Crossing

The last week in February has been another eventful week.

On Monday we finally took over responsibility for the electricity bill. In the evening we had our first “Riparian Villas” gathering. We had invited all our neighbours (Mark & Elaine, Jacqui (and Glyn)) who bought the other two sections) and Paul and Naomi who had sold the three sections. We had a very pleasant evening swapping stories and learning histories, and with there being eight of us, it was helpful for us to see how the furniture arrangements worked out.

On Tuesday we started re-arranging the boxes (and other items) in the sewing room ready for Sam from Whanganui Furnishers to come and fit the curtain rail. While doing so, a crew of men from Bullocks arrived to construct our vehicle crossing. They dug out the area (extending it as we requested) and put the boxing round. Many interesting conversations took place as teas and coffees were delivered throughout the day which peaked at 27ºC.

In the afternoon Steve and Ros called in before checking into their hotel in town. They had come down for a musical and sightseeing tour. We finished the day by watching The Great British Bake Off, episode 2, as now that we have a TV aerial we can!

On Wednesday morning the concrete was poured for the vehicle access and lovingly shaped. More tea and coffee was consumed by the crew, along with much sugar. Sam came and worked out where to position the curtain rail for Nicky’s Sanderson curtains and fixed it to the wall. We then set about putting in the four-prong pencil pleat hooks. This proved to be problematic, particularly when hung, so Sam suggested that he take the curtains away and have the tape replaced with one that can be used for New York pleats. We don’t know when they will be returned to us but hopefully it will be a successful transition.

In the afternoon the skip was collected. We are feeling much less like a building site with no outside loo and now no skip. After having a pot of tea on the southern patio and watching out for Steve and Ros passing on the Waimarie, Nicky set-to on the berm now that she could finally get at it properly. It was a gorgeous summer evening so we drove over to the other side of the river to take a look at Tiramaroa from the other bank as we haven’t done that since arriving on January 1st.

On Thursday morning while Nicky worked on the berm, and I started putting metal shelves together in and for the shed. We had a mid-morning brew with Paddy and Brent from Bullocks who had removed the boxing and done the finishing work on the vehicle access concrete. It should be ready to drive on by next Wednesday. We spent the afternoon shopping. Mitre 10 was the first stop where I found some black polished stones which I thought would look just right in the gap around parts of the house where there is space between it and the slab. It turned out they did. We also took a print in for framing at a studio which had been recommended to us. It is a gorgeous painting of a lighthouse which will adorn our hallway.

Nicky didn’t get much sleep on Thursday night so Friday needed to be taken at a more leisurely pace. Ros and Steve came over for Scrabble in the afternoon and then took us out to dinner at The Brickworks, which was OK but not stunning. Our first three venues of choice were all fully booked.

Yesterday after breakfast we walked up to the holiday park to see some of the steam boats which had gathered for a steam boat “regatta”. It was described as a somewhat ad hoc affair which turned out to be the case, but we saw a couple of picnic boats and had a nice chat, so it was a pleasant start to the day. 

Back to Mitre 10 to buy more black stones and a range of other garden supplies, some of which were pressed into service in the afternoon. We are very pleased with how the stones look.

In the evening another community Covid case was announced, along with Auckland going to Level 3 and the rest of the country Level 2 from 6am Sunday morning.

Today after Nicky came back from church I suggested we had a trip out as I thought we should have some time off, so after lunch we drove out to Paloma Gardens. Nicky had wanted to take me on this route after enjoying it on the way to church last Sunday, and the Gardens are just further along the road. The last few kilometres are on partically unsealed road and Nicky commented that you really have to want to go there. The gardens didn’t disappoint, and we had a very pleasant amble in the afternoon sun. I suspect we will return in the future.

Take care, Rick