The Wednesday with work and the Tuesday with my actual birthday

 Hi,

Well, the weather had almost blown itself out on Tuesday - but still had a few wee showers through the morning. But by the late afternoon it was kinda nice again.  Mike had a migraine during the night. 4am. Poor Mike.

We went out to meet Quentin and Courtney at Harvey Norman in Lower Hutt and a nice salesperson called Eve sorted them out. I also got a new Dyson stick to replace our broken one. Yay!

Headed to Seashore Cabaret and got a bit wet walking to the cafe from the car parked up a block or two. But had a lovely brunch with Sally and Andrew coming too.

Birthday Singstar with Toby at home

Presents

Home to do some Singstar with Toby in the bedroom while my parents snoozed and Mike worked in the office. I don't think we disturbed anyone too much.

Wow - this is so cool

Cool card from Ange and D

I opened my cards and got a few presents too. Awww. Thank you to everyone for making me feel so special.

Bike handlebar roll from Sally and Andrew

Birthday dinner at Highwater

Drove into town to have birthday dinner at Highwater. Quentin and Courtney paid for my dinner with a voucher. Super nice of them. The food was great. Dad and Toby loved the slow cooked lamb shoulder. Mum loved the agria chips. The food was all very good. $1100 for the 8 of us! Wow!

Lots of cards

Luke!

Frech Kiss cart iced latte

Wednesday I was in town at work. Busy day. But did get some birthday wishes for the day before, so that was super cool.

Shane resigned. So that was super uncool. Such an amazing person to have as your colleague. I now count him as a good friend. But I will be really sad when he leaves in a month. Waaaaaahhhh. Good on him.

Present from Karen and Scott

Represent!

Got my present from Karen and Scott - a hoodie top for Pulse. I will go see some games this season and represent.

And Zoi won silver overnight in the slopestyle. Woot! That gives her 5 winter olympic medals. So awesome.

Have a great day. Mum, Toby and I are off to Auckland tomorrow. Visiting a friend of Mum's.

Love,

Angela

The Monday that was the first day back in 2026

 Hi,

We both worked from home yesterday (Monday) as I mentioned. Mike headed off to the hospital for a test and they squirted bubbles in to see where they ended up. And it started a migraine for him. Interesting. He called and I ubered in and drove him home. Now we wait for the next steps. He is all good though. Marathon is still allowed. Dead lifts? Not so much.

That's the third migraine of the year for Mike, after back-to-backs on 1 and 2 Jan. He also got some weird auras last night but it didn't seem to come to anything this morning. New Years' migraines are no surprise, but it did leave him quite washed out for our mighty Rees Dart tramp. (Watch this space for the Southern Adventure post!)

We had tea and watched the last two episodes of 3 body problem. I made dough and we went to bed. Mike was a bit exhausted from his migraine still.

Smudge enjoying the sun

Smudge

Sad face at the gym - Juliet wasn't coming in after me

Moxley and Smudge are happy to see us back. Smudge in particular is following Mike around and always seeking his attention. Moxley is just ... Moxley. I think that she thinks the world revolves around her (and she may be correct).

Rode my pedal bike in and it was hard work. I am supposed to ride with Maureen after work and I am a bit terrified.

Mike also rode in. We have to try and be ready for Great barrier bikepacking trip at the end of the month.

Yes. Also terrifying.

Weather seems good. Warm here.

Hope your day is awesome.

Love,

Angela

The Thursday with a Migraine and an epic commute

 It's Mike here, subbing in for Angela while she has South Island adventures. 

My day started as normal, and my squats session was going well - until I realised that I couldn't read the signage properly and people had bits missing from their faces. So time to pop neurophen and go home. I actually felt relatively okay and did a bit of work, getting some low stress admin tasks knocked off.

That meant I was home when Angela set off on her Blenheim adventure. It starts with biking to the ferry - and then biking from Picton to Blenheim! Lots of fun. 

Waiting in the ferry terminal with Maureen

Feet. Truck anchor. It's art.

Um, that's on the ferry

And breakfast in Blenheim

Have a great time, Angela! And have a great weekend whereever you are.

