How is..

[Pulsarblu]

WoW! I guess this is common this time of the year.... It makes life more interesting!

[MotherBear]

Quite dramatic, eh? :icon_eek: Lucky we got out when we did, otherwise the flight might not have been able to take off. We had a lot of turbulence after we'd left NZ, so perhaps we'd run into the storms on their way to NI.

Thankful to have had a report from Taffy that our house has stood the test and is still intact after the torrential rain.

[selchie]

[Selchie, yes the UK does have vanity plates (or personalised plates as we call them). Here they are a lot more in evidence as they only cost about $500, whereas in the UK they can cost up to thousands of pounds.

$500?!?! Geez! Not that I want one, but I think they're about $40 here. However there is an annual renewal fee, so after 10 years or so, the cost adds up. Bumper stickers are so much cheaper. They're also known as personalized plates here, but "vanity plate" is so appropriate for CA.

I hadn't realized your visit was only 3 weeks, MB :009: Sad for you, but I'm sure your cats are happy to have you back.

[MotherBear]

Some more dregs from my musings about NZ.

It appears to be a common practice in NZ home laundries to have a Supertub installed alongside the top loader (much more common than front loaders). I had intended to take a photo of ours as an example, but forgot. The bottom half is a cupboard and the top is a deep sink with taps, useful for handwashing or all those mucky little cleaning jobs you don?t want to do in the sink or washbasin. There?s something of the ?50s/?60s about the look of them and, whereas ours probably was put in during that era, they haven?t changed much in appearance since then. They are quite expensive too, around $400/500 for a decent one.

For all DIYers, I can personally recommend Bunnings Warehouse for supplies (in fact, I think, after what we spent in there, we must have shares in the company :icon_eek: ). The Hamilton one is very large, has big signs showing which area deals with electrical, gardening, plumbing etc. and then, at the end of each aisle they have, on blackboards, a list of the type of items to be found there, which saves time fruitlessly walking up and down. Well organised and the staff were very helpful when we had queries. They also have a good range of instructive leaflets for various DIY projects that can be printed off their website as well. I can?t comment on prices, as we didn?t visit any other places to compare.

Out of all the ?famous? NZ meat pies we sampled (says something about our diet :icon_redface: ), we declare Mrs. Mac?s to be the best so far, but that?s only our opinion.

There?s a fast food snack we hadn?t seen before called a pannini. It?s something like a small pitta bread that is stuffed with a variety of fillings and then grilled/toasted to leave charred stripes across it. I didn?t get to taste one (too busy with the pies), but they looked good. Also available in some supermarkets to fill and grill for yourself. Everywhere we went, the bread products were beautifully fresh.

People we got into conversation with seemed to be more open and willing to tell you about themselves. We never got the feeling that we were ?intruding? when asking personal questions. If we asked a general question, they often gave a full and informative answer rather than a curt ?yes? or ?no?.

I was surprised how humid it was, even in Hamilton which is well away from the sea. Even in the middle of summer I found fabrics to feel damp in the early morning and evening and the washing on the line didn?t feel quite dry after being out for hours. Windows had condensation on them in the mornings.

Towels, bedding etc. is called ?Manchester? in NZ, but I can?t explain why.

That's it, until I think of something else :icon_mrgreen: .

[Pulsarblu]

Thanks MotherBear, I remember seeing pannini in the US. I will check since I am here...haha! ::) Talking about humidity, I am suffering in US now...with bone dry throat, eyes and face...not sure if it is due to the cold although weather forecast 60-70% humidity but I never feel it that way...

One of the "activity" I wanted to do in NZ is DIY, why some may say? Well we do not get much opportunity in Singapore since we're staying in government subsidised housing and and modifications of the apartment has to be approved by the housing board, not for nailing and painting and such, only for moderate to major modifications (like making a thruway, adding extra walls and etc). Once approved, it has to be done by qualified personnel, not me.. sigh... :-/ In addition, I do not have a large open area in my apartment in Singapore to do DIY stuff like sawing, cutting planks, drilling and lacquering and etc... So you can see, we are deprived.... I love DIY and so Bunnings Warehouse is a great place for me and I will surely visit them in NZ

People we got into conversation with seemed to be more open and willing to tell you about themselves. We never got the feeling that we were ?intruding? when asking personal questions. If we asked a general question, they often gave a full and informative answer rather than a curt ?yes? or ?no?.

We got the same great experience too while we are there!

[Glenda]

It appears to be a common practice in NZ home laundries to have a Supertub installed alongside the top loader (much more common than front loaders). I had intended to take a photo of ours as an example, but forgot. The bottom half is a cupboard and the top is a deep sink with taps, useful for handwashing or all those mucky little cleaning jobs you don?t want to do in the sink or washbasin. There?s something of the ?50s/?60s about the look of them and, whereas ours probably was put in during that era, they haven?t changed much in appearance since then. They are quite expensive too, around $400/500 for a decent one.

I was surprised how humid it was, even in Hamilton which is well away from the sea. Even in the middle of summer I found fabrics to feel damp in the early morning and evening and the washing on the line didn?t feel quite dry after being out for hours. Windows had condensation on them in the mornings.

Utility Rooms are called Laundry Rooms here ... for the very very few who may be interested, this is our supertub next to the top loader (don't look at the scorch mark on the ironing board ::) ).


The humidity up here has really been heavy the last week or so, and being further north it does not cool down much at nights. Making a hot dinner in the late afternoon means having drops of perspiration on brow. Sitting down on hard surfaces leaves trousers or skirts stuck to legs. The East Coast of both islands have drier weather and less humidity.

:)

[selchie]

The supertub looks nice - much nicer than the utility sinks to which I'm accustomed. Thanks for mentioning the scorch mark, Glenda - I wouldn't have noticed otherwise :icon_lol: .

[MotherBear]

for the very very few who may be interested, this is our supertub next to the top loader

At least they'll now know what it is when confronted with one in any rental or house they may purchase. I hadn't come across them before going to NZ, although I've since seen several in houses in NZ and also previously in pics on property agent sites. I think they are quite widely used.

Thanks for the photo Glenda. Was thinking of asking Taffy to take a pic of our old one.

I've been reading your posts with a great deal of interest, Mother Bear. I'm really glad that you had a great holiday and I wish you a really happy retirement. :icon_biggrin:

Briefly, I stopped posting on here because I thought if I became a Chartered Accountant I wouldn't be able to move to NZ for quite a few years. I now realise that I'd much rather live in NZ on a mediocre wage than live in the UK on a good wage. I'm not going to let consumerism and materialism rule my life.


Tottefan.

YEP!!! Do not let the consumerism and materialism take over! It is very much like Singapore where majority...you know...buy buy buy....

pulsarblu