The Beast
The new fire has been installed and lit. We have dubbed it The Beast – it certainly pumps out the heat and chews through half the wood of any previous fire!
Here it is in place:
The Beast!
The Beast is a Pyroclassic and already I can recommend theses fires to anyone after just three burns!
We are so happy 
Words On The Wind: A Reading as Part of New Zealand Book Month
As part of New Zealand Book Month I, along with other authors who are members of Speculative Fiction Writers of New Zealand, will be doing a reading.
Date: Wednesday 20th of March
Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Words On The Wind
Authors:
Adventures In Moving
So we have made it to Wellington. We have this fabulous view which encompasses Karori and on one angle a brief flirtatious glimpse of the sea. We can feel our calves and thighs developing with the many, many trips up and down the stairs.
The movers were impressive, although they weren’t impressed with the stairs up to the house. We of course have spent far to much on the shift, but what can you do?
Everybody is enjoying the new house and the new city, as we start to settle into new routines.
On the not so great side it took four days for us to get phone, internet and TV. I have to say the phone lines people here in Wellington are really not very customer focused. Felt they were rude and unhelpful.
We have gained two very large three seater couches. Mainly because they can’t be taken out of the house! The previous owners must have put them in the lounge, before they took out the back door and put a pantry in its [the doors] place. To remove, or get any really large piece of furniture into the lounge, we need to take them through a window which is on the second story and needs scaffolding!
Here is one of the views – not bad huh?
Not bad view from lounge window.
After A Long Wait The Oaks Grove Is Now Available As An Ebook
The Oaks Grove is now available as an Ebook from Smashwords. Hopefully soon it will be available on Amazon!
I really like the cover!
The Oaks Grove
Baking: A Sponge Cake With A Marshmallow Filling
Inspired by Ruth Pretty’s column in today’s paper we did bake a cake. This cake is two sponge cakes filled with a marshmallow round.
Experimental
Mr. 12 was being creative and using a couple of bit of recycled electronics did this nifty experiment with static electricity. Putting the electronics in his polar-fleece track-pants he bounced on the tramp building up static electricity until it powered up the screen…
Lizards, Pasta And Phones
Brisbane: Tuesday.
Up again at 6 in the morning I blogged and watched some TV before having breakfast with colleagues. The food at the hotel hasn’t been so bad.
There was another full day of sessions at the Community Days, during which I chaired a session and also acted as the wrangler for the Kiwi user group breakout. It was a useful day and I think I have some more bits to take back to work.
After the day had finished we wondered back to the hotel. As we did we saw a lizard basking on the concrete of the University. I felt a lack of smart phone as the others took pictures. 
We decided to have a walk around the botanical gardens but they were closed because of a music festival so walked around the outside by the river. Again there were lots of interesting fauna and flora. The lizards and bird life were everywhere and there were lots of opportunities for pictures.
We met up with more colleagues and headed for this Italian place for tea. It was the most interesting setup. On arrival we were individually given a smart card. We then lined up at a counter and when we reached the front swiped the card before ordering with the chef who then cooked the dish in front of us. We could also swipe the card at a number of bars around the different floors to get drinks. At the end you took the card to the counter where they swiped it, tallied your bill and you paid. It was very popular and really nice.
Running in The Heat, Technology and Tea
Brisbane:
Monday: I awake to bright sunlight as birds are singing at 5 in the morning. Does Queensland have daylight savings? I will need to check. I went for a run a 6am. Brisbane has a lovely running/cycling track and at that time of the morning it was filled with equal parts beautiful people and people aspiring to be beautiful people. It was very hot and I am sure I sweated even more calories.
I have to say that Brisbane is rather lovely first thing in the morning, although there were a large number of homeless people sleeping under the bridges and along the sides of the running track.
After breakfast I headed down to the venue to hope onto Educause so I could do some posting from the laptop. Alas technology wasn’t for me as it wouldn’t connect. Neither would the phone. At lunch I went back to the hotel and got the iPad and that worked, and thus I was connected. I SO miss the Internet when I can’t access it.
The sessions at the CAIRSS Community Days (the work thing I am at) have been very informative and I think I have a lot to take back to work already. After the very convivial drinkies myself and most of the Kiwi contingent went and found a restaurant for tea. I had a lovely bit of steak It was a good day.
I will be chairing a session this morning (Tuesday) and I feel quite positive that it will be a good day again.
It’s looking a little windier out today but I am sure we will hit the high 20′s low 30′s (celsius) again temperature wise.
Of Bats, Lightening, Veal and Flights
Sunday and I head to Brisbane for three days for a work thing. I am still feeling a little dodgy from the stomach bug that had me laid low on Friday, but it was a short illness so everything was go for flight.
I was book via Air New Zealand though flying on a Virgin Australia flight. After I tried to book into Air New Zealand I finally figured out I was meant to book into Virgin Australia. Doh.
The plane was ok but I missed the screen on the back of the seat in front of me. I had a ticket that said I was supposed to get a meal, drink and a movie, so when they brought the portable players around and skipped me I figured something might be wrong. Then when they skipped me with the meals my suspicions were confirmed. I showed them my itinerary but they didn’t have me on their list. Evidently there was a computer glitch in Wellington. They had also run out of meals. The flight attendant who talked to me was one of those touchy types which is always slightly uncomfortable. I did get an ice cream though.
Arriving at Brisbane we landed between thunder storms. I was off the plane and in the Taxi within 20 minutes. I love the express e-passports. Travelling into town we passed through torrential rain. Many cars had pulled over and didn’t drive until it passed. It was an interesting and nervous drive. The sky was awash with lightening, in fact you looked for the gaps in the light rather than the light itself. It was impressive.
I met up with two colleagues from Waikato University who are staying at the same hotel and we headed out to find some food. The storms had passed and the air had a hot wet feel. We found a nice French bistro and had a lovely piece of veal. On the way back to the hotel a large black bat swooped out of a tree in front of us and the down the street. It was rather surreal.
That Moment When…
On a Monday morning you bend over (properly mind you) to put down a box you are carrying on the floor and your pants seam gives way.
Followed by that moment when you realise that your spare pants are 200 km away at home and you aren’t going to be home till Wednesday.
Followed by that moment when you realise that pay day isn’t till Wednesday and you have no emergency jeans buying fund.
Followed by that moment that you hope that a: the person you are staying with has cotton for her sewing machine and can show you how to mend your trousers or b: the E.I.C. gets paid early.
Followed by that moment when you head to the bathroom and have a moment of relief that as long as you don’t move around to much it isn’t obvious!
I am luaghing on the inside 
honest…
