Unexpected Earth Hour Doing

Hello Folks,

Following from an invitation from Dear Friend Jane I received on Friday, I spent the "Earth Hour" with Jane and members of her family.

Dear Friend Jane and Mickle were in the same year at Wellington Girls' College, yet never in the same classes. We knew the names of each other, and that was about all..............

Until the lead up to our school's 150th Jubilee in March 2008. We`became in touch with each other, and also very good friends all through conversations over the telephone.

Now, look back at the previous post - Dear Jane is sitting in the middle of the sofa wearing the bright cobalt blue top.

We talked on the telephone several times leading up to the school "do" and beyond. Planned to meet for lunch several times, but my innards were very dodgy.

We did meet up at the School Do.

Beyond, we have had oh so many telephone yaks, and it is so, so good to yak with Jane. She is also a person it is okay to have silences with.

Mickle note:

Okay Silence - This is a very rare treasure to find.

We finally got together again tonight for Earth Hour.

Jane's Dear 13 year old Daughter, Hannah, wanted to do this. Dear Jane gathered up Daughter, Dear Husband and me, plus her two older Brothers.

Lovely dinner - homestyle, fully flavoursome and yummy yet also comfort food, and the Uncles then got a wee half hour break before Earth Hour. Electricals out, candles lit, and good tea and coffee and biscuits (cookies for those in the Americas).

Ghost stories? -just the one. Then much and varied yacking. Dear Hannah didn't get that many words in.....

Lights on again, a bit more talking, and Dear Jane's, dear Brothers gave me a lift home!

A very happy evening, with lots of funny, and also caring, laughter. I thoroughly recommend it.

Many sincere thanks, dear Jane Mc Q for this wonderful evening. An evening with great company, yours most especially.

p.s. ( i'd really like to get the chicken recipe)

Rogues Gallery

Last year my old secondary school, Wellington Girls' College, celebrated its 125th Jubilee over Easter. On the Good Friday the those attending from the class of '78 got together for lunch. And what a lunch - we have some very good cooks, and the wine flowed well.

Thirty years on from when we first started high school, and we'd weathered pretty well! This group of Beautiful Belles includes 4 Drs of Medicine and 2 PhDs. There were only a couple of us who hadn't completed a tertiary qualification (I started a BA but so far haven't finished it). I'm the rotund brunette in the middle of those standing at the back.

I have to confess that at the official dinner ours was the rowdiest table - and we were all such good girls at school!

(P.S. this Easter my dear Mum will be at my old school - for a National Quilters symposium)

Made it to Work!

Yes, and my workmates didn't keel over with the shock of it. Some even took a while to realise it was me, so I got a lot of stuff done!

I was in at work on Tuesday and this afternoon. And will be in again tomorrow - added incentive of a big morning tea and fortnightly drinks at 4.00pm.

Picked up right where I'd left off, and immediately solved something that had been puzzling me in December. Wasn't a problem at all, just brain fade from me back then.

Zeb deals with me being at work by snoozling the time away - I'd swear he hadn't moved from his cosy spot on our bed today if I hadn't noticed the water level in his bowl was lower. So - 5 hours of snoozling with a wee drinks break!

And yes, Zeb back on the bed now, really sleeping. Watch out - the snoring will start soon.

(10 minutes later and my darling Zebby is snoring away, in true Zebbycat form, be glad you're missing it!)

Still here

Hello dear anyone out there...........

I don't have any brillo thoughts or thunks, I'm still here. Early Autumn is being very kind during the day.

Mickle and Zebbycat appreciate the quilt dear Mickle's Mum's made for Mickle back in 1992 - a large Queen sized quilt is brilliant on our large Queen sized beddybize. For a pear shaped kittycat and his apple shaped loving human.

So, so enjoying cooking and other homey stuff, just don't have the words right now for to share it all.

Nighty night, care and huggles, Mickle .................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Daft Council Regulations

From an article in the Sunday Star-Times here in NZ:

In Palmerston North, you may need smoke alarms in your house if you're putting a swimming pool in the garden.

In Christchurch you must put your wheelie rubbish bins a minimum of 50cm apart.

In Manukau you need a building consent if you move a toilet to the opposite corner of the bathroom.

In Invercargill you need a building consent to change tap positions in a sink.

Putting in an above-ground swimming pool in Waitakere requires a building consent, plus a $1000 deposit in case a builder's truck damages the road.

My own favourite:

In Waimakariri district you can't build within 250m of another property if the other owner spreads pig effluent on their lawn.

Signs of Autumn

The leaves on my Grape Hyacinths are now six inches high. The creeper that has spread itself right down the bank has flower buds forming. The hydraenga flowers have changed from bright blue to a deep rusty/wine red.

And just a week after I moved the spare jam jars to the basement - Quinces are in season! Bought my first today, quince jelly making next week.

Despite my not having been well enough to make it to work this year, I still have a job! I have an amazing Boss who understands my health problems and is an enormous source of encouragement. She values my knowledge and skills and considers I have some worth, and puts up with my warped, dry sense of humour - Wow. I'll pop in tomorrow to catch a presentation on some law changes that affect our work (and I know all about) and then hopefully I'll achieve some real work next week.

Meanwhile the cicadas are chirping very loudly and Zebby-cat has curled up on top of his beloved hairbrush. Yes, it is "bristles up" - Daft Darling!

Still Here

Apologies for the lack of posts, I'm switching stuff from my heirloom PC (which is keeling over) onto Dear Dad's cast off laptop. Wow, the laptop is sooo fast in comparison I've been having fun playing on it.

What's been happening here in Mickle-land? Zeb went back to his vet for a check up last Monday. He has healed beautifully so we morphed the visit into his annual check up. All going fine until he was taken in to another room for blood tests. The puss that returned was growling and grouching, he was now in a real grump. Zebby continued to grumble as his temperature was taken, his joints checked and vaccination given. Only the third time in our three years together that I've heard him growl.

He disgraced himself and me by pooping in his cage on the way home in a taxi. Cab driver not amused!

Rest of week ticked along with me cooking, Zebby snoozling when he wasn't being either very clingy or easily spooked by nothing at all. And Summer ended yesterday with rain pouring down all over the country. So that was February!

PostScript: - Okay, Yeah, not feeling brilliant -innards and complications as result of continue, still clicking into new depression medication (don't bother with Prosac jokes - it had stopped working for me hence the new stuff) and other bits (like gynae) still cause problems. And I am appalling at asking for help, support etc.... Zebby does help, seems to pick up when I'm worse than usual. If only I could sense that in myself too.......

And a laugh - since entering the blog world as I find myself writing/commenting to many with English as a 2nd or 3rd language I find I am consulting my Concise Oxford Dictionary* more and more, to check I've got the words and/ or the spelling right in my only language - please laugh with me,

Huggles, M'dears, Care and Huggles

* 1982 version of the Seventh Edition. It includes such new words as "Cruise Missile" and "Ayatollah". In 2009 these 2 words seem very usual. So the World moves on..........