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Well g'day and how are you all? We've had a couple of emails recently from friends asking where the blog is and how are we doing as we're very quiet. Well we're good - I guess when you settle down into working life and all that there's just less to report on because everything is now becoming normal rather than new!
We've been pretty busy since Christmas. Ali came out for 3 weeks over xmas and new year just a week or so after we moved into the house. It was lovely to see her and she had great fun travelling round the south island in her campervan.
Richard's Mum and Dad had 7 weeks out here from the end of January to mid March- they certainly fell in love with the country too and sent lots of time roaming around, playing golf and drinking flat white coffees!
We've also had a couple of visits from friend we met travelling- Del the Welsh vet we walked to Machu Picchu with back in August 2005 (seems like a long time ago now!) He was out this way travelling in Vietnam and attending a friends' wedding in NZ so he called in for a weekend. We had enough time to all check out the newly opened hot springs at Tekapo where we sat for 4 hours and all shrivelled up!, plus time for a quick inspection of the cats much to their disgust.
Also Ali and Ade came over to NZ for a holiday from Brisbane where they now live. We met them in Mexico in July 2005 and then stayed with them in Melbourne when we were travelling there 2 years ago. It was a flying visit with just a meal together but hopefully we will 'pop' over and see them soon as the flights between NZ and Oz can be reasonable if you go at the right time!
Now booking for the winter skiing season - starts in June!!
I had had a pretty horrible time at my work before xmas and decided that it was time to move on, so as soon as the papers came out on 7th January I started job hunting. I was very lucky that a very cool job was advertised that day and I applied for it and got it which was just great. My old boss made me stick to the 5 weeks notice as in my contract so I didn't start my new job until 3rd March. I was sad to leave all the boys in the workshop but I'm still in touch with most of them, but it was the right decision to move on.
So my new job is with a company called Anne Potter & Associates and they are career practitioners. I am the administration co-ordinator and I get to work with clients who are retraining after being out of the workforce through illness, injury and redundancy, so it's very cool. There's heaps to learn and after 5 weeks I feel like I'm beginning to know what I'm doing!! There's only 2 of us in the office in Timaru- other offices are in Dunedin, chch, Alexandra and Invercargill. Denise is my colleague here and she seems very easy to work with and as there's only 2 of us we can make things work how we want which is refreshing with my previous employer being such a control freak. Plus the office is in town rather than an industrial estate where I was before so I can get out and about at lunchtime, and get the bus there and back.
Rich continues to enjoy his job, he is working with a nice bunch of lads who we are getting to know. New Zealanders are some of the most generous people we have ever met in terms of friendship - his work lent him the work truck the other weekend and gave us as much bark/woodchip as we wanted for the garden, so we picked up about 7 or 8 truck-fulls and are in the throes of covering the bare flowerbeds to stop the weeds coming through. This would have cost us a fortune otherwise.
I am finally going to be using my return ticket to the UK up in May when I am coming back for 2 weeks from 30th May to 9th June. It would be great to catch up with as many of you as possible so please keep in touch especially nearer the time and I can get phone numbers etc. I shall be trying to maximise curry and Strongbow opportunities so I may just base myself on Magdalen Street in the Ribs of Beef and Ali Tandoori! When I'm not at either of these I shall be residing with Mum and Dad!!
Hopefully within the next few weeks our Norwich house will finally get sold. We've accepted an offer at 15% below the original asking price which is heartbreaking but I guess that's the way the markets gone over there. We had one sale that fell through as they bought on the next road for 11 grand cheaper!! It's been the biggest problem we've experienced and certainly a major stress. However as Ali is our solicitor that certainly makes things much less stressful as we can trust that she is acting in our best interests. We'll be celebrating in some big way the weekend that we exchange contracts! Maybe a skydive……mmm
Weather wise, the summer has been just lovely, lots of sun and barbecues on the deck. The clocks go back tonight so we'll be 11 hours in front, and the nights will be pulling in. We've just started to have the fire lit in the evenings much to the girls' delight. They have spent most of the summer out on the deck which is great as their previous 10 years had been spent just looking out from the back door! However now they're permanent residents in front of the fire which makes it a bit difficult to stoke it and the odd tail get knelt on!
We've had lots of fun making bets for beer with the kiwis over the cricket. The abusive texts have been flying around South Canterbury and Rich and I both have plenty of beer and cider to call in over the next few weeks! Richard went to see one of the one-dayers with his mum and dad in chch and had a fantastic day, wonderful atmosphere. The England rugby team are making a trip over here to play the All Blacks mid-June so we'll be heading up to chch to watch that with Evan and his brother Malcolm and sister-in-law Jo. We're also getting into the super 14s rugby and are Canterbury Crusaders fans-in-training. Malcolm and Jo are Blues (Auckland) fans and so when the derby comes up on 25th April (Anzac day here - bank hols),we're all heading to Lake Tekapo to stay at their family bach (holiday home) to watch the game together and probably do a spot of fishing. Rich and I should be going up to chch next Saturday to see a game in real-life!! Several of the All Blacks play for the Crusaders so at least we won't be complete novices when it comes to knowing who's who!
It will be a late night tonight as we stay up to watch the first FA cup semi final - not sure which game it is but whatever happens, this years' final will have 2 very different teams in it. We find it easy to keep track of Arsenal as the premier league games are on each week plus a premier league review, however keeping track of Norwich is much trickier. I have no idea who is playing for us now and I suppose that will just get worse- a price to pay for being away. I do know it's the scum match next week so I shall be keeping my fingers crossed for that!
Rich has started playing squash with Evan at the local club now the winter's coming, and we've been making full use of having the TT table in the garage- I just can't get over the space we have here - I never thought I'd own a table and have somewhere to play on it!!! Don't bring your bat next time you come Dad!
Timaru came to life a few weeks ago for St Patricks Day - we were just going to spend the evening at home but a 4pm text from Evan asking if we fancied a quick beer for St paddy developed into a 5 hour drinking session which resulted in some hilarious (I'm told!) texts to Ali in the wee hours! With Evan now getting over the break-up of his marriage he now turning into a party animal and Rich and I feel it's only polite to keep him company!
So I think that's about all our news. Please let me know if you're around in the first week of June and want to meet up - and if anyone is in the region of London Heathrow at 6am on Friday 30th May, please let me know and we can share petrol costs!!!!!
Lots of love Debs and Rich xx
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