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Published: October 30th 2009
Tuesday, October 27th
Ferdi's stomach was feeling better today. After breakfast the group met and discussed what needed to be done and what our priorities were for the next few days. With that done Bruce started cutting oars for his boat while we assisted and helped where we could.
Later Tim and Ferdi was given the responsibility to come up with a way to put the bench in the boat while Talita mixed play-dough in preparation for building the model of the tree (Thanks Mel for sending us the recipe). Sometime after 6pm we headed home where Talita and Tim prepared dinner while Ferdi prepared a base on which to build the model of our tree.
With full bellies we started to build the tree using wire while referring to the sketches and video shot up in the tree. When we were finally happy with the skeleton it was well into the night so we crawled into bed.
Today's highlights:
1. Helping to building the boat.
2. Building the tree model.
Wednesday, October 28th
Bruce is starting a father and son boat building course in December and is building this boat as a marketing tool and example
to get people excited. The aim is to get fathers and sons to spend time together and bond while building a boat. We really like the idea because we believe that there are too many sons growing up without their dads.
In the morning we went to look at a possible workshop where Bruce could present his course. He really liked the space, but later went to see another property with a garden and a house which turned out to be even better.
We continued with the oars but the weather was constantly changing, forcing us to bring in our equipment every 15 minutes. We packed up the oars and the grinder and headed home to try and find a dry space to work. We couldn't find a dry spot so we went into a nearby forest to cut some miniature logs for the building of a model of Paddy's house. With that done we set up behind the house and continued sanding and shaping the oars until the rain finally chased us in.
At 5pm seven of us piled into our van and drove the 65km to Granity. Midge Mcleary, our musician friend who's responsible for
us meeting Bruce, was playing at Drifter’s Cafe and we really wanted to support him. It took us more than an hour to get there and as we drove into town we spotted Midge's old house-bus. We knew we were in the right place. It was great to see him again and we were looking forward to his set. We enjoyed possibly the best vegetarian pizza we'd ever had. Never before had we seen a pizza so completely covered in veggies! It was totally delicious! We had brought the play-dough and the model of the tree in the hope of kicking around a few ideas but in the end everyone, including the owner and other customers, were playing with the dough and getting creative. It seems like play-dough has the power turn adults into little children.
Midge's set kicked butt and Ferdi watched with envy as Midge made his guitar walk and talk. On the second set Dan, one of our friends from Rongo backpackers, joined Midge on the jembe and they jammed together like they'd rehearsed it a thousand times.
Just after 11pm we said goodbye to Midge and then Bruce, being the designated driver, drove us
back to Karamea. It was cold and stormy and we guessed that it was probably snowing on the hills.
Today's highlights:
1. Working on the oars.
2. Seeing Midge again.
Thursday, October 29th
Sure enough, there were snow on the hills this morning. Ferdi finished sanding one oar and then Talita continued on the other. While she was busy Ferdi selected logs for the model and cut them to size. After lunch we went to pick up Bruce then drove a few kilometers out of town to look at a property he's interested in. Tim, being a property surveyor, looked at the house and gave Bruce his opinion. The house is pretty run-down but the gardens are laid out properly and producing fruit and veg, so it's a perfect "fixer-upper" for a guy with Bruce's expertise.
With that done we drove out to Paddy's to inspect a possible source of wood he found. First off he showed us the area he had prepared for his house, then we took his huge 90cc chainsaw, hopped on the back of his Landrover, and drove out to the log supply. After cutting a piece of the wood Bruce declared it
good and we walked on to inspect some trees on another part of the property. It looked very promising and we're looking forward to start the building process.
We headed back to town where we continued working on the boat. Ferdi did some final sanding on the oars and then painted them yellow. Talita rushed home for a shower. She’d found a few bugs crawling on her that looked suspiciously like fleas. Where they came from is anybody’s guess. At 8:30pm we headed home. It wasn't even full dark yet so it didn't feel late. Bruce made dinner and we sat chatting till after midnight. He's got such a different (not to mention inspiring) way of looking at life. For him, everything is possible! He doesn't look at things from a limitation point of view. It's awesome!
Today's highlights:
1. Finding the logs and timber we'll need to start building Paddy's place.
2. Almost finishing the boat.
Thought for the day:
A lot of the time we are governed by the limitations we see. We are blind to the possibilities that present themselves because we only see the obstacles.
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Melinda
non-member comment
Freaking Hippies!
hahaha! Keeping it real? Hugs xXx