N is for Neighbourhood

What's in your neighbourhood?
I once read a post on a blog (that actually stopped posting, such a shame) that talked about the neighbourhood and why she liked living where she does.

So what can I say about our neighbourhood here in Hamilton.
We first started living here because it was close to the hospital and that is where Steve got his job, we rented a house and then 6 months later brought this house 100m up the street.
It is a quiet area with a large street outside that is not a main road so not too much traffic.

2 years ago a greengrocers opened round the corner. Now we don't use it as much as we probably should but it is nice to know it is there until 6pm each night if we need it.
There is a mass of cafe's just up the street and we even have KFC and McD's close by, not that we use them much, we prefer Burger King that is a 5 min drive away.
Our local bank is close by too, which helps when wanting to keep account fees down by only taking money from our banks ATM and not getting charged for using another banks one!
We have a post office, awesome sushi shop and Subway close too.
Our local supermarket is only 2ks away so we never have to go far for much really.
And if we were really good, then we would walk to all these places but in typical fashion....that never happens.

What is good about the area you live in?

Thirteen

For some people this number is totally unlucky, for others this is their lucky number.
Me, I come from the long list of people who are a little dubious of the number.

However for today only I am very happy with the number 13.

Why I hear you ask??

Today, as this post goes live, I will have been in New Zealand for 13 years.
Is this lucky or unlucky for me I guess you are asking...?

It is lucky.

I was 27 when I moved here and I don't know if my life would be where it is today if I had stayed where I was in England.
I was living at home, working as a Theatre Nurse at the local hospital.
I really, looking back on it, had no life.
I went to church every Sunday in the village but didn't really socialise much, there wasn't really anyone I wanted to socialise with. They were not my type of person. Don't get me wrong, I knew them all but they had all lead very different lives to me and some had great trouble in understanding the type of life I had lead up till then.
I had spent my main schooling years in a boarding school whilst my parents lived in foreign countries. I had travelled loads and had a very different out look on life. I was very strong willed, stubborn and very independant. If I wanted something to happen, well I just set about getting it achieved, within reason. I had very large grand ideas on what I wanted to do in life.

I hadn't dated for about 3 years, never met people to date either. So life just ticked over day by day never changing.

Coming to New Zealand, sort of made me have to start again. Make a difference, get a life etc and I did.
I met Steve within the first 2 months of working at Auckland Hospital but it was another 18 months before we finally got together as a couple and since we did that, then life has just rolled on forward.

So here I am now, 40 years old, married to my man of 11 years with 2 gorgeous boys, thinking how lucky I am to be here in this glorious country.
I am sure I would have survived if I had stayed in England but I don't think I would have been so happy, life would certainly have been very different there.

So happy anniversary to me and Happy Valentines Day to you all.

Anniversary

NO not my wedding anniversary, that is in September.
Today is actually the anniversary of when I arrived in New Zealand.
I arrived here 11 years ago today, all on my little own at 11am on a glorious sunny February morning.

I arrived on a Singapore Air flight #285. I remember that I had woken up at about 5am (NZ time) as we flew over Australia.
I was an organised girl at the time and had taken some clean clothes in my carry on luggage, so was able to freshen up before landing.
At 11am we touched down in Auckland, New Zealand to a beautiful day and the start of a wonderful new adventure for me.
I had come all this way on my own, on a no going back one way ticket, which had cost me 432 British Pounds.
I had never been to New Zealand before and all I knew was that I had an Aunty and Uncle here who had been here for just under 30 years, with 2 of my cousins.

Why NZ I can hear you all asking???

Well I had travelled lots up till then in 1998 and knew I was never going to stay in England for ever. I wanted to live in the Ohio, in the States, but was having big difficulty in getting my NCLEX exam (Nursing Exam). I took it twice and never quite managed to pass! Maybe it wasn't meant to be??

Someone I worked with at the time ask if I had thought of New Zealand, seeing as you didn't need to take an exam to work here? I never had and she must have got me on a magic day because within 24 hours of talking to her I had emailed, faxed and posted correspondences to all the relevant places to set the ball rolling.

