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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.
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🌳Boot full of a second load of plants 🌳
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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.
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New location for old toilet - for now!
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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 👍
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Toitoi taking up most of the garden
& blocking windows
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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.
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Our new sunny spot for the end of the day 🍻
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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.
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Happy birthday Trevor
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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.
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Riding with Annabelle, Pippa & John
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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⛄
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Restrictions lifted in Level 2
We can now travel around the country again 😃 |
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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.
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Keeping cosy🔥
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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.
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A stormy morning walk
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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.
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Time for the bath to go - anyone wanting it??
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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
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Sunset on Wharareki Beach
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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.
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Vicki, Bill & Trevor exploring old coal mine.
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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.
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Bill taking a bit of time out at Wharareki
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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.
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🍷 Matching bottles for the weekend 🍷
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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.
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Another crisp still morning on the
back beach at Tahuna |
