They're Here

Saturday evening and the first weekend we have had at home for a good while now. Mom and Daddy here, chatting to the UK at the moment, and Eric is reading the newspaper (actually he should be studying he has exams next week. Maybe I’ll let him off – he has done about 7 hours today!) Girls are watching a DVD.

Where to start? Last weekend was a BH. Mandy had invited Eric to join them for a trip up to the Mercury Islands off the Coromandel for some sailing. They were due to leave on Friday morning but that was postponed because of the weather. They left on Saturday. Eric’s Safari was in the garage so I had to drive him over the night before and pick him up on the Tuesday morning. We missed him! He got ridiculously sun burnt despite SPF 30 and caught a fish. Yes that’s another one. Someone else had caught some scallops and they had them for breakfast one morning. He was exhausted when he got home!

Well Mom and Daddy are finally here!!! I think they still can’t believe they’ve finally made it. They arrived at midnight in Hamilton, which made it easier for collecting them. I got the girls up and took them with me as I had promised them the next morning off school. M + D have had a trip over to Tauranga to do boring business stuff and get in contact with some real estate agents etc. Today they played golf, their first game in weeks. They were seriously withdrawn! We have given them a calf as a ‘welcome to NZ’ pressie. They know they have to eat it! They were really chuffed.

Eric just has 2 more weeks of studying then he has a break for a few months. Poor guy is exhausted. He came back from sailing and had to butcher the rest of the beef. I was adamant it was to be finished before M + D arrived. He managed it, just – I think they were landing as the last lot went into the freezer. We had sirloins and fillet steak the following evening – divine. In fact the fillet was the best I’ve ever tasted! Even if I have labeled all the fillet up as rump!!! We were in hysterics over something Eric said at that meal, something I was thinking I must put on blog, but blowed if I can remember what it was!!! I think Eric can as he smirks when I ask him, but he won’t say. He has his first exam on Monday morning, last one on the 15th November.

Mom and Daddy did their first bit of babysitting last night. Eric and I went to see the Rocky Horror Show performed by the Hamilton Operatic Society. An excellent show, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The rocker wasn’t quite Meatloaf, but the other performances were very strong and the casting excellent. When I first went to the Founders Theatre I thought how small it was but I must be getting kiwi-ised as this time I thought it was big!! Harriette was desperate to see it but we thought it was a bit to adult for her. On seeing it though I think it would have been OK for her – just.

Actually spent today in the garden for the first time in awhile. The veg plot has got quite over run again and the grass around it is 2 ft deep. The weed eater (strimmer) was not working and it went in for repair. Something ‘unusual’ has gone wrong with the ignition and when that was replaced it started but threw flames out the back so the guy is hanging onto it for a while. He lent as one which has an engine on it less powerful than my hairdryer and is not really man enough for the job so I hope he gets ours fixed soon. The strawberries are ready as are the spinach, lettuce, radishes, carrots, rhubarb and silver beet. I have also been working on the lawn in front of the cottage again, it is level and just needs reseeding now. No plans for tomorrow – wonderful.

Gosh if I don't blog soon......

As I type Eric is cutting up meat in the kitchen (what else?!), Harriette is examining the prospectus from college and debating what options to take next year (it's looking like French, Wood tech and Performance music). Maths, English, PE, Drama, Art, Science, Health and IT are compulsory. Alice has taken herself off to bed after Guides and me, well I'm typing aren't I!!

We had Chilli done for the freezer last Friday. It was a sad day and I kept well out of the way. Chilli you may remember was semi handreared when he was found hypothermic and unable to stand. I hand milked mom (Pepper) and fed this to Chilli. Employing the homekill guy to do the dirty deed was an easy option but I'm afraid makes for a far less interesting entry than Carols account of 'Come in 47'. Actually I've just looked back and there is no account of Chilli's arrival, before I entered Blogland obviously, and probably just as well. Anyway... Eric is busy making sausages with the last of the pork as we are endeavouring to empty the chest freezer to accomodate the beef currently cooling in the walkin one. Carol the shelves were removed before putting the beast in and it was cut into eigths - sooo much easier!!

