Day Two

Things are falling into place. I had a great breakfast this morning. Homemade yogurt with granola, fresh homemade bread with cheese and a slice with vegemite, a cranberry muffin, some STRONG coffee, and some juice. It was a great way to start the day. Well, the run was a great way to start the day. breakfast kept a good thing going.

Then I got the message from Bill. He's on the way, which is AWESOME! He's staying longer than I am. Hmm. Time to make some changes! I spent several hours online trying to adjust the tickets. Everything has been changed, so we are good to go! Yes, there were change fees, but I believe the extra time with him is worth it. I need to check the travel insurance policy, but there is a provision in there on making changes to a trip due to a servicemember's deployment. I don't know if this will fall under that, but since I am making a claim anyway (for the delay in luggage), it is worth trying.

While I was working on that I Skyped with Regina and then with Mom and Dad. I am concerned because I am now returning after Regina leaves. I am bummed I won't see her again. I found a little something on my walk today that I thought she would like. I guess I'll have to mail it to her. I think we're going to have to board the dogs for a few days. It is a bummer, but if that is what we have to do, so be it. And now that I think of it, I don't think I bought the level of insurance that covers that, assuming that Regina would be there, so I guess we'll be out of pocket on that.

So after all this, I went out. I hit a knit shop Glynis told me about, the veg restaurant, the shop I found this morning, and the iSite place - a service of the government that can book you on tours. While there I found a brochure for yet another knit shop, so I went there. Then I hit the grocery store and came back. My luggage was waiting for me!

The lunch was fabulous! I ran into the two sisters who are staying here and they invited me to join them, which was really nice. I got the mushroom burger, but without the side salads it came with, as there were peppers in both. The burger was AWESOME! On top of the portobello were beets! and lettuce, and hummus! What a fantastic combo! YUMMY!

The knit shops were HORRIBLE!! No service, I wasn't greeted, and they didn't have much in the way of yarn. Can you believe that?! I wanted worsted weight NZ merino wool. Nope. They had regular wool, but no merino. The only merino they had (and this is all three shops) was in fingering weight. Come on! There are 10 sheep to every person in this country and there's no worsted weight merino? Patons brand was big in all three shops. It's Canadian, and it is dominant at Michael's and Joann, so I think of it as cheap stuff. I am quite disappointed. What I think I will do, if Bill is amenable, is when we are in Queenstown and doing our wine tour, I want to stop in Alexandra (I think), which is the home of Touch Yarns, NZ's main brand. Maybe I can find what I want there. I was quite surprised by the shops, and not in a good way.

Well, I'm off to drink some wine.