Picking up shipped goods at Auckland Airport can be so frustrating. You get the waybill, then go to MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Fish?Food?) at one site, to get a clearance certificate, then drive a km or so to Customs to have the next page stamped, all of this costing about $38 each time, then back to Cargo to pay another $38 before you can pick up whatever. Why the hell they can’t put all of this in the same site is beyond me. But anyway, I’m finally reunited with the few belongings I had in Honiara.
The Unit looks like a disaster zone, I’ve got boxes in the lounge, in the garage, sorting and repacking, the clothesline is full of washing from the stuff that arrived, thankfully, Rose is going away for a week from tomorrow, I’ll try to get it all sorted repacked, and ready for the carriers to take it to Golden Bay.
My usual run of bad luck continues
The Pajero has been slowly losing the brakes, so this morning I went and booked it in for Monday to have the brake pads and discs done, driving back home, about 4km, the front left locked up, it’s taken me a while to get it into the driveway, and the wheel off, and I hope I’ve freed the cylinders up enough to get it down to the garage on Monday. Just what I need without any income as yet.
I’ve had Jesse and Kahu to look after the last couple of weeks till School starts again, which has been an interesting time. I missed out on my kids growing up for a long time, working a 10 hour day, 6 days a week job tends to cut you out of family life, and it wasn’t till I got crippled I had the time, but not the energy to be of any use. So having my grand kids is like trying to make up and catch up on everything I missed out.
That isn’t to say that they are darlings to look after, and little angels, far from it.
I’m trying to stay positive about the move to Golden Bay, it’s something I’ve had on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die, but I think I’m just totally burnt out from the last few years, the disastrous Irish expedition, the frustrating Solomon Islands experience, basically the culmination of a long period of frustrations and head butting with no real outcome.
I’ll be down there at the end of February, once the final settlement goes through, just getting out of this environment here will help, although I’ll miss Jesse, Kahu, Damian and Tarsha again.
But, I’ll be back on my own, and able to get things moving to what I want.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Tuesday 18th January
It’s finally all coming together, my final offer on the house has been accepted, all the compliance certificates are signed off, the building permits etc have all been found, and I’ve sent off the 10% deposit. Settlement is now the 28th February, due to the 4 weeks we lost over Christmas and while they were trying to find all the Building Permits.
Damian Tarsha and family are home, I had dinner there Saturday night, with a few fireworks let off to celebrate Damians birthday, a few weeks late, but better than never. The rest we have kept for a date in May, I can’t say for why yet, as there are still some family members to tell, but it’s something we’ve been waiting to happen for a long time.
We’ve got the remains of a tropical cyclone hitting Auckland today, 60 – 70 knot winds at the moment, with gusts expected up to 120 knots. The kite surfers are out on St Heliers Beach at the moment, having a great time by the look of it.
I’m slowly getting everything collected from storage, and sorted out and repacked, I’ll need a removal firm for a fair bit though, Rose is giving me the old rose wood and cane 3 seater couch from Otahuhu, the 2 seater that has been around for 30 years so far, my brass bedstead and frame, bookshelves, plus all the cartons of stuff I’ve accumulated that won’t fit into the Pajero. I’ll take what I need to cope with in the Pajero, till it arrives whenever.
I heard from Steve finally, he chased up where my stuff was in Honiara, it hadn’t left until yesterday, after 3 months. I know that sounds like a long time to get things sorted, but after living there, I’m more surprised it was still there and hadn’t been stolen. Anyway, it is meant to be here today, and I should be able to collect it all maybe Friday after customs have cleared it.
Damian Tarsha and family are home, I had dinner there Saturday night, with a few fireworks let off to celebrate Damians birthday, a few weeks late, but better than never. The rest we have kept for a date in May, I can’t say for why yet, as there are still some family members to tell, but it’s something we’ve been waiting to happen for a long time.
We’ve got the remains of a tropical cyclone hitting Auckland today, 60 – 70 knot winds at the moment, with gusts expected up to 120 knots. The kite surfers are out on St Heliers Beach at the moment, having a great time by the look of it.
I’m slowly getting everything collected from storage, and sorted out and repacked, I’ll need a removal firm for a fair bit though, Rose is giving me the old rose wood and cane 3 seater couch from Otahuhu, the 2 seater that has been around for 30 years so far, my brass bedstead and frame, bookshelves, plus all the cartons of stuff I’ve accumulated that won’t fit into the Pajero. I’ll take what I need to cope with in the Pajero, till it arrives whenever.
