Slow recovery

I have been sitting around for four weeks now doing very little apart from healing. Progress is .not as fast as I would like. For the first five weeks there did not seem to be much improvement at all. I was having to take painkillers every two hours during the night and some nights I had to take the extra strong ones in the early morning. If I felt good one day and tried to do a little bit I spent the next two days getting the swelling to go down and taking extra pain killers. Six weeks after the operation I went back to the surgeon who made very encouraging noises, saying that I was much further advanced than he expected. He still cautioned me to take it easy so I came back to the bus in Whangamata to more television and reading. Last week I was confident enough to take some steps without the crutches and am now walking around the section. I can even go to the bar and get a drink! The mobility scooter provided to me by the Whangamata RSA has been a great help allowing me to go to the supermarket when Lorna is in Auckland with the car.
I am becoming rather adept at flying the model helicopter I received for my birthday. It has two sets of rotor blades and there were four replacements in the box. There is now only one spare left. The battery lasts 8 minutes and I can now fly for the whole time without hitting anything. It is learning to fly all over again.
One of the good things to come out of this convalescence has been staying with Struan and Deb at their home in Avondale. I have got to know our daughter in law much better.
We have actually started the process to build a cottage on the section. We are building a 54sqare metre two bedroom cottage. It will actually be the same size as the shed! We have paid a deposit to Versatile homes who are going to supply a lockable shell. This means that they will build the outside shell and the internal wall framing with ceiling battens in place. I will then complete (or have completed) the plumbing, electrics, linings and fittings. I hope to have the house near the painting stage by Christmas. We are at the bureaucracy stage dealing with the council for consents etc. It seems that everywhere you turn some official wants you to spend another thousand dollars.