NAPIER BOUND

Good morning All

Hasn’t Friday dawned in spectacular fashion. Even thought the sky is peppered with wisps of clouds the sun has managed to force itself through and it was a very pretty daybreak. Ditto sunset last night, it even captured the glance of number one son who insisted we all drag ourselves away from disc 5 of Downton Abbey and admire. Pink and azure velvet drapped the sky last night. And still Daffy lay belly up in the pond but I did manage to text my very kind Man Friday and he will do the deed for me today and I won’t ask any questions either.

Linda thank you for your kind words, sometimes it is all you need to give you a nudge to get going. And I am very envious as Vietnam has been on my bucket list for a while but I am still not sure if I can do travel alone but I guess there is only one way to find out. My desire to go there is largely driven by my stomach as so much in my life is. Apparently the Indochine food is to die for and there is a huge French influence. I have been told if and when I go I mustn’t miss the Sunday brunch at the Soffitel. They fly food in from France especially for it.

Opa and I went out to Cafe Hanoi last night and had a delectable dinner and I enjoyed it and I think he did too. We went early and possibly the only mishap was that I got his car valet parked except when he walked away from dropping it off he took the keys with him too- old habits I guess. The Britomart area is very slick,very cosmopolitan and all new and different and well worth a wee stroll. The tiger prawns coated in green rice are without doubt the best prawns that have ever passed my lips. Cafe Hanoi is lots of fun and is run largely by gay guys so humour abounds. And Opa scored. There was a group of 5 at the table next to us and an attractive woman in her 40′s. She told me no less than 5 times how nice I looked and she loved “that colour” on me. The thought did flicker through my mind that perhaps I was being hit upon (I seem to attract women) but maybe she was just being kind. She did enquire if Opa was my … (she left the question hanging). Anyway once family dynamics were established she was very chatty and the whole table congratulated him on his 86 years. Anyway I went to pay the bill thinking he was behind me and when I came back there he was at their table, she had her arm around him and gave him a birthday kiss. Once a charmer always a charmer I guess. Then it was home to bake a cake and to Kirk and Alex (flying out early this morning) Cam and Bronwynn and Callum so we had our DVD fix and then it was off to bed.

I have the accountant in today, I swear he knows I have made a cake so chose today so he gets a big slab. Other that that I do have a massage but as my neck and back are full of knots I’m not sure how nice it will be. Tonight I fly to Napier with Tony and Nola to see Rod at Mission. I went to Napier for the first time last year and loved it especially when we went out into the country. And the architecture is quirky and the area just has a good buzz to it. I must go back some time when it is not so manic and have a good look around. I am looking forward to the concert with one small fly in the ointment. I love clothes and love to dress up. I hate costumes and group dressing. Tomorrow night I will be wearing a tee-shirt and jeans, probably OK but not what I would choose. However my evil friends have thought that the tee-shirt needed to be adorned with a slogan. It will read-

Front “Do you think I’m Sexy”

Back “Woman on a Mission to get some Rod”

I know you are all rolling around the floor laughing by now and I cringe at what the answer is going to be to the front but I figure I can cross my arms but what to do about the back. The only plus here is that when I complained and moaned and bitched I was told it was going to be in red but because they knew I would never wear red they have got it printed in purple. Great, there will be 9 old slappers working round together looking like they have lost their pole or their lap or their usual place of work. I’d love to send you a picture but that will never happen. It will have to be a truck load of Church Road Pinot Gris me thinks!!!

Enjoy your weekend all and think of me, all I need is Ugg boots.
love
Tracey

CSI WAIHEKE

Good Morning All

Surprise surprise I still have one dead duck, toes up, in the pond. But wait it gets worse. It has been a very rough night here on the Hill and some of my outside furniture has been whipped up and taken residence somewhere else (sadly not Daffy though) and most of the water has washed or blown out of the fountain making it even harder to camouflage the corpse. I had another look this morning and the removal task hasn’t got any more appealing but I have tried to talk myself into it. Armed with a very large garbage sack I went to go out only to see Rodney wife and kids standing on the edge of the fountain. Don’t they say the villan always returns to the scene of the crime- well that was enough for me. I will phone my “man Friday and ask him if he will do the deed. I wasn’t exactly sure if I got her out what I would actually do- throwing an ex-living thing in the rubbish just doesn’t seem cool really and I didn’t fancy my luck on the end of a shovel.

