News from Nelson – April 2 2008

Hi all,

Well, I am sure we have been pretty busy in the last few weeks, but I am not exactly sure what we have been busy AT. However, I will do my best to relate our activities to you!

Jan had his braces fitted yesterday and I thought he was coping pretty well until he said last night "These things a VERY annoying, aren't they." Yeah-huh, they certainly are. Never mind; he just has to keep telling himself, like I do, only 2 years to go!

Last weekend we cooked up a storm; we did our annual apple preserving session. We now have about 24 litres of Dell Blush juice in the freezer, and about 20 kilos of Royal Gala and Pinova apple puree preserved in jars. I also made another 10 kilos of green tomato chutney. That lot took almost the entire weekend, necessitating the compost bin to be dug into the garden to make room for all the apple scraps, and a great jar hunt to ensure we had enough glass to pack everything into. However, we find it so therapeutic to make our food this way - there is something very nurturing about getting so up close and personal with your food!

My folks are off to the UK for three months from May Day for three months. They arrive back on the first day of spring. I think they will have a great time, and hopefully they will have a wonderful summer in UK... according to Justine, who I was speaking to the other day, it can only get better!

Karen Trotter came down for two weeks from March 30th, which was great. We all slothed about and did nothing much in particular. Karen & I went for a couple of trots (couldn't call them runs!), played a bit of tennis, ate a lot & drank a bit. We also went to the Suter, caught up with lots of people, went out for dinner and lunch a lot, and even had a facial. Had a WONDERFUL time.

The Business Development Company, of which I am Chair of the Board, is currently seeking a new CEO. Our just-past CEO sadly left us after eight years - for good reasons - and we are currently in the process of selecting someone. That, along with the teaching, has taken up an awful lot of time. However, interviews with the shortlist are happening this Thursday, so at last I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

I have enrolled on the Certificate in Adult Teaching Foundation Course which starts next Monday (just in time for the CEO selection process to be over, I hope). That should keep me pretty busy for a week! I have managed to get a whole load of things sorted out this week so that I can take a whole week out of work and still remain sane. I hope. NMIT is paying for half of the course as I have now been teaching part-time for a year, which is great.

Jan & I have been out to a few functions lately tho. The local Chamber of Commerce is turning 150 years old this year, and we both attended the AGM. Jan unexpectedly had to accept a presentation for Nelson Pine in his motorcycle gear! It was a great night, as it was held that the museum and was built around old Tyree photos of early Nelson businesses and business ventures. Then the Chamber has organised an exhibition at the Suter Art Gallery of "The Art of Business" with a host of past-Presidents choosing their fave work from the Suter's permanent collection, and writing up their rationale for the choice. Very interesting. And, according to Jan, very good sandwiches on offer too :-)

Then we have had the farewell to the Business Development Company's CEO, at Bouterey's Restaurant in Richmond. Very, very nice food and a great night out - really fitting send-off. Last night John Fitzwater took us out to the Hong Yun, a Chinese Restaurant in Stoke as a thank you for looking after Bonnie for this past week while he has been in Oz (and it was fantastic - we will definitely be back there. There was a birthday party for one of the owner's family going on while we were there; always reassuring when the owners eat in!). This Thursday night we are out at the Arthur Wakefield Restaurant for an electrical supplier dinner, which will be nice too. Hmm - who was it who said that all we ever seem to do is eat?!

Jan has got his results back from his last two percent assignment, and a ten percent assignment for his management course; 100% and 90% respectively. He has another assignment due after the study break, which started yesterday. So he has eight more working days to complete it. And I do believe that while he hasn't started writing yet, he has started reading.

We are heading down to Chch on Friday May 16th, staying with Megs, attending Warren & Trace's housewarming on Saturday night and heading home on Sunday. I have a Rotary training thingy to go to, to which I am ONLY donating my Saturday day, and Jan plans on playing UWH on the Saturday morning, then catching up with those of you who won't be at Warren & Trace's on Saturday night, in the afternoon. It will be good to see everyone again! Oh, except Jenny L, who is heading to Nelson that weekend!

Right - that will do for now.

Take care & more next time. Alles liebe :-)

Sam & Jan

News from Nelson – April 2008

Hi all,

And a new financial year rolls on around! Things are pretty busy at the moment, so this will be short.

Karen Trotter is down here again for a fortnight's holiday, which is wonderful. We went with Karen & with John Fitzwater to 'MarchFest' at Founders on the weekend. It bucketed down with rain - the first rain since Relay for Life - but the beer was good.

Jan has had his second results back for his management paper at nmit - and, surprisingly 100%. Again, it is only out of 2%, but isn't he clever?!

We have decided that we will not go any further with PureStyle (the show home designers) as they really were VERY expensive! Instead, we have found, through the Inwoods, an architectural draftsperson, Leigh Briars, who lives over in the Moutere about 3k away from the land. Megs & her folks have both used Leigh &, since we have had a meeting with him which went really well, we are feeling very comfortable. Leigh has some really good ideas & will make use of as much solar energy as possible. Our house layout plan is largely cribbed from PureStyle's, but with a lot of our ideas incorporated. And a lot more energy efficiency, sustainability and use of environmentally-friendly materials. The current plan is to start building in spring 2009, and aim for completion in autumn 2010.

We have spent some time at the land to fillet our timber - and Megs was up here for Easter so we got her to help out as well. Isn't it really great how we rope people in! That means the timber is all sorted for now; we will need to get the pine sleepers treated, but we have just heard about some locally-based copper treatment - at Pangatotara - so we can avoid any process that uses arsenic, which would be fab.

The papers I am teaching currently are going well, and I am enjoying it. I have been asked if I would teach three papers in the Sports & Rec school, and another three in the Business School next semester (I am enjoying it, but not that much!). I have trimmed it down to one paper in each school. At this stage it looks like Intro to Marketing for Sports & Rec (a year three paper for S&R, but equates to year 1 Business school level), and Leadership, a year 2 paper in the Business School. I also got asked if I would be interested in Management lecturing on NMIT's joint venture in China (the paper I taught last year that Jan is currently doing), but I don't fancy going up there for a month at a time. Not only would that mean a problem for continuity with my clients and the boards I am on, but it would also provide a pretty large problem for the dogs & Jan! So that was firmly declined.

I had breakfast out for my birthday today - I am teaching tonight, so we will have a BBQ on Saturday and have a bit of a knees-up then.

Jan is off in Chch tomorrow doing a course, so will catch up with whoever of you has replied; for a couple of hours! At the Loaded Hog, I think...

We are still planning a mid-year trip to Europe. We are still not sure of dates, but likely to be July or maybe August.

Take care, lots of hugs & more next time. Alles liebe :-)

Sam & Jan