aarrghhh!

• Can't find my keys. Perhaps they're in Australia somewhere. Happily there was a house key stashed in a secret place so I could get in. Also happily there were spare car keys at my former residence.
• The smoke alarm decided it needed a new battery. Nice of it to let me know, at 3am.
• I managed to drain the car battery overnight, car won't go. Must have left the boot open or something.
• Missed my ocean swim because the car wouldn't start. Very frustrating. My body needs some serious exercise.
• Can't take the DVD back, because the car won't start. The first one I've borrowed on my new membership. HA!
• Met some nice neighbours who tried to help me start the car. Car won't go. Nice swim buddy came by to see if he could help. Car won't go. Called the AA. Oh yes, had to call former residence to get AA membership number. Bugger.
• Very nice AA man came. Car won't go.
• Very nice towing man came. Offered to buy car! Momentarily tempted. But then I'd need a new car. Not a good idea. Car gone now.
• Can't pick up boys, so they decided to stay where they were, then all (yes, all....it's very civilised around chez Pixie) come over for dinner. I figure I'll do the Mothers Day baking that Ed and I had planned, all by myself. Discover resident mice, in desperation, have got into the self-raising flour specially purchased yesterday. Which led to the boot being open. Which led to the car not starting. Well, you get the picture.

Oh yeah, happy Mothers Day to me. This independence lark is feeling a bit over-rated today!!

memememememememememe

Martha asked me some questions a while back:

1. What direction in life didn't you take when you were 18?
I didn't go to Otago University. I turned down my place in a hostel and pulled out of courses when I was offered a coveted, impossible-to-get job as a copywriter with Radio New Zealand. It was a good decision. I worked all over NZ for a few years and had a lot of fun.

2. What talent are you particularly proud of?
I believe in the power of positive thinking. And believe me, sometimes it takes real talent. (Sentence beginning with 'and', especially for Martha).

3. What is your favourite thing with pasta?
A good dollup of fresh tomato sauce with lots of herbs and garlic please.

4. Red or white?
Whatcha got? A good Sav Blanc please, or maybe a Pinot. A Merlot would be nice, a Chardonnay will do fine if it's cold. I'll have what you're having.

5. Who is your favourite actor?
Have you seen Breaking and Entering? I really enjoyed it. Jude Law. Quiet, subtle and a little too pleased with himself. And needing a shave. Mmmmmmm very nice.


Judy has tagged me with the 7 things meme. (I reckon she's stretching the truth with hers). Well let's see:

1. I hate marmalade. Hate it. It's the one thing I don't eat. Ever.

2. I love cherry ripes. A lot. That's one good reason to go to Australia. You can't buy them in NZ these days. Why is that?

3. I made my first quilt in 1983. Really. It's lovely too, a red, white and blue log cabin. I hand quilted it. I left it behind when I moved houses. That was a mistake. I'll pick it up tomorrow.

4. I struggled for 8 weeks to breastfeed Jack, my first boy. I did it. AOF sent me a medal to celebrate. It was so important to me, I refused to give up, although that probably would've been a healthy decision. It is a struggle I am very proud to have stuck with. The extremely necessary caesarian that probably saved both his life and mine, and meant he spent a week or so in intensive care, made breastfeeding extremely difficult. His little brother, in complete contrast, had his first breastfeed less than an hour old. Yes, I'm a zealot. One day I'll be a lactation consultant.

5. I read a book a week. Most weeks anyway. I read all kinds of things, which I think of as trash. I rarely remember their titles or authors. I read to fall asleep, and I read to quiet the thoughts in my head. I'm reading my way through the homeowners bookshelves. Not a lot of trash there, but plenty to interest me. I'm reading poetry, Welsh poets. Very lyrical.

6. Can't decide where I want to live next. I'll have to move Dec/Jan. City apartment? House of my own? Can't decide.

7. My favourite place that I've travelled to is Bangkok. Oh, and then there's this little place in Tasmania with a pretty view.......... Ah, travel. I love to travel. This year I have my sights set on the USA.

I'm supposed to Tag some more people. I tag you dear reader!

Travelling

I've been to Sydney. Not time for much but my lovely hotel room and the meeting. The Marriot (the Hyde Park one) is an old favourite for lots of reasons. Look at that view! And that beautiful bed. I managed to mess it up all by myself.Then I went to Hobart. Did a little work, and met these guys. Casper and Austin. They were lots of fun and very cute. I'm pretty fond of their human too.

I went up a mountain. Mount Wellington. So high! Above the bush line by car. That's a pretty laid back way to climb a mountain. There was also some great Pinot Noir (Tasmanian of course!), wonderful seafood at The Drunken Admiral, a nice lunch in a little country town, and oh......that perfect spa bath (insert contented, very relaxed sigh here). The warm fuzzy glow hasn't worn off yet.

Back to Sydney after that....more meetings and a long flight back to windy Wellington. For the first time this house is too quiet.

And I've lost my keys somewhere, which is going to make it hard to drive the car.