I heard from Steve finally, he chased up where my stuff was in Honiara, it hadn’t left until yesterday, after 3 months. I know that sounds like a long time to get things sorted, but after living there, I’m more surprised it was still there and hadn’t been stolen. Anyway, it is meant to be here today, and I should be able to collect it all maybe Friday after customs have cleared it.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Monday 11th January
I realised just how long it has been since I updated this. The main problem is that all I’m doing is waiting out the time before I can get the house signed up, not till the 17th now, when the Lawyers and Solicitors get back to work, so all I’ve been doing is working out what I have to pack, where everything is, but with Rose and I sharing the Unit, there’s not a lot of room for me to get it all together so I can see just how much there is to pack and have sent by carrier, and how much I can fit into the Pajero.
Plus all my cartons from Honiara are still lost somewhere, with stuff I need to take, as well as my fishing rods and reels. Which never got a chance to be tried out in the Solomons anyway.
New Year was quiet, I borrowed a few fireworks from Damians box, just to keep in practise.
I’m accumulating darkroom equipment slowly, an enlarger I got for a knockdown from the camera shop in Mt Albert, Chromega 670, and the next week I found a Durst 670 with variable printing filters and timer on Trademe that I picked up for $100. Still have my developing tanks for negs, so I’m practically set up again once I get to Golden Bay.
Damian and family arrived back from Melbourne on Friday last, picked them up from the airport, Kahu was asleep by the time we left AKL International, they’d been up since 3am getting to Tullamarine Airport, plus the flight.
Hopefully I’ll know more about the house by next week, they are working on getting all the compliance certificates done before Friday, for the extensions, the bathrooms, so it should all got through reasonably smoothly.
The weather continues warm to hot, not a lot of rain lately, the beach has been crowded out every weekend, and a fair few people during the week as well.
Hayden was going to Christchurch this week to have his cochlea implant retuned, and hopefully upgraded to a better one. He’s lost a lot of the higher frequencies, so talking to him on the phone becomes a study in frustration.
Plus all my cartons from Honiara are still lost somewhere, with stuff I need to take, as well as my fishing rods and reels. Which never got a chance to be tried out in the Solomons anyway.
New Year was quiet, I borrowed a few fireworks from Damians box, just to keep in practise.
I’m accumulating darkroom equipment slowly, an enlarger I got for a knockdown from the camera shop in Mt Albert, Chromega 670, and the next week I found a Durst 670 with variable printing filters and timer on Trademe that I picked up for $100. Still have my developing tanks for negs, so I’m practically set up again once I get to Golden Bay.
Damian and family arrived back from Melbourne on Friday last, picked them up from the airport, Kahu was asleep by the time we left AKL International, they’d been up since 3am getting to Tullamarine Airport, plus the flight.
Hopefully I’ll know more about the house by next week, they are working on getting all the compliance certificates done before Friday, for the extensions, the bathrooms, so it should all got through reasonably smoothly.
The weather continues warm to hot, not a lot of rain lately, the beach has been crowded out every weekend, and a fair few people during the week as well.
Hayden was going to Christchurch this week to have his cochlea implant retuned, and hopefully upgraded to a better one. He’s lost a lot of the higher frequencies, so talking to him on the phone becomes a study in frustration.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday 27th December
Well, I survived Christmas. We had more than enough food, the Ham wasn’t all that small, the turkey was the right size thankfully, so there wasn’t a great deal of it left. Alex liked my Blintz, they are known as Topfen Golatsche in Austria, and he appreciated them very much.
Now it’s just a matter of waiting till the 17 January for the lawyers to get back to work, and find out where we are with the house. I’ve got all the organising done I need to, I know who to deal with in Takaka and Motueka for everything I want, from the poly tunnels, to irrigation supplies, pumps etc. All I need is to be down there.
I’ll probably be sleeping on airbeds for a while, till I work out what I’m doing with the house. There’s a lot of finishing work to be done inside, and some changes to make it feel and look more like somewhere I’d live. Once I get a few rooms back to finished I’ll start looking for furniture.
The weather is going from sunshine and blue skies, to grey overcast, windy, rain promised, but the temp still manages to stay warmish. I can see winters down in Golden Bay getting colder for the next few years, but I’ll deal with that in a few months once I have the tunnel houses set up, and start looking for cheap heaters to go in them. I’d like a few of the old kerosene heaters we had in the glasshouses, but as they went back in the mid 60’s when we put electric fan heating in, I haven’t seen anything like them since, which is amazing considering the thousands that were in use then. Everyone I knew at school on the market gardens around Otahuhu and Papatoetoe all had the same heaters. You knew which were the market garden kids in winter, we were the ones half asleep from being up at 1am refilling the kerosene heaters in the glasshouses. I think we had 120 or 140 of them in the two houses, I know it took an hour to an hour and a half to refill them all, then back to bed and up a few hours later for school.
Still, being outside on a crisp winter night, seeing the halo around the moon, feeling the grass crunch under your feet, I actually enjoyed it.
