Holidaze

One week down, one to go.

Today the hubs has gone to Wellington on an overnight business trip, leaving me alone with two teens and the WG.  His business trips this year have been mercifully few so far, and I have already been to Wellington myself on business, so I can't really complain.

Our weekend was busy!

We decided on Saturday to extend my bench space and kitchen storage.  This involved purchase of a laminate counter with a cupboard and 3 drawers and two overhead cupboards.  It's the same height as my stainless steel bench top and after 10 years here I finally have enough room to store my crockpot (it has been living on the bench) toasted sandwich press and the new pie maker (both of which previously lived on top of the fridge).  It is all so spacious and tidy now!  I can serve up meals without having to balance plates!  It's not exactly twee or vintage, but I have an early 80's home, nothing is exactly how I would like it.

I was so thrilled that while the hubs was banging and crashing around in the kitchen, cutting holes in the gib to rewire an unsightly power point (don't worry, he's an electrician by trade) that had been put in by the previous owners for the dishwasher (which has now been removed permanently to create room for the new counter) I whipped up this wee jar cover to decorate the new addition.

I then spent literally hours rearranging all my cupboards, washing everything and putting it away all nice and tidy like.  It's somewhat amazing to me that things put away in kitchen cupboards attract dust and grease even though they are not used.

I still have a drawer empty.  I think I will fill it with my recipe books, they currently living in the window sill.

See that walkie talkie sitting on top of my tray of eggs? I don't know why that's there, I do know there are a row of them sitting in chargers on my dining room sideboard and I rather suspect they arrived last night when the hubs got home from training.  I have plans in mind for my kitchen.  I suspect I will be fairly busy for the next few weeks.

An afternoon in Wellington

My trip to Wellington was something of a whirlwind.  I had an 8am flight, the shuttle picked me up at 6:30am, despite the notorious traffic of Auckland city, it took about 25 minutes to get to the airport.  The weather in Auckland was damp, grey and humid.  It was a good flight, 40 minutes in total and the Wellington weather was a balmy 20 degrees, and for once, no wind!

We got a cab to the building we were working in and jumped straight into testing the new software, stopped for lunch and carried on till 5pm.  Then we walked to our hotel and checked in.  With me was one of the Auckland staff I manage and one from Christchurch.

I had promised the Wee Girl I would take a pic of Parliament for her.  So I changed into my comfy clothes and walked up Lambton Quay.

It took about 20 minutes.  Lambton Quay was busy with people walking, Wellingtonians have wonderful public transport so they walk a lot, too and from buses and trains.

The bottom of the map is my starting point, the Hotel Ibis on Featherstone.

Lambton Quay is a pretty walk, full of sculpture and places to sit, places of historical interest and shops!  Some of the most exclusive designers have a store on Lambton Quay.  Trelise Cooper, Country Road and luxury stores like Kirkcaldie and Staines.



The Beehive (so named because of it's distinctive appearance) was opened in the 1970's by HRH Princess Ann.  It houses the executive wing of Parliament and the National Crisis Management Centre (known as the Bunker) in the basement.

This was my first view of the Beehive, I have to say it does look impressive.

Below is the old house, this is where the government sits when it's in session.  A tv news crew were filming on the steps.  The pinkish building to the right is the Parliamentary Library.  The Statue in front is Richard (King Dick) Seddon our longest serving PM to date and regarded as one of our finest leaders.

All in all it was a pleasant wander.  I had dinner in the hotel restaurant with Alesha the other Aucklander and we decided to wander the waterfront until dark to walk off the meal.  Then it was a shower and bed for another day of work.

I got home at 6:15pm last night, to the Wee Girl waiting for me at the gate, a valentines gift of a pair of earrings from the husband and the man child grunting a welcome home.

Some more images of Wellington:

The Albatross fountain, with bubbles for Valentines Day

Wellington Harbour

Westpac Stadium aka "The Cake Tin"