Recently, Andy took the girls (and the car) to the carwash. Here's his report:
This past Sunday, when the temperature hit a hot and sweltering 35C (95F), we decided that the car needed washing. Not so much to clean the car, which was getting dirty, but more to hose each other down and cool off. So Alanna, Aliya and I put on our bathers (swim suits) and headed to the local do-it-yourself car wash. After vacuuming the car, I drove it forward into the carwash bay. After dropping a few coins in the machine, I handed Alanna the spray nozzle, pressed the button for “Pre-Wash,” and let her take aim to hose me down. Little did I know that the “Pre-Wash” contained a foul-tasting soap. Blech! At least it was a cool spray. We then proceeded to wash the car, waiting until the fresh water rinse to hose each other down. And boy did we. We spent most of the rinse time spraying each other, and barely managed to rinse the car. Near the end, as we were drying the car off, Aliya commented, “Hey, we’re just like your car wash servants.” Smart kid. She realized that the chance to hose each other down was just a ruse to wash the car.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Rain, Part Deux
Friday, Feb 4th was an unforgettable day for the A-team. The girls woke up early and dressed in their school uniforms for the first day of school. You can see their personalities reflected in their choice of uniforms. Alanna chose the shorts and polo shirt. (Can I tell you how happy Andy is that their school colors are blue and gold? Sigh.) Aliya chose the prison convict gingham dress.
Despite the light sprinking of rain, the A-team happily (if a bit nervously) walked to school. Because of the rain, we weren't sure if we should go right to the classrooms, so we checked with the office. We were told to go into the courtyard and stand behind the witches hats. ??? Andy figured out they meant safety cones, which makes sense when you think about the shape.
 |
| Ready for the first day of school |
 |
| No hats, no play! |
6.5 hours later, I was waiting in the same courtyard. The day was a definite success for both girls. I so wish I had brought the camera. Aliya came down the steps holding hands with her "Australia best friend." Alanna came running towards me with a new friend in tow as well. After a quick conference with her dad, Annaliese came over for a playdate, and the three girls had a great time. Aliya was disappointed not to get a playdate, but she cheered up when we arranged for her new friend to come over on Monday.
Annaliese's dad showed up around 5 to pick her up. He brought some Challah bread, which the girls tried and immediately proclaimed "the best bread ever." I looked it up online and saw that it's a traditional food on the Sabbath. Annaliese is Jewish, like most families in our neighborhood. I think I have a lot of learning to do. I had some good friends growing up who were Jewish, but I probably wouldn't have known they were Jewish if they hadn't told me. (I'm clueless that way. Though I vaguely recall joining the yearbook photo for a Jewish group, but I can't verify it since my yearbooks are all in a container awaiting shipment.)
Around 6, it began to rain, hard. The girls, not used to seeing much rain in SoCal, decided it would be fun to play in. After a minute or two they were completely soaked, so they headed up to the bath. A few minutes later, Andy yelled that the ceiling was leaking. Thinking that the bathtub had overflowed, I ran upstairs to check on it. Nope, that wasn't the problem. The problem was the heavy rains were overwhelming the roof drains. With no outlets, the rain came down through our recessed lights. The next hour or so was a flurry of activity, involving every single pot, pan, trashcan, and towel that we had in our meagre possession.
As if that weren't enough, the courtyard outside started flooding. Soon the level rose up to that of the doors, and water started seeping in. Andy went outside periodically to clear the drains of leaves and other debris, but it was simply too much rain.
Around 6, it began to rain, hard. The girls, not used to seeing much rain in SoCal, decided it would be fun to play in. After a minute or two they were completely soaked, so they headed up to the bath. A few minutes later, Andy yelled that the ceiling was leaking. Thinking that the bathtub had overflowed, I ran upstairs to check on it. Nope, that wasn't the problem. The problem was the heavy rains were overwhelming the roof drains. With no outlets, the rain came down through our recessed lights. The next hour or so was a flurry of activity, involving every single pot, pan, trashcan, and towel that we had in our meagre possession.
 |
| It's raining, it's pouring |
Thankfully, nothing of ours was damaged. The floor is a bit warped, and I suspect the ceiling will need some drying out, but it could have been worse. In fact, our landlord, who lives behind us, did have it worse. After hearing some swearing coming from that direction, Andy went over to offer help. Turns out the houses behind us are lower than the street level, which was flooding massively. The driveways for those houses are cut out from the street, with no lip or inclined edge to stop water. So the water was pouring down their driveways, into their garages, and into their houses. Our landlord has carpet in his ground level, and it was completely soaked!
