Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

It feels like it has been a busy week, but I don't actually have that much to report. Nicky has been hard at work in the library, I have had some Mac work on three days during the week, and spring is definitely trying to muscle in. The weather has been drier and warmer; the frequency of jumper wearing has diminished. We were back at the audiologists on Tuesday to discuss what options Nicky has in terms of hearing aids. We were given quotes for three different models, one basic and two mid-range. The basic one is really a non-starter for her needs at work, so we have been getting used to just what they are going to cost, and thinking about how were are going the finance them. The government does make a contribution, but it is still going to be a major expense. The new iron died this week. Well, it was still working, but after after couple of minutes of use it started tripping the RCD so something has gone wrong. I took it back to Noel Leeimg's on Friday and they hope t...

It's back to normal then, now the Olympics are over. Only fours years to wait for the next one. Our weather seems to be getting into a bit of a routine (3rd consecutive week) of being OK during the week but giving us a tropical storm for the weekend. This weekend's storm has only just (Sunday evening) got to us, as yesterday was a lovely day here. It is starting to feel spring-like, and the spring flowers are starting to appear. I can't help but feel that winter has a little reminder in store for at some point though. Work has been as busy as ever for Nicky, and I have had a couple of Mac jobs and a modelling job, along with my other duties. On Friday Nicky had a meeting at the Auckland Central Library, and I had one in the Otago University building on Queen Street, so we drove into town together. This gave me plenty of time to sit in the sunshine in my shirt sleeves on the waterfront to eat my lunch, before having a gentle wander round the older shopping streets ...

Even thought both of us are still not 100% with our lurgy lingering, we are on the mend. Nicky has been as busy as ever at work, and was out at prayer group on Wednesday evening. I have had a quiet week, which has been good with the state of my cold, with just Tuesday on-site doing Mac work. I have gone back to having a walk every morning, still just round the reserve, but I have been lengthening the route and now know the paths well. We have continued to enjoy the Olympics and the achievements of the competitors, especially the Kiwi's. One TV channel (Prime, which is the free-to-air channel run by Sky) have been dedicated to 24/7 Olympics coverage and highlights, with just a couple of local rugby games being squeezed in during the fortnight.  We have had rain at some part of most days this week, so when the forecast indicated a dry spell on Friday and Saturday I took advantage and got the laundry done. I wasn't feeling as good yesterday so we had a peaceful day at ho...

We have had quite a bit of rain this week, but it hasn't diluted the Olympic fever at all. Every time I switch on the TV a Kiwi is winning a medal, usually Gold. I don't know if this means that the only events where medals are being won and that are interesting feature Kiwis, or if the local TV coverage is a little on the selective side. At the moment we have more medals than the Aussies, a fact which they find so offensive the sports coverage on Aussie TV Channel 9 is no longer showing NZ on the medal table! I have been interested at my reaction to watching the Olympics. I have noticed that I am not particularly routing for Team GB. I think I am going native. Norman Tebbit would be proud. The exception was this morning, while watching the men's 10,000m. Mo Farah's victory brought a tear to my eye while munching on my Sultana Bran Xtra and vanilla yoghurt. I have also noticed with interest that the sports in which the commentators think New Zealand have a good cha...

The bulk of our excitement this week occurred on Saturday, as ever. We rose early to watch the Olympic Games opening ceremony, and used the event as an excuse to have two breakfasts (well I did anyway). I only saw up to where the teams started to arrive as I had to zip off to Grey Lynn for another modelling session, but Nicky saw the whole event. We thought it was fantastic, very well done and imaginative. We particularly liked the Queen and James Bond parachuting out of the helicopter, and Rowan Atkinson's orchestral accompaniment. Nicky said the lighting of the flame was also very well done. To celebrate the opening of the 30th Olympiad we joined a group of complete strangers in a bar, The Elephant Wrester, in Takapuna. The link between us was graduation from Loughborough University. It turns out there are about 200 known Loughborough graduates in New Zealand, and 15 of us were able to make it to Takapuna. There was quite a wide range of ages (we were not the oldest), and m...

Nicky has been suffering with a cold this week. She went into work on Monday, but had to take Tuesday and Wednesday off. Even though she improved a little and went to work on Thursday and Friday, she has gone downhill again over the weekend. I have had some Mac work at the beginning and the end of the week, and modelling yesterday. On Monday I used my birthday present pasta machine for the first time and made a lasagne. The rolling of the pasta was more difficult than I expected, but I had some left over and tried using more flour while rolling on Wednesday when I made some tagliatelle. The pasta was OK, but I realised I was unrealistic in my expectations of the taste. Being made from just eggs and flour it is quite bland,. It is the texture which is different with freshly made. So, further experimentation is required, which I am looking forward to. While doing some ironing on Wednesday, our iron (which we bought while we staying in Clare Cottage shortly after we arrived in N...

If I recall correctly, back in the dim and distant past of a couple of years ago or more, Claire used to have "reading weeks". I could never tell the difference between reading weeks and holidays, but I am told there was one. Anyway, the relevance of this is that Nicky and I have had a "reading weekend", which is a more compact version, and we have read. We have both enjoyed a Lee Child "Jack Reacher" novel which we have not read before (Nicky is currently on her second reading), and I have also completed my first Alex Kava - another action/thriller writer, which has been enjoyable, though not as good as Lee Child. Reading has not been our only occupation this weekend. Nicky took advantage of the last of the fine weather yesterday to do the laundry, while I did a modelling session in Grey Lynn - the first of four, all the same pose each for three hours. Today Nicky has been in prison again, and the rain arrived. The beginning of the week started ...