Tuesday 29 May 2012
Bali Bound
A final bye bye to Ozland. It's been a real slice. Just packing up and feeling a bit sad, a bit stressed, and a bit excited. This afternoon, we head to Brisbane, where we'll spend a final night in this country before flying to Bali tomorrow morning. We're looking forward to the new adventures that await. Hope they'll let us on the plane with the truckload of luggage we've got...
Sunday 20 May 2012
Hot Dang, I Love it Here
We have exactly one week and 2 days left in this paradise. And then on to another paradise: Bali, for our final month. It's a hard life.
Time, and our perception of it does funny things when we go away for a long stretch. We've been here just four and a half months. Is that even a long stretch? That's a semester. A winter (if we're lucky). A bit longer than you wait to tell people you're pregnant. It's nada in the grand scheme of a life. Yet it feels like we've been here for much, much longer. And in that time, we've lived a very rich life.
And....cue: faint piano music playing the intro to "Seasons of Love" from Rent. This'll be way more fun if you watch this while you read
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ZOlH71YgA
When we first arrived, there was a frenzy of activity. We got settled in two weeks flat. In that time, we found a place to live, signed up for all kinds of activities for ourselves and the kids, met some friends, found a babysitter, bought whatever we needed for the house, and got Big J into daycare. We then sat back and lived here. We fell into routines. We became regulars at cafes and figured out which grocery store has the cheapest milk. We celebrated 3 of our birthdays and took up new hobbies. In between it all, we travelled - to Sydney, Brisbane, Byron Bay, and Adelaide. And when we came back here (to Noosa, to this house), we felt we were coming home. Dude. Is that the guy from Law and Order? Holy #$! it's TOTALLY him. It's Ed Greene! Singing! Man. I miss Lenny. Why'd they have to kill him off?
Only once have I felt slightly homesick, and it happened at the half way point. It was a feeling that waxed and waned over a period of about a week. It also happened to coincide with our friends going back home to Denmark, and with us understanding that we would be losing a social network. I have definitely missed people while we've been here, and absolutely look forward to seeing friends and family upon our return. But I have also felt very present, and that this is home and life is here and now.
Now that our days here are numbered, time seems to be flying by. A new frenzy has ensued as we sell off all that we bought, tie up loose ends with the house, and begin to do things "one last time". It's bittersweet, that's for sure. I think we could all stay a bit longer. But I think this is perhaps the best way to leave a place -- wanting just a little bit more.
It has been an absolute privilege to have this experience.
Below are many snapshots of our Aussie life....
P.S. It's OK that you just listened to that song 4 more times. Just so you know, you'll be singing it all day. You're welcome.
Time, and our perception of it does funny things when we go away for a long stretch. We've been here just four and a half months. Is that even a long stretch? That's a semester. A winter (if we're lucky). A bit longer than you wait to tell people you're pregnant. It's nada in the grand scheme of a life. Yet it feels like we've been here for much, much longer. And in that time, we've lived a very rich life.
And....cue: faint piano music playing the intro to "Seasons of Love" from Rent. This'll be way more fun if you watch this while you read
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ZOlH71YgA
When we first arrived, there was a frenzy of activity. We got settled in two weeks flat. In that time, we found a place to live, signed up for all kinds of activities for ourselves and the kids, met some friends, found a babysitter, bought whatever we needed for the house, and got Big J into daycare. We then sat back and lived here. We fell into routines. We became regulars at cafes and figured out which grocery store has the cheapest milk. We celebrated 3 of our birthdays and took up new hobbies. In between it all, we travelled - to Sydney, Brisbane, Byron Bay, and Adelaide. And when we came back here (to Noosa, to this house), we felt we were coming home. Dude. Is that the guy from Law and Order? Holy #$! it's TOTALLY him. It's Ed Greene! Singing! Man. I miss Lenny. Why'd they have to kill him off?
Only once have I felt slightly homesick, and it happened at the half way point. It was a feeling that waxed and waned over a period of about a week. It also happened to coincide with our friends going back home to Denmark, and with us understanding that we would be losing a social network. I have definitely missed people while we've been here, and absolutely look forward to seeing friends and family upon our return. But I have also felt very present, and that this is home and life is here and now.
