Sunday, January 28, 2007

DIESEL DRIFTIN' & DRAMA

Yesterday, I took Jamie to the above-named event at the Timaru International Motor Raceway; the two of us going to the Motor Racing has become something we do together at this time of the year; the interesting thing is, the classes of racing vehicles alternate every 2 years, so we had the tier 1 V8s (plus many other classes, including the Formula Fords, Pre-65s, and Production Cars) last year, while we had the Drifting Cars, tier 2 V8s, Super Saloons, TraNZams, Minis & RX7s, and the Super Trucks this year! I took my picnic chair and Jamie took the child-size folding chair I bought him at the raceway last year. We got the same spot to sit as last time; and the really cool thing was, I was able to park the car right behind, just a few metres away! I'll tell you a little about each class...or vehicle....

THE DRIFTERS
These cars had their first time at Timaru; they drift (slide) around corners, and are judged on how good the drift was. The class was dominated by Nissans...mostly Silvias, though their were also others, including a Laurel, a Skyline & a Cefiro. They came with their own commentator, who sounded like he'd had three too many cans of Red Bull! :)

The MINIS & RX7s
For some reason, these two classes ran together! The Minis were the old ones, and looked great together; the RX7s were the Mk.1s, and sounded. great, though I'd have liked it if they were noisier. A couple of cars were black-flagged, over the course of the day, for being too loud, though I think that's ridiculous...and a bit, well, sad ::)

Sports Saloons
There were quite a variety of cars in this class, all Japanese, and the neat thing was, it was won by a Neville! :D) A heavily-modified Toyota Starlet blew up its guts near the end of the race, so that was entertaining.

The TraNZams
This is a class unique to NZ, as far as I know; it features the "big bangers," ie Chevy Camaros, Corvettes, a Pontiac, and the fastest car there, a rather quick Ford Mustang! Beautiful cars, these! The Mustang won, which I was pleased about.

Tier 2 V8s
This class consists of Aussie cars, the Holden Commodore & the Ford Falcon, and they looked & sounded fantastic...& I was amused to see the guiy who sold me my first motorbike, and my 2nd Datsun, struggling round the circuit in last place!

SUPER TRUCKS
These are the big rigs, often heavily modified & sporting big wings, which behave a bit like Dragons..OK, they don't spit fire, but they sure do smoke!!!

Jamie & I had a great time, & we intend to go again next year...I'll tell you about it then!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Last Few Days....

Haven't blogged for a while, as whenever I really feel inclined, it's time for beddy-byes! (insert embarrassed smiley)....anyway.......

Tuesday's highlight? Well, one would be taking the kids swimming yet again; this time with our ex-Nanny, Maree. Margaret was working, so Maree's help was much appreciated! It's an old-fashioned pool, so I needed another adult to hold one of the Twins. This meant that Maree & I got in free! :)

Wednesday was very quiet...particularly as the Twins were back at Daycare! It had been closed for three weeks over Christmas & New Year, so Wednesday & Thursday mornings were nice & quiet.

I've been doing a lot of my jigsaw, while watching/listening to Inspector Morse, and, more recently, Six Feet Under (the final season).

Yesterday, I took the all three children around to see the Williams kids; they had fun bouncing on the Trampoline, playing with the kittens, running around, and generally being kids.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Monday Lunch

On Monday, we had our Russian/Ukrainian friends 'round for lunch; we (yes, it was a joint effort) cooked them Fish'n'Chips.......they'd never had it before....they have only been in NZ seven years........the Fish was Hoki, and we battered it ourselves. During the meal, I played Rhythm & Black on the stereo; this was the music we listened to, while the Twins were being born. Our friends enjoyed the meal!

Sunday.....

