A New Year and a New Start

So here we are in our new home (we have been here just over a month now) looking out at the view of the city with approximately two tall buildings remaining. That's counting only the ones that go past the horizon. There are a few medium ones, as well. And a lot of cranes. At least we are getting to the stage where some of the cranes are putting buildings up instead of tearing them down. (I zoomed in to take the photo above, otherwise the buildings would be just dots in the centre of the photo).

Leaving our previous house of twenty nine years was a long story. I didn't really want to. After all EQC (the government earthquake insurance organisation which covers the first $100,000 of damage) and/or our insurance company were going to fix it for us, eventually. And yes, when they did, we would have to find somewhere temporary to live for several months. So we would have to move twice - everything would have to be moved out for repairs, then moved back in. Shifting here was a huge effort, but it only had to be done once. And while there are things I miss - like being able to walk about two blocks to the shop if we ran out of milk or eggs - I am enjoying the change of scenery, and the beautiful garden,far more than I expected. Perhaps it is really true that "a change is as good as a holiday".

Of course, we still have about a million boxes left to unpack...

Still, the kitchen is sorted, my little sewing room/office is sorted, more or less, and I finally feel ready to move on and have a year that isn't just about sorting out housing issues. (We looked at seventy houses in our search).

Happy New Year to everyone. Dare I say I hope to blog here more regularly this year? It seems very appropriate that this is my one thousandth post.