A day out

It was a lovely sunny morning, so washing was done and hung out on the line to dry.  A call was made to chase up a quote we’re waiting for.  Measurements and a photo were taken for a piece of stainless steel or zinc required to cover a hole and help fasten the outside section of the extractor fan on the wall outside the laundry.  We did a shopping list for the bulk dry goods we buy.  Then we set off on a trip to Timaru, roughly an hour up the road.  Before we left Oamaru we stopped at the stainless steel factory and MrMacD went in with the photo and measurements and put in an order.  We had a good drive to Timaru and could see the mountains covered in snow over to the west.  The main purpose of the trip was to purchase a hedge trimmer that would fit a battery we already have.  The only store that sells the particular brand required is Bunnings in Timaru.  When we arrived we found a parking place and then somewhere for lunch.  We’d already decided this would be our main meal of the day, so when we found The Oxford and saw a pie on the menu we went in.  The pie was a proper pie - beef and ale on buttered cabbage and mash - and it was delicious.  After our lunch we drove to Bunnings and looked at the range of hedge trimmers.  As I had volunteered to be the person who wielded the trimmer, it need to be reasonably light.  We found a suitable trimmer, and also a lime tree, made our purchases and drove to Bin Inn.  The two Bin Inns we’d used in Auckland were excellent stores, but we weren’t impressed by the one in Timaru so left without buying anything.  When we arrived back in Oamaru we went to the Real Food Pantry and made our purchases there.

Back home we decided to go for a walk to work off our lunch.  MrMacD suggested a circular route which took us to the end of our road then off to the right, along a bit and then back up via a road that connects with our street.  It wasn’t our best idea as we didn’t check the distance and we walked for quite some time in the dark on a road with no street lights, no footpath and cars whizzing past at 80kmh.  It wasn’t just a quick walk around the block, it was 9.2 kms.  It was lovely for a while by the water, but it’s definitely a daytime walk and we won’t be doing it again in the early evening.  At least we got some exercise and, hopefully, walked off some of our lunch.

The blip: a poster from 1926 advertising South Canterbury as a place to holiday; a photo of the crowd gathered to watch a beauty contest; the pie; the Town Hall; a mural on an electricity box; sunset over the water; my hedge trimmer.