Birthdays and Anniversaries

I will not get up. I won’t! This week we have dragged ourselves out of bed every morning and kept telling ourselves that Saturday was coming and we could lie in bed as long as we wanted and sleep in. Well now it is Saturday and, Yes you’ve guessed it, ‘ping’ wide awake at 6.10am. But I will not get up on principle. Not one to waste time I have decided to blog. (Yes Carol a laptop has big advantages and would make a jolly nice Xmas pressie!!). Eric is progressing well at work, or seems to be. Colleagues uttered surprise that he had not worked in a law office before when discussing a new grad who had been canvassing for work this week. Obviously being an aged graduate they assumed he had some pre-grad law office experience. He is seriously exhausted every night though and obviously on a huge learning curve.

A slightly less hectic weekend is on the agenda this week. Last Sunday was Mom’s 70th birthday and I had offered to cater for a BBQ at their house. I was really happy to do it but it felt a much bigger responsibility than catering on the same scale for my friends here. I so wanted to get it right, and of course I had that ever-nagging worry that there wouldn’t be enough food (I can hear the comments now - The Tanners are not renowned for underfeeding their guests!). Anyway I did a triple layers pavlova (with strawberries from the garden), a huge chocolate cheesecake (recipe off the philly cheese box), truffle torte (Delia’s), trifle (another Delia, the one with home made custard, half a bottle of sherry and raspberries), rice, green and cauliflower salads. A few people also bought salads and we had enough to feed an army! I made a golf themed cake (what else) and the day went very well. We gave Mom a voucher for something she wanted and flowers but I wanted her to have something to unwrap on the day and found what I thought was a very tasteful pressie in ‘Cabbages and Kings’ in Tauranga. A necklace hanger. You may have seen them, they are like a clothed dressmakers manikin, about 18” high but with twisted metal instead of a head and arms, on which to hang ones necklaces. That’s a rubbish description I’ll get a picture! In fact I will have to get a picture as the girls said I must canvas blog reader opinions. I really liked it. Bought it home, proudly assembled it on the kitchen table, chuffed I had found the perfect gift, tasteful, unusual etc, and waited for the ‘gosh that’s nice’ comments that would surely emit from my family when they came home from work/school. Harriette first, ‘God what’s that, it’s gross’ (gross said with huge emphasis), followed by Alice’s ‘That’s horrible it’s not for us is it’. When I explained they said ‘Oh that’s alright, Grandma will like it’!!! Eric had it planted firmly in front of him and told by Harriette ‘Now Dad, what do you think of this, it’s Grandmas present? It’s for hanging necklaces’ said, with an eyebrow raised ‘Well it’s (pause) different. Grandma will like it’!!! Of course this caused great hilarity and the questioning was put to many guests at the BBQ. ‘Interesting’ was added to ‘different’ but generally they summed up the responses. Emma really liked it (one child with taste anyway), as did Kev though he had to deliberate before he came to that conclusion. And Mom’s response? “Different”!! I’m not convinced she like it though she said she did, but at least in the years to come she will remember the day she received it and the laughter it caused. (PS Eric, I later found out, told the girls they weren’t to buy me one as he didn’t want to have to look at it every day!!!!!!). The day was a success I think and, although it was hard work and I am glad it is done, I was really pleased that Mom was here that I could do it for her. (Just re-read that, what I meant was ‘here’ as in NZ, not ‘here’ as in walking this mortal coil still. Just needed to clarify that!)

The previous week I was in Tauranga teaching in their ED. Just a short session early in the morning. Well at 7.30am I rang Mandy to see if she would be around for a coffee afterwards. A sleepy Mandy answered the phone (very unusual Mandy’s an earlybird). ‘Did I wake you?’ ‘I’m in China.’ Now it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if we are awake down here then you will be asleep!! So coffee was obviously was out. Mandy had recently been on Dragons Den and got her $100 000 for a building site safety rail (King Klamps, it’s got a website but I can’t do links. Bridget please show me how when you come home) so I assumed this was a spin off from that. Turns out is wasn’t quite, but she was on the big trade delegation that’s just gone to China from NZ and was being treated like royalty. (I managed to catch up with her when I went to Tauranga this week for the same thing). It was a hugely successful trip, far more so that she expected and she is going out there again before Xmas. I am so pleased for her.

I have just been reminded of something that happened last night which I have to blog. (Harriette has just wandered in, book in hand, she is obviously looking for a cuddle). (Pause here while she climbs into bed and rips the duvet of us). We had friends for dinner last night (more on that in a mo). During the evening their son announced there was a mouse in the dining room. Now we are all country folk so this was no big deal. The cat was bought in (she had actually bought the flippin mouse in earlier in the day and lost it) and the magazine pile dismantled where it was hiding. Needless to say Feral was useless and the mouse disappeared into Harriette’s bedroom. Come bedtime Harriette got up (she had been in our bed again for more cuddles), and walked to the door adjoining her room with ours with Eric saying ‘Mind the mouse’ and other similar comments. This obviously psyched her up and as she opened the door she screamed, loudly! Her black school bag, which was propped in top of her sax case and leaning against the door fell in and scared the living daylights out of her!!!

Dinner. During the winter we became friendly with Angela and Rob, parents of Rebecca, Harriette’s friend, and Chris (13). Netball season finishes right in the peak of calving so an invite to dinner at that stage is not appropriate. We said we would have them over after calving but by the time I had asked them I had missed the window in the dairying calendar and now they were into AB-ing. We therefore booked a date well in advance, which was last night. I decided to do an Indian meal, which I later realised this was a mistake for a Friday evening meal, far too time consuming when I am supposed to be working. Anyway, it was a big success. They really enjoyed it and kept coming back for more (always a good indicator I think). They also spoilt us with bottles of nice wine and Belgian chocolates. The Apple Betty and Tiramasu will be finished tonight as we are going to R+R’s for a BBQ (far too good friends to mind half finished puddings being bought round!!). Rob and Angela are really good company and Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

It’s five years tomorrow since we arrived in NZ. We try to celebrate our anniversary’s with a fish and chip supper on the beach at Papamoa (this is what we did on our first day here). It doesn’t always come off, because of rain. Wet looks promising for tomorrow but as it’s not a weekday I think we’ll do it anyway. I am not good at reflection (for too much of a doing person) but it is a good time to look back on our first 5 years in NZ. All-in-all, and without a doubt, it is the best decision we ever made in life, and true to our style, (well mine anyway) it was a decision made with very little fore-thought. We (I) just acted on gut instinct. The glorious sunrise and fabulous weather on our first day I felt was a good omen, and in hindsight, I was right. I missed: Radio 4, IKEA, decent supermarkets, Tescos maple and walnut ice cream and, of course, our friends/family’s. Some of those have been addressed. National Radio here found an FM frequency and either they became more professional, or we got used to their ways (I fear the latter is true). IKEA shopping has been managed with visitors bring required items out in suitcases (or containers!). The supermarkets have been dragged from the 70’s into the 90’s here and are improving all the time. And friends/family, well we have been fortunate to have had many visitors (especially in that first 2 years), some even have been out twice, and we have other friends who are promising trips at some time. Inevitably there are some who will not get here, unless they win the lottery (!), but of course we will be able to catch up with them next July. Unfortunately I haven’t found an importer of that specific ice cream yet but 4 out of 5 ain’t bad.

Undoubtedly the biggest problem has been the battle Eric has had to qualify. The odds are stacked against law grads coming here and getting qualified and I still believe something should be done about it. This has meant we have been more broke and for longer than we expected and that has been really hard. We have ridden that storm though and, hopefully, are coming out the other side now. At least he is on the ladder now and hopefully in 2 or 3 years his salary will start to resemble something reasonable. As I keep telling the girls we should be right as they leave home then we can spend it all on ourselves!!!!

NZ is a fabulous place to live and fits our ideals perfectly. Why anyone would live anywhere else I cannot imagine.

We're Booked!

Booked flights today for our UK trip. Leave here on 29th June and arrive back on 27th July. 2 nights stopover in Singapore on the way back and enough air points to fly each of us to a pacific island, or Australia (and back) later. All that is for the equivilent to just under 3 months of my salary. So, I am now planning our itinery. When can we come and see you??? We will be based in Kent, London and Shropshire and going to Chestershire (Eric's parents), Bath (Eric's brother), Cheltenham (Louise), Leistershire and Darbyshire (Mark, Donna, Mark and Cheryl), Paris and Cornwall (I want to go to the Eden project) etc etc. Have to be in Kent for 3rd and 20th July (the girls birthdays). Otherwise we are free to fit in with people there!!! It's all beginning to seem real now and I am starting to get excited.

London here we come - well nearly

I have sooo much to do. I am behind on emails, blog, and general indoor stuff (I never did get to the accounts over Labour weekend). I am also trying to get the lawn in front of the cottage re-seeded (still in a mess after I removed a camelia and re-leveled the area, the seed planted last summer got washed away with rain and has not been replaced), have decided I want to paint some bits missed when Harriette’s extension was done (yes I know that was 4 years ago) and am trying to finish the painting in the kitchen that was never finished after that was extended (all needs a 2nd coat etc). I really would like to take some leave (I need it anyway) but am not sure how much leave I have and have to keep a month back for July. We only get 3 weeks leave here (I miss my 5 week UK allocation!). I also have Mom’s 70th birthday next weekend which I am catering for (which of course I am only to pleased to do) and had booked a days leave on Friday but that has been partially swallowed by a leaving lunch for a colleague in Rotorua.

