Today is the first day Chris has gotten to wear his "mill outfit"!!! Isn't he reflective??? You can't see them but there are CSR patches on the shirt and jeans along with the high vis stuff!!! You see all these guys walking around and driving around here wearing this high vis stuff so I guess he is just one of the guys! Today he is heading off to the Pioneer plant where they had the big accident with the clarifier right before we left Iowa. It is kind of a mess because they can't run that mill now and have to direct all the cane to other mills which is costing them a lot of money to say the least. I think he is also going to look at another house that is available down there while he is there so we will see what that one is like. We are going to go together on Friday with the realtor to go back to that beach house in Toolekea to see if he likes it and then I guess we will be figuring out what to do!!! Seems like we have been here longer than just 10 days in some ways.

I spent yesterday morning walking ---took a really good hike to the Strand and walked and actually got a bit of a workout since there are a few little hills to go up to get there. Probably should get my act together here and get dressed and go do that in a bit again this morning -----I think I have lost a couple of pounds which is good!! And later I am going to go check out some of the shops up on Flinders that might have some home furnishing items that are worth looking at. I saw a pretty interesting looking international type shop that i wanted to check out when it was actually open instead of peering through the window!!!

Not much else to report today---we ate at Benny's last night and had some great Asian food. Micah would have loved it because they had a huge sushi bar. Ugh. We are slowly going to all the restaurants on Palmer Street and close by. A lot of these places you can charge back to the hotel so it makes it easier to do it that way than to run your card or cash through and have to get reimbursed, etc. At least I assume that is what Chris is doing. We met for lunch yesterday and had a "take away" meal on Flinders since we had to take something to the bank. We had applied for a credit card over here and they needed documentation of Chris' salary (though he tried to give them that when we applied and they didn't want it then!) . Not sure if they will give us one this early on since we have no credit history here and he has yet to get a paycheck but we really need one based out of Australia at this point so hopefully that will all get approved and go through okay.

i keep forgetting to do my word of the day so i will post a bunch today!

Jumper--sweater

sook--wimp

singlet---tank top, clothing

sloppy joe---sweatshirt

mad as a cut snake---very angry

good on ya---job well done

That's enough for today!!! Have a great one!

A busy Monday!

Pictures above: Master bathroom and master bedroom

Kitchen and stairs to the upstairs where master suite and lounge area is
The back of the house which faces the beach and the view from the top porch

I had a busy day today and it was wonderful!!! Walked to the grocery store in the morning with my little red eco bags and bought a few things that we needed for brekkie and some other items. I am getting better at running my trolley (cart) on the left side of the aisle. Of course I got a trainee as my cashier so she was really slow and had to ask me what some of the fruit items were (like golden delicious apples!!!!) but we muddled through together. Got back to the apt and unloaded things and Chris called to say that he had set me up with a realtor to go look at this house up on Toolekea beach so I got ready and walked to their office. The realtor was an interesting guy---still kind of trying to figure him out but we drove to the house --took about 28 minutes from the middle of town so that isn't bad in our standards. The house was interesting to say the least ----it is a newer home made to look old i guess because they used old materials inside it like really old looking doors. I am still deciding if I liked it or not! I loved the porches---one opened up off the master bedroom and then the whole downstairs opened up to a huge porch and you can see the ocean from both. It has 3 bedrooms and not quite the level of ammenities that we are used to as far as bathrooms ---I guess you could say it was a little rustic---so we would have to figure out if we could live in that type of house. I really want Chris to see it too---the pictures on the internet and the pictures I took made it look a lot brighter and lighter but then the realtor didn't really turn stuff on for me. Soooo---I liked it, i loved the beach, I could live there definitely but it would be different than living in a "suburb" but I would just have to find opportunities to meet people outside, you know?? I think we will probably go look at some more properties on Friday if Chris can swing the time. We will see.

