No sense nonsense

My hateful vacuum cleaner decided to stop working for me this morning. The ‘bag full’ light is staying on which indicates to me that there is some kind of blockage somewhere. The bag is most definitely NOT full, the filter is clean and there’s no visible clump of debris anywhere screwing up the works.

It wasn’t sucking though. And my carpet was decidedly unclean. And I have friends coming for lunch. Sigh.

I took a deep breath to stave off the desire to throw the horrible thing across the room and instead I performed some rudimentary diagnostics. I ascertained that it is the hose causing the problem; there’s suction into the machine with the hose off and therefore logic tells me the problem is the hose. I ran another hose (the garden one actually) through the vacuum hose to dislodge whatever offending material was stuck in there but…nothing; there is no blockage.

Arrgghh!

By now I was feeling increasingly frustrated and though I should have been preparing lunch, I loaded the contraption into the wagon and headed to the local vacuum cleaner ‘experts’ who have confirmed my diagnosis. The problem is the hose. We hooked up my vacuum with their hose and it sucks like (insert whichever grubby euphemism works for you) so they checked my hose for a blockage using their industrial sized sucker/blower machine but…nothing.

Again.

They’ve ordered me a new hose and were kind enough to give me a loaner until the new hose arrives at the end of the week, but I’m still completely mystified – a hose is surely a piece of corrugated plastic wrapped around air; what the f**k can actually go wrong with that? Is there something technical about hoses that I don’t know?

Anyway.

I have now vacuumed the house with the little loaner machine and it did a pretty good job I must say. I have made the salads for lunch and put a pitcher of margarita in the refrigerator to chill. I’m about to start skewering the marinated chicken and vegetable kebabs for the barbecue and am hoping that the rest of the day will go to plan. I still need to squeeze in a shower before my guests arrive in an hour so I better get moving.

What have you got planned for Sunday in your house?

Fun times

I’m home after a few days away with friends. My clean bed and shower were calling me after a couple of nights of sleeping fairly rough. It’s been fun; we’ve been swimming every day and had lots of laughs. We’ve had more cocktails and more sun than is healthy but my new 2010 mantra commits me to living life to the full.

See my earlier post here for a map of the peninsula if interested.

I drew the short straw and we took my car. We drove to Tapu on Wednesday and then further up the west coast on Thursday to reach Coromandel township. On Friday we crossed the hills to get to the eastern side of the peninsula to visit Kennedy Bay and then to Whangapoua where we spent another two days exploring, swimming, sunbathing and creating sand sculptures.

We arrived back in Auckland earlier this evening and when I got home I took a 20 minute shower, made a decent coffee and put on a load of washing. Only then did I feel civilised enough to have a look at the photos I took over the last few days. My lack of photographic know how and my basic little camera do not do these interesting places proper justice but here are a few snaps anyway.

Tapu beach through Pohutukawa trees. Late afternoon.

Waikawau bay on a chilly and blustery morning.

Rural mailboxes with a church and tiny graveyard in the background.

Derelict house next to the Coromandel pub where we had lunch.

Papa-Aroha sunset.

Climbing up the gravel road towards the east and looking back west.

Half way up and looking east. At the top we were above the clouds.

The estuary at Kennedy Bay.

A corrugated iron kiwi palace.

Whangapoua beach where we got sunburned yesterday.

Chums beach. Almost completely deserted.

This piece of artwork was made by a Coromandel local and bought by me earlier today. They’re pokeko (a flightless NZ bird) and I knew it would look great hanging on my fence.

Road trip

Later today I’m off with three girlfriends on a road trip for a few days. We’re heading to the Coromandel peninsula to get some sun, swim from the beautiful beaches and party into the night.

We have a rough plan and a couple of tentative motel bookings but basically we’ll be playing it by ear. We’ll head up the west coast of the peninsula where the most beautiful and secluded beaches are.

Sunscreen  Towel/swimsuitToiletries and makeup

Sleeping bag and pillow (just in case)

Cute dress and high heels for going out at night

Phone and charger, iPod and charger, camera and charger

Money

Chilly bin loaded with ice and wine and water and fruit

Manicure and pedicure booked and oops look at the time, better go now before I miss my appointment.

Catch you all in a couple of days. Be good.

Keepin’ it real

I love Facebook. I was a late starter to such things. I’d been a member of www.oldfriends.co.nz for years which is a site that reconnects friends via schools they’ve attended but I finally decided to drag myself into the 21st century and try out Facebook and Twitter when I quit smoking in June 2008 and was desperately seeking a diversion.

