Then and Now



Nicole started school this week on Monday, January 31.  Larry took her to the train on his way from home and off she went.  But not before I forced her to pose for the official First Day of School Photo.

The Pymble Ladies College uniform is very neat and attractive.  The skirt is a dark blue and green tartan; the shirt is crisp white with green piping.  The hair must be worn pulled back. No jewelry or makeup.  The socks must be the dark blue with green trim, and the shoes are the standard Australian school shoes - black lace ups.  Nicole does not have a hat because they are stuck in a warehouse in Queensland by the floods.  When they come in, she'll add a white boater to the look, trimmed in dark green.  For winter wear, there is a navy and green jumper (sweater) and a navy blazer.  For rainy days, there is a blue umbrella.  Nicole carries the standard PLC backpack and uses the standard PLC sport bag.  Eventually, she'll purchase the PLC track suit and sport uniform.  Despite the push to conformity, I have to say I think she looks wonderful in the outfit.  As she left the house, I completed the First Day of School routine by tearing up.  On her first day of Kindergarten, I cried.  And on every successive first day, I've continued the water-from-the-eyes pattern.

It's hard to imagine that this little girl has grown up into the lovely young woman who is now attending high school in Australia!

At the end of her first day, we trekked off to the doctor to see about the fainting business.  Long story short...low blood pressure. 90 over 60.

After much consideration and discussion, we've opted to follow the Australian path of choosing subjects that are interesting and that the student may be pursuing at university.  Nicole already likes Legal Studies!

Of course, with Nicole at school, that leaves my days wiiiiiiiiiide open.  I've gotten a fair amount of work done for both my company (NEOS) based in Hartford and my client (Poly-Med) based in South Carolina. And there's always laundry or dishes to be done.  I think I'll go see The King's Speech one of these mornings.  The small groups at church will be starting up shortly, so that will also get me out of the house and meeting people.

The walks to and from the train station are killer this week, as the temperatures are well over 90 degrees and the humidity is no help.  It's quite a kick to see all the little ones in uniforms getting off the trains in the afternoon!



What We Did this Weekend

Larry knows a guy who had to unload his concert and accommodation tickets for this weekend.  Concert:  INXS (Train, Baby Animals, and Sean Kelly).  Accommodations:  Vineyard Hills Retreat in the Hunter Valley (Australia's wine country).  Nicole came along; due to her recent fainting episode, I didn't want to leave her home alone.

Vineyard Hills Retreat's "architect designed villas" were more like "girl-scout designed cabins" and were definitely not for arachnophobes.  We killed 8 spiders upon arrival and another 4 in the morning.  They were small and spindly, but still 12 spiders is 12 spiders.  The whole experience was like my idea of camping.  (Those of you who know me know I don't camp.)  But we received freshly baked croissants in the morning and it was set it the most beautiful landscape:

After feeding Nicole a Macca's meal of chicken mcbites and fries, Larry and I headed to the Bimbadgen Estate for the open air concert.  This is a working vineyard that has an open air stage and concert venue.  Throughout the year, they have quite a variety of acts come through.

We parked in the vineyard before walking up the hill to the concert.  And I do mean in the vineyard:

Silver Reserved Seating - Not Bad

Waiting for INXS.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and a bottle of the Bimbadgen Chardonnay (very nice) and settled in to watch the end of Baby Animals.  Train came on next and played for 90 minutes.  Then, the headline act, INXS, with new lead singer JD Fortune.  You may or may not remember the tv show RockStar INXS, which was the group's way of auditioning for a new frontman and having the world vote.  (Larry actually appeared on the show in the audience at one point because Microsoft was a sponsor and had tickets.)

JD Fortune is not Michael Hutchence, but he gave a great concert.  There were times when his voice eerily recalled the late great singer, and he could certainly slink across the stage with the best of them.

I actually have a video of him at the concert, but the blog site won't let me upload it right now.  For those of you wondering how good the band could be - listen to a few tracks from Switch and see what you think of JD.  Tracks 2, 3, and 4 are our favorites.

On Sunday morning, we hit Newcastle for a couple of hours.  The beach was gorgeous, and we walked the Farmer's Market.  Well, Larry and Nicole agreed to the Farmer's Market to humor me. 

What a great way to wrap up the "summer" before Nicole starts back to school in the morning at Pymble Ladies College.

Is there a doctor in the house??