I made it back in time to meet Lorrae and her neighbor Karen for lunch and the place we wanted to go to was closed. A lot of places close on Mondays so we found another place to eat and headed there and had a nice lunch and a nice time. Afterwards we went back to Lorrae's for tea and "date slice" and talked and talked and it was so nice but I must admit I felt a little out of my element. Karen is married to an American and they are semi retired I guess and do a lot of traveling to the California and back so she is knowlegeable about the west coast at least. We talked a good couple hours about stuff and i am learning more about Australia, that is for sure. She and her husband go to a church so she invited me to that and drew me a map and everything so we might check that out this weekend if we can find it!!!

Lorrae brought me back to the Quest and I had a little time to tidy up and put things away before Chris came home. We met a couple for dinner and walked over with them. Ray and Jannette---Ray actually works for Chris and is at one of the mills that now I can't remember which one. We had a very nice dinner and I really liked Jannette----she was very open and easy to talk to and I think I have more in common with her as their children are all older---20 - 24 --and they are kind of in the same time of their lives. They love to travel and have been a lot of places and it was nice to hear about some of their adventures. I think it helped the work relationship a lot for Ray and Chris to be in a casual setting and not just in the work environment. I think there is some fear on the part of some of the CSR folks because Chris is an "unknown factor" so the more we can do to be down to earth folks the better I think.

The birds keep waking me up ---there are some really really loud birds here!!! I am kind of dragging this morning so I think I need to get dressed and go walking before it gets too busy out. Maybe I will walk to the Strand today--the beach. it is a little bit of a hike but I think I can get there and get back without too much trouble.

I will add a couple shots of the house I looked at yesterday so you can see it!! Would welcome comments!!! What do you think? A keeper or not???? It would be a differnet kind of living---much simpler---think that is what I need!!! Let me know what you think!!!

Sunday, July 6th---A Day of Touring!!!

We had quite a day of touring the area today!!! Chris is becoming quite good at driving and navigating and now pretty much knows the lay of the land. I, on the other hand, am still a little bit awestruck and not quite ready to do the driving thing but I am getting there!!! We headed out early this morning after having breakfast and went north of Townsville into the Herbert River Region. It was a fun trip and i am sure I will forget to tell you some things but we stopped at several beaches including one where we would like to look at a house that they have for rent. We had looked at it on the internet and it is still available and we could see the back of it when we walked on the beach.....we will see what it is like inside hopefully this week. The thing is I would probably never get anything done at all because I would just be chilling on the beach all the time!!!

We also went to try to see some waterfalls in the Paluma area and we were able to see some really pretty areas but as we were driving up this incredibly skinny road (reminded us of the roads in the Smoky Mountains) we were met but a rescue vehicle who told us we needed to turn around as there was an accident at the top. So......Chris found a place to do just that very very carefully and as we went back down this incredibly skinny road we were stopped again and told to not park in the car park as that is where they were going to land the rescue copter. Whew. Then ....huge tow trucks passed us as we hugged the side of the road closest to the drop off....yikes!!! I was very glad I had left the driving to Chris---I would not have been up to it even in America!!!

We went all the way into Ingham and found the one place that was open for lunch---McDonalds. They had one of those McCafes which serves coffee so we got mochas but they were kind of disappointing---they used powdered chocolate and it was not the same!!! But it was something to keep us going. The thing that will be hard to get used to here----shopping places close at 5 or 6 on the weekdays and are open limited hours on the weekends. Seems like maybe the malls might be open more hours on the weekends but they aren't open late at nights at all either. I guess Australians get their shopping done early or something---it is different though. I kind of feel like we have stepped back in time or something---I think Townsville is a lot more laid back than some other areas like Sydney and Melbourne from the sounds of it.

So tonight we are dining in and relaxing and I am trying to do a load of laundry though it takes an incredibly long time to do it......I will be glad to get a real washer and dryer and iron, etc!!! I am going to post some pictures and I am not sure if they will be at the top or bottom so bear with me!!!

Let's get some pictures up!!!

Look who is coming to sing in Ayr!!!! Paula, let's go!!!!!

