Sunday, June 20, 2010

Fun Times In Hanmer

Last weekend was great! On Friday after work I went over to Roxy Inn to join the Southern Bart's and Claire for a fish n' chip supper and a sleepover. When I arrived Annabelle was playing in her cardboard house which my work bestie, Richard Hampton, made for her last year. Annabelle gave me the grand tour of the inside of her house. (Note to Richard: make doorways wider for older (bigger) bottoms). Next time she comes up we may do some decorating and painting of the house. Fun times!


In the 3 months since I've seen the Southern Bart's Annabelle has grown up so much. She's a real little girl - no longer a baby. As cute as a button and very smart... of course.

Gavin did the airport pick up on Saturday morning, returning with Mum, Kathryn, A Mary, and Heather so there were arms for hugs all over the place! The carboard cut-out of Averil 's head went down a treat and she was a very welcome VIP for the weekend. Everyone had their photo taken with her.


After refuelling on cups of tea we headed off for lunch at Pukeko Junction just South of Amberley and then on to Hanmer Springs for the night. For those who haven't been there before, Hanmer Springs is a wee town in North Canterbury built around a popular hot spring which was discovered in the late 19th century. The hot springs were produced by the fractured rock bed along the Hanmer fault. It is a very popular holiday destination. According to the 2006 census the resident population is 729. I think 700 of those residents were at the hot pools on the Saturday afternoon when we went to soak our tired old bones. We tried a couple of different pools and found the perfect temperature to stew in. It was like being in a crockpot - cold out of the water and toasty warm in. We stayed in until our fingers were pruney.
Dinner was at Malabar which is a Asian/Kiwi cuisine restaurant and had YUMMY food. Everyone seemed very pleased with their chosen dish. My steak was super yummy and a few of us shared desserts. Somehow they don't seem quite so bad if you share them. Then it was home for glasses of wine and cups of tea. I think everyone slept well after the long day, long soak, and full tummies. A great combination.


On Sunday morning after breakfast we all cleaned up and headed up to the village for a look around before heading back to Roxy Inn for yummy soup for lunch already made by Catkin. She's a marvel, yes she is.


Gavin, Catkin, Annabelle, and Aunty Claire, headed off for Queenstown around 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon. Their travelling time was good and they managed to reach home just after 10.15pm. Good work guys.

The rest of us stayed at Roxy Inn for the afternoon close to the fire playing Scrabble and drinking cups of tea. We had a lovely dinner made by Mum, A Mary, Heather and Kathryn and then it was time to head to the airport. Time went all too quickly.



I stayed at Roxy Inn for a couple of nights to house sit and feed the cats. It was nice to have use of the fire again. Warmsy. The cats seem to think it is lit solely for them and lie right in front of it all night. I had to fight for a spot! Claire got back on Wednesday and then had the rest of the week off work for annual leave.

I probably won't get to update this blog for about 5 weeks (I know you are all used to my regular weekly updates - yeah right!) as I am off on my overseas trip early on Tuesday morning. First stop is Japan and I am looking forward to seeing my friend Sayaka again. It will be great being shown around by a local. I am also very much looking forward to seeing Averil and Eru on Thursday and Friday. I just about cry thinking about it!


Claire and I are off on a family outing to the vet tomorrow with the two fur babies. Toby needs to have his teeth checked and they both need worming. It's easier to get the vet to do it in 2 microseconds rather than us torture them and ourselves over a drawn out period trying to get those silly small tablets down their throats. Toby is a trickster and pretends to swallow then spits it out. Much easier for the vet.


Then we have a fundraising night out at Shooters (boo!) tomorrow night for The Warehouse. Ashleigh Hampton invited us as she works part time for The Warehouse while at University. I was concerned that we might be the oldest by about 12 years and therefore mistaken for the 'parent help'. She assured me there will be other 'old' people going. Great. Thanks Ash.
And here I was getting ready to dress and act like a teenage hoochie. You know it's like that, Apes!!

I have a ticket for the league on Sunday with work. The Warriors vs The Sydney Roosters. It should be fun as I have never watched a league game before. I'm sure after a few wines I will be yelling out all the appropiate insults at the ref. Just kidding. There will be customers with us so I will be well behaved AND it's Sunday so I have to get up for work the next morning.

And how about those All Whites! What a mammoth achievement. Well done guys. NZ is one proud nation today.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Day On The Queen

We had a long weekend this one just gone. It was our last long weekend until Labour Weekend in October. It makes Winter feel very long, dark, and cold. Luckily for me I am jetting over to the other side of the world to Summer. Anyone is welcome to join me.
I digress. My long weekend was very productive. I didn't leave the house at all on Saturday and Monday but got lots done including lots of cleaning. It really doesn't look any cleaner but I know that it is.
Washing got dry on Saturday which is VERY exciting at this time of year. And the other two days were cold, wet, and windy. True Winter weather. It was nice to be cosy indoors.

The Southern Barts arrived at Roxy Inn from Qtown on Tuesday evening. They had been diverted at Rakaia due to an accident on Rakaia bridge involving a truck and two cars. I heard there was one fatality and that the truck had gone right over the side of the bridge. Nasty nasty.
It was nice to see them safe and sound in Christchurch.

Annabelle is so grown up now - she's not a baby anymore. She's walking around at a great pace - still a little unsteady but very cute. Of course, I wanted huggles as soon as she arrived but she was a little weary and so I had to trick her into a cuddle by lifting her out of the high chair and not letting her go. Ha ha! It worked a treat..... until she cottoned on about 5 seconds later that I wasn't going to let her go in a hurry! She's one smart cookie. I am off to Roxy Inn again tomorrow night for dinner and a sleepover so am going to use some new tactics to get more hugs and of course the camera will be out in full force so stand by for photos.

Only two more sleeps until our girls night in Hanmer Springs. Mum, Aunty Mary, Kathryn, and Heather are flying into Chch on Saturday morning. And 9 of us (which includes me, Catkin, Claire, Annabelle and Paula) are off for some hot pool soaking, wine drinking, belly laughing fun. I can't wait. I am especially looking forward to a Mum hug.
And, not to be forgotten, I have made a special 'Apes Head Revisited' so it will be the next best thing to actually having Averil with us for the weekend. Look out for her in all the photos!