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.

Grinch

I just can’t seem to summon any enthusiasm at all about Christmas this year. It’s the 12th today and not one decoration is up; no tree, no window dressings, no wreath on the door. Thankfully I have at least done my Christmas shopping.

My health problems are getting me down and to add to the general misery work is so freakin’ busy and I now need to be away on Monday and Tuesday  again but I have this huge presentation to deliver on Thursday as part of my study and I haven’t even finished it yet – eeeeeeeeeeeek!!

I’m barely keeping panic at bay.

I wasted a whole day off work yesterday when I should have been working on my presentation. We had our Christmas work function on Thursday night and I drank far too many margaritas and consequently had a very sore head. I didn’t do anything except sleep and feel sorry for myself all day yesterday. The work do was great though; dinner and drag cabaret – heaps of fun.

It’s my sister-in-laws 40th birthday party tonight but there’ll be no drinking for me so I’m dedicating Sunday (tomorrow) to be a study day. A good productive day should help me feel a bit more in control.

Sorry for being a whiney Grinch.

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.

Even more about me

I nicked this from Daniels blog over at The Pursuit of What Matters to Me. Thanks Daniel. Feel free to join in anyone who wants to.

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1. Do you have any tertiary qualification?
Yes I have. I also continue to struggle along with study – it’s a never ending process.

2. What was the amount of your last electric bill?
NZ$63 for a months worth of power. Not sure how this compares but this is considered a very modest bill here especially as I don’t have gas as well – I’m tight as all hell with regards power usage.

3. Do you have life insurance?
Yes (single mother and all that).

4. How many hours per week do you work?
Around 45-50.

5. Have you ever attended a Toastmasters event?
No.

6. Favourite place to attend Happy Hour?
Nowhere these days. Occasionally I meet a girlfriend after work for a wine but that is few and far between these days. 

7. How far is your commute to work each day?
When I am working in Auckland my travel is only 15 minutes each way but on the once or twice weekly days working in our capital city, Wellington, the commute is about 2 hours each way – yuck!!!

8. What time do you get up every morning for work?
We’re up at around 6am to get to Rory’s school bus at 7.10am. I then head straight to work so am there by 7.30am most days.

9. What is your definition of sleeping in late?
On a Saturday I can sleep and then doze until almost midday if there’s nothing I have to get up for. 

10. Do you check your cholesterol on a yearly basis?
Yes along with all the other checks that are deemed necessary.

11. How large was your first cell phone?
Not that big as I was fairly late to the cell phone game. Only flash businessmen or ‘out and about’ types like trades or sales people, had the bricks here in NZ. My first cell phone was in the 2G era, it was a Nokia that I got in about 1995 or 1996 I think.

12. Does your employer provide good health insurance?
No, that’s not something employers do here as we have a public health service that covers all New Zealanders. It’s not that great but it’s free.

13. Did you use the Internet to write a research paper?
When I was at university there was no such thing as the internet, well as far as I was aware of anyway.

14. Have you attended a High School reunion?
Yes. Had a few laughs but I think I’ll leave it there. Anyone I still like I am in contact with anyway so no further need.

15. How many jobs have you held in your career? 
I have had about 10 jobs over the years.

16. Have you ever been fired or laid off from a job?
No.

17. What is your favourite drink?
Jim Beam and Zero Coke in a tall glass with lots of ice. Yummmmm.

18. What’s the most expensive bottle of wine that you’ve bought?
Not much. I buy inexpensive wine – I don’t have a snobby palate.

19. Have you been divorced?
Nope.

20. How old were you when you stopped getting ID-ed for alcohol?
In my early 20s if I remember rightly.

21. Favourite casino?
None. Hate the places, they reek of desperation.

22. Are you happier now than you were in high school?
Yes and No. High school was great carefree fun but now is cool too.

23. Did you ever have a Hypercolor shirt?
Yes I had a yellow/green one though I didn’t wear it much. It always seemed a bit weird wearing a shirt that clearly showed that you were hottest under your arms and boobs.

