Monthly Archives: December 2011

Sick Leave

SwimGym – but not Karola today. Rather a troubled night with all the children being awake and/or sick till around 3:00am or longer. Karola up helping until 3:00am and now she and Anna are under the weather too. The children on the whole seemed much better today. Occasional rain kept us mostly indoors.

Grayson Allen came and made some adjustments to the cottage HWC. I asked him to install the optional second electric element ($60). Mark from Rob Findlay Plumbing spent most of the day completing the wood burner installation. I called the Hastings District Council and have an appointment with one of their inspectors to inspect the wood burner, flue, and chimney on Thursday afternoon. Tony Page came and rummaged amongst the remaining elm planks for one suitable for the cottage kitchen parapet. I don’t yet know if he’s found what he needs.

Oak Avenue Weather:__℃—__℃ no rain [81.7] 06:18

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Felix’ English Birthday

Late morning the rest of the household went swimming at Ocean Spa in Napier followed by lunch at Cafe Divine. In the afternoon Felix and I tidied up the Homestead garage and then we set up Anna’s table tennis table and Barney, Natalie, Karola, Anna and I played some games. Early evening we all went to a funny old Italian restaurant in Havelock North called “Pippie’s”. Felix and I played cards outside. I enjoyed my meal of “GF” fish cakes; Barney went to sleep at the table so we went went home after the first course. Much of the night was spent with Anna and Bridget and Karola tending sick children; overnight Anna and Karola succumbed as well.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—15℃ no rain [?] 09:00

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First Day – Family Reunion – Felix Birthday

Late start, but everyone got breakfast – except for Felix who is still pretty crook. I took Barney out to see the sheep and he was sick, so now he and Felix are both bed-ridden with the bug.

Felix said “I went downstairs in the morning and opened my presents and then I was sick again and stayed in bed for the rest of my birthday.”

I went out with Anna and Bridget to shop and have a very nice morning coffee at Taste in Hastings. We bumped into my GP, Richard Jamieson and wife and one child in Taste where presumably they too were having a morning break. In New World I bumped into Mike Croucher (Garden Groom) and his wife Sarah, looking over the Christmas turkeys.

Quiet afternoon with everyone resting. Bridget has set up a large jigsaw which the children (except Barney) are helping solve.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—15℃ 3.9mm rain [82.7] 06:18

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Karola Off To Airport and Anna et al Arrive Napier Airport

No SwimGym today. Builder Paul and son Matthew arrived as planned at 8:00am. Karola went off to the airport at 9:00am. Sven from Peak Plumbing came and finished some small details of the installation of the HWC in the morning. Mark and mate from Rob Findlay Plumbing arrived mod morning and began the wood burner installation. They have another hour or so of finishing off but the main installation was completed. They plan to return briefly on Monday morning.

I went shopping and lunched at Taste in Hastings after picking up the chocolate croissants for the visitors. Visitors arrived on time and Karola met them at Auckland airport. Their flight to Napier was delayed an hour. I went across to the airport and met them and we convoyed home.

Before we left the Napier airport Anna tried to extract some NZ cash from an ASB ATM machine. It seemed to be working just fine, offered her the money etc but just before handing it over the ATM swallowed her card. No way back. There was no phone number on the ATM nor even a way of identifying the ATM but a nearby Avis person found the ASB help desk number for us. Their best suggestion was that Anna should get her home bank to send her another card, not very helpful on a Friday afternoon with her bank 12,000 miles away.

After being well behaved travellers for 11 hours to Singapore and another 9 hours to Auckland the boys were fairly exhausted. Felix has a tummy bug which has kept him in bed since he arrived.

Bridget rang to say that they were coming up a day early, leaving early evening today. They arrived around midnight. So our whole immediate family is here, two daughters and four mokopuna.

Oak Avenue Weather:13℃—26℃ 25.9mm rain [82.6] 06:18

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300 Litre Hot Water Cylinder Installed

Gentle rain all day. Karola still making finishing touches to the preparations for the visitors tomorrow. Bridget’s family is planning on coming up on Saturday so Felix’ birthday meal will probably be a later afternoon or evening one. Karola posted our completed forms and notarised copies of certificates to the UK Pensions people. Lucky she checked because they needed 50 cents more postage each than I had put on.

A medium sized branch had fallen off an elm tree in the Goose paddock and the sheep devoured the leaves. In the afternoon I let the sheep have a couple of hours in the ungrazed centre section of the three swathes of pasture in the Middle paddock.

I moved the 13 hay bales in the big shed off the last few elm boards that are potentially good enough to make into the kitchen benches. The boards uncovered by this don’t actually seem to be much better than the ones we’ve already given Tony Page and which mostly seem to have a sort of dry rot.

To our delight the Hot Water Cylinder arrived and was installed today. The radiators, which need to be put on the pipes after the floors are oiled and the skirting is replaced, will happen in the new year.

Oak Avenue Weather:15℃—18℃ 12.9mm rain [82.5] 06:18

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Day of Rest-ish

SwimGym. Both mostly exhausted from previous days’ work so pottered along. Karola has brought up the two beds from the store room for Felix and Barney to have in my study. Mike Croucher (Garden Groom) has at last mown the lawn despite several problems with his mower. Karola and I went into Hastings Work & Income for 1:30pm meeting. Unfortunately the person we were to meet works in the Feilding office. The Hastings office helped as best they could but we had time for a quick and delicious lunch across the road at Cornucopia Taste waiting for someone to fit us in.

e-Mail from Rob Findlay saying they plan to install the wood burner on Friday morning. Builder Paul has agreed to come back for the morning to make sure it all goes as planned. Of course that’s the day Anna arrives and Karola has to catch plane at 10:00am so she’ll miss most of the fun.

Oak Avenue Weather:17℃—25℃ 0.6mm rain [81.7] 06:18

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Internet Down – Internet Up

Internet connection was down since yesterday. Karola and I cut a few branches that might have been shading the radio beam and I’d rung Airnet a couple of times to report the fault, having rebooted all the boxes involved here without success. When access to the Internet spontaneously returned late afternoon I rang Airnet, told them of the miracle, and cancelled the trouble ticket. Later Karola told me that while I was out the technician had come and replaced the transceiver on the garage roof – they must think us very odd.

I did my online banking in the morning using my “jail broken” iPhone as my Internet access – very slow, very expensive, but it worked.

Called Tim Whittaker and engaged him to take family portrait on the Homestead verandah next week.

Skirting boards came back from the Otane business stripped of paint. Tony Page and Shane called in to say that much of the elm was unusable due to rot. We all went up to the big shed and loaded several more baulks with potential for containing usable pieces. Karola and I also have to move the hay off some more lengths of 8″x4″ elm and let Tony know when these are accessible.

Ian Croskery dropped in and we agreed that too many things had to happen before the plumbing could be finished so we might as well plan for that mid January – it’s very unlikely to be possible before Christmas.

I took the kitchen cabinet knobs and handles to Larry in Onekawa.

Another 2.5 hours of mowing and now almost all the Goose Paddock has been nicely mown in preparation for our visitors. It does give the feel of parkland. I am shattered and very very dusty. Despite the helmet and visor I have dust in my eyes, my hair, up my nose and I have most definitely been vigorously shaken if not stirred. After a shower I recovered enough to spend an hour on forms for Work and Income about my pension.

Oak Avenue Weather:16℃—24℃ no rain [81.8] 06:18

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Sixteen Fence Posts In Two Days

SwimGym

Mark came and continued his digging of fence post holes. I went into town, to the bank, and then switched vehicles to take the Landrover and trailer to pick up a cubic metre of “top course” for patching the drive plus 20 fence battens and a box of post staples. The trailer tyres were very squashed down, a cubic metre of gravel probably weighs about two tonnes – the max for the trailer. I then shaped some stay posts with the chainsaw while Mark completed the second eight posts – he digs the hole and puts in the posts.

Karola continued her tidying. cleaning, and rearranging activities in preparation for Meticulous Maids who came for two hours after lunch. Karola gave them a Christmas afternoon tea.

I spent a couple of hours mowing in the Goose paddock, mowing the main area twice over to make it look well-tended for our visitors on Friday. Noisy and very bumpy.

Oak Avenue Weather:16℃—22℃ 1.9mm rain [82.0] 06:18

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Quail and Chicks

A quiet Sunday. I finished the piece of netting fence closing off the old entranceway to the big shed – all except for two quarter-round posts which I hope Mark will put in tomorrow. Karola is cleaning and arranging in anticipation of a) the cleaning ladies tomorrow and b) Anna and family arriving on Friday.

Odd job day, Sunday, so I put a new trailer connector on Karola’s trailer, wound up the electric fence along the front drive, spray painted the screw heads on my twin-LED lights for upstairs in the cottage with “antique brass” paint – to match the window catches. We took the stock crate off the trailer as Karola has decided not to try and sell any lambs before Christmas.

