Happy First Day of Spring!

You KNOW what this is a picture of...

Today is the first day of spring! I know that sounds very strange to you in North America but it is true!!! It is a beautiful sunny day here in Queensland---took a nice walk on the beach early on today and the sun was just coming out. The boys are still sleeping, of course, so I am trying to do quiet things but that is not easy!

I know I have shared with some of you the reality of green frogs in toilets here and we have our first one---or at least the first one I have SEEN! I was less than thrilled last night when I saw his little foot but then of course he disappeared by the time the guys went to look. I saw him this morning and took a picture.....so now the job of the day will be to try to get him out but I don't know how to do that. They get up way under the rim of the toilet--not quite sure how they do that and the blast of the water usually does not seem to be strong enough to get them out. suffice it to say I am going to try to "hold it" so I can use the other toilet where the boys are sleeping. Should be an interesting "extraction" process which I will chronicle in pictures if I can as I know you are all dying to know what happens next! I am thinking the flush and release program is not going to work for this little guy---who doesn't look so little anymore.

The boys got in on Saturday night and were a little bit late but we amused ourselves by talking to 3 local guys who struck up a conversation with us while we all waited. They were a colorful group and everyone seems to be so intrigued with US politics--that was most of my discussion with this one gentleman who cornered me. He is a staunch Republican he told me though it really does not matter....but they are all so informed about the US (more so than I am!) and this guy even sang me a song about Iowa! Seriously now---I can't make this stuff up!!!

Yesterday we slept in a bit and then got going after lunch to the Billabong Sanctuary so the boys could see some animals and hold a koala. We had a great time other than the fact that they tried to say we didn't pay for a picture with the koalas----big miscommunication but in the end the boys got to hold them twice and we got plenty of photos. I have to get some photos off of Aaron's camera and I will post them later as I had let my battery die....oh well. We really had fun---saw them feed the dingos and crocs (HUGE) and then we found some kangaroos and wallabies to feed and pet. The one had a huge joey and it went in the pouch while we were feeding mum and Aaron got some good pictures of it so I want those!! It was a fun day for the boys i think since they really have not seen much wildlife other than possums (which are much cuter than our opossums).

After the sanctuary we went into Townsville and went to the Strand and ate dinner at Cbar which we love. Of course it took awhile and then they got Aaron's order wrong and he had to wait for his dinner a lot longer then. the owner was very apologetic, offered free drinks, dessert, etc. but it was fine. He was very gracious about it and so was the waitress who made the mistake--she told us she messed up and you know when people just ackowledge they made a mistake it really isn't a big deal, is it??? It is when they ignore you or try to make it out to be your problem!!! The food was yummy and we were all filled up by the end of the meal. We came home and watched Australian Idol.....can you tell we are very limited on our tv selections here???? Oh Austar--please get installed!!!!

Today the boys said they were going to just chill out on the beach and tomorrow I am going to drive Chris into work as he has an overnight trip to Mackay so I will have the car for a couple of days and hopefully will be able to navigate around a bit. I think Aaron thinks we are nuts for living here and I am beginning to wonder myself what with the frogs in the toilets but then I walk on the beach, sit on the deck. and decide that for a year this will be okay!!!

Will post more pictures later!!!

Getting ready for our first guests!

I can not tell you how excited I am to have Aaron and his friend Thom coming tomorrow night!!!! I can not wait!!!!!! I am making cookies and going to lay in a bunch of supplies---aka food!!!! Though Aaron told me today that Thom got a package from the US today with Captain Crunch and Honeycomb in it so they are excited!!! It is those little things that you don't realize you miss until you can't get them!

Chris is off to the Herbert region today and I think I need to get some kind of map on here so you can follow along on where he is when!!! I will work on that!!! There must be a way to do that and I am going to figure it out, by gum!!!
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mapsofworld.com/australia/states/queensland/queensland-political-map.jpg&img
There--try that!!! Course it doesn't really show the Herbert River region on it but at least you can see where we are in relationship to some of the towns I have talked about.

Tonight we have dinner out with Chris' boss and wife and 2 other couples---I have met all but the one couple so it will be a nice evening and at our favorite Chinese restaurant to boot!!! Yum!!! I haven't seen Lorraine for several weeks so it will be nice to see her and catch up a bit on things. I am looking forward to the night out with my hubby, too! Even if it is business that is okay!

Wanted to also pass along a neat website that Chris and I have been supporting for a year or so. It has been promoted by a lot of celebrities and it is a pretty neat place to help some folks without much means to get businesses going and it is based on the whole microfinance system. I have already had 2 loans repaid and have reinvested the money by loaning it out again to help someone else out. I think the really neat thing is that you can do just a $25 loan and it can make a difference. We have given gift certificates as gifts to each other for occasions and are giving to family and friends also. Check it out---it may be something you are interested in doing also.
http://www.kiva.org/
Okay enough of the commercials.....just thought I would share a good thing we had found!

Well enough ramblings for one morning----sending prayers up that my friend Ann gets to feeling better!!! I am sending virtual hugs and chicken noodle soup.

A Pretty Perfect Morning

A few of my favorite things...........come join me!!!

Just a Walk on the Beach!

