From Hamilton ... to Blenheim ...

As you will have seen from my previous post we are now living in Blenheim. How did this happen?

Very good question!!!  Two days before Jan and I left to go to Scrapfest last year I was given notice from my job at Paperzone in Hamilton.  I was not surprised when it came as I had a feeling that 2013 was going to be a year of changes but I certainly did not expect what was coming next.  Anyway, I am racing ahead a little.  

The following day I was vacuuming the floor at the shop, as I often did, when I found a white feather near the front door.  Nothing unusual in that you might say, but it was the first time I had ever seen one there and white feathers have some significance for Jan and I.  I went home and told her I thought it was a sign and that all would be okay.  

We were determined not to let the news spoil our trip to Scrapfest as we had been looking forward to it for so long.  We had an interesting road trip south to Nelson, plenty of time to talk about what our options were, mull over some ideas, but generally just enjoy the scenery.  

Mount Ruapehu

We were about two and a half hours into our trip when all of a sudden the car radio came on - by itself.  Jan was driving and I was just gazing out the window at the scenery - I thought her mobile phone was ringing only it wasn't, and the radio had been switched off before we left Hamilton, so it was definitely a little spooky.  We both looked at each other and said "Ann".  Ann was Jan's close friend who had just passed away and we were imagining her playing little tricks on us as we traveled.  The words of the song that was playing were along the lines of "this is not where you are meant to be" - it is a song I had never heard before nor since - another sign perhaps.  

That was not the end of the 'spooky' events however as when we entered the Marlborough Sounds a man tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out the most beautiful rainbow - both ends were in the sea.  When I turned to talk to the man he had disappeared - it was a big deck and I had not turned away from him for very long so I am left wondering if he was ever there.  For me, rainbows are definitely a sign - usually of something good - maybe this was where we were meant to be.  

Our 'welcome' to the South Island

Anyway, Scrapfest was fantastic - superbly organised, fabulous venue at Monaco Resort, and we are still buzzing almost six months later.   We learnt a lot, met some fabulous people and I remember having a conversation with one of the organisers and telling her that I had been feeling that Scrapfest was going to be a turning point for Jan and I and that was why it was so important that we be there.  Boy, I was not wrong.

Monaco Resort, Nelson

We had been hassled by one of the attendees, Beth (nicely of course), about coming from the North Island and she told us that we needed to have a passport to go to the South Island so we had made up pretend passports ready to be stamped.  Unfortunately Beth forgot to bring her stamp so she suggested she take our passports, stamp them and post them to us.  We agreed but later got a text from her inviting us to stop off in Blenheim for coffee, which we did - at the lovely Raupo Cafe.  We had a really enjoyable time and thought Blenheim was a lovely place.

Raupo Cafe, Blenheim

Our road trip home was uneventful and the following day I took Jan to Auckland so she could fly down and spend time with Michael, Anna and Ellie.  I spent the time at home catching up with a few jobs and then it was time to go and pick Jan up from Auckland.  When she went back to work there was a letter on her desk advising her that the company was going to restructure and seven people were going to lose their jobs.  Funnily enough this didn't faze either of us.  We just knew she was going to be one of them and we set about thinking what our next move was.  The process for choosing who would stay and who would go was put in place and, after what seemed an eternity, she received notice that she too was being made redundant.  A quick trip to the bank and the decision was made to put the house on the market and move to Blenheim.  The house sold with three weeks and then we had to quickly find somewhere to live.  If ever there was a sign that something was meant to be - this was it.

 

Borman Road, Hamilton

Another road trip and we had secured a new home and then back to Hamilton to pack up all our worldly goods.  

Weld Street, Blenheim

Oh my, it all happened so fast.  A month later and the entire contents of our house had been packed into a truck, the two cats and ourselves were packed into the car, and we were all on our way to a new life, in a new town, in a new island, doing goodness knows what.  But watch this space ...