Covid 19 August - 6 Years on the Road: Work and Renovations Continue

 

Fine dining at our Rental😆

I can't believe another month has flown by once again. Hard to keep up with! And unreal that it was 6 years ago we packed up and left Nelson (27th August 2014). Although we are currently back in Nelson at our rental property, living on a construction site and back working 5 days a week - I'm looking forward to returning to our travels again in the new year - hopefully our Bus is keen too.

 Think Bill is too 🤞🤞

Doors going nowhere but nicely painted!

And then ......... there was Bill 😄

The main bathroom has been Bills main focus for the past month and it's looking great. Just waiting on a window and power. He's also had quite a few other jobs on the go at the same time so he doesn't run out of work to do. He's been getting the old joinery ready to pull out which is a bit of a mission as the bricks were put up after the previous joinery was put in - not as simple as initially thought! But after many nights of thinking about the problem, he thinks he has a method. Hope so as the joinery is due to arrive early September.

A start on the ensuite

The weather has certainly got milder - although still having the odd snow showers come through on the mountains, overall it is warming up and love the days are getting longer - roll on day light savings 👏.There is plenty of signs that Spring is here with all the blossom and daffodils around. Even in our own garden.⚘⚘

Checking out a local Brewery with Shannon

We managed a weekend away to Wellington during the month - visiting Shannon and AC the week before they moved up to their new home on the 5th floor - did manage to sneak a viewing which was wonderful. They currently have pretty good views out over Evans Bay but from their new home the views are even more impressive. I wasn't too happy standing in the corner of the lounge though, with it's floor to ceiling windows - just a bit too close to edge! It will be lovely though. So Bill was given the job of dismantling Shannon & Bills bookshelf creation they built two years earlier as Shannon wasn't moving without taking it with her. Even with the promise of a new build! Another trip for Bill in a couple of weeks to reinstall it. Good bonding times Guys. AC & I are happy to just watch 😍😍 

Bill begins to dismantle Bookcase 

It was nice to have some time with S&A as it had been back in January when we last caught up - Covid is upsetting many family reunions I'm sure. Goodness knows when we will catch up with our Perth children 😢. So we enjoyed our stay in the Capital less than half an hours flight away. S&A took us out for dinner to Rita's on our first night. Even that was  affected by Covid with the country returning to Level 2 after the freedom of Level 1 (Auckland in Level 3) - which meant we couldn't have a drink elsewhere first as the numbers were so restricted. Thankfully Shannon had booked us for our meal a few weeks earlier. An enjoyable dining experience - quite different to anything we had been to before and very delicious. thank you S&A.

A lovely day in Evans Bay

We managed to get some local walks in as the weather played it's part and Shannon working from home a bit these days manged to join us for lunch one of the days. But it was busy for everyone but me with getting ready for their move. I did do some meals though, so it wasn't all relaxing for me 😏.

Back in Nelson in Queens Garden with Joan

Back in Nelson we have continued our walks when we can. Took Joan into Queens Gardens one Saturday - with Covid there is no Market at the weekends at present which is very sad for Nelson. It certainly is strange times. 

New joinery in 👍

Almost there!

At least the renovation is still progressing without too much delay in getting materials. Great the new joinery is scheduled at this stage to be on time early September. The plumber returned and helped Bill with prepping for the ensuite now the bathroom is useable. This was the expensive part with a new water cylinder - mains pressure. What a difference it makes. It's wonderful! Even if Bill is scheming how to reduce the water flow so it's not so expensive 😂. 

Spring is in the air at the neighbours 💕

So even though Covid 19 is making these challenging times, we are able to get on with life here in our little part of Paradise. We have some bookings for October already with some North Islanders wanting to bring their money South - very happy to entertain them too so long as they don't bring any undesirable pandemics with them! And roll on daylight saving 👏

It's a dirty job but someone has to do it!

Covid 19 Level 1 Continues and a Return to Work

 

Sunset on Tahunanui Beach

Well what a fast month July was with returning to my old job at Stuart Drummond Transport covering maternity leave for the person who was doing the work. I can see Christmas zooming up fast! It was nearly 6 years ago when I vacated the seat as we headed off into the sunset at the end of August 2014. Didn't know I would be back in the same seat six years later. 

There are still a few familiar faces 😀 but a lot more trucks and new Drivers.

