Just a Day in NZ

I had a lovely day today. I woke up expecting it to be rainy, but the sky had rained itself out overnight. In fact, it has rained more than average for September since we arrived, but it’s been exclusively at night, which is very thoughtful. I was quite pleased with myself because J had to get up at 4:30am for work and I got to sleep until 7:00, and staying in a warm bed while someone else gets up is one of the best feelings ever. So I got up and headed out into the surprisingly sunny morning to buy the lounge (living room) set that we’d finally settled on. To my surprise, I ran into Karen at the furniture store. I love that we’ve been here for two weeks, I know a total of three people, and I ran into one of them at the furniture store. J I helped her pick out some vases, and she helped me bargain with the salesman for our lounge set. All in all, very satisfying.

Then I stopped by two early learning centres and set up times to come back for tours and meetings with the directors. The third centre’s director invited me to come right in, and I spent a couple hours getting shown around and playing with the children. I did the same at a different centre yesterday, so I am making good progress learning about a variety of centres. (I'll write more about them later.) More importantly, I had a lovely time exploring magnets, making colour patterns, and digging tunnels through sandcastles with kind, enthusiastic, wonderful children. Every time I spend time with children, I wonder how I get through the days without them.

Next, I walked back to Uptown Café through increasing wind and plummeting temperatures, even though it was only 1:00. Jan wasn’t too busy, so she sat with me and we had a lovely chat. J got home early (since he went in so early), so we had time to go to some new shops and look for the last few things we need for our house. We have decided to get a beautiful quilt from Trade Aid, which is the NZ version of Ten Thousand Villages. I was thrilled to discover that they have that here, and we are happy to be able to purchase some of the things we need from them. I don’t mind buying things nearly as much when I know that the money is used for good.

J and I then discovered a wonderful Japanese restaurant, and had a nice dinner together. And then we walked home through crazy wind and chilling temperatures to relax and watch some TV, before an early bedtime. The forecast is intense wind and rain, and I love storms! I’m hoping that it will be an exciting storm without causing too much damage. We’ll see.

I love simple days where things just feel good and you are tired and happy at the end.