Today we are off to a flights expo in Hamilton where I expect we will book our UK trip so watch this space! Harriette has a busy day, gym followed by swimming with her friends (it’s Kylies birthday), McDonald’s lunch (yuk) to Kylies for the afternoon then stockcar racing in the evening in Tauranga. All good except I have to pick her up in Matamata at 11pm!! Roll on her 15th birthday when she can drive (maybe not, I’ll be worried sick for her). Alice is going to come into Hamilton with us but I will drop her at Juliet and Kev’s so she can spend the time with Emma. J + K moved into their rented house 2 weeks ago and it is great, I can pop in for a coffee frequently as I am out and about in Hamilton between 1 and 3 days a week. They have recovered from their traumas of earlier in the year now and are back on track. Kev is working from home auditing a hotel chain (which obviously means weeks away at a time), Juliet’s pregnancy is going well and the girls are thrilled to be 15 minutes from schools rather than the 1 and ½ hours away as they were before in Glen Murray. Kev pointed out how ironic it was that they are outdoors more now. You buy a rural property to give your kids space for an outdoor life and they live indoors reading on the pooter etc. Move to town and they are out all the time. It’s worth getting the bikes out as there are places to bike to; library, friends round the corner, shops etc. J+K say they never see the girls now.

It looks like a nice weekend so I am hoping that it stays that way so I can blitz the drive tomorrow. I want to make sure there is no fallen branches etc in case Carol decides to light fires!!! She and Milky arrive in 4 weeks and we are all on countdown here! Everyone is very excited.

Oh well, time to get up I suppose. If I am going to be in the garden at the weekends I don’t walk but I don’t have that excuse today so I’d better pull on my walking togs and get going. I MUST buy myself some descent shoes, my trainers are very cheap and aweful!

Champions

Firstly, and mostest important, we won the rugby. Waikato beat Wellington in the final of the NPC. We have only ever won once before way back in the 90’s and we had the semi’s and the final on home turf to boot. It was an exciting game, the Mooloo’s came out all guns blazing and played at a pace that looked unsustainable. There were some silly errors and scrappy play at times but the scrum was solid and the lineouts awesome. Waikato people are passionate supporters of their rugby and this was on full display. I tried, half heartedly I have to say, to get tickets. I say half heartedly as the weather forecast was not good and Helen and Phil had offered to have us over to watch it on their enormous TV. Anyway, the website was not co-operating when I tried to book and I gave up. We had already watched the semi-finals with Helen and Phil as it coincided with a barbi we had already arranged to have at theirs. I took upper with us, Delias Chicken Basque and a crème caramel. Our chook are laying well so eggs will be a feature of our diet for the next few months. Chooks mean lots of pavlovas, lemon meringue pies and home made lemon curd!! Between Robyn and Mom lemons are nearly always in good supply.

I am so pleased with the progress being made in the veg plot. Eric has almost finished the fencing. Although a relatively short bit on fencing in relation to the rest of the block, about 60m in all, it has 2 gates and 4 corners(!), which means lots of strainer posts. Each strainer post means a hole 1.2m deep and we live on the hardest clay you could imagine. He has worked so hard on this and I am really grateful. I do feel a bit bad as I offered several times to help dig holes but then got distracted with my own work in the garden. I have sorted much of irrigation system and started to weed the strawberries, finding hundreds of fruit in there, a few of them already red. Unfortunately the slugs have also found them!! I am so tempted to use slug bait but this goes against all my near-organic principles (I say ‘near organic’ as I’ll use anything to kill the beetles that have decimated my fruit trees in the last few years, and I use week killer on the drive). The broad beans are looking great but I think I should have planted a second row. I put some warratahs in to put the supports through. I had to fight Eric for them as he is very protective of his fencing stuff and always insists his need is greater than mine! The potatoes are looking good as are the first lots of brassicas and beetroot that I put in. The dwarf beans are looking less than healthy, and I need to look up why. I am now putting in the brassicas that I planted in seed trays. We are going to be so over run with cauliflower, broccoli and broccoflower in a few months!!! I put the courgettes in yesterday and when the chooks have finished eating their way through the weeds I’ll get all the pumpkins in. ALL the peas have germinated but we will see if they grow to descent size. I usually produce pathetic sized plants that manage one pea pod each! I bought some aubergine plants yesterday and several different types of basil. I love the smell of basil. I have also been working in the orchard, watering trees for an hour each and clearing the base of the trees. I have been laying the sheep dags around the base to feed and mulch them. Trouble is the bl***y dogs come along and poke their snouts in through the tree guards and drag out the dags to chew on – disgusting creatures. We have marked off a section in the veg plot to make into a fruit plot. This is in addition to what I have as making the whole plot square meant incorporating a section of paddock not already cultivated. I have put black plastic over it at the moment and will till it, edge it and add more topsoil before planting. I put a raspberry plant in the veg plot about 2 years ago which has sent off tens of runners but I am loathe to dig them up and plant them where I want them as they have yet to produce any fruit. I’ll leave them and see what happens this year.

I didn’t mention that it is a public holiday today - hence it is raining!! Oh well at least it means I have been able to write this. With the longer days now I would have been in the garden (at 8.30am). Labour Day weekend is viewed here as the traditional start to summer (so like an August BH in the UK you can almost guarantee rain). I suppose that means I have no excuse for not doing the household accounts and other boring stuff indoors today!

A lazy Sunday evening after a day in the veg plot. I actually haven't done much, just pottered really, and watch Eric do all the hsrd work. He is currently putting up proper fencing for me. He gets so despondent digging a 4 foot hole only to fill it in again with the strainer post in. I also insisted on a gate (Eric thinks this is totally unreasonable and that I should just climb over a stile) which means 2 extra strainer posts. I did managed to sort out my irrigation system, having found goof plugs which means I can relocate the risers. A lot of them where in the wrong place once I'd moved the tubing. Otherwise I just put in a few seedlings and seeds and started weeding the hug strawberry patch that has been very neglected but seems to be producing more fruit than when I look after it! We had our first feed of broad beans and spinach today, AND the chooks are laying so I am long last feeling productive again. Rebecca came home with Harriette on Thursday having decided to give Waikato band a go again. The last time she was here was when I was in Auckland and they arrived home to find the sheep demolishing the veg plot. As we came up the drive she looked down and said "the veg plot's looking much better Michelle'!!!!!

I have avoided cooking for much of the weekend. On Friday we went to Mom and Daddys for supper. They have an odd room downstairs from their main living area which would make an ideal rumpus room, it is very big. Well they are trying to get it decorated and use it as another spare bedroom as they have 2 sets of visitors next month. Mom's sister is coming over from the UK and an aunt and her husband from Australia for Mom's 70th on 12th November. The decorating has been a long job as the wallpaper has been very reluctant to separate itself from the wall. Still I think they are nearly there.

Last night we went to Helen and Phil's. They had friends over from the UK. Waikato were playing in the semi-finals of the NPC final AND the Silver Ferns were playing their second test against Australia so we ended up watching the TV (at Harriette's begging I hacve to say). Helen and Phil have an obsenely huge screen so it was a real treat. Waikato thrashed Otago 44 - 15 in the rugby which means a home NPC final. We will definately try and get tickets for that. To cap the evening off we won the netball also. On top of that we had a lovely meal and an all round very pleasant evening. Thank you Helen. Helen and friend Vicki came over for a coffee today so Vicki could have a look at where we lived. "Relaxing' was how Vicki seemed to sum up Cedar Lodge!

Well I am going to relax off to my bed now.

Message for Marion

Marion can you email me please. I cannot find your email address. Thanks

A great weekend with The Jackson's

Our clocks have gone forward, and the temperatures plummetted! It was OK over the weekend but last week it was so chilly I lit the fire again. This weekend was OK but it is blowy and raining now (Mon evening) and there is a bad weather warning for the South Island with 20cm of snow expected down to sea level. For heavens sake, what is the weather coming to? Eric and I got outside when he got home at 5pm today but we gave up when the rain arrived. I must say I am pleased with the progress I am making in the veg plot. I do not have much luck growing peas. I diligently collect twiggy pea sticks to support the plant and put them in when I plant the peas and end up with about 3 scraggy plants in a 20' row. Eric laughed at me today and said 'you're not planting more pea sticks are you' I'll show him. I've planted about 400 plants this time!! The seedlings of broccoli, cauliflower, broccoflower, beans, silverbeet, spinach parsley, coriander etc are doing well and my broad beans look fabulous. Another 3-4 days and I'll pick the first ones I think. (I'm typing this while MSNing Katie, Eric's neice and I obviously can't multi-skill as well as I used to!!). Chooks gave up laying eggs 3 days after they got here but have just come back into lay so as long as they stay that way I will be happy.

Had a very busy few days. Beth, Graham and Luke came down from Auckland for a weekend in the country. They are such good company and we thoroughly enjoyed them being here. Luke (aged 10) loves all the animals and they bought their goergeous shaggy golden retriever Max. He was shampooed for his trip out(at Grahams insistence before he would let him in his car) and rolled in cow poo within 5 minutes of arriving! Actually they got dragged off to the paddocks before they got in the door as, just as they arrived, Eric had spotted a ewe trapped under his trailer and we were just going to release it. Eric had his trailer in a back paddock as it has all his fencing stuff on it. The daft creature had gone under the the towing arm and obviously knocked it. The trailer tipped and trapped her. She must have been their awhile as her back legs took a good few minutes to work once she was freed. Anyway, we finally got Beth and Graham indoors for a sup of tea.

