Happy Christmas

Finally I have got to the laptop to do this overdue post.

We have finally got 98% of the place under weed mat & bark mulch & are looking forward to sitting back wine in hand & watching the garden grow!

We are having our first Christmas in our new home which will be great but with all the garden work going on it's sort of snuck up on us, so tomorrow could be a long day cleaning up for visitors.

Since my last post we have been down to Coleridge Power Station in Canterbury for the centenary of its opening. My dad worked there from about 1928 to 1930-31.

We had been up there before but now it's run by remote control from Tauranga & there is no access.

We arrived in Methven on the Friday night after a trip down from Blenheim taking the long way to Methven via Geraldine so Lis could go the Barker's & stock up. Les  just came for the ride!

Saturday morning we had a look around Methven, a very different place to my memories as a 5 year old starting school there.
Registration was at midday & once we had our grab bags & instructions we climbed onto buses for a trip up to the head of Lake Coleridge & past the surge chambers etc. We had an excellent commentary from some one who had been a run holder in the valley so lots of interesting information. The road to the village is now sealed but still quite narrow by most standards & our trip was highlighted when we caught up with one of the steam traction engines heading in for the parade on Sunday, luckily we got past & later came upon some of the many vintage cars also making their way to the village.

After our trip trip to the lake head we came back to the power station which was open with  great information panels to explain what we were looking at. Then we had afternoon tea provided by some energetic ladies from the district. This was proper 1920/30's style. Everyone was sitting down at tables & all had a beautiful cup, saucer & plate. Our tea was brought to us & the middle of the table adorned with a tiered cake stand with an amazing array of delicious edibles for us to partake .

Back to Methven to get changed & head off for the dinner, lots of people with memories to share & the enjoyment of meeting & hearing of many experiences living in the village for many years in the time the power station was run by staff living on site.

The highlight of the weekend was at the open day on Sunday with a parade of steam traction engines vintage cares, tractors, motorbikes. When Coleridge was built there was no real road in more a track & everything had to be railed to Coalgate where it was loaded off the train & onto trailers that were pulled by steam traction engine to the station, a journey of 3 days.
Once at the station it was unloaded to be assembled & put in place.
Coleridge is a lovely place to visit probably better in summer, it can be very cold in winter.
There are some good walks in the area & an arboretum which is amazing with trees planted by the early staff to see which trees grew best in the climate.

That's enough about that, time to attach pictures of tiny shrubs & some of these amazing machines still running today.

                                              October some shrubs showing up

   four traction engines by the power station one of these was used during construction and was back
   to join in the centenary.

                                                      Harley Davidson in the parade

                                              Model T

                                                the oldest car in the parade

                                        Our new sunshade so now we can enjoy the deck

                     Summer? Not. More snow on the hills 2.12.14 than we'd had all winter!

                                                 One of the 20  or so traction engines

                  Another of these work horses. One had driven up from Invercargill to be there
                  and was driving home the week following!
All the Best to All for 2015

at last some news!

Apologies for the loooooong delay you can blame my laptop for that!

Anyway, all's well & we've been busy trying to get as many plants as possible in & settled before the really hot weather gets here.
So far we've only lost one shrub which is pretty good considering how little rain we've had for the last three months, already there is talk of a drought so we probably should be sharing our shower with a bucket to save some water for the plants.

     mini flax                                       

50 Adams Lane 23.10.14 look hard to see the shrubs 

 Azaleas by the front door 

 blackcurrant with fruit if we can beat the birds to them!

 Our new seat for the second patio area (yet to be done)

 Very clever when needed it can turn into a table for six

 Anne & Kody are picking peonies so we got some to enjoy

The unpaid gardener working flat out.

So what else is news.

Well Mark now owns his own truck which is keeping him busy & earning it's keep.

Anne & the boys are all well, Anne & Kody working picking peonies grown locally for export & that'll keep them busy for a few weeks yet & then it'll be cherries. Bryn is waiting to hear if he's been accepted for the Air Force & meantime working in a local supermarket.