I have had such a great day today I had to share with you all!!! Chris left for the Pioneer plant early this morning and we drug out the rubbish and recycling bins and they took them both this week!!! Yay!!! Last week we thought was the week for recycling but obviously we had bad information!!! They come every fortnight (every other week--see that is your word of the day).

I got ready to go walk the beach and as I was going out the back gate the neighbor was out so we introduced ourselves. The wife was there and then the husband came out to meet me and their names are Bob and Carol---no joke!!! They said they were still waiting on Ted and Alice so they obviously have a good sense of humor. Guess they had rented their house out and could not be too selective on who they rented to and now it is kind of a wreck inside so they have moved back to work on it and fix it back up. really nice couple and they offered any kind of help that we needed---I think they moved in the same day we did.

I went and walked and there was a guy starting to get set to fish and his two dogs --Sparky a jack russell and Kelly-a black lab--came up to sniff me and play a bit so we struck up a conversation. Dogs are always a great way to meet someone!!! As usual I got the life story---well not quite the whole life but his name is Tony, he is a trucker, he was married to an American woman but she left him for one of his mates and took Sparky with her. Long story but one of his friends saw Sparky in Melbourne and recognized him and dognapped him back!!!! After "bashing" the bloke she was living with. He was quite a colorful man but very kind and probably one of the most real Australians I have met to date! When I left he told me that he and the dogs would see me again soon---they fish all the time and everyone on the beach knows his dogs!!!

I finally attacked my closet and clothes today and at least got them all out of suitcases even if the system isn't really perfect. It will work. I will have to redo when I finally get my dresser but at least I have things where I can find them. I am wishing that I had packed some different things but I really got rid of a lot of clothes when we moved and now I am just wearing shorts and flip flops all of the time. The weather has been beautiful but today was a little overcast but still in the mid 70's. Perfect!!!

i am getting excited about having Aaron and Thom here this weekend!!!! It is going to be great!!!! Will keep you posted!

Back in Saunders Beach!

1. Me!!! Sitting in a tree!!! Bowen, Australia
2. Don't think you can read the sign clearly but it says "Pool closed for Winter.
Reopens September 1st."
3. Thank goodness I have a smart husband ---hotel we stayed in this weekend had the thing by the door where you put your key to activate all the power in the room. I couldn't figure it out!!!
4. Beautiful shot coming home from Ayr yesterday---I was NOT driving at the time!!!

I promised some pictures and this is about all I can come up with today---it was a full and busy couple of days but we had a nice weekend and are back up in Saunders Beach for the week. Saturday proved to be another day of shopping and getting things "organized" which is the favorite word here. Our lounge (living room) furniture is supposed to be in in 2 weeks so we are giving them the chance though we do have something else picked out just in case. We spent Sunday driving down to Mackay which is close to one of the mills in Sarina (I spelled that wrong before--ooops!). I drove a good part of the way---the highway driving is not bad but I am still a little nervous in the city driving with the roundabouts. It isn't that difficult and I keep thinking that good grief---I have driven in Pittsburgh and Chicago so I certainly should be able to do this driving here!!! Chris has been a great teacher and patient and it reminds me of when he was teaching me to drive a manual !

We stayed at a nice resort for the night---got in and were totally exhausted so we took naps and then met some folks for dinner there at the restaurant at the hotel. It ended up being 3 other couples and another guy whose wife is in Townsville with the family and we had a great time. Of course what I have learned is that nothing moves very quickly when it comes to eating out here----4 hours later we were done. But it was a very enjoyable evening. I had already met several of them so that was nice to see them again. I really like a lot of these wives---they make it very easy to feel a part of the group and even though we are a little bit different to them I am sure they don't make me feel that way! We talked a lot about the Olympics and how well Australia was doing,etc.

Chris went to the mill in the morning and I just sat around reading and watching tv while he was gone. he picked me up around noon and we headed out but had to stop at McDonalds for something quick to eat before we got too far down the road as neither one of us had eated breakfast. I got more driving practice and he had a lot of phone calls so it was good that I could do some of the driving., It is a long trip to make in 2 days so I doubt we will do that again. If he wants me to go along we will stretch it out a bit and do some vacationing and if not he will just fly. Much easier!!!

We stopped in Ayr on the way through and managed to order a futon/couch, a dining room table and chairs and a bed for the house in the Burdekin that we will be in part time. I think it will make it MUCH easier for him if we can stay there 1 or 2 nights a week---he can go to the mills down there and do what he needs to do and not have to drive so far on those days. And I found that Ayr has a lot of neat shops and a nice downtown so that may be where I feel that I can get plugged into doing something worthwhile. He can use a mill vehicle while he is there so I can use the car if I want and go to the beach or shopping or whatever. It is very weird to think about having 2 places and this one will be very sparsely furnished but it is what we are going to do for awhile a least. the sales lady at the furniture store was really nice and the store was cram packed with stuff so I imagine we will try to buy some more things there over time. And it was no "drama" ---just paid and it will all be delivered next week!!! Not the story we have had up here in Townsville that is for sure!!!

