Update from ruraltania
It's now a month and a half since we moved into the new house in Waikanae. We're slowly getting sorted but the cold weather has somewhat hindered this as the downstairs floor is yer basic concrete slab and so the area is colder than a witch's refrigerator. Heat pump has been ordered, as has carpeting for the office (not sure what we'll do with the studio yet) but, until that's done, I'm rather living by the woodburner upstairs. So lots of stuff still in boxes.
We're loving it here. It's so beautiful with all the native and exotic trees around us, 2 mins walk to the river and 20 to the beach. Missing the variety of shopping as Paraparaumu isn't that big, but it has most of what we need and I'm not spending as much, so that's good. I've been down to Welly at least once a week so far, and it looks like that will be the pattern as I have a new job as web manager for a local government oriented site. Part time and principally content management and maintenance, but it suits me down to the ground. We work from home (excellent!) but meet every week to catch up. So I'll save up all my Welly needs for the trip. It's not the distance I mind (although I find myself yawning like billy-oh as I come off the motorway, and have stopped a couple of times at that point to snatch a few zeds to ensure my driving doesn't become dangerous) as much as the $20 surcharge (i.e. petrol costs) that it puts onto anything I do there. So I won't be popping down just for a coffee.
The latest on the gallbladder front is that I have a date! 10 August at Kenepuru Hospital, yayyyyyy! It's been relatively quiet since we moved - no midnight trips to A&E - but I've swallowed a lot of codeine and quick-eze to contain it. The biggest gap has been beer :-( but, on the other hand, I'm down to 82kg, so it's not all bad.
And now I think I'll go commune with my cats, who have settled in very well.
Ka kite ano
We're loving it here. It's so beautiful with all the native and exotic trees around us, 2 mins walk to the river and 20 to the beach. Missing the variety of shopping as Paraparaumu isn't that big, but it has most of what we need and I'm not spending as much, so that's good. I've been down to Welly at least once a week so far, and it looks like that will be the pattern as I have a new job as web manager for a local government oriented site. Part time and principally content management and maintenance, but it suits me down to the ground. We work from home (excellent!) but meet every week to catch up. So I'll save up all my Welly needs for the trip. It's not the distance I mind (although I find myself yawning like billy-oh as I come off the motorway, and have stopped a couple of times at that point to snatch a few zeds to ensure my driving doesn't become dangerous) as much as the $20 surcharge (i.e. petrol costs) that it puts onto anything I do there. So I won't be popping down just for a coffee.
The latest on the gallbladder front is that I have a date! 10 August at Kenepuru Hospital, yayyyyyy! It's been relatively quiet since we moved - no midnight trips to A&E - but I've swallowed a lot of codeine and quick-eze to contain it. The biggest gap has been beer :-( but, on the other hand, I'm down to 82kg, so it's not all bad.
And now I think I'll go commune with my cats, who have settled in very well.
Ka kite ano