Rosie joins the family, and progress report

First up, meet Rosie! She is a wee yellow labrador who has joined us - she's quite lovely, but quite naughty as well! Grace loves her dearly, and they have a lot of fun out on the farm, playing chase and exploring. A couple of afternoons ago, I took the two of them down to the stream - we spent an hour paddling and climbing, then back to the house for baths for everyone! Good fun!

The most exciting thing right now is that we have a fully functioning kitchen! Rupert has worked so hard on it, and there are still finishing touches to be done so I will let  him post a photo later, but oh the difference it makes! The dining room seems huge now without our temporary kitchen set up at one end. Just such a huge job, and so lovely to have it all laid out and usable.

Other than that, we have double rotary hoed what will be the vegetable garden, and cut down two huge willow trees that were hanging over it - lots of sawing and splitting and loading the wood in the trailer to the shed, but another day or two and that will be done. We have moved the pigs to the paddock where the main crops will be planted later, so they can start preparing the soil before we plough/rotary hoe. I am still working on the spare room but get lured outside by the fine weather, so that tends to wait for rainy days.

We have two wee chickens that hatched from our eggs - not a great success rate, but it was fun to watch and see them come out. They are getting quite big now, so one of the next jobs will be to clean out the chicken shed and make it safe for them, as well as add a few more chooks so we get a good lot of eggs. You can see the chicken shed in the background of the photo below - very sturdy, just needs a good tidy up!

Grace is doing great - bar the usual 4 year old stuff, and while she is enjoying kindy she hasn't made any close friends yet. After the school holidays I hope to take her to the local playgroup on a Wednesday morning - so I can meet some Mums and she can meet some local kids. She had her first night time disco at Kindy - dress up, which she loved, and they also had a day trip to Napier to see a show. She loves to go for a walk each afternoon on the farm with Rosie and one of us, and you never know quite where you will end up - the stream, picking daffodils, or playing on the old trees.

She also got to bring home "sparkly bear" from Kindy for a sleep over - only kids who have done something quite special get to bring him home, so of course he had to come feed the pigs with us!

It's such a different life down here - we were really excited to have dinner with another neighbour the other night, and another couple from further down the road, so we are starting to make friends and get to know where folks are and what they do. But each day is different, and it feels good to see a little bit of progress each day.

Brrr...Winter

Time seems to be flying by - we have had the first day of winter, which was a very frosty day indeed! A few warm summery days between showery and rainy days, so what we do is quite dependent on what the weather is doing!

I spent a very long Sunday planting 42 fruit trees in the orchard - that was a hard slog, and I couldn't quite do the whole 45! There are 8 more trees on back order and that will hopefully be later this week. I've planted in groves, as we have so many different types - so a citrus grove with mandarins, lemons, oranges and grapefruit, then the pipfruit area - apples, pears and quinces. Up the top is the "nuttery" with almonds and avocados, plus a macadamia. Then I have a corner with three cherry trees, another with three plum trees, and an area for stonefruit - nectarines, peaches and apricots. A huge job but was good to get them in the ground and so far the frost has not touched the orchard.

Rupert has been slogging away on the kitchen - cabinets are all in, most of the floor is down, and he has done the plumbing. All the appliances are here, so it's just a matter now of waiting for the benchtop and the gas hob installer and we are cooking! Literally! It will be SO good to do dishes in a kitchen rather than a basin on the dining room table filled in the bathroom!

Our first experimental batch of chicks hatched - just two Aracaunas - I knew the hatch rate would be low, so thrilled to have two. They are growing well, and very noisy! Dream (the cat) thinks they are just there for her personal enjoyment and spends a lot of time watching them. In other news, we moved the pigs from what will be the vegetable garden down to their sty - easy job, with a bucket of food, they followed me happily with Rupert bringing up the rear.