Claire & Lauren went to UK & hoped to get work but the balls for work & flats didn't fall fortuitously so they're back in NZ & heading to Christchurch where they have a house to live in &

Lauren has a job to start asap.

We are enjoying ourselves, we had a trip to Wellington recently & caught up with many of our friends which was great fun. Now it's get next patio area sorted & the whole section covered in weed mat with newspaper on top & then bark mulch to give the shrubs a chance of survival.

Next we need patience while we wait for them all to grow.

We have also changed cars & now have a Ford Fiesta tucked up in the garage.

To my horror while in town yesterday I saw a notice outside one of the shops warning me we only had 7 Fridays till Christmas, holy smoke where did the year go?

That's about all from us

Take care

L & L

                                          Well some of its in place!

                                        Great to see the staff on the job

                                       Sorted? I don't think so 2 days after delivery.

Hope this finds all fit & well as we are.
Well we've made it & now we're just over a week in the house & loving it.
The sun pours in from sun up to sun set & the  house is so warm. Les is having fun watching the info display on the solar hot water system that has been working well.
We love the LED lights & how warm the house is & we haven't got curtains yet. We have some temporary ones in the bedrooms but none in lounge dining area.
The garage is looking a bit clearer after we had dozens of boxes & packing picked up & the car can now get inside.
The sorting continues & there are lots of pictures yet to hang on walls. Bookshelves are full to overflowing!!!
Claire & Lauren will be down here next week & want to have  bed to sleep in so plenty more to sort.
When we get to the garden we'll send some progress pics.

Hi to All

This is the last minute rush to finish the house taken today 15^th May. Our furniture arrives Monday 19^th to keep us busy getting settled & get the garden planted.

Our new address is:

50 Adams Lane

Springlands

Blenheim 7201

Marlborough NZ

Ph 03 579 3167

Lis & Les

                                          That worked well missed getting back fence in shot!

                                            Our broken trellis fencing which we'll plant around
                                         for privacy & shelter

                                         In behind here we will add a nice area for sitting out
                                          & enjoying the quiet life

                                                   The happy front door to welcome visitors.
24.4.14

Hi Everyone
We're getting closer. The painters have been & gone, next week the kitchen goes in. Yeah!
The paths & drive are all boxed but after all the wet weather there is a backlog of jobs,
so hopefully before long they'll get completed.
We are hoping to be able to move in by mid May, fingers crossed.

We're over the moon to welcome back great Blenheim weather with lovely sunny warm days
in evidence again.
We've been planning where & what to plant in the garden. We have plants we brought with us & have bought some more since. Once paths etc are done & top soil goes on we can start to get some planted.
It won't be next week as I'm in Wellington. Les is staying put to supervise!
Take care
L & L

Hi Everyone
It's about time I uploaded this blog.
We had a great weekend in Wellington. We managed to catch up with some friends as well as Claire & Lauren & generally had a great time & the weather was superb until Monday when it got a bit silly.

We could have done with more time but we'll organise a bit better next time.

We came back Monday evening & when we went to check on Adams Lane Tuesday found we had holes drilled ready for fencing & when we walked around the corner found a garage door being fitted which was a lovely surprise.

The rain has been down here since we got home & doesn't know its outstayed it's welcome.

We called in again today to find posts sitting in holes full of water & a hive of industry indoors.

There was scotia going up, skirting boards going on, doors are being fitted & architraves.
Sitting inside also were the bath for the 2nd bathroom & the vanities for both bathrooms.
Wow it was busy!

I think the painters are due next week but not 100% sure about that.

It's fabulous to see it looking more like a home each time we visit.

From now on it gets harder to get pics & once the painters mask things it'll be even harder.

We are both amazed at the amount of rain we've had & how long its hung around. It's causing all sorts of hassles for the harvesting.

Hopefully it goes away over the weekend, amazingly it held off for the royal visit & walk around yesterday morning.
Take care all

Hi everyone who is following our blog. We have been blessed with great weather, of course we are in Marlborough!