Lynch Beach area

Another goofy windblown beach picture but this time not in Hawaii---Australia!!!

Miles and miles and miles of deserted beaches!!! This is Lynch beach in the Burdekin region and we saw 3 people I think the whole time we were there walking around. In Australia you can not build houses on the beaches so they are very different than in the US where everyone crams condos and houses on every square inch of beach! It is very serene and relaxing and you can walk for miles and miles without interruption!!! I love it! This beach is about 5 minutes from the company house in the Burdekin (the one that needs some love......and a good cleaning!).

Saturday adventures

Front of the Burdekin house

Looking out over the lagoon at the Burdekin house.

Sugar cane field

Chris in the driver's seat----he did really well driving today!!! I have yet to try it!!!!

I am not having very good luck getting pictures posted tonight so I am going to quit doing that and just write!!! I am not sure what the problem is but it is frustrating me!!! We had a great day---got up early and had a yummy brekkie at the Bistro One downstairs from our apt. I had french toast and grilled bananas which were yummy and Chris had an eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast and mushroom plate. We got energized and headed out to explore a bit!! Chris did really well driving and I was impressed since it was really only the second time he had done it. There are about a zillion roundabouts and you really have to think when you do those---plus the turn signal is on the opposite side of the "stalk" so you turn on the "windscreen wipers" more than the signal!!!

We headed out and found one of the malls and stopped for a bit---went to Target and I got curling tongs (iron), and an ipod clock/charger/combo thingy kind of like the I Home I had in the US. Chris got some thongs and a travel mug and then we walked around the mall abit trying to figure out what all there was to see. There were a bunch of mobile phone stores (pronounced mo---byle) and we are trying to figure out what to do for my phone. Aaron has an iphone for me but Chris thinks I need a phone that I can use as a modem for my computer since they cap the broadband you can have. I don't get it all but I did find out (which he had told me before...) that I can receive calls on my old phone number with no cost. So...if anyone wants to call me I can get it ---it would just cost me a bit to call out on it so I will use skype for that. So complicated, I know!!!

After the mall we hit the Toyota dealership and looked at the Prado for Chris and the Camry for me. Not sure how this whole thing will shake out but Chris has a car lease with the job and we might lease mine too if the money works out right. I am leaving that in his hands!!! And it will be a few weeks before I feel comfy driving anyway. Then we headed to the Burdekiin area to see the mills there and the house that CSR owns that we can have.

The house is very large and pretty isolated, on a beautiful lagoon with lots and lots of land and mango trees but the house needs some love. It has pretty ugly (in my opinion) drapes and needs a really good cleaning. The veranda (screened in porch) is beautiful and the best part of the house for sure. I would love that part of it. The kitchen is newly remodeled and it has 3 bedrooms and lots of storage which is a bit unusual for Australian houses. Chris will be spending a lot of time at the plants in that area and I think he would like to get this house just for a place to crash so he does not have to drive back and forth (it is about an hour from Townsville) and the price is very very cheap so I have a feeling we will sparsely furnish it and use it that way. Not sure yet. It had an old car in the backyard.....not sure what that is all about. Or what the burned out boat in the side yard was about either. Interesting, very interesting.

We went to Ayr and had lunch at the Yummy and Tasty---both had huge crumbed fish sandwiches and ginger beer which was yummy. Nice lady ran it and we enjoyed having a leisurely lunch. We decided we were tired and headed home---no worries!!!

Last night we ate at the Australian Hotel Steakhouse and it was pretty rowdy by the time we left. Most all of the places here have outside dining and this place had a bar in the front so that is why it got loud. I had coral trout with a chili mango sauce and it was really good. Chris had some steak thing with a mud critter of some kind ( a very small crustacean like a lobster) and he had fun trying to eat it!!! I am learning how to eat with the knife and fork----fork held in the left hand and knife in right like the English I guess. I am still a little bit awkward at it but I figure I need to learn since I am in their country!!!

