After another busy month: the fire danger has passed from the four fires we had; Jan has been back for a fortnight and has gone back to the US again; Warren and Erica have been to stay; Tracey and Erica have been to stay; Justine arrived; John and Aniko came to stay; and Finn had surgery. We caught up with Simon; Zig and Lib & Steve and Liz; Glenys and Kevin; Ian and Sharon; Kathleen and Frits; and my family.
New Zealand feels a bit different in the wake of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, however, I think our Prime Minister handled the event well, and New Zealanders have also reacted responsibly. There has been a lot more discussion, open mosques and sharing which will knits us more closely together as a group of people in the South Pacific. By the end of next week our gun laws will be harmonised with Australia's. People have asked why the terrorist staged his attack in New Zealand, and I think the answer has to be "because he could": our lax gun laws allowed him to buy what he needed for this attrocity. Following the firearms restriction in Australia there have been 60% fewer firearms-related deaths, and I am glad this type of attack will no longer be quite so easy in NZ. I had no idea we were so far behind our Australian cousins in this regard, and am glad we are catching up now.
Sean Yeo's cartoon pretty much sums up how we felt:
At least the sun still shines, but terrible so many died.
Warren and Erica came to stay, for Warren to do the Kaiteriteri Half Marathon. The weather was just breaking, with some soft drizzle, which made the going a lot more pleasant than if it has been sunny. We stopped for lunch at Toad Hall on the way back, which is always a pleasure.
And following on from last month, it took me pretty much until mid-March to get my PC to where I wanted it to be. I have had to replace an awful lot of software, as much of it wouldn't work with the latest Windows, so a lot of my energy has been consumed in researching software to get replacements that would at least do what the old kit would do. A jolly nuisance!
Once I was able to work smoothly again, with Jan away I have been steadily turning out rooms and getting rid of stuff that I didn’t even know we had. I have been taking Jan's stuff to the shed for him to decide what he wants to let go when he is back in NZ next (which will be in July), but house things and my things I have been shedding like old skin. It feels good to let things go and to have less clutter. I have been giving things to friends, taking things to the council recycle centres, op shops, selling things, or - if all else fails - sending stuff to land-fill (not much of the latter, though, as I can usually pass things on to someone else).
We had a tree down on Rose Road this month which had the power out for six hours while the power people replaced the power pole and the lines. This was our eighth significant power cut since last October (and we had a ninth one later in the month). Starting to feel a bit third-world here for electricity of late. I am not sure our separation of power and transmission providers is giving anyone a good deal.
We are still in drought here, as we have not yet had the 180mm of rain we needed: I think we have had about half that. However, it was enough rain to prevent more trees dying, so that was good. The fires are all out, and, while the initial fire was an accident, the person who lit the remaining three of the four fires has been prosecuted. The danger is, aside from all the restoration work, hopefully over.
Jan was here for two weeks in March, but went back to Michigan again at the very end of March. He muled back some second-hand Fluevogs which I had purchased online.
We went to Auckland so he could get the correct visa for work in the US, and spent a night up there before his appointment. We walked along the waterfront to see the new America's Cup village work, and had a beer at the Mac's pub on Quay Street. We went to the Museum. The hotel we were in had a pool, so I swam each day, which was nice.
It was great to have Jan home, but all the things that needed doing on the property rather got in the way, as did me having to work, and all the friends who wanted to catch up with us. I felt that we had very little time together, though at least we did manage to talk about what he is wanting to achieve out of this international work. While he was here, I postponed as much work as I could, and got up in the wee hours to get work done before he woke up. However, the list of jobs which needed to be done were hardly touched in the two weeks he had here. They are now on my work list, for me to hire in people to do them.
Jan & I have been using FB messenger to keep in touch, as it is a lot more reliable than Skype. It remains horrible having him away, and has increased my workload quite a lot as all the land and house decisions which we used to share end up with me trying to work my way through them. While we can talk about it, it is not the same when you are the one having to deal with it, and it has to work for you. I have, however, been very touched by how many friends and family members have rung offering help: it is very humbling to be surrounded by so many thoughtful people.
Some of the neighbours are going to build a fence around the house for me to keep Finn in (as before his surgery he would take himself off for a walk if I haven't yet taken him), so while Jan was here I took advantage of having an extra pair of hands to get the posts, the waratahs and the gates. Now I only need to find and purchase the right sort of wire mesh, and whenever the neighbours are ready, I will have everything required.
We had someone take the corner onto the bridge in our valley a little fast, and take out the entire side of the bridge...
Then somehow they ended up 15 metres down the creek, facing the other way. With their chainsaw still on the tray of their ute. The ute - a complete write off - has been towed out of the creek and is still sitting in the farmer's paddock, three weeks later.
We have a letterbox, at last. Jan has set up two German bank accounts, and despite very clear and careful instructions, both banks independently posted his documentation and bank cards to our non-existent street address. So of course, they eventually ended up back in Germany, because we didn't have a street address. So we decided to apply for rural delivery, and after 9 years of living here we now have a letterbox, 2 kilometres down the road. Now if any illiterate administrative idiot decides to post something to Rose Road, at least we will be able to receive it.
While Jan was here we went out for some lunches and coffees, and took the dogs out.
And despite the work, eating out and catching up with friends, there was time for relaxing in the shade.
Justine arrived on Jan's last afternoon here, but we took the opportunity to have lunch at McCashin's Brewery.
Finn developed a very fast growing - but benign - cancer on his chest which needed to be removed. I thought I would be clever and get it done while Jan was here, but it still turned out to be much more complicated than that. He was healing nicely, and Jan went back to the US. Then, when I was at work and Justine was here, he got totally overexcited by a fantail trapped in the house, and burst his stitches. Back to the vet to do it all again. Justine is now back in Wellington, so I have to get someone to be here to watch him, as I can't take him to work, and don't want to leave him crated all day (having to go to the toilet in the crate). Wounds that should have been well healed a few days ago now have another week before I can be reasonably sure he can't do that again. He has to be confined, wear a tee-shirt (so he can't scratch) and stay calm. For a dog who usually does at least 4ks with me each day, the confinement is driving him - and therefore me! - batty.
Boo has been to the canine physio as she is getting arthritis in her spine. She has twice-daily exercises to do (which means that I have twice-daily exercises to do with her).
My work is going fine, with students largely on track. Managing all the other supervisors is a little more challenging, but that too is going well enough. The other supervisors are sooo much slower at getting their marking done, and I am finding that increasingly difficult. I need to sit down with them all and find some middle ground that is reasonable for everyone.
In June (Queen's Birthday weekend, in two months time) I am hoping that I will be able go to Canada to meet up with Jan: if it all works out, he should be able to drive from MI across the border and we will spend a week in Toronto together. Then he is back to NZ in July on a three week break. One week of that time will be spent in Fiji with the Hutties.
I would imagine that he will have some leave in September, but we have no plans for that as yet. Then in November we are coming again to Europe to do a cruise on the Danube, starting on the river in Budapest and ending off the river in Prague. More details to come on that trip as things firm up!
Back to you all next month, I hope.
Sam (& Jan)
