Well the house sale is off - after a lot of hassle and farting around we didn`t get finance because hubby is still on probation with his job - despite that being the reason we went with this bank and them knowing that he`s on probation until February and them giving us a pre-approval cert for more than we wanted for this house!! I get the feeling that we were let down by our mortgage advisors and the bank (basically being told that stuff was being done and chased, when it wasn`t). So we will get Christmas over with and start again, our bank have told us that they would give us a mortgage (not what we were told by mortgage advisor) but because hubby isn`t around much between  now and Christmas we`ve decided to start from scratch -  new year new start. To be honest I almost feel relieved - as if a big weight has lifted.

Apart from that not much has been happening, it`s all very humdrum and ordinary but enjoyable none the less. Im meeting up with a few friends next week for lunch which will be nice and then the inlaws arrive, so that will keep me busy.

I`ve been thinking a lot about friendship just now - it`s all a bit weird when you arrive in a new country, you realise that you are pretty much alone apart from your family, you feel cut adrift. I have a few close friends and quite a few aquantances who may become friends but to be honest I can be a bit of a loner at times, I don`t mean to appear standoffish, and often it`s not until later I realise I could have made more of an effort. The big thing I have noticed is that some people seem to almost shop around for friends - they kind of pick you off the shelf, inspect your sell by dates, look for any dents in the can, then shove you back on the shelf  when they realise your label is missing and can`t decide whether you are tomato soup or prunes in syrup.  I guess what Im trying to say to any new migrant is that you will never get along with everybody but look for friendship in the places you`d least expect it and from people who will give you support when you most need it - they are the ones worth having,and remember it`s a two way  street.