A rainy weekend...

I completed my law examination on Friday. YAY!!! And I got a haircut in the morning (long overdue!), and picked up some clothing which had to be altered (due to no petite sizes in NZ), and bought a pretty red sweater (read- warm...). Friday was a very good day... at least after the exam was over!

Yesterday I decided to do some laundry, it being a beautiful day- however I forgot it was the shortest day of the year. About 3 o'clock it started clouding up and the temp dropped. Regardless, I decided to leave my towels and PJs hanging on the line outside. Bad choice... Heavy winds and rain overnight and today completely saturated them... The nature of the weather makes me think of Shakespeare- and Macbeth- for some reason. My poor pjs. I'm left with less warm backup pairs- until they finally dry. It could take several days with the forecast the way it is. (I'm not complaining, it hasn't really rained in my 1.5 months back in Nelson).

The market on Saturday was great fun. I can't begin to say how nice it was just to spend a mellow day back in Nelson. I love this town.

It's hard to believe I've been back over a month. I still haven't started the regular jog out to Tahuna beach- excepting that one Sunday afternoon. I am waiting for the days to get longer. Also I was taking a latin/ballroom dance class before I left- it was really tiny but it was great. I'd like to find something similiar. Am also keen to try out the Med. Foodstore's cooking class night- which occurs something like about once a month- and spend some time checking out books at the library... Nelson recently missed out on an opera due to lack of venue. Shame... I do miss Regina's Globe & the Annual Opera Sask events. However before I get all classed and activitied up, I have to remember that my tax class starts quite soon and I need to factor in time. I think it was something crazy according to the Open Polytech book- maybe 8 or 10 hours a week or something. I'm not sure if I actually spent that on law.

The election is also coming up this year. It would be GREAT to volunteer over here, as well. Permanent residents have the right to vote in NZ, interestingly. Being on this list also means that I could be selected for jury duty. Not sure how they come up with the Canadian jury duty lists.

Now I'm off to bed, having had my electric blanket on so I will be all nice and toasty warm. At least until I wake up chilly at 4am. :) But the rain should keep the temp up, so it shouldn't be so bad tonight, anyway.... We had one morning of hard frost last week- and my window scraper from Canada came in oh so handy!

June is flying by...

And I've once again been unprolific on the blog front.

A good part of my time in the past couple of weeks has been spent studying for my business law exam which comes up on Friday! I can't wait for it to be over, then 6 weeks to get the results.

Meanwhile, the days have been getting shorter, and shorter. I just can't wait for them to start going the other way. It's really hard to get up in the dark, and get home in the dark.

I was reading somewhere in the paper the other day about the number of homes without insultation in NZ. The number was astounding. My memory fails, but I seem to think it was in the 800,000 range. 4000000 people. How many in the average home? Do the math to see how few kiwi homes have insulation..

Prices have been going up, up, up. Petrol is currently in the $2.10 range.

Not a lot else new here. Will update again, sometime post law. Tax doesn't start for a month or so after, so will have a bit of a break from studies.

A weekend in Kaikoura

Photos: View from motel, sperm whale diving, great view on roadside stop, view from Outlook at Okiwi Bay

After spending months in the top part of the top of the south, Queens Birthday weekend was a perfect time for a weekend away. I booked a spot at the Seaview Motel through AA for $99 per night... Thursday night I got the oversold phone call and was moved to the sister Clearwater Motel. This motel was about 3 "rooms" or suites in total. It was old, but delightfully the beds came complete with electric blankets. YAY! :) Plus it was right on the Esplanade, so had a great sea view.





We went for a walk up to the Peninsula above a sea colony, wandered the small main street (including the second hand book shop). Then we drove out of town and visited Donegal House, an irish pub, before heading back to town for dinner, and a quiet evening in the hotel room.