Eric and Graham went to Rotorua to do some fly fishing early on Saturday morning and arrived back just as the rest of us were leaving to go swimming. We had a lovely supper that evening. Huge's aromatic pork belly. It is in his Meat book that Carol gave us and absolutely divine, and sooo simple. I also made bread and butter pudding but when I went to serve it I found we were out of apricot brany and one cannot serve B+B pud without it. Eric was not impressed! We had some pud left over and, after going in 3 liquor stores on Saturday, I managed to find some so he had it on Saturday. Saturday we had a great evening. R+R came round with the girls. The poor Scotts had to suffer Chicken Thighs Normandie again as Beth had particularly requested it (I always seem to be cooking it for the Scotts - and Richard doesn't eat chicken!). We had some pork left over and I served that also but I don't think that appealed to Richard either, not that he's fussy you understand!!!!!! We also had jacket potatoes, Robyns famous potatoe dish, asparagus (the local farm has started selling - hurray. I was beginning to think they had gone out of the asparagus business), broccoli and this new veg I have seen but not tried. Beth bought it down. It is like a bunch of about 30 thin, spring onions but 18" long, straight and garlic flavoured. Does anyone know what they are called? It was very nice. I also made a choclate cheesecake - again and Robyn did a fabulous meringue roulade. We went to bed stuffed!!!

Sunday was a bit of a lie in, a huge breakfast (home made sausage and bacon, our own eggs, home made bread, OK from the bread maker, and brought mushrooms - I can't be fagged to grow them) and then a wander down to the veg plot to discuss with Beth (a keen veg grower despite her hankerchief sized city garden. I'm amazed at what she produces), and then on to my orchard. It was while we were there that Eric spotted the calf that I posted photos on yesterday. After B,G and L left we had a lazy few hours curled up on the sofa reading. Bliss!

Today the girls are back to school after 2 weeks holiday and I spent the day trying to catch up with work that has been neglected! Eric is in week 6 of soliciting.

Todays new calf

Today our 'teenage mum' Daisy had her calf. We were quite concerned as she should not have got pregnant being only about 4 months old when she was deflowered by the murray grey on loan to impregnate Freckles and Carol. But she has produced this sweetie without any problems. She is quite small but feeding fine. As Carol has named her half sister Bronte we thought that Charlotte (Charlie, Lottie?) might be a good name for this one.

With Mom Daisy and Bronte...

This years 3 calves, Daisy and Al (I think)...

Getting to know you....

Some quiet time with Mom....




And just to remind you what Bronte looked like 6 weeks ago....

Spring? definitely - I think!

Sunday morning and this will be a short entry, the sun is shining at 7.15am and I am keen to get outside. I have made tea and returned to bed. This is the first morning I have been able to open all the doors and let the sun in so early. It is very spring-like here and I just hope it stays that way.

This is the first weekend that we have not had people over or needed to go somewhere and with good weather I have been able to concentrate on the garden/outdoor jobs. I have made a list as long as my arm and spent all of yesterday in the veg plot. Tilled almost all of it. It now looks very bare but has lots of seedlings and seeds in. Planted potatoes, carrots, onions, spring onions and broccoli. The chooks are eating the weeds but have not learnt yet to scratch. Freckles likes watching me in the veg plot when she is in that paddock as the weeds are usually big and I feed them to her but she is missing out now as there are hardly any weeds and I am in planting mode now. She looks most disgruntled! She and Carol are separated from the other cows at the moment as Nelson is still ‘intact’ and it’s that time of year, and of course they are still feeding. It is great working with them around, the calves are so curious and of course they play around and keep me amused. Eric was testing my tiller yesterday (I thought the tines were on the wrong way round) and found the electric 3-phase cables that have been eluding us since we moved in. Ian and Claire told us where they were, roughly, but we have never been able to find them. In theory this means we can now get electricity supplied to the barn. The only problem is the cable is right in the middle of the veg!!! A job for the winter I think.

The best thing about the variety how…. was when it finished!!! However, although it was not very good I have nothing but admiration for the kids getting up there and performing in front of hundreds of parents in a packed hall and would go again and again to support them. The funniest bit was a child doing the hamster dance (some country and western sort of thing) with her mother. Well I say funny, it was incredibly embarrassing. They had to do a series of vigorous jumps from the back to the front of the stage. I will just say that this lady could have done with a better supporting bra, and leave the rest to your imagination!! Alice’s groups performance was quite good and she seemed to stand out because she moved a little (many of the child stood like scared rabbits), was near the middle, smiled and had bright clothes on. There were some displays of superb talent, a piano rendition if Beethovens 5th etc. At the end I saw Di who came and spoke to me very briefly as she was whisked away. I didn’t get much of an update on Rob but I don’t think there is any improvement.

Well the tea is finished and my garden is calling!!

Spring - well almost!

I feel that I am making a bit of headway in the veg plot. After the sheep got in and decimated it when I was in Auckland I have taken the opportunity to rethink and plan. I have consulted my companion planting bible and planned the whole thing. I am moving away from sowing seeds into the bed and towards buying seedlings or growing in seed trays first. I have real problems getting seeds to germinate. So far I have planted; lettuce, cauliflower, pak choy, cabbage, spinach, silverbeet and coriander.

Last night we went up to Ian and Shirleys and bought down the chook house they said we could have. I was going to put it in the orchard and leave them free range but decided to use the chooks to eat away the last of the weeds in the veg plot first. I do not feel guilty at leaving them confined to a chook house as they have come from a battery hen house so what they have now is a thousand times better than were they were 3 days ago. Until now our chooks have been in wendy house sized accommodation close to the house with an ajoining run. Demolishing this is now on the, very long, 'to do' list. I am focused on the veg plot and Eric on fencing at the moment so it may have to wait a wee while.

Whilst our life is plodding along, no better than that, our life if very good at the moment, that of a local familys has been devestasted by an accident. Rob, a local vet was kicked in the head/face by a sedated horse while it was being AI'd. He has been in am induced coma for several days and transferred to Auckland. I am not sure why he was transferred as Waikato Hospital has recently opened it's long called for neurosurgical unit. Anyway, years of working in ICU means I fully appreciate what Di and the rest of the family must be going through. The thought of this is stuck in my head, dominating my quiet moments and makes me feel quite tearful talking or writing about it. I have written to Di and just pray he recovers well. although I've never seen anyone come out of induced coma totally unchanged.

Richard and Robyn have been in hiding for about 6 weeks aka calving. I've missed them and haven't seen them for 2-3 weeks. They came for supper last night and we had a good catch up, well as much as you can with one overgrown teenage daughter hanging around! Why can't she hang about with the other girls. It was nice earlier in the evening when, on going into her room to see the seriously gross, new duvet cover Robyn and I found Sarah and Harri laying on their tummies on the bed pouring over magazines listening to loud music. Soooo teenage-ish!! It's just a shame that Harriette finds the company of adults so appealing and hangs around so much when we are trying to talk. Even at her age some conversation is not for her ears.

Spring keeps putting it's toe through the door... then retreating!! Some lovely days have been followed by somw very chilly ones. Everybodies grass eems to be growing except ours! (I can here Richard says 'put some fert on it'!) The problem has been fencing, another job that has been neglected this last year or 2. That's not getting at Eric either, he just hasn't had the time. Consequently, the stock cannot be confined to paddcks and so we cannot manage the pasture as we should. It also means we have not been able to break feed throguh the winter. We are hoping that the grass comes on soon as we are almost out of silage and don't want to be buying in at this stage.

We are just off to Intermediate Schools Variety Show. Alice and 3 of her friends are performing a song along to the actual record playing. She singing is not perfect and I am intrigued to see how this goes!! 2 of her friends have come home with her and are currently dressing up, straightenoing hair etc.

Just a general catch up

Very run of the mill Tuesday evening, except I have managed to find time to blog. Eric's 3rd week in the job but only the first one when I have been at home every night. Quite organised at the moment, preparing supper (sorry tea as they call it here) in the morning so it's not a big rush in the evening. I was so organised today I even managed to get the orchard sprayed and do a little bit in the veg plot after work and before it got dark (around 6.30pm). The veg plot - what a disaster. While I was away last week the sheep got in, during the day when no-one was home! They ate everything, except the broad beans and leeks. Sounds disaterous but actually there wasn't a lot in there. The 3 celeriac plants I have been nurturing so carefully where eaten but luckily they could dig up the root so I dug them up and we had them yesterday. I have saved some for Robyn and must take it up to her tomorrow as she has never had any. Celeriac is sooo rare here. I could get some but it would cost about $7/kg which is outrageously expensive. I have never just come across any in the shops. Back to the veg plot. I dug up all my carrots today and examined the rhubarb, which I think will survive. Beetroot, cabbages and broccolli all gone though. Still I have now had a re-think and have planned what I am going to do now for the whole year. We will be putting permanent fencing up very soon! In fact we sat down last night and planned all the fencing and prioritised it. Some fencing has come down in various paddocks and now we can hardly keep stock confined to any one. Yet another job that has not got done due to lack of time and money. Still with spring on the way we are now getting some time in the evenings, and we have decided not to plan anything for the next few weekends so that we can get on top of a few things.

IMAC had their biennial vaccne symposium last Friday/Saturday and as usual we had a national training day the day before so I was in Auckland from Wednesday to Saturday. I really don't like being away for so long and was shattered when I got back. Sunday was horrible weather so not much got done then. t the symposium I met a lady from America. She was one of our guest speakers. We hit it off and I have invited her and her family to stay with us when they come to NZ (she was very keen to bring them back for a holiday. She has travelled extensively with her work and we shared a love for Africa.

At work we have an ongoing battle over our accommodation. Penny and I refused to stay at the motel they keep booking us into but were not much impressed with the alternative. It did have a gym though which we managed to use. I was most impressed when I went in there on Thursday and Penny asked me to listen to her account of the functioning of the immune system to see if she had got it right. I would NEVER be thinking of such a thing whilst on a walking machine. maybe that's where I am going wrong. I find such activilties sooo boring.

