We’re celebrating the summer solstice with a winter storm.

Rain and cold wind are buffeting the coast, north of Wellington and it is a good day to be sitting in front of a fire, watching the boys spread out with their lego and listening to Hannah pick away at a new song on her guitar.

Today is the first day of our housesit in Paraparaumu, New Zealand. 

We rolled up last night to meet new friends and within a few hours had been given the primer on the keeping and care of their beautiful beach house and fox terrier, Ramona.

Housesitting is new to us, this is our very first gig. Truth be told, I didn’t think it was something that would work for us: we have too many kids! But, it seems I was wrong! We’re here for a month and we’ve got one lined up in Australia for two months. It’s a lovely way to spend some time going deep instead of wide in a place and “living local,” which we love to do.

We have big plans for the month: Resting. We’re off to a good start.

The boys have their new sets of lego (a surprise sent from the Montalvos, in Alberta) thinly spread across the entire living room carpet. Gabe is toasting himself in front of the fire after a frosty afternoon beach walk with Ramona. Hannah is, alternately, picking away at a new guitar song, and texting her friend in the USA. Ramona is stretched out on the back of the red leather couch. I have a fancy milk-chai that Tony made me with the in house coffee contraption.

We’re going to do a little more than rest, I guess. We’ve also got big plans to hunker down and work while we’re here, making use of an internet connection a bit faster than our usual cell phone hamster wheel variety. Tony has installed himself in a proper office. I finished up my big project for Boots-N-All this morning, and am diving in on a new one on Monday.

Mostly, I plan to cook.

Tony got me The Food Truck Cookbook, a Kiwi specialty that I fell in love with this week at our friend Paula’s house, in Hamilton. I’m going to spend the month roasting a leg of lamb, making butter chicken from scratch and perfecting my paua h’ors d’oeuvres. It’s a treat to have a full kitchen.

Did I mention that there’s a bath tub… AND… and… a hot tub. Murray and Dianne are spoiling us rotten, leaving us in their home!

This month will be full of new adventures!