The weekend with tramping and Wellington things

 Hi,

Toby won the inaugural trophy for winning the Kahoot quiz at his uni class. He was very proud. I am proud too.

Toby won the inaugural Criminal Justice and tikanga trophy

Thursday after work, Maureen came over to pick me up and we headed to Catchpool for our tramp to find kiwi.

The weather was nice in Wellington but as we crossed into Wainuiomata, we drove into dark clouds and the rain just started to lightly spit. It stayed like that until we got into the hut, to be honest. We stayed dry though.

Started walking around 5.00pm I reckon. My pack was about 12kg but I made good enough time. 34 mins to halfway bridge. I have been much faster - but it was ok. 

Toby tree

At the bridge

Made it to the river around 1 hour 10 mins I think. I had been watching the river levels because we have had some decent rain. But by Thursday it had dropped away to just above normal levels. Maybe 1.8 cu (normal seems to be 1.2 cu). So we decided it would be ok in crocs and we would keep our boots dry. 

I went first to check it out. And it was pretty high - above my knees. And there was a channel and it was fairly fast. But it was ok - I just had to scrunch up my toes to keep my crocs securely on my feet.

Maureen had just bought new crocs for this trip. And she wore them across the river then declared them too small. And looked at mine and said: yours look big on you.

Well, yes, They have always been a bit big. So we swapped. And now I know the joy of well-fitting crocs. Who knew? Maureen is also happy with her lime green crocs. Win, win.

River looks ok

We got to the hut and sorted out the fire and our beds. I was hungry so got dinner on. Well - ok - I boiled water for dinner. The dehy meals went down well.

In the hut

By then it was fairly dark so we got changed into warmer gear and left the hut at about 8:30pm. Crossed the river again - this time in well fitting crocs. And then headed up towards Turere lodge to listen and find kiwi. We heard one in the distance at Turere. Continued on for a bit past the new bridge and heared the same kiwi again. Decided to continue until we were about 400m from Haurangi before heading back. Saw glowworms - so that was cool.

Next time I think Haurangi will be a better centre for kiwi spotting. 

Off to bed after a decent 5km walk. I had a pretty good sleep. Up to a sunny calm day. We had brekkie. Wild bacon in rolls. :-) And cleaned up and headed back to the car.

Friday morning

Walking out

We got a coffee at the coffee cart near the churches in Lower Hutt and visited Sally to catch up with her. 

Coffee cart in Lower Hutt

Walking out

Cleaning up

Thursday evening crossing

Saturday saw Mike get up for our trapline. He had 5 punters on his trip up Sunny Grove and KAT. Callan and Andrew took Caitlin up UTS.

I made some salsa for Ange's birthday party at Danita's house. What a lovely evening. Celia, James and Charlie came. Lize and Clive. Natalie. Nick was there too. Danita pulled together a fantastic Mexican-themed dinner. Thank you for a lovely evening.

Saturday evening birthday cocktail

Sunday cleaning out the gutters

All clean now

Sunday morning Mike woke with a migraine. Waaaahh. So we had a quiet day really. Got the car cleaned on the inside. We did the gutters because Tom came to get my bike rack for the panniers for their Heaphy trip and we stood and looked out over the grass-filled gutters. Hahahah. Well done, Mike. Next rains we can laugh with impunity.

Off to bed fairly early. But it was hard to get up. Mike missed gym - he was still not right. So we ate porridge and felt a bit better.

Windy again here. Sigh.

Hope your week is a good one.

Love,

Angela

The Monday working from home

 Hi,

Mike was a bit late home from work after his run. He caught up with friends and by the time he got home, it was too late to have dinner. So into the fridge it went. But I had it earlier and it was delicious. Slow cooker for the win.

They were touching!

We went to bed and slept well. Mike woke at 4am with a migraine so he is having a slow start to his day and will work from home.

I am also WFH again. And I will meet Khemry after work today and help her with a new rug that didn't fit in her car.

Yay!

Have a great day!

Love,

Angela

The Monday with Mike home at last

 Hi,

Mike got home after a huge delay with his flight here on Monday morning. And he got two migraines in the morning too, one after the other. So in the end, when he landed, he went home and went straight to bed for a bit. The Dunedin half marathon must have taken it out of him.

