A Sad Day...

Well, this morning, I held my Panther's head as he was put to sleep... I Cried......& later, I buried the poor wee thing...the Vet said he'd lost weight, & the cancerous growth had grown, since she last saw him... he's buried in our back yard, under the Cherry Tree :(...

Thurs - Sunday.....

Well, not a lot of interest has happen in the last few daze.....or has there??? On Thursday, I watched a DVD I hired on Monday.... Eurotrip. It was funny...the best thing about it was Michelle Trachtenberg (Inspector Gadget; guest starred in Six Feet Under). Also, we took Jamie (& the rest of our lot) to his Parent/Teacher evening, same day...I agreed to help him with his "decades" (Tens) counting, which I'll do by using our new Coins. The new 10c, 20c, and 50c coins come out tomorrow... the ten-cent coin will be a copper; the first copper coin we've had since 1990! :) ...and we'll lose our 5c coin, completely! ::) ::) ::) :(

Friday night...it was a hard decision to reach - we decided to have our lovely old Pantherpuss put down...on Monday. He's a shadow of his former self, and he can hardly walk...

I also went to a Movie last night (Saturday)...Mrs.Henderson Presents; it's a really good 'un! Second time I've seen it, I recommend it! The neat thing is...I had a browse through a video rental shop last night, and they had posters from the SAME MOVIE there...meant to be $1 each, but they said "Oh, just take it," in a nice way. I was thrilled! Isn't it funny...small pleasures can give us such joy.

Tues/Wed

Tuesday went very quietly....the highlight was taking my 6-year-old son to get his photo taken, with his Soccer team......

...today, Wednesday, was another low-key affair....the highlights were: watching The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special on VHS; and visiting friends to watch Russian music videoson DVD....!

BABY! ....

Our Russian friends have had their 3rd child...just 2 days ago! Little Daniel Sergeich Chernetski was born on Saturday; he weighed a healthy 3085g, & measured 52cm in length! WHEEEE! I love Babies! I saw him today, & touched his teeny-tiny little fingers! :D)

@ Phar Lap Raceway

Yesterday, we all went to Phar Lap Raceway (so named because the famous racehorse, Phar Lap, was born just a couple of miles down the road from our house). Margaret was the on-course Doctor there for the day, just in case one of the jockeys fell off his mount! I got the kids "Kiddies Lucky Numbers," this involved Jamie choosing the number of a horse, & numbers were chosen for Zoe & Ben. If the horse came in first, the child got a chocolate bar/a roll of Wonka fruit tingles. We kept on getting the kids' lucky numbers, 'til each child had won a prize...only took 6 races! :)

Saturday

Not a lot happened yesterday; Margaret took Jamie to Soccer, while I hung out the washing...she came back after buying some hardware... a venting system for the bathroom; a new folding door for the laundry; new lights for the kitchen; and a new post for the clothesline! :)

In the afternoon, Jamie went to Caleb R's birthday party (Jamie has two friends called Caleb... referred to as R & H, to save time). In the evening, I got on the phone & asked my elderly Mum to come to the Twins' Birthday Party...it's the last Family Gathering kids' party, so I hope she comes...she reckoned the days are "Too short in the Winter (to be travelling)", but I think I've convinced her. I also rang our best friends in Hastings (about 500 miles away); it was great to speak with them. They've lost two cats to sicknesses in the last few years, so they know what we're going through.

Friday...& the Blues

This morning, I took the Twins to Playcentre, which was fun...and near the end of the session, I performed a duty that "only a Man" could do (apparently)...I was asked to get rid of a dead mouse! :) Now, this surprised me...none of the women there, would go near it...these are women who go lambing & tailing in all weathers (well, one of them is the type)...I had to laugh to myself...

...that was pretty much the only bright spot today...it's finally sunk in, that my lovely old cat, Pantherpuss, that I've cooed to, patted, snuggled up to, & even sung about for the past 12 years, is dying of cancer (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) - I am one Unhappy Nev...

Mon - Thurs.....

I haven't felt like Blogging for the last few days, as our new Kitchen has been in the process of being installed...it's now pretty much there, courtesy of Margaret, her Dad (I call him Daddy-O), and Uncle Robert (& a little help from Unca Robert's bro). New counter & cupboards; new sinks, Dishwasher, Fridge-freezer...& the new Oven will be going in tomorrow...& hopefully the Range-hood, too. The Kitchen has looked like a building site the last 4 days; but now it's starting to look a bit more normal...as for me: I'm looking forward to cookin' on the new Oven...with the Ceramic Hob! :D)

