Hi all,
Man,
where did those weeks go?!
Right,
the quick run-down. The build has started with a couple of glitches; the house
was in the wrong place, due to the excavations being slightly off kilter. We
got all that sorted out, but not before the builder had already done the
profiles. We were away for the weekend, but went out yesterday to have a look
at how it was going and realised that the house wasn't entirely where we
thought it was going to be. But all sorted now, and Jan went out after work to
sign off on the new profiles. And ask the builder to move them yet again! Ouch.
We have actual
power on at the land, and are going to put the lights and power sockets into
the shed this Saturday. Jan has installed a "life guard station" for
the builders to use for their tools on site as well. One of Jan's electricians
is coming out this weekend to help install and then to sign all the work off.
Jan is
also starting to agitate about moving out to the land sooner rather than later.
I would like to get the term over before having to move, but I understand his
haste; being there we can catch problems before they become problems. I will
have to start investigating our communications options this week to see what
the costs are.
With
regard to my health, my suspicions about having had a minor stroke were
entirely correct. The oncologist is getting me an appointment with the
neurologist; and he is asking for that to be expedited. I didn't realise
initially that my sense of smell had been hugely diminished, but it is now
slowly coming back. He said that there are some areas of damage that showed up
in the MRI that are consistent with a stroke in the brain areas controlling
speech, vision and smell. I have to have some new cholesterol tests and some
cardio tests as well before I see the neurologist. The oncologist has no idea
what caused the stroke; whether it is a heart problem, a blood factor, a
blocked artery, a brain problem or a migraine problem, but expects the
neurologist to be able to eliminate some and dig into the others. He suggests
that I take aspirin daily (which I am already doing) and drink plenty (which I
already do too). Glad to know I am doing all I can on my own!
I have
submitted my work for CAT 15 and the RPL for CAT 5. I am now halfway through
CAT 4 for RPL as well, but will wait to put that in until I get feedback on CAT
5. It is now the holiday break, and if I can get some more work on CAT 4 done
around sorting out the remainder of the house bits & bobs on my list
(comms, quotes for the showers, documentation for the bank, sourcing tiles, and
designing the shelving unit for the end of the lounge), that would be good. But
I won't hold my breath.
Jan is
now a permanent member of the Nelson Symphony Orchestra. They have their next
concert on November 28th, called the Italian Job. Read all about it at
http://www.nso.org.nz/. He has lots of new pieces to learn, and is currently
procrastinating about his rehearsal schedule :-)
Warren's
birthday in Chch was great; we caught up with pretty much everyone except Pat
(who was away). We even got out to see Gary & Karen's new house. Jenny
Ladley got us sorted on all our light fittings; the second place she had on our
'places to shop' list came up with the goods & we spent $4.5k buying
everything we needed. FAN-tastic! We took half the gear home with us and are
just waiting for the remainder of our shipment to arrive. Jan has also gone
through the list of electrical gear with one of his electricians, and we picked
up the first part of that gear this week and delivered it out to the land.
We had a
great time last weekend in Wellington with Tina & Jeremy, Otto & Lara;
we caught up with Hartmut & John, and Karen & Hui-Ping ferried us
around to see three new houses; Doug & Morv's new place in the Hutt; Guy
& Sonja's new build in Belmont; and Mike & Birthe's half-built house in
Whitby. It was great, but we ran out of time & couldn't get out to Island
Bay to see Sam & Moose. Next time :-(
We have
had a couple of invites to some 40th birthday parties, which we are thinking
about. Our aim was not to go anywhere else for the rest of the year, and
concentrate on the build. We are going to sit down and work out the $ budget
and the time budget for the rest of the year and see what we can come up with.
We will be back to you all in due course!
And we
are aiming for a housewarming in April; exact date to be advised. Again, we
will keep you posted.
Take care
& alles liebe!
Sam & Jan
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