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Anniversaries
It occurred to me just now that the Scientist and I have known each other for over a quarter of a century. When we met, I wasn’t even that old and wouldn’t have fathomed knowing anyone for that long. Wow!
So it shouldn’t really come as such a surprise that we’ve been married (as of Sunday) eighteen years. I remember it was a gorgeous, sunny day with deep blue sky. And I remember passing by Saturday grocery shoppers as we arrived at the “church”, which was temporarily located in the shopping center while a building was being constructed. The ceremony itself is a bit of a blur in my memory, although remnants of a talk about the Velveteen Rabbit stick in my mind a bit. There was a reception at a small country club (ironically, the temporary home of another church our family attended before it was built). I remember a Glenn Miller song or two playing and my a speech that which sounded a bit alien from rather quiet father. Then we were at my parents’ house, being waved off by family and friends as we left for a honeymoon in my car, which was covered with writing in chalk (I think) which left its slight mark long after the message was gone. After driving three hours, we arrived at our bed and breakfast in Asheville and were rather impressed by the grandeur of our accommodation for the next couple of nights. Just the two of us for the next couple of days relaxing and enjoying each others’ company. And before we knew it, our brief honeymoon was over and we were headed back. All the excitement was over in a relative flash.
We celebrated this year by another Fremantle visit with lunch at the Mexican Kitchen. We’d never been there before although it has been calling out for us as many years as I can remember. Lunch was delicious, with the food being pretty close to what I associate with Mexican food back home. I had a  Mexi-plate with a taco, enchilada and flauta while the Scientist enjoyed a burrito. Dessert was pretty underwhelming, with a flan listed on the menu that didn’t seem to exist and a “Mexican mud cake” that was just a chocolate cake with some nice vanilla ice cream. We followed with a visit to the chocolateria where I think I reached my chocolate limit. No disappointment in my churros or the Scientist’s black forest trifle. All yummy! A long walk back to the car helped work off a tiny fraction of the calories and we were on our way home again. It’s very nice that the boys have reached an age where we can leave them home and go out alone. A freedom that I know I never appreciated until it was gone for several years and then regained.
Anyway, I am quite thankful for all the memories the Scientist and I have had together, in the eighteen years and for the many years before. Happy Anniversary to my dear Scientist!
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May Photo Challenge – May 09
Today was another night-time rush to come up with some photos. I had taken my camera with me when i went out in the late afternoon but found no inspiration before dark. I also attempted some low-light photos outside but none of those worked out very well. I spied my lava lamp, hidden under my sun hat on my desk. It doesn’t get used all that much due to the time it takes to get it heated up and the amount of energy it must use. I tried lots of photos while it was heating up but couldn’t quite get a good angle or view.
This reminds me of those giant, curvy slides you sometimes find at theme parks. I particular remember them at Six Flags Over Georgia in my childhood. And also on the show The Banana Splits
I bought this lamp several years ago at Kmart on sale for about ten dollars. There were a few different designs and colors to choose from but I liked the curviness of this one. These are nothing like the big lamps I remember from my childhood. There was a girl in our dorm with one looking very much like one from the ’70s. I can’t recall whether it was an old one or not but it came to an unfortunate end and left a rather horrible mess.
While this isn’t quite what I wanted to photograph, It does have some interesting and colorful shadows. -
15 albums in 15 minutes
I thought I would elaborate on a meme that I was tagged for on Facebook. The idea was to list fifteen albums in fifteen minutes that will always stick with me. This isn’t a favorite album list although some are favorites. Just what came to mind during a few minutes of my day.
- Rumours by Fleetwood Mac- When the album was released back in 1977, I wasn’t a fan of it in any way. The radio stations pretty much played it to death. That summer I went to my aunt’s wedding where it was also played repeatedly. At the time I didn’t care if I ever heard it again. Years later, I went to see Fleetwood Mac with the Scientist and I became a big fan of the band, at least in that incarnation. These days I am not quite the big fan I once was but I still like the band and this album is one of my favorites.