I have been trying to get back into walking in the mornings now that the days are getting longer. My efforts have not really got off the ground though as I have not been here for many mornings and now I am full of cold and feeling yuk. It is certainly harder than when I was walking before so it must have been doing me some good, even if I didn't loose any weight.

The weekend before last was Father's Day, well the Sunday was. I was chatting to Ian in the morning while loading the wheelbarrow up with silage (Eric wasn't doing it as it was Father's Day you understand) and on asking they had nothing planned for the day (Ian and Shirley's children are in New Plymouth) so I asked them to join us for lunch. Mom and Daddy were coming over and we were having a huge bacon joint that Eric had recently cured. Well we had such a nice afternoon, and drank far too much wine!!

You know we have an intelligent child (well 2 but I am refering specifically to the bigger one). Well. Harriette was looking at an article on 9/11 in the Waikato Times. There was a picture of the World Trade Centre with a direction arrow pointing north just below the South Tower ie pointing at the South Tower. Harriette asks "If that's north why do they call it the South Tower" (Think about it!)

All well here. Geese still sitting on the nests. Can't get anywhere near them to see how many eggs are there. Ducks took up residence on the pond in the front paddock again this week, which had again appeared due to even more rain. We have had a pond there for more days this winter than in all the time we have been here. Calves and lambs are thriving. Hoping for some good weather this weekend so we can get the sheep in to dag, drench and ring them. Jobs that desparately need doing.

Well I think that catches us up. Taking my poor cold to bed now. Night night.

Some news from the other 'arf

An update after my first week (must be a record - two blogs from me in one week)

I have now been working for my Company for a whole week. Haven’t got the sack which is a good start. It would seem that I still have the reverse Midas touch however. I have had a property deal collapse around my ears, another sale complicated by the presence of a tenant of whom we had no knowledge and now the statutory time limits for a notice to quit are going to mean that the completion date is going to be too early. I had to draft Wills for a young couple and I’m expecting them to die before they sign them. A nice couple so I really don’t want that to happen! Trusts are very big here in New Zealand and I have not really got to grips with them yet. I was handed a couple of trust documents and a text book on the matter. I have just finished deciphering the forms, now I have to get the people in and explain what they mean in human terms before asking them to sign them and then witness them. The office manager is sorting me out my own official stamp which is highly exciting. Well it is for me anyway! It seems strange to be witnessing the documents as a solicitor. I’m too young for that! The compulsory grey hair is being added slowly to give me just the right air of authority.

Apart from work, it is officially the first day of spring tomorrow. Hurray!!! Do you think that the grass knows? I don’t think so. We are still feeding out each day and waiting for the grass to come up. The goosers are sitting on two nests now. I just hope that the eggs are fertile this year. Last year they weren’t and we didn’t have gosling. In turn that meant no Christmas goose. Cx, guess what I’m hoping to do for Christmas dinner? Any ideas? You haven’t worked it out yet? The goslings when they are all growded up become nice fat goosers and I like eating gooser. Ideas on a postcard. The hams are curing on the deck as I type this and I think they will be good for the whole Christmas period, they are that big. Nelson is to be spared the bullet you will be glad to hear. It was touch and go for a while but I think that ‘Rowan’ is the new ‘47’. Atkinson is a little worse on the finish side so I don’t mind ‘Rowan’ being a bully and getting more than his fair share of the feed. What goes around comes around or something like that.

Harriette has just got back in from Band at 9pm. That means it is time for bed! Take care all and sleep well. I know I will.

Oh So Much To Tell

And all because I haven't blogged for so long. Just a few notes and photo's today and I'll flesh it up a bit next weekend.

Today Eric started as a solicitor.

One of the 2 partners went into hospital with chest pains and had some minor cardiac surgery so is not going to be there as much as Eric expected. He came back for his first day today. I think it has shaken them all up a bit. It seems that Eric has made a good first impression. He was given some files to review and came up with lots of comments and was immediately given something more "meaty". I was teaching in Hamilton and out the house from 7am until 5.30pm. We probably were like any other normal family but it was very strange for us. The girls have been advised that they are going to have to pull there weight and we are all going to have to be more organised. Quite a big adjustment for us all I think. Still just ubntil I retire!!!!

Eric has spent the entire weekend in pain having had another episode of gout. He found it almost impossible to walk on Friday/Sat and spent the entire weekend sitting, butchering our last pig and making 80lbs of sausages! He has given chorizo a go and they are very nice. He squeezed his poorly swollen foot into his brogue this morning and was glad to be sitting most of the day at work.

Some bits of news from Cedar Lodge from this last few weeks...

Freckles produced this beautiful bull calf.

One of twins but the heifer calf died. And Carol produced this absolutely gorgeous heifer calf:

Carol do you want to name her?

We have had so much rain that we had a lake in the front paddock again:

It lasted so long that these moved in:

Eric was forbidden to shoot them!

That's all I have the energy for at the moment.

Resting between jobs?

Well, I’m back in the land of the unemployed!

It has been a long time, but my four weeks notice is up! That means I have the whole weekend off in order to complete my transformation from Animal Control Officer (Kennel hand!), into a fully-fledged Lawyer. It is a time not without it’s setbacks. I am currently afflicted with the usual painful episode of gout. It started last night as a painful little toe. During the night, it became steadily more painful until I couldn’t bear the duvet weight resting on it. Easy to cure, shove the offending foot out of the bed and let it get cold. Let me tell you that it has been very cold here the last few nights. All in, I didn’t have a good nights kip. Secondly, the partner who was to have been my mentor was taken ill (in a serious way). It did however feel very strange to be phoned on Wednesday by the office manager and be told that my office is being prepared and the new office furniture is being put together ready for Monday. The good news is that I start at 0830, not 0800.

I can’t wait for the grass to come back. Now I will have to consider the condition of my hands. Now, I don’t know how many of you have ever served up cold silage by hand in the morning? Not many I’d guess. It leaves your hands smelling of what else but silage. It is hard to get rid of the smell. Also, the silage I am using is clover silage that is a bit wet. That means it smells a bit of rotting vegetation/fishy. It is quite a strange smell that I find hard to describe well. When are scratch and sniff screens going to be developed. In an attempt to avoid these strange stains and smells, didn’t I mention the staining? Every nick and crack in your hands becomes a highlighted black line, which doesn’t look very attractive. I have taken to using latex gloves. It looks really poncy and I am certain that I will be caught by a neighbour every time that I slip them on to handle the stuff.

Michelle nearly severed her finger the other day and since having the wound stitched up, it has of course, gone septic. The body is a strange thing. You would think that the puss that would come out along the line of the cut when squeezed. It doesn’t. I don’t know why not, just that for some unexplainable reason, it is determined to stay trapped in her body for good. With M’s luck, she will come down with septicaemia and be hospitalised. Never one to do things by half my dear wife. My gout has had me laid up for the weekend. Well, not quite laid up but certainly not as active as I would like to be. I have a lot to do in the fencing line and what with my tennis elbow and this foot, I can’t get on with it yet. Michelle has been a brick as ever. She has done the feeding out in the morning and evening. It is quite heavy as the silage was wet when put down. With all of the rain we have had, the paddocks are quite muddy in the gateways and pushing a wheelbarrow full of goodies through the beasts is not easy without them upsetting the silage cart.

I have just completed playing with 69lbs of sausages. I made a Spanish style Chorizo, my salami, plain pork and pork and leek. The Chorizo is supposed to be hung to dry but I made some patties out of the left overs and fried them up. It tastes so good, I put some down for straight sausages. Even the girls liked them, despite the spices. When I strung them up to dry, several of the lengths didn’t want to play and gravity took hold of them. I have to remove them next weekend as Mandy’s boys are staying over in the flat. They have a sailing event on Lake Karipiro, so rather than drive back to Tauranga on Saturday night, we are going to enjoy their company. I have to go and iron shirts and clean my shoes now so I’ll leave it here and maybe update you tomorrow evening.

A late addition of blog (typed in Aug posted in Oct!!)

Moving on. Typing this in a music room in a college in Hamilton while about 20 teenagers practice. I have bought Harriette and Sarah in to suss out the Waikato Band. Harri was a bit reluctant to come as she is planning to change to oboe next year and thought it wouldn’t be worth it and I was worried they (well Harriette) wouldn’t be good enough but the conductor is sooo enthusiastic, they are now joining in. We’ll see how it goes. Alice has started additional private clarinet lessons to complement her itinerant lessons at school. She is thoroughly enjoying it.

Had a meeting with Alice’s teacher last week as we get the impression that Alice is struggling. The teacher agreed and we talked about Alice not being in the accelerate class next year. Had a tearful discussion with Alice over this and she seems to be accepting of the idea now. Then today she got her Australian English results back and got a distinction (one of only 4 in her class of 38)!

Had a busy weekend. Both girls won their netball on Saturday and the girls got to watch their film. I caught up and had a coffee with Mandy and her new man (not sure if I liked him). Sunday Mom and Daddy came down. The plan was, that Daddy would help Eric take the diesel pump out the Safari and us girls (including R+R’s daughter Sarah) would go to Putaruru to watch a Russian concert pianist who was performing in the Timber Mill Museum!! As it was they couldn’t remove the pump (didn’t have a particular tool they needed) so Daddy came with us and Eric split wood (he had borrowed (a neighbour) Basil’s tractor while he was away selling a horse on the South Island). The concert was so interesting. The pianist was unbelievably talented and played some incredibly difficult pieces. I was just wishing he would play something I was familiar with when he did. The setting was just like a village hall and it was strange to think here was this pianist more used to playing in the Albert Hall playing here!! So kiwi! Afterwards we took Sarah home and Mom and Daddy came with us to see the calves. They are in the second half of calving and I think have about 200 calvings. Sarah and Katherine couldn’t understand why Mom and Daddy would want to go up to their farm to look at cows! They see them everyday, year in year out and cannot understand that most of the world has never been on a dairy farm during calving and it is therefore a novelty to them. I was planning to do dinner at about 5pm but we ended up eating at 8pm and Mom and Daddy didn’t leave until 10pm. I was very glad to see my bed that night.