So Chris played with all his phones and electronics when we came back and I took a nap but kept hearing violins. They have kicked off a big Australian concert series for the next 10 days and all these musicians are staying at the Quest and I guess they are practicing in their rooms or else I am hearing things!!! LOL

Tomorrow I am sure we will venture out again and have more adventures!!! What fun!!! Hope everyone stateside is well!!! Comment and email!!!!

Friday, July 4th and No Fireworks!!!

Oh isn't it sad---here it is July 4th and there will be no fireworks or celebrations!!! Oh well! We are having a great time here still!!!! It is 7:15 am. Friday morning, saw a beautiful sunrise out the balcony, Chris is off to work, the lorakeets are calling and I am going to get my shower in a bit and start my day!!! Life is good!!!

Got a call from a co-worker of Chris' yesterday morning inviting me to lunch and of course I accepted. She asked when I was free and I laughed and told her that whatever suited her was just fine with me!!! Ann is the HR person for CSR Sugar and a very nice lady---and like my other friend Ann I found out she plays the violin....but she is nothing like my best buddy!!! Anyway, we had lunch at a place down the street from the apt. (The Australian Steakhouse) and had a lovely time. She was very helpful and I think the lunch was suggested to her by Chris' boss who she says is worried about me. I think he does not quite get my sense of humor yet maybe and thinks that I am really concerned about snakes and spiders and the like when I am really just joking about it. Anyway, she was really great about filling me in on things and really getting to know me and what my interests are. So it was a nice lunch and then we went someplace else for coffee. I am still getting used to the coffee thing---you order it differently here---a long black is watered down espresso so that is what I am usually ordering. We have got to find a coffee maker this weekend though--this instant stuff is killing me!! I am back to drinking a lot more tea again which is probably better anyway.

Chris got home late last night and we walked the other direction on the street to go to a restaurant called Scirocco Cafe where I got the Thai pad and Chris got kangaroo...yep. He ate Skippy....Mine had prawns in it and I couldn't taste them until I found them.....heads and bodies all on...covered up inside the folded over egg outer piece. LOL It was good and we had a bottle of really good Australian wine. I think I am going to become more of a wine drinker here----their wines are really really good and part of the culture. We really had a lovely dinner and Chris even bought me a rose from a little lady that comes around to the restaurants selling flowers from a basket. Of course he was the only one in the restaurant who bought one but it seemed like the thing to do I guess!

Chris is getting to know the mills and is off to the Burdekin again today. He went to the Herbert region yesterday and those mills are doing well. The Burdekin is where they had the accident and those are the mills he is going to be concentrating on the most and will have his main office there I think. He is also looking at this manager's house that they have offered to us. It is supposedly a nice house---a Queenslander--which would be a neat style to live in since they are the typical Australian style house here and it might be good for him to be located there instead of in Townsville. I think if I understood him corrrectly it would be an hour or so from here. Anyway, this house has a mango grove and a lagoon (pond) and it sounds like it might be a little remote so I think Mark is worried it would be too isolated for me but we will see. There are 2 small towns close by--Ayr and Homehill and from what I can understand they have shopping and about anything that we would need food wise, etc. so who knows. I am going to go with the flow. You know me---I can be happy just about anywhere! And already I feel like I have more friends here than I had in Iowa!! LOL

Everyone is so dratted friendly here! When we were coming down in the lift (elevator--see I am trying to give you words of the day here) a couple struck up a conversation with us. They were from Cairns (pronounced Cans) and were so chatty!!! I think it is because we are an oddity probably---but everyone wants to talk to us!!! Ann told me that I did not have an American accent at all so I guess all of our moving around has left me with no distinquishable accent or something! I guess that is a good thing. I am still very aware that I am a guest here and I will remember that and not assume anything. I am asking questions and trying to understand the way things work and so far it is going well.

