I'm soooo loving this!!

As excited as I am to meet our new family member face-to-face I have to admit that now that there's only about 3 weeks to go, I'm kind of reluctant to give up my preggy status.

I have enjoyed pretty much every moment of this pregnancy, especially once we were through the first 12 weeks and fairly certain that baby was well ensconced in my tum. It has all been such a wonderful and truly amazing adventure, and even more so now that I'm getting such vigorous movements, kicks, thrusts, turns and hiccups in there... a wee person practising its moves and breathing right here inside me - it blows my mind!! I feel so privileged to be part of something so awesome!
I have been extremely lucky having such a smooth ride with my pregnancy. No major morning sickness really - a bit of queasiness early on but nothing too gross. I've had aches and pains that are to be expected from a body becoming stretched to capacity. Starting to get a bit of pubic symphysis ... er... discomfort... in the last couple of weeks so that has given me a bit of a preggy shuffle as I try to keep my knees together to avoid it progressing to something more painful. The last few days has seen my feet swelling a whole lot more and I've noticed my right hip and thigh getting quite numb if I go for a walk around the shops in my lunch breaks or stand too long.... perhaps baby has dropped as I suddenly seem to have more lung capacity!
Thankfully I've been getting some pretty good sleep despite having to get up every couple of hours for the loo. Have started having some very full on dreams about the birth (which I can never remember detail about once I've woken) and breastfeeding the last couple of nights... I hope that isn't Bub's way of warning me about an early arrival!
So I am really grateful to have had such a cruisy pregnancy and like I say I've enjoyed every moment of it!

It will be a bit weird to lose the bump and gain a bundle ... but that will be a whole new adventure!

(me - kicking back at our work Christmas party - harbour cruising)

Downhill slide...

... has it been that long since I posted last? Where is the time going?

Not long now... 14 working days... yes I'm counting!! Until we wind up work for Christmas... and then I'm on maternity leave!

I'm in my 34th week now and have been told that (due to being a "geriatric" mum) I'll be induced if baby hasn't arrived by about 8-9 January... hopefully it won't come to that, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see... but to think that in just 5 weeks time the bundle will be in my arms and no longer in my belly.... crikey!!
I'm getting a lot of action these days... it's surreal to think that all that wriggling in my belly is a whole new person! I'm getting very excited at the prospect of meeting this little one face to face.

My energy levels have swings and roundabouts but as the weather heats up I'm finding I tire a whole lot quicker. Whilst I might start a task with a hiss and a roar and loads of energy I seem to need a little lie down a lot more often than anticipated. Consequently there are a number of unfinished taks on the go at the moment but mostly trying to get a semblence of order for all the clothes and baby gear I'm accumulating - especially since my baby shower!

In spite of this I'm having a wonderful time being pregnant, even now that belly is starting to weigh me down and get in the way a lot! I feel as though I have a constant smile on my dial as I go about my day silently communing with this new life inside me... my own delicious secret... except the size of the bump means it is by no means a secret these days!

Sniffle, snort, hack, cough... Cluck!!??

