News from Nelson - August 2009

Hi all,

Once more we are busy, busy. Jan has been helping out with underwater hockey juniors on a casual basis; getting college students interested in having a crack at the sport. We are heading out to the Ngawhatu pool tonight to give some tyros a taste.

John has arrived back from his travels and has picked up Bonnie. Coco is now at a bit of a loose end without her friend to play with every second of the day; however, it is a lot less 'busy' for everyone else living in the house! She & Fliss are now playing more, which they didn't get to do while Bonnie was here.

We are going out to see Leigh this Friday coming to open & view the tenders. That will be an interesting process.

We have had our window quotes in - ranging from $37k to $131k. At this stage we think we will go with German windows (though I am still not entirely convinced with the whole 'opening inwards' thing, I think I can live with them. We don't have that many windows, and I do like the sturdiness of them). Being able to fit this style of window will be one condition of the tender for awarding our tender.

Jan is working with Paul Bow (one of his electricians from NPIL) on planning the electrical wiring for the house so we can order the components. We are coming down for Warren's birthday party, but will, while we are in Chch, be going to visit all the electrical and lighting places open on a Saturday and Sunday to see if we can make some choices on lights etc. There is not much choice in Nelson, and neither of us is very inspired by what we have seen.

NMIT have asked me to consider teaching another paper next year, on Research Methods. It sounds really interesting, and, as the build will be over by then, I would like to consider it. I am currently trying to really push on with the two CAT papers I am currently doing; being all too aware of the build process about to start. I am half-way through both the papers, and am maybe a third of the way through the RPL process.

Jan's work has now trimmed back to normal, which is great. He has been heading off to see some the Mako's Rugby games with Gary Rae, which he has been enjoying too.

Jan's orchestra has been in the paper, as they gave a charity concert a couple of weeks ago. He is also in another concert this weekend with the Nelson Civic Choir and Waimea College.

Our next trips away are two in September: Chch 11-13 to Warren's 40th and then Wllg 25-28 for Otto's birthday. No more trips for the rest of this year.

Right - I had better get back to my real work. Take care & alles liebe!

Sam & Jan

News from Nelson - July 2 2009

Hi all,

Things have been flat out, with organising things for the house (plans are in at Council for building consent and tenders are currently out at a number of building companies), both of us getting colds, and our trip to Hanmer.

We are busy, recovered (from colds), are busy purchasing things for the house, are in the process of getting quotes for the windows, are sorting out all the electrics, are putting the power on next weekend, are teeing up Dave Singer to close in the end bay of the shed in the next fortnight - having purchased our roller door for the front - and all dogs are happy, fit & well. We are looking after Bonnie at the moment, and she is keeping Coco nicely tired out!

This month I am have posted some of our images from Hanmer. I do have more images, but they are somewhat unflattering! Flick us an email if you want to see the rest :-)

Murray & Leigh have just had an addition to their family: Alexandra Elayne Hartley, born Thursday 23rd at 5.32pm in Oxford, UK. Mucho congrats to the growing Hartley clan :-)

Ana Silvia has sent a photo of what she is doing in Brazil (she says she is studying!) on our Rotary blog at http://whakaturotary.blogspot.com/ (you may have to scroll down if other posts have been added before you get there).

As previously mentioned, our only trip for the rest of the year is to Wllg in on Sept 25 - 27. We are reluctant to leave our building site unattended as there have been a number of robberies in the area. We don't really want to have our house-load of furniture in its container disappear!

A short note this time. Take care & alles liebe!

Sam & Jan

News from Nelson - July 2009

Hi all,

Wow, it has started to get quite cold now, with the dogs developing a new message to tell us; the "it's cold, we want the fire on" message. It took me a while to work it out, but it now happens quite regularly. Dogs are great at training humans, aren't they!

