Happy New Year, Mates!!!

Welcome to the year 2009!!! I have been enjoying a nice, long visit to the USA and took a break from blogging. Now, it is back to living in the Land Down Under. Sydney is experiencing a heat wave. Last night, at 9:00 PM it was a balmy 30-degrees celcius (86-degrees Fahrenheit). Everyone expects the heat to break next Tuesday. Let's hope so, we only have air-conditioning on one floor. Many of our neighbors aren't that lucky.

I approach this New Year with a new and positive attitude. BigDogDaddy's industry has taken a huge hit in the USA, so we are all grateful for the work here in Sydney. I also am comfortable driving on the left-side of the road (at least as comfortable as I will ever be.) I am also grateful for all the times I have been utterly and totally lost in Sydney...now I have a good feel for how the city is set up. It will also be great to begin the school year properly (it begins January 28th). So, it is onward and upward down under!!!

This New Year, we are also finding ourselves embracing the Oz lifestyle. Our main wardrobe this week has been swimmies, boardies and thongs along with our sunnies shading our eyes. We are also slip, slap and slopping. (see earlier blog entry for vocablulary definitions) We also have all windows open hoping to catch a breeze and not a bird. Next Monday, we will be one of the many enjoying the ferry races, big ships regatta and fireworks of Australia Day. The harbor will be teeming with fun activities. One difficult tradition to embrace is vegemite. Aussies love it! In the supermarket there are tubes of it, jars of it and blister packs w/crackers. They eat it on toast, biscuits(crackers) and Domino's pizza sells "Vegemite cheesy bread". I must say, we have all given it a go. It is vile stuff to the American palate. It isn't just nose scrunching bad, it is "wipe-your-tongue-off-with-your-napkin" bad. It is a brewer's yeast extract blended with celery, onion and salt. It is basically boiled-down, sticky, black beer. Since we have yet to "acquire" the taste, our complete transformation into Aussie-Americans will be slower than usual. If you want to try it yourself...have some napkins handy.

So, as all of my loved ones and friends in America enjoy the lastest installation of the Ice Age, we wish you a very warm Happy 2009!


Things I like this week:
1. The cool, new Qantas A-380. It is a double-decker, luxurious way to cross the Pacific Ocean. Former Australian prime minister John Howard was on our flight (first-class, of course).

2. Summer Aussie fruit. Kiwi's, cherries, mangoes, berries...yum!

3. School uniforms. Each child got a new pair of black, hard-soled school shoes....done with back to school shopping!!!

4. Vince Flynn's new book Extreme Measures.

Things I don't like this week:
1. Heat and humidity.

2. Traffic around our area...lots of beaches=lots and lots of cars. Many of them with boats, kayaks, surfboards, longboards attached.

3. Parking...it goes hand-in-hand with traffic. Everyone is trying to beat the heat.

Have a Howly Jowly Christmas

Wind....In elementary school I remember my Laura Ingalls Wilder books describing the incessant, howling winds across the prairies. Prairie wives would get "wind crazy" from it. My mother also used to describe the winds in Farmington, New Mexico and the constant sand that would accumulate on windowsills. I have come to see that it is not the intensity of the wind as much as the consistency of it that makes me a little...well... wind crazy. December has proven to be an adjustment for this northern hemisphere gal. With the children out of school, we took a trip downtown to check out the David Jones windows (much like a Saks Fifth Avenue) and see the 4-story Christmas tree decorated with over 2,500 Swarovski crystal ornaments at the QVB (the Queen Victoria Building). With the kids in their shorts and flipflops and I in my sundress, we traversed around the CBD (Central Business District) listening to the Christmas carols and enjoying all the decorations. I knew I was in the southern hemisphere when I heard Bing sing "White Christmas" as I applied another layer of suncream to the children's noses.

The "Northies" have arrived this week. These are the consistent, warm northerly winds (remember that north winds bring air from the equator...the southies bring wind from Antarctica) that last for days. The wind is so consistent and fierce, that our gate has been blown off its hinges for the second time since we moved here. You should hear the windows rattle in our 80 year old house. The winds and the moon's close proximity made for some amazing tides and surf at Manly Beach this Sunday. It was a surfer's heaven. The good thing about the wind is the pesky summer flies have been laying low...not weather for flying. The wind has also made the water so choppy that the ferries pitch and roll as they cross the harbor.

