Random photos to give you an update (I'm too tired for lots of words!)

Here's something I made on my week off which is meant for the spare/craft/treadmill/junk room but which is currently on top of the mantle piece making me smile because it's glittery and covered in bling...

There's not much been happening other than work, work, work!

This is what I was doing all weekend:

which was actually lots of fun! And me being me I still managed to spend money as well as 'woman' the stall! Here's the goodies I bought home with me...

...including a delicious reserve red wine for Graeme's birthday and the most yummy handmade belgian chocolates (all gone already of course and yes I did share them!).

It's not all about work though - we did manage to fit this in on Sunday....

And that's all I have for you right now! I'm off to laze in a hot bubble bath and have an early night! And working all weekend will be made up by a 3 day weekend approaching (Queen's Birthday - woohoo!)

A week off in photos

Hmmm, haven't taken as many as I would have liked due to batteries running out on me and bad light but here's a few which help summarise a pretty good week off!

There's been lots of laying about and relaxing:

There's been a bit of walking (but thankfully no running into big stinky ponds due to the wound!)

And of course there's been running around with large sticks and chewing them:

And there's been some cracking weather - it's been up at 18 degrees - in May! Which is the month between Autumn and Winter here. I got a shock yesterday when I got in the car and the temperature was 23! But it soon cooled a little once I was on the move - it's just where the car had been sitting in the sun.

I've also been taking pictures of yellow things the last couple of days. I once read somewhere that yellow is a very insprirational colour and that Roald Dahl wrote his stories on yellow legal pads with pencils (I'm sure it was Roald Dahl but feel free to correct me). Of course - I then went out and bought yellow legal pads and waited for inspiration to strike.

It does every now and again but lately it's been the yellow outside that I find pretty inspiring...

The Dark Lord is currently in Palmerston North (plus a trip to the vets and a week off)

Yep - you heard it first here - Voldemort is in New Zealand...and not only that...he also zapped my dog and left a Harry-esque lighting strike atop his paw.

Poor Rhett - although it seems to be me that took it more badly. I was the one the vet took the time to calm down on Saturday morning while the dog just enjoyed all the treats, cuddles and attention coming his way!

Luckily - the vet didn't think it was serious enough to warrant putting him out and stitching it up - she gave us the option but we went with option b - the much cheaper for us and less stressful for pooch - antibiotics and twice daily cleaning with salt water - ouch! So far he's been a trooper and let's Graeme squirt salt water in his cut while I hand out the treats. Ah yes - he is loving the treats!

So we'll give it a few days and see if it starts to heal. He is going to have the coolest scar ever!

In other news - I have this week off - woo-hoo! (Can't remember if I have already mentioned that?) So there may be one or two posts up this week - we shall see!

I have planned a busy week of (but not confined to):

• sleeping
• watching movies
• baking
• scrapbooking
• taking photos and learning how to take better photos
• decluttering (not fun but it's desperately needed!)
• and basically having some fun, rest and relaxation

Graeme is going to be at work for the most part although he is off Wednesday. If the weather is bad we will probably hire a Nintendo Wii from the video store and have a play. If the weather is good - who knows (it probably would have been a trip to the beach or a river walk but the vet's advised us not to let the dog swim until the wound has closed over).

Right - I am going to go and be wifely and start making dinner before Graeme gets home from work (making sure of course he realises this is not going to become a habit!)

Edit: Forgot to mention - the tooth ache won over and I ended up at the dentist last Thursday. I ended up with my first ever filling...and without an injection - it hurt! But as the dentist said - it was worth putting up with 5 minutes of pain while he drilled etc then have my face frozen for a few hours (from the injection). And I have to go back for a couple more in a couple of weeks....between vets and dentists bills the bank balance is taking a whollop lately!

Some more South Island pictures (blogger permitting)

Fingers crossed this post isn't in vain. Here are some more South Island pictures for you to have a gander at:

On the ferry across to South Island

Coming into the Marlborough Sounds

Some Christchurch architecture
...and more to follow later on!

And in other news - I have tooth ache - uh-oh! Never a good sign and this isn't the usual twinge of my wisdom teeth - this is full-on-I-can't-drink-water-because-it-hurts-too-much pain so methinks a trip to the dentist is required. Funnily enough though, I seem to be able to drink warmed up fizzy lemonade without too much pain...as long as I hold my head on it's side so the liquid doesn't touch the sore bit!

And I have next week off work - woo-hoo! And it's all lieu time so no annual leave required - even better! I have big plans for sleeping, watching chick flicks, some baking, being crafty and generally being lazy! Plus maybe a blog post or two if you're lucky...or unlucky depending on which way you look at it ;-) I can't remember the last time I had a week off work for no reason other then to chill out so I am reeeeaaaallllyyy looking forward to it.

A Trip down South

I'm quite lucky really...I got to travel around South Island this week and work paid for it :-)

My new boss started on Monday and on Tuesday she decided we should go to South Island on Wednesday to get a few things sorted out. So we had a mad Tuesday trying to get the arrangements sorted and we were on our way early Wednesday.

