Look at the kittens face, silently begging the chook not to take a bite.
I have been packing. I hauled my silver suitcase out to the barn and weighed it on the feed scales. And I am just under the allowed 50 pounds. So barring any last minute additions (JOKE) I should be ok. Being overweight in the luggage department is a very expensive exercise nowadays. Air New Zealand is very strict and allow us 50 pounds and no bloody more. 
The suitcase hanging from the barn roof looks like a strange sacrifice to the cow gods. 
John purchased a trailer load of scaffolding pipe a while ago from the Surrogate Milkers brother, at cost. An incredible score. So now the fencing work is roaring ahead. This is the first of the gates he has made. He is using all the left over pots of old car paint on them, after the red, there is blue or white. I said no to the pink and yellow!
Oh dear. 
Snap. Bad peahens on the porch again! All the doors were open yesterday, a beautiful day.
Yesterday was quite divine and a perfect day for a meeting between the Kiwi Builder, The Matriarch, The Contractor and the excavator/concrete man. They all argued to and fro determined not to give an inch on their departments high standards. I asked them sweetly to move everything back four feet when it looked like the roofline was going to take out the tree in our sunrise view. So they did. And the little weeping cherry will be carefully dug out by the exavator man, who cannot bear to lose even a young tree. He wandered out into the yard with his orange spray can and decided where he would plant it. So it will have a chance at survival at least. If not I will plant two more in the spring. That is the rule, lose one – plant two.
The Kiwi Builder has given me his NZ grocery order; Chocolate Slabs, Pineapple Lumps and Crunchy Bars. I hope you are going to share, said his boss The Contractor. The Kiwi builder and I looked at each other and laughed. Yeah Right!
They will only lay the foundation concrete next week. In fact basically they will make a really big mess then all sod off and wait for the next thaw to do some more. They have assured me that we will not miss out on much, except a big concreted hole resulting in the total destruction of my front gardens which I would rather not see anyway! All the good plants are already shifted.
Two more sleeps, then California, then on Thursday off to New Zealand, surely it is time to panic.
The Daily View and Daily Temperatures are suspended until Boxing Day because this Farm Blog will soon seamlessly morph into a daily wandering Travel Blog with Food.
You all have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
81 responses to “Please Mrs – Don’t Eat me!”
How perfect that you were there for the Building Summit, and then can absent yourself during the stage of the big mess. Your suitcase looks streamlined enough to travel by itself. You are right about Air NZ getting very strict now about overweight baggage. This is all so exciting. Are you going to be in Auckland’s direction, or just further south?
I will be in ack from the 22nd, fly out on the 25th.. c
Oh, and I will be gone out to my bach until the 25th. But you would be very welcome to come and visit – if you have a spare moment! I guess there will be a queue of people wanting to see you.
Isn’t it nice to be married to men who have the skills to re-purpose items!! And the new house…lovely that they really do care about your ‘stuff”. We start a huge dig Monday. Only it is for a ditch. We are putting all of our transmission ditches underground, a small bit at a time. My yard is safe, after the huge tear up Terry will be able to farm right over the ditch and neither he nor I will have to clean out the ditch ever again. We are just getting too old to do that kind of labor anymore!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
¸.•*¨*•♪♫♫♪Merry Christmas to you ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥
˜”*°•.˜”*°•.˜”*°•.★★.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜”
That will be such a relief.. you guys work so hard on the summer.. though honestly Linda, one day i have to come out to where you are so you can show me how your irrigation works, i desperately want to know.. and I am still confused.. if or when daisy dries up (hopefully before calving in the spring of 2014, I wonder if there is a train I can catch to colorado.. c
There might be, I’m not sure. We have an AMTRAX Train that comes into Denver. I’ll bet the ride is forever. The two airports close to us Grand Junction and Montrose might have specials also.
You are so welcome!! ALWAYS. The first irrigation of the spring is always terribly hard, so if you could come the last part of April or anytime after that you could see everything in full swing and we would have some time to take you around to see our part of the world.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
¸.•*¨*•♪♫♫♪Merry Christmas to you ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥
˜”*°•.˜”*°•.˜”*°•.★★.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜”
what a lovely thought and you could put me to work! we will ‘tink on it as my little brother used to say. Anyway dreams are free! and I am one who makes my dreams come true.. Often! Maybe I just keep my dreams do-able.. c
Very. And if you want to lift a shovel and put your hands in water….we will share!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
¸.•*¨*•♪♫♫♪Merry Christmas to you ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥
˜”*°•.˜”*°•.˜”*°•.★★.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜”
How lovely to have an excavator man who cares so much about the plants.
it was a surprise.. often they seem to enjoy smashing gardens to bits!
I’m so excited for you! Can hardly wait to get on our way!
I know, so far to go!! c
Oh the excitement! Remember to drink loads of water and stretch your legs often! Looking forward to reading of your adventures. Safe journies….
I have exercises that i do, as often as i think about it, mainly because I am not very good at sitting still, so the stretches are good for me.. I cannot tell you how often i have done this trip.. This last 18 months is the longest stretch i have gone without going home.. but weirdly i love to fly.. i like to be anonymous and unwatched.. weird.. c
Oh I know! I like the feeling of not being a part of the world, being in a suspended state and life is elsewhere…
hmm. good for the imagination! c
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Cecilia. Love yours. A quick glance tells me that it will take me down memory lane. I spent 22 yrs on a “hobby farm” so can relate well. Now I’m in the travel mode. My son has just gone to NZ for a year. I’d really love to visit him while he’s there. I look forward to hearing your stories about your journey.
excellent and welcome.. being inn travel mode is a good place to be.. where is your son in NZ? c
Hhmm: now all the secret plans are unfolded – all the ‘mucky’ bits will be done whilst you are swanning around the Pacific 🙂 ! And your puss KNOWS something not so nice is afoot!!
Sugar . . . and the rest: sincerely hope I am not going to be sued if I decide to repost your ‘readers list’ in the next day or two!? To heaps of seriously reading friends? This is such an unreal occurrence of people who think alike, and actually read, to have had an honest opinion published! What a delight!! Oops: just bought ‘Jamie’s 15 minute meals’ on Amazon: guess I’ll be outside the pale :} ?!
I would love it if you reposted The List – I think it is a fantastic resource.. c
Marched right off to the library today and got THE OUTLANDER. Starting it tonight!
a stunning book, you will love it.. morning darling.. c
Well, at least with dial phones gone, you won’t have to dial backwards! 😀 Enjoy, Celi.
Great expression on that little puss!
I bet it’s exciting in New Zealand considering The Hobbit is being released soon!
Take care, that none of the cats joins you as a stowaway
It sounds like you have a good and caring team of builders. To save a tree. To listen to your concern about the roofline. Excellent listeners, it appears.
Lovely to get back to your blog after so long away, and thank you so much for all the lovely messages. I’ hope I haven’t missed your departure – only got home this afternoon, to jut under 700 messages – so that I can wish you a very happy and safe trip. Looking forward to business as uual.
How exciting! you will write from there, right?! Please.