Not a lot happening at the moment, I’ll keep this updated.
Now it’s just a matter of waiting till the 17 January for the lawyers to get back to work, and find out where we are with the house. I’ve got all the organising done I need to, I know who to deal with in Takaka and Motueka for everything I want, from the poly tunnels, to irrigation supplies, pumps etc. All I need is to be down there.
I’ll probably be sleeping on airbeds for a while, till I work out what I’m doing with the house. There’s a lot of finishing work to be done inside, and some changes to make it feel and look more like somewhere I’d live. Once I get a few rooms back to finished I’ll start looking for furniture.
The weather is going from sunshine and blue skies, to grey overcast, windy, rain promised, but the temp still manages to stay warmish. I can see winters down in Golden Bay getting colder for the next few years, but I’ll deal with that in a few months once I have the tunnel houses set up, and start looking for cheap heaters to go in them. I’d like a few of the old kerosene heaters we had in the glasshouses, but as they went back in the mid 60’s when we put electric fan heating in, I haven’t seen anything like them since, which is amazing considering the thousands that were in use then. Everyone I knew at school on the market gardens around Otahuhu and Papatoetoe all had the same heaters. You knew which were the market garden kids in winter, we were the ones half asleep from being up at 1am refilling the kerosene heaters in the glasshouses. I think we had 120 or 140 of them in the two houses, I know it took an hour to an hour and a half to refill them all, then back to bed and up a few hours later for school.
Still, being outside on a crisp winter night, seeing the halo around the moon, feeling the grass crunch under your feet, I actually enjoyed it.
Not a lot happening at the moment, I’ll keep this updated.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Friday 24th December
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hogmany.
We’re having a small Christmas here this year, Rose, myself, Kelly, Alex, and the twins. I’ve got a small turkey, small ham on the bone, Kelly is bringing Pavlova, I’m making blintzes with blackberry sauce and cream meringues, all the usual salads and bits and pieces.
Tomorrow is forecast to be in the high 25*C + range, so hot food is not going to be a priority. Thankfully the beach is just down the road to go for a swim to cool down.
The house progresses slowly, the LIM Report showed up a few discrepancies, mainly with building permits and compliance certificates. I’m not answering the phone lately, till I hear whoever it is reply to the answerphone. The land agent has been pushing to get me to sign and worry afterwards, like that is going happen. No compliance Certificates for the extensions or bathrooms makes it difficult to get insurance, or approval for anything else, so we’ve given the vendors till the 17th January to get everything bought up to date and compliance certificates approved.
Damian and family are in Melbourne for a few weeks with Tarshas' parents, Hayden is back in Wellington, so we’ve got Roses side of the family to feed instead.
Merry Christmas to Pete and Katja, hope to see you soon when I move, Happy Hogmany to Marianne, snowed under in Edinburgh, Merry Christmas to Libby, Hogan, Al, Mary, Marye and Tim and TJ, Mary-Anne, Gatto, Chris, Mike, Rhonda (Corona), John and Sylvia, everyone else I’ve missed my apologies.
Take care, Happy New Year,
Warren
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hogmany.
We’re having a small Christmas here this year, Rose, myself, Kelly, Alex, and the twins. I’ve got a small turkey, small ham on the bone, Kelly is bringing Pavlova, I’m making blintzes with blackberry sauce and cream meringues, all the usual salads and bits and pieces.
Tomorrow is forecast to be in the high 25*C + range, so hot food is not going to be a priority. Thankfully the beach is just down the road to go for a swim to cool down.
The house progresses slowly, the LIM Report showed up a few discrepancies, mainly with building permits and compliance certificates. I’m not answering the phone lately, till I hear whoever it is reply to the answerphone. The land agent has been pushing to get me to sign and worry afterwards, like that is going happen. No compliance Certificates for the extensions or bathrooms makes it difficult to get insurance, or approval for anything else, so we’ve given the vendors till the 17th January to get everything bought up to date and compliance certificates approved.
Damian and family are in Melbourne for a few weeks with Tarshas' parents, Hayden is back in Wellington, so we’ve got Roses side of the family to feed instead.
Merry Christmas to Pete and Katja, hope to see you soon when I move, Happy Hogmany to Marianne, snowed under in Edinburgh, Merry Christmas to Libby, Hogan, Al, Mary, Marye and Tim and TJ, Mary-Anne, Gatto, Chris, Mike, Rhonda (Corona), John and Sylvia, everyone else I’ve missed my apologies.
Take care, Happy New Year,
Warren
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Monday 20th December
I’m slowly getting somewhere, but all that means is I’m slightly faster than a snail over short distances.
