Changing Places

We live in a nice community of a  hundred or so similarly designed and coloured houses, but as time does you have to make some maintenance steps

As its a plaster sided house we had to have the small cracks repaired, it's not a leaky house, but the fact is that the construction style does not suit New Zealand with it's harsher sun and Cooler winters.

So the plaster man came, and alarmed us all with his angle-grinder, and just by the number he found that we'd not noticed. The house then looked a bit patch-work and would have frightened the neighbours to all heck - leaky home syndrome being what it is and that. The house opposite who is having some similar work done the chap used a glue gun!! I know what I'd rather pay for.

Then the house washer came, water blasting his way around the roof and the walls

Then the painter. And do you know how hard it is to choose a paint. Like I said each of the houses are a similar design and colouring, so you really feel obliged to kind of stick near that same scheme.

Resene must love us. I think we tried 10-12 colours, and then finally settled on a colour recommendation from the actual painter of a colour called JOSS

With trepidation we agreed and he's painting now, slowly so slowly, up and down his ladder doing the eves and the cedar barge-boards. But the bit he has painted in JOSS seem to be magnificent

Real estate sharks have been popping letters in the mail-box "are we selling" and the little old ladies in the street are stopping him working to discuss the colour. He, the painter, tells one story where in Herne Bay (Auckland) he painted a house in SISAL, the neighbours were very keen to know what color etc etc. Six months later they painted their house the same much to the annoyance of home owner #1. Flattery huh

I don't expect a flood of house painting anytime soon in our street, but who knows

Getting a Hobby

Who hasn't heard their partner telling them "you need to get a hobby".

All the things I think I'd like to do seem to be on the expensive side, and to be honest I don't have the patience to spend 4 hours playing golf.

Mini-me is branching out though , he popped off to one of those weirdo toy shoppes you see in malls and came home with a bag of bits to paint war hammer thingies.

All very well but heck they know how to make margin if a pack of 4 is $71! and they are as big as your thumb. He has given up on WoW though, so small mercies are where you find them.

Keeping up with the kids

It's a bit like living your live vicariously, but there is an awful amount of herding and shepherding going on at the moment with the daughter.

You'll know, or you will now, that she likes field hockey. A lot.

We got through the summer league thing ok, that's where she organised a team herself of her girl-friends and some boy's. They by all accounts finished 3rd, who knows

A short break later and back at school then and now we have

Club Trials
School Team Trials
Under 18 Representative Level Trials
Hockey High Performance Academy
and of course the associated training for each of these

And although they are all only a couple of km's from home the car can almost get there and back on it's own.

But being proud and all that the way it's working out is

Club level - Premier Team - playing now in the Intercity Trophy games , a kind of pre-season thing. ECB are the defending champions. Briar is the youngest in the team, but by no means the least capable.

School Team - Well she is hoping for the A team , who knows with school

Under 18 North Harbour Representative - Of course GirlChild wants to be in the A team - however the coach is an arse. His assitant is fantastic. Coach still an arse. I don't know there will be a problem if she only makes the B team. She is after all only 15.

And all of that means fund-raising, fees, travel and sitting about in various locations watching and clapping politely for the rest of the year.

Changing Places

We live in a nice community of a a hundred or so similarly designed and coloured houses, but as time does you have to make some maintenance steps

As its a plaster sided house we had to have the small cracks repaired, it's not a leaky house, but the fact is that the construction style does not suit New Zealand with it's harsher sun and Cooler winters.

So the plaster man came, and alarmed us all with his angle grinder, and just by the number he found that we'd not noticed. The house then looked a bit patch-work and would have frightened the neighbours to all heck - leaky home syndrome being what it is and that. The house opposite who is having some similar work done the chap used a glue gun!! I know what I'de rather pay for.

Then the house washer came, water blasting his way around the roof and the walls

Then the painter. And do you know how hard it is to choose a paint. Like I said each of the houses are a similar design and colouring, so you really feel obliged to kind of stick near that same scheme.

Resene must love us. I think we tried 10-12 colours, and then finally settled on a colour recommendation from the actual painter of a colour called JOSS

With trepidation we agreed and he's painting now, slowly so slowly, up and down his ladder doing the eves and the ceder barge-boards. But the bit he has painted in JOSS seem to be magnificent

Real estate sharks have been popping letters in the mail-box "are we selling" and the little old ladies in the street are stopping him working to discuss the colour. He, the painter, tells one story where in Herne Bay (Auckland) he painted a house in SISAL, the neighbours were very keen to know what color etc etc. Six months later they painted their house the same much to the annoyance of home owner #1. Flattery huh

I don't expect a flood of house painting anytime soon in our street, but who knows

Getting a Hobby

Who hasn't heard their partner telling them "you need to get a hobby".

All the things I think I'd like to do seem to be on the expensive side, and to be honest I don't have the patience to spend 4 hours playing golf.

Mini-me is branching out though , he popped off to one of those weirdo toy shoppes you see in malls and came home with a bag of bits to paint war hammer thingies.

All very well but heck they know how to make margin if a pack of 4 is $71! and they are as big as your thumb. He has given up on WoW though, so small mercies are where you find them.

Keeping up with the kids

It's a bit like living your live vicariously, but there is an awful amount of herding and shepherding going on at the moment with the daughter.

You'll know, or you will now, that she likes field hockey. A lot.

We got through the summer league thing ok, that's where she organised a team herself of her girl-friends and some boy's. They by all accounts finished 3rd, who knows

A short break later and back at school then and now we have

Club Trials
School Team Trials
Under 18 Representative Level Trials
Hockey High Performance Academy
and of course the associated training for each of these

And although they are all only a couple of km's from home the car can almost get there and back on it's own.

But being proud and all that the way it's working out is

Club level - Premier Team - playing now in the Intercity Trophy games , a kind of pre-season thing. ECB are the defending champions. Briar is the youngest in the team, but by no means the least capable.

School Team - Well she is hoping for the A team , who knows with school

Under 18 North Harbour Representative - Of course Briar wants to be in the A team - however the coach is an arse. His assitant is fantastic. Coach still an arse. I don't know there will be a problem if she only makes the B team. She is after all only 15.

And all of that means fund-raising, fees, travel and sitting about in various locations watching and clapping politely for the rest of the year.