Have card will travel!

Carterton Railway Station.

We had plans for Saturday which would take us by train into Wellington using our Gold Cards, (free travel). We were up bright and early to catch the 8.05 train and the weather wasn’t too bad in Carterton. By the time we reached the Rimutaka Tunnel it was starting to rain. The tunnel is 6km’s long and by the time we emerged at the Hutt Valley end it was still raining albeit lightly.

At Upper Hutt we alighted with a plan to catch the return train in an hour and a half's time to Masterton as the weather to the South i.e Wellington, wasn’t looking too good. We wandered into town and met a couple of old work mates and had a good chat and managed to get a bit of shopping done. I bought a pair of much needed sandals and wore them out of the shop thinking that if my feet got sore I could change back to my original shoes. As it turned out they were so comfortable that I wore them all day even though we would eventually end up walking for 5 – 6 km”s. The sign of a good pair of shoes.

About to board a new Matangi electric unit to Wellington.

Back at the railway station we could see the weather to the South had improved so we reverted to our original plan of travelling to Wellington. The Wairarapa train came and went and eventually a local electric unit service arrived. This was one of the New Korean built Matangi trains which was the equal of any of the electric trains that we travelled on in the UK. Very nice.

Yours Truly aboard a new Korean built Matangi electric unit from Upper Hutt to Wellington. Very nice.  Reminded us of the London Underground Trains.

Christmas we had a heatwave!

Despite still being in the process of getting our new home sorted out we had a long standing arrangement to travel to Carterton for Christmas and New Year. On Monday 24th we set off via Shannon across the road known as the “PahiatuaTrack”. It may have been a bullock track originally but it is now a well sealed highway.

Christmas Day was a scorcher with temperatures in the mid thirties, too hot to even eat let alone anything else. Friday the 28th and the weather couldn’t have been more opposite with rain and one hell of a thunder storm. We heard it coming from the South and the thunder just kept rumbling. As it passed over head a clap of thunder literally shook everything and no doubt frightened the hell out of everybody with a nervous disposition. We could still hear the thunder as the storm moved northwards towards Hawkes Bay.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

 

What, no Insulation!

Yesterday Derek decided to get out his renovator tool again and cut a doorway into the roof cavity of the living area on the mezzanine floor.  He had already successfully put a door in the back of the storage cupboard on the other side and it is a great place to store the suitcases and all the paraphernalia one collects over the years.

This turned out so well he decided that the other side of the roof area needed one too.  He had been given a lovely Rimu cupboard door for which he was cutting a hole to fit.  This would give access to another roof area where it would make it easy for extended electrical wiring for hot points and aerial points that we intend to install some time in the new year.

But what's this? Once the hole was cut we realised that we were over the bathroom area and there was no insulation.  Now in New Zealand all new houses need to be fully insulated as per building regulations. Someone had mucked up, and the Council Building Inspector should have spotted it too.

Even though the building warranty on our home had expired in October we felt that it was still the builders responsibility to rectify the problem.  It was worth asking anyway as the builders are still on site with other homes.

Walking across to the Motorhome to put something away ready for our departure next week, Derek met up with Adam, the Overseer, for the building work.  A quick question as to whether there should be insulation above the bathroom he received an exclamation that of course there should.  Adam obviously didn't believe Derek when he said there was none and wanted to know how Derek knew.  An explanation as to how he found out resulted in Adam coming to look for himself.  Well, next minute.  Derek came trotting back with almost a full bale of Batts courtesy of the developer to complete the job himself.  That will keep him busy for a while.

Today Derek headed off down to the Menz Shed for his weekly visit where he found other members clearing up in preparation for the Xmas break. A truck load of scrap metal and dead electrical gear was dispatched to the scrap metal merchant along with a trailer load of rubbish to the rubbish transfer station. With all this activity concluded Derek managed to find a suitable length of timber and with some assistance put it through the Router trimming it up to become the door frame for the above mentioned project.

He managed to tear himself away from the Shed in time to get a few groceries and be home for lunch with Uncle Bill and Aunty Gretta.

Some firsts for years and years!

Something has happened around here.  I must admit that I haven’t made a Christmas Cake or pudding since when the children were small.  New house, new plans, let’s see if I can still do it. The Christmas Cake was made last week with a new recipe with a tin of crushed pineapple added.  I must admit we had guests around the other day so it was cut.  Yum I made a success out of that.  Lets try a Christmas Pudding.

