Two Ks- Kit and Kaffe Fassett

Don't know whether it's because I've overdone it lately or else because I am stressed but ended up with my first migraine in over a year yesterday. A good night's sleep has eased it off but it's still lurking in the background.

Linda and Hans brought Kit over early Saturday evening. This time she seemed to know it was different and was much more timid. The cats have studiously ignored her which is a good thing as it will allow her to settle in a bit better without all the added cat politics and mind games (Demelza especially is good at that). I put her litter tray in the sitting room and left her in there over night. She scratched at the door at about 3am but ran away when I opened it. Since then Kit's been ensconced under the sofa- she hasn't eaten or drunk anything so I am relieved that she's so big as she'll be able to live off her reserves for a while. Linda dropped a list of her preferences and nicknames off late afternoon but didn't come inside or speak so the cat wouldn't know she was there.

Linda has offered me a large white cabinet out of their bedroom. It has lots of shelving and two doors which need to be rehung so would provide more storage. Just trying to work out where to place it- the only room I can think of is the spare one so will need to reposition the bed. Was hoping Maxine would be coming to help this morning but she's full of flu so will need to suck it up and do it myself.

Kaffe Fassett is touring New Zealand at the moment and although I can't knit or sew properly I would love to attend one of his workshops. The guy is just so multi talented- I don't know where he gets the time to create and how he keeps so inspired. As a painter I especially admire his art but kudos to anyone who tries to bring more colour into the world.

"Oh no not another one!"

Been a crazy few days. Linda has been popping in with news about the move. As of Wednesday morning she'd found a home for their dog and the girl who will be renting their place was taking on Bobby, one of their long haired cats. They were taking Kit, their enormous black and white baby, to Holland with them but just learned that it would cost $2,000! Linda stood out on the road and cried and cried as she said they couldn't afford it and she didn't know what would happen to Kit as the only person to offer her a home was the girl taking the dog and she's 22 and probably wouldn't see her as a long term responsibility plus she has kids coming through her house all the time and Kit can't hack noise. I've never seen anyone so upset. So yeah you know what happened.................

Linda and Hans came over later that evening to deliver the TV and other things my family and friends had bought. Turned out the TV was much too heavy for my little round table so Hans offered to give me a bookshelf he'd made to put it on. They went home to collect it and on their return Linda walks in with a large lump under her sweatshirt and pulled Kit out from underneath. She said she'd brought her for a visit to see how she got on. Well you won't believe it but Kit and Mishka fell in love with each other- she even allowed him to lick inside her ears etc. However when he exhibited some um "raunchy" behaviour as he usually does with Demelza she retreated behind my spinning wheel. How Kit gets on with the other cats is anyone's guess as she doesn't fight apparently. Hopefully they'll just think Angel has returned after a dye job and leave her alone and no one will make any rude gestures such as the grumpy tabby to the left. After everyone had left Demelza my own black and white cat emerged and Mish stood by her looking at me all confused as if to say "Mum she's shrunk".

Thursday morning my friend John drove out. He helped me fix a sheet of metal that had come adrift from the side of the hen house. I had poked some wire through the holes but didn't have the strength to pull it together so went inside and pushed the wall out while he wired it shut. He was amazed at how it had held together in the high winds last week.

Looks like a trip to the vet for Piper is definitely on the cards plus Cadbury my chocolate buck needs to be castrated (enlarged testicle- just no polite way to say it) so next Wednesday is the big day.

Mondayitis

There were four of these characters on the front lawn this morning. For some reason they looked like a quartet of judges holding a hearing. They terrorize the small birds and will even take on a hawk and chase it out of the area.

Linda (the neighbour who has been visiting lately) rang last Friday to say that her husband has been offered a job in Holland and they'll be leaving within the next three weeks. Saturday I went to her house and we did an inventory of items, what was for sale and how much she wanted for them. I bought a wooden bookshelf Hans had made for $10 plus a couple of office items for the EDFNZ. The biggie I really wanted was her large TV as it was only two years old. I have been suffering with my mother's old 15" portable for eight years so was so tempted but of course didn't have any money.

On returning home I rang a few family and friends and read them the list to see what they wanted to buy. Within an hour two had rung back offering to loan me the money to buy the TV so I told Linda I would take it. They also bought several of her things for themselves and by Monday afternoon she had sold nearly everything in her house apart from a double bed, fridge and two cars.

Late Monday the bus pulled up at my gate and Linda came in as I had offered for her to take some of the boxes I'd used to move. Conroys are shifting them and had advised against grocery boxes but she took the large sturdy ones that had been used to carry the computer, TV and other electrical items. Was so pleased to see an empty space appear in the carport.
I nodded off in the evening. It had been a busy day as I had put clean water in the aquarium, done two loads of washing, dusted the cottage, moved the new bookcase plus Maxine came late morning and vacuumed and cleaned as well until the whole place sparkled. Added to that it was unseasonably warm so I didn't have to light the fire.