All else is well here. Eric is busy working his notice, well trying not to be busy. The girls have 1 week of netball left and I am plodding on. I have several trips up to Auckland over the next few weeks, I have a conference and a symposium to attend and I have been asked to do some orientation with a new facilitator up there. So looks like I’ll be keeping busy.

All Gone!

Hurray! Finally finished all the food left over from the weekend!

A party for Eric

Blogging at an unusual time, 6.30am on a Monday morning. Harriette’s alarm woke me at 5.50am and I decided to stop wasting time and do something. Pitch dark outside so I looked to an indoor job. Blogging can be done while tucked up in a warm bed so sounded like a good option!!

We had a bit of a celebration of Eric’s achievements yesterday. I sent an invite out saying this:



For those of you have known us a long time you will know that reaching this point has been a long journey. One step forward and two steps back at times. It has occurred to me that we have never really celebrated Eric’s achievements. Eric recently passed his final exams to qualify, has been admitted to the Bar as a barrister/solicitor and, has now been offered a position with a local law firm. Time for a get together I think! So:

You are invited to our place
from 12 mid-day on Sunday 30th July.
It’s a bit impromptu so I’m making it a pot-luck affair.

Please bring yourself, the kids and a pot (something simple) and RSVP

(Apologies to the dairy farmers for the timing!)

It turned out to be a bit of a Taotaoroa Rd get together with Mom and Daddy. Being the start of the middle of calving dairy farmers go into hibernation so the likes of Richard and Robyn couldn’t make it, and others already had their Sunday planned so I wasn’t expecting too many people. Had about 35 here though, mainly neighbours and people from Eric’s office. We did roast’s of pork and lamb and a beef curry and rice, rice pudding and a gorgeous chocolate cheesecake that I had forgotten about until I, accidentally, came across the recipe in my fill in your own recipes, recipe book.

It was good to have a chat with the neighbours. We pass each other, wave and have brief chats, almost always ending saying we should get together, and never do. We all parted saying we should do this again soon. I hope we don’t take too long to do it. We joked with Ian and Shirley from next door about having a meeting to rearrange the boundaries between us, them and the neighbours the other side of them. I left Julie and Derek’s place when we borrowed their tractor telling Eric I wanted to buy their house when they moved, and Ian and Shirley want our back paddocks. I sure we could arrange something!!

Eric has had his formal letter of a position offer and accepted. He was trying to work at get giving less that 4 weeks notice but hadn’t had any luck so starts with McGill, Earl and Co on 28th August. I’m sure this will be a very long month for him.

Eric is having a flurry of activity to et all the little jobs done before he loses his free afternoons. He has also started on sheep pens down by the barn and put in a fence but needs to borrow a tractor again to shift some big rings of the gum tree that was felled a couple of years back before he can get on with that. I think he has arranged that with Basil for the weekend after next.

Had an interesting chat with Judith yesterday (the wife of one of Eric’s colleagues). She has a daughter 2 years older than Harriette who plays tenor sax with a band in Hamilton. The band is recovering from a bit of a run down and looking to get more members. She is going to give me the details of the organiser. I know Sarah is keen to do this so if we could get another parent interested then we can car pool and cut down on the trips. It sounds like Alice could do this as well. Alice is keen as she is very enthusiastic about clarinet playing at the moment. Harriette is a bit concerned about the point as she is planning to change instruments to oboe in January. I think it would be good for her to go along and suss it out.

I must get up. I hadn’t noticed that Alice had not! She has just emerged from her room 10 minutes before her bus is due so Eric will have to take her in. Until next time…

And The News Just Gets Better

Eric has been offered a job as a barrister/solicitor with a local Matamata firm McGill, Earl and Co. It is a small firm with a good reputation and seems to be dynamic and friendly. Sounds like they will be supportive initially but keen for Eric to stand on his own 2 feet as soon as he can. All that Eric wants really. I cannot express how thrilled and relieved we all are. It has been an incredibly long slog and this last few days have been soooo stressful, vasilating between being convinced he must have got the job to feeling as sure that he hadn't. I was worried that if he had not managed to convince a firm after 2 'chats' that he was what they wanted, when he obviously was, then how was he going to get a job elsewhere. He has had so many knock backs in this process that it was hard to believe that this could go right. Anyway I'm rambling. All I can say is that I am incredibly proud of Eric for sticking at this when at times it has been so hard for him to get motivated, and there has been so many other things going on in our lives. Well done Pooh. Semi-retirement - here I come!!!!!

Pictures of a rural barrister/solicitor

Not bad for a poor person, I’ve eaten out three times in four nights, that’s almost a year’s allocation of dining out!! I was in Auckland for training on Wednesday night and, as usual we went to the Thai Village in Remuera, a real gem of a place but we must start to expand our horizons a bit and eat elsewhere. Training was good, I usually leave those days stressed to the eyeballs and never quite sure why, but this week was good. Thursday was Alice’s birthday and she wanted a family dinner out. Mom and Daddy joined us and we went to Nick’olas, not sure that’s quite right, in Matamata. We hadn’t been there before and I thought it was a pizzahut type place but it was much better than that. Very nice pizzas and Harriette’s venison burger was divine, chunks of real venison and foccaccia bread. The colour scheme was very different and had us discussing the merits or otherwise. I was a bit reticent about the nautical corner, nice but didn’t feel right in Matamata, heart of dairy farming country and an hour from any coastline.

Anyway….. Yesterday was the big day, Eric’s Bar Admission. His moving counsel was Kit, a Hamilton lawyer who had taught Eric on his Professionals course during one of his ‘residential’ weeks. We appeared at his office for Eric to gown up. Gosh it did feel strange to see him in the full regalia. Actually it was the tiny bibs that made the biggest difference. He looked very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, at the start of the proceedings his wig slipped as he bowed and he sat through the ceremony with it squiff! (or, as Eric says ‘worn at a rakish angle’!!!) Straightened up for photos though. I was a bit disappointed with the whole thing, the ceremony was short but that was OK. I just think they would have put a tea or something on afterwards, after all some of these people could have had 2 hours travel to get there and I am sure parents may have come from much further a field if their children had moved away to uni. The outside of the building could do with a lick of paint so is not a brilliant backdrop for photo’s either, and it being white and the day being sunny was a further hindrance to good piccies. We plan to take some more formal looking ones today (too tired when we got back last night). There was a photographer in court for the signing piccies etc. I just hope that he had the sense to notice if the wig was squiff before he took Eric’s, unlike the photographer at Eric’s graduation. The collar on Eric’s gown was sitting incorrectly and the photographer did not point this out before snapping. Quite disappointing especially when it is someone like Eric who is such a perfectionist when it comes to formal attire (difficult to contemplate when you see him trekking around the paddocks in work clothes and gummies!!). Juliet and Kev joined us and afterwards we went to a bar for a drink then on to Gengy’s for supper. Brilliant news is that Kev has a job as head auditor for a hotel group so lots of travel for him, and the best bit is it’s working from home. Needless to say they were both far more relaxed that when we last saw them. Gengy’s is not quite what I would have planned for such an occasion but we didn’t really plan anything really as we were not sure who from Eric’s course would be there and what they would do afterwards. As it was there was only one other person from his group being admitted and so we did our own thing. We also had H and A with us and Kev picked up Hannah and Emma so we had 4 children in tow. So Gengy’s it was and we had a nice afternoon/evening. On the job front, Eric had a “chat” with a local solicitor last week and is going back for another “chat” Monday morning with both the partners this time. They tried to get him in this week but the only time they could come up with fell into the only 2 hours that Eric absolutely could not make as he was in a meeting. So we have fingers, toes and everything else crossed for next week. No worrying about what one wears for a ‘chat’ this time as he will be at work so will pitch up in work boots, shorts and a polo shirt!
Big piccies as they are very important!!!




What else has been news? Harriette’s birthday was on the 3rd (can’t remember if I’ve blogged this). We finally agreed to the mobile phone so gave her money for this. She also got queen-sized bed linen for her bed, which we are awaiting delivery of (we have decided to buy both the girls queen sized beds to give us more flexibility with visitors when we have more than one couple staying). Mind you we have a distinct lack of visitors of late, anyone fancy a trip down under? You’d be very welcome.

You may recall the sleepover ban I installed either last year or the year before, and obviously I relented as Harriette had one for her birthday (strict conditions applied regarding who could come - adhered to, and what time they could watch videos until - flouted flagrantly!!). Well having relented for H I had to for A. We said A could only have 2 guests and one of them is already at a birthday party so it is just Alice and Grace tonight. That can’t be too onerous – can it!!!

Well I must get up and do something, not sure what yet, I think I may pull up the hydrangea outside the cottage.

More Trakkers

When you've had a sleepover and you are sooo tired, Happiness is......


... being curled up on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon with Dog (permanent bedtime attachment since aged 0) and Feral.