I voted on my way home. Yay. Civic duty all done.

I voted

The library has a voting box and I noticed a lot of places have them. I was doing my bit at work to drum up people's interest in voting.

Got home and saw Mike and was so happy. Maybe even happier than the cats! Hahahah. He had recovered ok from the migraines.  We had some tea and watched some YouTube and went to bed.

I am a bit nervous about the race this weekend and work. So my sleep was less than ideal. But up for a bus ride in and my session with Quentin. Bench 35kg 6 reps x 5 sets. Then triceps and biceps and then hip and adductors. Groan.

Right. Time for the day at work to being. best grab a shower.

Hope your day is a mighty fine one.

Love,

Angela

The weekend with me at home all alone (and Mike and Toby in Dunedin)

 Hi,

Congratulations to Mike on his Dunedin half marathon. With a visit to Sydney in the run up to it, it was tough finding training time. But he did well - 2 hours 27 mins. And that was with fierce headwinds for the turnaround to the end. Good on you.

Meanwhile, I was pining at home for him.  :-)

Kowhai flowing

New bike in the garage

Friday saw me pick up the new bike from Giant. And I rode it home. It is really beautiful. Saturday saw me tidying up Christine's stuff so we can use more of the garage. I spent a few hours boxing up the awkward shapes and labelling the boxes with the contents.

Maureen came over to finish off with me. We got the old commuting while bike back up on the wall to save more space. Then walked to Chillax to get lunch (for me) and coffees.

Tūī plundering the kowhai

Packed up Christine's stuff

More space

Bike up

Iced latte at Chillax after garage work

Ange came around in the evening. Ok. The night.  9pm delayed match for the All Blacks v SA in Wellington. And I can't believe I watched such a terrible performance. The South Africans were on fire. But no one on the ground could do anything to counteract the onslaught. And that is telling.

Cats chill

Went to bed at midnight and the Black Ferns quarter final started in Exeter against....  SA. So I popped on a You Tube commentary - and promptly fell asleep. Woke up at the end ti hear they had won. No idea of the score.

Anyway - yay Black Ferns.  They face Canada on our race day in the semis! Go, go!

Drove my new bike out to Kaitoke and met Maureen for a ride up the incline, down to Cross Creek and back.

2 hours from the car park to Cross Creek and back up to the summit. And I think around 2 hours 50 for the whole thing - including stops. We got caught in unexpected drizzly rain. Oh well.  We got cold and wet and when I drove home at 1pm, I had the heater on nuclear setting the entire trip home.

Sunday ride up the incline

At Cross Creek

New bike is wonderful

Thank you for the fun, Maureen.

Sourdough

Got home and made some bread. Tidied up. And got ready for the week ahead. Sleep terribly wondering about Spring Challenge.

Walked into work. Mike's early Monday morning flight home is delayed, and now he has another migraine on the plane. It's a shame for him. Not unexpected after his week and weekend though.

Have a great week!

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with lots of work

 Hi,

With a busy day at work, my intention to walk home was thwarted. I just wanted to curl up and bake some bread. So I caught the bus home. Fed the cats and started the baking process.

Sourdough

I chatted to Mike for a while. He is good. He showed me his nice hotel room near Barangaroo - not far from Darling Harbour. He is going into the office today instead of the off-site team session he has had this week so far.

He flies home tonight - but only as far as Chc.  Then onto Dunedin for his half marathon and a visit with his mother and Toby!

I checked flights out to Dunedin - but they were around $1500 return. So - no!

Good sleep. Went to gym this morning. Bench. 42.5kg 6 reps x 3 sets. Then Larsen bench - 32.5 kg 8 reps x 3 sets.

Data brekkie. Then home for working from home for the day!

Weekend is good. Rugby Saturday night. Hoping Ange will come over for it. Elly is at noho so can't come. All Blacks v SA. AT the cake tin. Bit worried about them winning two on the trot.

Hoping to pick up the new bike too. Let's keep fingers crossed.

Have a great day.

Love,

Angela

PS: Mike got a migraine at 3pm (AEST) on Thursday, just in time for his check-in and customs processes to get on the flight home - that was delayed by two hours. Luckily his migraine wasn't too bad and he got to shake it off in the airport.

