Queen B

Well October had been and gone and no postings. Busy, busy with work meetings and a mounting pile of work realting to each meeting, plus travelling to both Dunedin and Auckland during October formore meetings, so heaps of excuses. I do enjoy reading everyone's else blog though.

Today has been a big catch up day which has been great. The weather started off sunny and warm but rather windy, then rapidly deteriorated to a grey, cool and extremely windy unpleasant day. The washing all got done however, even drawers tidied, linen cupboard tidied plus I spoke on the phone to Milky and her friend Ulrika in Sweden this morning as they were about to scoff more "Princess Cake". (No doubt Milky will explain in great detail in her blog what this Cake consisted of)

Its Frieworks Night here tonight. A major display was organised for the city and was done from a barge in the harbour just off Queens Wharf. I went for the easy option - stayed home to ensure the beloved Grandcat Darsha was safe inside as it was her first city fireworks night since she was a kitten, and watched the display from my lounge window. Couldn't see it all but I certainly saw some beautiful fireworks and even better I didn't have to battle the traffic there and back or even worse try and find a park.

Time for bed now, seems like all the fireworks around the suburb have finished (or that may well be famous last words).

Thank you Stan for fixing up my blog - you are a star.

Happy Birthday Charlotte - hope you have had a great day.

The bronze 1.5 metre high statue of Pania of the Reef that had been in place for over 50 years on the foreshore in my home town was stolen by some numpties last week. She was found by Police in a garage covered in blankets yesterday during a “routine search” of a property. Pania weighed 150kg and took 3 Police Officers to move her. Hardly worth the numpties efforts as they would never have been able to sell her and melted down she was only worth approx $NZ200.

The TV coverage outside the court where they had appeared for an initial hearing before JP’s showed both Mothers of the two arrested telling the media their son and daughter were not guilty and the guilty should come forward. The arrested couple were also charged with growing cannabis on the property.

My recovery is chugging along ok and I will be back to full time hours at work(instead of part-time hours) from tomorrow week. I have found it very frustrating that the recovery has been quite slow and tiring – but at least it’s happening.

The All Blacks had a good win over the Australians last night to take out the Tri Nations Trophy as well as the Bledisloe Cup. Very entertaining game with the AB’s ahead 20-Nil in the first half and then the Auzzies came to life in the second half and a good game of rugby ensued, able to keep Milky NZ posted on the score as we chatted on the phone.

Our Rowers also took out gold in Japan – 4 gold medals in 40 minutes so that’s a pretty good record indeed.

Big Steve and Char have left NZ shores this morning, so I will miss catching up with them via the free weekend text messages. Good to follow their travels on their blog.

The weather here in Wellywood has picked up this week and we have had some wonderful mild days which have been wonderful. I pass the botanical gardens twice a day in the bus on the way to and from work and the gardens are looking an absolute picture at the moment with the blossom on the trees, the rhodendrons, and camellias in full bloom and the tulips are nearly ready to bloom. We have Tulip Sunday (20,000 plus bulbs in bloom) at the end of September and over the last 10 years this Sunday has heralded the worst weather possible in Wellington – here’s hoping this year the weather will be good.

Today is somewhat cool and overcast so it’s indoors chore to be attended to. Some embroidery may even get done later this afternoon, on second thoughts that will become top priority as I haven’t done any for ages. I will have to talk with Darsha though as she ain’t allowed on my knee when the embroidery comes out.

Nothing much else to report from Wellywood.

Seven days on from my tussle with the cycle courier I’m feeling a whole lot better but haven’t achieved much during the week at home apart from lots of sleeping, and being very well looked after by a series of visitors.

So decided I needed to do something for myself today. This is what I did:

Sat in the sun in the conservatory and did a crossword this morning
Washed and hung out two loads of washing
Drove the car for the first time in seven days and went down to the local Mall and did a couple of messages and got a few groceries
Hired a couple of DVD’s from the Video Store
Went to the Library and found an interesting assortment of books to take out

So that was good progress for me. I did feel a bit tired at the end of the excursion but it was good and productive.

Feeling that I had to do something positive around 4pm to make this a good Friday afternoon I sat and watched the DVD “My House In Umbria”. I set myself up in the lounge with a cup of Mr Whittard’s Darjeeling Tea, served in the best bone china, a few crackers and some slicked cheddar and ensured that Darsha was settled down as I didn’t wish to be interrupted. Wow it was a wonderful choice of entertainment. This was such a fantastic, amazing, wonderful drama, beautiful scenery and costuming and an absolutely perfect way to fill in the latter afternoon.

Will prepare the dinner shortly and then after dinner I’m going to sit and have a change of pace and watch the DVD “Hitched”.

Last Friday afternoon I decided to pop out from work at 4pm and go across the road to post a letter to the beloved daughter – a trip I often do. But … this time the outcome was not pretty. The good news is that I’m around to tell the tale, even if the battered and bruised body has given me a reasonable amount of discomfort and grief since Friday.

According to eye witness reports I “danced” with a bike courier (who was speeding along in the bus lane) and I lost big time. Fortunately I have absolutely no recollection of what happened. No recollection either of the policemen who turned up and gosh they could have been gorgeous hunks like Dan Carter, so that was a bit of a waste. I woke up sitting in an ambulance and went to hospital for several hours being discharged at 9pm. Our hospital system is ….. mmmm ok but I was told that I needed to have someone to stay with me over night and wake me 4 hourly and if I did have a seizure call an ambulance and take me back to hospital. Great news when your housemate is the beloved grandcat. Yip she can wake me up at set times but she has a bit of difficulty using the phone.