I had a very quiet night last night, the guests came over and chatted for about an hour then I went to bed to watch Winners and Losers and drifted off only to wake up a couple of hours later and spent most of the night reading or surfing so I am a touch cranky today. Someone has told me to get natural melatonin so I might give that a try failing that it will be back to the doctor! I have fed and watered the guests and we are all heading home on the 12 ferry and then I will be frantic. It is Opa’s birthday on Saturday, 86 no less, and as I have very kindly been asked to see Rod in Napier I won’t be around so I am taking him to Cafe Hanoi for dinner tonight then home to make a cake for one of those who roam the office floors- there are 3 of them within 2 weeks so I had better get out the recipe books! I also have to get sorted for my weekend in Napier, I need some more shoes, and get the chores sorted at home. Maybe Kirk will help! (I should be on the stage with a comedy routine like that). Anyway he and Alex are off to Melbourne for the weekend and in my heart of hearts I feel he is checking out the place for a move. I know you only pass through your children’s lives but for a parent, mother probably more so, they are never far from your side.

Not much else to report, my life is pretty dull really. Have a good Thursday, despite the hideous weather.

love

Tracey

DEAD DUCK AND BIG PUSSIES

Good Afternoon All

I am back in my office at the Hill and it is surprising I haven’t taken root to the chair because except for a couple of interludes when I dropped off and then picked up my guests I have been ensconced in here, head down doing paperwork and double and triple checking all my bookings so I will never be exposed to another tirade such as last week. My guests are positively charming, celebrating their 50th anniversary and slightly tipsy after their 2 glasses of wine at lunch. They have gone for a lie down and I am a bit envious as it is blowing a gale here and splotters of rain keep appearing ah summer!

I absolutely loved the play and if you can get tickets go. It is the best thing I have done in quite a while and it was very funny and full of Kiwi-ness. We’ve all been there/done that over some of the things in it and the Maidment was a lovely intimate place to go although I swear Pam and I must have been part of the very small percentage of non gold card holders. Maybe it was pensioners night out and we got confused. Amway The Motorcamp is fantastic.

Today I did a couple of hours at the office before heading over on the Gold Card special and arriving here to unpack and head off to buy some fruit for tomorrow’s breakfast. On my return I parked out the front and the worse thing had happened. There, floating belly up in Rodney’s bath , was a dead duck, her 2 poor little feet waggling in the breeze and apart from the bloated belly, nothing much else on show. I was mortified. What a sorry state of affairs. Not only did I feel very sorry for the duck, but it isn’t exactly the best greeting for 2 guests expecting luxury accommodation. And the biggie- has Rodney been on a murderous rampage and killed poor Daffy because she had taken the liberty of bathing in the chosen ones pond. Surely he wouldn’t he looks so sweet but he keeps coming back to the fountain and looking. Sadly Daffy is no phoenix and hasn’t risen. He has to come out but try as I might, armed with rubbish bag and spade, I just can’t do it. I am truly a big pussy when it comes to dead animals,the mouse was my absolute limit but I just can’t do the duck. Please let her get taken to that big pond in the sky tonight. No the title is not a porno movie just my Waiheke life!

I’m off to prepare incase the guests come over,have a good night all

love
Tracey

WHO TELLS YOU?

Good Afternoon All

Another day at the salt mines and not a lot else really. I did manage to go out to have lunch with Oma and took her in a delicious looking bacon and egg pie and a perfectly formed carrot cake (yuck) with cream cheese frosting that made it OK. I arrived just as the nurse was spooning the last scrap of lamb curry into her mouth so it will have to be her dinner now. Never min I guess it is the thought that counts.