The weekend with date night on Saturday

 Hi,

What a whirlwind of a weekend.  Friday was so lovely - after a string of wet Fridays. Maureen was keen for a ride so after I walked into town and back for an appointment in the morning, I headed to Tetahi Bay boat sheds on the inlet and waited for Maureen.

Cats find me warm

ready to ride

She arrived bang on 12.30pm and I got her older bike ready for me to ride. And we took off anti-clockwise around the wee peninsula. Pretty flat but the path seems to have disappeared in places and it got a little sandy and loose (ok - that seemed to be just me - Maureen never even slowed up).

So ready!

View across the harbour to Sally M

Waved at Sally M across the Porirua harbour. It was such a calm day. So many people out enjoying the sunshine. After poking into some rock pools we rode up the hill to the really huge mast. Had a great view over Mana Island, Kapiti island and to the South Island.

Such calm seas

I want to jump in! With a wetsuit.

I buy Maureen a coffee because I lost a bet

Back after an hour and 10km to the car and into Tawa for a coffee at Offering.  This is where I paid out on my bet. Maureen has a black fingernail from a hammering incident and I was sure she would lose it. She has not.  Well - NOT YET!  Hahah. But the best was a month.  So I lost and bought her coffee.

Pear tart post ride treat

She thinks I should feed her

Saturday saw us up super early. Like 5am the alarm went off. Ate our porridge and drove the Subaru out to Greytown. I had to drive because we had the mini golf courses in the back and so the seats needed to be racked right forward to make them fit. Hahah.

Saturday drive to Greytown - very cold

Halfway along the park run

Greytown Park Run was so good.  0C was quite cold. But no wind or anything. I wore a merino long sleeve top, a t shirt and my running hoodie. And my tights.  I actually ran with my hoodie up and gloves on. It was just right.

Frosty

Post park run iced latte

Back to Clareville for some brekkie and coffees. Then onto Masterton where we dropped off the mini golf courses at Shane's place. We met Pepper - she is such a gorgeous dog. And then headed back to Wellington. Our quick Wairarapa adventure completed!

Bussed into town for our 3pm Float session. So nice. I am sure I fell asleep in there. All clean and relaxed afterwards and headed to Joe's Garage for some early dinner.

 

Post-Float Joe's Garage dinner

Went to see Superman at the Embassy at 18:20.  It was in one of the little cinemas below the big main screen. I really enjoyed the movie. Not the usual fare - and the most recent Superman movies have been a bit dire, I reckon. This one captured the Man in Superman and rather than the Super. Well worth it.

Uber home and into bed.

Up Sunday and Mike made me eggs while I watched an epic Women's Euro game. France v Germany. Drama! Germany down to 10 players and 0-1 down after 15 mins due to a brain fade moment where someone pulled a French player's hair in the box! Idiot. France slotted that penalty. Then in some crazy moment of brilliance Germany equalised. And it stayed like that for regulation time and into extra time. Then penalty shoot outs where the German goalkeeper was probably the biggest difference. So there you go!

Sunday garage clean out

Best save in the WEuro France v Germany game

We cleaned up some of the garage and got our ski gear ready for next weekend. Took our carpet offcuts to Epuni, ready to see if we can get that laid in the vestibule area at Polly's wee unit. Back for lunch with Sally and Andrew turned up as we ate our lunch.

Back home and Mike got a migraine in the afternoon. So he went to bed. Elly came and we did a garage session. Bench. 40kg. She is so strong.

Wally arrived to grab the Subaru for moving some furniture. Good to see him and Jason. Mike got up and headed to the James' place for dinner.

Garage gym with Elly

Moxley was so happy to have Jason's lap!

I made lemon cake

And I made lemon cake with the lemons from 40WLW. Yay! Mike got home and we ate lemon cake with yoghurt in front of the TV, watching a terrifying megavalanche mtb race. And we went to bed not long after that.

Mike made it to his Monday morning gym session - I hope he is not too woozy after his migraine.

It's Spin for me after work today. Woot!

Enjoy your day. And the week ahead.

Love,

Angela