Apricity

By -

 It has been the coldest week of the year. We can confirm this both from the frosts and when emptying the tea pot for the first brew of the day. 



This morning the MetService app indicated that it felt like -4ºC, and by golly they were right. The meteorologists were telling us it would be the coldest before the week began, so I don’t know if that just means this week was colder than the previous 32, or if it has been colder than the forecast next 19. It was certainly the former and I’m hoping it was also the latter. In order to celebrate the event, the MetService has given us a new symbol on their app:



The snowflake and thermometer means: “beware emptying the tea pot with bare feet - it’s chilly”.


The cold temperatures have been caused by southerly winds and almost cloudless skies, but this has enabled us to enjoy the apricity. Before you all reach for your dictionaries, you won’t find it unless you have an OED. Apricity indicates the warmth of the sun in winter, and we have decided that it a lovely word that deserves use. Nicky came across it in a book she was reading this week, which proves that reading can widen your vocabulary, so long as you can remember the new words that you encounter. Hmm.


In other news, I’ve got a job, as a deckhand on the Waimarie Paddle Steamer. It’s only for the season (September to May). I am hoping that it will be both enjoyable and interesting (and that I can actually do it!). It should provide us with income which is more predictable than MacOnSite. In the peak season (Jan/Feb/March) it is six days a week, but the rest of the time it is mainly 2-4 days a week.


The dry weather has enabled laundry to be hung outside, but it has been taking a while to thaw out fingers when coming back inside. The weekend has been a little milder with the sunshine so I have sanded down the garden bench and trimmed the grass.


Nicky had her usual Life Group, Alpha, and Aramoho Community Library commitments (1 borrower this week). Last night we went to Felicity for dinner in Springvale, and were joined by Phil the Gardener. It was a very pleasant evening, but the sugar and cream in the large portion of pavlova that Felicity served Nicky, has done her digestive tract no favours. As a result, she has had a quiet day today continuing working on the jigsaw that we started yesterday, and watching this morning’s church service on-line. At least this bout of diverticulitis hasn’t been as excruciating as a few months back.


Take care, Rick and Nicky.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Challenging week

By -
Image
 It has been a challenging week. At the beginning of the week Nicky was still getting worse, so she arranged an appointment with the GP on Tuesday afternoon. The GP confirmed that Nicky had bronchitis and sinusitis, but that her chest sounded clear. With the infection being viral, there was no medication that could be prescribed, but some additional painkillers were in order to manage the symptoms and assist with the pain caused by congestion, coughing and vomiting. As the week progressed Nicky started to improve slowly. The periods of incessant coughing and coughing induced vomiting started to subside yesterday. She was able get a little more sleep and keep a little more food down. The washing machine has been very busy with regular changes of PJ’s, dressing gowns and bedding. Some of the laundry has been dried outside but the winter weather has deteriorated over the last couple of days. While Nicky has been unwell she has cancelled all her commitments. I have been running errands...
Read more

Tea and Tissues

By -
Image
 We have had a quiet week at home, doing jigsaws and listening to Harry Potter. Nicky seemed to be getting better at the beginning of the week but it was short lived. As the week has drawn to a close she has actually started getting brighter and felt like doing some things round the house. Nicky got dressed for the first time this week on Friday to go to the hospital for a blood test, and we did a little shopping on the way home. Yesterday she made a couple of lemon cakes and delivered one to Eleanor for her birthday. Nicky found the few minutes walk there and back exhausting. Meanwhile, I gradually got worse through the week until Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday I ploughed through a whole box of 240 tissues, and most of a packet of throat lozenges. Paracetamol helped with the general aches and temperature fluctuations. This weekend is the first time I have done my morning exercises in over a week, and I even managed a short amble this morning in the lovely (almost spiring-like) ...
Read more

Easter

By -
Image
 Steve continued his convalescing with us at the beginning of the week, and continued to improve each day. He decided to start the journey home on Tuesday by driving to Te Kuiti. As Monday was going to be his last evening with us he provided another take-away dinner from the Spice Guru, which we enjoyed as much as the previous one. Steve and I were a little early collecting it, so while we were waiting I was having a look at the buildings at the bottom end of Victoria Avenue and spotted this: I think Whanganui rivals Napier for the quality of its Art Deco architecture. Before Steve left on Tuesday morning, he and Nicky went to the Splash Centre to have a wallow in the thermal pool. This had been recommended by Nicky’s physio when she had seen her on Monday. Nicky had a short swim too and they both enjoyed their time. We were very pleased that Steve felt sufficiently recovered to start his journey home, as it was not good seeing him in as much pain, as when he first arrived. It was ...
Read more