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

Nelson -Tosswill Road Rental Renovations and Covid 19 - Level 3 - 16 Days

Another stunning day in Nelson

Bill's new toy - a gib lifter

 First day at Level 3 was full on for the Tylers - Bill trying to log in online desperate for building materials to Mitre 10 and Bunnings. Both web sites not use to such heavy traffic of course and trying to come up to speed with "Click and Collect" - they weren't quite ready for the rush obviously. Poor Bill was pulling his hair out by the end of the day!
Thankfully the whole day wasn't wasted, he did manage to get a load of green waste away and picked his mum(Joan) up and bring her back for lunch. Bill's family had decided we were the best option to extend our Bubble with her (they were all heading back to work, therefore coming in contact with more people than Bill & I would) now with the lowering of the level. To give her a change of scenery she was to come to us once a week for a meal and we would go out to her for "happy hour" on a Friday.
The next day was just as frustrating for Bill. still trying to log into the building supply companies. He did manage to get an account set up with Mitre 10, thankfully the person in Accounts was a friend so it made it a bit easier (great to be in a small town).

The trusty Ute laden with bathroom goodies 👍

Finally day 3 of Level 3 things started to come together, where Bill got an order into Bunnings for a "click and collect" in two days time, and a truck load of materials from Mitre 10 in a weeks time. Phew! Time to start building.
It was easy to click and collect at some other suppliers ( I think Bunnings/Mitre 10 were behind the 8 ball with their web sites. Should have been operating better after over a month at Level 4) so Bill managed to get a new toy from the Tool Shed - a Gib Lifter. Takes the pressure off returning the one we may have had a slim chance of getting from Mitre 10 - and with replacing all the ceilings and a few walls, I'm sure it will be worth the investment.
Queues at supermarkets are still pretty long but do operate efficiently where I go, so it's not too much of an issue once a week. The shelves have pretty much returned to normal. Except pepper corns! Who knew they mainly came from India!! With so much home cooking, the shelves were cleared of them. Hopefully next week.

The Tyler Fleet on the Street 😆

So with sidekick Tyler (ex neighbours son who unfortunately is no longer working for Air NZ) - is available for odd jobs and has the build to help with all the lifting of supplies, which is a great help. Not sure what he thinks of the "Life's" lectures Bill likes to share with him, but he keeps returning so they can't be too bad. or perhaps he's just desperate for the money 😉.
A pallet load of bathroom materials arrived in Nelson from the Trade Depot in Christchurch, so we were finally able to pick them up - Bill with his trusty Ute went and picked up the pellet load. It was like Christmas - new shower, heated towel rails, vanities and tops. Exciting 👏
And then we got a surprise package from Shannon - a box of avocados from Tauranga - her way of supporting small business in these trying times. They were delicious😋and a lovely surprise.

Exciting times with  the hiab delivery 🎄 

Hiab saving a lot of lifting for Bill & Tyler

 Then we supported Briscoes (not really small business but local!) with "click and collect" and for a $5 delivery, had another package arrive. A small, very efficient bench top oven. Watch out Bill - be ready for some amazing meals now. I always knew it was the oven's fault! But I won't feed you too much - you still have to be able to fit under the floor! 😉
It was also around this time we were struggling with the amount of data we were getting through daily now we were based in one location and sorting so much with the renovations that it was finally time to give in to getting a modem and broadband. So we feel like we are in the real world once again. No longer trying to eke out 1GB each on our phone plans for the month. Ahhhh the pressure. Once again, click and deliver this time. The Courier Drivers are amazing, and even more so in these strange times.
Then the hiab truck loaded with materials arrived after a bit of a mission getting up our driveway. The drive has quite a steep approach from the road, we had fun the first time up with the Bus. We had taken the Bus out the day before to keep it clear for the delivery truck. It was a good chance to empty our tanks too out in Richmond. We decided to do our daily walk out there instead of locally here, nice for a change and another stunning day. Getting cooler but with no wind, the days are beautiful crisp autumn ones.

First bedroom ceiling replaced 

Job complete! Watched the progress of this Guy's project

At this point we decided it was time to move completely into the house - we had been only using the kitchen/dining and bathroom, but still sleeping in the Bus. With the cooler nights, it was time to make up the spare bed we had brought up from the sleepout. Quite cosy.
So the ramps Bill had made to help get the Bus in and out of the driveway were now used for the hiab truck after he came to a grinding halt and blocked the road. Thankfully they worked and took the weight. The hiab truck was needed to get all the materials off the truck and up to the second level of the house rather than Bill & Tyler lugging it all up around the house. Completed effortlessly.
So life was starting to return to some normality (well as normal as can be with a pandemic! and living in the midst of renovations) and Bill a happy chappy once again. With the dumping of 4 loads of green waste and one of rubbish, materials arriving, it felt like things were finally moving ahead.
Day 13 of Level 3 was Mothers Day and we managed another Zoom session with the kids. Bill brought Joan around for dinner and to join in. I think she was a little overwhelmed by it all but enjoyed seeing the Grandchildren and Partners. I loved it of course. And finally after 6 weeks, the

Another challenge for Bill 😟

Aussies got their Easter Eggs! And toilet paper!! At the time I posted their Easter parcels, just before lock down, Australia had a toilet paper shortage so I sent some with their Easter Eggs. Well 6 weeks later and toilet paper no longer in short supply, the joke was a bit wasted! And now with Em enjoying eating chocolate ( she is Vegan) Nick had to share his small supply of Easter eggs as I sent her a little book! ha ha. These are weird times we live in!

 New Zealand's Dynamic Duo
(By our neighbourhood knitter)

We're continuing our morning walks first thing, it's a bit cool to start work so our walks warm us up.With getting rid of waste from around the property, we can see what we can do with the garden, except I have to wait till Level 2 to get out to the Nursery's. But there is still plenty to chop back to keep me out of trouble. Plus the stripping of walls of course, but Bill has already removed most of the painted wallpaper thankfully. I have the better job of washing walls and removing the remaining paper. But while the weather is great, I prefer staying outside except to come in to cook meals.
Roll on Level 2 so the Plumber, Electrician and Double Glazing Guys can come and see us. And I can get out and get some plants to fill in all the open spaces and give the neighbours some privacy back.

Bill making progress with the Toitoi

Delicious pizza from the new oven