Happy New Year!

It is New Years Eve and we're ringing it in early compared to usual...I guess this year was really only 364.5 days long for us! We've had great fun having the kids here for the past two weeks and I'll update with details eventually, including photos but right now I'm going to admit to being a bit tired. Marlee and Blake are on their way to the airport with Mike as I type and Laura is stretched out on the couch watching a Bondi Rescue marathon (which we're both enjoying). I can't find any reference to fireworks here in Perth for midnight but it could happen. We've seen fireworks a few times and it's always a surprise...I start thinking "who is beating a drum" and when I finally walk out on the balcony to check, behold! Fireworks. Black eye peas are soaking overnight so we can ring in the New Year with some good luck. Happy New Year everyone, and Happy Birthday Mom!

Ahhhhhhhhh................................

Daughter, snowstorm in TN, flight to Australia...a sad confluence. I am sad but still retain some small hope that she can actually make it to Knoxville for the 2nd flight I've booked for her. Woke her at 5AM in hopes she can make it through on the freeway. Its usually about 1.5 hours and she's got 6 hours to make it. *fingers crossed* Updated Sunday AM Oz time: She made it! Oh happy day.

Got that sorted

Got asked today to stay on part time till the end of Feb (or as long as I'm willing) doing project management and documentation. And more importantly, today they bought me the software I need to actually make my documentation good. Geek happiness! So I'm motivated and ready to keep going for the time being and I'm off from Dec 18 till Jan 5th to spend time with the kiddos. I'm sure a move like this requires passing through a number of set stages - excitement, anticipation, frustration, adjustment, homesickness, irritation, through to adjustment and acceptance. And I'm getting there. The fierce homesickness has passed, I'm eager to have the kids here to play with, the weather is cooperating (other than the bush fire smoke now and then), work is settled, and I'm firmly planning to head back to the states in 2.5 months. I told Mike the next couple of months work are for my shopping/plastic surgery fund :-)

Starting to count down :-)

Kids arrive in t-minus 10 days 16 hours and counting. Yay! I've got four more days of work, the company Christmas party, a couple of small get-togethers, and a whole bunch of planning to get done but those things all serve the valuable purpose of keeping me busy while I wait. Who knew I was such a doting Mom?

Survived!

Apparently the fastest speeds and highest winds they've encountered in the Flying Fifteens on the river in years. I loved it. Laughed, swallowed half the river, have a wicked forearm bruise, and hoped I get asked back :-) It was seriously rough but I was fortunate in that my skipper was kind and didn't need to win. We never set the spinnaker and chose to tack rather than go for some of the nasty jibs. Had four plus inches of water sloshing around inside the boat more than once. Had great views of many other boats going over. This is one of those boats where you anchor yourself in by your ankles and hang out over the side the entire time. This is not a posture I'm used to. Forget Pilates, go sailing! Now I understand why wetsuits, long sleeves, life jackets, etc are required. At one point I asked if perhaps a mask and snorkel would be appropriate what with the waves coming straight in my face. I hurt all over and have downed two Advil, but it was a blast.

Its snowing in Houston

But not here :-) It is really starting to feel like summer and I am basking in it like a lizard. Locals are looking at me like I'm crazy and saying things like "But its HOT outside" and I'm saying "Isn't it great!". Color me surprised. I always knew I preferred to sweat than shiver but didn't realize how much pleasure I could take from the thermometer finally hitting the high 90s. Mind you the mean average humidity in December is around 52%. That old saw about how "its not the heat, its the humidity" is so, so true. Today we got up crack o'dawn and met my Aussie breakfast girl gang near the house. Had a nice walk to the restaurant and some great conversation. My friend Sally has decided to campaign for public office. She's creating a new party. The Party Party Party. I am nominated as her science and technology minister. My future stretches out before me :-) Spent the rest of the morning getting the grocery shopping done, a bit of housework, some lovely book reading, an early dinner, and then met some Aggies for an outdoor movie up at Edith Cowen University. A summer phenomena, the outdoor cinemas in parks and university campuses are a great take off on the old drive-in movie concept. Giant movie screens set up within enclosures with canvas sling back deck chair seating. Tonight we picnicked by a lake on campus for an hour before the movie then went in and enjoyed the show. I got as much pleasure out of the experience of watching a movie outdoors for the first time in forever as I did from the very cute show itself (Stone of Destiny - google it). Tomorrow I have foolishly committed myself to sailing on a Flying Fifteen - a two person racer. Got a call out of the blue tonight, said "ok", and the next thing I knew I had a call offering me the use of a wet suit, life vest, booties, admonitions about sunscreen, hat stability, bringing my sailing gloves, etc. To the point where I finally had to ask "am I pretty much expected to die?" It appears that is not actually the intent but I'm supposed to turn up at 12:30 and can expect to be released by 6:30. Egads. Watch this spot for futher updates, or obituary notices....

