Saturday, October 31

Halloween. There's been a few articles in the paper lately about the need to crack down on teenage pranks, as last year they had some problems down by the beach. Sounds very similar to the US with eggs being thrown, pumpkins smashed, that kind of thing.

Well everyone is talking about the Melbourne Cup, which takes place on Tuesday. Sounds comparable to the Kentucky Derby, if you live in Kentucky; but although Melbourne is on the East coast, everyone really gets into it here as well. People get really dressed up (must wear a hat) and not a goofy bird watching hat either, those don't look good with a dress and heels. Then everyone goes to a restaurant, where the prices are pretty much doubled, to watch the race on big screen TV's. There is betting, which is apparently government sponsored? or at least allowed, and it sounds like everybody gets off work to do this. Someone even said it's a public holiday, but I'm not sure about that. Bill's office sent him an invitation to attend, which he ignored as he figured he has way too much work to do, but he was told that everyone goes, so I told him he'd better plan on wearing a suit to work that day. I guess I'm invited too, but all I have to wear are blue jeans or hiking pants, Bill's ratty old sweatshirt and of course one of my bird watching hats. Better plan on staying home.

Well I actually found Travelzoo, the Australia version, on line, even though the US version told me they were still working on getting a site that specialized on travel deals originating in Australia. So it will be great to see what kinds of deals they offer here.

Picked up a few more aussi terms, like "moggies"means cats, "dodgy" is shoddy, and "grotty" is unpleasant or offensive.

One of Bill's coworkers loaned us a small T.V., but without cable you only get 4 channels. Cable sounds pretty similar to what is offered in the US, with various packages offering movie channels, kids programs, an aussie version of HGTV etc.

Friday, October 30

In today's paper, an article on Sunday trading hours, and the mayor of Subiaco says starting January 1, 2010, stores will have the option of being open on Sundays and staying open during the week until 8 or 9:00 p.m. This is really a big deal, and there are lots of letters from people who say "Just leave things as they've always been." One of the letters read "No one needs to shop on Sundays or after 6:00pm during the week." Another letter claimed that the labor party, which would be comparable to our democratic party, was voted out in the last election because "they pushed for day light savings time" and that the "liberal party (comparable to our republican party) are pushing for Sunday hours and this will be their downfall." It's a very controversial issue, but it looks as though things are changing and the hours are going to be extended. Of course, this won't happen until after the Christmas shopping season is over, when you would expect stores to be open later.

Thursday, October 29

Bad day to leave my camera at home, saw lots of cool birds and even some wildflowers that I'd not seen before, erghhhh. There were two galahs on the ground, eating flowers, and they let me get really close, which they ordinarily don't do. Then I ran into the family of ducks I've been watching, the babies have grown a bunch since I last saw them and there are still 13 left, from the 14 they started with. There was also another new family of 6 babies, they look like they're only about 2 weeks old, so cute. Although I've seen kookaburras before, I'd never heard one until today, and it is easy to see why they're called laughing kookaburras. The best way I can describe the call is a oh-wah, oh-wah, hee, hee, hee. Very strange, and really did sound like he was laughing. There's another bird that sounds like a car alarm, haven't figured out what they're called yet, but Oz definitely has some strange sounding birds.

Well we got a new car today, halleluja. The one they gave Bill initially was called a Commodore, big old thing with super heavy doors that nearly takes your foot off at the ankle if your leg is out as the door swings closed. Which it does all the time. The best way to describe the car was "clunky" and it had some major blind spots. So, Bill mentioned that he would really prefer a much smaller car, and something that wasn't 11 years old, and they seemed shocked and embarrassed that he had been given such an old car. So, they gave him a 2007 Ford Focus and he is now a happy camper.

Wednesday, October 28

I think I am turning into a birder. I used to think birdwatchers were old people that wore funny hats, but I do have a couple of goofy hats I brought with me...hmm.... Today I came upon a magpie, having a confrontation with a kookaburra, and although I took a lot of pics, they are locked in the camera until our stuff arrives, since I forgot to put the card back in the camera. Basically the kookaburra (who has a very long beak) kept pushing dirt at the magpie, who ended up calling in 3 of his buddies to help him out. When it ended up 4 against 1 the kookaburra gave up and flew off, and the magpies were left with all the dirt they wanted.

