Rainbow Land
New Zealand, or Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud) could also be called Land of the Wonderful Rainbows. We get lots of really good rainbows here. Below is a picture Claire took of one she saw this week.
On Saturday, Nicky and I were driving back from Claire Cottage across the harbour bridge. Just before you get to the bridge heading south, there is a great view of downtown Auckland across the harbour with boats in the foreground. On Saturday, all we could see of downtown was the outlines of the tall buildings and Sky Tower shrouded in a mist of heavy rain. As we drove towards the bridge a rainbow appeared with each end appearing to be rising out of the water of the harbour, and it sped along the surface of the sea chasing us as we approached and crossed the bridge - spectacular! Of course, the reason why we get so many rainbows in NZ is the occurrence of the two necessary ingredients: some rain and some sun. In England, it tended to be more a case of some rain and some rain.
Nicky's cold has improved this week but left her with sinusitis. She went to the doctor on Saturday and he prescribed some anti-biotics. Even though these are different from what she had last time, they have had the same effect on her digestion as before so she had a very poor nights sleep with having to get up frequently.
Elsewhere on the work front, I have also been suffering with a cold but am starting to improve. I have done a couple of modelling jobs this week and a little MacOnSite work. Claire has continued with her usual Whitcoulls and University routine, though she came home early on Thursday due to her having a cold!
So, between us, we are a pretty unhealthy bunch at the moment. However, this did not stop us celebrating Katharine and Ben's wedding. Steve, Ros, Stella and the children joined us on Saturday evening. We had sushi, teriyaki steak and veg, chicken and Derby Pie and cheesecake - all very delicious. There was a bit of a disturbing sock thing happening though.
Earlier in the day Nicky and I had been up to Claire Cottage to do some painting in the kitchen. It needs a second coat but was looking much fresher.
Today has been Mothers' Day, which is a much more significant event in NZ than in England. Claire bought Nicky a ticket for Potted Potter, a 70 minute parody of the 7 Harry Potter books which has been on at the Edinburgh Fringe. We bought a ticket for Lucy for an early Birthday present, and the four of us went along this afternoon and enjoyed the show.
The weather is much more autumnal now, with the temperatures dropping and the rain showers becoming heavy. Still, it won't last forever.
Bye for now,
Rick
On Saturday, Nicky and I were driving back from Claire Cottage across the harbour bridge. Just before you get to the bridge heading south, there is a great view of downtown Auckland across the harbour with boats in the foreground. On Saturday, all we could see of downtown was the outlines of the tall buildings and Sky Tower shrouded in a mist of heavy rain. As we drove towards the bridge a rainbow appeared with each end appearing to be rising out of the water of the harbour, and it sped along the surface of the sea chasing us as we approached and crossed the bridge - spectacular! Of course, the reason why we get so many rainbows in NZ is the occurrence of the two necessary ingredients: some rain and some sun. In England, it tended to be more a case of some rain and some rain.
Nicky's cold has improved this week but left her with sinusitis. She went to the doctor on Saturday and he prescribed some anti-biotics. Even though these are different from what she had last time, they have had the same effect on her digestion as before so she had a very poor nights sleep with having to get up frequently.
Elsewhere on the work front, I have also been suffering with a cold but am starting to improve. I have done a couple of modelling jobs this week and a little MacOnSite work. Claire has continued with her usual Whitcoulls and University routine, though she came home early on Thursday due to her having a cold!
So, between us, we are a pretty unhealthy bunch at the moment. However, this did not stop us celebrating Katharine and Ben's wedding. Steve, Ros, Stella and the children joined us on Saturday evening. We had sushi, teriyaki steak and veg, chicken and Derby Pie and cheesecake - all very delicious. There was a bit of a disturbing sock thing happening though.
Earlier in the day Nicky and I had been up to Claire Cottage to do some painting in the kitchen. It needs a second coat but was looking much fresher.
Today has been Mothers' Day, which is a much more significant event in NZ than in England. Claire bought Nicky a ticket for Potted Potter, a 70 minute parody of the 7 Harry Potter books which has been on at the Edinburgh Fringe. We bought a ticket for Lucy for an early Birthday present, and the four of us went along this afternoon and enjoyed the show.
The weather is much more autumnal now, with the temperatures dropping and the rain showers becoming heavy. Still, it won't last forever.
Bye for now,
Rick
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