Rupert scored himself a bit of a bargain with this very cool 1960's tractor! This will be used for the heavier jobs - ploughing, dragging out logs. Liza and Mark came to visit from Taupo for a day - so good to see them, and Liza had a wee tootle around on Big Blue. We do miss our friends and family but with the internet and Facebook it's really easy to stay in touch - and we are not THAT far away!

The adjustment continues - I've just had my first job interview which was a little nerve wracking! Grace seems to be settling in well to Kindy though she still talks about her Auckland friends. We had to explain to her the other day that fairies aren't real, after she made a wish (on her knees by the window!) and then cried the next morning when there was no pony waiting for her in the lounge! Big excitement coming up though with her first night time disco next friday at Kindy - it's going to be a long week of counting down.

So, that's us! Add in to all that the normal jobs and living, and it's quite busy. We did have a morning out at Otane Market (not worth it) and Otane Tree Guys (very cool), so we are seeing a bit of the country. Very shortly, Rupert will be home from town with a rotary hoe for me to break up the vege garden, so I'd better get my gumboots on!

Paula (and Rupert)

Progress update

Well it's been another few weeks and we've been busy, but hard to see progress. Most of my time has been working in the kitchen, stripping off the old cork tiles, the gib from the walls and then both layers of ceiling!

Stripping the cork was looking like it might be a nightmare, however with a scraper blade attached to an oscillating saw, it powered through them super quick. The plan was to sand back the floors and get them polished, however we came across a large concrete slab where the old coal range would have been, so we've abandoned that idea and are going to go with laminate flooring again.


Behind where the old coal range was, someone had replaced the sarking boards with extra thick stuff, so the gib was never going to look smooth there, so had to replace all of that, or at least pad it out sufficiently.

Next on the list was to move all the wiring around to where we needed the new plugs, like everything, this was a bigger job that expected, with a lot of cables have mouse gnawings so they needed to be replaced!

Still finally we've got the new gib on the walls and plastering is done, waiting for that to dry, then hopefully we can start sanding tomorrow!

 


Here's a pic, where most of the gib is up, the bit under the window will done later as I need to do all the plumbing.

Meanwhile Paula has been busy with her jobs, working extremely hard stripping wallpaper from the spare bedroom, which is no easy task as well as the continuing work cleaning up the gardens, chainsawing firewood, getting rid of all the thistles in the orchard...

No rest for the wicked here!

Friday...

We've been here four weeks now. It still seems slightly surreal that we are not rushing off to work each day - while we are working hard there is a lot of downtime too which I think we both needed. I am starting to look for a part time job - saw one this week that sounds interesting, so I'd better find the box with my work clothes for the interview!

Mum arrived this week so I've had a couple of days of running her around. She is rapt with waipukarau and the general area, and has bought a wee unit - a title issue however so we are just waiting for the lawyers to sort that. We had to go to the council in Waipawa - the next town over - I am definitely going back there, some cool wee shops and the Settlers Museum looks interesting.

Grace is doing great - three days at kindy this week and she tells me she loves her teachers. Apparently a boy called her a duck head (haha I assume he said something else) but the teacher made him say sorry! She is enjoying doing lots of word games at home with us, and very much looking forward to primary school next year, which is five minutes down the road rather than back in town like kindy.

Meanwhile Rupert has been scraping up the cork tiles in the kitchen from the floorboards - the intention was to polish the boards. Unfortunately there is a big concrete slab where the old coal range would have been so it looks like we will have to put down some kind of flooring to cover it. Next job for him is stripping the gib off the walls and getting new stuff up, so we are not too far from installing the kitchen. That will make a huge difference to life down here.

We've had a few days of beautiful weather - today is rainy but I shall take that as a hint to get back to working on the spare room rather than chainsawing and grubbing thistles! Grace is home today but she quite likes sitting on the spare bed telling me stories while I work :-)

I've just put my first batch of eggs in the incubator so hopefully we will have chicks in a few weeks. Grace is very interested - I can't wait to see her reaction when they start to hatch.

Paula and Rupes

A bit quiet....

