I began a Pottery class this week. Gore High school runs Community Education classes in the evenings and Thursday evenings from 7-9pm I will go and become "one" with clay. Our first lesson was nice. I made 2 pinch pots by hand. They are not too shabby. Both Abby and Sam would like a cactus in their rooms and I figure these pinch pots will serve as cactus homes. The teacher demonstrated how to use the pottery wheel and she made 2 beautiful pots in a matter of minutes. I hope to learn to do the same. They say that working with clay is a stress reliever. I am not sure which was the best medicine, throwing clay or laughing with Lisa, a new friend.

There was a tea welcoming new families to Pukerau Primary School this week. With Reena's coleslaw in hand we arrived at the school to watch Sam run off with a group of boys who look and act like him. The boys played cricket and chummed around the school yard most of the time while Abby stayed a little closer. It seems the situations that the kids are experiencing are in reverse from home. It was Sam that struggled to be accepted, felt on the outside of the group and felt as if no one liked him in Forest. This is not the case with Sam now. Abby, unfortunately is experiencing a bit of difficulty with the girls at her school. She came from grade 2 back home to Year 4 here in NZ. So her peers were 6 and 7 year olds, Abby being the oldest with an early birthday. Now she is the youngest in the class, with peers 8 years to 11 years old. She has had to do some quick adjusting. As well, there are only 3 girls in year four and 3 girls at any age can be difficult. The tea was nice and it was good to meet other new people.


We have no heat. Autumn has arrived to New Zealand and the common method of heating homes is with coal burning boilers. We have a coal burning boiler in the basement but no coal, nor the know how. We have people offering to help us and we will need to take them up on their offers as the nights are getting a tad nippy. Dan is planning to get coal this week...then the fun begins. Dan has always been a fan of lighting things on fire, so this is right up his alley.