Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

In contrast to my previous post dear reader, this a pot of coffee and double chocolate muffin length epistle. We have been away to the Deep South for the week, and as it has been busy so I will recount in chronological order. We had a 7.25am flight from Auckland to Dunedin, last Saturday morning and exchanged cool clear weather for rain, but had a nice warm welcome from Claire and Ryan. After collecting the hire car and driving to their place we had a wander through town on our way to the farmers market at the railway station. One of the few perks of Claire’s job is that she can use the company car park in the middle of town at the weekends, which is very handy. Nicky sidled into a second-hand clothes shop and quickly spotted a gorgeous green silk jacket which was duly purchased and will probably get a lot of use. In spite of the cold damp weather there were an excellent range of stalls at the market. We bought some Whitestone cheese, dark rye bread, smoked venison, rocket and tomat...

It has been a different sort of week as Nicky has been home with a cold and I have had a reasonable amount of Mac work to do. Nicky went to see the doctor on Tuesday and he signed her off so the only day she has been into work was Friday. I have had work every day which has turned November into a reasonable month. The weather, while still very changeable, hasn’t been to bad, though we have had some rain and cool temperatures, particularly overnight. We haven’t had any social engagements this week, though Nicky did have her hair done, and we have been able to catch up on some recorded TV programmes. Other than that I have nothing further to report, so here is a nice picture of Sky Tower taken from Victoria Park by way of compensation: Take care, Rick PS: the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I have posted this early - all will be revealed.

Where do we begin this week? She came, she ate, she showered, she shopped, put things in the wrong place in the dishwasher, and left. Such are the memories of a visit from our daughter. Anderson Lloyd, the legal firm that Claire works for, opened an office in Auckland some time ago and this week Claire came to up to explain to them, as the Mice would say, “the way things are”. She came and stayed with us for Tuesday and Wednesday night, which saved her employers a whole heap of money. I met Claire and her stunning pink suitcase at the airport on Tuesday and she went off to work after collecting her hire car. We had dinner (roasted vegetables on Yorkshire pudding with rosemary potatoes followed by chocolate cheesecake accompanied with a very good Mercury Bay Sauvignon Blank) and the evening together on Tuesday so we were able to have a good long chat. Claire went out for dinner with friends on Wednesday evening after finishing everything she need to do in the office. This meant she h...

The weekend, which has been lovely, is trying to suggest that summer really is here, but the forecast for the coming week tells another story. The wind and the rain that we had earlier in the week are going to return. On the upside, avocados are down to 4 for $2 (that’s about £1) so we have been enjoying them, especially on toast. I have had a reasonable amount of Mac work this week, and did a modelling job in the CBD on Monday evening too, but I have finished the week with the beginnings of a cold. Nicky has had a busy week at the library, and a sad afternoon on Friday attending a memorial service for a work colleague who died last week.  Yesterday she had a great day with Stella and Jan at the annual quilting exhibition at the North Harbour stadium. I stayed home, did the ironing, and then got the first proper sunbathing of the year in. Today has been even better, so more sunbathing and Scrabbling for Nicky with Steve over at Stella’s. So, quite a routine week really,...

The weather has been a pain this week, giving us rain, wind and storms, especially on Wednesday night, though Nicky slept through it, probably the only person in Auckland who did. As a result, the laundry duties have been a little bit and often so that I could dry things inside. By Friday, things started to improve, I got three loads dried outside and the weekend hasn’t been too bad. We started the week with a public holiday for Labour Day - the first public holiday of the season. Nicky had invited the family for lunch, and as usual we had an excellent selection of plates brought. It was good to get together again, and even though the weather was dull, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Letty Dudding joined us (Pat and Clem kindly transported her) which was a treat as she hadn’t been to one of our family gathering for some years. A few photos which Nicky took on her iPad: I have had a couple of Mac jobs this week which has been good, and went into town on T...