Finishing Off

I've got report comments to write. They're now overdue and I've never missed this deadline before. I leave the marking I'm supposed to do before I write them. I've got enough other data to cover and with the level of reading in reports these days, I'd be surprised if most parents of the kids I teach take the time to digest it all. Ian and Dylan come to start the end of the tiling- laundry floor. They're cheerful as always. Ian looks at the entry tiles and spots faults. He got a super detailed eye. I had thought they were too busy and hadn't done Winckelmen, but I'm wrong. And they always get everything right. I got zero room for procrastinating so I sit down, retrieve my comment bank, open my mark book and start report writing. I get a call from Ian- they need too more tiles. I thought I'd got the last but Designastyle comes up with one which is hanging round out the back. I put my head down and nearly get through my two Year 10 classes. Fastest ever. Necessity is the mother of speed. Feeling lighter, I drive home.

A Fraught Sunday

I left my phone at Scoff's. Hate to say admit, but it felt weird, a missing companion and I kept wanting to pick up. A machine that has insinuated itself into my life through my need. An essential item which has become more than an accessory. A necessity. I'll have to detox when I finish the house. And the blog. If ever. 

I've got my fingers crossed. Scoff stumbles out of the bed he's just got into. He calls and the phone rings, buried beneath a pile of party paraphenalia. I'm relieved. Replacing it would have been an unforeseen financial extra. Another personal motto, when looking for a lost item, lift stuff. I call on Greg at the Tannery to give him cash for his trip up the coast. Forget to take a blog pic. He's busy framing, his next friend favour, hanging framed pics in my house. A willing and generous friend I don't want to take advantage of. 

I get Kahu out of bed, probably too early for his new nocturnal routine. At the house he tidies up a cardboard box. It's clear he's tired and it's not long before we have an argument. I'm unsettled about the square ducting grills which are clearly visible and spoil the ceiling. I've been working so hard to get the details looking good I get a bee in my bonnet. I know I'll have to learn to not see them but I don't know if I can. I look at the dining table and notice the Bollicine chandelier is not centred over it. I had moved its position, can't remember if it was further into the room or towards the window but the chandelier needs moving. As does the control panel for the ducting system, and the light switch beside it. I walk into my room and Kahu tells me I should change the position of my bed. In the middle of it all, Suzanne drops in with a sympathy sunflower which I plant by the garage.

By mid afternoon I've got myself in a state of overwhelm and needing to give Kahu detailed instructions just to keep him doing things does my head in. We have a spat and he walks home. I tidy up feeling like I've failed as a mother and an interior decorator. In fact I'm dog tired. I need a change of  perspective. I need to move in. I need to forget the relatively small stuff and I need more variety in my life. On the way home I remember I've forgotten to go to Robyn's flax event at the Arts Centre. Biff, Chris's mum, comes to dinner, cheerful as ever.

Scoff and Lisa's New House

Scoff and Lisa's new house is the back story. My day is moving furniture- my goal, to get my bed in the new whare. So I haul myself out of the aforementioned bed at Chris's, fiendishly early for a Saturday. First drive of the day, across town to Pete's. Kim Hill on RNZ is interviewing Dolly Parton and I'm reluctant to get out of the car. But Hana and I listen to it as we drive back to Cashmere in Pete's Holden. Reuben, Rene's pre-wire helper, and Nicky's nephew, helps load Nicky's sister's demo drawers. Back at Ambrose Heale, Pete's waiting. Another coffee and I'm on the road again. Journey #3. To pick up Phil, Papanui High School's caretaker's, trailer. Helpful friends: invaluable.

Back at Chris's we load my bed and Kahu's bed base. It reveals a whole new world...shoes, and random objects I just haven't wanted to deal with. We're running late and Hana has a plane to catch so we call in at Ambrose Heal to retrieve a table I bought two years ago. We leave it outside, unload the beds at College Ave, then return. Today I'm driving in circles but I'm being as efficient as I can. People are doing me favours, it's Saturday, I've got time. 

By the time I get back to Cashmere, I'm exhausted. It's hot so Kahu and I drive to Taylor's for a swim. Sea water and sea air, should be bottled. I'm exhausted but revived. But wait, there's more, Lisa and Scoff's mad hatters' tea party. I find a box in the garage with 'Dress Up' inscribed in marker pen. There's enough for me and Chris. 

Scoff and Lisa's new house is awesome, worlds away from his old one where I spent a lot of time 15 years ago. Like my place, Scoff's was an old family house...dark with walls creating a labyrinth due to years of remodel add-ons. This version is open, inviting and wired for party lighting. Lisa is the star, celebrating a super combo of 50 years as well as a new whare. Me, I'm zombified, but manage to lift a glass. Kay, lead light genius, is there on crutches. She's taught Lisa and Scoff lead lighting and they've put a creation each in their house. Everybody knows everybody in Christchurch. My long standing motto, don't burn bridges. No energy for dancing, the electronic music is industrial and repetitive,  so I focus on catching up with mates, and breathing.

The Big Guns

I drive to site and meet Rue's boys. I can't stay at school so go back to see what's happening. I'm procrastinating. I should be marking writing tests to put on reports. But the next stage of 22 College Ave is too exciting not to be part of... installation of the heating/cooling system. A huge unit between the laundry and bathroom and grills in the ceiling. The holes have been there so long, I've got used to them. Now I have to get used to the grills. The team are super efficient. The controls in the hall are bulky and the panel is mushroom coloured plastic. Sticks out like dogs' balls. My first question is, can we move it? It could be hidden behind the arch, with the light switch. Buggar. Moving will leave two holes and the wall will need to be painted. It's a, I wish I had....but it's there now. 

I check in with Rene who's busy with all manner of jobs so I go to see Pete for a coffee. The chip board toilet seat cover which fell apart is in the middle of being fixed. I don't have any teaching but get back for morning tea and become absorbed in jobs. They keep cropping up, delaying my marking further. And pushing my reports, which I know I'll never meet the deadline for, into the wide blue yonder. It's hard to care. I've never missed a report deadline before but there's always a first time.

Kahu calls. He hasn't organised his bank details for his new job. So I call in. They've just closed but Julia lets me in. She's become a friend. over time we've shared many life events; Lionel's death is the latest. Then there's the house. She's organising the extra finance for me. I swing by the house and check in on the grills. They're not looking any more attractive, neither is the control panel. It's a crisis for the beach. As always, I feel better when I hit the water. Seems the resident seagulls have got life sorted.