Getting some Blokes in

A couple of good keen blokes called around today, ready to start our small concreting jobs in the back yard.  First they had to dig out the area by hand, and the soil was piled up on our brand new lawn.  Oops, that won’t do the tender baby blades of grass much good at all.  It didn’t take too long to dig out where the extra path and clothes line pad is to go, and put the boxing in place.

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Preparation for clothes line pad

Digging out the other area was a much bigger job, and all the heavy rain falling over the last few days made the soil very heavy.  Millie the dog was there to keep an eye on the boys, and make sure they were doing a good job.  Millie belongs to the boss, but obviously likes spending time with the young workers.  “She keeps an eye on us, but she doesn’t tell us what to do”,  one of the lads told me.  And our cat Muffy was keeping a good watch on the dog through the windows, we noticed.

  Hard at work with Millie watching

We ended up with a huge pile of dirt from this area.  The contractor took some away for us, and we are keeping the balance to use in a raised garden.

Our brave little lemon tree  is overshadowed by the big pile of dirt

All boxed out

The workers carried many barrows of dirt out to their truck, and they will be able to use it at other projects.  Then they borrowed our hose and carefully hosed down all the mud from the paths.  Our friends Anne and Les had come visiting from the Wairarapa for lunch, so there was a lot going on to keep them amused.  While we were enjoying our pumpkin soup we heard “bang, bang, bang” right above us.  It sounded like someone was up on the roof!  What on earth was going on? 

Who is that on our roof?

Another couple of blokes had turned up, and sure enough, there they were, up on the roof.  They were there to replace a few damaged tiles, and to paint over some which were scratched, they told us.

 

Repairs and repaint

Anne and Les wanted to call around to R J Liquorice shop for some more supplies before they started their journey home, but couldn’t remember how to get there.  “Follow us”, we told them, “we could do with some more liquorice to nibble too”.  We took them over the railway lines, around a few corners, and we arrived at RJs.  Buying a couple of packets each, we were happy  to get our liquorice fix, and waved our visitors goodbye.   Well, it certainly turned out to be a busy old day.