On a sad note, the owner of our coffee stand down at the ferry wharf passed away two weeks ago. Unbeknownst to us, she suffered from cancer. She went to work on Friday and passed away on the following Monday. She was a beautiful french lady. She had modeled and acted in Paris. She emigrated to Australia and settled in Cremorne, NSW. She started this very humble coffee stand. She would bring in homemade muffins and french breakfast breads and fire up her beautiful coffee machine every morning by 6:00AM. While the children were in school, I would take my walk down to the point and join the five or six ladies who would sit at the small tables. If it was a slow day, she would sit and visit with us. She loved Americans. "Zee Americans liberated France...we do not forget." Her grandfather worked for the underground and later for DeGaul. She was a lovely woman and her coffee was strong, black and served in small juice glasses. She also collected hundreds of signatures (mine included) to obtain permission from the council to open a restaurant at the wharf. Alas, Cremorne will have to do without her french cooking...pity. The young man who is now running the stand wants to name it "Sophie's Place". I can't think of a tribute she would love more. http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/restaurants/6-of-the-best-sydney-coffee-carts.aspx

Merry Christmas (hopefully not as howly or jowly as ours) and a restful New Year.

Things I love this week:

1. "Merry Christmas" : this phrase is thrown about easily and without pc guilt. Good on them!
2. Aussie entertaining: We had dinner with a lovely Aussie family and it was such a relaxing and laid-back experience.... it helped that he was a wine connisuer.
3. Open-air markets: Such a lovely way to spend an afternoon. All the artistic talent without gallery snootiness. BigDogDaddy is the king of markets. He can find the wheat among the chaff.

Things I don't love this week:

1. Hot, howling winds that rattle your windows, fences and your nerves.
2. Parking: Affects decisions about how and where to travel
3. Fighting crowds in the CBD. I was holding Ponygirl's hand as we stepped onto the subway train. A woman ran between our hands, breaking my grip on Ponygirl, as we were stepping on. She did it to grab a seat. Ponygirl could have been left on the platform. Once the door closed, Mamabear just about started throwing elbows... I did ask the rude woman if she was comfortable in her seat. "After all, your comfort is more important than a nine-year old human child!!!"

T-Bone or TV?

As big as this world is, somethings are universal. No matter how good your list, you will always leave the supermarket and realize all the things you forgot. There is never a good day to get a cold and the end of each school year finds you careening down a hill of busy-ness. I am currently holding on with my fingernails. I spent 5 hours in the school workroom assembling poetry books. I have had experience with a binding machine, so I was chained to that thing for 4 of the 5 hours. God bless the wonderful lady who ran out for coffee about two hours into it. Then, I keep getting more assignments..."Mom, I need two dozen chocolate chip cookies on Thursday." "Mom, I need $6.00 for the end-of-surf education party." "Mom, I need to be at the schoool on Monday at 6:00 for the caroling service." "Mom, I need to be at speech day at 8:00AM on Wednesday." "Mom, am I going to bring treats for my class for my birthday on Friday?" "Mom, did you get the bags for my birthday party?" "Mom, can you give friend X and friend Y a ride to my birthday party...their moms need to work...they'll be calling you...." Next Wednesday is the last day of school. It takes place at the convention center. Speech Day (as they call it) is a day full of music (Ponygirl's choir and Surferdude's orchestra) and speeches. They both need to be there at 8:00AM and we will need to rely on public transport to get there. I have also been given the heads up....get your coffee before you get to the convention center. The one little coffee kiosk is always overwhelmed. One lady told me she waited over an hour for her latte. I would be climbing the walls by that point. So....armed with that knowledge, chocolate chips and a full tank of petrol...I will enjoy my high speed plummet down the hill. Wheeeee!!!!

Our weekend was eventful. We headed to the Blue Mountains to the village of Blackheath (just a 2 hour drive) for a weekend away. After checking into our Eco-cabin (more on that experience later), we explored Katoomba and rode the world's steepest train (54 degree angle), took a gondola ride over waterfalls and enjoyed a leisurely walk amongst the eucalyptus trees. The biggest attraction, however, was the weather. While eating lunch, sleet and hail rained down...then sunshine. As we left the railway, snow was falling...then sunshine.... It was only the second time in history that it had snowed in the Blue Mountains in November. Don't forget ... it is summer here. It was -2 degrees celsius at one point.

