The Monday with tidying

Hi,

I rode home and got dinner on.  Toby ate more than Mike (he does love my spaghetti bolognese - he said I had surpassed myself last night - hahahah).  Then Mike started to sort out the Minecraft party this weekend and he booked me into the (wrong) weekend for my ski weekend (he is now sorting that out too).  Mike and Toby are going to build a Minecraft server (apparently).

I started tidying the house - beginning in the study.  You can now move around in the study, so my 45 minutes of work made some change to the situation.  I need to do this every night this week to get the place halfway respectable for the weekend's party.  And possibly every night next week to get it ready for the following weekend.

If I get some major tidying done, I can get some major cleaning done.  The recent bathroom work has left a fine layer of concrete dust over the whole house.  No wonder Mike is allergic.

Today is gorgeous here, if a bit windy.  It is supposed to clag in and have snow to 300m on the surrounding hills.  Our house is at 123m so we shouldn't get snow, much to Toby's disappointment.  Could be a cold ride home.

Have a great day!
Love,
Angela

The weekend with the work ski trip

Hi,

What a great weekend - thanks to Mike for organising huge parts of it.  He collected the tramping club van on Friday afternoon and at 4.15pm we all piled our gear into it outside of work and took off for Ruapehu.  This involved stopping at two liquor stores and a supermarket for food.  Quite a slow trip up.  But a lot of fun.  I sat right at the back and could see all the cocktail making (and drink spilling and giggles) as we drove up.  Mike and Toby sat at the front (well, Mike drove so there weren't a lot of other places he could sit!) and kept Toby sheltered from any dodgy behaviour.  But there was none.  They were all very happy and civilised.

We got into the lodge around 10.30pm.  Forest and Bird have a great lodge tucked up behind the chateau and it is pretty new.  We found our bed and I slept despite the poor sound proofing (our room backed onto the lounge).  Not a lot keeps me from my sleep.

Next morning the weather was dire - high winds and cold rain.  But Happy Valley was open and there was a rumour the Rockgarden was on hold and might open.  It didn't.  But we drove up and some people got a beginners lesson.  I convinced Mike to come and play in Happy Valley with me and some keen others.  So we skied up and down Happy Valley.  There were probably only twenty of us out there.  And most of them you couldn't see until you were within ten metres of them.

The driving rain meant I was soaked to the skin - but it wasn't super cold.  The snow was awful - waterlogged and icy slush without a lot of give to it.  Mike went back into the cafe and after a few more runs so did all of us.  A bit of hot chocolate and I was out in it again with less people this time.  We had a plan to meet Mike at 12.30 and we skied. 

The wind was so strong that I had to stay in a tuck the whole time and not turn at all.  To stop, I stood up and the wind stopped me.  Horrid conditions.  The others returned to the cafe and I kept going for a few more runs before the cold seeped into my bones and I eventually decided it was madness.

I did buy a new ski jacket though - the wet one on me convinced me of the need for a new one.  No one will recognise me on the slopes now.

Back to the lodge and a lazy afternoon reading. Toby had a lot of fun playing with the other kids.  Off to dinner at the local pub and watched the All Blacks play a hard game against Argentina in Wellington.  The lights went off in the stadium at half time.  Very funny.

Sunday we cleaned up and went home. The entire mountain was closed.  We collected a hitchhiker with his broken bike outside of National Park and took him all the way to Wellington.  I left him at the Youth Hostel and I hope he has a better time down south.

Home to watch some TV and to bed.  Phew.  We're all quite tired.

Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela

The Thursday with packing for the weekend

Hi,

I got a lift home with Mike (I rode to Bowen St and flung my bike on the back of the car - Mike had to drive to work for a client visit out in Lower Hutt) yesterday and we had tea and packed for the weekend.  Jack was over because his parents were both busy. 

We finally got packed and Mike dropped Jack home and then dropped all the gear into work ready for our getaway this afternoon.

The weather is supposed to be awful - I doubt any skiing will happen.  I have books and Toby will have a laptop with DVDs to watch.  And togs for the hot pools.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday (again) back at work

Hi,

The day stayed gorgeous to the end.  And the weather has warmed a lot since our trip to Brisbane.  I am back to wearing just a t-shirt under my fluoro safety top on my bike ride down the hill.  Which, by the way, was a great ride this morning (Thursday) too.  Roads completely dry and nothing slowing me down.

Yesterday I managed to get through the day and crossed off a few tasks.  I also met Aidan T for morning tea after her presentation, so that was a pleasant distraction from the workload. 

I was pretty tired before I left work to ride home.  But the ride must have energised me a little because despite Mike falling asleep twice once we went to bed, I kept waking him up and chatting.  Finally I woke him up enough that we kept chatting and before I knew it, it was past 11pm and I was asleep.  Heheheh.  Poor Mike.

We have to pack tonight for our ski weekend away. The weather is set to be pretty awful.  Oh well.  Hopefully we get some skiing in.  It is a work trip and an awful lot of alcohol seems to be on the list.  Mike has the tramping club van for the weekend so we'll take turns driving it up on Friday night and back again on Sunday.

Toby had the day off school yesterday recovering from our trip.  He woke at 9am yesterday.  Wow!  He was awake at 7am this morning so back into a routine already.  Mind you, I did have to kiss him awake - perhaps he'd be still sleeping otherwise.

Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday back at work

Hi,

Oh - back at work.  What a shock to my system.  Especially after 4.5 hours sleep.  Lucky the bike ride in worked some magic this morning.  It is a glorious morning here - competing with the weather I had in Brisbane.  Shame I hear it is going to end.  Soon.  Hahahah.

The weekend was amazing.  It was so nice to see Mum and Dad's place - and find their lost wooden rooster.  Hahahaha.  But work is busy so I'd best get stuck in.  Mike is working from home and Toby is still sleeping and having a day off school I believe.

Have a fantastic day!
Love,
Angela

The long weekend in sunny Queensland

Hi,

A happy birthday weekend for my family.  Jamie and Cameron (the 1st and the 2nd) and then Abby on the 5th.  What a busy time.

Here is a pic of Toby in the pool at Dunes Court:

Toby braving the cold spa pool

Sunday was Father's Day so we got up and made a scrumptious breakfast for Gramps.  Toby chose a Star Wars Father's Day card so the morning was filled with the sound of a light sabre coming to life.  Very funny. We ate pancakes, bacon, strawberries and bananas covered in maple syrup.

Toby and Gramps watching Wrestling on TV

Then Gramps and Toby went out (they had plans for mini golf but Toby had plans that involved Red Rooster for lunch and back home to play Wii) and Mum and I went out.  I took Mum to Maroochydore and we visited a shopping centre.  She wanted to get a Kindle for Dad for Fathers Day but the Dick Smith at the shopping centre was shut for a few hours as they cleared items just smashed by a lunatic with a crowbar.  So we wandered around drinking iced coffee (it was far too sweet) chatting to strangers (the woman sitting next to us came from Rangiora, just outside Christchurch) and buying bits and pieces.  Eventually we got the Kindle and went home.

Out to collect chinese takeaway that evening from Peregian Beach.  The evening was so warm I was still in a t-shirt and shorts.  Mind you, everyone else was in a jersey, so perhaps it wasn't as warm as I thought.  The food took ages so we wandered down to the beach and I enjoyed the stars in the night sky.  The milky way was very bright and I noticed how high both the southern cross and Scorpius was in the sky.  Went back to get the food and back home to eat.

Monday was another gorgeous day.  We went to a beautiful lunch at Noosa - I had never been there.  It was very touristy - lots of chic shops.  We went to Season and I had a beautiful goats cheese souffle and a very good iced coffee.

My souffle and iced coffee

Toby's iced chocolate and my iced coffee

We paddled in the sea outside the restaurant and I couldn't believe how warm the water was.  So I determined that we would go home and go swimming at Peregian Beach.

At Noosa beach

Back home and into togs and I went to the beach with Mum.  The water was so warm - I really enjoyed jumping the waves.

Mum accidentally gesturing to my gorgeous foot

Jumping the waves

 Then we sat on the beach and enjoyed the sun and the view for a while.  The sign behind us said "Beware of snakes in the dunes area".  Oh yeah.  Australia.  Snakes.  Hahahah.  The salt water dried my hair into an awesome hairdo - lucky I know no one here.

Back home to have a bath (we don't have a bath at home yet so I have had one every day here - reading my Kindle - very luxurious) and then out for tea.  The meal we had at Vanilla in Noosa was amazing.  I had barramundi on mint pea puree with mushrooms and olive tapenade.  Toby had a great chicken nuggets and chips meal that were wee chicken schnitzels.  And Mum and Dad had great looking meals too.

Home to play a trivia game with Mum (don't ask her who won - twice!  Hahahah) and to bed.

Tuesday we're taking it easy at home before wandering back to Brisbane after lunch for our 7pm flight.  Such a short weekend here, but so lovely.  We need to come more often.  I have left bathroom supplies here so I can just jump on a plane and turn up with a supply of t-shirts and shorts in my carry on bag.  Easy.

Back to work tomorrow.  Ooooo.

Love,
Angela

The Saturday in Queensland

Hi,

Toby and I are being pampered in sunny Queensland.  We got up at 3am and got to the airport at 4am where we got on our Virgin Australia flight to Brisbane without any hassles.  Toby was bored the whole way because there were no tv screens.  How backwards.  Hahahah.

We got a rental car at the airport and then got hopelessly lost trying to find our way north to Peregian Springs.  When we finally got to Mum's house, we had taken 2.5 hours when Mum's estimate was about 1.5 hours.  But we did a tour into a Brisbane central city suburb of indeterminate name and location, then two tours back around the domestic airport before finally falling onto the M1 northbound.  Hooray.

Toby estimates we got lost nine times before we got to Mum and Dad's place.  That may be quite accurate.  His initial guess was twelve.  Hmmm.  Both guesses seem pretty close to reality.  I lost count after the third navigation error.

Anyhow, we got the Dunes Court at 11.30am.  We have a little red Holden Barina sedan and we have since had lunch at Sunshine Beach surf club and back home again.  The pool was a little too cold for me and Toby to swim in.  Toby went in to waist deep but that was way deeper than my ankles were willing to tolerate.  Mum says next weekend when it hits 26C will make the pool more inviting.

Toby at the pool

Dad will get home from work soon.  Tomorrow is Father's Day.  Mike will be making Scotty breakfast in bed!  Hahahah.

Okay.  Time to read.  Yay!

Love,
Angela