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.