Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

A slightly earlier than usual post - call me Mr Spontaneous! It has been a busy week, and it has actually felt like summer. We have had dinner on the Rattigan every evening except for Thursday when I was out. The afternoons have been really hot but the humidity of last weekend has gone and we have been having cooler nights which makes sleeping much easier. I have had one of my busiest work weeks ever, leading to my best February ever, which is really good. Nicky has also had a busy and good week at work with management being absent. Her hospital appointment went well (treatment plan is under consideration) as did her Thursday evening at church. Washing has been done, food has been cooked, telly has been watched. Take care, Rick

A few days ago I came up with a nice pithy title for this week’s blog, didn’t write it down, and now of course I can’t remember it! So the one above, like the spicy cheese and corn muffins that Nicky is making for our tea, is fresh. We have had another 4-day working week by dint of Nicky taking Tuesday as annual leave. Not only was it the day that my niece Rachel returned to these shores, and Valentines Day, but it was also a birthday for our friend Jancis and we had arranged to take her to the Awhitu Lighthouse on South Head (at the entrance to the Manukau harbour). Rachels’ flight from San Fransisco was due in at 05.40hrs. So, as is our usual custom we checked on the airport website for an updated ETA, so that we could leave home about the same time as she landed. It takes us about half an hour to drive to the airport, park, and walk to the International Arrivals area. However, the flight came in half an hour early, and we didn’t leave until around 05.45hrs, and there was mo...

Our (my) weekday morning routines have gone out of the window this week, for various reasons. It wasn’t until Friday that I first did some tai chi, and then not until well after breakfast at quarter to ten. Not until this morning was the correct sequence of tai chi THEN porridge achieved. Monday was Waitangi Day, a public holiday, and who does exercises on a public holiday? We did exert ourselves after a fairly swift (for us) climb out of bed / pot of tea / race to the microwave for porridge pinging (though Nicky might have had Weetbix with some excuse about the weather being warm). Which is was. A high of 29°C and 42°C in the roof in the afternoon, which is why we wanted to leave for Long Bay Regional Park early. Not only did we want to find somewhere to park, but we planned to do the coast walk and have a swim and get back to the car before the heat of the day really arrived. We achieved this, had a great walk and a lovely swim at Pohutukawa Bay. It was the first time for me tha...

We have had our first of two consecutive four-day weeks this week, with Monday being Auckland Anniversary Day. We decided to avoid the crowds in town after last year so went out west after an excellent breakfast on the Rattigan. We couldn’t get parked at the Fairy Falls car parks again, so went onto Log Race Road and did the Mercer Bay Loop walk. Excellent views (pictures below) but most of the second half was up hill, so we had a quiet afternoon of reading and snoozing when we got home. Piha Whatipu in the distance Mercer Bay There has been much discussion and some meetings at work for Nicky regarding the upcoming changes. This has alleviated some concerns and improved understanding to a degree, but there is still considerable uncertainty. With the schools now starting their new academic year things haven’t been quite so manic, but still very busy. I have a good week for work with something on everyday, along with the usual laundry, shopping and cooking. W...

Our biggest news this week, notwithstanding any alternative facts, is the reorganisation being planned at Nicky’s work. A major re-structuring of nearly all jobs, their functions and hours is beginning. The direct consequence is that all staff will be applying for jobs similar to the ones they already do, but an inevitable result will be fewer people and lower pay. As you can imagine this is causing great concern for all involved as it is not at all clear how it is going to pan out on an individual basis. On a brighter note, Nicky won two tickets to the premier of Pork Pie, a remake of a classic Kiwi film, Good Bye Pork Pie. This was on Thursday evening at The Civic while I was at D&M at Galbraith’s, so Marilyn who she works with went along too and they had a great evening. Apparently the film is good too. The rest of Nicky’s work week has continued to be very busy, but the school’s open again next week so that will make a difference. I have had a moderate amount of work o...

It’s the weather. Summer is not getting it together at all, especially towards the end of this week when we have had a major storm system bringing rain and high wind. In fact it is the wind which is the most noticeable feature at the moment. Even when it is warm and sunny, if you don’t get out of there wind it is tiring and chilly. However, this does mean when it isn’t raining I can get the washing dry in a couple of hours. This doesn’t stop the natives complaining though. The library has continued to be busy with the schools being on holiday, and I have had a moderate amount of work. Our local telco has changed some of its security systems and that is causing some of my customers to have issues. We have had dinner on the Rattigan a couple of times, and a few visits from Jancis. Our evenings have been occupied watching The Level, which was shown as five episodes from Sunday to Thursday. Yesterday we decided to go and have a walk to the Fairy Falls, which are about 30 minut...

My week has been dominated by one Mac with a failed hard disk, which I replaced. However, the restoring of the backup has proved quite intense to get configured back to a working condition. I am hoping my visit tomorrow will be the conclusion. I have done a couple of other jobs too, assisted Jancis, washed clothes, shopped and cooked and squeezed in a quick swim at Herne Bay. Nicky’s week at the library has been as school-holiday busy as ever. John Clearwater’s Monday bug talk went very well which was very gratifying. Our first Deep & Meaningful discussion of the year was heavyily over-subscribed so I ran a parallel session at a different location (Galbraith’s) which went well, even with me “in charge”. The weather has been variable, with some cloudy starts and lovely sunny periods. We have managed dinner on the Rattigan a couple of times, and had breakfast and dinner there yesterday. We didn’t have any fixed plans the weekend which was just as well, as Pat rang to...