Perfect

What a stunner of a day from start to end. A clear, crisp morning for a sunlit walk to school. Early this evening I was driving around the harbour. The water was like a mirror and the view just magic in every way. The forecast is perfect for days ahead, and only three days until the official start to spring. Perfect.

The garage is loaded up with pinecones for the fire - the reason for the drive into Wellington. They have given the fire a quick, hot base and it's blazing away. Perfect. I think the summer walking ahead will involve pine forest locations.

The avocados at Countdown were 99c and at the ideal state of just-ripeness for immediate, creamy eating. Perfect.

Re-arranging

Late on Friday evening, possibly in the euphoric after-effects of The Prowse Brothers, I hit the BuyNow button on this gorgeous piece of furniture. The seller kindly dropped it off early on Saturday morning and then hours of re-arranging ensued to get the whole look just right. Heaving heavy furniture round in every conceivable layout is a great workout - possibly even paleo, I certainly seem to hunt and gather a lot of it! Since I could barely afford this indulgence, I was highly restrained at the antiques and collectables fair at the town hall that afternoon.

Just a scarf, that's all. I did see a lot of things I would love, but I resisted. Even running into a friend spending thousands on a gorgeous ring did not cause me to lapse. Then Sunday passed in a whirl of domesticity and school-work and another weekend fades away. Have a good week, all.

New Zealand's Got Talent

And fortunately, those in the know don't need Rachel Hunter, Tamati Coffey and the crew to find it for us. We just turned up at the Wellington Bluegrass Society's Petone venue to see The Prowse Brothers. What an amazing evening of music we were treated to. Knowing Rob, the violinist, was the main drawcard for me, but I was absolutely blown away by the talent from all five of the brothers, and how seamlessly they blended together in various combinations of instruments and vocals - they all seem to play multiple instruments extremely well. Hopefully they will continue to perform together (a possible October gig on the books?) and I will be in the front row - I was lucky to get any seat at all last night as the venue was packed. An added treat was a warm up act by a son/nephew of the brothers, Bobby, who had an amazing voice and stage presence. It was a great night out and I will keep an eye on the society's future programme with interest.

I have never really thought much about the technique involved in playing the bass, but it is almost an athletic event in the energy and gymnastics involved. By Olympic standards this was a gold medal performance!

As expected, a virtuoso performance by Rob. 

Settling In

Now that we have our fire in operation, the main living room has been abandoned in favour of the dining/family room.  What's that, dear readers? A closer photograph of the darling Millie? Why of course.

 

There have, however, been no curtains in the room since we moved in. Well, there were some for a very short time. They were black and attached to the rods by large eyelets similar to the picture below, but even more tastelessly ugly. 

Today we remedied the situation. Hanging curtains is a tedious business, but I have to say these ones from Curtain Studio are the best ready-mades I've dealt with. Instead of thermal backing they have actual separate linings and sit much more nicely. I think the fullness of the gathering will easily provide adequate thermal properties.

I also managed to fit in a visit to the Underground Market that is coming out of the underground for a once-monthly visit to the Dowse - a much nicer setting. Had lunch at the Kotuku cafe that has risen from the ashes at the Waiwhetu Marae - quite nice, but not quite Tiki Lounge nice. And so another weekend has flown by ... sigh ...

Saturday

Still and sunny on the beach today

All the elements of a busy, satisfying day:

• Gentle awakening without the alarm
• Sunshine 
• House cleaned
• Visitors
• Fish and chip picnic at the beach
• Lawn mowed
• Supermarketing completed
• Cosy fire burning in the evening
• Another sleep-in to anticipate

Cosy

Tonight was the first lighting of the fire - absolute bliss. The job is not quite complete as we await the plaster mouldings to frame the opening, samples of which can be seen in the photo, but the improvement is impressive. How lovely to be warmed by radiant heat and not that ghastly blown air from the gas heater. Here's hoping we have a nice sustained run of seriously cold weather - snow such as we enjoyed last year would be perfect!

The Way

On Saturday afternoon, I saw this very good film about four people who meet on and complete the Camino de Santiago - The Way of St. James. This is a route that has been followed for more than a thousand years by pilgrims, travelling on foot over 800 kms to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain where the remains of the apostle St, James are said to be interred. A charming story and a fascinating history and setting - go and see it if you can.

Commuter Chaos/A Father's Warning

On Thursday morning, due to a freakish combination of an impaired driver, a good Samaritan tanker driver and a vegetable truck driver named "Boss Hogg" (you can read all about it on the Dominion Post site, out-of-towners) 23,000 commuters could not make the morning journey into Wellington from the Hutt Valley. The road south was closed and train services suspended.

Well the count for that day of commuter chaos actually totalled 23,001. It's a rare occasion my car leaves the garage, but on this very same morning I needed to get home by five o'clock for my night on the town (see yesterday's post) so was going to drive to school. At the time I would normally be striding off down the street, I was still drinking tea, lolling around in my dressing gown and musing on how pleasant mornings will be once the Lotto comes in. Some time later, I was marveling at the novelty of leaving in actual daylight as I opened the garage and started the car. Well, tried to start the car. Nothing. Just a sick click - not even enough puff from the battery to make an attempt at a start. Nothing for it but to run. And as I ran a conversation from long ago came clearly back to me. As a child I asked my father why we always had clapped out, embarrassing old bangers of cars while others had cool cars like the Humber 80. 

The mighty Humber 80

Although we had quite clear financial constraints on our motoring choices, my father explained to me that we were the lucky ones - the newer cars might look flasher but they lacked a vital component for on-going motoring success. These later models did not have a crank shaft and crank handle. My father predicted their owners would rue the day they decided to forego the cranking option, which our old Peugeot (named Lizette) needed on a regular basis.

In later years my father was too ill to crank a car, so a Hillman Imp replaced old Lizette. We would hold our breath as the motor turned over, knowing our fates were now in the hands of a mere battery and not dear old Dad.

Finc Dining

Thursday night saw me at Finc on Wakefield Street for a very yummy pre-show dinner. Then it was off to the opera house to see the Wellington Musical Theatre's production of Hairspray. It was a brilliant show and made all the better for knowing a cast member and playing 'spot Matt' in every scene. (Scene, act, bit - what is the term?) If you can get a ticket, then do - it runs for another week. We really do have some amazingly talented people in our midst.

Next year they are doing Phantom - I've never seen that, so something to look forward to.