Entries from December 2008 ↓

Looked after niece Georgia today and she took us out for a walk!

Happy Christmas Aidan! Hope you like the ABC book of New York things we brought back for you.

It’s trifle season again and I got a new box of custard powder, not having used any from the last box since I opened it the Christmas before last and being as paranoid about use-by dates as I am. And only making custard as often as every 1 or 2 years I consulted the instructions.

I searched the box, but couldn’t find the ‘Difficult Directions’. Hmmm, not sure they needed the ‘Easy’ statement really!

And yes Jiff, I make custard from scratch (well, technically from powder) and don’t just pour it from a tetra-pak or can

Well, I’ve done it. Not often do I bow to peer pressure but I have just got my first pair of jandals since, errrr, I think I was 11? They were bright yellow, thick soles with a rainbow canvas top. (Oh, for my international readers, jandals are rubber shoes … flip-flops or thongs you might know them as.) My new ones are brown.

It might seem odd to shop assistants that a person might not know the ‘right’ sized jandal to buy. Needless to say, I did not purchase mine from the surly teenager who when asked “Are these the right size for me?”, replied, “Well you’re not hanging over the edge of them so… uuu … yes”, topped off with a damn eyeroll. I just kicked them off, put on my clomper work shoes and stomped out.

Went for a facial this evening and was treated to a bit of extra-special service! The face lady’s (as we call her) cat jumped in the window and wasn’t scared off by the mud pack so jumped up onto the bed and curled up on my legs to sleep! She doesn’t want to encourage it because obviously not everyone likes cats, cat hair gets everywhere, he’ll give people a fright if they’ve got their eyes closed etc but she made a special exception for me because she knows I love cats and always ask how he’s doing.

He’s not that old and this is only the second time I’ve seen him – she went to get him when he was kitten and had just arrived and brought him in so I could pat him. After I got up he rushed up to claim the bed as his own.

No longer limited to New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, Xero took on the world today with a release of a version that is generic enough that it will allow anyone in the world to use it – you can choose your own currency to input transactions in and choose your own tax rates. Writing the help for it was again a massive job, helped by the able Orange Assistant, but it won’t be an easy ride to Christmas … I’m ashamed to say bits didn’t get finished and I won’t rest until they’re done. Sigh.

He’s on the move – hence the blurriness! Apparently very fast and very inquisitive. 9 & a bit months.

(Sorry parents for choosing this photo but it makes me smile!)

First Sunday without our beloved Nikau. However we’re reasonably distracted by work – why release software *just* before Christmas – and a visit from Basel Lisa! She was making an appearance in Wellington city for one day only, heard I was making date scones and coffee and came on over for a lovely 3 hour catch-up. We enjoyed scones and coffee (she said it was the best she’d had in aaaaages) on the floor in the struggling sun and almost forgot that we hadn’t been to Nikau. So great to see Lisa – perhaps in Basel next time!

Ommigod. I am turning into my Mother. They say it happens. Cannot believe I am at home baking at 10pm on a Saturday night. Anyone would think I had a PTA meeting coming up or a pot luck dinner to go to or some kind of bring a plate picnic!

However, nothing’s dampening my excitement about the Christmas Tree cookies!

Caught up with my brother-in-law at the Nikau drinks tonight – small world, he’s great friends of the owner and has been for many years. Anyway, he took clients there for breakfast this morning and conversation, as it was bound to today, turned to the closing of a great cafe, a huge part of so many people’s lives. And apparently one of his clients had witnessed it first hand …

She told him that she’d been in to have lunch on and off on Sunday’s over the years and every time (yes Every. Single. Time.) she came in she noticed this couple at the bar. She noted that every week they sat at the bar in the same seats and seemed to always have the same thing. She thought to herself that they must have a very sad life, to be so habitual and to have nowhere better to be than the same bar stool with the same scone. She was almost dismissive of their existence.

He told her that he knew them – “That’s my brother and sister-in-law you’re talking about.” I’m not sure if he assured her that we don’t in fact have a sad life. Hmmmm, you never know who knows who around here! I think she was a bit embarrassed!