A few days ago I saw a pheasant family, including at least one large chick. Yesterday Karola spotted a quail family in the orchard paddock, or rather in the adjacent planting area with food forays into the Orchard paddock. I saw them again today, see below – one chick is on the top edge of a bare patch to the left of the male quail. I saw another family close to the homestead front door, probably the nest is under the Ginkgo tree. They were making for the ha-ha, mum, dad and at least four chicks the size of large bumble bees. Makes your heart sing.

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—20℃ no rain [82.3] 06:18

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The Table Tennis Table

Drizzling most of the night and early morning. Mark visit cancelled. Bruce and Kirsty left mid morning. Karola put up electric fence and let her sheep onto the front drive. I began the closure of the entranceway to the big shed, the one I planted some of the willow stakes across. The netting “wings” of the entranceway combined will just reach straight across the Homestead side of the gap.

Bruce To Serve

Oak Avenue Weather:12℃—20℃ no rain [82.8] 06:18

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New Table Tennis Table

SwimGym.

Mark arrived around 9:00am to continue on the replacement/upgraded fences at each end of the Orchard Paddock. He put in the eight running posts needed at the south end before lunch while I pottered round putting up a guide wire for each fence, fetching the posts and battens from the various piles around the place.

Rob Findlay and his man Mark came and measured the clearances etc for the wood burner flue this morning. To avoid colliding with various structural joists etc it has to be placed parallel to the wall rather than on an angle in the corner, but that’s not too bad. We’re pleased they came and they seem well aware of the end-year deadline.

While in Hastings I picked up my Friday delivery of a pair of loaves of PureBread gluten-free bread. Across the road, almost, at Bay Keys I got them to take another crack at making the non-working copy of our back door key work. (This time they got it right). I picked up the Lala wall light fitting Karola had set aside for her at Lighting Depot – if we like it “in situ” we’ll get several more. I completed my haul of the exterior light Karola has plumped for – from Mitre-10. We now have eight of these, black with clear glass. Also from Mitre-10 I picked up the pre-ordered porcelain drawer handles for the kitchen.

Kirsty and Bruce, as arranged, arrived late afternoon. Meanwhile Karola had mown the One-Acre paddock on the Fergie.

Grayson Allen called in to apologise for the delay on our Hot Water Cylinder. It’s in Auckland en route to here and the radiators are now due here next Wednesday. Grayson hopes to install the HWC next week.

Karola talked to the Flooring people just down the road on Omahu Road and has a potential cork tile installer coming to give us a quote on Monday.

Bruce and I assembled Karola’s tennis table (on special, a Double Fish Delux, very sturdy, from Rebel Sports) for Anna and Bridget and families when they come up here next week.

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—18℃ 2.8mm rain [82.4] 06:18

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What’s Blue and Weighs 78Kg?

Mowing round edge of One Acre so Karola can top the rest. Mowed edge of Orchard drive and alog the ends of the Orchard paddock where we’re putting up replacement, permanent fences.

Murray and his mate came and started the cottage bathroom floor – mate left to do the work. Floor sanded and sealed and first coat polyurethane applied; it looks good.

Paul came and put catch/lock on sun porch door. John Burnard dropped off the fluorescent light fitting for the kitchen ceiling but I suspect it’s not the right sort.

Karola took up the carpet and the lino below it in the cottage living room. Most of the floor is in very good condition. We brought the wood burner over from the Homestead garage in case the installer, Rob Findlay, does come tomorrow to measure up.

I went to town and got an exterior light Karola thinks would be good for the cottage from Mitre-10. I also got 16 cupboard door knobs, ordered 20 kitchen drawer handles, bought an isolating transformer for outside use, and three small flattened round LED lights.

Returned later with Karola, as part of picking up her serviced car, and exchanged one faulty LED light, bought another six of the external lights (two on order from the Napier shop, will be in tomorrow), and a T5 1200mm 28Watt fluorescent fitting which is the right one for the kitchen ceiling.

Also bought, as suggested by Anna, a superior and very substantial table tennis table plus net and bats and balls from Rebel Sport for the impending UK visit next week. Karola likes it because it’s got a blue playing surface and was on special (from staggering price to mildly shocking price). I like it because it is very substantial – weighs 78kg and has very strong metal legs. We expect to assemble it tomorrow.

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—19℃ 0.1mm rain [81.5] 06:18

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No Old Blue Toyota Today

SwimGym then Dentist for a checkup then a quick call into Karola’s favourite lighting shop and home in time for Karola to dash out for a hair cut – it’s all go round here. It’s the first time for months that we’ve not had Paul’s old duck-egg blue Toyota 4×4 and trailer sitting outside the cottage.

Sent a TXT to Roger Hughes who, sadly, is here in NZ for a few days as his younger brother Nigel is terminally ill. Roger and Anne will be back for a holiday in February, spending several weeks in the Days Bay flat.