Although I have not blogged for awhile not a lot has happened. The big news of course is that Dom and Daddy are en route, somewhere in Auz as I type. Not sure when they will be here, they haven't booked their flights yet, but I don't think it will be too long. True to Mom and Daddy's luck, house prices have gone mad (upwards) and the kiwi dollar is at it's highest against the £ for ages. Still, at least they have their residency and are here now, well almost here. They are looking to settle in Katikati, about an hour from here near the Bay of Plenty coast.

I checked the goosers yesterday. One of the 2 goosers has no longer got any eggs under her, and no gooslings!! I think it might be the rats. We need to investigate. Gooser number 2 sits on the edge of the nest still has her clutch under her. Maybe it won't be goose for Xmas dinner.

No don't faint but Eric caught a fish!!!! Whats more, it was a fairly large trout, enough to feed 4 in the evening. On Sunday, the reason Eric could not be found was that when he had been fishing off the jetty some local with a boat (just a little Eric sized boat) offered to take him out on the lake. He, Eric, caught 2 trout, a tiddler and this one. I did not have my camera with me but Mandy took a photo. I just hope she sends it to me so I can post it. He was sooooo chuffed.

I must conclude this and go and pack meat, just what I always wanted to do at 9.30 at night!!!

Blogging from the Bach.

Sitting in my PJ’s (which I’ve only just put on – nobody wears PJ’s in bed – do they?), at about 9am, in a huge bach with lake Rotorua at the end of the garden about 15m away. Eric was last seen leaving the bedroom at 6am to go fishing from the end of the jetty (also at the end of the garden) and hasn’t been seen since. There is no fishing stuff at the end of the jetty so I am assuming he hasn’t fallen in but gone off to fish elsewhere. Mandy (Scott-Mackie) had rented this bach which sleeps 11, for the weekend at the end of the school hols and invited us for the duration/day/bit of the weekend. We came yesterday and are going home this afternoon. The weather has been absolutely diabolical – for weeks now – but today is actually settled and dry (it won’t last). It showered heavily yesterday but the girls (there were 5 of them), went out in the kayaks that are here. By the time they came back it was hailing heavily and they looked a picture carrying kayaks up the jetty, absolutely soaked moving very fast as the hale was stinging them!!!! As well as the 5 SM’s, Hannah had 2 friends here, Mandy had a girlfriend and she had a friend, also Olivers mate Dylan was here. A friend of Fe’s phoned to say was she at home as he was going to pop in and he ended up coming here and staying overnight as well. I think that made 13 of us (Victoria went home yesterday). When Eric gets together with the SM boys it is hilarious and we had a very pleasant evening. 3 roast chickens, huge amounts of asparagus (in season at the moments) broccoli and jacket potatoes followed by a huge rice pudding, large amounts of wine, crisps, nuts, chocolate etc makes for a happy bunch of people.

Eric and I were childless for a few days last week. Juliet and Kev came down for the weekend in the middle of the hols. Juliet was going to stay on as we were stuck for babysitting Monday/Tuesday. In the end plans changed and she took the girls back to her place, leaving us childless. We planned an early movie then supper on the Monday evening as we were both in Hamilton at 5pm. We couldn’t find anything that appealed moviewise so opted for an early supper. On collecting Eric from Uni we decided we weren’t hungry! How about a muffin and big latte in Fran’s (Cambridge) on the way home. Fine. Err No. Fran’s, and every other coffee shop, was closed at 5.30pm (don’t you just Love New Zealand!!). So it was pop in and say Hi to Richard and Robyn on the way into Matamata to get fish’n’chips and watch a DVD in bed (how wonderfully decadent!).

Must go and start breakfast. BBQ sausage, eggs, bacon, leftover potatoes, mushrooms, eggs and microwaved baked beans. Still no sign of Eric.