- Abbey Road by the Beatles- I knew a Beatles album had to be included and it was really difficult to decide which one. This is probably my favorite Beatles album although I might change my mind on another day. My instinct was really to include Beatles Love Songs because that was the first album I bought by the band and in a way it has always stuck with me and pretty much propelled me into Beatles fandom. I still like the album although I’ve not listened to it in decades. I just like that collection of songs…but that seems a bit like a sacrilege with all the great albums produced by the band.
- Straight Lines by Silverchair – I never cared for Silverchair’s earlier albums. Their music just didn’t appeal to me. This album was totally different. Â When it was released, all the songs on it were played over the course of a week on a radio program I listened to at the time. And I liked just about everything I heard. The title song was played constantly and I never tired of it. Even a few years later, I am always up to hear that song. And the rest of the album is wonderful. I just love hearing it from start to finish.
- Strange Bird by Augie March-Back when Moo You Bloody Cow was released, I heard an interview with Augie March/Glenn Richard on Triple J radio. The first song I they played was a cover of a Beach Boys song (the title escapes me now) and I really liked it. I bought MYBC soon afterwards which started me into Augie March fandom. While I think that album will always stick with me, Strange Bird is an earlier one that probably fits this list far better. It’s a collection of well-crafted and beautiful music, even when the subject matter is not at all beautiful. It’s the  the Augie March album of choice when I think of them.
- Together Alone by Crowded House-I pretty much love just about all music by Crowded House but this album is my favorite. My favorite CH song is Private Universe, which evokes such a sense of escape for me. “Pineapple Head” and “Fingers of Love“ are also high on my list. Hearing “Fingers of Love” at the show I saw in March was just heavenly. I guess I’d say most of the album has something of an otherworldly feel and never fails to please.
- Stunt by Barenaked Ladies- This isn’t my favorite BNL album and doesn’t even contain my favorite songs by the band but it does stick with me, possibly because this was my introduction to this very talented band with a very good sense of humor.
- All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2-I’ve liked u2 since I was in high school so this was kind of a hard choice. I nearly chose Unforgettable Fire, partially because it was my first U2 purchase and also because it has Pride (in the name of love), which is a favorite of mine. But the whole album hasn’t stuck with me so much as a few songs…I only have it on vinyl so haven’t listened in quite a while. Maybe I will change my mind if I hear it again though. ATYCLB, though, really does stick with me. This was a purchase made while in Canada as it was released while we were there. After the disappointment of their Pop album, this was such a pleasure to listen to. Â I absolutely adore “Beautiful Day” because it just makes me feel good every time I heard it. And the song, “Elevation” always makes me feel nostalgic because it was the first song Lego Lover ever liked. He always called it the “Beep” song when he heard it. :)
- Ghost in the Machine by the Police-I’m not quite sure why I put this one on the list because it’s another album I had on vinyl and haven’t heard in a long while. This was my first album by the band, so that probably is why it came to mind. I used to listen to this constantly when it came out and later went on to buy other albums by the band. Synchronicity probably fits this list a bit better in hindsight. It came out right about the time I graduated high school and was extremely popular by the time I started college a couple months later. And the songs do still say with me all these years later, far better than GitM…
- I’ll Be Lightning by Liam Finn- This was only released a couple of years ago so I might be wrong to include it. It’s a great debut album that is basic and raw and very appealing. I haven’t heard it for a while but I still feel connected with most of the songs.
- Belladonna by Stevie Nicks-Once I became a fan of Fleetwood Mac, I was bound to become a fan of Stevie Nicks. Back then her voice was still quite good and she really rocked out on this album.
