I did a TBC because oh trip was a bit interrupted. Which really sucked so I thought I would seperate it so I am not being a downer on the birthday post.

At the start of our scavenger hunt we got a phone call from the builder saying he is on site. What is he doing today. I told him he isn’t supposed to be there as the kitchen doesn’t arrive until the following day. So I rang the boss and told him he has gotten his days mixed up and we said definitely not this Tuesday/Wednesday, come Thursday/Friday. That in itself was annoying.

Next on Rowan’s list was an op shop challenge but before we started that we thought we better get one last Ferg. While we were eating we get the next phone call this time from Mitre10. We can’t deliver your kitchen the truck Hiab has broken. We push back and ask them to find a different solution. They kept putting it back on us, incredibly frustrated we decide we need to get back to pick up a bloody kitchen for tomorrow.

We kind of do the challenge and go op shopping in Queenstown before leaving.

We kind of part do the challenge but it’s not an exactly what I had planned. We ended up getting our bottoms back to Ōamaru to get our trailer and pick up the kitchen.

One of the most frustrating parts was the kitchen was loaded on the truck last Wednesday ready to go Tim just didn’t want to unload it into the house on his own. Which I realise now how insane that is as I can lift each cabinet. We offered our sack barrow to make life easy. He said next week and we said he would have the same issue as we are not around.

A grumpy Rowan (understandably) comes for the kitchen at Mitre10 the kitchen designer puts it onto our trailer on his own. He is not Mr Strong. We take it home and plan to finish Rowan’s birthday hunt another day.

Thursday kitchen day! The benchtop isn’t here yet (don’t get me started!) but we get in as much of the cabinets we can. The upper cupboards are incorrect and they are supposed to be a bit longer so they done need handles. These ones are going to need handles. The muppets at Peter Hay have put these little plastic protectors on the wrong side of the upper cupboard which now means they need to be removed and I now have holes in it. Plus I have an entire filler panel missing. I swear I can’t make this shit up.

On Friday Graham got the trim in the house complete and sealed around all the exterior windows. Then we made a start on the deck! The wind took an empty concrete bag into the creek. Man this creek likes to give us a challenge haha

On Saturday I had planned to continue the hunt but we ended up going up to Jim’s farm and picked up the yellow bike. We went home over Myers Pass which was incredibly beautiful. The Cave is on a neighbouring farm.

Monday, we are ready for a day on site with Chris and his digger. Rowan and I head off and we wanted a couple of cops zoom past with their lights on. Before we got to the top of the Hill at Hampden we were stopped. The cop told us a big accident at least an hour delay. So we turn around and head home. I call Chris to let him know. So I get the fire warm again and we read our books. Chris goes past so we think maybe he knows something we don’t. NZTA website still says the road is closed. We meet him up at the local garage and there we find the latest information when we flag down a car. Lucky for us this car was at the front of the queue and waited for the last hour. It’s going to be at least 5 hours and the only detour is to drive out to Oamarama, Cromwell, then back in land on the Pigroot. Quite the detour! Apparently a logging truck lost its back trailer, not sure if it broke or unhitched. With incredibly bad timing as it took out a main freight truck and the firefighters spent an hour cutting him out before the helicopter took him to Dunedin. So there are logs and two very big trucks to remove plus an investigation. Monday will now become Tuesday.

So what’s a girl to do! Well let’s finish this hunt once and for all. Rowan’s op shop challenge was to dress up his outfit. He did that and got his bonus prize. A poetry book. We also did the nature bingo in Ōamaru Gardens and he did a few side quests too like climb a tree.