A handbag (in Lady Bracknell tone of voice)

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We started the week with a public holiday for Labour Day. We had an exciting day as just before the family had started arriving for lunch last Sunday, we had a phone call from the NZ Bus Mt Roskill depot to say that they had Nicky’s handbag. We didn’t get any details as to the status of the contents, but when we arrived at the office on Monday (Nicky clutching a bar of Whittaker’s chocolate as a thank-you) we were delighted to find almost everything there - bank card, driving licence, cash, diary, hairbrush, etc. The only missing items were Nicky’s sunglass case and a nice pair of leather gloves. It was a surprise and very welcome relief and it almost compensated for the dull and damp weather. 

Re-armed with handbag we went off to The Warehouse to do some research and then watched the Paddington film over lunch. Even though we have seen it before we enjoyed it yet again. It brightened up enough in the afternoon for us to have a walk down to Lynfield Cove, an unfamiliar area to both of us, and the end (or beginning) of a coastal walk from (or to) Onehunga which we fancy doing sometime.

With Monday being a day that Nicky no longer works, she got a day off in lieu on Wednesday, and invited Tanya (ex BHB staffer) over for a goss and lunch. They had lunch quite early so that Nicky could go to a very well attended funeral of one of her fellow parishioners, and she was back just in time to collect her new shades from the optician. She rounded the day off with life group.

The working week has been quite routine, though work has been on the quiet side for me and the showery weather has messed with my laundry routine.

Our weekend has been quite busy. Stella, Steve and Ros came over for Scrabble after Nicky got home from work yesterday. I had done some cooking during the day as we had been invited to a birthday celebration for Paul’s son Jason (fellow drinking partners up at The Block) in the evening. Paul is dairy intolerant so I made a suitable coffee cake which used vegetable oil for the fat. It came out of the oven looking OK but a little flat, and on tasing the crumbs I was not at all sure how edible it was going to be. After a little vacillating I decided to use my now very successful and flexible spelt loaf recipe to make some tea bread, which would also be dairy-free. This I was much happier with (especially the honey glaze) and after consultation with my senior management, we took both cakes with us. We apologised for the lateness of our arrival as some people had already left, but we were warmly welcomed all the same and had an enjoyable evening. The two cakes were also warmly welcomed as another guest was also dairy intolerant and like Paul had not been able to partake of Jason’s creamy birthday cake. Apparently the coffee cake, though a little doughy, was very acceptable, and the tea bread even more so (which I can confirm with my own sample).

After church today we were joined by Mary and Doris and had a pot of tea and a good chat, and as the sun came out the day started to really warm up (I had already put the first of three loads of washing on). Nicky had invited folks over for afternoon tea so started making scones and fruit cake after M & D departed. Before getting on with the sandwiches we walked round to Mitchell Street for an open home which was quite interesting. We found the design of the house (the oldest parts of which date back to the 1920’s) different and pleasing, especially the courtyard. We would both need to win the top prize on the bonus bonds to buy it, though the market is cooling as the agent told us that a house just down the road from us on Exminster had sold for $1.1M this morning, which is less than we would have expected.

It wasn’t quite as sunny on our walk back home, and we hadn’t quite finished getting the sandwiches ready when Mitra and her mother Azar arrived (Mitra is an architect who lives on Puketea that we have got to know). They were followed a little while later by Mahima and Deepak, a young couple who Nicky knows through work as Mahima works for Auckland Libraries. They have been in NZ for about 18 months, and Mahima is a qualified architect. We had a long conversation about the difficulties of migrating, and sharing our various experiences. Conversation continued long after the consumption of tea, but it was good to see them all. We have rounded off the evening with the last episode of Victoria season 2, left over sandwiches and tea. An now, dear reader, it is time for bed.

Take care, Rick.

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