1. I am to be a grandmother again !! :) My eldest daughter and mother of my 2 amazing grandsons is carrying again and due at the end of September.
2. I have told my work that I will finish working for them in July before we head off to Afrika. We are to be away for 5 weeks spending time in Perth and the Gold Coast on the way back as well. I want also, of course, to take off time in September to help with the new arrival but two of the young women at work who would help to cover my job are also pregnant and due at the same time. I thought about asking them to delay their births but apparently it's not possible so better for me to finish work and they can get someone to do my job right the way through from July. I told them early because I was going to a work conference next week and it occurred to me that they may not wish to spend that money to send me if I was leaving. I was right and the conference trip has been cancelled which is fine but got no thanks for my forethought.
3. Muppet has learned to use the cat door. It took a while and the training hasn't finished yet. We had to tape it completely open at first to get him to go through the hole. Then take the magnet off the door so he could learn to push the flap easily, he has now also realised he can push open a bedroom door, he couldn't do this before which is why his name is so appropriate. The next step is to get him to push the flap with the magnet on when it is a bit harder to do.
4. We just finished getting one vehicle repaired from Kent having a minor scrap prior to Christmas when he lost control on a slippery corner at night recently and planted his just purchased beloved ute into a pole. So we are down to one car for a while and right when we could have done with the ute for several jobs.
5. We bought ourselves a present on a whim. It's an hall table and mirror. Large and very ornate. It cost a bit but I knew it would look fantastic on our landing at the top of the stairs. Just getting it from the shop to the house was a mission involving 2 vehicles and 4 people, many thanks to our friends for that. We mounted the big heavy mirror on the wall just as it had been in the shop and the two items looked fantastic. Sat down to dinner that evening and CRASH! The mirror wire pulled out of the back and it fell forward smashing the mirror glass, two of the ornate leaves and punching 2 holes in the carpet. It has taken a week of negotiation to get the shop to realise that they need to come to the party re the repairs (in NZ we are covered by a Consumer Guarantees Act which says purchases must be durable and fit for the purpose they were sold for). The young woman shop owner is closing down in June and is pregnant (due in September - was Christmas/New Year that boring???) and very unhappy about needing to sort this out. I love the items and just want to get it repaired and back up. It will be a mission but we are hopeful that we may be able to recast some leaves somehow - they are very big...
6. Our friend Sam has come to live with us which we have been looking forward to. In celebration and using her arrival as a spur we decided to redecorate her room, part of our plan to do the whole house. In true Kiwi fashion we decided the week before she arrived, underestimated the prepping time, and have had to put Sam in the middle room while we get it finished.
7. We are going to get our windows in the bedrooms double glazed to increase warmth and cut out condensation, will report back on the results.
8. After 2 years of deliberation Kent has decided not to build a cover himself for the back deck and we are having it created for us. It will cost twice as much as the original pricing in December 2013 which we were to install ourselves but at least it will be done and it will make our deck usable in winter.
9. I have my daughters car trying to help her sell it. It is a yellow PT Cruiser, a really cool looking car, goes well, not old and low mileage but have had no luck. Can't really understand why. However it has been helping me exercise as I park it out on busy roads and walk to work. I always miscalculate the time needed and arrive late but what are they going to do, fire me? Have to have a few warnings first and by then I'll be leaving anyway. Maybe I'd better get a bit more organised.
And that's my crammed paddock
