Just a quickie.

It's all change here, well next door anyway. There is a shelter belt (row of trees) between our front paddock and the neighbours, on the boundary. Ian and Shirley have taken out a few (huge) trees and the place is in a state of organised chaos. Some trees have fallen into our paddock and Eric is frantically trying to get some logs salvaged before the diggers come and push everything into the 20'x10'x10' deep fire pit they have dug in the woolshed paddock. The yards they have built are serious yards and the work must be costing them a, not so small, fortune. It is all quite impressive, and difficult to imagine that in a month or two it should all be returned to order. What Eric finds very depressing is the tractor and digger sitting idle in the paddock over the weekend. If they would just leave the keys in, there are a thousand and one jobs we could do in such a short time with such bits of kit. As it is we are hoping they will dig out the stream and take out the huge tree stump by the pig pen.

We have a Japanese student at the moment, a boy for a change. He lived in the States for 8 years so his English is very good. He is rather shy and hardly speaks, which is a bit difficult. He is also spending a bit too much time in his room for my liking. I hope he doesn't go the same way as the last student who was a nightmare. He is here for 11 days.

Saturday was an awful morning. I was already depressed over money, or lack of it, and was getting very fed up with the lack of help I was getting from the girls. Alice's room was a tip (she had 'tidied' it the night before but I had gone in on Sat and pulled everything out from under the bed and bottom of the wardrobe....) and was making no progress. I was torn between needing to get it done and clean for the student (due at 12md), and, on principle, not doing it for her. The house was also a tip in general and no-one was helping. I was getting irate when at 8.45am I had a phone call from someone to 'remind' me I was due to man the Guides stand at the flea market from 9-11am. I have to confess, that after spluttering down the phone that I could not get there before 9.30, I put the phone down and burst into tears!! I had totally forgotten. As it was, Eric came in and laid the law down to the girls, the lady phoned back and said she had found a replacement and all was sorted in the end. But boy it felt like the end of the world at the time!

Sunday we went to Juliet and Kev's. The girls are now schooled in Hamilton and Emma's school had Japanese students from the same group as ours so they 2 knew each other and we didn't have to worry about them so much. The Targa rally was going past their house so it was us and both sets of parents plus a couple from the UK all gathered for lunch, drinks and the boys to look at fast, and not so fast, cars. Alice didn't come as she had rehearsals and so stayed with R+R. Alice and Katherine are in this years school production and have rehearsals on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Miss a rehearsal and you're out the play! Thank heavens Kath and Alice's rehearsals co-incided on this occasion.

Eric and utilised Mom and Daddy as baby sitters last Wednesday and took ourselves off to the movies. We saw The Constant Gardener and thoroughly enjoyed it. The photography took a little while getting used to, and the plot had been bought up to current times (I seem remember it being set several decades ago when I read the book). It was also nice to see Ralph Fiennes playing a role in which he was not disfigured (Lord Voldemort, The English Patient). We also saw it at the 'picture house' in Te Awamutu, an oldy worldy style movie house that takes you back to your childhood and beyond.

Harri has had a rare day off school today with a head cold. Poor girl is so bunged up and living on Sinutab. We keep impersonating Malcolm but she has no idea what we are talking about. I remember when Sinex first came out. Who was his mother? I seem to recall Thora Hurd? Does anyone know? She (Harriette not Thora)has been asked to babysit for a neighbour and it has taken awhile to get through to her that she cannot. 14 is the legal age here for such activities. It's not like she would be in the next semi along the road, she'd be on a farm, 3/4 km from anyone. No, not risking that. She is keen to earn the money so I have suggested she offer to muck out their horses instead (anyone who knows H will know she is allergic to anything more strenuous than washing up!)

Eric is up to, and past, his eyeballs in study. He is also applying (as I type) for the councils legal advisor position as the guy currently doing it is leaving. It would be so handy if he got this job.

All else is well here. Hope the same it true of you, wherever you may be reading this.

Carol, for you.

This is sitting in the wool shed paddock (unfortunately this belongs to Ian and Shirley next door).

They have contractors in rebuiling the woolshed, knocking down trees, building holding yards and a race. There is also a big bulldozer there as well. If they have time they will take that big tree stump out by our pig pens and dig the stream out in our back paddocks.

This was a complete shelterbelt at the edge of our front paddock.

The gap is caused by the felling of one tree!! We then went out and returned in the dark. Will be interested to see what it looks like in the morning! Ian and Shir;ey have to clear a few particular trees which are toxic to their stock. They are also planning to make some alterations to the house so it is all change around here. They seem to be a very nice couple and have been keeping us in the loop all the way with the changes they are making.

Went to Mom and Daddy's housewarming BBQ today. Very pleasant afternoon but it was too cool to eat out, which was a shame. Eric made some fabulous pork satay from a wild boar he 'acquired'. Kev has a new job. Mom and Daddy are very happy, especially as they have now purchased a gold buggy and trailer to transport it!