Summer At Last

So arriving here in early January did allow me to experience a glimmer of summer. Finally. I had personally had about 15 months of winter since making the decision to move to Australia. Trust me, that was not my optimal choice, but with an early winter hitting in 2006 in Bothell and the visa taking much longer than anticipated... I managed to start winter in September of 06, left in lat March of '07 just in time to arrive here in Australia as their winter came into full swing. Luckily winter here is by far much more mild than even Seattle's dark, wet and grime winters. I still was missing daylight that lasted more than 10 hours a day and the warmth of a summer evening, BBQ's and eating ice cream without feeling like putting on the wool socks first!

Also included in the refreshing summer like weather is getting out and doing stuff! Walks, bike rides, and even a little bit of running... just a little bit-no marathon training for me right now! But I have also gotten to do a bit of gardening. Our courtyard is pretty small, but at least now, I've cleaned up and pruned up some of the bushes. We have a nice little gardenia that is loaded with buds that smell amazing.
If we can figure out how to keep the possums out of our gordonia, it just might bloom one of these days! I've also been growing some basil, oregano and lavender in pots. Matt's mum got Maize (Matt's cat) some cat grass and cat mint to entertain her. I had to split the cat grass into two pots so we can put one out of reach and let it rest while she eats away on the other one.

Hope all is well with everyone!

On The Long Flight Home

Stopovers are a wonderful thing. Especially when you get to check in with a good friend and eat yummy Korean BBQ for the first time! I love seeing my friend Nicole in Honolulu. She is so fun to hang with and is such a good friend. I couldn't ask for a better excuse to break up my flight! We saw the tail end of a Hawaiian sunset from a valley where her and her partner (now fiance!) are looking to buy a home and then headed off for my first experience of Korean BBQ. Gather up your hunger for the week because you can eat for ages at this place! You go pick out your meats, veggies and a few sides and you take it all back to the table to cook it your self. The meats have all been marinating for hours, so they are tender, delicious and moist. The veggies are all freshly chopped and add lots of color to your plate. Plus, there is ice cream... all you can eat ice cream... what more could a girl want???

Who doesn't love heading to the airport early in the morning... and even better, who doesn't love sold out nine hour flights??? I've done this trip too many times to count now and I have to say, I've gotten my routine down pretty well. I am happy to plug in my ears (iPods are truly a wonderful travel companion) pick up a book and before I know it I am landing in another country... but I also don't really like to talk on these flights any more than necessary. Partly because every one of them has been emotional--everything from excitement, nerves, fear, sadness, elation and everything in between, but also because what could you possibly talk about to a complete stranger for 9+ hours? Most of my flights across the big blue pacific have been empty enough to have a spare seat next to me so I often don't even have to think about conversing with strangers or the guy next to me is totally engrossed in the in-flight movie and sleeps like a rock. But this time, this time I got to sit next to Madonna... I know surprising isn't it? And you all thought I was flying Economy... well, actually, I am flying economy and the Madonna sitting next to me had several kids of her own and wasn't trying to adopt any refugee children out of Africa. It turned out she was a retired school teacher heading out on her first overseas adventure alone. Luckily for her, I have all the necessary forms memorized and could help her fill out her information. I did worry though when she told me she was connecting in Sydney to go on to Melbourne... I had a sneaky feeling that she wouldn't know what to do to get through customs and take the transfer bus to the domestic terminal (a nasty fate you have to endure when flying in from Hawaii.) As much as my introverted flight mode hesitated to return conversation with this woman, I found that I actually quite liked talking to her and the flight still went relatively fast. She was quite courteous to me when I indicated it was time for me to try and catch some sleep and let me curl up against the window and doze. She also enjoyed watching the same in-flight movies as me so didn't keep trying to talk during the movie... I helped her collect her bags and navigate through customs, then I helped her find the bus and her gate at the domestic terminal. She was pretty excited and was going to have a good time at the Australian Open tennis tournament which is why she was on this trip. There was someone scheduled to meet her at the airport in Melbourne and as we had different connecting flights I bid her goodbye in Sydney.

I had my own welcoming committed in Melbourne when I landed. Matt had his Mum and sister Kate with him and Matt's brother Paul brought his family along to meet me as well, however, they went to the wrong terminal so ended up meeting us at baggage claim instead. It was quite the reunion. Australian security still allows people to see you off and collect you at the airport properly, not requiring a ticket to get through security for domestic flights. It is very refreshing to see a friendly face when disembark the aircraft instead of the daunting, cold fluorescent walk to baggage claim on your own...

Sorry this post is so delayed--you would think that not being allowed to work would find me posting things all the time, but I just didn't have the motivation to sit at the computer typing away until now when I can't sleep... So--till next time!

