Musings from a woman

Here it is again, the woman's perspective. Got good positive feedback from my last post (Don slightly jealous) and it has encouraged me to try again. First and foremost, it is important to note that those children in the picture to the left are driving me slowly bonkers. No other kids to play with and having to stay with us 24/7 equals WAY too much time with them. They are irritating each other, which irritates me, they are irritating Don, which irritates me, and I swear even strangers are looking at them with a distinct lip curl. However, help is on the horizon! I was reading the local newspaper and read a feature about a weekly beach camp that keeps your kids for 6 hours a day. I believe they get to surf/paddle/box/facepaint etc etc - secondary information to me. I dove to the phone and signed them up for all of next week. So that lovely beach behind us in that picture will be their home for 6 hours every day next week. Thank goodness. Don and I can have some peace and run around to wherever we need without the peanut gallery heckling and rabble-rousing behind us.

You can see from the pic that we are taking sun protection very seriously. Hats and sunglasses at all times and sunscreen applications 2x a day. The weather has been top notch, warm - at least 23 - even on cloudy afternoons or mornings. Tauranga region is in a bit of a drought, driest 2 months on record so the general population is praying for rain but nothing yet. We have only been to the beach once so far but the motel does have a outdoor pool that we have all used a few times. Almost nightly Connor puts on his swim togs (getting into the NZ slang!) and his life jacket and jumps into the pool retrieving the mini football we throw for him. Aidan's less of a water kid so generally hangs back more. At the back of the motel there is a lovely kids' play area with a great trampoline that the boys also jump on nightly. Occasionally they can charm me on to the trampoline to play popcorn with them; one of them sits cross legged on the trampoline while I jump up and down, bouncing them all over the place. Yep, a 911 call in the making. Can't play for long though as bladder capacity severely reduced post-children and I don't think they'd forgive me for wee'ing on their heads during the game.

Have the keys to the rental house now. Honestly people, the views are not to be believed. And the flowers around the property are stunning. Our driveway must be 100 ft long totally lined with hydrangea bushes all in flower right now. Awesome. We have to furnish this house, which we are attempting to do as cheaply as possible (no sense investing coin in furniture that we are only keeping 2 years). Fortunately I was raised by a thrifty (not cheap!) Mennonite mommy so I know the value of the local St. Vincent de Paul, Red Cross and Sally Ann store. So far we have collected 2 arm chairs, a couch, and 2 solid wood dressers for the princely sum of $300. All uglier than sin of course but perfectly serviceable. And if I want beauty I need only to look outside. So those of you planning on visiting take note: I am promising rose garden (comes with house) and extremely ugly furnishings. Next up Don is closely monitoring the national buy and sell sight to get us beds, dining room table and chairs, lamps, a few appliances (electric fry pan) and patio set.

Hope you all are enjoying the relative Canadian warmth where ever you are in Canada. No, that is not a jab! And a special shout out to my friend Sharon in Lancombe AB who actually got off her butt and went out to see the flame as it passed thru her town! Good on ya Sharon (more NZ slang for you there).

Love me