What A Weekend...Part the 2nd

Well, for Tea, we had planned to meet my best friend, Julianne (formerly the man known as Julian) at McDonald's; however, she had to work a little late, so we went ahead & ate without her. The kids had McDonald's - Margaret had Thai food, and I had a Turkish Kebab. (We were at a Foodcourt). I took the family back to the hotel, & arranged to meet Julianne in the lobby. She turned up not long after, having come straight from work - she is an instructor who teaches people to fly light aircraft. She had her lunch (!) in our hotel room; then, with the clock ticking loudly in my ears, I had to browbeat Julianne to get her to be ready by 7:45pm...I didn't want to miss the last Gondola up the hill! (Photo to follow). We made it with scant minutes to spare. The Gondola took us up to the Skyline Restaurant & Bar high above Queenstown, where we enjoyed the beautiful view before heading for the Bar. Julianne bought me a lovely Banana Dacquiri, & we had a good chat. After an 90mins or so, we headed down the Gondola, & went back to the hotel, & had coffee & fries (Julianne's tea!! This is a woman who usually cooks tea at around 10pm...). I arranged to say "Hi & Bye" to her the next morning, at the Aero Club.

Sunday
We all had breakfast at the hotel; then we all packed up, to check out... all of us got dressed no probs - except Zoe, who had the mother of all tantrums! She just did NOT want to get dressed...it took two of us to dress her, & that's not often the case! Maybe once in a blue moon!!
...I drove to the Aero Club, & Julianne gave back the Dinky Stuka Dive-Bomber (Junkers Ju87B) that I lent him (well, She was a He then) many years ago...very appropriate, as I got a DVD about that 'plane in the mail on Sunday!!! I then hugged her goodbye, & took the kids to the Queenstown Airport, where we watched a big white bird (B737) take off.
Then we went to the waterfront, & popped down under to Feed the Fish...there's an underwater window with a fishfood release system, where fish come & eat pellets - also, the Blue Teal Diving Duck dives down for a nibble, as well! We all had lunch at the buffet meal at the hotel; then headed home to good old Timaru....a lovely weekend... :D)

What A Weekend!

Well, our weekend away in Queenstown - NZ's premier resort town - was awesome; we arrived there late on Friday night, after a four hour journey. I'd forgotten just how far it is...! At 350km, it's quite a long way.
We checked into the Millennium Hotel, and got to sleep. I'd managed to find a park just across the road from the hotel; its underground carpark wasn't big enough, but never mind. *** Breakfast on the Saturday, was yummy...I discovered I could order fried eggs at the servery, as well as helping myself to the breakfast buffet...I had 2 fried eggs, toast, bacon, baked beans, fried potato, orange juice & coffee!

Saturday Morning
Margaret had a little free time, before going to lectures/presentations at her medical conference...well, OK. She decided she'd rather skip the "waffly" early talks! :) We went & bought a hat for my brother-in-law, and then checked out a local park for the kids. We went back to the hotel, & got a bell-boy to sort out the Nickelodeon channel for us; this kept the kids more or less amused for the next 90 mins.

Lunch & the Arvo
For lunch, we had sandwiches in our room to save money; then we tried to go to the Zoological Gardens...but they were closed! :( I suggested we go for a ride on the "Duck" (a former WWII amphibious landing vehicle) - we eventually agreed we'll do that next time. :) So, we tried my 2nd suggestion...we went to the Kiwi & Birdlife Park! There, we saw a Maori Cultural group, and many NZ birds - including the Kiwi, the Pukeko, the Black Stilt, the Kea...and the Tuatara, our brilliant large Lizard! This was the first time I'd seen one, & it was BRILLIANT. About 450mm long, it was 20 years old, & just awesome. Part two of my weekend memories...tomorrow!

The Three R's.....

...Recycle, & Reduce Rubbish! :D) Here in Timaru, we call our wheelie-bins Otto Bins.....or just plain OTTO....."Where shall we put this?" "Oh, feed it to Otto...." ;) Now, we have THREE new Otto Bins....a big one with a Green lid for Compost; a slightly smaller one with a Red lid for absolute Trash; and another big one, with a Yellow lid, for recyclable goods! The local council have got into the Recycle concept in a big way...anybody else have this kind of recycling? The hassle is, we have to rinse out everything that goes in the Yellow Otto........

Ho-hum!

Sorry to report...the last few days haven't been very exciting! ::)

Highlights: ...the old fellow liked the video I showed him on Tues night... our new Kitchen Appliances (Dishwasher, Range Hood, Range, Fridge-Freezer) arrived on Wed. night....oh, and another Dr.Who fan visited last night; to watch the latest, er, Dr.Who.

Monday, Tues...

Well, yesterday I had an interesting day...got up a bit apprehensive, as I had no plans for the Kids....had a brainwave mid-morning: "I'll take them to the Pet Shop!!" That WAS a hit.....they saw a Blue-Tongued Lizard; a lovely big Turtle; hundreds of finned H2O dwellers; Rabbits; a Guinea Pig (apparently...it was hiding...just a pile of wriggling straw), Rats, and The Birds - they got out of the Bird Room pretty darn quick!!!
I hired three DVDs on the way home, and they started watching those in the afternoon...