- Glass Houses by Billy Joel- I was given this album as a very belated birthday present by my aunt while visiting one summer. She took me and my cousin to the Jamesway department store to choose a something and this was what I found. I listened to this one endlessly that year and knew all the songs by heart. This is another instance where I had this on vinyl but unlike other cases, the music is still fresh in my mind even after all this time. I might very well have chosen The Stranger except I’ve never listened to the album. I may very well know all the songs but as an album I don’t have any connection with it. I keep thinking I will buy a copy one of these days but it hasn’t happened yet.
- Everyone is Here by the Finn Brothers-I think this is one of my favorite Finn works from the last decade. It probably helps that I’d already been a fan of all things Finn for a number of years. I really liked Tim and Neil’s first collaboration, Finn, when it came out. It was a great raw and somewhat experimental album. This EIH is a finely polished work of art that I’ve enjoyed since it was released. I also associate this album with seeing my first Finn concert the year after this was released.
- Rio by Duran Duran- I used to be a big Duran Duran fan back in my early days at college and bought just about anything they released. I recently discovered several old Duran Duran records in a box while I was in the US recently. They might be worth a bit of money these days. I don’t know. I’m not quite so keen on them these days but I haven’t completely lost interest. I was given a recent concert dvd a couple years ago as a birthday present and discovered I still like a lot of their music. And I really love this album.
- Long Distance Voyager by the Moody Blues- This reminds me of my teenage years although not so much with high school itself. My strongest attachment may well be for the cover art which used to fascinate me. But my reason for buying it was nothing to do with the art work and all to do with the music. It’s not in the same class as earlier Moody Blues music but I still quite like it today.
- Double Fantasy by John Lennon and Yoko Ono- Maybe this isn’t a great choice for this list but I do have a very emotional attachment to the album. I will admit I’m not a Yoko Ono fan, but I didn’t mind her songs too much on this record. And John Lennon’s songs were mostly quite good. I still hear a few of the singles today and think of how good some of them were.
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Sleeping Beauty
When I was a child, my favorite Disney movie was Sleeping Beauty. I saw it at the movies and was given the soundtrack as a gift at some point. To be truthful, I don’t remember seeing it at the movies but I do recall listening to the record quite a bit. It was enough that when I played the record again (yes, it did survive my childhood somehow) all the songs came back to me quite readily. And I’ve seen it on video a few times as an adult and it still felt very familiar.
A friend was fortunate to get some free tickets to see the dress rehearsal of the ballet of Sleeping Beauty and invited me to attend last night. Neither of us had ever been to a ballet. I have to admit I’ve never really had a burning desire to go to the ballet. But with free tickets, it was definitely worth having a look. We had a rather leisurely dinner at a restaurant in the same complex before going into the theater. The show started promptly with a few minutes of  music played by the local symphony orchestra before the curtain rose.
We’d been given a page with a synopsis of the performance to read beforehand but neglected to do this. I soon discovered I didn’t know the story quite as well as I had thought because I had trouble following what was going on.  I made sure to read the information for the second and third acts during the interval. To be honest, I didn’t care much for the ballet part of the performance. I found many of the movements very weird and uncomfortable to watch. The business of walking on toes for long periods seemed terribly unnatural and made my feet hurt to see it. Most of the women were way too skinny. Watching the men dance was preferable to the women because they weren’t so thin and their dancing didn’t have so many of the unnatural movement as the women. Despite lacking much interest in the ballet,  I really enjoyed the symphony orchestra and will consider going to the symphony should an appropriate opportunity arise.
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History
Seventeen days ago, Australians voted in a federal election. Normally we have a result the same day but this time neither major party had a majority and we had a hung parliament. So we’ve been playing the waiting game to see who would be head of the government. It was all hinged upon preference choices of a few non-major party members of parliament. There’s probably an easier way to phrase that but I can’t think of anything at this hour. After more than two weeks, the last three have finally made their choices and the Labor government will remain for the next three years. We breathed a huge sigh of relief at our house once we knew the result. While we aren’t too happy with the state of this government, it’s far preferable to the opposition. And because the government doesn’t have a majority, balance of power will fall to the Greens party. So it will be interesting to see how Australian politics fares over the next three years. This whole chapter of Australian politics should be seen as quite historic. This is also the first time a woman has been elected as prime minister. And it’s also the first time a known atheist has been elected prime minister.
