Forgot to say

Forgot to say the other day that we have a brief but very enjoyable visit from Jasmine and Dave ... the elusive one ... last weekend. We were a pit stop on their flying visit to CHC for a party. Although only a few hours together it was great. Just like if they lived here and were just popping around. As the morning heated up we slowly assembled outdoor furniture on the drive and food appeared and we just hung out. I love days like that - set up for cruising in and out of the house, picking dead heads off the roses, shovelling dirt and receiving other visitors as the pass by. All just perfectly lovely family stuff. Sorry Jasmine, not the best photo of you but considering you hit the bed after 3am, you were doing well

Pimp my tree

I am up super early this morning because my time clock has no respect for my need for sleep. Although it is now 6.30, I have already logged into work email and knocked off a few, been to airnz to check for cheap flights, written an email to Karen and a few other things. I am focusing on the 26th of December as my next opportunity to sleep in and man, I am not getting out of bed until I am dragged out. Might put clean sheets on the bed on Christmas night so I can REALLY enjoy sleeping in.

Anyone who knows me will know that I love Christmas trees. Needless to say we got one last week and had to drive around looking for one and it had to be the RIGHT one. It is one of the very few things Jonty and I might have words over. Often not pleasant. Crazy I know, but we all have our 'thing'. So, we got the tree...gorgeous of course... and it fitted and sits in the lounge. As an aside, it is really worth painting your lounge walls red, just to see how really excellent the tree looks every Christmas, against a red background.

Nick and I set about scattering baubles, tinsel and the insane Chinese lights I bought off Trademe all over it and we had a great time doing so. We decided to theme various sections. Bells at the top...last year I planted them at Nicholas height so I could hear when he was tampering with the tree. The blue/green OTT layer is next and then red and gold baubles. Finally Nicholas' decorations at his height. And as he chose most of them, they are large and gaudy. Red tulle and gold satin were also draped around the pot. Sound bright, out of balance and crazy? Well, yes indeed it is. You just have to laugh at the craziness of it.

The darling, perfectly formed tree looks like a slut! However, it is entertaining.
Nic has pretty much free reign to play with and reorganise his range of decorations and he is using that opportunity to advantage. I often come home to a portion of the decorations lovingly lined up along the coffee table or the floor. The novelty is starting to wear off now and the call of 'Bob the builder computer colour ins' has won over the tree...for a while. Last night I wrapped most of my presents and have placed just one square present temptingly under the tree. I wonder what Nic will have to say. Could be too cruel to do that soooo many days out but it will be fun to see how he reacts.

My roses are just lovely this year

I don't know why but I am loving it...

Pearl D'ore (I think)

Perdita

Glamis Castle

Bunch of random things

There is so much random stuff roaming around in my head at the moment and a few days ago I composed a really good blog entry in my head as I was biking to work but now it has all disappeared. Such is the nature of my overburdened brain. Anyway, I am going to punctuate my ramblings with some random photos just to make this entry a tiny bit more interesting and to break up the text.

I have been playing around with some of the features available on Blogspot and have managed to add some links to the right of where you are looking. These are some of my favourite places to visit. Mostly Blogs of interest and inspiration and some other work related places that you might find interesting too.

Christmas is looming and presents are starting to arrive from the UK which is fun. We have sent one load off but were not quite finished so others will arrive late. I am finding it really hard to get myself organised for present buying. It is a bit about time but also capacity. However, it might pay to make a last minute dash to the present line because there are more sales appearing before Christmas and you can get great stuff if you are prepared. Nic and granny Rosemary headed to Ballantynes Christmas shop this week to seek out a special decoration for our tree. Nic selected a Santa in a helium balloon...very 'new' Christmas.

I was wandering through Whitcoulls the other day when they announced 'buy one book and get another half price'. Having planned to buy a book for someone anyway, I took the opportunity to get myself Jamie Oliver's 'At home' for $25...a bargain. I have already cooked one of the recipes and unsurprisingly, it was delicious!

If you want to read a really funny, irreverent and smart blog, check out Moata's blog. Cleverly, Moata won NZ Blog Idol on Stuff and every few days posts a very much anticipated entry. I read them and then we chat about them at lunch when our paths cross. That is the really weird thing about 'social networking' on the Internet...reading peoples stuff and then ringing them up or catching them at their desk to talk about their entries. Like texting someone in the room with you.

