Well, it’s new year in NZ and on the east coast of Oz – almost new year here! We’ve just had a lovely evening with the Geddes’ – Settlers, NZ wine and chat – a great way to see out the old year! J has to get up at 6am tomorrow for work so won’t be up to see in the bells but I may stay up… Mind you neither of us might sleep well because of the heat – the duvet is officially banished and the fan is firmly in place beside the bed. It got down to all of 22 C last night.
I’ve become aware over the last few weeks that I’m not cut out to work on Wall Street (just as well!) We’ve been waiting to transfer money, back to the UK, until the exchange rate is the best but you just never know whether it’s going to go up or down (and it can make quite a difference!) Anyway, my nerves held out until today and then I just went for it. I think we got a good deal?
Our current discussion is whether to go furnished or not in Christchurch. There is a lot more options if we go unfurnished but then we’ll have to kit a place out and that’s a hassle and could be costly but then we have a lot more choice of apartments. I realised yesterday that this will probably be my last major move before settling back in Scotland (it’ll certainly be the last of my 20s). You’d think I’d be getting pretty good at it by now! What I also realised is that it’s actually really lovely to be making the move with someone else!
Thankfully J and I have just experience the first two of these – sea and sun (39 c today) – but there have been a number of shark sightings in our area and one man was killed at the weekend by a shark about 30 minutes drive away. Australia does seem to have more than its fair share of scary creatures!
I’m a little worried that it was 39 C today and, although I did feel a little warm, I didn’t get the fan out or put the a/c on and in fact I was outside around noon. What has happened to me?!? It is lovely to have summer sunset strolls with J on the beach again though – the temperature is just perfect around 8:30pm when the sun sets and the water is warm – delightful!
Three weeks today we’ll be at the airport on our way away from Oz – we’ve so much to do!!
We’ve had a quiet-ish weekend; well I have – J’s been working 1-11pm and it’s been pretty manic there I think (in fact finishing at 11pm hasn’t happened so far – he didn’t get home until almost 1am this morning). We did get to go out for lunch after church but before work and it was lovely to have a date with my husband!!
I’ve been spending my time reading the new books I received for Christmas – I love it! It’s especially nice because it’s getting to be pretty hot – we may even make it to 40 C this week. Oh boy!
There are at least four of our friends (three of them are actually relatives!) who have a birthday today – the Bean boys, Caroline O and Matt R. Hope you four have a great day!!
Being with Jonathan is my first choice way to spend Christmas but I have to say that being with my family is a VERY close second!! It’s just not the same to be so many thousand miles away. Anyway, we had a nice day yesterday. J led the service in the morning and we showed the video we had made with the kids from church
Afterwards we went to have lunch with a couple from church and then home for a wee rest before heading to the beach (J swam, I sat)
Incidentally – I WAS wearing a big hat and long sleeves but took them off for the photo (thanks sweet Cates family for the awesome gifts – I wore the T-shirt all day!)
And then we headed to the Geddes’ for a lovely relaxed evening (and our THIRD piece of Christmas pudding in 24 hours – I don’t know if I’ve ever had Christmas pudding before!)
I also have to give a shout out to my parents (probably mum!) who sent us six random books which we are LOVING – it’s great to have new books to read!! (We just need to work out how to transport them to NZ now!!)
So. now that Christmas is over and J’s back to work the preparations begin in earnest for our move to New Zealand – 25 days and counting!!
PPS I didn’t blog on Christmas eve but we had a well busy day getting things ready for the Christmas service and other bits and pieces but we did make it down to Cottesloe beach to wave at a camera along with a million other Brits in the vague hope that someone from home would be watching GMTV and see us! It was so strange to hear so many British accents in one place at one time! We also went round to one of J’s exam study buddies for dinner in the evening (along with 25 other people) and then to the midnight service at a local Anglican church (where they served champagne after the service – genius idea!!)
We’ve just recently found out that two couples close to us are pregnant – Matt and Amanda in Wisconsin and… (I’m not sure if we’re allowed to announce the others – will check and let you know!) So now we have two extra reasons to be especially cheerful this Christmas! Congratulations friends!
Still can’t quite believe it’s Christmas the day after tomorrow…
It really hit home to me tonight that we’ve been here in Oz for a year. Last year, just a couple of days after we arrived, we went to carols in the park and had a picnic with some Kiwi friends. Tonight we went to a different carols in the park with different Kiwi friends but it was a pretty similar temperature and just as weird to be celebrating Christmas in the summer! Incidentally this morning I felt the tiniest bit Christmassy for the first time. We’ve got blackout curtains up in our bedroom for J to sleep during the day but I’d left them up last night and so woke to a dark room and finally felt that it may be right that Christmas is just around the corner – that’s obviously what Christmas is for me: dark mornings!
These photos are from tonight: me and J with our god-daughter Miriam! (Who has taken to sticking out her tongue a lot!)
(what you can’t see from this picture is that we’re making ‘brrrrrrooooom’ noises – hence the funny face!)
To be honest it wouldn’t even enter my head to send a card to the emergency room doctor who treated me never mind what one of J’s sweet patients did. Yesterday, he turned up at work to find a box full of goodies (chocolate, dried fruit etc) waiting for him from a grateful patient (along with a Watchtower booklet!)
We spent this morning filming some of the Sunday School kids for a DVD we’re showing at the Christmas service. They were great wee actors and the result is all we’d hoped. Now my editor husband needs to edit it all while also spending the next few days working night shift.
Christmas day weather forecast is now: 35 C!
A BIG happy birthday Jude – 30 years old can you believe it?!? And I remember your 18th!! Have a great day!
I think days like today are the hardest for J to be married to me (not that he complains!!) I get QUITE obsessive about cleanliness sometimes (J says for ‘quite’ read ‘VERY’) especially just before a flat inspection. I know that the lady who comes round hardly glances at anything but I like to KNOW that everything is spotless. Often J is at work on my cleaning days but today he was off and so he saw first hand the OCD of his wife! Ah well, we now have a wonderfully clean house and J was a great help!!
We went out tonight with some of J’s colleagues for drinks. It was good to meet the people he works with and they seem all very friendly. They were bigging him up too – saying they love it when he’s on the same shift as them because they feel safe in his knowledge and expertise. Strong work J!
This photo was taken on Saturday when we went kayaking – I love all the blue! (NB this is the Indian Ocean – it was flat as a pancake!)
Well our New Zealand visitor has left these shores and crossed the Tasman back to the land of the long white cloud. We had a great visit with him and look forward to following him over the sea soon!!
38oC today (100F) I mean seriously – WHAT!??! Thankfully our flat was pretty cool and so I did slow stationary activities like packing some things to send back to Scotland. Then I was invited to the Geddes’ for a smoothie and a share of their air con! It’s great having friends just round the corner! Worked out well for J too as he and John got a swim in the ocean (after he finished work).
Tomorrow is our one year wedding anniversary – oh how the time flies! And, due to the fact that virtually no restaurants are open on Monday night we decided to go out tonight. I chose an organic restaurant in Freo and it was DELICIOUS! So tasty, especially because you knew you were eating good produce. Even the wine was organic. And then just as we stepped out after the meal the sun was setting over the Indian Ocean which was across the road from the restaurant – we couldn’t have timed it any better. Over dinner I asked J to describe our marriage in five words. This was his reply: surprising, secure, warm, blessed and promising. I LOVE those words! Here’s to another fantastic year of marriage!
Posted by morveniona 
Posted by morveniona 
Posted by morveniona 
