The Monday back at work

Hi,

Got home with Mike after work in the car.  Toby had gone home sick after working so hard in PE he puked - and decided he couldn't stay at school in his smelly clothes.  Can't say I have ever heard that excuse from him before.

He wasn't up for much tea but this morning (Tuesday) he is fine!

I found a sock abandoned in the hallway last night and I asked Mike what it was doing there.  He came and looked at it, as if amazed to see it.  He hadn't seen it the 5 times he'd already stepped over it, apparently.

The amazing sock

I picked it up and it joined its mate in the laundry pile.

I drove back into town and took my work clothes in, ready for the next day.  Because this morning I rode my road bike into work.  Sreejith and I are riding around the bays after work.  That's the plan.  Although the weather forecast did say that it was headed for a change late afternoon.  If it is pants, I will pike.  I know it!

Right.  Time for tea and the day craziness to start.  Enjoy yours!

Love,
Angela

The weekend with a few things on in Wellington

Hi,

What a weird weekend.  Mike was out Friday night brewing up a storm.  I was up early to the sound of rain and wondered if Sreejith really wanted to go for a ride in that weather.  But he was up for it and convinced me of a plan.

Spin at 8.30am and the rain will have stopped by 10am.  Sure, sure.  Anyway, I made poor Mike get out of bed as there was no way I would meet that deadline at 7.45am lying in bed without his help.  Oddly, I did get to Spin in time.  But Sreejith didn't.  Hahahah.

Island Bay looking lovely

Iced coffee Saturday

Iced coffee Sunday

I met him after it at Pandora and ate some brekkie and an iced coffee.  Then we were off.  Well, by 10.30am we were off!  Round the bays and it was actually really nice.  The weather really did co-operate.  We made good time and I convinced Sreejith to come up the hill to our house on the premise that I would drive him home after a coffee with Mike.

That worked.  :-)

Mike came with me and we got lunch for Toby on the way back.  Mike was off to a whisky session at Russell's friend's place, not far from us.  Turns out Russell's friend now lives at Louise's old house!  Funny.

Mike then convinced me to come out with his friends for dinner in town.  I cooked tea for Toby and then we both went out.  Parked on the one way system and tried to get to Mr Go's - but it was packed.  A two hour wait.  One of Mike's group rang Chow and we got a table there.  Had a great time with Mike's snow lovers group.  Janine, Momo, Michael and Melissa.  It's not often I get outgunned by "M" names!

Kotare Sunday

Look!  It's a tiny kookaburra

Sunday I was up early again but this time I put Mike out of his misery and caught a bus into town.  I met Iona at the gym and we tried for the 9.15am Spin class.  Only to find it was cancelled.  The receptionist looked at me like I had two heads when she said it was cancelled on the website and I had obviously not read it.  I did actually read the website - but only the timetable page.  Hahah.  Anyway, I asked if we could just go in and use the bikes.  And then I cheekily asked if Iona could go in for free as there was no instructor.

I got away with that!  Hahahah.  Cool!

So Iona and I hopped on two bikes and we chatted away while I put on some music.  It seemed to go ok.  I felt like I had done some exercise.

We met Col and went for brekkie - where I had iced coffee number two for the weekend.  Chatted away to Col - she is good despite the rather horrible week or two she has had.

Dropped into home for them to say hi to Mike and me to get home.  Then they were off - so good to see them.  It was this time last year (to the day) when we started our journey back to New Zealand from cycling in Japan.

I went grocery shopping in the afternoon while Mike created a website.  From scratch.  He's still got it!  As I jumped in the car, I saw a kotare in the powerlines above me.  How cool!  I love those birds.  Kingfishers.  Or a tiny kookaburra to the Australians reading this!

A watershed moment after tea.  Mike helped Toby shave.  I was too scared to watch Mike wielding a blade that close to my son.  I checked Toby afterwards and he was all in one piece.  His sideburns however looked a little ragged.  Mike should stick to websites and not take up hairdressing.

And that was the weekend!  Done!  Mike and I left home early this morning as it was a MotoGP morning - and I have yoga.

The week looms ahead.

Have a wonderful week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with meet the candidates

Hi,

When I got home, I sorted out tea for Toby.  Then we walked down to St Luke's hall in the Wadestown shops to listen to the electorate candidates speak.  We got there early, at 7.15pm and it started on time at 7.30pm.  Brendon chaired the meeting and did well to keep everything moving along.

Toby and I got seats up nice and close and we both enjoyed it.  There were five candidates and they all had 5 minutes to stand up and give their spiel.  Then we had a question and answer session where any of them could answer it - but only had one minute to do that.