We are getting another new sofa. Last year we spent a kings ransom on a gorgeous dark coffee colour leather sofa the size of a small African nation. The other day as I was lying on it watching Outrageous Fortune, I noticed some damage to the leather that was natural and not the work of a small boy. We took the cushion back to Hunter Furniture and they are REPLACING THE WHOLE SOFA and the other one to match!!! So shocked am I that I am thinking of writing to FairGo and trumpeting the service. You might think that it should have been perfect to start with...agreed. However, leather is a natural product and is there is always a degree of error in perform ace to be expected. I thought a new cushion would do the trick but no, a new sofa. This could be great, but it might not be because I love the ones we have now and a new one will not be the same.

Later in the day....

Back from Christmas shopping. Did not buy one thing but it was nice to be out and about in a very quiet Christchurch. I guess most people with children were cowering at home waiting to head to the city for the Santa Parade. Alas, our poor son knows nothing of the parade as we didn't tell him about it.

My workmate Simon won 'Best Porn Star Mo' at the Christchurch Movember event the other day. Mild mannered business analyst and accountant by day....

I hate it when I lose people in my life for whatever reason - usually carelessness. Fortunately most of the people I have lost have not disappeared all together, just momentarily out of range. One such person, through no effort on my part, popped up in my life again the other day. I was very excited and continue to be so. Let's hope it is a trend that will continue.

Thought you might like to see the new look bach colour scheme...very Mediterranean

You can tell a New Zealander a mile away

And it isn't the accent. I am home from work looking after the small person who is unwell. Not unwell enough to lie in bed but too sick to go to pre-school. Anyway, I have time to do some net surfing and on a thread of investigation, I have come across a few blogs that I have been reading. As I read the first one, I thought 'this reads like a kiwi'. Checking out the profile, she was a kiwi...and so it went on. One had a photo that was just the top of some hills and the sky. You could tell instantly that it was NZ. I think that is really weird. What does a kiwi 'voice' sound like? What makes us distinctive in the written word? I am guessing that every country is the same. I can pick the Aussies too. Jasmine would probably be able to answer this question.

I might have to go in search of the answer to that questions, unless you have any thoughts to share.

Show Weekend

Everyone in Canterbury loves Show Weekend. It is always hot. That is what we all remember from those long torturous days at the AMP show...the smell of hot animal poo and sweaty jandals. I digress. We got married 8 years ago at Show weekend and it was bitterly cold. Anyway, we all love it as summer is peaking around the corner and bbq's, camping and swimming are the orders of the day.

We hopped on a Virgin Pacific flight to Auckland to catch up with lovely friends Karen and Justin in Warkworth. Bit of a mission getting there with a late arriving flight and hitting rush hour traffic in Auckland. You have got to ask yourself if it is worth it to live there and sit in traffic for hours every night. I just couldn't imagine it but Justy said that Aucklanders are conditioned to it.

keeping the kids occupied at the pizza place

Up in Warkworth the weather was ok but not fantastic everyday. We did manage a stunning day on the beach at Scott's Landing which was lovely. The men and children went out fishing in 'Orange Roughie' but didn't catch any fish which was confusing for the children but totally normal for us. Karen and I got to lie on the beach reading and chatting. A rare and very relaxing pastime.

Scott's Landing...gorgeous!!

The enjoyment of the weekend doesn't really transfer to words on this page. We had a fab time and loved being with our friends.

My boys by the river in Warkworth

Busy weekend

Not every single post of the summer is going to be about the beach but I am indulging myself in being able to go every weekend at the moment. Already the summer slump has happened at home due to lack of time to keep everything sorted at home. Already I am suggesting some weekend home time...and it is only November. No worries, December will come and so will the rain.

Anyway, the weekend was very busy but heaps of fun. We had three social events on Saturday...a 70th birthday bbq in Hanmer for lunch, another bbq in Cashmere for dinner, followed by fireworks and then a 'house leaving' party on the way home. I had to stagger off home at 11.30 because my feet were sore. How sad is that? On Sunday we had a date at the bach with all the family to sort through and dispose of some of the tools and equipment that had built up in boxes and cupboards over the years. We amassed a trailer full of rubbish and recyclables. I think it as a bit emotional for the folks but we just had to do it and it was done with respect.

Those mad children plunged in to the surf like it was actually warm. The day was hot but the surf was freezing. Nic seems to have got the hang of boogie boarding first up which was impressive to us and great fun for him. Full on weekend but great. I hit a busy week with my eyes hanging out of my head and am still suffering. Book group didn't go so late but we got stuck in 'post fireworks' traffic so still a late night. With some scary stuff at work too, I am not sleeping well which is just not great. I have a 6am date with the airport on Friday so am expecting the weekend to be quiet...yeah right.

