Family Journal

Jump started the Subaru – its battery was flat when I tried to move the book-laden car last night. Moved the Subaru next to the cottage back door while I unloaded the books.

Gathered the books from upstairs in the cottage and several piles around the downstairs and shelved them in the living room. Marcus helped bring several of the heaviest containers of boks from the car into the living room. Marcus brought his week-old lamb and farm dog Duke over with him from the homestead. So far the animals are all getting on well together, no fighting or chasing, touch wood.

Took Bangle for a very short walk today comprising picking up a sandwich and coffee for lunch and then haing lunch on a table under a tree in Frimley Gardens.

Frost fans have been going for several days but they don’t keep me awake, it’s an expected background noise in late winter and early spring.

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Rosie has an appointment tomorrow so we’ll take Karola out on Thursday. In fact I’ll permanently move our visiting day to Thursday otherwise Rosie has to drive me for three days a week. On Thursday we can combine picking up the MYLK meals with visiting Karola and doing any shopping I forgot to do on Tuesday.

Marcus said his household had a good night’s sleep in Karamu last night. They’ve brought their cat and their farm dog Duke here, and they have a tiny male lamb, only seven days old, which they’re feeding.

Rosie drove me and Bangle in for the shopping and a walk in the dog park. Bangle has introduced herself to the new homestead residents and Chrissie brought her back saying she really wanted to stay over there – more attention I suppose and more going on.

I’ve begun filling the bookshelves in the cottage – I have so many books.

To my delight I found two small eggs in the chook house today; my six old chooks lay much bifgger eggs and anyway they have been on strike for weeks.

Two Pullet Eggs Today

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Chrissie Ormond and daughters Rosie and Minty slept in the homestead last night and had a good night’s sleep.

Marcus helped me bring another book case over from the homestead to go upstairs in the cottage – I just have so many books.

Mark helped move a chest of drawers upstairs in the cottage ready for Bridget when she returns – should be here late on 15th August which is soon. He also put angle brackets on two of the tall wooden Cudby & Mead book cases to pin them to the wall in case of earthquakes. All three are now similarly secured.

I moved stuff around in the cottage bedroom and re-hung the pictures so I am happy with the clearances around bed etc.

Bangle and I did a long walk at the dog park.

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Just a relaxed day when I took Bangle upstream on a long walk, same as yesterday but opposite direction.

Chris Ormond, Marcus older brother, dropped in on his bicycle just to say hello and to chat with his brother.

Ormond daughters are allegedly sleeping here tonight because they’ve brought their cat and it’s not wanting to be left alone, they tell me.

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Quiet day; Bangle and I went for a walk downstream of the Carrick Road access point on the Ngaruroro stop bank.

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Gentle rain for most of the day and night. Around 1:00am I realised I hadn’t checked to see whether my four new chooks and rooster had returned to the chook house after tasting their first slice of freedom, being allowed out of the run to roam free. I let them all out about an hour before dusk last night in the hope that they’d only venture a short way before going back to bed. So I went out and checked. I was worried to see that only the six old chooks and the new rooster were visible through the front wire netting. Later I wondered if the four new chooks might have been cuddled up in one of the two nest boxes jutting out of the front of the house, I’d neglected to check that. Anyway they were nowhere to be seen in the chook run so I went to bed hoping they’d found a warm, dry, safe place to roost in the undergrowth.

I was delighted to find all eleven chooks were up and about in the morning.

Thought I might take Bangle to the dog park for a walk, stopping at BP’s Wild Bean Café on the way for coffee and apple turnover, as usual. But the rain persisted so I just returned home. A couple of hours later the rain did stop so Bangle nd I trudged around the orchard, made more difficult because all the ground between the tree rows had been mole-drained presumably to break up the hard pan that forms from the repeated compacting by tractors .

Mark and Marcus brought the two remaining Cudby & Mead book cases over from the homestead as I slept. This evening Marcus and Chrissie came and moved them from the cottage verandah into their likely resting places in the cottage living room and bed room.

On top of my good news this week about my eyes and Glaucoma, tonight I got the results of my blood test and the August diabetes indicator is well down over the last test in April. So my almost daily treat of an apple turnover with my coffee seems not to be of significant harm despite no doubt having sugar in the pastry and apple filling, and gluten in the pastry.

