Spinning, Sorting the Crap and the Pu Birds

What is it about this place that makes the cats want to leave? Angel has been walkabout for three months this time and now Piper has disappeared. It's been two days since she last came for a feed so I'm hoping that she's lying bloated somewhere with paws all over the place full of roasted rat. Wouldn't worry half as much if she didn't have cardiomyopathy and need medicating twice daily.

I have half got the job spinning alpaca for the place down south. However my sample although perfectly even and weighted (whatever that means) was over spun which apparently is a by product from spinning angora for so long. They're sending another sample for me to mangle and if I can get the tension right while remembering to spin finely and ply properly I'll have the job! Fortunately I'd bought some alpaca from the Creative Fibre Festival in Taradale last year so hauled this out to practice. Result was a skein that hangs down straight and is fluffy so hope this solves the tension problem. Skein for sale on Trademe for $12.

Just heard a noise and looking out the front see five pukekos feeding outside my place. Obviously a family unit out for their version of a Sunday drive although I can't tell if there are any kids whining "Are we there yet?" Three paradise ducks are having a row further out in the paddock and one has bravely flown in to annoy the pu birds. Gypsy cat is sitting beside the cattle stop utterly bemused by the whole scene. Even she has to admit they're too big for her to catch!

My friend Tanya rang last night as she had been trying to get a friend who works for a local removal company to move me for free. A no goer apparently although the guy has offered his personal services for one morning (woo hoo!). Was able to report that I've made quite an inroads into the crap (um sorry) treasures stored in the Widdly Room. Even rediscovered my perfume bottle collection and a metronome. Am trying to downsize by cramming the contents of two boxes into one all the time. Sometimes it works but more often than not I find some sentimental item I can't possibly throw out despite not having looked at it for nine years. In particular every school exercise book from my childhood, eighty year old copies of The School Journal and two inch long pencils. I mean they might be worth something someday!

Outages Of The Electrical And Ihugal Variety

A little white bantam hen died yesterday morning. She'd been growing a nasty looking "thing" on her leg recently (not scaly leg) and I had decided to have her put down when she beat me to it. I only have two white hens left out of the seven I once had. They're completely mad and at the moment rather a pain as they're so stuffed with windfall plums from the tree in the backyard that they don't want to go into the hen house at night with the others. I watch them sunbathing in the garden in the afternoons although they keep their feathers on unlike their poor cousin to the left.

Since the cold snap last week there has been a distinctly autumnal feel in the air despite the warm temperatures. We even managed a little rain storm last night. I know this as the washing machine began turning itself on and off at 3am. Getting up to check I discovered the power was fluctuating so decided to pull the plugs on all electrical appliances. While doing this the electricity cut out completely so had to feel my way back to bed praying I wouldn't squish a cat in the process. Everything is back on this morning though except Ihug my ISP who is having yet another melt down and not delivering any email. They still advertise themselves as being voted New Zealand's No 1 provider- I can only assume that the voters were the mothers of the staff as I don't know anyone who doesn't find their service frustratingly inadequate.

Miracles Happen!

After months of searching a place came through the internet last Thursday. I didn't ring at first as it was way down in Central Hawkes Bay where I'd never thought of moving. However apart from the location it sounded it had everything I needed so I rang for an appointment to view.

It was a cold grey morning last Saturday when my brother, sister in law and I drove up into the hills. The cottage was easy to find and as soon as we went inside I found myself in a peaceful sitting room looking over the fields with two beautiful cats lying on the chairs as the welcoming committee. The kitchen was twice the size of mine with a large sunny picture window and masses of bench space which I'm not used to. There are three bedrooms, one is presently a computer room and the wardrobe in this has shelves for papers (in fact there is masses of storage throughout the house). One small bedroom gets the afternoon sun and like the much of the cottage is painted blue. There is a Lady Kitchener Stove in the sitting room attached to a wetback to heat the water and apparently the whole house is lovely and warm in the winter which will be a great change for me.

