MR FIX-IT:

No, you can't have him, he is mine ! The darling man is worth his weight in gold. Rod has appeared in my journal on several occasions; he is the man I call on when I need a shovel, a drill or a chainsaw. Mr wonderful I call him.
This has been my lucky day. First, a pretty pink Hellebore from Devon Dumpling - that was worth a heart ! Then just before lunch my dentist rang to say they'd had a very late cancellation & if I wanted the space to hurry along. I could hardly believe my luck because my dental appt. was a whole week away. He put a rod in & anchored my tooth. Now I can smile. (With a lightened wallet !!) Then Rod appeared to fix my cottage sign which Peter had accidentally backed into before Christmas. I've told you before we have 2 signs, both made by a forge in High Wycombe, U. K. & carried home in our suitcases. The other one reads "the Farmers House" & both hung on the houses on the farm in the Lindis. I insisted the signs come with us to Wanaka. I love them.

Then I cut up & made 3lb of apricot jam. This made me feel quite sentimental because it was my husbands favourite jam. Because of the nature of his work, he often took sandwiches for lunch & apricot jam & cheese were what he insisted on. Farming days I cut up & made 12lbs apricot jam
Then I was just about to dish up dinner (Irish stew) when 4 Chinese girls appeared at the door - lost ! They had no English, could not understand left or right, but on their Chinese (!) phones I could just make out 18 Mt Gold Place. It was quite a circus, all four of them talking at once, frantically waving their arms & unable to comprehend one English word I said. In the end I got my car out & motioned them to follow me. They hugged me appreciatively. I had to smile, they had 2 men in the vehicle but they just sat, while the woman tried to work it out.

Back home, dinner over, bottled my jam & now it's Blip time. Phew ! Sorry I'm late.