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Sarah entered Tom in the Kumeu Show. She came home with about 9 ribbons, one of which was for champion lamb! Of course, there were only two in it... Today, with the tents lashed to a nearby ute, we managed a couple of hours with the brass band. Next week we'll be out at a winery if it doesn't get blown away, and then there's a combined charity concert with the other band, and then it's the ANZAC parades and the concert. Almost feels like Christmas again...
We've booked the tickets; we'll all be heading out to England in December and January. I'd like to also take in China, Sweden, Kenya and the USA, but we don't have time. But we'll stop over in Singapore, and might fit in a quick trip to France while we're there. Nothing definite planned yet.
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( 3 / 1800 )Still quite warm here, and barely any rain. The oak trees have begun to lose their leaves, and they've got deep roots. We've been watering the grass as well. Still a bit of green left.
This afternoon after church we all went out for a picnic. Blazing hot day, full sun, and the youth decided to have a game of football. Now that's the sort of thing only English people would do, mostly out of complete stupidity! It got up to half time, and they never continued. Meanwhile, the rest of us stayed under a large oak tree, which provided extra entertainment opportunities after I worked out how to climb it.
Haymaking continues. Ross managed to slice his finger on a circular saw while cutting firewood (not sure why he needed firewood in February). Fortunately it was a shallow cut. Had his finger been in a different position he might have lost it.
A busy few weeks. We've got two concerts coming up with the brass band, plus the Kumeu Show. Bronwyn's been working extra days due to other staff being ill, and the girls are back in the swing of school activities. We're entering the "OMG we haven't got much left of summer let's do something quick" season!
And we've just booked tickets to go back to England over Christmas and January. All four of us. Don't ask me how much the cost...
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( 3 / 1893 )Bronwyn's father Ross believes in angels. He's got one who guards gates. Several times he's accidentally left the wrong gate open and the cows didn't notice. And yesterday, while Allan had taken a large and expensive bit of machinery to do haymaking, a tree branch fell in the gap normally occupied by it. Saved a bit of heavy metalwork in peak season!
We've had a bumper crop of hay this year. Plenty of rain at just the right time has meant that we've harvested about 1/3 more than average. We're estimating 800 bales on one paddock alone. A lot of it already has buyers, so we've got a barn full and people to take the surplus.
Bronwyn's been busy; one of the normal staff has been off sick, so she's done four days this week and probably the same next week. I'm thinking of putting up some shelves so she can store all her paperwork and write up the stories in the office. Meanwhile, I've had a busy week now that all the schools have woken up and suddenly realised that they should have woken up three weeks ago. We've also been in talks with a new client, and still plenty to do from the old ones, so we're not short right now!
Still quite warm, but not as hot as January. And we've had a bit of rain to keep the grass going. I've had quite a crop of potatoes - much of it is still in the soil. Lettuce, non starter. Had about one mouthful total.
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( 3.1 / 1871 )Yuwen went back to China after her grandmother died suddenly. She was really upset - she meant a lot to her and had looked after her as she grew up and her parents were busy working. But Yuwen came back to visit us before going on a tour of the south island. We took her out for a meal and invited Erica along too. It was a wonderful evening, and she means a lot to us. Both of them do! Now she's in Auckland with her friend Gary, who also came to stay for a couple of days after Yuwen left the first time. Then she's off on a whirlwind tour of the south island, and apparently she will be driving. They're going through the Homer tunnel to Milford Sound. It's barely big enough for two cars to pass each other, and there aren't any lights... Her parents and a couple of others will be going round with her.
Yuwen got me to download WeChat. It's very popular in China, so I've got Celia and Nana on too, and I'm getting regular messages. I think I'm turning into a teenager again.
Rachael's been at school for a week, and hasn't exploded so far. Sarah starts tomorrow, and Bronwyn's out early to work, so it'll be 30 minutes of chaos followed by silence, if all goes according to plan...
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( 3.1 / 1794 )Had an eventful holiday down in Taupo. The day before, Sarah was riding her bike down the drive and fell off. Scratches on her cheek and legs, blood on her lip and a rather painful thumb. We spent a few hours in hospital getting her thumbnail seen to. She nearly lost it completely.
So we delayed the holiday by a day and set off after getting the bandage changed. It prevented Sarah from swimming properly (although Bronwyn did work out a system involving a plastic bag and lots of surgical tape) although we were able to go out kayaking a couple of times. Did a boat trip across the lake, and a kayak tour down the river. Several visits to various thermal areas, plus a quick soak in a thermal stream after the kayaking. Plus quite a few other trips. Bronwyn made waffles for my birthday breakfast, and we went out to a restaurant in the evening. You eat free there on your birthday!
It was rather hot though, and also cold at night. We realised that we had forgotten our bedding (the girls were fine) so we went out and got a summer duvet. After the first night, we added some blankets and towels. On the last night we took down the shade tent and put that on top as well!
We haven't had any rain all month, and the grass was beginning to turn brown. But we've had a millimetre or two today. So now it's wet and brown. Hopefully after another splash due on Monday it should be green again!
It's been a quiet month, as is normal for January. But this week things have been warming up at work as the schools try to get things ready for the start of term. Well, they're the proactive ones. Most schools only get round to it after week 2. I'm expecting quite a busy few weeks! The girls start school next week, so Bronwyn's been busy sorting out stationery and Rachael's realised that she only has a few days left to play minecraft...
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