Out with the old.....

And in with the new!

We have 'new' wheels! Acquired on Janet's birthday, blue and with the perfect badge on the front - sure to be a winner!!!

Unsignposted and without any descriptive narrative or fanfare, this driftwood creation stands beside the highway and begs questions like 'who did the artwork?' and 'what's it there for?' etc. No matter - we took a picture of it anyway.







This house stands beside the State Highway near Taumarunui and every time we drive by, we threaten to take a photograph since it's so dilapidated looking and appears to be about to come crashing down at the first mention of a puff of a breeze. However, one of Jo's colleagues who lives in the area, assures us that the house in question has looked the same 'for ever' and is in fact the most marvellous place for a 'kuier' - Sky TV dish and all! Maybe a lick of paint would in fact spoil the ambience and detract from the character.

On the 'big picture' front - we are still in the process. At the moment we are waiting for our police clearance certificates to arrive from SA. It has been so difficult not to become frustrated and disheartened with the tediousness of it all and the lack of communication issues that those of us who are far away all seem to encounter. After waiting for a full three months and having no response from any form of connection with the police clearance folks, we managed to (through a friend here in NZ) get someone in Pretoria to make inquiries as to the progress of our applications. Evidently, the documentation is in fact done and we are now just organising to have it sent here safely and are hoping that with this last step, Immigration NZ can allocate us a case worker and we can move on to the next phase.

It will no doubt be superfluous to mention that when we finally get PR we will be VERY HAPPY! On the other hand, if we don't ever get the aforementioned PR, perhaps selling everything we own besides a keyboard and a bass guitar and opening a bar on a pacific island somewhere is not such a ludicrous idea after all. Most folks we mention the idea to are very quick to offer to join us and work for board and lodging! Who knows, stranger things have been known to happen!

My grandbaby's Daddy tells me that there will be an announcement as to the gender in the next day or so and that I should nag if they don't send a mail post haste. I know that technology being as ingenious as it is, (actually the computer animator being a genius) has this blogspot come up for the soon-to-be-parents as soon as there is a new post - so here is the new post and with it, the reminder to let the grandma know!

Pink or Blue???

Dis al!