I don’t have much to report about Sydney. We spent most of the time in the apartment as Bette really can’t be alone for too long. We did take a quick trip to Dungog and back to see Heather, Kaity, the boys and their latest addition Pearl-Rose. it is a 3 hour drive away so we left at midday and was back at 2am. Bette was fine as she had her cleaner for three hours and then her neighbour and friend Margaret came over at dinner time to keep her company.

Margaret and Wayne took us out to La Perouse for lunch on the last day in Sydney, which was really good. Joanne got home that morning.

Most of our time was spent cooking and baking. I did get through two books and wish I had one more to read.

Back home we wait to pick up our bags and I bump into some cousins who were on our plane and live in England but want to come back to NZ to retire. It is a small world.

We pick up our camper from AA with its fresh WOF and drive down to Herbert. We find some residents in our bed, or evidence of them. Bloody mice, I put baits out before we left but it hasn’t deterred them fully. Once we had de-moused the bed it was great to be back in our comfy bed. It hasn’t deterred been a month!

A 5am start, which is 3am body clock time. I am determined to get us back into our routine. A supply trip to mitre10 then down to site shows a blank slate ready for paint. I give the place a good clean from the dust and we mask up ready for the sprayer. The weather is not good outside. We cannot paint today but at least we are ready for tomorrow.

Annoyingly our first coat didn’t quite make it to the ceiling in the living area. Running out of paint sucks, but it sucks even more when it is an hour away to get more. Nevermind we will buy some more tomorrow.

It looks like Rowan went to Columbia. Let’s hope he doesn’t get pulled over and questioned.

We got it 90% there on Monday. We have another coat to do on the ceiling tomorrow morning.

The last exterior cladding board went up. I finished painting the exterior of the house this week. The plaster board is well under way with all the ceilings are done.

I have used all the leftover insulation on the inside walls of the bathrooms to help dampen any late night toileting stop coming through to the bedrooms. Another bonus is this stops wastage and it going into landfill.

Sue (step mum) pointed out my work of art is actually a work of art!

Painted exterior. Early or late walks with Gem! The lantern worked well to be able to see her on early morning walks.

I had an epiphany and realised we forgot our anniversary. Life has been so hectic I totally forgot. It’s not the first time and I am sure it won’t be the last. We don’t need to celebrate we try to appreciate each other every day rather than once a year.

Early Sunday we hop on a plane to Australia. We are here for a couple of weeks to look after Bette.

Yay we now have our doors!

With the help of the builders we got the rest of the insulation in. Dave the plumber came for the preline inspection as the water pipes need to show they don’t leak. He put the shower trays in while he was at it.

One of the bales went for a roll into the stream haha. Luckily it stayed dry!

I got two and a bit of the exterior walls painted with the final coat.

GIB has started to be put in.

We are house sitting for a week for Chris and Ferne again.

Rowan is in a lot of pain but is sleeping most of the day. We have been taking the camper to site each day so he can stay resting.

A lot of progress this week. The cladding on the exterior is finished as it can be until we get the ranch slider.

A lot of early mornings and we are getting really worn out.

Electricians did a big day and got all of the wiring in. The house is looking a lot more finished.

Ouch!

Saturday afternoon we were chopping wood to be shorter with a drop saw to fit in our pot belly fires. The wood got caught in the blade, it forced Rowan’s left hand back toward the metal plate and it squashed the tip of his finger between the wood and the metal. Our ute has a special additive in it to fix a leak so I couldn’t drive it. I rushed over to our neighbour Silvija and Jim and I asked Silvija if I could use her truck, I am not certain I even used my manners. We got to the Oamaru hospital around 3pm and it took 2 hours to be seen by a nurse to triage him. Then a longer wait before the doctor finally saw him. The took an xray and the doctor said the bone has been smooshed. Luckily it didn’t get the knuckle just the very tip. But the nail broke through the skin and the whole nail bed detached. It looked bloody gruesome like he chopped half his finger off. The doctor couldn’t do much and gave him some iv antibiotics cleaned it and wrapped it. A little bit of laughing gas as the wrapped it but only paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain. Rowan was told that Dunedin hospital will call tomorrow to let us know when to come in for surgery. Five hours later we left Ōamaru hospital, I got some tramadol for him. Silvija and Jim made us dinner and let us shower at their place. They also said we can use their fancy ute on Sunday. 