A little bit ago the phone guy came --told me that we already had a number though no one has bothered to call to tell us that---and he gave me a phone (which I am sure will show up at some exhorbinant price on our bill) and is putting in the work order for the DSL which is the only reason we are getting the phone line. The whole phone thing here is ridiculously expensive---even the landline calls cost each time you make a call along with the monthly charge!!! It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and what our bills will actually be!!!

I am also waiting for a delivery of a fridge today---we decided that we really did need to upgrade from the one that Rod has here and this one will be a basic FROST FREE one!!! The one here has about 4 inches of ice in the little freezer compartment....and will be cleaner than I can get this one!! I am not "whinging" --just stating a fact! Some things i feel I need to have updated----and I am not sure how well this one really keeps things cold so I don't want to take any chances!

Wow---sorry----I have gone on and on, haven't I??? I guess that is what happens when I have taken a couple of days off from blogging!!! You have to wade through it all!

We really are having the time of our lives----Aaron (and Thom) come this weekend, Micah is in Colorado Springs for a meeting and then off to Flint, Michigan to cover a terrritory for a week or so ---so that is what is going on with us!!! Oh -new poll on the blog today too!!! don't forget to vote!!!

Saturday Saturday Saturday!!

Blue Winged Kookaburra

It is Saturday and I know that Chris is glad that the weekend is here although he hasn't gotten much rest! We got up and headed out and made a trip into Townsville one more time to try to get furniture/appliances all straightened out. The couch and recliners still are not here---they really couldn't give us a status---their manager quit and no one knows what the heck is going on. The one that we had looked at on the floor was not even there anymore so not sure what is up with that. We are giving them until Monday to figure it out and if they can't deliver we found another place that has something similar in stock, could be delivered next week. and of course, costs more!! Oh well. that seems to be life!

We also went to the storage store and bought ridiculously overpriced storage containers and metal basket things for the closets. There just does not seem to be an inexpensive solution to most of this storage stuff----plastic is horrendously expensive and you just have to pay it. Chris just looked at me and said "just get what you need--don't look at the price" but that is hard to do! I did get some things for the pantry that work great and this pantry works so much better than the one we had in Iowa---I never could get that one organized right. That was one memory of Iowa that I don't like to remember----I had the "pantry meltdown" when I was unpacking and couldn't figure out how to fit things in! It sounds stupid I know but a woman might understand how that would happen!!! You get used to having things fit in a certain way and then when you move and the configuration is not the same and you can't adjust shelves it just messes it all up!

We hit the grocery store on the way home and loaded up--trying to get geared up for Aaron and Thom's visit next week! I can't wait!!! It will be great to have them here and hopefully they won't be bored out of their gourds!!!

And I did manage to drive just a little tiny bit today---not bad after being here 2 months!!! Tomorrow we are going to drive to MacKay and I am going to get plenty of driving practice then. Chris will be going to the plant down in Serena on Monday and I think we have dinner out with some folks on Sunday night so that will be nice. Then we will come back here on Monday afternoon so it will just be a quick run down there but he needs to see the mill and see how it is going.

We both took naps this afternoon and now Chris is working on his mill report while I cook up our first store bought Australian pizza----thought we would go easy tonight!!! We will see how it is. No one delivers out here........we are roughing it, aren't we??? LOL

Will try to take some pictures this weekend and post them!!!

My Big Accomplishment of the Day

I know it really does not look like much but this was my major accomplishment today! Our bedroom furniture got delivered today and the delivery guys had instructions to take the platform that we had been using as a base for our mattress and assemble our bed when they got here. Well, I heard a lot of clanking (??) around of wood and sounds of something being put together and just assumed that things were going as planned. When they went out to get the paperwork for me to sign I looked at the bed, night tables and dresser (mine is on a slow boat from Tasmania and won't be here for another 4-6 weeks) and all looked fine and dandy. Once I signed and they left I went back in to start making up the bed.....
And that is when the problems started! I had gotten a slat protector to put on the slats to protect the mattress (just like it says!!) since we went that route instead of having a platform. All you do is tie this flimsy piece of fabric to the slats and it helps protect the bottom of your mattress and ensures that your warranty on your mattress is good. Well....when I tied the thing on the slats started shifting around and falling out. First one side, then I would put them back in and the other side would fall out. I was near tears because this just was not supposed to be the way it works!!! I looked at the frame and discovered that they had put one of the bedrails on upside down or so it seemed so I decided that I CAN DO THIS! I was not going to let Chris come home and have to deal with putting a bed back together so I heaved the mattress off and went to work taking the rails off and switching them around. Easier said than done! I am glad no one was watching because it was a comedy in itself and I was getting madder and madder at it and in tears by the time I was done. I did finally get it switched around, tightened up and I think it is good but I am going to have Chris double check it and maybe tighten it up a bit more than I could do. It just makes me mad because those delivery guys had to know that it was not right!!! Every time you bumped it several of the slats would fall out of one side or the other. I think I have it fixed now and they are all in the groove but if you hear a loud sound you will know that I did not get it fixed right and we are on the floor!!! I don't know why everything is so difficult !!! But I am getting very good at assembling and trouble shooting things so I guess that is the positive side of things.

