General Chat

At our previous house the hot water cupboard was in a bedroom and the pipe went to the ensuite of the bedroom in front of that one, across the other side of the house to the kitchen and then back over the other side to the back bathroom. Long way for the water to travel. We put a new cylinder in, in the hall closet and had three pipes, one each leading to the required washing facilities.

Change of subject:

My granddaughter Maia left for China today, she is going with other members from her Dance Class at University. She will turn 21 whilst away so we had her 21st the other night in a place north of Auckland CBD and it was a lovely non alcoholic party at a friends place which has a large central lawn area with family properties surrounding it. Anya treated us to a video she put together of Maia from when she first flitted around the garden dancing until present day. Maia is living her dream, she has always wanted to dance and she rang me today to thank me and to say she has just passed another dancing certificate. This is her final year at university, she has finished up working in fashion store to pay for her trip and she will be working at a dance place teaching others plus an intermediate school has asked her to come and teach the pupils there and some members of her church also want private tutoring so she is well pleased. I was wondering what she would do after Uni had finished but looks like she has plenty to look forward to.

yes, we had to have a new pipe up from the basement into the kitchen when the new sink was installed .............. they by-passed the old one!

We have lived in four houses and have put complete new kitchens into three of them. One of the houses had the kitchen in a single storey extension on the back of the house, but it was in such bad condition that we knocked it down and rebuilt it on the same footprint. It ended up taking longer than it should have because they discovered that the main soil pipe from the bathroom actually went under the floor, but it was cracked and leaking into the ground. They had to break all the concrete floor out and put a new drain in with extra reinforcement. I had to cook on a camping stove for ages and wash up in the only bathroom, all with two young children.

We even put a new kitchen in here even though it wasn't very old. It had been so badly designed that the only thing to do was to start again

My brother has been moved out of a single room into a double, but there is no one else in it. As he doesn't have his sleep apnea machine, his snoring will be terrible, so pity who ever has to share with him.

He was in a lot of pain with the cast, not on the break, but on his foot, so today they have taken the large cast off and put a light weight blue one on. That is much better as he can pick his leg up to move it himself. Before he had to wait for someone to come and lift the cast for him. It is very painful when he moves, but at least he can shuffle around in bed a bit and he was able to sit in a chair this evening for an hour.

He managed to talk to the insurance company this morning and they are adamant they want him to stay put, but they are saying that they cant get to talk to the doctor in the hospital to tell him that.

Linda ............

it sounds as though your brother would be better staying where her is :-)

Persie ........ hope the renos are soon over and done.

I had 2 months without a fully functioning kitchen back in 2010. OH ripped it all out in September, but it was the end of November before it was all back together again.

Luckily we managed to work it so we were only without a fridge or stove for a few hours ........... the time it took to rip out the old flooring and install new lino. The fridge and stove were both only a couple of years old so we were keeping them, and the guys managed to move them and then put them back in place.

We washed dishes in the basin in the second bathroom, and put an old coffee table in the bath tub so we had somewhere to keep things like paper towels kitchen utensils, etc . We put the microwave and toaster on the dining table (protected the table with a thick pad).

But we didn't have any of the low cupboards or counter space. We did keep the upper cupboards, just put new doors on them, so we didn't have to move any of those contents until the time came to put on the new doors.

The funniest was having to find somewhere to store the new base cupboards until they could be installed .......... front room lounge was out of use for about 2 weeks, with just a small passage area. In fact, I think every room in the house except our bedroom had something in there that had either come out of the kitchen was going to go in there!

I was thoroughly sick and tired of it all by the time it was all complete!

You could always move again Persie :-D :-D :-D

If you knew my brothers wife, you would realise that he is far better off without her there. To be fair, he is just asleep all of the time and everything is very expensive there. He has free internet so he can talk to everyone using his tablet or phone whenever he wants

maybe they just did not have time to come back, they are an hour away up north, believe it or not in Huntly. The two lads that did the job knew that we sort of had a mini kitchen set up in the laundry. I have tried to have a set up that works until we can get the renovations done.

At the moment with one of the rentals being given a bit of a face lift so that we can get the insulation done underneath that property. We had built an extra room on the deck up there ages ago to eventually become a laundry and the tenants have used it for storage except for our latest lot in there (over 2 years or so now) they cook in there on a gas barbecue and apparently the walls are pretty bad so they have been told to clean them. They don't hold with cooking in the kitchen. Our builder is making the now laundry into a bigger bathroom and the bathroom is to become a small child's room or office. Now we have found that one of the waste pipes was not running out properly and some parts are rotten. Once you start fixing something, something else always crops up. The house will then have a toilet in the bathroom and a separate toilet (existing to remain). He has come home and said he thinks we might sell that one when its finished. Will paint it outside as well etc. I am quite pleased it's quite a good place in that it is safe for children to play, no traffic worries. Also whenever I mention selling one I always get told about the income.

