All moved in

Moving in day went better than anyone could have hoped. The container arrived safe and sound, none of our stuff needed to be fumigated, the sun was shining in all its autumn glory, and the crew was incredibly friendly - though they did ask me to apologize for Nickelback once they found out I was Canadian.

It was a little touch and go as to whether we'd fit everything into the house. I swear, it really is bigger than our apartment back in Burnaby, but some stuff had to remain outside for most of the day as we opened boxes and put things away to free up space to bring more things inside. We managed to get all the boxes opened and unpacked by the end of the weekend even with taking most of Saturday off to go car shopping and take in a play.

This was the first time we've had professional movers take care of packing for us and I wasn't so sure I'd like it. I had visions of opening a box to find one of my precious cutting mats...gasp...folded! Or, find my brand new dishes smashed to pieces because they didn't bother putting paper in between each and every plate as I would have.

Yes, you might say I have control issues.

In the end, I needn't have worried...

The movers took great care to wrap everything carefully, perhaps too carefully...eight sheets of paper to wrap one box of batteries was probably overkill, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Only one piece of furniture was damaged and it happened to be the one piece we were on the fence about bringing along in the first place. No great loss.

Not knowing what was in each box before I opened it (as I would have if I'd packed, because there'd be a written inventory of each box, don't you know) didn't slow down the unpacking process as I'd expected - even though we found things like Abner's PJs sensibly packed...in the camping cooler.

My cutting mats were found safe and sound, carefully nestled flat inside a mirror pack box. No warps. No folds. You just know one of the movers' wives must be a crafter. Those guys knew what they were doing!

Of course, I may be cursing them come Christmas time when I remember why our artificial Christmas tree is a little shorter than it once was. It seems that one half didn't quite make it to Dunedin. Oh well, at least we still have the pointy top half. We'll just call it a dwarf Christmas tree.

Perhaps the bottom half of the Christmas tree is somewhere cavorting with my missing sandal? If anyone spots a black, leather sandal - a left foot sandal if we're going to be specific - and half a Christmas tree somewhere between NZ and Burnaby, do let us know. Perhaps they disembarked when the container stopped in Korea?

Anyhow, it's a relief to have the move behind us now. I'll start doing house tour posts in the coming weeks so you can see our cute little villa. For now, we're just going to enjoy feeling a bit more settled finally.

what I miss...

The big news this week is that our stuff arrives on Friday (just a few more hours!) My dreams lately have been filled with visions of my can opener, cheese grater, our bed and couch - all tops on my list of things I can't wait to be reunited with.

Of course, at about six weeks in NZ, I'm starting to miss more than just my own possessions. The longings for all things Canadian have started. Here, in no particular order, are just a few of things I miss from home:

1. Tim Hortons - more specifically, I would like a double double. It ain't great coffee, but it's cheap and, for part of the year at least, includes an element of gambling (roll up the rim, I mean). Coffee here is pricey and more often than not, you'll be offered instant coffee at gatherings. Horrid, horrid stuff. Flat whites are growing on me though. For the record, Abner is missing Timmy's for the donuts. They're not quite the same here.


2. Central heating and insulation - Kiwi's don't know how to heat a house worth a damn. Seriously. Many, if not most, Kiwi houses have little to no insulation and furnaces are rare. If you are under the impression that this is no big deal assuming that NZ is a sub-tropical region, you are sorely mistaken. Dunedin is freakin' cold. It's still summer and to date, the coldest temperature we've recorded in our house is 14.5 C...indoors...in summer. Please send many, many pairs of long underwear.


3. Sensible transit - I never thought I'd say this, but Translink rocks. For a town a fraction of the size of Metro Vancouver, Dunedin has six fare zones to Vancouver's three. You have to tell the driver how far you're going so he can charge you the correct amount, and unlike Vancouver, you can't hop off or switch routes with the same ticket. I used to like being able to buy a ticket, hop on the train or bus or both, do my errands and get home all on one ticket if I was speedy. Here, you pay each time you board, so I'm forever making sure Abner has gone pee before we get on the bus so that we won't have to hop off and pay all over again.

Of course, we all miss our friends and family too! Give us a couple of days and the guest room will be all set up and ready to go for anyone who wants to visit. Come on down!

our week...

Did you play with Lego as a kid? My brother and I certainly did back in the day. It's a hit with Abner too. We managed to fit a fair sized bag of it in our luggage and have been making up designs most afternoons while laying in the sunbeam in the lounge.

We're lucky to live in a part of town with easy access to great trails and parks. Abner and The Dear Sweet Husband head out after dinner some nights to explore the paths and check out the views of the valley. The other day they came home stuffed with fresh picked berries and telling tales of all the cool things they saw, like a bird's nest which had fallen from its tree.

Of course, not all of our exploration has taken place on foot. We recently got Abner her very own scooter and she's taken to it like a fish to water. They're very popular here with kids and are far more affordable than bikes, so we bit the bullet and got her one even though it's not her birthday - it's pink (ugh). Requests to "go for a scoot?" have been heard almost daily since.

And that's the week that was.

They must have been crazy

We now live just minutes from the steepest residential street in the world: Baldwin Street. Forget the zig zagging of Lombard Street in San Francisco. Switchbacks are for sissies. In New Zealand, we just go straight up.

According to wikipedia, "at its maximum, the slope of Baldwin Street is about 1:2.86 (19° or 35%). That is, for every 2.86 metres travelled horizontally, the elevation changes by 1 metre." Best butt workout ever.

Doesn't look so bad from the bottom, does it.

Taking a break part way up.

Making use of a well placed bench.

Looking back from near the top. We live in one of those wee houses down there!

Smoothie

When we were packing up to head out to NZ, The Dear Sweet Husband nearly cried when he had to part with his coffee maker (he's not ashamed to admit it). For me, it was parting with my immersion blender that had me getting misty eyed.

You see, Abner and I have shared a smoothie almost every morning for the past couple of years. We happily resumed the tradition the other day and celebrated in the sun with the biggest smoothie 'stash this side of the Pacific.

Just peachy in Dunedin

Fresh summer peaches and apricots sitting on our kitchen window sill during our first NZ rainfall. I'm sure the farmers and orchards in Otago are grateful for today's shower (portions of NZ are in drought), but those of us who are only going to get a few weeks of summer this year are a little less than impressed.

We've been in our new house for almost two weeks already, but we just got internet in the last few days. Our furniture is due to arrive in about two weeks, so I'll do some posts about the house after that. I can't wait to share some pics of this incredibly cute - if cold - house.

I think my family is getting a bit eager for pics of Abner, so here are a few from some of our recent adventures in Dunedin. Just realized as I uploaded these, that Abner's back is turned in most of them. Sorry.

Getting her groove on at a free concert at the Botanic Gardens.

Climbing the Duddingstone Steps near our house.

Guess who got in trouble while visiting First Church?

It's still warm enough to get sprayed with the hose in the backyard.

The warmest spot in the house - the sunbeam in the lounge.