On a more personal note of history, today was the anniversary of the end of my second pregnancy which ended with a fetal demise thirteen years ago. It’s interesting that I’ve been more aware this year than I’ve been for the past couple of years. I no longer feel a sense of loss for the child that might have been but I do have a strong memory of the feeling of going through the experience all those years ago.
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It started with my dream
I woke up from a dream a couple days ago and remembered very little of it. But in part of the dream I ended up in an old discount department store, Zayre, that was popular in my childhood. I haven’t thought of the store in many, many years so it’s strange it would appear in my dream. I’m not even sure that really was the store in my dream. But the sign on the store was like the old neon Zayre signs in the 60’s and 70’s. So maybe something about the sign on the store triggered my memory of the store’s existence. I couldn’t really remember when Zayre disappeared from the landscape of my life so I went searching online as one does. I found out all I wanted to know and more. (This is the first website I found. There are several photos of old Zayre stores in the middle of the page with signs as in my dream.)  I discovered heaps of websites dedicated to old chain stores, be they department stores or grocery stores. And on the blogrolls of some of the websites were links to other similarly nostalgic websites. I’ve found it quite fascinating taking this stroll into the past because I read about many other stores that I’d also just as easily forgotten.
For example, what I consdered the local Target where I grew up actually started out as a Richway. And I knew it as Richway far more years than as a Target so it’s kind of interesting that I didn’t think about the fact it had been Richway most of my growing up years. I’d even forgotten that Richway was a discount offshoot of Rich’s department store in Atlanta. And apparently that store has now been taken over by Macy’s if I remember what I read correctly. Then there is the Treasure Island department/grocery hypermarket where my family shopped when we lived in Georgia. I think I only ever went to the one store but I have fond memories of ice cream treats from the front of that store. I was fairly certain it had closed down at some point but I also learned that the original Home Depots were housed in old Treasure Island stores not far from the one where we shopped. That’s where I learned that Eckerd drugs no longer exists because apparently Treasury drugs, which was part of the Treasure Island/Treasury chain, either bought it out or vice versa. And CVS eventually bought out the entire conglomerate. This kind of clears up my curiosity that there only seemed to be two standalone drug store chains while I was in Texas. I have strong memories of the Eckerd’s chain through most of my life before moving to Australia. I still have a box of Christmas ornaments that my family bought there thirty-five years ago. It was a ncie set of ornaments although most have broken over the years.
There were many more tidbits of information I learned while trawling through various websites. I ran across one on dead malls which I had run across once before. On that previous  occasion I discovered that Carolina Circle Mall in Greensboro, NC had closed many years ago. It’s not so much I had any particular attachment to the mall but it was one of the shopping centers I used to visit during my college and early work years so it was truly weird to think it had gone. I eventually even found a link to a website dedicated to that old mall started by a teenager who is now probably about twenty years old.  I read about the old Eastland Mall in Charlotte, which was the local hangout during my teenage years. It closed just a few weeks ago after many years of decline. I must admit that left me feeling very sad since I spent a lot of time there during my teenage years. I was aware of the mall closing because of a fan page created for it on Facebook. Otherwise I might very well have learned of its demise from the dead malls website. And today I found a website dedicated to Charlotte (NC) eateries that are no longer around. That made me sad, too, because I recognised many of them. And I’d even eaten at some of them.
It’s made me rather sad for the loss of such a diverse range of retail outlets as once existed. I know change is a fact of life. But it really seems as though the limit has nearly been reached for the smaller and/or weaker fish being swallowed up by the big fish so I wonder what happens next in the overall picture.
