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Business, brides and weekend shenaneginsPosted on Monday 20 April 2009 at 09:03 - 1 Comments - Post Comment - LinkBusiness T has been working her socks off these past couple of weeks on getting Atmosphere fully off the ground. A while ago, to help get things moving, she joined a local networking group - part of the BNI network, which stands for Business Networking International. The idea is that each group or 'chapter' (yeah - I know it all sounds very weird, but bear with me) has one, and only one, of a certain profession within it. You know, one solicitor, one accountant, one real estate agent, one mortgage broker, one electrician etc etc etc. And of course, one event planner! So anyway, T joins, and each week goes along to an early morning breakfast meeting where everyone has a good old chat, learns more about each others business, and ultimately they refer each custom to each other. So far T's got business cards, design ideas, printing, terms of business, and an accountant from it. She's also got a few Xmas parties to organise too - which is great news! It is the perfect way for a new business to get some direction and has done wonders for both her confidence and her business acumen. I have been along to a couple of meetings a) to check T wasn't getting involved in some oddness, and b) as they have a space for a recruitment consultant. I decided not to follow it up, but could really see the value in it for T, and she has got well into it. Good on her!
Brides Yesterday was the first bridal show of the 'off' season, and the first that T has been involved in. She's been pretty nervous as it was the first headlong dive into the wedding world that www.atmosphereplanning.com would be taking. In preparing for the show, she has been flat out in getting posters, competition entries, and cards printed, in getting flowers organised, along with myriad other things. The day before it T was really on edge - but needn't have worried as yesterday ended a complete success! Not only did over 150 brides to be enter her competition to win $800 off having their wedding planned, but a couple of businesses are looking to take her on to manage their wedding events. How freakin' cool is that? I can't tell you how proud I am of her - having been there from the start and seen all the time, effort and worry that's gone into it. To see it all in action on Sunday was simply brilliant, and testament to just how great it's going to be. GO TON!
Shenanegins of the surfing variety So there's me, the wife doing other things and me with effectively a weekend to kill. What better way to do it than to try my hand at surfing?! One of the friends we have made through T's aforementioned BNI group invited me to 'hang ten' (or whatever) on their Saturday surfing trip. We went to Sumner and the surf was pretty big. We slung on the wet suits, and headed out into the water. At each stage I'm expecting a 'so, here's the basics' mini-tutorial but it seemed that this was to be very much a 'you'll get the hang of it soon enough' sort of thing. I have to say that I thought it would be a piece of piss. I mean, how hard can standing on plank be? Well, pretty hard it turns out. Even lying on the thing is like wrestling a croc covered in lube! I never even tried standing on it! After a while I got the hang of simply laying on it and paddling to catch the waves. That was all pretty straightforward. It was the paddling back out to get the next wave that truly killed me - jeez you need some muscles where I simply don't have any. There were 70 year olds out there paddling further and faster than me - and making it look oh-so-easy. Even worse was getting stuck in a nasty rip, and being unable to get out of it! I paddled for about 40 minutes solid before it let me go, and that was with help from John who stayed with me throughout. I tell ya, I think I'll take a few baby steps before playing with the big boys again. I sure will give it another go though, watching some of those guys carve it up was pretty amazing, and I think I may have yet another thing to spend too much money on.
Time to get fit So there's me, over 30, a bit porky, and I've got it into my head that this might be a good idea: www.coasttocoast.co.nz It'll cost a fair whack (like over $5k apparently!) and the training is pretty full on. but how cool would it be to tell my kids when I'm old, fat and bald, 'hey son, I did that'. Hmmm... maybe the bank of mum and dad can help me out....... :-) Poorly Pussy & Homeless Hens = Empty Wallet!Posted on Saturday 11 April 2009 at 09:57 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkWell today has sure been an eventful one when it comes to our menagerie. If you can call 3 hens and a cat a menagerie..? Well either way, it's a good word to start a blog so it'll do for now :-)
We noticed a couple of days ago that Oscar was being very quiet, and sleeping a lot. Then last night when I went to pick him up to go up to bed (he sleeps on our feet - our very own foot warmer :-)) he got all arsey and was basically telling me to f*ck right off and stop touching his chest and front right leg. Whilst I pinned him down, Ton has a rummage through hs fur and found a hefty puncture wound. Yikes! Whilst he is always scrapping the locals, and has had a few scuffs, this is the worst we'd seen. As it was 10pm, we figured we'd have to wait till today, and so when the vet was open this morning we dropped him in for a professional look-over.
