Chapter One of Many

We arrived in NZ after a 10 day visit with friends on the West Coast. Once we got here, we had one week booked in a hotel. We had one week to find a place to live and buy a car. The house thing was very stressful as the home we found in the price range we had hoped to stick to did not pan out to be up to our standards. In any case, we found a house that we both agreed upon and bought a car without much hassle at all. We also managed to get Christmas presents bought for Soren and Mike started work a few days after arriving. So life was quite hectic and though we were making time to also do fun things everyday, Soren and Mike and I were all trying to deal with the loss of our daily routines at home which included a good deal of time spent with family and friends. I think we have made a huge breakthrough in this month and have each found an appreciation for the calmness of our days and the increase in time we get to spend as a family unit. We are all communicating really well and Soren seems very content and is generally so well-behaved I can't believe it. Okay, sure he's a little naughty sometimes, but maybe I just have more patience now. His Montessori school will start mid-Feb. and we are really excited for him to start. the school has been around for ages and is very well run and organized. He will make friends instantly, I'm sure, and we'll be making an effort to involve him with his new buddies as much as possible. I also hope to meet some cool mommas to hang out with.

The weather has definitely gotten better in the last 2 weeks. Seems that the cold, rainy weather did not want to relent at first and we were getting worried that we might have chosen the wrong place! I hear locals saying that this just means that summer will linger on longer and we certainly hope that's the case. Summer is good here. Never gets hotter than 80 and usually not over 75. The sun is super-hot, though so you stay warm in the sun and the shade cools you down quickly. My brother was saying that because of the lack of ozone here, being in the sun is equivalent to being in the sun on some of the highest mountain peaks in the US. Sunscreen in not an option, even in when it's cloudy. It's become part of our morning routine. All the kids wear sun hats as well as the adults who can get over the vanity issue.

Someone asked me about the food here, so I will comment on that for a moment. It's good. It's expensive if you're on the NZ economy, but the same price as home if you are using US dollars. Not a huge selection of organic stuff, but the meats and veges and dairy here are mostly locally produced/grown and the amount of crap they have to use on the crops and animals is much less severe. I believe all the lamb and cattle are grass fed, which makes it taste so good! Lots of farmer's markets to choose from too. We have a decent health food store for vitamins, teas, crazy grains etc.. but it's pretty small. The restaurant variety is superb. Anything from Turkish kebab stands to Malaysian cuisine. Wellington even has a decent Mexican restaurant and a real bagel shop. The coffee is to die for and bakeries and sweets out the wazoo. Oh, and of course, fish and chips and meat pies if you're into that sort of thing!

My butt is going to sleep form sitting here so long. Feel free to post comments or e-mail .