Good Morning Sunshine

Good morning everyone
Its 8 am and I am still in bed after drinking a coffee and eating breakfast, contemplating starting the day. We have a busy day planned, with Church, Baking and visiting friends, lawns etc.
The sun is streaming in the window and the birds are chirping - it's lovely. A bit of a contrast to yesterday where it was snowing and freezing cold urrgh.
The holiday preparations are still happening with a quick trip to Dunedin yesterday to meet with Mum and Dad, and to purchase a suitcase. Who would think that something simple like buying a suitcase would take so much consideration - there was size, hard or soft, pockets or not, and what colour - I haven't made a suitcase purchase ever before. Anyway I took advice from a very helpful sales assistant, who had just returned from Europe, and purchased a plastic orangy watermelon colour suitcase with two compartments inside. It is cool - but quite big. Plenty of room for presents etc. Mum and Amelia, who helped, thought that it was too big, but liked the colour.
Yesterday we had fun taking Mum shopping as she hadn't been out and about for the last few months due to a failed knee replacement. We nabbed a wheelchair and went wheeling around.

The weather was strange. When I parked in the shopping center car park it was a lovely sunny day, and when we left it was snowing!!!. It was a balmy 4 degrees Celsius. I love snow though. Amelia enjoyed watching the snow and hail. We took Mum for lunch down by St Kilda beach and it was lovely sitting inside by a roaring fire watching it snow and see the wild sea. Lunch was yummy - thanks "Esplanade restaurant".

The biggest contrast for us is going to be the weather as I looked up the temperature in Missouri and California and saw that yesterday it was 34 oC there - wow 4 degreees to 34 will be a bit of a shock.

We are getting very very excited now. On Friday we purchased our US dollars, and that was a bit depressing as NZ dollars don't buy many US dollars. The next thing to do is to get some actual cash but you have to order that. I will spend this week preparing some meals for the freezer, and stocking the pantry for when we are away.
Well must go - things to do and places to be.