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This that & the otherPosted on Friday 14 August 2009 at 08:57 - Post CommentI saw the first daffodils today, and it led me on think about all the related 'green shoots' similies people are using at the moment about a possible up-turn in the western world's economic goings on. It also made me realise that's it's been a while since I've updated this so here's a wee catch up.
All in all it's been a busy few months, but then isn't that always the way?
First off, T is currently working on her first Atmosphere wedding which is going well, and that along with the encouragement she's had from the business community is leading her to stick with it. She's just got a 6 week teaching contract which will certainly help us out on the financial side of things. Woo hoo! She celebrated with the purchase of a new pair of boots. An why not :0)
My work trundles along. As you can imagine, the recruitment industry doesn't exactly thrive during a recession and so it has been a long slog. We are still making progress, but it will be a while yet till we are out of the woods. It has been a real lesson in the fact that it is relationships that matter here in Christchurch, as all business has come from long standing relationships, or referrals from those relationships. Everyone knows everyone in the Garden City!
The house has been... interesting shall we say. Just as Winter really started to bite, Toni decided that enough was enough with the cold house, and that with an injection of funds from the good old Bank of Mum & Dad, we could get it insulated. (it had zero insulation - nothing at all). After looking at all sorts of different options, the route we took was to completely gut the interior, install insulation, and then re-plaster board the place. A builder gave us a decent price, and away we went. Well, he (the builder) hit trouble at the first hammer blow. Rather than the plaster board or 'gib' as they call it here, it was old skool lathe and plaster - throughout. Not only does this take longer to remove, it also creates a godawful amount of dust. So much so, that for over a week we decamped to the in-laws as we couldnt stand it anymore! We are now on the downhill slope however, with all the final fix going on around us. I have had about a gutsfull of it though, as I've been flat out every weekend for the last 3 months and so this weekend we are off to Hamner for some much needed R&R. Here's some pics of the house:
Believe it or not, this pic is actually in focus - the floating stuff is all of the dust!
The dining room:
Haha - and here's T's first pie:
The chickens have now either been despatched to the great coop in the sky, or despatched to Kel & Carls. Shortly after sending the sole remaining chook to Kel's - the bugger has started laying! We can't believe it - and the plan is to get some more as spring come on strong. We want eggs too!
So much more to type, but so little time. Still, it's a start and I'll try and get back into the blogging habit.
A tout a l'heur mes amis
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