I've found time to write, Sunday morning of course. Trouble is I'm not sure I have much to write. I was very excited to see 5 comments on the last entry. Have had hardly any for ages which is a bit disheartening, even though my core reason for writing this is to keep a record of our life for???? the children/us to read in our old age/good source to resolve arguments (we had venison last Xmas, no the Xmas before etc).
Anyway... when Harriette and I get weighed it seems that one always looses and one gains. Last week we both lost, even though Harriette only just lost (100g's). At least it was a loss. She gave herself a bit of a kick up the backside a few days ago when she realised that at her current average rate it will take her 72 weeks to get to goal. The ball is 9 months away. We both decided to have a 'perfect' week just to see how much we could loose, and to give ourselves a bit of a kickstart. We are both doing well and my weight is dropping daily. I always knew that daily weighing was the right thing for me and now the research backs that. In America they have a study on people who have lost large amounts of weight, and have kept it off for at least 3 years. They then look at what it is about these people that mean they can keep the weight off. One thing they found was that a lot of them weighed daily. Not right for everyone but certainly works for me. I am also 100% confindent that I will keep my weight off. Only just over 4kg off my upper goal weight now :-)
Our drive is almost finished. Anyone who has driven on it in the last 3 years will know that a 4x4 is a distinct advantage (all 3 of our cars are!). Well, we finally got the money organised (close on $10,000!!) and arranged with a local contractor to get the job done. The speed one guy with a digger worked was quite amazing. In 1hr 30 mins he had dug a hole you could fit a house in, in the paddock, pushed the remains of the enormous fire (tree stumps etc) into it and filled and flattened the land. I couldn't believe it. Anyway, they scooped out around the roots and pushed over about 20 trees from the slope on the drive and behind the cottage and workshop, leveled and spread metal on the drive, and finally graded and rolled it. We have had piles of fencing materials delivered and are just waiting on Scott to come and erect the post and rail fencing along both sides of the drive. The final job will be to plant some trees in the paddock and daffodils along the fenceline and it will be finished. The transformation so far is amazing and the views opened up stunning. We plan to move the window in our bedroom so we see them when we are sitting in bed.
I have spent a lot of time working on the Young Musicians Workshop which is on next weekend. I really wish I had been given the task earlier so I could have advertised in a more logical and comprehensive fashion. I got an email mailing list from the Ministry of Education (470 addresses) but did not have time to check which schools were on it. I also would have liked to have sent fliers out earlier etc. Still it's the first time I, or either of the conductors, have done it and we have lernt lots. We'll have about 45 people this year. Next year I want 100! WYMA, the organisation I am deputy chair for, is in a state of transition at the moment and there are a few problems with it. I am really hoping we can get things sorted over the next few months ready for next year.
The girls have been on school holidays this week. I have set rules about computer use which means off by 9:30am and not back on until they have tidied up and mid-afternoon, whichever comes later. This means they only get about 6-8 hours a day in front of the screen which they feel is so tough!!!! Apart from the bare minimum of housework, they read. Harriette undertook a spring clean of her bedroom yesterday, only because the alternative was working outside. They did manage about 45 mins outdoors. Harriette drove the truck and they both loaded up tree branches that the truck and digger had knocked/pulled down. We have had a large bonfire in the front paddock most of the week. Some of the wood has been there for years, since Ian and Shirley pulled down trees on the boundary, so burnt really well. Added to that, heaps of branches of cedar and it was an impressive bonfire. Carol we couldn't wait any longer for you to come back - sorry!! Carol, we also wanted to tell you that we rescued some of the burnt fenceposts (care of your fire) and have incorporated them into a fence running from the stable to the back paddocks.
Our Rotary club was hit by a tragedy last week. The 44 yr old son of one of our members was murdered in Auckland. As he left work a bloodied woman approached him asking for help. As he helped her a man attacked him with a knife and he died instantly. In NZ the police leave bodies at a crime scene for 1-2 days and so this poor family were behind a police cordon for nearly 2 days waiting for access to the body. I am sure the police could do things differently. Being able to see/hold/touch a deseased loved one is an important part of the grieiving process that these families are denied for too long. Needless to say Austin was one of lifes good people, a devout Christian, hard worker, father of 3 teenagers and a generally nice person. He was born and raised in Matamata so lots of people here knew him. So very sad, and such a waste. The murderer is under arrest and was known to the woman.
This weekend is being spent working on the block. It is one of those great weekends where we don't have anything planned. Eric is looking at fencing. I say looking, he hasn't done any yet. Yesterday we borrowed a neighbours tractor to do odd jobs. I wanted to retrieve some topsoil from the paddock where the big hole was but that wasn't very successful. However, Eric had great fun pushing/pulling up tree stumps (not from the drive, they've all gone. These ones were dotted around the paddocks from trees felled long before we got here) and pulling out some fence posts. Today he should be fencing. I weeded. As I've said before these mild (compared to the UK) winters are fine but the weeds grow 12 months of the year. Last weekend Eric and I went out to look at trees after dropping Alice at a friends dairy farm for an 18th birthday celebration. There was a huge downpour of rain and we took refuge at The Olde Creamery, a cafe out in the sticks. As we parked we spied a dilapidated polytunnel exactly the size that I want. We discussed with the owner and I am now waiting for her to speak to her husband but she thinks I might be able to have it. I have room in my veg plot, in fact it is exactly the right size, so I am very hopeful. Fingers crossed.