Now that our days here are numbered, time seems to be flying by. A new frenzy has ensued as we sell off all that we bought, tie up loose ends with the house, and begin to do things "one last time". It's bittersweet, that's for sure. I think we could all stay a bit longer. But I think this is perhaps the best way to leave a place -- wanting just a little bit more.
It has been an absolute privilege to have this experience.
Below are many snapshots of our Aussie life....
P.S. It's OK that you just listened to that song 4 more times. Just so you know, you'll be singing it all day. You're welcome.
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| No, we did not take our children on a motorcycle ride. This was after a date during which we rented a scooter (something we always loved to do while travelling pre-kids) and took a gorgeous ride down the coast for a couple hours. We had our babysitter bring them outside to watch us approach the house from down the street. Big J went nuts over it. |
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| Another N. and M. date, where we took a Stand Up Paddle lesson and then paddled through the Noosa canals. Awesome. |
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| Little J, on the ferry around Sydney Harbour. |
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| She's growing up...(this is an earlier shot) |
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| Our friends Mette and Bryan, and their kids Thomas, Daniel and Jonathan were fantastic hosts. They invited us over for this feast when our original plans got rained out. |
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| Big J. did lots of scootering while here in Oz. He has a whole repertoire of tricks now too. |
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| Big. J, sharing cupcakes with his classmates on his birthday. We also had a party with our friends Bryan, Mette and their kids. |
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| Waiting at the bus stop. We didn't have a car while we were here, so we took buses everywhere. They were super convenient and easy...we just wheeled our stroller on and went. |
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| We tried to find parks and playgrounds whenever we could. This was at Bondi Beach in Sydney. |
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| Not the best pic, but eating on our balcony was a daily event the first month or so... |
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| Sunday Brunch at the Surf Club was a favourite... |
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| Always fun times at the beach |
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| After brunch fishing with our Danish friends. |
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| Happy Hour at Bistro C on the beach. $5 cocktails=fun times. |
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| Big J. in his weekly Jump Bunch class. He learned so many great skills! |
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| Our travelling house. I don't know what we would have done without this thing. |
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| Or the Ergo...love carrying Little J. in it. Hiking in Mary Cairncross park. |
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| Rainbow Lorikeets. These guys are everywhere here, and we would see them flying through the sky often. Only once did I ever see them this close up--when two landed on the railing of our balcony. Gorgeous. |
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| Our wonderful visit with Bubby |
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| Paradise.... |
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| Dancing it up at Peregian Originals, a biweekly outdoor concert. |
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| Hanging at Peregian, one of our favourite places |
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| Big J loved spending time at "wave beaches" (even more than "park beaches" on the river). Peregian, again. |
Little J Turns 1
Happy Birthday, Little J!! The little rapscallian turned 1 last week. I know I promised not to be too precious on this blog. But oy. My baby is growing up!
Bubby was here visiting us the week earlier, so we had an early birthday party at our favourite place, Peregian Beach. It was a perfect day to barbecue, play in the park, and eat cupcakes. For much of the day, Little J had a slightly dazed demeanour, and we could not coax many of her gorgeous smiles out of her. But given her newest penchant for holding onto the couch while bopping madly to Daft Punk or the Beastie Boys...I'd say 1 agrees with her.
I love you, sweet, sweet, girl!
Bubby was here visiting us the week earlier, so we had an early birthday party at our favourite place, Peregian Beach. It was a perfect day to barbecue, play in the park, and eat cupcakes. For much of the day, Little J had a slightly dazed demeanour, and we could not coax many of her gorgeous smiles out of her. But given her newest penchant for holding onto the couch while bopping madly to Daft Punk or the Beastie Boys...I'd say 1 agrees with her.
I love you, sweet, sweet, girl!
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| Big J and Bubby made the cupcakes for the party |
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| There's a bit of a smile... |
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| Birthday picnic. We're sitting in Peregian Park, and the gorgeous beach is just behind us. M. grilled up chicken skewers and mini buns on the public BBQ, and we had coleslaw and chips too. Delish. |
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| Bubby and the birthday girl |
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| Life is rough, when you're one. |
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| This is so not her first bite of cake. She's a second child. |
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| Random arm by M. |
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| My absolute favourite place...Peregian Beach. Many happy returns, Little J! |
Friday 18 May 2012
Enough is Enough
I've been thinking a lot these days about the fact that the blogs that I love to read are those whose authors don't take themselves too seriously. Come to think of it, the people I like most don't take themselves too seriously either.