Last night I had a Zumba class and yet another instructor, nice girl, good body but not David and the class just sucked and it felt like exercise not fun and then I had an epiphany I must get back to yoga. My joints ache (too much jumping) and I don’t like it and I am definitely as toned as I was when I was on the mega yoga lifestyle so now I have to find a new yoga studio and again step out of my comfort zone and go back to the beginners classes but I know after a few it will be all worth it. I raced home, cooked Kirk’s dinner, gobbled down a bit, showered and headed off to visit Mike’s favourite Auntie and Uncle and was pleased to find them doing well- I had been very remiss and hadn’t seen them since before Xmas so felt bad about my lack of attention. Then it was home, half an hour sit with Kirk (who had come home) and then bed. Then back on the treadmill so to speak.

Tonight I have been asked to go to a play at the Maidment that is getting very good reviews and I am excited. I love live theatre and have never been to the Maidment. It even galvanised me into action. For a very long time I have wanted to go to various plays and although I am comfortable going to the movies alone I don’t feel like that about theatre- it is more of an event. Anyway striking whilst the iron was hot I bought myself a subscription to the Silo theatre for me and another and am sure every couple of months I will be able to dig someone up who will come with me. We used to be Mercury junkies in a past life and went with an assortment of different people to an assortment of cultural experiences- the men tended to like the ones involving naked women (a few Roger Hall plays) but I loved them all except Richard the 3rd. Dead boring. But then I guess that shows I am no culture vulture.

Tomorrow I am back to the island for a 50th wedding anniversary stay and I love this kind of occasion because the guests are usually so sweet and appreciative. And I will get my nose into the pile of paperwork I have been ignoring too.

Who tells you? When you are a single unit in the world who tells you if you smell bad, if your dress is too tight, if you look like mutton dressed as lamb chop,that you have bought one of those “what were you thinking” outfits, that you have anly put eye makeup on one eye, or in my case,that I have been walking around all day with my hem hanging down. Something else you miss really if you have no daughters or significant others that care enough to notice. I’d better get one of those awful 360 degree mirrors me thinks!!

IT TAKES ALL TYPES I GUESS

Good Afternoon All

Finally summer has arrived and isn’t it a wonderful feeling, everyone seems to be a tad happier and has a bounce in their step.

The weekend has passed in a blink of an eye but not without its drama. I left work in good humour and went to have a quick catch up with Oma then a pedicure then home and a dose of Idol. Just as I was all settled in bed I got a phone called that ended in tears, mine not hers. This, for all who know me, is a very rare occurrence, usually kept for very serious life changing events and not because someone is angry at me. It was harsh to say the least. I had made a mistake and doubled booked but I put my hand up and admitted my mistake and offered her an upgrade to the house but apparently I am akin to the anti-christ and have ruined the wedding by my incompetence/negligence/over priced rooms etc etc etc. It was hideous and again and again I apologized and tried to make amends but no. I ended up in tears and spent the night going through old emails and trying to sort out the mess I had created. I was still awake in the wee small hours so caught a very early ferry over and managed to find an old email (server here had crashed again so all forces were working against me) and ask the other guest to change and I would give him a complimentary night. Thank God he was a very understanding and kind gentleman and was pleased to help so all has been saved- the Friday night can stay in place as it is an older couple and they can be very lucky and have the whole house and I will spoil them.

The rest of the weekend trucked along nicely with a lovely bride and her French groom staying and the return of one of my first brides celebrating her first anniversary. It was very nice to catch up on her year and to meet some of her family again. Two great sets of guests go a long way to fixing once with total hatred for me and restores my faith in my abilities again.

It was home at noon to guess what?- housework and washing and off to the supermarket and a visit with Oma and Kirk with a horrendous hangover (what a surprise) so he couldn’t help with anything. In the end I think I guilted him into hanging my lights again however I am not sure if it was spite or a booze fueled head that meant all 4 were in place upside down. Let’s just say I have a new skill in my repertoire now. Cam and Bronwynn did come to my rescue and later Callum and Juliet with another problem. I really really hate asking for help, partly I think because I have been let down before when I have asked and partly because I always get such a hard time about all the things I want all the time apparently. If I could do it myself I would never ever ask anyone again but there are just some things a woman can’t do. Carting the empty gas bottle up to the garage and refilling it is not , apparently one of them because this was my next job as the cricket was on and anything that stands up to pee can’t be disturbed in the midst of it. Anyway it was then our first bbq at Seymour Street, a walk for the blonde and Bronwynn and I watched Packed to the Rafters (a real tear-jerker this week) in my bedroom due to the cricket still being on, then it was bed and back on the treadmill again.

