We've had an exhausting week. Saturday we survived the netball but as I had 4 and 1/2 hours on the courts (not playing you'll apreciate!) in the morning and I took the girls to Mystery Creek to watch a National Bank cup game in the evening (our local Magic vs. Flames - we won) I'd had enough by the end of the day. The morning went OK. Harriette helped with the warm ups and Robyn was on hand to offer advice on what to try next. Alice's team lost both games and Harriette's team won both theirs.
Alice after getting Cassie Williams signature
Sunday Eric and I had a lazy morning. Richard and Robyn came over with the girls for morning tea (at lunchtime - well it was Sunday!) which we had on the deck. The weather is still incredibly mild, and we were all bemoaning the lack of rain. Needless say the girls spent most of the time shooting goals (new goalpost arrived Friday remember). We had moved the netball goal about 3 times. Finding somewhere suitable was a problem as we lack anywhere flat near the house that isn't driveway. Finally opted for outside the kitchen window!!! and had to move my planters. I actually managed a few hours in the veg plot in the afternoon. I spread the manure I had collected on the previous day and started preparing strawberry rows. I tried to pace myself on the shovelling front and watch my back more carefully than I usually do. It paid off as I was able to move when I got up on Monday moving.
Monday I went into Hamilton to do a clinical assessment on a nurse. She was so bad I had to call a halt to the whole thing. Afterwards I popped into a $2 shop to continue my ongoing search for a particular childrens puzzle that we use for a game for the vaccine composition session when I'm teaching. I found some awhile ago and contacted my boss to ask if we needed to purchase anymore. When she said Yes I went back, and of course they'd all been sold and they weren't planning to get more in. Well my pursuit began in earnest and I dive into $2 type shops constantly. This must have been the 15th one I tried. For a change the shop keeper could speak English and was able to understand what I was looking for, yes he had had them in but no he didn't have any left. As I left he called out to me, I went back to find him on his knees on the floor rumaging through a box at the back of the shop. He had 3! I was thrilled. Now I can build some MeNZB vaccines!
Tuesday we had horse riding. When the girls came home from school they announced we had no cold water. I left Harriette with instructions to check the troughs on the back paddocks as I whizzed off to drop Alice at the stables. The longed for rain had arrived and I told Alice 3 times before horse riding to make sure she had a rain coat. As I was going up the road it occured to me that she had got into the car with just her riding hat. On checking not only did she not have a rain coat but she also didn't have a jumper. She was planning to ride, in the rain, just before dark, in a T-shirt! Luckily when we arrived her teacher had a lumber shirt in the stable. I got home and had Harriette declare the back paddocks were fine and that Claire (our neighbour had found the leak in the top paddock just inside the gate. The cows had kicked apart a connection there. Harriette had walked passed the flood on her way to the troughs!!! All these brains she is supposed to have but she doesn't see a flood when she walks past it! Anyway after dashing down to the woolshed to turn of the water pump, rushing back to fix the disconnection, dashing down to restart the pump it was tipping down and dark. We went to bed that night listening to torrential rain. It rained ALL night. I was surprised that we did not have the lake in the front paddock in the morning. Then Harriette called from the bathroom to say the hot water was freezing. We checked the hot water tank and, not only was it cold but there was water running in through the ceiling. Alice then called and asked us to listen in her bedroom, that wasn't rain, that was water pouring onto one spot on the roof!!!! Going outside and looking up we find that, in fact it isn't raining very hard but the hot water overflow pipe is shooting water, under pressure into the air. The ajax valve had gone on the hot water tank and cold water was pouring in from the cold water supply and pouring out through the overflow. We hadn't been listening to rain all night but water from the bore washing our roof. So..., Eric being rushed off his feet, I called in a plumber.
Bear with me, we come back to this point. I think I may have said before (I can't check Alice has pinched the broadband cable for the desktop), that we had a conflict this week. Alice had her guides swearing in (in Matamata) and Harriette was representing her school in a team in the regional heats of a national literature quiz, in Hamilton (45 mins away). Well I had gone to great lengths to arrange that Alice would be sworn in at the beginning of her meeting so I could then dash to Hamilton and watch the last hour of Harriette's competition. On Tuesday night Alice finally produces her newsletter from guides and we find out that her swearing in is NEXT week!!!!! So, Wednesday evening, Harriette has to be in Hamilton at 6.10pm, at 4.55pm Eric get's a callout to Tahuna (and hours drive away) and the plumber hasn't arrived at 5.30pm (they said they would be late). Dilemma, do we wait for Eric and go, and risk the plumber coming out with no-one here or does Eric stay behind and we risk the plumber not coming and he missing out on seeing Harriette performance? It takes me 15 minutes to get through to the plumber to be told they won't be out now (they had assured me at mid-day that they would definately come today!!) and as Eric has arrived home we fly out the door at 5.45pm. We then wait for Alice who is still preening herself in the bedroom. She had emerged fully dressed but then changed her mind on what to wear. We finally throw Harriette out at the school in Hamilton as the teams were walking up onto the stage while we go and park. I think her poor coach must have been having kittens as in a team of 4 another girl arrived after us!!
The literature quiz went well.... until the last 2 rounds. Until then they had been in 5th place (out of 43 teams) then they dropped back to finish 14th!! In between the rounds they asked the adults spot questions and the winner got to go and pick a book. Eric answered the first question and bought me back the latest Jodi Picoult (it's brilliant and I had to force myself to blog before picking it up this evening),and he was one of only 2 parents to get 2 questions right and got himself a book to. Harriette's team got the highest score in one round and she won a spot $5 prize (for knowing who Dana Sculley was), so all-in-all it was a profitable night. Alice has ambitions to be in next years team. We got a take away for supper and got home around 11pm.
Thursday I had to be away by 7am as I was running a course in Hamilton. I cannot tell you how exhausted I was by the evening (I find running these course stressful if very enjoyable). The plumber had come at 7.30am so we had hot water in the house and didn't have to keep diving out to the cottage to shower etc. We struggled through supper (the girls were as tired as us) and dropped into bed with relief at about 9pm. I started on my book and within 2 pages knew I wouldn't put it down in a hurry and read for 2 hours!!!!
Today, day 2 of the course, went well again and we had some excellent feedback at the end. I was particularly chuffed as a particular session that always gets the thumbs down on evaluation did not get one negative comment, and in fact had some positive comments for a change. Why was I chuffed? It was the first time I had taught it!!! Harriette had her second MeNZB at school so keep complaining her arm hurts (when she remembers!)
This weekend is netball (obviously), a trip to the dump (this place is looking like Steptoe's yard), towing the Mistral back to the garage, delivering Harriette to a birthday party (her friend lives at Totatara Springs, that place they had camp with the fabulous hydroslide, and they get to use it tomorrow), and Mandy and the kids come over in the evening for the night. I have bought a heap of seedlings today so hope to get an hour for gardening tomorrow afternoon.
I've just word counted this (no of course I didn't actually 'count' them, I used Word) and have written 1700 words. Why was writing a 3000 word assignment for uni a hundred times harder???! I'm off to loose myself in my book for another few hours.
"Oi, they're my glasses!"
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