Sunday, November 1

Drove to Lake Monger this morning, only 8 minutes from the house. A really nice place to walk, full of waterfowl. We stopped to take a pic of a black swan and her two babies, but the mama swan came after us and chased us off - very protective of her little ones. Then when we were a safe distance away, one of the babies came after us too, squawking with his little wings outstretched - pretty funny, just a little guy but very brave.

Well, the dill seeds I planted have come up, and my one lonely little tomato plant is doing well also, so my garden is born. I’m sure I’ll keep adding plants as time goes on, can’t just quit gardening cold turkey, even though our outside space is pretty limited to room for just a few pots.

Monday, November 2

Our stuff is scheduled to arrive at the Fremantle port today, Hallelujah! But of course we will still have to wait a few more weeks for it to clear quarantine and then actually get delivered to the house, but we are getting closer. The feeling of camping out is getting pretty old, when you only have 2 plates and 2 bowls you wash dishes a lot. Bill took two of the kitchen chairs that were left here and put them upstairs next to the bed, to use as nightstands. Very classy look. But they do the job.

The flies are bizarre, horrible one minute and completely absent the next, hard to figure what brings them out but when they are they are incredibly persistent. I don't care how silly those cork hats might look I'm wearing mine as soon as it gets here along with our stuff.

Tuesday, November 3

Finally, the heating-A/C repairman showed up today, now that it’s spring and we no longer need heat, or air-conditioning at this point. While we wait to see if the heat will come on, we begin a conversation about where we’re from, why we’re here, etc. He says he was born in England, close to the border with Scotland, and his village was the first line of defense from “the heathen hoards” that came from the north. He explains that he moved to Bermuda and lived there for years, but decided he wanted a more permanent work situation, and after living in warm, tropical Bermuda, could not bring himself to return to the cold weather in Great Britain, so he came to Australia. He asked if we’d gotten used to the slow pace of life here, and he said that when the temperature hits 100 degrees, the tradesmen are all sent home, and they are paid for the whole day. He said that a new hire in most businesses is given 4 weeks vacation the first year, and that is added onto with subsequent years of service.

Well, I finally met one of our neighbors today, the first one I’ve seen. She said everyone is very quiet, except for the tenants who lived in our unit prior to us. They were three students from Zimbabwe, and they were very loud. We had assumed there must have been young guys living here, as none of the appliances worked but the problems were never reported, presumably because they never cooked or cleaned.

On our way to King’s Park today, Bill noticed a couple of strange things. In front of one house, squarely in the middle of the driveway, is a light post. Hopefully they drive a motorcycle instead of a car. Then at the intersection is a stop sign, yet near the sidewalk is a sign saying “no stopping allowed.” Near the park is the Subi Oval, a large stadium where Aussie rules football games are played. The streets near the stadium all have no parking signs that list only the specific dates of all the games, so spectators cannot park in front of the houses. But unless there is some sort of overlay for each sign, the city has to print new signs every year, which would seem to be very expensive. We passed by one house with a sign on the wall which read “Beware of wife.”