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Martin and Bina have been doing most of the cooking, and they've kept the house in good shape. No news about their van, and apparently it's going to be a difficult job because Nissan put the engine underneath the front seats for some odd reason, and it's very hard to get to. But if our mechanic can't fix it, nobody can. Just hope it doesn't kill him first!
Martin's been teaching Rachael piano. She's picked it up really quickly, and it's a lot easier than trying to get a note out of a cornet. At this age I'm happy she's learning any sort of instrument. Meanwhile, Sarah is no longer doing literacy support, which presumably means she's managed to catch up with her reading. It's still quite a lot of brain work for her, but she can recognise a lot of whole words and unusual letter groups now, so it's just a matter of practice. At the beginning of the year she was struggling to recognise individual letters. Rachael, of course, got top marks in spelling, and good marks for writing in the external exams she's been doing every year.
At least Marting and Bina got to see some fireworks. They went to the big display in the stadium in West Auckland. Very impressive, apparently!
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( 3 / 1925 )That All Black try was quite incredible. I had to watch the replay about three times until I worked out what had happened. I suppose it's partly because we've got an old format TV and we lose the sides of the shot. The ball went to the end of the lineout. The French dash for the end of the lineout. The camera goes to the end of the lineout. Except somehow the ball is now in the middle, and heading for the try line. Not bad.
It's all gone quiet now. Still a lot of cars with All Blacks flags flying though!
Bronwyn's operation is tomorrow. Rachael's really worried, and hasn't been sleeping well all week. Rachael and Sarah will be staying with the grandparents for a couple of days to make it a bit easier. Meanwhile, Martin and Bina's van has died, probably the head gasket, and possibly a new engine. So yesterday I cleaned and sanitized Bronwyn's car for them to use.
Strange. Most of the mess was on Rachael's side!
Pity they had to miss the fireworks because of the van - they were really impressive. We went with Bronwyn's parents and her sister's family and set up camp. Afterwards there were clouds of smoke everywhere. Obviously they'd planned this - there was a laser playing through the smoke!
Bina made a curry yesterday. It was very nice, and quite definitely authentic, but rather hot. Normally I end up finishing Bronwyn's curry when she can't take any more. Last night I didn't!
The kettle blew its element. Fortunately I still had the element I'd rescued from the old one, so I swapped them over. At least we still have gas - it's sitting in a bottle outside the kitchen. A lot of businesses had to close down when the main gas pipeline blew last week. It's quite amazing how many places rely on gas!
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( 2.9 / 2021 )Martin and Bina arrived last week. Bina has found a short term job, and meanwhile Martin has done a lot of work tidying the house. Indeed, I actually got as far as cleaning the windows yesterday. It's amazing how much dirt came off the front window. I do apologise to the family of spiders that have called that window home for countless generations. Still quite a few windows to go, but at least we can see out of the ones I've done.
M&B are off to the Coromandel this weekend. They've spent a few weeks touring the south island, and are now doing the north island. I believe they'll find a pub somewhere to watch the rugby final. I'm guessing the Coromandel will be quiet tonight, since most Aucklanders will be glued to a TV somewhere!
I did like that final try by the Welsh. I bet they're pleased with that, even if they didn't win. It's going to be mayhem if the All Blacks win tonight.
It's quite warm now. Took the girls out to the beach (well, a tidal stream) and it was suprisingly warm. We had a lot of rain last week, so the farm is looking very green. Bronwyn's been out on the mower. To be honest, I'd be happy with a jungle or a carefully tethered goat. But we're slowly filling the garden with trees, so we'll get there eventually!
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( 3 / 1859 )Bronwyn took the girls to a photo shoot this morning. A costume company wanted some children to model the costumes, and the photographer knows us well, so he called us. Rachael dressed up as a hippy, a couple of medaevil women, an owl and a smurf. Sarah did a zebra and Tinkerbell. Plus both did fairies. Sounds like a fun morning.
We'll probably have a couple to stay with us for a few weeks to help out after Bronwyn has the operation. We put up an advert on a website, and got a phone call last week. They'll help us out in return for accommodation on their grand tour of Earth.
Brilliant sunshine here. We've had a lot of rain, and everything looks really green. Rachael wants to go to the beach!
More rugby, but only one week to go. This evening's game is going to be interesting...
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( 3.1 / 2034 )I've come down with another bacterial infection. Currently pumped up on steroids and antibiotics. Managed to get back to work on Thursday, but didn't do a lot. I'm now on the Watchdog contract, and they pay monthly in arrears, which means I had three weeks with no pay. Fortunately I had about 7 weeks hoilday owing, so I've cashed up three weeks to keep us going this month!
Bronwyn's birthday went well. We had quite a few friends, neighbours and relatives around, and plenty of presents! I bought her some little bookshelves - six of them. They're lined up by Bronwyn's bed. Plus some book tokens of course. Many thanks to every one who turned up!
Still eating the cakes...
Rachael's got her uniform for school next year. It's second hand and a bit faded, but it'll do for now. She's also got her certificates for the exams she went into earlier in the year - she did Writing and Spelling, and came out very well again. Sarah is managing to read slowly. She'll get there eventually.
It's now warmer, and the grass is growing. We managed to get the lawnmower going again after jump starting it a few times!
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