So June is over and now it's nearly Christmas. What happened to this year? Is time flying by what happens as you get older? This June has been a mixture of a month. The first half was terribly slow, with non-stop overcast, rainy weather. But then since the shortest day the speed picked up and I'm sure it's been a week since it rained. Already the days are brighter and it fills like winter is coming to a close - even though it's not half way through yet! My garden is definitely confused - my first daffodil has flowered! I've been pretty busy this month - I have found some motivation again and been sewing and crocheting. I've even hemmed the living room curtains (they're not perfect, I'm clearly an amateur). And I'm nearly done with our bedroom curtains, they're all pinned up and will be sewn tomorrow. They look so much better than when they were pooling on the ground!
So one out of the ordinary thing I did this month was have a party. Not a serious party but a pot-luck with a bunch of work people. It's actually the first time we've bothered to have a gathering of people at our house. And maybe that's for the better, because there were two toddlers and several incidents with red wine and chocolate cake on the carpet. Nathan took a couple of sick days from work for a cold so he was home for once, which was great because he finally got to meet my friends. But he does get stressy about spills on the carpet! We ate so much food, and I made mulled wine and mulled cider. Then we played cards against humanity, which I hadn't played before. Later, when everyone was gone, we decided to watch something on TV to relax a bit and I topped up my glass with the dregs of mulled wine, and made Nathan a cup of tea. Then I proceeded to knock both of them off the coffee table, they were completely full and went all over the couch and carpet. So, after all the little bits of mess with guests and toddlers, it was really me that was the problem. We cleaned it up as best we could, but to be honest there is a rather large mark from the red wine. Luckily it is under the couch (we had moved it and when we put it back, the stain was covered up).
In the middle of June I went to Fieldays. In case you don't know, it's like a giant A&P show, plus a giant home & living expo, plus tractors. It's huge, when you go over the hill and then see all the tents spread out below you for the first time you just stop and stare. A lot of people take photos of it (me included). I had to work for my two days there and I'm glad I was in the education hub because it is way less popular and crowded (education and careers aren't really the point of Fieldays). Everyone said I would need lots of merino layers and gumboots, but then it ended up being sunny so what I really needed was sunglasses. It wasn't rainy and most of the main ways are paved but I bought gumboots anyway because they were on sale and they are bright pink! There was loads of great things to buy, you could easily spend thousands there. More if you were in the market for a car or boat. I got some treats for my team at work and for Nathan, and a lot of free samples of dog food. I did not see the Prime Minister - I was on my lunch break while she went through our area. I had to get up at 5am to get to the airport for my flight up there, and then there was a fiasco with the rental cars and a flat battery so my bags got stranded in a locked car at Fieldays till late - so much for an early night. Needless to say I was pretty exhausted by the end of it, and I don't think I could handle working more than two days at something like that.
Around the house we have just been busy as usual. As well as curtains and sewing, I have been out in the garden doing odd bits and pieces when the weather allows. Winter crops aren't really much of a thing here - when winter really hits it's just too cold and everything stops growing, except the silverbeet. I pulled up my carrots today because they didn't seem to be growing any more. They're not very big but they're really delicious, much nicer than the ones from the market. And I ordered new lilies and planted them down by the fence, can't wait for summer to see what they look like.
Then the other weekend we were outside and the animals were hanging out while we gardened, as they do. We were digging some big gorse out from amongst our native bush area, and Nathan was swinging a heavy mattock to get through the clay and at the roots. The cat was watching, and then suddenly without warning he raced out and under the mattock, mid-swing. He aimed to go under the handle as it swung down I reckon, and the handle definitely hit him a bit. He zoomed off (so probably not hurt if he could run so fast) and of course I was worried that he had a serious injury. It completely ruined our day, I was all worried and Nathan felt bad that maybe he'd hurt my cat. The little bastard didn't come back for about 6 hours. After calling him a few times and going for a walk round the block just in case he was lying somewhere suffering internal injuries, I went looking one last time before bed and looked under the house (I'd looked there earlier of course). He was right there, sitting on a pile of old carpet staring at me. He'd heard me calling, he'd come back to the house quietly and then refused to come in, probably just sitting there listening to me call for ages, and didn't even get up when I found him, I had to go under the house and get him. What a little jerk. In return for making me worry I made him be an inside cat for most of that week.
We are still slowly preparing for our holiday of course. The countdown is on, only 10 weeks till we fly out! We have all our accommodation booked and now I am putting together a folder with everything we might need, like flight details and accommodation details and all the things we might want to do. Because I'm a nerd and I like to organise things in folders. I have a pinterest board for it too - it's arranged by must-do, might-do and maybe-do. Because I'm not allowed to make a full on itinerary, apparently being spontaneous is more fun. We don't have a housesitter yet. I've signed up to a website that was recommended to me, Trustedhousesitters. Hopefully that will get us somewhere, though I probably should have signed up sooner. It will be great to be on holiday but I will miss home and the pets. I won't miss work though!
The Airbnb thing has slowed right down, there were a few short stays this month but only one booked so far for each of the next two months. We plan to keep on at it in summer, and the price will go up because it's tourist season. We're hoping to make at least enough to build a fence. We have made about 2 grand to help with our holiday costs and we only started at the end of February so I reckon next summer we should do pretty well. We actually have a guest staying this weekend, but I've got to say it's the strangest guest situation yet. This guy has come from up Kapiti Coast for a squash tournament at the local club. He showed up last night, stopped to chat and then went of for his squash game and said 'see you in a few hours'. He hasn't been back since. Should I be worried? Maybe, but then, it's not my problem to watch out for these people and it's not like I have an emergency contact for him. It's pretty weird though. I hope he does show up at some point though; he hasn't left anything here but he does have the key to my house.
