Pick Your Own Christmas Tree

December 21st and we haven’t got a tree yet. Most Kiwis have a plastic tree so the real ones are quite hard to get hold of. The best way is to drive around randomly until you see a sign advertising them. We followed the direction of one pointing from State Highway 1 into the countryside.

It led to a farm which was doing a sideline. When we got there, there was no visible sign of any trees for sale so we went to knock on the farmhouse door. They pointed to a hedge. Off we went across the asparagus beds to choose a tree to cut down.

It’s a real tree but it’s not like a proper Christmas tree. It’s not the right shape – it has more branches at the top than the bottom. But proper Christmas trees apparently don’t grow here so it’s probably the best we could do. And at $12 it’s a bargain.

The Plug

The plug from the bathroom went missing the other day. Lily had a theory. “Maybe a bird took it”, she said, “I think a bird took it and flew over the hedge and round the corner and dropped it in the field.”

It’s a nice idea, but the plug was later found in the drawer.

A cuddle, a kiss and an eyelid stroke

Lily has been on good form today. When I came through the door, Jo was wearing a top that Wendy left behind. "Mummy's being Grandma today!" cried Lily delightedly, "Aren't you Grandma!"

"You've got a spot on your forehead!" she said to me at bedtime, "and your chin is rough. When I am older I might get spots. Lily and Mummy are not old enough for spots!"

She said to Jo: "I've got three things you want. A cuddle, a kiss and an eyebrow stroke!"

We are feeling a little bit sad

Today we said goodbye to Dave and Wendy, my in-laws and Lily's grandparents. They have been staying with us for the last six weeks.

It has been an action packed time. We have been away to Nelson and beyond, hours and hours of driving through hills away. We have been to the mountains, beaches and lakes around here. And we have bought a house!

We'd like a rest now really, except we have to move house (again). Our new place in Rolleston is very nice indeed though!

But mostly we are a bit sad. We've had a good time over the last few weeks. Lily has loved all the attention and got on well with her Grandma and Granddad. Molly and Jake worship Dave and much prefer him to us. And Jo and I both feel sad. It's quite nice to have the house to ourselves, but it does seem quite empty.

Checking out the Kindy

Lily went to Kindergarten today. She will probably start properly at the beginning of next term when she is 3 but Jo took her to have a look. She is excited about going to Kindy. Apparently she shot off with the other children and wasn't to be seen for two hours. Dave found her at one stage. "No Granddad, go away!" she said. She was having a good time and didn't want to be taken away.

The Kindy has the usual range of kiwi facilities. It has a giant sand-pit, paints and, of course, the workbench which features claw-hammers, 4 inch nails and a working vice. I am not sure the workbench is a good idea for three year olds but we don't say anything in case we are accused of namby pambyism or political correctness gone mad. Safety concerns are not quite such a priority in this country.

Interestingly, New Zealand has the highest rate of childhood accidents in the world.

Dora the Explorer: How much is too much?

Lily is obsessed with Dora the Explorer. She loves it. She impersonates the characters all the time. There's Dora, Diego and Boots the Monkey. When she does Diego she puts on a special Mexican accent and a deep voice because he's a boy.

The Price of Cauliflour

The price of cheese seems to have stabilised at arounf $10 per kilo, but the price of brassica has gone through the roof. Cauliflour are now a whopping $4.99 each and brocolli is $3. There is a shortage apparently, due to the shocking winter rain we have had.

Lets hope the brassica shortage doesn't last too long - I can remember living in Kent and paying £1 for 3 two years ago. In these unstable times we seem to lurch from one crisis to another.

Raising a Rocker Chick

Without doubt, one of the greatest pleasures in life for father is introducing his daughter to Iron Maiden. Some might think two-year olds wouldn't like heavy metal but they couldn't be more wrong.

When I come home in the evening Lily says "Daddy put your Iron Maiden tape on". Then she says "let's headbang!" Then we jump up and down on the spot for a while.

Jo just shuts the door and leaves us to it.