The Holiday's at Home

First Holiday up... Thanksgiving. Arriving in style with cousin Monica and her clan of Lena, Nora and Lizzie (the dog they had to get to replace me... Just kidding!). Oh, and I can't forget good 'ole Rob and his seized up back. The guy is normally 6'3" tall but was so bent over that he could hardly get in the Suburban. After a couple of hours of failing to entertain Miss Nora in the back seat, Monica sequestered herself to the duty and I drove the rest of the way. Luckily, we had clear skies and light traffic once we got out of Seattle. With in minutes of being home, I was snacking on the many options strewn about the kitchen. Yummmmmmy!
Nanette's dog Buddy, Mom & Dad's old faithful Bowtie and Lizzie spent the next several hours getting acquainted. Luckily, Bowtie is a Martyr and he kept things pretty reasonable, but Buddy and Lizzie have some growing up to do yet.
Here the three of them are paling around with Sydney and Conner. The next day is the big Turkey day. Mom made all the Thanksgiving standards. Turkey, Spiral Cut Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Gravy, Steamed Veggies, Jello Salad and Rolls. Aunt Edith brought over a huge fruit salad. It looked like it might topple the table over.
Sydney lead us all in a prayer before the meal and then we all ran like hell to get to our seats first! Gotta get as close to the mashed potatoes as possible... Mykel and I were going to having a little brawl over who got the first dollop.



Luckily, I got to sit at the kids table (no really... I like sitting there, it is where all the good stuff is kept. :)
Everyone else had to sit at the fancy adult table where manners are always on and you are too far away from the punch bowl to get refills on your drink!













I headed back over the mountains with the clan so I could get around in the Seattle area for awhile and try and catch up with friends over there. It's hard around the holiday's because so many people are gone off to see their own families, but I managed to have a few drinks, laughs and catch one of the worst colds I've had since I lived in the cottage. I haven't been that sick in a long time, but I still stayed up late to catch up with Hallie as she was in town from the UK and all the girls got together for some good story time. :) It was so great to see everyone again and to be back on the right side of the road!
Unfortunately, my friend Nicole did have a tragedy in her family, so she was in the area unexpectedly. I was so happy to see her, but sad for her circumstances. She had to fly out of Seattle, so I drove a car back for her to Spokane, but first went to Bellingham to have a visit there. I haven't spent much time IN Bellingham, mostly just passing through, but the town is fabulous and there was 6 inches of snow to greet me. I had a great time catching up with an old friend from High School and then sped off again to go back to the family. Luckily I got over the mountains without too much trouble, because once the snow started coming... it STILL hasn't quit. But it did melt.

There was some severe flooding in Western Washington, several million dollars in damages, not to mention some deaths and I-5 being shut down for the better part of a week. It put some people in some hard places and during the holiday season it is terribly sad. I got home and spent some time with Mom, Dad and Nanette before Christmas.
Nanette and I went to an ice hockey game and the Spokane Chiefs (hockey team) were collecting teddy bears for local area kids in need.








Nanette and I did our part and tossed a poor stuffed bear down to the ice after the Chief's first goal. The beard littering the ice were amazing. They filled 3 full size pickup trucks (and I mean AMERICAN full sized!) with the bears and it delayed the game for a good 20 minutes while the players picked up all the bears. The cabs of the trucks were full, the beds and they were piled up over the tops of the cabs as well. Unbelievable! There were over 3000 bears collected. The Spokane Chiefs Hockey club is part of the Canadian Hockey League in the Western Division. The team has 20 or so players ranging in age from 16 to 19. Believe it or not, most of the kids come down from Canada and are taken in by a local family for the school year. The kids work their tail off hoping to get drafted into the NHL (National Hockey League) someday.

After a beautiful, quiet white Christmas with the family, I flew to Portland to meet up with my good friend Brian. I haven't seen Brian in about 2 years so it was so great to catch up with him at his home in McMinnville.
I got to tour his huge nursery and then we drove up to Seattle on a gorgeous clear sunny day. With a quick stop in Battleground Washington to visit Kristy's parents, and a few detours to find food and restrooms, we made it to Seattle on New Years Eve. We were both a bit daggy after the car ride so we opted to stay in at Miss Kristy's house and we barely made it to 12:01 am. After a Happy New Year wish, we both staggered off to bed. The next couple of days Brian and I played 'tourists in Seattle' and we did several fun things. We had a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, we went up in the Bank of America Tower, toured the Seattle Public Library Central and even did the Underground Tour of Pioneer Square. We had lots of fun, managed to bump into an old co-worker of mine at where else, but a Starbucks.
We met Kristy and Adam for the movie Juno at The Big Picture. Get this... it is a theater... with cozy comfy 'quiet' seats for 100 people, and while you are waiting for your flick to begin, you can mingle with other guests, have some cocktails or beer and even schedule a drink delivery during the film. It was not only a great movie, but such a great atmosphere to watch a movie. I got my fill of foods I had been craving, friends updates and misty Seattle weather!



We even had a chance to swing by the original starbucks near Pike's Place Market... Busy as usual!














Overall, I had a blast and even spent some time pimping out MySpace pages for Rob and Brian... I feel like a technical genius now... except really, I am not... I just know how to cheat!

Ciao!