Thanksgiving!

It all turned out great despite my extended bout of homesickness in the weeks prior. We had a couple of folks over for dinner Thursday evening which was fun. The food was tasty (oooo asparagus casserole, why don't I make you more often?). The champagne was cold. And we were done by 9PM since it was a work night. Friday was work but I got to go on a lovely 4 hour sunset river cruise as part of work which was very fun (clients in town). Saturday we had another nice day, shopped early and got Mike a tux ordered, I dragged him to the pet store to oogle puppies too, read books, made cornbread, went to the beach for several hours, walked, and had tasty leftovers for dinner. Today, Sunday, I've been cooking up a storm for another Thanksgiving party this afternoon and even made hand print cut out construction paper turkeys :-) Should be a fun afternoon. However, I have discovered that cornbread dressing, even with fresh imported pecans, just doesn't taste right without poultry seasoning. But thats ok. So Happy Thanksgiving one and all! Its been lovely.

Work, dang it

They offered me a full time project manager role on Friday. I don't want to work full time. Part of me is tickled that they offered and the other part is 'why did they have to go and ruin a good thing". What I really want to do is put together their documentation on an ad hoc basis. Pay me and let me do it on my own schedule. On the other hand, working full time in project management will be great for the old resume when ever we get shipped back. Mike and I have talked it over and are about to come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense for me to get consumed by job stress too. I like working three days but more than that is going to start impacting quality of life for both of us. We want to savor living in Perth and both of us being tied up in the daily slog is not savoring. Dang.

It's just not the holidays when it's summertime

Thanksgiving week, and it's beach season. This is so, so wrong. I'm going to make a chicken and dressing casserole for Mike and I for Thursday the actual day, and then we're invited to a big Thanksgiving party on Sunday with a whole bunch of Aussies, so there will be some semblance of celebration, but its just not right. And lets not even talk about Christmas. Good thing we've got the kids coming to liven things up. I have gingerbread house kits for each of them and we'll manage to cobble together some sort of festive atmosphere I'm sure, but man. In the spirit of the season I just ordered pie crust mix and Karo syrup from USA Foods in Melbourne. From all the dire warnings on the website about the holiday rush I suspect it will take a couple of weeks to arrive but I'm thinking by Christmas I should at least have the makings of a pecan pie. This is just going to feel weird this year.

ooooo - presents!

Met some new arrivals to Perth from the states yesterday and they came bearing presents! I have fresh shiny new boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, Bisquick, and Mexican cooking spices. We can feast for Christmas! I am very grateful :-) Looks like it's starting to really settle in to summer. Warm sunny days with a cooling breeze picking up in the afternoon. I'm starting to experience mild urges to go swimming even and I am a hot weather only swimmer (*unless it's a hot tub*) All is well.

Finally got a breather

October was a blur. Between starting a job, going to Hong Kong, a whole bunch of work entertaining, some serious non-work related entertaining, and five weekends of sailing lessons this week was the first one in about 5 weeks that felt normal and settled. I have savoured it :-) Monday was lovely. I had time to get up and clean the house, do a couple of loads of laundry, start some dinner, and head out to mahjong. Had a lovely day with my buddies and a lovely dinner at home with Mike. Tuesday was a nice normal work day - headed to work at 7:45 and was home by 5PM. Today I got up, talked to my folks, went up to Swan Valley and bought some wine, had a lovely lunch date with my husband, and went sailing (we did pretty good on the river too). Settled back at the house now and still savouring the relaxed yet moderately busy week. I do have to work the next two days, and we are meeting up with folks on Friday and Sat, but it's been, and I trust will continue to be, a lovely week. And I'm re-reading the rather lengthy Aubrey/Mautarin series by Patrick O'Brien - always a treat.

