Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

The run-up to ANZAC day has been a busy week for us. The library, as ever, has been keeping Nicky fully occupied, and I have had a good week with Mac work too. Nice weather has helped with the laundry, though not with the ironing (with doing it indoors). On Tuesday evening we met Stella and Katie at the Trusts Stadium in Henderson to see a Nigel Latta (a local TV psychologist) presentation on helping teenage drivers. It was informative and entertaining, and Nigel was just as good in the flesh as he is on telly. On Wednesday early evening I went to a Chamber of Commerce “business after 5” event at Davis Funerals, where we got to see round the operation and discover what happens behind the scenes. It was very interesting. Just after I got home Nicky went off to pickup Jancis and go to house group. I was also out again on Thursday evening with another MeetUp session. A long a busy work-day for me on Friday meant fish and chips for dinner again (the same thing happened the previou...

Vengeance has been the keyword for this week. Firstly the weather giving us a blast of winter with a vengeance at the beginning of the week (after two days I was already looking forward to next summer!). Secondly, as the rain passed and we got to see some sun again on Wednesday, myself (any many others it transpired) hit the laundry routine with a vengeance - much washing was hung. The upside of the cold wet weather on Monday and Tuesday was that the library was more like normal, instead of the manic it has been with the school holidays. Nicky was out at prison prayer group on Monday evening, and tried to go to a Te Reo class on Tuesday but thinks she got the timing wrong as nobody else was there. I have had quite a good week with work, got the laundry done by being assertive with the washing machine, and had a couple of evenings out. Tuesday was my first Chamber of Commerce event; a gathering of new members. Not my sort of thing at all - I’m not good with a room full of 100+ com...

We had a very good start to the week with it being Easter Monday and therefore a public holiday. The weather was also lovely so after breakfast Nicky packed up a picnic lunch and we went of to The Cascades, a waterfall out in the Waitakere Ranges. The walk to and from the waterfall through bush on well laid paths was very pleasant, but we didn’t get to actually see the waterfall. Our boulder-climbing skills were no match for the boulders between the path and the waterfall. We got to hear it though. Heading off to Bethalls Beach to consume our picnic lunch was possibly not the best idea, as lots of other folks were there before us. We managed to find a parking space but the beach was packed and there wasn’t a deck chair to be had for love nor money. We returned home when I started to get to hot, and had excellent pancake stacks for tea. In spite of the lovely weather, it was back to work on Tuesday. Nicky has had a very noisy (and busy) week at the library with th...

It has been quite a busy 4-day working week with the run up to Easter. Nicky has been very busy at the library with school holidays starting, and I have had a couple of Mac jobs. Most of the week the weather has been sunshine and showers but the showers have held off for most of the Easter weekend, though we had a few more today. Nicky had Monday evening at prison prayer group, and then her hair done by Doris on Tuesday evening. I was out at a MeetUp session in Orewa On Wednesday evening and then up to The Block for a very nice pint of porter on Thursday evening, so we don’t feel that we have seen much of each other all week. Nicky started Good Friday at church, and I went out to Karekare for a very nice walk and swim. The sun was quite a bit warmer than it has been recently. Nicky was cutting the grass when I got back, and then after lunch we went down to Olympic Park and had a gentle and enjoyable stroll round the sculptures. The park was not at all busy. We had arranged to ...

New Zealand are 39 for 3 in the World Cup Cricket final as I start to write this week. Actually sitting and watching a cricket match is a first for me, and I am starting to realise why, but cricket fever has griped Aotearoa since the Black Caps reached the semi-final so we thought we would take a look. It has been Green Living week at BHB library, and Nicky has done the organising of events so it has been a busy week for her. All the presentations and activities have gone well so all her hard work in the run-up has been worthwhile. Wednesday evening she was at house group, and towards the end of the week enjoyed sleeping better. The cooling weather has also helped with this. I have had a good week with work in terms of getting things completed and a reasonable number of hours worked. I had a nice swim at Herne Bay on Thursday lunchtime on my way back from a job on the North Shore and had a good evening in town on Wednesday for my MeetUp group. I was up very early (4am) on Tues...

We seem to have a new house guest this week - Clint the cricket, who we think has taken up residence behind the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. We haven’t actually seen him, but we have certainly heard him. Or her. Tropical Cyclone Pam didn’t cause us any problems at the beginning of the week. We had steady rain overnight on Sunday but little wind. The rain eased off by breakfast time and stopped while I was out for my walkies. The rest of the week has been pretty good with lots of sunshine and fewer showers than I was expecting from the forecasts. It has started getting cooler in the mornings and evenings though, especially when the skies are clear overnight. Nicky has had a mixed week. Things have been better at work, though still as busy as ever. She enjoyed her prison prayer group meeting on Monday evening, but was saddened to hear of the death of Joan Turner on Thursday. The Turners were neighbours and close friends from Epsom days. Neil died a few years ago and J...

With the exception of a couple of cloudy starts and a bit of rain late Thursday, it has been another lovely sunny week. We had lunch on the Rattigan yesterday, but it was too hot to sit outside for long. It’s all changing today as Super Tropical Cyclone Pam will reach us overnight. We will only get the edge of the storm here, but today has already been quite windy. Nicky seems to be over her virus and has been at work all week, busy as ever and dismayed at times by borrowers and staff. I have had some Mac work too, and another new customer this week. On Tuesday evening we went to an Estate Planning seminar at the ANZ Bank in Mt Albert, which was interesting and informative (and the nibbles were excellent). It reinforced the fact that we need to get on and update our wills and sort out powers of attorney. Nicky had house group on Wednesday evening and I had a lovely swim at Herne Bay on Thursday afternoon (the sea is clean again). On Monday morning I went up to see our GP, at h...