An update on life...

Despite it officially being Autumn now and the noticeably shorter days, the weather here continues to be hot, hot, hot. Several parts of the country have been declared drought zones and while we aren’t quite that bad in Wellington (thanks to a big dumping of rain in January), it’s still very dry here. We’ve got a fire ban in place and a ban on garden sprinklers and irrigation systems too, and everywhere is looking slightly less green than usual and a bit more brown/yellow. 

Not that we mind this weather at all! This summer has been just stunning, and we’ve all enjoyed it so much. Last night we made the most of the warm evening and did homemade Chinese takeaway – (ie I cooked a ginger beef & broccoli noodle stir fry and put it in an old takeaway box) and then we took it, with a bottle of chilled wine, to the park and let the kids play off all their energy until the sun went down. 

But our little Falklands-born boy has always struggled with the heat. I’m sure it’s got something to do with his initiation into life being in a cool climate. He didn't do too well in Alice Springs, and this summer he's been mostly seen with a very red face and all grumpy and lethargic from the heat. He isn’t sleeping well in this mugginess and has once again begun creeping into other beds at night - which seems to help him sleep a bit better (but not the rest of the family!)

But none of that has stopped his great appetite and he continues to eat, eat, and eat some more. So does his father in fact. 

So I am permanently to be found in the kitchen, cooking up endless meals, preparing lunchboxes, after-school snacks, pre-race carb-loaded meals, post-race recovery meals, etc etc etc. It is a never-ending task – but I’ve brought home a great big pile of Donna Hay recipe books from the library and I’m having a bit of fun with it all.

 

I did get an evening off the cooking last weekend though, as I celebrated my birthday with an evening out to the most fabulous little Polish bistro in Plimmerton. I've been wanting to try it for ages, as I'd heard lots of good things, but as we very rarely ever go out to dinner and it's a little way out of town as well, I hadn't yet managed to get there. 

So, we managed to persuade a couple of friends to be brave enough to try Polish cuisine with us and all four of us absolutely loved it. All I can say is it was nothing like the Pierogi I remember from childhood and the Chocolate Bomb desert was to die for! Thanks to all at Torpor - we will definitely be back!  

Also on my birthday I spent the morning watching Jake (and a few other of our friends) compete in an ocean swim. Lots of fun with all the kids on the beach, trying to spot Dad in the water and cheering everyone on!

The summer months are most definitely birthday season for us - not only for ourselves, but both kids have been at their friends' birthday parties every weekend for what seems like ages.  Alfie's also been up on stage in his very first school assembly this week, which I have to say was the cutest thing in the world. And other than that, two members of the family have recently had a new haircut....