Facebook has worked for me. I’m not into the games thankfully as I see friend after friend acquiesce to the addiction that is Farmville and/or Cafe world. I’m also not out to collect hundreds of friends – it’s just about being in contact with people who I like and who I want to maintain a relationship with despite us all being scattered around the world. It’s about sharing photos and news with everyone and getting to know better the half of my extended family who are in Ireland. I think at the moment I have around 55 ‘friends’ which is more than enough for me to manage. I keep Facebook and blogging quite separate (with 2 exceptions) as I don’t want to lose the freedom of my relatively anonymous blogging and I want Facebook to be about maintaining real life relationships.

Anyway, finally getting to the point of the post…

An old friend from school messaged me on FB from Massachusetts where she has lived for the last 20 years with her American husband and their children. I say an old ‘friend’ when in fact we weren’t that close at all – acquaintances would probably be more accurate though we did share many classes at high school. In the last few days we’ve (private) messaged back and forth and she turns out to be one of the most fabulous people I know. We have shared more in these few days than I have with most of my closest friends in years. We’ve browsed each others photos and commented on holidays, homes and children. We talked earnestly about our relationships (or lack thereof on my part), our hopes, our dreams and our fears.

I have a wonderful new friend who I already cherish and Facebook made it possible. Thank you Mark Zuckerberg.

Christmas eve and all is well

I’m sitting on my little patio sipping a delicious pomegranate cocktail and munching on fresh cherries while waiting for some friends to arrive for Christmas eve drinks (and a barbecue later). 

It’s a clear blue sky day and it’s getting a bit warmer as the afternoon progresses. Even though it doesn’t get horribly hot in NZ, we do have very thin ozone which equals a killer sun. This reminds me I better go slap on some sunscreen and get the sun umbrella out before I start to grow a melanoma glow.

Have a merry Christmas all.  Stay safe and enjoy your loved ones if you’re lucky enough to be spending time with them this season. Stay warm if it’s cold where you are and stay cool if it’s warm.

I’ll catch all of my lovely bloggy friends after Christmas and remember; you can’t make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

Louise

I dropped Rory off here to Westhaven Marina earlier today where his dad’s boat is moored so they can go sailing for the day.  The sea breeze was lovely and I almost wished I could tag along.

Another decade down

I know that purists will say that the decade isn’t over until the end of 2010 but it’s my blog and I say now’s the right time for a review of the first decade of the 21st century.

Here are some of the highlights according to Louise.

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2000: I started the year in between jobs but with definite prospects so no real concerns. I had a 7 year old son, no man (some things never change) and I had my eye on a house that I coveted for my very first ownership experience.  At one stage that year Rory got airlifted off his dad’s yacht after getting hit in the head by the boom – scary stuff, he didn’t know anyone for hours afterwards. The year ended with me and Rory settled into the new house, a promotion at work, a boyfriend of sorts and a brand new nephew. A perplexing choice (in my opinion) was made made by the American electorate but it was a very good year all in all.

2001: My best friend moved to Australia and the boyfriend became an ex. Horrible happenings in the US. The only bright side was that a lovely puppy, later named Bonnie, was born and adopted by yours truly. I quit smoking that year and lasted 8 months before falling off the wagon. Rory racked up over 40,000 kilometres in flights between Auckland and his dad’s place in Perth, Western Australia. I went nowhere.

2002: Met another cheating jerk. Swore off men forever.

2003: Menopause. At 37 years old. Rory turned 10 and to celebrate his dad took him to Africa to explore for 3 months. I cried myself to sleep every night from missing him though the grief did great things for my career as I worked 15 hours a day and earned another promotion. The US declared war on Iraq – I remember something about WMD? My older sister was very ill but thankfully recovered fully. I got away briefly at the end of the year to spend time (and money) with my friend in Victoria, Australia.

2004: Got to Thailand again this year – one of my very fave places to escape the kiwi winter. Also got in another visit to Victoria. Another nephew born – that made four but still no nieces. Everything else was bad that year - horrible happenings, this time in Spain and atrocities continued in Darfur. And then that catastrophic tsunami on Boxing Day to finish the year.

2005: Finally quit chewing my nails to mark my 40th birthday. Katrina struck. It was 10 years since we lost my sister so we had a party to remember her by. Rory spent Christmas snowboarding in Japan with his dad – it was my first Christmas without him and it was hard.

2006: Rory started high school. Saddam Hussein was hanged and Steve Irwin got stabbed by a stingray. Crikey.

2007: Sinn Fein and the DUP hammered out an agreement for a power-sharing government in northern Ireland. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Rory’s dad moved back to NZ and for the first time ever we did the every second weekend part time dad thing – I started to remember what a real social life was like. I drank too much.

2008: Quit smoking again (18 months now and still going strong). Got addicted to Facebook. The Kiwis won the Rugby League World Cup and the hottest tennis player ever, Rafael Nadal, is ranked #1. Somali entrepreneurs found their niche in the piracy business. I met a man with real potential until the day he slammed Rory against a wall for looking at him sideways. Got a couple of long weekends away in Australia. Started new role managing projects at work and commuting to Wellington city twice a week.  Rory had a tumour removed from inside his jaw – it was benign. I spent most of the year exhausted. Bought new house and moved in just before Christmas. Whew, what  a year!