And I guess I did accomplish paying some bills today which is a miracle in and of itself! I have been very surprised that the banks do a good job with their electronic banking and the B pay is very easy to use--just like what I do with our US accounts so that has been a pleasant surprise. With some things here being a little old fashioned and maybe not as progressive as what I am used to finding out that I cna do the billpay online so easily has been a very pleasant surprise. I know that probably sounds kind of weird but it is one less thing to hassle about when I can just do it online at any time and not have to try to find a post box to mail in a payment. etc.

Tonight is international dinner night---in other words--leftover night. We have little bits of everything and there just isn't any reason to make anything new when we need to eat all that stuff up! It is hard for me to cook for 2 I guess!!! So that is the news from here----watching a bit of the Olympics still but I am tired of weightlifting......

Random!

1. The beginning of my Saunders Beach shell collection
2. the first batch of Australian chocolate chip cookies made in my teeny tiny gas oven---a little flatter than the American version but tasty!
3. Straw necked ibis and an Australian ibis out the back door

Just a few lines today---took a fantastic walk on the beach this morning---walking on sand is more of a workout so since I have been off for a few days I am going to have to work up to my usual walk! Whew! Saw several blokes fishing while I walked and picked up some shells (see the above picture for the start of my collection!).

Last night I made meatloaf --Chris has requested that I cook "normal food" after 2 months of restaurant froo froo eating so I am doing the basics! Today was the true test--the first batch of chocolate chip cookies. Now I know that does not sound like such a big deal but using a teeny tiny gas oven is a lot different than my electric ovens in the States but I did okay. I think we will do fine---at least I did not burn them!!! And they taste yummy even if they are a little flat---they are the chewy kind and I think Chris will be thrilled when he comes home tonight!! It doesn't take much but that was what he asked yesterday when he got home---did you make cookies??? LOL

So life continues and we are blessed!!! Chocolate chip cookies, walks on the beach and seashell collecting....what more could I want???

The Adventure Continues!

Today is Tuesday and I am feeling a bit more settled in but there is MUCH to do still! The delivery guys are coming in a bit to deliver the futon (aka extra bed for my son!) and ---wait--there they are!!! Okay---futon and one office chair delivered but as in everything here you have to put it all together yourself! The washer and dryer came --dropped off in boxes----no full service here that is for sure!!! We have huge piles of cardboard now in the front to get rid of which will happen one of these days! Whew! And the delivery guy said he had been "crook" for a month------sick. Funny word, don't you think???

So we are feeling a bit more settled as I said but it is going to take awhile to sort things out and find places for our "stuff" mainly our clothes. I will need to find some kind of storage things someplace because the closets are pretty useless as far as having spaces that are usable at this point. They are huge but no shelves that are going to be easy to use for clothes, etc. but we will figure it out. I figure I have lived out of suitcases for this long --all summer basically---so I can do it awhile longer!!! As long as I can get Chris' clothes organized so he knows where stuff is for work, etc. that is all I am concerned about at this point. I did manage to cook a decent meal last night--grilled chicken (on the George Foreman since we haven't gotten the BBQ put together yet), potatoes, corn on the cob (which was almost as good as Iowa corn), salad and a chocolate caramel slice. I am going to have to play around with the oven and figure out the real temperature before I attempt any serious baking though as it took forever to do the potatoes last night.

Now that you know all about our meal last night....LOL. Chris has budget meetings most of the week and is in Townsville for that so that is nice that he doesn't have to drive so much. We started the morning off this morning at 6 with a walk on the beach---he can walk for about 1/2 hour if we do that on the days he goes into Townsville and he still left in plenty of time. It is usually dark by the time he gets home and we decided that walking on the beach in the dark is probably not a good idea quite yet.......not with our feeble bodies that will stumble into holes on the way to the beach!!! I will go for a nice long walk later but had to wait for the delivery dudes to come before I could do that.

Micah is back in Jacksonville ---he was to spend 2 weeks in Sarasota but the boss told him to head home since Fay is causing havoc there. He just messaged me that he was back and very tired from the 5 hour drive in horrible rain and wind. We are going to try to Skype in a bit if he is around. I am glad that he is okay and back to his apartment safe and sound---and glad the boss told him to come back!!!

So not much exciting news from here today---putting more things together--got my vacuum put together this morning and have to find a home for the ironing board now! And I have to iron!!! Everything seems to be on wrinkle here----even with my new washer and dryer. Not sure what I am doing wrong but something!!!

We are moved in!!!

We are moved in!!! Sorry I have been away from the blog for a couple of days but I am sure you all understand! We have been kind of consumed with other things since Friday when we picked up the keys. All has gone fairly well----we are getting settled and feeling like we have done a lot in a few days. The pictures above are kind of out of order---I always forget when I upload them to do the one I want last first. So the big thing was Chris getting the tv set up, watching the Olympics off and on, Chris taking a break on the deck and the first official smiley face in the house!!! And how about sugar in a can????? That CSR is using their heads!! I thought it was pretty neat to buy sugar in a paint can!!!