OH was in hospital in Norway and our youngest daughter is named after a nurse's aid from there only we spelt the name differently and not the Norwegian spelling. When she was a teenager she said she wished she had the other spelling, but everyone calls her by the second half of her name and some people have commented on when she signs things as first name begins with an A and not a G... and then she has to explain. She had her full name all through school until about the last year or so except her English Teacher who loved her name.

Hope everything goes well for your brother Linda.. I am still shaking my head re his wife not going with him.

Stress Sue... given that up and will let the wheels grind slowly and eat out even if it is just Subway for tea tonight followed by Maccas waffle ice-cream.

I have really had to look at what can be done with this place and see what it will be and remember that there are others that live in a lot worse conditions even if the shower here really annoys me.

Goodness Persie, what a tale. It sounds as if they have spun the job out to make more money, but it is a huge hile in costs.

If they havent been back yet to finsh off, it may be chaeaper to replace the lock and take the plastic off yourselves while you sort the bill out.

I am glad that you are cooler Sue, I dont like to think of you being hot and sweaty - not a pretty image :-D

The saga of my brother goes on. The insurance company have decided it would be too dangerous to move him before the operation, so they want him to stay there, that could be anything up to a month. He is quite happy about that, , the doctors there seem to be under the impression that the NHS is good and dont understand why he doesn't want to go to his local hospital. Having had both my parents in the local hospital for long periods of time, I understand only too well why he doesn't want to go there .

One good thing is that he is diabetic and at home his blood sugar levels are crazily high (his own fault). Yesterday they had got them down to five which is nothing short of amazing. He doesn't seem to be eating much, partly because he has no idea of what anything is. He has two slices of bread with cheese and ham for both breakfast and dinner, with a hot meal of some sort at lunchtime. The hot meal seems to be inedible, but with all the morphine he is on, he isnt hungry. He is very overweight, so if he looses lots, that will be a good thing.

Last night he said that the doctors there had written to the insurance company saying they want to move him, but unless they pay for an air ambulance, that wont happen. I wondered if maybe they could move him to another larger hospital inside Norway as they use small air ambulances all of the time. He had his mind settled on staying there until after the operation, so was a bit fed up of being used like a ping pong ball.

His wife is due back in the UK this morning, she just has to drive the length of the country in a car she has only had a quick drive of. She is also a technophobe so cant use the sat nav.

We have had a few glorious days here, really warm, but it is overcast this morning. I have Meals on Wheels to do. It is the first time since they moved the production from a cafe in the town, to the new community cafe in the new old peoples home which also has the new library in the same building. It will be interesting to see if the quality of the food is any better.

Oh my, Persie....what an ongoing saga. Are you stressed? I would be.

The toaster :-D

It has cooled down here and we have had some blessed rain thank goodness. Our front lawn was yellow :-(

How weird of your sister-in-law to send useless items Linda. My bloke would be lost without me making sure he has everything at least the hospital might have a sleep apnoea machine That would be the first thing that I would make sure that it was sent to the hospital though, I would also probably abandon ship and go with him.
Surely they have travel insurance to cover this sort of thing. The trouble with her carrying on with the cruise means that they would not get the trip again together because she has blown it.

Glad Tec has seen his lovely lady wife that should cheer him up.

And me will you know I am at sixes and sevens with this move.

We have just had the asbestos removed from the ceiling in the porch, this has meant that the kitchen has sealing plastic down the doorway and the problem is we would be without our fridge and washing machine and the magic toaster for a day. That was yesterday (Thurs) today Fri the tester man came and put a pump of some sort in the area and then later he came and took a sample and I was chatting to him, this was early afternoon and I said and will someone come later and remove all the sealing plastic.. to which he said yes. He had my spare back door key in his hand which he used to let himself into the porch and said that he had wanted to return the key to me but Brian the boss had said no he was to bring it back to the office. I thought fair enough as might need to get in and I might be out.

In the meantime himself has been to the company and wanted the job costs itemised 1) because they said it was a two day job and should be a 1 day job of removing asbestos (they also did the garage). Amazingly they left this small strip down the side of the garage and a chap came today and did that and would have taken less than an hour.
2) himself likes to know where it all gets spent etc because what had originally started as $2k for the porch now became $6K which included removing a bit from around the bottom edge of the garage and a bit in the apex front and back. They would also need concrete cutters.

Today OH struck a Mrs Jobsworth and whilst himself was talking she came out of her office said excuse me for interrupting but we have never had anyone come in here querying before and off she went. Whatever OH said, she would retaliate with his own words back to him sarcastically etc .. when he related it to me it sounded like a Monty Python sketch.