Today I have ploughed through the work and then had a visit with Noel who thought I was doing pretty well. Mike was largely absent although he did pop in, apparently, to show me a baby (fingers crossed everyone) and tell me to get on with living. Noel did pick up too much coffee and gave me a few tips on what to take to get to sleep as it has been sadly lacking of late.

I am off soon to Zumba then home for an early night and maybe a dog walk as everyone is out tonight.

Take care all and suck in that Vitamin D.
love
Tracey

WHERE HAVE YOU ALL GONE??

Good Afternoon All

Did you hear that thunder- my goodness it sounded like a bomb going off and it is certainly is hot enough for a storm. I am really glad it is Friday as it has been a very long and torrid week although the high spot for me is getting my wall papering finished and it looks fantastic, it has definitely given life to previously white rooms. The blonde has also been very happy to have the company and as she is not too flash at the moment I am also glad for her to have company. She looks every one of her 12 years and has got wobbly however her appetite hasn’t diminished one jot!

I am off to visit Oma shortly and if I can still fit it in, maybe head for the cheap and cheerful and plunge my poor sore feet into a bath of something fragrant. Then it will be a bit of housework and bed before Idol. Cam and Bronwynn are at a wedding on Waiheke, the first of Cameron’s lot to tie the knot and he is the MC. Callum has just bought himself a small boat and so is off to Langs with his other family to launch it. And kirk I think is working this weekend so it will be all quiet on the western front. We did manage to sneak in another Downton Abbey last night and are all enthralled, especially with the razor tongued Maggie Smith, oh I hope I have half her wit when I am that old.

I am off to the Hill in the morning for a full house and one of them is a bride from last year come back to celebrate. And I made my first major stuff up at the Hill, I have booked 3 lots of people into 2 rooms in a fortnight’s time. I have gone into damage control and hopefully can put some of them in the farmhouse otherwise I will be right in the proverbial, fingers crossed.

Well not much else to tell and many of you seemed to have disappeared too so I hope everyone is hale and hearty and just bored with my musings.

Have a good one all

“Be obscure clearly”

love
Tracey

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BLOG

Good Morning All

And it is a belated Happy Birthday too because 2 years ago yesterday the blog was born and 2 years ago Mike and I flew off to New York for his “Big Adventure” my worst nightmare. How time flies, it seems such a natural thing to do now as I have done it so often but then it was just a few stilted lines of information. Now it has become more like my diary but it is pretty boring I know and maybe soon it is time to cull another past life acquaintance. Not just yet but I always had a number in my head and said to myself if daily hits were below this I was just hanging on and people were reading it out of duty and not for pleasure. We’ll see. It has certainly been a rocky couple of years, I wish I could remove the majority of days out of my life and send them elsewhere but I guess whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I have found the past week incredibly hard, reliving every event we went through and largely doing it alone because nobody else remembers. I think staying alone at the bach alone on Valentines night when the rest of the world was in couples or at least it seemed like that, was a definite down point. I am very unhappy when I am alone at the bach because all I see is reruns of old movies of past family holidays and what will never be again. Hence a very crap night sleep. Anyway enough wallowing, I should be celebrating that I have managed to be consistent with my typing for 2 years.

The wedding stay. I must admit I was a bit nervous about the champagne brunch for 15 all alone but I got there early and it was a breeze. Once you get into the swing everything just flows and if you make the table look beautiful you can get away with a few culinary faux pas. It was a busy day with the bride and her family getting ready and it was quite a touching love story. They both met in their 40′s, both with 3 teenagers and then had a baby fairly soon after that and 9 years later had decided to unite the families as one. And as I said last time age doesn’t seem to matter one jot- the older brides are just as excited if not more so than their younger counterparts. I had breakfast for 10 yesterday morning, a quick clean up and then on the ferry and back into the office. Then after work a visit to Oma (not one of her better days sadly), a visit to drop off something to a friend, supermarket, home, set off the smoke detector, relamped the kitchen and family room, Winners and Losers with the dog and off to bed just as the boys came home.