What makes you happy?

If you click on the photos you get some really lovely detail. Nature - can't beat it

Fantastic Weekend

This weekend was like a breath of fresh air. Lovely Jasmine was in town for two short days and it was wonderful having her and her energy in the house. It was wonderful being a full family for a couple of days. the weather was on our side so we were able to do lots of things. Saturday's list

• Great food and old friends at the Lyttelton Market
• Family dinner and delicious food
• Playing on the computer and finding out all kinds of interesting stuff
• Rhubarb and ginger clafoutis

On Sunday we headed for the beach and lying on the warm sand was such a wonderful release. I thought I was coping with work stress really well with no pains in my chest but lying on the sand and listening to the sounds of people playing and waves gently turning, released something which I am assuming was pent up stress. Good timing for a sign. Other good things on Sunday

• Mother and dad came over to the beach too, so great for them to see Jasmine


• First swim of the season - Nic and Jonty, not me


• Fantastic Cumberland sausage sandwiches


• Visiting Vanessa at her gorgeous new business, The Complete Garden in Hornby. You must visit this store...stunning

On Monday we headed over to Taylors again knowing that we all needed the chill out time. The Southerly wind that was hammering the city barely touched the bach so we were baking in the sun - well under the brollies. So what was good about this day? Well, everything but here is a list of the highlights

• Spending time with Kim and the children on the beach


• Watching Jonty sprint to Black Rock to see the Southern Right Whale in the bay...it was really cool


• Watching that mad child of mine jumping waves for one hour straight...the water was freezing and he thought he could stay in until he turned blue...


• Stunning dinner with more delicious ingredients from the market

What a great weekend. The only down side was getting up for work this morning and the absolute state of the house. Small problems really

On the road again

After a very ordinary weekend I was thrilled to be on my bike again today. After a week of wetness I was absolutely gagging to haul my bike out. I am no hero so don't bike in the rain. For the first time in ages, the prevailing easterly was a whisper and I enjoyed roaring along keeping up with the lights on the one way system.

Had a fab day in the garden on Saturday and went over to Ruth's for dinner and had a lovely smoked chicken salad and a Villa Maria Chardonnay. Yum. Nic used his new gardening tools sent by Granny Phil which he loved and I must say I found useful as they are teeny and fit in the tricky bits that are hard to get at. Marie-Anne visited from Timaru after visiting her gorgeous new nephew. Sorry MA, I just can't run to a trip to Hawaii before Xmas. I really tried to get the numbers to work for me but it is not a goer. Bummer about that. Sunday was a dullish day at home hanging out and doing crafty things and cleaning out shelves and boxes. Popped out and visited Granny and Grandad and had a brief visit from Alex and the boys but overall a pretty low energy day. It was the rain. I am ready for summer now. Some days are just like that.

Blog therapy

I can't believe I wasted my 100th post on a boo hoo about the rugby. The reason I started this blog was to celebrate the really good things in my life so this entry is me deviating from the bloody rugby and chatting about some good things that have been happening lately.The family assembled at the bach a few weekends ago to farewell our faithful plum tree. Farewell is a romantic term meaning cutting it down, heaving it all down the hill on to trailers and getting very sweaty. I took a quick last minute photo of Nic and Olivia together under it. We have another photo of my mother standing next to the tree when she was a child and with her being 6 months off 70, I am guessing the tree was pretty old. We spent years in the shelter of that tree. Afternoon sun baking the concrete through the leaves. Rainy days sitting out under the tree smoking cigarettes or getting some air. Squishing the plums under foot as you scrambled to get to the outside loo in time. Getting hit on the head by plums when it was really windy. Every Autumn we swept up the hundreds of yellow leaves and early spring we skidded on the rotting ones fallen over winter. Now the bach is open to the elements, especially the afternoon sun, the gusting nor wester and the rare southerly rain storm. It will be interesting to see how we get on without the old plum tree.Today we had our first family bike ride where we all had our own bikes. Nic on his new red machine and us on our old red machines. We had a fab time biking round Hagley Park, both north and south. On the return journey we popped in the to the Arts Centre to get a muffin for lunch and headed back to the car in the gusty nor wester. Although not at all onerous, we did have fun and this bodes very well for future rides. Alas, there was grazing and tears but nothing too dire. We stopped in the Helipad in the park to play with our rocket balloons which was a hoot and then we watched some young girls practising softball. Nic also got sprayed by the Peacock Fountain.



