Kia Ora Guys

This week has been a bumper one so stick with us and watch the last 7 days unfold before you.

Monday came and went and wasn't anything special to really write about although it did take me 10 hours to get the towels dry as I foolishly washed them knowing that the weather would continue to be dull and grey all day.....

Tuesday seemed much darker when we awoke but thankfully it was much warmer than yesterday which I think was due to the cloud cover.I mooched around for most of the morning and decided that the bike needed a run out so I took a ride over to Cornwall Park and stopped for coffee which was nice and relaxing.but unfortunately I had to return to get dinner ready for Mel's return from work!!!!

We knew last week that we were close to getting an answer on our residency visas and at 8.20pm localtime we received the call we had been waiting 133 days for,thankfully it was great news and we had been accepted as permanent residents and were over the moon about it. While we have been waiting there have been a few stressful moments and a lot of running around but we now know it was all worth it. This also means I can now start applying for jobs. Needless to say we went to bed very happy people.

Waking up it sank in that we had just become residents and it did feel good. Mel went off to work knowing she had a short week to work and I took care of a few errands around town. In the evening we had dinner with the lady who is looking after our landlords house while they are away on holiday up at the house and we were joined by Doug our neighbour,it was a delicious meal and we left happy and full for our 10 second walk back to the house...

We only had 4 days of Autumn left and Thursday was a glorious day and a great day for a haircut,it was just a trim but it was long overdue and as people will know I am not a big fan of the hairdressers but I have been a few times so it was not too bad.The hairdresser remembered me from last time which made me feel better and it was all over in 20 minutes or so!!!

I got back home and swapped 2 wheels for 4 to take Doug shopping for his weekly groceries and we did our usual routine and stopped for coffee before whizzing around New World in co-ordinated manner.The weather was so good I didn't want to stay in so after applying for a few jobs I headed off into Devonport to pick a present for Mel's upcoming birthday.Instead of heading straight home I took a ride up North Head and sat on the bench in the sunshine and enjoying the peace and quiet,watching the boats with Rangitoto as a backdrop.

The silence was broken as I cranked up the bike to head back home,Mel got home and had a spring in her step knowing she was finished with the stresses of work until Tuesday.

Friday saw the arrival of 2 big anniversaries one being the 50th birthday of the harbour bridge here in Auckland but more importantly it was the 34th anniversary of Mel being born. We managed a lie in until 8am then I made breakfast while Mel sat and opened up her cards and presents.For the first time in a long time Mel seemed happy that it was her birthday and we had a nice day planned.

The drive to Waiwera Spa took us around 40 minutes and we were both looking forward to our hot pool experience.True to form we had a coupon and on entry we got more than we bargained for with a whole $50 (20 pounds) discount. It was a busy place and once we were changed we plunged into our first pool and at 31 C it was like getting into a bath. The next pool we tried was even better at 48 C and the steam was rising off the surface as we sat outside in the pool and relaxed.All the pools are from natural hot springs and surprisingly don't smell too much of sulphur.

Jumping out of the pool was the worst bit as it was quite chilly but we headed inside the building for our private spa which was cool. we were supposed to get 30 minutes but as it was quiet we had closer to an hour as we moved from hot tub to sauna to steam room and back via a cold shower.It was so relaxing we just wanted to nod off but eventually we left to go back outside into the hot pools, for a little longer before heading off to get changed.

Back in Takapuna we stopped for lunch at a pub which was delicious,the spa and hotpools had done the trick as we were both relaxed and when we got back to the house it was time for a cup of tea and a rest. Mel nodded off and I wrote a few letters and did a few jobs that had been lingering around for a while but I was in the right frame of mind to tackle them.

Now we had our residency in place we could start to make a few plans and today we took ourselves off to look around a few open homes to see what houses and units were like.It was a great experience and one we enjoyed, in less than an hour we had looked at 3 properties and learnt a lot from quizzing the agent.I think for now until things settle down on the job front for me we will rent but keep our eyes peeled for any bargains that may appear.

After being at the spa yesterday anything that we had on that was silver had become tarnished from the sulphur in the water,so after Mel had a quick search on the internet we found a quick and easy way to restore the shine to things. We put the rings and my St Christopher into foil and immersed them in boiling water with salt and,hey presto 2 minutes later when we opened the packages everything was shiny again!!!

We broke tradition and did our grocery shopping today and Mel got chatting to a lady giving out wine so she got to try 7 different wines as well as getting information from her about a market at Titirangi west of Auckland and we decided that if the weather was good on Sunday we would take a ride out there on the bike..

We took ourselves off to the movies in the evening but were disappointed by the movie which was the new Nic Cage movie "knowing" and was a bit far fetched,I managed to work my way through a bag of pistachio peanuts while wathcing the movie.

The big item on the news this evening was that the Sky Tower had been fitted with a new lighting system so the colours can be changed every few seconds and it did look really cool to see it in action as we headed back from the movies,

Sunday brought another glorious day so there was no excuse to not go for a ride.We kitted up and headed out West to Titirangi and the craft market that the lady in the supermarket had told us about. It was the last day of autumn and a great day to end on before Winter starts tomorrow.It took about 35 minutes to get there and on the way we got plenty of waves from fellow bikers which was cool.

The craft market was excellent and we wndered around saying "if we had a house that would be good to have" and "can't wait to get a place so we can get that." We stopped for coffee and checked out real estate in the window which was much cheaper than Devonport and the area had a nice feel to it too. From Titirangi we headed to Pt Chev park for lunch and got great views across the water to the harbour bridge,it was so quiet with just the chirping of sparrows at our feet breaking the calm and wanting some of our lunch.

As we headed back towrards the North Shore it clouded over and about 30 minutes after arriving back home the heavens opened and the rain started to fall signalling the start of Winter tomorrow. As the rain fell and the wind blew a 9-10ft section of tree snapped off at the side of the house and crashed to the floor which was scary.Eventually the wind dropped and we enjoyed our Sunday dinner of roast lamb.

Tomorrow is the Queen's birthday here so a national holiday which is cool for Mel as it means a short week again. Looking forward to catching up with you all again next Sunday.

Lots of Love

M & M
xx