The Aussies Were in Town!

Myself and Tara squishin' cheeks with little Miss Olivia.

Step-Sisters: Sarah & Me at Grandma's

Oops, "blogger slacker" here! LOL

Let's see... We've had a very busy October and are well on our way into November now! We had such a wonderful time with Sarah, Paul & Olivia visiting from Australia! After a delicious cronish game hen dinner at Grandma's, we headed out the next day to the Apple Barn in Abbotsford to enjoy a B.C. Auntumn at it's finest.

Couldn't resist this photo-op!

Miss Olivia slept through her first hayride.

My boys in front of Tow Mater.

Bunny Town!

Sarah & Paul enjoying the bouncy pillow. Perfect for those "big kids"!

:)

A few days later Paul, Sarah, and Olivia came to Chilliwack for some Trick-Or-Treating Canadian-style! We dressed up the kids (Sarah included) and headed out into a refreshingly mild night of ghosts and goblins (and bees and Lego Men)...

My "New" Ride

After 3 long months without my minivan (and nicknamed "Handy Dart" by Tara), I now have a "new-to-me" 1999 Dodge Caravan!

On my way to visit my mom in Hope, (just before they moved abroad), nearly at the Dinotown exit, my transmission decided to "give up the ghost". Crap, I'm on a VERY busy part of the #1 Hwy! A call to Harry (who hadn't left for work yet) and another to BCAA...

Harry, being the wonder-mechanic he is (no, seriously), took my old transmission out and installed a used one from the wreckers. Not an easy feat, lemme tell ya! Nope, no good, this transmission is hooped too. Ok, do we spend the $1000+ to have my original tranny repaired or look for another van?

It's Saturday night. Shenna is on her way to babysit while we meet up with friends. Games nite is postponed. Change of plans... let's head to North Burnaby and look at a Carvan. Not the most romantic way to spend an evening alone, but... let's go! $1300 later...

Tranny's already been done, fully loaded (including alarm), so immaculate you can practically eat off the uphostery, a few minor dents. We're sold!

I'm back in the saddle again!

Anyone in need of a 1995 Dodge Caravan without a transmission? LOL

Letter from Oz - Volume 2

Lorikeet

Hello from the Land of Oz,

How do you know when you’ve started to settle in a new location? I pulled out the ice-cream the other day and found protective ice! Then I realized that it was time to get a new tube of toothpaste. Since I hang out the washing here, there’s always lint on my clothes but lately I’m using the lint brush and duct tape less as the new linens have now been washed a few times and there’s less lint debris to deal with. I went into my pantry cupboard and pulled out an elastic band that now had numerous other fasteners attached to it . . . twist ties, bits of string. And oh, my rubber spatula is tomato stained.

I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed since moving out of our condo in Hope and the painful parting from family and friends on July 4. I will always wear the special neck pillow that one daughter made out of bits of fabric that I used to make blankets for the grandchildren. I carry my “nana bag” that the other daughter mailed around the country so each grandchild could put their little (and not so little) foot and hand prints there to be lovingly preserved and carried with pride. I have scanned pictures of gifts from my son, too heavy to have made it into my luggage. Photos of family are soon to grace our entrance as I have waited to get my computer up and running to accomplish that. My family picture wall is a must, no matter where I am.

This is the last day before spring break down here. In Canada the children have returned to school, the leaves are beginning to fall and some to change colour. Here it’s getting warmer as we approach summer and you are digger deeper into your closets for warmer clothing as the nights become cooler. I was online today looking at purchasing posters that I can frame, missing the brilliant colours of fall but also anticipating seeing signs of new growth where I now reside.

Tom has been working quite a bit at various schools and enjoying the change. The children here have been polite and enthusiastic when they find the substitute teacher is from Canada. There are always lots of questions and genuine interest in finding out how things are half way around the world, that we live a bit differently but are mostly very much the same. The schools here have a much more relaxed policy in many ways. Principals rarely, if at all, visit the classrooms and Friday afternoons the staff debriefs on the veranda with a beer from a well stocked fridge in the staffroom. This is even while students are still milling about! Can you picture that in Canada?

Then there are the breaks: a short one at 10:00 a.m. , little lunch at 11:00, big lunch from 12:00 to 12:45 and then a short one mid afternoon as the finish around 2:30. Tough to get teaching time in! Most of the schools have exercise equipment cemented into the playground and the students’ P.E. classes consist of things like golfing and surfing, depending on the location and taught by a specialist of that particular subject. The school grounds are immaculately maintained and the private schools look like holiday resorts. I still don’t know how school funding is determined but since there is only one head office for the state, there is a great deal more taxpayer money going directly into the schools. Much of the equipment money is raised through school fairs (fetes) and they expect to raise at least $30,000 (thirty thousand) in a morning. Stalls are set up by staff, parents and community members who sell a variety of things like jewellery, plants, handcrafted items, etc. Office staff goes to the bank about every hour to avoid a build up of funds.

I still have not actively sought employment, choosing to get us settled first and enjoy spring break with Tom. After that, it will be pounding the proverbial pavement as we’ve used up our seed money and I’m feeling a need to get out and meet some new folks and get into a routine of sorts. The kids in Brisbane settled back into their own work lives but one daughter nearby has made it her mission to introduce me to the local shopping centre and a fine job she has done! I am on a first name basis with some of the shopkeepers and get nods of recognition from others. What does that tell you about how much I’ve frequented the Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore?

You know how important The Home Depot is? WELL! Here it’s Bunnings, sister to Home Depot. Tom still stops there almost daily to get his “fix”. If ever I can’t find him . . . . I know where to look.

