A really nice weekend

Hi everyone,

It's Monday here, again, and I realized that I haven't blogged in a while. It is probably because we had such a busy (but relaxing weekend) in our lovely home. Sara's sister and brother-in-law came up from Christchurch and stayed in our guest room. Rachel (Sara's sis) is pregnant, and the girls invited me out shopping with them, for both maternity clothes and baby gifts. I hadn't had a day out with the girls in such a long time, and we spent about five hours out-and-about in Wellington. We shopped at Egg and Rachel got some beautiful maternity clothes (she is four months along, so things are just starting to get tight). Then we sat and ate cake and chatted in a cafe for an hour or so, and then did more shopping at Baby Star and Farmers'. We ended the afternoon in a pub on Cuba Street, where we had a (very) late lunch.

Saturday was a bit lazier, with nobody up and around the house until after noon. Sara, Nik, Rory and I went for a big communal shop at Pak'N'Save, which is a good team-building exercise if nothing else. We were all busy planning our contributions for a big Sunday dinner, so we ended up buying quite a lot. Our pantry is just about overflowing. In the evening, Rory and I went out to our local sportsbar to watch the rugby (another All Blacks vs. South Africa...strange schedule). The place was packed, and there was lots of ooohing and aahhing over various plays and referee calls. I've decided that rugby is much more fun to watch in public.

Sunday morning we went to the open air market for our fruit and veg. It is definitely the secret to affordable living in NZ...prices are just a fraction of what they'd be in a supermarket, and the quality is better. We bought: pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet chilis, bird's eye chilis, fresh coriander, fresh mint, courgettes (zucchini), cucumber, onion, garlic, green pepper, red pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, nectarines, apples, kiwis, limes, lemons, and parsley. I'm probably forgetting some other things, as well. All of it came to just under forty NZ dollars, which is only ten bucks per person, for a weeks' worth of beautiful produce.

It was a warm, sunny, and still day. Rory and I took a walk along the coast and chatted to the fishermen (who ended up being Scottish!). Our house is absolutely heaven in the nice weather, so I can't wait for spring. We left the door open to our deck, and you can hear the Tui's chirping away while cooking in the kitchen. It turns out that the area behind our house is a bird sanctuary, and the city council purchased the land just a few months ago for that reason.

Sunday night we had Nik's parents over for a Sunday buffet, with everyone making appetizers or tapas. I made salsa and an apple crumble for dessert, Rory made chicken peanut satay skewers, Sara made steamed prawn wontons and feta and pumpkin quesadillas, Nik made fried rice, and Ula and Norman brought olives, pistaccios, bread, and lamb. It was a great feast! Rory and I also used the fresh mint to make everyone some Moroccan mint tea, which went over very well. Afterwards we played the "dictionary game", which is really the simple version of Balderdash.

So that brings you up to speed. I'm so happy that we ended up in such a nice home with such wonderful people. One last thing: Happy Birthday, Sheron!!

Love, Amy