Normality strikes

Well, we are now knee-deep in everyday life. I could have said knee-deep in something else, perhaps washing, or something worse, as we're are getting over a nasty gastro or rotavirus. On the bright side, Hosea finally has a tooth to grizzle over.

I can finally add some photos taken by cellphone camera - I still haven't discovered the cable for downloading the camera.

This is the kitchen to our new place - obviously the day we moved in as the cupboards are empty. We are enjoying the place, although after a couple of bad nights with the bug, Hannah confessed that she "liked sleeping at our house in New Zealand better".

The next photos are taken from our second visit to Mt Lofty, on a fresh Winters day. As you can see, the weather was better than complete fog, but the haze has hidden Adelaide from view.

So I took another photo of a better view - Steph and Hannah up at Mt Lofty.

Hannah enjoyed visiting the pigs in Rundle Mall - one animal that doesn't mind being climbed over by preschoolers.

For equality I've attached a couple of pictures of Hosea to prove we did bring him over as well

That is a smile in the picture with the beans. And the other picture is him looking curious at the black thing Daddy was holding in his hand (the cellphone).

My birthday was a different experience. I enjoyed the day at home (well it was a Saturday), and then had a couple of workmates and families over for a BBQ dinner. I would have thought Aussies were better at BBQ etiquette - I was left cooking the meat outside by myself! The church friends who couldn't make it to the dinner came for lunch the next day. We suspect they left the gastro bug behind when they left.

I was given a new boardgame 'Agricola' as a present - somewhat confusing at first as instructions were only an adequate english translation of the German rules. But we finally sorted out the wood from the coal, and enjoyed our three hour long, one hour game.

Work is still challenging and rewarding.

We are starting to plan sights to see around Adelaide, SA, and Australia. Any suggestions?

Settling In

Following requests from family members, I'll try and document the last couple of weeks.



We've now moved into our house. A rental place at 40 Laver Terrace, Felixstow, Adelaide 5070.



It's a nice three bedroom place on fenced flat section about 7.5km from work, and handy to public transport. Hannah likes the bedrooms as one is purple (hers), one blue (Hosea), and ours is Green. They also have full height mirrors on the wardrobes which is a challenge to self confidence every morning. The bonus feature with this house (apart from being cheap) is that the garage has been converted to a rumpus room with bathroom, which will be great for guests.



On other news and happenings, Judy G came over for a week while we were still in our temporary apartment. Unfortunately our belongings took longer than expected to clear so she wasn't able to help us unpack into the new place, although she did get to see the moving truck turn up on the morning that she left. This was a huge highlight for Hannah. Memorable quote was "Are you here to help me move in?" (to the movers). We had to leave as Hannah was trying to give them a hand moving everything.



Steph and Judy enjoyed touring around Adelaide seeing some of the alternative ways home. Hannah and Hosea enjoyed seeing Granny again, and I think Hannah really liked sleeping in the same room as Granny (don't know what Granny thought). The best result was that Hannah ended up keeping Granny close to NZ time - Waking her up early and early to bed. We also met up in Rundle Mall one day which everyone enjoyed, especially as it meant another trip to "the really big toy shop" for Hannah.

The one picture I can post on this blog (I can't upload photos yet), is of the view we saw one morning from Mt Lofty. The view is looking towards the city:

























Can't make the buildings out? That's because we had low cloud that morning so we saw nothing...



Work is going well, below is a picture of my main project, a 17 storey office building in downtown Adelaide. The office environment is nice, and people are really friendly. Had a site visit in Berri on Tuesday - only 250km away. Meant I had a chance to see some South Australian country side. The comparison in NZ would be the Bombay hills and North Waikato, although it just keeps on going and going and going.

I went to my first live 'footy' game last weekend. An architect pulled out of a client function so I was asked. I managed to watch the first quarter and some of the last quarter while talking to clients. Ended up being a close result with the Adelaide Crows (local team) beating the top of the table Geelong Cats. Footy is a surprisingly integral part of Adelaide culture. I'm enjoying it as it's a ball game and I can't watch any other sport (apart from the World Cup). I have to admit though that a dozen pages of the sports section on one sport is a bit OTT for my liking, but you can't have everything.

We'll try and keep the blog updated, so let us know if there is anything you want to know.

Arrival!

Just posting the group email I sent out as a catch up of the first couple of weeks

Just a quick note on how things have been for us since reaching Adelaide.

The flight over went really well. Hannah was happy with the entertainment - mainly looking at books playing with toys. Hosea had a sleep and tried to have a play on the floor but we kept getting told to pick him up which meant Steph was busy most of the time. I managed to watch the good bits of the All Black vs Aust 1996 - famous game for being the last game at Athletic park, played in atrocious conditions, and the All Blacks hammered the Aussies.

Arrived in Adelaide to fine but cool conditions. John (from work) picked us up and pointed us in the general direction of the Apartment. We arrived there to find no one waiting for us. After a quick trip to the phone box (we had no phone) we found out what apartment (out of 6) to move into. The rest of the day was spent settling in and getting some food etc... The next morning everyone was wide awake at 4:30am - 7am NZ time of course. So we had pancakes and then hit the streets for a quick look around - end up on top of a hill looking at sunrise. Coolish day - 6 deg at dawn.

Monday was Queens Birthday - Australia version. We went out to Glenelg beach for lunch along with quite a few others - nice to get out and about.

On the Tuesday I headed into work for a bit as the apartment had no phone or internet to search for properties.

We've had a look through a few properties since then and found two that we really liked the look of, although since then one has disappeared off the market and we suspect we missed out of the other as we've heard nothing.

Bought a car last Friday. For those that care it's a Ford Falcon - 96 GLi EFII sedan in good condition. I was looking for a Holden but Fords are cheaper over here.

Kids (and Adults) are mostly used to the time difference although I'm still getting hungry earlier than normal.

I explained to someone the main difference between Auckland and Adelaide is the labelling. You get mostly the same products (milk bread etc...), except that have different brands. Also left turning traffic gets right of way. Note to NZ government - this works quite well. Lots of right turns banned in city centre and main roads during rush hour - helps free up traffic although you have to think through your route so you only have to go straight or left at major intersections.

Work is going well - working on a 17 storey commercial tower and a couple of smaller hospital jobs at the moment. the office is downtown which is novel coming from Newmarket.

Weather has been cool - lows between 4 and 10, but mostly fine or overcast. We laughed the other day when the forecast was for "A shower or two".

Footy (Aussie rules) is everywhere. Life FM is also a Christian radio station over here, although they also broadcast the local SANFL (South Australia Aussie rules).

We've found a very friendly church - so far two Sundays = two invites out to lunch. Hopefully we can find a place close enough.
more info shortly
Murray, Steph, Hannah & Hosea