Changes

We have moved into the last month of the year and metrological summer, and there have been changes at Tiramaroa. Our trusty IKEA dinning room storage furniture was collected by the Salvation Army on Wednesday. It has served us well and will hopefully be just as useful to somebody else. Its absence has enabled us to do some reorganisation in the sewing room, so that we can now put the iron and ironing board away and have a bit more floor space. In the living area the wall where we want to hang a large charcoal drawing is now accessible for the first time. Getting the drawing framed is a project in itself, but we are enjoying having the additional space and experimenting with repositioning the gate leg table.

While we were doing some furniture moving, I put a couple of wee shelving units into the map room (downstairs loo). One is very useful for holding the Penguin 60 Year collection which we bought many years ago, and I have used the rest of the space for some of our Harry Potter memorabilia:

Stu the concrete man came on Monday and confirmed our suspicions that we can’t afford a concrete path into the garden, culminating at a concrete patio. So we will do it ourselves in wood. I also finished installing the drainage equipment which we had purchased last week by connecting the flexible pipe and running it into the garden. We didn’t lay the “conduit” where we had initially planned, but have realised we can fit in another 3m section which will make it look neater, so I will get another conduit this week, hopefully.

I say hopefully because I don’t know when I will be allowed out again. When I woke this morning I was feeling congested and aching, and then read in the Whanganui Chronicle (on-line) that we have our first case of Covid Delta in Whanganui. So, off to the testing station I went and am confined to quarters until I get the result. Nicky decided to watch the Christ Church service on-line, as a precaution this morning. As a nation, we have now moved into the Covid Protection Framework, so no more levels defining what we can do, but traffic light colours instead. The framework brings into use the vaccination passports that we both now have, and the colour level is very dependent on the vaccination rate in the area. Whanganui has moved from Level 2 to Red as our double vaccination rate is only 80% in our District Health Board area, 10% from the required target.  

The other area of change this week has been Nicky turning alcohol-soaked dried fruit into Christmas cakes, and me generating a couple more containers of dried fruit soaking in alcohol for Christmas Pudding and mince pies. Parts of the house smell even better than usual.

We have both attacked the back garden/weed wilderness with our new line trimmer (aka Strimmer) this week, and it has made quite a difference. Nicky had a blood test and chat with a doctor the following day, as she has changed one of her medications recently. The new drug seems to be a step in the right direction.

On Friday we bought a wee outdoor Christmas tree from Frances up the road. It’s primarily an outdoor tree but while it is still in its pot it can come inside for a week. We will probably bring it in on Christmas Eve, and then plant it in the garden. We have also been enjoying some more of the lilies:

Yesterday Nicky had a very good day at an Advent Retreat. I dropped her there so that I could go to the last jigsaw exchange of the year and into town sandal shopping. The weather has been warm and often muggy, along with some sunshine and rain at times. Not classic summer weather, but it may be the way things are this time apparently.

Take care, Rick and Nicky.