Bit of a side story, Kate here is not used to modern vehicles and I couldn’t work out how to get the ute into reverse. Trying as hard as I can just keep getting into 6th gear. I asked Rowan to come out and put it into reverse. I even tried googling. My sister Sarah suggested I try pull it up first, it was a great hint as this one is push down! These mod cons I am not used to at all haha.

Sunday morning we get a call at 8.30am to get our butts to Dunedin as soon as possible. Arriving there about 10am and he went into surgery by 12pm and was out by 2pm. Rowan was really worried he would loose his finger tip and was certain he would loose his nail. Well the nail came out in surgery but the surgeon reattached the nail bed. Overall it was a success. Rowan gave me his nail in a jar (how nice of him). We left the hospital just after 4pm and had to go to the pharmacy to get all his drugs before getting back to Herbert. The lovely Silvija and Jim made us dinner and gave us a shower. We are very lucky to have their support! 

With a man down, I had the lovely Laura drop everything and come down to Palmerston to help me get the insulation in. It was such a big help. We got a good amount done.

A bit of progress this week. The rear part of Jo has been deteriorating for years. Tony the terrific came out and gave us a day of his time. He did a great job fixing it up for us.

We sold the reliable UM (Corolla) we just $1res it and got $1200. Which is exactly what we paid for it. A dealer in Christchurch purchased it who will no doubt do some work to it and resell it up there.

Inside we have added more storage and put up some mirrors. Rowan has closed in the back to stop any southerly rain coming in the door.

Wahoo we have windows! Unfortunately the doors are yet to be made, but we should have those next week and then we will be weathertight!

Chris is back to scarify the land, this is to ensure the levels are correct and the water runs off the properties into the stormwater drain. I got around to finishing the seahorse bird bath. I enjoyed painting it up. I just had to find time between a hundred other more important jobs.

Herbert is a bit of a shit show. We have been too busy to put things away and it shows! Rowan and I get through a lot of tidying up jobs and finishing off projects. We have a couple of Germans come and stay. Rene and his friend Johanna come for a couple of nights and we put them in Jo. Rowan and I met Rene a few years ago in Levin when walking the Te Araroa. We stayed with the lovely Geoff at the same time. Rene got in touch to let us know he was coming our way. It was great to have them come, I wish our fire was up and running for them but the blanket levels were high and hot water bottles kept them warm. We got some more use out of the brazier. Hanna serenaded us with her beautiful voice. It was a great to have them.

Our milk friends are well into the autumn calving season. Look at that face! ❤️

Our scaffold comes down, the windows are a lot easier to get in without it. All the weatherboards that can be put in prior to the window installation has now been done.

Chris came out and raised the earth around the front of the house and raised the path. It is much easier to get in and out now.

The “gang fence” iron has been taken down and replaced with Oregon pailings. It looks much better.

Lovely neighbour Dianne has given me some wonderful flowers from her yard. Look at all the different colours!

Rowan and I get to live in a real house for the long weekend. Our neighbours in Herbert Chris and Ferne have this amazing earth house and lots of animals. We are house/pet sitting, with one dog, two cats, one wild pig, 40ish chickens and countless sheep. Chris who is our very talented digger driver pretty much built the whole house himself. Ferne who is an artist shines throughout with some really cool quirky features. I would show you inside but I haven’t asked permission so I don’t want to breach their privacy. However I do believe it has been in a magazine so you could possibly find some images online.

Busy week, found time to start cleaning out Gypsy Jo. There is a lot of rats nests but luckily only one body. The place needs a bit of love. It is looking better already.

Also busy on site. The weatherboards for Stromness are painted, the colour is Dulux Manorburn Half. Also started Brough painting and the colour is Franz Josef Quarter. The soffits are completed, colour is Haunui Half. The rondo is done in one house, Rondo is metal bracing that goes on the ceilings for the plaster board (GIB).