We had a lot of deliveries on Friday and some non-deliveries as I had written about before but I think we have that all worked out except for the living room furniture which they can not tell us when it will get out of Brisbane. It is very very sad! We are longing for our leather lounge and recliners!!! Rod has graciously left his cane furniture but it is not the kind you can stretch out on so we brought in one of the beach recliners for Chris to stretch out in!!! It works though is not the most attractive! I have a lot of work to do on cleaning still--the house was empty for a bit plus the former tenant was a single guy...enough said. I have managed to get the kitchen fairly clean and stuff put away but am still looking for shelf paper---I guess they don't make it here or something. Rod is coming tomorrow to put a different stove in for us---this one they can't get the oven to work and I think he decided to do the right thing and replace it. We are going to buy a fridge and replace the one here because it is fairly old and I really want something a little bit bigger and I think we can find something that will give me a bit more room. But all in all we have done really well. We were both pretty exhausted Saturday----we slept here Friday night and it was nice to hear the sound of the waves all night long! Last night it cooled off a bit so we shut the windows so it wasn't quite so loud but you could still hear it.

We walked the beach a bit this morning and then made a couple of phone calls to Ohio and caught up with folks a bit. Then it was off to the Quest for our final load of stuff --mostly Chris' clothes were left--and then we hit a couple of stores to pick up some groceries and some other things that we needed. There is just so much that you have to get when you start all over again!!! I don't want to do this for awhile, let me tell you. It has been fun but exhausting!!!

Chris has another busy week---they all are! They are doing budgets this week I think so that is a lot of meetings. I think next weekend we are going to just do nothing!!! He needs to go to the mill in Serena so we might head down on Saturday and spend Sat and Sun doing nothing at all and then after he is done on Monday come back. I think he is pretty worn out from everything and I can totally understand because I am not even working and am worn out!!! I think there is just a lot of emotional stuff too since we are dealing with some issues with our own renters and it just kind of wears on you a bit.

Aaron and his friend Thom are coming in 2 weeks so I can't wait for that! I really miss the boys a lot these days and it is so hard to catch Micah while he is in Sarasota but we chat on line when we can. The beauty of the internet!!! What would I do without it???

So once I recoup my energy a bit I will write more. Oh, this morning when we walked on the beach there was a dead fish that was gutted. One of the locals walked by with his dogs and we chatted a bit and he told us that was part of their fillet and release program! Hahahaha. Funny guy. That's it for now!!!

Oh Why Must They Lie???

So the news today is that half of our furniture which was promised to be delivered tomorrow will not be delivered tomorrow. The bedroom furniture has not even left the manufacturer and it is going to be another 4-6 weeks. And the living room stuff which we thought was to be delivered tomorrow is still in Brisbane waiting on a truck to fill up to bring it up. She said it could be next week or the week after....we were not happy campers. The bedroom stuff especially because even though they will bring our mattress and a loaner platform we will still be living out of suitcases for quite awhile with no dressers or bedside tables. Sigh. And the hookup for the satellite tv is not scheduled till Sept. 30th----no technicians till then. So all in all---a disappointing day. We thought we had made such progress but I guess this was to be expected also.

Oh well---it is life and at least we have a place to live and the rest of the stuff hopefully will come as promised. It is just disappointing when I thought we could stretch out on our new couch and recliners and relax and have our nice bedroom furniture. But at least we will have them eventually, right?

Chris is taking the day off tomorrow to help with the moving in and it will be a long day I am sure. We have the car filled with stuff again and not a bit from the apt so we will most definitely be making several trips back and forth over the weekend. We are giving up the room here on Sunday probably so we have to get it all out of here. I feel like I have been moving all year long!!!

Micah is in Sarasota working for a couple of weeks and when I talked to him today he had had a great day selling. He gets this territory for a couple of weeks and it is kind of his first "test" territory so I know he is hoping to do well. Aaron and his friend Thom are coming up to visit us on their spring break in September and I can hardly wait! Maybe we will have a couch by then....

Signs by the Road

The Aussies really want you to be safe while you drive here. Take a look at just a small sampling of the signs you see as you travel the Bruce Highway:

1. Break the drive, stay alive.
2. Every extra K kills.
3. A tired driver is a dead driver. (they don't pull any punches...)
4. Power lines---look up and live.
5. Take a rest and refresh.
6. Rest if sleepy.
7. Tired drivers die.
8. no seat belts--no chance.
9. Drink drive--you're a loser. (aka drunk driving)

A couple more pictures !!

Isn't the internet amazing???? Okay --I found what I was talking about in the earlier post!!! The first picture is of the hair dryer thing I was trying desperately to describe----the little halo thing circles around your head as you sit and dries your hair---it goes kind of angled in a circular motion and is very efficient!!! Plus it hardly takes up any room and can be moved about the salon!!! Pretty cool actually!

The other picture is a picture of "jack fruit" which I saw first hand on a tree of one of the neighbors. They are huge fruits which kind of look on the outside like hedge apples . They taste kind of like pineapple and banana from what I could glean but they also use them to make wine. The tree is not native--it originally came from India. So there are your lessons for today!!!

A Haircut and a Bit of Craft!

Ronda, Carol, Gillian and Anne (some of my craft friends!)

I have had a full day and am now back at the "unit" watching the Olympics and waiting for Chris to come home. Of course they don't show all the stuff I would like to see here---the coverage is mainly of the Australian athletes (which makes sense I guess) so there is a lot of flipping from event to event and I have totally missed the USA gymnastics I think. Oh well.

