May 20, 2013

• Monday 20th May

   

   

  Anson was hoping to drive along the beach at low tide early in the morning to unload the contents straight into the wool shed.
  Seb came over to help and hung out with Anson while they waited.
  Helene was also up at 7am waiting to help.
  But at 7:30am the tide was still not low enough.

  Just before they arrived here I received a phone call from a fellow mussel farmer with some disturbing news which implicated our barge in some dishonest activity.
  Because of everything else that had been happening and other information that has been coming to light over the past week we had to do something fast.
  The boys arrived and we had a talk about what to do.
  Decision was made that we seriously needed to repossess the barge earlier than planned as our name was being seriously damaged through the actions of the skipper and his partner.

  I had given him some thoughts as to the changes I wanted to make last Thursday when he finally made contact and turned up for a meeting after over three weeks of no communication.
  Since then he had gone to ground again and I haven't been able to get past his partner who has been displaying some very disturbing behaviour.
  They had removed the simcard from the boat phone and she was fielding all his calls and texts so I could not get to speak with him.
  According to her I am the cause of all the problems - the big bad witch of the west!
  All I am trying to do is run an honest business and keep them accountable.
  Thankfully we are well known within the circles here, mussel farming is a relatively small 'family' and folk know of our honesty and integrity and that it is not us to blame.
  In fact I have been assured of that fact by several in the industry over the past week which is very encouraging.
  The only thing we have done wrong is to trust the person we thought was a friend and in so doing have been blinded by ignorance.
  I have been in touch with our local police in the past few days once I knew some of what had been going on, so I called them again to update and keep them in the loop.

  Sebastian & Graham left soon after 10am headed up to Elaine Bay in the '88 South' to fuel up.
  Another mussel farmer met them there to give support and witness what was happening.
  They took possession of 'Tardis' and steamed back home.
  They had a slight problem with one of the engines overheating so took it slowly and didn't arrive back here until late in the afternoon.
  

  

   

   

  Whilst all this was happening on the water, back home on the ranch Anson took the 3 girls and unloaded all the roofing iron.
  Because of the slow tide drop he decided to unload it elsewhere.
  It took less time than he thought it would so the girls were soon back home.

  I got the whip cracking and the kids cleaned up the living room and did dishes.
  Then Helene spent the rest of her working day cleaning and sorting out my linen cupboards.
  An over population of sheets etc accumulated over the years causing an over crowded mess.
  She refolded, sorted and re-stacked them all.

  I was getting organised for a business meeting with a prospective client at 2pm.
  Anson met them at the top of the hill as their wee car would've struggled on our road after the rain.
  We talked for a couple of hours.
  It was a good meeting and lovely to meet new locals.
  Over the past few years a lot of farm land around here has been sold and subdivided.
  There are a lot of new folk either living here or using their blocks for holiday places.
  We are one of the few original farming families left out here.
  Because there have been so many newcomers and also due to busy lives we sadly don't have the same contact with local folk like we did in the 'old days'.
  So the opportunity to meet new neighbours is really great.
  In our district a neighbour is anyone who lives within cooee of an hours drive

  Mahalia & Helene went out kayaking and fishing and came back with a large handful of fillets for dinner.
  We already had sausages in the oven, Azzan had carrots prepared and potatoes peeled.
  I added a pot of peas and dinner was ready.
  Shoshannah commented that it was a good solid English dinner.
  I guess we haven't had a good basic simple dinner like that in ages.
  It was very enjoyable.

  While we ate we watched 'A Beautiful Mind'.
  Azzan had been talking with friends recently about mental illness.
  It is his current interest.
  Made all the more pertinent because of several folk we know suffering from various types.
  I had seen it years ago and found it to be the best portrayal, which gave me a greater understanding of paranoid schizophrenia.
  The children really enjoyed it and asked lots of questions throughout.
  They were kept on their toes trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't and only near the end did they figure that his best friend was just a another delusion.
  If anyone knows of other good movies on this topic I would appreciate some names please.

  While Helene and Mahalia cleaned up the dishes the other two headed off to bed.
  I sat by the fire with my laptop and began listing some sale items on TradeMe.
  I was so weary that I dozed slightly in the warmth so quickly got them done and then began heading towards bed.
  Before I went to sleep though I talked with Estelle and we did our flight bookings for the Joan Baez concert at the end of August.
  AirNZ had some good deals on for 24hours so I managed to snag them.
  Something good to look forward to

  Lay in bed and drank a delicious hot mug of Elderflower drink and finished off the last pieces of the Rosy Glow chocolates I was given by my cousin after Tim died.

  Watched an episode of John Deed and then wrestled with my pillows for a while before falling asleep.

   

   

   

  • 4:25 pm
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