Antipodean Christmas

 It's a been almost a month since I wrote and I have really no excuses, so apologies! Firstly happy New Year to you and I sincerely hope that 2021 is a heck of a lot better for everyone. We've kept in close contact with family and friends back in the UK and know how difficult it currently is. Our thoughts really are with you. The St George's ScrubClub and well and truly back in action making scrub caps for staff at St Georges so a massive thank you from us both. If anyone would like to join this amazing virtuall army of sewists (of all abilities) feel free to contact me and I'll put you in touch.

So we spent Christmas here in Auckland which was weird and quiet. Why do I say this? Well, it takes getting used to it being summer rather than winter with Christmas and even though I've had at least 3 Christmases in Australia before, it still seems weird. Many people go away from Christmas so Auckland was definitely quieter. It was most unusual for us as neither of us were working, which I think is a first in the almost 20 years we've been together!

To mark the occasion (bearing in mind that Jonathan is as BaaHumbug as you can be about Christmas!) we decided to go exploring on our e-bikes to a bird sanctuary down the coast from us. It was a lovely ride and incredibly peaceful at the other other end. Jonathan managed to get some good photos so I'm sure his blog will look prettier than mine!

With just the two of us, a full on Christmas dinner didn't seem sensible, and it's actually not easy to come across turkeys here. It was incredibly warm too, so a full roast dinner was beyond us. Thus, pad thai (care of moi) replaced the traditional feast. I had a wonderful surprise at my local off license though - they stock Hayman's gin! This lovely distillery is based in Balham and I've been there a couple of times.

New Year's eve was a quiet one but we spent New Years Day christening Floyd (my kayak) in the Hauraki gulf. Vicky kindly showed us the ropes with a trip from the canoe club to Rangitoto, (where she ran to the top!) followed by a trip over to Brown's island and back to base. It was so lovely to be back in my own boat and the trip over was wonderful with clear blue skies and little wind. The wind picked up a tiny bit on the way back but I realised how incredibly un-kayaking fit I am. There is only one way to get fit for kayaking and that is.. kayaking. So, I'll keep doing my swimming, gym and other stuff, but I need to get out more in the boat. Many thanks to Vicky for the company and the photos!

So summer holidays go on for a while here with Monday being a bank holiday and most people not back at work even now (or mostly until the end of January.) This is a pain when you want to get things sorted (like getting my sewing machine repaired, car serviced etc) but it exemplifies the NZ way of life. I was back on Tuesday though and was very happy to be gainfully employed sorting out class materials in readiness for the new academic year. Our first courses start at the beginning of February which may seem a way off but I'm going to be busy moving too!

The noise from the neighbouring building site hasn't been too bad - as they haven't really done anything other than unload stuff for the past 4 weeks. I'm guessing it will start to get noisy in the next couple of weeks though. So we'll be moving from being next to this:

to our new home in Parnell at the end of January.  Parnell is a suburb closer to the centre of Auckland and is much closer to work for both of us (we actually work on opposite sides of the road!) It's also very handy for cafes and shops and has a nice vibe to it. The new place is a bit smaller with only 3 bedrooms but lots of space and a garden, not to mention the playground! It has an outside barbecue that we have every intention of using a lot.

I'm therefore busy sorting out the moving bits as we are going from a furnished property into an unfurnished property. Fortunately we brought a few bits with us and have negotiated with our current landlord (reluctantly) for some bits and pieces. 

Our car finally made it home on Chrismas eve! It took almost 5 months but even with the cost of moving, it's financially worthwhile. We've done more miles on our bikes than the car though and this is not a bad thing! It's mostly used for transporting Floyd or going away. We have a weekend away planned for a couple of weeks time when we head up to Whangarei and a longer trip in February when we are going to do a bike trail on the north island.

I'll aim to get the much delayed Christchurch edition out soon but otherwise will re-blog after our move!

Stay safe, keep well and keep in touch!