Christmas Pudding just out of the Pressure Cooker.

My sister Mary is a great cook and a fan of the Pressure Cooker, so she provided the unusual recipe.  Well its worth a try, I can’t go too far wrong can I?  This recipe has sago soaking in milk for at least 8 hours before mixing the rest.  It was planned for yesterday but I had forgotten to soak the sago.  Never mind I was all set to go this morning and what a success this was too.  Only 1¼ hours in the Pressure Cooker and it was all done.  I had no steam pudding basin but a stainless steel mixing bowl with baking paper and tinfoil did the trick.  I then managed to transfer it into a smaller bowl so that I can reheat it while away in our Motorhome Gypsy Rover.  Derek and I both scraped the bowl and it was yummy too.  I better not let this go to my head had I?

It’s very Interesting!

What one see’s over the back fence.  When we purchased our new property a few weeks ago there were about 30 head of cattle grazing the paddocks over our back fence.  On returning from Tongariro we found that the paddocks were empty.  In the meantime the grass has been growing longer and longer and some of it decided that our backyard was worth investigating as it crept under the fence.  Derek was cursing as he looked at all the weeds taking hold and was reluctant to spray to kill it off in case the cattle returned.  Well no need, on Friday along came a tractor and cut it all down.

Hay bails in the paddocks behind the house.

Goody he said “ that saves me a job”.  Unfortunately they didn’t cut right along the fence line so we still had the invading grass under the fence, nothing for it but to spray. The birds were happy too as they returned to hunt for seed and insects.  A couple of days later a tractor returned with a hay rake and turned it all over to dry. 

Double stacking the bails in readiness for loading.

Yesterday afternoon a tractor with a much bigger machine arrived to rake the hay together in readiness for the bailer. The latter arrived a short time later to start the bailing process producing 64 bales. Once finished the bailer was parked in the corner of the paddock and the tractor driver started stacking the bales 2 high using the tines on the front of the tractor. Early last evening a truck arrived and was immediately loaded with 30 bales closely followed by a smaller truck which took another 18 bails. 

Loading begins.

At this point the tractor driver locked up his vehicle and hopped into the small truck. The vehicle sat in the middle of the paddock for about 10 minutes in which time some discussion must have taken place as the two drivers changed places with the truck driver now taking control of the tractor. The 2 trucks departed with the tractor driver double stacking the last few remaining bails. Half an hour later the first tractor returned with a 2 axle trailer in tow on which they managed to squeeze the last remaining 16 bails. They just managed to beat the rain by a few minutes, how lucky was that?

A tricky manoeuvre to place a bail on its side in the middle of the truck.Four high each side with 2 in the centre.

It was just as well because today has been very wet with constant rain which wouldn’t have done the hay much good had it been left out.

It’s Christmas and we have found it!!

Yes I know, you thought we had gone away and got lost.  No such luck.  We have been very busy getting ourselves sorted since our move.  What with juggling unpacking, sorting out what to keep or what to sell or donate to a charity shop, we haven’t had much time to think.  Not to mention the times we are camp minding so the owners can have holidays themselves , rallying with the Heretaunga Caravan  Club and Derek working with Don on the farm .  Where has the time gone? We managed to find our Christmas Tree that had been stored for nearly 7 years and have put that up including all the lights that were stored with it.  There are now nearly 200 lights adorning our new property.  The only one in the village so they are attracting a bit of attention.

We have been filling in our 2013 Calendar with trips away holidaying and working  and it appears that we won’t be home much for the first three months.  The Caretaker commented that perhaps we should be renting rather than having bought our new home as we are never here.  But that wouldn’t have worked either.  With the secure Motorhome Parking in the complex we couldn’t afford to let it go.  It’s almost as good as living in our motorhome.  We love it here now we have settled in, no regrets at all.  It’s a great place to call home when we are not on the road.

Interesting view last night over the rooftops.Just a few minutes later and showing a few of our lights around the roof.

Interesting read of Ray and Diane’s Blog, the new owners of our Narrowboat Gypsy Rover (Now renamed Ferndale).  They have finally found the Christmas Tree that we left hidden for them, 3 years down the track.  What have they been doing? Read about it here.   At long last it is back on display on the boat.