Playing catch-up

Isn't it amazing how there is no time to write anything when you're busy? You're either doing something or are too tired after doing something to write about the something you've been doing.

Since I last wrote:

• The summer football league has started. In the three games we've played so far I think we've scored 2 and conceded 25 or more. I told you it was going to be difficult. I don't approve of ungraded football leagues.


• I've figured out I can access the company network from home via my work laptop and our wireless network meaning I can work from home when I need a day of peace and quiet to get on with something particular. It was my boss's idea too!


• I had another meeting to go to in Wellington and yet again didn't get further than the conference room of the golf club across the road from the airport. At least this time our plane took off and circled over the city so that Gabi could point out the sights for me.


• The new Exploring Discipleship course started. It was a great night and all seemed to go well. I was going to say it went smoothly but that would ignore the fact that Ryan was meant to do the talk, was ill and so I had to step in at late notice. Apart from that it all went smoothly. And was very encouraging.


• We had Kirsten who is one of Joanne's workmates over for dinner along with her husband the other Saturday along with Lisa & Steve and Lisa's brother who is in town from Sydney. (Roast pork, roast potato and kumara mix, broccoli & cauliflower cheese followed by chilli chocolate self-saucing pudding and icecream)



• I spent two days (getting back today actually) in Akaroa on a work conference. It was the same head office work conference that we had in Hanmer around the same time last year. It was the first time I've been to Akaroa and the sun's shone so it was good to get a bit of a sense of what everyone raves about. Sure, it's a nice little town (in the middle of an exploded volcano) with some French street names in line with its history but I still don't quite get why everyone thinks it's so amazing. The accommodation was better than sufficient, the conference venue was impressive, and the winery we went to for dinner last night was a lovely little spot.

This weekend we're going to Hanmer for the weekend. Kirsten (see above) has organised a whole group of us to go up there. I'm not sure the weather's going to be spectacular enough to do much outside but even in the rain the idea of relaxing in the thermal pools seems inviting right about now.

Black fingers

It's been one of those weekends where we didn't get to sit down for long. We bought some stain for our fence, some paint for the pergola, a lawnmower and a strimmer. I stained the wood on the pergola while Joanne finished the undercoat yesterday and then today we gave it a first coat of paint while I put together the lawnmover and strimmer. Oh and I took the ski racks off the car and rearranged the shed and garage a bit. I took a photo of Joanne painting this afternoon in her overalls but she won't let me post it. We still have to give the pergola another coat of paint sometime and give the wood bits another coat of stain too. And do something about staining the fence - all 175m² of it.

It'll be so good when we're able to sit and enjoy the garden, but at least if we get all this stuff in the spring it will all be ready for the summer. Oh, and we have a barbecue now too. I'm still not convinced of the benefits of a gas grill oven thing outside but I guess I'll learn. I've been brought up on charcoal and it's hard to get the smoke out of my eyes.

My talk seemed to go well the other week by the way. I got some encouraging feedback and people did seem challenged by what I had to say. Thank you for your prayers.

I had a full-year appraisal on Friday at work. It seemd to go well too. Lots of encouraging words and appreciative words about my work in the past fourteen months. It's nice to be valued, I guess.

The summer football league starts on Tuesday. It's going to be interesting to see how we do. The summer league is not graded so you get players from all levels playing. I don't expect to score quite as many as I did in the winter league.