The next day, we found out the storm was the tail end of Cyclone Yasi, which headed south after devastating Queensland. According to www.theage.com.au, Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs (where we are) were hardest hit. Some areas got 7 inches in a 24 hour period! After seeing photos of the flooding, I realized that once again we got lucky.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Rain
Since we've arrived in Australia--strictly a coincidence, by the way--the people of Queensland have had a run of bad weather and bad luck. First up, lots of rain leading to massive flooding, the worst in 50 years there. Three-quarters of the state was declared a disaster area.
Next up, Cyclone Yasi, the biggest cyclone in 100 years. I thought this comparison with Katrina was very interesting. Pretty similar stats, although Yasi was bigger in size. Perhaps the most shocking to me is the death toll, which now stands at one for Yasi. The man suffocated on generator fumes. On the flip side, three baby girls were born, and no, I don't think any of them will be named Yasi.
I don't know what else to say about it, other than our thoughts and prayers go out to those people in Queensland. It's the biggest news in Australia though, so I wanted to mention it here. It hasn't affected us personally, yet. Let's see what happens with the proposed levy and to the price of produce. Some of you may know that Alanna loves bananas. She even asked Santa for some in her stocking. I just read at http://www.theage.com.au/ that prices are already doubled in some markets, and one store is even limiting customers to 1 kg, which is four or five bananas. Worse: "It is feared bananas prices could skyrocket to $15 per kilogram with more than 75 per cent of Australia's banana crop wiped out by tropical cyclone Yasi in north Queensland." Yikes. I know, small hardships compared to what the Queenslanders are going through.
I wanted to also share a link that I got from Ben's site, some incredible photos of the damage and devastation:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/cyclone-yasi/gallery.htm We're actually dealing with a bit of flooding ourselves, at our house back home. Tree roots are blocking our main sewer, and caused water/sewage to backup out of our downstairs shower. It got into the hallway and office floor before the tenants noticed it. Looks like we'll be replacing at least part of the laminate flooring, and of course, there will be a big plumbing bill for both the temporary fix and the longer-term one.
Finally, today the girls started school. Hopefully that will ease some of their misery. They've been a bit bored and lonely. If nothing else, they are past the first day of school, which they have been nervous and worried about for over a week.
Cheers, see ya next time.
Next up, Cyclone Yasi, the biggest cyclone in 100 years. I thought this comparison with Katrina was very interesting. Pretty similar stats, although Yasi was bigger in size. Perhaps the most shocking to me is the death toll, which now stands at one for Yasi. The man suffocated on generator fumes. On the flip side, three baby girls were born, and no, I don't think any of them will be named Yasi.
I wanted to also share a link that I got from Ben's site, some incredible photos of the damage and devastation:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/cyclone-yasi/gallery.htm We're actually dealing with a bit of flooding ourselves, at our house back home. Tree roots are blocking our main sewer, and caused water/sewage to backup out of our downstairs shower. It got into the hallway and office floor before the tenants noticed it. Looks like we'll be replacing at least part of the laminate flooring, and of course, there will be a big plumbing bill for both the temporary fix and the longer-term one.
Finally, today the girls started school. Hopefully that will ease some of their misery. They've been a bit bored and lonely. If nothing else, they are past the first day of school, which they have been nervous and worried about for over a week.
Cheers, see ya next time.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Her Majesty
We visited the Queen Victoria market today. Quite an amazing place, endless stalls selling just about anything and everything. Much like the OC Swap Meet, but thankfully most of it was under shade, as it was 39° C today.
The kids got gifts for their friends back home, and some cheap fans for themselves. (Tip: Have the kids do the haggling, or at least have them hold the money. Vendors caved in twice to Aliya, saving $1 each time!) We also picked up some postcards and produce. The girls were hot, so we looked for ice cream, and headed to the food court. We found a place that had advertised milk shakes. I know what you're thinking, Ben and Annie, but we knew better! Milk shakes here are really just flavored milk. We asked for "thick shakes" with extra ice cream. $11 later, we got to drinks that tasted, at best, like melted chocolate shakes. Oh well, live and learn.
