Room redo and ducks

Jill has been showing off her painting skills - well they must be inherited as I have been repainting the furniture in the spare room and everyone says it looks very good. New duvet cover, chair and curtains have really jazzed up the spare room. Its still a bit of a mishmash because we didn't start from scratch but fine for a spare room. If you look closely at the first picture there are my wedding shoes and hand bag (not the odd sandal on the top). Today I bought my wedding underwear too!! I'm ready. Just over 3 months to go.

You might remember that we are having trouble with the wildlife now that Bella has left us. It has been fascinating to watch as these ducklings have grown into flappers (I knew I'd get to use that term sometime, Dawn), but the crap on the concrete is huge and very disgusting.

Feeling much better now but only for an hour or two at a stretch, and then it is time for rest.

Baboon's Bum

Back now from my op at Wakefield Hospital - thanks to those who sent cards and flowers.



The op appears to have been a complete success, but the allergy to the surgical tapes a complete disaster. My nether regions look like those baboons with the bright red bum. Although mine is really on the front side, down my leg where they put the catheter, and two dots on the bum. I have not included photos of this although it was of great interest to the nursing staff.The rooms were very spacious, with an area for sitting with your guests and looking out the window, and the bed and machines area, which also had a mechanical lazyboy and TV suspended on an arm. The food was of an extremely high quality, although sometimes not quite what I'd ordered. It was served by waiters in waistcoats and waiter aprons - no wine though!

The flight home was very tiring and I have done a lot of sleeping, but now feeling much better.

Really enjoyed my pre-op time in Wellington, very good shopping sessions. Wonderful concert with the NZ trio and dinner at Logan Brown was most enjoyable. Took in Young Victoria at the movies as well.

Better go and check my credit card balance now.

Bigger and Bedder

No sooner had we had budburst then the hail came, waking us at 5.32am, then again about 9.30 and another light dusting at lunchtime. Our little leaves have lots of rips in them which will encourage leaf botrytis,which will get into the buds as they form which means the battle will be long and hard this year to get a good crop in. Not to mention expensive - especially since prices for our grapes have dropped 20%.

I have been spending the winter months doing the odd bit of refurbishment and was looking for a small chair to put in the spare room, when I saw that Big Save had a special of trundleway beds. We had been discussing the fact that Alex has just turned 6 and soon wouldn't be able to be put up on the campstretcher, which had a tendency to collapse anyway. Further investigation showed that the bed probably would react in much the same way as the campstretcher, but they had another trundle bed that looked very robust - more expensive, but definitely better quality.

Anyway, when the men delivered it, I said - just put it in there. However, the driver of the van said - you know these require some construction to put them up, and you know we're just a trucking firm, not Big Save. AAAhh.
Duncan had just left for a conference in Auckland, and so I could move from the lounge to the bedroom it seemed imperative that I clear the hall. So it has been a bit of a mission, But look I've got the first story built.
They are King single and make into a king bed with a crack if necessary. I'm not sure if my old linen will fit very well, but we are ready now for our grandchildren to grow into big strapping teenagers!!

Market Day

Ready to start selling our wraps for market day lunch. Ryan Displays the Rocket Oil which was oil flavoured by herbs and chillies.

Leah is our managing director and opened the show.

Well the curfuffle of market day is over. We made 218 wraps for lunch, and it is always a bit of a mission. This time we didn't have such good co-operation from the other staff and with 2 people away at religious meetings we ran really short of time to get the lunches made. Still, lots of good learning went on.

The spring gales have started - making everybody tetchy. Bud burst is just starting to happen on the vineyard.

Dont fence me in

We've finally got around to organising a new fence. We had the first of the spring gales the other day and the corrigated iron fence was looking fairly frail. It looks quite different now that Neil has taken this one down. His uncle was a champoin daffodil grower so it was a great time of year to do it. The new fence will be colour steel - not terribly glamorous, but function for keeping the hens and dogs out. He had just been out possum shooting and they always get paid in cash so he bought me his share in cash!!! We were just recovering from all these $notes when David Meban (buyer of vineyard) turned up with the roading engineers, so that is looking a lot more positive too.

Market day at school was not without its problems and we still have a few jars of Rocket oil to sell. However the hankies went well. We had quite a few of the egg wraps left over, but for some reason we made an extra 16 of these.

Out for a duck

What do you get when your dog dies? All manner of livestock, but mainly this pair of ducks, come to live in your back yard. Such big poohs!! Tomorrow we are going for a walk out at Anna's followed by breakfast together. She has had the opportunity to make duck sausages, so I hope these two don't think they should get too comfortable.

A lovely week weatherwise, but we have hardly noticed with our wonderful new heat pumps. The daffodils are out very early - I doubt if they will last to the official Daffodil day so bought this wonderful pot as part of their annual fundraiser.

Next week is Market Day for my year 9 and 10 commerce class. We have made spiced oil which they have named Rocket Oil, hankies - Swanky Hankies and this week we will be up to our armpits in mascarpone which we are making, selling with a recipe book and also making wraps with fillings of

1. Mascarpone +salmon+carrots+chives

2. Mascarpone +egg +parsley+lettuce

3. Mascarpone + ham+cheese+pineapple

4 Mascarpone +apricots+dates+ chocolate chips.

Yes, putting the smmooooth in sweet and savoury.

We have the following Monday off as a midterm break, I hope to get an extra game of golf in that week.

Cough Cough and splutter

I remember as a child driving up Fenton Street past Gough, Gough and Hammer and calling it Cough, cough and Splutter. Well that has been me this week. A gut wrenching cough - my muscles - I was going to say pentecostal muscles but I think its the intercostal muscles between your ribs - are aching. I was sent to the spare room to sleep. No fever, no body aches or other symptoms that might suggest swine flu. Today has been gorgeous weather, and I cant believe that I am starting to shake this cough off. Lets hope I sleep well tonight.
We had heat pumps put in today - a large one in the living room and a wee one in the bedroom. Unfortunately they haven't been checked by an electrician and certified so we are not allowed to use them until tomorrow. I had the Brethren firm come and do them.
Just 4 months now until the sale of our property. The bad news is: it looks like our real estate agent has died - he had already been paid, so the deal better be completed. The good news is : The caretakers house at the racecourse has been shifted off, preparatory to putting the road in up the racecourse entrance to the back of our place. Who knows eh?
Off for my dose of cough mixture.