I started out the day getting my hair highlighted and cut---there is a little salon right outside the Quest and I decided to not stress myself out and just go there and Annette did a good job though it is a lot lighter than I really like it. I think I may have to go back to my natural color next time and start over---probably should have done that this time but I thought I would give it a go. Now I did experience something here that I had not had before and they may have them in salons in the US but I never saw them. The hair dryer thingy was this funky mobile thing that had this huge ring that circled your head and dried your hair.......I know I am not explaining it well at all but it was kind of space agey!!! Instead of having the hood that comes down over your head it was just circling around my head heating it and drying it. If I can find a picture I will post it but it kind of freaked me out! It was big enough and above your head enough that if you sat still it didn't hit you but what if you had a gigantic head????? Anwyay, the process took about 2 1/2 hours mainly because she was having computer problems, we started late, and she wanted to chat it up when I was done!! Whew.

I texted my craft friend and within 10 minutes one of them came to pick me up and I spent an enjoyable 3 1/2 hours with them while we talked and shared lunch and talked some more. This really is a neat group of ladies--a smaller group today--we only had 7 but they really are very sweet. When Gillian called me yesterday to see if I wanted to come I told her that I didn't want to put anyone out to come pick me up since I have no car and she made a point of saying to me that if I was in the US wouldn't I go out of my way to do this for someone and I had to agree that I would so that convinced me that they wouldn't do it if they didn't want to. So in a couple of weeks we have a day trip planned to the town of Charters Towers which was a gold mining town with a lot of history so they have even said they would come get me in Saunders Beach if Chris can't drop me off which I thought was very gracious!!!

Chris is keeping busy with a lot of meetings this week and will probably be glad when the meetings are over! He would much rather be in the mills checking things out.

We are still on track to move into the house on Friday---I just got a call from one of the furniture places that our things had come in so they could deliver on Friday--i think we are going to have a mess of delivery trucks!!! Will post more later!

Sunday Sunday Sunday

I know you are wondering what these pictures are....aren't you? Well it is a slow picture taking day obviously when I post pictures of going through a car wash!!! The car was filthy and we finally broke down and went to a car wash and cleaned and vacuumed all the sand and grit out and it looks MUCH better!!! We just had not taken time to do it before now.

We got up this morning and ate breakfast downstairs before heading out for one more round of shopping. I never thought I would say this but I am about shopped out. Seriously. Who would have thought it?? There are just so many things to buy and think about and some of it we won't really know until we are in the house for a bit. So we got a few more things today to outfit the house. We went to Bunnings which is like a Home Depot/Lowes and found some great beach chairs--the lounging kind in a bag that you can tote around which will be PERFECT! I am so excited!!! Then we went to another place and found a couple of desk chairs and a futon which we will put in the one bedroom which is going to be our "office" area but can double as a sleeping area if we need a bed for someone. Then it was off to Target to get a few more of the kitchen things and we had about spent the limit for the day so we left and came back to crash for a bit!

Chris is working on his mill reports and I am going to go find a book to read out on the balcony while the jazz festival goes on again outside. We are watching the Olympics off and on like everyone else i am sure. It really is something that brings all countries together I think!

Everything is falling into place for moving in on Friday--not sure if we will be able to actually sleep there on Friday---I have a lot of bedding to wash before we can settle in but we will give it a fair go!!! We are very excited as you can imagine!!!

Check out the new features of my blog---a poll, slideshow and list---let me know if I need to add your name!!! Just click on "comment" and leave a message!!!

Saturday!!!!

Back seat and trunk filled to the max!!!

We had a GREAT day!!! The Jazz Festival last night did keep us up a bit---out the balcony we had one set of music and out the bedroom side we had another stage full of music till midnight but at least it was good music!! We watched a little of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and crashed in between loud music!! This morning we were awakened early again to another fire alarm----pulled on clothes, went out and watched 3 firemen amble through the building....never did get the "all clear" but they left so we figured we could go back in!!! One lady on our floor had pulled all her luggage out and was trying to get it down the stairwell (we are on the 7th floor) and we told her to just hang out since we had seen the firemen walking through and they weren't evacuating the building at that point. Poor thing had stuffed all her stuff in and drug it out in very short time!! Obviously she has not been here as long as we have to experience the numerous fire alarms!!!

We took off to finish shopping for the house---well maybe not finish but finish filling up the car!!! We made a trip to Kmart which really was not too bad---they had a lot of the stuff I needed/wanted and then we were off to Big W to find some more things to cram in the car. We filled it up as you can see from the pictures. Still have some more things to get but there was no more room so we quit for the day and headed up to Saunders Beach to drop it all off in the house.

Rodney and his wife Liz were there and we had such a nice time with them! They were working on painting and cleaning the house up and getting it ready for us so we moved all the stuff into the one closet and then joined them on the deck for a glass of wine while we watched the ocean-----I am going to LOVE it there!!! We ended up spending a couple hours with them and just had such a nice time---they are both really nice people and we promised them that we would take care of the house. We still did not get the gas stove to work----he was going to figure that out for us---either the ignitor does not work or something---we didn't have one of those gas lighter things to test it with but he had just gotten the tanks filled up so there is gas there---just couldn't get the stove to work which is kind of crucial. He told us he would figure it out (they have never lived in this house so they have never used the stove / oven but the former renters never said anything about it. I am sure that if there is a problem he will get it fixed for us before we move in.