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Rosie TXTed to say she was stranded without her car keys so I drove to and from her house so she could drive the rest of the days adventures for me. Frstly I had an eye appointment with Dr Baswati Sahoo at the hastings branch of The Eye Institute. I had been using an extra and new type of eye drops for a month. My eye pressure, the key parameter in reducing the onset of glaucoma damage, was better than it had been in the last decade. I fervently hope that this continues.

Then we set off and collected Karola from Summerset Palms before going to Maina in Havelock North for an afternoon lunch. Again we had the same orders ut this time half portions which were much more manageable. Karola had a salmon salad while I had “creamy mushrooms” which, in addition to a generous and creamy bowl of mushrooms, had hash browns and bacon.

Then back home via Bunnings where I searched fruitlessly for another galvanised rubbish bin – rodent proof so ideal for storing grans and chook pellets. I may be able to get it from Bunnings in other cities.

I forgot to get my blood test, due on 5th August. It tunred out that Rosie left something in the car so was happy to drive me to and from the blood test in Stortford Lodge. I was the only client at the blood testing place but they had no record of my doctor’s request. So I called the Health Centre and after waiting ten minutes or so got through to a receptionist for Dr Jamieson. More mucking about but I was right, they had intended to send the form to the blood testing place; I wasn’t hallucinating their TXT though I couldn’t find it on my phone which was concerning. After that the test itself was a matter of a moment and then Rosie dropped me off at home again.

Bangle walk was just around the orchard today.

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Rosie unable to drive me to see Karola today, her illness flared up again but she thinks she’ll be OK for tomorrow. I was intending to ring Jodi to alert her that I would not be coming today but she, coincidentally rang me late morning to say nothing major but perhaps don’t visit today but come tomorrow instead.

Took Bangle and a coffee to dog park. Later took all the books out of the Cudby and Mead bookshelves in the homestead library (used to be the front hallway) so that Mark can help move them to the cottage. Mark was busy today but should be here tomorrow morning.

Books From Homestead Library Destined For Cottage

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Shopping again with driver Rosie. Also still trying to get a replacement car hitch for the big trailer – the one I got yesterday had the bolt holes in almost the right place, but not quite.

Marcus and shearer Lachie were in action this morning; all sheep and lambs now shorn of their heavy wool. I did wonder what Bangle was barking about – it went on a long time – but obvious when I got up as the sheep were being pushed into the yards from the holding yard where they’d been overnight.

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Awoke late and took Bangle to the dog park. Later I returned to town to buy a replacement hitvh for the big trailer. Found one that was much easier to operate than the old one but when I got home I found the bolt holes were a few millimetres shorter than the old fitting. So I’ll measure more carefully and see if any other hitch has the right bolt spacing. It was getting late and so I missed out on doing my blood test today and also, when I dropped in to get some bolts, washers, and neoprene nuts for the hitvh fitting, found Fast Trade was shut too. Backing out of their driveway I scraped the car on the wall making a very small scratch in the gleeming white paintwork. Unproductive day.

Got home to find Marcus and Chrissie rounding up the lambs so they can be penned up overnight for shearing (Lachie) tomorrow. As I thought, they’re not actually going to sleep here until probably next weekend.

The Broken Trailer Hitch

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Bright and sunny but cold day. Bangle and i went off for her walk before any signs of Ormond’s moving in. We went over to Clive detouring vai Wild Bean Café. Long walk along the Clive estuary wetlands which stretch along inland of the ocean beach to the mouth of the Tukituki river.

The moving van arrived whilst Bangle and I were away and I bumped into Marcus when feeding the chooks. he said it had all gone well. There are no lights on in the house which either means they are very early to bed or that they’re actually still sleeping in their old rental. If it came funrnished then it’s probably got enough beds there to continue sleeping.

Movers Relocated Karola’s Piano Into The Store-Room

Bangle’s Walk – The Chooks At The End Of The Walk

Bangle’s Walk – Spoonbill Colony Seems To Have Grown

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Bangle and I went to dog park for a long walk having first picked up coffee etc. from BP’s Wild Bean Café. Yesterday, as I forgot to mention, 15 sheep were out and abut in the garden. At some point the wooden gate into the Front paddock had been left open and when Marcus let sheep into the Front paddock a small number escaped. I shooed them away from my young beech trees – no obvious damage there – down to the cattle stop and into the Long Acre where they’ve been ever since.

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Mark took rain check today.

Marcus came and did more prep for his move on Sunday. We’re going to have the movers put Bridget’s piano in the homestead garage store-room where temperature is more even and less likely to be damaged. Bridget’s Chapman Taylor furniture is in there too.