Melbourne Cup Part 2

Photos of the day (click here) So more about Melbourne Cup. It's been an Aussie tradition since 1861 or something like that. We decided it's pretty much the equivalent of Super Bowl except it is always on a Tuesday. You'd think they'd have planned that part of the event a bit better because especially here on the west coast, it means that all work stops by about 11AM for the festivities, and offices everywhere empty as their staff heads to the nearest bar or betting shop to whoop it up. The other thing about Melbourne Cup is that it is a dress up occasion for both women and men. We were dolled up for the race but I was thrilled to see how gorgeous the men looked too. My pal Robbie and I joined a group of ladies who have been celebrating Melbourne Cup together for 20 years. They have identical dresses made and are a fixture for the celebrants at the Ruby Room at the Burswood Casino complex. Robbie and I had quite a time finding coordinating dresses, shoes, and jewelry - we ended up finding our pashminas and bling in Hong Kong at the Peak tram terminal of all places. The day started at 9:45 AM - which meant up and primping by crack o'dawn. We arrived and were photographed endlessly, placed our bets, and went into the gorgeous ballroom to mingle with the beautiful people of Perth :-) Champagne started promptly at 10AM, dancing to a live band started at 11AM, and the race went off at noon. Robbie and I both backed the winner - Shocked - and most happily collected our winnings. After lunch there was a fashion show, then more dancing till 3PM. We'd booked the Hummerzine for 3:30 as a break and photo op. I confess the excess of a Hummerzine is not exactly my style but it sure was fun! We headed up to Kings Park for photos (we learned later that some of our business associates actually spotted us up there!) and enjoyed just driving around and about for an hour or so. Back at the Burswood we made the rounds of all the bars, danced some more, and finally met up with spouses for dinner at 7PM. I was done by 10PM (13 hours of partying will make your toes ache) so Mike got me home and poured me into bed. Robbie went on to the casino and won $1500 so apparently it was a lucky day and I should have stuck with her! Thankfully I don't work on Wednesdays - I was a somewhat delicate flower all day. It was a blast and if called to attend next year, I expect I'll answer the call!

Melbourne Cup Race

Click here for evidence :-) Picture number 47. I probably shouldn't put this out for everyone to see. My political aspirations will be utterly derailed. Suffice it to say champagne was indeed involved.

Poker night at Chez Burns

Tonight we're hosting some people over who want to learn how to play tournament Texas Hold 'Em. Should be fun and if nothing else there are plenty of eats and drinks on hand to distract the losers. Mike is in charge of the table which I think makes me the cocktail waitress? Work is going great - having a lot of fun with it mostly because its a total challenge and I have total free rein to do whatever seems necessary to get the job done. I wouldn't have been ready for this a few years ago, now I have just the right amount of gumption to run with it til I either get the job done, or they kick me out :-) Even working three days a week is a shock to the system after all this time off. I was pooped by Friday night. (come to think of it, taking the red eye back from HK Monday AM probably didn't help that). But now the full impact of Western Australia shopping hour regulations are hitting home. No mall or big box grocery store type shopping after 5-6PM on weekdays, and none on Sundays. Since I have standing plans Mon & Wed and Saturday mornings I'm going to have to figure out how to accomplish shopping. Not exactly the worst issue in the world to face, but never underestimate my talent for sloth!