So after a wonderful 2 hours with them we decided it was time to head home to the Quest, we changed clothes and went down to listen to some of the jazz and eat a nice meal at the SugaTrain restaurant. YUM! I had a great steak and Chris had some chicken breast thing and of course we shared dessert--Mississippi Mud Cake with a raspberry compote. Double yum!

The music is blaring outside and we are trying to find the Olympics on tv but can't find it. Oh and there is a a young man staying at the Quest who is here for a couple weeks training for the paralympics and will go to Bejjing in a couple of weeks. We rode down in the lift with he and his bike today and I have seen him riding while I have been walking--nice guy--I have to find his name someplace. He told us but I didn't really understand it and we told him we would be cheering for him so i had better find out who to cheer for. He seems very serious about his training that is for sure!!! I will post pictures of the loaded boot and car!!!! I am about shopped out though!!

Fabulous Friday

The weather here is picture perfect----breezy, sunny and in the low 70's. Course I know that most of you are having beautiful weather also but it is hard to imagine that this is winter.

I made my first trip to the Australian Post today!!! And I was successful in mailing a package to Aaron, bought airmail stamps and also Australian stamps so I am ready to go!!! The difference in the postal system here is that the "posties" deliver Mon-Fri and do not pick up mail from your mailbox. Did I already write about this??? This is kind of deja vu so please pardon if I did!!! You have to find post boxes to mail your letters in so it isn't quite as easy as having someone pick it up at your house every day. I also scheduled my first hair appt....there is a little 2 chair salon right by the hotel so I stopped in and made a "booking" for Tuesday so we will see how my first haircut/highlight goes here....makes me a little nervous!!!

Lorrae was coming to pick me up to take me to her house for lunch and since our street is all closed off for the Jazz Festival this weekend I told her to just pick me up at this little parking area by the Victoria Bridge thinking she could just whip right in and pick me up just a few blocks from the apt. Well....as I was standing there waiting it hit me like a lightening bolt when I saw her car that I WAS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!!!!!!!!! Here I thought I had it all planned out so it would be easy but I was thinking American again and thought she would be on that side of the road and she wasn't!!! So I ran across the street as soon as I saw her and caught her at another parking lot!!! Just when I thought I was getting into the swing of things.
We had a nice lunch--one of her friends from Ingham came and we had a very nice time chatting. And I have discovered that I do like avocados.....I am learning that some of the things that I didn't think I liked I really do like if I try them different ways. Lorrae makes a great salad with smoked chicken and avocados and I am figuring out that I really do like that combination!!!

So Chris has a meeting after work tonight and then I guess we will venture out to hear some jazz and eat some food. Should be fun. All the restaraunts have special groups coming in and then there are a couple of stages set up for concerts throughout the weekend. I think it might be a noisy weekend...we will see!!! I will keep you posted!!!

Wednesday Whinging

I really am not going to whinge---that is the Aussie word for complain and moan...there is a lot of that but not me!!! My tummy is filled with a yummy Chinese meal from Benny's and we are watching some movie on the movie channel with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman so life is good!!!

I have managed to get some stuff done the past couple of days--mainly getting things lined up for the move into the house like getting the utilities put in our names. I had a fairly interesting time with the electric company because their automated voice thing could not understand me......it would ask why i was calling and I would say "to establish service" and then the little voice would say "i am sorry we did not understand your request. Could you please rephrase it in a different way?". I ended up hanging up twice and thinking about what to say!!! I finally did get through to the right place, got a live person and things went better then but we will see what our name ends up being once we get the first bill!!! Funny thing is that they ask for a deposit but then they just bill you for it....that makes no sense to me! I think I did manage to get things set up and hopefully we will be okay --there really was not that much to do and we have not decided on tv cable stuff yet so that will come later but thank goodness I can do that online and not have to talk to anyone!! I know that sounds weird but it is easier to not have to be understood. Now I don't think I sound funny but I guess I do!!

I have been very good about walking every morning--this morning i got back and hopped in the shower and heard this noise.....the cyclone alarm was going off. So i hopped out, toweled off and then the announcement came that the testing was over....I guess I missed the whole announcement that they were testing the system. We now know it works. Not a very nice shower today!

Looks like Chris is going to the Cowboys game on Saturday (AFL--Australian Football League) with the CSR group from the Herbert region. He said I could go but if I am the only woman I am going to pass on that experience and let him bond with his "guys". I told him I was fine with that and didn't want him to feel like he had to drag me along. I am sure we will have more chances to go as CSR has a box there. I am sure he will have a lot of stories to tell afterwards!! We have watched it on TV but I certainly do not understand it at all!

Was able to talk to some family and friends the past couple of days which has helped a lot with the homesickness. I must say that there are certain things that I will miss---family and friends being the top of the list---but being able to write and call and email makes things much easier! This would have been a zillion times harder 20 years ago!

So not much exciting to report today but life is good and we are continuing to enjoy our Aussie life!!!

