Diary of a House: The Garage Work Bench Quest

Black Friday but nothing bad happens. Tina is at home working, getting frustrated by the lack of support for her long Covid at her work place, I'm in normal routine. I've taken on the manager's role for the intermediate girl's basketball team so head to the gym to watch. The game's 5pm and the girls are getting thrashed. I talk to a parent in the school working world I know from way back, another community connection but slope off early as there are other staff around.

Hudson, the electrician, arrives with Hudson, his son, at 8am. It takes all morning to switch the switch for the lights above the kitchen bench, and put a new switch in so I can turn the light off from my bed. Rene didn't want to do it, too tricky, and I'm immensely grateful to have found someone who does. It's tricky but Hudson has the skills and the can do attitude.

In the meantime, Bertie and I borrow the school trailer and pick up a garage work bench I've bought off Trade Me. Straight away I see it's not what I want: old, marked, too short. I've created another job...getting rid of it. I meet Robyn in the evening for a music gig we slink out of...the lead is too egotistic. I turn up at Rolling Stone, thinking there'll be a contingent. There's only me and 5 others. I have a drink, a dance but it doesn't get any better so I go home.

It's a quiet week- Amana's birthday at her bar in Brighton, I visit Pete and find the perfect bench- one he's made as a moving kitchen island/bench for someone else. He's happy now he knows exactly what to do and I needed to see what I wanted first. I'm happy to have found something other than old, grotty second hand benches. It's not the way I've done the house and, even though it's the garage, I'm all about the aesthetic. I've got flatmates and crammed my stuff into smaller spaces to pay for it.

Thursday is the PPTA, AGM and branch meeting. Fortunately we're efficient with time. We dine at the Maharaja beside the picture I've rehomed with Bertie's mate, Rajeev.