Bowing and Scraping

4th November | 2005
...................................Bowing and Scraping

“Our work here is done”
said the master. And with the weary laying down of trowels and paint brushes, a large part of the renovation of the Kumara Patch was over. Walls scraped, sealed, primed, plastered, and painted. Floors scoured and stripped. Surfaces sanded. Venetian blinds forced to endure the withering looks and scoffing asides of non-believers.
“oops” said Nicola airily. Casting the blinds on the ground with offhand disgust, the obvious intention; a fatal wounding.
“I’m keeping them” said I.
“your not!”
“am”
“not”
“oops”
Beauty, you see, is in the eye of the beholder. And I have always liked the old venetians (especially Titian) and therefore at our manor, these blinds are favourably beheld.
“Behold! What light through yonder window breaks - in funny stripes”

They have ironic beauty you see, which is one of my favourite sorts.

A beautiful old venetian.

At Sally Ridges and Adam Parores it would be a different story(Julius Caesar?). A story without ventetian blinds, I suspect, but with lots of money. At our house it is a case of fiscal survival, “making do” and using your imagination. We can ‘imagine’ what Sally and Adam would do. I suspect they would first pull down our fine house and then build an entirely new house. A many angled thing, that would be guaranteed a spot in URBIS. It would be called ‘deconstructed’ which sounds chaotic, free and almost organic but it will be an anal ordered thing, with vast open clean spaces with lonely, forlorn one-seater couches presiding over single white coffee tables.

It will be very ‘right angled’ and symmetrical, nothing will be out of place. The only thing that will look out of place, in fact, will be people in the house, who will make it look untidy and therefore undesirable, urbis-wise. Sally and Adam’s house will be ‘built’ not be them but by a fleet of ‘cocksy’s. Hired in for the task at great cost.
Mind you, to be fair (sorry I borrowed that phrase off Doug Golightly), Sally can chip in and help. Because as well as being ‘her own woman’ she is also ‘her own artist’.
On occasion she can save them a fortune when she comes over all creative. Moments Adam possibly hates, when she turns to him and says;
“I’ve got an idea for that wall. Pass me that potato mate”

Our house will be the opposite. It is by the people for the people. Our renovations can be called ‘do it yourself’ but that phrase is disingenious because it has been done by a faithful team of friends and family (we did help too). Sleeves were rolled up and those attending have self-lessly put their best arms forward, again and again and again, attached to various tools and bits of sand paper.

YOUNG AND OLD: Plastering expert Leon shows how its done and the gardening team in an action pose.

So as a result we have re-plastered and painted the whole house in 10 days. Dissenting doubters cried “Ya cant do it mate” but people said the same thing about our wedding and that was superb. Anyway what are supposed to do? Just give up and go to the pub.

The beauty of getting help, both with our house and with the wedding is it means people have made an investment. One in sweat and labour but also with the gift of aroha. Which means the place is already pre-loved and on the way to becoming a ‘home’ instead of merely a house.

'Plaster master' Dave has been there throughout, plastering on and on, resolute and relentless, a steadying infuence providing sage handyman wisdom and patient advice.
“Dont do that mate, the roof will fall in” etc. . .

Like all workman he has a particular culinary bent, formally eschewing vegetables and fruit (I shan't be offering him a banana again) in favour of a visit to the pie shop ("make sure it's fatty"). This attitude, for someone coming from the rarified inner city world where offering a young lady anything with more than 1% fat, can be regarded as an act of a mental person, is frankly refreshing.

Mmmmm. lunch is ready! a moveable feast.

Presiding over the whole operation have been the resident gnomes. It's hard to say what they think about it all, but for our part we will try to make it comfortable and interesting for them. Wild talk has suggested we get them in a new female gnome, with low self esteem and questionable morals.
Gnome outcast (below), 'undie draw gnome' can barely contain himself.


We move in next week YAY! and our genuine heart felt thanks go to all those who bowed and scraped.

Mrs K awaits the arrival of the entertainment unit and dreams of a life complete, without the need of renovation.