Manic Monday

Hungry Jacks AKA Burger King

What a great day so far!! The weather is gorgeous today and I took advantage of it this morning and did my morning walk to the Strand and back but i was a sweatball by the time I got back to the apt. They are painting the outside of the building so I think it is going to be one of those weeks when you aren't sure who is going to be popping up around your balcony.....might be interesting! They were working on the opposite side this morning so we will see when they get to our side!

I walked to the chemist (drugstore) to get some stuff and found one of my favorite fragrances marked way down---Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea ---yum!!! So I bought a bottle of that along with my other stuff. I kind of checked out some of the make up and it looks like I will be getting that in the US!! Geez whiz---it was $12 for a tube of mascara that would have been $4 in the US. I am pretty well supplied at the moment but maybe I can find it cheaper elsewhere. After that I went to the bookstore to look primarily for a field guide to Australian birds so I can quit bugging Mark and Thomas all the time! Found the 8th ediiton of the Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight guide that has good color pictures in it and I think it was one that Mark had recommended. Of course I forgot to double check his email before I left. Anyhoo--while I was in the bookstore this woman needed around me and so I apologized for being in the aisle and that was all it took for her to recognize a foreign accent and proceed to talk to me for 45 minutes.....it is my gift you know to attract people. The conversation started off with the advice to always wear a hat and sunscreen, get checked out once a year at the local skin cancer clinics, etc. From then it went on to a lively discussion---well more of a lecture as I hardly could get a word in edgewise---on various books, authors, the United States, her family, their religion, her thoughts on the fundamentalists at Bob Jones University, the rare strain of tapeworms that she and her family brought back from the US in 1974 after a visit which took 3 doses of medicine from the US to clear up (and she went into GREAT detail on all of this) to Australian authors she would recommend. She loved Zane Grey (Mark will appreciate that) and proceeded to tell me about almost every single book she had read. While it was entertaining I had to finally extract myself from her clutches and go to another part of the store and delay my check out until she had left the store. Whew. She was a talker! And quite an intelligent woman---she works at the university in some capacity but I was scared to ask too much as I figured I would be there another day!!!

I got my Skype thing working on my laptop pretty well now since we got a new camera and microphone for mine and I was able to talk to Ann (Yippee), Micah and my mom this morning so that helped me feel connected to everyone back home again! It really does not cost that much to call a land line or cell phone on it and the skype to skype is free so that is even better. At least I figured it out now. And I think the quality of the call is some better than it had been before so watch out---i will be calling!

i need to sort out receipts and make copies this afternoon of stuff---blah. I need to just get it all organized so it is done and in some kind of order but I just really don't feel a lot like doing it!!! I haven't given you words lately so I will close with that and talk to you soon!!!

suss out --find information, check out

the lot (on a hamburger) --usually lettuce, tomato, shredded carrots, a slice of beet, a slab of bacon an a fried egg

technicolor yawn---to vomit

stores---supplies (the stores were delivered to the clinic)

spider---soda with ice cream on top--like a float

Our house is filling up!

Pictures above: various pictures of Saunders Beach at low tide including one interesting pile made by some creature.... View the video at the end to see our new backyard!.

Whew---a long day but very productive!!!! We managed to buy a washer, dryer, small freezer, tv, bluray player, stereo system, bbq (grill to you Americans), vacuum, microwave, iron, ironing board, mixer, toaster, kettle, crock pot, electric skillet, and some other kitchen items. Then it was off to buy some beautiful mahogany furniture---coffee table, end tables, entertainment unit, bookcase, 2 desks and a file cabinet. Then off to buy bedding which I won't go into but it was quite an ordeal----towels and bedding are quite a bit more expensive here but you know---you gotta have them!!! The boot is filled with all the bedding and towels and stuff at the moment so there is not much space for Chris to put anything. And I think all the delivery trucks will be making their runs on August 15 to Saunders Beach so watch out!!! Actually we got all this done in fairly quick order because we had basically scoped it out ahead and knew where we wanted to get it all and bought all the white goods and electronics at one store and all the desks and stuff at another store so it simplified things a lot. I am really happy with what we have gotten so far and now we can take our time getting the rest of the items (other than dishes, etc) because we have the basics covered.

We ate breakfast at the Bistro downstairs and our favorite waitresses know us now and know to make big mochas for us!!! We promised we would come back for those after we move and that made them laugh a bit. They have to put them in glass glasses for us since their regular cups/mugs are so teeny!!! Guess they know when the Americans come to make the special ones!

We went to Saunders Beach and walked the beach and then sat on the beach (on our newly purchased beach towels from Target) and watched the sunset. Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I will attach a video and some pictures of what we saw today so you can enjoy it with us. Oh and the biologists in the family did confirm it was a Laughing Kookaburra. They are going to have to identify a lot of things for me I think!!!

A great day, a relaxing evening and a g'day to all!

Laughing Kookaburra???

Laughing kookaburra or blue-winged kookaburra???
Don't know why it put that underlined and in blue....these guys are VERY cool and I heard this crazy sound outside the balcony so had to take a peek and then a couple of shots. My resident biologists can furthur identify for me but they are cool birdies!!! I love Australian wildlife!