24th February

I may need to have a holiday soon, we’ve got the revised budget for Commonwealth Ave done, well, Tiffany was writing it up and I was adding or subtracting bits and pieces, and trying to remember what we had started before I left. MID don’t want the pavers in the centre, at this point, but do want the footpath on the eastern side paved, and planter boxes erected around the existing Delonix and for another 8 trees to be planted there as well. The seating is to go on the footpath, and the rubbish bins. It’s down to $420,000 and small change now, I’ve just finished the revised drawings for tomorrow when we have another meeting with MID about it.

The Governor Generals residence is on our to do list for tomorrow morning, followed by the MID meeting. It’s mainly security issues at the GG Residence, no tall shrubs that will obstruct the guards view up the roadway or between them and the house.

Tiffany has taken the Lyndale Nurseries catalogue home tonight, no doubt she will have a long list of plants to import tomorrow. I have to see SI Quarantine this week about what we need to put our own quarantine facility in place at Ranandi, neither of us are happy with having our plants stored somewhere else, although they woul in theory be ok, we don’t feel like spending a considerable amount of money to have them sit elsewhere for 6 months without being able to check on them, plus we could be propagating and growing on while we wait out the quarantine period.

I’ve got cordylines, agapanthus, hebes, some different carex, and hibiscus to import, and if I can find it, some Nandina domestica for the town gardens to give a bit of fresh colour.

I barely got a chance today to check emails, let alone do any browsing, so if anyone is waiting for me to write, please be patient for a bit longer.

Back to the usual stuff now, no water at the house, SIWA have a supply problem again, power cuts all day long at work, for an hour or so each time, which plays havoc with internet connections when the back up generators cut in.

I think the rat that was in the house when I left may have finally succumbed to the poison, there’s been no droppings anywhere since last night, and I’ve found a hole outside in the verandah it may have been using to get in through, so a bit of timber nailed across tomorrow when I get home should help solve that problem for a while.

Next thing is how to stop all the neighbourhood dogs from sleeping on my steps in the daytime while I’m at work. They all look like an encyclopedia of dog diseases, mange, scabies, runny eyes, conjunctivitis, fleas, broken limbs, underfed, I’m not happy with finding them on my steps. You can smell if they have been there as soon as you get near the steps. Another photo subject I guess. None of the dogs are neutered, so there are constant fights when there is a bitch in season, which seems to be every week, and always a bitch in pup or feeding, with several undernourished pups trailing behind.

I mentioned I think about buying a dehydrator, and in the best tradition of men with a new toy, it has been in continual use since I unpacked last night. I bought a hand of bananas, a couple of pawpaw and pineapple at Kukum Market on my way home from work yesterday, and so far the banana slices have dried well, it is full of pawpaw now, tomorrow will be the pineapple. Mixed together it should hopefully make a good lunch to nibble on, instead of the usual fried fish and cassava chips Tiff and I were surviving on at Christmas.

I was a bit annoyed this morning, I missed out on the NZ High Commission Feb 6th Waitangi Day Celebrations, nice invitation and all as well, as only High Commissions do, all gold edging and delicately understated elegance. I probably would have got into an argument over something from one of the looney left lentil munchers though so it may have been for the best I didn’t get there.

Young David that we hired to do the cleaning down Commonwealth Ave is still working away steadily, and still smiling and happy. He’s on $5 an hour, turns up on time, works till 5pm every day, and seems to be enjoying the job. It says a lot for the place when a street sweepers job is a huge status symbol for a 17yr old. He is probably supporting his wantok with his wages, I don’t think anyone else in his family are working, and he has younger brothers and sisters still in school, so a fair chunk of his wages would be going to school fees and food.

Friday I have another meeting with the Post Office about the designs for the inner garden area inside the fence, I’ve settled on a crab claw sail design with woven stainless bars fixed to stainless steel poles, adjusted slightly from a picture I found in NZ Gardener magazine. Plus Kennedys canoe prow shapes and the shrubs trimmed to wave like curves. We’re using river stones in the flower beds along Commonwealth Avenue as well, as a decorative edging, again, I took a lot of pictures while I was back in New Zealand, and now David can understand what I go on about with large boulders used as effect in a garden. It makes life a lot easier if he can see where I get my ideas from, explaining something in english, then translating to pijin isn’t always an easy option.

I’m going to try for some old ships anchors if I can find them, and use them along Commonwealth as well, to tie in the wharf area with the business section of town at the top end of Commonwealth.