The Weekend in Kaitaia...

This morning was a beautiful sunny day...
So brunch on the deck.
I spent the weekend in Kaitaia with my friend Carolyn.
We flatted together in Kaitaia, in my house, when I lived there...
Before I ventured into my bus and life on the  road.
We both made huge changes...
Carolyn bought her first ever property...
I sold mine and don't want to own another one!

This is Carolyn... Published here with her permission.
She cooked delicious scrambled eggs with smoked salmon...
Served on toast thickly spread with avocado then
topped with wilted spinach...
With the eggs on top.
Salad greens from her garden on the side.
I squeezed fresh grapefruit... And we had coffee... Of course!
It was all delicious... The best cafe in Kaitaia.

This is Carolyn's house... On top of the hill.
She bought it last January at a mortgagee sale...
A very brave thing to do... And it was so run down...
A real dump and dirty and overgrown...
She has done amazing things.
All round the windows where the paint was flaking have been repainted...
The broken doors and glass have been fixed...
The lawns are regularly cut...

This is where I park...
At the bottom of her drive in front of her neighbours empty section...
I just manage to get off the road.

Yesterday we did the usual Saturday Kaitaia things...
We went to the market... Lots of fresh veges...
And I bought a fresh smoked mullet (fish).
There are lots of stalls with second hand tools, clothes and books...
Bargains to be had but I wasn't in the mood for hunting.
I sought out the coffee and ordered a large one...

The only supermarket in Kaitaia... Pak'nSave...
It has everything one needs but few luxuries.
A visit there is inevitable...

We went on to Mitre 10 hardware and garden shop.
Carolyn has become well known there...
It was her regular place to buy her renovating needs.
She needed rat bait...
I needed peat for when I empty my composting toilet.
It's a great shop... Has everything...

I have to show you some before and after photos.
Those people reading this blog who know
Carolyn will be very impressed...
I am.
This was not long after moving in.
Together we had ripped up all the very smelly, dog urine impregnanted
carpet and discovered beautiful native timber floors.
The bookcase and table were work benches and the big chair covered with an old sheet...

Here is the finished end result. She has done such a good job...
It is looking so good. Books and pictures given to her by various friends for various occasions...
The little house is an interesting treasure trove of memories and things collected from her travels.
The door with the sun coming through goes through to the kitchen
 and out to the deck where we had breakfast.

Another corner of her sitting room... A lovely 1960-70's art deco couch...
And nest of tables... Flax treasures in the alcove...

Her bedroom with a very effective feature wall...

This is the deck and stone garden before the clean up...

The difference is amazing... And it's a little sun trap.

The pot plants are thriving...
The lime tree more now that she is feeding it regularly.

And salad and herbs... That we had for breakfast.
I had a lovely weekend catching up on sleeping, eating and all her news.