May 24, 2013
| With help once more from Richard & Karen, we got the basic framework of the new woodshed finished one weekend, and another weekend saw the roof framework in place with the roofing tin on, with a little bit of tidying up of roof flashings the final touch. Gives us about 6m2 storage on one side and 4m2 on the other side (which we’ll also use for undercover bike storage when we don’t have too much wood). The new woodshed really complements the style of the house and it was nice to use a fair amount of left over material (the roofing tin, barge bap flashings, etc). |  |
Posted by conor
May 5, 2013
Evie's first rhythmic gym competition in 2 years (couple of earthquakes have disrupted things for us a bit), and she had a ball. Placed third out of twenty girls over three routines (free, rope and ribbon), and a little trophy for her endeavours! She was a little nervous last week, but it didn't show over the weekend at all.
Beautiful leotards by Ildica!
Full album here.
Posted by conor
April 28, 2013
Ruairi's been having a lot of fun at Cubs this summer. Couple of "away" activities included sailing with the Mt Pleasant Sea Scouts and getting foamed at the Bottle Lake Rural Fire Service.
Posted by conor
April 1, 2013
Once again, a great Easter weekend at Castle Hill with the Easter Art Weekend. 40+ exhibitors to the exhibition itself, with Ildica running weaving and beading workshops, Conor helping with a photo trail and sharing prints at the house, and everybody just generally having a great time with a great community.
Posted by conor
March 26, 2013
Ruairi's been having a lot of fun at Cubs this summer. Couple of "away" activities included sailing with the Mt Pleasant Sea Scouts and getting foamed at the Bottle Lake Rural Fire Service.
Posted by conor
March 25, 2013
Ildica's been building up a selection of stock over the last while, and is now offering selected items for sale on the Felt website.
Marilyn, who's been Ildica's "friend" since uni days, was injured in the Feb 2011 earthquake, breaking her shoulder and suffering a fractured skull. Extensive research led us ultimately to send her by air-ambulance to a reconstructive surgeon in Auckland, with his services even extending to giving her make-up a less '80s' look. She looks exceedingly glamorous now, but still manages to unnerve visitors by appearing in corners of the house where least expected.
Posted by conor
January 20, 2013
The plan for this year's summer holiday was to trundle round the lower half of the North Island camping here and there, since neither Ildica nor I had been to Taranaki or Napier. After having a smooth crossing on the Interislander, we spent a couple of nights in Wellington with the Glennie family before heading to the depths of Whanganui River National Park where I was keen to get in to the Bridge To Nowhere.
The Bridge To Nowhere is pretty much all that remains from a failed attempt at creating a settlement in the Mangapurua Catchment near the Whanganui River. After 20 years of trying, the last settlers walked off the land with almost nothing to show for their endeavours after the government refused to keep repairing landslips. The bridge (built in the earlier 1930s) is in great shape. We had a great day trip which included jetboating up the Whanganui River to the Mangapurua Landing before walking in to the bridge for lunch and then canoeing back down the river at our own pace.
While at Raetihi, I'd also hoped to get out along the Tongariro Crossing, but a mix of wild wind and lack of access due to November eruptions at the Te Maari craters put paid to that, so we ended up exploring a little around the lower parts of Tongariro National Park before heading to a beach campground at Oakura near New Plymouth.
Taranaki has a strong reputation as a great surfing location, and having spent a day relaxing watching the surfers, I ended up getting a lesson myself and giving it a go. We also went to the Festival of Lights at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth.
Next stop was Rotorua via the Forgotten World Highway. Memorable spots along the way included Damper Falls (second highest in the North Island) and the self-declared Republic of Whangamomona. Nicky Woolaston had recommended Waiteti Trout Stream Holiday Park in Rotorua and it turned out to be a great spot. The free kayaks on the stream were a particular hit. We went luging, zorbing and shweebing, and enjoyed the Agrodome show too. The Hamurana Springs was also another beautifully peaceful place to visit.
Then it was off to Napier via Huka Falls and L'Arte Cafe in Taupo...
All in all, an awesome trip!
Full album here...
Posted by conor
November 18, 2012
When Mike & Sheila were out visiting at the end of September, Mike spent a weekend cracking the whip during which time we got the substructure for the deck in place. A couple more days here and there getting the decking planks on, and it looks amazing. Really pleased with the way the left-over log has transformed into a rather nice bench too.
We've seeded the “lawn” too now, so it’ll be interesting to see how that goes given the stoniness of the ground.
Posted by conor
November 15, 2012
After spending a day and a half at the Trimble offices in Westminster CO, I had another day and a half over the weekend before flying back to NZ. The weather didn’t play ball for my decision to take a trip up to Rocky Mountains National Park, but I still got to see some elk down for the winter in the lower grassy meadows, and some picturesque little towns (Lyons, Estes Park, etc.) on the way to RMNP. Sunday morning I got up early to –9°C and an enjoyable little walk at Eldorado Canyon State Park.
Posted by conor
November 9, 2012
Well, for a first night to spend ever in the USA, the view from my room at The Mirage in Las Vegas wasn't too shabby. I was lucky enough to get a last minute opportunity to attend the Trimble Dimensions user conference (with attendees numbering around 3000), so after getting up at 5am on the morning of Monday 5th November to take mountain photographs at Mt Cook National Park, I drove back to Christchurch, had a quick meal with Ildica, Evie & Ruairi, and then jumped straight on a plane to Vegas via Auckland and Los Angeles, managing to arrive at 8pm on the evening of Monday 5th November Vegas-time! Initial impressions of Vegas were fairly overwhelming; it’s quite an experience, but completely unsustainable, and most people I talked to reckon once in Vegas is enough. The conference was very interesting, and I also got out to the offsite construction site to see some of the Trimble toys in action. The closing Gala Dinner also featured a fantastically impressive Cirque due Soleil performance (sadly I didn’t take my camera…) and foot-high ice-sculptures of the Trimble logo as a centrepiece for each table.
Next stop, Colorado…
Posted by conor
