You have reached your destination

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 The three wise men finally made it to the stable this week. A bit of a glitch in their GPS sent them on a detour into The Room of Requirement, but a quick update to their Google Maps got them back on track with their perambulation round the living area to finally arrive at their destination. Their joy was relatively short-lived however, because with it being January 6th we took all the decorations (and nativity scene) down and packed them away. Nicky decided the nativity figures were looking a little “travelled”, so put them all through a delicates wash in the washing machine, and they came out looking much cleaner.


We have had gorgeous weather much of the week, so gardening (primarily planting of new acquisitions) has moved to the cooler hours at the beginning and end of the day. Much time has been spent reading on the south-east patio because it gets sun, shade and breeze. Having al fresco mugs of tea after dinner has also been a pleasure.


We had busy day entertaining on Tuesday. Our immediate neighbours at Riparian Villas came over for afternoon tea under the car port, enabling us all to de-brief on our Christmas activities. In the evening Eleanor and Jack came over for dinner. They live just down the road and Eleanor attends the same life group as Nicky. We had cold meats and salad followed by lemon curd cheesecake, which went down well and contributed to an enjoyable evening.


On Thursday the new tenant at 414, Qusi, and his 9 year old son came over for a cuppa and a chat. Qusi is tending to Elaine’s heritage beans, amongst other things. The rest of the afternoon was filled with both Jacqui and Elaine dropping in.


Entertainment has also featured heavily today, with another shared lunch for the congregation of Christ Church, this time over in Gonville, which is the same suburb as the Whanganui Hospital in the south west of Whanganui. Nicky made savoury scones this morning and I buttered some and topped others with grated cheese and onion marmalade. This evening we had Jacqui (next door), Lyn (across the road) and Frances (further up the road) over for pancakes followed by plum pie (we have been inundated with gifts of plums this week) and sweet mincemeat roll. Another enjoyable evening. We had planned to eat outside on the northern patio, but a while after laying the table we decided it was just to windy, so we regrouped inside but left the big ranch sliders open (we had turned the sofa round through 90° to give access) to enable us to enjoy the pleasant evening air.


I have done a little work this week, completed the photo book for 2021, and helped Nicky finish her newsletter which she is emailing out in batches. It covers two years of scintillating activity with her not having written one last year due to us glamping without a broadband connection.


Take care, Rick and Nicky.

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