While Andy got the girls some croissants, I wandered down the organic section nearby. I paused at a section of organic wines and a friendly lady immediately offered to let me taste them. Who can say no to that? I had a lovely chocolate port, a very sweet blackberry-type wine (would have been better with some mineral water as a spritzer I think, especially if it was really cold), and a very smooth Shiraz.
Keeping with our motto, "Quit while the quittin's good," we left much sooner than Andy and I would have liked. The girls were good sports on the tram though, since Andy invented a new way to enjoy the tram:
Our other big activity for today is conquering the great laundry pile. It grew substantially because although we had a washer/dryer set that we purchased from some expats moving back to the States, we didn't have the hoses to connect them. Andy made a trip to Bunnings (think, Home Depot) and came home $50 poorer, but ready to install them. While putting laundry soap up on a shelf a bit later that night, what did he find on a high shelf? The very hoses needed. I suppose the good news is we have spares if we ever need them. The machines are a stacking set of front loaders. Very efficient, and very small. It's taking a lot of loads. Australians rarely use dryers, so when in Australia....
We're still enjoying exploring our neighborhood. On Friday we walked to a local restaurant, Sabatinos. Alas, no relation to that fabulous place on Lido peninsula. Still, there was some yummy, if thin-crusted, pizza. We almost didn't either. We sat down, found out it was cash-only, and realized we didn't have enough cash on us. We started out the door, and the owner stopped us. He asked us if we were local, and we said yes, and pointed to the girls scooters. Long story short, we ate there and promised to drop off the money later. Don't think that would have happened back home!
We learned that we need to talk to the servers, or read the menus a bit closer. We ordered some spaghetti with a side of marinara sauce. What arrived was a bowl of seafood in a tomato sauce. Makes sense, I suppose, when you consider the derivation of marinara. But it wasn't going to work for Alanna, who wanted a basic meatless tomato sauce. Fortunately, omnivore Andy polished off the marina concoction and we ordered a Neapolitan sauce for Alanna. (Alanna's comment: "I thought Neapolitan was a type of ice cream!")
We are also venturing out a bit. We headed out of Melbourne on Saturday and went to Lake Cairn Curran to meet up with my friend Annie. She visited me in 2003 for a reunion of our online moms group, and now I got to visit her! Even Alanna thought it was ironic that last year we sent her Flat Stanley to Annie in Australia, and now she lives her! The kids and Andy had a great time swimming in the lake, cooling off, and even kayaking a bit. I enjoyed catching up with Annie, her husband, and her really nice friends.
Well, see ya next time. Cheers!
 |
| Queen Victoria Market |
While Andy got the girls some croissants, I wandered down the organic section nearby. I paused at a section of organic wines and a friendly lady immediately offered to let me taste them. Who can say no to that? I had a lovely chocolate port, a very sweet blackberry-type wine (would have been better with some mineral water as a spritzer I think, especially if it was really cold), and a very smooth Shiraz.
Keeping with our motto, "Quit while the quittin's good," we left much sooner than Andy and I would have liked. The girls were good sports on the tram though, since Andy invented a new way to enjoy the tram:
 |
| Tram Surfing |
 |
| Look ma, I'm line drying! |
We're still enjoying exploring our neighborhood. On Friday we walked to a local restaurant, Sabatinos. Alas, no relation to that fabulous place on Lido peninsula. Still, there was some yummy, if thin-crusted, pizza. We almost didn't either. We sat down, found out it was cash-only, and realized we didn't have enough cash on us. We started out the door, and the owner stopped us. He asked us if we were local, and we said yes, and pointed to the girls scooters. Long story short, we ate there and promised to drop off the money later. Don't think that would have happened back home!
We learned that we need to talk to the servers, or read the menus a bit closer. We ordered some spaghetti with a side of marinara sauce. What arrived was a bowl of seafood in a tomato sauce. Makes sense, I suppose, when you consider the derivation of marinara. But it wasn't going to work for Alanna, who wanted a basic meatless tomato sauce. Fortunately, omnivore Andy polished off the marina concoction and we ordered a Neapolitan sauce for Alanna. (Alanna's comment: "I thought Neapolitan was a type of ice cream!")