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Royalty in Fremantle
A couple Sundays ago, an event that we’ve waited more than a year or more for finally arrived: the visit of Cunard’s Queen Victoria to Fremantle. Lego Lover and I saw the final visit of the Queen Elizabeth 2 a couple years ago and we found it to be a truly majestic ship. Last year we went to see the Arcadia. which was quite big, but failed to capture our interest. So we have been counting down for the QV, which arrived on February 28th and also for the Queen Mary 2, which will visit Fremantle on Sunday.
The day finally arrived and the forecast was for yet another scorcher, in the middle of our third heatwave of the season. It was again just Lego Lover and me for the journey. (The Scientist had been to the beach in the morning and saw the ship on its way into Fremantle so he didn’t completely miss out.) We packed a few requirements then headed off to the station to catch the train to Fremantle. We had to change trains in Perth and had our first look at the new underground train station that opened a year or two ago. It felt a bit like a maze finding our way to the old part of the station where our next train was.
The train to Fremantle was fairly crowded and we ended up squeezed in between other people along one side of the train. Lego Lover was pushed up against me the whole time, trying to avoid touch the lady sitting next to him. I wasn’t able to get any photos of the ship as we arrived in Fremantle. We were sitting across the train from the appropriate windows, which were terribly scratched with grafitti, and there was just no way of getting a decent shot of it. Still, it was very exciting to see the ship as we arrived at our destination.Our first business upon arrival was to buy a couple 1.5 litre bottles of water. Ideally we should have taken our own…although lugging around heavy bottles of water while getting around on public transport wasn’t all that ideal for me…Anyway, there was a grocery store near the station so we got the water, some bananas and a chocolate bar each. We could have done without the chocolate but it was a favorite and heavily reduced… I couldn’t resist. The water was quite heavenly after the short walk to reach the shops.
Our next objective was finding some place to have lunch. Typically, Lego Lover insists on eating fast food wherever we go, making a simple meal into a major undertaking. It’s been something of a sore point for the family for some time. Anyway, I was eager to have something a little less fast food than usual and somehow persuaded him to try something at one of the big fish and chip restaurants. The walk there was pretty excruciating, even with several stops to drink water. It was 40+ C (104F) and our tempers were high. We pretty much limped into the one place that offered chicken strips and chips in addition to all the fish offerings. Lego Lover refuses to eat fish now, so this was the best we could find. For Lego Lover, it wasn’t worth an argument if it meant he had to go back into the heat. I sent him to find a table while I placed our order. When I reached the table he was already feeling a lot better for being able to sit down in a cool place. Our food didn’t take all that long and the portions were large. My grilled fish and salad with chips plate was good and Lego Lover’s chicken strips apparently were quite tasty. We left feeling somewhat revived.
One of first looks at Queen Victoria
The walk back to the quay again seemed to take forever because it was just too hot to move that quickly. We finally reached the Maritime Museum of WA just before closing time. Our membership from last year had expired so I went ahead and renewed that before they closed. We’ll have a proper visit when we return there this weekend. There wasn’t a lot to do at this point so we found a bench along the quay and watched the ship and the harbour. The ship was due to depart around 7pm and we had a couple hours to wait…So we sat and watched and baked…and baked. There was a ferry dock almost next to the main passenger terminal. The ferries were returning with passengers from day trips to Rottnest Island. It got really crowded in the area and the sun seemed like it was searing us.
I suggested we try to find a shady park instead of sticking it out in the sun. We walked off along the pathway parallel to the quay but we never quite reached anywhere appropriate. We did get a few better photos of the ship but eventually turned around. Just in that time, the crankiness level for both of us was on the rise. Lego Lover was resentful that I had dragged him off in the direction we’d gone…and ultimately for no purpose.