2009: Started the year with a new pastime – blogging. Met lots of wonderful new friends. There were terrible bushfires in Victoria so I went to console my friend. Witnessed a terrible car accident. Started reading about Tao Buddhism. Centre-right government elected in NZ for the first time in many years. I bought a lovely new car. A never ending cycle of study. Rory turned 16 and attended his first school ball, my mum and dad both turned 70, dad retired finally and my youngest nephew started school – still no nieces, have given up on that ever happening now. 

 

 

 

 

 

…and here we are nearly at the very end of 2009. That was my decade in brief; how about sharing yours?

 

 

Happy Christmas everyone.

Aww shucks Kyle

It’s award time again folks and I’m delighted and flattered to accept this award bestowed on me by Kyle from Out Left.

Kyle is a creative type who lives and works in stunning New Hampshire with his partner Stan. He and Stan are passionate about their 19th century home and beautiful gardens of which we occasionally get to see photos. Kyle is also a movie buff and provides great reviews for those of us who need a bit of guidance. 

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Apparently I am supposed to share 5 things that I enjoy before passing this award on to more worthy recipients.

Friends: There’s nothing I like more than settling down in comfy chairs for a good catch up with a friend. It’s even better when we can relax over a chilled and fruity Sauvignon Blanc. 

Food: Be it Middle Eastern or Italian or Thai or Greek or Indian – you name it I love it. The more flavoursome the better.

Learning: I undertake some formal learning every year and right now I should be working on a presentation that I’ll deliver on the 17th as part of  my current objective which is a diploma in Public Sector Leadership.  I’m nearly half way through this now after working on it part time for the last 6 months.

Coffee: Love it, can’t live without it.

Books: I’m afraid to say I’m not intelligentsia; for me it’s about a great story that’s not a chore to read. My favourite authors are Margaret Attwood, Sebastian Faulks and Wally Lamb.

And now to the fun part. I’ve made lots of new friends blogging but here are some of my favourite gals. Always great for a laugh are…

• Joanne at Moving Forward Half Speed
• Lori at Family Trees May Contain Nuts
• Kathryn at From the Inside…Out

At the next two sites I do more lurking than commenting due to the intimidation factor, but whether they know it or not I always read and greatly enjoy their wit and intelligence.

• Intelliwench at Post-Raphaelite Sisterhood
• PENolan at Menopausal Stoners

Thanks to you all for brightening my days. I’ll pop a comment on your latest post to let you know about this. Sorry to those of you who don’t want such awards – do with it what you will.

Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving day to all the ‘merican folks  who might happen across this here blog.

Have a great day, eat drink and be merry (and thankful of course).

Nature not good enough?

I was at a florist first thing this morning getting a bouquet put together to drop in to a friend who needed cheering up.

I chose coloured Callas lilies as they are in season here and there was the most beautiful selection available of plums and vibrant pinks. Anyway the florist did her thing and THE most gorgeous bunch of flowers was the result. It looked like sculpture if that makes any sense, with the perfectly smooth elegant funnels in their pastel shades of pale pink through to the deepest purple. They were enough to lift anyone's day.

And then she did something that blew my mind; she started shaking gold glitter all over the bouquet. She stopped quickly when she heard my gasp and asked did I not want glitter “….to make them look extra pretty?”

An interesting discussion ensued with particular reference to the phrase ‘gilding the lily’ which I felt was particularly fitting seeing as we were actually discussing a bunch of lilies. The end result of the conversation was that she started again.

I didn’t have my camera with me unfortunately to record the proceedings but suffice it to say that the elegant lilies I delivered to my friend were delightfully au natural and most certainly beautiful enough sans glitter.

More hip marketing from Microsoft

Has anyone been watching the ‘party’ marketing plan for Windows 7 which is due for launch later this month?

This instructional video is so bad I initially thought it must be a spoof but apparently not. It is long but you’ll get enough of the picture in the first minute or two so there’s no need to inflict the whole revoltingly perky thing on yourself. There’s a lot of talk of ‘activities’ and lots of over-acting.

Is it for real? Have any of you American bloggers who read here signed up to host a Windows 7 party? I see there’s free promotional material and gifts etc supplied to hosts. You too could have all your friends over and do activities with them until they beg for mercy.

Good vibes

Two of my colleagues are sitting at home with their families right now waiting to hear that missing loved ones on the south coast of Upolu and in a northern Tongan island are okay. Or not okay as the case may be. It’s been a horrible day. Though New Zealand has been unaffected geographically, many Samoan and Tongan kiwis have friends or family back in the islands who’ve experienced property damage and worse.

