Moving to the country....

This may have been the easiest move on record for me. Traveler did nearly all the packing and moving while I was away at fiddle camp. I'll have to stop telling the tale about the move from Salem to Jay Street that I did nearly by myself now.

Then when I returned from camp sick as a dog, he finished the move and final clean up for me as well. Best yet I did not have to go back to the old flat and see it all empty and devoid of us. As excited as I am about our new flat, it will be awhile before it feels like our space. It comes with some furnishings, which is wonderful, but also means that its not the normal completely blank slate with white walls that I am used to in America. White walls I hear are a very rare thing in New Zealand.

A week before hand, some friends and I walked through a local park and took this photo of our flat... I looked at the digital image through out fiddle camp to try to get my head around the fact that I really truly was moving.
I am having a hard time with change at the moment. I think my sense of identy is a bit lost with all the medical things going on, being in a new country for so long now, having a job that is so far removed from direct hands on teaching/clinical work.... Don't get me wrong I love it here, and I am learning lots and growing a bunch too -- but its not the easiest phase of my life as I get it all sorted. I am needed to do lots of self talk and visualization to get myself to believe basic things like 'shannon you are leaving flat A and moving to cottage B next week.' Perhaps some video social stories are in order:)

Once we moved in, it all becomes easier. I mean with a view like this off your deck, its hard to struggle too much!
The walk home from the bus is a highlight as well. Traveler jokes that I now ride the short bus. I only allow this because I have been riding the 'short' bus with wonderful kids for many many years. I love my short bus as it slowly winds it way up past the harbour views and to the end of our narrow winding road to our new rental.


I am thinking that a portable barbque is in order now that we have a deck. Winter and its rains have arrived, but that might mean that I can get a good deal on this 'suitcase' griller!

Flying send off

The last days I was in our flat I was preparing to leave for fiddle camp.

Traveler was playing with his new toy - a remote control helicopter, or as a younger person in my life called it, 'a baby helicopter.'


It was great fun to try to control and even greater fun watching other people being kids in body and heart as they attempted to make it fly. Anything in the helicopter as it flew in circles would be violently ill -- until they crashed. This was very much a crashing experience --- it has already been under Traveler's sodering iron several times, and now needs more intensive surgery.




It is also nice that our old flat was captured in the background before it was dismantled into boxes.

The days before our move

The days before a move are field with emotion for me. I often do not look forward to leaving the place I have come to call home. This move was particularly heart breaking for me - as much as living in a one room flat over a garage is not a permanent solution of choice for me.

But I had some distractions...

We went to sorching bay with friends to enjoy leaping in waves, leaping in the air, fox and the hound games of tag, tossing a frisbee this way and that with all different hand holds, and climbing on the climbing frame.





I also saw a hot air balloon alight on the way down the hill from the flat.
And we made a pecan pie to bring over to dinner to our new land lord's house. We are still perfecting the corn syrup free pecan pie. It will take awhile as it was nearly $40 to buy the pecans for 3 pies!