New Year starts in Summer
It has been quite a year for Sean and Elizabeth. 2009 went very quickly. It started randomly and arbitrarily on 1st January with a decision to go on holiday in Golden Bay - on the Northern part of the NZ South Island. Not far away from Auckland, but into the hills of the Kahurangi National park, which contains the well known ‘Heaphy track”. Libby did not want to spend the whole holiday swatting sandflies and tending blisters (even if surrounded by glorious landscapes - and having only now faded memories of the Milford track), so booked the brutally quick, four day, option. First, track pass and hut accommodation. Flights and car hire bookings swiftly followed, topped off with a special treat - a scenic flight in an old five seat Cessna to avoid a tedious day on a bus for the very long way round back to the track start... to pick up the hirecar. It was to have been the first half of a romantic holiday for the two of us, followed by ten days of beach and relaxation.
Spanner in the works
The day after the non-refundable flights were booked, Libby felt a bit strange and...pregnant. This was not totally new, but had never successfully carried forward, with considerable emotional wear and tear. The weeks followed, and it became clear that this one might be different. Of course, in trying to keep the “good news” under wraps until we were sure, neither of us were able to say no when Jackie from Libby’s work asked to come along. Flights were rebooked, so that Libby just came for the beach bits of the holiday, and Sean ended-up tramping the track with Jackie… it all went very well, considering; with sand flies, torrential rain, flooding, helicopter rescues (not us!), and way too much rushing about. The week in Golden Bay and Farewell Spit was, by happy contrast, very Golden, and quiet, and sunny. Perfect!
Rip the house apart
The new deadline and low interest rates combined to put some urgency into the process for the long planned house improvements. A new kitchen-dining room; a large deck for breakfast in the sun, and also rebuilding the main bedroom (...the East Wing). Quite a sizable job in total. Combined with a particularly intense workload at the office (of which more later), getting plans finished for the building permits became a real mission. Sid, the builder, actually one of our close neighbors, began ripping into the work. It all took longer than expected (which was expected) but remarkably, the house was serviciable, if not exactly finished, for the major event of the year…
Olive Aroha Emms Kisby
After ante-natal classes, and several years nursing experience, we feared the worst. But Olive arrived exactly on the due date 16th September, a very healthy 8 pounds (3.6 kg) and well over 50cm long. The labour was short, the 2am delivery natural, with only a little gas’n’air to ease things along. The first time anyone in our house had ever arrived on time, or finished anything within budget. We are sure Olive will make up for this comparatively easy start in due course… She is, in our completely impartial and objective assessment, absolutely beautiful. It has been a steep learning curve in the mysterious world of breast feeding, child restraint seats, and nappy technologies. Much helpful advice has been gathered from books, midwives and friends, most of it conflicting. Relatives and friends have been extremely generous with clothes, toys and sundry equipment - mostly recycled (excellent!) and some new, and a little borrowed. Particularly welcome were the cooked meals that appeared on our doorstep during the first days after Olive’s arrival. To all of you - a huge thank you!
work work work
Sean has been grafting away on two buildings this year. Both were on site at the same time, just to make sure there was no time to do a proper finishing job on either project. The data centre building is so secret I cannot tell you were it is, or say how much energy it swallows. It will enable us all in Australia and NZ to maintain our bank’s profit margins, from our living room armchairs, come volcanic hell or high water. Both of those threats being tangible and all too real for many people, particularly round here in the South Pacific. The school building was designed to be naturally ventilated, well lit and yet stay cool, quiet and comfortable, even in midsummer. The two projects make an interesting and salutary contrast.
The Global Recession caused a slight dip in the office workload, but as always, a couple of design staff were released into a barren job-market, to maintain a good margin of pointless and dangerous overload for the remainder. Other equally ‘welcome’ developments were the three separate document management systems, (the recently re-organised paper-file based one, the new intranet search-engine one and the contractors web based one- all different)...and the best of all, new bug-ridden 3D Cad/BIM software. Sometimes it is easy to forget that all this time wasting technology is supposed to make doing the work more efficient. We all know its just to make work for IT staff. I am beginning to sound like Dilbert…
Libby took the opportunity to stop work at the Day surgery unit as early as possible. A very wise decision, which we are sure contributed to a problem free delivery.
Welcome Visitors
Libby’s mum Carol stayed with us for nearly a month from the end of October. It was great to have her here, and we think she enjoyed getting to know her second granddaughter very much. She immediately established a calm presence in the house, whilst ploughing through a basket full of chores and keeping Royston The Dog entertained and exercised. The whole family, even the pooch, had a weekend away in Waiheke Island - a short ferry ride across the Hauraki Gulf. We enjoyed the beach and the arty island vibe, including a visit to a winery for lunch. Very Nice!
Now Carol has gone back to the UK, we are on our way to the summer holiday. We do not intend to do very much except sleep a lot! If any of you are coming out this way - we would love to see you!
Have a great time, where-ever you are. Here’s to a good New Year and a Happy 2010.
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