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Settled at Le Castel for over a month now, it feels like home in many ways. When you can drive to the village without getting lost, do the recycling, buy groceries and cook a meal these activities become routine and meaningful and signify a sense of belonging and a feeling of this being home . There are however things which I think about from time to time and do miss.
I thought I might share a few of these with you, the dedicated "followers , and observers of the blog.

I miss our nice soft bed ! Oh how I miss this . We have slept on so many different mattresses: lumpy, rock hard, divided ( 2 singles zipped together) and super king, where you just about need an intercom to talk to each other and there is a wind tunnel down the middle! ( thats Mark-tee he!)

I miss the stereo and some different music rather than the Spice Girls, Robbie Williams and Ertha Kit( sorry Jon we need to change the Ipod over to ours). Techno sounds would be great to dance to and I'd even listen to Marks heavy metal music at this point in time .

I don't miss my hair straighteners as I have them with me and we have adapters for every country - so far ! Cant wait to see my beauty therapist and hairdresser though.

I miss Wednesday family night when my children and boyfriends come for dinner .......or..... don't turn up , at least we then have left overs for the next few days ! To see their smilie happy faces and hear about how the week is going , how little money they have, their unpaid fines and the latest layby or trade me purchase .

I miss my neighbours/ friends who wave out to me when driving past , put out and or bring in our wheelie bin, listen to my life stories , and visit for a glass of wine , or two or three....

I miss my Dad ringing up to ask me to enter a competition on line for him and put several entries in under not only his name , mine and now Marks ( you are really part of the family now Mark) . We always negotiate a cut of the prize money should he win.

I miss seeing my Mum walking very sprightly down Featherston street . I wave out to her and I'm uncertain if she has seen me yet she usually waves back . I miss her croaky voice on the telephone when I ring which clears quickly after a few words when she is sharing something she is looking forward to . I miss her telling me about the 'other men' in her life and how many men she has showered this week :)

I miss female company, my girlfriends and sisters, their phone calls, text messages and visits. I am surrounded by men who use so many less words to say the same thing ( how can they be so concise - boring ! ) , who have a pragmatic view on life, don't like shopping ( although Jon likes to shop a little- we have gone fabric shopping , to choose material for me to sew table runners and napkins. ) and who don't always see the humour in my male jokes . However there are some things we have in common - we all enjoy watching "Come Dine with Me", "Master Chef" and Jon and I enjoy "Coronation Street" .

I miss work ...a little.....................well actually .....not alot if I'm honest ! Discussions about ACC contracts , changes in pricing for services , new ways to deliver the same services which are more cost effective and delivered in a more timely manner. Value for money and limited vendor models.......oh how I miss this ....NOT ! However we all derive some meaning from expressing our dissatisfaction about something so at present you could say that my life is "less meaningful" as I do not have alot to complain about.

My brain feels slightly under utilised not having the professional intellectual stimulation which I do miss along with working alongside my colleagues and clients, and the challenge of supervision sessions. I am missing Wednesday psychology clinic visits . The smiling faces, and lively discussions and the sharing of food and thought at lunch times.

Due to technology my communication with my brother and sisters has been more frequent . We email, or Skype ( video or phone calls) , and they follow with interest the blog as do friends..... and the Green Lip Muscle God, whoever he is! Travel and new life experiences add another dimension to relationships and being away it appears that we all make so much more of an effort to keep in touch . Thank you .xx