We're here...

After lots of organising, a fair amount of chaos and a few delayed flights we finally arrived in Portland. Tomorrow we will have been here a week! Hard to believe. It's a funny time - in many ways exciting, but at times quite daunting and disorientating. However, our little (well actually quite large) apartment is perfect. And we are slowly making it more 'us' and homely with various bits and bobs. We have the most wonderful views out across the Northwest and all the lovely houses and trees. And can even see Mts Hood and St Helens. R is super duper busy at work, and Turtle & Mu have started school and are full of excitment and news each day when I collect them.

It is still very much summer here - which means the boys and I have made several trips to Cool Moon Icecreams and Jamieson Square. Hard to believe it will soon be winter...

One more day to go....

We are now staying in a hotel, the packers are here, all the utilities will soon be switched off, our dear little cat left for her new home last Friday, we've had our farewells and just about said all our goodbyes and tomorrow night we fly out to start our family adventure.

Role models & déjà vu...

An intriguing discussion took place in the back seat this morning. It started off on role models, and who was who's, then took a abrupt turn and was all about déjà vu, before moving on to nightmares versus bad dreams. It certainly made enlightening listening! How was your weekend? In between lots of pottering about we managed to bake cookies, go for a long walk in the gardens, and have our fortunes told again (and again!?!) on Turtle's new and improved fortune telling wheel (see below).

Fortune telling & an iceberg...

We have an iceberg in our harbour. It was placed (sneakily at midnight one night) by a group wanting to raise awareness of environmental issues. It's rather cool (no pun intended), and today people were swimming out and climbing on it. Mu was quite taken by this idea :) Yesterday, Turtle came home with a 'fortune teller'. You choose a number and viola he'll tell you your fortune. My fortune? Apparently I'll fall off a cliff!?! I tried again and was told "you'll be forced to work in a Chinese factory"!?! Hmmm...

Goodness...

What a start to the day. As a rule, if you need to be somewhere say by 9am and it takes 15 minutes to drive there, well it goes without saying that leaving home at 9am means you're going to be late. I'm ashamed to admit that today the 'somewhere' was school and yes we were very late! And the whole fashionably late concept just doesn't quite fit does it?

The lovely Lucy...

An email arrived last month from the lovely Lucy. A small, blonde (and superbly stylish) ray of calm in our lives, Lucy helped care for Turtle & Mu for almost two years. Without her the wheels would have fallen off many a time, and we will be forever grateful for having her with us through some fairly distressing times. Now based in Melbourne, she has just come back from southeast Asia where she spent time in Cambodia and Thailand, and travelled most of Vietnam on a motor bike. Some of her pics are below.

Can we go back?

We've just had the most relaxing weekend away. We really didn't want to leave - in fact it's a bit hard being home...

A weekend away...

Hooray we are in the Bay! Hawkes Bay to be exact, Waimarama Beach to be even more precise. It was a long, but fun (and scenic drive up). At one point R asked the boys a question and Mu said "sorry Daddy that service isn't available" !?!? We stopped in Havelock North for a speedy and super yummy meal at Pipi's Cafe. Then on to the amazing beach house, where we toasted marshmallows over the fire and watched the moon rise over the sea. R (as usual) was photographing left, right and centre. Finally in exasperation Turtle told him he would "con-fisk-ca-cate" the camera if he didn't stop. Tomorrow it's off to the farmer's market, and then a general pottering-about-relaxing day.

Some amazing talents...

Turtle announced at dinner last night that he had "some amazing talents". When asked what these were he said "like y'know I know heaps about computers, and art..." So cute and so inspiring. At all of his 9 and a half years he's dreaming of one day working for Apple Computers, and no doubt he will. If there is one thing I want to teach my children it's that anything is possible. As my Granny said to me once (when I was dreaming of being an olympic gymnast) "there's no such word as can't". This clip via Smarty pretty much sums things up.

The Flight of the Green Eraser....

Phew! What a few days - Monday started with a bang. Turtle and Mu had to be at school bright and early (!?!) as they had a morning 'news broadcasting' at Capital E. I've started sorting through my study cupboards, and in the process taking a trip down memory lane going through all the boys old drawings. I just couldn't bear to get rid of any they are all so cool. We have more people viewing the house tomorrow, the boys have their Spanish homework to do, and we are still desperately trying to find somewhere to live in Portland. The days are disappearing - fast! Although, we are managing to sneak away to the Bay this coming weekend for some much needed RnR - hooray.

Two boys & a MacBook...

Turtle (and Mu) gave me their version of a 'tutorial' on iMovie, and Photo Booth this morning. And in the process showed me their 'portfolio' of work - very, very creative and entertaining. Turtle definitely has the makings of a teacher - albeit a rather bossy one - or a comedian! Off on une promenade de famille - have a great weekend!

I'm feeling very much like I need to...

Nothing a good cup of tea won't fix. What is it about tea that is so restorative? We've a lot on over the the coming days. On the good news front my dear friend C is back in town - nothing like good friends to help you see things in a more cheery light. Must rush we have the first lot of people viewing our house today, Mu's glasses need to be dropped off and it feels like there's about 400 other things...

Image from the Keep Calm Gallery.

