A Little Rain and a Whole Lot of Sunshine

A little rain….that’s a lie actually.  When they said Queensland had no true summer / winter only a wet and a dry season, they weren’t lying!  Last week it rained for 7 days straight.  Yes, that’s right.  7 days all in a row.  We got a whopping 14+ inches.  The forecast says there’s more on the way.  Along with the rain comes the mozzies.  Funny that they shorten that word even though they’re some of biggest mosquitoes I’ve ever seen in my life!  Evil little buggers!  And here’s something else you’d never have thought of before you made your decision to live in paradise.  Palm trees aren’t all they’re made out to be.  First, they don’t really provide that much shade.  Second, they shed just as bad as your favorite furball of a dog.  We’re dragging enormous palm branches to be garbage bin weekly to be broken down and hauled away.  Thirdly, falling coconuts are loud!  It’s fortunate that I figured out what the noise was quickly.  The first couple nights in the house I woke up in a fright at the sound of a 3 pound coconut hitting our metal roof and rolling away.  Throw in a storm and there’s a lot of banging around and clean up to do.  I’ll take an oak tree and a pile of fall leaves any day! 

But really, there’s not a lot to complain about here.  What’s a little rain when you’ve got so much too look forward too?  Matt and I are expecting our own little ball of sunshine near the end of September this year!  I’m currently about 14 weeks along and sooo glad be out of my first trimester.  Luckily, I was able to sleep through most of it (and the rain).  We had our first ultrasound March 9 and it was a healthy little 4cm humanoid.  The next ultrasound is slated for May.  I'll be sure to keep you all posted as we progress.

We had intended to do a big post a few months ago about our sailing lessons and expedition.  Naturally it was the hottest weekend we’ve had since we’d been here.  Not a cloud or a breeze for 3 days.  Equally exhilarating and torturous.  But I think we’ll always remember it with fondness since that’s how I figured out I was pregnant.  I KNEW I wasn’t prone to sea sickness!   So, our deepest apologies for not having much to share about the sailing weekend.  I was a bit too miserable to give a care about taking photos and we’ve been a bit busy since.  But we did see some amazing sites like Whitehaven Beach and snorkeling near some of the best reefs in the world.  If anyone wants to visit, we’re ready to go again now!  Preferably before I hit third trimester though!

Great Barrier Reef Aquarium

Wandering around Townsville on the last day of Matt's holiday vacation, we stumbled upon the most marvelous treasure: The Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium.

Hopefully this is just a preview of the beautiful reef life we'll be seeing while living here.  Thank goodness I happened to have my camera in my bag so I could share these treasures with you all.

My most favorite creature was the Mantis Shrimp.  He's colorful and crazy looking 

Click this pic to play the video

Matt liked the sharks and rays

The jelly fish were so tiny and fun to watch

Click picture to play video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

I always wanted a Seahorse!  Mom- can I get one now?

Click picture to play this video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

Oh - and I got video of some Nemos and other fishies for Brooklynn

Click picture to play video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

Some more crazy shrimp:

Click picture to play video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

Click on the photo below to link to the slide show - tons more pics to see!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Matt's birthday has come and gone! We had a fun few days too!  The weekend before was his company Christmas Party on Hamilton Island.  I think we might have enjoyed the ferry ride as much as the island itself.

Hamilton Island is a popular tourist trap, but there's a reason for that.  It's gorgeous!  Unfortunately we didn't get to spend much more than a few hours exploring.  We did learn that there's plenty reason for a repeat visit: scuba, snorkeling, paddle boarding, helicopter tours, jet skis, sailing and fishing.  Oh!  And everyone drives golf carts!  We can't wait to go back and spend some time.  That is, when we have more time to spend!

Grandmas have no fear!  Matt and I are eating well!  I made a cherry pie for his birthday, a black cherry pie to be specific because that's all they had in a can.  It was delicious!

Turns out the reason they don't have canned cherries is because no one has ever heard of cherry pie!!!  Matt took a piece in his lunch and ended up sharing the whole pie because they'd never tasted it before.   What a nice guy!  He earned another pie!  Lucky for him, my baking skills are improving!

Enjoy the slide show!

Thanks for a Thanksgiving Success

I guess my math skills are still up to par. I somehow managed to successfully convert all standard measurements to metrics, at least close enough not to burn or destroy any of the dishes.

Grandparents, don't you worry, we ate like kings. The turkey came out perfect, Matt's gravy was divine. I added paprika and poultry seasoning to Gma's Dressing recipe and I'll never go back.

It was a lot of work, everything was made from scratch. Including the fried onions for the green bean casserole. My only cheat was using frozen veggies and a packet for the dressing mix. I didn't even burn the corn bread! Just look at this smile!

The pumpkin pies came out good too, but I forgot to take pictures. I've been worrying about my pumpkin pies for two days since the last time they came out a bit more savory than sweet. No complaints this time though!

That's it for now. Our first holiday abroad has come to a close. Love you and miss you all!

Adventures of the Super Market

Well, it’s been an interesting few weeks settling in to our new home.  We were supplied with the basics: furniture, microwave, dishes, silverware, one spaghetti pot, one sauce pan, one fry pan and a water kettle.  I know I should be having fun picking out new house wares but it’s just hard to put your heart and more importantly your money into it knowing you’ll be giving everything up again in 2 years.  I’m still getting over the fact that all of our life’s collections are still sitting in a thrift shop in Moab, Utah.  