Did something yesterday I haven't done in a very long time - hung sheets out on the clothesline to dry. The last time I tried that in CA (many, many years ago) they came out as stiff as a board, but here, even without any fabric softener, they felt great. So does that mean it's the water, or the air, or what is it that's so different?

I do laundry most days of the week, since the washer and dryer are hobbit sized, and the washer only holds one sheet at a time. See the above pic - tiny little things, as is the frig.

Speaking of hobbits, they have shires here, seems fitting, somehow.

People here take the sun very seriously, as they should, and there are more dermatologists than just about anywhere else. School kids are not allowed to go outside for recess without a hat, and they must use sunscreen as well.

Well, we're hoping to get our internet hooked up by the time our stuff arrives, but Bill thinks it must be coming by way of donkey, since he ordered it 4 weeks ago. At first we were told we'd have to have dial-up, but apparently there are other companies that do provide high speed internet. Hallelujah.

Tuesday, October 27

Was checking the classified ads last night for a BBQ, and there was an ad for a book, "Windows 98 for Dummies" and the asking price was $20. Yikes. In computer years that's probably about 30 years out of date.

Well we've had our first encounter with Australia's infamous insects - Bill got a tick. It was actually in there for about a week, and had become quite engorged with blood, but it came out easily and he's suffered no ill affects. The worst tick illness here sounds like it would be tick paralysis or something like that, I forget the exact name, but it's pretty nasty.

When we were here house-hunting, the relocation lady began talking with one of the realtors who was showing me a house. Donna said to the realtor, "I'm sure Vicki's heard all kinds of stories about our red-backed spiders but honestly, have you ever heard of anyone being bitten by one?" After a bit of a pause she answered, "Well, yeah actually, my husband." After learning that he had, in fact, survived the bite, Donna assured me that this was very unusual. Then she asked the lady, "Well, everyone always talks about tiger snakes, and I don't know anyone that's ever seen one of those." Again the lady paused and replied, "Well we have them in our yard." Donna was flabbergasted but was quick to assure me that this lady lived out in the bush and no one ever sees snakes in the city, where we would be living.

We saw this tree while walking in Kings Park and I told Bill, "Looks like we're not in Kansas anymore Toto." We've both said that to one another a few times since, as well.

Saturday, October 24, continued...

As we were getting on the freeway, a sign said, "No livestock to be riden or driven on highway." Not something you'd typically see on a CA freeway. We saw a great sign last weekend, it was a picture of a dinosaur, and underneath it said, next 7 kilometers. After our hike we stopped at a fish and chips place and while looking at the local paper, there was a picture of the dinosour sign. The article said local police had no idea who had posted the sign, which they believed was "a stab at the local residents" and they promised to have it removed by the end of the month. (Nothing ever gets done quickly here.)

When we got to the wildlife park, Bill pulled over and said "You drive." I was NOT prepared (figured I needed to get mentally ready) but I guess my lame attempt to get out of it didn't get me too far when I asked him what would happen if I didn't have my license with me. Anyway, I felt like a brand new driver, and kept turning on the windshield wipers everytime I tried to put on the turn signal, like everybody else does. I did O.K., but kept feeling like I was going to hit the curb.

Saturday, October 25

Went to Caversham Wildlife Park and took about 250 photos! Amazing to be able to get right up to the koalas and pet them, and to walk around with a bunch of kangaroos. We'd never even seen a wombat before, but got our picture with one, and this was the first time we'd ever seen tasmanian devils that were not sleeping. It was feeding time just as we were leaving and the devils had a tug of war over the meat that was thrown to them. Noisy little buggers.

They had a very interesting farm show, where they demonstrated how the sheep hearding dogs work, and then they sheared a sheep. The guy doing the narrating invited everyone to come down and rub their hands on the newly sheared sheep, to get the lanolin which can then be rubbed all over your skin for a smooth, silky feel. He then admitted that you'll stink like a sheep but your skin will be very soft. After the show Bill chatted with the narrator for a while as I waited in line to try milking a cow, pretty easy but I imagine your hands would get tired awfully fast.