So, sitting around waiting for the plane didn't do me any favours and by the time I woke up the following morning feeling pretty crappy!
I considered staying home but I knew I had an appointment with the midwife so I decided I may as well go into work... maybe once I got into work I wouldn't feel so bad... I was wrong.
I worked from home for the rest of the week to try and keep on top of the workload without passing the bugs around the office. It wasn't one of my best ideas.... I ended up doing a lot of extra hours simply because it was right here... I worked through 15 hours one day but by the Friday afternoon I was ready to have a meltdown... despite being at hom, the fact I was working, and the long hours, meant I wasn't resting. I wasn't feeling any better... in fact quite the opposite.... I was feeling resentful towards work, angry at myself, missing my Tommy and generally miserable. I got quite tearful... not good, because that just made my nose run worse, I was working myself into a state and was feeling guilty, bad mother getting so sick... what effect was all this having on bubs?
I had an early night and vowed not to touch work all weekend. It was a very quiet weekend... I picked up some DVDs and assigned myself to the couch to rest... and rest... and rest. I started feeling more human slowly. I was a bit worried about the side splitting coughing... poor baby must be wondering what the heck was going on! But then again given the reaction in my tummy after a coughing fit I began to think baby thought it was on some sort of rollercoaster and was having a great time.
I woke up Monday morning feeling better but still nowhere near 100% so I called into worked... or rather emailed... to update them on where all my projects were at and to tell them I was taking a sick day... another day on the couch... bliss!
Tuesday saw me back in the office again... hacking and coughing a bit but other than than, vastly improved. And then... I was asked if I'd been to the doctor while I was sick. I hadn't because I figured there was not a lot they could do unless I ended up with an infection... I just needed to let it run it's course. And then, I was asked what my symptoms had been... head cold, snotty nose, feeling shite, cold moving to chest, coughing.... huh? It was at this point I was told there had been a confirmed case of bird flu atwork... yes... bird flu... and that person had the same symptoms as I had!! Yipes!!
I did a bit of googling and rang my midwife to see if I should be concerned at all.... not really. Mind you I figured that it was too late for me to do anything about it anyway by this stage... if I'd also had bird flu then it had been and gone and I was too late to do anything else about it.
It may well explain my need to re-organise the entire house... again... or maybe it's just a high level of nesting instinct kicking in. Either way I'm not sure Tommy will recognise the place when he arrives back from the island!!

Fattie goes fishing

Ha!! I look like a bean bag with a hat on!! This was taken on Labour Weekend when I went out to the Barrier to see my Tommy. I dare say it's the last time I attempt kayak fishing until after baby arrives now! Still it was a lovely afternoon to be out on the water and the fact that none of my catch were keepers (by our measure) didn't matter at all... especially when Tom had a couple of snapper on board by the time we finished up so there was plenty for dinner... mmmm!

Tom had already been away for a couple of weeks at this point and I was missing him a lot. Work had been really hectic so it was an instant salve to arrive on the island! It really is a magical place!

Saturday morning we went down to the local market day for a look around and catch up with anyone we knew. Then back to the bach for a nap before heading off for the aforementioned fishing trip.

I slept like the dead that night ... a welcome change from the wakeful nights I'd been having! And Tommy got his first few kicks from wee fatty dancing about in my belly while I was asleep!

Sunday is golf day... given how much Tom enjoys his golf and the fact he only plays on the Barrier these days I could hardly tell him he couldn't go... I walked around the first nine holes with them. The course has some stunning outlooks so it wasn't really a hardship and the boys were a laugh ... despite my ignorance of the finer points ... or really of anything to do with... the game. I left them to it for their second nine holes and hung out at the club house. I had a book with me but hardly needed it as people are always so friendly and inclusive. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting a few new people until Tom got back.

Monday saw me wake up with the blues. I felt really quite unenthused about the idea of heading home again and ended up getting a bit teary about ... sheesh! Harden up girl!

Tom dropped me at the airport just after 2pm and had to race off to meet someone arriving on the ferry in Tryphena. A short while before we were due to head off we were told that take off would be delayed as the weather at the other end was abysmal and there wasn't enough visibility to land the wee planes. I caught myself hoping it would stay that way and give me one more night before having to go home. It started looking more and more likely ... but then just after 5pm there was a gap in the weather so we all piled into the plane and were whisked away. We flew really low all the way back to dodge the cloud which was ... er... different.

We got back to the mainland before the weather turned again which was both a relief and a disappointment. What a sook!!

Mind you as it transpired over the next day or so I was coming down with a cold/flu bug so perhaps I should lighten up on myself a bit!

Huge Day Out!!