Anna would like a table tennis table here for their visit in EIGHT DAYS TIME and Karola is doing some procurement research on the Internet.

Sheep let into a swathe of the Middle paddock and they are loving it. Geese are delighted to get their paddock back. Late afternoon we took Karola’s car into Hastings where it’s due for service and WOF tomorrow.

Builder Paul called to say Murray, the floor sanding guy, wants to begin on the bathroom floor tomorrow at 8:00am. I rang Rob Findlay who said he expects to come on Friday to do the detailed measuring up for the wood burner installation.

Electrician John Burnard, who I rang this evening, has offered to come round tomorrow morning and make some progress on the cottage electrics.

The installation of the HWC (Grayson Allen) is delayed till Friday at the earliest, and probably next week.

Ian Croskery (Copas – Plumbing Manager) called in mid afternoon to see when his plumbers could come and do a days work on the cottage – possibly late next week.

Oak Avenue Weather:7℃—19℃ 11.6mm rain [82.1] 06:18

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Cottage Work Closes Till Mid January

Karola took the Landrover over for service and WOF at Heath Goldfinch’s Tamatea Automotive garage. She got a ride back with Mark Hendery, coming over to help me with fencing. Mark dug some more strainer post holes and we rolled up the old netting and standard fence. We finished at around 2:00pm just as Mark’s mum and dad arrived for afternoon tea. Jenny and Noel took us over to Tamatea on their way home and we picked up the Landrover and drove home.

Meanwhile, mid afternoon, builder Paul and son Matthew packed up and left for another job, having done all they can until electrician, plumber, shower installer, heating installer, wood burner installer have done their thing. They’re working in a road not far from here so can come to the rescue if needed. Also Brett Newton and his painters finished the inside of the cottage and left, expecting to return early February to do the outside.

Karola got excellent prices for her surplus ewes, $112 – $134 each, $1850 nett of GST in total.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—21℃ 1.0mm rain [82.4] 06:18

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Two Loads of Eight Ewes

SwimGym, then Mark arrived before 8:30am and we quickly penned the 16 ewes. Karola sorted out the best 8 and we loaded them, with difficulty because they were not keen and so very heavy.

We took in the two loads, pumping up the trailer tyres between trips as we noticed the pressure was getting a bit low. In fact the right front tandem tyre may have a slow puncture. Very busy at the Stortford Lodge market, lots of trucks and several small holders like ourselves.

Later Mark and I began upgrading the fence along the south end of the Orchard paddock. We expect to put a small gate from the planting area into the Orchard paddock opposite the one from the planting area into the Totara paddock and near the water tap inside the planting area. At that same point Karola would like a gate between the Orchard paddock and the peaches, and replacment of the netting fence and standards with a conventional 7-wire, batten and post fence. This ties in with completing the closure of the gateway between the Totara paddock and the peaches where part of my line of willow stakes are flourishing. We’ll use the big gate from that obsolete opening for a better replacement gate off the Orchard drive into the Orchard paddock, and use the replaced gate as the new gate from Orchard paddock to peaches.

Oak Avenue Weather:16℃—25℃ no rain [82.2] 06:18

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Ewes Drafted

A sad day for Karola as she had to make her final decisions about which ewes go to market tomorrow.

For sale are: #219, #401, #403, #600 (aka #629),  #623, #632, #671, #672, #674, #675, #679, #714, #719, #725, #726, #912.

Ewes and lambs are in the goose paddock, the market ewes are in the Front paddock, separated by two physical fences. As part of this Karola rather hurriedly put gates round the Coral Tree seedlings she discovered in the goose paddock.

Karola spent several hours scraping off old lino glue from the cottage bathroom floor in preparation for the sanding and sealing later next week.

We lunched pleasantly at Pernel’s Fruit World, just down the road.

We trialed one of my four ambient LED lights for upstairs at the cottage – in the “junk room” opposite the homestead kitchen.

Oak Avenue Weather:15℃—24℃ 4.8mm rain [82.1] 06:18

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Scrubbish

Mark came and dug two large holes under the oaks, one for #673 and one for the next departure. We then set up some electric fence for Karola across the Middle paddock and mended a couple of leaking water trough pipes.

Karola began scraping off the linoleum glue off the cottage bedroom floor. It will be sanded, sealed, and polyurethened later next week.

Homestead Roses In Bloom

Oak Avenue Weather:14℃—23℃ no rain [82.4] 06:18

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Ewe #673 dies

SwimGym though half an hour later than usual in part because I found that an alkathene pipe feeding stock water to the goose paddock had sprung a leak.