It has been forever since the last post

But I've been busy, and gone, and working. Photos and details to follow but suffice it to say Hong Kong was fun and full of both shopping and dining treats. Shekou/Shezen was interesting and a flashback to the sleepy foreign lands of my youth. A curious juxtaposition of modernity and the 1960s all in one. I found the atmosphere charming despite the streets of brothels we had to navigate to get to the main square where Oktoberfest was taking place :-) Now back in Perth and back at work which is turning out to be interesting and engaging, mostly because everyone there is so busy I can pretty much leap in with both feet and they'll be grateful for any assistance. Here are a few photos just to kick things off: Mike in Shekou at SeaWorld Plaza. That is an old cruise ship they've turned into a land locked hotel. There was an excellent Mexican restaurant that served a fab margarita in the plaza. View from The Peak. You literally can not even see our old apartment building from up there any more. It's completely hidden by all the new construction. I did get a glimpse on the way past on the Peak Tram though...its not green anymore but brown. Dragon on Kowloon in the cultural museum courtyard. The amazing new bridge under construction Our favorite old Star Ferries still look just the same. And the Kowloon side terminal hasn't changed a bit except now the gate to the ferries is automatic rather than operated by a guy in a blue sailor suit. And the ice cream stand is gone. :-(

Yallingup Day 2

I had it all figured out before we headed down to Yallingup what our wine tasting itinerary would be. I'd researched thoroughly, consulted the latest winery ratings using newspaper special inserts and two books about Aussie wines. I'd made a considered decision to narrow my choices down to those few with decently rated Zinfandels, because otherwise there are far too many wineries to try. I had plotted said wineries on a map. I was READY. Til we woke up the second day to the sounds of kookaburras and assorted strange bird noises, greeted the rosy fingered dawn on the balcony breakfast area, and talked to Tim about the lay of the land. Tim suggested that we start our morning on the scenic road up Point Geographe (the French did get to name a few things in AU) and around to Eagle Bay. He mentioned there could be a whale. We proceeded forthwith. And lo - there were whales. My wine tasting plans were immediately scrapped and the whale watching became the mission for the day. We walked along a beautiful beach to a hill above Castle Rock and from there across the wide vista we could see whales all over. The place was lousy with humpbacks! A mother and baby were hugging the shore line. Slightly further out was another large one moving more quickly, and towards the horizon we could see tremendous leaps and splashes as numbers more breached and tail slapped. I was mesmerized. Fortunately we had our binoculars with us but my camera was not adequate for the task so the photos I have are lousy but will have to suffice. (photo 2 below is the spout of the mama whale, 3 & 4 you can see the backs of the whales...maybe. ) We followed the whales from shore for a couple of hours then agreed once more that seeing the coastline was of more interest to us than fighting crowds in wineries. We visited Canal Rocks, GraceTown, and Red Gate on the coast - enjoying the surfers, the perfect weather, the colorful rocks, the sandy beaches. Here's what we saw:

Yallingup

While we were wandering around Bunbury, the proprietor of our B&B called and asked what time we planned to arrive so he could make sure the hot tub was ready. I call that excellent customer service :-) With that incentive we headed out of town, south to Yallingup. Here's what one of the regional websites has to say about it:

Yallingup has bred many of the region's and world's greatest surfers. Home to a relaxed local community, Yallingup, an aboriginal word meaning "Place of Love", is a small town nestled in amongst the trees along the coast. The town itself is relatively untouched by the mass tourism visiting the region and one can still enjoy the coastline and local beaches without the crowds characteristic of the city beaches.

It has to have one of the best views I've ever seen - it is so beautiful it takes my breath away. I have yet to get a photo that captures it but here's a pale insipid taste. We were a little early to check in so decided to eat at the wooden surf shack on the side of the road...full of an odd variety of surfer gear, canned baked beans, and fishing accoutrement, they serve an excellent burger which was so big we split it. We scoped the surfing lesson ads just in case the kids want to give it a try in December and then headed to the lodge. Our hot tub was ready :-) Tim, the proprietor, was there to greet us and show us around. It's located down a dirt track and just up the hill from a brewery. There are tall trees, masses of flowers, expanses of wild calla (canna) lilies. Talk about salubrious location! There is a day spa on the grounds and we enjoyed a couples massage and the hot tub very much. But there was more! We had dinner reservations at one of the major wineries - Leeuwin Estates. It's a gorgeous venue set in expansive rolling hills of vines with huge native trees framing a broad green lawn where they hold annual concerts with big name acts. This years its Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald. Leeuwin Estates website We were strongly cautioned to be very careful driving driving the two lane roads as the 'roos like to leap madly in front of cars at night. That would hurt. Turns out we only saw one cross in front of us, (and a couple of misguided bunnies but we missed 'em). The dinner was fantastic and we had the best table in the house - a long bench of polished native wood facing out through picture windows over the lawn and trees lit by spot lights. I delicately inquired about the size of the bone in veal chop and proceeded to demolish it all anyway. The fabled Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay - billed by many as the best in Oz was fantastic. The best chardonnay I've had by far. Find out about it here. I sampled the Cabs too but the chardonnay takes the cake. While waiting for our chocolate fondant to cook we wandered down to the art gallery - each year the estate commissions new art work from Australian artists for the labels of the Art Series wines. The originals are in the gallery downstairs and decidedly worth a look. We made it back to our B&B unscathed though with some admittedly nerve wracking moments - it's DARK out there in the country and there'd been all those dire warnings about smushing kangaroos after all. Here are a few photos from the grounds - that brown building next to the pool is the spa:

Bunbury

A couple of months ago I'd booked us a room at a spa/B&B down in the Margaret River wine region for a long weekend Mike had off work. Saturday at last the time came to go - our first overnight trip out of town together since we'd moved here, so really the first thing approaching a honeymoon we've had. I was giddy :-) We were on the road by 8AM but check-in wasn't till 2PM so with time to kill we headed down to Bunbury first. We've got an apartment booked there for four nights at Christmas with the kids when they arrive but we've never actually been there. We were in Bunbury about 10AM, found the apartments (which look really nice) and decided to take a stroll around town. Looks great and I think we can all have a lot of fun down there! Directly across the street is a movie theatre, all along the bay front area where the apartment is located are lovely little cafes, a brewery, and boutiques. A 10 minute walk down the beach is the Dolphin Discovery Centre where dolphins come right up to the shore to interact with people. There are boats moored at a couple of yacht clubs in the bay and you can walk around the point to the beaches on the Indian Ocean in about 10 minutes. There appear to be lots and lots of rock pools that will be really fun to poke around in. (note to kids - bring water shoes). There's a surf club, and a wildlife park, and I think the reptile center Laura is keen to visit is down in the area too. It all looks very promising for Christmas!

Lighthouse at Bunbury - Indian Ocean side

The hand of friendship - a cautionary tale

When we moved here it was a bit of a challenge finding out exactly what to pack to move and where to go for what once we arrived. There just isn't a good company network set up where everyone can share their experience and tips on living in Perth. So I promised Mike that I would try my best to help out the next people moving over. The next couple recently arrived and while they are pretty self sufficient, I did want to make the effort to meet the wife (Joan) and help with their settling in however possible. So last week we took them out to dinner one evening and then my pal Robbie and I invited Joan to join us on an expedition to the Darling Ranges to look at more wild flowers. Joan graciously accepted...but I expect she won't be eager to volunteer to join any of our schemes again! Our plan was to head up to the Darlington area to a park I'd noticed in a prior expedition, wander around a bit, take a few photos, have a nice lunch, and head back to Perth by 2PM. Robbie and Joan arrived at my place around 9:30AM, we loaded up in my car, and off we went. We navigated perfectly to the park about 50 minutes from the house, found our way to a parking lot, and we were off. There were a number of cryptic signs pointing in various directions including two indicating scenic waterfalls in opposite directions. We decided to head for the one 600meters away first. Off we went, following a lovely stream, until the path narrowed and the stream turned to a mere trickle. We hadn't seen any fabulous waterfall after some time so decided to turn around. We headed back and decided to make for the OTHER falls about 1km away. This one, we found. So yay it was all good, most scenic, photos were taken, etc. But on our way back there was a sign for a wild flower trail. Given our mission of seeing flowers, we peeled off and started walking...and walking...and walking. Yes, there were flowers. But it turned out not only was the path poorly marked but it was also 6 km long (nearly 4 miles). And then we got kind of lost too. At one point we finally ran into another person and asked directions. He was no help but did express his concern at our plight and informed us that people DO get lost up there and we just might possibly be doomed. Eventually, approaching 12:30PM we finally stumbled upon that first darn waterfall we'd been aiming for. There were two couples there who we asked for directions - they pointed vaguely but since they both pointed in the same direction, we headed that way. 20 minutes later we finally spotted something we recognized and managed to make it to the car, panting, thirsty, hungry, and somewhat befuddled. We made it to Darlington Estates vineyards after 1:30 for lunch and ordered a full round of restorative liquid (sparkling wine). Even Robbie drank a glass and I've never seen her drink wine. Fortunately lunch was excellent, there was wine to taste, and the staff were super nice and friendly. We didn't get Joan back home till after 4PM. She was polite about the whole thing but I could imagine the conversation at home that evening. "You know what those damn women made me do? We walked for hours, no water, no bathrooms, no food. I will NEVER go anywhere with them again!" So next time some well meaning people invite you along for an 'adventure', think long and hard. You may be in for way more than you bargained for. We did get some photos:

So fun :-)

We went with friends down to Fremantle for dinner tonight. Ate at one of the local seafood joints and I know we'll be taking the kids there to visit when they arrive in Dec. One of the aquariums in the restaurant had the biggest cuttlefish I've ever seen alive. S/he was gorgeous and I was smitten. We all happily munched on fresh caught fish of one sort or another, but the highlight of the evening was the all male young Australian chorus. When we arrived they were all (12 or so) sitting at a table and suddenly broke into song - the national anthem I believe. It was lovely and everyone was looking around in surprise. Then they finished and ate their dinner. But later, after they'd eaten, they all got up at the front of the restaurant and sang two more songs for the patrons. Camptown Ladies, and Lollipop (Lollipop, lollipop, ooo lala lollipop). In three part harmony. It was hilarious and fabulous all at the same time. They were great, and so freaking cute in their matching shirts and jumpers. If I'd been 17 years old I would have been an instant groupie. There was a darling red head. Sigh. Kept wishing Marlee and Laura had been there to enjoy it with us :-) Off with a couple of girlfriends to the hills outside Perth again in the morning, and then Saturday Mike and I are off down south to Yallingup and Margaret River to enjoy the beaches, trees, wineries, venison farm, and other delights of the area. Its a three day weekend and Mike's ready for a break from work and I'm ready to get out of town. Can't wait!

We are watching Monday Night Football

It came on at 8AM Tuesday our time so we recorded it this morning. And I, like a good sports fan, did not peek at the score so I could enjoy it with my dearly beloved this evening in a show of sports fan solidarity. He apparently did peek but is humoring me by sitting here fast-forwarding through the commercials for me while I surf the internet. He's a good guy :-) We enjoyed a lovely salad Nicoise this evening - I'd been craving one ever since my niece posted a recipe a few weeks ago. I varied the recipe according to what I could find so we had the potatoes, grape tomatoes, green beans, capers, red onion, and egg that she suggested but I also used sliced green olives, kidney beans, and a grated carrot. By the time I put it all together there was no room for the feta, artichoke hearts, or the avocado I'd kind of been craving all day. So we have spare goodies for later in the week. Spent today wandering the mall shopping for a hat and dress for the Melbourne Cup race on Nov 3. I'm committed to participate in what seems to be an alcohol soaked fashion show and gambling opportunity with a group of women who have been celebrating race day in style together for years. I'm slightly nervous about the whole thing...there is a Hummer-zine involved. And coordinating outfits and hats. Unlimited champagne. And stories of impropriety in years gone by. Including photos in the local paper. I will hide behind one of the taller ladies if I see so much as a glimmer of a camera anywhere near me. I mean it. Update: The dresses are purchased. Robbie and I are wearing identical lime green dresses with coordinating hot pink fascinators. We look like flappers and the ladies in the store, unprompted, assured us that we'll make the paper.

Many more wildflower photos

Finally had a pretty day last week so my pal Robbie and I headed up to Kings Park to enjoy the sunshine and flowers. As a result, here are yet more photos. I'm also all excited because I met a genuine horticulturist today and her specialty is Australian wild flowers. I plan to stalk her and make her go on a road trip with me to identify all the little beauties. I want Latin names too. She'd better know her stuff. I'm just saying. To the photos!

