Summer

As you might have noticed... this blog has turned from house renos to jutes adventures... But its summer time!

I feel really guilty about not getting stuck into the house over summer!! In winter I attempted to paint one set of windows... & due to un-forseen wintery weather conditions this meant taking the windows out of the frame and painting them inside so they would actually dry. It also meant having the windows boarded up with ply for a couple of weeks while i painted them. Not so much fun as i distinctly remember freezing my butt off due ply boarded windows welcoming those freezing icy winds from the rimutaka mountains... right into my bedroom! On a number of occasions it was warmer outside than in because of this and I should have said to myself... "This is really a summer job", that didn't really cross my logical mind, but with Gareth's help i was banned from doing any more window painting until summer time.

Sooo... the plan was. As soon as summer rolled round i was going to get stuck in and paint one set of windows per weekend. 10 sets of windows, so i figured on the 10th weekend of summer all the exterior windows would be beautifully reformed!

I can see winter rolling round very shortly.... and...... NOT. ONE. SINGLE. WINDOW. HAS. BEEN. PAINTED. ahhhhh!

But i can confess, i have had an awesome summer, beaching, bush walking, taking lego on adventures, gardening, playing with cars, BBQ'n, drinking too much beer&wine and riding my bike. SO There Gaz, i think there is actually a reason why windows are winter work. Just might mean freezing our bums off with boarded up windows another winter! Wohoooooo!

Family Earloom

Yeah i dont know how to spell.. but you understand i'm sure.

I consider myself very privilaged to have one of the best type of earlooms, Grans old bike. It has been hanging up in Dads shed for the past couple of years and i have been setting my eyes on it since. Conveniently Nikki had just got a new bike to keep her occupied and its a girls bike so i didnt need to fend Robbie off... So i laid claim to it. It came with strict instuctions from both Dad and Gran... Storage: Must be undercover, Love: Must be riden often, Condition: Look after it with your life. Sounds daunting i know, but relax, the novelty hasn't worn off yet and i am pursuing all 3 rules on a daily basis.

I looooove my new/old bike. It came on the back of the wagon for an adventure up the south island... (bailing twin and all)



It got its first work out at the farm in Kaikoura


Since, it has has some serious adventures around the ghetto that is Waiwhetu. Legos adopted it as one of her most favorite things to chase... and hasnt worked out yet that it is NOT OK to chase any old bike down the street! :S


Now i'm not sure how the fine print goes in terms of modifications or 'improvements' go to said vehicle above... but i'm hoping this one is exempt. She now is adorned with her own wee vintage saddle bag, see:

Where did my puppy go?

Shit shes getting big fast!! We took her for her first swim today at Days Bay, Eastbourne. There was alot of excitement and barking at us like a maniac.

Got some pics at the beach & some illustration how GIANT she is getting.

Lego

Lego has a sweet mansion of a dog kennel being built for her. Its not finished yet so i can't share the finale with you. But today i finished part of it and i couldn't resist blogging about it. Its going to totally pimp her kennel.

A bit of ply, some jigsawing, filler & paint... and her name is ready to be mounted on her kennel. :)

Garden Shed Makeover

Our poor wee falling down shed is now a very sturdy, freshly painted & purdy garden shed!


Helped having these two helpers on board, there was another too but she was hiding when the camera came out - Thanks A, A and Clairey!


Its amazing what a bit of fixing, horrible scaping noises, hard work and some paint can do!

Holiday goodness

I am back in Wellington after a week long of ditching the husband and holidaying it up in Christchurch at Dad's.
In summary:
- Ferried & Road tripped to CHCH with my lil bro
- Ate wayyy too much
- Rode a bike really slow (about 10km behind everyone else), received lots of shit for my lack of biking ability and later realised i was doomed from the start as the brake was stuck permanently on my whole ride!
- Played at lake hood with a Jetski & recovered from bike ride of doom.
- Became a florist for a day for Dad & Caros Wedding
- Saw Dad sign up Caro
- Gained 2 step siblings
- Caught up with lots of family
- Cringed at most horrible hair cut 2010
- Laughed alot
- Rob and I convoyed with Nicolas, Dion & Han to Kaikoura
- Tented at a woolshed in the middle of nowhere. Ate the best food ever: freshly killed and stewed rabbit, roast quail, duck and venison.
- Saw some sights in Kaikoura with Rob
- Ferried home!

Awesome holiday - Also glad to be home.

Some evidence below: