Letter to Sissa

Greetings Sissa,

 

Sunday morning early we walked along the wild black sand beach at the bottom of our road at Taranaki. For once the sea was quiescent, tranquil even. A gentle surge but the air was freezing. A heavy white frost cloaked our pasture at home and the grazing cows were snorting eruptions of hot breath from their nostrils. Over our shoulder old Egmont loomed, whiter than white with a heavy mantle of fresh snow, the foothills just behind home had a good coating too.

 

Quite often janet & I will bolt out of the sack, just before dawn, have a quick cuppa & drive up to Pukeiti for a walk through the gardens & the bush. We get the beautiful dawn chorus of the birdlife and it is SPECTACULAR!

 

We planted out some flowering “Companionata” cherry trees..great for the visiting tui’s in spring. They get highly territorial…my tree!..and have ding dong battles, chasing each other at high speed through the bush. Amazing aerobatics. We’ve got dozens of these trees scattered around the place now…in ten years the spring blossom show will be amazing.

 

Had a bit of bad luck with the vehicle lately, blew the core out of the radiator & cooked the motor, fixed that, drove 24ks down the road and the motor computer died. These things are like hen’s teeth to replace. I found there is a national waiting list of 11 owners sitting on dead landcruisers waiting for 2^nd hand computers for the 93 auto model!!! And the 2^nd hand computers here are selling for $3000!!

I even wrote to Greg in the States to see if he could pick one up for me…. Then I happened upon this little Asian bloke, just around the corner, who said”Oh I can fix that for you”!....cost me $196….I nearly kissed him!

Anyway mobile again and the old crate is running ,once again, like bloody clock!....but expensive when she stuffs up.

 

We are both working like automatons….you and your old man would know ALL about that!

We work 12 hours /day, 6 days/week then we jump in the car and launch off to Taranaki, 5 hours distant, to work our arses off, down there all Saturday, then, the next day, Sunday, pack up and barrel off 5 hours up the road back to Auckland… just in time to snatch a few hours sleep before the coming weeks work!....BLOODY HELL!

 

Sometimes I wonder what the hell it is all about.

 

Quite enjoying the new job, I’m the “Plant Coordinator” for the Waterview Project.

I keep track of all the plant scattered over miles and miles of construction site, tabulate plant movements, keep the hire companies honest and keep our operators operating! Involves constant driving from site to site, constant computer entries in my trusty laptop and a hellava lot of vigilance because every b*****d is trying to beat the bloody system. Much more interesting than the Storman’s job, much more vibrant, much more confrontational!

 

Just the thing for an adolescent 67 year old.

 

That’s it from me…. Hope you are happy and keeping it all together. Hope the kids are doing well… mine are all pretty busy and happy with their lot…. Got a lovely call from Boaz at some unearthly hour on Sunday morning… Looks like he will be back in godzone during August.

Obama’s government is giving foreign workers a hard time in the States….too many Yanks out of work in their own country…so he is awaiting his Visa renewal and is doubtful that it will eventuate. Incredibly, his boss just told him that he would like to keep Boaz there, (In the States) for another five years of the projects life!!

Pretty bloody good for a country boy from National Park!

 

Gotta go, luvya Siss, love to Royboy & a big smootch for the girls.

 

M

 

Reviews

[Marshal Gebbie]

Well Marie....Isn't it interesting to hear the news from another hemisphere?
Isn't it fun to get an insight into other people's odd lives?

[Marie]

Glad to get all the news...