Hi,
A weekend spent leisurely in Wellington - what a rarity. The weather was just for ducks though. Quite a bit of water was chucked down, I do have to say! But, no wind to speak of so the rain came down vertically. Odd, I know! And it was never cold. My mother is starting to think she is acclimatising because she recalls being cold at this time last year. There is hope yet!
So, what did we get up to? Well, it almost went as planned. Friday night we watched Back to the Future Part 2 and Toby said he liked it better than number one, but as his concentration was drifting I think it was untrue. I hardly remembered part 2 at all!
Saturday morning we went out to watch Toby swimming and he did very well. Concentrated well. Then we visited Sally and Andrew for lunch and dragged Sally to bathroom places with us to get brochures and ideas. Eventually we made it home via the supermarket to get stuff for dinner.
Barry and Kath came over for dinner - it was so nice to see them. We locked the cat out as Merlot attacked Kath last time she was here. We chatted and ate and the evening passed in great style. We talked so much it was very late by the time we noticed Toby was still up!
Sunday morning I started work on tidying Toby's room. That took all day. At one stage after lunch I thought I'd take Toby up to Waikanae to see the Tabors. But as soon as I made the plan, other things took precendence. In the end, I stayed at home and finished Toby's room off. His bed drawers are full, and his Ikea tallboy is empty (and in the downstairs toilet for now - we'll clean it up and put it on Trade Me). He still has quite a bit of floor space to play in because now all his books and toys are down one wall. And he has a wee cubby under the bed. He can even sleep under there sometimes if he wants (so he's told Grandy).
Sunday afternoon Mike's Dad arrived and Mike went off for hours to try and sort out the tramping club website. Once he got back we were off to Benjamin's party. Woo hoo! We had a great time with the family - Ma came as well. Dad had stocktake duties and couldn't make it. He'll be busy this week with that too. Benjamin got lots of money - I think he's quite happy with that. Books and money. Sounds like heaven to me.
Keas tonight - more pinata making. Great fun!
We're away for a long weekend this coming weekend. We're off to Brisbane to see Brent, Jill and their wee baby, Jack. And maybe SeaWorld or something like that (if I play my cards right).
Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Good morning on Fri, May 14
Hi,
Happy birthday to Benjamin for tomorrow. I hope he has a great day!
It looks like my work computer's woes are set to continue into today. Even opening browsers seems to have an age. I might have to stick to pen and paper today!
I drove the wee green car home yesterday so I took the bus in this morning for the first time in weeks. It was actually a good experience as I got to chat to Kat (friend from tramping club) all the way in. She's fine - we haven't seen her for ages as sailing absorbs a lot of her time now. I have invited her for a cup of tea.
Mike's party was lame, lame, lame (to use a direct quote from a text I got). Toby and I drove in to collect him and I dropped them both off at home and went on to table tennis with Ma. I enjoyed it like usual, apart from a time when I played a young boy who spent more time chatting to his friends than paying attention. I told him so and forfeited the match about 5 minutes from the end, too cross to continue. He got told off by the organisers for that. Oh well. I don't blame the kid - I blame his friends who should have known better.
It is Friday! Hooray. Not a lot on - swimming, dinner at our place with Barry and Kath, Sunday dinner for Benjamin's birthday and Mike will meet the website chap for tramping club on Sunday afternoon. I rather fancy watching "Back to the Future 2" with Toby tonight. Let's see how that pans out.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Angela
Happy birthday to Benjamin for tomorrow. I hope he has a great day!
It looks like my work computer's woes are set to continue into today. Even opening browsers seems to have an age. I might have to stick to pen and paper today!
I drove the wee green car home yesterday so I took the bus in this morning for the first time in weeks. It was actually a good experience as I got to chat to Kat (friend from tramping club) all the way in. She's fine - we haven't seen her for ages as sailing absorbs a lot of her time now. I have invited her for a cup of tea.
Mike's party was lame, lame, lame (to use a direct quote from a text I got). Toby and I drove in to collect him and I dropped them both off at home and went on to table tennis with Ma. I enjoyed it like usual, apart from a time when I played a young boy who spent more time chatting to his friends than paying attention. I told him so and forfeited the match about 5 minutes from the end, too cross to continue. He got told off by the organisers for that. Oh well. I don't blame the kid - I blame his friends who should have known better.