We are also venturing out a bit. We headed out of Melbourne on Saturday and went to Lake Cairn Curran to meet up with my friend Annie. She visited me in 2003 for a reunion of our online moms group, and now I got to visit her! Even Alanna thought it was ironic that last year we sent her Flat Stanley to Annie in Australia, and now she lives her! The kids and Andy had a great time swimming in the lake, cooling off, and even kayaking a bit. I enjoyed catching up with Annie, her husband, and her really nice friends.
Well, see ya next time. Cheers!
Friday, January 28, 2011
You Know My Name, Look Up The Number
Technology has arrived at our new home. We have cable TV and more important, we have Internet. Thanks Al Gore! And because we have Internet, we can Skype a bit easier, and we can use MajicJack. It's a pretty cool device that plugs into our PC via USB, and connects to a telephone. We get a US phone number, and can accept incoming or make outgoing phone calls. Our PC needs to be on, but at least we can call other people's land/cell lines for free, and others can call us without needing Skype. Email us if you want the number.
Skype is still our favorite, since nothing compares to video. It was great to be able to see Pap and Gram's new dog, Ubu. Think: Sit, Ubu, sit! And as I type this, Aliya and Amanda are reading books to each other on Skype. Yesterday, the girls took turns Skyping the Ransoms. First Aliya had a laptop in her room, then Alanna got a turn in her room. We were even able to give them a virtual tour of the house by walking around with a laptop.
All of this is so important to us because the females in the house miss their friends desperately. Andy is too busy with work to miss much, though he's happy about the Internet service because now he can work from home occasionally. While the trams is within walking distant and therefore convenient, the trip to the CBD (Central Business District) can still take an hour depending on the timing. He's quite anxious for his motorcycle to arrive, so he can take that to work. Unfortunately, the container hasn't left the States yet. Andy missed an email from the shipping company that said they needed the original title to ship it. We weren't aware of this until we were in Australia. Andy spent $40 to ship it via 2-day Australia post on the 12th. It's the 28th and it still hasn't arrived. He spent another $60 to get a notarized power of attorney, which he scanned and sent to his mom. She went to AAA to pull a title, which has to be mailed to our old address, which has to be forwarded back to his mom's, which then has to be sent up to Seattle to the shipping co. headquarters. It's a race to see which title will get there first. All in all, it's a disappointing 3 week delay in getting our container.
Enough of the sob stories. What other interesting Aussie tidbits can I share? One thing that takes getting used to is the outlets. They call them power points here. Because 220 V is nothing to mess with, all of the power points are switched. So if you plug in your electric kettle (love that thing--heats up water so fast!) and turn it on, nothing will happen unless you remember to turn on the outlet switch. And speaking of switches, they are reversed. To turn something on, you press the button downward.
Speaking of 220, I was thrilled that our PCs (two desktops) and monitor work on 220/50 Hz. Just needed to flip a switch on the back of the PCs, and use plug adapters for everything. We bought two used step-down transformers, but probably won't use them until we get some of our small kitchen appliances on the aforementioned container.
School starts on Feb 4th, a week from Friday. We're all anxiously awaiting that day. The kids are a bit bored, and can't wait to make new friends. I'm also a bit bored and can't wait to start doing some work. But before that can happen I need to register them, and to register them, we need immunization cards. The school application said we needed to contact the Medicare offices. I did and got a long complicated explanation of what I needed to do for each kid. It was different for each kid because of their ages, but the big issue was I'd need to find and go to a GP, general practitioner I assume. The next day though, we had a play date with two other expat moms, and they told me to go to the local city council instead.
Fortunately, our city council offices are in the same building as our local library, which we had visited two days before. Alanna plowed through the suitcase of books we'd brought, and she needed more. So yesterday we went back for more books, then went to the city offices. We met with an "immunization counselor" who reviewed the girls vaccines. They met all of the requirements except the meningococcal one. She asked if I wanted the girls to have it and I said yes, if they needed it. I expected to have to go find a doctor but instead, she handed me a schedule of where I could get it. They have several sessions in various locations in our local city, several times a month. There was one nearby last night, so we took the girls to get their shot. Easy peasy, and surprisingly, it was completely free. We have private insurance through Andy's company, but they didn't ask any questions, just gave the girls the shots. They must be serious about immunizations here to offer them so easily, and for free.
See ya next time, Cheers!