When we were in with the kangaroos, a woman actually laid down with one of them to have her picture taken, and lets just say she was wearing kangaroo poo on her clothes for the rest of the day, cause it was all over the ground. Bill was concerned they might smell it on his breath, since he'd just had a "skippy burger" before going into the park. He couldn't decide between the kangaroo burger and the emu burger, but liked the sound of the skippy burger.

Before leaving the park, I filled out a volunteer form, so maybe they'll call me and I can work there, probably cleaning up some of that kangaroo poo.

Friday - Oct 23, continuation...

Took the train into the city to meet Bill for lunch, and afterwards I heard the most beautiful music in the outdoor mall. I listened for awhile and then bought both their CD's. Just two guys and a girl playing "music from the Andes mountains of South America," and all they had was a pan flute, a mandolin and a some sort of conga drum setup, but they sounded fantastic. I love the sound of a flute! So I played the CD's all afternoon and again today, so nice to have music again.

Since we still have no T.V., I was feeling like I needed a fix of US news, so I went on line and clicked on ABC evening news with Charles Gibson, thinking it would be something besides the celebrity news that is all over the internet. But no, in fact, the first thing that came on was Whitney Houston suffering a horrifying wardrobe malfunction. Her bra strap actually broke, while she was singing, and somehow she was able to actually finish her song. Amazing, how did she do it? Such a strong woman. Well the next item up was a movie clip of Kanye West doing something with a mouse that sounded disgusting so I clicked out before it came on. So much for the news, I guess I'll stay in the dark and uninformed for a while longer.

Communicating via the internet can be amazing, I have to say. I emailed my dentist in Calif., to see if he agreed with the dentist here wanting to pull one of my wisdom teeth that is not hitting the opposing tooth but otherwise is problem free. I also explained about breaking my crown off just before leaving for the airport, and that the dentist here says the root canal failed. My dentist seems to think the root canal may not have failed and wants to have a look at the x-ray, so he can offer a second opinion. I was not surprised that the dentist here does not have the capability to send the x-ray electronically, but at least I was able to go in today and pick it up, and I can at least mail it to the US. And who knows, maybe I won't need another root canal after all. That would be nice, although of course I'll still need a new crown.

Well last night was late shopping night, so we drove to the Woolworths (the big grocery store) to stock up. There is underground parking and the escalator is called a travelator. It has a uniquely grooved surface that holds the wheels in place, so the carts (trolleys) can't roll.

I needed to buy some dishwasher detergent, and was shocked to see it cost $26.00, and this is not a Costco sized box, just a regular size that would cost about $7 or $8 in the US. Moving along, I check out the frozen turkeys, and let's just say we will probably not be having turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was $67, and it was on sale. It was about an 18 pounder, so our little mini oven would never hold anything that big anyway, but $67.00, for a turkey???

Friday, October 23

This is a glass bridge - good views of the city from up there. These pics show where a fire went through the park a couple of years ago. Although the trunks of the grass trees are completely burned, the trees have continued to grow and bloom, while many of the other trees were killed off in the fire. The aborigines used the grass tree for all sorts of things, including making a very strong glue by mixing parts of the tree with kangaroo dung.

Thursday - October 22

Still having a hard time figuring out which way traffic is going to be coming along, or turning, so I just look both ways, even though I know there won't be traffic coming from that direction, it's so ingrained in my head that I look anyway. Eventually I'll stop doing that but for now it just seems smarter to look both ways, after all, that's what we always taught our kids, right?

Some of our Aussie friends told us that clothing in Perth is expensive and of poor quality, and from what I've seen they're right. Even in Target, the clothes are pricey but look like cheap junk, making even US Target clothes look pretty good. Oddly enough, although the name is the same and the logo is identical, the Target here claims it is not affiliated with the US Target. Don't know how that could possibly be, but that's what they say.

One of the major grocery store chains here is called Woolworth, don't know if there is any association with the US chain of discount stores, but it seems unlikely. There is the usual array of fast-food places, although a chain called Hungry Jacks features the exact same logo as the US Burger King franchise. The food court in the mall is great, lots of variety and many places selling salads, quiches, spinach wraps, rice balls, etc. You don't see many burger and fries places, except for the fast food restaurants.

Walking around the mall Bill and I feel like dinosaurs, and when he mentions that it seems like EVERYONE is 25 or younger, I point out that we are at the mall, afterall, and that's where young people like to hang out. So we try not to get upset when they kick our canes out from under us or push our wheel chairs really really fast, we understand that they are just being kids.

