Bookshelves... 
I've come down with another bacterial infection. Currently pumped up on steroids and antibiotics. Managed to get back to work on Thursday, but didn't do a lot. I'm now on the Watchdog contract, and they pay monthly in arrears, which means I had three weeks with no pay. Fortunately I had about 7 weeks hoilday owing, so I've cashed up three weeks to keep us going this month!

Bronwyn's birthday went well. We had quite a few friends, neighbours and relatives around, and plenty of presents! I bought her some little bookshelves - six of them. They're lined up by Bronwyn's bed. Plus some book tokens of course. Many thanks to every one who turned up!

Still eating the cakes...

Rachael's got her uniform for school next year. It's second hand and a bit faded, but it'll do for now. She's also got her certificates for the exams she went into earlier in the year - she did Writing and Spelling, and came out very well again. Sarah is managing to read slowly. She'll get there eventually.

It's now warmer, and the grass is growing. We managed to get the lawnmower going again after jump starting it a few times!



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Don't feel well... 
Don't know where all that fudge went. We've got about six lumps left out of 250.

Sarah's room is tidy. Took a while. I'm tired, and I don't feel well. Not sure if they're related. Bronwyn's been really quite ill with a cough, asthma and now a headache and fever. One of my fingers has swollen up. Sarah and Rachael have both had a virus and a skin rash. But they're both bouncing around the house now, so they'll be back to school tomorrow.

Bronwyn phoned me at work last Friday, and decided I sounded a bit stressed, so she came in and brought some drinks and nibbles. Lots. So the entire company had a bit of a party. They usually crack open the beers on Friday afternoon too, so it was well timed. (The police are usually around somewhere on Fridays at 5pm too...)

[ 1 comment ] ( 4335 views )   |  permalink  |  $star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image ( 2.9 / 1879 )
Rugby mad. 
At work on Monday, we had a draw to work out which team we would each support. They'd already put me down for England, but I protested that I wanted to support Romania, since my Romanian colleague Daniel wasn't interested in rugby. So they put me in the draw anyway, and I got New Zealand. I currently have an All Blacks scarf, an old English flag from 8 years ago, and Bronwyn managed to find a Romanian flag in the $2 shop. Watched Ireland beat Australia last night. Bronwyn was over the moon. You see, she supports the All Blacks, and any team that can beat the Wallabies...

Spent a while sorting out the accounts for the band. I'm now allowed to sign cheques, but of course I need to get two signatures, so I still have to go and find someone else to sign them too. It also means that internet and telephone banking is not possible. So it currently feels very much like the 1980s. I'm juggling cheque books, envelopes, stamps, and a ring binder of receipts. We've just had a grant in to build a store room. This is just as well, because I had a queue of people wanting money last week!

Bronwyn only did one day at work last week. But it was a very long day, and they wanted her to work all week at the same place. They seem to have a lot of staff relievers at this particular center!

Preparations are under way for Bronwyn's birthday. Still no clue about the operation, so we're planning an afternoon at her parent's house. I've bought some presents...

Rachael is still raising money for her trip to the Jamboree next year. I made a huge batch of fudge last night (it took 1.6kg of sugar!) and they've been selling it this afternoon, plus some cupcakes. Sold lots - I hear Rachael's hit the $200 mark! Not sure if it was wise making that much fudge in one go though - I had to be very careful otherwise it would have boiled over, and I used a very big pot. Still tastes good though.

[ add comment ] ( 2337 views )   |  permalink  |  $star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image ( 2.9 / 2013 )
The world is black and white. Mostly black. 
It's always the way. After spending the morning clearing the lounge, you come across them. A marble, two empty chip packets, a single shoe off a barbie doll, and a miscellaneous piece of plastic that looks like it might be important somewhere but you haven't got any energy left to find out. There's also the theory that nature abhors a vacuum. I'd say my family was entirely natural. I'm waiting for the big "Foop" and every random object reclaiming it's rightful spot somewhere on the carpet.

I guess I'm glad I didn't attempt to drag the family into town to see the fireworks. We got quite a good view up the hill. And heard quite a bit too, from 30km away. Rachael's decided she's supporting Argentina. Bronwyn's supporting the All Blacks, her mum is supporting England. I'm supporting Romania. I'm told they gave Scotland quite a run for their money. I'm going to try and learn the national anthem and come to work dressed in blue, yellow and red.

Still no idea about Bronwyn's operation. We're planning a fairly quiet birthday party just in case.

[ add comment ] ( 1689 views )   |  permalink  |  $star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image ( 2.9 / 1914 )
Cat in exile 
Got a lot done this week. I think I need another weekend. At least the cat hasn't done anything this week. Hasn't been able to. He's been sleeping outside all week! Tidied the office yesterday (and vacuumed up all the cat food). Bronwyn made a good effort on the lounge. If we can bring the kitchen under control, we'll have successfully restricted the chaos to the bedrooms.

Bronwyn has her big birthday on the 2nd October, but it might get rearranged because she's due for the rescheduled operation around then. We haven't organised anything definite yet. Meanwhile, Bronwyn's brother Neil is getting married next January. The ceremony is going to be on the farm here. Should be good.

I've been working on three different jobs this week. The normal one, plus a couple of projects for old customers. It's worked OK so far, so long as they're happy to wait until Saturday to get a response! Meanwhile, Bronwyn only managed one day at work this week. She did her normal Monday, but she couldn't make Thursday or Friday. On Wednesday they wanted to work in Takapuna, which is quite a long way and in peak traffic. She was reluctant. Fortunately she wasn't well that day...

[ add comment ] ( 1569 views )   |  permalink  |  $star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image$star_image ( 3 / 1991 )

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