Well nothing seems to have happened around the place for the last week, though we've been very busy! Paula has been tackling the orchard, removing thistles by the 100 and sawing up a couple of huge logs and converting them into firewood, the new chainsaw has been very busy.

I've been working on organising the carport and trimming away the branches leaning on the shed roof, then getting rid of the foot thick layer of macrocarpa leaves that had accumulated - as the neighbours noted - it looks rather naked now!

Another big bonfire ensued, to get rid of all the smaller branches and another load of rubbish to the dump has tidied the place up a lot.

We lost a day when the toilet started to leak - unfortunately it wasn't the cistern, so needed to get a complete new set, unfortunately the previous installers hadn't read the instructions so had filled the underside of the toilet completely with concrete, so what should have been a 2 hour job, ended up taking all day - so wasn't happy with that!

Grace is back to kindergarten today so that will start freeing up some time for us both to get stuck into things, next big job will be to start on the kitchen, lots of cork tiles to scrape up, and then the fun begins pulling off the gib from the walls and ceiling.

Paula's mum arrives in the CHB today, flying down from Whangarei, then staying in a motel for a wee while until she find a place to rent or buy. That will make things easier with Grace also as we have a baby sitting close by!

On the live stock front, the pigs are making great inroads into the vege garden, turning over the soil nicely, so it won't be long until they need to be moved to their proper sty and we can start building up the garden.

We think we're going to go for these lovely beasts as our next livestock purchase - though plenty of fencing to sort out first... if we get a male and female, dare we call then Shazza and Dazza?

Thats about all the news for now, keep watching for more exciting Walnut Creek Farm updates!

Cheers
Rupert and Paula

Another day in the life...

Poor Rupert - we turned on the fluorescent lights in the sun room (essentially a huge long room which was a verandah and was covered in a few years back) - and they fizzled. Five hours later he had found the fried mouse which had nibbled through a wire, and rewired new lights. So glad he is multi talented!

We took Sunday morning off and went to the Winter Olympics - a fundraiser for Flemington School which Grace will attend from next year. Met a few of her classmates to be, met some lovely horses, and had a nice time. Then back home and I spent the afternoon in the orchard (to be) continuing to clear and chainsaw. I've put in my order for the trees, and am just waiting on the quote from the nursery.

Murray, Tracey and Ben popped by on Saturday for a quick visit - was so nice to see them, and show them around our wee patch. I tell everyone to wear rose tinted glasses as there is such a lot to do!

Then, on Monday morning we went to pick up these two - Berkshire cross 11 week old weaner piglets. Their first job is clearing the vegetable garden and they've already made a good start today, digging merrily and finding all sorts of tasty morsels! They are not tame at all, so the second they hear us approach they run and hide. Once the garden is mostly clear, we will move them to the pig sty which will be their true home.

There is always an interesting discussion around stock when you have a lifestyle block or farm. For me, it all comes down to knowing where your food comes from. That means knowing that when I plant an orchard, or a vegetable garden, or raise chickens for eggs and meat, or pigs, or milk a cow, or raise a beef animal - I know what each of those has been fed. I know what sprays/chemicals (if any) have been used. I know that while those animals were in our care, they were treated well and allowed to live a natural life rather than being crammed into a small crate or factory farmed. However, I do NOT intend to be anywhere near here when the deed is done!

Am currently stripping the spare room (ugh!) and Rupert is sorting out the workshop so we can find things easily (yay!) while Grace is having dance parties or long long games of pretend with us! Mum arrives next week so will be a busy few days getting her settled in town and starting to find her a place to buy or rent. Will be great having her down here though, not quite sure she knows she is booked for babysitting for the next ten years :-)

The weather has turned wet and cold, but we are warm inside and we have plenty of firewood to get us through winter, with more being sawed up all the time. The almost outside toilet is probably the worst part of the house - very cold! I lay in bed and argue with myself for ten minutes before making the dash! That will be sorted out in the next few months when the new bathroom goes in.

