my sis told me to

ok. i wouldn't have posted this, except my twinner asked me to. this is from the fair (they call them shows down here) and well, we just had to take one of these pics, couldn't resist. i guess i'll also post a normal looking pic, sans the green-gorilla-men-getup.

heater dies

Although spring has arrived, it definitely has it's sleepy days, and at night it seems it's just as cold as ever. Which, of course necessitates a heat source. This is especially true since the builders of homes in our area seem to have a complete lack of understanding of a little thing we like to call "insulation" back home. Yes, it's true . . . and to my mind the energy issue would have been way less serious if they had thought to actually insulate homes way back when, but then again hey, what do I know about building houses in Australia? As it is our brick abode bakes us like an oven in summer and cold seeps in through the walls and door frames in winter.

So, back at the beginning of winter our heat source of choice was a good sized electric space heater that we bought at Big W. Some of the bonuses included a thermostat and a timer. Little did we know that the timer function was not something that you could turn off, and in the days and weeks that followed we learned to deal with the slight ticking noise in the background--all for the comfort of being able to sleep at night without seeing our breath. Well, now that we've had the heater for several months the slight ticking noise has become more like the sound of a woodpecker on speed, and at some times gets so loud that I actually think there's a jackhammer in our bedroom. Well, last night I had had enough and let's just say, we won't be dealing with ticking noise any more. Ummmm, I hope it warms up soon.

the best gift ever

Ok, so maybe you haven't heard of Etsy nor dared delve into the wonderful world of the handmade item . . . then again, maybe you have. One thing is certain, my dear twin sister has. That's where she found the unique Aunty Cookie (www.auntycookie.com) and her lovely inked art. And while all her characters have bunny ears, (or whatever those are, I haven't quite figured it out yet,) and interesting noses, and very widely spaced eyes . . . there is something cute and strangely appealing about her art. Realism is highly overated anyway, don't you think? My favorite piece of art by Aunty Cookie? You guessed it, the one pictured above. And why? Well, it's my family, you see. There's my hubby, the boat builder, and below him is my stepdaughter who is the most ambitious teenager I've met and will soon become the world's best hairdresser, and my baby son who's favorite passtime at the moment is spitting his food at me, and me. I actually cried (ok, sobbed) when I opened this today, and not only because of the picture, but what it represents. So thanks to my most thoughtful twin sister who makes me feel like I'm right there by my family, despite being 10,000 miles away.

spring has sprung

My original title for this post was going to be "spring is springing" but it's been at least a week since I took this picture. Most of the blossoms have given way to the little green leaves of spring. It's funny . . . I know that is going to be summer here soon. But in my mind I still think, it's September, that means back to school and autumn leaves and football season and soon there will be snow. I guess it's hard to get my brain to acclimate. One of the hardest things--not having fall leaves for Halloween! To me that's so much a part of that holiday. And the crispness of the air during Thanksgiving, and if you're lucky--snow on Christmas. I've been down here almost two years now, you'd think I would be adjusted, but I'm not.

Did anyone see the eclipse?

Did anyone catch the lunar eclipse the other night? Down here it was at its best at around 9pm, which made it very convenient for us to watch. Whenever any celestial event is going on I remember the astronomy class I took in college . . . and how much I have forgotten since then. Anyway, I love astronomy, I wish I could get one of those big telescopes and gaze heavenward for hours on end. This is my attempt at a picture of the eclipse, didn't turn out very well, but I don't have a tripod. Sorry!