Enjoying the weather

It has been one of those weeks which has for me, been busy, with lots of little bits.The weather has been a bit variable so timing with putting the washing out has sometimes been an issue, but we have had plenty of warm and sunny spells, and the weekend has been pretty fantastic.

In between the punctuation by laundry, I have had a range of Mac jobs, various shopping trips (all food of course), and my usual cookery duties. I tried another Paul Hollywood recipe this week, from my Christmas present book: corned beef pie. It turned out very well, and has largely been consumed on the Rattigan in the sunshine. As an aside, we watched the Winslow Boy (the more recent film, not the old black and white one) this week I and discovered that I have been spelling Rattigan incorrectly since its inception. Sorry Terrance.

I didn’t have to cook on Tuesday night because Jancis invited us over for dinner; chicken with apricots followed by boysenberry ice cream - lovely. We had a very relaxing evening and it is good to see Jancis enjoying her time here.

The library has been steady as opposed to manic this week, and Nicky had Thursday afternoon off as time in lieu. She had her annual dental checkup on Friday morning and was given a clean bill of health, and just charged $5 for the privilege, due to a $60 referral discount.

Our regular visits to the hot pools in Parakai came to an end last year with the owners of Palm Springs deciding to no longer host the monthly nude night. The other hot spring complex, Parakai Springs, just across the road, had already started offering their Rock Pool “event area” on two Fridays a month. After Free Beaches NZ held their AGM at the Rock Pool in August last year, Parakai Springs decided to offer us use of the Rock Pool for free for one day to promote the facility to Free Beaches members. Being the Auckland Co-ordinater for Free Beaches I made the arrangements with Parakai Springs, and this Friday was the day of the event. The weather started dull and wet, but the sun came out by lunchtime. I had about six hours enjoying being naked in the hot water, the sunshine, and conversing with other naturists who began arriving around lunchtime.

Saturday also started cloudy, but very soon picked up into a glorious warm sunny day. We spent the morning have a leisurely breakfast and pottering round at home before going off to our respective activities. Nicky was going into work for the afternoon to help with a Chinese New Year event. Steve then collected her and they went over to Henderson for a couple of games of Scrabble with Stella. I headed off to Pohutukawa Bay (in the Long Bay Reserve on the North Shore) for the Day Without Bathing Suits gathering. This was a bit of a none event because I think all the naked people on the beach would have been there anyway with it being a glorious day. No matter, I enjoyed the sun and the sea and conversations. I got back about 6.30 and had just started making pancakes for tea when Steve dropped Nicky off.

Today had been hot and sunny until late afternoon when the edge of the tropical storm which is heading our way started to cloud the sky. I had washed the bed linen first thing knowing that tomorrow is probably going to be wet, but because it is our favourite Salt Spring set once it had dried in the sun and the breeze we put it straight back on the bed. Jancis joined us for lunch on the Rattigan, which was very warm. Even I was starting to get a bit hot, but we enjoyed the tuna salad and fruit salad that Nicky made. We have spent the rest of the day quietly, reading and doing Giant Crosswords (lots of clues AND large print).

My eczema has improved a little this week. I think the regular moisturising and sea swimming are making a difference. It is still sore and painful at times, and itchy often, but the irritations are not and bad and don’t last for quite as long.

Thant’s all for now,
Take care,

Rick