You are not alone.

Went out yesterday with LoM to get new tramping boots. I thought it would take an hour or so...four hours later I managed to find some. Apparently that was very good in terms of how long it could have taken. Really good shop assistants in all the shops we went to as well which makes a nice change. Knowledgeable and helpful. Plus the boots are surprisingly comfortable. I guess they should be - they cost enough! I'm all ready for #84 Walk Auckland/Atuanui mountain on August 12. Just checking out the thermos to see whether it would be suitable to take with us. Hopefully the heavy rain will stay away - I don't mind a little bit of rain but I'd rather not get soaked!

Other progress areas
#35 Cook through the Edmonds cookbook
The more I do this the less scary baking becomes. I have no trouble whipping up a cake or a batch of biscuits after dinner. Our cupboards are well stocked with baking ingredients.

#87 A-Z reading challenge - titles
"Pride and Prejudice" Jane Austen
The original chicklit novel - girl meets boy, girls dislikes boy, boy thinks girl's family are embarassing, boy reluctantly falls in love with girl, boy declares himself, girl is incredulous, boy goes away, girl suffers period of angst and consternation then it all works out in the end.
What did I think?
It took me a while to get into this novel. Orginally I wondered what the hell I'd gotten myself into (bad vibes for #19 Read all of Jane Austen) but then I came to appreciate the elgeance of some of her sentences. So in the end I quite enjoyed it. I took it to the last film of the film festival (for me at least.) Funnily enough one of the actors in that film was in the latest film version of the book I had just read. Everything is linked right?

That film was "Death at a funeral". (#76 Attend films I want to see - by myself if necessary.) This choice for me was a bit of a wild card. I liked one of the actors in it but wasn't sure that it was actually a valid reason for going. Boy was I glad that I had decided to go! Very very funny. I was wiping tears away at one stage. Nicely paced and edited - there was a section of high comedy then one of high drama. The whole theatre went silent. Quite a good result considering it was packed out (at the Civic) and had moments before been in hysterics. Sure, there were some over the top moments, but it could be forgiven in that environment. Best seen in a large theatre with lots of people. (There was applauding after this film which I totally understood.)

#86 A-Z reading challenge - authors
Izzard, Eddie "Dressed to kill"
An old title (almost ten years old) written when Mr Izzard was just starting to get into films and become known over here in NZ. Musings on life with a bit of biography thrown in.
What did I think?
Another wild card choice - I wasn't sure what to read so I thought I'd search the library catalogue for the first last author listed in the "I"s. I think I'd already read it but I found it interesting all the same. I'd just read an interview so it was a lucky coincidence that this book came up. Lots of fun if you don't mind philosophy and the occasional tangent in your biographies.