more musings of this week

some random observations/thoughts to report:

price of life in NZ: i knew cost of living was high but read in the Auckland Herald this week that when compared to many other countries worldwide, NZ is one of the more expensive places to live.  Article compared price of cup of coffee, pint of beer, dry cleaning, pack of cigarettes, price of going to movie, etc.  This validates what I know to be real, but in the end, worth every penny spent!

Jamey Robnett-Conover, dear daughter of dear friends in Spokane, has joined us in our venture here to assist me with Maggie and occasionally the boys.  Have known her for years, watched her grow up and out to college, shared the magic of Norwester with her as she worked for a few summers on staff, and now has agreed to join forces with the likes of us.  She is amazing, hit the ground running, drives on the left with ease, plays guitar and sings to soothe my beasts, loves to cook, rallies for a good adventure, knows the internet inside and out, and if overall fun, fun, fun!  Yesterday she and Maggie made fairy houses, played at the beach, and then we shared a lovely dinner she had made while I was on lifeguard patrol.  We are all so happy to have her here!

living in a resort town: holidays are busy here in the Mount. Note to self, do not drive to the Mount after 9 am on a sunny day, ride bike, there is no parking to be found.

orcas and stingrays:  Masses of stingrays inhabit the calmer waters of Tauranga harbor and turns out the orcas come in and eat them.  Have yet to see this, but eager/hopeful to see such an occurrence.  So cool to be surrounded by such amazing marine life!

settling in after the holidays: we all have returned from holidays with a much more even keel.  Seems the wave of angst and anxieties and fears and whatever else plagued us (boys esp!) a few months ago and up until Xmas has passed, and the tone amongst us is a bit kinder and more gentle.  I clearly underestimated the cumulative effects of being new to a place, new school, new activities, no friends, nothing familiar, hormonal surges of "teenagedom"not to mention being only with mum, but the plates have shifted ever so slightly and for this I am grateful.  Boys are actually ok about starting new school, we will get new uniforms tomorrow,  playing cards in the evening is an ok thing to do, even their torturing of maggie seems to have lessened a bit.   I breathe a bit easier for the moment, waiting for the next tectonic movement.

Off to work, rains to come this week, clearing later on.