News from Nelson - August 2018

Hello again everyone,
And welcome to our family news update.

I don't think anything has calmed down for us since our last update. We are both still too busy. Jan is currently actively looking for another engineering job, which will probably end up being either overseas or outside Nelson. This will mean either an international commute' or a weekly commute: neither of which I am that happy about, but he is not happy where he is, so something has to change.W

Hopefully there will be an update about his next professional move soon... and with luck, it won't take him too far away.

And there is change for me too. After a lot of discussion I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from my PhD. On the last day of the month, I wrote my resignation letter to Griffith. This is a soft-close, however. I will keep working on my confirmation document quietly on my own, then, either in February or in July next year, I will reapply. 

In the meantime I have two other research projects to complete. I will finish both of those, and will not take anything else on. If I have only teaching and my PhD to do, I will re-enrol. If not, I will postpone until that is the case. Well: that's the theory, anyhow!

Jan is heading to Brisbane next month for a few days at a Safety workshop with Worksafe Australia, hosted by Sidney Dekker from Griffith. He is looking forward to catching up with Tania - and possibly Tina, too. I am still trying to decide whether I can go along as well, but I don't know yet if we can get someone to dog-sit... I have an Australia flight that I have cancelled from my PhD confirmation defense which I have to use before February. 

Jan's old school mates from Naenae are all heading off to Fiji for a joint 50th birthday party in July next year. Planning has already started, and Jan is really looking forward to it. I am more conflicted: not because of going with the Hutties (which will be great!) but because we will be putting money into a dictatorship ...which I am unhappy about. However, as Jan points out, at least we can find out from Tina the best places to go!!

Our next-door neighbour, Simon, has nearly got a completed house. It will now be a matter of weeks before his place is finished. 

And further down the valley, the land and house formerly belonging to Suzie and Kevin has been bought by a couple from Murchison - Alan and Adina - who used to run a boarding kennel. They seem very nice, and have horses. It is lovely to walk down the road and have an equine chat over the fence. Finn was freaked out the first time, but is thoroughly enjoying having nose to nose sniffs now.

Jan got part-way through getting his experimental speakers installed... and stalled. If he gets more time by having more leave in a new job, it will be good to get these finished off.

The days are getting noticably longer, with the sun still being up as we are heading home. It has got a lot warmer now, and we have stopped having a fire at night.

We are both in good health, and our immediate families here are in good health.

Hope to catch up with you all soon!


Sam (& Jan)

The One Year Wardrobe Challenge

I am doing a "wear everything in your wardrobe challenge", where you have one year to wear everything in your wardrobe, dresser drawers etc. The idea is that anything that I don't wear, I get rid of. After a year, often if I am not wearing things, I probably won't go back and wear them. Clothes get out of date, out of shape, fade, or get holes, so this regime is helping me find out what is dated, and helping me to take action about them. It also helped me understand what it is that I really wear most often. 

I have given things away, sold items, and donated things to charity. I have made a few small bag drops to the Sallies as I have found things that don't fit, that I don't like wearing, or that I can't mend or repurpose. It has made more room in my wardrobe for more Fluevogs ;-D 

And because we are doing this at the office, it has become really fun. We have had some really cool and off-piste outfits that have really entertained both lecturers and students alike. 

As the year has gone on, I have found it more challenging to wear particular pieces. Most stuff is mix and match, but there are a few things that need a whole outfit designed around them. I had one burgundy shirt in my drawers that I hadn't worn, so worked up a green and burgundy ensemble from all sorts of bits and pieces I have lurking in the wardrobe, and tied that to a pair Fluevog Hopefuls Esperanzas: the grape colour (photo above).

I was wracking my brains for what to wear with a silver lame T-shirt and a gorgeous grey, multi-coloured flower-embroidered jacket (they won't go with each other, and I have no grey vogs), but I found that some Fluevog Hopefuls Rosys, a black velvet bolero jacket and a black patchwork skirt that I have only just realised actually had silvery stripes in it to at long last co-ordinate with the silver t-shirt (photo above too). I like the creativity in having to use everything.

... but that doesn't stop me shopping for vogs, scarves, gloves, tights and earrings :-)


Sam