take advantage of weekends to move forward in life

as Christmas approaches. I managed some housework and fruit and vege shopping. I went to Pilates yesterday but skipped the gym today.

For relaxing things, I went to a movie with a friend last night. It was A Serious Man, by the Coen brothers. Really good movie! I’ve browsed in a local art gallery tosay and spent this afternoon doing still life things with my camera. Not highly productive but fun anyway.

This weekend was a bit different from my usual weekend. I didn’t go to Pilates on Saturday morning because I had the most awful stomach upset during the week, and I was still feeling queasy on Friday. I suspected I probably wasn’t going to be up to exercising core muscles, so I cancelled in time not to have to pay for the lesson. This was a good decision, because I still felt weak on Saturday, although my eating pattern got back to normal. December boot campers might like to know that this particular ailment caused me to lose 1.5 kg overnight, and a total of 2kg over 2 days.

Today I had invited people over to look at the bathroom (didn’t go as far as calling it a bathroom shower), so I did a bit of housework and shopping on Saturday. I bought food, rather than attempting to make anything, which made it easier. The afternoon tea went well, and people admired the bathroom. Everyone agreed that the laundry bench was a great idea, and several remarked on the vinyl flooring, which took me quite a while to choose. It was a really enjoyable social afternoon, although I’m feeling a bit tired now.

The other significant happening this weekend is the art sale to raise funds for a local community gallery. It’s the same one I entered last year, and this time I entered 3 works and they all sold! That means a cheque for $150 will be landing in my letterbox soon.

Apart from all this, nothing much happened. I did a really quick trip to the markets this morning, mainly to buy strawberries because I have all these veges I failed to eat last week, so I didn’t really want to get much more.

On Saturday the weather was truly foul – wet and cold, and most unspringlike. I went to Pilates in the morning, and then came home. I spent the afternoon doing housework and reading. My dreams of a nice early night snuggled up in bed were disrupted by people down the road who had a party with a loud thumping bass track. Three calls to noise control eventually got that sorted.

Today was so much better. Bright sunshine with just enough breeze to get the washing dry. I started by going to the market and buying strawberries and asparagus, and broccoli was only $1. Then I went to an AA meeting which was full of inspiring sharing.

After that I had a stroll along the waterfront and bought a gelato (raspberry and dolce di latte – yum). I went to the city market which has all sorts of expensive gourmet goodies, and bought some frankincense myrrh and gold chocolate. I had some of this last Christmas and it is absolutely delicious!

Back home, I did more housework and rang my mother. One of the other townhouses in the complex is being sold, so I went and had a look. It had a bathroom in very original condition, so I’m feeling even more pleased about my own place.

As it was such a nice day, and more rain is forecast for the next few days, I went for another walk. Half of Wellington decided to do this too, so I ran into various people I know. I went in the other direction along the waterfront and spotted the luxury yacht above. It was moored at the same wharf as a visiting French naval vessel which, as you can see, it pretty much matched in size.

This evening I got my Christmas cards done, so I only need to post them now.

Started on Friday evening by dropping off 3 matted prints to be exhibited in a local art sale (the same one I sold 2 prints at last year).

Saturday was very self-indulgent, with Pilates followed by a massage, then to the movies with friends.

Today I’ve been domestic and bought veges and done washing and ironing. Strawberries were really cheap today, so I’ve made some strawberry jam, plus I’ve got some left to eat for breakfast for the next couple of days. I did go to the gym too, so I’m feeling quite healthy.

I spent the weekend in Auckland, due to my service to others goal. It was a good opportunity to learn some new things, and to support others. We were also staying in a very pleasant coastal suburb, so I was able to go for walks along the beach in the morning and evening. I also did a little bit of shopping while I was there, which was fun.

As a result of being away, I haven’t done any domestic stuff, apart from a load of washing when I got back. A pretty good weekend actually!

The bathroom remodelling has thrown my life into disarray, but it’s over now. As a result this weekend I have done a lot of washing and ironing, now I have my new laundry appliances. I’ve also been shopping for fruit and veges, including strawberries and asparagus (yum!) and supermarket stuff. I pottered in the garden, weeded my little patch and watered the plants. I am happy to report that my strawberry plant has 3 tiny strawberries on it.

Yesterday I went to my usual Pilates lesson, and today I went for a long walk instead of going to the gym. It was a warm sunny day, so it was really great to get outside.

I’ve also bought a new camera, so I’ve been busy taking photos. Some of them are the fun sort, and others are the boring sort (stuff I want to sell on TradeMe).

