Friday 31st August

 

 

 

 

Tim & I were barely awake when a tall figure loomed through our ranch slider at 5:30am with his head torch shining in our faces.

‘Hey Dad! Where’s the keys to the gun rack?’

Yes, it was Seb, wanting to head out hunting again.

 

He and Thomas went out for an early morning stroll and came back empty handed.

In the meantime the rest of us got on with waking to our day.

The guys arrived back in time to have breakfast with us.

Then they went out with Tim on the boat to do some mussel work.

It was such a beautiful day that Phoebe and I decided to go for a wee drive.

She and Seb were planning to leave that arvo and she really wanted to have a decent look at Waterfall Bay as the last time over there was fairly fleeting.

I left the kids with instructions on what I expected them to achieve while I was gone.

You can always dream eh?

 

I had a play with my new camera and got this cool panoramic shot looking westward over French Pass towards the Nelson Ranges in the distance which were sporting a fresh coating of snow.

 

We had a bit of a browse around the WB garden and house etc so Phoebe could get a feel of the place and then headed back up the hill.

Stopped in to visit with Margot and Peter who were down at their bach for a few days.

Nice to catch up with them as we don’t see them very much.

The day was absolutely glorious.

We got back up to the top of the hill around midday and the sun was glistening on the sea and islands to the north west towards D’Urville & Stephens Islands.

With the fresh bright green pasture and new lambs it really feels like Spring has arrived.

We headed back down our road towards home.

Had to stop to catch another panorama shot looking into our bay first though.

This is looking north eastwards.

 

When we got back to the house the children were just finishing up their chores.

I am not too sure how diligent they had been.

Shanni is always pretty responsible when I am away but the other two tend to get side tracked very easily!

Mahalia wanted me to take her around to find the horse but I suggested that Azzan could actually walk around with her.

You know – use your legs stuff

She was not terribly impressed with her mother but hey!

Shanni disappeared off into the sunshine to catch her daily dose of VitD.

Phoebe soon joined her.

The guys came across towing a pile of mussel floats.

 

It was mail day.

The mailboat arrived around 2pm-ish.

Then Paul, Kristina & Theo sailed in the bay and picked up their mail as they headed back to Waterfall.

Krstina had been working on D’Urville Island for the past week so Paul had gone over to pick her up.

It surely was a glorious day for them to be out sailing.

 

The guys came up for lunch and then the decision was made that they could stay another night.

So I got into gear and made dinner.

I had mushrooms and cauliflower that needed using so I went searching for some inspiration.

I found a new recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook for Cauliflower Marranca which actually was easy to make and was very tasty despite not looking terribly wonderful.

The mushrooms make the cauli look sorta grey but the millet makes it all very tasty.

Shanni baked potatoes and pumpkin.

I made some guacamole and Tahini lemon sauce to go with them and the Marranca.

The guys added some cold roast pork to the mix as they don’t enjoy completely vegetarian meals

It was a very delicious dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 30th August

 

 

 

 

The guys disappeared after breakfast.

Found them up at the truck.

After a hunt there is always the unfolding, discussing, retelling….

It is all part of the process.

Must be done to complete the adventure and prepare for the next one

Thomas, Jeff & Sebastian with the 156lb boar.

Tilly was not actually part of the hunt although she might like to pretend she was now the boar is dead.

This huge critter killed Jeff’s 2nd best dog, so some tears were shed.

But the sun was shining, the tears were dried, and they were reliving the adventure now.

 

 

I spotted this near the back door – thought it rather picturesque.

 

Tim & I made the most of having Seb & Phoebe here and spent an hour or so having a good chat about future plans.

Lots of interesting and exciting things unfolding

 

 

It was a beautiful day and Mahalia & Azzan were making the most of it.

Azzan gave Mahalia a massage.

Then Skip & Tilly joined in with the sunny arvo rest time.

I cooked up a huge frypan of fried rice and veges for lunch.

With Sebastian home the food disappears much more quickly that normal.

I had almost forgotten how much he consumes!!

 

Tim is enjoying having Seb here to help him.

The children are enjoying having Phoebe around.

She is a source of information re Olly as she has had her own horses until she married Seb and moved north.

Mahalia is trying to get Olly into good condition.

He is a tricky fellow.

When we got him he was so overweight and now he has lost all that and is tending to be a bit too light.

So she is saving carrots and apples and bread – he’s not too fussy – he just likes food.

Phoebe was able to get Azzan to do some decent piano practise while I cooked dinner which was very helpful

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 29th August

Tim got up at 6:30am.

When I asked him what he was doing he replied ‘Going hunting.’

Well so much for coming home to spend the day with my family!!

Seb & Phoebe had driven down the day before.

Thomas, Jeff and Katie had come too.

