Good morning on Fri, Aug 27

Hi,

The week that was, eh?  Was unusual with Toby being sick and yesterday was absolutely frantic at work.  But I have recovered enough to draw breath and all is good once more.

Last night Mike and Toby left for the South Island.  They are in St Arnaud where Mike is leading a family tramping trip.  I just got a text from Mike and Toby is still asleep.  Wow - must have been a very exciting adventure last night for him to be still asleep at 8am!

I have the house to myself and I am going to watch the things I like to watch and read all weekend!

I'm off on Sunday at midday to Auckland for a few days.  We'll be back at work on Thursday morning all fired up and ready to get stuck in.  We're both (Mike is coming early Monday morning after the tramping trip) going to TechEd - the Microsoft conference.  It usually is very good although the Australian one this week has copped a lot of flak for having half naked women handing out promotional material.  Made me laugh.

Toby is off to stay with Grandy and Gramps while we're away.  He is looking forward to that!  I'll come and collect him from their house early on Thursday morning and drop him at school.  Mike is away until Thursday night.

So, that's about it.  I'm going to check the weather conditions in St Arnaud now, to make sure they are going to keep dry!

Have a great weekend!
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Wed, Aug 25

Hi,

Well, I am sitting in the dining room typing in my bike gear.  I was almost ready when we decided that Toby should have another day off school.  So I am now a tiny bit freezing!  But today I am working from home.  Toby is under strict instructions to leave me alone as much as he can!  Poor kid.

His cough is still bad and we suspected his teachers would be calling us to come and collect him if we sent him today.  Last night Mike started his training regime and we walked with him for a while until Toby retched from his coughing and the two of us went home.  Mike forged ahead with his pack full of kitty litter and beer (the heaviest things to hand) climbing the hills of Wadestown.

Let's see how I get on working on these tiny screens and trying to communicate effectively with work colleagues.  First time I've tried this working from home thing here.

Have a great day!
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Mon, Aug 23

Hi,

What a weird weekend.  We had nothing planned - apart from swimming.  Which was just as well, because Toby is a little sick.  We didn't take him swimming as he woke up coughing and spluttering and got worse over the day.  He ended up sleeping most of the day with a fever.  Very rare for wee Toby.

Anyhow, come Sunday he seemed much better and was positively perky by 5pm.  So we took him to the Bichans for tea, but I think in retrospect, we should have kept him at home.  His coughing was still a bit distracting.  Mike re-built Helen's PC though - so we were some use over there.  He was quite chuffed at how well it went.

Mike went into work last night to get some stuff done and it means he didn't have to get in super early this morning.  However, I think Toby is having a sick day - and so is Mike.  To look after Toby.

Keas might be a bit tricky tonight with only me available.  I'd best sort that out.

Have a great week!
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Fri, Aug 20

Hi,

Phew - what a week.  I can't keep track of my life.  Things are sliding out of view before I have a grasp of them.  Anyhow - tonight we're having tea at 40WLW.  I'll ride home, collect Toby and Mike (he'll come home on the bus as he is still a bit asthmary) and then collect Ma and head to Lower Hutt for the feast.

Last night went well.  Ma and I played table tennis for the first time in three weeks (sick, then holidays then work kept me away) and I was pants!  Talk about rusty.

Saturday we have swimming.  Then the weekend is pretty free.  I need to do some gardening (moving plants around for the main part) so hopefully it rains overnight to keep the soil easy to work with and is sunny during the day.

I'd better get stuck in.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Thurs, Aug 19

Hi,

Phew - what hectic times.  Last night we saw Mum and Dad as they collected Toby from school and cooked tea for us.  Toby's favourite - chicken schnitzels.  He was pretty chuffed.  Ate a mountain of mashed potato to boot.

Mike went off to tramping club and signed up for a winter trip to scale Mt Ngauruhoe in mid September.  Wow!  He'll be riding and walking everywhere from now to then to get fit for it.  Good on him.

We're all a bit tired this morning as Toby woke up several times during the night.  No television or computers for him today.

Toby is off for a playdate after school though.  To Jack's house.  I'll collect him on the way home as I rode right past their house.

That's about it.  Table tennis tonight.  Haven't been for a while with colds, holidays and work.  So Mum and I are looking forward to it.

Love,
Angela

Good morning on Wed, Aug 18

Hi,

Wednesday has dawned bright and cheery after a rain-filled last few days.  The road was almost dry on the ride in this morning.  The gullies have stayed wet after the rain late last night.

Toby has tennis then karate this afternoon.  I'm busy at work for a great portion of today.  But I can still make room for a cup of tea.

Last night I made a new dish for tea - Orange Chicken.  I think I could have done it a bit better.  Mike has the leftovers for lunch as he loved  it.  Toby was undecided and I think it could have looked a lot better than it did.  Aidan gave me the idea as she cooked it a few days back.  Perhaps I need her recipe rather than the first one I found on Google.  Anyhow, I'll give it another go soon and see if I can perfect it.

Toby is possibly coming down with the coughing cold that has been going around.  I just suspect it.  Mike also seems to have it and it is giving his asthma a bit of gyp.  Hopefully they are both ok soon.  Dad had it on holiday in Noosa. 

We'll see Ma and Dad this afternoon for the first time since they got back from Queensland.  They are chirping again about moving there, but I am aiming to make them realise they can't live without us and they'll decide to live here once more.  Stealth plan (of course, they read this so my plan is uncovered already).

Have a marvellous day!  The sun is shining here.  Looks great!
Love,
Angela

Good morning on Tues, Aug 17

Hi,

What a Monday night!  I had to cancel our squash game just so I could fit in all the other activities we had on.  Keas went well - Mike excelled himself making sculpture dough and keeping 13 children in line.  Then off home to cook and Mike left for the Wadestown Residents AGM.  As he left I yelled out "Don;t join the committee."

What was the first thing he said as he stepped back in the door at 9pm?  "I'm on the committee."  Heheheh.

Mike now knows more than he thought possible about the trials and tribulations facing Wadestown residents.

After a chat about the meeting, I got ready to collect Ma and Dad from the airport.  After timing it to perfection and arriving at arrivals at 12:05 (their estimated arrival time - giving me loads of time to relax while customs processed them all), I saw the actual arrival time said 2320.  Yikes!  I looked wildly around to see if I could see them waiting for me somewhere.  Nope.  Phew.  1 minute later they walked through the doors.  What timing!

They were tired after their marathon day but happy to be home.  We picked up some fresh milk and they stumbled into their lovely house at about 12.40am.  Not too bad.

I went home and was fast asleep by 1am.  Unlike Mike who was getting distracted by a Jack Reacher book.

Slightly damp ride in this morning, with a strong northerly to push me even faster.  Not too bad at all though.

Have a great day!
Love,
Angela