We had a fabulous time at dinner. It was a complete accident. Two places we tried to book for dinner were hosting weddings (those poor brides...snow and sleet). We ended up at The Fairmont golf course restaurant in Leura. Surferdude ordered a t-bone steak as big as his head. On the bar t.v. behind him, the RugbyLeague World Cup was starting and Surferdude kept trying to leave the scintillating conversation with his parents and sister to watch New Zealand shellac Australia. BigDogDaddy put it perfectly "You can have your T-bone or TV, Surferdude...Not both." That phrase has been oft-repeated since. The finale of the dinner was fried ice cream. You should have seen my brood sitting there with big goblets of fried ice cream with caramel sauce...priceless!

For the next part of the story, a quick vocabulary lesson is needed. An eco-lodge or cabin is an interesting phenomenon. These structures are designed to make as little "economic impact" as possible. This translates into low lighting, funky showers, liquid shampoo and soap dispensers, water heated with propane, and, sometimes, toilet "pits" which don't use any water at all. They are usually located in beautiful locations and allow for all of us to stay in a place with a kitchen. So, as we headed back to our cabin, we were full and happy. Once in our cabin, we realized that our only source of heat was WOOD BURNING wrought iron stove. All of our previous stays in eco lodges/cabins had all had a reverse-cycle airconditioner. Mr. Eagle scout BigDogDaddy soon had a wonderful fire chugging along and if you sat three feet in front of it, you could thaw out nicely. Unfortunately, the two bedrooms were a long way from the stove. So, after extinguishing the fire, the four of us climbed into our beds fully clothed fo sleep in a -2 degree (celsius) night. To make the night more exciting, gale force winds kept blowing so fiercly that gum tree boughs made loud thunking sounds on the metal cabin roof. Needless to say, we were all a little cranky by sun-up. It was so cold, that when you cracked open the lukewarm muffins we brought for breakfast, steam poured out of them...now that is cold!!!

Oh well, at least we got a new family mantra "T-bone or TV".

Here's wishing everyone in the USA a most Happy Thanksgiving. We will be celebrating ours with many other Americans in Sydney with dinner at the swank American Club. I will still be making pies though...gobble gobble!!!!


Things I like this week:
1. Australian coffee---I've needed some this week...liters of it!
2. My current book - The Guernsey Literary&Potato Peel Pie Society-Ann Shaffer
3. The US election being over

Things I don't like this week:
1. Clothesdryers that need the water emptied from them
2. Washing machines that need to be hand drained and then refilled
3. Eco cabins: they may be green, but they won't see our green (as in dollars) again

A Moment of Silence

There I was, standing in Priceline Pharmacy at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Suddenly, the muzak playing in the store was silent except for a lone bugle recording. Everyone, customers and staff, stood silently in a minute of silence to commemorate Remembrance Day. Florists sold poppies on the sidewalks for us to wear in our lapels . It was a wonderfully moving time. Australians still remember Gallipoli and teach about it every year in school. No country lost a higher ratio of soldiers in WWI (when you look at the total population) than Australia. Under John Howard, Aussie soldiers were our allies in Afghanistan & Iraq. Their devotion to Remembrance Day is something to be admired.

