Kia Ora and Happy New Year

We started the new year by putting netting up over the grapes to try and stop the birds stealing them again, then we weeded and staked the Kanuka hedge (about 100m) that we planted last winter.

Friends had a tree chopped down in their gully and gave us the wood. It took three hours and two trips with the ute and trailer to collect everything. It’s now sitting in our shed drying out. Next year Peter will chop it up and we’ll have a couple of months of firewood for winter 2015.

On the 12th of January we celebrated nine years in New Zealand. Time has both flown past and gone 'oh so slowly' too. We went to an Indian restaurant in Hamilton, Peter booked a table for 6.30 but we needn't have bothered - we only saw two other tables being used whilst we were there. A lot of the restaurants close down for two to three weeks over Christmas as business is very slow - Kiwi's all disappear to the beach.

During the holidays we went to our local cinema to see The Hobbit part2 in 3D.

One Friday Peter ordered a takeaway from our favourite Indian restaurant. He gave the order over the phone but before he could then say his name the guy said ‘ OK Peter, see you in 10 minutes’. Ha! Do you think maybe we order the same dishes each time?

We took Maxie for her annual check up at the vets one Saturday morning.  Then Peter made the mistake of commenting that this was the first Christmas that we hadn’t spent a fortune on vet visits for one or other of the girls. Two days later we were back as she’d chewed one of her toes so badly it needed antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and cream. Sigh.

We had a very windy week in the middle of the month. In fact it was so bad that some of the bonsai fell off their stands and one suffered a broken pot. Ann’s Asiatic lilies are flowering well though.
	Ann walked into chaos the other evening - water all over the kitchen floor and living room carpet. Peter had trod on the dogs’ water bowl – and then he had the cheek to blame poor Spotty Dog – saying she got in his way and tripped him up!

Ann went back to work on 28th January – two days in class setting up then two teacher only days before the students start back on the 3rd February. Peter, of course, has no sympathy as he’s been back working for weeks.

We've started walking the girls later in the evening - Jaz seems to prefer this as it is cooler and she manages to get a bit further round the village before wanting to turn round.