I suggested we stop at the E Shed Markets to find some sort of icy cold drink for both of us. The E-Shed Markets still had some food places open so we stopped in there and found a place that sold smoothies and bubble tea to drink. Lego Lover opted for a banana smoothie, which surprised me. Then I chose a strawberry bubble tea. I’d never had it before and though it might be refreshing on a hot day. While I was waiting, Lego Lover informed me the smoothie tasted bitter. I had a taste of it and it was, a litte. I think the bananas were a bit green…I ended up drinking the smoothie because it was too expensive to dump. I didn’t mind the taste of it at all and it was refreshing. I just wish I hadn’t already order my own drink.
Bubble tea
Anyway, once I had my drink we sat down in a quiet area away from all the other people. The bubble tea tastes like fruit syrup mixed with ice and the balls of jelly that are added. It was just so sweet that it was hard to get it down. I should have been forewarned when the lady in front of me at the counter returned soon afterwards to ask hers to be diluted. I still had my water bottle so kept diluting it after every sip I took and it eventualy did taste alright. By the time I’d finished, I was ready to burst.Lego Lover and I moved to another table and I got him a canned soft drink and left him to find the toilets. What a nasty piece of work that was. It was filthy and there was a small scrap of toilet paper remaining. It was a relief to get out of there and I hope to never need those facilities again. I returned to the table where Lego Lover was enjoying his drink. There was tv showing the local news, which happend to have a story about the Queen Victoria. It was strange to be watching that and almost be able to see the ship as we looked out the window. (We actually had an experience like that in Canada when the they showed the ships getting ready to go off to war on tv (in 2001) and we could see the ships from our townhouse window.)
We finally did get back outside and found a spot on the quay to watch. The temperature had finally dropped a bit and it was much more comfortable although there was no sea breeze. Fremantle is known for its afternoon sea breeze so it was very odd to miss out on the relief it might have offered. It wasn’t too long afterward that we heard the great ship’s horn sounding shortly before it started its journey out of the harbour. Lego Lover and I had had our cameras ready and snapped heaps of photos as the ship moved away from the shore and slowly made its way past us. It was quite a different affair to the QE2, which required assistance from a couple of tug boats to get moving. This was far more efficient but we rather missed the excitement of seeing the tugs at work. Before we knew it, the ship was sailing into the sunset and was soon turning into the Indian Ocean. While it didn’t compared to the QE2, we both agreed it was a pretty awesome sight.
The QV makes its journey out of the harbour
The ship had departed earlier than planned so we got a bit of a head start getting back home. When we got on the train, we managed to get a seat at the end of the long row so that Lego Lover would only have me sitting next to him. That made the journey a lot more comfortable for us. In Perth, we again had to change trains. The new section of the station was a lot less crowded and we were able to to take in a few more of the details as we moved along. We luckily only had to wait about five or six minutes for the next train. There were crowds pushing onto the train so we moved into the next car and the next until we found several empty seats in the car at the front of the train. It was a particularly boisterous crowd of young people on the train, which Lego Lover didn’t particularly like. But the seats were comfortable, it was cool and we were forward facing for a change…and no grafitti on the windows, so Lego Lover managed it rather well. It took no time at all to get to our car once we arrived at the station and then it was a twenty minute drive to reach home. It was definitely home, sweet home after a long and memorable afternoon away.
Fremantle train station at night
Perth train station (new section) stairs and art
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The same age
When we were kids, I remember my brother was always very excited from February 19th through to my birthday because then we were the same age. I’m not quite sure why I remembered that on this particular birthday but it came to me as I was chatting online with my mom last night. And it came to me again when we went to a special buffet meal at our favorite local Indian food restaurant to celebrate two birthdays in the Scientists family for this week. It’s kind of a birthday celebration week. Wishing a really good birthday for my brother, though, and a better year ahead. (Not that he actually reads this…)
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Anticipation
It’s Lego Lover’s birthday tomorrow and the anticipation is trying to do him in. He’s been terribly excited for days and today he had to tell me that his birthday is very close about ten or fifteen times. He was so excited he went to bed early tonight. He fell asleep pretty quickly but then I had to close the sliding glass door off the laundry room and he was suddenly awake. I think it was mostly a matter of him sleeping lightly at the time. He’s been struggling to sleep since then, which is really frustrating for him.
