A lot of work, but not a lot to see!

 Another busy week or so of 'prep' work.  The trouble with this, is that it doesn't feel like it is coming together at all. But I'm sure it is really, and everything will fall into place and look good!!!

We had the back of the cottage cleared of (very tall) weeds, which was a big(!) job.  Then, the new geyser was installed on the back wall, and the kitchen ceiling was repaired where it had suffered water damage.

New geyser at back of cottage

We had noticed that the cottage was exceptionally damp (nothing to do with the leaky geyser), partly due to it being closed up and not used for so long, so we are using a dehumidifier to dry it out.  How much water can a building actually hold?! It's incredible how much is coming out of it!  There won't be any painting until a lot more is pulled out of the brickwork!

We also noticed that there were no air bricks or ventilation in the cottage, so Steve has been installing some air bricks.  Of course, he needed to buy another big boys' toy in order to do this.

We have also had more electric sockets put in.  Well, there are never enough, are there?!

So, you see, all this 'prep' (boring) work that needs to be done before the more interesting stuff! (You can tell a girl is writing this post, and not a boy, can't you!)

One of the air bricks installed into the kitchen

Steve is managing to get the carcass of the kitchen workbenches put up now, though.  A very slow job but it will look good when it is done.  You just don't realise how many bits of wood go into building a kitchen!

Starting to build the new workbenches

Checking the new worktops fit (they do!)


And our lemon trees are still producing lemons! Great stuff!

The cottage geyser

   

Kitchen sink unit and tiles out.

It has been a busy week. I'm not sure that there is a lot to show for it, but it has been a busy week!

At the beginning of the week, Steve finished taking out the old kitchen sink and tiles. He then went round filling holes and clearing up ready to start the new kitchen units. Exciting! Measurements were taken, and new worktops were chosen and ordered.

However, the next morning, he noticed a damp patch on the floor and, looking up, saw that there had been a leak through the kitchen ceiling. He opened up the hatch, where the hot water geyser was, and saw the problem. It had split and was leaking water. It must have been doing it for a very long time as there were several ice-cream tubs full of water up there where water had been leaking out of the geyser and into the tubs!

So, better call the plumber - a new geyser is called for! We know our plumber very well, even though we have only been living in Napier for a few months! He has been out to visit us many times, and has fixed a lot of watery problems for us!)

Sidney checking out the hatch where the leaking geyser was.

We decided it would be better to have the new geyser fitted to the back of the house, and have it well-insulated, rather than in the roof above the kitchen, so plumber and electrician are both visiting this week to do this work for us. Then, the ceiling needs to be repaired.

Breakfast

Steve decided a good breakfast was called for that morning!

Finally...

Chilli can manage the catflap. Yay! It has only taken her 4 months to be able to master this! Sidney learned how to use it in about 4 seconds, but Chilli prefers to do things a bit slower!

Well done, Chilli!

Chilli can manage the catflap

Ice!

This morning, we noticed that one of the cats was trying to drink out of the birdbath.  Water tastes far better out of a birdbath than it does out of their own drinking bowls!

But she was struggling.

Steve went over to have a look and the water was a solid lump of ice!

The dogs had great fun playing with it!

Work started on the cottage

Well, it has started!  Steve started work on the kitchen in the cottage at the weekend.

The window needed fixing as it wouldn't close properly, so he spent some time on that, and then he sanded down the framework on the window, so that it can be repainted.

Later, he knocked out the old kitchen sink and cupboard.  Spiders and cobwebs everywhere!

Needless to say, Sidney found it extremely interesting and had to check it all out - to make sure that the job was being done properly!































This morning, we traipsed off to town to find new workbenches, choose the paint we want to use on the walls, and lots of (uninteresting) bits and pieces to build kitchen cupboards.  We had to order most of the stuff as the store didn't have it in stock, but we managed to come back with the new kitchen sink!

Frosty mornings

Thick, white frost in the paddock

 It's definitely winter now in Napier. We have had several mornings of thick, white frost.  Very cold, but warm sunshine follows with blue skies - can't complain!

Sun coming up and turning the grass green again.