Week 8: A quiet one

30 January: Monday. More wind and rain. We planned to have a evening dinner out with friends. It turns out most of Feilding is closed on Monday evening. We got fish and chips takeaways and had a very nice, informal evening at the Berry's home with them and the Williamsons. If you are in Feilding, we can recommend the Andrew Street Fish shop. Six of us ate for $40 with enough left over for another meal for two. That isn't counting the wine, of course.

31 January: Tuesday. More of the same weather. Summer will be here any day, I am sure. Buzz worked on a project in Max's shop, and I read and had a long chat with Heather. I love WhatsApp! We have instantaneous, free communication. If you don't have it on our phone, get it. I think it is a must for travelers. In the evening we went to Focal Point the local cinema/cafe to see Hidden Figures. This is a film worthy of every accolade received thus far...and more.

1 February: Wednesday. We are glad we aren't traveling around this week. The wind and rain just keep coming. I broke down and used the clothes dryer today. I also treated myself to a manicure and pedicure.

2 February: Thursday. Overnight the wind picked up, and the rain came in torrents all day long today. This evening we went out to dinner at the Stockyard Restaurant with Ron Boyes and Jean Sherrard. They are very good company, and the food was good, too. The best news of the day is that Max and Cathy are coming home, and he will continue his rehab and recovery here.

3 February: Friday. We had a power failure for about an hour last night...most likely due to the high winds. Today started with a very overcast sky but morphed into a cool, breezy, sunny afternoon. We made our weekly stop at the Farmers Market and then the supermarket, before coming home to do a few chores and prepare dinner. Tonight David and Lyn Broad joined us for dinner. It was good to spend some time with them.

4 February: Saturday. We stopped at the Feilding community market in the Square this morning. There were a few more vendors than last time. I bought a book from the Literacy organization. We went over to Palmerston North to see what the advertised Gypsy Fair was about. It was a collection of gypsy caravans (several converted buses) with stalls. A tattoo artist, tarot card reader, tie dye shirts, stained glass objects, etc. It didn't take us long to make the circuit and be on our way.

5 February: Sunday. Darcy and Phyllis stopped by for a cup of tea this morning. They are in Feilding visiting their daughter for the long weekend. Monday is Waitangi Day celebrating/observing the signing of the treaty between the Maori Chiefs and the British government. The treaty continues to be the source of ongoing dialogue in this country. The best part of the day was going to the airport to pick up Cathy and her sister, Margaret. Maria will accompany Max when he is flown home for rehab sometime during the coming week. All steps in the right direction. We thank everyone who has commented with prayers and well wishes for Max's recovery.