Final Countdown for Westcoast trip

T minus 2 - and counting . . . . . Not long now and we are off to our annual Camp. Here is me doing the last few minute details for our trip online.
I have to get a special news sheet ready and well it needs editorial urm 'improvement' !!!
With a bit of luck we might be able to update you on who when how what - while we are over there.
I am certainly bringing my camera and urm lappy.
Now - final check list

Sanity pills - check
Blood-pressure pills - check
cuddly bear - CHECK
speedos - check
sleeping pills - check
Garlic / Onion / Bacon / Eggs / Black pudding / lambs fry for breakfast - check

hmmmm I have forgotten something - if only I could remember what . . .

Westcoast trip

Hmmm 10 days to go before I take some dozen or so mad scouts with me on our annual Westcoast trip. The trip itself has so far always proved to be a lot of fun! This year the annual Westcoast trip will take us to the metropolitan area of Reefton - all of just over a grand of people living there. As usual all scouts will be soothed to sleep by MY choice of music and yes -- even more wickedly - will get a traditional wakeup call - curtesy of my Lappy. Hahaha - have already got some songs chosen - BUT - if you have any brilliant ideas in terms of what songs I should wake them with - please leave a suggestion below!!! ("Working for the man" - springs to mind) :) Wonder how they would take to some classical pieces???

We will be brave and do a 4 hour hike / walk through some NZ native bush - that once has been turned over in the search for a quick fortune - GOLD. We will also get to see a real life working mine and then there is the urm - well - lets keep some surprises - shall we!!!??!?!?!?! This scout here is all set for his hike - pity he forgot we are in the middle of winter - today we had snow flurries - so he might get a bit cold round his shins!!
Giggles - dont forget your washing powder
Freckles - bring your first aid kit and that special bucket of the order (u know what i mean)
Stuey - hope your ankle gets better soon - need your help with loading the wagons!!
MR. SCHICK - keep polishing those white pearls, we enjoy seeing them!
Sir G.H - nice to know we got a knight in shining armour with us.
Spoon - oops I mean fork - no wait - gah - shhhhhhhhh - its still classified

:D

Noahs flood

Sigh - I walked with Michael to Venturers and that only took 20 min. By the time I got there - I got a call - panic panic - water everywhere and no electricity. YES - the 180 liter tank let go at the seam and spilled most of the water. I am told we had a lovely waterfall out from the Garage door. At least - by the time I got home - Mamabear had saved enough water from the tank to save the fish - which I can report now happily swimm in the washing basket. Now how to keep the breatstroke swimming cat out of there!!!!


We used up all the towles which needed a good wash anyhow, and we have lost several books.
Oddly enough the TV/video which where right underneath the tank - got not a drop on them - and - Trowel - all the PC's stored in the Garage stayed dry too - a minor miracle!!!

So - for the last three hours we mopped and shifted gear. Now - tomorrow urm - well - spose I have to buy a new tank . . . . . . . .
Then there is the timber in the floor that needs drying out, aww schucks - and I just finished my spring clean!!!! Im going to bed now . . . . .

Wearing my "manshirt" again

Yes sadly I have to wear my "manshirt" again. A few days ago while mamabear was having a shower the shower-head broke and water - well we had a flood sufficiently large enough for a mini Noah ark to visit!
In NZ the houses are made of timber - studs and dwangs. Golly I shouldn't have said that - some might think . . . . . . . urm .... anyhow (Giggles - don't go there)
In case you don't know - the houses in New Zealand are mostly timber framed and then clad - on the inside usually with Gib board and on the outside a choice of brick, timber or polystyrene plates - and all made nice. In between is a layer of Pink Batts for insulation. Of course being timber framed it needs to be dry and kept dry or it will start to rot - especially if it cant "breath" - and seeing we had a flood - muggins here had to donn his best shirt and rip one Gib-plate of the wall to let the timber dry out. I forgot I had them glued to the stud to start with . . . . :p
Luckily the damage was not too great - but yeah - now I have a whole in my nice walk-in-wardrobe. Now it is back to the plastering and stopping and then eventually painting that - if and when I get time for it.
During all of this I will be wearing my manshirt again- so yeah it might get a wash in two weeks time - but it won't stay clean for very long! At least it wont stink as bad then. On second thoughts maybe I shall delay this little working bee till after we been to the West Coast. Yeah that sounds like a good plan!!!!!