Small part of the big trailer hitch broke off a few days ago. Today Marcus and I figured out a temporary fix using #8 wire and he also is going to try fixing the broken piece of steel with some magic “cold weld” stuff.

I picked up the mended occasional table that Karola fell on when she broke her hip. Only $160 and it’s good as new.

Tried to get some 3”x2” timber for mending the railings round the lemon tree. Rang Carters and they confirmed they had 3”x2” rough sawn timber available – bu when I went to buy some, no they haven’t. Rang Tumu’s bit nor do they. So we’ll have to make our own. Got more 6”x2” six metre planks to rip into 3”x2”. While I was in town I got replacement maize, wheat, and chook pellets.

The Occasional Table – Refurbished

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Rained on and off all day. Despite that I took Bangle into town and we got some meds and some groceries (which I’d forgotten on Tuesday) and the MYLK meals for the rest of the week. Afterwards I took Bangle for a long walk in the Tainui rerserve.

Mark didn’t come today because of the wet. Rosie didn’t take me today because she’s got an infection that’ll take several days to overcome.

New chooks are still finding out how they’ll integrate with the older six chooks but they’re dry and have plenty of run space so can use discretion to slip away when challenged.

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Mark came and finished his painting work upstairs in the homestead. Later in the day I saw that the carpets had been put down and furnoture moved into those bedrooms.

Marcus was here for several hours preparing for the move-in on Sunday.

Rosie took me to my physio session late morning and we went straight on from there to pick up Karola and go to Ahuriri for our appointments with Kim at Copper & Hues. Afterwards Karola and I shared an omelette at Miss Browns, just round the corner from Copper & Hues.

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Off shopping for the week’s groceries after dropping off Bangle at Emma’s for her six-weekly groom. I have been brushing her every night so she’ll have been much less furry than usual this time. I get a handful of fur from Bangle every night.

After the shopping, including choosing and paying for my MYLK meals for the rest of the week, we nipped hope and took the Subaru back to Stortford Lodge where we met the Pet Bus just pulling in. Two boxes of chooks were decanted and, once home, we put them in the chook house and shut them in, with food and water, for the afternoon. Before dark I opened the trapdoor. After dark I paid them another visit and the older hens had evicted all five newcomers; they were roosting in a tight-knit bunch under the chook house, nice and dry.

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Pavla came and did couple of hours cleaning over at the homestead.

Mark came and did another coat of wood stain – I thought he’d finished that last week. He then went home as he felt unwell.

Walk with Bangle at dog park.

Marcus called tonight and said he’d fixed their moving in date, ordered removal team, next Sunday.

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In the morning I pruned the six fruit trees just outside the cottage bathroom window. I’d been waiting for winter to do this and it’s finished just in time.

Later Rosie came and we hitched up the Landrover to the big trailer then put the two furniture items in the trailer. These were the chaise longue and matching chair as seen below. Rosie then drove us, including Bangle, up to 3370 Taihape Road where Graham Harvey and Tracey Craig live. Tracey has wanted that chaise longue for ages; they were grateful we’d brought it up for them.

Bangle was pretty unhappy that her Landrover space smelt of Mark’s large, young, boisterous male dog, Heathcliffe. We had to put the back seats down so she didn’t have to lie in his dust. Anyway, using tractor and trailer I could get up high enough and cut back the unruly or shading cuttings.

Karola’s Micro-Orchard Winter Pruning

Chaise Longue & Chair Used As Props For The Film Utu

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All set up for chooks to get on the Pet Bus in the south island tomorrow and arrive in Hastings on Tuesday.

Also plan is to take a chaise longue and matching chair up to Tracey & Graham at 3370 Taihape Road, RD9, Hastings tomorrow afternoon – Rosie driving the Landrover and big trailer.

Bangle and I walked the long walk at the Regional Dog Park.

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Took Bangle for a long walk at Clive, along the estuary stop bank and then along the wetlands up to where the brown chooks live and there’s a path down to the sea.

Arranged for Rosie to be on the Landrover drivers list for the next few months so she can drive us and some furniture over to Chloe’s in Bulls and to Tracey up the Taihape road. Waiting for soem clear weather for the Bulls trip; taking Tracey’s gift up on Sunday – that’s the plan. No rain here forecast until mid week.

Mark did a bit more wood staining upstairs in the homestead but I am worried he’ll barley have finished by the time Marcus and Chrissie are due to take possession.