It is Friday! Hooray. Not a lot on - swimming, dinner at our place with Barry and Kath, Sunday dinner for Benjamin's birthday and Mike will meet the website chap for tramping club on Sunday afternoon. I rather fancy watching "Back to the Future 2" with Toby tonight. Let's see how that pans out.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Angela
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Good morning on Thurs, May 13
Hi,
What a strange morning. The gorgeous weather has broken with a rainy, slightly gusty morning. But it is warm. At 6am, it was 18C already. Very strange. I had Toby drop-off duty and we had a very nice morning (I got lots of hugs for some reason). As I got the bike out of the garage, it started to rain. I was reasonably wet by the time I rode carefully into the garage at work.
Guess what?? Toby is a yellow belt in karate! Hooray! What a clever wee chap. And that's despite his parents teaching him the wrong reverse punch. Mike asked the sensei about the reverse punch 10 minutes before the grading started and realised he had to sort it out with Toby. And Toby did very well.
Mum and Dad came by and cooked dinner last night. They were both a little subdued so I think they are getting a cold or something. But dinner was scrumptious - tortillas filled with lamb and salad (and rice risotto on the side). They brought over SingStar, but Toby and I took it over and Mum and Dad fled the house to the safety of their own place. Heheheh. Perhaps a session this weekend?
Mike drove the MX-5 in today - for a service and WoF. It's overdue for both. I had to help him push it out of the garage this morning. It nearly started!
We got Benjamin's birthday invitations yesterday (for Sunday dinner). Mike's Dad also got one. So, we have Sunday dinner sorted!
In fact, we have swimming, and Barry and Kath coming for Saturday dinner, then Benjamin's party. So I'm looking at this weekend and enjoying the prospect of a bit of relaxing time.
Have a great day.
Love,
Angela
What a strange morning. The gorgeous weather has broken with a rainy, slightly gusty morning. But it is warm. At 6am, it was 18C already. Very strange. I had Toby drop-off duty and we had a very nice morning (I got lots of hugs for some reason). As I got the bike out of the garage, it started to rain. I was reasonably wet by the time I rode carefully into the garage at work.
Guess what?? Toby is a yellow belt in karate! Hooray! What a clever wee chap. And that's despite his parents teaching him the wrong reverse punch. Mike asked the sensei about the reverse punch 10 minutes before the grading started and realised he had to sort it out with Toby. And Toby did very well.
Mum and Dad came by and cooked dinner last night. They were both a little subdued so I think they are getting a cold or something. But dinner was scrumptious - tortillas filled with lamb and salad (and rice risotto on the side). They brought over SingStar, but Toby and I took it over and Mum and Dad fled the house to the safety of their own place. Heheheh. Perhaps a session this weekend?
Mike drove the MX-5 in today - for a service and WoF. It's overdue for both. I had to help him push it out of the garage this morning. It nearly started!
We got Benjamin's birthday invitations yesterday (for Sunday dinner). Mike's Dad also got one. So, we have Sunday dinner sorted!
In fact, we have swimming, and Barry and Kath coming for Saturday dinner, then Benjamin's party. So I'm looking at this weekend and enjoying the prospect of a bit of relaxing time.
Have a great day.
Love,
Angela
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Good morning on Wed, May 12
Hi,
Well, I have to say, my session I organised last night went off ok. It was a good length and appealed to non-technical people in the audience. I wanted the presenter to suddenly rip off the hood and start coding, but he didn't.
Mike came in with Toby and picked me and Andy up and we got home at a reasonable time. Mike headed off to his meeting and Toby and I sorted out our lives, read a bit more of Robin Hood (Toby really likes it - and it is a very old English version of it, with old fashioned words) and both went to bed.
Before bed, Toby did tell me that he got to watch a movie at school yesterday. Astonishment on my behalf was followed by more questioning. Was it at Skids? No. Was it Mrs Mahoney? No. Turns out all the teachers were meeting, and just the principal and deputy principal were in charge of the kids. I am very curious now. Let us know if anyone has any idea about the meeting.
