You all know we’re a family fond of lists. We have lists for dry days and for wet days, long term lists, day lists, lists for big ticket items, stuff we’re pondering getting, things we want to get rid of, and the mandatory weekly shopping list; we even have (and we wouldn’t tell this to everyone) a list collating and cross-referencing all our lists. Happily, this week turned out to be a great one for List Deletification (ie: the act of crossing stuff off).
The Homestead garden is divided into different sections. This all sounds very “permaculture zones” and proper, but in reality it just makes it easier to work out where stuff is, eg: “Has anyone seen the secateurs?” ” Yep, you left them in the Clothesline Garden.” All that aside, something that made us all very happy this week is knocking the mid-season clean up of the Glasshouse Garden on the head. This garden is the half past on our continuous clockwise garden crawl; we’re now at about 20 minutes to.
While two of us tackled the garden, The Renovator was busy working inside.
- Although there’s still a way to go in The Farmer’s bedroom
- the store cupboard walls have received their final coat of paint.
Two on-going issues were also addressed this week.
One: The Homestead weatherboards/cladding/planks-of-wood-on-the-outside-of-the-house have been a cause for concern since we signed on the dotted line and this summer was earmarked as the year for attacking this. The only problem being we have no idea how to; this is a job for someone in the know. Those in the know in post-quake Christchurch are very popular people, replacing weatherboards is not a fun job and thus it had begun to look like it would end up a YouTube tutorial, sleepless nights, all-hands-on-deck Homestead production. Hooray and thank everything worthy of thanking: we have found someone willing to take the job on. Works starts next week.
- When you have to tape up your house, you can’t hide from the truth any more – those weatherboards need replacing!
Two: Communication with the outside world via the method made famous by Mr Alexander Graham Bell had become more and more tenuous. Static and nasty electronic squawks and moans punctuated our calls resulting in embarrassed bellowing and spiralling cell phone bills. The line provider called it an electricians job, the electrician wasn’t convinced but spent two hours deciding that. Finally we’d had enough! No more “to report a fault press 1” business for us! We kept pressing those buttons until we ended up with a real, living and breathing person who, once we’d made ourselves understood over the crackle, whoop and wheeze on the line, agreed action was needed. The lovely Stan arrived promptly the next morning, firstly ringing us from “the exchange”, then from a handset attached to a protrusion of wires by our front fence, and finally at our front door. Within twenty minutes he had the problem sorted. It was all to do with obsolete lines and unconnected wires or something. Who cares though, because we can now ring The Bean Counter at work and get him to pick up fish and chips on the way home! Life is indeed good.
The final list deletification was something we really hoped would not eventuate. After the whole Kormie affair, Quilla’s little mismatched family of chicks had gone from strength to strength. The six of them caught on to flock mentality incredibly quickly, meeting The Milk Maid as part of the mad scrabble of poultry each morning focused on the handful of wheat flung in their direction. On that dark list of stuff you hope never happens, we’d acknowledged the six of them may not see PoL (Point of Lay or Pot of Lusciousness, depending on the sex). On Thursday morning, only five little chicks were among the clucking throng. The little frizzle was found floating in the duck pond. Apparently death by drowning is pretty common in frizzles, who’s feathers are all askew and not so water resistant.
- Some list items are not so much fun to cross off
All in all, it’s been an eventful week; some good stuff, a little bad. Ain’t that the way life is, at the end of the day?
Union Homestead 
Sorry about your loss! Other than that, what a fun read. What do you think caused the damage to the siding? The weathering of it looks odd and suspicious. It’s not termites is it?
I love what I saw with the glasshouse. Do you have posts that show more of that? I’ve always dreamed of having a house with a conservatory! One day perhaps. Or I’ll design and build my own. Just need access to a forge for the wrought-iron…
The weatherboard damage is the result of a huge amount of neglect (this place was a rental before we bought it) and a prevailing easterly wind. No termites here, thankfully but lots of borer/woodworm which is way less of a worry but still annoying.
The glasshouse is pretty low key. Your dream one sounds way more grand!
That’s life for sure. Some big ticket items on that list.
Sorry to hear about the little frizzle. Hope the others have learned from observation.
Are those boot planters around the tire? What a great idea! Maybe that’s the rubber garden, haha :). Funny you should have names for all your bits of garden…we do too. Round Garden, Square Garden and Veg garden.
I’ve been wondering about Farmer’s bedroom – great progress! Drywalling is awful work, especially in summer heat.
We call that kind of exterior siding – clapboard, but I’ve heard weatherboard as well. Glad you found someone who can do it, because I bet it’s a bit of a job.
I’ve been to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum – in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. I don’t remember it very well, as that must have been about 30 years ago, and I suspect I had a pretty quick whip around before heading out to something more exciting, but still. I thought you were going to tell us you’d given up your land line and were going to just use cell phones from now on. That seems to be the trend here. Not here as in me, needless to say. Far too much of a Luddite.
We thought we’d lost the other dark chick this morning as it was nowhere to be seen and the coop was all of a dither because we’d culled three of their number yesterday. It wasn’t floating int he pond, lurking in the garden, in the goat paddock, nowhere. Were just concluding it had been taken by a cat when faint peeping under the nesting box resulted in its discovery. It had got stuck there and was none the worst for wear. Phew!
Yep, it’s a definite rubber garden 🙂 Plant them out with strawberries as per Hugh F-W’s tip so that by the time they hit the rubbish bin there’snot a lot left of them.
Have just had a text from the weatherboard man – work starts tomorrow and he reckons it’ll take three days tops.
We have been toying for ages with getting rid of our landline; we barely get any calls but a month or so with it not working properly showed us it is still a big part of our lives, besides we’ve got one of those all-in-one power/phone/internet deals which we’ve been with so long that it costs the same with or without the landline.
Sounds like you had a good week apart from the chicken that is. Getting the landline fixed was a triumph and finding a weather board man equally so. I salute you.
Thank you – neither was a walk in the park 🙂
I love a good list… I always start mine with something I have already done so at least one thing can be crossed off straight away!
The feeling of crossing something off is priceless 🙂
I lovelovelove my lists! I have a special notebook for all my lists and love sitting down at least once a week and cross of and make new ones. Mr. Walker is less fond that book especially the pages where the list starts with his name…
Sorry about your little chick. But progress on the bedroom is steady and in the right direction! And your house will look so pretty with new siding. The garden is really pretty. I miss starting the day with walking through the veggie garden and coming back in home with my mouth full of nature’s goodness.
And Oh My Goodness, it is a Global Issue: telephone companies. But praise the Higher Spirits that you can have the right order of Fish and Chips and on time again!
Deletification is an incredibly beautiful word..I tried pronouncing it a few times by myself in the kitchen here and see if I could add to my vocabulaire. I have decided though that with my sloppy mix of Dutch/Canadian/English (ab)use of language, I beter stay away from it. The way I pronounce it, people might get the impression I have a nasty flu…too bad!
have a great weekend, lots of love from the other side of the world! Johanna
No no no, Johanna, never ever try to emulate our massacring of language; Kiwi’s are known the world over for their lack of respect for language!
I can well imagine Mr Walker’s expression on discovering his name on your list – it’s my bet it’s the same one The Bean Counter effects 🙂
Getting a real live person to come almost persuades me to emigrate (though I fear I would no longer be welcome). It was a triumph of perseverance.
It was not easy at all, I assure you, requiring me to totally disregard the recorded instructions and masquerade as someone wishing to upgrade their “plan”. I’m not proud of my deception, but I was very angry at the time 🙂