Big Things

Australia is home to over 150 Big Things. What kind of big things? All kinds....  a  bicycle, wine bottle, pineapple, bull,  lawn mower, avocado..... and 144 others spread over the 7 states and territories with New South Wales claiming the largest number and Queensland close behind.These huge surprising sculptures sit at the side of the highway in front of corresponding establishments.  They've been built as tourist attractions, I guess, to give reason for a road trip. Now this is truly an Australian line of thinking. "Hey George, let's pile the kids in the car and drive (double digit number of hours)  to see the Big Banana."

It's  a kitchy place. Provincial, garish, laid-back,  and quaint come to mind when describing  this part of the country. Add to this leafy, serene, tropical, lush, sandy, and  forested.  Western in customs and culture, dress, social mores, and habits. The longer we stay the easier it is to forget we are half way around the world. We begin to not notice the differences in language and intonation. "How ya gowing" spills out of us as easily as natives. The newness of being here is harder to hang on to,  much as we try. So many delights and surprises those first few weeks; the joy of discovery.  We're loving  this amazing opportunity to live here... not just visit. So far away yet so much like California, sort of. If we don't open our mouth nobody even knows we're fereners.....


 Match the word to the translation:  answers below

1.jumper    2. boots       3. woolies            4. popper            5.  bubbler

 a. If he takes these off after a game or practice in the same room or in the car (gads! please no!) the smell will make your eyes water
b. fruit juice or some facsimile in a box with the little straw attached
c. the Aussie equivalent of Safeway, without the uber friendly staff
d. turn the handle and quench your thirst
e. We are donning one of these in the mornings as our house has no heat                                                                             

We're living in a sporty place. The state motto is "Getting more people active through sport and recreation." I picked up a directory of sporting clubs here on the coast and  found all the usual plus racing pigeons, orienteering, horse and pony clubs (not sure about that one) table tennis, darts, croquet, vigaro (what?)and paragliding. Heaps of choices. The set up for soccer here is quite different, and easier to navigate! The club is all centrally located...playing and practice fields, the secretary and office, uniform storage, function room for meetings/events, and changing rooms for the teams. Last weekend Eli played forward and got the first goal of the game, a header.  Yeah Eli! Spectator sports are really big too, there was a footy(rugby) game on last night and I think we were the only ones who missed it.

Recently Melissa made her first loaf of  bread. Next we're going to try pretzels and bagels, although we may not approach the nirvana quality of Los Bagels. Joan and Steve brought us a dozen and the kids immediately drooled and consumed two each. If they could only change one thing about Australia it would be to have Los Bagels. I miss Larripen dill sauce.

I'm now sporting a new 'do, and these are some chocolate lamingtons, sponge cake covered with chocolate and coconut. Almost as popular as sausage rolls and Vegemite, but you won't find either of those in my shopping trolley!! This is a photo of the Noosa river (not far from the Big Pelican) This morning at 6:30 I was a  spontaneous substitute coxswain... I managed to keep us from crashing into anything. Thank goodness!

answers:1.e; 2.a;3.c;4.b;5.d.

More to tell

Joan and Steve returned to their suite on Wunnunga Crescent here in Yaroomba last night and are on their way to Brisbane today and then to Sydney for 3 days. It's been fun to hear of their adventures north...they spent 3 days on this 1902 sailing ship in the Whitsundays snorkeling and beachcombing with  30 or so other adventurers from 'round the globe. Here's Steve with a friendly lorikeet, and their pirate ship the Solway Lass. I don't know if we are going to get a chance to hop of one of these so we're living a little vicariously through our visitors.......

Frazer Island was awesome. We were on a two day tour which was a great mix of riding on the bus, hiking,swimming, and relaxing. Kevin, our driver, was an easy going Aussie bloke. We could even understand his ramblings, stories and jokes (mostly).There were huge bumps in the 4 WD track across the 80 mile long, 10 mile wide lump of sand. We were amid rainforests, spectacular clear freshwater creeks(see above),saltwater pools, dingoes, a shipwreck, lakes, and the most absolutely stunning vivid double rainbow that made the intermittent rain SO okay. This is lake McKenzie, an aqua blue gorgeous piece of liquid, here displaying Kodak moment visuals. As a special treat for Mothers's day we said yes when a biplane pilot asked if we would like to hop aboard for a 20 min. scenic tour of the island and the coast. From the air I swear we were looking down on a broccoli forest.........


Last weekend we added a new member to our household. Tom continues to be concerned "Willy" is about to go sideways as he (she?) spends a lot of time gasping  but I hold the view that this is normal goldfish behavior. Pet ownership here has brought up again Melissa's plea for a dog,to which my answer has drifted towards "How 'bout chickens?" She is game, Eli has no comment, and Tom is NOT on board. I think the field next door could sport some chooks quite nicely and fetching fresh eggs certainly has a greater appeal  than dealing with dog doo. But to reiterate what I heard from my mom and dad about a thousand times....."we'll see."