Speaking of dogs, we have had lots of doggy dramas in the past three weeks. We took the two of them into the vet for their annual inoculations, and, while we were there, had a lump on Fliss' backside analysed. The analysis came back that it was the worst kind of canine cancer - a mast cell tumour, so we had Fliss under the knife that week after the results came back from the lab. They tried to get 30mm margins all around the lump, but when the analysis came back after the surgery, there was one side that had only 1.5mm clear. They had to do quite a lot of reconstruction of her bottom to get a 60mm lump out of it, as well! However, she has made a good recovery after the surgery, and now we will have to wait & see if the cancer comes back. At the same time that all of this was going on, Coco hurt herself. I initially thought she had twisted a gut, but it turned out that she had hurt her back somehow. She was on lots of drugs & lay about drugged & moaning all weekend a couple of weeks ago. However, she is now back to normal - relatively! - and we are $2,100 poorer. Ouch.

This week we have been sorting out the materials for Dave Singer - builder - to build the shed. We have sourced some corrugated iron, some laserlite, an old external door and bought a new roller door. Hopefully Dave will get it boxed up and get the floor concreted this month. Jan has engaged a contractor to get the power onto our shed, so that should get underway next week too.

I have had my provisional accreditation from the Institute of Directors, which is great. I now have to keep an eye on positions available and ensure my name gets put forward for the right positions.

I have started work on CAT modules 19 & 15, but it is pretty busy! I am seriously thinking about postponing the Diploma in Career Counselling until early next year, when Jan starts studying again in Semester 1; I am worried about our internet access out there & don't want to have to drive to town in order to submit work.

The Trade Show went OK; I don't think there will be any immediate customers from it, but I made some useful supply contacts, and it was a good reason to update my marketing collateral.

I am keeping the Rotary President's role at a reasonably low level thus far (we have a great team) with not too many hours having to be dedicated. I attended my first area President's meeting on Monday night with my VP (Jo Garguilo). We would have been the youngest there by a decade, which was very interesting. Lots of the requests the district administrators had for us about information sharing we couldn't help them with; could we pass on our bulletin to an administrator (no, we couldn't, we don't have one - we have a blog. But they were welcome to register to get email updates), what help did we need with membership (none, our membership is growing steadily), could the person who organises our speakers liaise with their counterparts in the other clubs (no, each member takes a week and organises a speaker so we cut out a position... but they could check on the blog who was coming up). It has made me even more focused on ensuring we eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy in our club.

Jenny L was up again a few weeks ago, and it was wonderful to see her again. We went out to Karanga & visited with Donald and Bunty as well. Jen managed to source me a Franke Kubus sink & drainer, which was great... which reminds me, I need to send her some details about the bath that we want to buy to see if she can get a deal on that too!

This last weekend Jan sanded and re-polyurethaned the kitchen benches and the kitchen window ledges. We still have all the painting to do inside and a few more tidy up jobs. I had a chat to Paul Inwood about possibly doing some joinery in the new house, and Jan & I were talking last night about asking him if he can also do some of the Montrose Dr repair work as well. Ah, yes, and then the recarpeting.

So this Friday, at last, we head to Hanmer for the 20 year Canterbury Uni anniversary; it should be a good weekend. I hope the Lewis pass is open; otherwise it will be a 4-5 hour drive the long way! Then the next trip away is September for Otto's birthday in Wllg (eta 7 on Friday night, Sept 25, leave Sunday 4pm Sept 27).

We move out to Roses Road in November, we think (at this stage), and rent Montrose Dr for a year or so.

We are still talking about arrangements for Xmas; this Xmas coming we are supposed to be in Wllg with Jan's family. However, we are worried about how to ensure security of the building site if we go away. The neighbours (Le Gros, Orinoco Vineyards) were telling us the last time we were out there that there have been a lot of robberies around Roses Road. Lyn Redden's place (right next door) has been broken into half a dozen times (a sign of the economic times; and the quietness of the neighbourhood). We are pretty uneasy at leaving a house-load of our existing property in a container, and a house-load of new building materials & appliances in the end bay of the shed with no-one there... and it won't be so easy to get someone to come & house sit; it will really be low-rent camping out. So this will take some working out. If any of you Wellington folks know what your plans are for December already, let us know; maybe we postpone coming to Wllg until next Xmas...?

