Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go ...

While we were on the beach at Tongaporutu a few weeks ago with Irene and Ian, I had a phone call from Kevin asking if I would take on a potential piece of work - and here I was thinking I was retired. David had been in touch with IRD to un-enrol me from GST and from income tax - too soon, obviously!

So I started a new assignment last week, about 10 weeks long - it will be finished around Easter. Sarah is working with me again, and we set to from last Tuesday morning doing the planning and preparing documents. The first day was tough and we both needed a rest (read nana nap for me) in the afternoon ... Getting back into the groove of working and thinking in that mode did tend to turn our brains to scrambled egg by the end of the first few days!

Scrambled egg brain set in earlier than that though - on Monday early afternoon, I dropped Kirsty at Waikanae Station to head into Wellington for two nights with her friend Lisa before she headed back to Sydney. Later that afternoon, I picked Sarah up from the station - post a nana nap, of course given I hadn't slept on the drive home from Waitara fortunately!

We decided on what we'd have for dinner and were almost finished preparing it when the phone rang - it was Grahame calling asking where we were as we were due there for dinner - DOH!!! Our dinner was turned off and away we went. Yummy food, as always chez Bilby, no wine for Sarah and me. We taught Sarah 5 Crowns between the main course and dessert and she beat us all, dammit!

We've been out walking in the mornings, sometimes with Ann 'accompanying' us virtually and sometimes just us. We get quite a lot of planning done while walking - the other day, we developed a complete plan for a workshop as we walked - when we got back home my task was to write it all down. A very effective planning technique - somehow the exercise helps the creative thinking.

Leaving the house - we even look awake!

This huge ornamental scotch thistle grows outside John and Jenny's gate.

The bush path by the Waikanae River - a very popular walk and cycle track

Into the shadows

And the view back the way we came across the clearing where, on Waitangi Day before we started working, we stopped to talk to Glenn and pat his lovely dog, Archie.

An early night on Sunday as I was being collected by Kevin at 7am, so the alarm was set for 6am. David had prepared my brekkie, the lovely man; my papers, new pencil case, purse, railway tickets for the trip home, sunglasses were in the backpack; enough clothes to last for a few days have been ironed (by me), and Sarah was flying up in the morning.

Since writing the above part of this post, Sarah and I have completed another week, created all sorts of papers, run a workshop and written up the outputs from the workshop, plus provided the participants with their assignment - due to be completed before they come to the next workshop this coming Wednesday - we have planned that one too today and Sarah (my absolutely fabulous documentation specialist) has created a templates and examples.

We are now ready for a weekend of relaxation - but I think I may do a small soupcon of work on Sunday, perhaps - but only if I can sneak in doing it while David isn't watching ...