Coffeehouse.co.nz

Yes, sorry. We are the type of people that run home on Halloween night and close all the curtains and only turn on the minimum number of light emitting devices to be able to see what we’re doing, and basically hide. We even considered cooking dinner by candlelight. But that might have possibly been misinterpreted as getting into the spirit of things, so we just grabbed enough stuff to make a sandwich and ran away to the lounge.

Bah humbug, I know, but I’m afraid I haven’t got much interest in another time of the year that really doesn’t seem to have a great deal going for it other than selling “stuff” to kids.

Doesn’t help that most of the kids running around the neighbourhood in masks on the way home were all about 16 or 17, and not the type of visitors that you really want to have to deal with on the doorstep on a dark night!

Seems to be working so far. No knocks on the door yet. We’ll see if it lasts…

I was looking through the photos that we’d taken while away and came across this one. My old boots left all alone in a rubbish bin in a hotel in Vegas when we left.

It might seem like a bit of an odd thing to take a photo of, but at the time it was just like saying goodbye to an old friend, and needed to be documented. A good pair of comfy boots is a joy to have, and a hard thing to let go of. But one day they just get past their use by, and hard decisions have to be taken.

I do wonder just how many kilometers I’d walked in them. Or even thousands of kilometers. They’ve certainly seen some sites with me around the country and world. I definitely know they’ve done a good many trips up and down the stairs to the front door!

But I have a new pair to replace them now. Of course I got them, and checked that they were relatively comfortable before I make the tough call to ditch the old. We’ll see if they last as well, and get a photo of their own someday. Hopefully not soon though!

Not that I normally get a bad case of it, but somehow after this last trip to the States for a couple of weeks (of which there will be a report soon, promise) I seem to have contracted my first real dose.

First night back, no problems. So tired after the flight that we had an hours nap in the afternoon and went to bed normal time and slept like a log right through.

Last night? A bit tired after working again (dammit) and so went to bed about the normal time… And then woke up after about an hour long heavy doze, just like a nice afternoon nap, and then that was it. No more sleep was to be had all night. Grrrrrr.

I suppose on the plus side it did allow me to be slightly educated by the late night documentaries that they have on. I learnt why the pilgrims left for the States, how the monarchy changed between about 1700 and 1850, and how photography influenced public opinion of WWI and as a sideline story to that one, how that impacted on women getting the vote. All stuff that everyone should know.

Made for an interesting day at work, with so much to do, including preparing for a training course I had to take in the afternoon in the morning, and delivering said course. They said I did make sense, but I’m not so sure. I think they were just being nice. Thankfully!

Somehow coming back from NZ has never been like this. I guess by the time you’ve travelled about 26-30 hours in one hit you’re just so mucked up that as long as you time your first sleep right, you can get straight back into a normal pattern.

Tonight better be better, or I’ll cry!!

As well as the UK passport I got a few days ago, I’ve also had to get a new NZ passport to replace my old expired one. I was quite surprised by the difference though. The UK one lasts for 10 years, and has 28 pages, while the NZ one only lasts for 5 years now and has 48 pages!

I can’t work out if that means that generally Kiwis just travel a lot more, or what?! Oh well. I’ll just have to see how many pages I use in the next 5 years.

A visit across to the far side of town for a friend’s birthday, and a visit to the Kiwi Kitchen for lunch. Nice little place, with a couple of Jazz musicians keeping us company.

It did remind me though that NZ doesn’t have much of a cuisine to offer though. Apart from the obligatory green lip mussels, paua patties, kumara chips and a bit of lamb, there wasn’t too much that really stood out as anything particularly Kiwi. I guess that’s probably enough.