Maija Puddle.com

We’ve finally arrived after the usual traveling adventures of delayed flights, nights in hotel spas, discarding 1000 euros worth of overweight, being told we needed visas when we do not and finally a sleepy zombie walk around Hong Kong. It wasn’t as traumatic as I’m building it up really, I think our traveling went excellently and didn’t seem half as long as I thought it would.

Here we are in sunny New Zealand! Such a welcome break from the cold and dark. So far we’ve spent brief spouts of mere hours outside at a time because the sun is burning hot. It is beautiful though. We are staying at the Puddles/Whites in the countryside just outside of Hamilton. Our backyard backs onto fields and rolling hills, with bigger hills lining the distant view. And sheep everywhere! It thought Jonathan was exaggerating when he said that there would be lots of sheep. They “baa” all the time in what seems like a horrible out of tune chorus. I think you end up tuning them out…. actually they are a lot quieter now. The sheep were being sheared for two days and I think they were letting on how much they didn’t like it.

I’ve loved meeting lots of Jonathan’s family and friends, everyone is so easy going and relaxed out here. And his cousins are such dolls. Such a great life…. perhaps I’ll venture into the pool today. It feels so funny being in a pool with sheep just outside the fence. Its hiliarious actually.