It was a fantastic few days! We drove to Wellington and then took the ferry across to Picton.

From there we drove down to Christchurch with a brief stop in Blenheim and also Kaikoura - to take pictures of the seals right next to the road!

We had a full day of meetings in Christchurch on Thursday and then on Friday we got up at 5.30am (yep, you have read that right!) to attend the Dawn Parade as it was Anzac Day. It was an amazing experience and well worth getting up early for. It was held in Cathedral Square in Christchurch.

From there we spent some time looking around Christchurch and then headed South in our wee hire car towards Dunedin. We stopped along the way to take pictures of the war memorials with the wreaths on them which was fascinating. Sometimes it was the smallest of towns that had made the biggest of efforts.

We stopped in Timaru for a lunch meeting and in other various places along the way including Oamaru to see some penguins, Moeraki to see the curious boulders on the beach

and Shag Point to see some sea birds and penguins.

We arrived late into Dunedin on Friday night and had a busy day of meetings on Saturday before flying back to Wellington late Saturday night and driving back up to Palmy. A very busy few days but it was good fun and a very inspiring trip.

Please note: Unfortnately blogger doesn't seem too happy about uploading all my photos tonight so two will have to do for now and I may need to try again in a day or two to get the rest up for you.

Baking - part deux (sort of!)

I went back to basics with the baking this weekend...chocolate cornflake cakes - yum! A throwback to my childhood. I remember making these with my Mum when I was wee...except I was too much of a weakling to break up the chocolate (same goes today - G did it for me). And for those of you who think that is Smarties on top - you would be wrong...they are pebbles - how totally wrong is that name?! Even so, they are very yummy and such a comfort food! The chocolate is Belgian style and delish. G refuses to take any to work to eat for morning tea but will happily eat them at home. I have no shame and will be taking one to work with my packed lunch tomorrow!

And here's another photo for you - from a walk along the river last weekend:

The dog actually run straight into the water for like the first time ever!It was nice and sunny and we had a good walk. Didn't get out this weekend for a walk though because it's been so cold. We put the electric blanket on the bed today - that's how cold it's been. Freezing....it seemed to change so suddenly and it's not been a great week weather wise (unless you like heavy rain and chilliness). It did give me the perfect excuse to curl up on the couch and watch a DVD yesterday afternoon though while Graeme was out getting muddy at the soccer.

Hoping for a good week coming up - it's all change for me at work with a new Manager starting tomorrow and also it's a 4 day week due to ANZAC day on Friday. Fantastic - I'm ready for a long weekend!

Nelson day trip

I had to travel down to Nelson this week for work. I hadn't been before but had heard that it was lovely so as well as lugging all my work stuff there I also took the camera.

I hadn't taken pictures from a plane before so decided this week was as good a week to start. Here's my first glimpse of Nelson. It was very green...

There is only 1 direct flight from Palmy to Nelson each day so I had quite a convuluted journey. I left Palmy at 7.10am and flew to Christchurch then had 20 minutes to get to the gate for my flight to Nelson. Coming home I had a 25 minute stop (and a long walk from one gate to the next!) at Wellington. The landing and take off at Wellington was pretty rocky (which it was the last time I landed there...I think it has something to do with all the wind they get there!)

You can see from this picture that the water was a little rough.

I also got some great views of the Manawatu going and coming back (Manawatu is the region where the city of Palmerston North is). In this photo you can see the Manawatu river winding it's way out to sea.

That's all I have for you right now! It's been a tough couple of weeks but we're working our way through it. Hope you are all safe and happy :-)

I used to be good at baking, dammit!

I had grand plans.

I found my lost recipe after 3 years of searching (sporadically), I shopped for ingredients, I even got up reasonably early considering it's Easter (10am - very early for me on a day off). I have been talking all week about the awesome chocolate cake I was going to make for Easter....and this is what happened....

A good workman (or work woman) never blames his/her tools so I am not going to do that (although I'm wondering if the oven needs a service!) but I am blaming the ingredients...I swear self raising flour does not self raise here in NZ as well as it does back at the mother land.

I couldn't even get one half out of the tin - which is why I left it in there and decorated it (if it could be called that) where it was. And don't even get me started on the butter icing that leaked everywhere!

And the biggest travesty of all?....wait for it!....they do not sell writing icing in New Zealand....that is just so wrong on so many levels!

Despite the fact it's quite possibly the ugliest cake that ever lived - it's actually quite tasty so Graeme's not complaining and yes, I did give him permission to laugh. He has been warned though - I will be baking all month in search of some decent ingredients that make me an attractive looking cake!

Wherever you are this Easter, I wish you a safe and happy one with attractive baked goods!

HAPPY EASTER!

PS - I did it! 40 days without chocolate - woo hoo! And yes, I did eat half the bag of mini eggs this morning to celebrate!