Level 2 Chi Kung. Microcosmic orbit.

A couple of weeks ago we did some cutting back to make way for the new kakabeak and kowhai trees but were interrupted before we got a chance to deal with the debris. It has rained on and off more or less ever since, so the pile of prunings has just been sitting there looking messy. Today I decided that I could no longer wait for a break in the weather so, as soon as I got back from dropping Katie and fed the dog, I started sweeping up the prunings and carting them around the back ready for shredding. I had only done a fraction of the pile when a plumber arrived to fix the upstairs loo and install some new taps in the en suite bathroom (the hot tap gave up the ghost weeks ago and a previous repair lasted all of five minutes). The plumber opened up the toilet (which we had taped shut to discourage the children from absent-mindedly using it while it wasn’t working) and flushed it and it worked perfectly. He sat on the side of the bath and repeatedly flushed the toilet for the next five minutes, after which I suggested that flushing the loo was probably within my technical capabilities so he might as well get on with installing the new taps. Unfortunately, he immediately announced that we had bought the wrong kind of taps for the basin and he wouldn’t be able to install them. So basically we paid £75 plus VAT for a guy to flush the loo a few times. During the hour I spent faffing around with the plumber, I had got dry, so it was hard to motivate myself to get back out in the rain but I did and spent another couple of hours sweeping up and shifting the prunings. Got about 70% of it done, which made a huge difference to the general appearance at the front of the house. Long hot shower, then started on the tedious process of putting everything back in the bathroom vanity unit, which I had emptied ready for the plumber. But one of the plastic storage boxes had gone brittle with age and basically shattered under my hand and, in the process of removing the contents, I realised that much of this stuff needs to be sorted and thrown or given away. Of course that is a rather bigger task than just shoving it back in the cupboard, so it was still lying all over my room when I had to leave to get Katie and, evenings being what they are (feeding everyone, supervising homework etc) remains there still.