3 hours and $316 (!!!!!!!) later, it seems he is OK but has a bad joint infection, and is also a bit of a fatso! So not only has he been shaved, anaesthatised, injected and x-rayed, but he's been told his arse is too big. Not a good day for poor Oscar - still he seems to feel a lot better from the drugs, and both vet and nurse commented on what a great cat he is and so I'm sure he got an ego boost after that.
Apparently we should put him on a diet, but that can wait till next week - you can't put a poorly cat on a diet - that's just mean!
Here he is - as unimpressed with my phone photography as with the hole in his arm:
So, what else? Ah yes - A few weeks ago we got three chickens! At least, I thought they were chickens however it now turns out that they are pullets. Now - pay attention class. There are - apparently - three types of 'chook', and which type depends on their age. From little fluffy yellow things to things with feathers, they are actually chickens. Then between that stage and when they start laying eggs they are 'pullets' and then - and ONLY then - can they be called hens. Thrilled with that? Well so was I when I was sternly educated by the local livestock feed company after I admitted my lack of knowledge. Ever wish you hadn't bothered...?
Having never had any chickens before, it's been a bit of a learning curve but nothing too drastic. I mean, they're chickens right? They cluck a bit, wander around aimlessly all day, eat what ever is thrown at them, shit a lot, and then go to sleep, in order to be fresh for the next round of the same thing the next day. We are keeping them down the side of the house, which is a good move for proximity to eggs (if and when they start laying) and a bad thing because of the smell of the aforementioned chicken poop. We'll see how it goes eh?!
They have been ridiculously easy to tend to so far. Food in the morning, ensure they have fresh water, then food again in the evening and that's that. They get themselves up, and put themselves to bed, and in between times look very cute.
Today I have been starting the process of builiding a proper run for them so that they get some sunshine when it's nice, and we can see them during the day time. I went to Bunnings (local DIY store) with a 'short' list and $70 later I am home again and getting stuck into the build. All good so far - so I expect the screws will fall out, the post fall over, and the chicken wire fall off overnight after all that I've done today. It's never easy when DIY and I are united - something always breaks. Either me, a tool, what I am making, or more usually it is something completely unrelated to what I am doing but means I will have to fit it at some other point once I've finished fixing the thing that I had started to fix in the first place. I just did the sums on how many eggs we need to break even - and believe me it's a LOT of eggs. Them chickens/ pullet/ hens - whatever - are gonna get the hard word and be threatened with the stock pot if we don't get eggs int the next month or so.
Well, I say that but I'd keep them anyway - funny, feathery, freindly little buggers that they are.
Loads of other stuff going on - when I have the time and inclination I may even get some of it onto here.
Happy Easter everyone! Welcome arrivalsPosted on Wednesday 11 March 2009 at 06:55 - 2 Comments - Post Comment - LinkWe've had plenty of visitors in the two years plus of our moving here, but for me the bet yet arrived a couple of weeks ago. My best mate J - who was also my best man - took his first ever flight to come to NZ. Not a guy to do things by halves! To keep him out of trouble on the journey, he brought along his latest squeeze Heather.