Here are some more pics, taken at King's Park (where else, I live there.) This is the Swan River, overlooking Perth.

Wednesday - October 21

Spent almost 3 hours in Kings Park today - I love that place! I think I could live there. And with all the problems in our townhouse, camping out might not be such a bad idea. Here are some of the pics I took the first week I was here, when the wildflowers were still going crazy.

O.K., I took these pics today, until the camera battery died. These were taken in one of the botanical gardens, but I don't remember the names of any of the flowers. Just thought they looked good. And those birds at the top of the tree are cockatoos, called Galahs, with gray bodies and pink heads.

Tuesday, Oct. 20

I'm glad spring is here, the black clothing is beginning to disappear, and is being replaced by COLOR! After Bill spent a month here in August, he came back to say that everyone wears black, everyday. Seeing as how Bill is color-challenged anyway, I did not not believe him, until I saw it for myself, and yes, they do all wear black, all the time. Occasionally you'd see a gray skirt or pants, maybe navy blue or even dark brown, but the most popular color by far, in the winter, is black. The women all wear black tights too, it's like a uniform, and the men wear black suits, or at least black pants. So it is good to see people wearing color again (although the guys still seem very attached to their black pants.) I suppose they think it's more professional looking, but in Southern California we like color.

As far as the school system, from what we've been told, there are about 50% public schools and 50% private, and the private schools might call anything from 1st grade to 12th grade, college. They don't use the term high school, and what we would call college is university. So when we've told people that all 5 of our kids are finished with college, and they range in age from 34 to 22, they look at us strangely, and probably think we have raised a pack of knuckleheads. To just be finishing 12th grade at 22 years of age does not sound like much of an accomplishment, so we have to remember to say university, not college.

Monday - Oct. 19

The names of cities and other areas on the map are really diverse, everything from aboriginal sounding names like Kallaroo and Jundalup to Inglewood and Peppermint Grove Beach. There's the Bungle-Bungle range, (love the sound of that one) a maze of sandstone domes that look like giant beehives, and the Goongoonup Bridge.

Early August, 2009

We decide to accept the offer to move to Perth, AU, for 2 – 3 years and Bill’s company begins the paperwork.

Mid-August

We are told the visas will take 4-10 weeks, so we assume we have plenty of time to prepare for the move. However, the visas come through in just 2 weeks and Bill is told he is needed in AU asap.

Monday - August 24

We fly to Perth to find a place to live. Bill spends the entire week there writing a proposal, but with the aid of a relocation specialist, I find a townhouse and Bill gets a chance to see it and we decide to rent it. The location is perfect as it is only a 5 minute walk from the train station and then a 5 minute ride to his office. It’s just a half-block from grocery stores, shops, restaurants etc and only a 10 minute walk from King’s Park.

Early September

We find termite droppings, for the first time ever in the 11 years we’ve been in the house. Bill takes the cover off the spa and discovers algae, for the first time ever. The house seems to know we are leaving and is starting to rebel.

Monday - Sept. 21

Bill leaves for Perth. He is still working on my computer, downloading stuff I think I’ll need, when the shuttle driver arrives. We are so not ready for the movers, it would be much easier to just move everything, instead of trying to decide what to store, what to ship, and most importantly, what needs to go immediately, in a suitcase.

Tuesday – Sept. 29

The movers arrive to pack and move the stuff for AU. I am still sorting what to ship, what to store and what to take with me. I end up making mistakes that I don’t realize until much later, like packing my HRT. (UGH! Hot flashes return with a vengeance.) I am also careful to make certain I include all our jackets, coats and sweatshirts in the AU move, but I forget to leave anything out to take with me. The only thing left in the laundry basket is an old sweatshirt of Bills that I end up wearing EVERYDAY, EVERYWHERE for nearly two weeks. It also becomes my robe, because it is cold in our townhouse since the heater does not seem to work.

Wednesday – Sept. 30

Movers return to pack stuff for storage. I am living in the bathroom. It is the only place the movers can’t go to take my stuff. They try to pack everything not nailed down. I’ve told them not to pack my suitcases, and my 3 piles of papers and other “stuff” but they keep trying to get at it, so I move everything into the bathroom, close the door and put a “do not pack” sign on the door.