Right, that's all for now. Take care & alles liebe!

Sam & Jan

News from Nelson – June 2009

Hi all,

We have had our first real rain in three weeks this week, but it rained for five days. We went out to see if we had any damage to the road or the excavations on Sunday, but everything has been very stable, which is great. We picked up a bit more firewood from our felling rubbish piles from a couple of years ago (we have so far used up all of the smaller pile and are just starting on the larger pile - in two years. Not bad.

We hired a digger last weekend and Jan flattened out the fourth bay of the shed so Dave Singer - builder - can box it up and get the floor concreted. Jan & I met with him a few weeks ago to plan the project. Jan & I need to purchase a roller door & an exterior door before that project can get underway properly; now all the ground-works are done. We have a loose estimate to get the power onto our shed - $5k - from the transformer further up the ridge, on the neighbour's property (behind me in the middle photo). I still want us to investigate how much it may cost us to disconnect after the build and whether there are any penalties if we decide to do that though.

Christél was in Nelson a few weeks ago, travelling with her Mum (Louie), so Jan & I caught up with them for coffee along with Julie C & Magda. We called out to see Julie C & the twins (Siobhan and Sterl) on our way out to get some firewood too. Magda has a new job in Wards 9 & 10 at the hospital, exactly where she wants to be, which is great. She is thoroughly enjoying her nursing.

Jan's hours are now more realistic; he had a meeting with Murray Sturgeon a couple of weeks ago & the pressure is off a wee bit. All good. He also has a concert in a couple of weeks with the Greenhill Ensemble during the Arts Festival.

We caught up with Karen's daughter Angela last weekend in Richmond; I hadn't realised that her daughter Alysha is now seven years old! Man, time flies. Angela is studying towards a computing diploma, which is great.

I had my compadré from AUT - Dr Sean Phelps - down this past week visiting NMIT; we had a one hour meeting scheduled and ended up gabbing for three hours. Nice guy too, and we have shared lots of materials. He has moderated my course and come back with no changes, and no suggestions, so that's pretty good too.

I haven't heard yet from the Institute of Directors about my accreditation; I presume any approvals probably have to be ratified at a full board meeting, so hearing in five minutes is probably not on the cards.

As well as gearing up to complete the Diploma in Career Counselling in August, and CAT module 19, I am going to tack on another CAT module - CAT 15 Effective Teaching Practice - as there is another tutor whom I get on very well with who wants to complete that next semester, and whom would really like to work with. So no pressure! Jan is going to start studying again in Semester 1 next year too.

I have a Trade Show to attend this coming week, which will be interesting. I had to get photography done for a new trade show banner, as well as unearthing all the old trade show materials. I haven't been to one for ages, but I have roped in a couple of people to help me - including one of my students - so it should be fun.

I am now the President's of the Rotary Club of Whakatu for 2009-10. We had a very low-key change-over celebration (a mid-winter Xmas themed breakfast) where all the formalities were very minimal, and my first meeting, which was also absolutely to time, with minimal formalities. All good thus far, and I am making sure that I share the decisions and the power around.

Jenny L is up again this weekend, and it will be great to see her again. She has been scouting out some prices on things for the house for us in Chch which is fantastic!

We need a few more weekends in the garden at Montrose Drive to get the top terrace in, and move the clothes line, then we can get the paths in here so the outside is looking tidy for when we rent it. We also have some painting to do inside and a few more tidy up jobs. Recarpeting with something workmanlike & reasonable for cost will have to wait until we rent it, as we can't apply the price against the rental unless we are already out of the place (mind you, we can't do it when we are living here anyway, as it is entirely rotten throughout & the whole house will need to be empty of furniture).

