rwrylsin

Enjoyed a very pleasant long weekend at home. The weather was perfect for spending lots of time outside, so it was no great hardship to be out working on the patio for most of it.

The trench by the wall was filled in, a new one dug down the middle and a drain installed before filling it in again and leveling the area. Gravel and sand were shoveled out of the driveway. A compactor was eventually located and applied to the surface, gravel and sand spread and compacted, then compactor returned before laying a few pavers before dark on Monday night.
Now we just need to get the rest of them down before the rain arrives and plays havoc with our carefully leveled sand.

I also did a bit of pruning during moments when I was waiting on David, rearranged rocks on the rockery, and put in a new shrub.
The garden centre at the 24 hour Kmart is becoming my favourite. It's small and doesn't really have much range, their seedlings tend to look a bit unhappy, but it does have a very good selection of interesting native plants.

On Sunday morniendil came over for a game of Roborally, and we migrated to the Wii when that was done. I ate too many Jaffas again, and have proved they really do disagree with me quite badly. Another Jaffa hangover on Monday, fighting the urge to finish off the pack. No more Jaffas for me.

I think that mostly accounts for the weekend. Didn't manage to get out and see a movie, no bricklaying done, kitchen resisted all efforts to tidy it, but I guess we'll get to everything in due course.

On Friday we finally dragged ourselves off to the gym, and now I have some new exercises to do, including a whole bunch of things that look like they'll be good for my back. (6 weeks since my last chiropractor visit, and I'm only just starting to have problems. I'm improving!) We also picked up the latest package from Leon Paul with some new fencing equipment we wanted ahead of the Scottish International.
Saturday was filled with much procrastination and little action, although I did get some housework done.
Sunday David was supposed to be going to Stirling for a fencing training day, but he was still too sore from the gym on Friday. Instead we slept in, then drove to Edinburgh to join some LJers for hot chocolate again. A very nice drive, the sun was shining, snow covered mountains in the distance, and the sky the exact same shade of blue as The Simpsons opening sequence - even had the same shape of clouds.
This time I tried the "Ultimate Extravaganza" (or extravagance? Indulgence? Something like that...) which is the strongest option at 100% with milk, and chillies on the side. Very tasty, the chillies give a nice zing, and the beverage clings to the spoon in a very impressive manner. The side glass of water was necessary.

Speaking of chocolate, the new Lindt Dark Hazelnut is very nice as well. At this point I hasten to reassure my parents that I am eating plenty of fruit and nuts and other proper foodstuffs as well.

davidcook seems to have volunteered to organise an LJ gathering in Glasgow. I watch with interest, and will make sure he doesn't pick Greggs as the venue.
On bakeries, the bosses at work have stopped bribing us to come to team meetings. This is a great shame, the Scots make much better Chocolate Eclairs than the average Aussie bakery.

Eastercon and the Birmingham International fencing tournament are go. We have leave from work, and are not afraid to travel!