Kia Ora Guys

My penultimte Monday before starting work and it was cleaning day.I have it down to a fine art and deftly float around the house in a near professional manner. Even though the house is small it takes arfound 90 minutes to do a decent job, it is only then that I get showered and ready for the day,luckily we have no one attached to us as the sound of vacuuming at 7.30am might upset most people.

It seems that most things we have bought since we arrived here has had to either go back to the store or not quite worked as it should and the new laptop is no exception with some delay on typing,which I tried to remedy but with no success.,before I knew it I was sitting down with a cup of tea and watching the Moto GP.The sun had come back to see us after being absent for the last few days which was nice as i had been missed and it makes the days that much nicer.

I enjoyed a nice afternoon reading my book,the peace and quiet was broken when the phone rang which surprised me as it never rings!!!!! It was my contact at the council giving me instructions on where to go to get fitted for some walking shoes for my job.,no sooner had I picked up my book the phone went again which really surprised me but it this time it was Mel telling me she had left the lights on the car on all day and it would not start,so she had to call the AA to get her started, it did amaze me she could leave the car without hearing the beeping that happens when you leave the light on but hey ho it wa easily remedied!!!!!

You will be glad to know after that there were no more interruptions and I finished the chapter in my book..... Mel was late home after the AA started the car but it was back to normal after the ride home.

I rode over the bridge and had great views of the city on my way to the shop to get my shoes fitted,it was a great ride over and I only got lost briefly before finding the place. I had to take off all my bike gear and roll up my trousers so I could be recorded walking on a treadmill which was a little bizarre but I went with it... Next came the fitting and I only had a choice of 2 pairs,both black. I was shocked that the pair I picked were $250 (100 quid) and I was glad I wasn't paying as I have never spent that much on shoes ever.

Back at the house I walked around in my new shoes to break them in while making fishcakes for dinner,once they were chilling in the fridge I was back to the book as it had to go back to the library and I only had a few pages left to read. To really break in the new shoes we took a walk and scoped out a couple of rental properties from the outside and one looked right up our street but unforunately it was fully furnished, we were both shattered and were in bed for 9.30pm!!!!

We woke up to reports of multiple lightning strikes through the night but we didn't hear a thing,they were also saying it had been the worst winter in years but to us it has been amazing not dropping below 12 degrees in the daytime, and we are geting closer to Spring as the nights are getting lighter later.I spent a few hours trying to think of something to do for my birthday and after looking at lots of options I found a nice resturant to visit for lunch and then one in the city for the evening,lots of other things had been on the table but as cash flow is important this was the best option for now and the other things can wait until Summer. It will take some time to get used to having my birthday in Winter after having it in Summer for so many years!!!

I started off Thursday with a walk into "Devo" to collect the rent and made my usual stop at the coffee shop to read the paper, I know you are all probably reading this thinking he has the "life of riley" but soon I will be back on the work treadmill so I am just making the most of it!!!

Friday was here again and the weeks are really passing quickly, I got the laundry done and put it out on the line several times as the rain came and went,eventually I got fed up of dartung backwards and forwards so left it out, put some AC/DC on the stereo and jumped around the house for an hour or so.We had nothing in for dinner but instead of a take out we walked into "Devo" and had dinner at the Patriot for only the second time (we had a coupon!!) the place was rammed and we perched on a couple of bar stools to wait for a suitable table, luckily we only had to wait around an hour before one became available.

Mel tucked into steak pie and I had the fish and chips,it was partly a mini celebration as Mel had been offered a really good career oppotunity at work,which we were both delighted about and it is a fantastic opportunity for her to develop an existing role in the organisation and a real boost for Mel as she is thought so highly of there after such a short time and she gets her own office with her name on the door and everything!!!!

Saturday was a classic winter day nd really crisp at 12 degrees,we went into "Devo" and spoke with the rental people to lodge our interest in looking for a property as our things wll be arriving in a few weeks from the UK.We made a quick stop at the $2 shop to browse around and picked up one or two bargains before heading off to do the grocery shopping.

Mel hadn't been out on the bike for a few weeks so we took off for a ride, our first stop was Warehoue to take back a pepper grinder that we had bought but didn't wok (something else that had to go back!!!) once that as taken care of we rode to Western Springs park for a walk around the lake there,we hadn't been to this park before and it was nice walking around the lake watching people feed the birds and eels. We were also checking out the park as it is next to the stadium that AC/DC will be playing in February so if we can't get tickets we can sit in the park and listen from outside!!!!

After a small lie in we set off for the West coast and Piha.We sat on the sand dunes watching the waves crash in and eating our packed lunch in the sunshine, we couldn't find anywhere to get a drink so we rode to Titirangi and stopped for a coffee before heading back home as the evening approached. Another weekend draws to a close and it is the last Monday in July tomorrow.

Lots of Love

M & M
xx