Tim got breakfast going and they all surfaced and packed up their hunting gear, loaded up the pig dogs and took off in the ’88 South’ just after breakfast.

Mahalia & Shoshannah went too.

So it was just me and Azzan left behind.

And of course the granddogs

After the boat left they ran off down the steps.

I could hear Skip running back and forth along the wharf barking at something.

They came back up while i was in the spa.

I took a few photos of them.

It was quite funny trying to get them together.

Skip was a bit bored with the photo shoot!

As soon as they left I got myself into the spa with my book to thaw out.

My feet were frozen.

We had a relaxing day together.

Didn’t really achieve a heck of a lot but it was good to just chill.

The hunters arrived back in the late arvo.

They had a 156lb boar.

It was massive and had unfortunately killed one of Jeff’s dogs so they were a tad sad about that.

Tuesday 28th August

 

 

 

I was up at 4:45am and drove to town for a full day of appointments.

Tim drove up to Graham’s with me and then drove the Terrano over the slip and greasy patches.

He was concerned that it would be too slippery for me.

It was really lovely of him to do that but it was still pitch black when I left him and he never had a torch so I was a bit worried about how he was going to see his way back.

But he wasn’t concerned so I left him to find his way.

Arrived at 8:30 and managed to get several things crossed off my list.

Then I spent the next 2.5hours at Renaissance.

Hitomi is an absolutely magic award winner with hair colouring and she transformed me from blah to amazing

Then it was off to do a few more things before an hour with Julie at Nelson Beauty Therapy.

Nothing like a massage and facial to revitilise oneself.

 

I just had time to go collect Tim’s suit from the tailors at 2pm before meeting up with Chrissy at Yello Cafe next door.

I was starving by then so wolfed down a plate of roasted veges and a hot chocolate.

Then I had to zoom across town to the orthodontist to meet up with Nathan.

I was there in plenty of time and thought he was following close behind.

But the appointment time came and went and he never arrived.

I was getting a tad distressed when he finally called to say he couldn’t start his scooter.

By the time I realised he was walking he was there so they took the next person in and we went second so all was not lost.

Except that I did have a 4pm counseling session booked and time was ticking.

So we heard all the orthodontist had to say and then took off at a rate of knots.

Decisions can be made later!

I had just received a call from the Vodafone guy to say I could come pick up my new wifi units so I took a diversion in my route, dropped Nathan off in town, zoomed in and grabbed the wifis and managed to get back over to counseling just in time.

Nothing like a couple of spanners to get dropped into the works to throw the day out of kilter.

But I handled it all pretty well and managed to not get too stressed – well done me

 

From there I had time to zip over to Starbucks before it closed , meet up with Nathan again & get a frappacino.

Then I fueled up the Terrano, drove around the block and got myself some Chinese takeaways and then went up to visit with Mandy & Noel while I ate my dinner.

 

Finally left around 8pm, stopping briefly to zoom into the supermarket to get a drink to see me home and of course came out with a trolley full of stuff!

 

Had a good drive home.

Alexander Rybak entertained me most of the way.

He is very happy, entertaining and also poignantly sad in places.

A great CD to listen to.

Everyone was asleep when I got back so I unloaded what I needed to and fell into bed too.

 

 

 

A few cards I made over the past week

 

 

 

Sometimes background papers are just too pretty to cover up too much so I like to work with them and show off the parts I like best.

The birds below are so cute I made the card revolve around them.

This was a fun one I made out of the leftover background I made for Mahalia.

Haven’t got too many kids cards in my stash so it will be put to good use one day

This is a very special card for a very special person.

I was thrilled with it and cant wait to give it.

Mahalia wanted me to help her make a card for her best friends birthday.

So if any of Sophie’s family are reading this you are not to say a word – you hear!!!

She chose all the stamps & papers and asked me to help make it.

But then it was ‘can you do it Mum?‘

‘You make such cool cards and you make it look so professional.‘

Well, how can you refuse such buttering up like that?

So we talked about how to use the stamps and she chose the colours etc and then I produced it.

Then she lost interest and left me to it.

She was absolutely rapt with how I did the inside of the card

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday 26th & Monday 27th August

 

 

 

Sunday

A day of resting, reading and a spot of eating.

Not too much else happened.

 

 

Monday

Tim & Shanni went up to do the trapline.

Azzan came back with this wee critter.

It’s a shame they are so cute

Tim and the children brought down a truck load of firewood.

The kids unloaded it into the woodbin.

Azzan was having his own private party once they had finished.

The girls were still unloading the last wheel barrow full.

Mahalia’s flowers are beginning to bloom so she is very happy.

Now the days are less wet and the sun is shining more often the girls are getting busy in the garden.

Shanni has a lot of seedlings sprouting on my windowsill in the sun.