This whole To-mah-to thing...

When the word came out of my mouth unconsciously, I was mildly horrified. I know that I'm picking up little snippets of Aussie speak, and I'm such an accidental mimic I'm sure by the time I get back to the states, I'll just sound silly and pretentious. Let me say in advance...it is not on purpose! It's just easier to adapt rather than have people give you that blank stare. Tomato vs. tomahto...ladies room vs. toilet...tomahto sauce vs. ketchup....hotel vs. bar...the list goes on. I have an Aussie slang dictionary book marked on my internets because there are just that many variations. I am starting to call hoodlums bogans and hoons even. A mugging is a bashing. A bell pepper is a capsicum. Fries are chips. Cookies are biscuits. A rib eye is a scotch fillet (pronounced fill-it). And mayo is some unmentionable substance that's not quite Miracle Whip but certainly not mayo. Unless you spring for the imported Hellmans, which I do. And....a burger is anything that comes between two halves of a bun. Which brings us back to tomahto. I was ordering a bacon burger, without tomahto, and forgot that vital bit of burger detail. So my order arrived and rather than being the tasty bacon burger I'd imagined with grilled onions and lettuce and an all meat patty with some crispy bacon, it was a bunch of moderately limp Aussie bacon (like Canadian bacon but with fat) with a fried egg and lettuce. Turns out of all the 5-6 'burgers' listed on the menu, not one actually contained a patty of ground beef. I was bummed.

Sticker shock

I do most of the shopping so Mike remains blissfully unaware of the rather high (to us) cost of living. He got a brief glimpse today. We decided to have a date Sunday night and chose a movie and bought tickets on Friday because you need to book in advance to see a movie on the weekend. I suggested we go to the Gold Class movie - a special theater within a theater that seats about 30 people in comfy lounge chairs and offers adult beverages, an 18 and over age limit, and tasty meal service right at your seat. The price for two tickets is over $70AU (about $60US). Mike asked, quite rightly, if that includes a bottle of champagne and an all you can eat buffet. No darling, that is for the seat and the movie. Snack food items are an additional charge. He is skeptical that there is any movie seat anywhere worth that price unless it comes with a massage and scantily clad hostesses.

You know how you sign up for AA or whatever just in case?

Just in case just happened. Went out to jump in the car to go buy a recharge for my cell phone and my car is dead. As in even the keyless entry buttons won't do anything. Batteries are like that. One minute happily shooting electricity, next minute its all over but the trip to the hazardous waste facility. BUT! I was brilliant and signed up for RAC - Royal Auto Club. Doesn't everything just sound way cooler if it has "Royal" as part of it's name? I think so. I was seduced by the name and the shiny yellow store front at the mall several months ago. So I whizzed back upstairs, rang them up, and voila! Someone will be around to make it all better within 60 minutes. I'm feeling all smart and proactive and smug about my purchase. Edited to add: The darling RAC employee who fixed my battery can come back and fix anything else he wants at any time. It was almost like getting a bonus for my savvy investment!

Tea

We're still enduring winter and overcast gloom. We've got one pretty day on tap today and I'm heading to Kings Park to check out the flowers and take a long walk, but the gloom is predicted to descend again tomorrow and remain for another week. I am not cut out for this! One bright spot is tea. I've been sipping my two daily cuppas for years now. I'm a slave to habit - Earl Grey, steeped 4 minutes, one pack of Splenda, a dash of milk. Mike has learned how to make it and many mornings the tea fairy arrives at my bedside bearing hot restorative liquids....ahhh. But I'm branching out because the British influence means that in adddition to their excellent coffee, tea is also a highly prized beverage. There is a tea shop at our local mall that has about a gazillion varieties of loose leaf tea. No really. A gazillion. They'll make up any loose leaf mixture that you can imagine. It's an entire wall of drawers labeled with intriguing names like Buddhas Tears, Gunpowder Green, Monk Pear. You want caffeine, herbal, tisane, fruit tea? They've got it. My favorite is Liquorish Legs - digestive herbs with lumps of liquorish bark that give it a lovely subtle sweet flavour. I drink it plain as the sweetness is enough without any additions. It makes me happy. I'm also drinking a variety of lemon, chai, mint, chamomile, Darjeeling and whatever else catches my fancy as I wander through. It may take the duration of our stay to sample all the offerings: T2 Website

