have a great day!

Love,

Angela

The Monday with a walk and rugby after work

 Hi,

What a lovely way to end my Monday. After work, I decided to walk up to the Skyline from home.  Left at 17:00 and was back home at 18:04.  

Climbing up to skyline

Walked into Otari Wilton bush and up to the flax clearing in about 20 mins. Then pushed up to the Skyline.  32 minutes to the top from our house.

So really - not much difference in time going back the other way if the whole thing took 1 hour and 4 mins.

At the top

Views

I can see the harbour

Elly came over at 7pm and Mike got home just before her. So Mike made tea for us (friend tofu on a Buddha bowl - delicious) and we watched a replay of the Black Ferns v Spain game from the RWC that was on earlier in the day.

Such fun to watch with Elly. We have seen a fair bit of rugby together over the years. She had made cookies too for dessert. Nom, nom.

Off to bed once she left. Mike had cleaned the kitchen so well.  Thank you Mike.

Good sleep. Up for garage gym with Quentin and about 3 mins before we started, I seemed to get a cramp in my right side of my back. So weird. Anyway - a session of stretching hips and glutes did have my back feeling much better by the end. Thank you Quentin.

Another lovely day here. 

Hope your day is awesome.

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington for the first time in ages

 Hi,

Friday saw me head out to Petone to meet Alastair - he had some big news for me. His wife is pregnant with their first child - due Nov.  Very exciting for them both.

Iced latte with Alastair at Revive on Friday

Popped in to see Sally and Andrew and we got a loop walk in over the bridges. That felt good in the fresh but fairly light southerly.

Baked bread when I got home. Mike is no longer eating my sourdough so I have to find recipients for it now. This one was tagged for Janine.

Sourdough

We had an adventure Friday night, courtesy of Janine's latest plan for her backyard. She had found a cast iron bath in Roseneath. As is, where is. And yes. It was far from the street, overlooking Evans Bay. I picked up Mike from work just after 4pm. And Janine arrived with Andrew and a trailer not long after us.  23 Maida Vale road. Yeah - a goat track of a street.

The idea was to loop webbing around the bath to help carry it. That worked fairly well. But after moving it off its wee grassy perch, we immediately had steep, narrow steps to negotiate. And they were all uneven too. 

But with Mike and Andrew doing the lion's share of the lifting, we got it out of the property, over the freshly laid slightly wet cement at the gate (now with a footprint in it) and up the driveway and onto the trailer.

Jo (bath owner) was super helpful with her mighty lifting. Thank you.

Cast iron bath removal business

Getting ready for the next push

And on!

After getting down to sea level, Andrew stopped the car to check the bath. Mike and I pulled in behind. Mike noticed the car was indicating left to pull over and the trailer indicated right. A quick check confirmed there was a wiring issue. So instead of being really scarily confusing, they pulled out the wiring.

We tried to follow them wherever we could. It was dark by the time we got to Janine's place. We put the bath into the back yard and then checked the trailer on our car.

It worked. So it was Janine's towing that was wired incorrectly. That meant she couldn't really drive it back for the 8am drop off Saturday morning. We ended up taking it home.

Up to see fog all over Wellington. I was still really sore from squats Thursday and with the trailer faffing, decided not to do park run. I wanted Mike with me for my #25.

We took the trailer back and then I dropped Mike off to run to Lyall Bay.  I got to the beach and waited for the Botanist to open, watching all the surfers enjoy the waves.

Foggy start on Saturday

At Lyall Bay

The Botanist iced latte

Mike ran the 10k to the cafe and we had a lovely brekkie. Then back home and got stuck into the garage clean up.

The idea is to try and stack Christine's stuff so the garage is more useable. We got a lot out of the loft and made a lot of space up there.

Found my skimming stones in the garage

This bag is over 20 years old

While we were at home for the weekend, Toby went to Mt Lyford for the day with Angus. We did chat to him in the evening once he got back. He used the T bar a lot there and went off piste too! And he also caught up with Ana and Daniel and the dogs.  :-)  I am so pleased he had a good time skiing again.

Saturday Mike also decided to cut his hair. And he started without me - and without a comb. So he now has a very short haircut.

Here is his very short hair cut

Sunday was more of the same for us. Except we went out to get boxes and ended up walking up to the lookout just under Colonial Knob.  Such a good walk with great views.  700 steps up. Woot!

Walk up Colonial Knob

700 steps

Snow on the Tararua range

Mike looks south

Closer look at snow

Mike takes selfie

Better selfie!

No storage places were open so we went home via the supermarket. I baked another loaf for someone at work.

Another sourdough

And that was our busy weekend. Got a lot done. Still lots more to sort out. I need to find storage boxes to help with the next phase.

Have a good week ahead!

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with spin and burgers

 Hi,

We met up with Barb from our most recent Nepal trip together (I think it was 2019) and enjoyed a catch up at Pravda after the Wed gym session for Mike.