After our ride we headed back to the airport for the second day in a row to watch the planes as it was really windy and we love watching them fly sideways and bump about. Funny aren't we? Saw heaps - AirNZ, JetStar, Pacific Blue, Emirates and a Chatham Is plane. Enought plane spotting.



Ahh that feels better; who cares about the bloody rugby?

This is the very last time...

I invest any emotional energy into the All Blacks World Cup ....I JUST CAN'T STAND the disappointment.

Wowed by WOW in Welly

At last, I have made it to the World of Wearable Arts awards and it was worth every cent of getting there. I still wish I had experienced the Nelson WOW but my inaugural show was amazing. Both Liz and I were a bit stunned with the whole thing as were most others I think. There wasn't a lot of clapping because there was so much to see that you had to really concentrate. It was intense and theatrical and REALLY loud and fun and lovely. I loved it.

The winner of three or four sections, and the ultimate winner, this was pretty wonderful. They way the costume moved when the model walked was brilliant.

Liz and I had a great weekend hanging out together shopping and wandering about. I didn't buy much ...only presents for Nicholas...but I loved watching Liz buy gorgeous clothes. Wellington was teeming with well healed middle aged women shopping. The money in that place was palpable.

Winner of the Shades of White section...made from 550 m plastic corded strapping, acrylic, beads and material. The white section was beyond stunning and there were 20 great entries

We fitted in a quick visit to Te Papa after a delicious, value breakfast at Caffe Astoria, a Wellington 'place to be' in the city for Sunday breakfast.

Marie from Sumner library, who has always been very creative and capable in the art department recieved a commended for her first entry in the Pacific section. This is made from cable ties and blue plastic binding. Yay Marie

This is made out of wood veneer by a chap in Alaska. Won an award. Very cool.

Unpredictable

Thanks for your comment Guy. Very exciting for me to get one on my blog. Interesting what you say about the AB's winning. Remember we (and I use that term loosely), have managed to be dreadful at most WC events so I have absolutely no expectations on that front. Interestingly, whether we win the thing or not, everyone still thinks we are the best. Not sure how that works. I hope you didn't think I was happy that England scored a zero, I was commenting on the undpredictability of things. Anyway...thanks again for reading and taking time to comment.



The media drives me mad a lot of the time for various misdemeanour offences and right now it is some of the stupid things they latch on to. I was thinking about this as I battled in to a head wind homeward bound on my bike. I guess they have to say stupid things and put theories out there to get people thinking and debating issues but bloody hell. Saying that low ranked countries shouldn't be at the tournament is just idiotic. What is wrong with having severely mismatched teams on the paddock getting a whipping, learning how to be humble, being sports men? If you carry that thinking over to the Olympics there would only be finals. No NZ representation in the 100m sprint, no big deal. Nothing like sending some expensive athlete over there to run for 11 seconds. I guess that would mean only have one team in the Tour de France; NZ shouldn't ever even try out for the soccer World Cup. We suck, we don't deserve to even have a go. You get my drift?! If you want to build a fee paying public and a massive worldwide audience you have to have real teams playing. Dumb arses.



Don't get me started on NZ Fashion week. Actually, got myself started. Both TV3 and TVNZ sent reporters to cover the event or hang out with a designer for the night. They were both looking for an angle ...the same one. Diva's and tantrums...and they couldn't find either...it is New Zealand after all...but did they shut up about it? No, wittered on and on trying to be funny but being really really stupid and boring. Bring on the grown ups, bring on the journalists. We miss them. Will leave the rest of that story for another day.



And here is a lovely photo of Nic in his crown dashing through the daffodils - just to end this rant on a happy note.

Mixing it up

I am loving the rugby. I am loving the fact that England scored a big fat zero and Georgia only finished 4 points behind Ireland. Georgia has 300 adult rugby players and eight grounds. Ireland is considered the sixth best team in the world.

You just can't tell what is going to happen next. I don't think the big teams are playing that well and I am thinking that must be about the need to have good competition to push you to play your best. Watching the All Blacks slaughter the Portuguese was not actually any fun. Being a nation that supports the underdog, I am sure we are all thrilled to see 13 points on the board for the best amateur team in the world. The Portuguese win the award for most enthusiastic anthem singing.

I think the TV3 team are starting to get better at their commentary and it is a hoot watching Merts trying to be serious while Ali Williams is giving him heaps. I think Merts should just be funny.

Mixing it up..made my first batch of cupcakes today. Wondering what the big deal is, I went to my many and varied food websites and checked out my cookbooks and found a delicious sounding recipe of which all the ingredients were lounging in the fridge and pantry.