In the Evening, I visited my mate Rob, & we watched Kinky Boots - what a lovely movie!

This morning, I picked up Maree, our ex-Nanny, & we went with the Kids to Chipmunks, a soft-play area. Great fun! However, a few too many kiddos...I counted 14 of the pushy blighters, charging up the steps of the "bouncy castle" slide...

Tonight, I'm off to see some elderly folks, to show them a video...hope they like this one; they didn't like the last one I showed them...

Sat/Sun

The Weekend went by fairly quickly...we had guests for lunch on Saturday; I cooked them my "real Nachos," complete with refried beans - it was a hit. The family were here for the first time, and they were very quiet...I tried not to mention my Dr.Who collection (much)...hopefully they enjoyed themselves.

On Sat. night, I went out to a screening of the DVD of Opportunity Knocks; it was interesting to see myself on the screen, and observe my mistakes & successes. Four of the cast (!) turned up, along with one parent, & two of the production crew; we had an Indian takeaway (I went to get that...so much food, they gave me a box to carry away!) - the Indian was just around the corner from the theatre, so it's handy. I was made a member of the Mill Theatre committee, so that's exciting! :)

Summing Up Thurs/Fri

Thursday seems like a blur...the highlight, would have to be a fellow Who-fan coming round to see me, my collection, & watch The Age of Steel, a very recent Cyberman episode...oh, I recall these two other things: I picked up our Home Theatre system, & my large Dr.Who Wall Clock, both of which were in for repairs...unfortunately, the HT system still doesn't work ::); but the big DW Clock is now as good as new...

Today's highlight, was, believe it or not...flying a kite! :D) I took my kids to the local park, where I flew Ben's kite...such fun! I should have known better, with my Cold...never mind. It was lovely.

Exciting; Slow Wednesday

This morning, I scanned the Mailbox at least fourteen times....THEN I saw it....one parcel - concealing another!! YES!...it was a signed photo of Caroline John (she played Dr.Who girl Liz, in 1970. That photo is now framed, & looking good on our bedroom wall...) - and a parcel of 4 dvds, from our kind rellies in Wiltshire...FOUR episodes of Dr.Who! Hmmm....I'm raving... ;)

...the Twins were out at Daycare this morning; I got breakfast from McDonalds & watched Peter Kay do his turn on Doctor Who. Then, I watched last night's episode of Bodies. After lunch, I picked the Twins up from Daycare... then, Margaret & I went to Chipmunks (an indoor adventure playground) in separate cars, so I could leave early when I wished.

After tea tonight, I adjusted many of the framed Dr.Who photos on my bedroom wall, so they were above the pelmet (sp?)...and added three more...Caroline John, Janet Feilding & Bonnie Langford. I think I am at my Peak interest in Doctor Who now...if I get any more into it, it could be...er...unhealthy?! Comments welcome, from both my readers. ;)

Tootling Along on a Tuesday...

Today was another very quiet day; for the most part...this morning, I was still feeling rotten...so myself & my Twins didn't go out as I'd planned; I called another family to say we wouldn't be meeting them - so sense in them catching my bugs...! Plus, I didn't have the energy to run after the Twins in the soft-play area we planned on going to. The Highlight today, was going - in the late afternoon - to see another fan, Bruce, to talk about & watch some of the new season of...you guessed it; Dr.Who! :) Nice to be with someone who wants to hear about it...! :D)

Today was.....

Well if that was Monday, I've had it :) ...the Twins enjoyed a lot of Dr.Who today, watching 6 episodes of it, over 7 hours; they also had some time outside, playing on their bikes. I've been feeling miserable, with a sore throat & a yucky-feeling chest...but I still managed to make a Tandoori Chicken meal for Tea...and bake some bikkies, for our best friends - who live 450 miles away.......oh, & I listened to messrs Milligan, Sellers & Secombe in yet another classic Goon Show, so that was a giggle or two :D)

The Weekend that Was.....

A very Quiet Weekend; the highlights were.....seeing our rellies (the kids' cousins from Christchurch) briefly yesterday morning, as they passed through on their way South; and today - visiting the New Zealand Home Show, where a cartoonist drew a large caricature of me...he dubbed me "The 11th Doctor," which was rather flattering...! ;) Also, a stall that was demonstrating very fancy sewing machines monogrammed Zoe's name onto a facecloth....she was pleased! :)

Last night, Margaret & I had an evening to ourselves, watching a DVD, one I'd bought about a year or so ago....it's called Big Fish - anyone else seen it? It stars (among others) Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Helena Bonham Carter, and Danny Devito, and it's a really interesting, engaging tale, full of larger-than-life characters. It also has a brilliant Director, in Tim Burton.