Mount & Tauranga

We feel like we are a little in limbo now with only 5 weeks to go before we move back into our house but there seems to have been lots to do since we have been back in the Mount / Tauranga area. The TV is now working again, the new decoder that we put in exactly a year ago needing to be replaced; the satellite dish has had some stabilisers put on it to stop it blowing from side to side in the wind but we are still waiting for our new extractor fan, the current one having burnt itself out. However the bus itself is running well and we are enjoying our return to the simple life.

Len has been busy pulling the bathroom apart in our rental property at the Mount as the tenant's foot went through the bath which then needed replacing. It seemed a good time to upgrade the whole bathroom which was looking rather tired so we are rapt with the quick progress of the builder and the plumber who coordinated well together and had the shower and bath ready to use again on Sunday. Len had only started the demolition job on the Thursday so it was very speedy. He had some painting to do over the following couple of days and now we are just waiting for the new lino to go down.

We have also tidied up the front lawn and garden at our own house as it was looking rather neglected partly because over the entire last year the tenants hadn't realised they were meant to be mowing the front lawn as well as the back! The neighbour, unbeknown to them, had been kindly mowing the front until she went away in July but there had been a bit of growth since then!

It has been great to catch up with family and friends and Margaret and Tony have been especially kind by allowing us to park alongside their drive, amongst the lovely garden and trees, whenever we feel like an escape to the birdlife in the country and a decent shower. And, besides that, Margaret somehow always loves to feed us! Pay-back time will however be a pleasure.

Since the 3 nights we spent in the Mount Camp and the 2-3 nights we have had at Margaret and Tonys we have just been freedom camping around town during the week. Places we might stay are outside Colin and Carlenes where I help out at times with the after-school and Montessori pick-up, Fergusson Park, the free parking area near the airport or our quiet secret place near the Mount shorps, parallel to Maunganui Rd but on a wide verge close to the port. We have been travelling around the coast over the weekends and ....but that is for the next blog!