Things are moving at a great pace, when we visited last weekend we found at least half the bats in but still some windows missing. All windows were in by Thursday.

By today we have all bats, first fix wiring & plumbing plus more than half the gib in place.

Only kitchen dining area & garage still to be gibbed.

The drain layer had arrived & dug drains all around so access was a bit tricky & chippies had left him to it. We're told drains will be inspected Monday & then back filled & they'll be all done by Monday afternoon.

We're really impressed with the speed & workmanship of all the team, fantastic.

Let's see what's happened by next Thursday. We're going to Wellington Friday for a long weekend to catch up with Claire & Lauren, be back Monday 7th.

 

 

                                        Bed room 1 gibbed out 28th March

                                          Digger & drainlayer in action 28th be finished Monday

                                         Lounge part gibbed 28th March not much left to do.

Drains & pipes  in for water & sewerage 28th March

 

 Wow! When we called in this morning about 10am there were just stacks of bricks & two brickies
setting up the string lines. We went back at 2.30pm & jumped for joy to see lots of bricks up on the east side wall. I reckon by the time they knocked off this wall could be almost finished. Exciting stuff!

As for us we're helping with some jobs around here & keeping up with the boys activities. Both now working with very early starts.
The windows all went in yesterday & the back door & sliders in the lounge as well.
More posts as more happens, watch this space & take care.

Hi Everyone

While we've been entertaining the UK cousins things are moving along. Still not quick enough for me!

Roger & Anne are here from UK they arrived on the 20th & we met them in Christchurch before they set off on their South Island trip. They arrived in Blenheim in our nasty inclement unseasonable weather Wednesday 5th & we spent Thursday in lovely sunshine showing them a bit of Marlborough & tasting more wonderful Marlborough wines.

On Friday we took them for their overseas cruise to Wellington, would have been a lovely trip.

Claire met them & they have the next couple of days in Wellington before heading off to Auckland to meet more family & cousins before they leave.

Now we'll go back to house watching & hopefully by next weekend we could look more like a house........from the outside anyway.

Take care all

 

 

 

                                 All wrapped up 2.3.14

         8.3.14 Bricks here ready to go once windows are in. Watch this space

Adams Lane 15 -25^th Feb

Well another 10 days gone at lightning speed.

We started the week finalising plans for the kitchen & choosing ovens & hob tops

That was followed by a session on colours for various aspects of the interior, colour of vinyl planking for wet areas & today we chose carpet & finalised interior paint.

The roof is finished & once the scaffolding is down windows will go in then bricks go on.

We might get a breather now from decisions as there can’t be many more to make…… but you can guarantee someone will ask a question.

After all that activity I wasn’t well organised for our trip on Thursday to Christchurch. We were later than ideal when we set off but we made it in time to book into the motel & get to the airport to meet my UK cousins Roger & Ann. Luckily the fog had lifted so no delays to their flight.

Once we got back to the motel we took them for a bit of a look around the Red Zone. We got stuck in rush hour traffic going through Hagley Park! Our original idea was to go up onto the Port hills but fog was still hanging over the hills.

Change of plan & we headed into the Square, cathedral still looking very neglected & sad but the Square was looking quite cheerful as there was a Floral Festival on & some lovely displays. We hopped back into the car & went to the cardboard Cathedral & struck it lucky as there was a service & we could get into the foyer to have a look. From there we went across to The Restart Mall, unfortunately closed but intrigued Roger & Ann especially the ATM in the BNZ portabank.

We were all feeling hungry by now so we headed for old faithful the Lone Star at Church corner by Bush Inn for dinner.

Next morning Christchurch let us down with grey overcast skies & no sign of the sun. We had breakfast together before Roger & Ann left for their tour down south, heading first for Lake Tekapo.

We headed into Archives, Restart again, then over to Woolston to look at the Old Tannery, a fascinating remodel into boutique shops of the tannery, only half finished but impressive. We headed home via Riccarton to pick up essentials before going to Church Corner to visit my grandparent’s grave & look at the damaged St Peters. It was good to see some repair work going on.