Few more trucks than when I left
( this is only a few)

Time for a catch up with Fran after 
celebrating her 70th birthday.

Bill has continued getting on with the renovations as well as hanging out washing and a few other household chores.

The bathroom is almost finished - just waiting on a window / a door and the electrics to be connected. Plumbing all finished and working. Looks great. Can't wait to use it.                         

Getting the lines right!

Now the ceiling can be painted 👍

The nearly finished job
And looking great 😍

We've managed to celebrate a couple of birthdays over the month too - a surprise 70th for Fran organised by her daughters in early July - Fran's actual birthday was back in April just after we went into into lockdown so she thought it was forgotten till next year! Yeah right!! Shannon had celebrated hers near the end of June. Rocky celebrated her's in Perth mid July and I tried to let mine slide past. 

Birthday shout

BUT! The Kids (Rocky??) thought everyone should know it was my birthday at work and enjoy a sticky bun ( I use to love sticky buns in my younger days - if we went on holiday I always got stuck in the Bakery's trying to decide on what sticky buns to get 👅which Rochelle remembered). So we had a big morning tea that day at work where I had to explain why 😂

We are still doing our daily walks most days, as I really need it after a day of sitting at a desk! Poor Bill's probably knackered but generously keeps me company. We also got out for a bike ride to the Great Escape in Richmond to meet up with some friends for lunch whom we had been trying to catch up for the past 18 months when we would pass through Nelson. Finally got there Trish.

Keeping warm 🔥

To stop Bill getting bored of just doing house renovations, he's also had to sort his "Mighty Ute" after it failed it's WOF. Lights and brakes were an issue - so it was dropped off at the Garage but after a quote of $900 Bill decided to put his overalls back on and get under the vehicle himself! And for under $100 and a bit of hard work and You Tubing he achieved his WOF. Well done Bill 👍 

The days are starting to lengthen but are still pretty cool - can't complain really as we haven't had that many frosts this year. After a promising start to the ski field, it hasn't really built up with snow sadly for the local ski club.
Might get on my bike by the end of next month when it will be light enough to head off early without any frosty paths on the way - then Bill will be under less pressure to join me on my walks.

I think he knows what he's doing 😲

With the next project coming up (completing the ensuite), the plumber has been booked back in. The electrician isn't far away either. But haven't heard anything from the Engineer so will have to follow him up if we want to get on with altering the garage / driveway access to the house before Christmas! And get the new "outdoor area constructed" before summer so we can enjoy it as summer starts to roll along. With all the Covid restrictions - Nelson is looking great for Christmas. 

Will update again at the end of next month.

Joan shouting the Family lunch.
Ian, Alan, Joan, Bill and Neil (Trudy, Eare and I hidden) 

Refreshing ride to Richmond with a bit of 
snow on the mountains in the background.

Bill trying to win at Cribb.

Nelson -Tosswill Road Rental Renovations 90 Days / Covid 19 - Level 1 - 21 Days

Winter Solstice 2020 on Paddy's Knob

Life is pretty much the same when living on a renovation site - lots of small jobs going on in the back ground while waiting on the bigger jobs to come together.

Toilet window out

New window size

Bill finished off the plumbing in the new bathroom with young Jayden (the plumber) and has finished relining the walls and ceiling after packing them all with insulation. 

Checking new 
shower out

Now ready for the tiling. Luckily we have a good tiling shop near by that had an excellent special on. With it being a small room we have gone light to hopefully make it look bigger! 

An additional gadget Bill had bought on our way back to Nelson was a set of stilts to help him with plastering the ceilings. When I first saw him in them - I thought here we go....... two broken legs! But he has managed to master them and finds them really helpful. I still don't like to watch him on them - just a quick photo was enough for me. But if they help with the work then that is great.  

Bathroom all lined & water
proofed ready for tiling

Matt has been in and helped Bill with tanking the tile shower and have started laying the tiles- the tricky bit on the shower floor now done. 👌

We are still waiting to hear back from the Engineer which hopefully will be soon so we can make a plan for a remedy to our limited vehicle access into the basement.

With removing the window in what was the old toilet - now new bathroom where we require a smaller window - this has given Bill an idea of what the challenge is going to be like to remove all our old joinery once the new joinery is ready in about 3 months! Big job!! But he's up to the challenge I'm sure. (I hope).