Right at the back door is a large covered in car port which would be ideal for the rabbits (it's larger than where they are) and so the only thing I'd have to think there is about manure as it's a concrete floor so I may need to get trays with dirt or shavings. There is also a single garage and tack room and one hectare of grazing with Smedley Station surrounding the property. There is a cottage garden and lovely big trees on the western boundary and on the front lawn.

After looking round Cathy (the owner) invited us in for a cuppa at 11am- we finally left at 1.30pm after talking animals all that time with a cat sitting on each of us (watching Richard cuddling an Abyssinian was something else!) As we left Cathy looked at me and said "It's yours if you want it". Well we talked ALL the way home about the pitfalls but they were all insignificant compared to the fact that this is a place that seems so "me" so in the evening I told Cathy I would take the place. She said several people were after it but she had really wanted me to have it. After all the recent experiences I had with negative landladies telling me no one would want me as a tenant I nearly cried.

Now it's very COLD in Tikokino- in fact sometimes it snows. This is going to take some coping with for a woman who wears jerseys in the middle of summer. However although it feels isolated out there I am only 30 minutes from Hastings, 20 from Waipawa and 25 from Waipukurau. I'll just continue shopping once a fortnight to save petrol. So to cut a long story short at the end of next month I will be moving.

Alpaca

I have applied for a job spinning alpaca fibre with a company that makes scarves etc. Received 10 grams of carded fibre last week to spin up a sample as they want to see if I can make the yarn very fine with nine twists per inch. Sincerely hope mine is up to scratch- will send it off this afternoon.

Cheyenne

The hot weather was knocking my chocolate angora doe Cheyenne around so I removed her coat in early January to make her comfortable and get her back on her food. This seemed to work for a while but a few days ago she became weak in her hind legs and her kidneys began to fail. She passed away yesterday morning aged four and a half years. The symptoms were very similar to those her grandmother Morticia who had a kidney infection at the same age. The vet had treated her with antibiotics but one night three weeks later she passed away as well so obviously there was a weakness there. Morticia was the first of my new batch of angoras bought in as a baby in 1999. What is strange is that I still have Cheyenne's parents who are now elderly but still going strong. The photo shows her at eight weeks with her brother Cadbury.

Meadow has been having problems with her left eye so last week I took her to the vet. Dye was put in the eye and it showed up a corneal scratch from a piece of hay. An infection had developed so I had to administer Tricin eye ointment for a week before she returned to the vet yesterday. He was really pleased as the inflammation and the lesion had gone so now she is having steroidal drops and tricin three times a day just to get the eye fully back to normal. Obviously it's not my favourite job as Meadow has a temper on her if you're doing anything like that. As her cage hasn't got a hay rack I will pull one from one of the other cages and wire it on to stop her pulling hay in with her and rolling in it!

A woman who had answered my ad for a cottage two weeks ago (she didn't like cats or the sound of my dog so I wiped her from my mind) decided to ring me back Monday. It wasn't to say she had changed her mind but to say her husband says I have too many animals. She finished the conversation by saying no one would want me as a tenant. I was floored by such a nasty comment. I am fast becoming one of those people who prefer their pets to people.

This week I emailed the real estate agent who sold my parent's place nine years ago. He replied saying he'll alert all his rural agents to keep an eye out for a place. I'm not too hopeful as I find landlords don't usually put their places through agents but it was worth a shot. I've also put an advert in Hawkes Bay Today for Saturday. $26! Kereru school replied to an email I sent a month ago saying yes they do have a newsletter and I'm welcome to advertise in it. My mailman came in late afternoon and mentioned the tenants in the other rental down the road were moving and I should ring the owners. He gave me their name and I tentatively called the farm. The owner was very nice and said they'd found a new tenant weeks ago but they have another cottage coming free in mid April although it would only be for a couple of months. She did take my phone number though and said she'll ask around for me which I thought was very kind. Restored my faith in human nature a bit.

I have also been told RHD is back in the bay. In short it's raging through the areas where I'm hoping to move. Although my bunnies were vaccinated in 2005 and I was told it was life long I keep wondering if I should get a booster shot done. I hate that virus.