The kitset shelving Mark assembled in the linen cupboard is very sturdy and has four shelves – it’s two metres long. Intention is to use it for linen ie sheets and blankets etc.

Arranged to buy four more hens and a cockerel to replace/replenish my small flock of five Black Orpington hens and one Orpington/Light Sussex cross. Replaceing the cockerel who died, adding to the six hens currently in residence. They’re from Marian Weber in the South Island – same person I bought half dozen fertile eggs from last year – the sight of which instantly changed the mind of my broody hen who refused to sit on them. New chooks arrive on Pet Bus on Tuesday.

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Mark unpacked the shelving that I ordered from Trade-Tested and assembled one of the two units. They are very sturdy and rather larger than I’d anticipated so only one will go in the “linen cupboard” in the homestead and I’ll need to find space for the other in one of the garages. Mark also ran out of wood stain so has a short bit to go in the homestead ’tween room’ before the first coat there is finished.

I thought I had an eye doctor appointment this afternoon and this was further complicated by Rosie being unavailable today. I resolved that if my eyesight was too blurry after the appointment – they use drops to see more easily the structure of your eye and these do make everything blurry – I’d leave the car there and walk home, with Bangle. The plan was to take Bangle for a wlak and pick up the MYLK meals before the appointment.

I thought Id just check that my appointment was on because I usually get a confirming TXT the day before. I rang and apparently my next appointment isn’t until 8th August.

So, plan change, I drove myself today and:

• Got more stain and polyurethane for Mark
• Took the broken occasional table in to furniture repairers
• Picked up MYLK meals

Furniture repairers was fine, they’ll stick the table top back on the occasional table and re-cover it, replacing the torn silk covering with more of the blue fabric matching the six dining chairs. I went to the Resene paint shop but they didn’t have any litre tins of the untinted base needed to make up the stain so they arranged for me to get that from Mitre-10 and then they, Resene, would tint it for me.

Afterwards I went with Landrover and trailer to GoldPine and got three rounded quarter posts and three 50×150 railings so Mark can mend the lemon tree enclosure. He also needs three 50×75 6-metre rails but I’d forgotten that GoldPine discontinued them years ago. Mark will either make do with what he can find here or we’ll try Carters for them later.

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Kitset shelving came today in two big cardboard boxes and one smaller one. These are two strong wide shelves for the homestead upstairs linen cupboard and, a free gift, assorted hooks for hanging things on eg the garage wall.

As a precaution I’ve taken photos of the packaging with some big gouges in it but I’m not expecting the steel shelving will have been damaged.

Went to the Friendship Club lunch at Jarks in Stortford Lodge. Lots of very ancient old ladies and a couple of blokes. Meal tasted all right but my steak was incredibly tough.

Rosie picked me up afterwards and we went straight over to Summerset Palms. Karola had been out for a sight-seeing trip in a small bus with several of the other residents so she said she was too tired to go out again today. Karola and I, and another resident called David, sat out in one of the lounges and chatted. After a cup of excruciatingly bad coffee and some monosyllabic attempts at conversation with David, I talked to Karola about what I’d been up to recently then departed. As I left Karola said she was so pleased I’d come and hoped I’d come again soon.

On the way home I stopped at Mitre-10 and Briscoes and bought six rubber door stops, wedges to make the three Cudby & Mead book cases tilt backwards. I’m strapping them to the wall at the top and hope that’ll avoid them spilling their books onto the floor next time there’s a decent earth shake.

Put final coat of paint on the cottage living room wall where we’d GIBbed over the hole in the wall left by removing the old wood burner chimney.

Shelving Flat Packs Arrived Today

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Saw a couple of cars outside the homestead, Marcus and Chrissie Ormond starting to make it their own nest. TXTed Rosie and through her alerted them that mark would need access to continue his painting so to leave the door unlocked.

Late morning I asked Mark to sand round the edges of the GIB insert where the cottage woodburner used to go out through the wall. I then painted the rectangle of GIB and the several marks left when we disassembled the woodburner and its surround.

Rosie drove me and Bangle into town for the usual weekly shopping. Lunch was half a BLT sandwich in the Tainui Reserve while Bangle fossicked contentedly. On way back we dropped in at the Little Red Bookshop and the Lion’s Book Store but both were closed. I’m going to see what they recommend as a suitable home for the books here that we have no use for.