Surferdude and Ponygirl were remembering our last Veteran's Day in the USA. They made computer-generated thank-you cards and handed them out at Pat's Coffee Shop in Mooresville, NC. http://www.welcomehomeveteran.org/ This coffee shop is run by a veteran for veterans and has been for years. Ponygirl and Surferdude met some amazing people that day including an eighty-plus year old woman who served as a Marine MP during WWII. A tall young man walked in a few minutes later with two little children, ordered coffee, chocolate milk and donuts. He had just returned from Iraq. He was a Lt. Colonel who, among other things, provided reconnaisance directives for the Navy fliers in their bombing runs. Having an uncle who was a Navy aviator, Ponygirl and Surferdude had lots of questions. He was so moved by the kid's cards, that he promised that his children, when they were older, would continue the tradition when he went to Veteran celebrations. We checked out the thick Veteran's Book in Pat's, looked at the heaps of memorobilia, but mostly listened and enjoyed being in the company of so many self-sacrificing people. The most amazing moment was the conversation had with Richard, the current owner of Pat's Coffee Shop. He was a Vietnam Vet with an unbelievable story to tell. Richard called over a medium-build, mild looking man who was introduced to us as a Vietnam helicopter pilot. He put his arm around the man and said "This man was a complete stranger when he walked into Pat's. After a few months of reliving the old days, I realized that I had a connection with him. This man who flew into a terrible fire fight and recovered a company of soldiers killed in the battle. The location was so remote, that he knew the recovery teams would never find these men. One of the men he recovered was my brother. He brought my brother out of Vietnam. My mother has this man to thank everytime she goes up yonder to the VA cemetary to visit my brother's grave. Most people would have left him on that field...but not this man." Surferdude, Ponygirl and their mother were speechless. That is what Remembrance/Veteran's Day is about.

If you live around Mooresville, stop in for a cup of coffee and donut and thank those in there for their service. If you have older kids, bring them in and browse through the book. If you are in a pharmacy or grocery store on November 11th, stop and be still at 11:00AM. Buy poppies...anything! All of us who live in freedom anywhere in the world are so blessed that people like those at Gallipoli or in Pat's Coffee Shop chose to answer the call when the world needed them. It is the very least we can all do!!

5 Ways an Oz Halloween Is Different from the USA

1. Pumpkins: Pumpkin season has past here....average price per pumpkin is $25.00.

2. Weather: It is hot...low '90's today.

3. Candy: Such a healthy country! Ponygirl & Surferdude went to a Halloween party tonight. They came home full from the BBQ sausages and soda...but they had a total of 4 pieces of candy.

4. Costumes: Costumes were very hard to find. There were mostly paper masks, capes, devil horns, etc.. Therefore, costumes are mainly street clothes with some of the above additions. One pre-teen exemplifies what I am talking about...He was walking around Manly with a plastic shopping bag covered with yellow sticky notes all over his clothes, shoes and face. He was a sticky note dispenser I guess...

5. Trick-or-treating: Houses are tucked away anywhere they can build them on the Sydney shores. Around here, 1 in 10 houses put out pumpkins. Neighbors don't get together in the "cul de sac" and walk around to each others houses. Trick-or-treating is also done before dark. This probably due to the busy roads. It wouldn't be safe in the dark.

Halloween is seen as a northern hemisphere holiday. The pagan Irish celebration welcomed the arrival of Fall/Harvest. Since Australia is entering Summer, it doesn't make much sense. Perhaps the biggest reason Halloween is a dud holiday...Australia is very secular. The whole tradition of All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day has no resonance here. One cool thing is that I took the kid's annual Halloween picture on Manly Beach. How many can say they have had their Halloween picture with the Tasman Sea in the background...hmmm?

Things I like this week:

1. Coffee cafes: "Let's meet for a coffee." This has to be one of the best sentences ever uttered. They are busy all morning long. Imagine sitting outside on a beautiful Aussie day, sipping a nonfat latte with a friend. Heaven!

2. Australian nectarines, kiwi, blueberries, strawberries... If fruit isn't dripping down our chins, our family isn't happy.

Things I don't like this week:

1. The American Election: Ponygirl and Surferdude are not experts on our political system...so why do their classmates and teachers ask their opinions about our upcoming election? If they have a question ask me, not them. Better yet, if you can't vote in our election---Don't ask!!!

2. Parking: difficult, expensive and usually parallel

Happy Trick or Treating!!!!

Aussie Slang

Here's a vocabulary list we have been compiling...there will be a test....(just kidding)

Travel vocabulary:

• Sealed vs. Unsealed road - paved vs. unpaved (Not much difference in rural Australia)
• Overtaking lane - highway passing lanes


• Togs - clothes


• Beanie - hat a.k.a ski or stocking cap


• Jumper - sweater


• Singlet/Chesties - tank tops . . . especially for men


• Billy's - wood-burning camp stoves


• Torch - flashlight
• Car Park - Parking lot
• Petrol - gasoline ie: fill up with petrol at the petrol station

Sporting vocabulary:

• Footy - rugby or Aussie rules football (Used interchangeably causing much confusion)


• Excursion - hike


• Carnival - track or swim meet


• Swimmies - bathing suits


• Trackies - track suit


• Sunnies - sunglasses


• Rashies - swimming rash guards/shirts


• Thongs - flip flops


• "Slip, Slop, Slap" - Sun protection slogan...slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat. Everyone says this...
  
