Shopping 101

We had an amazing weekend - the weather was picture perfect! Saturday was full of the mundane - new tires (or tyres) on the car (I'll be self-controlled and not tell you what those cost), a new haircut for me (which isn't mundane at all - it's a real treat) and various bits of whatnot. Dugald, the girls and I all rode into town together and dropped off the car and had a quick lunch after which he took them to the park and I headed to my hair appointment. They decided to go home as soon as the car was fixed (no surprise there) and I decided to stay in town a bit longer and take the bus home (no surprise there either). 

I was looking for a birthday present since the three oldest girls had been invited to a party on Sunday, I was looking for something to send someone back home, I was looking for Christmas presents and I was browsing, casually, for myself. I have to say that though I used to be a somewhat professional shopper, I've completely gone off of it now. I had a routine in the States, that mostly consisted of shopping online, and I knew where to go for what, what I should pay for birthday presents, what size clothes and shoes we all wear, etc. Now I am lost and every time I need to purchase something it is an ordeal - for several reasons - I don't like to drive into town (you can read previous posts about the parking challenge, hitting the sides of tunnels and being hit by a bus if you want details on why), I REALLY don't like to take the kids with me (getting in and out of the car takes FOR EV ER, they block the entire sidewalk and annoy people, they want to buy different things than I want, they are exuberant, they are darling but they are a lot of work) and I love a bargain and haven't found too many here. I already have a mighty long list for when we get to Florida in 2009, even though I know the exchange rate isn't great and I'll have to pay to get it back here, at least I know where to go. 

All that is not to say my shopping experience was a waste - I did manage a not terribly expensive birthday gift, it was more than I would normally want to spend but I did have three girls going so I was happy to be generous. I didn't find any Christmas gifts, but I got a few ideas. I'm still not even sure who we are buying for at Christmas so I'm jumping the gun a bit on that anyway. I didn't find a thing for me but that's ok, I am still just trying to find a shop where I like and can afford the clothes so I can just go there when I need something. Besides I'm looking for long sleeved shirts and sweaters and now all the summer stuff is out. I wear long sleeves in the summer here, at least at night! Anyhow, my neighbor told me it would probably take a year to sort all these things out, I hope I have it worked out by then, I'm thinking it could be longer. 

Shopping aside, we are feeling more at home here every month. We've made some really nice friends, we are loving our church home, we actually see people we know sometimes when we are out and about, we (ok I) now know how to get around pretty well, it's becoming more and more familiar. I can actually do some conversions in my head now - 350F is 180C, 250 grams of butter is about two sticks, 100K's is about 60 mph, etc. It's all coming together - we even have a lead on a possible house to rent in January that would offer us a lot more room (for all our visitors). We're heading into my favorite season in one of the most beautiful places in the world and I feel privileged to be here, privileged that my children are getting to know their Daddy's home, privileged that so many people have really reached out to us and made us feel welcomed. We are blessed.

I'll post more pictures soon!