24. Do you remember when Michael Jackson was black and was attracted to older people?
I remember him as black, yes.

25. Do you remember when MTV actually played music videos?
No we didn’t have MTV in NZ until after it had gone to shit.

26. Have you had a will made?
Yes, within a month of Rory being born. Updated twice since then.

27. What music was in your cd/cassette player when you were 16?
It was a cassette player and it was Patti Smith, The Clash, Led Zeppelin and Simon and Garfunkel.

28. Favourite fancy/upscale restaurant?
Don’t have one. My favourite eateries are cheap and cheerful local Thai places.

29. Where were you when you found out about 9-11?
My clock radio went off at around 6.00am as usual on the morning of 12 September but the morning DJ crew I wake to each day were talking about something serious instead of the usual joking around. I got up and turned on the TV and was horrified.

30. Do you have any children yet?
Yes, one.

When all is said and done

Sam from “Yes, I know Sam is a boy’s name” posted recently about what she hopes her obituary will say when the time comes in the far distant future. Slightly morbid and rather egocentric but hey, that sounds like my kind of thing. Here’s my fantasy effort.

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Louise 12/8/1965 – 13/8/2065

Forever cherished friend, daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. Critically acclaimed short story writer and poet in her later years, Lou was also a long time environmental campaigner, gastronome and world traveller. Mother of renowned educationalist and peace activist Rory, grandmother of Booker Prize winner Emily and Nobel Prize (Chemistry) winner James. Lou was awarded an honorary PhD in 2021 for her philanthropic endeavours and unwavering pursuit of social justice.

Lou died peacefully yesterday in her historic Arrowtown home surrounded by her family, the day after celebrating her 100th birthday and receiving a congratulatory telegraph from His Majesty King Henry IX. She remained the rambunctious matriarch to the end.

Great-granddaughter Dr Louise Harrison spoke on behalf of the family thanking everyone for the hundreds of kind messages and floral tributes.

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Anyone else macabre enough to want to think about what theirs might say? Come on, give it a go, let your imagination run wild. It’s actually quite fun.

 

 

 

 

Florence Nightingale's grave St Margaret's Church, East Wellow, England

Photo ‘borrowed’ from the website Solarnavigator.net

Life is for living

Sas published this quote on her blog sas’ magical mystery tour and I love it. I’m seriously considering it for my own gravestone.

'Life is NOT a journey to the grave with the goal of arriving safely in a prettily preserved body, but rather, to skid in sideways in a shower of gravel and party shards - thoroughly used, utterly exhausted and loudly proclaiming: 'Fuck me, that was

BRILLIANT!'

Anon

Regret

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.

Alexander Graham Bell

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I woke late this morning with quite a headache following the partying through to the early hours of this morning. A great night was had by all if the number of empty bottles and the mess are anything to go by.

To aid my recovery today, Rory and I took Bonnie for a walk to the top of One Tree Hill. It was a cold and showery day and I was feeling back in top form in no time from the fresh air and the exercise.

It’s great that tomorrow (Monday) is a holiday as it gives me a chance to knock the house back into shape.  I might even try and get in a couple of hours in my garden as the weeds are overtaking everything right now.

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You may remember me celebrating ‘my’ rugby team, the Chiefs,  being on the top of the Super 14 competition table?

Well the great run continued and they made it through the semi finals successfully and into the the final which was played in South Africa last night. The result; the Chiefs were slaughtered by the Bulls from Pretoria. It was a humiliating defeat. Less said the better.

Speechless

I had the best weekend. My girlfriends are truly precious.

It was almost sunny on Saturday, the first dry day in weeks. It was still chilly but was almost bearable in the watery sunshine. We slept in, breakfasted and then walked, talked and fished (I only caught 2 very undersized fish so both went back). We found a great cafe for lunch and later we walked again, this time to the fish shop to satisfy our need for fresh fish.

