Month: April 2013

Long Weekend

~ nattybugle ~ Leave a comment

Brett and I took advantage of Anzac Day being on Thursday and took off Friday as well so we could have a long weekend.  According to some people you are not meant to enjoy Anzac Day, because it is all remembering the sacrifices of others.  And the Mondayisng of Anzac Day is a bad thing.  But I reckon those poor bastards would have far rather been with their friends and family in the sunshine than being shelled to bits on a suicide mission.  My great grandfather was actually at Gallipoli with the British Navy.  The guns on the ships couldn’t even be aimed properly to get at the heights where the Turks were.  Madness.

Anyway I digress (it happens) Brett and I have had a lovely long weekend.  Lauren is away (she doesn’t have to be away for us to have a good time but..) at the St John Youth National Competitions.  They are being held at Kings College in Otahuhu, and they are all staying in the boarding accommodation.  Her Pt Chev. crew are all excited and decided to go with a Harry Potter theme and dress up in cloaks etc while they are staying there.  Crazy kids.  Lauren isn’t competing, just going along to have a good time.  I have said it once and I will say it again, but I really rate St John as an organisation, and their youth programme is top notch.

So Brett and I went up to the farm, and Brett continued to work like a mad man, ripping up the last bits of lino, removing thousands of nails, and fighting the good fight against insulfluff.  Billie and I were busy going on farm inspection walks, and making sure Brett had enough Diet Coke and filled rolls to keep him going.

This is just some of the inside that has been moved outside

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The exciting news is Brett has done all the demolition that needs to be done,  so now his title can officially change from Demolition Man to Construction Man.  Next on the agenda is getting the new bathroom installed.  Which is even going to have a bath.  We love baths, but our house in Pt Chev doesn’t have one yet – so we can’t wait to have a wallow.

Demo Man getting mentally prepared to morph into Constructo Man

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So watch this space people things are going to get quite interesting over the next few months.  Including..

  • new bath, will there be photos of the first time it gets used?
  • bunk beds with the window dividing them
  • an interesting coffee table
  • more Riverstone Temuka coffee cups than you can point a stick at
  • and trying to think up ways to make a house stuck in a paddock at the end of a metal road interesting enough for people to want to pay money to stay at
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Busy people at the Lodge

~ nattybugle ~ Leave a comment

We have had another busy weekend at the Lodge.  Well when I say busy, Demo Man has been busy, Billie and I have been devoting ourselves to doing our best in the supporting side kick and eye candy roles.  We feel it is important that you work to your strengths.

Billie and I did walk down through Mum and Dad’s farm to the beach.  It is about 2.5 km. down the race, through some paddocks and then down Dept of Conservation Wetlands to the beach.  When we got there, we felt like we had all of the Kaipara Harbour to ourselves. 

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Billie also got to see cows up close for the first time, she was very surprised to see them and they were equally surprised to see her.  They mutually agreed it was best to ignore each other.  Which I feel was a very wise decision as playing a chasing game could have ended very badly.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Brett continued to pull things down.  He is actually at the getting ready stage for construction, which meant he battled with Insulfluff, removed nails and screws and started lifting up lino.  FYI a hell of a lot of insulfluff, nails and screws were used in the construction of The Lodge, and Brett has got to know each piece far more than he would like.

But it is all for the greater good, as we (I hope you appreciate the we there) are getting some awesome spaces developed that will be fantastic rooms.   The lounge, kitchen, dining area will be huge, but it should be a nice room to relax and be convivial in.

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Brett has not been the only one who has been working hard at Tapora.  Dad who is in his 70th year, has been very busy under sowing, drenching lambs and calves for facial excema and gathering mushrooms.  With the autumn rains, the mushrooms have been growing like crazy and he hates the thought of all that free food going to waste.  So he has been bringing buckets of mushrooms home each day.  Unfortunately they can be a bit sandy at times, they require careful washing.  But it is well worth the effort, as they are delicious.

Yesterday he outdid himself and brought in a huge amount.  I froze 7 containers of mushrooms, I have a couple of boxes to take into work tomorrow and we discarded quite a few.  Hobbits would be going crazy at Tapora at the moment – that’s all I am saying.

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So while this weekend’s work does not look as dramatic as the other two weekends,  progress is being definitely being made and we are definitely moving onwards and upwards.  And who knows maybe the following questions will be answered

  • how many more tonnes of mushrooms can Dad gather until Mum’s freezer is full and she bans him from bringing anymore home?
  • how many more tonnes of nails, screws and insulfluff are still lurking for Brett to dispose of?
  • what exotic wildlife will Billie and I get to meet on our walk, and for how long can we get away with our roles of supportive side kicks and eye candy?
  • and finally when will Brett get to use his tractor?

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Well it’s been a while

~ nattybugle ~ Leave a comment

But as the Busy Drag Queen would say “I’m busy”!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XIMf9n34zo 

Actually Brett is busy and I am tagging along.  We have decided it isn’t enough to have part of our house look like a demolition zone, we are going to take on another project.  The house across the road from Mum and Dad, on their farm is empty so we have agreed to buy it and will have it for holiday accommodation on bookabach.

The plan is to give it a bit of a make over and have it ready to book out by June.  But as you will see by the photos there is a wee way to go.  Brett has been a machine, I am calling him Demolition Man.  We are obviously getting professionals in for the building, plumbing and electrical stuff.  But when it comes to a vision and knocking walls down Mr B is your man.  When it comes to hurting yourself while helping with demolition, I is your woman.  I managed to trip over while taking stuff out to the rubbish pile.  So since then I have decided I can be most helpful, staying clear but making sure Demolition Man is well fed and watered.

We are going to call the house Okahukura LodgeImage

Looking down onto the Lodge from Mum and Dad’s

Okahukura is the original name for Tapora and it means Place of Rainbows.  Which I think is lovely.  Right now though it is place of gib and nails and dust.

Anyway if you are looking for a restful break in a farmhouse in the middle of the Northland countryside, very handy to a golf club, my parents and on a metal road.  Will I have a deal for you.

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Demolition – First Weekend

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Demolition Second Weekend

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