It's not quite grim up North yet.

By -
Work-wise the four working days of this week have been uneventful. Things progress for Nicky getting used to BHB library, and I have had some Mac work on three of the days. Nicky has had a couple of evenings out at prayer groups on Monday and Wednesday, and I have had a couple more tutorial sessions with Jancis.

The weather however, has been eventful this week, with the forecasts suggesting that getting the washing dry would be problematic, but it turned out OK until Thursday. A tropical storm system arrived overnight, with much greater consequences than the last one, though we didn’t suffer any flooding or damage. While driving to work on Thursday morning I drove through a large puddle and about a mile later Lilly died. The tow truck arrived very promptly and the garage couldn’t find anything wrong later in the afternoon, so I guess some water just got somewhere it shouldn’t. I got to my two jobs on the buses, and in the sun, ironically.

Easter Friday was the first day of our long weekend, and it was largely sunny. Nicky stewed two carrier bags of fruit (one feijoa’s, the other apples) which we had been given, while I read. She also made an apple crumble for today. We finished the afternoon with a game of Trivial Pursuit that went into the evening before watching House of Cards. This is an American version of the BBC TV drama that was aired many years ago. I have been recording it for the last eight weeks but we have only just got round to watching it. Needless to say the fact that we are now up-to-date and awaiting tonights episode indicates that we are quite enjoying it.

Yesterday we had a late breakfast before Stella came over with the lawn mower on her way into town to drop off Katie to meet friends. She returned for Scrabble and was joined by Steve. While they rattled the tiles I made baked ricotta pie for today. Later, Nicky cut the grass between the showers.

Today the weather has changed, as it has been threatening to. We have had more rain, and the temperature has started to drop as the influence of the tropical storm fades. It feels more like autumn, and I have started wearing clothes around the house again. This hasn’t stopped us enjoying a family gathering however, After Nicky returned from prison this morning we drove up to Clem and Pat’s for a farewell party for Philip and his Sophie who have been here for just a few weeks. They return to the UK on Wednesday but seem to have had a good time while here. It was great to meet Sophie and have an enjoyable afternoon with the family and the usual taste bud stimulation. Nicky and I took a very peaceful walk along Red Beach on our way home, and the sea still felt quite warm when I had a paddle.

Finally, Felicity called us on Friday to pass on the sad news that Veronica Kilgour, Nicky’s aunt, had died. She had been unwell since before we were in England last year, and Nicky was very pleased to visit her twice during our trip. We have fond memories of Veronica, and Nicky has never forgotten how very good she was so often towards her. Her generosity has been appreciated by many. She will be missed by us all.

Take care,

Rick

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Challenging week

By -
Image
 It has been a challenging week. At the beginning of the week Nicky was still getting worse, so she arranged an appointment with the GP on Tuesday afternoon. The GP confirmed that Nicky had bronchitis and sinusitis, but that her chest sounded clear. With the infection being viral, there was no medication that could be prescribed, but some additional painkillers were in order to manage the symptoms and assist with the pain caused by congestion, coughing and vomiting. As the week progressed Nicky started to improve slowly. The periods of incessant coughing and coughing induced vomiting started to subside yesterday. She was able get a little more sleep and keep a little more food down. The washing machine has been very busy with regular changes of PJ’s, dressing gowns and bedding. Some of the laundry has been dried outside but the winter weather has deteriorated over the last couple of days. While Nicky has been unwell she has cancelled all her commitments. I have been running errands...
Read more

Tea and Tissues

By -
Image
 We have had a quiet week at home, doing jigsaws and listening to Harry Potter. Nicky seemed to be getting better at the beginning of the week but it was short lived. As the week has drawn to a close she has actually started getting brighter and felt like doing some things round the house. Nicky got dressed for the first time this week on Friday to go to the hospital for a blood test, and we did a little shopping on the way home. Yesterday she made a couple of lemon cakes and delivered one to Eleanor for her birthday. Nicky found the few minutes walk there and back exhausting. Meanwhile, I gradually got worse through the week until Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday I ploughed through a whole box of 240 tissues, and most of a packet of throat lozenges. Paracetamol helped with the general aches and temperature fluctuations. This weekend is the first time I have done my morning exercises in over a week, and I even managed a short amble this morning in the lovely (almost spiring-like) ...
Read more

Easter

By -
Image
 Steve continued his convalescing with us at the beginning of the week, and continued to improve each day. He decided to start the journey home on Tuesday by driving to Te Kuiti. As Monday was going to be his last evening with us he provided another take-away dinner from the Spice Guru, which we enjoyed as much as the previous one. Steve and I were a little early collecting it, so while we were waiting I was having a look at the buildings at the bottom end of Victoria Avenue and spotted this: I think Whanganui rivals Napier for the quality of its Art Deco architecture. Before Steve left on Tuesday morning, he and Nicky went to the Splash Centre to have a wallow in the thermal pool. This had been recommended by Nicky’s physio when she had seen her on Monday. Nicky had a short swim too and they both enjoyed their time. We were very pleased that Steve felt sufficiently recovered to start his journey home, as it was not good seeing him in as much pain, as when he first arrived. It was ...
Read more