I am relatively new to this blogging thing. And I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to keep it up, given how much of my time is spent cleaning mashed food off the floor and wiping butts.
And yet, when I reread my blog posts, I often come to the same few conclusions:
1) This post is a little bit precious
2) This post is too long
3) This post is boring
4) Oh for god's sake, this chick needs a good shtup to loosen her up a little
And so.
I hereby resolve to try my very darndest, from this point forward to:
1)Be less precious. I have been known to crack a joke or two in my day. And so I hope to make this blog funnier.
2)If you've ever had a conversation with me, you realize that I'm not into the whole brevity thing. But I'm working on it. Even this point is getting too long, and I should stop adding more text and spit it out already. But I can't. Whoah, Nellie. Deep breath. You can do this. This is just SO HARD FOR ME. You guys don't get it. I just can't say anything important without first setting it up, then giving all the important background details, listing everything, using lots of commas, and saying in fifty words what I could have said in ten (and even then, adding lots of parenthetical statements). But I will try.
3)By making my posts shorter and funnier, I hope they'll be less boring
4)There are multiple ways we can address point #4 above, and I'm open to suggestions.
I welcome your feedback, fo SHIZ. Please let me know what else you think could be improved, and what you like.
I am relatively new to this blogging thing. And I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to keep it up, given how much of my time is spent cleaning mashed food off the floor and wiping butts.
And yet, when I reread my blog posts, I often come to the same few conclusions:
1) This post is a little bit precious
2) This post is too long
3) This post is boring
4) Oh for god's sake, this chick needs a good shtup to loosen her up a little
And so.
I hereby resolve to try my very darndest, from this point forward to:
1)Be less precious. I have been known to crack a joke or two in my day. And so I hope to make this blog funnier.
2)If you've ever had a conversation with me, you realize that I'm not into the whole brevity thing. But I'm working on it. Even this point is getting too long, and I should stop adding more text and spit it out already. But I can't. Whoah, Nellie. Deep breath. You can do this. This is just SO HARD FOR ME. You guys don't get it. I just can't say anything important without first setting it up, then giving all the important background details, listing everything, using lots of commas, and saying in fifty words what I could have said in ten (and even then, adding lots of parenthetical statements). But I will try.
3)By making my posts shorter and funnier, I hope they'll be less boring
4)There are multiple ways we can address point #4 above, and I'm open to suggestions.
I welcome your feedback, fo SHIZ. Please let me know what else you think could be improved, and what you like.
Byron Bay Birthday
At the tender age of 17 I went through a serious phase of style psychosis. I believed, with all my being, that I looked AMAZING when I wore a men's corduroy shirt, steel toed construction boots (purchased second hand, and about 3 sizes too big), and a crocheted Rasta beret. You know, the bright red/yellow/green ones that are meant for Carribean men to be able to stuff their dreads in. I did not get the memo that they were not intended for 5 foot nothing white Jewish girls with stick straight hair. As I tripped my way around town (those boots were MASSIVE on me), I thought I was miss THING. Luckily, I was well equipped to weather the disaster, having made it through the safety-pin-tapering era and the bleach-brand-new-jeans-till-they-nearly-disintegrate period relatively unscathed.
My poor mother. Good on ya, mom, that's all I'll say. I hope I'll be as calm if I have to stand back and watch Little J destroy a brand new pair of pants by chopped them up and pinning them back together some day.
M. was a rockstar driving us there in a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side, and on the wrong side of the road. He even navigated highway roundabouts, and only turned on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal about 10 times.
Our weekend there was less idyllic weather wise--it literally poured, and I mean POURED buckets of rain, from pretty much the moment we arrived, until about an hour before we left. We stayed in a fun tiny little cottage, and rather than let the rain spoil our entire weekend, we decided to just accept it, be silly, and have a great time anyway. We went for drives to see the gorgeous countryside, visited the famous lighthouse (the most easterly point in Australia), and ate some of the best food on this trip. It really was a special weekend, and I feel so lucky to have shared it with my sweet little family.