No I'm not refering to my rapidly expanding waistline... but rather the street fair that is part of the Kowhai Festival events in Warkworth. Through our dance teacher, we were invited along to perform as part of the street fair and take part in the Sole Parade.
There were four of us that went along, car-pooling for the trip. We left Auckland about 11:30 giving us plenty of time to get to Warkworth, finish dressing and get to the stage we were to perform on.
We had decided to perform a piece we all knew to some extent but is not entirely choreographed so it left room for modifications depending on what we found when we got to the venue... I'm glad that we had made this decision! We had a bit of confusion over where we were meant to be but that got sorted by one of the fluoro yellow jacket brigade ... phew! By the time we negotiated all the street stalls - and let me tell you this took some self control avoiding browsing on the way - it had started to drizzle... And the "stage"... well to be honest, it didn't look safe enough for more than three people to sit on let alone dance on... crikey! Fairly quickly the decision was made to dance on the pavement instead... it was about now that the drizzle ramped it up a notch and turned into rain. Looking at some of the other dancers shivering in their gorgeous (but sheer) costumes I was pleased about the costuming choice that had been made for our performance... but still it was pretty chilly!
When it was our turn the cold wet pavement was a bit of a shock and it was very strange to be perfoming in an unknown space ... we had as much room as the crowd would allow us, but the closer you got the further back they would move... still it was very exciting! Cold feet were forgotten completely by the time we'd finished as I tried to calm down my heartbeat and shaky hands... boy that adreneline is powerful stuff!!
After that a couple of us headed off to find the meeting point for the parade while the other two returned the swords and other gear to the car and picked up my teacher's drum. It was blimmin freezing waiting around for the parade but a short time before it started the wind dropped, clouds cleared and the sun came out... next thing we knew we were waved off down the street... here we go!
I have to admit I played up a bit! Ha! Well, I figured I wouldn't want to go to a parade to just watch people in different gear walking down the road so by the time we turned into the main street I was ready to give the crowd something other than a fancy dressed pregnant lady to look at.... So I danced! As best I could and still keep pace... I was having a great time! Stopping here and there to shoulder shimmy or do a few hip drops for the crowd.... heck... it's not like I'm going to see anyone I knew!!
And then...
... suddenly an enormous camera lens jumped out in front of me, clicking away... holy moly! Next thing a big smile popped out from behind the lens, it was Karen from work!! When I'd mentioned the festival to her during the week she got quite excited and told me she was planning to make the trip up there as there would be loads of opportunity for her to practise her photography. I hadn't seen her when we performed so I just figured that she had been put off by the weather... not so! Mind you she'd tried to find us performing but had been told that the dancers had cancelled... what a shame. She took some fantastic photos including an awesome preggy-belly shot that I adore! Here's a sample...

Good enough to eat!!

I flew to Napier on the weekend to visit my sister and my brother's family.... especially the newest member of the family .... wee Isobelle who is just a wonderful bundle of cheeky, gummy smiles.... oh my, how could you possibly resist this...

YUM!!!

And as for her older sister, Georgia... well, she is growing up so fast! And she's as bright as a button!

"Come see my room Aunty Neen.... see... here's my bed... and my books... and my toy box... and ... lets do a puzzle!... Aunty Neen... come on"

A real little chatterbox giving a running commentary on what's happening... or should be happening!

The girls are little treasures ... but it was also great to see my bro and his wife... it's been a while since I saw them (in person and not via Facebook)! I stayed at my sister's place and we had some "hangin" time just spending time together.

It's likely to be a while before I get down that way again so I hope I managed to get my fill of he girls... but everytime I look at these photos I know I want more!! LOL

Modern animals...

