When we returned from our visit up north I found this delight in the letterbox.
My thanks to @jean for this gift. 😁
I enjoyed reading Killing a Stranger (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 4) by Jane Adams. 📚
Teenager Rob Beresford stumbles home in the middle of the night, drenched in blood and claiming to have killed a man.
Rather than Naomi, it was actually the friend group who mainly worked out what had happened.
Today the builder sent us more progress photos of gib board being put up in our new house. I've digitally removed a worker from the photo below. 🏡
This approximately 25 minute speech on Yale's Class Day by The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand is absolutely worth your time.
She was one of our best leaders and speaks about leadership, and how we deal with a chaotic world. 👏🏼👏🏼
It was so blimmin cold this morning that today I went down to the shed and retrieved the extra winter bedding.
We don't have very much firewood left and won't be buying more before we move. I don't want to use it all up before even June rolls around …
When I first glimpsed a black bird hopping along the railing I assumed it was 'our' Blackbird. Then I realised it was actually a Tui. See the white bobbles on its throat in this terrible quick iPhone snap through the window. 🐦
The builders have started putting up Gib board in our new house. 🏡
Photo by the builder. There was a better photo but it shows three workers too clearly and it doesn't feel OK to me to put that online.
Our Whangārei friends are incredibly hospitable and generous and their house is very comfortable, but it's so good to be back home. First really good night's sleep in a week. Two cups of tea before 7 a.m. Ahhhh.
OTOH, our house was only 11C when I woke; couldn't light the woodburner fast enough!
I love the creativity of the Hundertwasser museum and precinct in Whangārei Basin. This area of paving could have been simply flat. Instead it has a flat trail for those who need level ground, with small bumps, hillocks and curves for aesthetic appeal.
We ate lunch at Deluca Cafe (FB link), 6/8 Rust Avenue, Whangarei 0110. That's pretty much opposite the Library.
My hot chocolate wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad.
My fried eggs on wholegrain toast with grilled tomatoes and chicken tenders was good. The watercress was a nice touch.
Yesterday afternoon we went with our friends to visit friends of theirs in Waipu which is about 10 Km south of our soon to be home in Ruakākā.
We made pizzas in an outdoor pizza oven and spent a while chatting.
My pizza toppings were a bit on the sparse side, but it tasted good.
These books were good enough, but not brilliant. Havard and Lambert Books 1–5 by Pippa McCathie. 📚
My biggest problem is the author uses the technique of hiding information from the reader, like this example (one of many):
“Do you mean you know who–”
“Not know, but I have a very strong feeling about it.”
“So, who do you think it was?”
Fabia told her, and Bella didn’t pour scorn on this idea either, but she did say, “I really don’t think that’s very likely, Fabia.”
No onion in my meals please
We visited Acropolis Cafe, Bar And Grill in Whangārei for dinner last night. The environment is lovely (and unusual, being out in the 'wilderness' of the port).
I enjoyed the chicken element in my souvlaki wrap, and the others enjoyed their meals.
My meal was very much spoiled though by containing raw onion when I'd had a protracted prior discussion with the server about making sure there was no onion in my food.
Rather than replacing my dish when I pointed this out it seems they simply removed the onion from it and brought back the remains. I was disinclined to eat what they brought back to me.
I was disappointed and definitely unimpressed by the service at Acropolis.
Most people at Barge Park today, including us, were walking dogs. Then there were a dozen or more doing something different.
We encourage you to bring along your own miniature pony or you are most welcome to hire one of ours. All the miniature ponies competing will have to pass vet checks throughout the event to be able to continue as their health and welfare is of utmost importance to us.
It was a gorgeous and hot day at Ruakākā beach today. A few people were swimming.
Taranga (Hen), Marotiri (Chickens) and Taturu (Sail Rock) lie on the horizon of Te Ākau (Bream Bay). In the distant far right is Hauturu o Toi (Little Barrier Island) New Zealand's first nature reserve.
An exciting time today as we saw our new house for the first time "in the flesh". 🏡
We didn't know it had already been insulated and today it passed the inspection that allows gib board to go up next week.
We flew over our new house as we came in to land at Whangārei. It's in the green area in the bottom right quadrant of the photo. 🏡
Threading through the top half is the Ruakākā River flowing from right to left. The riverbank walk is only a couple of minutes on foot from our place.
Yay. Boarded our plane to Whangārei, taxied, sat, returned to terminal, engineers fixed a small problem but noticed a complication. Now we’re sitting in the terminal again.
Mountain rises above the clouds in central North Island.
Sunrise above the clouds.
After leaving the house at 5 a.m. airport eggs on toast was not only welcome but very delicious! 