Back to swimming, wind free days, wide open beaches. Suprisingly, a few other swimmers, all female. I love the company. Some are older, some are younger, obviously they, like me, have a draw to the cleansing of water.
I start to remedy electrics in my house. Bertie's Brazilian friend, Hudson, is the man for the job. He says yes to everything and does it well. He spends Saturday getting lights sorted in my area and looking at the living area. The end result, one box left on the floor of my room as the light Lynley bought on impulse for me at auction a year ago, goes up in the bathroom. I put the fitting in vinegar and baking soda to spruce up the patina of age. The fitting is big and looks stunning as the main light in my bathroom. I write a list for an order at Interior Effects. It's bigger than I thought. While Hudson is busy I'm running in and out to take Kahu to rugby. He's holding his shoulder and on the sideline by the end of the game, my worst fear. So I take him home, give him food and cross fingers. He's on his own, he'll have to sort this.
Sunday, Mother's Day, May the 9th, is my last swim. Light rain, mild, swimming with ozone. But enough. It's getting darker, time to think about hibernate. I take Bertie and Jorge with me on a visit to Barbara and her partner Andy at their church castle. Its scale provides the x factor- Bertie and Jorge are impressed. Barbara's late back but there's entertainment outside. One of the tenants of their cabins is a wheeler and dealer and has sold a ride on mower to a Chinese family. It's too heavy to lift onto the ute so Andy gets his digger out. They leave and we don't see them again, presumably the mission to get the mower off at the other end is a challenge.
Barbara shows us round. The mezzanine, the tower. I'm too scared of heights to step onto the small, airy platform with no rails so take pics from below. We walk around their land where they've got growing, inventing, building projects happening. Again, the scale is help required, ad hoc without. Barbara has a huge greenhouse, Andy has a work shop.
When we arrive home, Tina opens the door of the hot water cupboard in the laundry. The cylinder has been leaking water. The last time I put anything in there was two weeks ago so how long for, I don't know. I'm immediately deflated. The water will have travelled...potential damage? I call Gary, the plumber, and Mark my brother in law, ex plumber, in Auckland, there's little anyone can do till tomorrow. In the end it's a filter part- Gary replaces it, fixes a brass bird tap outside, and sends the part to the manufacturer. I borrow a dehumidifier from Bertie and cross my fingers. Bertie thinks I should investigate under the cupboards but that's a big task and I can't bring myself to do it.
It's a wet week in fact and the days are drawing in. Kahu comes for dinner, I take the old family radio to a keen enthusiast who is fixing vintage models up with blue tooth and persuade the Thursday drinkers to go to Original Sin on Thursday night.
Covid- kids are still getting it, Tina has got long Covid. We keep calm and carry on.