The LIM Report (Land Information Memorandum) came back from Tasman District on Friday. An awful lot of stuff missing, like drainage and plumbing permits and compliance certificates, building compliance certificates. So back to the vendors to either make right and obtain certificates, or we start negotiating the price again. I could buy it as is, but if I, or anyone decides to sell at some later stage, we’d have to go through the whole thing again and obtain all the compliance certificates. We’re talking about $3,000 and maybe a bit more.
The weather has turned from sunshine to wet, cold and miserable, good for the farmers in the Waikato and Northland, it has been almost drought conditions there lately. Hopefully Christmas will be fine.
Damian, Tarsha and Jesse and Kahu are in Melbourne for a couple of weeks with Tarshas whanau. Damian needs the break, and Tarsha deserves a holiday after finally getting her Pharma Degree. Plus a new job when she gets back.
Moving date is meant to be the first week in February once we get all the minor stuff cleared up. That should give me a few months of good weather to get the tunnel houses up, and cuttings started for next spring/summer.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year if I haven’t posted before the end of the week.
Take care
The LIM Report (Land Information Memorandum) came back from Tasman District on Friday. An awful lot of stuff missing, like drainage and plumbing permits and compliance certificates, building compliance certificates. So back to the vendors to either make right and obtain certificates, or we start negotiating the price again. I could buy it as is, but if I, or anyone decides to sell at some later stage, we’d have to go through the whole thing again and obtain all the compliance certificates. We’re talking about $3,000 and maybe a bit more.
The weather has turned from sunshine to wet, cold and miserable, good for the farmers in the Waikato and Northland, it has been almost drought conditions there lately. Hopefully Christmas will be fine.
Damian, Tarsha and Jesse and Kahu are in Melbourne for a couple of weeks with Tarshas whanau. Damian needs the break, and Tarsha deserves a holiday after finally getting her Pharma Degree. Plus a new job when she gets back.
Moving date is meant to be the first week in February once we get all the minor stuff cleared up. That should give me a few months of good weather to get the tunnel houses up, and cuttings started for next spring/summer.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year if I haven’t posted before the end of the week.
Take care
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Saturday 11th December
It’s been family day today. Jesse had her end of year graduation, she’s off to a new school next year, and she has done really well for the last few years.
Kahu turned 4 as well today, so he was doing his usual energiser bunny on super charge all day.
All the papers have been signed for the house at Golden bay, settlement is in about 8 weeks, Christmas here plus summer holidays mean there aren’t any lawyers around till near the end of January now to get everything signed.
I’m not sure what to do with the house, it needs a lot of finishing work in one half, the “finished” half is not what I like, and despite being advertised as set up for B&B or long rental, it really isn’t. Well, not in my view, but will look at it a bit longer when I get there.
Good things, there is more than enough land to set up two poly-tunnels, and still have room for outdoor growing on. Nursery # 3 this time. I’m a bit late for a good start with growing, but still have a few months to get things set up, and make a start on cuttings for next spring/summer.
I’m still waiting for my cartons to make their way back from Honiara, from Steves last email, the person who was handling the shipment, had to go away on wantok matters, so everything in the office stopped till he gets back. There are really somethings I don’t miss about Honiara.
I’ll have to start sorting stuff out here, I have cartons stored at one of Roses houses, I have cartons in the garage here, some stuff unpacked that I needed back out, clothes, cd’s books, which are going to have to be packed again. Plus some of the furniture from Mums place to take with me. Given the cost of getting stuff down to the South Island makes buying most of it again there a lot easier and cheaper, tables, chairs etc. Beds.
Kahu turned 4 as well today, so he was doing his usual energiser bunny on super charge all day.
All the papers have been signed for the house at Golden bay, settlement is in about 8 weeks, Christmas here plus summer holidays mean there aren’t any lawyers around till near the end of January now to get everything signed.
I’m not sure what to do with the house, it needs a lot of finishing work in one half, the “finished” half is not what I like, and despite being advertised as set up for B&B or long rental, it really isn’t. Well, not in my view, but will look at it a bit longer when I get there.
Good things, there is more than enough land to set up two poly-tunnels, and still have room for outdoor growing on. Nursery # 3 this time. I’m a bit late for a good start with growing, but still have a few months to get things set up, and make a start on cuttings for next spring/summer.
I’m still waiting for my cartons to make their way back from Honiara, from Steves last email, the person who was handling the shipment, had to go away on wantok matters, so everything in the office stopped till he gets back. There are really somethings I don’t miss about Honiara.
I’ll have to start sorting stuff out here, I have cartons stored at one of Roses houses, I have cartons in the garage here, some stuff unpacked that I needed back out, clothes, cd’s books, which are going to have to be packed again. Plus some of the furniture from Mums place to take with me. Given the cost of getting stuff down to the South Island makes buying most of it again there a lot easier and cheaper, tables, chairs etc. Beds.
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