more snow

Matt worked hard on Saturday and got the little deck connection to the back porch finished so we no longer have to go down the very big first step to get to the kitchen/toilet. Then it snowed..... and snowed and there is no school today and there are still the odd snow flurries around. You have to understand that snow isn't a very common thing round here so the kids have gone off with a friend to play in the snow despite their teenage status :)

It also meant that you had to pick your time for the kitchen etc with care or dress for the outdoors because the snow tended to go down your neck and stick to your clothes...brrrrr! We had to sweep it rather a lot too or wade through the snow in slippers. Not recommended.

Eventually there will be some kind of cover but not yet. I might add that I am typing this in gloves and a woolly dressing gown over my clothes and sitting over the heater - there are still way too many gaps in this house and you can see snow outside from the shower with no intervening glass/wall. Its not too bad in here and will warm up in a bit but generally it is just cold!

In other news, mum is back from the hospital and seems about where she was before which is great :) Her stitches will be removed next Thursday so that is ok.

There was a small bird which hit the window and stunned itself the other day. It sat on my windowbox for quite a while recovering itself but was ok. It is what we call a waxeye but is also known as a silvereye and rather cute.

For those who wish, there is a competition over at Frugal Kiwi too. I really like that site so this is a plug for it too :)

viv

Hope you like these

viv

Hospital - again!

At least this time it wasn't me! Just to put your minds at rest. The week started normally with the kids back to school and my teaching going completely to rule. The Knitting Squad was good too and then we come to Thursday!

I took mum for a routine blood test in the morning and that was running late and took forever as she is hard to get blood from. Consequently I ran late getting back to the person I had offered to teach to knit and she was a bit doubtful about ringing the bell after the door knock didn't work. She saw no car in the drive and thought we must be out. Actually, we just don't have a car :) So that went out the window. After that, mum went out to a birthday afternoon tea with her cousins and had a good time. She was brought back at about 5 and I had invited her and my aunt in to inspect the new bedroom and to hear James playing his new piece. She got out of the ute ok and was heading for the path when the slope caught her out and she fell onto a pile of bricks beside the path. I could see she was falling but was too far away to catch her and she missed her grab at the fence post. It was a pretty gentle fall though and she has solid bones so I wasn't expecting to have to do more than pick her up and dust her off. So my aunt and I did that and then things turned to custard. There was a 4 inch gash in her leg and it was bleeding very badly so I raced inside for a handtowel (fabric sort) and held it over the gash. It was still bleeding furiously right through the cloth so I got the boys to fish out an elastic bandage and applied that over the towel with pressure and a large safety pin. By this time I'd sent hubby off for the other car which we parked right beside her, loaded her up and went rapidly into A&E that being somewhat faster than waiting for an ambulance. Turns out she had nicked an artery so they did a small operation with hallucinogenics and local because they didn't want to risk her under a general anesthetic because of her heart problems. She has to stay there until Monday and be fed lots of water and blood etc because she lost rather a lot even with the pressure bandage. She didn't feel it much at all - said it just felt like a graze so that was good and she can now say she knows what LSD feels like (although it wasn't that but similar in its effects) She said it was quite interesting :)

So I spent most of last night sitting in an uncomfortable chair whilst she was in an uncomfortable bed being investigated. I now have a rather gruesome lot of clothing to wash. We threw the towel and bandage out as they were just completely gory. At least my sister got there to share things and we were relieved at about 10.30 by my brother who stayed until the op was done and she was settled for the night. She looks not too bad today but is very tired. She should be fine by Monday with any luck.

My knitting beginner came at lunchtime today and looks to be a pretty good prospect as a knitter so that is ok. I spent the morning at the high school with William who is going there next year. They got shown around the various classrooms and were plied with a magnificent morning tea as well. James is already at this school and I think it will suit William as well. So next year it will be all Logan Park High School except that I will still teach at the Steiner. They are going to go to the open day there on Sunday as well - I think they enjoyed themselves! Looks like all his present class and his best friend from earlier will also be there so he won't be short of friends :)

viv

Finished - well....

It was hard work but we got the room habitable just before the kids got back from Arrowtown. There is still the small matter of the skirting boards and the rest of the wallpaper and a heap of sorting of 'junk'. I ran out of wallpaper so I hung my largest hanging on the wall and will use the scraps of wallpaper round the edge - just don't look underneath! Someday I may have the money to do it all properly but in the mean time it will be ok.

We put the remains of an old picket fence along the edge of the upstairs piece so that William feel safer. He helped to paint them white to match the rest of the woodwork. They don't look too bad in their new home :)

The 13th birthday party was the same day as the jaffa race so I didn't bother to organize anything special. With about 30,000 jaffas racing past who needs anything organized! So we now have two teenagers!!! I let him have a friend to stay the night so the sleeping platform has been trialled good and proper and has been a great success. Even the cat thinks it is a bit of all right :)

Its back to school tomorrow. The fortnight holiday seems to have just vanished. Probably due to working so hard on that bedroom! William gets to take a look at his new school for next year at the end of the week. James is already there of course but I imagine won't own up to having a little brother anytime soon :) Although you never can tell....

Sorry about the lack of relevant photos - I will get some up soon - promise :)

viv in nz

These are from above Abbotsford in Dunedin

viv in nz