Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

I am writing this during the adverts while watching Moonshot. You may have already seen this ITV dramatisation of Apollo 11's trip to the moon. Armstrong has just stepped of the LEM! Back here on Earth, Claire's is getting into the routine of her new timetable, and a range of assignments. Nicky has been well enough to go back to work, but has been very tired. I have had a busy week, both with doing some MacOnSite work and completing and handing in the remaining assignments for the main part of my massage course. I just have one assignment left for the on-site option course I did. I have to do three 20 minutes massages of three people over three weeks. I did my first session on Monday, and have the other two sessions booked. The weekend has been full of sunshine, but the clear skies have meant cold nights, down to 1 or 2 degrees. Nicky and I had a wallow at the Parakai hot pools last night, but other than that it has been our quietest weekend for awhile. And with the splashdown

Sacrebleu! and mon dieu! I almost forgot to update the blog. Just remembered when coming out of the shower. So, what's been happening this week? Well, Nicky tried going into work a couple of days but was sent home on both occasions because of not being well enough. However, now her new regime of drugs is established she is much improved and is planning to go to work again tomorrow. Claire has had her first week back at University, and has got her timetable sorted out which does mean she gets a whole day off each week! Very handy for me as I can have the car that day for going to my massage clinic. I didn't have any customers this week but am starting to do more promotional stuff. The major event this week has been the new Harry Potter film. Due to our various commitments we were not all able to see it together, but we have all seen it and enjoyed it. Probably the best yet. Today we have had family over; Jenny, Steve & Ros and Pat and Clem to welcome them back to NZ after th

It has been another week of doing things, but differently. Nicky has been off work all week. She saw a doctor about her sinuses at the weekend, and he prescribed a range of drugs which have knocked her for six. She was feeling very unsteady on her feet and not sleeping well, though still had a good appetite. She decided to see an osteopath at the Unitec clinic on Wednesday and that made a big difference. The osteopath told me what to do in terms of some lymph drainage massage, so I have been doing this twice a day and she seems to improving slowly, but still has good and bad parts of the day. She didn't feel well enough to go to her second osteopath appointment on Friday, but she has another one arranged for next week. Claire has enjoyed the last week of her holiday and has been very good in letting me use the car. She took Shani to the cinema today and then is out having diner with friends this evening. I have had some MacOnSite work, have been continuing with my remaining college

It has been a very busy week for me; very busy for Claire sofa testing; very busy for Nicky at work. Claire had a day with friends at the cinema and bowling on Monday, and has spent the rest of the week enjoying her holiday. Nicky has been busy at work and has had the pleasure of a regular staff starting. This will hopefully lead to more stable staffing at the library. On Wednesday I did my Student Clinic at college. This is where we massage three people who have booked into the clinic for a massage by a student. We were a little short on customers so I massaged a tutor (initially nerve wracking but OK in the end) and a member of staff (great) and a paying customer (which didn't go well from my point of view). It was a great experience but tiring. On Thursday I went to a Counsellor's Conference with two of my fellow students to do some massages as part of their self care programme. This was great. The counsellors really appreciated the massages and it was great experience doing