This weekend Eric has this one:

Nice new shiny tractor from Lyn and Basil over the road. Actually it was borrowed for the wood splitter on the back. And I had my first trakker driving lesson:


I was not impressed! The damn thing was sliding all over the place - then I spotted the handbrake - it was still on!!!!! Now give a girl a break.. I was trying to cope with 3 gear sticks and 2 foot brakes! After I found (and released) the hand brake I managed to get the trakker out the paddock and up the drive. That was enough for one day. Carol when you come over you must go and look at Lyn and Basil's place, they are buidling amazing stables and have a horse walker and all sorts. We've already warned them you'll be over! They have invited Alice up to ride over the holidays (just starting 2 weeks off) and offered both girls mucking out work when the stables are up and running. Fabulous, we won't have to drive them to and from work. We suggested putting Alice in the walker for some exercise. It can go very fast!!! The can even electrify the divider coming up behind you if nesessary to hurry her on! (I must add before anyone complains that they said they almost never do this).

Harri's birthday tomorrow but I can't say what she's getting in case she reads this befre we are up. Meeting Mom and Daddy in Tauranga for lunch and bowling tomorrow.

Why we blog.

I started writing this in comments and decided it would be better here.

I have been sighing at lack of comments (and emails) lately. Harriette thinks it's very sad that Eric and I live in the same house and have to talk to each other through blog!!!! The funny thing is I know lots of people read blog but don't use the comments. If you are one of those people and have never clicked on the 'comments' under each entry you won't know what I'm talking about - try it. You may even want to go further and write something!!!

We go through phases with blogs don't we. Bloo has decided to terminate his, or not as the case may be, Briggsy was going to but hasn't, I got very slack for awhile and am now trying make amends etc etc. I suppose we all have different motives. As I have said before mine is to provide a record for our family, me, our children, grandchildren etc. I constanly hear my grandmothers voice in my head (well not constantly, that would be worrying but you know what I mean) saying to her death in her 90's, "I wish I'd written a book" or "I wish I'd written this all down". My blind grandfather made an audio tape, well 9 actually, documenting his life (he was born in 1900). A treasure for any family. This is my attempt to document our family and I hope I continue forever! In the meantime if others get pleasure from reading it then that's great.

We are enjoying sunny chilly weather here at the moment. Well I don't enjoy chilly you will understand but the sun is good. I am driving down to Pio Pio (pronounced pew) today then having a leaving lunch in Te Kuiti for a Taranaki colleague who is leaving. I am enjoying a bit of a lull at work at the moment and catching up on lots of things.

Eric and I started pricing air flights last night. How depressing! The cheapest price we can come up with on May 2007's prices is about 4 000 GBP, and with oil prices the next lot of prices released are bound to be significantly higher. Of course we now have to pay adult fares for the children. How much our windfall comes to should be made known to us later in July so we will see how much of a short fall we will have to make up. Still planning to make the UK for July 2007.

Must go and do some work now.

Winter and a sleepover

By jove it’s been cold. You remember all that bad weather I talked about, well it’s been causing havoc everywhere around NZ from about 100km south of us and down. 100’s of homes in the Canterbury region (half way down the South Island on the east side) are still without power, FOURTEEN DAYS after the snow. Now in rural areas that means now water in many cases as our water comes from a bore that relies on a water pump. Generators are in huge demand. You can remove the grill top off the log burners and expose a hot plate on which you can cook but it is incredibly slow, and gas is not a common fuel for cooking or heat in NZ, well not in the rural areas, not sure about town. The central North Island has been intermittently cut off over the last few days as the cold front has moved up, depositing snow all over the place. We even had a flurry on the top of the Kaimais here this week. The wind is bitter cold and everyone is talking about the coldest winter since 1945. Having said all that, we don’t think it’s too bad but then we’re hardy Brits used to far worse than this!!! The wind has kept the frosts away though, well until today that is. I spent last weekend clearing up after a massive storm the previous Tuesday and if you saw the drive now you’d wonder why I bothered.

Eric borrowed this



from neighbour Derek last weekend. Needless to say he was as happy as a pig in mud. Our drive was in a terrible state and we couldn’t afford the $7 000 quoted for the repairs, so Eric used the grader blade on the tractor to try and address it. The worse section is the middle bit which is on a steep slope and has seriously big tree branches pushing up through it. The actually level of the drive is better but the little metal (gravel) that was on there has not gone and it is muddy. Add to that the tree debris and branches that have come down this last week and it looks a real mess. Next job is to clear the debris and get the local quarry to deliver and spread a few tons of metal.

We are holed up in the bedroom as Harriette has a sleepover. It’s terrible as it means we have to stay in bed on a really cold morning!!!! Yes I know, after 2004/5 we said never again but she is a bit older and had fewer friends this time – 4. It is not her birthday until the 3rd July but that is the start of the school hols and many dairy farming families take their annual holidays at this time of year as they have dried off (well not the farmers literally, the cows) prior to calving which starts late July/August. That is to say some of her friends won’t be around on her birthday. They started watching DVD’s at 6pm and were still at it at 6.45am!!! They had been quiet and had had no arguments and all assured me they had fallen asleep for at least part of the night but I nonetheless turned the DVD off at that point. I then came back to bed and thought that was a bit pointless/daft as there was no way they were now going to go back to sleep and with no DVD to keep them quiet they were bound to start being noisy. As it was they didn’t and they weren’t. I think they must have gone on the computer for awhile then Harriette barged into the bedroom with the grace of a small heffalump and asked where the waffle iron was as they were going to have waffles for breakfast. Couldn’t find it (I now thinks it may be in the cottage) and so they resorted to pancakes. Kitchen looks like a bombs hit it and the living room looks like an overcrowded dorm but I think they’ve had a good night. They have all got to start shifting soon as one girl is being picked up in 10 minutes (at 10am) and the rest have to get to netball. Daddy has just phoned to say they are coming down so I have arranged that they will pick the girls up. That means I can deposit children and come back without waiting around on freezing netball courts for 2 and half hours.

Alice had her school disco last night so as well as Harriette’s 4 friend coming home on the bus Alice bought Grace home so they could get ready together. I then picked them up and took Grace home. Her mom has kindly suggested that Alice go home with Grace after school on Wednesdays so they can go to Guides together. Saves us a trip into town which is great.

Two of our neighbours Highland cattle have had calves this week. They are in the paddock directly in view from the kitchen so we have watched them finding their feet and getting to know the 4 month old calf already there. There are just the 3 moms and 3 babies in that paddock. They are so comical and when I can face the cold I will wander over and take some pictures for you. Unfortunately the cows and their afterbirth smell must be very alluring to labs as we have caught Inca trying to sneak off over there.

Eric has started receiving back answers from the many letters he has sent to local law firms, one has suggested he come in for a ‘chat’ next week but most of the other have been ‘sorry no vacancies at the moment but we’ll keep you CV on file’ replies. Plodding on.

It looks like a beautiful day out there so I had better get up and rally the troops. Definitely a soup day so I think I’ll go and make some cream of pumpkin and put bread on for lunch. Thai curry tonight. I know it’s Saturday and it should be pizzas. We were going to have curry on Thursday but I had to go to Kawhia that day and I bought some flounder (plaice) off a local fisherman and so the beef didn’t get used. The guy had only just got in and was still working at his boat so the fish was a fresh as you could get. Friday already had “fush n chups” allocated so it’s curry tonight and an early to bed!! Off to see Juliet and Kev tomorrow, Kev is unemployed again so things are a bit grim up there. I was going end by saying keep warm but I guess you guys in the northern hemisphere don’t need to worry about that. Until next time…

Toothless

Well she nearly was, Alice that it. We are forever telling the girls not to mess around in the kitchen. Why, because one day something will get broken or someone will get hurt. We have rather a large kitchen and the girls mess around every evening when they are supposed to be washing up. It takes them up to 3 hours to perform this 10 minute task as a result. Why do they have to run around the table flicking each other with teatowels or bashing each other up? Anyway today, Harriette was chasing Alice with a book in her hand which she intended to wop Alice with. Alice fell and hit her face on the floor. Blood tears, Eric ignoring her injury and about to launch into a schpiel about why she shouldn't be running around the kitchen. The usual scenario. I, realising that this squeal was a bit more serious, went to investigate and found Alice had lost half a front tooth. Seeing it was just before 5pm I phoned the dentist and Joanna said to bring her straight in. 40 minuets later Alice left with a beautiful filling and her dignity intact. The thought of presenting in school tomorrow with half a tooth missing was more than her vainity could cope with. I told Joanna that if this had happened after 5pm I would have left it until tomorrow - and got reprimanded. Absolutely not. The nerve may be (actually was in this case) exposed and needs covering as soon as possible to preserve the tooth. Don't know if Alice will loose this one but Joanna is hopeful that she won't. It may need capping in the future. Thank heavens this is covered on ACC and we don't have to pay. Dental treatment here is sooo expensive although that is the same everywhere I think. Anyway Alice just has a fat lip. Unfortunately I didn't get the before photo's and Alice with a fat lip has appeared on blog before (remember when she fell of the horse). I bet she will be sore in the morning. And guess what we had for supper tonight? Ribs!! What's more they are Alice's favourite!! I cut some meat off for her but I don't think it was the same.

It's jolly cold here!

