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!

The Australian Twilight Zone

I may be dating myself a bit here with this headline....the Twightlight Zone is a fairly old program; I think what I am remembering is the re-runs. Anyway....
Here in West Australia it is getting warmer every day. It is now late spring and things are blooming like crazy. It's great. I am learning more about the native birds and the plants and flowers. The sun is very strong now, and I am quite brown already...summer is just around the corner. Me, Sam and Cami have been without a summer for a year now. We arrived here in May, 2008 missing the American summer, just in time for the Australian fall. Now it is almost November, and our last warm season was in June, July, August, 2007; more than a year ago. It's been warm enough to jump into the turquoise water of the Indian Ocean to cool off. We are assured it will be very, very hot by December. I believe it. The sun feels inordinately intense to me, and I am a die-hard sun worshiper. I have already been wearing hats and seeking shade in the middle of the day to escape the incredibly intense rays of the sun. I am turning 50 this year, after all, and I figure I don't need to help the sun turn me into more of a raisin than I'm supposed to be at this age!
Christmas is in full swing here, as Christmas decorations and goods are flooding the stores. It is surreal. I have no inkling that Christmas is around the corner as I would if I were immersed in the activities of fall in the U.S., planning for Halloween and Thanksgiving, enjoying the turning of the season as it becomes colder and more like weather Santa travels in. I told my son, Sam, that I think Christmas this year will feel like we are in the Twilight Zone. I have discovered to my horror that small, white Christmas lights sell for $29 Australian for a single strand. So much for my tradition of lighting up our home with twinkling white lights to make the season merry. Tonight we are turning the clocks forward, as Daylight Savings Time begins in earnest in West Australia. I have been waiting for this day since I arrived. I am so looking forward to that after-dinner swim in the daylight hours.
Christmas, I am told, is hot as hades. It is unlikely we will want a big dinner, and turning on the oven is out of the question. The marathon baking I usually do for Christmas is unlikely to happen...too hot. Besides, they sell their butter in different measurements, and I still can't figure out how many grams of butter are in 1 cup. It's frusTRATING, as the Australians say. The accent is all on the final syllable. So, instead of trying to re-create Christmas as we know it in America, I am all for getting on-board with the Australian way of celebrating. That is to say; "no worries, mate". We'll put some shrimp on the barbie for Christmas dinner or something that is grill-able, and spend the day at the beach. I'm told people don't decorate with Christmas lights much, since it's daylight savings time and it's light outside late until the evening. As for a Christmas tree, I guess you could spend a paycheck on a real tree, or decorate the Palm tree in your front yard. All that remains to be seen. I'll still make cinnamon rolls for my family, and we'll have presents to open on Christmas morning. After that, all bets are off and we'll do it the Aussie way. Don't think for a minute, though, that our hearts won't be back in America dreaming of a white Christmas and realizing the the magic of Christmas as we've always known it takes place on a cold winter morning with hot cocoa, a warm fire, fuzzy slippers and hearts on fire with love for our Savior, Jesus Christ and our family. THAT is what Christmas is all about, but we will find it here in Australia this year as well. I just know our first Christmas back home in the U.S. again after our time here will be extra, extra special to us all and our memories of how it should be will be right with the world once again.
Cheers.

Springtime and birthdays....

I certainly didn't intend to let so much time go by before this blog was posted. It has been a busy, busy time!

First of all, the shipment we sent from America to Australia finally arrived a week ago; 5 months after we shipped it. It had been so long since we sent everything, it was like opening presents when we opened the boxes. Now, at long last we have our "stuff". No matter what anyone says about "too much stuff" we are thrilled to have our "stuff" and it is making our home so much more like OUR home. Little by little, Perth IS becoming our home (for now) and we are liking it more. There are things we will never like, but we don't mind being away from America during the troubled economic time going on there right now. Sheesh. We're happy to miss out on that!

After all the excitement of getting our shipment, we then celebrated Sam's 12th birthday. It's impossible for me to believe he is 12 years old; so, I must be 12 years older too. Yikes! How does time move so quickly? We had an old fashioned family dinner/birthday and then the next day was the party with Sam's mates. We played lots of games in the park up the street from our house, followed by hamburgers, "chips" (fries to us), and a sleepover of epic proportions. I am such a sucker. Every year I swear "never again", but I seem to soften somehow during the following 12 months until Sam's birthday rolls around again. This time, however, the boys were fairly well behaved and I know they had a blast. Everyone likes hanging out at the Elam's; the kids say we have the "fun" house. Hmph. Fun for who, I keep wondering? But, the truth is we get to know their friends and know where they are and what they are doing, so it's all good. Seems everyone here likes to just give cold hard cash for birthday gifts and Sam scored big. His head is spinning as he thinks of just how to spend the money. From the family it was all about sports with a new soccer ball (football), goalie gloves, new cleated shoes, swim goggles and a pair of hand weights. (Sam is working out at night in his room, carving out muscles in his chisled 12 year old skinny body). Anyway, it was all a big success and I sighed in contentment that the big event was done for another year.












School holidays started on September 27 and school starts up again on October 14th. This will mark the beginning of the final term of the school year. They will be on summer holiday beginning December 18th for 6 weeks. Sam will graduate from Primary School and head to Ocean Reef High School next year. Camerin will be in grade 7, and Lucas will be in grade 10. The kids love this schedule of 2 weeks off school at regular intervals. Me? Not so much. Wellllll, I do too, but they are growing up and not too willing to let me plan trips and adventures for them anymore. I take what I can get.

Today is the first summer-like day we've had this spring. The locals all say that the weather has stayed cooler longer this year; just our luck. We are ready for summer and I say bring it on! Today I will head for the beach for my first swim. The kids can't be bothered, but I can't be kept away. Ah. It's all good.

A Busy Day...

Last week was a busy time for our family. First of all, Steve celebrated his birthday on September 11. Once an ordinary date like most others, now September 11 is remembered as no other day in American history. Of course, we were very aware of the memorials and goings-on in America that day, but for us our focus was on Steve and celebrating the day of his birth. Happy birthday to Steve!
Coincidentally, Sam and Camerin performed in a production at school the evening of Steve's birthday. It was a production of Marco Polo and provided a look at the many places Marco Polo traveled. Camerin was part of the group that showed the dance and dress of China at that time. Sam was part of a group portraying the dance and dress of India. It was a fabulous production and we were really impressed with it. The costumes and props were very authentic. The kids practiced for hours and hours learning the authentic dances of the cultures they were representing in the play. It wasn't easy getting good pictures from where we sat and the lighting wasn't wonderful, but I can display a few here on our blog. We were very proud of Cami and Sam! I think it was a great opportunity for them to be part of this; I do not believe the Medford school district currently has the resources for kids at this grade level to be involved in such an elaborate production.

Sam will be going to Logue Brook at the end of October. This is an adventure camp that the year 7 kids have the opportunity to attend. It is a week in duration and includes all kinds of fun activities and adventures. Since year 7 is the end of the primary school years in Australia and they are the "seniors" in the school, it is a priviledge just for them. Next year they will all begin year 8 in high school.

More on Logue Brook to come!
Spring is officially here in Australia now; as of September 1st. We are in the midst of a spring-like storm with rain and wind, but these events will become few and far between as summer approaches.
Bring on the sun!