The one thing that is going to cramp my style is that the internet is capped on how much data you can use. We had to pay for a month of usage and I am afraid that even though I am just basically getting my emails and doing this blog I am going to run out at the end of the month!!! What would I do??? This is my lifeline!!! So we are going to have to check out the deals and see what we can do about that i guess. I don't get it but it is not unlimited usage I guess. Aaron could explain it to me I am sure.

Speaking of Aaron --he is coming over in a week and I have tried to give him all this info about the luggage thing and customs and all that so hopefully he and Tom will not have any problems with their trip over on the 11th. I know he is excited.

Wow---I have rambled and still no more pictures to post. I will take some this weekend for sure. I don't think Chris will be working tomorrow and we plan to go look at this house and probably look at cars. I have my eye on a red Honda Accord Euro....very very cute!!! And we need to do some shopping and check out furniture places, etc. so a little exploring will be in order. Hopefully Chris will feel good about driving....

Last word of the day: Googie= egg
Stay tuned....

Wednesday, July 2

This was another great day---the weather was beautiful and breezy and even though I didn't get in a really good fast walk I did walk today around the CBD (central business district) a bit which was good.

Chris went to the Burdekin area today to the plant where they had the clarifier accident a week and half ago----when he came home he had his orange hard hat and orange reflective vest on so he looked real official!!! He has uniforms ordered which will be really sexy!!! When they are in the mills they have to wear 100% cotton shirts and pants so it is easier to wear these uniforms and then their good clothes don't get all torn up. Anyway, Chris had a long day but he said it was a good one---attended some safety meetings and met a ton of people and I think he is getting into the meat of the job now.

Since he was gone all day I did a little reading, ironing, laundry and you will be glad to know that my second load of laundry done in my cool washer/dryer combo only took half a day instead of a whole day. It is not the most effecient of machines, let us just say that!!! I will be glad for a real house with a real washer and dryer. Looks like we may seriously look at the manager's house in the Burdekin that the company owns. We can rent it for some crazy amount like $150 a month and it comes with a mango grove........and a lagoon.......I will let you know more when I see it. But since Chris will be spending a lot of his time there and it is about an hour from Townsville it might make sense to do that to begin with and then get something else later should we decide to. We will see! I can live almost anywhere I think but if it is too remote I might have a problem!!!

Whilst (see I am picking up the lingo here) I was out walking today I picked up a really pretty tea towel to take to Lorrae tonight as she and Mark (Chris' boss) invited us for dinner. Lorrae loves tea like I do and this towel had pretty little teacups on it and it just looked like something she would like. As I was walking back over the Victoria Bridge ( I need to take a picture of it as it is famous for being a swing bridge for ships) I passed a group of indigenious Australians (aboriginal Australians) and I must have looked like an easy mark as they asked me for "money for a feed". I kept walking. It is my gift I think to attract the needy but I just did not feel confident in handing money to them or getting too involved as there was no one else close around. Funny thing is that Chris' boss told me just yesterday that they would not bother me----they don't usually approach the whites but I am sure I looked like I had "American tourist" written all over me and that is why!!! He was suprised tonight when I told him at dinner that I had been approached.

Chris did not get home till well after 7 and we took a taxi to their house and Lorrae had a wonderful meal of lasagna--yummy!!! Mark and Chris (sounds like I am talking about my brothers!) headed for the basement to watch footie and Lorrae and I talked and had tea!!! It was a really great night and we totally enjoyed ourselves and I think I make Mark laugh---I don't think he quite knows what to make of me sometimes but in a good way. And this is the first night since we have been here that we have been able to stay up past 8 pm!!! It is now almost 11:30 and I am still wired so hopefully I will sleep through the night for the first time!!! I think the jetlag is gone though it really wasn't bad.

Chris has another really long day tomorrow so I am going to find someplace safe to walk hopefully and do some walking and then relax on my little balcony and read, read, read. Oh and I did find a station that played Dr. Phil, Oprah and a bunch of other shows in the evening like House and NCIS!!! So there is a lot of America here even if it is a year old!!!

Will try to add some pictures tomorrow ----Word of the Day is battler---someone who is working hard but barely making it.