My Auction Fever

We're trying to buy a house! So we went to an auction yesterday. It was very exciting, like theatre with two auctioneers working the room. There were 27 houses for sale from all over the Christchurch area and two in Rolleston. We didn't buy anything but we put in a low bid, just for fun really. I made Jo do it.

You have to register beforehand and then the estate agent sits beside you and whispers in your ear. Ours is not too pushy which is good because and Jo and I weren't very interested unless it was very cheap indeed.

Which actually it was. Apparently the person who bought it has been sniffing around for months looking for a bargain and irritating all the estate agents by wasting their time. And his patience paid off. So good for him.

Building a Driveway One Stone at a Time

There's lots of mud in the country. The looping gravel driveway in front of the house is mostly lacking in gravel and formed of mud and potholes. It's not great when its been raining.

Jo says I should tell the council but I have a better idea. Every morning I walk the dogs and pick up a pocketful of stones which I put on the driveway. So far in two months I've covered an area the size of a table. By the end of the year I'll have done six tables. There's probably about twenty to do in all. I'm fixing the driveway a stone at a time. It's the best way.

Cheese now below $10 per kilo

The price of petrol seems to have stabilised, much to the relief of all. But, what is happening to the price of cheese?

A year ago, it was edging up to $13 per kilo. It's now settled at around $10 and last week I found some at $8.99. Happy days!

Jake the Escaping Spaniel

I spent four hours on Sunday building a new dog proof fence out of posts and chickenwire. Molly looked defeated by my efforts and the northern boundary is now secure.

However, she has turned her attention to the west boundary and found a way through the large wire mesh fence. She has only done it once. I think she is scared she'll get stuck. Jake on the other hand nips through with impunity.

So now they are both chained up.

Rabbits

The new house has a paddock out the back, which is half full of derelict buildings and also contains my vege patch. Nothing is growing in my vege patch. The paddock is infested with pesky rabbits. They eat the new shoots as soon as they appear.

I have checked out the options and I can either shoot them or gas them. Clearly I'm not going to do either of those things.

CSI:NY

Tonight I have been watching CSI New York. I like CSI. They take you through the story nice and slowly and the clues are all obvious. Then they replay it all in slow motion so you are in no doubt who did the murder and how.

Which is all so much easier than watching British dramas. At the weekend I watched Lewis and had no idea who was doing what and why. I was so confused I didn’t even know what the crime was. Then I watched Dr Who and had no idea what was going on there either. Then I had a dream about a giant blue lightbulb that was taking over the world.

The Age of Imagination

Lily has gone into an imaginative phase. Today we've all been characters from the Wiggles. Lily is Wags the Dog, Jo is Dorothy the Dinosaur and I am Henry the Octopus. Molly and Jake are not exempt either. Molly is Policeman and Jake is Zardo Zap the Alien. Try calling that at the park...

Molly the Escaping Spaniel

A secure dog proof garden is important if you are a dog owner. Especially if you live next to a busy road.

So I have spent hours and hours and hundreds of dollars on fencing and chicken wire. I have built a 20m plastic mesh fence to the south, a trellis fence, also to the south, chicken wired up the gate so no-one get get through and cut the huge dense macracarpa hedge on the northen boundary so I could install 20m of chicken wire. That last one took all day.

And still Molly walks aout the garden whenever she feels like it. How? I can't even guess anymore.

Which is bad for her because for the moment she is spending the day chained up until I can work it out.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

It's been said that this country is ten or more years behind the rest of the world. With that in mind, the time is just right for NZ to get its own version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which hit the screens last night.

Interestingly, it is filmed in Australia, TVNZ being to tight to provide their own set. Contestants are flown out to Melbourne for the day.

A new start (again)

It's been a month since we moved to the Christchurch area and we have had some time to settle in. It has been cold and miserable and it has rained more than you would believe, as is the case in Levin. So that's a bit disappointing. But it is the winter afterall.

Rolleston is slightly more posh than Levin which is both good and bad. The Mum's dress more smartly and all have the latest fancy baby-buggies. There's no corrugated iron fences or sheds and people all live in monster houses. It's a bit more like the rat-race. It's lovely and clean and tidy, but can we keep up with the posh-ness and conspicuous wealth?