I am cooking dinner. Rice, chicken with coriander, ginger, garlic, soy, sesame oil, fresh beans steamed on the rice, and mango, which I shall mix in with the chicken at the end. Sound nice? I think I'll do a cashew nut sauce on top. *g* Can you tell I'm on holiday?

I did go to work this morning for a couple of hours, after dropping the car off to get the wiper fixed. This afternoon I caught a bus to get the car back, then JC jnr popped in to say hello. He leaves in a week and hasn't done all his packing yet. Later we bought some test pots for repainting Christy's purple bedroom in grey! The children went to a movie at lunchtime, Cloverfield. It scared them all with some good effects and sudden deaths - and apparently had the dumbest ending ever. Christy was disappointed and she said lots of people were walking out of the theatre cursing and swearing about it! I'm glad Finn was away.

Speaking of Finn, I hope he makes it back home - he's been in the Wairarapa with his little buddy, Paul, and there are huge winds. My friend who is minding him texted me to check the reports. I said there was a wind warning on the Rimutakas, posted at 4 p.m. and she was hoping to cross at five or six (she was waiting for the glazier, the wind smashed their back door window). So yeah, it's still hot but absolutely gusting with wind now. Our car was covered in sea spray on the way back from the paint shop.

I have found a new assignment option today for my philosophy girls which would avoid the 'does God exist' essay! I'm not ready to grapple that one in Term One. I don't care if they believe in God or not, hell, some days I struggle with that, but I'd rather not read their essays on it just now!

And Phil Gulley wrote back after I emailed him about a couple of things. He's so cool. Between him and Nick, I am so incredibly lucky, and I've decided I like writers a lot more than actors.

I have a whole new extension for the ending of Safe. I worked it out on the bus. I think it'll give the ending a little more depth and validity. I'm going to work on that after dinner. Or before, if Finn is late. Still, we might wait for him. It's only a quarter to seven now.