Mahalia has discovered that weeding the flower garden is actually quite enjoyable and she has been working away out there.

 

Tim helped Mahalia trim Olly’s hoofs.

That took quite a while but she announced that he was the best hoof trimmer ever, and Olly behaved himself.

So that was all good.

 

I was getting ready for town and also spent a few days making cards when I had some moments.

We also did some school work.

Azzan is racing through his maths book and Mahalia is beginning her new one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 24th & Saturday 25th August

 

 

 

 

It was so, so, so wonderful to be home and to have the spa fixed and hot, and to be able to soak my weary bones in it before beginning my day.

There was a mountain of washing to put through.

Thankfully the day was fine and we could get most of it on the line.

 

I got the children to help and also do some music practise.

Mahalia & Tim ‘persuaded’ Olly to move further up the hill for fresh feed by moving some fallen pine branches and putting hay up there to entice him.

It seems to have worked.

 

I was planning to have an arvo nap as I was rather weary but that didn’t happen.

I did have a lovely long chat with Joy.

Hadn’t caught up with her since she returned from her trip to Europe.

 

Bruce arrived down with his grandson and a Czech wwoofer.

They stayed the night at The Croft.

Tim took them out to get some fish and mussels before dinner so they were very happy chaps.

Bruce is very generous with his pears and apples so it is great to be able to reciprocate

 

Shanni cooked a mince and vege dish for dinner and served it with pasta.

She’s a gun wee cook and I really appreciate her getting loose in the kitchen these days.

 

I took myself off to bed quite early.

 

 

Saturday 25th August

 

I am reading a really interesting book.

I picked it up at the library when getting books for Shanni.

It is by Jenny Pattrick and is called ‘Inheritance‘.

It is a very intriguing book – I couldn’t put it down.

I read in the spa this morning for a hour or more and then curled up by the fire and read it some more while I ate my lunch.

The Samoan history is fascinating.

So much I did not know.

 

I did some Maths with Mahalia & Azzan.

Shanni worked away at her own school work.

I took myself off to bed at midday and turned off my phone and told the kids that no one was to disturb me unless they were dying!!

I was reading my book before falling to sleep when I heard my phone vibrate.

It was Jesika wanting to skype the children.

So I got up and turned it on and called the kids in to talk to their big sister.

She had some exciting news for them.

All will be revealed soon

 

I finally got back to bed about an hour and a half later and tried to sleep.

I think I dozed a bit but it certainly wasn’t a restful sleep.

Tim took the tractor up the hill and spent the day clearing off the slip.

He is hoping that the rain that is forecast will wash a lot of the sludgy mud away.

 

I had asked Mahalia & Azzan to do some weeding in the flower garden and they were happy to do that.

They made a great start while I was in bed.

Mahalia weeded the triangle garden and planted some of her wee flowers in the top narrow bed.

And Shanni pruned back the very prolific flowering creeper on the arch.

It has a tendency to creep very quickly when we are not watching and it covers the kowhai tree on the other side and tries to entwine itself in through the house claddings.

Then they went around to see the horse before getting the washing in.

 

I had lunch after I got up a few hours later.

Bruce and his crew left to head home as there is more rain coming.

Shanni organised dinner.

The roast chicken hadn’t been turned on so we will have to have that tomorrow.

Thankfully there was enough leftovers from last night to satisfy everyone.

I had to make a few phone calls so did that and now am off to bed.

Am hoping that a good night’s sleep will put me back into gear so I can function a bit better tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 23rd August

 

 

 

I was going to head home as soon as I got up but it was such a lovely day I asked Phoebe if she would like to do breakfast.

She did so we went.

We headed out to Crusoe’s Cafe and found a table outside in the courtyard and enjoyed great company and delicious food in the sunshine.

Anat & Rami like to make sure their food is enjoyed and is just perfect for their clients.

They are great hosts – it is a pleasure to eat at their cafe

Phoebe ordered the French Toast.

I privately thought it was a boring option  –  but this is what she was presented with!
It had bacon, banana, grapes, pineapple, kiwifruit, berry coulis

It was amazing!

Of course I had to have the Rosti as they had created this breakfast because of a challenge from me.

It was really good.

Salad with breakfast – yes! That is one thing I can definitely handle

 

We finally dragged ourselves away and headed out to Richmond.

I had to go choose some carpet.

It was great to have Phoebe’s input and while we were there she found a fantastic bargain in vinyl flooring for their place too.

We then whizzed up to see Ross and discussed some business while Phoebe enjoyed the sunshine.

She was not feeling at all well so was happy to sit and rest.

From there we went to the mall, got groceries and then headed into the city.

I stopped off at Starbucks and got us both a venti caramel/Irish cream frappuccino.

I didn’t think Phoebe would manage to drink it all and was more than happy to finish it for her

But she did! And the caffeine kicked in with her codeine and by the time she had finished it she was feeling much happier.

