Got all packed. Alison & I drove to her dad's to borrow a screwdriver & see if he had a couple bolts we could use. He brought out his tools, a drop cloth & a jar of nuts & bolts & told us about a bumper sticker he saw that said "Women Can Do Anything". Then he said he believes that too and he'll see us later. I like that guy. He reminds me of the main character on that Canadian show, "Red Green Show".
Alison & I tried to get the inside panel off the door but the handle of the window roller-upper-downer wouldn't budge. We took a flashlight & worked around the panel the best we could. Instead of the window attached by screws, which I'm used to, it was slid into clips. Somehow it had fallen out. We did it! I gave Alison a high 5.
Next stop was downtown to the store & the bank. I had washed my purse the night before & had taken my passport out so when I got to the bank, I wasn't able to cash my travelers checks. They couldn't take my drivers license because they had no way of knowing if it was real. I even asked if they could use Alison as a witness of who I am but they said no.
Poor Alison had to drive me back out to Jo's to get it. When we got to Jo's, Alison remembered that she gave Jo back her key so we had to go back to town, call Jo to get directions to her work, & pick up the key. It's a 10 to 15 minute drive from Jo's to town. This was getting old.
Jo said that being it was Christmas Eve, not too many people were parked behind the building & that it'd be all right to park there though normally it's not allowed. Alison drove back there, dropped me off, & tried to find a spot to park when Jo's boss drove in. He shouted angrily to get out of the parking lot, now! She sweetly told him that she was having trouble turning around & that she was waiting for a friend that worked there. He just seemed to get madder. She said to him that he must get people parking here all the time that shouldn't be. He said yah, and that seemed to calm him a little. By that time, I had gotten the key & was back out of the building getting into the car. We were both pretty upset by the way her boss treated us. I heard him yelling at her from inside the building. The next time we saw Jo, she said that he's a nice guy but will fly off the handle sometimes as Dutchmen do. "Oh", said Alison, "I understand now. He's a Dutchman." I guess Alison has had similar experiences with Dutchmen.
We drove all the way back to Jo's in Sawyers Bay then back to town to the bank, then Alison dropped me off at Otago Museum while she went to the green party office. I was a little tired of Museums so most of the time I spent in the gift shop. I finally found a NZ "beanie bear" type bear for Pam, my friend at work.
Alison picked me up & we ran over to the botanical park to meet everyone for the White Elephant. What was at the beginning of my trip to be just 5 of us, turned into 22! Even Jo joined us. I read the rules, handed out the #'s, & had everyone give their name, #, & something about them that Kinsie didn't know. We had so much fun & everyone enjoyed everyone's company. One woman even asked for my list of rules so she could do it again sometime.
I brought to the White Elephant a coconut monkey bank. He looked so funny and a lot of people wanted him. He was stolen 3 times. Alison got a nice padded coat hanger that looked like it was wearing a black leather jacket with chain. It also was stolen 3 times. I got a huge pair of pink glasses that'll look nice with my super hero costume.
I think I've started an international event that Kinsie can take to Australia & the woman with the list of rules can take to Holland. In exchange, Alison gave me the instructions to a Devonshire Tea to spread around the US.
We all parted company to have dinner & then Frank, Nina, Tansy, Kinsie, Louisa, Alison & I met at the Knox Cathedral for the candlelight midnight service. The choir & congregation sang Christmas carols. I really enjoyed that. Then our candles were lit. The minister said this was her chance to do her airline spiel then she pointed to the rear of the church & the emergency side exits just like flight attendants do. That was so funny. After the service Alison & I went back to Jo's for the night.
