WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ ETC PART 7 !!

[frikonastick]

Come oooonnnnnn MNHQ, where's our medal

That's so stressful frik. I have everything crossed he will be okay.

Yes, we are very positive about the op being successful. He is in a very good hospital and has an excellent surgeon. So that's the big stuff. The problem is more to do with what happens afterwards. They will apparently keep him in hospital itself for a week and then he has to go to an inpatient rehab type facility. But of course, this is all in a country they dont live in, know no one and at the moment dont even have the correct visas for! They are in Africa, so that also adds a whole host of problems.

Not to mention that last week FIL was made redundant and their residence visas for the country they normally live in are due to expire while they are out of the country. It's a monumental cluster fuck.

Essentially it looks like we will all have to go over, DH to the country his parents are in, me to the country they normally live in and between us try to sort it all out. Thank goodness I have some friends in government so we should be able to pull some strings on the visa front, at least I am hoping so.

What we are most worried about is that FIL will come out of the op, go to rehab and then PILs will find themselves bloody homeless. I think adding emigrating to the uk (they are British) on top of a triple by pass really would be the end of him

frik really feel for you. I hope you manage to sort things for them. Safe journey and take care.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older (so parents/grandparents are getting older or maybe it's as your social circle widens but the list of people with sick relatives at the moment is endless). I for one will be glad when this year is over!

Thanks sibble. It really does seem to have been unreal this year. If I had the energy I might be tempted to buy a bell and a placard! The end is niiiiiighhhh!!

That sounds horribly complicated frik. Can your DH get time off his new job? Was it your PIL's that were planning to move to NZ soon?

Well, he made it through the op! So that's the big hurdle cleared :-)

Yes, DHs company has been very understanding, told DH not to worry make what plans he needs to, take the time he needs to. Which is a relief.

So I am just trying to get flights confirmed for Saturday, which is proving to be bloody difficult. But we shall persevere!

Poor DD is going to miss her birthday party :-( but I will just move it to the first weekend we are back I suppose. We just aren't sure if I am going to be able to come back in two weeks or not. DH will come back for sure. Luckily DD only needs to start at school beginning of next term, so that gives us a bit of leeway.

Argh, so much to do. Not to mention the packing.

Really feeling for you and glad the op went OK. I can't believe the amount of people who travel. I couldn't get booked cattle or business class on the day I wanted to travel. They had filled the empty seats with the wait list. The planes I were on were both completely full, not one empty seat.

Thanks sibble xx

Looks like I have found us tickets for Sunday, 9 thousand dollars later....... Guess it's just as well we didn't buy the boat!

That all sounds like a lot to deal with, frik, hope everything is better soon.

Shit! $9 k?! Well, I'm sure your pil will be overjoyed to see you, it sounds like they could really do with your help xx

Hello dear girls xxx my kids went back to school today after 7 and a half bleedin' weeks off(!) so my first act was to cycle around town revelling in my freedom hurray and my second was to log on and see what my NZ pals have been up to - good grief!! A LOT, in short.

frik - SO sorry about the 'monumental cluster fuck' (have filed that peerless phrase away for regular future use) and so glad your dad-in-law got through the op. Have a smooth journey (let's draw a veil over the 9 grand, shall we? EEK) and I really hope that between you and your DH you can help sort out what sounds like an unbelievably complicated sitch.

AB - delighted for you and will keep my fingers and everything else crossed. The midwife's comment about her German partner rang true actually - I have a dear friend who is German and a doctor here in the UK, and she agrees that her countrymen and women's manner is somewhat drier and more direct than we Brits are used to!! However, no excuse, etc and I am really glad you've been more supported on the phone recently and are hopefully going to get good 'joined-up' care as the phrase goes. everyone else I have lots more of your news to wade through! It's lovely to catch up.

Job-wise, we are at an impasse, it seems - no jobs for Brits at present in metro Perth; DH doesn't really fancy Auckland, fab fab fab thought it looks, because of the housing sitch there and our great set-up here in the UK feels hard to swap for the unknowns of the rental scene over there followed by what sounds like a real uphill slog as far as finding something decent and affordable to buy; and there are no jobs in Tauranga right now! However we are still on the look-out and will see what comes up.

Meanwhile we are hoping to buy a camper van as an interim consolation prize

Lots of love to you all,

Back soon

Camper van sounds like a lovely consolation prize!

Hope that your Fil gets through the op smoothly, Frik.

DD and I are no longer going. To cut a long story short, MIL doesn't want me there. DH goes tomorrow afternoon. I am so tired. Am going to go to ground for a while I think. My hiding place beind the couch is calling me with a siren voice.

Ah, frik that sounds crap. I hope you got the 6k back. Sounds like MIl is being a bit irrational so maybe you are best to stay away.

Is it just me or is it bloody freezing today?

I am busy making plans for my parents to visit. They have a habit of asking me to do lots of research for them, then ignoring all of my advice. Now I'm working I just don't have time. It's reminding me of when they asked me to help them fix their computer over the phone when DD was days old. Sigh. I may need valium wine when they are here.

Frick ...after all your selfless planning, too. Xx

Meerkate you do make me larf!
And you know, I have a perfect solution re Auckland housing prices? This little place I know called Waiheke :)

Thanks AB. You know, I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I proper sobbed in the bathroom last night. I feel so rejected. And you know, SIL wasn't going to go at all, I talked her into it. And I am the one who has done all the planning from this end, mobilised people in three different countries to take care of various things on my behalf, called in favours, gotten people to drive 100s of km to see MIL, etc etc etc. Ah well. What to do?

Families! Keep sane frik.

My sister sent ds1 this card this morning so I hope the link works for you!

www.123greetings.com/send/view/09106913211556404216

You are a very good DIL, Frik. Some people don't see past the end of their own noses. Hope you can get a refund of your tickets.

We're going to be having a quiet weekend, as we've been hit by the temperature bug that seems to have been going around our local school. Bit of a bugger!

There there frick no more crying Are they usually quite mean, or has the stress triggered some out of character ingratiness?!
What were her reasons? X

Lol! I love a good hair stroke

PILs are definitely batshit crazy difficult. But at times of stress are way way more so. I feel terribly disloyal to DH and to PIL even typing that. But you know, I think I am sometimes too accommodating. DH is always very supportive of me, and if I was to have a fight with his parents he would never take their side against mine. Not that that's ever had to happen because he deals with them, not me. But in this instance, he even said, if I was a different person I would have been well within the bounds of normalcy to say, you know actually I didn't think it was a good idea for us to go etc etc. but you know, it never even occurred to me. DH says they have no idea how different things could be and that I am very very generous with them. But you know to me, they are my family too. It's always a shock when you find out other people don't feel the same way about you, as you do about them.

I guess the most important thing is that you and DH are on the same page with is all frik. Do you have a plan for how long he will be away?

Yes, he will be flying back in 2 weeks. I can't wait and it's only been a few hours!

BBQ, hope you all feel better soon

Meerkate, yes! Join AB in waiheke, you can form a small gang I can sew bandanas

Penguin, you could have some fun with that you know...... Oh mom! There's this fantastic navel gazing festival you guys have to check out! And the drive ther is fab, just fab, takes you right past mount ohiwanahakalugieatyortravelplans, can't miss that!.........