Wet ears

Looking back through my notes for the week, it has been much busier than my own recollection indicates. The Christmas and summer holidays continue, so we haven’t had our hoped for flood of tradies. However, progress has been made. Bert the Project Manager came over and we went through all our issues as there is still much to do. While he was here he got the hot water working, so after he left we celebrated with showers (first time I have had properly wet ears this year) and a glass of wine each with dinner. We also have hot water connected to all the taps.

On Friday the electricians came and finished installing the internal lights, got all the power sockets working, and fitted the oven, microwave and warming drawer. The lighting particularly has been a revelation, and we were much later to bed on Friday than we have been previously this year. On Saturday night we ran the dishwasher for the first time. There were three electricians and they had stuff and dust everywhere, so we went over to The Citadel in Castlecliffe for lunch, which was lovely. When we returned they had left and we found some problems. The instruction manual for the warming drawer is stuck behind the drawer casing and underneath the oven, in it’s plastic bag. I therefore don’t want to use either, in case the heat causes a more serious problem. The microwave is too high for Nicky to use. We quickly came up with the idea of a step hidden behind the kick board and emailed this suggestion to Bert and the kitchen people. The following morning one of the kitchen people had replied saying that the cabinet supplier that they use had just introduced to the NZ market a step-drawer, which fits behind the kick board. This could be just what we need!

Other small joys this week have been putting the wheelie bins out and having them collected - an indication of normality, and receiving post. A pile redirected by Dawn arrived on Thursday, as did our Bee Cards for use on the Whanganui buses. We are really enjoying hearing the tui and discovering new and unexpected joys about the house. Nicky found a great wee spot: sitting on the floor in front of the window in the walk-in wardrobe, where 4G can be received. It is very cosy and frames the blue of the bedroom wall nicely. I think it will be a good spot for a small seat of some variety for taking shoes on and off. We have done slightly more accurate marking out of the garden paths, which led to some interesting conclusions, particularly for the location of the shed (which is now on order).

On a less positive note we have had a number of discussions with neighbours on both sides about the gravel on our section and lack of retaining walls. This is causing us some anxiety as we feel we have little control over resolving the situation ourselves, but will need help from Bert and Excavat. Part of the issue is related to the heavy rain of two weeks ago carrying gravel from our section to Jacqui’s, so I have tried to implement “flood defences” to alleviate the situation should the forecast rain for this week prove to be similarly heavy. Nicky has also been working hard on moving the gravel off Jacqui’s section and back onto ours. The other issue which is proving to be a challenge is getting quotes for fencing. We have had one company round, but the other two haven’t made it yet.  However, we have discovered that Jacqui’s Glynn is a fencing contractor, and he is prepared to give us an estimate.

We went to the cinema for the first time on Monday to see The Dry, as recommended by Stella and The NZ Listener. We had both enjoyed the book and the film was very good. The cinema is a small Kiwi affair, and quite attractive. We are looking forward to further visits. Time has also been dedicated to notifying change of address, and enrolling with a medical centre, while the domestic tasks of shopping, laundry, moving stones and gravel and sweeping the lovely concrete have continued.

Checking the washing from the bedroom window

Most mornings have been cool and cloudy, but developed into hot sunny days. Bert asked how we were getting on with the inverter - heat pump and air conditioner. We replied we didn’t know it was woking and have been happily controlling the temperature by opening and closing windows and ranch sliders. Bert discovered it just needed the external power switch flipping, and off we went with lovely cool air. This gave me a very good excuse the read the manual and set up its remote control.

I have some MacOnSite non-urgent remote support work to do next week, so due to the lack of broadband (might be here in 2-3 weeks) went off to find a café with a good connection. This was tested with the help of Claire and a cup of good coffee.

We had arranged to go and meet up with Milly in Palmerston North on Thursday, but we discovered a few minutes into our journey that her last patient didn’t turn up, and she fancied getting home a little earlier than she expected. So, we turned round, went home, put the kettle on and were soon visited by Frances (from up the road) and her daughter Amy, delivering an invitation to a party next weekend.

With having a late night on Friday and not needing to be up and dressed by 7.30am in case tradies arrive, we had a slow late start on Saturday. After scrambled eggs on bread Nicky walked over to Frances’ boutique nursery in Papaiti, while I started on my flood defences. Jacqui (next section) had got a man and a digger in earlier in the week to prepare a drive for her with shell-rock, and on Saturday she brought the large old caravan to the section which she plans to live in while constructing her home. We were expecting Agent Felicity to call in after lunch but she didn’t make it due to a family medical emergency. We had Cheap Choice Chook salad for dinner and a quiet evening of reading - because we have lights!

This morning Nicky made sandwiches for the shared lunch before going off to church. While she was there I did my second stint of flood management which meant I had to have another shower (I’m trying to catch up on the ones I missed out on - 14 to go I think). There were different hosts, in a different part of Whanganui for the shared lunch today, and a somewhat different range of attendees. It was again an enjoyable affair.

After a quiet afternoon and tea, we had a walk across the Dublin Street bridge, down the river on the east side to the City Bridge, then back up the west side. Here are a few photos for you:

Take care, Rick