Sunday, 17 January:  When we lived in NZ in the early 1970s, only the corner dairy was open on Sunday. Now, it is, as they say, all go. We drove over to Whakatane to a shopping center called The Hub. I got a few things I needed, we picked up some groceries and went back to Ohope for lunch. In the afternoon, we drove with Cathy and Max to see the land Anna and Mark have bought to build a home. It is a beautiful spot of about 15 acres overlooking the harbor. ...

Sunday, 10 January: We had morning tea with Andrew, Tracy, and Mia Lorrey. It was good to see them and all the progress they have made on the renovations to their home. Mia is a delightful toddler, and keeps her parents on their toes. From there we went to the Auckland Botanic Gardens to see both the flowers and the special sculpture exhibit on at the moment. As usual, some of the sculptures were very interesting, and some just left me wondering why anyone would ...

Sunday, 10 January: We had morning tea with Andrew, Tracy, and Mia Lorrey. It was good to see them and all the progress they have made on the renovations to their home. Mia is a delightful toddler, and keeps her parents on their toes. From there we went to the Auckland Botanic Gardens to see both the flowers and the special sculpture exhibit on at the moment. As usual, some of the sculptures were very interesting, and some just left me wondering why anyone woul...

Saturday, 2 January: What a long day. Up at 3am Eastern time to get a 5:30am flight from Manchester to Chicago, an hour or so in Midway Airport, an 8:30 am Central time flight to San Francisco, and ten hours until our 9PM Pacific time flight to NZ. Sunday, 2 January: No Sunday for us this year. Lost it on the flight. Monday, 4 January: The ANZ flight was excellent as always. Good service, good food, and great blankets! I slept for about seven hours on the twe...

Saturday, 2 January: What a long day. Up at 3am Eastern time to get a 5:30am flight from Manchester to Chicago, an hour or so in Midway Airport, an 8:30 am Central time flight to San Francisco, and ten hours until our 9PM Pacific time flight to NZ.  Sunday, 2 January: No Sunday for us this year. Lost it on the flight. Monday, 4 January: The ANZ flight was excellent as always. Good service, good food, and great blankets! I slept for about seven hours on the...