Labour Weekend

Today, the fourth Monday in October is Labour Day in New Zealand and therefore a public holiday.   So it has been a long holiday weekend.
On Saturday I drew up a list of everything I needed to get done and the order in which I would do it so as to be home before the roads closed at the Eden Park Rugby Stadium.   Then I started this .....

Once the tacking was completed I searched my Perle Threads for a suitable match and no luck.   Oh dear oh dear.   Quickly, before Hercule Poirot came on the television I started this....   

No tacking needed and necessary Perle Thread in stash.   Dear old Hercule accompanied me to this point and at 11pm I went off for some beauty sleep.

Sunday I did some more of this......  Not far to go now and I intend to make this into a cushion for which I have purchased the backing fabric.   That was a marathon shopping effort -  I looked at pink.   No this is definitely not pink.   Try apricot.    No definitely not apricot.   Try a print - too large; then too small.   Run out of patience and declare "I must go home" and lo and behold the exact toned print material appears before my eyes.   Whoopee.

Then in order to ensure I can legitimately call myself a New Zealander I prepared for a rugby watching session on the television.   Having got through this Rugby World Cup without watching one match I felt compelled to see this final one through.   My brothers are to blame for my singular lack of knowledge of our national sport.   They didn't play rugby so I have no idea of the rules or the tactics but I do know how to score and to yell speak loudly at the television offering advice to "my" side and telling the French where to go and when to stop and what to do!
"Just hold on to the ball", she shouted.   "There's only a minute and a half to go"!!  
Now, I know I live very close to the stadium but this was really a little over the top!   Anyway with my expert coaching and sideline encouragement the All Blacks WON!!   My whole city, indeed my whole country is happy and very tired.
And since you ask, yes the HDHBEM did sit up and watch.   She's far more enthusiastic than I, but today she is not only half deaf half blind, she is also half awake and her heart has gone into atrial fibrillation.   So she's medicated and in bed!   How silly of us both to suffer so for a sport we don't even enjoy.   But then, we do enjoy basking in the glory and gloating over our win.
This morning in honour of our win I stitched myself a black pencil skirt for work.  Nothing major but a good fit and tonight I will put up the hem.   How suitable, I thought to myself, a black skirt to commemorate an All Black win.   I don't even need to go into The City to join the victory parade.   I can have my little celebration right here at home!

This afternoon I drove out to Muriwai Beach;  without my camera so these shots were taken on my cheap mobile telphone.   It was a glorious day and there were several intrepid men gliding off the cliffs in these fragile looking paragliders.   Good on them.   For me this is definitely a specatator sport.
Well I have had a lovely weekend and I'm off now to grill chicken for dinner and then it will be an early night as I have work tomorrow.   What a shame!