On a late flight to Auckland. I left Palmerston and went straight to the airport. I had a chance to change clothes as I got quite hot and sticky. Mum picked me up from the airport and we stayed at Nanas house. Saturday is Woolfy’s Day Out at Runamuck . Nana made the decision that we will bury Grandpa’s ashes at the end of the day. It was a fantastic day, heaps of people came. There was a very nice celebration for Grandpa. The grandkids got together and we made flax flowers and woven mats to decorate the area. My sister Emma and I went out for a drink and she dropped me off at the airport in the morning. It was a quick trip and I was very tired from the week. I had a good nap on Sunday, but it took a long time for me to perk up.

An early Tuesday start with dropping David to Dunedin. We may have hugged longer than the allotted time.

Thanks for visiting us!

Rowan and I headed to Lawrence to meet up with the expander home people. It turned into a very long day with us getting back at 9pm. I was exhausted.

On site in Palmerston with the builders. With a big tidy up to do, Rowan and I organise the sites by moving everything in a big pile and clearing bins. The sites are looking much better and are well organised now we have changed builders. We planned to be here for the rest of the week however a last minute change of plans we are racing up to Christchurch tomorrow.

The time has come, we have been first in the queue for a back load since November. A very early start to get us up to Christchurch and meet the truck driver. We take the opportunity to bring the trailer and take our boxes out of Rick & Liz’s garage.

It takes two tries to get the truck onto the trailer. The first try we broke the rope. Billy (where it was stored) was a great help, it would have taken a lot longer without his big tip truck. We didn’t leave Christchurch until that afternoon and got back to Herbert around 7pm. Thanks to Jimmy who helped get the truck off at the local hall. Another late night and more big days ahead. Hopefully we will get a break soon.

I rush off to Mitre10 in the morning to get paint before heading down to Palmerston. I am painting weatherboards today and Rowan is mowing lawns and finishing off other jobs. It is 30 degrees and hot! Actually not great for painting as it is drying as fast as I can roll it on. I am not complaining, we will run out of nice days and soon it will be very hard to paint outside. When we get home around 6pm there are more jobs to do. There hasn’t been really any down time it is definitely eat, work, sleep repeat!

Saturday, it is the Swapmeet today in Orari. we booked a stall a long time ago, but decided we will just attend. We almost didn’t go as there is a lot on and it means another early start but we need a bit of fun. It was a nice morning out and we got back to Oamaru and did some errands before getting back to Herbert in the afternoon. There is loads of jobs to get on with but at least tonight we can have a bath!

Sunday, Rowan’s birthday but not really. We have no time to celebrate, there is too much to do. Sorry Rowan we will have to find some time when I get back from Auckland next week. Down in Palmerston, Rowan unloads all of the boxes that came from Christchurch while I paint another load of weatherboards. That is two thirds of the house done. Just as we are finishing off, Jimmy calls to say let’s move your truck into place. We get back and Jim has a plan with his tractor to get it onto our driveway. It takes a bit of time to remove the boat, camper and clear the driveway. Once done we get it into place relatively easily. A bit of damage to the bumper but nothing to worry about. Another exhausting day but it feels good to have a few big jobs off the list.

No builders on site until Wednesday. Monday is a paperwork catch up day for half of it and some jobs around Herbert.

I have a few errands to run in Dunedin this morning before picking up David (Rowan’s Dad) from the airport. He is staying a week with us. Don’t worry he won’t be playing piggy in the middle. He will sleep in the Bedford. We have a comfy king bed in there. I wanted to get the fire in for him, but Rowan ran away. Speaking of Rowan he arrives home not long after we do. Rowan cooks and David gets the brazier on. We have a good excuse to use it.

A phone call from Chris gets us a path. Now we can get back and forth without getting muddy!

Lots gets done this week. We get some good headway with the truck, Rowan and David focused on that while I did gardening and other bits. I got my vintage espresso machine going and started painting my bird bath. Rowan and David also got a load of jobs off the list for Camele. We now have a diesel heater.

Rowan and I helped Jimmy move his bus around in hopes of a pick up. Unfortunately it is too low for the trailer.

A nice meal out at Del Mar. heaps of seals around and we heard the penguins but didn’t see any.