The funniest thing about living down here is whenever we meet someone new, and start chatting, they already know about us. "Oh you're the family who bought the dog lady's house?" or even better from the rural delivery man "I used to bring her 4 or 5 cases of wine at a time and I would have to hold my breath when I went inside!". Small communities, where everyone knows everyone else - I love it - and the people we have met are so nice. Most of them are "real" farmer so they are inclined to tease a bit, but they are very helpful and free with their advice. It's a great community and we are looking forward to being more and more involved over the years to come.

A willing worker...

We've had Anna here for a night and day, a stop off on her normal monthly selling route - which is great, as it means we should see her each month. After the obligatory bottle of red with dinner (once she finally found us), and the farm tour this morning, we put her to work in what will become the vegetable garden. It's a huge fenced off area which the old lady who owned this place had for her chihuahuas to run. Very overgrown (as it everything here) but the three of us managed to clear it in a few hours, felling a couple of trees and adding to the firewood/bonfire stack. Rupert is currently building a pig sty, and we are picking up two piglets on Monday - their first job will be to carry on clearing the area, before being moved to their "real" pig run a little further along the track. Anna did very well considering it was her first time with a chainsaw!

Other ongoing work - Rupert's been dealing to the massive macrocarpa which is leaning on the shed roof - more firewood, more bonfire! He also had a go at trimming some of the trees that run along the phone line in an effort to improve our broadband speed - unfortunately he felled a tree onto the line, cutting us off, but has now fixed it with a bit of number 8 wire!

 I've made a start on clearing the back paddock which will become the orchard (more rubbish, more wood, more bonfire piles!) - and have found a lovely nursery near here who will supply me with my fruit trees. Can't say I am looking forward to digging 50 holes! The paddock is north facing and sloping, and a couple of small holes dug have made me very happy - the soil is beautiful. 

We had an inside day yesterday, sorting and cleaning and tidying - much better, though the real tidy up will come when the kitchen is in, hopefully a month or two. We are managing quite well with a temporary kitchen in the lounge and just using the sink and cooker in the actual kitchen. We're waiting for a rainy day to continue with the renovations inside - next on the list is the spare bedroom. 

Grace is starting to find her "country" legs - the kids from next door came over the other day, and after some very intense lego play, they all went over to the woolshed to play. Judging by the screams and laughter, a good time was had by all. She also had her first quad bike ride, safely wedged between the two girls. She got off and looked at me with a huge grin. "Mum that was sooo awesome!". She is still talking about her friends in Auckland and missing them, but I think that will ease when kindergarten starts again in a week's time - poor kid is not used to holidays.

So, all is well here - we feel like we are finally getting to the end of the rubbish for removal - I think Rupert has taken at least 6 trailer loads to the dump, and we have had one big bonfire, with two more under construction. 

Paula and Rupes

 

Progress - slow, but steady

The interesting thing about taking on this wee farm is the sheer amount of work that needs to be done -  not one area, shed, paddock or room doesn't need a complete clean out and start over. The big push over the Easter weekend was getting the implement shed sorted - Darryn came down from Auckland and he and Rupes moved a LOT of rubbish out, made doors, and stacked our stuff tidily. It's a massive shed - I think you could fit 3 cars in there easily with 3 meters at the end to spare! I spent most of yesterday filling up the trailer again with the rubbish from the shed, and we've had a bonfire going for two days now. Darryn and Rupert also sorted out the phone/internet line and apart from Rupert putting a foot through the ceiling that all seems to be working a little better.

The weather is beautiful and we've had some nice walks exploring the stream and the hills. The more we see of the place, the more we love it. Spring bulbs are popping up all over, and we are working out what is going to go where. We've had lots of visitors and a dinner at the neighbours, so it has been fun getting to know them.

