101 Uses For a Dead Bath Tub

For a while now, there has been basically a brand new bathtub doing nothing at our depot. It was in saleable condition right up to the point that some numpty dropped a stack of pallets on it & did a lot of damage to the enamel on it. Exit stage left to the Flatcattery, where the fishpond that I made about 4 years ago has sprung a leak. Getting the connection yet ? I finally got around to asking the Boss what they were going to do with the bath at work & she said , "Take it." So I did. After some TLC with a tube of white silicone sealer & a mornings hard work hauling the old pool out, this is what I ended up with..

Its not fully finished yet. The tub is a little shorter than the original hole & needs filling in & covering with weed mat, but that will happen when I dig out some more dirt from mowing strips. That will cover up the raw end that you see. Meanwhile, no job is complete until the resident Clerk of Works issues a certificate of Approval.


Here is our resident Engineer checking the underpinnings of the bridge. It met with Fattum's approval, so she passed on my application to the Clerk of Works, TiggerPuss who is seen here taking care of the paper work..



So, pending infil of the two ends, which constitutes a hazard to small furry felines & suitable donations of tasty treats, I think I have approval.

Meanwhile, it's been Labour Weekend. For those of you that live outside of NZ, we have the monday off to commemorate the introduction of the 40 hour week. Remember the 40 hour week? I think I vaguely remember it. The main significance of it now is that its the first long weekend of summer. Well, usually anyway. Well, maybe not usually Labour Weekend is renowned as being the final tantrum of capricious Spring before the weather settles for Summer. This weekend was no exception. Herself's two sons came down on Saturday & went home Sunday. We had hoped to take the boat over to Cooks beach & give them a look round Mercury Bay. Winds of 50 knots or so put paid to that. Sunday afternoon, we went to the 60th birthday party celebrating the birthday of a lady that I grew up with. Her Dad & mine were in business together. We had a lovely time. Her & her husband have this beautiful old house that looks out over the local golf course, & round across the Hauraki Plains. Add to this, beautiful well established raised Rose gardens beautifully laid out & you have the idea. The most surprising thing of the whole afternoon aside from a rather intense hailstorm, was meeting an elderly lady that not only knew my Grandmother, but also knew Jude's as well. She came from Taumaranui originally, & her husband was the first man that my Dad worked for in Thames.

So today we put in a good morning redoing the fish pond,(see above) back to the grindstone tomorrow I suppose.

Oh by the way, I think I have a reasonable idea of the lesson that I'm up for this time round. I think its got something to do with humility. You would never guess that I have a problem accepting help from others. All my life I have been used to doing for myself. My Dad brought me up with the principle of cutting my own track, & I have always done that. Now I'm faced with a situation that I just can't cope with on my own. All of a sudden I am having to say "thankyou" to a lot of people. Some that I don't know, & some that are very dear friends that I guess I have helped out in the past, & now I guess the circle has turned full turn. I must say that its a hell of a lot easier to give than receive, but it's wonderful & very comforting to know that there are people out there who will help. I guess its been a pretty good weekend all round.