And the Batts Go On ... And the Batts Go On

Another lightning trip over to Fossils Retreat after work on Wednesday 16 December to drop off more de-clutter from Avalon, check on and water the feijoas and tend to potatoes and view more progress ...

The framing of the wall on the left near the tractor had to be completely rebuilt with sound timber after Jacob discovered most of it was not sound. All enclosed with building paper now. Our resalvage/kindling/bonfire stacks are getting bigger ...

Denise stands where the pantry will be in the new kitchen. Batts have been installed on the newly rebuilt wall (window from Trade Me - 2 panes to be repaired). Jacob has had to put down new flooring on the left wall corner. The opening into the living room has been cut. We have a hall door in place

Repaired ceiling in the living room. This is the rebuilt corner where the original diagonal fireplace was situated. This room and the hall will retain their original 12 ft studs. The 3 bedrooms will have ceilings reduced to normal height as we don't have enough of this original paling to replace all the ceilings.

Looking from the dining room through to the living room, and Denise tries out the new hall door

Jennifer practising lounging at the dining room table in the late afternoon sun. Those lovely french doors which Jacob has made open outwards were $300 on Trade Me. Window from The Renovators, Masterton (sod wouldn't haggle the price so it has been our most expensive window)

A raptured Denise picturing her new laundry/utility room (both these windows were existing in the house - just rearranged)

We are absolutely chuffed that things are ticking along so smoothly and so fast. We really have been lucky with all our tradespeople - Jacob, our builder and his team, Kevin the Sparky and Robin our plumber.

We have accepted a quote from Pete's Kitchens & Joinery in Greytown for our kitchen, which we thought was modest (the kitchen a modest design, that is, not the quote) but what the heck! It will be exactly what we want in the space we have, so we're going for it.

In the meantime, our potatoes in old tyres fed on old horse manure are thriving far better than the remainder of the bag we planted back at Avalon; the feijoas (to date) have not been demolished by hares and are flourishing well. We take up 2 x 20 litre containers of water each time we go up, to water. We also found out that we have about 25cm of water in our water tank collected from the garage roof. Still waiting to hear from blokes who put up house guttering so we can collect rainwater from the house roof too. Doom and gloom if we have missed out on all the best rain and we are in for another Wairarapa drought.

Strange Things Have Popped Up

We popped up to Fossils Retreat again on Saturday 28 November. Disappointedly and true to the forecast, it was pissing down. We got very wet indeed traipsing in and out of the garage finding things that were OK to get wet on the back of the ute, and tying down with our wonderfully complicatedly joined neverending bungee cords. The weather was equally miserable over there. It appears out septic system is in. There are little groups of capped pipes away yonder out there, and also, a few puzzling newer ones closer to home ...

I guess we'll have to find the funds to build a little porch at the front door pretty soon, as the down pipes from the guttering will apparently connect to here and go into the water tank. If not the whole porch, bare framework so we can have a vertical post to connect the downpipe to.

We didn't hang around too long. Jacob has managed to frame up the new roof addition and exterior before the weather closed in.

As you can see, pretty sodden. The piles of scrap wood and rubbish are getting bigger. We'll have plenty of kindling for a few years. Jacob is reusing every possible bit he can

Plenty of Room for Dancing ...

We made a lightning trip over the hill after work last Wednesday 25 November. Denise is getting very panicky in that there is still so much to do in tidying up Avalon and with the quiet time for real estate over Christmas/New Year fast approaching, we need to get stuck in and get it presentable for putting on the market. Hence, on this trip to Fossils Retreat, we took over miscellaneous items gathered and taking up space at Avalon, such as : two steel baths, a laundry tub, pedestal and basin (intended for the garden), several large plastic rubbish bins full of garden stuff, two heavy duty tyres for the ute, new porcelain toilet and cistern (in its packaging), and the like.

As Jacob the Builder told Denise - ' you won't need a key to get in'.
Pretty much open air stuff here! The digger in the background belongs to the septic tank installer

Taken from the main bedroom window looking back through the fireplace gap between bedroom and living room. Floor has been filled in and framing for the new wall. About where that pink board is across the floor will be a compact en suite

The wall between the other two bedrooms is gone. Wardrobes for both rooms will be at the end on the rhs - a bit from each room, and then back to the hall will be a new bathroom - very compact indeed. You can see the claw foot bath at the back that will go in

Our Builder has Started!