Barb is well and making the most of her awesome job to get a lot of travel done and learn a lot about techie things.  We will try and get over the hill to see Phillipa at some stage soon.

Iced latte at Pravda

Spin

Despite the freezing weather I walked to Spin after work and did a tough session there. Walked back to Otto to find Mike post-run with Sally, Billie and Emma from work. We had not seen Sally for ages so good to see her. And Billie had been on a run with Mike. Emma had known about this post run burger thing for a while so turned up to discover the goodness that is a $20 burger and pint at Otto.

Headed home around 7.30pm and caught a bus in a perfect piece of timing. Fed the cats. Went to bed. Up for garage gym for me with Quentin - but I seem to have tweaked my left adductor/hammie. Sigh. Did 50kg squats only.  3 reps x 4 sets. Felt ok but I can just feel a warmth in my adductor. Took an ibuprofen - let's see how it goes over the next day or so.

Weekend for me soon. We are moving a bath for Janine. Ok. And if I am up for it - my 25th park run too! Let's see what my leg says.

Meeting Alastair from work tomorrow for a coffee. His wife is pregnant so I can't wait to hear all that news.

Have a great weekend.

Love,

Angela

The Tuesday with working from home

 Hi,

Mike and I both worked from home yesterday and what a good day to choose for that. icy rain and wind for a lot of the day. Brrr.

Charging new Ring camera batteries

Moxley had her paw over her eyes while she slept next to us

We watched YouTube after work and after tea. Then off to bed. Not a lot else. Wed we are up for gym (Mike) and work in town.

Got coffee at Pravda soon with Barb from a Nepal trip. That should be good to hear her latest news. Bumped into her at the airport a month back.

Then Spin for me after work and Otto for tea after Mike's run.  See you there!  :-)

Love,

Angela

The Monday working from home

 Hi,

The weather wasn't too bad on Monday so Smudge was happy to find a patch of sun on the desk and sit on my comfy headphones cover to snooze as I worked. She is so cute.

Smudge is on my desk

After work I fed the cats and drove into Thorndon gym for 18:00 spin session. So good. My heart rate was quite high so I must either be still tired from ski week or tried really hard. Hahah.

Spin

After Spin I went to new World to get a few things. Mike met me there and we finished and headed home. The cats tried to tell Mike they hadn't been fed! Cheeky things.

Had such a good sleep. But like yesterday morning, I was really confused when the alarm went off. I still think I am in the coachman and I am surprised by my surroundings.  :-o

Today we are both working from home. Work is full of sickness. Did garage gym with Quentin this morning.  Bench 40 kg 4 x 4 and Deadlifts 80kg 3 x 4.

Woot!  It is pouring with rain and snow has closed passes down south. Cold here today. And so wet.

Have a good day!

Love,

Angela

The ski week in Canterbury

 Hi,

What a huge week of fun. Thank you to everyone that contributed to such an awesome week. Jason - thank you so much for looking after the cats so we could go away for the week.

Friday morning we ubered to the airport happily. We had left a lot of gear in Chc last ski trip so we did not have a super bit amount of gear at this end of the trip.

Airport iced latte

We had an Ugly Bagel and coffee while Kara got to the airport and met her post security checks. As she arrived they opened the gate - perfect timing. Nice quick flight to Chc.

Chc iced latte at Strange Bandit

We landed at about 8.45am Friday morning and got collected by Toby and Tessa.  We did have fun squashing 5 people into the RAV4 with all our luggage and Mike's snowboard. Got to Strange Bandit for brekkie and Mike headed to work after that.

We checked into the Coachman - a new bedroom unit for us. And then went to the Quake Museum for an excellent look back at the big earthquakes in Sept 2010 and Feb 2011. So sobering.

Quake museum

Toby powers a video on a bike at the Quake Museum

We wandered around Riverside after the museum - had Tapas at some upstairs bar. Very nice. And then back to change at our room and I went to City Fitness to run while I waited for Mike to finish work.

Up Saturday to head to park Run. But it was wet. So we ended up at Little Poms enjoying coffee. The others came to meet us there for brekkie.

Little Poms

Rain meant no park run for us

We did a bit of a tour around Chc - over to Lyttleton and saw snow on the far port hills.  Went to some indoor market thing - and got some stuff from an old fashioned apothecary. Went to a second hand clothes shop. Then back to Sumner beach for a wee walk.

Some pub near Ferrymead

Sumner beach walk

About 100m into our walk, we came across a Leopard Seal lying on the beach. I have never seen one in the wild before at all. 

Leopard seal on the beach

First one I have seen in the wild

We all climb rocks to get a better look

After our ski trip I saw this in Stuff:  Leopard seal was sick  So she was unfortunately euthanised a week after we saw her. What a beautiful animal. She yawned while we watched and her mouth was huge and full of sharp teeth like a tiger. Amazing to have seen that.

