Plum

Plum's gone.

We had to put her down before she really hurt someone. She was always a bit bitey and edgy and fearfully aggressive, then, about a month ago, she charged the builder and bit him. Traumatic for everyone.

We tried one last time with slightly different methods to train her out of that dark head space, but two days ago we let her go. 

We saw her quirky and amusing and loveable side, so we're tearful. When she was being a goat, climbing everything, or being passively boneless, or patrolling the fenced perimeter, or snuggled on the bed for the morning cup of tea. But, something was amiss in that solid staffy head that would always be dangerously amiss. Now she doesn't have to be anxious and fearful any more. 

This is two weeks after we bought her home, in January 23. 

It took us a couple of weeks to get a wag - she didn't have a good start in life.  But she had a great life here for 16 months and we'll miss that pooch.

Hole in the house

The first breakthrough into the existing house is at one of the bathrooms. We moved this work forward to give the builders safe access to a loo, so they don't have to knock and deal with our barking bitey dog.

Also on the south side, Phil fixed the break in the fence, dug out the three coprosma stumps we had given up on, and dug out the long concrete edging we uncovered when we moved the compost system. Still going, he then fixed the north side gate to the park and strengthened the fence. Everyready battery bro in law!

In calm relaxing news (a bit lacking onsite lately), we had lunch at the Waterfront cafe on Paraparaumu Beach. A beautiful warm autumn day.

Bird scarer!

We do like our birds and love watching them bathe in their choice of bird bath (there are six on offer). But, the blimmin blackbirds keep digging up the littlest plants in the veg garden.

To try and keep them out of there - a feathered spud! We saw it in Anne Hathaway's garden in England in 2008. I've made it before but this one actually turns nicely. Whether it protects the baby beets is yet to be seen. 

Got it up and running just before the weather changed.

Building framework

Our builders are ripping along. They're hammering away this warm autumn morning and although we want that, we're also desperate for rain. It traditionally rains at Easter and that would be eggcellent timing. 

Our first building inspection is today and we expect to fail as we have three smaller piles left to bang in the ground beside the kitchen and, gee whizz, the plans say they should all be done together...

When the workers leave, the locals check out the works.

Looking back. From the foreground edge: studio steps, studio, bedroom, bathroom and wardrobe area, washhouse, entry into kitchen at the old back door.

Looking along, taken from the garage roof.

Minor variations so far. Had one glitch with moving the fibre and cutting the tv for a week and the internet for a couple of days. Glitch compounded by owners' tech ineptitude, and electrician was able to fix both issues within minutes.

Meanwhile, Dave stopped in on his way home to Hobart. Blazingly good sunset this day.

Te Horo Bus Stop cafe on a sunny Sunday in autumn

Mish, Carol, Greg, and Plum's bum. There was something more interesting in the bushes.

 

And we're off!

The extension has commenced.

Bits of wood and string lines behind us, the day before the mud room came down and the piles came up (the driveway).

Looking out the glass of the back door at the emptied mud room. That was a really useful space.

The monster pile driver is in the yard.

There are two of them in NZ.

Of course, on the day it arrived, on an even bigger truck, the local electricity people were working in the street with an abundance of vehicles and cones and people. Taken from the bottom of our drive.

As the pile driver was being unloaded at the bottom of our drive, two workers were working on a platform up a cherry picker, directly opposite. Couldn't have been worse timing. The whole street was blocked while this thing swung around and began to clank up the drive. 

Piles in and bearers on today. It's taking shape.

Today was interesting and busy as. To summarise, in  order of events:

👷cars out and into the park's carpark next door, before builders arrive at 7.30. This will be every day. Walk dog around the park.

👷three builders arrive in three vehicles

👷pile digger clanks out of yard and is gone, leaving a few cracks in the driveway (sigh)

👷internet guy arrives to move the external fibre box

👷Carol and Plum head out to Tawa to take Pat to the Hutt  etc

👷one of the builders leaves with a truck of broken concrete to landfill

👷plumber arrives to rough in the underground pipes (and finds one of the piles has gone smack through a sewerage pipe - so glad we didn't know that had happened)

👷engineer arrives to check the piles that have had to go in further from the house than the plans said, because the pile driver couldn't get close enough to bash them

👷another internet guy arrives to fix the fault that developed after previous guy left. Fixed.

👷District nurse arrives to do Greg's meds (bro Greg staying for a few days post op)

👷Carol and dog arrive back. Everybody relaxes for a bit.

👷Carol drives Greg home. Mish takes dog for walk.  

👷Mish makes delicious bolognese for dinner.

Peka Peka beach cycle

 Makes that dog run and run and run.

Set out for the new build

The builders have been and pegged out the dimensions of the new wing with stakes and string. Took them a day and a bit. There was digging to find the electrical connection to the property. Don't want to drive a pile through those wires.

Our shabby south fence needs work! The whole thing is off boundary, some of it not in our favour and some in our favour. We'll spruce that up. Ground showing the result of a summer without rain.

And today - rain! 

The work begins on March 11. Pile driving machine coming that day and neighbours primed for house vibrations for a day, maybe two. 

Sue and Phil came for a couple of nights on their way to Taupo and Phil's ironman event, then on to cycle across the North Island, East Cape to Cape Egmont. Robynne and Diana dropped in after a walk and here we are in the mistresses bedroom.