Perhaps you have heard Australia in the news in the last few days as we have a new national hero. Jessica Watson, just turned 17, is a plucky, phenomenal teenager who just finished her solo circumnavigation of the globe in a 30  foot sailboat! She left 7 months ago and arrived in the Sydney harbour Sunday escorted in by a huge flotilla. The  PM Kevin Rudd was waiting for her, in addition to a crowd of thousands. She's still in Sydney celebrating her birthday, but soon will return home to Buderim, which is about 20 min. from here! I've never been much of a celebrity chaser but seeing her would be a bit of a thrill. Melissa, inspired  by Jessica's accomplishment, announced she was going to ride her bike to school Monday. She did, but there were more hills and it was further than she thought, so when she got home she decided enough of that, the bus works just fine thank you.

She (Melissa not Jessica) is learning to juggle in her drama class, and Eli is getting an inch taller every month it seems. He is in the water most afternoons making the best of our oceanside digs. I'm happy for him to have this time to"play" after school. I have fond memories of vacant lots, dirt, creeks, and neighborhood kids.  Many of today's kids(including mine) are driven to and fro their organized sports/lessons etc. To be able to come home from school and walk down to the beach for a surf with his mates is frosting his Aussie cupcake. 

We are enjoying the beach, a bit of gardening, the occasional fishing adventure, hiking new trails, and planning our next adventure. Since 4th of July falls on a Sunday, we're throwing a party, figuring winter in Yaroomba certainly can't be much colder than July in Arcata........more than once we have shivered  in our fleece on our deck on 11th st watching fireworks. 

Events in Bangkok have been on our radar lately. Tom's associates there have stayed safe so far but we are worried as this is much more bloodshed than has ever been seen in Thailand's recent history. We are hoping for a peaceful resolution to this crisis in the not too distant future. Tom is scheduled to fly to Bangkok in two weeks. He is completely at ease in traveling to a city with tanks in the streets but for the record I am not! 

We have missed out on some annual events already, and will miss more before the year's end, but so it goes. In place of the kinetic sculpture race, farmer's markets, and the labor day bash at the cabin, we have an indigenous festival called the dreaming ( my birthday),Fame, the musical ( Melissa's birthday), and ongoing new adventures in this beautiful, kitchy, expansive, and welcoming land down under. Keep in touch....we miss you all.

A quiz

Ah, Autumn is in the air. I haven't heard anyone call it fall maybe because there are no leaves falling, we're not in deciduous country here. The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler, might have to break out a sweater soon.

For a change of pace, I have written a little quiz. See how you go....

1. We are considering sending the kids up the road a bit to a different school for the second half of the year because
a. Since we live in the Sunshine state of Queensland and on the Sunshine coast, it seems a shame to not also have them attend Sunshine Beach High School.
b. The uniforms are snappier and we want them to ride the bus for another 30 min a day
c. It will help Eli with his goal to have 500 facebook friends by the time we leave, plus all the girls at Coolum High are now bored with his accent.
d.If we don't get a little more academic rigor going on we are afraid they will forget what homework is.

2. For a while we were considering sending Melissa to a private school but we aren't going to because:
a. She couldn't abide by the long plaid skirt, dark stockings, tie, grandma shoes, and brimmed hats
b. Eli cried and whined so much about not going to the same school as his sister, we couldn't bear his discomfort
c. I forgot to read the fine print and the reason they agreed to take her was not an altruistic desire of the school to diversify the student body but because of the exorbitant fees for international students

3. The best part of our deep sea fishing adventure last weekend was:
a. I caught the first fish, and I wasn't the only one to lose my bikkies
b. Apparently the pair of Perretts hooked a pair of parrots (fish)
c. We caught enough fish to bring the price per pound to below 10 bucks

4. While Joan and Steve were here, we saw the following animals, not pay per view:
a.   goanna, ring tail possum,  swamp wallaby, fruit bat,and koalas
b. Kangaroos, fruit bats,dingoes and cane toads
c. Echidnas, lorikeets, pelicans, and kukkaburras
d. We saw no animals, we watched T.V. all week

5. The Kingaroy Eisteddfod is
a. Thankfully not an occasion that required false eyelashes for Mel as was seen on some 6 year olds
b. Perhaps the only time a dance studio uses a chain link fence for warm ups
c. A dance competition which allowed me the opportunity to drive 6 hours for Melissa to be on stage for 2 min 45 seconds



6.This is Joan and Steve's Hippie Camper. They love it because
1. Secretly they have yearned for the opportunity to drive a colorful vehicle
2. They were relived to find out the configuration of 6 separate bolsters in the back which make up the bed actually are comfortable for sleeping
3. Everyone else who has one of these things is 25 years younger than they are,so their image is preserved



7. Joan and I went to Brisbane for the day on the train. One of the best things about it was
a. finding a place to rest so Joan could soak her aching feet in the water after traipsing about the modern art museum and the botanical gardens
b. eating in not one but two food courts.
c. watching the traffic cross the street as a mob; the cars stopped in all four directions and the entire intersection filled with humans for one minute. This was so entertaining we watched it three times.
d. getting home early enough to get in on the barbecue Steve and Tom had made for the poker
guys.

8. We had a great trip to Fraser Island but the reason I'm not writing about it this time is:
a. My camera pooped out half way through so we have to wait for Joan and Steve to swing back through to get the pictures off their camera
b. I haven't finished getting the sand out of my hair yet
c. the kids made me promise not to tell anyone how much fun it was


Tune in next week for stories of Joan and Steve's adventures in the Whitsundays, answers to the quiz, and other undisclosed rantings.........