Beautiful beach

Rainbows

We walk towards the rainbow

Iced latte

Iced latte at the Quad Eatery

Sunday saw us at the Quad Eatery for some brekkie and we wandered through to see Rutherford's lab where he worked when he was at UC.

Mike is Rutherford

In a lecture theatre

Beautiful

Mike and sculpture

After Toby finished work, we picked him up and got him some skis at Snowmania.  Then we headed to Methven with Kara.  Found the house at 45 Morgan St and the fire was going and we had some chocolate to eat too. Thank you!

Toby and the RAV4 in Methven. 45 Morgan St

By the fire

Up early Monday to make lunches and head up the maunga. We got away a tad late at 8:10am but still got into the top car park easily. It is about 40 mins to the top from Methven.

Monday ski day

Me and Toby

We had such a good day skiing. The fog cleared away at about 11am and it was good snow and great weather. Sunny, no wind. Toby, Mike and I had such fun skiing. Toby did Fascination for the first time. And did it 2 or 3 times. Wow! He was amazing.

Back to the house after a fantastic day. Kara had pottered around the house and got her home work all ready to do for the week ahead. Out to the Blue Pub for tea and then home to bed.  

Tuesday was a murky day so we stayed in Methven with Toby and Kara. Mike and I went for a run to the Enchanted Forest. And then brekkie in town. Went for a drive to Rakaia Gorge and did the river walk there. Skimmed some stones.

Run on Tuesday

Iced latte in Methven Eatery cafe

Rakaia Gorge walk

Kara and I wave down at the boys

Skimming stones

Back for home made burgers and some YouTube.

This chap in the audience of a RocketLab launch looks like Toby

Mike and I took Toby home Tuesday night. 1 hour to get there from Methven at that time of the day. Picked up Tessa from uni and dropped them home and then we drove back to Methven.

Up for a ski day Wednesday. Me and Mike - Mike on Skis again. Such a good day. I did Reservoir Dogs - a red run! Woot. Loved Virgin Mile. Did Fascination a few times too.

 

Driving

Sunrise over Mt Hutt Road

Glorious day on Virgin Mile

Selfie time

We all went to the ōpuke spa after skiing. 6pm to 8pm. So nice to relax and eat in the pools. Off to bed after that for a good sleep. We got a voucher for Kara's birthday for this spa place - and she used that to join us. So good.

Sunrise

Me at the base

Up to do it all again Thursday.  But we packed up and checked out.  Kara stayed at the house until the cleaners came.  We were up at the maunga having a good ski day on firm and sometimes icy conditions. Mike was on his board for this day.

Came down after a good day to find out the key to the house had gone missing. Kara had left when the cleaners came - but didn't do anything with the key. Which was in the front door. So goodness knows what actually happened to it.

Drove back to Chc Thurs evening and checked into our usual Unit 2 at the Coachman. I stayed home and the others went to some meat pub. Hahahah.

Friday we drove to Mt Hutt - me and Mike. We left at 7am and went to Rollestonf or Maccas and petrol and we were in the top car park on a busy Friday. We were 10 cars behind Ana and Daniel and ended up parking so close to them.

In the lift queue on Friday with Ana

Skied with Ana and Daniel for a bit. Mike was back on skis. We did a few runs. Mike explored Rakaia Chutes so Ana also went to check them out. Breakable crust was the verdict.

Friday saw Kara head to the airport for her flight home. We are so glad she still came for our now-traditional ski week. Thank you Kara.

I stopped skiing around 2pm and read with Daniel in the cafe.  Then back to Chc for a quick change and pick up of Toby and Tessa and then back to dinner in Rolleston with Ana and Daniel. They took us to this fantastic south Indian place. So good. Everything was delicious.

Back in Chc

Saturday saw me and Mike at Riverlution park run. And then little Poms with Toby and Tessa for brekkie. Tessa had to leave for her Music Soc camp. 

Little Poms

Sunday saw us me and Mike do a run around the local streets in Riccarton before checking out and going to Joe's Garage.

Joe's Garage Sunday

Iced latte at Joe's - with the rugby on!

Mike and I tried to get the RAV4 roof rails on. We found an identical car with them fitted.  Took measurements.

Another RAV4 with roof rails

Our car

Their car

Turns out the 2006 RAV4 is 15 cm shorter than the 2008-2012 RAV4.  So the bars just do not fit.

At Punky Brewster

Went to buy ski helmets for me and Toby.  Smith one.  $299 for Mips.  Hopefully they are good for a few years to come.

On our flight home

Tessa met us at Punky Brewster and we ate some food before Toby dropped us off at the airport. 3 big bags of gear. Phew.  Landed at Wlg and ordered a bit boot Uber. And a Forester came to take us home!

The cats were good. The house is nice and clean. Thank you Jase!

Right. Time for the week.  See what crazy has happened.

Take care and enjoy your week.

Love,

Angela