As Megan was home from school again today, the house got tidied up in a most thorough manner - not the superficial run around of her mother. So our quality of life is enhanced by our calm surroundings. We did work together and I did some home-baking at the same time. We went shopping and bumped into a Scottish lady who is from Perth and used to live in Barcaldine. Her husband is an outdoor instructor and having to work up at the Abel Tasman just now to keep in work. She was instantly likeable and confessed to often feeling homesick despite having been backwards and forwards to Scotland for various spells of time. Her 2.5yr old son was born there and is called a gaelic name that sounded like Naraich and means serpent. It is the name of a meandering burn in a glen near Kinlochleven -am I stiking any chords here? He is called Nat for short - I guess that works better here. What I keep hearing - and from Pete the Paddler too - is not having the sense of belonging. Eventually that becomes more important than the climate.
This weeks Sun is giving the sewage works a break and claiming that there is no work to be had in Wanaka. People are starting to arrive in the hope of winter work - 1000 people for 180 jobs at Cardrona. Notices are going up in shops saying NO WORK.
This fits with what Pete and Spooks lovely barmaid was claiming last night. I finally got the call to retrieve him at 12.30am. I found him and Pete sheltering from heavy rain under a covered walkway. They looked very happy. There was no-one else on the streets. They were nearly home by 9pm, when they stumbled upon a bar that wasn't about to shut and with a barmaid who was actually pleased to see them. She says the town is dead and has had to lay off staff. To that effect, she treated them to a 'Staffie' at the end of the night, as there was no staff to share a drink on the house with. Spook and Pete have been through a lot of troubles at work and manage to have built up a long term friendship over a very short period.
Finn took his buttons to school on the monkey to demonstrate his homework. His teacher wants to buy one. Finn is practicing, and the headless cream one is the beginnings of his attempt. He is going to give it to the cat when it's finished. I will make the one for his teacher as she was Meg's teacher too and recently got married. Both children have loved having her and we had wanted to give her a wedding present, so a No Fuss Monkey will be it. Meg cut up and stuffed an old t-shirt of her dads and slept with it last night. Max loves it, so now she is making one for him, sewing his name on to it. I had to make a pin cushion yesterday to cope with the demands and constant loss of needles. I am cross-eyed and going to bed early, as Finn and I have to go to Alexandra tomorrow for his rugby 7's. It is Spooks only day off in the next fortnight, so we will leave him in bed. Meg has already said "No Way". Alex has the reputation (apart from me calling it Muttonville) to be a hot dustbowl in summer and a hoare frost bowl in winter. I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, but it wont be cosy.
I am grateful for having a daughter who can provide order in my life.
The sun shone today.
I am grateful for Finns enthusiasm for rugby that stops him from even thinking about complaining about getting up early on a Saturday (he LOVES his long lie).
No comments:
Post a Comment