That man must have nothing to do. Maybe I should hire him as my P.A.?

Now I totally forgot what I was going to say and my French teacher is going to be here in 30 minutes so the pressure is on. I think I just wanted to say hi. I hope you’ve all had a great start to the new year. It’s really hot here and most of you are up to your knees in snow right now…which is fun but really really cold and that makes me even happier that I am here in humid hot and sticky Auckland right now. Except for the fact that I’d really like the sweating to stop before I become so dehydrated I resemble a raisin or worse.

Oh yes…In January we were very sad to see Daniel and Jennifer leave us to head back to their lives in France. We had a few days to adjust to the sense of emptiness before Mike, Clem and Gaspard arrived to stay with us for four days. We spent the four days drinking, partying, eating, working, drinking, partying, and running after Gaspard. I really felt bad for Mike and Clem when they left and had to jump on a plane with two things that don’t go well together…hangovers and an 18 month old child.

Check out January’s photos!

Eric, Julia and Noah came over from France and spent some time with the friends and we were really thrilled to see them. They spent the weekend in Coromandel with us and unfortunately it rained the whole fricking weekend which was incredibly bad timing, Mother Nature. We did manage to get one hike in before the rain poured down so hard we had to turn back. Diane, Tristram and their boys came over for the weekend too and we ended up having a great time despite the rain.

We’ve had so much going on that we really haven’t done much in the way of renovations but now that February is here (and half gone already!) we’re getting geared up to get back into it again. Stay tuned for more fab photos.

Never in my life have I moved into such a disgustingly dirty house…and I have moved A LOT! Sure I’ve had to get out my trusty toothbrush (not the one I use on my teeth, thanks) to get grime out of hard-to-reach places but maggots??? Yeah. I found live maggots in the cupboards. That was actually comforting compared to what I found on the toilet which surely hadn’t been cleaned in the 15 years that the previous owner lived here. The bathtub changed colours after I scrubbed it for an hour. Under the kitchen sink it was a complete disaster zone and that was even before we discovered there’s no wall behind the kitchen sink!

But I wasn’t the only one having fun. The shed was completely overgrown with vines…inside and out. Apparently people had lived in there at some point and they had used anything they could as insulation in the walls. Seb spent a day pulling out the board and the lining and the vines. Seb also spent another day scraping tape off the floors in the house. It seems someone had the foresight to put tape down before painting the skirting…but then never removed it so now it had become part of the floor. To make it seem even more insane, whoever painted stepped in the paint and got it on the floors and then never cleaned it up.

The first evening we had our friends over for drinks and our not so great start turned into a fantastic night. We saw quickly how well the layout of the house lent itself to entertaining our friends and we felt the spirit of the house. We realized what a gem we had and really started to appreciate the good things…the gorgeous heart kauri flooring, the high ceilings, the big open space, the fireplace (YAY we have a fireplace) and the ability to have more than four of our friends over at the same time. We have a very prolific grapefruit tree in the backyard and we’re starting every day off with a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. As a parting gift we force bags of grapefruits on our friends. We also have two lemon trees of two different varieties though I’m not sure which so if you know some good recipes with lemon and/or grapefruit let me know.

A week later the house is still dirty in some parts. We just haven’t had time to get to all of it yet but we will. For now we are enjoying the house and loving the north facing super sunny garden. We love the area and we’re thrilled it’s literally a hop and a skip to the strip of cafes and stores. It’s a unique experience to take the foot bridge over the train as it’s coming as you’re going into Kingsland. It’s like walking into a little part of London.

The house is awesome and we’re only going to make it better. We just need to decide on what it is we’re going to do. It seems we keep changing our mind. They’re all good ideas!

There are new photos in the gallery so go check ‘em out!

In the U.S. when they’re telling you you’ve been laid off it’s usually at the same time they’re handing you a box with your belongings and prying the office keys out of your fingers.

In N.Z. it’s a bit surreal. They tell you you’ve been made redundant without saying the word “redundant” and then tell you you have to work for the next four weeks. Whah? Obviously on one hand this is good. You have four weeks to find work, sort out your finances, and put yourself on a stringent budget. On the other hand it’s just weird to come into the office knowing that in four weeks you won’t be here anymore. You’re sense of purpose has completely disappeared. Your motivation is gone. But by far the worst part is that I am an outcast. No one (except the person who told me my department has been closed down and the only other woman in the office, who just happens to be my friend too) has said anything to me. No one.

Obviously I don’t belong here anymore and this is my opportunity to do something else. I’m not fretting yet. I have ideas. I just need to wrap my head around them and see what happens.

It has to be better than this.