Discussion with Paul and Matthew about the Kauri skirting boards. Paul agreed it was premature to nail them up upstairs but says it’s easy to take them off again for now. They need to be put up after the chemical washing and oiling of the floor. As to the striking patterns in the planks, even after buzzing about 15 mm off, Karola will have to decide whether she prefers the better quality side with the regular light bands or the other side with many more nail holes and more wood blemishes but no regular bands of light and dark.

I finished putting up electric fence on the lawn and let the hungry sheep in before going to fetch Karola from the airport. I shut the gates, just in case.

Karola and I went to Onekawa where I delivered the Kauri wood needed by Larry for the kitchen cupboard cornices and also delivered the 33 tiles for Rob Findlay to make the wood burner hearth. Rob is currently in Christchurch but said he intended to come out and make the final measurements on Wednesday.

Vehicle servicing update: both vehicles will also have their WOF renewed next week as part of the service.

Cottage heating update: Grayson will install the hot water cylinder early next week but leave the radiators till later, Some of the radiators have pipes poking through the skirting and so the skirting boards need to be up before they rads are installed. And the floors need to be chemically cleaned and oiled before the skirting goes up.

Ewe #673 has been poorly since before she lambed in September and she’s finally given up the fight. Mark Hendery has agreed to come and bury her tomorrow – no that’s Mark Hendery not his clergyman father Noel and it’s a real burial, not a burial service.

Oak Avenue Weather:10℃—21℃ no rain [82.1] 06:18

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Shopping Arround

Paul has been making new skirting for upstairs from Kauri boards that used to hold up the shingles and these look most attractive except for very distinct light bars across the boards where they rested on supporting beams for 100 years. Several passes through the thicknesser haven’t removed them so I don’t know whether we should put up with them or not.

Later, after letting the sheep in on the lawn for a couple of hours, I went into town to pick up the pieces of door hardware ordered through Mitre-10 that arrived this morning. I picked up a heat/light assembly potentially for the bathroom and a pair of small lamps as well. I looked at their pendant lights to see if anything looked possible for the light above the stairs but nothing appealed. On this trip I also took the homestead back door key to get duplicates cut at BayKeys, near the Taste restaurant. While out I went to Steads to pick up some moulded skirting that “PJ” had done for us, I dropped in at Steeles to see if they had another basin mixer tap to match the one we have – not they hadn’t and no, the mixer tap we have is not from them. I dropped by Stewarts Electrical to see if they had a heat/light fitting. Yes but, again, it is huge and ugly. I went to Cory Electrical and ordered three more electric chain extender window openers for the transom windows. I decided that choosing and fitting an alternative in order to delay the day, installing only one now and, maybe, the three others later, was going to be more trouble than it was worth so I put in the order and asked for them to be put on our electrician’s account. I looked at their heat/light bathroom fitting and it too was big and ugly. Picked up a couple of mini-Edison-screw LED 230v lights at Jaycar for the two lamps I bought at Mitre-10. Stopped by HomePlus and got the duplicate basin mixer tap – yes that was where I’d got the first one and yes they had others in stock, so now we have the mixer taps for the two basins in the bathroom.

A bit late, largely due to not being able to find Steads, to meet Les whom I’d invited to come and inspect the cottage. He had no specific recommendations and seemed pleased with our progress.

Went back into town to pick up the duplicated keys. I’d order two spares and when I tested them later I found one worked, the other didn’t. Also, put off by the large and ugly and over-functioned nature of the heat/light fitting, I took that back to Mitre-10 and bought two more of the small stand-alone lamps. I’d already tried one with the LED bulb and decided they might do for the wall lights in the bedroom – so I also picked up another couple of LED bulbs from Jaycar and have the four lights needed as ambient lighting in the bedroom.

xxx came and gave a quote for sanding and applying polyurethane to the bathroom floor, $500 plus GST and he could possibly do it late next week. After discussion with Karola by phone we accepted the quote. Then I alerted Grayson Allen (central heating) and Nick Curry (showers) that back end of next week the bathroom would be out of bounds so they both decided that they’d delay to the following week. The shower installation has several parts: the builder or plumber puts in the shower trays; the GIB is put on; the walls are painted (at least so that all the visible wall is painted); then the shower installer put in the walls etc; then the plumber attaches the shower to the water supply. Painting should be all done by the middle of next week.

Lunch at 3:00 pm then started putting up the electric fence for the next large tranche of lawn when dusk fell.

Oak Avenue Weather:8℃—19℃ no rain [81.3] 06:18

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