OH said to her I am happy with the two guys that came, I am happy with that woman over there sitting quietly and I will be paying the cost and I will happily use the company again when it is under new ownership. Mrs Jobsworth is the owner's wife.

OH is now assuming that Madam up there has said we won't pay and that is why the key went back up North. When he told her he assumed something she said so you assume do you and this is how it went back and forth.

Well at least life is interesting but in the meantime I may have no access to fridge or washing machine, toaster etc Why is the fridge in the laundry; because there is no room in the kitchen for a fridge. I do not think much of the stove and will need a pneumatic drill to clean the inside of it so have the microwave, kettle, electric frypan, crockpot and sandwich maker all along the counter tops to use.. looks like I am running a café. Besides stove has no light in the rangehood and the range hood is illegal as the duct does not go out through the roof. It is very dark in that area... This house was built in 1944 and no one has modernised the kitchen.

It's like a television show about nightmare holidays. It would be good to get him home...at least you would know what's going on. Sounds like his wife doesn't have a grasp on the situation :-0

We didn't give you permission to go away Sue :-|

I hope you had a nice time though.

My brother has been reunited with his passport. His nutty wife sent the smallest hand luggage bag they had, packed with outdoor walking boots and outdoor clothes, but nothing he could actually need in the hospital.

They gave now said it could take weeks for the swelling to go down before they can operate,so they want to send him back to the UK. The insurance company seem to be trying to get him to come by scheduled flights. That entails four separate planes. He has a cast fro ankle to groin which is so heavy he can't lift it. When he needs to move someone has to lift the cast for him. Plus he is on lots of morphine, an air ambulance costs a lot, so they don't want to sanction it

Wow...I seem to have missed some news. That's what I get for being AWOL.

How awful for your brother, Linda....I hope all works out well for him. Not sure I could have continued with the cruise ;-)

I love Madame Butterfly...such a sad story but so beautiful. We saw it a number of years ago at the Sydney Opera House.

It is nice that Tec has seen the Duchess...he will have peace of mind.

All is well here - we've been away but are back now. It has been very hot and humid here especially for March but today we have had rain. Badly needed and it has also cooled down.

I am so glad that Tec has finally managed to go see the Duchess, and to know that she is doing well, and is looked after.

That must have put his mind to some rest.

The opera sounded to be excellent Sylvia. It is a good job that you couldn't here the drums from the rugby

I spoke to Tec today, he had managed to sit out in the garden yesterday for a few hours as it was so nice, but not today as there was a cold wind.

He finally managed to go and see the Duchess. She was fine, she seems to be in good health apart from her memory. He thought that she knew who he was and he was happy that she is contented where she is

we went to the Opera last night (Saturday) in absolutely pouirng rain.

Full house, for what we think was one of the best opera productions we have seen in all these years.

It was Madam Butterfly, done traditionally, but with a superb cast who could also act .............. so Pinkerton, the American who "marries" a Japanese girl and then carelessly discards her, really was portrayed as the "cad" by a guy with a terrific tenor voice. He was booed and then cheered at the curtain call!! The American Consul was played by another good actor who managed to display the contempt he has for Pinkerton at the end, again with a superb voice ..... and he was encouraging the booing at the end!

They got a well-deserved standing ovation.

Unfortunately, this is the last season for the Opera Company ...... they're going to a Festival Event next year, with 3 weeks of opera and other music events in April, instead of a winter season.


At the same time last night, the World Rugby Sevens was taking place at the stadium close to the theatre, and there were 2 Fan Zones almost next to it. Fortunately, the auditorium is fully sound-proofed :-)


It's pouring again ............. we've had a series of Pacific Express storms going through here all week. There's a few hours of "dry" between each one.

oh dear!!!

The saga gets worse

One has to laugh, even though it isn't a laughing matter.

I do hope everything turns up ...... especially the passport!

It is worrying Sylvia especially as he is diabetic, but he can't control his blood sugar, so I hope the hospital can sort him out
His wife has continued with the cruise :-S She sorted out a bag of clothes for him, with his medication and the machine he has to use for his sleep apnea plus his passport . That was given to someone on the boat who was going to take it to the harbour master who was going to arrange for it to be taken on the two hour trip to the hospital. Needless to say, it has not turned up

gosh .......... what a terrible thing to happen, especially on holiday. Sending all best wishes to your brother x

It has been a lovely day here, so we went out and did some gardening. We had to stop because the bin was full

I have just been talking to my brother on messenger. He is on a Northern Lights cruise in Norway. As part of it, they went dog sledding, but the sled over turned and came down on top of his leg with his wife on top of that
He had to be airlifted to the nearest hospital at the very top of Norway. He has broken both the bones in his lower leg and his ankle. He has to wait for a few days for the swelling to go down before they can operate to pin it.

Are you still hot and bothered Sue? The heating is on here and it is only mid afternoon