For some reason I can't presently recall, it appears from the dates on the photos, we next visited Fossils Retreat on Thursday 19 November. Jacob, our builder, has already made a start, as you can see.

Foundations for the new extension - a bit more dining room area and a laundry.

The wall between the old bathroom and kitchen has gone. This roof will also go, and new framing for a new roof

It appeared the original fireplace went diagonally into both rooms. Jacob is getting ready to cut new floorboards and square off each room

Over the Hill

You will constantly read the phrase 'Over the Hill'. Useage of this term is shared by both Wairarapa residents and Wellington (region) residents. The Hill is called 'The Rimutakas' or 'Rimutaka Hill Road' and is 22kms long, windy, and not for the faint-hearted. Takes around 17-25 minutes to get over - depending on whether you get any hold-ups on the 'down' (Wairarapa) side where there are no marked passing lanes. The hill is frequently closed on very windy days, and occasionally for snow and sleet. Featherston is the first town when travelling from Wellington.

From Wellington city to Featherston, about 1 hr 20 mins drive. We currently live in Lower Hutt, about where the '2' is on the map, and it's exactly 1 hour's drive from here to Fossils Retreat in Carterton

Here's some tourist blurb on the Wairarapa Region : Nestled at the southern end of the North Island, this region combines urban life with wilderness experiences and the simple pleasures of a rural paradise. The Wairarapa region offers exciting opportunities to acquaint yourself with New Zealand's rural off-the-beaten-track charm. Fringed by mountains and rugged coast, the region offers a diverse range of experience for lovers of great wine, gourmet organically grown food, astonishing wildlife and natural beauty. The area is particularly renowened as a wine-growing region, boasting over 30 vineyards. The Wairarapa is also home to a wealth of other specialist food growers - from olive oils, fruits and vegetables, nuts and herbs, to honey, traditional cider (alcoholic - for American interest), boutique beer, cheeses and chocolate - this region is the perfect destination for those with an interest in culinary indulgence.

That pretty well sums it all up ... heaps more, of course, and we know several secrets ... about all sorts of things

Photos taken while travelling 'over the hill'.

The first view of the Wairarapa valley - about one third of the way down (from Wellington) from the summit. Sorry about the uv haze and the dirty windscreen

Taken going back 'down' over the hill, on the Wellington side

Get a good look at the quality of the fences on the left as you go up the hill from Wellington, because ...

they are not much good at stopping your vehicle. Some poor chap went right through the fence here going down the hill (to Wgtn) the day before. We saw his car still down the side - 200 metres down. He was coptered out.

We know several people who won't even venture over the hill.

The Kia Ora dairy in Featherston. Has great value for money cone ice creams

We don't mess around trying to get the message across with our road signs

Several Surprises

We arrived back up at Fossils Retreat early afternoon Saturday 7 November, stopping on the way at Featherston to drop Tansy off to Orton Lodge for the night, then at Greytown to visit a Kitchen Installer, then on to Masterton to visit a 'Made in Masterton' show which was a little bit useful to us. When we did arrive, we were very surprised indeed to find a fully erected garage on site. We weren't expecting this for another couple of weeks.

New garage on site. A lovely big one, 9 metres long. The first water tank on lhs was delivered several weeks ago, and no, contrary to several comments we have heard, it is just resting there before it goes in alongside the garage

And another surprise ... the meter board has (sort of) been attached to the house

Our $4K+ power and phone cables laid across the drive. Bit of a worry with it all lying in last week's downpour, eh?

We got stuck in to more demolishing. Denise couldn't wait to seriously address this wardrobe in the back bedroom.

This is likely to be as far as the interior decorating for this bedroom goes, folks. About #23 on the Priorities list. We will be taking a metre or so in from the wall on Denise's rhs, and a metre or so from the adjoining front bedroom, and making a dinky tiny little bathroom with a new door in from the hall

On Sunday 8 November, we had an appointment with Mitre 10 in Masterton with their kitchen consultant, so after supplying him with all our measurements and requirements, which he will then transpose into his computer and send us a layout (which will be really useful to us as we are not much good at envisaging out of thin air), we visited the Car Boot Sale in Chapel Street, Masterton (a quick visit - pretty junky but good for fresh veg. The $3 hamburgers can be recommended).