Not to be one to let an opportunity of free labour go to waste, T and I rapidly put J to work earning his keep. Our new house has a log burner, but we have no logs to burn. A quick search of TradeMe (the nz equivalent of ebay) and T had found a guy selling pre-felled trees 'buy 20, get 20 free'. All for the miserly price of $125. Figuring that the cash we'd save by collecting, cutting and trailering away our own wood would b considerable, T swung the demon plan into action. First off we purchased not 40, but 80 trees - sight unseen. I think this is where we made our first error! As yet undaunted we hired a trailer, a chainsaw and arranged to borrow by bro in law's ute. So, 2 days after he arrives, we leave Heather to rest her jet-lagged head but get the ginger one (for he has that unfortunate afliction) out of his pit and into the ute. 45 minutes later we arrive at the site to meet the guy selling the wood. He shows us where it is, and I nearly have a heart attack. The trees are 12 year old pines, some big some small, but 40 of them look like a shit load. The other 40 just make me realise that we don't have the strength, manpower or time to sort do the whole lot. We bail on the additional 40 and just pay for the first 40. Still, never one to admit defeat, J, T and I get stuck in and after a good hour realise we have sort of made a dent after a lot of hard graft. 1 return trip, and 10 hours later we are all back at home - in one piece, but only just. Suffice to say, chopping up and shifting 40 trees was job enough. We would never have managed 80! The end result is a massive stack of logs at the end of the garden, in the process of air drying. We were led to believe that if chopped, split and stacked it will be dry by winter, but there really ain't a hope.
So, we'll be buying a whole load of pre-dried, pre-split, and deliered to the door firewood shortly. I would do the same thing again, but only with dry wood, and definately with more manpower! This wet stuff is no good at all for straight-off burning unless you have the space to dry and store it and the tools to efficently cut and chop it. Still - it's all a learning curve, eh? And let's face it - I sure do need the excercise! Unfortunatley it seems we broke J, but maybe time and som Heatherly TLC will fix him. To reward them for good behaviour this past week, we took Heather and J up to Kaikoura for the weekend. Despite it's recent fickle nature, the weather was meant to be good on Sat, and so we figured it was worth the risk. It only turned out to be the best weather we have ever had! 2 whole days of solid wall to wall sunshine, with barely a breath of wind. Of course I took J snorkelling, and the conditions were the best I have seen them. I managed a total of 4 trips, and the first one of both Sat & Sun were simply superb. The visibility was 8 metres+, and the sun beaming through the water. On the first one J and I had a great time, and we shot a lovely big butterfish. The second time I went on my own to a great cray spot close to the tunnels, and pulled in 2 great crays as well as another couple of butter fish. On Sunday we went to a spot a couple of guys had told us about and the vis was that good, and the fish that plentiful,that J said 'it's like swimming in a bloody great fish tank!'. The hunters!
Best of the bunch!
We left them on Sunday morning as they started their tour of the South Island - next stop Hanmer Springs! T and I headed home, as we still had loads to do. On the way we stopped of to see our friends who had recently had a beautiful baby boy. Unfortunately he has been very ill, and has a very rare genetic disprder. He is so beautiful, and so physically perfect, that it is hard to believe that he is fighting for life every single day. T and I both had a hold, and loved our visit, Once back home we unloaded, packed up and got ready for the week ahead. I was knackered after a pretty full-on couple of days. This week has been a good one so far, as T has had a few days of supply, as well as getting some interest in her business. The veggie garden has really come on song these past couple of weeks, with spuds, beans, corgettes, carrots and spring onions a-plenty. It's been SO good picking our own veg just before we need it - the veggie patch is definately here to stay.
Some random photo'sPosted on Tuesday 24 February 2009 at 04:17 - 1 Comments - Post Comment - Link
I always forget to download the good old camera phone pics, so here are a few for your entertainment, along with some others that I've collected:
Hectors dolphins beside the boat in Lyttelton Harbour. Carl and I had stopped for a fish, and look who turned up!:
Us getting to know the locals at the Canterbury Show, including Toni nervously petting a real stud, me trying to find a ram's face, and a sheep looking somewhat appraisingly at the camera:
Then there was the carol concert in Victoria Park just before Christmas, with T, K and their mum:
Two of my all time favourite West Coast pics - I may have shared these before, but no harm sharing them again:
Hanmer Springs forest walk just after Christmas.
The first fish I ever speared, just before Christmas in Kaikoura:
Finally, the most beautiful sisters in the world. Their mum is soooooo proud!
Toodle pip! Checking inPosted on Wednesday 18 February 2009 at 08:34 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - LinkBelieve it or not, I have yet to kill myself with the spear gun! The long absence from a blog entry has simply been busy-ness, absence and laziness - in that order, and not Christmas present calamity.