I've heard these words occasionally - once on a plane, once in a store.  Today, I heard them as I was standing in line at the bookstore to purchase Nicole's school books.  And, since Nicole had just left me to get a drink of water, I looked over, casually, to see what was going on.  A small group of people surrounded a young woman lying on the ground, a man crouched at her side taking her pulse.  Imagine my shock when I recognized the young woman as Nicole!

She'd passed out briefly, thankfully not smacking her head against anything.

Everyone at the store couldn't have been nicer, and the man at her side was another parent there to pick up his daughter's books.  Turns out, he was an obstetrician and GP.  Talk about divine providence!  He stayed right with us, keeping an eye on her color, taking her pulse, feeding her ice.  He diagnosed vasovagal syncope, very common in adolescent girls and related to low blood pressure and dehydration.  Since Nicole had skipped lunch and hadn't had much to drink today, when she started standing in line in a very hot room, it just hit her.

She's fine, 100% fine, ate 4 slices of pizza when we got home, downed several cups of juice and a Sprite, and then joined us out for dinner, where she ate some bruschetta.

So tomorrow I call a local medical practice for the SECOND time since we've been here to get some tests run to confirm the diagnosis. Maybe I'll make an appointment for myself for stress-management!

Excitement in Australia

Sunday
Most exciting moment:  when a woman at church handed me a bag full of...wait for it...brown sugar and cinnamon pop-tarts! I'd mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we were missing some things that just have no replacement.  And as good as Nutella is, there are just some things we miss.  The pop-tarts were one.  She happens to work in Sydney down the street from a US-store.  How great of her to 1) go to the store; 2) remember the flavor; and 3) buy the boxes!

Earlier on Sunday, the Sydney Expat American Meet Up Group held a touch football game in Sydney, and we dutifully wore our red and blue t-shirts and headed down town.  After over a month of hearing just Australian accents, I must confess it was a bit jarring but also comforting to hear a bunch of people "speaking American" around me.  Larry joined in the game.

At the Domain playing touch football

Monday

Nicole and I  headed off to the Autralia Post Office in lovely downtown Roseville.  Not only did we have mail to send, we had a package to pick up!  What could it be?  We'd spent the weekend speculating on what might await us at the post office.  Imagine my excitement (and Nicole's dismay) when it turned out to be my new steam mop! 

I couldn't wait to get home and steam clean the tile in the common room - and I won't describe the shade of charcoal that slowly developed on the pristine white cleaning cloth.  (I just did, though, didn't I.)  I had a blast playing with my new toy.  Next:  the bathrooms.

Tuesday

Since we accepted the offer of a place at Pymble Ladies College, the main topic of conversation has been course selection.  Because of how the Australian school system works, there is active debate within our household around whether Nicole should take science or not.  Australia doesn't require it, and whichever subjects Nicole elects for Year 11 carry over into Year 12 - which means 2 years of the same science.  The last two years of high school, here, are meant to be preparatory for university, so students take courses that interest them rather than fulfilling graduation requirements.  After consulting with our friend the Dean of Admissions at a CT University, we decided that Nicole would opt out of science, since she's not intending on pursuing a scientific career.

At night, I headed out to the movies with Melissa (a new friend) to see Black Swan.  Very strange, very odd.  I'm hard-pressed to think of an odder movie,and I've seen some off-beat films.  I understand why it's nominated, but I don't think it will win Best Picture, although Natalie Portman is stunning in the movie. 

Wednesday

January 26 is Australia Day, a national holiday that commemorates the landing of the first British ship in Sydney Harbor.  We had TWO exciting moments.  First, Larry spotted a spider clinging to a web on our rumpus room window.  Thankfully, it was outside!!!

And, after a cookout of burgers on the barbie, we headed to Ku-ring-gai Bicentennial Park for Australia Day celebrations.  For those of you reading this who grew up in Farmington or Unionville, picture the Fireman's Carnival without rides but with a band.  We enjoyed the music of Tuckitinya Bush Band.  A bush band is a combination of country, blues, and folk styles.  They reminded Nicole of Raffi, the children's entertainer.  After a couple of snow cones and a few songs, we headed home.

Thursday

This brings us to today, when the big excitement will be getting my hair cut and buying Nicole's school books.  Why is this exciting, you may well ask!  The book purchase requires me to drive an unfamiliar route to an unfamiliar destination.  So far, I've driven to the grocery store, the school, and the village center.  Today, my navigator and I are off to Artarmon, a whopping 2 towns over.  I've Google-mapped it, done the birds-eye view, and noted my landmarks.  With the GPS in hand, we venture south of Chatswood!