Piper has been losing weight lately and despite worming her a couple of times she hasn't improved. Now she is drinking a great deal and of course urinating even more so looks like a visit to the vet is called for. As this is a new one for me I'm going to have to save up first as I haven't an account there but hopefully will sell some of my own items to fund her visit. The move was as expensive as I envisaged- I've calculated it's going to take me two years to pay for it but I am booked to do an exhibition with the New Zealand Art Guild in August (at the Bruce Mason Centre in Auckland) so fingers crossed I'll sell a few paintings.

We're Not In Kansas Anymore!

After advertising my three large rabbit hutches in the Wednesday Mover for a couple of weeks I finally had a genuine buyer turn up to look on Tuesday morning. Jonathan is a bee keeper and was out this way to put some hives on Smedley Station. He called in along with his employee at 10am and we spent an entertaining half hour talking animals and meeting all the ones here. Negotiating over the hutches was more difficult as they were all damaged by the ex landlord's backpackers so needed quite a few repairs but in the end he offered $80 plus two boxes of clover honey. Three hours later he came back with his truck, paid me and put 24 pots of honey on my kitchen bench with the promise he'd drop some manuka honey in when he came past again in a fortnight. I was just so happy to see the back of those hutches as they were so hard for me to handle and at least this person is going to repair them.

Wednesday I was due to go to town for my big excitement of the month- a visit to the library. Although it was chilly up here by the time I got into Hastings I began to swelter in my thermals. No wonder people were in tshirts as apparently the temperature was in the 80s.

We ended up having to drive to Taradale as my sister in law wanted to come home with me plus I had to get a repeat prescription refilled and a snotty chemists in Hastings refused to do so (after keeping me waiting for ten minutes which staff chatted on the phone). Coming out of Taradale we were waiting at the intersection when to our right a rubbish collection truck began driving across. However to our left a black car jumped the red lights and scooted in from of him while turning into our road. Although the truck slammed on his brakes he still clipped the car which didn't stop. However if he hadn't done so he would have hit it full force and it would have smashed into us. Someone was definitely looking after us.

By the time my brother, sister in law and I returned here mid afternoon is was beginning to cloud over and get very windy. Richard took a look at the lawn and decided he would mow it (I have been trying to find someone to do the job but apparently the nearest person willing to do it lives in Waipukurau and charges $94 a visit). I was so lucky he decided to stay longer as the wind began to strengthen until it was up to 120kms per hour. Diane and I collected firewood and took this inside and I mentioned I would go out and feed the chickens who had been locked in their house nearly all day as I had worried that the weather was going to turn bad. Soon as I got out in the paddock the full force of wind hit me. The front of the hen house was buckling and being metal was folding in at the middle while one side panel had come loose from the metal warratahs (posts) it was wired to. The container of hen food flew across the field with me chasing after it. I called out to Rich that the hen house was about to fly but he couldn't hear me so leaving spilt food all around I had to make my way back to the lawn to tell him.

Diane and I went out and tried to open the door but the wind wouldn't allow us. Rich followed us which was just as well as one gust nearly blew Di over and she had to hold onto him for support. The next half hour was a blur of Richard trying to find metal stakes which he hammered behind the front wall of the shed to stop the metal buckling. I rolled a concrete brick along and pushed it against the piece that had come loose and Di and Rich brought more round which they lined up against the front. We tipped over the goat's original house and pushed it against the side of the shed to make a small windbreak. Unfortunately all the movement dropped the door so the catch is now in the wrong place. To open and close it I have to slide a pair of hedgecutters under the door, kick it at the bottom which raises it so I can slide the catch through. And how did the hens cope? They were totally unconcerned and one even laid an egg!

The terrible winds lasted two days and my heart was in my mouth the whole time. In the middle of this Darren the farrier came out to trim Briar's hooves and he had to shelter with her under a cottoneaster tree in the side paddock so he could finish the job. Not surprisingly he didn't stay long.


Have only had time for a little spinning this week. Pulled out a large bag of fawn alpaca I was given and so far have spun one skein. Beautiful to work with. This week hopefully there won't be any more excitements and I can get back to work.

Back From Playing Hookey

I've been playing hookey lately and going to town with the neighbour down the road when she gets bored. Although this helps me get out amongst the living I have got terribly behind with things up here. However did complete a skein of spinning which I've listed on Trademe for sale. It's merino x although there must be more x to it as it feels too coarse for merino. At the moment working on a large bag of fawn coloured fibre which I think may be alpaca. It was given to me by the office lady at Kell's Wool in Napier. There is 500 grams in the bag which is a good amount so hopefully I will be able to sell it once it's spun.

Have been lighting the fire at mid day the last couple of days as it's turned chilly. This morning we had our first decent frost of the autumn but in return it's a lovely sunny day. Today I will be doing the first clean up of the paddock- in other words collecting donkey poo. Yes that's the highlight of my day apart from a little painting this morning.