Gosh, so much has happened since my last post. Where to start?

Well, with work I guess. I have been offered a permanent contract at Countdown, to carry out relays (reorganising categories and cutting in new lines) for the four stores in the Hawkes Bay region. I suggested to the regional manager that there was a role for someone to do this, and that I'd like to do it, and he agreed! So, that means I can stay in Hawkes Bay. Yippee!!!! The money still isn't very good, but I can survive. I will keep looking for other work, but it definitely takes the pressure off for now.

The huger news is that my brother Peter has secured a big role in the upcoming movies of The Hobbit. He is to play Gloin, a Scottish dwarf. We are all hugely proud of him and delighted that he has landed such a prestigious role. It means three years work for him, and will change his life. Isn't that the best news ever?

I've also been training to be an online shopper - picking and packing orders for customers who place them through the website. It is a really fun job, if a bit stressful at times. Been helping out when they are shorthanded.

So, I think I will stop this blog now. I really struggled to find a job, and the job I got I sort-of designed for myself! Still shows me that there is a very tight job market here in the Bay.

Thanks for reading.

The last three days, the rain was unstoppable

Yes, another great Petty lyric. True for Hawke's Bay, it has just been cold and wet here since Monday. Back to winter.

News not great on the job front. Last week I got rejections for three fulltime jobs I'd applied for. The first was the one I really wanted, in the production kitchen at Telegraph Hill olivery. They seemed interested but have gone for someone with chefing experience. The second was receptionist at the hospice here, and the third was to be a travel agent. That hurt - they sent me the standard rejection email for the travel agent job, and then had the gall to readvertise the job the next day. Ouch!

In the meantime I have a job interview in Wellington on 8 November. Looks like a move is on the horizon for me, there just seem to be more opportunities in Wellington. If it comes to pass I will view it as a short-term thing - and plan to live here again within 3 years or so.

I have been learning to be an online shopper at Countdown in Napier. I am finding it quite challenging - there's a lot to remember, and the pressure is really on to get orders picked and packed by their pickup time. Day 3 today and I got a bit stressed - just hate it when I forget things, and have to ask dumb questions. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. It is keeping me fully employed for the next two weeks, anyway.

Spent the weekend in Levin. Lucky for me my dear friends from school days, Lucie-Jane and Jane, were also there on Saturday and we had a lovely couple of hours together. There's something so nice about seeing friends you've known that long (32 years), good therapy for me.

Saturday night Niamh and Mum and I went to the theatre sports evening at the Levin Performing Arts Society. What a hoot. MCd by two actors Darlene Mohekey and Sally Tohill, in character as Tash and Nay, two bogun chicks from Levin. The teams were all amateur actor-types so they were familiar with being on stage. A good night out. Highlight for me was Tash and Nay demonstrating their synching prowess with a crack at Bohemian Rhapsody. Outstanding air-guitar and air-keyboarding.

ps. the pasta was a huge hit and the cake was good too. If you haven't eaten fresh handmade pasta, you really haven't lived. It is so soft and delicious. 5 eggs and 500g of pasta flour made more than enough for 9 adults. Fun to make and delicious to eat. It does take up a whole afternoon to roll it out with the pasta machine, however. Put some Verdi on the cd player and drink Montepulciano, and you've got it sussed.

You tell me

The title of this post is a Tom Petty song, You Tell Me, from Damn the Torpedoes. It is one of my alltime favourites, and I don't have it on cd!!! My lovely big brother found and gave me a dvd of a film about the making of Damn the Torpedoes and I rediscovered how much I love that song.

Anyways, today is a gorgeous spring day in Havelock North. Sophie is up here working and we met at the Lions book fair in Napier this morning.

I cleaned up - this is a list of what I got at the fair. FOR $5!!!!!!

• English Marie Claire magazine (far superior to the Aussie one) March 2008 with Rachel Weisz on the cover
• 3 copies of North & South magazine, for Mum cos she likes the articles
• 'The long view' by Elizabeth Jane Howard
• 3 books of piano music, for Mum who now has her piano again
• a little cookbook from the American Culinary Arts Institute (of Julia Child fame) titled '230 sandwiches', also for Mum who loves a sandwich
• 'Winter puddings', Cordon Bleu, 1971
• 'Jane Eyre', Charlotte Bronte, a lovely hardback edition, because Sophie and I watched "Definitely, Maybe" last week
• 'Katherine', Anya Seton about Katherine Swynford and the Duke of Lancaster in the 1300s
• 'Fast desserts', Mary Berry
• 'The kiwi surf club cook book', undated but from pre decimal currency time judging by the ads
• 'The ABC of millinery' by Madame Eva Ritcher, 1954. Divine
• 'The ballad of the sad cafe', Carson McCullers, 1963, a cool Penguin edition.
• 'Cordon Bleu - Constance Spry Entertaining', 1985. Complete with floral arrangement ideas for the table. Totes over the top.
• 'Entertaining with Kerr', Graham Kerr, 1963
• 'The Forsyte Saga', John Galsworthy,.
• New Zealand Country Women's Institutes Cookery book, 1964
• 4 editions of Vogue Knitting from 1966 and 1967 to add to my collection
• A Patons and Baldwins knitting book from the 1930s for 'ladies dressing jackets, gowns and underwear'

What a bonanza.