This morning was Toby drop-off duty for me. Mike is doing the karate sessions now. And tonight is a grading for a yellow belt. A big event. I am quite nervous and pleased I won't be there to watch. Mike has to get there a wee bit early and ask about the Reverse Punch to make sure we have been training Toby right. Also, he needs to practise Yoi, Koyitse (attention stance) and Seisan (forward leaning stance). While he knows them, he is getting confused between these three at the moment.
We had a good morning. Mike was riding for the first time in ages (and I had a good giggle at his story of his ride in this morning) and when I rode in it was lovely. I did have a migraine start, but my vision was only obscured at the start of my ride. It was quite good by the time I was mixing it up with pedestrians and traffic! Honest!
I hope the day is not very exciting. A pounding headache wouldn't be conducive to keen coding today. Heheheh.
Our online shop is due to arrive between 6pm and 8pm tonight (so Ma and Dad, expect some groceries to arrive at some stage). Hooray. We'll have food in the house.
That's about it. Have a great day! Good luck, wee Toby!
Love,
Angela
Well, I have to say, my session I organised last night went off ok. It was a good length and appealed to non-technical people in the audience. I wanted the presenter to suddenly rip off the hood and start coding, but he didn't.
Mike came in with Toby and picked me and Andy up and we got home at a reasonable time. Mike headed off to his meeting and Toby and I sorted out our lives, read a bit more of Robin Hood (Toby really likes it - and it is a very old English version of it, with old fashioned words) and both went to bed.
Before bed, Toby did tell me that he got to watch a movie at school yesterday. Astonishment on my behalf was followed by more questioning. Was it at Skids? No. Was it Mrs Mahoney? No. Turns out all the teachers were meeting, and just the principal and deputy principal were in charge of the kids. I am very curious now. Let us know if anyone has any idea about the meeting.
This morning was Toby drop-off duty for me. Mike is doing the karate sessions now. And tonight is a grading for a yellow belt. A big event. I am quite nervous and pleased I won't be there to watch. Mike has to get there a wee bit early and ask about the Reverse Punch to make sure we have been training Toby right. Also, he needs to practise Yoi, Koyitse (attention stance) and Seisan (forward leaning stance). While he knows them, he is getting confused between these three at the moment.
We had a good morning. Mike was riding for the first time in ages (and I had a good giggle at his story of his ride in this morning) and when I rode in it was lovely. I did have a migraine start, but my vision was only obscured at the start of my ride. It was quite good by the time I was mixing it up with pedestrians and traffic! Honest!
I hope the day is not very exciting. A pounding headache wouldn't be conducive to keen coding today. Heheheh.
Our online shop is due to arrive between 6pm and 8pm tonight (so Ma and Dad, expect some groceries to arrive at some stage). Hooray. We'll have food in the house.
That's about it. Have a great day! Good luck, wee Toby!
Love,
Angela
Fun commuting
I'm back on my bike again, and it feels really good. The Wellington weather is most unusual at the moment, it's staying fine and still right into Autumn which is normally the worst season for wind and rain. (I'm not 100% happy about this - it's going to be a dreadful ski season at this rate. There's a dark lining to every fluffy cloud.)
The ride in this morning was quite bizarre. The cars were all courteous and well behaved - which was just as well, because the pedestrians and other cyclists were very erratic. I saw lots and lots of bikes and people wandering across the road in front of cars, stepping out from the curb in spite of trucks and vans bearing down on them, and generally being in worlds of their own.
But mostly they left me alone, or kindof noticed me at the last minute and got out of my way.
Except for one.
It was beautiful.
A woman wandered across Boulcott Street in a world of her own, right in front of me, without even a glance to see if there was anything coming. Now, in situations like this, I don't yell angry words. Instead, I try to give the impression of total impending disaster, just narrowly averted by my quick wits and lightining fast reflexes. (Due to my slow wits and terrible reflexes, these have to be planned well in advance.)