That's probably enough for tonight, I should go do dishes. I have had a very quiet Saturday night, we have started seriously planning for Nathan to change career. At some point in the future he will work a normal week and be home with me on the weekends. It will be strange at first, but definitely a change for the better! Here are some recent pics off my phone to finish with:
So one out of the ordinary thing I did this month was have a party. Not a serious party but a pot-luck with a bunch of work people. It's actually the first time we've bothered to have a gathering of people at our house. And maybe that's for the better, because there were two toddlers and several incidents with red wine and chocolate cake on the carpet. Nathan took a couple of sick days from work for a cold so he was home for once, which was great because he finally got to meet my friends. But he does get stressy about spills on the carpet! We ate so much food, and I made mulled wine and mulled cider. Then we played cards against humanity, which I hadn't played before. Later, when everyone was gone, we decided to watch something on TV to relax a bit and I topped up my glass with the dregs of mulled wine, and made Nathan a cup of tea. Then I proceeded to knock both of them off the coffee table, they were completely full and went all over the couch and carpet. So, after all the little bits of mess with guests and toddlers, it was really me that was the problem. We cleaned it up as best we could, but to be honest there is a rather large mark from the red wine. Luckily it is under the couch (we had moved it and when we put it back, the stain was covered up).
In the middle of June I went to Fieldays. In case you don't know, it's like a giant A&P show, plus a giant home & living expo, plus tractors. It's huge, when you go over the hill and then see all the tents spread out below you for the first time you just stop and stare. A lot of people take photos of it (me included). I had to work for my two days there and I'm glad I was in the education hub because it is way less popular and crowded (education and careers aren't really the point of Fieldays). Everyone said I would need lots of merino layers and gumboots, but then it ended up being sunny so what I really needed was sunglasses. It wasn't rainy and most of the main ways are paved but I bought gumboots anyway because they were on sale and they are bright pink! There was loads of great things to buy, you could easily spend thousands there. More if you were in the market for a car or boat. I got some treats for my team at work and for Nathan, and a lot of free samples of dog food. I did not see the Prime Minister - I was on my lunch break while she went through our area. I had to get up at 5am to get to the airport for my flight up there, and then there was a fiasco with the rental cars and a flat battery so my bags got stranded in a locked car at Fieldays till late - so much for an early night. Needless to say I was pretty exhausted by the end of it, and I don't think I could handle working more than two days at something like that.
Around the house we have just been busy as usual. As well as curtains and sewing, I have been out in the garden doing odd bits and pieces when the weather allows. Winter crops aren't really much of a thing here - when winter really hits it's just too cold and everything stops growing, except the silverbeet. I pulled up my carrots today because they didn't seem to be growing any more. They're not very big but they're really delicious, much nicer than the ones from the market. And I ordered new lilies and planted them down by the fence, can't wait for summer to see what they look like.
Then the other weekend we were outside and the animals were hanging out while we gardened, as they do. We were digging some big gorse out from amongst our native bush area, and Nathan was swinging a heavy mattock to get through the clay and at the roots. The cat was watching, and then suddenly without warning he raced out and under the mattock, mid-swing. He aimed to go under the handle as it swung down I reckon, and the handle definitely hit him a bit. He zoomed off (so probably not hurt if he could run so fast) and of course I was worried that he had a serious injury. It completely ruined our day, I was all worried and Nathan felt bad that maybe he'd hurt my cat. The little bastard didn't come back for about 6 hours. After calling him a few times and going for a walk round the block just in case he was lying somewhere suffering internal injuries, I went looking one last time before bed and looked under the house (I'd looked there earlier of course). He was right there, sitting on a pile of old carpet staring at me. He'd heard me calling, he'd come back to the house quietly and then refused to come in, probably just sitting there listening to me call for ages, and didn't even get up when I found him, I had to go under the house and get him. What a little jerk. In return for making me worry I made him be an inside cat for most of that week.
We are still slowly preparing for our holiday of course. The countdown is on, only 10 weeks till we fly out! We have all our accommodation booked and now I am putting together a folder with everything we might need, like flight details and accommodation details and all the things we might want to do. Because I'm a nerd and I like to organise things in folders. I have a pinterest board for it too - it's arranged by must-do, might-do and maybe-do. Because I'm not allowed to make a full on itinerary, apparently being spontaneous is more fun. We don't have a housesitter yet. I've signed up to a website that was recommended to me, Trustedhousesitters. Hopefully that will get us somewhere, though I probably should have signed up sooner. It will be great to be on holiday but I will miss home and the pets. I won't miss work though!
The Airbnb thing has slowed right down, there were a few short stays this month but only one booked so far for each of the next two months. We plan to keep on at it in summer, and the price will go up because it's tourist season. We're hoping to make at least enough to build a fence. We have made about 2 grand to help with our holiday costs and we only started at the end of February so I reckon next summer we should do pretty well. We actually have a guest staying this weekend, but I've got to say it's the strangest guest situation yet. This guy has come from up Kapiti Coast for a squash tournament at the local club. He showed up last night, stopped to chat and then went of for his squash game and said 'see you in a few hours'. He hasn't been back since. Should I be worried? Maybe, but then, it's not my problem to watch out for these people and it's not like I have an emergency contact for him. It's pretty weird though. I hope he does show up at some point though; he hasn't left anything here but he does have the key to my house.
That's probably enough for tonight, I should go do dishes. I have had a very quiet Saturday night, we have started seriously planning for Nathan to change career. At some point in the future he will work a normal week and be home with me on the weekends. It will be strange at first, but definitely a change for the better! Here are some recent pics off my phone to finish with:
