Some lovely sunshine

 Our week began with a wet and windy Monday. The following four days started chilly but brought us blue skies, sunshine, and warm afternoons. I really enjoyed the morning light creeping over the fence into the front garden:

The clear skies gave us a frost:

Nicky has been busy with her church and Alpha Course duties this week. Along with morning vestry cleaning and evening Alpha kitchen duty on Monday, she was on washing up duty on Friday evening and Saturday morning (7am!) and evening for the Alpha Spiritual weekend. 

Whilst I shopped, Nicky invited newly widowed Sue Tarry over for Scrabble and lunch on Tuesday. It turned out that cheese on toast was very warmly received. While Nicky was at her afternoon home group I started making lasagne for dinner. I have gone back to making my own pasta since doing so when when Paul and Jenny came down. It’s so much nicer. As a consequence, I have moved my pasta machine to a more convenient storage location.

The weather was good enough for us to have afternoon tea on the north patio on Wednesday. This could be why we did better at the quiz this week - 2nd out of 11 teams, scoring 101 points again.

I was interested to see the moon in the sky at a little after 2pm on Thursday afternoon:

Frances called in on Thursday late afternoon, after Nicky had got home from Aramoho Library. She was collecting a parcel which had been delivered to us for her. Frances has to pay extra for delivery, as her Papaiti address is counted as being rural, even though she is only 2 minutes up the road in a fast van!

The weather has enabled us to have some time in the garden. Nicky has been planting seedlings and weeding the pioneers primarily on the front. I did some weeding in the haha. Along with doing some MacOnSite work this week, I have also signed my contact for working on the Waimarie paddle steamer for the coming season. I have bought myself some new wrap-around sunnies and new blue overalls in preparation. I’m just hoping that I can remember which end of the boat is the pointy one.

I have also been reading (a better sunshine activity than weeding the haha). I have become engrossed in Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It is a tale of five people in three different periods of history and their connections with a book of Greek myths. On Friday, our neighbour Lyn who has been away in Whangamata for some months, popped in with a commodious bag of lemons.

Yesterday we were both up early to take Nicky to her 7am start of Alpha breakfast duties. I had planned a long amble, but Nicky’s Alpha split shift and a neighbour’s emergency, put paid to that. After visiting the Jigsaw Exchange, we decided to have lunch together with the lovely garlic and caramelised onion bread and cheeses which we had purchased at the Home Show a couple of weeks ago (the bread was vacuum packed and par-baked). Afterwards we both needed a snooze, in which the sunshine again assisted. Nicky then had some more time in the garden planting primrose and calendula seedlings. I juiced and zested some of the many lemons which we have been given. Nicky returned for Alpha dishes duties at the end of the afternoon, and arrived home five hours later.

Today started cooler. While Nicky was at church, I cleaned the floor of the shower and had a walk, returning home just before the rain came. An afternoon game of Mah Jong was followed by a pot of tea and more reading. Tea will be homemade pork pie and sweet corn salad. I suspect the evening will be catching up on telly that we have recorded. Whizzing through the adverts is very satisfying.

Take care, Nicky and Rick