Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

We have had a week dominated by gorgeous weather: clear skies and lovely warm sunshine for most of the week. A few fluffy clouds have wandered across the expanse of blue from time to time, but it all came to an end late yesterday afternoon when the rain arrived. It was dry first thing this morning but the rain soon came back and has been with us most of the day. Nicky has had another good week at work, and took Friday off for her annual Corrections Service induction for her prison work. She was back by lunchtime so in the afternoon we went for a walk over a new footbridge which has been built as part of the Waterview Tunnel project. It wasn’t open when we had our walk in the tunnel and there are still some of the paths and entrances out of bounds, but most of the work is now done. The bridge provides access from the east side of the motorway to the cycle and walkways which pass through the landscaped recreational area which runs the length of the tunnel. It has been very well done

It’s been a getting on with getting on sort of week. Nicky’s new work routine is becoming more settled (though I’m not convinced we have got a grip on Mondays yet) and she had a good meeting with her new manager. I have had a steady week with work everyday, but the weather has been messing with my laundry routine. We have had a couple of showery days, and some fog on Friday, but I noticed when out for my walk on Thursday morning that the sun is starting to feel warmer as the angle changes, and we can now notice the days starting to get a little longer. I have also see some ducklings which suggested that the local ducks think that spring is on the way. Yesterday was another domestic Saturday for me, with ironing and making fruit bread (based on my spelt bread recipe), which turned out well. We also had a couple of anniversaries: Nicky’s quilting group was three so Mary (her co-organiser) popped in after the session with some birthday cake which she had made (Nicky hadn’t been able

It has been the first proper week of our new routine with Nicky’s work: Monday off and Tuesday to Saturday working. So on Monday Nicky had morning tea with Mary to discuss quilting, and cut the grass while we were having some good sunny periods. She feels that she has really fallen on her feet with her new post in Henderson. Her manager, Penny, is very good, and the staff are great to work with, so the atmosphere is much more upbeat and positive. The travel arrangements are also going OK too, though she was late one morning because of a couple of trains being cancelled. She worked her first late night on Thursday and got home without a problem or my assistance as I was out at D&M. I have had another week with quite a bit of work, and even though we have had some very wet periods it hasn’t impacted too much on my laundry routine until the end of the week. Yesterday Nicky was on one of Auckland Libraries stands at the annual Family History Expo in Mt Roskill. I dropped her o

This has been Nicky’s first week in her new job at Henderson Library. The re-scheduling meant it was a six-day working week as she had to work on Monday which she will from now on have off, but it has gone well. The atmosphere in the library is much more relaxed than at BHB, though the library is much bigger and on three floors so towards the end of the day she starts using the lift instead of walking up the stairs. Transportation to and from has gone OK and the improved train and bus services are a great help. I am collecting her from the station each evening which affects my dinner-production schedule but we don’t seem to be suffering! My working week has been busy but inefficient with spending much time transporting machines hither and thither. However, I think I will have earned some good-will and was able to get two out of three apparently terminally dead machines up and running again. The weather has been little mixed with some cold starts, nice warm sunshine and rain fr