Jeanne has loaned me her trundle bed, so I can stay in the house. She and Celeste and Kathy all offered me their guest rooms but if I stay in the house I can continue to clean at night. Jeanne also gave me a plate and a bowl, and I have plastic cups and cutlery. I feel like an inmate, but it makes staying in the house much easier.

Thursday – Oct. 1

Last day for the movers, they seem determined to pack my stuff but I keep the bathroom door closed. There are 2 new guys today and I have to explain to them not to take the stuff in the bathroom.

The house seems so big and empty, it echoes. When you have virtually nothing, everything becomes valuable, and I scrounge around finding paperclips, rubber bands and tape! left behind by the movers. I put all of them to good use and am so happy to have found them. It's very weird how suddenly totally insignificant and ordinary things become very important and useful.

Friday – Oct. 2

A 2- person cleaning crew arrive and spend all day doing a “deep cleaning.” Several of the neighbor ladies take me out to another neighbor’s new wine bar. It feels great to relax and realize the moving part is finally over.

Saturday – Oct. 3

The carpet cleaner arrives and does a good job. I reseal the granite countertops and painstakingly clean all the spots off the hardwood floors that the cleaners missed. I fill all the nail holes and touch up with paint. The house is spotless and has never been this clean before. Why am I leaving?

Sunday – Oct. 4

At 8:30 in the morning the gardener finally arrives to move the sprinkler valves and equipment from inside the garage to the outside wall. He is over a week late, and I assumed he was not coming, but he insists he can finish the job quickly. An hour later he mentions there is water leaking in the back patio, and sure enough everything is wet but he says he will return shortly with a new faucet to fix it.

I still have lots of cleaning supplies and electronic waste to get rid of, as well as all the food in the refrigerator. Jeanne comes through again and takes it all. She is a lifesaver. I take a walk around the front and back yards and realize I’ve left several things behind, so I take everything out of the locked cabinet in the garage and store the yard stuff in there instead.

Two hours before I leave for the airport I bite into a carrot and break a tooth. The entire crown is gone but the tooth left behind somehow does not fall out.

As I am putting the suitcases in the car the gardener finally returns to fix the leak. I write him a check and hope there are no more surprises, I need to leave for LAX. I drive to the fly-away lot in Van Nuys to leave the car for Will to pick up, but I get lost and end up in Hollywood somewhere. Luckily I left early and find the lot without too much trouble, but I wish I had my GPS, which is now in AU.

Tuesday – Oct. 6

I arrive in Perth, after a 14 hour flight to Sidney, a 4 hour lay-over, and then a 4.5 hour flight into Perth.

Wednesday – Oct. 7 through Friday – Oct. 9

Went walking every morning in King’s Park. It is so big, it will take weeks to explore the entire park. Seeing lots of parrots and cockatoos. Tons of wildflowers too, but they’re pretty much at the end of their season. The park is wonderful, part bush, part botanical gardens, part manicured lawns and awesome play areas for kids.

Saturday – Oct. 10

Morning - Walked in King’s Park and on the way back we met an interesting guy, Rob, just getting ready to turn 70 years old. He was gardening and stopped us as we walked by, introduced himself and lamented that 3 things that have gone by the wayside are “good manners, the art of conversation and a sense of humor.” He seemed eager for someone to talk to and we were his target, so we listened and he talked. He told us about all the different jobs he’d had over his lifetime, then ventured to tell a joke, as he was known to “be a bit cheeky at times.” As we walked away he called after us, “You seem like a happy couple, G’day kids.” Kids?
Afternoon – we made another attempt to get some basic necessities and eureka! We found an IKEA. We now have 2 glass plates and 2 bowls, and 6 glasses. Feels downright extravagant after using paper plates and bowls and plastic cups. Can’t wait for our stuff to arrive, although it will probably take at least 2 more months. Trying to cook with just a small saucepan and a skillet is a challenge. Tried to use the oven but it smoked and never heated up enough to cook anything. Another thing to put on the list for the property manager.