Skype is still our favorite, since nothing compares to video. It was great to be able to see Pap and Gram's new dog, Ubu. Think: Sit, Ubu, sit! And as I type this, Aliya and Amanda are reading books to each other on Skype. Yesterday, the girls took turns Skyping the Ransoms. First Aliya had a laptop in her room, then Alanna got a turn in her room. We were even able to give them a virtual tour of the house by walking around with a laptop.
All of this is so important to us because the females in the house miss their friends desperately. Andy is too busy with work to miss much, though he's happy about the Internet service because now he can work from home occasionally. While the trams is within walking distant and therefore convenient, the trip to the CBD (Central Business District) can still take an hour depending on the timing. He's quite anxious for his motorcycle to arrive, so he can take that to work. Unfortunately, the container hasn't left the States yet. Andy missed an email from the shipping company that said they needed the original title to ship it. We weren't aware of this until we were in Australia. Andy spent $40 to ship it via 2-day Australia post on the 12th. It's the 28th and it still hasn't arrived. He spent another $60 to get a notarized power of attorney, which he scanned and sent to his mom. She went to AAA to pull a title, which has to be mailed to our old address, which has to be forwarded back to his mom's, which then has to be sent up to Seattle to the shipping co. headquarters. It's a race to see which title will get there first. All in all, it's a disappointing 3 week delay in getting our container.
Enough of the sob stories. What other interesting Aussie tidbits can I share? One thing that takes getting used to is the outlets. They call them power points here. Because 220 V is nothing to mess with, all of the power points are switched. So if you plug in your electric kettle (love that thing--heats up water so fast!) and turn it on, nothing will happen unless you remember to turn on the outlet switch. And speaking of switches, they are reversed. To turn something on, you press the button downward.
Speaking of 220, I was thrilled that our PCs (two desktops) and monitor work on 220/50 Hz. Just needed to flip a switch on the back of the PCs, and use plug adapters for everything. We bought two used step-down transformers, but probably won't use them until we get some of our small kitchen appliances on the aforementioned container.
School starts on Feb 4th, a week from Friday. We're all anxiously awaiting that day. The kids are a bit bored, and can't wait to make new friends. I'm also a bit bored and can't wait to start doing some work. But before that can happen I need to register them, and to register them, we need immunization cards. The school application said we needed to contact the Medicare offices. I did and got a long complicated explanation of what I needed to do for each kid. It was different for each kid because of their ages, but the big issue was I'd need to find and go to a GP, general practitioner I assume. The next day though, we had a play date with two other expat moms, and they told me to go to the local city council instead.
Fortunately, our city council offices are in the same building as our local library, which we had visited two days before. Alanna plowed through the suitcase of books we'd brought, and she needed more. So yesterday we went back for more books, then went to the city offices. We met with an "immunization counselor" who reviewed the girls vaccines. They met all of the requirements except the meningococcal one. She asked if I wanted the girls to have it and I said yes, if they needed it. I expected to have to go find a doctor but instead, she handed me a schedule of where I could get it. They have several sessions in various locations in our local city, several times a month. There was one nearby last night, so we took the girls to get their shot. Easy peasy, and surprisingly, it was completely free. We have private insurance through Andy's company, but they didn't ask any questions, just gave the girls the shots. They must be serious about immunizations here to offer them so easily, and for free.
See ya next time, Cheers!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Birthday
It's not my birthday here anymore, but it would be if I were back in the States. While this year was just slightly lower key than last year (celebrating with my family, the Fenians, and 100 of my closest friends) I still felt the love from far away thanks to all the messages, emails, Facebook greetings, videos of singing kids (thanks Ben, Katie, Patrick and Michael!), and virtual parties via Skype (thanks Buis!)
How did we spent the day? With the rest of Melbourne, so it seemed, at Costco, the only one in Australia, though they're building more. I don't think the developers really understood the draw of Costco, because the parking garage was woefully inadequate to handle the crowds. It did have one of the largest elevators I've ever been in, since you need to take it up to the store. After braving that trip to get a few "necessities" and my bday present (an iPod docking station/radio), we figured we'd go for double-or-nothing and hit up IKEA. Probably the most reasonable place in all of Melbourne that we've seen. We hit the cafe for meatballs and pasta-- a kid's meal for only $3?? Score! Then we stocked up on some more goodies for the house.
