Motukarara Adventures: Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Wel, a bit of a corny metaphor, but we've been trying to make hay both figuratively and literally! My broadband frustrations have finally been alleviated with a nifty solar powered installation jointly designed by Mr Hogg and Farmside satellite broadband. Absolutely heaven and what a difference to my headspace. I feel like I can take charge and move things along again while the weather is still good (my version of making hay) and Kasper and Hanna can continue with their online learning.

Happiness is a big satellite dish on your roof....

Back to practising reading online courtesy of ABC reading eggs

There's been a bit of action on the building front as well with the floor having been poured for our Totalspan shed. It's a five bay steel shed of which two bays are going to be fully enclosed with a concrete floor and windows, an outer fifth bay will house the horsefloat and the two bays at the other end will probably store the hay. Hopefully the whole thing is up by the end of February which means we can empty the containers and get them off the property.

The anticipation...

The pour...

The blimmin' red dog...

The other bit of news is that a kitten seems to have acquired us. The kids have named him Miles on the assumption that Mum thinks it's a boy. It's slowly getting comfortable here, I think it's wild, so it's taking a while. Kids are besotted of course. George and Mildred not so. But they've stopped hissing.

'Miles' and George. Mini me and big me.

Super Steve struck again in the weekend and now all the beds have been moved around and the kids have a dinky little bunk in a private dark corner far, far away. They absolutely love it. Particularly now Kasper's bed doesn't need to be shifted under Hanna's every day which required it to be made perfectly. They have to do the dishes everyday and that's quite enough work and drama already thank you very much. It means that we have a much better space for the evenings: this morning it was 3 degrees, I kid you not, Hanna was pretending she was smoking a cigarette and they dived for the woolly hats and gloves. It gets very cold AND very hot, so it's nice to have somewhere to hang out in the evenings which long term we can even insulate and heat a bit. We have no intention of moving into the Totalspan shed now. We're quite happy where we are.

Miss Gee Gee, making her self at home

New kids digs...

Mum and Dad's space taken while seated on the couch, positively roomy

And finally, yes, hay is REALLY being made. Today, out of the blue, when we came home, we found a hub of activity. First of all the hay got turned (so did the house site that Steve had marked out with pegs and two 100 metre tapes: they drove straight over it!). And THEN the bailer turned up which proceeded to poo out huge bales to much delight of the kids (probably interlaced with fibreglass bits of tape and splinters of surveyor pegs). Anyway, am loving the country life, it truly is good.