Sunday – Oct. 11

Stopped at the “chemist” to see if I could get my HRT without a prescription. Of course the answer was no, and the clerk asked where we were from. She said she’d been to America once but could not get used to the money, since it’s “all green, why don’t they have colors?” (AU bills are different colors)

I’m learning some of the lingo. Shopping carts are trolley’s, parking lots are car parks, and alleys are laneways. Candies are called lollies, so candy stores are called lolly shops. Raisins are called sultanas. Aussies like to shorten words and usually put a y or an o at the end. So football is footy, Hell’s Angels are bikeys and our suburb is Subi (Subiaco.)

Wednesday – Oct. 14

Went to a meeting to discuss getting a community garden started. I have a hard time understanding some of the people, and we are speaking the same language, nominally. Someone says we should not allow any “chooks” and everyone laughs, including me, and we all agree that definitely, no chooks should be allowed in our garden. What are chooks? I discern from the ensuing discussion that they must be talking about chickens, although they never call them chickens, and I find out later, after checking the internet, that chooks are in fact, chickens.

Thursday Oct. 15

The insurance cards finally came in and I got a dental appointment. The office seems a bit behind the times, as they still use the old fashioned, hard, cardboard-like squares (that hurt when you bite down on them) to take x-rays. They don’t use a shield when taking x-rays, and they don’t put the little paper bibs on for when you dribble and make a mess. Surprisingly, the dental assistant came out to the waiting room to ask why I was there, and then she got down on her knees to look into my mouth, several times. Strange.

The dentist had to refer me to an endodontist. I went to the restroom before leaving and there was a sign over the toilet saying “As this is a communal toilet, please restrict yourself to lite release only.” Interesting.

In the grocery store, there is a combination of familiar brands, some we’ve never seen before and an odd mixture of recognizable brands that have been tweaked slightly. For example, Rice Krispies are called Rice Bubbles, and while the Kellogg’s logo is basically the same, it’s huge and takes up the entire box, instead of just a small one in the corner.

Still amazed at the prices, most everything is 2-3 times what it costs in the US. Eating out is especially pricey, even the locals complain about the cost of restaurant food. And all the stores close at 6:00pm, even the grocery stores, and pretty much nothing is open on Sundays. The only late shopping night is Thursday, and it seems everyone is out taking advantage of the opportunity. I'm not sure what working people do, although there is one small market that stays open late AND is even open on Sundays.

Saturday – Oct. 17

Overnight, it has gone from quite chilly to 100 degrees. It is hot, hot, hot, but we planned to go hiking so we drive to Serpentine National Park, only to find it closed. They have been doing a controlled burn, and the area is still smoldering. We drive to the dam and stop at a café. To our surprise, there are parrots, lots and lots of parrots, and they are not shy. They hop onto our table and chairs, hoping for something to eat.

After leaving the dam we drive to Mundinup State Forest and go for a hike. We don’t see a soul expect for another car in the parking area. Probably because it’s too hot and no one else is dumb enough to be out hiking.

We're back home, and Bill knocked the speaker off the table and it broke, and now he’s trying to fix it with only the few tools he brought with him and a bag of misc stuff I brought along in my suitcase. He says he feels like the professor on Gilligan’s Island as he scavenges twist ties off the bread to use for wire. If he can’t fix it we are relegated to listening to the radio, and there are no good radio stations in Perth. Many of them play songs from the 30’s and 40’s, either that or country western, which sounds strange sung with an Aussie accent.

Sunday – Oct. 18

Our heat wave only lasted 1 day, and thankfully it’s about 25 degrees cooler today. However, the heat (or the wind) seemed to bring out the flies, and they are sooooo obnoxious. They were bad enough while we were walking this morning, but when we sat outside to have lunch they were incredibly bad. We have been told to get used to it, they will be around until about April.

We had breakfast with a couple (Bill works with the guy) and they explained to us the odd situation with all the stores and shops in Subi, and every other suburb, closing on Sundays and at 6:00 p.m. during the week. The individual stores have nothing to say about their operating hours, it is all political. The one grocery store that stays open 7 days a week and doesn’t close until 9:00pm, is allowed to away with it because their square footage is under the limit imposed by the local government.

Perth has been described to us as being very conservative, and basically there are many old-timers who do not want to see any changes take place, including extended shopping hours and day-light savings time, which gets voted down year after year. Two of the reasons given for not wanting day-light savings time is that the cows will get confused and not be able to give milk at the proper times, and the other is that the extra sun light will fade the drapes. Honestly.