Well, Sunday dawned overcast, & I was optimistic; we went to Church, & I was on the Sound-desk again...the sound mixing board wasn't behaving itself; the Rev. suddenly lost all sound, & so I tried something new...I pushed up Monitor 2...the sound came back on again - go figure! ::)

We hurried home to get the washing on the line, and to find an old photo....and to go & have lunch, with some New (Old) Friends....let me fill you in: about 5 weeks ago, I went to a Carol Service out in the country...after the service, this guy said to me, "You're Neville, aren't you..?" "Yup." "I knew you, 15 years ago!" He told me his & his wife's names, and I thought, hmmm...they sound vaguey familiar!! I went 'round to theirs for coffee, and we got on well, so we agreed to meet up in the New Year....so we popped 'round there for Lunch on Sunday. Deon & Janette have a "hobby farm" of just 20 acres, where our kids had a wonderful time riding the horse (with help), riding with Deon on the Quad Bike, and looking for a lost chicken!

Sunday, January 14, 2007

COLOURS

I've now been on my new Meds for 4 days, and already I have noticed some changes....colours seem brighter; and objects are more "3-D" than they used to be.....also, I often sweat like a nervous Television presenter..... ::) :D)

Saturday, January 13, 2007

H2O Go!

Well, today dawned warm-ish & nice; I rang various friends at 9am to see who could go Swimming & who couldn't. Just one person could not go; we arranged another Swim with her for next week. So, three families - us, the Chernetskis & the Tuckers - set off for Oamaru this afternoon; Sergey followed me down, with Andy driving down around 20 mins later. Sergey brought his wife & three children, while Andy brought his wife, five of his seven kids, and a friend! We all had a great time at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre; the Pools in Oamaru. I enjoyed the waterslide, and the heat of the Spa Pool; Zoe found herself a friend in young Victoria, attaching herself to her new mate like a limpet! I took a photo of a few of us; it was difficult to round up many folks for a pic, as there were so many of us (18). On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's for a Coffee, & the kids enjoyed playing there. A wonderful afternoon!

Friday, January 12, 2007

Friday....

Today, all 5 of us went to meet Jamie & Caleb at the downtown Swimming Baths, Annee & Kenny were there, but they were only spectating today. The Twins had a wonderful time in the water! On the way home, we stopped in to see our new friend Andy, & his many children. We are planning a trip to Oamaru - 80km south of Timmers - to swim in the fab. pool there; tomorrow! Three families are going, though final plans will be confirmed in the morning. All going well, 16 of us will go for a splash tomorrow! Stay tuned...............

Thursday

Well, we did a fair bit of socialising on Thursday; the Twins & I, that is...first off, we took Jamie to see his mate Caleb, where he stayed for a Sleepover. It was good to catch up with Caleb's Mum, Annee, & her brother Kenny. After having Lunch at Home, I took the Twins to see Nicole & her four daughters, Kimberley, Ashley, Jessie & Christie. The Twins loved playing on their trampoline! :)

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

More Marvellous Mail!!!

Well, this morning, Val the Postie brought more marvellous Mail....the new Magazine, with the new Who Girl on the cover, with david Tennant; a Dr.Who Cross-Stitch Pattern; AND new parts for my 36-year-old Dinky Toys! WHEEEEEE! :D) .....earlier this evening, Jamie & I played with the Dinky Toys; the UFO Interceptor has a new Missile, and my Mobile (looks like a cross between a tank & a truck) has new stickers. It was a bit like being 9 years old again..... ;)

...the last few nights, I've started doing my 1000-piece Dr.Who Jigsaw; I've got about 75 pieces together so far. I find it relaxing, to do the puzzle while watching/listening to Inspector Morse on dvd. The jigsaw is set up on my Pool Table. Before I came downstairs, I listened to BEEP - The Pussycat Dolls; and COOL - Gwen Stafani.