We had to side track for fuel and then to Briscoes before leaving town.

Then I got a call from the Vodafone guy who John had put onto me.

I went around to see him and talk about what they could offer.

2Degrees had taken 7 weeks to process our business account and had only just come back to me an hour prior saying they would activate our phones the following day.

I was totally over their lack of service so only to happy to talk with Phil.

I took all the info and went back to Phoebe’s to have a think about it all.

Then at 4:30pm I zipped back to the city thinking I would have it all signed up in an hour.

We ended up getting all the cell phones linked, the home phones switched across and several other deals.

It was a good package he put together for me.

Plus he helped me to cancel out the 2Degrees contract.

I never left there until 6:45pm!

But spending 3 hours there to get it all sorted was way better than the 7 weeks of stress I had endured from 2Degrees.

The other major plus is that he speaks English.

Everyone I spoke to at 2Degrees was foreign and I could not understand them on the phone.

So it is a major plus not only being able to easily communicate but he is also in Nelson.

Vodafone won the day for me this time!!

I was so tired and hungry that I went around the corner and picked up some Chinese take aways, went back to Phoebe & Seb’s and ate it.

Then I dragged myself into the Terrano and left just after 8pm.

I was really tired but not sleepy tired so the drive home went fine.

I didn’t have any need to stop and sleep, just got myself home and unloaded the frozen foods and hit the pillow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 22nd August

 

 

 

I had to be up and moving earlyish as I had a 9am session with my counselor.

From there I headed out to meet Ella at Crusoe’s Cafe for brunch.

I had a hot chocolate as I waited.

But just before 11am I got a call from her to say her bike had broken down.

She had just collected it from the bike shop after having some repairs done and it had clapped out just a few kms up the road.

She was unimpressed!

So, while she dealt with that and they came to get her and fix it I went back into town and did a couple of things.

By then she her bike was getting sorted and she walked to meet me in town at the Felafel shop.

I was so incredibly full after devouring a delicious Israeli felafel for lunch.

Haven’t had a chance to catch up in ages so it was great to sit and chat while we were both childfree.

Soon enough though we had to head off in different directions.

I managed to get a few more things done and then met Liz for a 2pm afternoon cuppa at Colombus Coffee.

Hadn’t seen her since end of last year so it was lovely to sit in the sun and talk a while.

My laptop is doing some strange things so I went to see the guys where I bought it – looks like the logic board might be faulty darnit!

I am not too sure what happened to the rest of the day but I ended up getting back to Phoebe’s after 6pm.

I knew there was a slip on the road at home so Tim had said he would come up and meet me to get me over it.

But as the night went on and it got later and later I decided it was more strategic for all parties to just stay put in town.

We were going to have an early night but then Jesika skyped us and Phoebe and I ended up talking with her till 1am.

So an early morning rather than an early night!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 21st August

 

 

 

Tim and I struggled out of bed and got ourselves to our breakfast date at Melrose House Cafe by 9am.

We spent a very enjoyable hour over breakfast there.

Nice to have time for just us to talk things over without interruption.

Unfortunately the day was disappearing into busyness all to quickly so we had to make haste.

Headed down to Tailors Menswear so Tim could get his new suit altered.

The lady there was very helpful and was determined to get it just right so it did take some time.

Finally at 11:15 Tim headed off to Wakefield to deliver a dinghy for Cat that she had sold and pick up some hay for the horse.

I whizzed over to visit with John & Sally.

It was very lovely sitting in the sun with them chewing the fat and tossing ideas around.

We had a 1pm appointment with Nathan & some other folk so I got back into the city in time for that.

However Tim was held up so we had to start without him.

He eventually arrived about half an hour later.

We were in the meeting for nearly 2 hours.

I was pretty wrung out by the end of it so was glad to be heading off to do other things.

I picked up Azzan from Chrissy and Mahalia from Sophie’s.

Go them some baked potatoes to eat on their way home.

We went down to the slipway and found Tim & Noel hard at it on the ‘Tardis’

It is up on the hard getting some maintenance done – painting etc.

Seb, Nathan & Phoebe were down here on Saturday helping Noel & Mandy anti foul the bottom.

It all looks very nice now – shame it will be hidden by the water!

The important parts looking lovely and shiny.

I clambered up the ladder in my high heels to have a look.

Looks very bare without all the gear on board.

And in the shed the new piece of machinery was being gotten ready.

 

I left Tim to take M&A home.

I had to zip back to John’s to pick up some papers and then out to Richmond to spend some time educating Ross

We had a few hours to suss out some of the business stuff.

I finally left at 8pm, grabbed some Chinese takeaways and got back to share it with Phoebe.

We did plan to have an early night but ended up skyping with Jesika until 2am again