It’s been a packed one, really.
I should be working. I promised myself I’d work until it was late enough to reasonably ring John, and then stop. But no…
Blah.
Anyway, the weekend. The weekend did righteously rock.
Where to start?
On Thursday I picked up a Record Deck from freecycle, a Rotel RP-1300, if anyone’s got a manual (!) – and en-route I found what appeared to be an abandoned Series IIa landrover. Well, to be more accurate – it was very badly parked (partially in a hedge / pile of branches), missing a window, had cobwebs in it… and was untaxed. So I came home, and after chatting to Trey I had a look on the DVLA’s website and found that it’d not been taxed for 2 years, not MOT’d for just under 3… And thought to myself, ooh, SIIa landy, I’ll have that.
So I went down to have a look at it…with Trey, and it’d gone. So someone’s heading around in an untaxed/unmot’d landy :(
Anyway, it’s probably for the best.
So, we pottered around, went to Bookbarn to get a map of Wales, found that their Map section, indeed all of shelves 1-90 are currently in the midst of a major rebuild; but we pottered around there for a while, and then we headed over to Trey’s lesson. Where she rode around on stompy horses ; after which she got changed and we headed into town.
Now, for reasons which constantly escape me, probably money really, I hardly ever end up going shopping – which means that Trey and I have been into Bristol City Centre like twice. So, we go parked up, and tramped into town; where we wandered to St. Nicks market and ate Junk food (Trey’s definition, I’d not call Chicken in Black Bean Sauce with Egg Fried Rice in a cafe, or Curry (which I had) Junk Food, but she does… and everyone *mutter* agrees *mutter* with *mutter* her).
Anyway, we then started the search for a coat for Trey, to replace the one left on top of a mountain in the Lakes. During the search, we discovered ShakeKing. Now, I’m sorry, but this place just ROCKS. It does. Okay? Milkshakes in sooo many flavours. Muh.
And Parma Violet? A Parma Violet flavour shake?! Perhaps there is a god! Mmmmmmmmmm.
Yum.
Yeah. Then we found Trey a coat, in Blacks of all places. Normally the world’s most expensive shop; Trey berating me the whole time for dragging her in there ;-) and there it was. 30 quid for a 50 quid coat that looks *lush*. Sadly, there was only one on the rail – otherwise I’d’ve equiped myself for the land of the freezing.
Anyway, we headed home, then headed out to see Corpse Bride, which was visually beautiful and touching, and really… well, what you’d expect from a Tim Burton animation. Lush scenery, gorgeous animation and really, really reached into me and I admit, there was a tear in my eye, now and then.
Theeeen. See, we’ve not even got to Sunday yet.
Sunday. Well, see, a while back my friend Nikki said she’d never had a birthday party in all her life. She’s 26! I felt it was time to rectify this, so chatted to her partner, Kate , and my friend Lauren and obviously Trey – and decided to organise a Suprise kids birthday party.
By Sunday, I had the ingredients for Carrot Cake (her favourite), I’d wrapped up some ‘stuff’ for pass the parcel, a bag of 50 balloons, party hats, party cups, party plates, party horns, party napkins, pink candles and holders, the word Happy Birthday cut out of Minor magazines each featuring as much Morris Minor as I could shoe-horn in… I then had to pelt, hell for leather to Tesco, because Woolworths didn’t stock flipping cake tins, and also I didn’t have party-lunch-food.
Arriving back, I then had to tell Kate to delay Nikki by an hour, so that the cake would be cooked (it was a close run thing getting it iced); and then sat using my tyre pump to blow up about 20 balloons (with John’s help)…
And sticking them to the wall…
Around Trey’s sticking up of the Happy Birthday. They turned out to be quite explosive balloons, which might be related to their discount-store heritage.
Trey then suggested Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which she mutated into Pin the wheel on the Minor…
Fortunately, she can actually draw; whereas I can’t, so she drew a very cute cartoon mog, in pink, for the purpose…
Eventually, I managed to get the cake done, and iced… and with some difficulty managed to arrange 26 pink candles onto it. (This is the first time I’ve ever iced a cake… be gentle)
Just a few minutes later, Nikki arrived… and it really was a surprise. There were little tears of happiness in the corners of her eyes, which made the whole thing completely worth while. She seemed to be a bit overwhelmed really, by the whole thing, but it felt really good to do something unexpected for a really good freind.
Anyway, a couple more pics (I’m afraid my camera was set to macro, for some strange reason, so they’re all kind blury)
And finally, we presented her with the burning fireball of doom cake; sang Happy Birthday (horrendously out of tune); introduced our resident Fully-American to Pass the Parcel (I can’t believe that you don’t have that over there?!) and… yes pin’d the wheel on the minor. At which I did worst, but only because Nikki turned the picture upsidedown while I was blindfolded!
Aaanyway, *then* we went kite flying; only we didn’t. We (Trey and I) forgot that we were meant to meet at Nikki’s first, so went to the destination; missed the traffic entirely, sat around for 30 minutes
Went for a wander up to where they normally fly. Found it was *completely* still, decided that they must have gone somewhere else, and headed home to carve pumpkins:
This is the first time I’ve ever carved pumpkins, and it rocked. So ra.
Then, we watched Team America, World Police – which is brilliant. Mmm, SuperMarionation (sp.). Though, the sex scene, that’s just wrong. Yeah.
So *that* was my weekend.
It rocked.
