Busy and sad week

By -

 Nicky has had a busy week. Along with her regular commitments she has been on the hospitality team for the Alpha course Spiritual weekend. This took place on Friday evening and all day Saturday (which was a 7.30am start for her). When she arrived at the Community Library on Thursday she found our local MP (Stephanie Lewis) was there, along with two assistants, her husband and their younger son. Stephanie was doing a “Meet Your MP” session. This made the library very busy for Nicky who was very pleased to put her feet up for awhile when she got home.


Monday was cold and damp so we started a jigsaw. We finished it on Wednesday which was cold and uninviting, though Nicky did spend some time in the garden. The rest of the week has been better, with some good sunshine on Thursday (lovely solar gain inside). As a result I have started working on garden benches 3 and 4. This required the procurement of some wood for the seats and back support and I have cut the last of the half-round posts up for legs. I haven’t sanded it all yet - 4 legs still to go.


On Thursday evening we had a shared community dinner at the marae. Nicky made a fruit crumble and I took stuffed mushrooms. This was again enjoyable but finished earlier than the previous occasion. I think this was because more people knew each other.


A text from Claire woke me on Friday morning (makes a change from the blackbirds doing it, or the bladder complaining that it’s almost at capacity). She conveyed the sad news of the death of our Queen. We watched quite a bit of the TV coverage before getting on with the laundry and bench building. I have recored some of the “special” TV programmes for Nicky as they were broadcast which were broadcast while she was at the Alpha weekend. I think we have both found the emotional impact to be greater than we would have expected. While not fervent monarchists, the Queen has been a constant part of our lives and the societies in which we have lived. Her passing is significant, but I think our new King will do the very best he can.


The paddle steamer has undertaken both of its scheduled sailings this weekend, so I have been busy being a deckhand. Saturday was dull and wet at times, but today we cast off in lovely sunshine. I got one of the other crew members to take this photograph in the hope that it meets the requirement of the Chester readership:



I’m getting on OK with learning the regular tasks, but my helmsmanship is rubbish. It is like trying to steer a permanently skidding car in a straight line. Nicky came to pick me up to today and took some pictures of us mooring:



We were both feeling like having a quiet afternoon following our exertions for the week, so had a few hands of Mah Jong after a late lunch. Bacon and mushroom omelettes for tea will be followed by putting our feet up in front of the telly.


Take care, Rick and Nicky

Comments

Cocker1 said…
Thanks!

Chester readership requirements met - proceed sir!
September 11, 2022 at 8:51 AM
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