So I was able to get nice and close to her, and then jam on my brakes, get a nice fishtail going with my back wheel - and let out a loud scream of abject terror and fear, six inches away from her left ear. Oh, it was a joy to behold. She looked up, her eyes grew wide, and she bolted for the footpath screaming.
Job done. I'm in a great mood now, this morning. Time for a coffee.
The ride in this morning was quite bizarre. The cars were all courteous and well behaved - which was just as well, because the pedestrians and other cyclists were very erratic. I saw lots and lots of bikes and people wandering across the road in front of cars, stepping out from the curb in spite of trucks and vans bearing down on them, and generally being in worlds of their own.
But mostly they left me alone, or kindof noticed me at the last minute and got out of my way.
Except for one.
It was beautiful.
A woman wandered across Boulcott Street in a world of her own, right in front of me, without even a glance to see if there was anything coming. Now, in situations like this, I don't yell angry words. Instead, I try to give the impression of total impending disaster, just narrowly averted by my quick wits and lightining fast reflexes. (Due to my slow wits and terrible reflexes, these have to be planned well in advance.)
So I was able to get nice and close to her, and then jam on my brakes, get a nice fishtail going with my back wheel - and let out a loud scream of abject terror and fear, six inches away from her left ear. Oh, it was a joy to behold. She looked up, her eyes grew wide, and she bolted for the footpath screaming.
Job done. I'm in a great mood now, this morning. Time for a coffee.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Good morning on Tues, May 11
Hi,
Ok - another nice day. Not too sure if we're using up our quota of nice days a bit too early in the wintry season. That wispy autumnal mist I was hinting at has arrived - but it is more like squatting in great blankets over the town's hills so far. But it promises to burn off and provide clear blue skies. That's my wish, anyway.
Keas went well last night. We only had three Keas and 4 leaders/helpers. I like those ratios. We started the pinata activity. Funniest bit was when Matthew's balloon popped early on and sprayed us all in paste and gluey paper.
I have to work late tonight with the Dynamics User Group so Mike had the early shift. He'll go and collect Toby and cook dinner and finish his Maths homework (Toby did the long "u" sounds homework this morning - and did it very well) before picking me up and dropping us both home. Mike has a tramping club committee meeting where he has to explain about the impending demise of the club website. Ooooo. The provider hosting the website is closing its doors.
Merlot slept all night at the foot of Toby's bed. I think she likes the lower bed as well. Toby was happy about it. He doesn't like her at the head of the bed near his pillow. I can understand that!
Toby has a karate grading on Wednesday and there is a move he has to do that we're a little unsure about. Oh dear. We're practising and hopefully tonight Mike will get a lot of practise in (after the maths homework).
I'm looking forward to the story Toby will write about Club Penguin. Cool.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
Ok - another nice day. Not too sure if we're using up our quota of nice days a bit too early in the wintry season. That wispy autumnal mist I was hinting at has arrived - but it is more like squatting in great blankets over the town's hills so far. But it promises to burn off and provide clear blue skies. That's my wish, anyway.
Keas went well last night. We only had three Keas and 4 leaders/helpers. I like those ratios. We started the pinata activity. Funniest bit was when Matthew's balloon popped early on and sprayed us all in paste and gluey paper.
I have to work late tonight with the Dynamics User Group so Mike had the early shift. He'll go and collect Toby and cook dinner and finish his Maths homework (Toby did the long "u" sounds homework this morning - and did it very well) before picking me up and dropping us both home. Mike has a tramping club committee meeting where he has to explain about the impending demise of the club website. Ooooo. The provider hosting the website is closing its doors.
Merlot slept all night at the foot of Toby's bed. I think she likes the lower bed as well. Toby was happy about it. He doesn't like her at the head of the bed near his pillow. I can understand that!
Toby has a karate grading on Wednesday and there is a move he has to do that we're a little unsure about. Oh dear. We're practising and hopefully tonight Mike will get a lot of practise in (after the maths homework).
I'm looking forward to the story Toby will write about Club Penguin. Cool.
Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela
Club Penguin by Tracey West
This is Toby's book cover, that he needed to do for a competition.But he wants to write the story as well! So watch this space.
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