Thankfully workmates and friends were just fantastic and have really looked after me all week and thank you everyone who has sent get well messages – they have been a good tonic.

Despite being “confined to quarters” since last Friday I haven’t been able to sit comfortably at the keyboard and update the blog but the bruising is beautiful technicolours now and sitting is somewhat more comfortable. It is a bit uncomfortable and cramped when Darsha insists on sitting on my knee and helping though, but she is easily distracted by her much loved catnip teabag.

No pics - as they were not very pretty.

A bit of a catch up!

I love entering competitions and have more than my fair share of major successes so entered another competition at the local supermarket recently.



Yes I did win it (not many people enter supermarket competitions as often they don’t have a pen or just plain can’t be bothered so the odds are always rather reasonable).

When I duly turned up at the supermarket to collect said prize the expression on the older guy who had to go get the prize from the upstairs office and walk through the store with it was priceless. He obviously thought what is the old girl going to do with that, (now I can hear a few suggestions being thought of) so I just had to burst his bubble and say “Don’t worry its for my grandchildren”. Driving home from the store with it occupying the front seat of the car certainly made most of the passing motorists laugh. My grandchildren have reported that they have had a great time with the Mashian during the school holidays.

I thoroughly enjoyed having Big Steve and Char to stay. Wonderful to come home and the house was warm, the lights on, Darsha fed and contented and a cuppa was made for me. Absolute bliss.

We had fun doing a tiki tour around the city on Saturday. you certainly see your own city through different eyes when you take visitors around. Fantastic food at the Chocolate Fish Café at Scorching Bay – no wonder Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings Crew made it their local watering hole. Always a crowd of people and as you can see they stay open 7 days a week to feed the masses.



Excellent and cheerful service and each chair is painted with an individual design, which make chair gazing around the café most entertaining. Their hot chocolate was just divine – not made with sickly chocolate syrup, it had a yummy Whittakers (local manufacture) Chocolate Bar in the hot milk. Hot Chocolate definitely needs to be tasted again tomorrow when I’m over that way to collect a friend flying in for Auckland who is staying for a couple of days.

We went into the city last Saturday night with big Steve and Char and they shouted me to a fantastic meal - the Beef Wellington was cooked to perfection and the Champagne Cocktail was pretty dam good too. The only downside of the night was waiting for the last bus home, only to see it come along and the driver failed to stop at the designated bus stop for the seven passengers waiting. So it was a taxi home. So I made a very grumpy phonecall to Stagecoach when we got home.

On Monday night Big Steve cooked one of his wonderful curries. Not ever having had much opportunity to try curries I have now been converted and at the supermarket today brought the ingredients for a Tikka Masala.

Having a catch up with some old workmates tomorrow night at one of the local pubs for a Quiz Night.

The bridge playing is finally on the improve after being somewhat shabby to say the least over the last month or so.

Darsha (the beloved Grandcat) has been sick this week and this required a sleepover with her new mates at the local vet clinic.

Back home last night and needing to be given antibiotics tablets plus antinflamatory drops twice daily presented a tad of a challenge. But magic rememdy was at hand.

Her Mum had sent over some CatNip Tea Bags - yes I could make her some catnip tea and serve it to her in her Bunnykins Bowl or alternatively give her the dry tea bag to play with. So I opted for the latter method which kept her entertained for 30 minutes or so rolling around the lounge floor and hey presto she took the tablets like a lamb when slightly (well it was obviously more than slightly) high on catnip. Lotty you just HAVE to get your Mum to buy you some of these wonderful "pick me ups".

Darsha had been thoroughly spoilt while Big Steve and Char were visiting and was bereft when they left for the South Island. No one at home to keep her company and open and shut doors on demand as well as keeping the food flowing. Thank you Big Steve and Char for being so patient and kind to Darsha.

Not really a lot else to say is there?

New Zealand has experienced some fantastic visitors over the last month, our economy has had a huge boost by the injection of many British Pounds and us Kiwi are delighted that out our won the beautiful Waterford Crystal trophy.

Did have a bad moment when Tana held it up above his head thinking – Tana please don’t drop the best Irish crystal.

Will it really be another 12 years before the Lions tour our country again?

Whilst there has been jubilation at the Rugby series victory the papers certainly bring us back to earth with the tragedy suffered by the British people last Thursday and there wouldn’t be one New Zealander who was not sickened and saddened those bombings.

Well 24 million (I trust that is NZ dollars not British Pound) spent bringing the British and Irish Lions to our fair shores was a huge bonus for Wellywood last weekend. The wonderful English, Irish, Scots and Welsh tourists filled the city and were good humoured, happy and spent well. The extra bonus for Wellywood was that the weather was perfect, the stadium was sold out and of course our very own DAN CARTER was a hero and the ALL BLACKS walloped Sir Clive’s rather expensive team.

Whoever the Marketing Manager for the team is and if he/she chose the pantone shade of red for the Lions gear they should get the knighthood. Absolutely brilliant. The red shone wherever you looked last week, even outshone the vibrant yellow of the stadium seats.

‘nuf said about the Rugby.

Lack of blogging….. well June has disappeared but the following happened:

? We had our big work Conference in Balmy Palmy (translation for Palmerston North) in early June – 640 attendees so it was a major effort all round. Rather worn out when I returned back to Wellywood.

? Heaps of work to do when I got back to the office, plus a Board meeting thrown in for good measure.

? I changed my surname back to my maiden name. Good to invoke the O’ again

? Had a number of visitors to stay which was brilliant

So time to go watch Auckland play the Lions. I just wonder who will win this game.