We went through the whole fire lighting process again when we got back to the bach so we could be warm and cook our fish on the coal range. It was a real novelty cooking on the range, we didn’t use the electric stove all weekend. We then ate and drank too much and talked and laughed late into the night. We had dragged the mattresses and blankets into the living area so we could sleep there where it was warmest.

We slept late again this morning and woke to rain. Just for a change. I have no voice at all today. It was a bumpy trip back on the ferry this afternoon but we’re home in one piece and all agree the weekend was a great welcome home surprise for Liz.

Have a great Sunday and Monday everyone. My working week starts again in just over 12 hours {sigh}.

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“A real friend walks in while the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell

Roaring fire

I am trying out this new Vodafone Vodem stick that Bridget* has brought with her to Onetangi (it’s prepaid, no contract) and I’m using her lovely new laptop too. It didn’t cross my mind that we might be hooked up this weekend, it’s cool. In fact I now want a new ‘puter as this one is really nice. Bridget is showering right now while Liz is napping after the multi day trek that is coming home when you’re a kiwi. She’ll be up and about in a couple of hours.

I’ve got a roaring fire going in the living room now thank the gods. It was completely  freakin’ freezing when we arrived a couple of hours ago and I confidently offered to take on the fire lighting as it’s not normally a task I have any trouble with. As long as there’s reasonably dry wood available. There’s also a working coal range (a hundred years old if it’s a day) so I have lit that too and we can get some soup heating a bit later.  I must be a bit out of practice as there was a minute when I thought both fires were going to go out, somehow I held it together and the place is now getting snug. Phew!

I can hear the surf crashing on the beach, can’t wait to go walking in the morning. Maybe some fishing too if it’s dry but that is totally unlikely seeing as it’s barely stopped raining in Auckland for the last 3 weeks. I live in hope as snapper caught from the beach would be awesome for dinner tomorrow night.  I love fishing.

Sounds like Bridget is finishing in the shower so I’ll sign off now and open the wine and nibbles. Yummmm.

Happy Friday night, Lou

*Not their real names.

Resilience

What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it. Alexander Graham Bell

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Tough day

It started with a blinding migraine and steadily went downhill from there. Stressful.

But it’s Friday tomorrow and I have a great weekend planned.

An old friend is arriving home tomorrow from the UK after a long time away and we’re off to have a catch up for the weekend along with another of our closest friends. We’ve very bravely loaned a small bach (pronounced ‘batch’, which is what we in northern NZ call a small basic holiday home, usually at a beach) on Waiheke Island in the Hauraki gulf. I say bravely because this place is really rustic and it’s getting freakin’ cold here now. There’s plenty of firewood though and lots of blankets and so it’ll be great.

There’s fishing gear there too apparently so I might cast a line if the opportunity presents itself. I’m always up for surf casting.

We’ll pick up food and wine in Auckland before we get on the ferry as everything costs more on the island. We’ll jump on a commuter ferry tomorrow night and then a quick taxi ride should deposit us at the front door by 7.30pm. It’s right on the beach.

I can already taste that first fruity chilled sauv blanc mmmmmm oh wait; that’ll be the one I’m drinking now. I bet tomorrow’s one will be just as good. 

Have a great weekend everyone. Be safe on the road.

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Widget

What do we all think of the change to the followers widget ? A bit ego driven perhaps?

Only just…

I am still smoke free. Just.

I met two friends after work and we shared a couple of bottles of sauv blanc. It was a lovely sunny autumn evening so we moved outside and by glass number three I was seriously craving a cigarette. Neither of my friends are smokers but a girl at the table behind me was smoking. Lots.

After an hour of hanging out, I had to leave. There is no way I am going to throw away nine months of nicotine deprived torture and if I had stayed any longer I might have hit the girl up for one.

Speaking of wine, look at these groovy glasses from a site called freshome.com – check out the site for some cool tips and inspiration for your place.

Have a great Monday

and Tuesday!