Stormy Weather...

Okay- so we've had some wild weather in NZ over the past few days. In Nelson it was mostly very high winds.

Watch a tree fall here in Nelson- narrowly missing a car http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCzlZogjZQ Scary!!!

In Nelson our biggest problem is that our water supply has been affected. We're supposed to be reducing consumption 70-80% over the next few days. I believe this is due to damage to a pipeline.

Other parts of the country have had flooding, there was a state of emergency over in Marlborough, a woman died in a flood attempting to cross a stream, house roofs have blown off, etc. Check out some photos and articles here. There are photos of both Nelson and Blenheim here and a bit more commentary: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4637457a11.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/0a28070.html

A big Brrrrr... And a shopping frenzy

We've had a very unpleasant July, weather wise. Nelson's far above its average rainfall. It's been a struggle to try and get clothes washed - as there just hasn't been much drying time.

Oh a brighter note, I've finally replaced the camera that George the flat cat knocked on the floor. After HOURS of research and checking out the feel of cameras at the shops, I went for the Fuji s5800. Its a big fellow- but has 10x zoom and what looks to be great photo quality from test shots so far. I'll post some photos, one of these days.

Today I FINALLY purchased a pair of hiking boots from Kathmandu after 2 years of living in NZ without any. I saw these ones, tried them on- and love them! They're light and pink too. YAY.

I seem to be on the recovery from my cold. I felt the worst on Monday- but now its better.

An update on the housing situation. Since I've moved in 3 months ago- we 1) had to have a new post box installed because NZ Post refused to walk part way up the driveway 2) had to have the gas bottles relocated from the back yard because the gas company found it too dangerous to come there and 3) most recently- the rubbish collection company we were using have decided to stop doing our street because it is too difficult to navigate. (We'll go back to using the city now.) This house has been here for how many years- and these changes have happened in a couple of months. My flattie said I must be good luck. :) It's a skinny street, all right!

That's it for now, folks. Brr. As I sit in my puffer jacket with the little gas heater on, dreaming of central heating- but also looking forward to summer!

Mid July...

I've passed my law class. Yay.

And just this week I started Taxation. This class seems much better so far than law was... I got actual booklets with all of the readings, and the learning guide, how to use the website etc. Plus we're going to be getting weekly updates from the professor. I also received confirmation of enrolment. With my law class, I hadn't received anything when the course started- I had to email for my student number. I had to spend over $80 on printer cartridges printing out all of the various assignments and readings- and there were 2 communications from the prof- both on the assignments. With tax he has lots of practise questions, and the week one readings were more economic oriented than tax oriented- starting with economic principles- including a bit of a reading from Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations! So far, A + to this class.

I'm still camera shopping, having not yet replaced my Lumix that was knocked on the floor by naughty George the flatmates cat.

In NZ news, one of the recent items of discussion has been whether they should allow use of medicial marijuana. Also grocery prices are the highest ever, a newspaper has recently reported. Petrol has recently dropped 4 cents though, I think that puts us at 212.9?

I'm a month into running again, although only 1-3 times per week. It's finally starting to feel good- instead of painful. I think it will be easier as the days start to get longer.

A cold July...

Brr.... Brrr.... Brrr.... It was -2 this morning and -3 yesterday morning, and the window scraper that I brought back from Canada was certainly coming in handy. It is a funny thing- you think -2 or -3 is pretty warm- it is not at all the nasty -30 with a windchill that you get in Saskatchewan. But in NZ -2 means wearing thermals and breathing out frost when you get up in the morning due to the lack of insulation and central heating. I will never get used to it...

I can't wait for the days to get longer! I washed laundry a few weeks ago and we got some rain overnight. Like many kiwis, we don't have a dryer, but Nelson had an untypical couple of weeks of rain- so trying to get the laundry dry didn't work so well. I had to redo it all- after it got the musty damp odour. This time it dried.

Mr. George, the flatties cat has damaged my camera irreplacably. He is an attention seeker- and when he spotted my camera on the counter he must have decided a great way to get attention would be to jump on the counter and push it to the floor. So I won't be posting any photos until I get a new one... I am indecisive on the brand. I liked the panasonic lumix, but it definitely wasn't very hardy. The Sony I had previously was hardier, but broke in less than a year. I've now spent about $900 in 2 years on cameras- and have no working cameras to show for it. This makes me caution to purchase another one...

I just splashed out on books. The Warehouse had $5-7 books! Consider that purchasing a typical magazine costs $4-10- what a bargain! I stocked up.

My tax class starts next week. Ugg. Distance education is not easy to get motivated for... I still have another 4 weeks or so before I get back the Law results.

I attended my first Kiwi Quiz night the other weekend. I am not so good at trivia. I knew something about Harry Potter, and something abour Narnia. Pitty there weren't any questions about current affairs, or Canadian politics. :)