Pavla came and gave the cottage a good clean; she couldn’t come last week because of the school holidays. She plans to come next wek and clean what she can of the homestead, just a couple of days before Marcus and Chrissie take up their lease.

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Mark came and did more floor staining. He expects to stain the little middle bedroom floor before doing the polyeurathene in both of the bedrooms.

I took another pass at labelling the few pieces of furniture not to remain in the homestead – either for Bridget or the cottage or to be stored.

Long walk with Bangle at the dog park. MYLK sweet & sour pork meal. Pavela TXTed to say she’ll come tomorrow for cottage and next week for the homestead.

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Marcus & Chrissie came again today with some furniture. I took Bangle for a short walk at Clive. Otherwise very quiet. Bridget has landed safely in London.

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Quiet day; no Bridget to take dogs for morning walk round the orchard and raining lightly all day and night so very wet and muddy everywhere.

Marcus and Chrissie and Rosie came round at lunchtime to, as I’d suggested, start arranging things to suit them when they move in in August. Marcus also dropped off the signed lease so we’re all ready to go, starting 1st August.

Having moved a bookcase into the cottage living room and repositioned the table I decided I’d patch up the wall where the woodburner flue used to go out into the sun porch. I have plastered up the main cracks where new gib board covered the flue hole and once it’s dry I shall paint over.

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Mid morning Bridget set off with Tux for Wellington. She then has to drop Tux off at a boutique dog minder in Wainuiomata, drop on on her house at 7 Cockayne Road, Khandallah to see how her builders are getting on (making good progress, she says), and then drive to a friend who’s going to take her to her 8:00pm flight up to Auckland.

Mark has completed first coat of dark rimu wood stain around the perimeter of the Bee Room. He then helped me lug some furniture around. We took the chest of drawers, stool, and book-case from upstairs in the cottage into the homestead garage store-room where it can stay, along with the matching Chapman-Taylor bed, until Bridget organises for them and the piano to be transported down to Wellington.

Mark also helped move Bridget’s special adjustable desk from the homestead over to the cottage. We then moved one of the Cudby & Mead book cases over to the cottage, Now I can move the books upstairs in the cottage to permanent homes in the living room.

Bridget’s Adjustable Desk – Now Upstairs In The Cottage

Cottage Living Room – One Of The Three Homestead Bookcases In New Position

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Rosie drove me to pick up the weekend MYLK meals and give Bangle a short walk,

When we got home we found Rosie’s mum, Chrissie, doing something with the sheep.

Later Bridget took us and the dogs for a walk in the Regional Dog Park.

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As planned Rosie drove me over to pick up Karola and then we went to Maina in Havelock North again for a late lunch. I forgot to order half portions so they were way too filling but delicious never the less. Again I ahd a mushroom, bacon, and hash brown dish while Karola tucked into a salmon salad with lettuce, potato, and a few sprouts and grapes.

After the outing with Karola, Rosie helped me move the single bed out of the tween bedroom into the big bedroom and then upstairs in the cottage, moved the little Chapman Tailor bed and matching chair over to the homestead garage store room where it’ll be out of the way until Bridget arranges for it and the piano to be transported to her house in Cockayne Road, Khandallah.

Rosie took back home with her two copies of the homestead lease signed by me and Bridget. Marcus will sign them as tenant and return one copy to us.

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Oh ho, another weekly shopping trip, already. Bridget is leaving for Wellington on Friday and then onwards to UK via Singapore.

Mark did a final polyurethane coat on the floor of the room at the top of the stairs,

Ruth Vincent dropped in to see how we were getting on and we had a long chat about how things are panning out. Ruth’s mother had Altzeimers and so we talked a bit about that.

Bridget took us all to the dog park for walk. I took a hacksaw and cut the ends off two log screws that I’d used to hold the two halves of a split handrail. Bridget spotted that they’d projected half an inch out at the back of the handrail. Now they won’t hurt anyone grasping the rail from behind.

I sent the final draft of the homestead lease agreement to Marcus late this evening.

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Quiet day with Bridget taking me to get coffees mid-day then just working through the several videos and emails that have been building up.

Mark was here but left around 1:00pm because he only worked for an hour on Friday due to the rain and combined they made a whole four-hour day which is his usual. He put the first polyurethane coat on the floor of the room at the top of the stairs.

Bridget kindly worked hard helping me put back the large furniture in the big bedroom and then moving all but the bed out of the Bee room so that Mark can begin on that next.

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