Sunday we went whale watching with Whale Watch Kaikoura . For the tidy sum of $130 each, we arrived at 10 for our 10:30 overview, before being bussed out to the boat. We headed out on the boat, and the first whale spotted decided to go down just after we spotted him. WE ventured out further and found 2 whales. One seemed to be playing with a fur seal, or following it- we had views of this for about 30 minutes, before cruising out to see another whale further out. It was a really neat experience. They were sperm whales so we got to see just the top of their heads, basically, and their tails when they dove. The guide was fantastic- she gave lots of informative info- such as that the huge amounts of oil in their heads actually are thought to help them in their deep dives and in resurfacing- it turns more oily as they come up, but is more solidifyed when they are diving. We decided to have a bit of pizza and pasta for dinner, as didn't want to pay TOO much for crayfish, or the other food that seemed to be popular on the local restaurant menus.





This morning it was raining and we just did a few short walks on the drive back to Nelson.





The weather was pretty good, and Kaikoura is beautiful. I was really impressed by the ever changing and beautiful sky...

Up, down, and around

So things have been rather busy in Nelson. The learning continues at work, with an annual plan and now month end coming up. I was also up in Auckland for a training course early this week. I went up on the weekend so I could go shopping, fully intent on buying a winter jacket, shoes, merino tops, and maybe a nice sweater or two. It was one of those fruitless shopping weekends. I took the bus on saturday out to dressmart, a outlet store shopping centre. Didn't find much. On Sunday I took transit out to Newmarket, and again didn't find much- before bussing back to central - where I finally found a few things... including flat dress shoes. Yay. Didn't find much else on my list. Boo. It always seems to be that way, when you are looking. The weather was sunny and warm on Saturday in Auckland. It felt like summer! I checked out a tasty italian restaurant in the CBD, dining solo on Sunday night - at about 8. It was a delight to be able to find dinner at that hour.

This weekend we're off to Kaikoura for the last long weekend until Sept or Oct.

The temperate has REALLY dropped in the last week. The frosts have started. I think it was down to 0 the other day. This is really cold- with the kiwi insulation- or should I say lack thereof... I've lost my lovely Kathmandu merino top from last year and have had to purchase a few cheaper alternatives.

I watched game 3 of the cup finals with a group of Canadian friends in Nelson. I miss hockey...

A few Nelson shots...

It was another beautiful day in Nelson...

But even the rain can make it lovely. Check it out.

A week in Nelson

I've been back over a week, and it is nice to return to this place that my heart loves.
On the weekend I went for a run to Tahuna beach, my first run in months to be fair. The beach is a sure reward for the effort, just as it was when I lived here before, although I don't think I'll be making it a morning ritual at least until winter is over. Plus my time was shockingly slow- it took an hour and a quarter, in long part because of the trudge back up Russell Street when I was near to getting home. I SURE wasn't running then...

I've been out to dine a few times in my time back and have attended a gals lunch fundraising for breast cancer.

I've settled nicely into my new flat, and I'm sure in time that big walk home from work will be much easier than it is now...

It's also great living with cats again! :)

I'm delighting in my electric blanket, recently purchased. Why didn't I buy one earlier? It sure helps getting a good nights sleep in these cool kiwi homes. The current flat is heated by a gas fireplace, which we tend not to use, instead using a gas heater in the lounge. The hot water and stove are also gas powered. Which means a nice low power bill, at any rate.

In terms of utilities, it is nice to be back in the town of kerbside recyling. Hurray! :)

I continue to watch Shorters, and Greys, and admit to having watched a bit of Coronation Street for the first time, tonight...

The last 2 weeks

The run up to finishing work in Blenheim was quite busy, and then came the "fun" of moving. Remind me to flat in the future, instead of living alone. So much more work on the cleaning the whole place before you leave than just your room.

Anyhow, after much trudging up hill with multiple bags and goods, I'm in my new flat, overlooking the port. It's amazing how much stuff I've aquired in the last year and a bit. Almost 2 car loads; when I moved to Blenheim I had less than 1. Today was the first day of work at the new job and I managed to walk to work, and more painfully- back up the hill.

It's great to be back in NElson, even though it is winter. Looking forward to rediscovering the region, now that I'm settled into my new flat. It has been chilly. My last day in Blenheim there was a nice frost.