To all those who have asked, yes, I've started my new job working for a consulting company in Hartford.  I love what I'm doing and am having a good time with the people I'm talking to.  And I'm not just saying that because they read the blog! 

It is hot and humid here.  Temperature today is forecast at 30 degrees with 85% humidity.  And no, that doesn't mean snow.  30 degrees is 86.4 Farenheit.  Yesterday was 33 degrees (91+).

This weekend, we are off to see INXS at Bimbadgen Estate.

Ciao for now!

We Chose a School and Went to the Beach

And Nicole's choice for school is...Pymble Ladies College.  It's one of the largest girls' schools in Australia, both in terms of enrollment and physical space.  Like Walker's, it has beautiful grounds. Unlike Walker's, there will be 260 girls in Nicole's year, providing her with the size she was looking for.  Nicole will spend most of her time in the just-completed Senior Centre, a technologically-enabled building with social center, cafeteria, study rooms, and classrooms.  She can continue her Latin and take all new offerings like Legal Studies. School starts January 31, so we'll spend next week getting uniforms and books and finishing up the remaining Walker's school work.

We spent the day today at Bondi Beach (pronounced bond-eye) and had a glorious time.  The sky was was clear, there was a light breeze, and the waves were sizable.  Nicole had a great time jumping into and over the waves, and both Larry and Nicole returned to shore water-logged and salty.

The sun in Australia is quite strong, and it has one of the highest incidents of melanoma in the world.  Thus, in my ongoing quest to resist aging, I protected my delicate skin from the rays of the Bondi Sun.  Much to Larry's great amusement.



Major Accomplishment!

One of the reasons Nicole was so enthusiastic about moving to Australia was a frozen yogurt shop called Igloo Zoo.  Much to her dismay, we discovered that the shops are primarily Melbourne based. Luckily, their first Sydney area store is in Bondi.  The highlight of our day was tracking down Igloo Zoo (which we did, after following a VERY roundabout route.)  Gotta say, the cocoa flavored yogurt was tremendously delicious.  Larry and Nicole both ate pomegranate, Larry with milk chocolate chunks and Nicole straight up.  Too sour for me.

We wrapped up the day with pizza at Nick's Pizza in Lindfield.  We are searching the Roseville area looking for great pizza.  So far, we've had three:  Pizza Olla; Domino's; and Nick's. Nicole and I both thought Nick's was the best so far - the crust is a little thick for our taste, and the sauce had a bit too much oregano.  Larry still prefers Pizza Olla and Domino's for now.  The search continues!



Eating Kangaroo and Visiting Schools

So, yes, to answer everyone's question, we DID eat Kanga and Roo and Skippy (although I've never heard of Skippy, apparently a few of you have).  And it TASTED GOOD.  It did not taste like chicken (that was the crocodile). It tasted more like a very lean beef.  Perhaps the experience was colored by the very nice wine that accompanied the meal, not to mention the wonderful company. They had to kick us out at 9:45!  Don't we look like we had a good time!!??

Carla and Larry and Kanga

The dinner was at the Senior Minister's home with his wife and family.  Also at the table were the Operational Minister and his wife.  Nicole hung out with the kids of both families and seemed to have a great time as well.  Yes, she also consumed the kangaroo.

I will state that neither Larry nor Nicole are in any big hurry for me to cook kangaroo at home.  Should I take this as a commentary on my cooking abilities??

Today, Thursday, we visited the first of two schools that are on our short list.  Pymble Ladies College is absolutely beautiful and offers tremendous variety in classes and extra-curricular activities.  It's quite a bit larger than Walkers; however, I think Nicole may be ready for a larger pond on a lot of levels.  She seemed to like the school and the people we met.  The campus is pretty quiet, though, since everyone is still on break.

They've just built a tremendous new Senior School with technologically enhanced classrooms, a social center, a study room, and a cafe.  So PLC is still in the running.

Friday we visit a much smaller option, more on the lines of Walkers, called Roseville College.  It's substantially smaller, with just 80 or so girls in the year.  (PLC has over 250 in Year 11.)  Ultimately, it will be Nicole's decision on where she feels most comfortable and at home.

I hear there is more snow predicted for CT.  The weather here is calling for increased humidity and heat. Guess which I'd rather deal with??