It’s getting close to dusk now and the lorikeets are starting their end-of-day migration to the treetops along the river across the street from our place. They are so hyper after a day of sucking nectar on every far away tree that it takes about an hour to settle, then they awaken before dawn to stretch their wings and get ready to venture out for yet another day. Of course, that means we wake up at 3:38 a.m. as well . . . . yawn.

It’s time to get the salad made, prepare the steaks and prawns so Tom can throw them on the barbie. We’re really enjoying the seafood and of course the wine. Oh, the wine. We were given good inside information that you could buy “clean skins” which are wine bottles that are not branded, for $2.90/bottle. Lo and behold, it’s true. Wine prices vary from an average of $10, up to $300 or more, a bottle with a huge variety to choose from but we are now reluctant to spend more and have developed a taste for the more affordable products.

So for now, I wish you a good weekend and hope this finds you all in good health and spirits. G’day and cheers from down under.

Marilyn

Skype-ing with Nana

How on Earth did we (as kids) function without the internet and all it's wonderful uses??? Just because Nana and Papa are waaaaaay over on the other side of the world, doesn't mean we can't see them everyday, does it? No way!

After many trial and error efforts to get Skype running on my computer (older version is the trick for my out-of-date dinosaur), we are able to grab a cup of tea, get comfy in our desk chairs, check the time-difference between countries (17 hours), and click the call button.

Once that distictive ring tone sounds I get a tingle in my tummy... We're going to see Nana and/or Papa! What a wonderful thing it is to know that we can see Nana with her blond hair, green eyes and beautiful smile looking right back at our anxious faces. Sometimes we can see Papa too, although he's usually at work when we're able to "call".

You just cannot put a price on being able to watch Nana walk out of her home office, go into some unseen room and come back with a perfectly preserved lorikeet (like a very colourful small parrot) that Papa found dead and is keeping in the freezer for some reason! And to HEAR those beautiful, albeit noisy, creatures while we're chatting away! Did I mention it's FREE?

I am assisting Mom and Tom with their loose ends (bills, etc) in Canada. There have been 2 instances where I've had Shaw and Telus on speaker phone while on Skype with Mom to sort out all glitches. How freakin' cool is that?!?!?!

Of course, I could not let an opportunity pass by where I don't add yet another form of technology into the mix... Time to grab my digital camera, take a pic of the boys chatting with Nana, and post it onto my blog!

Being halfway around the world from our loved ones is beyond tough. Keeping in touch via e-mails, phone, Skype, and good, old-fashioned letters makes the great distance just a little... less.

What will they think of next? I can't wait to find out!

Thanks for reading and happy Skyping to those who love technology as I do!

Out With the Old & In With the NEW!

I've decided NOT to scrapbook our before & after reno pictures of our home. Not only would it take me FOREVER, it would be pretty much pointless as the pictures speak for themselves.

I was looking through these pics the other day and realized I hadn't updated the pics to show how we've updated our house. A never-ending job it is to renovate gradually... The bulk of the renos were done just over 5 years ago and now we're picking away at little things that we had to put off or touch-up.

I've spend a substantial chunk of my day cleaning rooms to take new pics, then sitting at the computer editing said pics and printing them off. Good excuse to organize my office...it's like a bomb went off in here!

Here's an idea of some of the work that has gone on in our house since moving here back in 2004...

Stairwell to the basement

Back to School 2009

Has it really been over a month since I last posted? Yikes!

Now that September is in full swing, I have found a moment for my blog... School has begun!! Yippee!!

Grade 3 began back at McCammon Traditional Elementary. We were on the waiting list at another school for quite some time and hadn't heard a thing so we dusted off 'C''s uniforms and headed down the street the day after Labour Day. That very same afternoon I received a call from FG Leary Fine Arts Elem School... "There's a spot open for you. Would you still like it?" Would I? Would I?! Yessiree Bob! We flew down to the "new" school to register just before the secretary left for the day. Boy-O-Boy is my boy excited!

Now, what am I going to do with all these uniforms?? :)

Camping Extravaganza

9 glorious days of camping at 20 Mile Bay has sadly come to an end. We had the most amazing weather! Temps were in the very high 30's for the entire trip, no wind to speak of (very unusual for Harrison Lake) until the 6th day, and the bugs were manageable - we escaped with a few mosquito bites to all, spider bite and wasp sting for me.

'M' got over his uneasiness of his lifejacket after the first day and swam like a little fish the whole week. "Mom, am I in the deep part?" "Mommy, I'm moving?"

'C' caught his first fish! He and Harry were trolling on one of our jetskis with Uncle Thorsten's fishing rod and voila! The kids (and Auntie Tracy) were entertained as I bonked the two trout over their heads with a club-like piece of driftwood! What else could I do??? I didn't have one of my dad's fancy-shmancy fish-bonkers! LOL Now C is anxious to try out his new "Rocket" Fishing Rod that he got from Uncle Rich & Auntie Jen & P for his birthday!

Some fellow campers told us about this treehouse up the lake so we loaded up the kids and neighbours on tubes pulled behind our watercraft to go exploring. Wow! The "Estevez Hotel" and "Camel Toe Inn" were sure sights to behold.

Due to all of the raging forest fires in BC, there is a fire ban on everywhere. No worries though, it was too hot to sit around a campfire. Although we missed making s'mores, we did enjoy the embiance a propane fire thanks to Rich and Jen.

So now it's back to the grind. Thank the heavens for some cooler weather! We can sleep comfortably for now.