Errands done, we headed out to a wonderful Italian/pizza place for dinner. Oddly enough, pizzas are measured in inches! We thought he was just converting it for us, but he really didn't know how many centimeters that was. I have had someone "translate" for me when buying the girls croissants. After placing my order, the guy at the counter asked if it was to go. I asked him why he didn't say "take away" instead of "to go." He said he worked for a time in Canada and they didn't understand what he meant.
Which brings me to another story. Seems Aussies, when they hear a North American accent, assume the speaker if from Canada. That's for two reasons. One is apparently more Canadians come to Australia than Americans. Second, Canadians are offended by being called American, whereas Americans aren't offended by being called Canadians. So it goes...
We're settling in nicely to our new house. The girls are truly thrilled with their rooms, and we even really like the rental furniture. So much so that we're considering buying it and dumping the stuff that's in our container (somewhere near Seattle...but that's another story.....) Andy would actually be fine if only the motorcycle showed up, and the rest of the container was lost at sea, because he's really enjoying the minimalist lifestyle we're leading. Very little clutter. Everything has it's place. I'm starting to tire of the 7 shirts I brought along though :-)
I'm feeling more comfortable with driving here. It's much harder than just being on the left side of the road. It's also driving on the right side of the car, and dealing with roundabouts and narrow streets (zig zagging back and forth to avoid parked or right-turning cars) and even dealing with trams. But I'm getting used to it, and ventured out to find the local library branch. Got the girls library cards, and Alanna quickly found a large stack of books to read. Yay! The next stop was to find our new local supermarket.
I found it and parked, no problema. But the carts, er, trolleys were all chained together. Upon inquiry, turns out you need to insert a dollar coin into the handle. When you return it, and attach it to another cart, the coin gets pushed back and you get your deposit. A bit of a nuisance, but it does ensure there aren't carts, er, trolleys left all over the parking lot, which is a good thing. Once you get a trolley, that's a fun challenge just to steer them, as they're four-wheel drive, and want to go in any/every direction.
As expected, grocery stores are a bit different. Weights are in kilograms. so when asking for deli meat, I was wondering do I ask for 1/8th of a kilo? No, gotta love metric. I just asked for 300 grams. The stores are smaller, so the selection is smaller too, though I expect it would be smaller even in a large store. One surprise was the coffee section. I'd heard so much about the great coffee, and yet the shelves were filled with many varieties of instant coffee. What the ??? I was looking for ground coffee to make my cold-brew concentrate, and didn't have much luck.
Other differences include the meat section. In addition to a lot of lamb products, which was to be expected, there was also a decent selection of fresh meat for dogs! Aussies must really love their pets. The cereal selection was a bit lacking by our standards. They have what they call Cheerios, but not the good ole regular version. And though the logo looks the same, they're co branded with another logo and look/taste different. Nothing wrong with that of course. It's all about trying new foods. We're working on that, slowly, but admittedly sticking with favorites, esp for the girls sake. The biggest issue is a serious lack of ranch dressing. Oh, they have something labeled "ranch" but both bottles we bought, even the Paul Newman brand, tasted more like slightly flavored mayo. How are we ever going to get the girls to eat their veggies without ranch??? On the plus side, because we gotta be fair, they do have Paul Newmans Southwest dressing, hooray. Now I'm not sure what "Southwest" means here in Australia, but I do know it's one of my favorite dressings, that I thought was only available when I purchased McD's Southwest Salad. Quite happy about that find.
That's all for now, gotta rescue the girls from the Wii, which we were able to set up yesterday. They're back in Just Dance business! Cheers!
How did we spent the day? With the rest of Melbourne, so it seemed, at Costco, the only one in Australia, though they're building more. I don't think the developers really understood the draw of Costco, because the parking garage was woefully inadequate to handle the crowds. It did have one of the largest elevators I've ever been in, since you need to take it up to the store. After braving that trip to get a few "necessities" and my bday present (an iPod docking station/radio), we figured we'd go for double-or-nothing and hit up IKEA. Probably the most reasonable place in all of Melbourne that we've seen. We hit the cafe for meatballs and pasta-- a kid's meal for only $3?? Score! Then we stocked up on some more goodies for the house.