It was quite surreal. On Sunday night Eric and I went to bed and turned the radio on and heard the man in the radio say that NZ was gripped by a huge storm. We both said 'Duh' and looked outside, not a breath of wind, not even a little breeze. We listened on, on huge low had hit the South Island, they were buried in snow and it was heading north. I got up and got the washing off the line and mentally surveyed the place for what should be battoned down. Woke up in the morning and... still as still as anything. Listened to the news, Yes the North Island was now suffering. Listened to the weather;Waikato - rain, wind and gusts of up to 130km/hr. It was really spooky, like we'd woken up in the wrong place! Well that soon changed. Within half and hour the wind got up and by mid-day it was so bad that I didn't make a meeting I was due at in Tokoroa. It was far too dangerous to drive. Almost all of Auckland had a 5 hour power cut which bought the city to a complete halt. Of course being Auckland it received far more publicity than the power outages in the South Island that are now into their 4th day and some places have been told it will be 2 weeks before their power is restored. I hope they have got generators!

I'm afraid my morning walking has gone to pot - it is just too cold. I manage the weekends when I can go later but in 0.5 degrees C at 7am when it is barely light I'm afraid there's no chance I'm going out.

Here yesterday I got home at lunchtime to find Eric just leaving (he was working all day covering Steve) saying there was no water. He'd be back soon and would sort it. I told him I would walk the paddocks and find the leak. Now, with hindsight, there is very logical way to do this. Needless to say I did it all a##e about face! I walked up to the neighbours (Ian and Shirley are in the States and have housesitters in) to tell them why I would be walking round their paddocks (our water systems are linked). They weren't in so decided to do there's first as I was already there. Now Ian has divided the paddocks up hugely and so I wasn't quite so familiar with were the pipes went. Anyway, no leak there, checked the water pump (nothing technical, just noted it was still running) and started round our paddocks. Got to the orchard near where the cows were when I spied Terry and Colleen by the water pump. Walked back down there, introduced myself and had a chat then carried on. Needless to say the leak was in the paddock where the cows were (if I'd have thought about it I would have known that, it usually is, they kick a connection). Now if I knew then what I know now I would have utilised stop valves to isolate areas and checked systematically, starting where the cows were!!! Oh well I know for next time. Luckily it was a nice afternoon and the rain only came down at the point where I was dashing back to turn the stop valves off.

Eric has had to accept that his bar admission will not happen this month. Despite his pleading letter and overnight post to get his bits of paper to the legal education council last Wednesday, they could not get the bit of paper he needs back by Monday. In fact it's Wednesday today and they still haven't arrived! He has therefore missed the date for filing papers with the High Court so will be admitted next month. A couple of the others are in the same boat so he is not alone.

Oh it was my birthday on Saturday. It was one of my less exciting birthdays. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, I've had a far few by now and when one is this close to 50 (I still can't believe that, I don't feel any different to when I was 18, OK a bit stiffer and slower but that's all. OK, Thank you Harriette Yes, and a bit(a bit!) heavier!!!) one can forget the odd birthday. The girls had netball from 12 until 2.30pm and Eric was out in the evening. Richard had a spare ticket for the AB's v Ireland at Waikato Stadium and Eric was going with him. He did ask if I minded, being my birthday and all. Under the circumstances you'd have thought he would have offered me his ticket!!! Anyway, H,A and I went up to the Scott's to watch a girlie movie (Rumour Has It) with Robyn and the girls with fish n chips, sickly sweets and chocolate. Robyn, bless her, made me a chocolate cake, with candles even (not nearly 50 I hasten to add!). It was the scrummiest chocolate cake I have ever had and I must get the recipe. I even got to bring a big chunk of it home!! I was desparate to watch the rugby but didn't say anything (Robyn, Katherine and Sarah are not great rugby fans) so was thrilled when Robyn put it on. What a match! I had to yield to my Irish blood and my tendency to support the underdogs, and cheer for Ireland. For 7/8 of the game we were in the lead, then the AB's demonstrated their staying power and pulled a heap of points out of the hat in the last 8 minutes. Gripping stuff. I wasn't too disappointed as I always feel a bit disloyal not supporting the AB's. I think they are the best team in the world at the moment. Thank heavens we don't have TV else we would have had to witness the Wallabies thrash England. The less said about that the better.

Sunday was a lazy day. I called in an hour each from the girls 'I promise of 2 hours gardening without moaning' ticket I got from the girls for Mothers Day last month. We tackled the veg plot but it rather too wet to do anything seriously down there. I did re-pot up lots of things around the house and on the pool deck and cleared leaves from the drive, decks, well everywhere really. Yes, and we know what happened the next day don't we!!!! Our drive is under a foot of tree debris, branches had to be cleared and there is a tree down on the front paddock (one of the ones Ian left in when the shelter belt was reduced).

Well that brings us back full circle I think. I'm going to curl up in bed with my electric blanket, my book (The Blood-Dimmed Tide, gory title, not reflective of the content, by Rennie Airth), and the cat... oh and Eric! Night night.

The sun, the cows and a relaxing Eric!

We have had some beautiful weather this week, bright blue skies, buckets of bright sun, cold and morning frosts. The sun on the turning leaves is just gorgeous. This tree is outside our kitchen and over the chook house.

Eric has started feeding out this last week, quite late as with the warm damp weather grass has contimued to grow. The low temperatures this week will certainly put a stop to that.
A very pregnant Freckles:

Ditto Carol:

and for you Carol, Nelson. Far too busy chewing the cud in the sun to bother standing up for his piccie to be taken!:


We have had more emails in this last 3 weeks than in the whole of the previous 3 months!! Firstly, when I got my old laptop back and found long unused addresses I emailed people to check they were still valid (also checked those in the desktop whilst I was at it) and got lots of replies, and secondly SOOO many people have sent congratulations to Eric. It has been very heart warming.

NZ media is far less restricted than that of the UK. The Waikato Times this week has twice published photo's of dead bodies, I don't ever recall seeing that in a UK newspaper. One of bodies from a massacre in the Middle East somewhere, and the other of a guy being eaten by lions in a zoo, was it in Kiev? We also chuckled this morning when a guy referred to something as complete "bo***cks" - so kiwi!

Eric's frustration at the paperwork required for his bar admission dissolved into nothing on Tuesday when he discussed with the person in Wellington and she said no it wasn't transcripts they required, they just needed his 2002 exam results. This conversation was going on at the same time I was sweet talking my way to getting his transcripts at the uni that day, rather than the usual 4 day wait. I phoned him to say I had them at the same time he was trying to phone me to say they weren't needed!!! Anyway, paperwork is now in Wellington and must get back here by Monday to allow him to get the stuff filed in time. We're keeping everything crossed.

We had a bad night last night. I started getting 'that' abdominal pain again, starts like a pulled muscle (always a worry, I don't have any muscles there!!!), and gradually worsens and becomes spasmodic. Knowing full well it was adhesions and another partial bowel obstruction I didn't wait for the pain to get unbearable, just really bad, before going to the doctor - at midnight!!! (Why can't this ever happen in the day). As it was it was only because Eric woke up that I confessed I was in pain and we went off. The doctor was lovely and a dose of the miraculous Buscopan, IV, and I was right as rain. Knowing that last time it came back again I took 2 tablets when I got home. The pain returned to niggle but after being sick and placing a warm hotwater bottle over my tummy I finally dozed off about 4am. Needless to say I have been taking it easy today and Eric and I had a snooze on the sofa this afternoon. I wish I know what it was that triggered this. It's also worrying that these events are becoming more frequent. At least now I have some Buscopan injection at home which may save us big medical bills in the future.

This is how he spends his afternoons now the studies have finished!!!:

Queen's Birthday Weekend

It’s a BH Monday morning and I WILL go for a walk soon. It been raining all night and is very wet out but unfortunately not raining at the moment so I have no excuse. Still maybe by the time I have finished this…….

Eric is beginning to wind down a little now. He has caught up on some sleep, is beginning to recover from his cold and generally chill out a bit. I expect that will all be reversed tomorrow when he tries to chase all this paperwork. Still I think I said something about ‘for better or worse’ a few years ago and now he has earning potential I am not in a hurry to let him go. And, as Daddy said yesterday when he proposed a toast to Eric over lunch, “Congratulations Eric, now please go and earn enough money to keep my daughter in the fashion to which she’d like to become accustomed”, or words to that effect.

Alice and I spent Mon – Wed on music camp. All children at Intermediate who play an instrument, or are in the choir, have the chance of a camp where they have 2 days of intensive lessons and practice then they put on a concert on the Tuesday evening for hundreds of parents.


Alice is in the orange

The 3rd day is a half day of activities including that hydro-slide and then home to crash out and catch up on sleep in the afternoon. You may remember that Harriette has done the same thing over the last 2 years. Anyway I was camp nurse, and thought that I would have a quiet time, I mean how much harm can children come to playing instruments!! How wrong can I be. I was rushed off my feet!! I must have seen 50 children including asthma attacks (sent home), broken thumb (X ray then home) and dressings galore. The other parents thought it was hilarious. It did get me out of all other parental stuff though, serving meals etc. I was asked back for next year but said only on the condition I get help!!! The concert was quite good with both the junior and senior bands playing, the choir and some extras like a professional opera singer who teaches private singing lessons at the school and an ex pupil who plays oboe all over the country now (she inspired Harriette to want to change from tenor sax to oboe). The singer was fabulous but I think his choice of songs was not really appropriate, the children were obviously bored. They also had a jazz group and a rock group from the schools play. For some logistical reason at the concert Alice ended up sitting in the front row of her orchestra, (clarinets should be further back) but I was very proud of the way she sat straight, with legs together (some other girls need this pointing out to them!!) and conducted herself professionally with no chatter or waiving of instrument around. I must say Eric’s behaviou,r on the other hand, was disgraceful! I had secured us seats in the second row. Eric managed to catch Alice’s eye and had her in hysterics at one point, poor girl was trying to concentrate on her piece, follow the conductor and her music and Eric was fooling around. I don’t know what started them off but it was obvious to all around us and Eric had everyone within 10 metres of us sniggering into their programmes!

