Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

The run-up to ANZAC day has been a busy week for us. The library, as ever, has been keeping Nicky fully occupied, and I have had a good week with Mac work too. Nice weather has helped with the laundry, though not with the ironing (with doing it indoors). On Tuesday evening we met Stella and Katie at the Trusts Stadium in Henderson to see a Nigel Latta (a local TV psychologist) presentation on helping teenage drivers. It was informative and entertaining, and Nigel was just as good in the flesh as he is on telly. On Wednesday early evening I went to a Chamber of Commerce “business after 5” event at Davis Funerals, where we got to see round the operation and discover what happens behind the scenes. It was very interesting. Just after I got home Nicky went off to pickup Jancis and go to house group. I was also out again on Thursday evening with another MeetUp session. A long a busy work-day for me on Friday meant fish and chips for dinner again (the same thing happened the previou

Vengeance has been the keyword for this week. Firstly the weather giving us a blast of winter with a vengeance at the beginning of the week (after two days I was already looking forward to next summer!). Secondly, as the rain passed and we got to see some sun again on Wednesday, myself (any many others it transpired) hit the laundry routine with a vengeance - much washing was hung. The upside of the cold wet weather on Monday and Tuesday was that the library was more like normal, instead of the manic it has been with the school holidays. Nicky was out at prison prayer group on Monday evening, and tried to go to a Te Reo class on Tuesday but thinks she got the timing wrong as nobody else was there. I have had quite a good week with work, got the laundry done by being assertive with the washing machine, and had a couple of evenings out. Tuesday was my first Chamber of Commerce event; a gathering of new members. Not my sort of thing at all - I’m not good with a room full of 100+ com

We had a very good start to the week with it being Easter Monday and therefore a public holiday. The weather was also lovely so after breakfast Nicky packed up a picnic lunch and we went of to The Cascades, a waterfall out in the Waitakere Ranges. The walk to and from the waterfall through bush on well laid paths was very pleasant, but we didn’t get to actually see the waterfall. Our boulder-climbing skills were no match for the boulders between the path and the waterfall. We got to hear it though. Heading off to Bethalls Beach to consume our picnic lunch was possibly not the best idea, as lots of other folks were there before us. We managed to find a parking space but the beach was packed and there wasn’t a deck chair to be had for love nor money. We returned home when I started to get to hot, and had excellent pancake stacks for tea. In spite of the lovely weather, it was back to work on Tuesday. Nicky has had a very noisy (and busy) week at the library with th

It has been quite a busy 4-day working week with the run up to Easter. Nicky has been very busy at the library with school holidays starting, and I have had a couple of Mac jobs. Most of the week the weather has been sunshine and showers but the showers have held off for most of the Easter weekend, though we had a few more today. Nicky had Monday evening at prison prayer group, and then her hair done by Doris on Tuesday evening. I was out at a MeetUp session in Orewa On Wednesday evening and then up to The Block for a very nice pint of porter on Thursday evening, so we don’t feel that we have seen much of each other all week. Nicky started Good Friday at church, and I went out to Karekare for a very nice walk and swim. The sun was quite a bit warmer than it has been recently. Nicky was cutting the grass when I got back, and then after lunch we went down to Olympic Park and had a gentle and enjoyable stroll round the sculptures. The park was not at all busy. We had arranged to