We have finally finished planting the Red Robin hedge down the one side of the section, we now just have to do the bottom. We also managed to cut the pittosporum hedge. Peter complained it took longer than the hedge in Westcroft – but that was only 5m long rather than the 50m of this one.
You can just see Peter on the left by the ute, the little orange blob is his hard hat!
Peter became President of the Bonsai Club at the AGM. He now has to run all of the meetings and open up the Community Centre where we meet.
Ann’s had a busy term so far, including a call back day discussing the new national curriculum, and the annual school concert with a dance and movement theme in black and white colours only.
The garage is now finished – apart from Peter having to paint the inside and of course, filling it up with all the junk we have in various rooms in the house.
Maxie’s been practising her ‘Chad’ impressions……
………..whilst Jaz practises her snoring.
We’re both finally feeling better after Ann shared her cold with Peter. Of course Ann just had a cold with a cough and laryngitis, whilst Peter had full blown ‘man flu’ and was at death’s door for a week!!!
Mel and Darren came to stay for a few days at the end of their visit to New Zealand. After a miserable few days in Auckland and cold, wet weather in Nelson, when they arrived in Pirongia we switched on the sun for them and the weather turned warm and sunny. Peter took them sightseeing in Rotorua one day. They visited the Te Puia Geothermal Park and Craft Centre
Here they saw a concert put on by the local Maori as well as geysers and bubbling hot mud pools.
On the Thursday Ann put the shopping down in the garage whilst she fed the dogs then got the washing in off the line. In that brief moment (less than 30 seconds) Jaz and Maxie had managed to snaffle almost a dozen sausages, meant for our BBQ, out of the bag! Needless to say Peter had to go and buy more.
Then on the Friday whilst Darren flew up to Auckland for work Mel and Peter drove to Otorohanga to see some Kiwi birds, then the glow worms in Waitomo Caves.
One night as we put the dogs to bed in the garage Ann noticed a white tailed spider on the ceiling. These spiders can be dangerous, even deadly so she sprayed it but with no effect. Then Peter managed to splat it with his slipper. Unfortunately it was on the metal filing cabinet at the time and the resulting sound was very loud. Jaz didn’t move but Maxie shot out of her bed and across the garage shaking like a leaf! It took a lot of persuasion to get her back across the room and even then she refused to get back into her bed but climbed in with Jaz instead. The next evening poor Maxie was still nervous about getting into her bed. Peter can be such a ‘bully’ sometimes – scaring the life out of his poor little dog!
The last week-end we hosted a bonsai workshop for a dozen people with Nobu Kajiwara as our mentor. The sun shone, the temperature reached 30 degrees and we all learned heaps.
News from Home
Mark has been increasing his repertoire of skills with dancing – ballroom, Latin dancing, waltz, quickstep, rumba and cha cha cha.
Michael was chosen to read aloud his essay at his schools’ Veterans Day assembly entitled ‘Keeping the American Dream Alive’.