Open Home

OPEN HOME

at

164 Waitangi Road Carterton

Over the weekend of SATURDAY 30 & SUNDAY 31 January

Any time after 11.00am each day

Denise and Jennifer invite you to drop in and view the current progress. We are hoping to be able to offer a wide but interesting assortment of foodstuffs but would appreciate any contributions towards refreshments. At this stage we cannot guarantee the state of the place but we are hoping to have a toilet working. Overstayers welcome.

End of the Year Wrap

We made another lightning trip up to Fossils Retreat on 31 December, laden with more stuff from the garage at Avalon. Prior to that, we were there for the day on 20 December, when Stan kindly gave up a couple of hours and downed some trees for us - which we now urgently need to get sawn and split so we will hopefully have some dry firewood this coming winter. Stan taking down a small lone gum on the road on the south side of the property. Best taken down now rather than in 2 years when the Council complain it is hitting the power lines

Stan also took down a few willows on the east side that were preventing a gate closing, and a large macrocarpa that was starting to die on the inside. Unfortunately, nobody got a shot of the macrocarpa being felled.

Jennifer demonstrating prowess with a splitting axe. A pity that this is the only shot Denise got with her phone and the log fell over

When we arrived, we were thrilled to see lots of big wrapped parcels all over the paddocks. Well, not too thrilled in that the parcels were a bit bigger than we anticipated and there is no way that one person can move one of them. Two people can't move one, actually. Hmmmm

50 big bales of baleage dotted around the paddocks

Jacob the builder is on holiday for a few days, but we did manage to contact and meet up with a plasterer who is going to start with the gib stopping for us. (Dry wall, for American readers).

Denise models the latest in fashion for rural Race meetings. She is thrilled to bits to find we have a 'permanent' door step

The new addition - laundry and utility room - now all lined out

Denise is looking into the corner where the new pantry will go. The wall opening has been cut into the lounge for the bi-fold doors, and the former doorway from the hall has been filled in

Our new bathroom, taken from cribbing space from each adjoining bedroom. Yes folks, believe it or not, a claw foot bath will be going in here AND a basin AND a toilet AND a few other fittings. Claustrophobic people may find visiting this wee room a bit of a challenge

We are really pleased the way things are ticking along. The only hold-up at present is that the plasterer cannot do the kitchen/dining area walls as the bracing needs to be inspected by the Council, and the chap who does this is on holiday until the 11th. We will now have to put off the kitchen going in by a week as we will need to have the kitchen area plastered and painted beforehand. Plenty of other chores to do though.

The little feijoa trees are doing very well. We are so lucky in that (to date) the hares haven't snacked on them. Potatoes seem to be doing OK but hard to tell without rummaging around in the tyres. They are only just starting to put up the occasional flower.

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