What Makes a Sausage Sizzle and Other Aussie Food Observations

On Sunday, after church, we attended our first St. Andrew's Social Event.  One of the families opened their home after the 6pm service for a Sausage Sizzle.  Observation #1 is that BBQ (grilling) is very big over here.  The BBQs are cadillacs - large surface, sinks, counter tops, burners, etc.  Observations #2 is that there are a lot of sausage categories.  Perhaps it was just my upbringing, but when I hear sausage, I think Italian sausage, sweet or hot.  In AU there are Italian sausages, German sausages, Australian, vegetarian, and so on.  The sausages were expertly cooked on the BBQ and served with onions and sauce on slices of white bread.  No plates. I thought this was a bit brilliant on the part of our hosts - no waste, no litter, and no expense of buying paper plates for 50+ people.  Along with the sausages, we had veggie kabobs and a plethora of desserts.  Observation #3 is that "brownies" are called "fudge" here.  They were cake-like brownies, not fudgy, but still called fudge.  No idea what "fudge" is called.

Observation #4, and I like this one, is that peanut butter is not very prevalent at all and has been banned from most schools.  Whereas many desserts are designed around peanut butter,and American kids live on PB&J, in Australia, it's quite a rare ingredient.  That being said, most cereals, breads, and cookies all have the allergy warning "may contain" - so Nicole has found her diet to be restricted.  If you'd like to send Nicole something, send her some breakfast cereal - Rice Krispies, Coco Krispies, Fruit Loops are all off limits here.

Observation #5 is that the egg yolks here are ORANGE.  We scrambled eggs and they turned out fluffy and orange, not fluffy and yellow.  And no, I didn't buy ostrich eggs by mistake.

Observation #6 is that the meat tastes better.  Fresher.  More flavorful.  Not sure why that would be, unless the American goal to breed bigger chickens, cows, pigs has the side effect of diluting the taste.  No idea, but I like the chicken and the beef better.  The pork tasted a little "funny" to me.

They do have ketchup here, and sometimes it is called Ketchup and sometimes it is called tomato sauce.  Mustard is mustard, and I found my beloved Hellman's mayonaise in the grocery store.  All would be right with the world, except that I can't find really good sandwich meat, and there doesn't seem to be any American Cheese (observations #s 7-8-9-10).

This evening, Wednesday, we are invited to the minister's house for a kangaroo dinner.  I've seen kangaroo in the meat section, and it looks like a really nice, lean piece of beef.  Can't wait to find out what it tastes like!

Feeding Kookaburras

Although they are carnivorous birds, apparently the kookaburra who lives in our backyard is not averse to carbohydrates when they are on offer.  Larry made the family a pancake breakfast Saturday morning (yummy with Nutella) and we had a few leftovers.  When the very curious kookaburra flew by, Larry and Nicole thought they'd see how it responded to the pancakes.

(The video quality isn't great - sorry.)

As you can see, it's pretty open to new dining experiences.  In the background, early in the video clip, you can hear the cockatoos arguing in the background.  They stayed mostly in the tree, watching the kookaburra, but surprisingly not trying to get in on the free food.  Maybe cockatoos don't like pancakes?

After the pancake breakfast, we went shopping. Although our air shipment arrived on Thursday, there were still some clothing gaps: a sundress for Nicole; dress shoes for Larry; and shorts for me.  After 4 hours at the Chatwood Chase and Westfield Shops, we realized that clothing prices in Australia are truly mind-boggling. We headed out of the "mall" and onto the pedestrian mall where some more reasonable priced shops are located.  Nicole found a tank top at Sportsgirl and the desired sundress at Cotton On.  I picked up a white blouse at Sussan.  Larry, meantime, had already found his shoes at Florsheim, where they were 50% off and so cost $125.

Sunday morning we confirmed that Nicole's shower does, indeed, leak.  Slowly and from the corner of the door.  The showers here are walk in showers, no threshold at all, and dependent on the door and wall seals to contain the water.  I don't know how it works, but it does - except not in Nicole's bathroom now.

Larry is off to Whale Beach because he isn't content to hang out at home on the weekends.  Nicole and I will watch some playoff football - Green Bay at Atlanta - and then make up our shopping list.  This afternoon is church and then a Sausage Sizzle at a church member's home.

Spaghetti, Salamander, and Skype

We had our first pot of sauce here in Australia, made from the paste I purchased from the little produce store in Roseville Village.  Gotta say, pretty good!  I would put less water in because it came out a little thin, but overall, tasty.  The meatballs came out great!