At least there’s the Holidays to look forward to.  My spirits are high as I sit here waiting for my pumpkins to roast so I can make my own puree for the pies (and maybe a little set aside for my homemade pumpkin lattes too).    My subconscious has been telling me that along with the Holidays comes winter and along with winter comes hearty comfort food.  No such luck with the winter here, but I was able to take advantage of poor Matt getting sick to make lots of warm soups and chicken with dumplings.  Matt’s all better now, four days of sleep, broth and OJ and I’m back on my own again.  It was nice to have him home for a few days even if I avoided him like the black plague.  Germs were not on my to-do list.

Back to the point of today’s post:  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, kind of.  It’s not celebrated here, for obvious reasons, so there’s no vacation time for Matt.  We’ll be having a small dinner with Matt’s coworkers, one of which is American and the other likes Cardinals baseball so we figure that’s close enough.  

Yesterday I took my reconnaissance trip to the market with a complete list of everything I’d need for the feast, knowing full well I wouldn’t be filling my list mainly because my refrigerator just isn’t big enough.  Boy was I in for a world of unexpected trouble and that’s without going into detail about it being the busiest I’ve ever seen the store!

So, it goes without saying American Holiday = American recipes = American measurements.  No problem, I’m getting used to this.  No pre-made shortcuts or ready in the box mixes, no problem.  I can cook from scratch, it tastes better that way.  No cornmeal, no turkey baster, no marshmallows!?!?!  OH NO!!!!!  Have no fear my friends – it was only a reconnaissance trip.  I’ve armed myself with the internet and I’ve got my substitutions and game plan lined up.

I did, however, think there were a few things you might find interesting:

·         You can use polenta in place of cornmeal

·         You have to go to the counter to buy a lighter for your candles

·         Most of the cold medicine contains only Echinacea, willow bark and the like.  The good stuff must be at the Chemists (aka Pharmacy)

·         Band-aids don’t peel open.  After you’re proven that you shouldn’t be allowed around sharp object you now have to cut your bandage strip open.

·         Most of the deodorant is roll-on or spray-on.  Clinical strength can cost up to $14

·         You can only buy alcohol at the bottle mart, and liquor can cost up to twice as much

·         Wine is cheap

·         A bottle of beer is called a stubbie

·         Most of the rum can be bought pre-mixed with cola in a can (my fave so far)

·         Bing cherries cost $8.99/kg.  A bunch of grapes cost $13

·         Crispy delicious bacon is hard to come by except in a restaurant, I’m supposed to keep my eye out for “streaky” bacon

·         Cream soda is called creaming soda

·         Lemonade is fizzy – and delicious!

Welcome to Bowen!

We finally have a place to call home! After a week and a half too long in little Collinsville we have successfully secured ourselves a beach house in Bowen. That also means we finally have a return address, so the Thank You notes are on their way too.

We had a bit of a scare in our apartment hunt. There was only one furnished apartment and one beach front apartment available on the market. Those were our two requests. Doesn't seem like a tall-order for a town surrounded by 5 beaches. Yet, the day we dropped off our application for the furnished beach house, we also received the news that someone else put in an offer to PURCHASE! Yikes! After a gruesome weekend, we got the call that the sellers were not accepting the offer. Apparently they are asking high dollar - $800,000!

Unfortunately, we learned that just because you buy a furnished apartment doesn't mean you don't have to spend a lot of money setting it up. 5 trips to the grocery store now and we still don't have it all. Towel, linens, food, cleaning supplies. The list goes on and on.

Now we just need a boat.....

Reality Sets In

After 16 hours of driving, that's 1400 km or about 870 miles, we have finally made it to our new hometown.

View Larger Map

Matt's company set us up with some temporary housing until we find our own apartment. I'm currently sitting out on the front stoop eating Nutella and Arnott's Milk Coffee biscuits. You might be asking yourself "Why is she sitting on the front stoop?" I have to tell you, we knew the temp unit would be small, but I think we were in for a reality check.

The unit is half of a trailer. There's a full-size bed and a night stand. That's it for furniture! After we got over the initial shock - which was exponentially increased by the discovery of the 2" cockroach in the teakettle - we've realized this place is actually livable. There's a mini-fridge, a sink and an oven. Both pubs and the grocery store are in walking distance. We have our own bathroom which has hot water and was surprisingly immaculate. So what if the front stoop doubles as my office? So what if the TV doesn't work? So what if all of our luggage is still in the car? So what if Matt's too tall for the bed? At least there's a view of the lawn bowling club! It's a big deal on a Monday night, let me tell ya!

Here's a panoramic sweep of the place, the whole place:



I've done a bit of apartment hunting and we have hopefully found the one. I'm taking Matt to look at it on Saturday. Hope we have all the proper documents to get an application approved! This place is awesome! I don't want to spoil the surprise so no pics yet.



For those of you petrolheads - we got our Defender 90! It's a beaut! We got the last one in Queensland. It's a diesel bullet-proof tank and I can't park it but I sure get a lot looks driving through town. I'm feeling like a 15 1/2 year old driving a big truck for the first time. I only have a US license so I'm partially legal. I know what the road rules are, I think. I'm still getting used to the steering and the clutch is on the wrong side. But I sure am having a good time!