Bloomin’ ‘eck

I’ve been trying to add more on my garden diary blog.  Some of the diary entries are typed out on my laptop and so I copy and paste.  The laptop is incredibly slow – why I don’t know, so it’s a long and arduous process.  (Selecting paragraphs without a mouse is a pain too.)  The pages load slowly and then for some bizarre reason half of the post is in a different sized font when it displays, even though the draft looks fine.  What the ?

So, having taken ages just finishing off the February entries, I decided to upload the March entries onto Google docs so I can access from the other (faster) computer.  The diary advertisements are on that computer anyway (I stick one on at the beginning of each month).

I had envisaged posting one entry per day but at this rate the blog will go for well over a year!  Not a bad thing I suppose.

I do like the occasional snippets of conversations from the locals that my grandmother includes – not many of them but all treasures.

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Weekend report

The wedding was fine.  They were lucky with the weather.  Started at 3pm (approximately) at the duck pond in the Botanical Gardens in Wellington. 

String trio

Didn’t start getting cold until the sun went behind the trees.  Very nice. 

The scandal of the day was that the bride’s aunt (mother’s sister) and 2 cousins didn’t show up.  Apparently the bride doesn’t like one of the cousins so she wasn’t invited so the mother and other cousin refused to attend the wedding in protest.  All very sad and unnecessary.  The cousin in question had invited the bride to her own wedding so you’d think a reciprocal invitation just a courtesy.

Got a stretch limo ride up to the skylight restaurant, whatever it’s called. 

Nice views from up there.

View over Wellington

Very nice food but the girls and I were assigned to a table in the corner of the room – the farthest away.  Oh well.  Didn’t worry me.  I was just glad the ex and his latest partner weren’t there.  Had just a tad too much to drink but not enough to become embarrassing.  Had a taxi to the wedding and back anyway.

The following morning (a little dehydrated) the girls and I went for a pleasant walk along the waterfront.  Actually, no, tell a lie – it was the afternoon by then – I read Omerta by Mario Puzo while the kids played PS3 in the morning.  Too late, I realised, we could have gone to Te Papa to see the Monet exhibition.  The queue was too long and I wanted to get going to get back home before dark.

Pasta from Il Capo opposite IPC on the way home.  It was average, I’m afraid.  I expected better.

Early night and all too soon back to work.

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Tired!

Surely I should have got over the daylight saving changes by now but I’ve felt extremely tired for the past two weeks.  The other night I went to bed at 8.20pm I was so tired and tonight I felt equally ready to go to bed half an hour ago (it’s now 9pm).  Perhaps it’s the work too – staring at a computer all day.  At least before I had a variety of work, getting up and down, etc.

So, bearing that in mind, I’m heading away from the computer towards the bed.

Wedding tomorrow in Wellington.  I haven’t packed or anything (overnight stay) or even properly organised what I’m wearing.  Tomorrow morning will do…

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Glad to be home

The jazz festival was a disappointment.  There were fewer bands and much of it wasn’t even jazz.  A new part of the festival involved paying $10 to enter the (normally free) historic village to listen to more jazz bands.  Some of it was ok but, again, some of the bands were not playing jazz or even blues music.  There was very little food provided and what there was was way overpriced.  Some of us felt a little ripped off.

I’ve had enough of my ‘friend’ to last the year.  Saw her at New Year’s Eve, Womad and the jazz festival.  Too much time with her drives me mad.  She can be manipulative, unkind and sometimes quite rude.  We actually have very little in common but our parents were friends when we were babies so we basically grew up together.  Her partner, on the other hand, was generous and welcoming and always seems genuinely pleased to see me and sad to see me go.

I was awake for a couple of hours last night suffering some stomach pain and while awake just fumed over some of the incidences that had me thinking she’s really not that nice a person.  I should know this by now (and have come to the same conclusion in the past when I’ve had too much contact with her) so it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but obviously I forget.  The less said, the better and hopefully I got it all out of my system last night.

Anyway, the weather was pleasant, her partner was good company and my daughter was with me on her first visit to Tauranga and Mt Maunganui.

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April already

Last month went quickly.

It felt very weird to finish up at my last workplace.  I miss some of the people (but not the culture).  I don’t regret working there.  It just wasn’t challenging enough and the pay was pitiful.

Work at the new place is fine.  Learning new stuff and getting on with it.  There’s plenty to do.  But I do miss the jovial chats with staff that I had occasionally at the other place.  Never mind – can’t have everything.  The grass is always greener, etc etc.

Heading up to my friend’s place in Tauranga at Easter.  Looking forward to it.  Can relax with a wine or g & t and listen to jazz and blues (a festival is on).

The week after that will be a visit to Wellington for a wedding.  Not particularly looking forward to that for various reasons.  I haven’t yet got a “gift” or a top to go with a new skirt I bought.  The “gift” is supposed to be monetary.  Along with the invitation the bride enclosed bank account details or the url of a travel company – ie pay over some money for their honeymoon because they’re spending thousands on a lavish wedding.  I felt it to be rather rude.  A gift is supposed to be just that – a gift – not expectation of a sizeable chunk of money.  For one thing it puts people in a difficult position.  I can’t afford to give much and how much is regarded as too little?  When the “gift” is so obvious, it’s easy to be judged as stingy.  Perhaps I’m just old fashioned but I would never do such a thing.  I thought gift registers at shops was bad enough but bank account details?  That’s just over the top in my opinion.  It’s all rather vulgar.  So, as a result, I feel rather reluctant to go to the wedding.  The bride has also requested that no-one wear black.  She doesn’t want much does she?  However.  I’d better go to “keep up appearances”.

Didn’t get to blog about Womad.  The Saturday was overcrowded and there were way too many unaccompanied kids which just made it all rather unpleasant.  Friday night and Sunday were worthwhile though.  Came away with a couple of favourites again – Speed Caravan and the Bedouin Jerry Can Band.

Time to think about bed…

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