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.

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!

At The End Of The Day

Sadly Lance and I have decided to call it a day after 18 months together. I went up to Picton on Friday with the view to sort out with him where we were heading and we mutually agreed to break up. As sad as it is for me I know it is the right thing to do. He never wants to marry or have children and I think I do - or at least I want to have the option.
We had a really nice weekend together and he held my hand while I cried and we discussed the inevitable this morning. There is no bitterness or anger.. Just a lot of tears.. from me mostly. He promised he was going to cry once I left.
I can't quite say it out loud yet without crying but I'm sure that will just take a little time.
At least now I am free to date Mark Wahlberg when he finally builds up the courage to ask me out. And a little girl waits......

I just hope I didn't look this ugly when I was crying!

The Littlest Hobo

Last night was my first night at home in what seems like ages. I think Belinda had forgotten what I looked like! For the past 3 1/2 weeks I have been moving from house to house, looking after houses and pets for friends and workmates. It seems that May is holiday month around here. The last house I was in was for 9 days out at Templeton. This was about the 4th time I have house sat out there and there are chickens and sheep to tend to. I love it out there. Unfortunately this time I got tonsilitus on day 2 and was off work for 3 1/2 days but it was the perfect place to recooperate with the warm open fire, Sky tv, and toasty warm duvet on the couch. As any farmer knows there is no such thing as a sick day when you have a farm to run so even though I was knocking on deaths door, (that might be a slight exaggeration) the chickens still got fed twice a day. Some days it took a lot longer but they still got fed.
Duddy, the long haired black cat, was great company and got lots of cuddles. I love him.


Claire and Scott came out on Saturday night and Claire cooked us dinner which was really nice. By lunchtime Friday I was able to swallow again without feeling like there were shards of glass stuck in my throat and Claire's Winter Chicken Pie was just delicious! I made an apple pie too for dessert.

Last weekend I flew up to Wellington with Mel for one night only for Rachael and Dean's engagement party in Masterton. Oh what fun!! There was LOTS of laughter and fun. All three of us bridesmaids were there to help drink the wine. We're good like that.

The party started at a respectable 4.30pm and after loads of drinks, laughs, speeches, toasts, and wood fire pizzas, hilarity, dancing, singing, and general drunkeness, the last of us staggered back to the motel just after 4am. Mammoth effort I thought.

Although I was VERY shakey on Sunday. Luckily I was a lady of luxury and was driven or flowen by others all day so didn't have to worry about thinking or concentrating. Dear Claire was at the other end to pick us up from the airport and drop us home. Bless her.

Unfortunately when I arrived home I found that someone had vandalised the drivers side wiper on the front windscreen of my car. It was raining and was 6pm on a Sunday so I thought my best bet would be to call the AA (Automobile Association NOT Alcoholics Anonymous as some of you probably thought!) as the rain didn't look to be letting up anytime soon.
The nice AA man came out and tried to fix the wiper but couldn't so suggested ringing around some wreckers in the morning to source another wiper arm. The drive to Sydenham Wreckers on Monday morning in the drizzle without a wiper was VERY scary. I had to stop about 5 times and jump out and wipe the window with a rag. The kind man at the wreckers attached both wiper arms for me and I was at work by 8.45am. Only 45 minutes late. Result!
I had called my supervisor on Sunday night to say I would be a bit late and would keep him updated throughout the morning as I had no idea how long it would take to replace it.

The upside to this incident is that I found a police card in the door of my car stating that the offender had been apprehended and arrested and to give Constable Barry a call. We spoke that night and Imogen (we are on a first name basis) was very helpful. The offender went to court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty. I am hoping to get reparation of $30 back for the wiper but we will see. Belinda and I are both parking around behind the house now which makes me feel a lot better about the safety of Little Black.

It has been raining here in Christchurch for the past 4 days - steadily. Further South in Oamaru there has been terrible flooding and roads are blocked past Temuka. There are massive puddles in the carpark here at work which make me thankful for having new boots for this winter. My last boots lasted me 3 years but had small holes in the soles towards the end which I only remembered when it rained. No more wet feet for me, no sireee! It's good to have dry feet.
There is a moat completely surrounding my home tonight too. And the rain isn't letting up. It's safe to say I'm not really a fan of the rain. Rain + straightened hair = birds nest.

Konnichiwa, Enomoto san!