Day #5
Today was the last day of my "going off" my old meds; the new drug begins tomorrow. I've had bouts of feeling very depressed today, hardly being able to move at one point. I was very glad when Margaret came home! I'll keep both my readers posted...... ;)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

A GRRREAT Day to be a Fan! :D)

Monday was a fan-tastic Day! ....sorry, bad pun there...! It began with a parcel arriving on the back doorstep; it turned out to be two Toys for my collection; a Cyberman and David Tennant! Soon after, I pinned them to the wall, still in their boxes. A short time later, the 2nd parcel arrived...it was Jamie's Sonic Screwdriver....but he hadn't saved the full cost of it, so I had to put it away. However, on reading the invoice, I found the Shop (in Essex) had charged us a lot less postage than we thought they would...so Jamie had only $1 to go, to pay for his new Toy! We told him, "If you're good this evening, you might get your Sonic Screwdiver!" He didn't click that it was in the house...he was good, & I gave it to him after I got home from showing a DVD to some old folks. He was THRILLED! :)

...but, I digress. Let's get back to the morning! Also it the box with Jamie's new SS, was my new Tardis Flannel! I can now wash me face, with a Tardis! Hee-hee!!! ;) ....and last but not lost, was a small packet from Whirlybird, who kindly sent me the Dr.Who Christmas Special on DVD; all 5 of us sat down at breakfast time yesterday & watched it...it was funny, sad, scary, wacky & brilliant!

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Carnival Funtime!

Yesterday, I opted out of going to the Carnival, deciding instead to stay at home...the family came home, reporting that they'd had great fun, riding the antique Merry-Go-Round. I thought....GEEEEE....I wish I'd been there!! It's a lovely sight, seeing the Twins on the century-old Merry-Go-Round...& I thought, well, why don't we go back on Sunday?? It's the last day of the Carnival! (It runs for over two weeks). So, I dug into my TARDIS-shaped piggy bank, & took the family back to the Carnival. I shouted the Twins on the Merry-Go-Round, the three of us went on...tickets for the two of them cost just $4! - there's no charge for adults; as long as they're standing. It was grrrreat!

Day #2 of Countdown

Well, last night, Jamie & I made his first Plaster-of-Paris Dalek...the mold wasn't perfectly clean, so M. drained the mold, & started again....I brought the Plaster of Paris in from the garage on the scales, covered by a hankie, as it had started raining. (I bought a 40lb bag of Plaster of Paris from the only supplier in town). Today, we separated the molds to reveal Jamie's pristine little 3 inch Dalek, before going off to Church.

This is Day 2# of my countdown to my new drug; it's going OK so far. I Haven't had any feelings or episodes that have been too weird. I'll keep you posted......

Saturday, January 06, 2007

New Pills...New Nev???

Well, today I started to wean myself off my old anti-depressants, in readiness for going on the new ones, next Saturday....the last time I tried going off my anti-D's, I suffered some strange withdrawal symptoms....explosive anger episodes; not being able to move for a couple of mins, etc. My wife will be supporting me through this time, & I hope when I'm through it, the new drug is an improvement on the old one!!! ...I had planned on going on the new drug at Christmas time, but that would've been to much of a risk, as we spent Chrimbo with 40 other relatives...I'll do a Christmas blog in the next week.

It's the Weekend! :)

I'd been dreading the last three days; didn't know how I'd entertain the kids with their Mum at work all day, esp. in the Holidays! But I survived, and we had some fun times, visiting 3 other families. I also bought a new DVD, Cars, which we all love. This January is starting to be really enjoyable...I may have the first January I've enjoyed, in many years!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

I Don't Like Thursdays...

...but on a more positive note, I ate some big, yummy calamari rings for Tea, which I fried, along with chips & fish, for us all.....caught up with our Russian friends, nice to see them.....oh, there's been a "letter to the Editor" of our local broadsheet; it seems some folk don't like our annual Carnival; they think it's old-fashioned. Hey, it's been the same for 40 years, so why change it? LOL! No, seriously, it's like something out of Hi-De-Hi, but that's OK ;) ;)

Monday, January 01, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A very Happy New Year, to all my readers! I hope you will have positive experiences & good health this year, and blessings on you & all your loved ones! :)