Dog Days of Summer

I have definitely been remiss in blogging during our "summer holiday" but I'm going to blame that on the craziness of having the kids out of school.  A few highlights:
1.   Spending New Year's Eve at our neighbor's and watching the fireworks from our deck.  AMAZING!
2.  Taking the kids to see "Hairy Maclary" at the Sydney Opera House.  (If you aren't familiar with the series, go to the link and buy this beloved NZ children's book!)
3.  Celebrating Zachary's 4th birthday at Luna Park, a 1930s amusement park on the harbor.
4.  My stealth solo trip to Kansas City for my dad's 70th birthday and to meet my new niece Mara and nephew Jackson.
5.  Putting our annual passes to the Taronga Zoo to good use.  I LOVE that place. 
6.  Spending "Australia Day" and the last four days of school holidays watching the kids catch waves on the South Coast.  
I should probably note that the title of this post really isn't apt as it has been anything but "dog days" here.  I don't know how many people have told me that this is the "worst summer in Sydney" but I'm quite enjoying it.  It is still unseasonably wet and dreary but there are have been very few days when we haven't been able to squeeze in a swim or a trip to the beach. . .

Santa Claus is Coming to Town. . .

There are a number of notable differences between Christmas in Australia and Christmas in the US.  Here are a few examples:
1.  Santa Claus doesn't come to town.  Father Christmas does. (but you can still visit him at the mall as you can see from the photo!) 
2.  The most common greeting:  "Happy Christmas"
3.  Christmas pudding and mince pies.  I really didn't want to buy either but could tell that it would upset my MIL if I didn't so I gave in.  I also bought a bottle of brandy as it seems "brandy butter" (homemade, not store bought) is equally essential. 
4.  Weather.  This one is pretty obvious but definitely worth mentioning.  Despite the fact that Sydney is experiencing the coldest and wettest December in 51 years, the kids have been swimming nearly every day and the forecast for Christmas Day is sunny and 23 degrees (that's mid-70s).  Perhaps we'll hit the beach?  Now that's a tradition I could get used to. 
5.  Christmas Eve dinner.  Now I know that every family is different, but mine tends to eat Italian on Christmas Eve (lasagna is popular because it feeds a lot of people!)  But this Christmas Eve we will be eating: meat pie.  A burgundy beef meat pie to be exact.  Pies are very popular here but they are almost always savory.  There is little chance of finding a pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie or, my personal favorite, a chocolate silk pie but you can find meat pies on nearly every street corner (both here and in NZ.)  This is no doubt why Andy loved going to Boomerangs  in Austin. 

Of course there are a lot of things that are universal and key among them are the thoughts of friends and family - near and far.  Thinking of you and wishing you all a very happy christmas!  

Thanksgiving: Lost in Translation?

I have never felt as far away from home as I felt at the grocery store shopping for our Thanksgiving feast.  And I've never felt quite as frustrated by the differences as I did in trying to actually cook some of my most favorite things.    Turns out that a stick of butter is a very American measurement, sugar is not sugar and no one knows what marshmellow creme is.  Here is a photo of what happened when I tried to make "Mississippi Mud" for our Thanksgiving feast.

I must have called my mother-in-law in New Zealand a dozen times (is granulated sugar the same as sugar?  is icing mixture the same as powdered sugar?  can i use karo syrup for corn syrup?) and even she couldn't prevent this nightmare.  My "homemade" marshmellow creme would not set and the icing layer just sunk straight in.  Fortunately, I had enough time to make another layer of icing and hide the evidence.  While it looked terrible on the plate (marshmellow creme oozing out), it still tasted delicious.  Of course, i wouldn't want to venture how many calorires were in each slice. 

Corn Casserole presented a similar problem but I was prepared - or so I thought.  Our family recipe calls for "jiffy corn muffin mix" which, alas, is not sold in Australia.  But a quick google search uncovered a "clone" recipe.  Unfortunately, when I went to grab the cornmeal it was actually cornflour.  Another call to MIL confirmed what my gut and google said - NOT the same thing.  Fortunately, I was able to find a corn casserole recipe online that didn't call for cornmeal or jiffy mix. And then I left Andy to make everything else. . .heck, I even let him clean it all up. 