Last week I worked about 4 shifts, including an allnighter to help the store changeover to the new GST rate. Have applied for 5 or 6 fulltime jobs in the last week, including helping with the Census next year, and also one helping with the digital tv rollout (both based here).

An unexpected delight was that my neice Sophie came to stay for a couple of days and we had fun girl hangout times.

This afternoon I am making a lemon and orange syrup cake. Its a recipe I haven't tried before and it is for my harshest critic - Chris Owen. Also am taking my pasta machine over to theirs so Sharon can try her hand at homemade pasta.

Aileen and I are now doing 3 craft fairs in November and December, the Paekakariki School fair, the Knack Christmas fair and now the Fruit Bowl Craft Jam fair in Hastings in December. The pressure is on and I am trying to fill every spare moment with knitting rabbits and teddies. I really don't have time to go to work, actually.

One door closes

Two more teddies made - can't stop!

Yesterday I went to see the people I'd been talking to about housekeeping their luxury villas. There was something in my gut that had been telling me this wasn't the job for me, don't really know why. We had a good discussion about hours and availability and all decided that it wasn't going to work out. They can't commit more than 3 mornings a week for me, and I need another job to earn enough to survive, which might make me unavailable when they needed me last minute. They were both lovely, though, and well-connected and mentioned two other jobs that they know of that might suit me. One in particular they are going to forward my cv for. So, who knows what will come of that. She is also going to get me up there for an afternoon to help her load up photos onto websites.

And today when i got home from working at Countdown I got a call from the woman who runs online shopping at Countdown in Napier. She is going to give me a week's training at the beginning of October, with a view to working as an online shopper there.

Most of last week I spent helping get the replacement price tickets in place for the change in GST from 1 October. One of the dullest jobs I've ever done! Find the product, put the new ticket in behind the existing ticket, find the next product. Dullsville.

Went to Pink Night with the gang on Friday night. Yet again it was a blast, with everyone dressed in pink and chugging back the rose. Yet again we got virtually nothing to eat, and it was carnage for a few of us. Its such a fun night out, and being a cocktail party is all over by 8.30. Needless to say getting up for work at 6.30 the next morning was a struggle.

Happy birthday to two of my dearest friends - Sarah Spring and Chris Lamb.

And great news - Tulip has booked her flights to NZ, arriving Boxing Day for 3 weeks. Yay!!!

Bunnies and rabbits

Our first craft fair stall went pretty well yesterday. I sold $90 worth of stuff (one hat and four animals) and Aileen sold several hats and socks. Good feedback from people who looked at the stuff, and Aileen said there weren't any other stalls selling stuff like ours. So we are encouraged and will continue on to the Paekakariki Fair in November, and two Christmas fairs.

I went to meet Rose on Friday who is looking for someone to clean and housekeep for their two holiday villas and home. Should be about 10 hours a week, rising to maybe 20 in the summer. I am going to say yes if she'll have me. Plus the lady I did a turnover for on the vineyard in August has also been in touch and wants me to do her turnovers from December - said yes to that too.

Have started a new bear - this one is grey and will have a lavender dress. Also am bidding on Trademe for a pattern book that I know I used to have years ago (what happened to it?) and that has lots of other teddies etc along the lines of the ones I am making. I want to experiment with colours - how would a pale yellow bunny look?

I know, I know, two weeks since my last post.

Since then I have :

• been to Wellington for the weekend to attend the opening night of 'Shipwrecked' at Circa, directed by my brother. It was delightful, go and see it if you are in Wellington.
• also in Wellington I went to see my niece Sophie shine in 'Katydid' at Bats Theatre. A beautiful play, an astounding performance by Sophie, completely gripping and deeply moving.
• watched Niamh play soccer in the pouring rain at Khandallah.
• have been working heaps, in fact today is my 7th straight day of work, at Countdown in Napier and Hastings.
• had Mum to stay for a few days, and consequently was very well looked after.
  
• felt very sad and missed my Dad heaps on Father's Day.
• made two more rabbits for the stall on Saturday
• had three nibbles about housekeeping work, which has improved my mood immensely.
• fallen in love again with Ryan Reynolds, this time in Foolproof.
  

And of course, for non-NZ readers, we have been shaken up by the huge earthquake in Canterbury last Saturday morning. Very nervy times for us all, and you gotta feel sorry for them all down there. Stories are coming through via friends and Facebook of houses wrecked, lifted off foundations, unliveable. I bought batteries for my radio..... Check out this very cool streaming graphic done by a guy at University of Canterbury, that tracks all the aftershocks.