The Thursday with nothing for me and Toby...

Hi,

The harbour is beautiful this morning - my ride around the waterfront was lovely.  The harbour is so still and the blue skies and beautiful sunrise made my day! 

Yesterday I got a lift home with Rex in his car.  We shoved my bike in the back and my two Fly Buys parcels (pizza stone and non-stick pan) and I was home with everything in one piece.  Contemplating carrying it home on the bike wasn't looking like a lot of fun.  I cooked dinner for me and Toby and we relaxed for the evening. 

Mike went out beer tasting with work and Andrew went as well.  He tells me the MC knew his stuff and knew a lot of the NZ craft brewers personally.  He told them all about how the beers were made, what the difference is between stout and porter (ratio of roasted barley to chocolate malt, apparently), the history of why the different malts and hops are as they are and who likes what sort of flavours internationally, and so on.  They must have had fun as they got home after midnight and Andrew stayed the night.

It is almost the weekend!  Hooray!  The weather is looking mighty fine today (Friday) and again on Sunday with some indeterminate weather tomorrow.

Mike might be headed off for a tramp with Andrew.  We shall see.  I need to help Toby with his project work for school and that is about all I have planned.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with karate

Hi,

Every third Wednesday it is my turn to collect Toby and Alex at 4pm from the bus stop and take them home.  I rode up to the Wadestown library and got to the car minutes before their bus arrived.  Perfect timing.  Took them home and started dinner.  I even attached Mike's headlight to his bike.  It has only been lying around for a year waiting for him to attach it.  I saw it, I saw Mike's bike and so I put it on.  I love having hours of extra time in the day to get things done.

We had a nice tea (Alex ate with us) and then I took Toby to karate.  I sat reading while he sparred with various partners.  Then home to bed because by the stage even my layers of clothing had started to let the cold seep in.  The only thing for it was pyjamas and the electric blanket.

Mike got home from tramping club meetings and also hit the bed.  We slept well (well, we did - Toby did another sneak - he says he isn't sleeping well).

I got soaked riding in this morning.  It is raining quite hard and my bike gear it wet and strung out over my desk below me futilely hoping to dry out before I need to pull it all back on in 8 hours time.  Nice.  Squelchy.

Have a fantastic day!
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with Cubs

Hi,

I rode home yesterday and stayed quite dry - we are having a fair bit of rain at the moment.  Mike got home about ten minutes later (no - we didn't start the ride together - hahahahah) and was a little wetter than me.  At Cubs we heard the rain pelting down hard and I am sure it rained during the night.

Toby sneaked into our room last night at some stage in the wee hours.  We usually sleep in the same bed on Fridays after watching a movie, but lately we have moved Toby to the couch in our room because he is so huge there is no space in the bed!  And it was there that he sneaked to.  He knows better than to try and wake us up by crawling into our bed, no doubt. 

The ride in this morning was damp again.  I cut off a driver going across the intersection behind the Beehive - this early in the morning they don't have a red arrow stopping them turning.  Oh well.  He was only doing about 10 km/hr and I was going faster...

Mike said there was a decent sized earthquake in Melbourne overnight!  Wow!  Move here, everyone.  Hope everything is okay.

Time for tea and to get stuck in!  Stay dry.

Love,
Angela

The Monday with nothing

Hi,

Mike and I rode home together last night - in the rain.  But surprisingly it stayed pretty light drizzle all the way home and we weren't soaked.  Got tea on (Toby's favourite - chicken schnitzels) and relaxed.  My goodness, that is about it really.  I love Monday evenings with nothing on. 

Tonight is Cubs night and we have a Karori history session run by the Karori Historical Society.  Should be interesting.  And I should know nothing at all about Karori and get zero on the quiz...

The ride in was a bit damp this morning - but not too bad.  Some car had dripped oil out of their sump on every bend down the hill so I was like a granny coming down.  Mike was oblivious and sped ahead of me.  He has my old mudguard on his bike and is very happy in the wet now.  Seeing makes things a lot easier.

Strange dreams last night involving old friends (Craig and Carolin) camping with us somewhere and then another dream with Karen exploring a massive double highrise apartment building complex in Abu Dhabi.  The 200 storey building was connected at the top by a light rail system.  Hahahah.  Karen, you're funny!  We were trying to get in to see some friend of yours that apparently lived there and you were good at blagging your way in.

Have a marvellous day.  I need tea.
Love,
Angela

The weekend with Mike's birthday

Hi,

What a wonderful weekend.  It started with the date night on Friday and I met Mike at the Levis jeans store where Mike bought two pairs of jeans and he looks good in them!  Then we went to Monsoon Poon for dinner and ate far too much of their lovely food.  At 8pm we went to see Prometheus at the Gold Lounge at Reading Cinemas and found out the Gold Lounge seats are too far apart for a date night.  Next time we're in the cheap seats!