... for thousands of years babies have been born into this world through a very natural process... when did we turn that into a procedure? Why have we become so afraid of this process that we medicate ourselves to the point where we are no longer part of that process? We let others take control of something we should be entirely responsible for?
Now, perhaps one day I'll read back over this and laugh at my naivety.... I'm picking that some of you reading this will roll your eyes.... what would I know about any of this? And you're right... I know nothing about what giving birth will be like and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to adequately explain it to me.... in terms of what it will be like for me.
I've seen plenty of animal births ... lambs, calves, pigs.... in general the mothers involved made themselves as comfortable and safe as they could then settled in and got on with the job.
Quite early in the piece Tom suggested I have the baby on Great Barrier... an isolated island with no hospital and should intervention be required it would be a helicopter ride before it was available... I told him (in no uncertain terms) that it was most certainly not on the agenda... and then had nightmares , the kind where I woke myself up screaming and bawling ... woke Tom up too... and possibly the neighbours.... it has not come up in conversation again!
But I guess I have to admit I was really quite terrified at the prospect of labour. After all you hear all the horror stories of the pain and the agony... and high on the list of discussions is what pain relief you'll choose... "Go for the epidural - you won't feel a thing"
Won't feel a thing? What? I chose to have a baby... it took quite a while to get to this stage, a successful pregnancy... why on earth would I want to opt out on participating in the birth? How bad can it be.... really? I mean if it were really so bad then surely evolution (or common sense) would have dealt with this a long, long time ago by preventing women from having more than one child ever. There are plenty of people out there that have done it many, many times ... and many of those were well before the more modern "civilised" times and methods.
I have nothing against hospital birthing rooms ... I'll be having a hospital birth so that if I do need help it is available ... I guess what I'm trying to say is why has the emphasis become more focused on the agony and it's relief... why can't we accept that in our society and embrace the pain? Why are we so afraid of hurting?
What am I trying to say here? I'm not entirely sure... maybe I'm trying to understand why the birthing process isn't supported and honoured in our society as much as it is in other cultures. The focus seems to be only about the final outcome... the child... rather than the whole cycle.

I don't know that I'm expressing myself very well. Please understand I'm not knocking how anyone chooses to deal with giving birth... I'm just trying to sort out how I feel about it ... for me.

I can say though that I've been feeling much more reassured and confident about my ability to do this...
The yoga classes help a lot with the breathing techniques to re-focus attention and "active" relaxation, understanding where tension is held and seeking to actively release it.
Then on Saturday Tom and I went to a course together - Massage for Labour. To be honest I probably got more out of it than Tom did despite it being aimed more at the guys. I guess the discussions around the labour process and how if you're feeling comfortable and safe then your body deals with labour quite naturally... not without pain ... but, all going well, without intervention... and talking about the benefits of avoiding intervention, why it's important for both baby and Mum.
It seems a bit weird going to a course to learn how to do something that for since the beginning of time has been one of the most natural things in the world.
Still... It's helping me understand how I want the birth to go and how, for that to happen, I need to get my head around it...

Grump frump...

... so I've progressed from feeling "a bit off" to feeling like a complete bitch... grumpy, whiny bleeergh! I don't like feeling like this and I'm soooo over hearing myself whine and complain... it's only serving to make me even grumpier and pissed off with myself... a vicious cycle! I feel like picking fights and being arguementative just for the hell of it... very unproductive behaviour and very negative attitude.... I know this and yet I'm still bitchy!
And then by the time I leave work I'm ready to melt down into a puddle of tears... I don't like feeling this way one bit, it sucks!
Where oh where did my happy hormones go? Waaaaaaah!!! Up until this week I've been feeling really good, nothing phased me, I wasn't feeling at all stressed... everything was groooooovy baaaabbbyy!!
Sigh!
I can only hope that Bubs is going through a bit of a growth spurt and maybe I'm just extra tired. Surely this will pass... I'll make more of an effort to get enough sleep and hope that this suckful attitude is over soon.... before everyone else gets as pissed with me as I am!

A bit off...

Mostly I think I'm tired so things are affecting me a bit more than normal... not to mention the hormones!! A few things have happened in the last couple of days that has dampened my spirits somewhat.

The most recent of which... I found out today that the reason one of my work-mates is working from home at the moment is because his wife has had a miscarriage. It has brought so much raw feeling to the surface. I have been in contact with him through email to offer what comfort and help I can. I suppose it is different for everyone but I know it was a huge comfort to me to know I was not alone ... and so I can't not say something to them... I feel it's my duty to pass on the sympathy and empathy I was afforded. Just writing this has the tears streaming down my face again ... My heart breaks for them!

On the whole though I have had a wonderful few days. I visited my midwife yesterday and am pleased to say every thing is as it should be... blood pressure is good, measurements are on track and the wee heartbeat (that is doing somersaults all day) in my belly is strong. Fabulous news! And all in all I feel fantastic... I don't count being a bit more tired as a problem as it is something to be expected!