Cute & crafty...

Thank goodness that my boys are into many things that are cute and crafty - especially Turtle. Yes probably a product of my mothering but it does mean that I have an attentive audience to share some super cute finds with. I'm delighted to hear that Asher Jasper's Etsy store is back in action. These sweet little balls of cuteness are needle felted from wool.

And I'm quite smitten by the range of cute little stamps over on The Small Object. It's just a matter of working out which ones you want.....

Books, books, books....

In Auckland today sorting out visas. I had a great flight up. Well it was great once I was actually on the plane - nothing like being paged and last on. The North Island looked spectacular and I had great views across Mounts Ruapheu and Tongariro. I just love watching the world from high above. All the little valleys with clumps of trees and rivers snaking their way through the landscape. Then as you start to descend you see into backyards, factories and so on. It always reminds me of Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day. Tidying out the boys rooms over the weekend and we rediscovered all our old story books, some which were my grandparents. Among our favourites include:

How the Little Grey Rabbit Got her Tail back - Alison Uttley.

The Story of Ferdinand - Munro Leaf.

One Bear at Bedtime - Mick Inkpen.

Father Christmas goes on Holiday - Raymond Biggs.

Badjelly the Witch - Spike Milligan.

The Tiger who Came to Tea - Judith Kerr.

Flower Fairies of the Garden - Cicely Mary Barker. (Ok so Turtle & Mu don't rate this - but I was into fairies big time as a child).

A busy few days ahead - Hooray R is back in NZ after a very looong three weeks away. Looking forward to seeing Turtle & Mu this evening!

A crafty day...

Turtle, Mu and me pottered along to Craft 2.0 at the New Dowse this morning. It was full of interesting bits and bobs - it's so inspiring to see so many talented people in one place. Turtle came home with an epilog from minu - the cutest creature ever!

And Mu is the proud owner of a toastie plushie from Bad Animals.

Me? Well OK I managed to bring home a sweet owl journal, some dear little magnets and linen covered push pins. After a good look around the exhibitions, it was home to tackle Mu's bedroom. I'm pleased to report that we are 90% done with orderly piles of things to pack, store, sell or gift. Tomorrow we start on Turtle's room.....

Phew! What a few days...

This week seems to have been becoming more manic as it progresses. I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with my head chopped off. As crazy as the days have felt there's been the odd calm patch. Driving to school this morning was one. OK as we were running extremely late it wasn't that calm, but I still managed to have an intriguing conversation with Turtle & Mu about bad journalism and sensational headlines. This is what comes from their learning about advertising 'tricks' at school. Believe me this is the least of my worries, earlier in the week Turtle asked what the difference was between manslaughter and murder was. I'm reasonably certain he's not got his eye on the cat or his brother. At least I haven't been asked to explain the intricacies of the economy and exchange rates again! Possibly my attempt to explain it last time befuddled them to the point of being too scared to ask again. Well a busy weekend ahead, off to visit Oma, attend Craft 2.0, and make an initial attempt at sorting out Turtle and Mu's rooms. Oh and I know I promised something on books - will try and get that up in the coming days.

Image from Flickr.

Our Oma...

Today Turtle & Mu's Oma is having a major operation. We are all hoping and praying that it goes well. Things like this make you reflect on life, it's meaning and what is truly important. On that note I love this quote from Pablo Casals -

....Sometimes I look about me with a feeling of complete dismay. In the confusion that conflicts the world today, I see a disrespect for the very values of life. Beauty is all around us, but how many are blind to it! They look at the wonder of this earth and seem to see nothing. Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them: do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. And look at your body - what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must cherish one another. You must work - we all must work - to make this world worthy of its children.

The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him. Pablo Casals

Popcorn & penguins

As a special end of school hols treat we had bowls of popcorn whilst we watched The Penguins of Madagascar,(and here's the important part) it was right before dinner! I know we're really living life on the edge. Intriguingly Mu's holiday highlight was a trip to the supermarket as "we got lots of treats". Turtle's highlights? Apparently there were too many to mention.

A sunshiny Sunday

Another day of sunshine. So clear and blue. Turtle, Mu and I wandered down to the City Market and the weekend farmers market. Filled up on yummy samples of things and then wandered home in the sunshine. It got so hot Mu even removed his hat for a while - wonders never cease! Just pondering rental options for our first few months in Portland - it's so hard to know. Do we get two cars and live out of town, or do we do the inner city thing? Today has reminded me of how lucky we are to be so close to a city, and to have such an easy and scenic route there. Well it's time to make popcorn, and school starts tomorrow so we have to be up early - ugh! Oh and I really need to start packing soon....

Saturday, a day of...

Blue skies, cupcakes, computer manuals (!?!) and traffic light jelly. Our traffic light jellies were a success (unlike our pancakes), and the sun shone brightly all day. The lovely Kate arrived last night with the yummiest cupcakes, and all so sweetly decorated. This afternoon Mu discovered the computer operating systems section of the library and was overcome with delight. Ten manuals covering everything from Google, to Leopard OS X were lugged home by the boys. As you can imagine this evening is very quiet with all that reading going on. Tomorrow we start, albeit tentatively, packing some boxes.....