Paula is spewin'!
Only in Singapore can you find a giant half fish half lion spitting water out of its mouth. Tourists (like us) line their bodies up in funny positions, making the water come in and out of their orifices. This is especially popular with the Chineese.

Christmas cheer...a fat rear?

OK, this is weird. It's Christmas time, right? December 13th, it's in full swing; people are counting the days; the stores advertise how many shopping days are left. Technically, I think they say there are more shopping days left than there are days left before Christmas, but that's a topic for another blog....

Anyway, think about this...it's Christmas, and everything that goes with it is in your face; lots of good food, baking cookies, extra helpings of chocolate, bla bla bla. OK, well, dammit, it's summer here! We're supposed to be looking good in our shorts and bikinis! How the heck does that happen while Christmas is going on?????? Oh, it's all wrong! We should be wrapped up from neck to toe in anything red or green, which shows our seasonal spirit, and conveniently hides those extra kilos...um, eh, I mean pounds. This thing about being scantilly clad in summer clothes does NOT jive with all the Christmas trappings.

Who do I talk to about this?????

Signed,
Feeling phat

home sweet home....

I felt that way about our home in Perth a week ago when we were on our journey to Kaula Lumpur in Malaysia. Our little abode in Australia looked pretty good from there, and our Australian hosts did too. We were the only white, blue eyed, blond people as far as the eye could see most of the time. Let me tell you, if you need a scarf, the place to be is Kuala Lumpur...no where else on the planet could possibly have more stores selling fabrics with which to make scarves and burkas. Not sure if we went to the wrong area of the city, but we could not find any good shopping (unless you seriously loved scarves). We were frustrated by that, as we thought it would be really awesome and we would get great stuff really cheap. We tried to communicate our wishes with each taxi driver with whom we took our lives in our hands, but, alas. It was certainly an adventure and now we can say we have traveled to Malaysia.
Having said that, we left a day early and took the train to Singapore. Let's just say it wasn't the luxury liner we had been led to believe, but, another adventure. Don't even get me started on the toilets. Anyway, we arrived in Singapore and were instantly smitten. What a fabulous city. We enjoyed our time there immensley, and we even hooked up with an old college buddy of Steve's from U of O. He and his wife are American but have lived in Singapore for 13 years. We had a good old time with them. We racked our brains to figure out a way to stay longer, as the few days we had was nowhere near enough. There is a great deal to do and see in Singapore and it is lovely there. But, you have to leave your gum at home (illegal)and swallow that loogie or you will be caned. (I hear that hurts quite a bit) Needless to say, there is no gum on the sidewalks, which are also quite free of sputum. I liked it.
We had a wonderful trip and my husband outdid himself for my 50th birthday. However, we've both agreed next time we'll book a resort at Phuket in Thailand and sip Pina Coladas while we sit on chairs in the Andaman Sea. Pics below are in Kuala Lumpur....





















The pictures below are from Singapore!

Meet Bob....(tail)

Found this little guy on our porch as I was going out the front door the other day. Imagine my surprise! Actually, I had seen his kind before; they are all over the place here, especially on walking paths in the parks and by the coastline. They are called Bob Tails and they look much more fierce than they really are. The can't move very fast and if they feel especially threatened they will hiss at you, but that's about it. I got this guy to hiss at me several times, but never when the shutter on the camera clicked so I don't have a picture of it.
They can give you a bit of a scare the first time you encounter one, but they are harmless and many people like to have one or two in their gardens to eat the bugs. I imagine he is still around our house somewhere, but I haven't seen him again yet.
See you next time, Bob!

Halloween...Australian style...or NOT

Well, I can't say I wasn't disappointed. Australian's do not embrace Halloween as we do in America. They consider it a strictly American event and have no interest in joining in. OK, I get that. But, as Americans in Australia we missed it! Cami is the only one who attempted the door-to-door adventure for candy. Sam was just back from his week at school camp and Lucas, well, he's just too big for trick-or-treat now! Being good brothers to Cami, Sam and Lucas took her and her 2 friends out around the neighborhood where they met with mixed results. Oh well. We'll have no fewer than ten ORANGE pumpkins our first Halloween back in America and do it up right when we are home again. In the meanwhile, here's a picture of our pumpkin in Australia. It's really just a squash and was the biggest we could find. It cost us $10. That's $3.99 a kilo or a little over $2 per lb.
Turning to thoughts of Thanksgiving...which is, of course, a strictly American holiday, I found turkey's in the frozen food section in the grocery store; the least expensive one was about $73. I'm thinking shrimp on the barbie this year!
Cheers...

Look...up in the sky!

No, not Superman, but it was pretty super! A Sunday ago we went to the airshow by the Swan River in downtown Perth. It was a gorgeous sunny day, if just a bit breezy. Me, Steve, Sam and his friend Gavin went. Camerin was home sick, sleeping through a nasty cold and Lucas was seeing a movie with a friend.
Off we went. It was a competition, but there was also aerobatics and an F18 fighter jet showed up for us to oooh and ahhhh over. I'm not sure our hearing will ever be the same again! Good fun on the Swan, though!

Good on Ya, America!

Yesterday was amazing. No other way to say it. Even in Australia they had a special broadcast all day long, following the results of the election in America. I was grateful for that, as I was home and able to watch it. I admit to being a bit surprised by the result, and John McCain was certainly a worthy opponent. But, it was not his time; it all belonged to Barack Obama.
In Australia, the mood is hopeful and jubilant; a collective "good on ya America", if you will. I wouldn't say there are parties or celebrations, but it's clear that Obama is considered a fresh start for America and it seems no one will be sorry to see old George W. pack up and move out of the White House.

As for me, personally, I feel proud to be an American again. The outcome and the hope people seem to have from this event and the historic milestone of electing a black President is almost surreal.

Godspeed to President-elect Barack Obama. Here's hoping it truly will be a turning point for our crippled country.

God Bless America!