• Boardies - long swim trunks for boys/men
• Aqua class - (prounounced like back) water aerobics class
• Sun cream - sunscreen

School vocabulary:

• Biro - ballpoint pen


• Rubber - eraser (Imagine Ponygirl asking me for one of these for the first time....)


• Morning/Afternoon Tea - morning and/or afternoon snack...tea isn't involved. Usually occurs around 10:00AM and 4:00 PM
• A cut lunch - what we would call a packed or sack lunch ,
• School run - the process of dropping off and picking up children from school
• Creche- (Pronounced /craysh/) the child care area at church, the gym, etc. Don't call it the nursery...that is what they call a the section of the barn that is used for chicks, lambs, calves, etc.
  

Conversational vocabulary:

• "Good on 'ya" - Good job.


• "See ya latah" - said in lieu of "Goodbye"


• "How ya going?" - What's up? How are you?


• "Have a go..." - Give it a try
• "... I reckon." - Used at the end of a sentence. Used like we do "I guess."
• "Make a booking"- make a reservation. You cannot walk into a restaurant at dinner without a booking. It can be completely empty and they won't seat you. I've been told that restaurants order their food from their suppliers based on their bookings.
• "G'day!" - yes they really say it and it always makes me smile :0)
• "No worries" - don't worry about it....or it's said to placate Americans when they seem too uptight for Aussie interaction
• "Hoover it up" - clean it up, vacuum it up, pick it up
• "Table" - in Aussie speak, this means talk about it now, put it on the table. In the USA, it means to put something off until later.
• "Sort It"- figure it out. "We will sort it."
• "Dodgy" - 1. a bit off, not fresh. "That meat looks dodgy." 2. untrustworthy, not truthful "That answer was a bit dodgy." (I love this one and use it often.)

Food/shopping vocabulary:

• Woolies: Woolworth's grocery store
• Capsicum - bell peppers


• Full cream, cream custard, clotted cream, heavy full cream - they are all next to each other in the supermarket . . . .no clue what the difference is


• Shops - as in "Pop up to the shops"...stores


• Stiffening - starch . . . as in the kind you use in shirts


• Biscuits - cookies


• Latte - (rhymes with flat-tay) espresso coffee with milk added...frothy


• Short or Long white - espresso coffee with non-frothed milk. Served in clear juice glasses vs. a mug/cup


• Chips - french fries


• Kebabs - (rhymes with crabs)thinly sliced lamb wrapped in pita breads and pressed flat and grilled. Sort of a gyro sandwich


• Rockmelon - canteloupe
• Veg - (pronounced /vej/) vegetables
• Wheelie bin - garbage cans left outside for collection...ie. "Have you seen my wheelie bin? I think you might have taken mine be mistake...notice the dent I put into with my car..."
• Esky- a cooler

O.K. Ready for some typical sentences I hear everyday? Remember, the vocabulary list above is there to help you.

MORNING...

"Everyone into the car, it's time for the school run."

"Hold on, I need my jumper, biros, some rubbers, my swimmies and my trackies."

"Well hurry, I need to stop by the petrol station."

"Did you not have your latte today, Mom?, Sheesh!"

"No worries, I found all of them!"

LATER THAT MORNING...AT WOOLIES.

"G'day, you need something?"

"Yes, I need some half and half for a recipe. With all these cream choices, I am confused."

"Good on ya madam. I can tell by your accent that you are American. Whose ya votin' for..."

"The half and half problem, please..."

"Well, we don't see anything like that, I reckon."

"I will just use whole milk, then."

"Right you go miss, see ya latah"

LATER THAT DAY....

"Mom, why do all their pizzas have pineapple or capsicum on them. I'd like something else for tea."

"Not now buddy, I am overtaking this car that decided it had to park right there next to the curb."

"Why don't they go down to the carpark?"

"I don't know, Surferdude. AAAK! I barely avoided that pedestrian. Now look, that wheelie bin has blown over into the street."