Zachary with our Aussie neighbors

The good news is that our guests didn't care one bit that the mud was messy or that we had to make some last-minute substitutions to the menu.  And they didn't care that the feast was held on a Sunday afternoon. They were thrilled to be included in such an American tradition and even came looking the part.  What a wonderful reminder of all we have to be thankful for - wonderful friends and family in every corner of the world.

A belated happy thanksgiving to you!

Our First Three Months In Pictures

We just got around to posting the photos we've taken with the "good" camera since moving down under. (And I re-posted a number of my iPhone photos as well.)   As you'll see under the recent pictures section, we just had the most amazing weekend with friends on the South Coast.    http://thelarkfamily.shutterfly.com/

First Day at Nippers! (Junior Lifesaving)

Today was Sophia's first day of Nippers.  She is now a junior member of the North Curl Curl Surf and Lifesaving Club (NCCSLC).  Nippers (aka junior lifesaving) is a real Sydney tradition and pretty much every beach has a program.  We joined North Curl Curl because 1) we have a friend who was able to get us in (we applied at 3 other places with no luck) and 2) it is a real surf beach so Sophia will actually be able to put what she learns to the test.  It was truly one of those experiences that reminds you how far you are from Austin, Texas.  The photos I took probably don't do it justice - but picture a hundred kids from 6 up dressed in green and yellow "rashies and togs" and running drills in the beach and the ocean.  Here is the official description:  "Nippers is about learning, confidence and having fun in a safe beach environment. For Nippers, the beach is the classroom. They gain confidence by passing the ‘tests’ of swimming, body boarding, beach sprints, dolphin-diving, spotting a rip, having fun with new friends and discovering things about themselves."   Parent volunteers run the program and keep everyone safe.  Sophia had a fabulous time, as you can probably see from these photos.  It runs nearly every Sunday from now through February so there are many adventures ahead! 

Another Day, Another trip to the ER

I don't know what's going on but I just can't seem to stay well!  My "bacterial tonsillitis," which I thought had been cleared up, has now turned into something called "Quinsy."  Evidently, Quinsy is a peritonsillar abscess and is most common in TEENS.  Crazy that I would have it, particularly since I've never had any issues with my tonsils.  I went to the doctor yesterday morning and they sent me to the ER, where I spent 7 hours getting antibiotics and steroids pumped into my system.  I'm told I will most likely need a "procedure" to have my left tonsil drained in the next 24-36 hours.  I can hardly wait.  But I am feeling a bit better (and am able to eat) so I'm hopeful that it won't come to that. Surely yesterday's drugs combined with the 3 oral antibiotics I'm on will do the trick.
Oh, and remember how I've been complaining about parking?  Well, the hospital is no different.  I actually had to leave the ET (emergency triage) in between IVs to move my car (parked 3/4 mile away and the closest one i could find) to avoid a $500 ticket.
But, aside from my health and driving issues, I really do love it here.  More on that next time...
(PS - the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup - hurray!  Perhaps Andy will now be home a bit more. . .)

Mama Grizzly Take 2

Andy and I were watching TV last Friday night when I saw a large spider scurry across the floor.  After a brief panic, we leaped up, turned on the light and tried to find it to no avail.  That spider has been in the back of my mind ever since, prompting me to ask our agent about pest control and installing some weather stripping under the door that leads from the garage to our house (which I'm 99.9% sure is how the spider got into our house.)  But its been over a week since the sighting so I'd almost forgotten about the whole thing. Until a few minutes ago when it crawled right back into my consciousness. . .
Well, there was no way I was going to let that spider stay in my house another day.  I gathered what I felt were essential supplies - my iphone (in case it bit me and we needed to ID it), the largest tupperware container and lid i could find (guess i was thinking of letting it live at this point), a metal spatula (needed the distance and a way to kill it if necessary), a copy of the FT (you never know) and a colander (no idea.)  Oh, and I opened the front door, too.

Here is the end result: 

And, yes, this story is eerily similar to the time in Austin when the snake crawled into our house.  (Another time when Andy just happened to be out of town.)   And both stories just go to show you that there is nothing more powerful than a mother's instinct to protect her young. The spider put up a good fight (sorry about the collateral damage to your office, andy) but it was no match for me and my spatula. 

So, to all you venomous spiders and snakes lurking in the wilds of Australia:   Don't Mess with Mom!