My poor mother. Good on ya, mom, that's all I'll say. I hope I'll be as calm if I have to stand back and watch Little J destroy a brand new pair of pants by chopped them up and pinning them back together some day.
I suppose things have changed just a bit, now that I'm 36. But the dreadlocked rasta still resides in me somewhere. And so, in celebration of my birthday this year, we made the pilgrimmage to Byron Bay, a beach town just south of the Gold Coast. Byron is one of those places whose reputation preceeds it. It started out as a hippy hamlet on a gorgeous stip of beach, and although it's pretty commercialized now (and super expensive), it has managed to maintain much of that alternative spirit. The moneyed set may come to visit, but, like, they're not really experiencing it, man. To do that, you need to be one of the stinky, bearded van dwellers who congregate in Byron to surf and have their chakras healed. I so would have taken up with them back in the day.
M. was a rockstar driving us there in a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side, and on the wrong side of the road. He even navigated highway roundabouts, and only turned on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal about 10 times.
Our weekend there was less idyllic weather wise--it literally poured, and I mean POURED buckets of rain, from pretty much the moment we arrived, until about an hour before we left. We stayed in a fun tiny little cottage, and rather than let the rain spoil our entire weekend, we decided to just accept it, be silly, and have a great time anyway. We went for drives to see the gorgeous countryside, visited the famous lighthouse (the most easterly point in Australia), and ate some of the best food on this trip. It really was a special weekend, and I feel so lucky to have shared it with my sweet little family.
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Fraser Island Discovery
With my mom staying with us for the week, M. and I were able to leave the kidlets with her for the day, and take a long anticipated day trip to Fraser Island. Fraser is the world's largest sand island. Somehow, rainforest has been able to grow upon the sand, and there are rich old growth forests amongst jungle vegetation. The island is also known for its crystal clear plateau lakes and a population of wild dingoes. And back in the day, it was home to an aboriginal population who named it K'gari, which means paradise. I wouldn't argue with that. Though the vegetation at the coastline was rugged and scraggy, if you could slap a couple palm trees down by the shore, you'd have a full on Robinson Cruesoe set up.
As per usual on our scheduled Aussie day trips, it poured rain for a good chunk of the time. But within the relative comfort of our badass 4x4 (crazy bumpy), it made for dramatic vistas. And truly, on this trip, the path was the way. After taking a small ferry over to the island, the major part of the journey was the drive along 40 Mile Beach (pictured below). The beach is actually considered a legitimate highway, with speedlimits and all. Getting up to speeds of 60 k on beach sand, with the surf lapping at our wheels was a definite highlight. And slightly reminiscent of a great Chevy commercial. Check out the vids below to get a sense of the experience.
The scenery was absolutely spectacular, and at the trip's half way point, the sun came out. We were able to see the gorgeous Lake MacKenzie and its turquoise water in the sun. And as we stopped for afternoon tea on the beach on the return trip, we were joined by a dingo. Paradise, indeed.
As per usual on our scheduled Aussie day trips, it poured rain for a good chunk of the time. But within the relative comfort of our badass 4x4 (crazy bumpy), it made for dramatic vistas. And truly, on this trip, the path was the way. After taking a small ferry over to the island, the major part of the journey was the drive along 40 Mile Beach (pictured below). The beach is actually considered a legitimate highway, with speedlimits and all. Getting up to speeds of 60 k on beach sand, with the surf lapping at our wheels was a definite highlight. And slightly reminiscent of a great Chevy commercial. Check out the vids below to get a sense of the experience.
The scenery was absolutely spectacular, and at the trip's half way point, the sun came out. We were able to see the gorgeous Lake MacKenzie and its turquoise water in the sun. And as we stopped for afternoon tea on the beach on the return trip, we were joined by a dingo. Paradise, indeed.
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| This hard core vehicle drives on the beach at speeds of up to 70 km/hr. On Fraser Island, the beach is actually the highway. |
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| Canyons that are red from iron ore |
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| The gorgeous Lake MacKenzie |
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| After lunch, the sun came out so we could see the turquoise waters... |
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| The view from our 4 x 4 |
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| A wild dingo, running along side our 4x4 on the beach |
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| The beach highway. "Like a rock...." |
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