Saturday July 28th

Beautiful day here and I am heading outside to clean up the gardens, lawns etc. Jason is drenching sheep today, I offered to help but I think it’s a case of “the little lady getting in the way”. So Bear is coming to give him a hand for a while.

Well it’s a hive of activity on the gardens, it seems they have a full turn out and they are working on the old shop that Bear used as a potting shed, but is now to be a communal room for the workers, with a “NEW” second hand toilet bowl and hot running water.

Bear has been offered a job for 2 months working for a group of lawyers who have clients that need someone to “troubleshoot” their earthquake claims through the multi layers of officialdom and inefficiencies “Bears words” not mine. He is happy to get it because there is not a lot to be done on the gardens for 6 weeks now, so its good timing and the pay will no doubt go on the gardens anyway. Sadly it means we won’t hear much from him as he is going to stay with Paul and Sandy during the week and come out here on weekends. I know the girls will miss him hugely as indeed I will. However I think this break away from the gardens and his farm is just what he needs and the way he feels about CERA (Earthquake recovery) and Insurance companies I could almost feel sorry for them; almost.

Well I cannot escape my own duties, so I best move on.

Thursday 26th July and Im happy.

I have an awesome day today, most of it was in town. As I mentioned yesterday bear and I went into town, Bear to take Sandy to her doctors while I took Pop to the hospital. We got them home around 11:30am and then took off for some lunch at Northlands. After lunch Bear took me baby shopping and I have a real nice collection of clothes, blankets and a mixture of baby bottles, toys. I have to say bear is easier to go baby shopping with than Jas, at least he doesn’t play with the toys in the shop, but of course bear isn’t the daddy so that may make the difference.

We picked up the girls from school, I went in and had a chat with their teachers just to see how they are settling down; the teachers were very impressed how settled they are, especially Carla. I am so proud of them.

Jas helped a neighbour with his sheep this afternoon and didn’t get home until a few minutes ago. Poor babe is having a soak in the bath, he was sent there post haste owing to the sheepish aroma.

I have been sitting on the bed going over our collection of clothes, I must confess to be rather excited about the whole experience.

I went to see if anyone  has written on Bears blog but I couldn’t get in, a phone call has rectified that as they are in the process of changing the name. The new addy is now

http://camelotfarmyardandmemorialgardens.devhub.com/

Well I best go get the dinner on the table, tomorrow is another work day, I have a lot of work sitting on my PC.

Wednesday 25th.

Its been cool today but that’s ok because I stayed in most of the day and finished my work, now ready for next batch from head office. Jas was in and out working on the farm in between showers.

My two little girls came home very happy today, nice to see and long may it last, but because it was so cold and wet they resorted to city- itis, that is come home from school and watch TV. I had a bit of a job getting them to tidy their rooms, but we got there eventually.

Karl, one of the gardeners from next door came over and gave me some advise on doing my own gardens, he is a fountain of knowledge and Bear has a real gem in him. Apparently Bear hasn’t been there a lot this week, he has been out drumming up some possible customers for their goods, it seems very promising with some of the road side vege stalls only to happy to buy from them and depending on the quality of the veges and herbs, all good news.

Tomorrow I am going into town with Bear, I will be taking Pop to hospital and Bear is taking Sandy shopping and her doctors, it was one of those fluke times where Pop and Sandy had identical appointment times. Then Bear and I are having a lunch together, yes illicit passionate affairs over a salad none the less.

Bear is very different these days, he is very happy but a bit tired looking, we are all worried about his ankle as he now has a permanent limp, and is obviously in some pain; but he just wont take it easy. I really am glad his co-op people are using his blog Bears Work Blog

to introduce themselves. Its nice to get to know them and understand their motivations. Hamish interests me, not because he is gorgeous, but not nearly as gorgeous as my Jason (but he is a close second hon), he has the most hypnotic eyes.

I have been warned of match making him which is a shame because he would be a easy one to match.

Well that’s my news for the day, not a lot but its been an inside day to day so news is hard to come by.

Monday Night and childless

I have had a lovely day in the garden, I have extended the vegetable garden so that it is now 20 metres x 10metres, not big by many standards but ample for us. Much of the ground was diabolical to dig up but I managed to get it done.

Bear is kindly giving me when I am ready for them lettuces, carrots, cauliflowers, onions and a whole host of seeds or young plants. I also have blackberry and blueberry bushes, what I don’t have to plant nor worry about are potatoes because Bear has several hundred seed potatoes fort his organic mounds, he says there will be enough potatoes to feed a small town.

Jason has been busy with the stock as well as getting the ground along the river flats ready for planting trees to help with subsidence in the river banks. He had approached the district council for help in placing large boulders in the worse affected areas but with no luck. However Bear and Jason are going to make large concrete blocks and place them down there, so see we don’t need to pay exorbitant rates for councils that do nothing, pfffft.