Last night at work we had a baby shower to farewell another workmate who is off on maternity leave now. She is having a girl so there was an abundance of pinkness about... and plenty of cooing over the gifts of wee shoes and clothes... I can see this wee girl will be as fashionable and funky as her gorgeous mother!

And... I think I'm suffering my first full blown craving... I reeeeeaaaally, reeeeeaaaally want some chinese takeout noodle soup! It's been forever since I've had any... since my 'usual' place closed down. I believe the takeaway down the road has it on the menu... so... after a couple of days of this, I think I'll treat myself to some on my way home from belly dance class... hopefully I can knock it on the head!

And so, I'd better head off to class now... the endorphins will do me good!!

Oooohhmmmmm ... and other mutterings

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I was going to preggie yoga ... I think I may have... but the class yesterday held a special surprise. Apparently the last class of the month is always spent on restorative yoga to promote relaxation and boosting the body's defence systems. This meant lots of long poses and meditations... or in layman's speak, lots of lovely lying about! My description really does not do it justice, it was WONDERFUL! Ohhhh bliss! I came out floating ... mmmmm!

On other matters... I'm a bit tired of hearing negatives about pregnancy and having children... "Life's over now" I get told.... paaah!! And if I say I'm a bit tired, I'm simply stating a fact... not bemoaning my existence... there is no need to to gloat that "there's plenty more of that to come".... piss off!! Don't you think I know that? Good lord... if it's so bad why did you keep having more after the first one!! I'm very aware that there will be a lot of hard work involved in bringing up a child but I also believe the rewards will far outweigh the trials. I might be busting for a pee, bloated, constipated, tired, achey, etc at times but I'm not complaining for goodness sake! There are also time when I feel fantastic, full of energy and glowing.... why look at me sceptically as if to say "enjoy it while it lasts".... if you don't want to hear it, don't ask!! If you've nothing constructive to offer keep you lips zipped!! Sheeesh!! That.is.all. .... Ooohhhmmmm....

The other morning I was dozing, having hit the snooze button and waiting for the alarm to go off again. Lovely... all snuggled in with Tom... and then he said...
"Did you fart?"
"What? Nooo!"
"Well did you tummy rumble?"
"Noooo? Why?"
"Something's moving in there!!"

Hahaaa!! I got news for you Tommy!

Halfway... ish

Goodness me what on earth is going on with time at the moment... It seems an age since we first found out I was pregnant and yet time seems to be racing rapidly towards d-day. I feel as though I've worked for 7 days straight since yesterday and yet Friday weekend seems forever away!
We had a scan today to check baby is developing well... and so it is... apparently in the 92nd percentile (ie top 10%) size-wise so far... yikes! It was a relief for me to see bubs curled up in there and knowing it's all good... I have to admit there was a certain amount of trepidation before the appointment... was everything going well, was baby developing as it should .... is was very pleasing to hear it was all okay. I will have to go back for another scan at 30 weeks to check the position of the placenta as at the moment it's a bit low. At least I've read enough to know this isn't a problem at this stage.
Aside from that I really need to try and get here a bit more regularly ... if I do that it could well end up being a load of mundane stuff but I feel I need to form a bit more of a habit... I'm sure I've said this before so we shall just have to wait and see what eventuates!

Obsessed...

... at the moment it seems I cannot stop thinking about bellydance.... in particular the next costume (or two, or three) that I'll make. I've been waking up at ungodly hours planning what colour, how much fringing, beading, embroidery... it's bloody exhausting!! And the frustrating thing is that I have no intention of making any costumes for quite some time. I have my patchwork quilt that I'm determined to finish before I embark on any new projects... crikey! Where has this come from?
Mind you... it's not the only thing that wakes me up... Prams... or buggies... whatever you want to call them. I've been researching the options and trying to sift through all the information and recommendations to figure out what we should be looking to get... I've had Fantasia style dreams where instead of the brooms there are thousands and thousands of various styles and brands of prams... I have always had pretty vivid dreams but lately my happy hormones are really making for some really psychedelic and weird experiences!!

