Questions, questions

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 It was Mike’s birthday on Monday and he invited us to join him for dinner. We went to The Glasshouse, a recently re-opened restaurant at one of the motels on Victoria Avenue, Whanganui”s CBD main drag. From what we had read, the proprietors are not aiming for fine dinning, but for better than the average than is available in Whanganui. I think they have hit that mark pretty well, but ultimately we were disappointed. We ordered buretta and charred cherry tomato pitas, and miso pork belly bites to share as entrées. The pork belly was quite salty and served with raw shredded garlic which was not well received. Mike enjoyed his main course of Angus steak, and my market fish in a Thai green curry sauce was good. Nicky’s pork chops in honey and mustard sauce was dry and the mustard overpowering. We finished with creme brûlée which was the best dish of the meal. I wasn’t thrilled with the furniture as the central table support didn’t leave me enough room for my legs, a the cutlery was an unusual design and difficult to use. I don’t think we will be going back. When we dropped Mike home Nicky presented him with an orange-topped citrus cheesecake she had made for him, which he seemed very pleased with.


On Wednesday Statistics NZ paid us a visit. We had been chosen at random to be part of the General Social Survey. A lovely lady called Annie conducted the interview with both of us to start with. The second part of the interview was just me, apparently randomly chosen by the computer. The questions were primarily about our standard of living, how we feel about it, and how we feel about the society in which we live. It was quite interesting to be involved.


We have quizzed twice this week. At our usual session we were in the money coming 12th with 81 points. Danny stayed home and Mel joined us and it was good to see her again as it’s been a while. On Friday we joined a team with Phil and Margie at a fundraiser for the SPCA. The two ladies who had organised the team were very good (quizzers and company) and would be a great addition to our team. Unfortunately for us, one of them lives in New Plymouth which is just too far away. We finished 2nd with 101 points.


The weather has been lovely this week, getting warmer and sunnier up until the weekend. Yesterday was a bit cooler and we have had spells of rain (or showers, not sure which) today. The gazanias have been enjoying it:



We have finished watching Trigger Point season 4, completed the New Zealand stamps jigsaw, and had some of our cups of tea in the back garden. Yesterday we went to the museum for Saturday Sounds - a trio of ladies singing cappella. While they had really good singing voices, their choice of European 16th century folk songs didn’t do anything for us.


I was back at Lake Rotokawau for one of my ambles this week:



The garden has had some attention with weeding and tidying. Yesterday we gave the kowhai in the front garden a bit of a trim to give the umbrella palm and other plants more space and light. I have started to put the edible crescent irrigation on again in a morning while doing my back exercises, as the ground is getting dry.


The fly screens on the north side of the house have started to perish in the sun. The fabric “pockets” which contain the magnetic strips which keep them closed have come apart and the magnets have started to come out. We have taped them up to keep them together but they may not make it through the summer and will ultimately have to be replaced. They were not expensive and enable us to use the ranch sliders for both ventilation and access in the way we intended, while keeping out the crowds of flies from inside of the house.


Take care, Rick and Nicky.

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