Grace has settled in well - she had two days at Kindy before they closed for the school holidays (!!!) and really enjoyed them - her confidence helps and makes things so much easier for us. We are having to tag team with one of us working while the other is with her (or at least in earshot). That does give us a chance to recover from the aches and pains of whatever we did the day before! She does miss her friends and Auckland, but she loves the farm and it is fun seeing her become slightly more of a farm kid and less of a princess (although the dress up and dance shows still happen each night!) She's had a couple of emotional outbursts, but has come through those after some very stern chats and seems to be doing a lot better now.

Current projects include sorting out the sleep out (which was used as a dog kennel for the 50 or so chihuahuas that lived here) and that will become a garden shed for me - right next to a huge fenced off area which will become my vege garden (when I have taken a chainsaw to the overgrown stuff!). Also, renovating the spare bedroom, continuing to fell trees that are either dead, about to die, or in completely the wrong place. And Rupert needs to sort out his workbench and storage in the shed so we can find everything! I have ordered an incubator and brooder, so once that arrives we will get started with some egg hatching which should mean by spring we have fresh eggs. And while they are hatching and growing that should give us time to clean out the chook shed!

While it still feels odd not going to the office each day, and rushing Grace to pre school, it's lovely and we are finding a more relaxed way of getting the work done. It's certainly teaching us both patience - nothing can be done quickly, so it really is a case of picking a project and seeing it through.

Thanks for following us - we miss our friends and family, but give us a week or two and there will be a spare room all nicely done :-)

Getting Settled and First Room Decorated

Well it's been a wet few days since we moved in - not sure if we've actually had a dry day yet! However it's meant we've been able to focus on the inside of the house which needs most work!

Plumbing was the first challenge - the set up completely eluded us, so we had to call out the local plumbers - seems that one of the two pumps we have was seized, so on replacing that - all was good.  The water is pumped from the collection tank near the house, up to a couple of tanks higher up than the house, which then gravity feedback to the house. Means we have water even if the power goes off.

We've gutted the kitchen, just leaving us the sink and oven, so that's a priority to replace in the very near future. We're close to settling on the new design - nothing too fancy - but plenty of cupboard space and lots of room.

This is a render from Bunnings - nice website for designing kitchens - especially as they give a bill of materials and pricing, Mitre 10 need to take note!

The main focus over the last few days has been working on Grace's room - we've had her in the smaller spare room until now. But after a couple of days of scrubbing, filling, sanding and painting (and a few sore shoulders, arms and knees later) we've finished her room. Still need to get up a few paintings and maybe some wall decals but it's all good to go.

Sorry about Grace looking a bit fuzzy - she moved between images which I've stitched together!

That's all for the moment, next post will cover off what we've been up to outside the house!

Cheers
Rupert and Paula

Furniture moved in!

Grace and I stayed in Auckland for her final day at pre school - I admit to a few tears at her graduation party! Apple Tree has been such a big part of her life, but she seems to have taken it all in stride and enjoyed her party.

On Thursday morning the moving truck arrived and started loading while I cleaned - our good friend Belinda came over and amused Grace while all the action was happening. We left Auckland at 2 and finally arrived at the motel in Waipukarau at 10pm - a long day and the Taupo Napier highway was awful with rain and fog. If I have to hear "Let it Go" once more it will be too soon! Grace was brilliant on the drive down, playing on the iPad and drawing. She fell asleep just after Taupo.

On Friday morning we went up to the farm to meet the truck - an epic job unloading in the rain! The water was sorted by two lovely young plumbers and a new pump installed - we now know how the cold water gets to our taps!

As Rupert said, the kitchen is unusable so we made a temporary kitchen in the lounge, which will suffice for a few weeks. He'd done a great job moving all the rubbish from the house and cleaning. We seem to have lost one cat (Stray) and the meeting between Dream and the rooster was hilarious - the rooster was very unhappy to see a cat!

We decided to have one more night of luxury at the motel, and dinner out. So, this morning we will stock up on groceries and head out to Walnut Creek Farm and enjoy what looks like a sunny day!