I am so looking forward to our annual trip . . . . and the entertainment by scouts, giggles , clean shirt, meals in bed, - NOT to mention the gold digging
Can't wait

Manshirt

Every man should have his special shirt, or as we call it his MANSHIRT. The one shirt that he uses to do any kind of work in it. The shirt he used on THAT day (so he thinks) to wow his woman. The shirt he fixed his beloved car in. In short it is a shirt that has memories, certain feelings and attachments with it. Every stain on the manshirt will remind him of a special episode in his life.
The Jam stain on bottom left - the day he fed his eldest for the first time a jam-toastie. The beer stain - of his coming of age party.
A shirt that he is comfy in no matter what the situation or stage in life he is in. Yes - every man should have one -his one and only truly Manhsirt - and readers will know from an earlier blog entry that I do indeed posses one such shirt.

www.oldbearnews - scouts-begging

Regular readers will also remember that a certain teenager has promised to wash some of my clothes in order to secure a spot on our annual Westcoast trip. And as previously indicated - it still fits - but oh boy - the smell coming from it. It can be best described as musky / earthen / elephant in heat rusky/ with some fragrant floral (gardening remember) and stale pizza sorta kinda smell - and thats not mentioning the stains of sweat and blood and oil and urm - what was that blue one from???. Can't remember when I washed it last - urm - indeed if it ever got washed. Hazy a bit I am in that . . . . .

I have to say - while it is a man's job to look after his very special garment - I am glad I'm not the one washing it. My advise to giggles - bring a nose peg!!!! on second thoughts - maybe a blindfold would be a good idea too . . . .

Here is me being shy - having lost my manshirt - and waiting for that promised breakfast in bed!!! Wonder what it will be??

Another Harley dream

Yes I dreamed that I owned this really cool chopper and had huge fun cruising round the neighborhood and did a $5 a ride fund raiser for some organization and yep u guessed it - got booked. I was so pissed - can't remember exactly what I got booked for - something about noise. I mean REALLY it's a Harley they are SUPPOSED to be noisy.
Things got worse - I had left my wallet at home - and then I kinda woke up - which given the way the dream went - was probably just as well. :)

Bob the Builder - a scout?

Ok - you know - I am as handy as the next bloke - both in looks and with my hands. So when our Scouting Zone called for help - I yelled - sure - I can fix it - where is my duct tape (yeah I know - I am shamelessy qouting from Bob the Builder)!!! Not to fear - I was told to don my apron and make myself useful "holding up" these two by fours. Which is excatly what I did. See I am handy - and even good loking too!!
During several Sunday mornings, working partieswere held this last few months and we have completed a high wire rope confidence course for our Scouts. It is a beauty - full of challenge and lots of courage needed. I guess I was useful in holding up the bits of pieces of timber. Never ever got my tools dirty either which is really amazing - and in case you do not believe me - here is the proof in the pudding.

This is the course - and I can tell you every bit of nail I drove in and every bit of timber I was holding , oh yeah and the two huge piles of bark we where shuffling at one stage.
Grand opening will be in early July this year.
This will be so cool - guess Bob the Builder was a scout after all at some stage.

I snapped this today in the office - had to make a special trip for it too - it is a cacti of some sort - has been donated to brighten up my office. Bummer is it only flowers once a year - and it lasts about ten days - then they drop - rather rapidly. But for ten days it is a beauty, and it has a very nice smell too. I just don't know its name - so if you do know a name for it - - please leave a suggestion via the comment form - i'd love to know.

Cheers

The really big carrot

Our Kea's and Cubs combined on a camp this weekend, and a part of the activities was to go on a a orientation course. Maps where provided and various groups set of in search of fame and fortune and well just simple pleasures. Although I have a sneaky suspicion that giggles did have an ulterior motive when she volunteered as a helper for the camp. She should know better; then to expect finding carrots in the ground near the Beach and the Waimakiriri Lagoon -although I understand that the locals can and do grow them there at times with various successes. Anyhow rumor has it her group, as well as a few others, was lost on the course - doing who knows what . . . . Never did find anything of value so im told . . .

She is keen on coming with us to the Westcoast camp - and I am looking forward to the breakfast in bed thing. Wonder if I can have black pudding / fried eggs / and mushroom/garlic fried bacon????? - Topped with a fresh Nuttella sandwich and a nice hot cuppa of MILO.


Problem is - a new venue for our next Trip was suggested, to a place where there is a really big carrot. And I mean a really really big Carrot
They also have a annual carnival - check this out:

www.carrott carnival



NO - Giggles - we cannot
No - don't EVEN think about it . . .

Urm - well maybe - no - noway

Sigh - what have I done . . . . . .

(A)

Dream of Harley

Last night I had a dream, mamabear was on a hot Harley. We cruised side by side into the sunset.

Certainly this is a little beauty.


ai ai ai