It's Been an Long, Long Time....



Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Big Dog Daddy has the only computer and takes it with him everyday to work. Since he doesn't get home until after 8:00PM, I am not able to conjure up the strength to write a witty blog entry.



Much has transpired since last we met...



The moving boxes from America arrived...now we have blankets, hangers, coats and fuzzy sweatshirts!!! This makes for much warmer breakfasts and much deeper sleep. The kids are also grateful for the hangers...it's much easier for them to hang up clothes than fold them. Big Dog Daddy's golfclubs are in quarantine due to that dangerous "American Dirt" that might contaminate the Australian dirt. Funny. They are so worried about Yankee golfclubs when creepy crawlies like the Funnel Web Spider are native to Sydney and are ranked as the deadliest spider in all the world...Dirt doesn't knock you down dead!!!!



The two younguns had their interview at the Redlands school on Tuesday. The school is so fantastic that Surferdude and Ponygirl wanted to start right then. They will begin next Tuesday and go through the end of the month, at which point they get a three week break. So, we were off to the uniform shop to buy the following:


Ponygirl:
1 Blazer; 1 wool checkered skirt (gently used); 2 collared shirts; 1 poly/cotton navy "jumper" (pullover sweater);1 school backpack, 1 music bag;1 recorder,1 library bag; 1 athletics outfit (golf shirt and knit shorts), grey tights; 2 pr. knee socks; 1 Redlands sun hat (can't play outside without one); "stationery supplies" (notebooks, graph paper; music paper) and house (yes, like Harry Potter) pins for blazer. Total: $600.00 - I kid you not.


Surferdude:
1 Blazer, 2 wool grey slacks, 2 blue collared shirts, 2 striped school ties, 1 navy jumper; 1 athletics bag,1 school backpack, 1 music bag;1 recorder,1 library bag; 1 athletics outfit; 1 sun hat; cool geometry tool kit, stationey supplies and house pins. Total:$700.00



I see now why poor Ron Weasley always had used robes. You can imagine the zombie-like way I exited the store...What if I was too lazy to wash & iron and actually got enough uniforms for every day of the week....??? The kids had a ball getting all decked out. One note: Apparently it is very important to have a separate bag for all activities. This is an English habit I have been told. I was happy to have them smash everything into one backpack, but they can't participate without the proper bag. Public school children have them too.



Went to Manly beach today and we will be going to see an Australian Rules Football game tomorrow. Should be entertaining.



Big Dog Daddy has arranged a three-day getaway to Kangaroo Island for the Queen's Birthday holiday in two weeks. Long live Elizabeth Regina!!! We will fly to Adelaide that Friday, tour Kangaroo Island Saturday and Sunday and head back to Sydney on Monday. I will keep you posted.



One last observation. EVERYONE here asks me about the Presidential Race in the United States. It is absolutely hilarious. They know more about Obama and Hilary than most Americans do. I am not exaggerating. A sweet-faced, truly ancient lady on the bus the other day said to me "So, are you going to support Hilary or Obama?" I had to say,"Well, I won't be supporting either but a lot of Americans do." She laughed and replied "Oh...a rebel are ye!!!" I smiled back "So I've been told." Surferdude swallowed his tongue..... Now that I think about it, I do feel a bit like Luke Skywalker versus the Empire...I guess being a conservative is being rebellious. If I felt like inciting a riot I could even say that I think George W. is a courageous president and bring up examples of how much Lincoln was hated...better not. I don't want my Visa revoked.


May the force be strong with you too...

Ta Ta

New Beginnings....

Well ... it was a long couple of flights. Ponygirl, ever looking out for her comfort, stuffed the Continental Airlines pillow and blanket into her backpack. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why her backpack had become so huge as it was slid onto the conveyor belt at LAX. Then there was the security drill where loud sirens blared and we all had to step back from the xray machines and all activity stopped for about 3 minutes. After a long-delayed flight from Houston, this was just what my 11-year old anxious kid needed to top off his day. Boy, I feel so much more secure....

The Quantas flight was outstanding. We landed at 6:00 AM and were almost put on the Aussie watch list due to Ponygirl stashing the eaten apple core and banana peel from her breakfast in her backpack. FOOOD!!!!UNAUTHORIZED!!!!UNDECLARED!!!! I will be in charge of her backpack in future.

Our house is lovely. It is period Federation and has beautiful tiled fireplaces...we can't figure out how to turn them on, mind you, but they look lovely. The wooden floors are polished and we have pull switches to turn on the chandelier lights. Every door has its own key, so we have about 10 keys. Surferdude enjoys unlocking all the doors. We have vacuumed, scrubbed and mopped, so all is well in our human doll house. It has been cold, so we have been living mornings and evenings upstairs, as only the second floor has heat. We can't wait for our moving boxes to arrive with all of our blankets and coats and heavy sweatshirts. But, as our new neighbors say ...No worries.

Before I go, here are a few highlights from our first week in OZ...

1. McDonald's hamburgers have never tasted better than when eaten on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

2. Sydneysiders are quite polite to an American family hauling trash bins, stepstools and laundry baskets needed for the house onto city buses. They don't laugh out loud.

3. Children voluntarily head to bed at 5:30PM three nights in a row after a long trip to Sydney.

4. Energy-conscious (bordering on obsessed) Australian refrigerators will set off an alarm when left slightly ajar...causing the adults in the house to run around looking for the source and just waiting for the constables to show up on the doorstep.

5. Seeing the light in your children's eyes as they head across Sydney Harbor for the first time on a beautiful clear day.... worth every flight-induced crick in the neck.

Ta for now...

How to have it all with only 4 "D" size moving containers full of stuff:

1. Remember....you can buy things there....they take Mastercard.

2. Location, Location, Location!

3. Have good adventure companions!

G'day and G'bye!!!