Tonight I’ve had the task of blowing up the balloons that were requested. I waited as late as possible to start on it because Game Fanatic has a fear of balloons popping and, consequently, doesn’t like them. The packet is supposed to have twenty-five but we’re coming up a couple short. Maybe this is to make up for an extra one or two last year?
I made a start on the cake today because Lego Lover wants it to look like a brown Lego brick. So tomorrow I am going to do a second mix in cupcake form…or we might try marshmallows to make the brick effect. I’m a bit worried about trying to spread frosting on it so might see if I can get a mini-cupcake tin since ours makes the larged-size ones. The second cake mix is going to be a dairy free version so that I can keep a few out for my dairy and soy-allergic niece.
Lego Lover is getting just one big present from us this year because it’s so expensive. It’s a very big Transformer model that breaks into about six other models or something like that. It was so highly desired he said it could be a combined birthday/Christmas present. One of the department stores here had it on sale for $99, reduced from $150. The one time I saw them in the store, Lego Lover was with me and there were heaps of them. When I was able to get back to buy one, they were all gone…not really that surprising. I’ve been saying it is just too expensive to buy at retail price and the the store where it was on sale had sold out. So he’s not really expecting to get this but I think he’s going to be very happy with it.
I was talking with him earlier today and told him that the start of his being born actually started the day before. I think he enjoyed hearing about some of the things that happened that day. I started having light contractions by the middle of the day. I had gone to our local bakery and the lady there was aghast that I was out doing normal things while I was in labor. She also announced they had sold the bakery and introduced me to the new owner. I didn’t reach full-on labor until later that night and we finally left of the hospital around 11pm. Lego Lover was finally born at 6:30 the next morning by c-section.
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Daily chatter
I had been planning to write something about Lego Lover but it’s late and I’ve got too many unformed thoughts to get it into writing at this time of day, or night as it’s the early hours of morning.
This morning, my mother-in-law came around 10:30 so I could borrow her station wagon to pick up the outdoor furniture I bought at Kmart yesterday. I thought it would be odd and difficult to drive it after our relatively new vehicle but it wasn’t bad at all. My only problem occurred when I got there and couldn’t work out how to remove the key from the ignition for a minute or two. That’s actually rather embarassing because this is the first car I ever drove after coming to Australia. We had been in Australia about six or seven months. I had been pregnant with Game Fanatic for the first several months and was too scared to try driving on the “wrong” side of the road. It was only when he was about three months old and the Scientist had started his first job that I was motivated to take the next step. And it wasn’t that big a deal by that point. I’d been riding as a passenger for long enough and everything was just the opposite of driving in North America.
I was home again within about forty five minutes and we unloaded the two boxes. One was a flat pack with the table and the other was a large cumbersome (but not heavy) box with the chairs and cushions. All parts were left in the back yard to be assembled. The chairs weren’t too hard but they came with little screws to connect the backs to the base of the chairs that were too big. The Scientist is going to have a try at getting them in when he has more time. The table was much easier than I anticipated and was complete in no time at all. There was a great, big sticker on the table top that took a while to remove. It all looks really nice and comfortable under the big bottlebrush tree in the back.
I sat there and looked at the big pile of shrubbery/tree cuttings that needed to be shredded and finally got that going. My two hours of work didn’t seem to make much of a dent in the pile. It’s still quite big but it’s not as high as it was. And the resulting mulch doesn’t seem to amount to much, possibly filling one small wheelbarrow at the most. I hopefully will be motivated to get more done on Friday afternoon before another major heatwave hits for the weekend.
I only got to sit and enjoy our new furniture for a short while before I had to leave to take G to his aqua aerobics class. It was very nice while it lasted, with Lego Lover and the Scientist both enjoying it with me.
