Sunday 9th May

Happy Mothers Day Mum. The phone lines here aren’t the best as we found out when you called. Good to hear from you though.

We’ve had a couple of nights of rain, not a great deal, last night was the most, a bit of thunder back in the hills, and a fair bit of rain for an hour or so throughout the night. Still no water to the house, I’m going back to SIWA tomorrow to have a few “words” again about it. So far it’s been 14 months with sporadic water supply, an almost none since December. Using buckets all the time has gone past the “how quaint” to the “bloody annoying” stage now. If I was out in the provinces or the rural areas I could put up with it, there is nothing else there, but in a city? And especially when SIWA are still charging us for the lines. If it rains again tonight I’m going outside to stand in it for a while.

The Bulk Shop finally had bread improver, and bakers flour, so I’m back to the usual weekend baking. A couple of plain loaves and some rolls to get me through the week. Everything has been in short supply lately, Adrian was complaining about the lack of Watties Baked Beans in Wings, he almost had a fit when I suggested he buy the Black and Gold branded ones. Watties are $28 a 425gm tin (about 1lb) Black and Gold are $15, and I can’t taste the difference whenever I have a splurge and buy a tin. Ok, I add garlic, chilli, onions to it, I still can’t see the point in paying another $13 just for a brand.

It has been hot sticky and humid the last few weeks, I’m drinking 3 – 4 litres of liquid a day, and 99% isn’t making it through the system. Looking back at the entries for last year, I’m about the same. They have finally got Coke Zero here, no calories, no sugar, no fats, but the taste is still the same. The cans are $6 - $7, depending on where, the 2 litre imported Australian bottles are $29. Which works out better, but knowing me, I’d drink a 2 litre bottle a day, and having just written that, I remember I’m drinking 4 – 5 cans a day anyway, so the bottle still works out better value. I may stock up next weekend at Wings, although I just spent $539 there yesterday stocking up on bits and pieces, soap, shampoo, coffee, 2 tins baked beans. No wonder I go a bit crazy in New Zealand when I see the prices there.

We find out this week on Wednesday if we have Planning Permission, for the Nursery. If it gets knocked back again I think I’ll just go out to the airport and catch the first flight out. Nearly 18 months of frustration, plans, meetings.

I’ve got my Nursery staff picked, we’ll start having discussion meeting this week to go over the things I expect them to learn and do, having them with us while we build it is good, they’ll know where everything fits, how to repair it, what to do. Once Andrew finds out about his thumb for certain, I’ll bring him back to work so he can see what we’re doing, until he is able to start actual work again. It’ll be a couple of months till he will be bale to use his hand, so he may as well be with us studying as sitting at home in a hammock under the trees.