Today I went to my first yoga class. Wow!! It's a class specifically for pregnancy and was absolutely fantastic. This must become a regular thing for me... I felt soooooo good at the end. In fact I was feeling so mellow that when I got outside to discover the car wouldn't start... I'd left the lights on... the battery was flat... ... ... it wasn't a problem maaaan! Heh! Most of my class mates had left already so I phoned AA and sat in the drivers seat snoozing, soaking up the sun streaming through the windscreen and basking in the lovely tingly afterglow from the class! I can only hope that it will help me deal with labour in such a relaxed way... time will tell!

Bits and pieces... ups and downs...

Well... I've had an interesting day pottering about the place. A few loads of washing had been done and I've really just been dicking about... clearing out paper work... doing dishes... nothing very exciting. ..
I also hooked up my cassette player to the computer and have been trying to sort through a pile of tapes to see what needs to be digitised and preserved. Some of the cassettes are just music recordings but there are a few very precious memories there too... recordings of myself and my brothers and sister singing, telling jokes and reciting nursery rhymes... heh!! That's a bit of a giggle!
There's also songs my grandparents have recorded of the TV... yes... they used to stick the tape recorder next to the telly to record the various songs and performances from TV shows of the day!
There are clips of my grandparents singing... with us and with their nieces and nephews... my Grandfather belting out a version of 'Call of the Bellbird' that reduced me to tears with memories.
And... my absolute favourite... a recording of my grandfather telling me his version of 'The Hobbyards' ... I absolutely loved this story as a kid, most probably the reason my grandfather taped it as I would ask for him to tell it over and over again... in fact there is a conversation about this also captured on the tape as he finishes the story...

Grandfather: There... how was that then?
Me: Can you tell it again?
Grandfather: You want to hear it again?! But you've just heard it twice!
Me: No....... I've only heard it two times!

LOL!! There's still a few more tapes to go through and figure out what is on them but I think I've probably found most of the gems!! It's a good feeling to get these done before the tapes degrade with time.

So now it's nearly time to put some dinner in the oven and settle in with my patchwork to watch the fishing shows!!

Getting my head around this...

... this whole getting pregnant thing is a pretty surreal buzz. I'm not entirely sure reality has hit yet. Sure I've started researching nappies and prams, talking about maternity leave, finding clothes to fit my expanding figure...
...but really it's all been a bit like a game...
...until this week when my stomach has started doing odd feeling flip-flops and I think I'm starting to feel baby moving... lordy! There really is something in there...
... I'm gonna be a mummy!

Bumps in the road...

Here I am... sneaking in... a bit ashamed I have been AWOL for so long...
Interesting times indeed... I'm not sure I want to talk about it all...
About Tom being away on the island for so long (from Christmas through to the end of May)... about missing him madly... about starting to think I was depressed... about feeling so tired and lethargic that I stopped going to belly dance classes... gasp!! I know! I don't want to talk about considering getting some professional advice about how I was feeling...

... what do I want to talk about ... now that I'm here, back in blog-land....

Lets start with the latest bump in the road... there's no doubt this bump is going to get bigger... and bigger... and will most likely get in the road a lot... until some time in early January... when we are expecting a child!!! Lordy!! Yay!!

So there you go... after last year's disappointment we are now very excited! And Libby is already calculating projected babysitting earnings!

Phew... now that that is out in the open, I've got to get ready for bellydance class... but I promise not to leave it so long next time..... honest!!

My new addiction...

Hello my name is Janene and I've been spending too much time playing "Pirates" on facebook... Oooh aaarrrr!
Aside from that I've (finally) been playing around with Adobe Elements, which we got at Christmas. All my videos to date have been pulled through Windows Movie Maker but I wanted to branch out a bit more ... Elements has soooo much more to play about with! You can see my first wee production over on our "family blog". I have even scrathed to surface of the available features yet but will work on it as I get time.
Aside from that we've been busy back and forth to the Island. Just had a lovely weekend over there with friends - their first visit to GBI.
Much busy-ness at work and the new term of bellydance classes has started... all keeping me out of trouble... mostly... heh!
So this is a short post ... more to come soon... fingers crossed!