By the time 9pm rolled around, Toby and I thought we should leave as the questions looked like they were coming coming and fast still.  But we did start a wee exodus.  As we walked home, we discussed the session.  Toby said he enjoyed it way more than he thought he would.  His thoughts on the candidates were insightful, and it looks to me like his political compass points the same way as mine.  Apart from his fixation on Gareth Morgan.  Gareth is talking on Sept 21 at Vic Uni and Toby wants to go to that now.

Nice bike ride in this morning.  Dry roads and no wind.  What a novel thing to experience.

Enjoy the weekend.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday sick

Hi,

Turns out I was sick yesterday - and today I still have the remnant of a woolly head.  No headbanging sessions for me today.

When I got home on Tuesday I found a postcard from Celia of St Michael's Mount in the south of England.  And she had drawn on it her feet (including her painted teonails) and an iced coffee.  I am a lucky woman to have such a friend.  It was so cool to get it and read about her fun.

Mike was confused as Celia has been back from the UK for a few weeks now.  Hahahah.

Can you see the feet?  Not my feet?  The ones on the postcard!

My inbox has exploded with a day away from the normal stuff.  I think today will be playing catch up.

I hope you all have a brilliant day!  At least the sun is shining now after a huge storm during the night that woke me twice!  Weird.

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

Hi,

We've had another spurt of activity on the renovations - we now have joists over the top of the concrete pour.

View from the front door looking out

And the view into the front door

And Mike got an email last night saying the roofing had been ordered.  We need to buy the bathroom cabinet and laundry stuff now.  We might be on the way to a new laundry/bathroom/roof/porch.  Not holding my breath though.

We went to Toby's school and attended sessions on NCEA.  Toby's next year is the equivalent of Form 5 (School Cert).  We are looking at the subjects he wants to do, and how many.  He needs credits from the next three years to graduate from high school after Year 13.  Seems ok.  More like university than how I remember school certificates working.

Got home and I scorched some chicken nuggets for Toby.  They could have been used to soak up water - they got left in the oven a bit too long.  Mike cleared out some leftovers.

Time for a cup of tea.  Have a great day!

Love,
Angela

The weekend in Wellington

Hi,


Highlight of Friday was catching up with Celia and Ange for lunch.  We went to Felix - and it was so good I took the boys there on Saturday for brunch.

Iced coffee time on Friday

I went into the gym to make up for Friday's excesses.  I heard there that Col's mother had died that morning.  So sad - although she had been in ill health for a while.  Huge hugs to Col and her family.

Met the boys at Felix and then did some Fathers Day shopping.  Home and cooked tea - turkey meatballs on rice.  Some Thai version.  It was pretty good.

Turkey meatballs for tea

Saw odd shampoo for men in the supermarket.  Caffeinated citrus.  What the ...?

Shampoo for Mike - it says it has citrus caffeine.  Do you drink it?

Toby's school has some career/NCEA subject session on after school today.  Mike will pick me up and we'll head there and meet Toby.  Let's see what Toby selects.

Mike's friend Jo broke her wrist snowboarding at the weekend.  He sent me an x-ray of her wrist.  Even my non expert eye could see that break.  Ouch!

Today is Australia anniversary day.  On this day in 1980 we moved there from Dunedin.

And tomorrow is wee Abby's birthday!  Happy birthday!

Have a great week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with Mike back

Hi,

Happy birthday week in the family.  Jamie and Cameron are today and tomorrow.  And Abby isn't so wee anymore and is later this week.  Wow!

Mike is back in his rightful city - woot!  He got in fairly early - but his flight was delayed.  I did get picked up by him in his taxi on the way through town.  Toby wanted burgers for tea - I think he was sick of my home cooking.  Well, my version of Nadia's home cooking.  Hahah.  Toby likes it simpler, I think.

Trying to pretend I haven't finished the iced latte - and unsure if Saman was actually taking a photo or long video

I did get a coffee break in my day yesterday.  Chatted to Saman about some work and was so absorbed in that I forgot to get a photo taken until my iced latte was almost empty.  Hence the photo of me trying to hide  the dribble that is left in the bottom of my glass.  And my phone is so slow at the moment that Saman had no idea what was happening when looking through the camera at a largely black screen for a while.  I thought he must be videoing me - which is the reason I am sticking to when you look at the photo above and wonder why I look so weird.  It's confusion.  All round.

Anyway - got home after work (in the taxi driven by the slowest taxi driver in the known world!  We got headlights flashed at us on Mairangi Road and then overtaken!).  Still raining.  Went to bed.  Still raining.  Woke up.  Still raining.  The hillsides around Wellington are sodden and crumbling.  Landslips everywhere again.  And looking at the forecast, it is mostly rain for the next ten days.  Glad now of that 5m pile holding our deck up.

Right.  Time for lots of work!

Have a lovely weekend.  We're in Wellington, trying to recover from hectic weekends away.  Housework and a bike ride is all I am looking at.

Love,
Angela