After dinner we went to call on David & Nancy & catch up their news.

Saturday we went to visit St Barnabas before going back to the Square for more photos in the sun. We bought some lunch & went back to the motel, it was very hot 31C.

In the afternoon we went for a drive to Lyttleton,  there is some rebuilding starting out there which was good to see, then Sumner & Brighton beaches.

We headed back for Blenheim Sunday morning & it was pouring with rain & windy. We cleared the rain by the time we got to Cheviot but still the wind was strong.

We had a coffee & filled the car & headed off for Kaikoura, we stopped to stretch our legs & it was the same as further south, as soon as we stepped out of the car this cold wind was whipping through.

Back in warm Blenheim again making more decisions!

Take care all

 

Roof finished, windows to come next.

11th Feb 2014,
Spouting on

Adams Lane build for Lis & Les

15.2.14

This is a simple version for those of you like me who aren’t into technology.

We got the building permit on the 17^th January & the following week the ground works were complete, the one after all the floor was set out & poured by the Friday & last week we got all the framing & trusses up for the roof.

We are going for a nosey shortly to see is all the scaffolding is up for the roofers. We’d hoped it’d be done by Thursday & maybe there’d be some roof by Friday 14^th, but no such luck.

Meantime since arriving down here on the 10^th we have been busy. On Tuesday 11^th we meet Rowan on site to look around & then went back to their base & spent ages making decisions about door types, locks, door handles, bathroom fittings etc.

Rowan gave us the name of the firm who will install the kitchen & we went to see them on Wednesday & spent a fruitful time with Chris bouncing ideas & wants around. We came away with plenty to think about. We went back on Friday after going looking at ovens, hob tops & so on. Chris had been thinking as well & by the time we left we’d virtually solved the kitchen layout. More than the original  quote so Lis gets her oven & a half plus the hob top we wanted, hush closures on the drawers & bench top of our choice.

Before we got home the Electrical firm doing the wiring were in touch & we meet them on site Tuesday.

On Monday we have another meeting with Chris so she can give us new costings! Later in the morning we have a colour consultant meeting so it’s all on.

Thursday we head for Christchurch & hopefully the roof will be on by then. We’re away 4 0r 5 days so on our return may have windows & some brick.

While all this is going on we’re staying with Mark & Anne, Bryn & Kody.

We had a full on trip around the North Island & ran out of time to see everyone, but we did pretty well.

We travelled over 4000 k’s going north through Taupo, into the Waikato, up to Auckland before catching my nephew & family in Hamilton en route south to New Plymouth & Whanganui.

We eventually got back to Wellington & had a lovely almost week with Claire & Lauren.

We dropped Claire at work on the morning of the 10^th Feb & headed to the ferry queue. Got there early & spent 35 mins getting to the head of the queue! Once through there we were quickly on board BUT there’d been an eight car pile up just south of Porirua That closed the motorway both ways so…….. they nicely waited for their passengers. The Kaitaki holds 1650 passengers & 600 cars & there wasn’t any spare space.

We finally left 45 mins late which they pretty well caught up. However the ferry saga continues. When we got to Picton the Arahura which should have sailed at 11am was stuck in our dock with a broken lifeboat………….eventually they moved it out to Shakespeare Bay to crane the thing back & we were able to finally berth & unload a good hour late.

Mark was waiting at the Picton end very frustrated as he should have sailed north on the Arahura so he was sitting waiting for our lot to unload so they could get on, he eventually got to Wellington at 6pm instead of 3pm as planned.

So now we’re all unwinding after a morning out collecting pine cones that will be a fund raiser for ATC (Air Training Corp) which Bryn has been involved in since he was 13, now almost 20!

The next update will be next weekend.

Watch this space

Lis & Les

ROOF SHOUT!!!!
Well not quite but not far away.

Well things are happening fast now.

Tick that box. Floor done.

A little video clip.

Found the concrete trucks. 7.30 start, should be finished by 10am.