Homeowners!

We did it! We negotiated the banking and legal and whatever bureacracies and we now own a house in New Zealand! It is done without much fanfare, here, no closing meeting where you write the big check--just electronic dealings between some cyberbanks and the solicitor calls and says its yours. This was all happening on Monday during a meeting where clinical students present and discuss cases, and I was trapped in a corner, with my phone buzzing silently in my pocket, as Manford called to tell me various pieces of news: we can't have the colour cabinets I picked out (so today I go again for the colour-choosing debacle), the bank sent the money, we're officially owners, and some other message...we haven't become techy enough to do text messaging, so I just knew he was calling every 15 minutes or so--making me a bit nervous--but it all came out fine, and we got the keys and walked around the house on Monday night, with nothing particular to do. Then, Tuesday, the day of Big Stuff. Manford went early to wait for the delivery, while I took the kids to school and went in to the office for a meeting with a student--then I came by, and ended up cancelling my other meetings, which were non-essential, and staying most of the day, helping to identify objects and figure out where they should go, and pick up Emily (Joseph walked to the house after school). The government inspection guy came at 1:00, having identified 10 boxes from the list that he wanted to check--all our Christmas boxes (looking for pine cones), something the packers labeled a tent, which was really a canopy for Emily's bed, and so not a contamination hazard, and several boxes mysteriously labeled. All the boxes said "Manfrott" on them, and they wondered what that might be (the packing guy thought that was our last name). "Gunnsswanns" turned out to be "glassware." It was the same guy who labeled the boxes and later wrote the list, but apparently he couldn't read his own handwriting. The fellow from whatever agency he was from (biosecurity of some sort) was very nice, and only confiscated one object (a Christmas decoration with some sort of possible seeds on it).

Emily got home and revelled in her toys, and Joseph also seemed quite happy to be sitting on familiar pillows (on the floor...we didn't bring any couches, and right now our family room has a very inviting floor to sit on. Actually, the carpet is quite cushy. maybe we don't need more furniture). Joseph's room works fine if we don't have a dresser. We think maybe he can get by with a small chest/bedside table and his closet.

Our dresser is quite the worse for wear, though. It was gouged in two places, and then I'm not sure what they did to the mirror--dropped it?--and did not break the glass, but broke the frame. They may try to fix it (I'll contact the moving company today), but maybe it will solve the problem of what to do with Joseph's dresser, which is Manford's old dresser, anyway. I did like my dresser, though. Just stuff, though. We are all fine and happy to be settling in.

Stay cool! Spring is coming here, lots of blooming, baby lambs on the way...

By the way, I meant to clarify Emily's post. She did type it herself, at least until the end, when we were in a rush to get off to Meeting. The bird she likes and has seen a bit of is called a Pukeko. It is a chicken-sized blue native bird (I think flightless), and she is quite fond of the idea of it--we haven't really been up close--just seen it on the road.