Yesterday I went to the hairdresser and got some blonde streaks put in my hair for summer. This and the sunshine have improved my outlook on life a lot.

Major achievements this weekend were getting ready for the bathroom renovation starting tomorrow, and buying a vacuum cleaner.

I have emptied the bathroom cupboard, removed other objects such as the scales and the wind chimes, and done heaps of washing before the old washing machine disappears. I’ve also removed obstacles and potentially breakable items on the path from the front door to the bathroom.

I also braved the really bad weather yesterday (8 degrees or something – another 5 layers of clothing day) and bought a vacuum cleaner. Two lucky things happened. My mother sent me a cheque for $1000 because I’d sounded so miserable last weekend about the vacuum and the camera, and Briscoes had a half price sale on electrical goods this weekend. A fortuitous combination!

I’m beginning to think though, that it’s National Break Down Month, because my big heater died on Friday evening, we had a watermain repair on Saturday afternoon which meant they cut off water for about 2 hours, and we are still without street lighting after 10 days even though the council call centre assures me that an urgent job has been logged. The worst thing about the heater is that it’s impossible to replace it at this time of the year, because shops don’t stock heaters in spring – no market for them or something :(

On the positive side, Pilates yesterday really got me moving on a cold day, and I did cardio and weights at the gym this afternoon. Today has been a beautiful sunny day, and I have bought fruit and veges for the week, including asparagus.

Good stuff
Going to an ikebana lesson held as part of the Botanic Gardens spring festival. My moribana creation was a pretty creditable effort I thought. While I was in the gardens, I also looked at these guys competing in an arborist’s tree climbing competition. They raced up trees at alarming speeds.

The weather on Saturday was sunny and warm.

Continuing the Japanese theme, I went to see the movie Departures, which was an excellent movie.

I did weights and cardio at the gym yesterday, and a Pilates mat class today.

At Friday night’s AA meeting, 2 people celebrated their AA birthdays (6 and 7 years), and we went for dinner together before the meeting.

I did laundry and pottered in the garden. Weeded my little collection of pots thoroughly, did 5 minutes of pruning, and then planted the plants I bought last week. I have bought fruit and veges for the coming week, including asparagus!

I did not do any vacuuming.

Not so good stuff
I didn’t go to my Pilates studio class, because my mother was passing through Wellington on her way home, and was keen to catch up at the airport. I rescheduled the class for Monday evening, and then she rang and told me not to bother, she would only be there for half an hour so it wasn’t worth it. Families aaaargh!

My camera has malfunctioned (in between the tree climbing contest and the ikebana lesson), and I have a horrible feeling that I will need to get a new camera. I’ve been wanting to get a really good one for quite a while, but this is not a great time for this, due to the amount I’m spending on the bathroom.

I looked at vacuum cleaners. This is because my vacuum cleaner went kaput earlier this week. I do not like vacuuming, so you can imagine how I feel about shopping for vacuum cleaners when I’d much rather be buying a camera. However, I will probably need to vacuum up a lot of dust from the renovations in the next few weeks, so I’ve got to buy one.

Edit – have added a photo of my ikebana efforts!

This weekend the World of Wearable Art awards are on. Yesterday I went to a free half hour show, displaying some of the winning outfits from previous years (that’s one of them above). The also included some great local musicians.

Today I went to the garden centre with some friends and had a good catch-up. I bought chives, a strawberry plant, alyssum and petunias which I can plant over the next two days because I have annual leave.

I’ve also done the usual Pilates studio and mat classes, bought fruit and veges, went to an AA meeting and did some housework.

I gazed at paint colours and vinyl flooring some more, and I’ve now made decisions, with some help from my friends. I didn’t get around to looking at laundry appliances again, but I’ve still got some time for this.

Because I have 2 days annual leave, it feels like I’m only half way through the weekend – even better!

Exercise – Pilates lesson on Saturday, lots of walking and some weights at the gym on Sunday (plus a sauna!)

Bathroom – more gazing at vinyl samples. Bought paint testpots and painted patches on walls.
Edit – meant to say I spent ages looking at washing machines and dryers too. They’re a lot more complex than I thought.

Social – went to the movies with a friend.

Domestic – supermarket, fruit and veges, washing, killed weeds in courtyard

Other stuff
Took trophy to be engraved. One of my predecessors in office bought this special trophy that can’t be engraved by any old engraver, so I had to go to a somewhat distant suburb to get the thing done. While I was there I did also manage to pop into an Indian spice shop and buy some spices for far less than at the supermarket.

Read book

Avoided the rugby and its fans.