While we waited for the water to boil, I spotted a quick moving critter on the floor.  Definitely not a slug - this little fella could move!  Nicole proved quite adept at encouraging the little varmint to make his escape.

As an experiment today, I purchased $10 in Skype credit, which lets me call actual telephones for about 2 cents a minute. I tried skyping my friend Patty today; turns out, she has a camera, so we could see each other, but no microphone, so we wrote notes and held them up to our screens for each other to read.  After a minute of this silent movie experiment, I decided to try to Skype credit and called her home phone.  Then, I surprised my sister Donna, whom I haven't talked to since early December, and got to chat with my niece.  Overall, a successful foray into the world of Skype credit!

Getting Around and Having People Over

It finally stopped raining here in Sydney, more or less.  On Friday, Nicole and I walked to the bus stop right at the end of our street.  Very convenient, being a mere 67 meter walk, instead of the nearly .5 mile hike to the train station.  This bus took us straight to Chatswood, where there are 3 or 4 malls and lots of shopping/restaurants.  We hit the Westfield mall for a few things: a couple of books for Nicole; a couple of new tops for me.  All in all, a nice way to spend the afternoon.  (NOTE: the books were extraordinarily expensive.  Even with shipping, Amazon would have been cheaper!)


Larry and Nicole goofing around at the zoo.



On Saturday, we headed to the Taronga Zoo, the primary zoo in the area. It was on the small-ish side, but very pretty, and it had some astounding views of Sydney Harbor. 



We walked around the zoo and saw the classic offerings - gorilla, lions, elephants.  They had an Australian section where we saw kangaroos, koala, and other creatures from down under.  There was also a bird section with lots of kookaburras.  I can see kookaburras any day of the week in my backyard.  Probably the most impressive bird at the zoo was the Cassowary.

I'd never seen a Cassowary before, and it looked positively dangerous!

Pacing the enclosure.



Staring us down!



One thing I learned from the day at the zoo:  wear your sunscreen on and put on a hat.  Okay, two things.  It was HOT and the sun was strong.  When we got to the Great Southern Oceans exhibit, it was a pleasure to linger inside watching the leopard seals drift lazily around in their faux ocean.  And, as always, the penguins were adorable.

After our day at the zoo, we headed home for much needed showers and our first guests.  Larry invited another American co-worker over for cocktails with her husband and little girls.  We spent a pleasant 2 hours comparing notes on our Australian observations and getting to know each other a little bit. Larry set up a tennis game for Sunday morning.

Now that it is Sunday, we have had a nice lie-in. Larry and Nicole are perusing the lunch options in the pantry, and I am considering our activity options for this week.  Ah, the excitement continues!

Small Victories

Confronted with nothing much to eat for lunch, Nicole and I drove the short distance to the center of our village, Roseville.  We visited the little grocery store (mentioned in blog post on 27 Dec), which does indeed seem to be a little Italian store - imported pasta, olive oil, and, most importantly, TOMATO PASTE.  I have purchased 4 cans of Annalisa Concentrato di Pomodoro and hope to make a pot of sauce sometime this week.  The owner is of Italian descent (he told me how he used to help his mother make tomato paste of the tiled roof when he was a boy) with an Australian accent.  I told him I used to help my father make sausage, and we bonded.

Nicole and I then ventured to the Roseville Cafe for lunch.  It is a small, local cafe, right across from the train station. Every 20 minutes or so, an influx of patrons floods the cafe for take-away.  There are a few tables outside for al fresco dining. Nicole and I ate inside so we could study the menu, admire the desserts, and quietly people watch.  Food?  Sandwiches and salads, solidly tasty.

One more exploration brought us to the Roseville Post Office.  WOW.  American post offices have got nothing on their Australian cousins.  This post office had placemats, calendars, mugs, gifts of all sorts, in addition to the standard post office accoutrements.  The gent behind the counter very kindly explained that the post office is the only place to buy stamps.  And that any parcel over 450g is charged $9 when sent to America - a security fee.  Nicole wants to assemble a package of Australian goodies for her friends, and the local Milk Bar and News Agent will be the perfect places to obtain said goodies.  These are two other stores in our village center.

With my trusty navigator at my side (she had instructions to periodically remind me to "stay left"), we headed back onto the open road to drive the mile or two so back home.  Where we arrived unscathed and left no bumpers or rearview mirrors behind us.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll brave the Pacific Highway and visit the women's fitness studio I found online.