We head to Hanmer on July 10-12 for the 20 year Canterbury Uni anniversary. We have booked our September airfares to Wllg - we arrive up at 7 on Friday night, Sept 25, leave Sunday 4pm Sept 27.

Right, that's all for now. Take care & alles liebe!

Sam & Jan

News from Nelson – May 2 2009

Hi all,

We got the earthworks at Roses Road completed and the water tanks in just before the rain hit. The digger driver also excavated 75% of the cellar too, and got the gravel down on the road. So now all is ready for a spring kick off on the building site. And we got the bill for the earthworks and took a nice deep breath before opening!

However, we still need to get the fourth bay of the shed closed in, so we can move out there. Jan & I are meeting with Dave Singer this weekend to build a plan around that.

However, Jan is still working lots of hours on the C Saw & Sander at work.

We had Brad & Jacquie Jackson down here for a few days from 8-11 May, and had a great time. What a neat couple of people they are. Jacquie is a lecturer in Media Design with a strong interest in architecture, and was very interested to see our plans and to talk to Jan about a new type of composite board that she is interested in getting manufactured, whereas Brad & I spent all weekend discussing business and leadership (I can hear heaps of you groaning now with the boredom of it all!). Seriously, we had a wonderful time, and they have an open invitation to come back & visit whenever they have free time. They live in Wellington & Brad commutes to Auckland, and have also given us return open invites (I think the waffles swung that!).

I have had my interview with the Institute of Directors in Wellington, which seemed to go very well. I am so glad that I put in the study beforehand though (I had to skip the weekend in Chch for Tessa's birthday to fit some study in) as, although they didn't ask any tricky questions, going through their 180 page "pillars of governance" doc refreshed my memory about exciting things like the solvency test, NZSX rules and dividends. Karen T picked me up from the airport & ferried me around all day. We had a lovely time & drank far too much coffee! I also caught up with Jeremy briefly (and we did a hand-over of Nelson purchases in a café - for those of you who remember Cheech & Chong - ! - it all felt a bit like "Let's do a dope deal").

And speaking of Tessa, she had a good birthday celebration in Chch - even Mike D & Kara came down from Auckland (which she wasn't expecting) - so it was a good family catch up. Except me :-( She is planning some study next year - either in Chch or in Auckland, depending on how quickly Helen gets into the police force - on early childhood development.

We have put in our requirements to the solar water supplier & now have our quote back. It is easy to see why most people don't go through with any form of alternative energy; the numbers simply do not stack up - even over a 25 year payback period. But I guess we aren't 'most people' in that respect - which is why we are doing it... and why the deposit has been sent and the contract accepted.

I am also gearing up to complete another minor bit of study - Diploma in Career Counselling - in August, and ticking off another Certificate in Adult Teaching module - CAT 19: Working with International Students.

I mentioned in our last newsletter that Janet, Julie T, Murray, Jan and I went out to dinner at Havana's Café; the week after our dinner, I heard on a local news spot that the restaurant had closed. The owner had decided that the economic forecast was too bad to continue, and decided to close before they were forced to.

In a week I take on the President's role for the 2009-10 year for my Rotary Club - the Rotary Club of Whakatu. I have already been to my first local area 'President's Meeting' and upset the apple cart by asking "But why?" 50% of the time, and trying to find a nice way of pointing out smarter ways of doing things the other 50%. Never mind, they only have to put up with me for a year. I have an extremely able VP in Jo Gargiulo, who is great at sharing the work around and kicking me in the backside if I try to do too much within the club. She will be great as President the year after - she will be even more blunt with the other clubs in the region, I suspect.

So, next trips are in July 10-12 for the 20 year Canterbury Uni anniversary in Hanmer, and then Wllg at the end of September for Otto's birthday.

Right, that's all for now. Take care & alles liebe!

Sam & Jan