A yank living in a metric world and other difficulties!

That's me - a yank - better known to some as an American. I get that everyone else in the world is on the metric system and even some yanks are too - if they're scientists or engineers. But for us everyday people, metrics are like greek to me. My husband has written up a cheat sheet for oven temperatures and I'm starting to figure out weather temperatures - 15C and lower is cold and I should wear a sweater at least and over 25C means you start peeling of clothes. Actually slipping into something lighter since peeling off my clothes might get me deported.

I know I will conquer this mystery but when I go shopping here, it gives me quite a scare. I look at some fish or a piece of meat and the price is $20 or more per kilo but my first response is to read it as per pound. Once my breathing slows down and I stop mouthing expletives, I realize my error and then just bemoan the fact that everything is more expensive here but not as outrageous as it would be if it were per pound. As for the cost of things here, it is fair to say that New Zealand is quite expensive. Currently, gas (for your car) is between $7.50 & $8 US.

We went to the Mitre 10 store (like a Home Depot or Lowes) looking for shelves and carpet and stuff like that to finish off the sleepout (more about that in a minute) and I asked a sales person where I could find a flashlight. She just stared at me like I was from an alien planet. I tried to describe what a flashlight is and what I needed it for and she sent us off to the lighting department. Obviously I didn't want a floor lamp or a ceiling light so we just wandered around the store until we found the torches. Go figure!

Went to the boot sale this morning (a city wide garage sale for my US friends). Got some very cool table puzzles and some veggies but nothing more. Then went out to get carpet for the floor of the sleep out. The project for tomorrow is to finish getting the sleepout put together.then things will feel like home. I think we will be finished with all the settling in stuff by the end of this weekend. Oh, we have a long weekend because we are celebrating the Queen's birthday on Monday. God save the Queen!