Cry me a river...

... I've had a fabulous weekend. Really, I have.
So why is it... that peering out the corner of the window from the back seat of the plane as we were pulling up into the air... and seeing my man, little more than a speck on the ground, waving his arm in the air... has me bawling my eyes out?
Gah!! I'm glad we didn't stop at the bottle store for a couple of ice cold G&T premixes... something w do occasionally on hot days, waiting at the airport... I'm weepy enough without it.... Sheeesh... tears rolling down my face as I type!! Overly emotional no??
I guess that despite being over on the island for the weekend, I miss him madly. Tom's kayaking mates were there so whilst there was lots of fun to be had, we didn't really get any "us" time.
I've already booked myself flights over for next weekend... to hell with the housework!!

Too much fishing...

... is there such a thing? I'll admit for a few moments last weekend I felt as though it was most certainly possible.

It had been a very busy week. Not only did I have the shock of being back on the mainland and back to work but I had been running about in the evenings trying to assemble a load of stuff for Tom's kayak trip... all the things he wasn't able to source of organise from over there.
I arrived at Claris airport feeling shattered! Tom arrived to pick me up and asked, "Wanna go fishing?"

To be honest it was the last thing I really wanted to do right then, I was feeling tired and harrassed from my week back in the city... I just wanted to relax. We decided to go to the sports club for a cold beer. A couple of jugs later we went home and Tom cooked up the steak I'd taken over with me... after a week of sandwiches on the run for dinner it was lovely to put my feet up and enjoy the meal. Once I'd eaten I could barely keep my eyes open... Tom said I was snoring before my head hit the pillow.

I was deep asleep.... Tom was stirring.... I peeked through one eyelid to see it was still dark but I knew it was getting closer to morning. I knew what was coming... Tom gave me a nudge, "oi... you awake?".
I played dead... it wasn't hard to do. Then there was a bigger nudge... "Mmmmmmmphrrrm? Whaaaat?"
"Wanna go fishing? The wind has dropped, it'll be pretty flat out there. If we go now we can be on the water by 6."
"Errrphmmmmm...."
"Well? You in?"
"No babe... can't move... tooooo tired.... you go on ahead...."
"You sure?"
"Mmmmmmhm... have fun"

With that he was off.... I lay there in my doped state listening to him get his gear together and thinking. Why? Why do we have to be fishing every spare moment? It was too much... sucking the joy out of it for me... aarrggh..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzzzzz

I woke up a couple of hours later in a better frame of mind and pulled out my book. After an hour or so of reading I was starting to feel more human... I had needed that extra sleep and after a couple of cups of coffe I was feeling human again. It was okay, we could go out together for a fish again in the evening.
I pottered about the place until Tom arrived home at about 10:30.
"You didn't miss much babe... it was pretty hard going and not much happening"
I went out to the van to get my camera out. That's when I saw it... a large tail poking out of the fish bin... I laughed... "Sure it was a slow morning!"
"It was! I didn't get that until I was about to head home... and it was on my last scrungy bait!"
Still... it'd be fair to say he was pretty pleased with himself....

This one weighed in at a bit over 12 pound... a bit big for just the two of us so the decision was made to smoke him and share it around with our neighbours.

Too much fishing indeed!! What was I thinking?.... Sheeesh!

We set out again in the late afternoon for an evening fish. Tom had decided to drop the collapsable cray-pot he'd been given by a friend but once we got to the wharf we realised we'd left the fish frames we would use to bait it at home. He decided to drive back up to the house and get it so I started paddling out ... he would catch up later.

I'd made for "my spot" where I've had the most luck this summer and set myself up. Just as I saw Tom paddling out of the bay towards me I hooked up. By the time Tom had reached me I'd landed a reasonable snapper... that would do us for dinner with a bit of bread and butter.

Tom carried on past me to set the cray-pot and then headed out into deeper water to try his luck out there.

