Good Luck!! xx

I wonder if these potential employers have any idea what they put job candidates through. All the waiting and worrying when there's so much at stake and you're trying to get your new life on track.

Lou and Beth, I really hope something breaks for you both very soon. It's about time these employers got their fingers out.

I'm affraid you will have to get used to the waiting- the Kiwis don't rush for anything- infact Neil has only just heard today that he has an interview for a job he applied for over a month ago.

Good Luck anyway Lou and I hope you get some news very soon.

Sending all the positive vibes I can. Hope you hear soon - as if you haven't got enough on your plate !!!

Glad your first 6 months have turned out so well. The scenery sounds amazing - we can't wait. Sounds as if your daughter will have a hard time saying goodbye next week. Maybe a good chic flik and lots of chocolate ice cream will help?

Thanks Mb and Beth
Nicoles boyfriend is enjoying it,even talking about trying to come back in january.
Actually im going to be quite sad to see him go as well. Hes a really nice and well mannered guy.
Its been great for her as she has been to all the malls and walks along beach etc
Hes treated her to a few subways and pizza huts and even took her to a wee restuarant on Sumner beach.
The weather hasnt fazed them at all.
At least the laptop hasnt been on since he came
He goes back on wednesday and i am dreading it,but hes talking about getting a job at weekends to save money to come back,and ive told her she can do likewise.
We will just have to wait and see how things go, i suppose

Eileen x

A lovely read meadow- glad eveything is working out well for you and that you are all feeling settled.

Visiting the Middle East and living here are quite different experiences . The culture, scenery and the (almost) consistently ‘good’ weather is a draw to many who visit and stay in hotels. These people get the benefits of seeing the country and its attractions, but they are protected from the realities of life here. In a hotel, you don’t constantly battle with the sand and dust that covers everything in the home, inside and out, on a daily basis, even food in cupboards . It’s particularly bad here at the moment because of the vast amount of construction work going on throughout the area. The wind can be pretty strong during the heat of the day and whips up the loose soil and sand, carrying it along until it is blasted in through our badly fitting windows and doors.

In the built-up areas we don’t have many proper sand and dust storms, although it’s bad enough having the wind blow stuff around as it gets in your eyes and mouth . We have seen 2 kinds of sandstorm in other places. One was very painful because sand was blasted against all exposed skin areas and felt like thousands of needles. This was in open desert where the sand and wind could blow unhindered. The other type we also get here on occasions and it takes the form of mist or fog where the sun is almost shut out and the mountains disappear. After a while, we find everything covered in fine orange or yellow sand-dust which has dropped out of the air. It’s a bit perturbing to think that we are breathing in this dust-laden air.

Summer is a time of very high humidity . I’m hanging out washing and continually mopping my face as salty perspiration runs into my eyes, stinging and blinding me. I can’t see what I’m doing and my clothing is soaked. I sweep the stairs (3 storeys) from the roof down and again find myself soaked to the skin (our a/c isn’t very efficient). No wonder most women have maids. If I lie out on a sunbed (usually in the shade at this time of year) I have to keep blinking to clear the moisture from my eyes so I can see to read my book. I swear my eyeballs sweat, but then perhaps it’s just me . I can stand outside for 5 mins., not moving a muscle, and I can see my skin glistening, then dripping with condensation and my clothing darkens with moisture soaking through from my body.

With the relentless heat our external doors are drying out and warping. Locking and unlocking them has always been a problem in this house due to shoddy workmanship, but now, with the warping, we often struggle to get in or out and the door knob on the front door is coming loose with having to pull hard on it. Soon we will be totally knobless and it will be a battle with the landlady to get it fixed as she has always maintained that we use the house therefore we should pay to maintain it. Odd that this is the first time in all our years in the Middle East where we’ve come across this attitude and funny how our standard-form lease clearly states on the back that it’s the landlord’s responsibility to maintain the place . If we break or damage anything due to our own fault we always replace or repair it, but not when there’s been an existing problem with an item – and this house is full of existing problems .

Brilliant blog, Meadow. So good to hear your thoughts about your new life, especially when you're still relatively new to NZ. How is the boyfriend's holiday working out so far?

Have you heard about colony collapse disorder , Selchie? I was just reading about it in our local magazine and brought it up on Google. Seems like it was big news last year, but is still ongoing. The worry is that there eventually won't be enough bees to pollinate all the fruit trees and bushes.

That's what we are hoping - if things can just stay ticking along for another couple of months then we will be home and dry.

I'd get out quick, Nicky. Don't wait for anything else to go wrong.

Let's hope you've turned the corner and left your bad luck behind you now.

Good luck, Gina. Bet you can't wait to relax on the plane and have a break for a few hours. Well done on selling all your furniture - one thing less to worry about. Did you find it therapeutic, having a good clear out?

Here's to a comfortable flight downunder and a great start to your new life.

I like your idea Selchie, I've even weighed my shoes so that I'm wearinng the heaviest ones onto the plane, we're carrying on all our winter coats and as many kids books as we can get away with....I've read the airlines guidelines on their carry-in luggage and am taking full advantage, or as my hubby likes to say we're taking the p*ss and will see if we can get away with it.

Fascinating stuff

This bee-keeping is a lot more full on than I would have guessed, keeps you on your toes eh selchie

You already sound like such a pro, I love hearing your stories about it all

Here's hoping they continue to thrive!

Oh, and Bon Voyage!

You could avoid the baggage excess by wearing more clothes onto the plane. Wear some of the heavier things, like coats. Then pull out an empty duffel bag from your carry on, and put the excess clothes into it. ...Well, I like this idea.

And lets hope the good luck period is nice and long and bountiful.

I had also forgotten that the queens only take 16 days, not 21 to mature. More need to act fast.

I've got a holiday let booked for our first 8-10 weeks, it's a 3 bed bungalow which just down the road from my parents house and is really near the bay. I'm planning on finding a rental house during that time, but these seem to be few and far between in the little village where we're going to be. We've got no jobs to go to, our plan is to spend about 6 months in Waipu (about 2 hours north of Auckland) near my family, getting to know them again after spending 10 years away, and then we'll move to wherever my hubby gets a job, hopefully no more than 3 hours drive away.

We've had loads of little going away parties, just had lunch with my sister-in-law today cos she's flying out to the Canaries for 2 weeks holiday and won't be here when we fly out. Have got a whole pile of rellies seeing us off at the airport too. But also have got all my rellies meeting us at Auckland airport.

OMG it's 6 sleeps to go....argghh