I forgot to mention yesterday, in the midst of the horrors unfolding across the Tasman, that the PM on the hen revealed a dilated cardiac myopathy (in other words a congenital heart condition that resulted in a heart attack) so no disease and no other external causes involved. What a relief! It also means my flock is effectively culling itself of undesirable breeding stock so I can merrily hatch chickens next spring knowing I am breeding from healthy, sound stock.

The day started rather adventurously as my hair drier burst into flames as I was drying my hair. So I guess I have no hair drier any more. At least I was done and had switched it off before the actual flames emerged, so it was simply a matter of unplugging and carrying it outside ready to toss into the bath if it got carried away. As it was, it went bang and the flames went out. So I left it on some gravel to cool down and have now popped it in the rubbish to go to the tip later this week.

Today was another day of quilting, followed by a prolonged visit from my Austrian neighbour who owns the pub. He is scrounging some weatherboards to do up the cottage he owns on the other side of the railway line, so I have told him to help himself when he is ready to go, and to pop over any time i am here.

The other neighbour has dropped off a note in response to my notification that I plan to commence building the fence. It asks me to place the remnants of the old fence on her property in the space between her shed and the boundary. It is of course, purely coincidental that this is the space she previously felt was too small because of the shipping container, and which she has subsequently narrowed further by installing a rainwater tank and planting a shrub. So I think I will just put as much material there as will fit between the shed and the one metre setback that she has, herself specified, and if there are leftovers I will keep them for myself. Since we share ownership in the materials, there will be no grounds for dispute, especially if I give her the sturdier remains from the front section of the fence.

I am not so naive as to assume that 'no grounds for dispute' will allow us to avoid a dispute but at least if it is necessary to call in third party intervention she will be demonstrably in the wrong.

To be frank I am a little sick of the whole thing so will not bother to rise to the provocation at this point but will deal with it on the day.