The movie was a little disappointing.  The effects were great and the story wasn't too bad.  But something let it down.  My vote is for poor editing.  It feels as though they had to cut out a lot of back story and fill in explanatory scenes.

Anyhow, home to bed.  Toby was at a sleepover with John and Christine (thanks!) and we got up early to take the Corolla in to the mechanics.  I pushed the car out of the garage and Mike tried to crash start it rolling down our street.  But that failed to work so I drove down the hill in the wee green car and we jump started it with the jumper leads.  Then off in convoy to the mechanics.  I lost traction momentarily going around the Petone roundabout which was interesting.  Mike says it looked weird from behind!

We dropped the car off and then went to Go Bang for birthday breakfast.  It was a great cafe.  We grabbed takeaway coffees and called into see Sally and Andrew briefly.  Then back to the mechanics via the motorcycle shop where I sat on a few too-tall bikes.  Home, collecting Toby on the way.

Saturday afternoon was whiled away on the couch reading.  The book woke me when it thumped on the ground.  Hahahah.  Then preparation for Mike's birthday dinner.  It all went well and Mike (and Benjamin) got some good presents).  Felafel kebabs - yummy.  Mike and I adjourned to watch the rugby - that was a close game.  Eventually it was just us and bed!

Sunday Toby had a hankering to play with Duncan and Emerson.  So we arranged an afternoon out there and that went well.  Aidan and Josh had other friends over so we all chatted.  The boys played outside and inside (Minecraft absorbs them all).

Back home for tea and bed!  Now the week starts!

Have a great week!
Love,
Angela

The Thursday with nothing

Hi,

I rode home with Mike yesterday after a busy day at work, punctuated by a lovely lunch with Aidan and Josh at Wagamama.  I ate a bit too much though.  Mike kept on my tail all the way up the hill.  Where can I find a reserve of speed to leave him in my wake?  As he is wont to do, he analysed our different approaches to riding up the hill.  Apparently I keep the same power on and make ground up on the less steep bits, whereas Mike works harder than me on the steeper bits and finds he slackens off on the less steep bits.  Heheheh.  I fairly flew along Cecil/Mairangi though.  He got held up in traffic.  That's his story anyway.

Anyhow, it's Friday!  Yay!  Mike and I have a date night (courtesy of John and Christine).  Buying Mike some jeans for his birthday tomorrow, followed by a dinner and a movie (Prometheus- the Alien prequel).  I am looking forward to it.  Tomorrow is his actual birthday so a nice breakfast in bed for Mike before Toby and I kick him out of the house.  Mike will try and jump start the Corolla from the MX-5 and drive the Corolla to Pitstop in Petone and ride his bike back home.  Maybe the long way?  Andrew - you should join him for a bike ride.  The car will be fixed in the fullness of time next week.  I hope.

Dinner at our house tomorrow night - come along!  Mike's favourite meal is on the menu - falafel kebabs.  Apparently.  Hahahah.  When asked for his favourite food he was hard-pressed to offer up anything.  I think the "Some things we like more than others but we eat everything in front of us" mantra may have meant he has no favourites (I am partial to my mother's roast lamb, with roast potatoes, peas and gravy - just in case you were all wondering).

Sunday we're free.  But with only the wee car.  So you get us in twos if you want us.  Or threes, if one of us follows behind slowly on the bicycle.

Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with karate

Hi,

I had a great ride up to karate after work (and work was frustrating enough that I needed a good, hard ride) but got pushed into the gutter by a car driver that had no idea whatsoever.  I had to step off my bike.  Can't car drivers wait for a second rather than compromising the health and safety of vulnerable road users?

Anyhow, we watched Toby for a short while.  The Corolla is broken - its battery is as flat as a tack.  Even the trickle charger (thanks, Dad) didn't make any impact.  So Mike drove the MX-5 home from karate and I rode.  The ride around the top of Northland to Wadestown is fantastic fun.  The bus (number 23) passed me as I got to the top of the road the karate is on.  And I passed the bus about a kilometre later and I had been in the garage for ages before it eventually drove past.  Bicycle is faster on that road!

Today is quite threatening.  I made it in without getting too wet - the mudguard worked well.  But it could easily pour with rain at any time.

Tomorrow is date night for me and Mike.  I have an evening of fun lined up ahead of his birthday on Saturday.  Hooray!

Have a wonderful day.
Love,
Angela