I am off to be adjusted-physically not mentally,this morning, then optometrist and then some serious catch up. Other than that same shit different day really.

Here is a thought for you. Go back 2 years, if you are a blog follower you will be able to remember the day, and see how much you have achieved or your life has evolved in the last 730 days. And be honest with yourself too.

love,as always
Tracey

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Good Morning All

On this most romantic of days I hope you have all been adequately spoilt by the one or many who love you. As I said last year it was not something Mike bought into (along with flowers, Mothers Day etc etc etc) and the only time I was ever graced was a few weeks before we got married when he had done something I was not at all happy with and I think I had told him to stick his ring were the sun doesn’t sun and lo and behold, he turned up with a box of Roses chocolates wrapped in Xmas paper! How romantic. I do think it is important to tell those you care about that you love them and if one day makes it happen then so be it. I do however have a problem with the massive ads around for Durex and various devices that accompany it all being promoted in the name of love and Valentines Day. Surely they have romance confused. I am offended and feel this is entirely inappropriate and unnecessary. Promote them for safe sex and unwanted pregnancy but surely surely romance is about little acts of kindness and love for someone else and not necessarily jumping on them. Anyway I now sound like some puritanical born again virgin but it is sending the wrong messages.

As I await the delivery trunk piled high with over priced and unwatered red roses romance is alive and kicking at the Hill. I have the whole house full and have just prepared a champagne brunch for 16 and all in the space of 3 hours- not bad is it. I left home at 5.30 and surprisingly it was only me and the seagulls at the wharf and then I caught the ferry with all the grubby subbies (tradesmen to all you not in the industry) and then up here and off. The house looks and smells beautiful, the sun is shining and the stylist and hairdresser and makeup artist are all very busy. And when they head off at 4 I will make sure the 4 rooms are perfect for their return and head off to the bach for the night, never a favourite of mine now as you all know but if the weather is still good I will sit on the deck, read and watch the world go by. Then tomorrow it is breakfast for 9, clean up and back to my other life til the weekend.

The boys and I managed to squeeze in another 2 episodes of the fantastic Downton Abbey last night with another date night set for Sunday. We all love it and I really enjoy our time together. Last night they all turned into premenstrual girls and wanted chocolate and pudding and ice cream etc etc (on top of a full roast dinner I might add) so Bronwynn and I hit the supermarket and filled them with Dollop chocolate pudding and ganache and Berries and Cookies chocolate and as I am trying to be good I had a grape. How satisfying that was.

Anyway I must away and play hostess with the mostest. I hope you all get spoilt or at the very least spend some time with the one you loves or get stalked by the one that loves you and you don’t know it.

“The scariest moment is the one before you start.”

Take care all

love and red roses

Tracey

HAND SHAKES

Good Morning All

Yes it’s bright and early for the start of the week. I had my first breakfast service at 5.45 then a ferry drop off not long after and the other one is not til 9am so I have managed to strip the room and mine and do all the laundry and move my persoanl stuff out as I have the whole property rented tomorrow. It is a Valentines Day wedding but they have 4 couples staying here and I have to prepare a champagne brunch for 15 at 11 tomorrow and I won’t be back here til 6.30 tomorrow morning so I had better put my thinking cap on tonight.I imagine I am going to be very very busy!

I am feeling discombobulated today, out of sorts with the world,something is wrongs and yet apparently nothing obvious is. Does anyone else get that feeling. Not right but not wrong just like you don’t belong where you are. I woke up with it and it has crept over me the more hours that pass. I have even ironed all my sheets and doused them in old lady linen spray, a cross between “dasies and a place you really want to be” sort of smell. It usually calms and relaxes me but not this morning. I am hoping the imminent arrival of my guests for breakfast may help. They are so sweet and want to eat in the farmhouse so they can chat with me. They are both off super yatchs and he is a kiwi boy and she is Dutch and so yesterday the garden was filled with ever so familiar chatter in a foreign tongue. All the tourists love NZ by the way.