Totara Springs is a Christian camp set in beautiful bush at the base of the Kaimais. So peaceful and so well thought out, there isn’t an activity that they haven’t got there if it is possible. I walked around the perimeter on my first morning but decided not to go into the bush as I had not told anybody I was walking, let alone where I was (all in my motel unit were still asleep!). That may seem odd but the context is that almost every Monday morning the news here has some search party out looking for a tramper (walker) who has not reported in after a stroll/tramp in the bush. I reckon half the time these news making cases are found dead. Well that was my excuse for keeping it short! My plan was to take some ‘bush’ photo’s on the Wednesday morning when I wanted to use the hydro-slide but I was so busy with my field hospital outside the dining room that that never happened. And neither did my turn on the hydroslide!!! Oh well, maybe next year!!

As I mentioned we have a long weekend here, and I don’t have to cook once!!! Saturday, as usual Harriette did pizzas (I did make a wonderful, homegrown, homemade pumpkin soup for lunch), yesterday we had lunch at Mom and Daddy’s and today lunch is at Richard and Robyn’s. Eric and Richard are going turkey shooting on the farm this morning. Apparently Richards has mobs of these pests up there and is desperate to get rid of them. Harriette wants to join them and Sarah is contemplating going too. She is supposed to be at another friends but the lure of turkey shooting may be too much for her! They are supposed to be no good for eating but knowing Eric he is bound to pick a youngster to bring home and try anyway. Never one to say no to free meat.

Harriette and Eric seem to be over the worst of their colds. Alice is a bit snuffly but I think we escaped being away when they were most infectious. Harriette actually had 2 days off school this week. Eric has been working full-time as his opposite number is on leave. Steve could not have managed worse timing really taking his 3 weeks over Eric’s exams so he had to work full-time the few days before his exams (would have been nice to had the time to study) and the 2 weeks after (no time to relax, working full-time with a stinking cold). Anyway that’s done now. Harriette started her Shakespeare with the 17 yr olds last week. The first few lessons were just watching the video. She is obviously coping and even commented that a couple of ‘airheads’ in the class ‘just don’t get it’!!! She is keeping a low profile in the class and these opinions to herself I must add (just mother that broadcasts them on the worldwide web!!!).

Actually life looks to being a bit more settled, just need Eric to get a real job now to tidy it all up. He is qualified and all this horrible time sapping study has finished, my job is settled (forgot to mention that), Standard Life have agreed to demutualise so that’s our UK airfares sorted (we plan to be over there for July 2007), a tax rebate, and the NZ$ dropping against the £, has eased our money woes and life is definitely much better than it was 3 months ago.

My job. Well we had a meeting in Auckland this week. All our contracts have been renewed (by all I mean my Midland and Auckland colleagues in the same role as me) and I have a mediocre $5000 pay rise. It is enough for me to stay with IMAC so I have said No Thank You to the Tauranga job. The new terms of the contract (ie pay rises) has caused consternation in the team with most people on a slightly less salary than me and one other person, for no good reason. All our other terms remain unchanged so I am settled in this role until at least April 2007. At this point we do not know what will happen with the role after then. Hopefully by that time Eric will be working in a barr/sol role and I will have some flexibility as to how I work.

Well it’s still not raining, and doesn’t look like it’s likely to, so I best get this walk out the way. Until next time…

A Long Time Coming

Well, M has been ear-bashing me to do an entry for blog. As many of you will be aware, I have been jumping through hoops for all eternity in order to get qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor. I have now jumped the final hurdle and just as quickly as I reached the climax of what should be my studies, a huge black cloud has swept in from the fringes! I was advised that I needed to apply for an official application pack from the Council of Legal Education, in order to get my certificate of completion. This is pretty bizarre really as you will see. I am waiting for a certificate of completion from the College of Law stating that I have successfully completed the final hurdle. Once I get this, I have to send it along with the application to the Council of Legal Education in Wellington, along with the requisite cheque (of course), in order for them to send me a certificate of completion. Baffled? I am. Anyway, all this came to light when I emailed the Council to find out that the letter I sent over a week ago had gone missing between here and Wellington, obviously in the Shire black hole where all post disappears! It then stated that I needed to include a transcript from Waikato Uni. They take four days minimum to get from the university that will take me up to the deadline for filing my application. Luckily, we can get an extension on this but this week is a short week due to this being Queen’s Birthday weekend and a bank holiday over here. Once I get these items, they must be sent to Wellington and a certificate returned to me, then that must be included in my papers, which I am to file at Court. This may mean that I file my papers at 1700 the day before the enrolment. If I'm lucky. So last night I had the cold sweats and was awake from 0200 trying to work out how I could speed this along. Eg. Drive to Wellington and deliver the docs waiting while the certificate was filled in then a mad dash back to Hamilton to file my papers. I was searching the web for transcripts from Waikato Uni and found the right page and downloaded that so at least I can fax it to them for Tuesday First thing. I thought I might try and get the four-day wait shrunk down by pleading Court dates etc. I don’t know if it will work or not but I want this admission stuff out the way ASAP. Any ideas gratefully received. I shall pester them until they must get rid of me by providing what can only be a couple of keyboard strokes, surely?

Enough of my woes in that field. I also have a crappy cold, which is very productive in my chest and has stopped me from getting on with some fencing that I need to do! I am in need of sheep pens. Since Ian and Claire moved out and Ian and Shirley moved in, I have lost the use of the woolshed because of their revamp. This has forced me to address the issue and, I with some help from a yard designer, have made a working drawing. I have decided to place the yards in front of the Barn (Shed to you Richard!). The wood is ordered but in true Eric style, it suddenly struck me that I cannot tow it as the Nissan is off the road with a leaky fuel pump. I refuse to pay over $200-00 for cartage. The loan of a vehicle with tow ball is required. I plan to put in a slatted floor in one corner of the barn so that I can pen the sheep up, and a shearing plant down there so I can shear or get someone else to do so. I have purchased a hand piece but need to get a couple of parts. I can just about get by dagging (cutting all the poopy bits off around the bottom) I have even sheared a lamb once. It looked as though it had been tackled with a poorly sharpened butter knife, but it needed doing due to bad fly strike.

I have thus decided to take the plunge and buy a nail gun to make pens, not shear sheep (as Michelle pointed out!!). They really do speed up work when there is a lot of framing work to be done not to mention not hitting fingers, foreheads etc. As I know I will not be building anything major, I have compromised my usual stance on tool buying and gone for a cheap Chinese import with a year or two guarantee.
I have read a book and the newspapers since finishing my course. I have however been covering Steve at work for the last three weeks too which has meant that I don’t get home until after five like proper workers. Then by the time the kids are fed and washing up etc is done, it is time for bed! Great life we lead don’t you think? Anyway, I shall knock it on the head at this point ‘cos I’m getting boring and I haven’t done that much to write about. Normal service will resume shortly. Do not adjust your sets!

Almost there.

Very. very nearly there! Eric started studying law in 1996. As the girls were not much more than babies at the time and I was also at Uni Eric started his course part-time. It was a long plod to graduation but he finally got there and he was awarded his LLB(Hons) at a grand ceremony at Canterbury cathedral in 2001. At this point we had decided to emigrate and so he gave up his place at the College of Law in London and concentrated on moving and getting to grips with NZ’s requirements. He was advised that he needed to go to Uni for another year here, THEN do 6 exams in their core subjects THEN he could do his post grad course, referred to as Professionals. So, off to Uni and 4 new courses, passed, no problem. Then he hit problems. He studied hard but was unable to pass the 6 exams, well 5 of them. What the legal education council failed to tell was A. the 6 exams were over only 2 days, that there was no choice of questions and that they provided no guidance for study, course work etc, just access (which you paid for) to past papers. The exams were also about $330/subject, and B. that Eric could have done 4 of the courses in that year at Uni and bypassed the exam! After 18 months of trying to get through these exams (and seeing lots of other overseas lawyers and law students coming back time after time), he decided to go back to Uni and re-do the courses from scratch (all subjects he had already passed in the UK). And surprise surprise, when he was there he bumped into some of those same people he had been writing the previous exams with him. That’s what he did last year, full time, whilst still working as Matamata’s Animal Control Officer. Thank you to the local council for being so flexible with his hours. It was a year of Eric spending part of his days at Uni and part at work. Of course he passed everything and finally got onto the Professionals course in January. So now Eric has 3 exams this week (one done yesterday and he is fairly happy with that one, well not totally convinced he has failed which is how he usually comes out of an exam!) one today and a viva voce (what I would call a viver) tomorrow. He has lodged his intention to apply for admission to the bar and has got Kit, a Hamilton solicitor/tutor to move his admission. We called in on Kit yesterday to get him to sign a needed form and he pointed Eric to a barrister in Rotorua who is looking for a new staff member. Sitting in Kit’s office with talk of wigs, gowns and possible jobs it all sounded suddenly very real. The adjustment of Eric from perpetual law student to lawyer/barrister is one I am really looking forward to. It has been an incredibly long struggle; lack of earnings, Eric fretting over exams and assignment due dates and the incredible amount of time that he has studied and just missed out on family life has been, at times, very hard on us all. Not least the effort Eric has had to put in to this when his motivation has been rock bottom. He has, in effect, done a law degree twice over now, all but one module. Hopefully now that is at an end and he can start reaping the benefits of his hard work. Don’t worry, I’m not under any illusion that things will be cruisey from here but at least from long hours etc he will hopefully reap rewards. And please God he gets a job soon. If they get the exams marked pronto he could be admitted on 16th June, if not it may be October. Fingers crossed.