The pohutukawa are in bloom and the sky is bright blue. The days are cool and pleasant. We celebrated Christmas and New Year in Auckland with our girls and our family. We’ve had a couple of splendid beach days and some relaxation. But now it is full steam ahead helping our daughters move to Sydney and Dargaville (two hours north of Auckland) respectively where they are starting new jobs in January. It will be sad for us to think that they are no longer living in the same city but we are thrilled that they are moving on to the next phase of their lives. We still have a few days together in Auckland and intend to enjoy them fully.