Unputdownable

Yeah, I started reading a book yesterday morning, one that hubby is presently reading (he-he), and I just couldn't put it down. So I read all day basically. It was about designer babies by Peter James and the title is Perfect People, if anyone should feel like reading it. In fact, it was also against my recent resolution, to read only Australian authors while we are here.

I almost forgot that we were supposed to sign our new contract for another year in this house at 16.00. I was so engrossed in the book I went there in my slippers.

We should really have a smaller house but we haven't really found anything, so now we will still be  rattling around in our big three-story house that we opted for when my mother was staying with us, for yet another year.

Well, off to have dinner cooked by J, yum.

Wollongong and pelicans

We are back from a little Saturday outing to Wollongong and Port Kembla. Hubby has tried to take me to this cafe/restaurant in Wollongong for ages and we finally got there. We had our 'usual' oysters and seafood platter.  While sitting in the restaurant we saw loads of pelicans. They are Australia's biggest flying bird.

We were fascinated by all these gorgeous sports car in the parking lot. Later on we spoke to someone and he said that once a month there is an outing from Sydney with a group leader and people who have rented cars to go for an outing in Ferraris or Porches or Lotuses (and pretend that they own them).

After lunch we drove to Port Kembla, and I know that some of my UK friends were taken there too (against their will, as was I, so I feel for them).

We went to a lookout and I got talking with a guy with a very, very respectable beer gut. He told us that his Dad rescued a lady who mistakenly had put her car in reverse and driven down this very steep precipice. Her car was stopped by a tree and they managed to hoistt it up.  Afterwards they found her hand bag with $400 in it and they returned it to the police. The lady never thanked them for saving her life, her car or giving her back her cash. I think she was embarrassed!

I don't know if this photo gives you and idea of how far the fall would have been. It's very, very steep!!

All in all it was a fun day out and, aside from the fact that hubby had to put a shopping bag over his head because he had forgotten his sun screen and hat, it was a great outing

Painting class

I always feel buoyant and inspired when I come from my painting class. After the first lesson about a year ago, I almost gave up because I felt intimidated by the others, some who had been painting for several years, but I persevered and now I really enjoy it.

The place I go to is called Hazelhurst and it is a lovely place with possibilities to do pottery, jewellery, drawing, photography and painting. It also has a museum and a great restaurant and a lovely garden.

Well, I managed to drag hubby to the cinema tonight to see a cute movie about the elderly. He hates going usually, but this time he grudgingly said after we sat down that "at least there is enough leg room " so that bodes well for future cinema visits.

The name of the movie was 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' and I am not going to reveal anything for those who have not seen it yet.  However I will retain a few good expressions, for example "Everything will be alright in the end... and if it's not alright, then it's not the end". Hmm, deep and meaningful! The other one was "If I want to hear your opinion, I'll give it to you". This was said to a hen-pecked husband, and my hubby snickered knowingly. Apparently Samuel Goldwin got there first however, and you can even buy tee shirts with this quote printed on it.

"Strine"

Well, that is what is spoken here in Australia. Sometimes I just go and sit in cafes and soak it all up, it is brilliant! There are times when I don't understand anything. One time this one guy told his friend something very long and complicated and finished by saying: "Keep it under your hat". He was very adamant about it. I think I understood that he wanted the friend to keep something secret.  However, sometimes it is not so obvious.

Sometimes I hear hubby say about a female person "She scrubs up well".  I think it is a compliment, that it means that she is good-looking, but I am not sure.  Maybe it is only a literal meaning, i.e. she looks ok when she is clean (because she looks terrible when she is dirty).

Here is another one which always gets me. Sometimes hubby tells me he has to get up at sparrows because he has a flight to Melbourne or something. I will leave that one to you to try to figure out.  Good luck!
Click here for some expressions that you might want to learn if you are planning to visit us here Down Under, or listen to this!

Also, I just have to share this photo taken at Cronulla this weekend.  I went there to see the Cronulla Shark Island Swim race that I told you about in a previous blog and came across these beauties on the way back to my car.

The race is 2.3 km and the fastest swimmer did it in 27.45 minutes and the slowest in 1 hour and 29 minutes. He got as many, if not more cheers and applauds, as the actual winner because he was clearly a senior and he struggled up on his feet from the water with the help of a life guard. 

I have no photos from the actual race since my camera is very temperamental and was having a battery moment.

Cycling

I go to painting classes once a week and I have met this girl or woman whom I just have to tell you about. She went cycling one day to meet a girlfriend for coffee and someone drove into her with a car.

That was two and a half years and 15 operations ago. She has no clear memory of what happened, other than what she has been told. She has a stent in her aorta and her leg had to be put back on and many, many other things. She can walk but with difficulty and her eyesight is not good enough for driving. Obviously her whole life must have changed, but she is so upbeat about everything, and I feel so humbled.

My feelings about cycling are a bit mixed, but this girl is not afraid and is riding a tricycle most of the time, weather permitting. Click here for a little quiz about the danger, or rather, the safety of cycling. If you are a car driver, please look out for cyclists!!!

Barefoot in Sydney

Well, I am not saying that I am barefoot in Sydney myself, but simply observing something that seems to be quite common here, namely walking around barefoot. For example when we were sitting in a hotel lobby waiting for the youngsters to get ready to come out with us for pizza, I saw yet again one of those typical sights you often see here. I am talking about people walking barefoot, and in this case barefoot into an international hotel. It is not unusual where I live to see people walk barefoot into the bank or shopping center or whatever. It always surprises me a little because it is not always young people, it can just as often be people my age. It must be the surf culture that plays up. Or maybe it is people like the one mentioned in this link.