Small victories, people. Small victories.

Life in Australia

So Larry went back to work on Tuesday, and "life" in Australia began.  Nicole and I cleaned 2 of the 4 bathrooms and changed the sheets on our beds.  I found a small bug-like carcass in our bed, and for a panic-stricken moment, thought it was a bed bug.  I quickly checked the sheets for little blood droplets and peered under the mattress edge for other signs.  Nothing.  I breathed again and washed the sheets in hot, hot water.  The last thing I need is bed bugs.

Nicole took her Chemistry exam at the dining room table - well, really, the only table we have at the moment - while I researched possible vacation resorts in Fiji and talked via skype to Larry's mom.  If you're not familiar with Skype, and if you have distant friends and relatives, I recommend you get right on that.  Whether it's video calls, audio-only calls, or the chat feature, Skype has been a lifeline over the past two weeks.  I can see my mom (who is feeling much, much better) and my dog (who doesn't seem to register my voice) and dear friends (whose smiling faces are immensely comforting).

Everyone wants to know how exciting it is to live here.  And while we certainly did a lot while Larry was on holiday, we are in the early stages of building a life.  We've met people, but don't have friends (yet).  I have a car, but nowhere (really) to go.  We have school visits scheduled, but we haven't made a choice yet, and school won't start until the end of the month.  No excitement, really, unless you count the number of spiders and other invaders we kill or throw outside every day.

Lest you think this is a pity-party, it is not.  I'm quite excited about meeting new people and figuring out how to get around. It's a building process, and it's early yet.  I expect that, by mid-February, we'll be going great guns as Nicole becomes immersed in school, I get involved with Adult Studies at church, and Larry connects with the motorbike community.

So stay tuned for exciting news...

Our New Year - Crocodile Sandwich, Topless Beach, and Church - What a Weekend

Happy New Year, All!

It was a different kind of New Year's Eve for us.  For the past 10 years, we've generally spent New Year's Eve with friends, either at our house or theirs, with a dinner, games, movies, and lots of fun.  We closed 2010 as a nuclear family unit.  A drive to Whale Beach where we had lunch and hung out.  Then home, where I whipped up a batch of my special shrimp scampi - which came out great - and we watched Inception.  Maybe my expectations were too high based on Larry and Nicole's experiences seeing it before...but I found it a little boring.  Cool special effects, but a somewhat weak plot.  Anyway, it was a nice way to spend the hours before midnight.

Now, in the US, on New Year's Eve, there are 3 or 4 countdown shows.  In Australia, only one choice, which started 20 minutes before midnight.  And maybe it's just me, but the countdown of 4-3-2-1 is much more dramatic watching a ball drop than it was watching the Jersey Boys do the countdown while watching....the Jersey Boys.  The fireworks were impressive, hands down wonderful. We watched on TV but could hear the booming through our doors, as we aren't that far from Sydney harbor.

We thought about heading to one of the vantage points. Then we saw TV reports of people sleeping out for 24-36 hours in advance.  And with Nicole not feeling 100%, we decided this was not the year.  Maybe next year.

New Year's Day brought us back to Manly for lunch and a new bathing suit for me.  We lost Larry for about 20 minutes.  (He left the shop we were in to go to another.)  Once we found him, we headed to Manly Grill Steak and Seafood for lunch.  I ate a prosciutto and rocket salad with fried squid. Nicole ordered New England Seafood Chowder. Larry ordered a crocodile sandwich.  Looked and tasted like chicken!

We spent about an hour on the very crowded Manly beach, where tops were clearly optional!  Nicole was very discreet until we got to the car.  I asked her if she saw the boobies on the beach, and she just gave me one of those agonzied teenager looks.  Like "I can't believe my mother just asked me that." eye roll and all.

(Secretly, deep down inside, I know she thinks we're cool.)

On January 2nd, we went to church at St. Andrews in Roseville.  Finally, we met some people!  Nicole was whisked away by some youth, while Larry and I were able to connect with some of the members. Larry found an avid motorbike rider and began planning rides.  I chatted with a couple of the ladies about schools and kids and stuff.  I think this church community is going to work out quite well for us.

A killer thunder and lightning storm opened up on us as we left church.  And this morning, as I write this, temperatures are a bit cooler, and the day is still overcast.  Larry goes back to work tomorrow, and our holiday in situ will come to an end.

Now the real life stuff begins...