can we get on with the rest of the year?

Posted on Wed 3 January 2007 at 09:51

Happy New Year to one and all….hope this January finds you well and as you would wish to be.

Now can we get on with rest of the year?  Apparently not because everything seems to close down for the best part of a fortnight over the Xmas/NY period in NZ.  So we can’t get any further on with our house buying until at least the 15^th of January when our solicitor’s firm goes back to work.  However, we have moved things along a bit with the bank, booked removals and made fantastic plans in our heads that may or may not come to fruition with time.  I just can’t wait, I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas and it doesn’t seem to be getting any closer.  I just hope that once we finally get in the door that we are not dreadfully disappointed.  I don’t think that will happen – we both agreed immediately that this was the house….and the gully.

Spoke to Shane and Mark via the webcam this morning and then took Shane on a walking tour of the house and the garden.  I think he was well impressed with the trail of ants out the front.  Actually Melissa was holding the camera too close so I don’t think he saw anything at all!!  But it was good fun showing him the barbeque and the oranges on the tree and silly stuff like that.  Hopefully he saw all the trees in the background, it’s very pleasant considering we live in a city.  Only just in but in nevertheless.

Work has been incredibly quiet over the holidays.  Too quiet indeed.  I like the people I work with, I am OK with the client group but there isn’t enough to do at present.  I hope that once we get back in a normal routine, with groups and trips and usual events that it will pick up a bit.  I spent nearly a whole day off the ward basically touring the country with a patient and another member of staff.  I saw lots of interesting stuff but it was hardly work, not that I am complaining!

I only started this entry to tell you we are off on a little jaunt  down North Island for a few days.  We will be stopping in New Plymouth,  Palmerston North, Wellington and Taupo.  Among other things,  we will be doing the Fox at Mokai (look it up on www.gravitycanyon.co.nz) - SCARY!!  The weather today has been beautiful so hopefully it will hold for a while.  Will fill you in when we get back.

We went to Hamilton Gardens today.  We came away with some ideas for our own garden (part of the ‘fantastic ideas’ mentioned above).  Steve wanted some moss and boulders with raked gravel in the Japanese contemplation garden stylie, I wanted something that isn’t flat – more like an olde worlde English garden with sloping borders that would give height.  Melissa wanted a sandwich…so much for culture!  They have a huge carving in the main building there.  It is a woodland scene but it is about 10ft high by 15ft long.  There is so much detail that you simply cannot take it all in.  We will have to go again as it is a pleasant walk and we didn’t see it all as we decided we had better head home and put the barbeque on – which was excellent yet again.  Well done that man.

Well, best get off now – this is day 1 of 8 days off.  It has been a lovely day so I hope the rest turn out so nicely.  As indeed I hope yours do too.