Better than summer.

 We still had the pleasure of Claire’s company on Monday. It was a cool clear start with the promise of developing into a nice morning, so the washing machine was pressed into service. Nicky went to do the church cleaning and I did the trenching. Claire and I then set about finishing the jigsaw.

Nicky brought samosas home for lunch which we all enjoyed. We decided to slip into tourist mode and go to see the Durie Hill elevator. It is accessed via a 200m tunnel which has changing lighting and information points:

The elevator, which is carpeted, has a gift shop in it and a seat. It was installed early in the 20th century to give local residents transport up the hill which was too steep for the trams. The ride was a fun experience. I had assumed that it was now largely just a tourist attraction, but on asking the operator about all the concession cards and seeing all the youngsters coming home from school using it, I realised I was wrong. It is still an integral part of Whanganui’s public transport network.

Claire and I opted to walk back down the hill, while Nicky chose to ride back in the elevator. I didn’t enter into negotiations with my legs or knees, and by the time we reached the bottom my quads, hamstrings and calves were really letting me know what for. I felt quite wobbly for the last few steps. Much of the route down is just path, which is quite step in parts, but affords some good views of the river:

However, the last and steepest section is just steps, possibly a couple of hundred, and I had to take them very carefully. I was very pleased to sit down when we got to the bottom while we waited for Nicky. It didn’t take her long to arrive and I was feeling much brighter by then. We returned home and introduced Claire to Mexican Train, the new game we were introduced to by Bruce and Wendy Eggertson in Mt Maunganui, which we bought in Taupo.

At Claire’s request we had Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy for dinner. I added some garlic spring veggies and stuffed mushrooms. There wasn’t much tiramisu left after we had dessert. For our evening entertainment we repeated Sunday’s activity: watching some more of Claire’s favourite West Wing episodes which we all enjoyed.

While I shopped on Tuesday morning supermarket, Nicky and Claire played Scrabble. This was followed by three-handed Mah Jong and hot cross bunnies for lunch. Claire’s flight home was a mid-afternoon departure from Palmerston North. The rain of Whanganui turned to sunshine in Palmy. After Claire boarded the plane we found a spot where we could watch it take off, and waved madly. It had been another lovely visit.

While we were in Palmy we had decided to do some shopping at Shoe Clinic. The walking shoes that Nicky had bought in 2017 had died a year or two after we moved to Whanganui. My walking trainers (8-9 years old) are past their best, and my replacement gardening boots had fallen apart a couple of weeks ago, so I demoted my trainers to Under Gardener duties. We were therefore both in need of good walking attire, and purchasing of new footwear had been on my list since retiring. The staff in Shoe Clinic were lovely and we both came away with good quality, well fitting footwear. The cost was a little eye watering, but we got $20 off each pair for being Super Gold Card holders, and when I consider the cost per year of wear it is much more palatable.

I spent much of Wednesday in the garden, tidying up the last of the debris from when Frances helped us with tree pruning. Nicky had book club and hospital visiting. The afternoon was hot so we had our pot of tea in the garden. We came 6th at the quiz with 84, the first 4 places being separated by one point for each place.

I was up before the sunrise on Thursday morning and enjoyed seeing the Milky Way. Nicky staffed the Aramoho Library and I did some flax trimming in the garden. I also started removing an unwanted willow which Nicky had got identified at Springvale Garden Centre on Wednesday. At half past two one of the RCD’s in the electrical cabinet tripped, and would not reset. I started turning off everything on the circuit to see what was causing the issue, but couldn’t isolate it. I dropped our friendly sparky a text, and then realised there was another appliance which I hadn’t checked: the instant hot water tap. That was the culprit and just as I was texting the sparky to update him Shane rang me. I explained my discovery and Shane said he would come round in the morning. This he did, and after taking the system apart confirmed his suspicion that the heating element had died. A replacement is now on order. Fortunately we have kept our old kettle (called a jug here) so we don’t have a problem making tea and coffee.

The weather became very warm on Thursday and Nicky was jaded after her time at the library. She had to go out in the evening to the church AGM, where everyone had been asked to bring their dinners with them to consume beforehand together.

We had a very warm night and Friday was mild to start. I had a late amble after Shane had visited. Nicky did laundry and harvested edibles for Unity Foods. The day got hotter and more and more oppressive with humidity. We finally hit 30º, the top temperature for the country on Friday. The ranch sliders were open all day. They provide about 8 sqm of opening and the air flow is lovely, when there is a breeze. With having the fly screens across the openings, we are able to leave the ranch sliders open after dark when we have lights on and just close them before going to bed. After dinner we watched Gone Girl, which I had recorded a week or two earlier.

This weekend is the first of this year’s two Artists Open Studio weekends here in Whanganui. Nicky had a Small Group Leaders training session at church on Saturday morning, so I requested a lift to the railway bridge so that I could walk into town on the other side of the river. Apart from 20 minutes or so of drizzle it was a pleasant walk which I plan to do again. I visited a couple of the galleries involved with the Open Studios event and noticed how busy town was. Many people were walking round with the Open Artists Studios guide book. I refreshed myself with coffee at Jolt and did a bit of window shopping on my way up to church to meet Nicky. I called into another gallery on the way which had a stunning copper wall sculpture which would go wonderfully in our lounge. Unfortunately the almost $6000 price tag means it won’t be happening, but I was lovely to see.

The weather was much better in the afternoon, warm and sunny and without Friday’s humidity. We walked round to a studio on Bombay Street where three artists were exhibiting. We played some Mexican Train with our afternoon tea and Nicky made a lovely kedgeree for dinner.

Today started cool and clear. One of those lovely autumn days that starts and finishes cool, has warm morning sun and very warm afternoon sun. After church Nicky visited some galleries and Open Studios while she was in town. I enjoyed finishing “M is for Malice” by Sue Grafton and listening to music. After lunch Nicky made a butter chicken flan and a peach flan while I washed the car. Luna got very dirty in the roadworks on our recent trip to Wellington. 

The weather for the next few days looks like it will be settled and similar to today. It will probably encourage our Naked Ladies to appear (they are Lilies by the way).

Take care, Rick and Nicky.