Errands done, we headed out to a wonderful Italian/pizza place for dinner. Oddly enough, pizzas are measured in inches! We thought he was just converting it for us, but he really didn't know how many centimeters that was. I have had someone "translate" for me when buying the girls croissants. After placing my order, the guy at the counter asked if it was to go. I asked him why he didn't say "take away" instead of "to go." He said he worked for a time in Canada and they didn't understand what he meant.
Which brings me to another story. Seems Aussies, when they hear a North American accent, assume the speaker if from Canada. That's for two reasons. One is apparently more Canadians come to Australia than Americans. Second, Canadians are offended by being called American, whereas Americans aren't offended by being called Canadians. So it goes...
We're settling in nicely to our new house. The girls are truly thrilled with their rooms, and we even really like the rental furniture. So much so that we're considering buying it and dumping the stuff that's in our container (somewhere near Seattle...but that's another story.....) Andy would actually be fine if only the motorcycle showed up, and the rest of the container was lost at sea, because he's really enjoying the minimalist lifestyle we're leading. Very little clutter. Everything has it's place. I'm starting to tire of the 7 shirts I brought along though :-)
I'm feeling more comfortable with driving here. It's much harder than just being on the left side of the road. It's also driving on the right side of the car, and dealing with roundabouts and narrow streets (zig zagging back and forth to avoid parked or right-turning cars) and even dealing with trams. But I'm getting used to it, and ventured out to find the local library branch. Got the girls library cards, and Alanna quickly found a large stack of books to read. Yay! The next stop was to find our new local supermarket.
I found it and parked, no problema. But the carts, er, trolleys were all chained together. Upon inquiry, turns out you need to insert a dollar coin into the handle. When you return it, and attach it to another cart, the coin gets pushed back and you get your deposit. A bit of a nuisance, but it does ensure there aren't carts, er, trolleys left all over the parking lot, which is a good thing. Once you get a trolley, that's a fun challenge just to steer them, as they're four-wheel drive, and want to go in any/every direction.
As expected, grocery stores are a bit different. Weights are in kilograms. so when asking for deli meat, I was wondering do I ask for 1/8th of a kilo? No, gotta love metric. I just asked for 300 grams. The stores are smaller, so the selection is smaller too, though I expect it would be smaller even in a large store. One surprise was the coffee section. I'd heard so much about the great coffee, and yet the shelves were filled with many varieties of instant coffee. What the ??? I was looking for ground coffee to make my cold-brew concentrate, and didn't have much luck.
Other differences include the meat section. In addition to a lot of lamb products, which was to be expected, there was also a decent selection of fresh meat for dogs! Aussies must really love their pets. The cereal selection was a bit lacking by our standards. They have what they call Cheerios, but not the good ole regular version. And though the logo looks the same, they're co branded with another logo and look/taste different. Nothing wrong with that of course. It's all about trying new foods. We're working on that, slowly, but admittedly sticking with favorites, esp for the girls sake. The biggest issue is a serious lack of ranch dressing. Oh, they have something labeled "ranch" but both bottles we bought, even the Paul Newman brand, tasted more like slightly flavored mayo. How are we ever going to get the girls to eat their veggies without ranch??? On the plus side, because we gotta be fair, they do have Paul Newmans Southwest dressing, hooray. Now I'm not sure what "Southwest" means here in Australia, but I do know it's one of my favorite dressings, that I thought was only available when I purchased McD's Southwest Salad. Quite happy about that find.
That's all for now, gotta rescue the girls from the Wii, which we were able to set up yesterday. They're back in Just Dance business! Cheers!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Our House, in the Middle of our Street
We thought we'd be signing the lease today, but alas, that will have to wait until tomorrow. Many of you have already seen these pics, either on Facebook or good old email, but for completeness and/or posterity, here are some pics of our new home.
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| View from the street |
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| Family room |
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| Kids bathroom |
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| Kitchen |
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| Dining room/kitchen |
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| Master bath, love the big tub! |
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| View from kitchen, looking out to street. Steps lead upstairs to three bedrooms plus loft area. Fourth bedroom downstairs will be our office, but plenty of room for visitors! |
Speaking of commuting, I've taken Andy to the train station near our temporary accommodations. Once in our house, he'll probably take the tram into the city until his motorcycle arrives on the container. Parking a car in the city is prohibitively expensive, $18 or more, but for a motorcycle, just find a spot on the sidewalk and it's free!
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