Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

It has been another relatively busy week by our standards. Our new found plumber, Rob, was as good as his word and installed a water softener for us on Wednesday. Our preferred location was not the easiest one for installation, as the unit needs both power and drainage, and even though they were “available” near to our chosen location, there was concrete path in the way. In the best traditions of The Great Escape, tunnelling was required. Ginger would have been proud too (anyone who grasps the tenuous link can feel suitably smug). Rob also installed another outside tap which feeds directly from the main so that we don’t have to water the garden with treated water. He also introduced us to Hayden the Sparkie, another personable and capable young chap. We are pleased to have found a couple of good local tradies. Thursday was a cool and damp day, so we stayed inside and started downsizing the contents of the IKEA dinning room storage furniture. We have had it for about 30 years, and it h...

It has been a “fixing things” week for us, though this hasn’t included Nicky’s strep throat which while improving, is persisting. Luna, our magical little car, developed a mis-fire during lockdown. A trip to my newly adopted garage and a new set of spark plugs appears to have rectified the problem. While out shopping for a new filter for our instant hot water tap I encountered a very nice plumber called Rob. He came round the following day and fixed the plug in the Map Room wash basin. It has been stuck in closed position for about three months and we haven’t seen the plumber Bert organised and we just wanted it fixed. Rob also gave us a quote for a water softener which we have accepted so we will probably be seeing him again next week. I also fixed our £5 IKEA shoe rack. It took me hours, and hours and hours…. Not really fixing but maintenance that was on my list was gutter clearing, with which Nicky kindly helped me. Interestingly, the western gutters were absolutely fine (no nearby ...

The spring weather has been all over the place this week, and has even regressed to almost winter weather for us at times, and certainly did down south with some snow. We have had heavy rain, strong winds, and lovely warm/hot sunshine. As you can image, getting the laundry done has been a bit of a challenge, but as the sun’s position in the sky changes we are getting some lovely light. This was taken approaching 7pm on Thursday: I have had quite a busy week with some MacOnSite work, and getting the last of the fence gaps filled. All that remains is for some bracing on a few of the panels, but I ran out of wood for this so have ordered some more and am just waiting for it to arrive. Nicky has had a bit of a difficult week with not feeling 100% - aching and tired and headaches (though the headaches seem to be due to a change in blood pressure medication). She had a Covid test yesterday, but this ended up being a bit of a marathon as she was poorly directed by a number of people at th...

According to the Whanganui Chronicle, we had the second wettest September on record this year, with twice the expected rainfall. I thought I had seen it raining. It has certainly had an impact on the garden, and Nicky is very pleased that some of the poppies have started to appear: She is also quite tickled at how they interact with the sun, opening up their petals in its presence. We have had a much more “indoors” week due to the weather (but this is October rain not September rain). This has slowed Nikcy’s progress in the garden, but she has got some work done on the path that she is planting, and lots of seedlings have gone into the ground. I have made slow but steady progress with filling the fence gaps, and now only have three more to go and am in need of some more materials. I was quite busy with MacOnSite work at the beginning of the week. Nicky had a meeting about the Church Fair, and we started on another puzzle from the Jigsaw Exchange. We had a chat with Mike and Ela...

This week has been very similar to last week in terms of our day to day activities. When the weather has been dry we have been working outside. I have now got all the fence gaps filled on the eastern boundary and am making good progress on the western boundary. Nicky has planted grasses into the gabion baskets and started digging out the path which will be planted with Dichondra repens (Mercury Bay grass). The weather has again dictated the laundry schedule. The most exciting news of the week was a phone call from my niece Rachel (in Wanaka) to say that she and Joel are now engaged. They have been together for a number of years now.  Rachel sounded so happy and excited. It was good to get their news and have a chat. The less exciting news is that the last section of fence has been fitted at the front, next to where we plan to site a pedestrian gate: Nicky enjoyed Senior Fellowship lunch on Tuesday at the Baptist Church, followed by Life Group on the other side of Whanganui. We ...