The Girls had a lovely day at school, tonight they are staying with bear, just because they can it seems; he does spoil them rotten though. It seems so quiet here without the girls but it has been nice just to have Jason to myself. We had a lovely candlelight dinner, sat on the terrace until we froze and then had a hot bath until we cooked.

The Gardeners over the fence have been busy all day; some go home tonight and will come out on weekends. As I forecast Michele has moved the house bus down to Bears farm at least until they can get decent toilets and hot water down there. The Gardens do have a toilet in the old shop/potting shed area, but it really is beyond being used so Bear is getting a new one this week.

Well that’s all the news, so it’s time for bed. Night all.

Monday here again

It’s a lovely day out here again, and it’s going to be a gardening day today I think.

Yesterday after the house cleanup we went into Rangiora to see Gran and do some shopping. The girls are quite at home with Gran and she makes a real fuss of them. One scrap of good news is the Kyle has been talked out of going into the armed forces by Speedi, instead he is thinking of degree in agriculture which is where both Gran and Jas were hoping he would go. Kelly wants to be New Zealand’s first girl astronaut, I think all that flying with Emmett (he is so cool, seems like Kyle is old news).

Speedi and Paula have found a house in Rangiora to rent, they are looking for a place to buy somewhere between Rangiora and Oxford, so it will be brilliant when they finally settle down. We are still concerned that there is no news of Mal.

Bear’s Gardens were a hive of activity yesterday, a young woman Michele and her daughter (approx 3) are living in a house Bus there for a few days until she finds a place to rent in the area.  I would not be surprised to hear that she has moved the Bus over to bears farm before long, or worse she moves in to his house; he is such a softy when it comes to a sad story.

The people have started laying out the beds, and I have to say its starting to look brilliant. Whilst a I was not keen on the idea of a community garden, I have to say I was wrong as they have done in one day what would have taken Bear a week.

The good news (at least from my perspective) is that the people over there are trying to talk Bear into keeping his blog going as its a good way of encouraging informing people and obviously there must be a number who read it if he has 5 members after only a week of suggesting he opens the gardens to be a community garden.

As for my own gardens very small by my neighbours examples I have a large vegetable area already dug over, I have a small herb garden which will have the culinary herbs and around the house I am going to put in a flower garden.

Sunday again

Its been a coolish day here today, a bit overcast.

We have had mostly a day of tidying up after yesterdays little shindig, despite all the work put into it we had a ball and were so grateful for all our friends that turned up.

We had intended having a sleep in but the garden gang arrived next door in some obscene early hour this morning, even before Bear got there.

I see Bear has decided to close his blog, that is a huge shame and I have tried to talk him out of it, but as usual with no success. He is quite happy to let one of the others “do all that C#$P”.

I wandered over there this afternoon and it is quite a hive of activity, there is even a house bus on site, next we will have the gypsy’s moving in. Bear looked better today which is a very good thing. I am very pleased to see they are very respectful of what he wants done, it would seem at this stage at least they are all on the same page, I do hope they continue to stay there.

Well tomorrow its back to school time for my little ladies, they will have quite a tale to tell about their weekend, especially the flight “uncle” Emmett took them on over Christchurch and then over the alps to the West Coast. We even managed to get Cynthia and Gran on a flight, it was awesome.

I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, it all arrived on Friday but because this was a “family” weekend I decided I will let it lie until Monday, so sadly I will have to face up to it.

Well I best be going as not much news to report.

Saturday Night

I have a most wonderful day and evening. A lot of friends called in and shared the day with us and a lot of fun was had by all. Emmett was really good and took quite a few up for flights over Canterbury and Christchurch, so a very big thank you hon, your generosity certainly made the day.

Brenda my very best cousin came over from the coast and she brought her baby over, so being very clucky of late I stole her for much of the day. Naturally a lot of beer was drunk by the boys and they seemed to have a good time, they played touch rugby but I’m not sure who won and in fact I don’t think they know either.

Linda came out and Pamela came as well but of course without Bear here they were left to their own devices.

Bear came for a few minutes but for most of the day he has been busy over at the gardens with his new friends.

Jason was great and he made an absolutely beautiful speech at dinner tonight, it was lovely and he really surprised me because he would tell you himself he is not really a man of words.

I took a pic of me (holding Denise Brenda’s daughter), Cynthia, Jas’s Gran, and Helene one of Grans great granddaughters. (Apologies for the poor shot, the flash packed up then after this photo the camera died).

We started the day around 1:00pm with a BBQ and buffet lunch, originally I assumed it would just go for a few hours in the afternoon but people kept arriving many of whom I didn’t know as they were Jas’s friends; at one stage I counted 17 cars. We had an early dinner again BBQ and Buffet and it all wound up around 9:00pm.

I have a kitchen from hell at the moment, but it can wait until the morning, I just can’t be bothered and as it has gone midnight I’m taking my man to bed.

Love you all.