It was a lovely evening so I opened a beer to celebrate it and kicked back. I hooked up another 3 fish... all well over the legal minimum but only kept one... no need to get too carried away! It was pretty slow going though all in all. The fish seemed to be in mid water which meant they weren't on the bite... just cruising. It looked like Tom was paddling back towards me... then I took a hard strike as I was winding my line in. For a while I thought maybe I'd hooked a kahawai but it didn't seem quite right... not running anywhere as much as a kahawai would although I had spooled my rod with a heavier braid that afternoon so maybe that was making the difference? We played tug of war for a while before I could see colour... I reach around for the net... I was going to play this one safe. Tom arrived just as I was landing it. I think he was secretly pleased to see it was not in contention with his fish from the morning.

We pottered about a little more enjoying the sunset before we decided to call it a day. It's always pretty special to be out on the water at this time of night... some of the sunsets are so stunning! This wasn't a particularly spectactular one ... no clouds for the colurs to bounce about with. It was more like a dye leak, the colour slowly moving across the sky getting deeper as time went on.

Then ... the natural wonders never cease... as we got closer into the wharf the water started lighting up. The were some good strong spots of phospherence and the kayaks glowed blue along the water looking for all the world like we had the naff blue lights all the boy-racers install under their cars... except much cooler! We were like a couple of 6 years olds with cap guns... only a lot damper! Splashing about to make the water glow. This bit of video gives you some idea... the white light is my headlight and it's reflection but the flashes of blue are from me splashing with my paddle... awesome!!

Eventually we decided to give up playing and head home for a fish dinner... some for us and some for the neighbours... it doesn't get much fresher than that.

Is there such a thing as too much fishing? Myth and fairytales... don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Foiled!!

Well ... yesterday we went for a drive over the hill and the view looked like this...

Today when we went for a drive it looked like this...

Yes! The weather gods had conspired in my favour... I was due to fly out in the afternoon... the holiday would be over but with so much low cloud it was likely that the flights would be cancelled. The flights from the island navigate by sight only, they are after all only tiny planes! If the visibility was crap there would be no flight home... deep down I was ecstatic... the inevitable wold be delayed , if only for another day....

Tom said to me "You are a witch!"...

I cackled... Mwaahahaaa!

It was not to be... within a few hours this weather had blown over and my flight would be running as scheduled... dagnamit!

And so... here I am... back on the mainland... counting sleeps until I fly back out again (only 5)... and trying not to think about going back to work in the morning!

Sigh!

It's not all sweetness and light...

Just so you know, we still get wind and rain even though we are on holiday.

We watched this spectacular example of weather closing in from our possie on the beach... we were doomed from the start... all our gear, including kayak and a beach shelter... We just had to accept there was no escape! But man was it spectaular! Thunder, lightning, rain and wind!! It's never dull around here!

By the time we carted everything back up to the van the worst was over and the rain was easing... just our luck!!

How blessed are we?

Oh my goodness... how will I ever be able to explain what an amazing couple of days we have had?

We had a relatively uneventful crossing on the ferry an didn't arrive on the island until close to midnight.

The first day on the island we woke up and after a Tommy special breakfast, we got busy with unpacking and trying to find spots for everything in our wee bach. Libby was frothing to get to the beach so the afternoon was beach time. Libby was like a whirling dervish - swimming, snorkling, kayaking, playing in the sand, climbing trees and then doing it all over again. She was so excited to finally be here that I think she was determined to do everything all at once - amazing energy levels!! Just when you expected her to curl up exhausted she would be away again!

New Years Eve was a quiet affair for us. A bit of bellydance and drumming on the deck at Libby's request and then an early night.

Tom was up and away early for a paddle and a fish. Libby woke up shouting "Happy New Year" and came down for breakfast. We pottered about re-arranging the bach trying to find the best place for everything to go... always a bit of an evolving process.

Tom arrived home with a 9 pound snapper - dinner was taken care of! It was a stinking hot day so we waited until about 3:00 before we went down to the beach. When we got there we were treated to this....

Words won't do this justice... and really to be honest neither does the video! What and amazing few hours we had watching this performance!

It seems criminal to be blogging when there is so much to be doing outdoors... I had to share this though and skite... if I'm not around it's because I'm busy with life on the island!