He's finished gibbing two of the bedrooms and the hallway and now has the horrible job of plastering. Thankfully with my returning to work next week - I'll be away for the worst of it and then help once the surfaces are ready for painting. I'm returning to my previous place of work where I was 5 and a half  years ago to cover Tamara for 6 months maternity leave - thankfully not too much has changed in the systems in that time and I haven't lost too many brain cells as most of the job came back to me after my second day of refresher training. Will see how we get on next week.

Sunrise over Tahunanui Beach

With Winter Solstice last weekend - we are looking forward to the days getting longer (but unfortunately it usually means colder too). Vicki joined us on our walk last weekend to watch the sunrise up over Tahunanui Beach (Trevor using the excuse of going rowing instead), and then we all caught up at the end of the day to watch the sun set behind the Western Ranges with Pippa, John and Annabelle too at our "new" local park at Paddy's Knob with it's newly renovated grounds. I'm sure more families are visiting there now which is lovely to see.

Not quite Blade Runner 😊

Half way to Christmas now, and Spring on the horizon (gotta keep positive) the year is flying by. It's lovely having winter back in Nelson with mostly calm crispy days making our early morning walks almost pleasant. With early starts when I resume work, we will move our walks to the end of the day. Well that's the plan at this stage. Will update next blog!  

Planting grasses

Bedroom 2 - Bill's been sorting window frames.

Nelson -Tosswill Road Rental Renovations and Covid 19 - Level 2 - 26 Days

Covid Crescent Reserve Teddies Picnic (Max 10)
A very creative neighbour with initial Level 2 requirements

Moving down to Level 2 of the Covid 19 Pandemic was like Christmas again ( Three Christmas's this year!) Time for the Plumber, the Electrician and the Baker! Well not quite the Baker (don't need him with my new oven 😉)  but the Double Glazier. 

🌳Boot full of a second load of plants 🌳

On the first day of level 2 we had the first Guy in to measure up for a quote to replace all the joinery with double glazing. The existing single glazed windows & ranch-sliders have mdf reveals which many of them over the years have blown out with moisture. It was a good time to look at replacing existing with double glazing. We were also looking into retro fitting the existing windows to see if it was a much cheaper option - Amy came up the last day of level 3 to measure. Will be interesting to compare.

New location for old toilet - for now!

Day one of level 2 also allowed the builder Bill had been in touch with to call and look at waterproofing the tile shower that will be in the main bathroom. I enjoyed getting out and bought the first lot of shrubs to go in the garden finally, along with groceries. So day one at level 2 was off to a good start 👍

Toitoi taking up most of the garden
& blocking windows

Bill continued working on wardrobe door frames (enlarging) and was also in the garden working on downsize the Toitoi to eventually get rid of it completely and gain a lovely sunny outdoor area. I dug out the last of the two cactus's - one had actually been buried in a large pot so I dug it out complete and placed it elsewhere in the garden for now. The other one went over to the back neighbour who was keen to have one. I think they were a bit sad we had cut them down!

Took two huge loads on the trusty Ute to the Green Waste Station. Amazing how much space we had recovered already with half the bush gone. Perfect possie for us to sit on sunset with a nice cold beer, especially as the Toitoi is incredibly dusty.

Our new sunny spot for the end of the day 🍻

A second Double Glazier called in to measure the windows and doors over the weekend and talked about different options. Bill had realised by this time that our existing windows had been put in before the house got bricked - not easy to get out later! Looking like a demolition job coming up 🔨

With moving down from Level 3 to Level 2 we (as a country) were able to party together once again - but only with a maximum of 10 people though. We managed to make the cut off to attend Trevor's birthday which was a biggie this year. He now has the Gold Card! Well done Trevor. A perfect winter's day was spent out on their deck enjoying a wine or two with a lovely meal. Great we are now only a 5 minute walk away.

Happy birthday Trevor 

With the settled weather, temperatures cooling down and lack of wind, it has still been lovely for our morning walks and bike rides, including getting over to Tasman for a 20km ride with the Tristrams. Tasman has grown so much in the past 5 years while we have been away with a lot of new subdivisions being developed. But there is still a lovely rural feel with the vineyards and farmland in the area - hopefully they won't infill too much.