Anyway, I don't think I am ready for this trend yet, especially since I have just had new in-steps put into my shoes to help with my flat feet. However, I can sympathize with the concept but I keep it to walking barefoot on sandy beaches etc.

"Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolise a way of living — being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It’s the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It’s a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature.” — Adele Coombs, “Barefoot Dreaming”

Doggies doo and doggies don't

One thing I love in Sydney is that I have never stepped in a dog poo. When you see people out walking their dogs you always see them with plastic bags, some heavier than others depending on the size of the dogs.  They really seem to respect this picking up after their dogs and I am so grateful.


Not like in Chile where I visited younger daughter last year. There were dogs everywhere, homeless, roaming the streets. They seemed harmless but I kept my distance. When we went on a road trip we saw what people had to do to keep their garbage from being ransacked by these wild dogs. Some of these raised-up garbage holders were actually quite beautiful in ornate wrought iron.

                                   

Cockroaches and sharks!!

They say you haven't really lived in Sydney unless you can kill a cockroach with your bare hands. Now I don't know if I qualify here since I haven't exactly done it with my bare hands.  I have fortunately always managed to grab my slipper or a book or a tissue, but boy, have I killed cockroaches!

We don't have masses of them but now and again on a quiet evening when you are sitting minding your own business writing on the computer, you can feel a presence. The trick is to pretend you haven't noticed but quietly, almost without moving, or even breathing,  grab something, and then pounce. Of course we also have spray cans around the place but the killing with your bare hands (or shoes or books) is so much more satisfying. Here is a link to Australia's different types of cockroaches.

Continuing in the same vein I'll just have to tell you about one of our first nights here in this house. Our furniture had not yet arrived so we slept on the floor. So one morning I wake up, open my eyes and I see this.

Back in Europe I would not have reacted because I am really not at all afraid of spiders but before coming here it was one of the things I had read about, how Australia has the most dangerous snakes and spiders in the world, not forgetting the sharks and the crocodiles, so I got pretty nervous before we could get rid of it.  Still, one spider is pretty tame compared to the present welcoming committee in wet Wagga Wagga.



That brings me to my last little snippet for today. In two weeks time there will be a swimming competition called  Cronulla Shark Island Swim. One of the girls in my painting class is doing it. I think I will pass, since the name of the race says it all. I think it was two years ago when there were two sharks spotted during the race. One was swimming directly under the swimmers apparently. But as one swimmer said: "He had 700 to chose from so I felt pretty safe", or something to that effect. Here is the link if you fancy entering the race or maybe only see some photos from it.

Back again

We are back after a quick dash down to Melbourne over the weekend. Hubby's father is not very well after a fall in the shower and a hip operation and a stroke. It is just so tragic to see him in such a state. He doesn't seem to be in too much pain fortunately so at least that is good.

On the way back we saw more of the devastation after the flooding that has hit NSW. In some areas you are completely surrounded by "lakes" except they are not, they are just ordinary fields completely saturated with water. I read this morning that 13,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and that it is the worst weather in 160 years.

                                                  Flooded field

Before we left Melbourne we had a quick stop to look at Queen Mary 2 which is berthed in Melbourne for a few days. It is very, very, big. But why anyone of their own free will would go and stay for weeks on end on a ship is beyond me. Haven't they heard of Titanic or the Estonia? Or sea-sickness, boredom and enforced "friendship". Well, anyway, it is not for me, that's for sure.

                                                 Me and the Queen

The rest of the trip was uneventful, but oh, so long. This is a little note for travellers in Australia. Remember to eat dinner early. We have found that if you try to get a meal after say 8 o'clock, it is almost impossible. We stopped in Yass and tried a Vietnamese place first but could only get take away "so late". When we asked if there was anything else open she indicated a place called Ewe 'n me. Cute little play on words and suitable since it is right in the sheep farming area. Anyway, this place was also just about closing but kindly fed us if we didn't need anything deep fried since the chef had switched off the oil and it would take too long to get the temperature up!?  So we had a nice meal of other things and the portions were so big we had to ask for doggie bags. Here is a link showing that we are not the only ones needing doggie bags.

Raindrops keep falling on my head

When we first came to Australia I was carefully instructed to be aware of the fact that Australia has a big problem with water. Therefore I was told not to brush my teeth under running water, or to peel potatoes under running water, or to rinse dishes under running water etc. I was even told that it could be better to have showers only every second day. Many people have also arranged so that waste water from the washing machine etc can be used to water the garden.

Well, let me tell you that I have rarely seen such a lot of rain as we have been having lately. I heard on the news that in parts of the state of NSW school children should be kept home tomorrow because there is danger of flooding. A large portion of the state is under water and during the night they expect a dam to overflow. Here is a link about it: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/mass-evacuation-from-nsw-floods-20120301-1u3wg.html

The area where we live was hit by bush fires a few years ago and when we moved in people told us to organize a survival kit: just a bag with necessities to bring if you have to evacuate. That actually got me a little concerned, but isn't it ironic that now it might be just the opposite. Too much water!

Anyway, we live in a place called Illawong, which means between two rivers in the Aborigine language that was spoken by people here originally. From our house we can see one of these rivers, the Georges River. The other river is the Woronora River. Here is a photo from our upstairs balcony.