Feed Forward

I get a phone call just after 7am. It's Rene who's doing the electrics asking if the concrete has been poured. When I tell him, "Not yet," he's relieved. There's no provision for electric cable to the kitchen island. I contact Craig, the concrete guy, who tells me, "Probably Thursday." Panic over. Thank goodness for Nicki who picked that up. As teachers we know how valuable feed forward can be. A transferable lesson to house construction.

Me in my gardening clothes

The conduit for the electric cable

Cavity for a verandah post

Plumbing line

The Dressing Table

I sell my dressing table. At last. But when it's taken away I realise how attached I am. I bought it from my uncle's neighbour in the late 1990's when I moved to Christchurch from London. Uncle Trevor used to do up wooden furniture. He also used to help people find things they needed. When I moved into College Ave he brought round a table for the kitchen cubby hole and one for the hall telephone. He also fixed a few door handles. I was 10 days overdue with Kahu and the day after friends dropped Mark and I with all our stuff, I went to hospital to be induced, three times. I wasn't able to participate in sorting anything. A day later I was admitted to get the baby out.
So Trevor pottered round sorting things and my friends Judith and Karen unpacked and cleaned while I recovered from a Caesarian. The dressing table was part of that history and of my life in the house. I don't regret selling it but when it was taken away I heard one more drawer on my past close.

Kahu admiring his first short back and sides in the dressing table mirror

Meanwhile it's been quiet at the section. I drop in to feed Pierre and pick flowers for a friend's surprise 60th.

More Digging and Shoveling

I spend the day reducing the pile of dirt- trying to even up the levels in front of the fence and digging up more brick, concrete and glass in the process. I go to the pub to meet friends but they haven't arrived so I go back to the garden. I'm tired and a bit over it by the time I get home.

Windy

The flight back to Christchurch is bumpy all the way. I hold on and grit my teeth. It's good to see my garden and I spend a few hours digging and shoveling. The pile of wood has got smaller in my absence. Thanks Pete.

A Visit to Wellington

I have a day off house work to go to a PPTA Executive meeting in Wellington. The Brentwood at Miramar is a favourite PPTA venue and it's where the Rolling Stones stayed when they played Wellington in 1965. 

As it happens, the Stones made derogatory comments about a few NZ cities. Not just Invercargill. "It was Sunday; a wet Sunday in Dunedin in 1965. I don't think you could find anything more depressing anywhere."

According to Time Out Entertainment, Mick Jagger "was more diplomatic on their 1966 visit where the Stones were the headliners, saying New Zealand was ' a bit quiet, like my dad told me like England was during the war.' " 

The only time I saw the Stones in concert was in a movie in Czechoslovakia,1990. Half the audience walked out- they didn't like Mick's strutting. Too much self-expression. I have a poster from the band's 'Tanks Are Rolling Out, Stones Are Rolling In' tour after the Berlin Wall came down. Historic. I also remember seeing queues of people waiting to buy banana ice cream. And walking out of a supermarket trying not to drop my purchases. I had expected a bag but such items were a luxury behind the Iron Curtain.


Dinner at the Maranui Surf Club

Systems Needing Fixing

The Toby box is leaking and it needs to be moved for the new driveway. I fill in a form, send it to the Council and pay nearly one thousand bucks. I don't know much about pipe work but that seems a lot. When I drive by in the morning two contractors are digging and show me the old rusty pipe. I'm surprised the water's still flowing.
At school there's another system that needs fixing- pay for support staff, especially pay and conditions for teacher aides. Gender is one aspect of this. We value these members of our staff highly so we dress in black, white, green and purple to support them, and take a solidarity picture.
Meanwhile back at the house, the boys have finished. Just to keep things interesting, they tell me there's a sub main at my property. What to do? Back to the Council; ours is a very open-ended relationship.

Council water pipe 

Digging for pipes

Supporting the Support Staff

Polystyrene left overs

New build on Urunga Ave

New build on corner of Brenchley and Watford

Mid Week

I drive by in the morning to see three different, but very friendly young men, at work. To my inexperienced eyes it looks like things are moving slowly but that's because I'm a teacher and know diddly squat about building. In the afternoon I talk to the foundation boss about the plumbing. His job sounds way more stressful than mine. I send him Nicki's drawings. At dusk I feed Pierre and see a  timber outline of the ensuite shower. Then I notice green bits sticking up and realise they are connections for toilets and sinks. Progress....brilliant.