My Japanese penpal, Sayaka Enomoto, was in Christchurch for 5 days last week which was really great. After picking her up from the airport on Friday night we went to the Fowlers house in Heathcote where I was house sitting and had a dinner of tacos. Claire came around to join us and we had a cheeky wine to welcome Sayaka to the South Island.
For those who don't know, Sayaka and I began writing to each other when I was 12 years old and in second form at college. A class in Japan sent letters to a class in NZ and we all randomly picked a letter to reply to. That was the start of a 24 year friendship which is still going strong.

We have met before - twice. Sayaka first came to NZ in 1988 and stayed in Matamata. She came to Warkworth for a few days and was very shy and quiet - probably a little overwhelmed by such a big family! Then she came back for a year of schooling in Gisborne a few years later.
She had brought with her photos of her first visit to Warkworth which were particularly cringe-worthy. Especially the ones of the walls of my bedroom adorned with magazine cut outs of my favourtie celebrities in the 80's. Shame!

I took 3 days off work so I could show Sayaka the sights of Christchurch. We covered most things including punting on the Avon River which I had never done before, and I hope Sayaka got to see and do everything she wanted while here. At the Fowlers where we were house sitting is Floyd the black labrador-x and 4 cats. Floyd and I USED to be besties but I have now been bumped down to second best friend position in favour of Sayaka.


On Saturday night I had belated birthday drinks at Roxy Inn which turned out to be a really great night. There was a good group of people there and LOTS of laughter. Sayaka happily chatted away to everyone and now my friend Richard Hampton from work refers to her as his Japanese wife. He fell in love with her. (Understandably - she is absolutely lovely). His actual wife Julie seems not to be too worried! It really was a great night. Cameron McInnes, Sayaka and I went into town just after midnight to show Sayaka the night life. Starting, of course, at Sullivans! No town trip would be complete without a visit to Sullivans. After stopping for a pie (uh-o!!) Cameron dropped us home around 2.30am. It was very enjoyable.

Sayaka gave me a lesson on a few Japanese customs for when I am in Japan at the end of next month. I'm so worried I might unknowingly offend someone but she said I'll be fine. She said if all else fails just bow a lot.


Weight Watchers has been VERY stagnant since Christmas. I hadn't been for two weeks and yesterday I was the same weight ..... again - which was a nice surprise actually. It's fair to say I was a little bit pooping myself at the thought of having to get on those scales. I had a wee chat to the leader, Lorraine, and she issued me with a tracking challenge. I have set a goal of a 400gm weight loss by next Friday and if I accomplish it she said she will give me a free cookbook! I am determind to try hard this week and started with an hour walk this morning.

On my walk I passed a paddock with lots of cows, most of them lying down. (I thought of you Apes, and your love of cows) I remembered a saying that if more cows in one paddock were sitting down than standing it meant that it was going to rain. Sure enough it starting spitting as soon as I got home. But the weird thing was that these cows all seemed to be evenly spaced out all facing the same way - as if they were waiting for a moooo-vie to start!

I'm off house sitting for a week again this afternoon. This time in Halswell for my workmate Barry Panther (yes, that is his real name - not his 70's porn star alias!) He and his wife are off to Fiji for a week as a surprise for his wife's 60th.

On a more sombre note Alex's cat, Barbie, was killed by what Paula thinks was a dog during the week. Barbie was 17 years old and had failing health. Very sad for them all and my heart goes out to them. xx

I'm going to have a nosy at an appartment for sale in Richmond soon... What? I'm just looking.....

Food, Glorious Food!

I decided to take a break from Weight Watchers for the week of my birthday because there were so many treats that were just too tempting to say no to. Unfortunately I forgot to tell the scales about my plan and they retaliated by adding more numbers to my already not so small number. Hmmmm.. next week I will be back on track. Promise.

(I can visualise Mum's knitted brow as she reads this. 'Don't think of it as a diet, think of it as a lifestyle change' I can hear her saying. I know - I just wanted a chocolate cake induced lifestyle for the week.)

The past week has been a blur of wine, food and cakes. It all started last Saturday when Claire and I were invited to my bestie from work's 50th birthday celebration. Claire had volunteered to be the sober driver (thanks Claire - although my head did not thank you on Sunday morning! Totally your fault, not mine! Ha)

It was a great night with loads of laughter. Claire may have even met a new suitor - but I'll let her tell you all about that at her leisure... except his name is Scott, he's 33ish, he's my work besties nephew and he's a farrier. What? I'm just saying! He seems very nice.

So I turned another year older last Wednesday. I was very spoilt and spent most of my day at work fielding phone calls, and replying to text messages and emails. I'm definately considering employing an assistant for next years birthday. Two of my work mates brought in cakes to share for morning tea and they were YUMMY!

