Checked out of the Kawerau Motel and drove into the forest along a marvelously smooth clay long road to Tarawera Falls which was formed 100 years ago when Mt. Tarawera blew its top. Was an easy stroll to get there from the road and was fun climbing around and over the boulders at the base of the falls. It's possible to climb up the cliff to the lake and so there is another tramp just waiting for us to do in the future. We plan on going back to Kawerau because it also had Mt. Edgecombe to climb and there is a lake at the top to swim in after the hard climb up the cone. All in all it was a great week's vacation.
 But all good things come to an end and so we were back home and finally got around to wallpapering the lounge and painting the house. At least when ever I could get outside. We just finished with 37 straight days of rain; had a couple dry ones and rain is back again. Still, life' goes on and we have been going out to dine with friends, hiking with friends and getting together for birthdays. In addition, Gail got out to see a couple musicals put on by our high schools. And now she is busy making a quillow attending a class on Saturday mornings.
 Had a fun evening with the Aldersons. Had started out as an excuse to have a Hindi meal since Doug said that he loved curries. I dug out my hippy clothes and headband. Since I stopped working I have been letting my hair grow long (Gail keeps trimming it back but it is a scraggly mess in this day of neat and short. Put on my granny sunglasses, bead necklace, a lei and proceeded to wait for the company to arrive, while seated cross-legged holding a flower and an incense stick. Waited outside in the rain. Their boys didn't know what to make of me. I had set up a tent in the lounge using a tarp which was a big hit with the boys. They brought over sleeping bags and were all set for an evening by the old campfire in the wood burner. Doug and Pat, who have never really been drinkers for some reason got stuck onto Golden Dreams. So they brought over the makings and made. After drinks and the wonderful, but not too hot meal we got stuck into a rousing game of Rock 'n Roll Trivial Pursuit.
Renee finished her netball season without much excitement. Lost almost all the games. She was the goal shooter and shot around 50%. The main trouble was that the team couldn't get the ball to her all that often. Most importantly, she was able to play on two teams and not suffer for it. In fact, the extra outdoor (yes, they play it outdoors no matter what the weather) time helped her general health and color, as they say.
You probably know that we have an ancient derelict farm house. Right from the day we moved in I have been fighting leaks all over. Have put a stop to a few and some are under management, but there are a hard core group which refuse to be plugged. No sooner than we have the wallpaper up in the lounge than the 37 days of rain - and hard heavy rain it was come and back is the leak that I had fixed and fixed. Got tired of putting more and more sealant on as it wasn't doing the job. So removed all the stuff, all the paint and got right back to bare concrete and wood. See we have a house with a vertical wall and no overhang. It is also facing the predominant wind. Shouldn't be a problem except that the attic is enclosed by a fibrelite material (concrete and fiberglass) and these sheets sit directly on top of the wooden siding...no flashing, no overlap. Rain just comes down and into the house at ceiling level. Can't put flashing in without tearing the whole thing apart. So lots of sealant applied. It's also the sun wall so there is expansion and hence the need to constantly reapply sealant as it cracks. Looks like rain, so I better go.
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But all good things come to an end and so we were back home and finally got around to wallpapering the lounge and painting the house. At least when ever I could get outside. We just finished with 37 straight days of rain; had a couple dry ones and rain is back again. Still, life' goes on and we have been going out to dine with friends, hiking with friends and getting together for birthdays. In addition, Gail got out to see a couple musicals put on by our high schools. And now she is busy making a quillow attending a class on Saturday mornings.
Had a fun evening with the Aldersons. Had started out as an excuse to have a Hindi meal since Doug said that he loved curries. I dug out my hippy clothes and headband. Since I stopped working I have been letting my hair grow long (Gail keeps trimming it back but it is a scraggly mess in this day of neat and short. Put on my granny sunglasses, bead necklace, a lei and proceeded to wait for the company to arrive, while seated cross-legged holding a flower and an incense stick. Waited outside in the rain. Their boys didn't know what to make of me. I had set up a tent in the lounge using a tarp which was a big hit with the boys. They brought over sleeping bags and were all set for an evening by the old campfire in the wood burner. Doug and Pat, who have never really been drinkers for some reason got stuck onto Golden Dreams. So they brought over the makings and made. After drinks and the wonderful, but not too hot meal we got stuck into a rousing game of Rock 'n Roll Trivial Pursuit.
Renee finished her netball season without much excitement. Lost almost all the games. She was the goal shooter and shot around 50%. The main trouble was that the team couldn't get the ball to her all that often. Most importantly, she was able to play on two teams and not suffer for it. In fact, the extra outdoor (yes, they play it outdoors no matter what the weather) time helped her general health and color, as they say.
You probably know that we have an ancient derelict farm house. Right from the day we moved in I have been fighting leaks all over. Have put a stop to a few and some are under management, but there are a hard core group which refuse to be plugged. No sooner than we have the wallpaper up in the lounge than the 37 days of rain - and hard heavy rain it was come and back is the leak that I had fixed and fixed. Got tired of putting more and more sealant on as it wasn't doing the job. So removed all the stuff, all the paint and got right back to bare concrete and wood. See we have a house with a vertical wall and no overhang. It is also facing the predominant wind. Shouldn't be a problem except that the attic is enclosed by a fibrelite material (concrete and fiberglass) and these sheets sit directly on top of the wooden siding...no flashing, no overlap. Rain just comes down and into the house at ceiling level. Can't put flashing in without tearing the whole thing apart. So lots of sealant applied. It's also the sun wall so there is expansion and hence the need to constantly reapply sealant as it cracks. Looks like rain, so I better go.
