It’s been a really long day.

I wasn’t sure that it was ever going to go dark. Now if the significance of that doesn’t get your grey cells working dear reader, you obviously need more coffee or a cold shower.

As Christmas approaches, or “the cooking season” as I now think of it, we have both been very busy, especially with work. This has been very good for me as it has been my second busiest week of the year, and some of the money for the work has already started to come in (thank you nice customers). Nicky has also been very busy at the library, especially with the school holiday activities starting.

We have only had dinner together twice this week (Wed & Thurs). Monday and Tuesday I was late coming back from work and Nicky is always starving when she gets home from the library so was already eating.

Friday night I ate out at a Christmas gathering which I had been invited to as part of the Auckland Life Models Collective. It was a pot luck supper (I took bacon, cheese and onion quiche) in a 14th floor apartment in town with spectacular views over the harbour to the north shore. The attendees were a mixture of models, artists and photographers and it was a great evening. The weather had been fantastic all day, so sitting watching the sunset and then the twinkly lights of town come on from a high rise balcony while still being warm was a real pleasure. I think by the time I caught the 22.40 bus home the temperature had probably dropped below 20°C, but it still felt like a very balmy evening. 

Then on Saturday evening Nicky went up to The Block for her official “works” Christmas do. This was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed. Nicky had chosen the set Christmas meal but couldn’t manage all of her second course (the remaining turkey and goodies came home in a doggie bag) and swapped her Christmas pudding for a pot of tea.

Nicky spent Saturday morning delivering Christmas cards for the church, and then at BHB quilters in the afternoon, so the evening out was a good way to round an enjoyable day. I spent the morning ironing, and the afternoon making a vegetable lobs flan and some lemon curd to replenish our stocks, while finish reading “Gatty’s Tale” which Katharine sent Nicky for her birthday and we have both thoroughly enjoyed (thanks Katharine - I have reserved the other three books in the Arthur trilogy from the library today).

Nicky was in prison this morning, so I made shortbread and Christmas pudding. This is one of my two regular (and requested) contributions to the shared family Christmas lunch. The other is a pie. This year it will be game pie. I had great fun on Monday going to a butchers in Grey Lynn who stock meats that other butches don’t, and chose venison, duck, wild boar and kangaroo. This afternoon while Nicky was visiting Ruth I had a swim at Ladies Bay because it’s a good couple of weeks since I last swam. When we got back it was Nikcy’s turn to take over the kitchen and make fruit cakes (she made gorgeous chocolate and peanut butter things in the middle of the night earlier in the week). This evening she is going up to the Bay for an outdoor carol concert at the primary school, while I stay home and watch the tellybox.

Finally, the weather has been all over the place this week. We started with clouds, some rain and wind, which by Wednesday was very heavy rain storms, wind and cold. By Friday it was stunning summer weather, the roof temperature hitting 40°C. Yesterday was a mixture of sunshine and rain, but today has been pretty good, with a goodly amount of sun - which is now very hot. With the weather having been so unseasonal for the last few weeks, the gradual rise in temperature of the sunshine has been thwarted, and the heat now seems quite surprising, but it’s lovely. What Christmas Day will be like is anybody’s guess, but I’m not going to put any money on snow in these parts.

I hope you all have a really good Christmas, eat way too much good food, don’t get stuck in any major traffic jams, and consume just the right amount of alcoholic beverage (very subjective measure). To finish this week, here is a picture of a New Zealand Christmas tree, a Pohutukawa, looking over to the CBD from Cliff Road. The blue-green stuff in the middle is the sea, for those who haven’t seen it for awhile.

Take care, and see you on the other side,

Rick