Fun for all

A new venture

The idea of relocating the pottery to the Sounds has proved irresistible.

Our tiny garage in Nelson, shared with a washing machine, dryer and freezer - not to mention a car - hasn’t been able to compete with the temptation of a large, well-lit space in the middle of the bush.

Yesterday, our friends Robbie and Maggy, arrived at our house in Nelson with a clever little hoist on their trailer.

After a good deal of manoeuvring, our kiln was coaxed into the back of their vehicle, along with a wheel, and we drove in convoy to Tirimoana. For the geographically challenged, Tirimoana is a suburb of Anakiwa.

Here’s the kiln, waiting for its release.

Robbie wriggles the hoist into place.

We all hold our breath and try to look relaxed.

A great relief.

That all happened yesterday.

We’re blessed with a fair amount of demolition timber from the old deck, so this morning I got to work.

There’s a lot of old decking timber hidden under the tidy benchtop you see at the top of the page.

The recent antics are just the beginning of a programme of building and of moving stuff from Nelson.

This is the kind of behaviour you expect from young people, making a new start on an ambitious and probably foolhardy project.

I also think it’s an important part of growing old.

I’m not trying to hold back the ageing process. Bits of my body aren’t as reliable as they used to be and I know some of them will ache in the night. I know I’m getting older. I’m more and more enthusiastic about the business of nodding off in an armchair most of the day.

However, there’ll be time for armchairs when the body decides that it’s had enough.

While I was fooling around downstairs, Robbie has been striding around the place with a chainsaw, attacking any recalcitrant plant life.

When not involved in our abundant plant life, Cathie and Maggy bravely dived in for a swim (I used the excuse that I had a building project in hand). They proved something we knew to be true all along - the water is much colder over here than it is in Nelson.

Still Cathie now has the bit between her teeth and I’d be surprised if I can survive too long without also breaking the ice.

So, life goes on like a runaway horse. We’ve dropped the reins and who knows where it will take us?