Back to Fossils Retreat for an early lunch, then we got stuck in to demolishing again. You wouldn't believe the variety of screws used to hold the kitchen fixtures together. We are doing this frustratingly carefully, as parts of the laminated bench top and shelving units will be very useful in the garage.

Denise coming to grips with more plumbing fixtures

Voila! Little gas stove, benches, sink top, all gone! Except the corner unit, which Denise decided was too heavy for us to lift into the garage, so we have left it for the builders. This whole wall will move out 1 metre or so to increase the dining/kitchen area, and that window will be used on the new extended west wall (to the rhs in photo). The whole extension will line up with the existing house wall and we will be using that space for a large laundry and storage.

All the bits of wood and fixtures deemed 'able to be reused' (most of it - we don't throw away much) were stored in the new garage. We have rapidly growing piles of timber, firewood and rubbish outside.

And another nice surprise !

As we hoped, the existing bath is a claw foot. Instead of being our outdoors hot tub, this will now be relocated to and used in the new bathroom, so we need to look for a dunger steel bath for outside

More cupboards ripped out from the existing kitchen. That wall will disappear to open up the existing bathroom beyond it, which will then become our kitchen area facing north. We couldn't get the hot water tank out as our plumbing wrench has seized

For Sale : French doors; hot water cylinder with fixtures; lovely retro hanging glass etched/painted shade

We were pleased to see two of the potatoes had put up leaves. And thrilled to find all 25 feijoa trees still intact. Maybe the dog poo works after all. Just to be sure, we gave them all a good organic spray (which will wash off after first rain, unfortunately) and a good water. Jennifer managed to shear only one plant off while clipping the surrounding grass. Then it was time to store everything remotely useful in the garage, pack up and lock up, and off to pick Tansy up and head home. We are starting to believe we are making progress.

Meet the Dependants

For those of you not aware of our whanau who still live at home - we have, deferring to age, Scruffy (3yrs); Tansy (2yrs 8m) and Madge (just 2 yrs). Madge has had to suffer Tansy since she was 8 weeks old, and they are extremely attached to each other.

Scruffy was rescued from an Animal Shelter by Denise over 18 months ago, and had lived her prior 8 months in a cage. She was just getting all settled in and comfortable in her new home ... when along came Tansy ... who thinks that every tabby cat is just like Madge, waiting to be chased and scrapped with. We just wish Scruffy would get on with it and give Tansy a hiding instead of retreating to high places.

Consequently, we now have our own recluse Garbo who retires either to her bedroom in the hot water cupboard, or the penthouse on top of the pantry.

Scruffy being totally oblivious to everything except food in her favourite warm spot

Tansy has a lot of growing up to do but is getting slightly more obedient. We will need to think about how to keep her restrained at Fossils Retreat. She thinks every animal or being is in her world to play with and be her new friend. There will be a lot of yelling and no doubt, child abuse when we get settled in at Fossils Retreat and start gathering livestock. She is still absolutely fascinated with Scruffy. We still have to lock her in the bedroom to get Scruffy in and out of the cat door. After all this time ...

Tansy is, we and various other persons with doggy knowledge agreed, made up of the following recognisable varieties : Whippet, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Fox Terrior ... the SPCA told me they were told her father was an alsation ... we don't know how much more parentage out there ... Huge heart, not quite so huge brain ... but very loveable

Tansy and Madge - inseparable. They miss each other terribly when apart. Best of friends most of the time but have many a 'more than just playfighting' episode as well.

Madge was a baby from friends, and as the more astute of you will have noted, is quite similar to Scruffy in appearance. We often get confused still. (Both tabbies, for you less observant). She dislikes milk and fish and chicken and chop bones but will happily guts anything else around. Can demolish a dog biscuit in 2 minutes flat (after getting it out of the bag). Often brings loving gifts inside (headless birds, moths, wetas and the like). Has an ongoing fascination with the toilet - likes creating paws-on-art around the bowl interior.

So, that's the kids who you will read mentioned from time to time.