Does Auckland Rain More Than Lancaster?

Is the big question at the moment.

However, it doesn't seem to have stopped us doing things outside, we are just a bit tougher than we used to be. And without central heating to come home to, that means a lot tougher!!

So, what have we been up to.

Well, there was a fantastic 'Winter Surfing' weekend in Raglan (on the West Coast of North Island). There I was, naively thinking that that was a contradiction in terms, but there seemed to be plenty of takers. We joined a group of tough folk from Deloitte and took over part of a lovely lodge for the weekend. Will decided to tough it out and try some surfing. It hailed as they put their wetsuits on - nice. But he had lots of fun. I took a nice walk with the girls and then three of us went horse riding on the higher ground. It was exciting for all of us as the wind was coming in at about 60mph. And just as we were returning to the stables we had a driving hail storm (pea sized and moving horizontally at 60mph!)

A good time was had by all!

Will has since taken up surfing lessons on the West coast closer to Auckland. They are going really well so far (but the standing up thing seems to be elusive!)

We have decided to cut our losses with our new house and we are on the move again before they start ripping up the floors and replacing the bathrooms. Having looked at half a dozen cold, dark damp hovels, I finally found a house that I liked. So we signed contracts on that today and Will had a look too. It seems that our landlords are friends of friends (Auckland is such a small place!) and very nice people. So we win all round. We don't have to live in a house that is being renovated and has failed all our expectations, and our new house is stunning and saves us a lot of money! We move next weekend with the help of an army of friends (bribed with beer and pizza!)

This weekend, instead of packing, we are skiing. Or hoping to ski, at least. Apparently, today was the best day of the season to date - and it looked fantastic. It has snowed all week and the pistes are beautiful. The sun was shining and lots of exhaused smiling faces came down the mountain. Unfortunately, as we had to be in Auckland to sign contracts this morning, we missed it. Fingers are tightly crossed for tomorrow (but there is a severe weather warning coming in, so we may only get half a day). But there is still plenty of apres-ski to be had!

Work is going really well for me. I really like my team and the work that I am doing. And I get to facilitate positive change and have an impact on company culture. It's all good.

Will is doing OK, but is sad to be stuck in HR at Fonterra for the next 6 months or so. But he's grinning and bearing it.

We're both regular gym bunnies - having been seen there for the 610am class more than once (more than once a week, sometimes!!)

Sorry it's been so long. It is Winter!!

Kx