Sending good vibes to all the Samoan, Tongan and Cook islands.

Loss

My good friend lost his elderly mother a few days ago and the funeral was this morning. It was a small service but it was nice and then she was buried just out of town in a plot next to her husband who died almost 25 years ago.

The tiny cemetery is almost completely bordered on three sides by huge old peach, nectarine and plum trees and they are all in full flower right now – weighed down with pink and white blossom. It was a fabulous sight and we were all cheered by the astonishing beauty of mother nature.

The photo above I took a week ago and was saving for a ‘Friday flowers’ but it seems to fit today's post. I think it’s a Black Doris plum tree. RIP Mrs T.

Possibilities

It’s a long time since I woke up feeling the world was filled with possibilities. And not just for other people, but for me. It’s a great feeling though I must contain myself, not get ahead of myself.

It’s early days.

Great Barrier Island

OK I am back after a fabulous weekend exploring Great Barrier island. I won’t subject you to too much information – a short photo essay only. Click to enlarge pictures if you’re interested.

The view from our deck. Puriri Bay, Tryphena harbour.

 

Watch for ducks. Pateke are NZ’s rarest native duck.

 

Puriri Bay in the rain.

 

Dolphins in the bay rounding up fish. A large pod came every morning and this was the best photo I could get would you believe?

 

Schooner Beach. The Pohutukawa tree is known as New Zealand’s Christmas tree as they have beautiful bright red flowers in summer.

 

Pah Beach. The sea was turquoise.

 

Medlands Beach (and my friend Phil).

 

Tree fern.

 

Found this creek while bushwalking. Full of big fat eels.

 

Welcome to Whangaparapara harbour. Population 45.

 

Whangaparapara wharf.

 

Cute kiwi bach (pronounced ‘batch’, kiwi for basic holiday house).

 

Awana Bay. Spectacular.

 

Phil catching our supper again, Port Fitzroy

 

Claris airfield on my way back out.

Great weekend. We did heaps of exploring, bush walking, fishing, meeting and talking with locals. There was lots and lots of laughter with one of my oldest friends also thrown in.

I would definitely recommend a look around New Zealand's 4th largest island for anyone who gets the opportunity.

My jet set lifestyle

Early tomorrow morning (Friday) I am bravely boarding a teensy plane for a quick hop across to Great Barrier island in the outer Hauraki Gulf for an extended weekend break.  I’m nervous about the little plane but I hear that we fly at only about 1000 metres above sea level which I guess means that at least there isn’t too far to fall if the thing gets blown out of the sky.

I am going to hang out with a old friend in a holiday home owned by another friend. We’re not due back in Auckland until Monday or Tuesday but don’t worry, at that stage I will no doubt compulsively over share the weekends events and maybe even some pics.

You may recall my post in May after my last jaunt around the gulf. At that stage a  couple of girlfriends and I spent a fabulous weekend on Waiheke Island. Waiheke is the largest island in the archipelago you can see above in the inner gulf close to Auckland city.

Anyway got to sign off now and publish this. I still haven’t packed so I better get a move on. Have a great weekend everyone.

Friday flowers

I was in Christchurch in early September last year and I remembered the fantastic display of daffodils in Hagley Park, so I asked a friend who lives down there to take a snap for me to show you all.

Let’s all give a big bloggy thanks to my good friend G. He got really wet lying down in the long grass this morning on his way to work to get this shot for us. I appreciate your committment G, very artistic.

I’ll ask him for another pic again in a few weeks as I think there’ll be even more by then. Fabulous. I wish he could also send us the smell as last year I sat for ages drinking in the heavenly scent.

Unconsummated I presume?

Great story in yesterdays New Zealand Herald. Even Germans screw things up sometimes.

Bride spent wedding night with crate of vodka reports Reuters.

A German bride spent her wedding night flaked out next to a crate of vodka before being rescued by police. Cologne police were forced to rescue the 30-year-woman when the BMW she was unconscious in began to overheat in the sun. Once roused she climbed out of the broken window, still wearing her wedding dress. The boozy bride apparently had no idea where her husband was.

 

Photo courtesy of Essex Wedding Services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday to me!!

44 years ago today my tiny little mother gave birth to an 11lb (pre metric days here in 1965) monster.

I have another day off work today so I am heading off shortly for a leisurely lunch with my best mate and then to collect the new car later this afternoon. This evening a big group of us are meeting at my favourite Thai restaurant for dinner.

The family dinner was last night and lovely pressies were had including my favourite perfume, a new coffee mug and vouchers to spend at Repco on my new car (seat covers or whatever).

I’ve also been splashing out, ostensibly for my birthday, on tickets; me and 2 friends going to Cirque du Soleil on Saturday coming and another friend and I scored VIP Pearl Jam tickets for November.

Fanfreakintastic! Life is good!