Sometimes technology does NOT make life better

I have been wrestling with technology this week. It's a dull story, but suffice it to say that due to a clerical error ten years ago, I have ended up with two retirement accounts through one of the major plan administrators. The original account was split in two per my divorce and unbeknownst to me at the time, I got both halves because a lawyer did the paperwork wrong. My ex got both halves of a different plan account and in terms of amounts, it was a wash on each side. I tried to fix it years ago to no avail since he was happy with his accounts. So I've been getting dual statements and notifications for ten years. The amounts in the two halves of the account are almost exactly equal but not quite thank goodness, otherwise I'd never have figured out what was going on. One is easy-ish...its under my ss# and name so I changed my address when we moved to Perth and set up online access instead of paper statements. It took a couple of weeks and several calls to get new PIN numbers etc, but it did get done. Except for a typo, but really who cares if it's the Katy or Caty Freeway, right? The second one is a whole different story. For whatever magical reason all these accounts in this plan are tied to a ss# and don't have an actual individual account number. So when they split the one account, half is under my ss# and half is under a MADE UP SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. All access to these accounts goes through the dreaded voice mail system which requires you to input your social security number. But this is a FAKE ss# so the system knows it's a fake and won't recognize it. Same with online access. The implication of criminal intent when I input the fake ss# is palpable. It's been a comedy trying to get it fixed and I feel sorry for the customer service reps who are being most helpful but can't understand what's going on until I tell them the whole story. Today, in theory, thanks to a helpful rep, I now have a request to change the mailing address on the fake ss# account submitted. I'll wait a week or two for a confirmation letter and then I can call back and request a new PIN number on that account to be mailed to me. Then I wait another week or two and when a new PIN number arrives to the correct mailing address, they say I will be able to access the account (via yet another international call) and THEN I can actually find out balances and maybe possibly if the stars are properly aligned, get online access. Security technology is my nemesis. At this point I'm pretty sure a criminal could find an easier way to access my account than I can. PS: Yes, I do know it's all for my own good blah blah blah.

All quiet on the western front

Spent a nice quiet week. Nothing new on the job front as the COO of the company, while back from the states, had out of town business people around all week. Maybe next week, or even the following week we'll see where we stand. No worries - I'll enjoy working, and I'll enjoy not working. Played mahjong with my pals Monday, farewell dinner for a friend Tuesday, sailing Wed, business dinner Thursday, and absolutely nothing but cooking and watching a bit of TV with Mike last night. Did the 6.6km walk around the two bridges four mornings in a row now that my walking buddy is back in town. I do feel all noble about that. Got my official yacht club membership this week so I can actually park inside the gate and charge stuff at the bar. It's the little things. We sailed Bella this week and sadly, it turns out we'd done so well lately that they upped our handicap - significantly. We don't expect to bring any pennants home again any time soon. I'm officially in charge of the foredeck now which does provide some opportunity for adventure. Witness the slowly deepening bruises on various parts of my anatomy. After wrestling a cleat into submission my purple thumb is really lovely. I may decide to tuck my very own can of WD40 in my wind breaker!

Having fun despite the weather :-)

Deciding to ignore the overcast and drizzle, we had a very fun day yesterday wandering around the hills east of Perth. Just a 30 minute drive from the house, you head up the slope and feel a change in temperature and notice that everything looks just a little bit more lush and more like the cooler, greener east coast of the US than Texas. We had a fabulous lunch at a winery tucked into the hills and I promise to take anyone who comes to visit there since the food was fabulous and the sparkling wine delicious. Most of all I enjoyed seeing the first of the much vaunted Western Australia wild flowers in bloom. NOW I see what they mean - in about a month it should be spectacular. I'd been noticing things starting to bloom in the past several weeks but had no idea the variety of color that is about to spring forth. There were even daffodils in a few tucked away corners. Rather than keep writing, how about I just post (many) photos. I did compress them because there are so many so some of the detail is lost, but you'll get the idea!