"No worries, Mom!!!"

GRRRRR!!!!

So now, when you come to visit us you can fit right in by using the local lingo.

Too right!!!!!

Things I like this week:

1. Beautiful warm days at the beach...this is what I signed up for!

2. Having my vacuumer back (see previous blog posting)

3. Delicious Aussie fruit and veg.

Things I don't like this week:

1. Shopping carts that roll sideways at the grocery stores...they ALL do it!

2. Laid back Aussies who cross the street wherever they want . . . they ALL do it! (Why even bother to paint crosswalk lines, I wonder?)

3. Too warm to wear my Uggs...what a shame they don't make flip flops...sorry, thongs.

Tazzy!!!

Sometimes, my knowledge of plate techtonics gets put aside and I imagine God forming each continent like a kindergartener plays with clay. I imagine him, every now and then, sitting back and saying "Now I outdid myself with that one...." That is how I feel about Tasmania. This little corner of the world has so many beautiful places, that I must say...He outdid himself.

Surferdude joined his Australian Scout troop in Tasmania as they set out to backpack the Tasman Coastal Trail. The trip is an eight-day excursion. He is still there and will not be back until Sunday night. Term 4 begins on Monday morning...so it should be interesting trying to get him back into tie and sport coat.

The remaining family, Big DogDaddy, Ponygirl and myself, explored the Hobart area. We shopped in the Salamanca markets, drove up snowy Mt. Wellington, took a three hour powerboat tour around Bruny Island, and explored Port Arthur with its history and Tasmanian devils. One exciting highlight was when we sat on the intersection of the Tasman Sea and the Southern Ocean. Antarctica was a mere two-thousand miles straight ahead. Bruny Island is an amazing place with salmon farms, sheep and an American-owned cherry orchard. Every single orchard was covered with screens to keep out the birds and the Tasmanians were laughing about how the American uses helicopters to hover over the orchards and blow off the excess rain from the fruit. Every single cherry is then sent to the US for sale. He must be doing something right...he had a huge farm! So, if you see any Tasmanian/Bruny Island cherries, you know where they come from.

Port Arthur was, basically, Australia's Alcatraz. If you re-offended or were too contrary in the Australian prison camps, you were sent to Port Arthur prison. Once again, the land was gorgeous. It's remoteness eliminated the need for much security. Like Alcatraz, unless you were a good swimmer, you were stuck. (We all know what happens when you swim willynilly in the Aussie oceans...you are never seen again....not any part of you .....ever.) The prison was self-supportive. All the convicts worked the kitchens, laundries, and hauled timber. Your job was determined by your behavior. They also required that everyone attend church together (guard and prisoner alike). Punishment was severe...either lashes with a cat-o-nine tails or solitary confinement. Some were rehabilitated, most were not.

Near Port Arthur, we stopped at a Tasmanian Devil rescue center. A horrendous, contagious facial cancer has been wiping out the tasmanian devil population. The only help for these animals is to remove healthy devils from the wild and put them in conservations centers. They will be kept out of the wild and, basically, live in these zoos for the rest of their lives. They are fascinating creatures and Ponygirl LOVED seeing them all piled up asleep.

Tasmanians are also friendly and kind people. They are considered, by mainland Australians, to be the "rednecks" of the country. Well, you know how that doesn't bother us at all. Living in North Carolina, we know rednecks. Every time we were in contact with them, especially in large groups, I never had anything but a great time and always felt safe and secure. Where else but a Toby Keith concert, could you leave your purse on the ground and dance for hours without a worry of it being taken??? If Tasmanians are "rednecks", then I know why we loved it!!!!

I hope you all get a chance to visit the Australian "Emerald Isle".


Things I like this week:

1. Bruny Island Fudge
2. Two-week school holidays... long enough but not too long.
3. Outdoor markets

Things I don't like this week:

1. Airline rules for no reason (You can only have 10 kilos per carry-on. I had 13. I put 3 kilos worth of stuff in Ponygirl's bag...how have I reduced the amount of weight being carried on the plane? Didn't I just redistribute it?)

2. My vacuumer being on vacation. I need Surferdude to come home. It's getting dusty.

3. My arthritic right foot and the two-days of ice-ing needed after trips. Boo!