A Kiwi Christmas

Christmas eve, I was invited by Nigel to have dinner with his family at Parua Bay. On the way, I was stopped by police who were checking on DUI's. Fortunately, this was on the way to the party, not coming back !
Nigel lives in a house with a fantastic view over Parua Bay and the sunset. The house itself is an old house, very well renovated, which used to be the post office. Nigel explained to me that at the time, there were no cars and people would come by boat to the post office, which is why it is by the water side.
Dinner was polish, prepared by Nigel mother in law Adela. I don't remember exactly all the courses, but I remember that it started with a very nice herring, there was a beetroot soup, there was some fried fish and a cake made with seeds and from a recipe from Lithuania.
Nigel's brother, brother in law, mother and family were there and it was a very pleasant dinner and conversation.
As I was about to return to the marina, I realized that I had forgotten the key that opens not only the restrooms but also the gate to the pontoon where my boat is. Nigel's house being full, the only reasonable alternative was to go ahead and find a way around the gate. In fact, it was easy. The visitor's pontoon is not locked and there were several dinghies there. I borrowed one to get to my pontoon which was like less than 10 feet away.
On Christmas day, we had Benjamin, Karin and Rex for dinner and I had prepared a bunch of pancakes to have with ham and cheese or with sausages, and also for dessert with strawberries jam or just sugar. I always enjoy evenings with other boaters.
Boxing day turned out to be a quiet day during which Guillaume gave me a hand to wash the outside of the boat. There is a road on the other side of the river and after a while dust from that road accumulates on deck and the boats need to be washed regularly.
Today, since it was boxing day in the US, I called my fellow brothers of the coast while they were having their traditional Boxing Day party. I miss it very much and I know it is always a lot of fun. It would take too long to explain.
I also went back on my bike. I took it especially easy as I am still worried about my knee, so I avoided the hills and did one hour on the flat and at idle speed. I seems OK and I will try and ride a little bit everyday. I need it to regain some kind of shape.