Which brings me to handshakes. I know a lot of women don’t do this but as I am in a male dominanmted business on one side of the water and hospitality on the other, I do it often. My idea of a handshake is fully clasp hands, straight up and down , a slight squeeze and eye contact. I know men have the whole “pissing contest” thing going on where he who squeezes hardest wins but as women often, me included, have a ring on their right hand, a good firm squeeze is all that is required. Yesterday, from an older gentleman, I got one of those grab your fingers and jiggle type. I thought it may have been because he was either older, Dutch or didn’t think women should shake hands but I observed him doing the same thing to a man later. Maybe he is a Mason and that was the secret shake? It felt wrong. And some guests I hug to say goodbye too. It’s funny how in a couple of days you can bond enough to hug but it happens.

Body language is a funny thing. One of the things that totally irks me is when I am talking to a man and he does the hands behind the head thing and leans back in his chair. To me this is saying I am the dominant one here sweetheart and get over it. Because I am a stroppy cow my immediate response is to firstly think “Tosspot” and then to stand with my hands on my hips making myself a larger target to dominant. Pathetic really but when I am talking to a man in the office I don’t like it. Funnily enough it never ever happens here. Why is that, familiarity perhaps.

Well I had best take my out of sorts with the universe self downsatirs and get on with the French Toast, scrambled eggs and double serving of bacon.

Have a good day all and best of luck on your first day Juliet.

love
Tracey

LIKE A TOURIST

Good Afternoon All

I have been very bust since we last chatted, I did manage a full Friday at Allendale with a visit to Oma at the end of it and it has been a very very long time since I have been there to share a repass. Friday night was early to bed to channel surf between Idol and X Factor and as I know who wins the latter now it is not the same but I haven’t enjoyed it as much as the US version I must say.

I was up very early on Saturday and down by the ferries at 6.30am and surprisingly there was not a soul around but by the time I got the 7am vessel a few more had risen. I had to be up this early as I had someone coming to pick up the keys for the guests at 9am and then nobody was going to be around til midnight so I thought I was in for a very long day but Callum and Juliet bought the Blonde over and we acted like visitors which is quite a novelty for me. We drove into all the little bays and had a lovely little tu-tu around the island before coming home to stain the 2 very large suite doors and then watch the very silly 4 legged one try to bite the sprinkler. She must have been very hot as she just kept following the water spray and for those of us watching it was hilarious. As the day cooled we headed off to the bach to paint the white picket fence, a job long overdue. However with 3 of us it seemed less daunting and we were head down bums up with Lucy trying to bite the brush from the wrong side of the fence. So engrossed were we that an hour later we finally went to look for the dog and guess what, the baggage had bolted yet again. She must have dragged herself through a hole under the deck until she was in the unfenced part of the garden and then ran for the hills. I got in the car and drove but we all had that sinking feeling as it is a very busy road. After 30 minutes of visiting all her usual haunts and having no luck I came back so we could regroup and decide who stayed there for the night and bugger me, out from under the deck pops and cobweb covered little head, she had been trying to sneak back without us knowing. I think Callum’s toe on her bottom may have been the clue for her that she had been sprung!

I had a really dreadful nights sleep last night and was up at 2 answering emails so as a result of that and no coffee I have a splitting headache today but at least I have tidied both suites as they are in again tonight and now I am going to service the guest room and put all my personal stuff away before I tackle the ironing. I have rented the whole property for Valentine’s Day so I need to get it ship-shape as Sundays are not my favourite day, least of all alone on Waiheke, I need to be busy. I am planning a trip to the supermarket soon as I also have to cater a champagne brunch for 15 on Tuesday and am feeling slightly nervous about what I am going to serve so hopefully an escape to Countdown will inspire me.

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend, yesterday was one out of the box and for those of you who went to Class of 81 at Villa Maria I am very jealous. I would have loved to have gone and I hear it was amazingly good.

Hard choice tonight- Packed to the Rafters up again House- what to do????

Enjoy the last of the weekend all.
love
Tracey