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Cool (and cold) stuff
We're still unpacking and trying to organise where things go in a house with half the storage. This is complicated by like things not being packed with like, or even things which were on the same desk being packed together. I've found most of my computer gear and eventually the cables, but so far the rest eludes me. And as the study is full of unpacked boxes, there's nowhere to put my desk anyway. So the decluttering continues, and I thought I'd done a good job of that before we left. Now it's extreme ruthlessness time.
The house is lovely and sunny and warm which is a good thing as the pond down the hill is frozen and they're predicting snow! SNOW! Not since I lived in Germany have I seen snow in a town. Not that it'll stay long here by the sea. Greg is nervous that the power might go off so he's laid in lots of firewood. But then, fiddling with the fire has become a favourite pastime. The cats enjoy it too.
Cool things about Oamaru
The house is lovely and sunny and warm which is a good thing as the pond down the hill is frozen and they're predicting snow! SNOW! Not since I lived in Germany have I seen snow in a town. Not that it'll stay long here by the sea. Greg is nervous that the power might go off so he's laid in lots of firewood. But then, fiddling with the fire has become a favourite pastime. The cats enjoy it too.
Cool things about Oamaru
- The local supermarket has baristas and coffee cup holders in the trolleys.
- Excellent cafes and restaurants.
- The local cinema is small, but has four digital screens with leather loungers and sofas - we went to see Dough and were in a room that seated maybe 20. They do 3D too PLUS they have a steampunk Millennium Falcon built of found parts in the foyer. Next time I'm taking my phone to get a photo.
- We were in the hardware store when a friend I've known since high school rushed up to me and hugged me. Was she on holiday here? No, she moved here in April. She'd been living in Dunedin and I hadn't seen her for a few years. SO COOL! We're already planning to do some of our comedy routines at an upcoming concert.
- There's a newcomers' group who meet for coffee at the Opera House, games evenings, book club, and walks in the park below us. Everyone's super-friendly, like everyone else here, and though most come from elsewhere in the country, there are people from the US, Hungary, and Pakistan.
- We went to the monthly games evening last night, taking Rummikub, a favourite Israeli game. The hosts have so many games, they fill four bookcases. I thought we were a bit OTT with about 20 games. My friend came too and it was huge fun with fun people - I'm so going again.
- The medical practice I signed on with has four doctors, two of whom are Americans. The one I saw for a checkup last week turned up at the games evening - small town! The other one I don't know but she's Dr Liberatore. :-D
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Oamaru sounds just lovely :)
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Even if it's not in this house! There's a jumble sale coming up this Saturday and I already took them some nice things I don't have room for, 3 or 4 charity shops, and a second-hand/antiques place.
It's a great town!
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Have the cats accepted their new home?
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The cats are a bit of a problem. The girls like going outside but Sebastian, AKA the black wuss, prefers inside and I've been unable to get rid of the litter tray. When I tried, they used packing paper and a pot plant. Now it's back, all three are using the litter - after pretty much a lifetime of not. Maybe they think this is a long-term cattery with us in it too.
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I'd put the tray outside under cover if I could, but the only place is the front entrance which is no go. The little deck off the downstairs sunroom would be great if it was covered over. It would also make them go partway round the house to get to it which might encourage them to use the big outdoors. They have a lovely big garden to choose from. So right now the tray's in the laundry by the cat door which at least means visitors won't encounter it.
I wouldn't mind covering the little deck though as it would also be useful for drying laundry.
Sebastian does go out but has decided he's mainly an indoor cat. In Auckland I hardly saw him during the day.
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Yeah, I remember the folks at one of the UK conventions I went to (can't remember which one) looking bemusedly at this crazy Australian who went outside on the Sunday morning of the convention to look at the snow which had fallen the night before. The last time I'd seen snow before then was when I was in the aptly-named Snowy Mountains... 8-)
We were in the hardware store when a friend I've known since high school rushed up to me and hugged me. Was she on holiday here? No, she moved here in April.
Wow, that's awesome!
We went to the monthly games evening last night, taking Rummikub, a favourite Israeli game.
Oh, it's been ages since I've played that.
Games nights! Hooray!
Lovely that the place is so friendly.
I'll have to go the ebook route which could get expensive.
Baen Books are pretty good; you can buy directly from them rather than going through a bookseller, and they have lots of different formats and they don't use DRM. And they have Bujold as one of their authors. Lots of win!
If you don't mind completely unknown authors, it might be worth checking out Smashwords too; their ebooks are generally very cheap, but I admit the only author there I could confidently recommend is Kristine Williams, whom I'm familiar with from Sentinel fandom.
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I've been getting cheap or free Kindle books from Amazon, found via Bookbub, but it's a bit hit-and-miss; some are very badly written and obviously never had an editor.
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Re settling in, we just need to get rid of all the boxes and clutter, then start renovating once we have the money from the Auckland sale. The colours are unfortunate: mustard, clashing shades of green, dark brown/purple, indeterminate muddy putty, horrible curtains which go with nothing... We're going to have pale grey walls with white trim and ceiling which will suit the age and style of the house and will go with all our brightly coloured stuff. The kitchen's all in in white because it's small and needs more light, but we're putting in a bright turquoise glass splashback round two sides for some fun colour.
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That's a good idea about sharing, and I should also check out the second-hand bookshops as many offer cheaper prices if you're swapping a book back in. Books, like everything else, are very expensive in this country so libraries and second-hand are very popular.
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Hmmm, if books are very expensive in NZ, some enterprising person could start a paid lending library a la Mudie's in the Victorian era.
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A pity about the library being so short of SF, but you could see what the gaming geeks have on their shelves and arrange to swap?
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The library without any SF is very sad, though. You should maybe sometime try saying very nicely that you were rather shocked to find they had nothing for the whole genre. You can't be the only person in Oamaru who likes SF!
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I have yet to check out the secondhand bookstore. They may be a good source and if they're like others I've used, may offer half price for a swap.
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There's a free Jo Walton book...
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If it snows tomorrow as they predict (not entirely sure I believe it) it'll be the first they've seen.
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All sounds very positive
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