Entries Tagged 'Out and about' ↓

We’ve always been keen to hear the Wellington Town Hall organ in full noise and they’re doing the free Sunday concerts again this year. Snapped this picture of the programme on my way home last night.

Poor tourists and their umbrellas … those southerly gales are destructive.

On our way up Harris Street to Nikau today I smelt the wonderful familiar fragrance of Daphne. I ran around into the Council’s (I assume) garden/seating area behind the library to get up close and perhaps nab a stalk of it. However that would’ve meant clambering in the garden and the woody stalks aren’t that easy to break off (neither the Mister nor I carry handbag pocket knives) and as the Mister pointed out there were security cameras in the area. I’m sure there’s some law about defacing Council property and bushes so I just took a big sniff and grumped off. I know a couple of people with gardens so might see if they have (or know if they have!) any in their garden to bring me bit.

Actually, seeing as it’s a winter flower I could get a shrub to go in the basil pot (which just looks like a tub of dirt with 16 sticks in it during the winter) although given that it’s too cold to sit out on the deck or open the windows in the winter I wouldn’t get to enjoy it’s fragrance anyway. And then when summer came around I’d have to dig it out or get another pot for the basil. Hmmmm. Might stick with the friends idea.

Had a wander around the work block to get a break from the office the other day and noticed this new structure/sculpture and bridge down on the harbour front near where the Eastbourne ferry docks.

We just had to endure the steaming balloon and crepe-paper-streamered world of Harvey Norman to find a replacement remote for the 11-year old video player … yes the guy raised his eyebrows when the Mister said what he wanted and asked “VHS?” … our equipment is obviously archaic. Anyway, we’ve come away with a $25 universal remote which being more recent technology has the capacity to apparently learn the commands of 1000 models of machines. Whether this is true or not it could’ve been worse, we could’ve easily come away with a new video player or a recordable DVD player or MySky or a new TV or even a new home theatre system – the cold must be slowing the Mister’s brain down. He missed his opportunity there!

Aaaaaanyway, the counter/payment system there is strange. You’re escorted up to the counter with the floor assistant that helped you out (in our case we were solo, obviously purchases of $25 don’t qualify) where you pay and get the huge dot-matrix printed receipt (and they laughed because we still used VHS?). I know in big stores like that you expect to be processed rather than served but I still find it rather rude when a floor assistant who’s brought someone up to wait on line behind you pushes up to the front and talks over the top of your purchase to tell the cashier that the guy 2 places down with an i-Pod dock should be coded to his sales.

And then on  the way home we got HAILED on. Quite exciting really. Well I had on furry boots, long socks, 2 jerseys, scarf, hat and gloves so didn’t mind. Most times I’m inside when it hails so to be out in it was quite novel. And now it’s gloriously sunny again!

Toot toooot! TOOOOOOOOT!!! The log jam of honking trucks has started along Jervois Quay on its way up to parliament to protest the sudden increase in road user charges. Might go out and find the end point soon – not sure how hundreds of trucks can park around parliament – there’s not that much room.

Just found a picture of the motorway coming into town this morning on stuff.co.nz

A bit later on … 10.30amish

Have just got back from a walk up to parliament to see all the trucks.

Kind of exhilarating walking along their route of Jervois/Customhouse/Whitmore/Molesworth – it’s just wall to wall trucks, from Taupo, Hawera, Kapiti coast and one truck even had another smaller truck on the back of it!

There were white-gloved policemen everywhere directing the traffic, mothers and toddlers waving at the trucks, truck spotters making the universal truck-please-toot-your-horn tugging gesture, photographers with big lenses and small gatherings of people at street corners unsure of how to cross the road when the lights were out … would the white gloves ever point at us … well kind of … the policeman at my corner looked over and shouted “PEOPLE CROSS – QUICK!”

Once I got up there I realised that they weren’t parking up, they were just driving past parliament honking the entire length of the street then getting straight back on the motorway and heading out of town. Took a video on my camera and ta-daaaaaa here’s my first youtube contribution 🙂

Haven’t done one of these in a while … probably because the window at work next to the spot I was moved to last time only offers a view of the building across the street. Anyway, by the time I got home just now the light coming in the windows was a really strange yellow/orange colour and it’s because the sky was spectacular – you could actually see the front lifting.

It is just dreadful outside right now – 7 degrees, wind chill makes it feel like 1, howling southerlies, lashing rain, Cook Strait ferries are cancelled, flights on small planes are cancelled – just awful. Despite all this we’ve been out and just got back from a visit to friends living in the real suburbs in a real house – kids, dog, real fire, fantastic homemade hot lunch and family photos – such a lovely cosy thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks heaps guys! Oh – and I forgot the games on the floor – you know how it is, the Dad and his friends spend more time playing with it than the kids.

I was marvelling at the similarities shown in their adding bits onto the structure to see how far they could push it to teetering point and making the marbles go a faster and more fun route compared to their approach to software development!

Oh dear, had that awful awful experience this morning of having to say to the folks that we’re slowly getting to know at Gotham (as in we all know each other’s names and they think something is wrong if we don’t turn up by 9.30 Saturday morning and don’t need to take our order any more) that my coffee was too hot and milky. Man I *hate* doing it but they’re usually very picky with their coffee – we hear them muttering about the beans or machine being out of synch depending on the weather and often they ask us if the coffee is OK so we know they really care. And the coffee there is fantastic – eye watering fantastic – which is why this morning it was so disappointing that it wasn’t. Of course I was very apologetic for saying it was awful and they were very apologetic about it not being up to scratch and they made me another which was a goody.

And then – YUM – got a Belgium biscuit at Superfino with my late-lunch coffee – what memories! Nana used to make them whenever we visited – thin brown-coloured cinnamon and spice cookies sandwiched together with raspberry jam and toped with raspberry icing and 00’s and 000’s. Thanks Superfino!

Hello from the Taittinger club – we’re now officially welcomed into the Taittinger family! Very posh. The Wellington chapter of the club was launched last night overlooking a stunning Oriental Bay and glittering city. We didn’t know anyone there – it’s a bit like going to a movie at The Penthouse – a whole other set of Wellington that you’re just not sure you belong to. We did our usual thing of talking only to each other (sigh, we were supposed to be all grown up and club-like and mix with others but the band was so damn loud and everyone was so damn clicky and tiddled that I lost interest pretty quickly) but our perseverance was rewarded with a free bottle of Taittinger, the promise of a set discount if we buy through Fine Wine Delivery Company in Auckland and the business card of Mr Taittinger himself for ‘when we’re next over’. Indeed. Still, an enjoyable night and it was good to get a bit out of our comfort zone!