Claire cooked dinner for us on Wednesday night and Paula and Kazio came over to join us. Lance unexpectedly turned up too which was a very nice surprise.

Kazio brought over a bottle of his fathers homemade passionfruit wine which was absolutely delicious as was Claire's masterpiece of steak, salad, oven fries, and garlic bread - my standard birthday request. AND I got a chocolate birthday cake too. WITH candles and singing. It was the best night!

Netball has started a new season. We have played 3 games so far and won one out of those 3 which is not bad odds I guess. We've only had a full team about once but can usually poach subs from the courtside - depending who we get depends if we win or not! Not good when we rely on the subs to win us the game. It's still fun though and I have moved from Goal Shoot (apparently you have to be able to get the ball in the goal if you are Goal Shoot! Who would've thought?) to Wing Attack which I love - I get much more of a run around and feel like I have actually done something.

And welcome to the Roxy Review's 9th follower - Lynnie! Thanks for joining, it's a pleasure to have you along for the ride.

There has been a request from a long time reader to update the happenings of the cats - Toby and Min. They still board with Claire and are VERY well looked after. Quite often when I visit Roxy Inn Toby will run up to me to smooch around my legs. See, he CAN show his softer side sometimes! And he still loves getting under newspaper if ever it is on offer. He will sit under it for ages... waiting. It really doesn't matter what time of day or night I go over there, Min will always come out of Claire's room stretching and yawning with squinty little eyes like she has just woken up. She LOVES being brushed and will go so far as to brush her own face if the brush is left on the ground. Bless them. They fill my heart with such joy. And clever! Toby will sit outside the catdoor tapping it waiting for someone to go and open the door for him. If this doesn't work in the time frame he has allowed he will tap the door so it swings a little bit open and hook his little paw under the door, opening it up and letting himself in. One smart fellow he felt smart.

Dance Then Wherever You May Be

Easter is always a welcome break from work but this year it was made extra special by a visit from Mum and Dad. They arrived on Thursday and we all went out for dinner to Winnie Bagoes on Thursday night for Claire's graduation dinner. Claire and 2 others from her work had graduated from their year long correspondence course with a degree in early childhood teaching. It was a really good night and the food was very yummy.

Good Friday usually means hot cross buns and this year Mum didn't disappoint! Paula and Alex came over for lunch too and Alex was suitably impressed with the buns. He mentioned he had never had home made hot cross buns before. Poor little Attis hasn't lived!! They were as great as ever.

Mum, Claire and I went to 3pm mass down at the Catholic Church in Fisher Ave. Good Friday mass is a somber occasion due to the subject of what Good Friday is all about - so there was no music, no singing out of time, and definately no laughing.

Dad was left home alone to potter around in the garden.

Dad, Claire and Mum worked hard over the weekend chopping, weeding, and clearing the back yard at Roxburgh Street. It looks heaps better, bigger, and sunnier now. Good work guys!

On Saturday morning we went to the casino for breakfast - all you can eat for $20! Aunty Bev and Paula met us there. There was loads to chose from and the coffee and tea kept coming. Brilliant. None of us needed lunch that day.

On Saturday night we went to Paula and Kazio's for a roast dinner. So basically we ate good food all weekend..... I feel full just thinking about it now!

I had a sleepover at Roxy Inn on Saturday night in preparation for the early airport delivery for Sunday morning. Mum and Dad flew off to Queenstown just after 8.30am to spend a few days with Gavin, Catkin, Annabelle, Bob and Sue. It sounds like they had a great time AND Annabelle had new moves to show off - she is now walking. Bless.

Other than all that the rest of the week has been pretty quiet. Our cousin Patrice was in Christchurch for the weekend and popped around to Roxburgh Street on Friday night for a Milo and a catch up. It was really nice to see her again and hear about what's going on with her and her family. She participated in a Masters Gymnastics Competition recently and won a gold medal. Well done Patrice! Although not long after that she tore her calf muscle while demonstrating a move and was on crutchers for a while. She's all better now though.

I've been keeping busy organising a 5 week overseas trip for the middle of the year. I have 2 weddings to attend - one in Portugal and one in Frankfurt - so am incorporating a visit to Japan, Edinburgh, Italy and Shanghai aswell. I am looking forward to it but have lots of planning and saving to do between now and then. I am hoping to meet up with Apes, Eds, and Renee while abroad for a cup of tea and a hug.