Good morning on Tues, Jan 20

Hi,



We had a great weekend this weekend with three days off because of Wellington Anniversary Day on Monday. It started with our ride home on Friday afternoon after work to pack all our tramping and camping gear into the MX-5. We had to modify what we take due to a lack of space but it all worked well and we took off at about 1900 up SH1.



We stopped for tea at Te Horo at the cafe there that Mum and I found one day. The service was slow (but good so we didn't mind) and the highlight was Mike's comment about his pea and pear soup. Well, the food was actually extremely good (Mike's main was chicken breast and mine was beef fillet). However, upon tasting the pea and pear soup, Mike said "This is very nice. The pear cuts through the pea-ness" and wondered why I started chortling and had tears coming out of my eyes. He then went back over what he had said, and realised how it sounded and we both started laughing.



The late dinner meant a late arrival in Taihape but we pitched the tent and fell asleep very fast. next morning we were up and away early to Ohakune to meet the shuttle bus to the bottom of the Tongariro Crossing. We were disappointed at the late start to the walk (9am before we walked off) but pleased to leave the MX-5 in a safe car park in Ohakune. About an hour in I got a blister on my little toe on my right foot. Mike sorted it out but I had to loosen my boot and this caused a blister on my heel to develop.



The scenery was fantastic. We had a cloudless day and could see to the north and east for miles. The mountains all looked great. There were wee patches of snow left here and there (quite a long way from the walking track). There was a panic after Mike and I climbed the devil's staircase when we got out the camera and Mike squinted through the viewfinder and his contact lens flew out. Fortunately he had a spare in his backpack. He popped in the new lens and had no more problem but I was wondering what we'd do with a half blind Mike halfway up Tongariro.



There were people panicking on the scoria/scree slope down from the peak. We passed one woman crawling down and another grabbing onto her husband for grim death. Mike and I ate lunch at Ketetahi Hut at 1pm and from there it was downhill all the way to the carpark for 90 minutes. I didn't like that bit as my blisters were not co-operating and I was favouring one side. Still, we got there and waited for about 45 minutes for our shuttle back to Ohakune.



Mike wants to make this walk an annual event as he liked it so much. I was astonished at the number of people on the walk. Must have been easily 500 people. We met up with work colleagues as we waited for the shuttle at the end. They had started earlier but done the side slog up Ngauruhoe. We think Toby might have to wait for another two years to tackle the walk successfully.

We drove home on Sunday morning after breakfast at our favourite cafe in Taihape (Brown Sugar Cafe) trying to find gooseberry bushes at various garden shops. Unfortunately we didn't find any. Sunday we relaxed quite a bit once we got home. Monday however was a different matter. The top floor has been decluttered in a big way. We worked for hours getting it just right. Now we have the bottom floor to do - mainly Toby's room before he returns on Sunday! We have also decided to get Wilf in to fix the garage roof so we can put shelves in there and store some cartons from the green room. That should work a charm! The plan is all coming together. I worked on the linen cupboard and it looks great! I will even take a photo of it I am so proud!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Love,
Angela

Good morning on Fri, Jan 16

Hi,

All is fine and dandy in Wellington. The weather is still lovely and the ride down the hill was great. Mike and I packed for the weekend last night - it is just the two of us so we'll ride home after work and try and pack the MX-5 with our camping gear and head off. We're likely to walk the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. We'll head back on Sunday morning so we can continue the declutter process.

Duncan and Emerson turn 6 tomorrow and Toby has an invitation to their party on Saturday, Jan 31.

Not much else to report. Mike and I are looking forward to the long weekend.

Love,
Angela

Good morning on Thurs, Jan 15

Hi,

What another lovely day here. We had a breakfast before work with some colleagues and I always think it is a great way to start the day. The ride down the hill was fun and then lots of yummy food. How good can it get?

The wee green car was sorted in 2 minutes last night by the AA. Mike had decided against the tramping club night and he rang the AA as soon as we got home and then he started dinner. The AA arrived just as dinner was done. So we turned off the food and hopped in the MX-5 and drove out to Sally and Andrew's house to charge it up where we ate dinner and dessert and then drove home.

Mike foolishly stayed up till 1am reading the news on the internet but I was in a coma from about 10pm so I have no recollection of any of that. But he has already had two coffees this morning so either he is ok or he is so sleepy it is having no effect. I can't tell looking at him.