Birthday weekend

 We had a great weekend in the city. Bunged the dog in the kennel and headed in on the train. Got half way before we were kicked off and had to go the rest of the way by bus. Trackwork - again!

Walked from the station to a Pasifika festival on the waterfront and watched a waka (canoe) competition.

The old girls in pink are manouvering into starting position - it took a while.

And they're off!

Te Papa had a wonderful dinosaur exhibition from Argentina. The patagotitan was a monster, one of the largest dinosaurs ever found. We're wearing masks as a cruise ship was in town and the place was crawling with people off the floating petri dish.

The long neck of the patagotitan and a titanosaur in the distance. South America had some whoppers.

Taxied up to a posh hotel in the hills above the CBD and walked down later to go to dinner at one of our favourite fancy places. Reasonable fancy - interesting food and wonderful venue (an old bank) and a bill without indigestion. We've had a few top end city restaurants close recently so we're hoping this one hangs on.

City view from the hotel. Looking east to the harbour. 

Next day we wandered the city - the bookshops, the alleys, the outdoor shops and the art shops. Nice.

The ficifolias outside the solid old government building  (biggest wooden building in the southern hemisphere), looking up to parliament: the Beehive.

Had to bus all the way home to Paraparaumu, but it's the scenic route along the coast so all good. And Michelle's car was still at the station, amazing! We had to run for the train the day before and parked it fast without checking the signs.

Crab apple harvest

The tree at the front door (planted by us and Jase) has grown very well. The first harvest last year was about a cup and this year we got 2.7kg. Six jars of bright delicious crab apple jelly.

Then there was sorting and taking off their stalks and wee leafy bottoms.

Mish boiled the fruit and we set them up for an overnight drip through muslin. In the morning we had a neat package and a bowl of glistening red liquid. 

Fruit into the compost and liquid into a pot with sugar and crab apple jelly is ready for scoffing.

Do do do, looking out my back door

 Classic New Zealand wooden 1950s house, about to get an update.

This is the view of the back door and garage, on the right. The new back door will come out onto a ramp about where the gas cylinder is, and the new wing will go down the left side of the photo. The dodgy mud room gets demolished day 1 of the works. We'll get  all new windows for the house and a nice bright paint job at the end of the works.

We've cleared the space and just waiting for the builder now. Getting close to ground breaking.

Meanwhile, on the other side  of the property, Mish has been doing her own groundbreaking, making a nice even platform so we can come and go from the park side gate a bit easier. It's too steep and overgrown to access the park that way, we go through to water and weed around our guerilla plantings. 

Monarchs that have flown

 Some are using the driftwood area I've created for them.

These five are out and about now.

A visitor!

 Not many coming by. We will have a visitor wing later this year, so standing by.

Us with Felicity at the Dutch cafe in Foxton. Happily awaiting my apple crepes...

Building consent approved and we start to move stuff

It's approved! Our building work will begin within weeks.

That means imminent demolition of the mudroom at the back and everything in there has to come out. My dickey shoulder is a nuisance so we've enlisted the nephews to lug big heavy things around.

Today, Alexander came and he and Mish walked around the house with her big pine cupboard, in the rain. Days of hot dry weather and today - of course.

That and a bookcase came into the living room (it's going to be a tad cramped for a few months) and then some big pots outside and then concrete posts. The posts came out of the old fence and we've kept them for a future artwork. They're now out of the way for the duration of the build.

The rain increased and here are two drowned rats tackling that final job for the morning.

We do need rain and we love it - but that was bad timing. We're getting the remnant of Cyclone Kirrily from Queensland for a day or two of good rain.

Peka Peka swim

 Still trying to get the dog calmly into the water. She's not a happy swimmer. This day we got the bikes off the car rack and one tyre went pzzsht!  Put the bikes back on the car and drove along the beach to a quiet spot. Plenty of those.

Mish encouraging.

But no. So we just went in ourselves. Water unusually warm and although it's a dark grey day the air was warm as well.

Monarch season

 Early summer and more butterflies are around looking for those swan plants to lay their eggs on. The driftwood stakes I arranged around the plants  were not as favoured as the house itself for cocooning on.  The second batch of butterflies are popping out now.

Plum harvest done and dusted by Christmas

 They were a couple of weeks later than the last three years but we did get bucket loads of the things. Mish made plum butter and I made plum jam and we experimented with preserving them (jury is out on that one). A bountiful harvest.

Prepping boxes to give away.

Mish having a go at plaiting our garlic. Bulbs a bit small but oh well.

A mix of days in early summer

 Some days hot; some days not. 

Plums!

 The tree is loaded. The picking begins.

Pohutukawa time

 Our tree is a muddy red not a glorious red, but it's ours.

Kangaroo paw looking good too.

Uses of old concrete

 We still have plenty of chunks from jackhammered paths around the house. Some chunks are just stacked out of the way and some are temporality engaged.

Concrete enclosures for pumpkin and zucchini. My theory is that the concrete will keep the plant mulched and protected and warm. I'll also be able to identify where to direct the water to the roots of each plant when the growth goes berserk and there are leaves everywhere. 

A lot of concrete bits went into the driveway gabion cages, with pieces of found metal and brick and wire etc.