Wow - so much has gone on since I last stuck something on here! So, it was just before Christmas when we were about to head off to Kaikoura. Well, you'll be pleased to hear that we all had a great time. In the end it was my parents, T and I who headed up there. I got well stuck into the spearfishing, and speared my first ever fish - a blue moki. It went very well with the paua and crayfish that I also caught - and the parents loved it.
What a beautiful sight!
We also did some horse-riding which was a complete first for both mum and dad. They had a great time, as did we all, and overall the trip was a fantastic success.
Christmas itself was brilliant - we all had a wonderful time together as T's mum was here with us. The day itself was held at Kel & Carls, and we had the good old Kiwi BBQ for Christmas dinner. It was pretty good too - and the day itself flew by.
After all of the flat-out business of having family with us, we felt that it was time to do one and head off on a bit of a holiday. In Jan we jumped on board a flight a winged our way to South East Asia for a 3 week tour of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I could write forever about the it, as it was an amazing experience. However they say a picture can paint a thousand words, so here's us at one of the Ankhor Watt temples in Cambodia:
Oh, and I ate a spider - yummy!
We got back to NZ just as the great summer weather came to an end (yay - erm, not!) and have been back about a month now. My birthday was a pleasant and quiet affair. T got me Thai cooking lessons and I did the first last Saturday. They are wicked, and I am now a dab hand a Tom Yum (my number one fave!), fried rice, and spring rolls. This coming Sat is Pad Thai, Green Curry and Coconut Cake - shuld be good!
The house has been brilliant. A good friend of ours house sat whilstwe were away, and we returned to an overflowing veggie garden, a healthy cat, and a house in one piece - so thanks Sophie! Littletoe - at long last here's a pic of the house just for you:
All those windows make it great in summer, but now that the cold weather is due we are starting to realise a few of the pitfalls. T has spent all day today getting advice and assistance on heating and energy efficiency. A chap came over and had a butchers, and was impressed by the house, but confirmed our fears that it has absolutely zero insulation anywhere. None under the floor, none in the ceilings, none in the walls. All this = brrrrrrr! Mum and dad - expect a call soon for that loan you mentioned.....
Following our move here, it meant that the house in the city was empty and was up for rent. The bad news right up to Christmas Eve was that it remained un-tennanted and we were looking at paying a hefty mortgage on it come mid-Jan. However it was A1 Property Managers to the rescue, and we got the call right at the last on Christmas Eve that they had leased it for a 12 month period. What a Christmas present! So, for the first time here in NZ we are land-lords. Fingers crossed that we can keep it tennanted for the next few years and that it just ticks over nicely.
Work continues for me - it's all a bit doom and gloom within our business as there have been a couple of redundacies recently, however our office is fighting hard and we are working to keep the beady eye of job cuts well and truly away from the Christchurch branch. Generally speaking manufacturing has taken the biggest hit here in ChCh, with a number of high profile companies - some of them clients of ours - cutting staff numbers due to a drop in demand for their products. Cheers credit crunch!
I mentioned the veggie patch before. Dad helped me clear it of weeds and plant it out before Christmas. We are now enjoying runner beans, green beans, corgettes (or zucchinis if you're Kiwi - whichever way it's a bugger to spell!) radish and baby carrotts. Soon we'll have spuds, leeks and beetroot too - and we love it! We've been so motivated by the success that we are now thinking of adding a couple of chickens into the mix, so are meeting with friends Teamembo over the weekend who have chooks of their own. We're hoping to pick up some tips, check out the stuff we'll need and the cost of it all, ad then we can go from there. Chickens! How River Cottage is that?!
T's business is picking up steam - www.atmosphereplanning.com is getting plenty of attention and now looks a lot more professional. Thanks Kodie! No actual weddings as yet, but some advertising and a forthcoming wedding fair should bring some enquiries. In between times, T is getting to know the local schools in the hope of getting some relieving work whilst the wedding planning business grows - so keep your fingers crossed for us.
Oh, and do you realise that we have now been here over 2 years?! It slipped by prety unnoticed by both T and I. Whether that's a good or bad thing, we've yet to decide, but two whole years?! Where did that go then?
I reckon I'll leave it there.
Happy anniversary to us |
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