If we had thought that the last 7 days had been frustrating and stressful we had been mistaken as we had yet to find out what this week held for us.

Monday 2nd February 2009

As Mel got ready I took care of breakfast and coffee like a good house husband so she could concentrate on being ready for her first day.She left just before 8 and looked confident and happy to be starting the new adventure.I certainly wasn't going to be bored as I emptied the dishwasher,changed the bed sheets then broke for a bit of breakfast.

Next came the dusting and vacuuming closely followed by floor mopping,the only reason I had got stuck into the chores was the garage was shut and I couldn't get access to the pushbike to go for a ride!!!

By now the sun was up and I set off walking into town for fresh fish for dinner,I arrived back home hot and bothered gasping for a cold lemon barley and then I sat and watched the Superbowl with my feet up.

Mel arrived home at 3pm with a full run down of her day and was really excited that it had gone so well and everyone was friendly and welcoming.But just 1 hour later things got messy when we found out that she was unable to go in again until the paperwork had been sorted out,which was a real shame and the start of our week of hassle.

Tuesday 3rd February 2009

I had better luck this morning and managed to get out on the bike for a quick blast around town while Mel got a few things done at home.When I returned things had taken a turn with our visa application and things hadn't been dealt with as we had thought so the wait had been prolonged yet again.Our highlight of the day was avisit to the friendliest cobbler in the world to see if he could fix Mels bag which had broken on her on Monday when the strap had given way,but we left the bag with him and he worked wonders on it for the princely sum of $10 (4 quid)

The beach became our refuge for the afternoon where we relaxed and rested in the sunshine.

Wednesday 4th February 2009

We had taken care of lots of little jobs that had stacked up today but the one major job that required urgent attention was finding Mel a new puzzle book and it couldn't wait any longer and we pulled it off in a local stationers and the puzzling can continue.

For some strange reason neither Mel or I was hungry (and this doesn't happen often!!) so we drove to Mairangi Bay to take a walk on the beach and work up an appetite,it is so much fun watching all the dogs jump around in the surf.It must have worked because Mel ate her Mexican food faster than you could say "Quesadilla"

Thursday 5th February 2009

After more calls to TEG we found that we would have to wait now until Monday for any news as tomorrow is a bank holiday here and nothing had been done,so all we could do was take care of mundane tasks like grocery shopping before having a real long chat about what options we currently have left.

Friday 6th February 2009

If we thought the past 11 days had been a rollercoaster ride today really took the biscuit and just when we thought everything had been thrown at us it got worse.It started off with an email stating that we now had to get confirmation regarding my hearing problem from our GP,and I also needed to retake a blood test too, as the doctor who performed it in November had missed a reading that was too high so it needs to be re done even though we were told it was all OK.

As you can see folks this emigrating lark isn't all fun fun fun and at times can be really trying and hard work to get through.We decided to do what we had done all week to calm down and it was going to involve a visit to Milford for a walk on the beach,but guess what the car wouldn't start!!! We had a flat battery and it just about topped our day off.We didn't know whether to laugh or cry but on a positive note we have the Chinese New Year celebrations in the city tomorrow and the race day at Pukekohe on Sunday once we get the car started tomorrow.

All we need now is some snow and it will top our week off!!!!! Asyou can see things don't always go to plan and it's not all fun.

Lots of Love

M & M xx