Riding with Annabelle, Pippa & John

We've had a chance to catch up with nephew Simon & Nicki and their Girls over in Riwaka, along with Nicki's mum Sue who was supposed to return home to the UK in May but with Covid 19, that was not an option. She's fortunate Simon has been renovating their home which will be making it a much warmer home with double glazing and a new wood burner fire. They should all be toasty and warm this year. Lucky them.Bit different to what we will be experiencing this year in the middle of our renovations⛄

Restrictions lifted in Level 2
We can now travel around the country again 😃

Without the toilet, Bill 
can get on with new
bathroom

Two weeks into Level 2  we had the quotes in for all window options and after visiting the showrooms to see the difference in hardware - we made the decision to go with Nulook Solutions. The other company's quote was amazingly pretty close, but it came down to the hardware that made the decision. Replacing all the joinery was just under double the price of the retro-fit, which was only replacing the windows and not the four ranch-sliders, so this wasn't an option.

Keeping cosy🔥

With a young plumber assisting Bill with plumbing the new bathroom and moving the old toilet across to the future ensuite - Bill was able to get underway putting in the shower tray and start lining the walls to prepare for tiling. The renovation is starting to progress 👏. Jayden works well with Bill and hopefully is enjoying the life lectures Bill appears to be sharing with him as they work. He returned for a 2nd morning a week later to pressure check all the plumbing so I guess he wasn't put off.

A stormy morning walk

Two weeks into Level 2 I was finally able to get my hair cut and catch up with Charmaine and a bit of goss - she has been a bit out of touch with the Covid shut down so didn't have too much goss but it was lovely having the treatment. Three weeks into Level 2 Joan managed to get her cut too, but as it was a longer length than normal.... we are trialling a new style. Will see how long it lasts. 

Time for the bath to go - anyone wanting it??

We have continued having Joan up for a meal once or twice a week. One evening having drinks and nibbles around the refurbished fire. Bill had replaced some of the firebricks and the door surround to repair the fire, making it efficient again. And closing in the ceiling certainly helped with heat loss.

Queens Birthday weekend came along a couple of weeks into Level 2 which was wonderful that we could travel

Sunset on Wharareki Beach

around the country once again. 

We were invited over to Golden Bay to join Vicki & Trevor stay at a friends Bach at Pakawau. This Bach coincidentally we had stayed at around 20 years ago with our family when we hired it one Christmas holidays. The Bach is now a lot closer to the sea (or should that be the sea has come a lot closer to the Bach over years of erosion). We began the weekend catching salmon at the Anatoki Salmon Farm  and then sat on the beach to enjoy the freshly smoked salmon and a glass of wine. Great start to the weekend. The Banning's and ourselves have had many family holidays over in Golden Bay, mostly camping at Tukarua, so many happy memories. 

Vicki, Bill & Trevor exploring old coal mine.

We visited the base of Farewell Spit  where sadly there is no longer a cafe after a fire destroyed it - and no sign of one returning either. So we moved onto Wharareki Beach which now does have a cafe. After a hot drink and rest in the Hammock for Bill, we walked the track over to Wharareki Beach to watch the sunset. This was a must do (said Sheryl) after watching the sunrise that morning from the Bach, it was lovely to watch it set on the west coast. Even if it was a bit cool Trevor. At least the Bach had a good fire to warm us up on our return. There was a wee chore to be done in return for staying at the Bach of cutting back some trees and chopping up for firewood. Not too onerous a job for a lovely weekends stay.

Bill taking a bit of time out at Wharareki

On our return to Nelson and the beginning of the month of June, I returned to my old place of work at Stuart Drummond Transport Ltd for some refresher training to return to work from the 1st of July to cover Tamara while she takes six months off on maternity leave. Five morning a week won't be too difficult to manage with Bill continuing the renovations, but the 8am starts will be a bit of a challenge! Particularly over winter, but we're not too far away from the shortest day thankfully.

🍷 Matching bottles for the weekend 🍷

After 26 days at Level 2 we are moving into Level 1 - more freedom, more business's resuming work but not a lot of changes to our life with our renovations. Bill is progressing well with the new bathroom, the garden is looking under more control, plants planted, windows ordered. The Engineer has visited and gone off to come back with some options to remedy our garage access issues and retaining walls. Hopefully he will return with some affordable options.

   

Another crisp still morning on the
back beach at Tahuna