And finally getting more settled in

Our house backs onto this park. It's huge, contains a cricket field, and reminds me of the huge field we live next to in St. John's. This is right before Mathieu threw the nest into the creek - he didn't seem to know what to make of it.

Gettin' 'er done
It's only been 1 week, but we got most of the final stuff done to be fully settled: we bought a car (2006 Toyota Corolla hatchback with ~ 100K). Our car is a Japanese import (this is a very common thing in New Zealand) and when we start it it says something loudly in Japanese. It took me a while to notice, but every time it does this, Nico proudly says 'my car talks!'  We also moved into our house.  Here are some outdoor pics of our house.

 Facing King St. Small deck with large driveway and rocky play area in front. Toyota Corolla is on left!

         Facing the back. We have a garage and a yard shed. 99% of laundry gets hung up to dry here.

                 From behind garage facing the large field (Ben Cooper Park). Lots of room to play!

Trademe
We also needed stuff for the house - a lot of stuff. We borrowed many things from my parents, including bikes, and I can't imagine how hard it is sabbatical-ing in a place without strong local support. Or maybe you just have to rent a furnished house.

To buy some used stuff we used TradeMe, which is New Zealand's answer to Kijiji. TradeMe is an auction site. On TradeMe, if you are not willing to pay the 'Buy Now' price, then you can bid from a 'Starting Price'. I found a couch that I liked and bid the starting price. On the day the auction was scheduled to close no one else had bid and I was happy with my 'purchase'. I started to imagine where to put 'our new couch' in our new house. One minute before the auction was to close, while I was cooking dinner, I got an email saying that someone had bid on 'my couch'. I got into a bidding war and ended up backing down. We got a different couch later. Just for my own interest, I'm going to try and catalog what we've acquired, where we got it and how much it cost.

3 seater couch $200 (TradeMe)
Large Ottoman $25 (TradeMe)
Rug $40? (The Warehouse)
TV $150? (Cash Converters)
TV cabinet $0 (Mum & Dad)
Dinner table $30 (ReStore Stoke)
2 dining chairs $10 (ReStore Stoke)
2 dining chairs $20 (Facebook Marketplace, one is a beautiful pink velvet, that is Shawn's chair as designated by Mathieu)
2 dining chairs $10 (Red Cross Store Richmond)
1 barstool $25 (Facebook marketplace)
Microwave $100 (The Warehouse)
Office chair $40 (Facebook marketplace)
Office chair $25 (ReStore Stoke)
Desk $0 (Facebook marketplace)
Desk $25 (Graham's trading post)
Monitor $80? (Cash Converters)
TV I'm using as a monitor $0 (Mum & Dad)
Queen bed and bedside tables (Mum's friend)
2 x single beds for kids $110 (Facebook marketplace)
1 moka pot $10 (used store in Richmond, I melted off the handle, but my Dad has crafted a lovely new wooden one).
Futon $50 (Marketplace - questionable purchase, I will likely toss it which is not free in these parts. I also acquired 2 other free couches that I will likely toss).

My favorite acquisition is our stunning fruit bowl inherited from my late grandparents. It's brilliant.

Yogurt
I have failed at making two batches of EasiYo. Basically, you buy a bag of powder that you add water to and place it in a hot water bath. The name makes it sound like it should be easier. Shawn says I have wasted $7.50 and should not be in charge of yogurt anymore. Then, I (Shawn speaking now!) tried and messed up my first batch! Thankfully we have it figured out now!