Birthday week...again

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Even though I could be accused of bias, I think the highlight of the week was my birthday on Thursday. The weather had started to improve on Wednesday, the first day of winter, as the skies cleared and the temperatures dropped due to a high pressure system taking up residence. Thursday was a gorgeous sunny day with almost cloudless blue sky, though the gentle southerly breeze was decidedly chilly.

After opening presents in bed with our first pot of tea of the day, we breakfasted on porridge and packed up a picnic (Nicky had already put the finishing touches to my carrot cake). We headed off to Takapuna as Nicky was booked on an E-resources training course at the library there from 10-12. While Nicky was training (which was very good apparently) I had a lovely long stroll along the beach, and discovered Takapuna's Holiday Park and fossilised forrest, neither of which I had known existed. Nicky and I met up again in the library and decided to have our lunch in the sunshine at one of the picnic benches by the beach.


After lunch we headed west to Parakai for a very enjoyable wallow in the thermal Rock Pool and had some good conversations. By late afternoon we dragged ourselves away and drove into town for my Deep & Meaningful meeting, which Nicky joined and we started by sharing my carrot cake (yummy). We finished the evening with a post-meetup chat in the café and then headed home. It was a really good day.

The other competitor for highlight of the week has been a family lunch at Clem & Pat's today. We congregated with Stella, Paul & Jenny (who brought Lorraine with them), Steve and Ros, and Becky, Dave and Abe the babe. The weather was again very sunny so we spent much of the time on the deck in the sun enjoying conversation and excellent food.

Nicky's working week has been one of variety. On Monday she was in Avondale, and Tuesday on a Team Building day. This started off in the Central Library on Lorne Street, followed by a lunchtime ferry trip to Waiheke and a visit to their new library. Wednesday she was at New Lynn library, Thursday was Takapuna and annual leave as detailed above, then finally back into Blockhouse Bay library on Friday. The refurbishment is almost complete but much shelf cleaning was required. Hopefully, everything will be ready for reopening on Tuesday (Monday is the Queen's Birthday public holiday).

I finished off a good May with two jobs on Monday and Tuesday, but haven't done any other paid work since, so have been tending to the laundry, shopping and cooking as per usual.

Happy Valley series two started screening here this week, with 3 episodes on Mon/Tues/Wed evenings with the same pattern being repeated next week. It is such a change for us to get such good quality drama. We also found very interesting a new documentary series (Why am I?) which is about the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, and is fascinating. Watch it if you get the chance.

Yesterday was sunny again, a very pleasant change from all the rain at the beginning of the week. After a breakfast of croissants, scrambled egg and ham we set to with the baking for today and church. Nicky made two flans (an apple, guava and caramel along with a peach, caramel and current) and I made some baklava with half the sugar indicated by the recipe. All turned out well. We also managed to squeeze in some laundry, lawn mowing and kite making for the library Matariki display.


Take care, Rick

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