But start at the beginning.
Last Sunday was hot but slow to start so Derek got out early and painted the concrete deck, something he has been wanting to do since we moved in. It was grey and yucky and always looked dirty and as it looks nice out there now with all the new planting and chairs, the 'deck' got a make-over too. It looks better anyway and when the sun got on it later in the afternoon, it was almost blinding. We have to order the textured paint to go on top so that we don't slip out there when it rains, not that it has done that in a long while (sorry UK readers!).
I made a cushion in the afternoon from fabric I got at Guthrie Bowren that morning in their 'throw away pile'.
Monday was gorgeous and I spent the day pottering in the garden pulling up the peas and planting the new ones that I started off in pots in the shed hoping they will get big enough to pod before the season finishes. We have had loads of peas from them and I have even frozen some along with the beans.
The baby tomatoes are coming in to their own now and I am getting around a dozen a day at the moment, a lot of which I am freezing whole to add to pasta in the Autumn/Winter and I am going to oven 'sun dry' some too which are great with pasta. I pack them in jars with olive oil and basil (that's growing it's little socks off too, the basil not the olives though they are doing OK too) - think I need more jars though as I got a huge bag of plums for £2 the other day, 5 kilos of them, so I reduced some of them down with sugar and a cinnamon stick then put them through a sieve and put the syrup in jars. It is just yummy and is lovely over ice cream (am still making lots of vanilla and just using these fruit sauces over the ice cream instead of adding them, we can have what we want then) or in plain or Greek yoghurt. It was lovely with the peach and walnut one!
Tuesday Derek went to Christchurch for the day for an 'Apple' thing with Ingram so I dropped him off at the airport at 7.30 am and went off to Queenstown to meet up with Gilly and her family.
Then on to 'Vudu' to meet Gilly.
They were going on the Jet Boat at the Shotover River so I met them down there for their ride.
Wednesday - I have been seeing a lot of Paddy over the fence just recently as he has been keeping us up to date with the stuff he was getting ready to put out for his Garage Sale this weekend. The conversation was a little different today though -
Paddy: Do you want a rabbit?
Me: What, as a pet?
Paddy: No silly a dead one. I was up early this morning, went shooting and bagged a couple! (He's 85 years old and I was more than a little impressed that he could see them and his reactions are still so good!!!)
Me: OMG - OK if you skin it for me I will have one.
Paddy: I'll give you the legs!
How brave am I?
Thursday - was Paul's birthday - Happy Birthday Paul - and another scorcher. Derek and I went over to Paddy's in the morning for a sneak look at his sale. We got an old 'wheelbarrow with character' that works (mine has a broken axil and is going to be full of strawberries next year!), a wood splitter, a big wood saw, a long heavy spike thing to break up the ground (we could have done with that when Derek dug the holes for the poles!) and an old ladder for £15. So that was our first garage sale of the week, two more to come.
I sanded down the ladder, primed it, painted it, distressed it and varnished it and now it is in the corridor with some quilts hanging over it as they were just lying on the beds before and look nice on the ladder. Well I think so anyway.
Saturday - was glorious - you were having terrible storms in the south of England and a sink hole opened up in Hemel Hempstead near to where Clare lived!! - so we headed out to the second of the car boot sales on Burn Cottage Road just outside of town where an English couple are selling up and moving to Te Anau so not too far away. He used to be a potter so I bought one of his sugar pots for £4 -
When we came home Ray and Pam at the end of our road were also having a garage sale - the third and last - so I bought a double bed off them for £40, clean and very comfortable and from their old house in Gore. I don't mind buying beds from people I know and it will be great if we ever decide to do something with downstairs but it is in the old craft room for now so that has turned back in to a bedroom.
While I sanded back then varnished Kathy's kitchen butchers block -
So last night I finally finished my crocheted blanket. It has taken me two weeks of doing it every night watching season six of Grey's Anatomy and is about five feet long, so a lap one really and it is very warm. I got better at it as I went along and certainly a lot neater and am very pleased with it. We will definitely have lots of things to snuggle up underneath this winter although I will be missing seven weeks of it again. Love the colours, they don't go with anything we have but who cares!
There were a few boats out on the lake too although after a paddle, I thought the ones being dragged along on the rubber rings were brave; it was a tad on the chilly side until you got used to it. A great way to cool off though.
I must go and make the curry now, Butter Chicken tonight and I will somehow have to sneak some courgettes in there as we have quite a few now. That's more veg that I will have to freeze.
We are off to Wellington this week which I am looking forward to. Derek goes Tuesday and I fly out Wednesday via Christchurch. He will be working for the three days with Andrew so I have to occupy myself for two days, not hard to do in Wellington so am going to do a tour of the Parliament BeeHive buildings, go on the tram up to the Botanical gardens and do a tour on the Friday north of the city so think that will do just fine.
TTFN, love and take care of each other. Till next time x