That was in the September of 97 and just under 5 months later I arrived.

So 11 years later I can look back and be amazed at all I have achieved in the time.

I am now married with 2 charming little boys and a beautiful husband.

Add to this the fact that my Mum and Dad live here now and so does my brother and his family.

My dad's brother was the uncle who already lived here and then their sister and family moved here as well.

So 11 years later all of one side of my family lives in New Zealand.

WOW how live changes.

Persil's Fun List

Persil in New Zealand has put together a Top Ten list of things every kid should try before they are 10.

Persil's motto is "every child has the right to be a child" and "dirt is good"

So here is the list they suggest for all children to be children and enjoy........

1) Lie on your back and look for shapes in the clouds.

Clouds come in many different shapes and sizes. The cool thing is that sometimes clouds can make shapes that look like animals or other things. So go outside, lay on the grass and check out what shapes you can see.

2) Camp out in the back yard

Whether you have your own tent or you construct something suitable, this activity will create a sense of adventure for the kids as they sleep out under the stars. If they do need adult supervision, then maybe consider putting up a second tent nearby, so they are on their own but with you close by.

3) Build a secret hut

Your kids will love having a secret hut all of their own, a special place they can meet their friends and have fun.

If your garden has lots of hidden areas, then consider helping them make something permanent with wood, maybe under or in a tree, even behind a bush.

4) Catch a fish

All kids love the excitment of actually catching a fish all by themselves, whether it be in the river, sea or off the end of the wharf.

5) Play in the rain

Simply put on you boots and coats and go jump in the puddles.

6) Build sandcastles at the beach

Who hasn't spent many a wonderful sunny day playing at the beach whilst on holiday building the fort or castle of your dreams. All you need is a bucket and spade and lots of imagination.

7) Learn to swim

Swimming is fun and every kid should learn to swim

8) Whoose down a mud slide

Have fun as a family by making your own in the back garden or visit one that is already made

9) Grow your own garden

Children love something that is all their own. You can give them a patch in the garden and let them decide what they would like to grow. Flowers, vegetables. Preferrably something that doesn't take too long to grow to begin with.

10) Make mud pies

Mud, water, plates, spoons and a wild imagination and you have the perfect setting for serving the family any creation made.

Isn't it amazing how the simple things are making a come back in what we should be doing and encouraging our children with. The world is their oyster, let them roam and imagine.

The Wall That Was....

We have been making some adjustments to the house.

We decided that there was one room in the house that was not getting utilised to its full potential.

As you come in the front door there is a room either side. The left is the study and the right , well it was a spare room, come playroom, come anything room, but because it is cold in there nothing much happens there.

The living room though is too small and the wall between the front room and the living room was a false wall, as you can see in the pictures.

So on Saturday we took it down, now don't fear this was not a spur of the moment decision, we had already talked about doing this. In fact we had even gone so far as to plan it, with the position we put the heat pump when it was installed last week.

So we planned to knock the wall down and extend the living area, thus creating a tucked away lounge and now a lovely sitting welcoming area where the boys can play with their toys in the warmth and everyone is much happier, oh yea and with much more space.

The wall actually came down very simply and cleanly, apart from decorating, which we are planning on doing very last, it looks so well done.

Of course the boys helped us and it was very much a family smashing of the wall.

I was a little eager in my picture taking and that is why everything is still in such a mess!

Now the living room is warm and cosy, very important, we have a lovely big play area for the boys, plus somewhere to sit that is different from the living room when someone pops over, and the fold down sofa bed has lots of space, ok those staying do now have to sleep in the middle of the house at the bottom of the stairs with no privacy, but who cares, we don't get that many over night guests versus our comfort whilst living in the house.

So now we are better utilising the space within our house and I am sure all those house sorting programmes would be well please with our efforts to conserve and maintain an efficient heating system within the house, that is using the heat correctly and with minimal effort and cost!

Man I am good, too good sometimes!!

Lessons on Life

There was a man who had four sons.
He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so
beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit,
full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's Life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that can come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral: Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.

Be sensitive to the feelings of others.

I got sent this at work, don't know where it came from, but I liked it, so wanted to share it around.