Here it is - Donna Hay's Patty Cakes (as the call them in Aussie) - I finished mine with zesty lemon and butter icing. They are like sweet cakey muffins and they last for days. I shared mine with Joan when Nic and I went to see her lovely new home.

Patty Cakes

1 1/2 Cups self raising flour

2/3 cup caster sugar

155g butter

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 milk

1tsp vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until they are well mixed (I softened the butter). Continue to beat until mixture is light and creamy. Spoon the mixture in to patty cases in tins to about 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cakes are golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool. There are lots of ways to serve these but you will work that out.

Rubbing your head on the carpet

Italy V Romania...It hasn't even finsihed yet but I feel compelled to get this off my chest. What I have been watching barely resembles a game of rugby as we are used to. Obviously Romania were out classed and just being fuckn annoying. And I am sure there are more injury breaks or little lie downs than there was actually footy. Dull Dull Dull. The commentators, who were very difficult to hear over the 25 piece band that was playing through the entire match, decided the referee was the 'man of the match'. And those yellow jersey's...showed the layers of blubber on the Romanians...a little less cake and a bit more training might be in order.

Nic asked Jonty yesterday if 'when you were a little boy, did you rub your head on the carpet? Because I can see where you wore off some of your hair'

NZ V ITALY

Not being able to stay up past 9.30, I took to the sofa at 8am on Sunday to watch the men in black destroy the Italians. Not a hugely exciting game really as a walk over is not so much fun. Having watched a couple live, I find them totally cringe making and I always feel sorry for the destroyed. Nevertheless, nice to see our team in fine form practising their moves and clever passes etc. I thought the performance they put in would not really be that great if they were playing Australia but realised that their game plan for the Italians would differ from that of the Aussies or another team.

I am also starting to worry about the fact that after one game against 'the fourth ranked team in Europe', that they are going to win. Hello!! Has no one been watching the world cup over the last 20 years??? Also the 4th ranked team in Europe is not really competition is it?

So, Dan Carter is amazing and so so so watchable, ball skills are fantastic, Doug Howlett is fun to watch. Forwards were working beautifully as a team.

Finally, TV3 can't really do the whole commentary, post match chat etc very well. They don't have the skills in their team. I am sure they are very knowledgable but they just don't have it. Andrew Merts tried but he has got a lot of work to do. It will be interesting to see how he improves over the tournament. Also, the quality of the picture is not great.

Webb Ellis Goofy

I have to admit that I am a closet rugby head and was up this morning watching the opening ceremony and the first game...Argentina (17) v France (12). I can see that I am going to get right in to this tournament and I REALLY want the All Blacks to win. Get annoyed with all the hype and blah blah but it is all good fun really.

My take on the game, for what it is worth. France played crap and Argentina deserved to win. They played strong defensive rugby and were relentless in their drive. Big buggers, great tacklers and passion. Loved the tears during the anthems. One exciting try from a turnover. Some good kicking but overall it was a grunt game. Heaps of blood, a visible lack of ball skills and fitness not that great. Watching this game, my first for a long time, you can see the difference in styles of rugby and I would have to say the Polynesian game is far more exciting and interesting to watch. I am probably biased though.

Also, what is with all the hair? The French guy with the beard and long hair, not tied up??? He could have been scalped or his hair could have flicked across someones eye and cut it...happens you know. I bet the chicks would never be able to play with their hair flailing all over the place.

Oh yes, the title of this entry. Teaching Nicholas from scratch about a) rugby and b) the world cup, has meant many many clarifying questions. One being the name of the trophy...The Webb Ellis Goofy. Kids are so cute.

...it's here!

Nic came running in yesterday yelling, 'It's here, we are soooo lucky!'

'What's here? Why are we so lucky?'

'Blossom!'

The butterfly was just a fortuitous flutter in the frame.

Albert Cuyp Market

I love markets and this one in Amsterdam was brilliant. There was a great mixture of local food and flowers as well as fashion and designer gear and knock of cheap stuff. It is on every day except Sunday and is really big. Every night it is pulled down at 4ish and then resurrected the next morning. Crazy but very cool. We had a great time here and bought all kinds of little bits and pieces. My favourite thing was my new work bag for 5E which is a total bargain. I loved the fact there were practically no tourists. and the locals are so multi-cultural it was like being with the whole world in one place.



The market was in our neighbourhood so was an easy walk there and back. Later in the day we took the Canal Bus which added to an alreadly great day and if I remember correctly one of the five rainless days on our adventure. I think the pictures give a good feel for the place.