Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

Much of this week has been routine. Nicky has worked four full days at New Lynn, Claire has ben busy with Uny and assignments, and I have had some Mac work, and quite a bit of technology management at home (see below). Nicky has been having discussions about her future at work and the powers at be still don't want her to go back to Ranui. Instead they want her to stay in New Lynn taking over an existing role. The problem with this is that the hours are Sunday to Thursday, and she has been really looking forward to going back to Ranui. So, she has not been feeling very happy about the situation, but is pragmatic and not surprised. Friday saw the arrival from Apple of the iPad 2. Nicky decided some months ago that the one "big thing" she wanted to buy with her money from the sale of Claire Cottage (her mother's home) was an iPad, but that she would wait for the 2nd generation to arrive. I have spent quite a bit of time organising a selection of our digital photos for he

Nicky's week didn't go quite to plan. She only worked two full days instead of the four which were planned because of having very bad insomnia which started on Sunday night. She was just not sufficiently compos mentis on Monday and Tuesday to be able to work. Thursday and Friday were OK though. Claire's week has been much as usual with Uny and Whitcoulls, and I have done some Mac work but not as much as the last couple of weeks. Wednesday however was a very good day. Peter Cocker's cousin Bruce Eggerston and his wife Wendy have been on holiday on NZ, and had an eight hour stopover in Auckland on their way back to Canada. Nicky and I hired a car and went and collected them from the airport just after 12pm. We went off the the Botanic Gardens, had a wander for awhile, then lunch and a good chat, and then another wander round more of the gardens. By late afternoon we were very warm as the clouds has dispersed and we had another sun filled afternoon. We decided to go into M

The earthquake in Sendai on Japan's north-east coast seems so much more real after the quake in Christchurch three weeks ago. These events felt so far away when we lived in England but now, even thought I have not experienced one myself, they have much greater impact. I can't imagine what it must be like for the people affected in Japan at the moment, and the monumental efforts that will be required to repair their lives. Again, like with the people of Christchurch, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan. In our neck of the woods, we have had a much more normal week. Nicky has done three full days at New Lynn library which has gone well. Claire has had a normal week at University with no extra work hours, though she has started doing yoga. I have had some Mac work too. The weather, though turning a little autumnal, has been warm and sunny during the day. We are still getting highs of 24°C, but night time temperatures are now dropping to the mid-teans. Nicky got &

We will pick you up from the airport. If you could let us know your flight number that would be great. You can post a comment here if you want to. Rick

Claire was back at work this week and learned that all the Whitcoulls NZ stores should be staying open. It will be stores in Oz owned by the REDgroup which will be closing, so this is good news for Claire and her colleagues, but not good for the folks in Oz. Claire has had a very busy week with the new University semester starting this week too. She has done some hours in Bennetts, the book store on campus, which is owned by the same company as Whitcoulls and uses the same computer system. Her lecture and tutorial commitments have her on campus every day of the week this semester, so she will be doing more driving. With all the extra activity this week she has ended up being very tired. Nicky has had a good week, working two full days and one half day at New Lynn. She seems to be getting used to the drugs now. On Thursday she went lunching and shopping in town with Stella, and had a very good time but came home very weary. I have had some Mac work at home (trying to get old G4's go