Needless to say, no decluttering happened last night. But at least we have dinner cooked already! And I need to pack for the Tongariro Crossing tonight. And perhaps get to the supermarket to pick up a few things for the weekend.

Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela xxx

And why is the MX-5's battery flat?

Toby's taken to playing with the internal lights; and some unknown person left the passenger-side map light on, sometime in December.

Not saying anything.

But it's so flat that we can't get the alarm system to fire up, so we can't un-immobilise it - even with the Corolla hooked up to it and revving. Hopefully the AA man will have more luck this evening.

Good morning on Wed, Jan 14

Hi,

It is an absolutely glorious morning here in Wellington. Hardly any wind and clear skies. A cracker of a day! The ride down was lovely. Mike wants to attend the Wellington Tramping Club meeting this evening but I am undecided whether to go.

I got an email from my sister to say Toby slept well but that she woke up with gunky eyes. Oops. We may have left a legacy in Sydney. My eyes are almost back to normal. Maybe another day or two of the drops and I won't look like the undead. I hope Karen only gets what Toby had. He had gunk once and that was it - no redness or anything. Go figure!

Last night we had grand plans to drive the wee green car to Waikanae and meet Sally and Andrew for dinner on the beach there. The green car has a flat battery. So flat we can't disarm the alarm. So we pushed it out the garage, drove the Corolla up to the back where the battery is and tried to jumps start it. Zip! So the car is now on the street waiting for the AA to arrive when we call them. We couldn't push it back up the hill to a safe place. If I don't go to the club meeting tonight I'll ring them when I get home.

So, we drove the Corolla out there instead of a drive with the wee green car to charge up its battery. The dinner was superb. I had a taste of everyone's meal and every dish was very tasty. It made for a late night though and Mike needed a coffee as soon as he got to work this morning!

So there you go. All fun and games here. Never a dull moment. Sometimes I long for some dull moments! Heheheheh. I'd get lots more books read that way!

Have a great day!
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Tues, Jan 13

Hi,

I got a note from Karen this morning that wee Toby got a little upset last night going to bed. Karen seemed to handle it fine. I hope he's ok now.

Today is lovely here in Wellington. Mike and I enjoyed the ride in. We even survived the ride back up yesterday evening after 20 days of no riding.

Last night the decluttering progressed to the kitchen. The pantry has been done now and we will move into the lounge tonight. This is where the hard work will begin though. A lot of stuff from the bedroom and kitchen have ended up there as a staging area. So there is now a mound in the middle of the room that would excite archaeologists! We'll relocate all the CDs and DVDs and use the wooden chest to store some Toby toys that can live in the lounge. That should clear up the corners in the lounge and give us some space. The linen cupboard is after that! Then it'll be downstairs to Toby's room.

We're all go for doing the Tongariro Crossing this weekend. We have a long weekend this weekend in Wellington due to anniversary weekend. Anyone want to join us? Andrew has expressed partial interest. Kara perhaps as well. But definitely Mike and I are going. We will also hopefully collect another gooseberry bush as our kindly neighbour mowed our lawn and hacked the bush off at ground level. I was quite upset at the sight (or lack of it) of my favourite bush! So we're off to pursue gooseberry bushes and walk across the volcanic plateau.

Have a great day!
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Mon, Jan 12

Hi,

First day back since before Christmas. It is a very odd feeling. Wee Toby is still in Sydney enjoying a summer holiday stretching on and on. So we have no child and a huge list of tasks to get through.

Yesterday we decluttered our bedroom. This was easy as now all the stuff is in the middle of the lounge waiting for the continued decluttering to take effect in there too. That'll start tonight. I can walk all the way around our bed without jumping over stacks of books and boxes.

We also had lunch at Sally and Andrew's yesterday. It was hard to leave but we should have left sooner to get our bedroom sorted earlier. As it was, I was in a coma by 9pm as Mike finished up around me. Heheheh.

I have a dental appointment today. That'll be a plesant experience with my cold and conjunctivitis courtesy of Mike. Mike cleaned gunk out of Toby's eyes and then put his contact lenses in. So he got it and resembled a vampire for a few days with bloodshot eyes whereas Toby only had gunk one morning and nothing else. Now I have it and I look like I have been swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool for hours on end!

Hopefully I will write up a summary of the Sydney holiday. We had loads of fun! Maybe even some photos.

Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela