Guest Post (by Larry)

Carla and Nicole are vacationing in the US, so I'm taking a stab at the blog this week.

On Sunday, I drove them to the airport where we were met by Nicole's friend (who happens to be a boy...). The rest of the family is very nice and it was thoughtful of them to drive all the way to the airport to send Nicole off and acknowledge her birthday.

With my newfound freedom, I headed toward the best frozen yoghurt on the plant: Igloo Zoo.

Nicole introduced me to this delight (Pomegrante with Chocolate bits on top) and I try to visit every time I'm near Bondi (or south of the Sydney Bridge). Sadly, there was a traffic jam so I aborted the mission and drove home for some Ravioli Bolognese.

It took me about 2 minutes to find the stuffed Wombat Nicole (don't let the redeye flash freak you out). It still sits in its hiding spot out of respect (since it was after all the birthday present I just gave her the day before...)

On Monday, it was off to work. Here is a shot of our work area, featuring the ever-witty Sarah Vaughan.

That night, Michael Kordahi (Developer Evangelist) hosted a poker game. GP and I (the only managers) were the big losers for the night (go figure...).

On Tuesday, we had a bit of EOFY (= end of fiscal year) fun by going out as a team to eat teppanyaki (=hibatchi). It was a great show with eggs & rice flying.

While we were eating, a taxi clipped my car, knocking the side mirror completely off. I was ablet to pull a McGyver that evening and reattached the components no problem.

We had some fun in the office today (Wednesday) when one of the DEs walked away with his machine unlocked. "Someone" went onto his Facebook account and had some fun with him. He hasn't figured out who yet, so I won't be a spoiler :)

After work, I visited my favorite place to eat: Sushi Train. Fast service, fresh wasabi, organic Cola, and taking only the food you want to eat is what makes it terrific.

What I Love About the House

So we've been living in the rental house for 6 months now.  It's very contemporary, clean (stark) lines, tile floors, high ceilings.  I was reflecting today, as I got ready for Chili Night, that there are a lot of things I like about this house - and a few things I don't.

I find that I really like the "great room."  Essentially, the kitchen, dining room, and main living area are all open and one room.  The kitchen is just part of the living space, with a long benchtop where we put stools for informal eating.  The huge glass windows open up to the backyard, which I also really, really like.  If I were to do anything to improve, I would add electric outlets.  Living in the US, you take for granted the building code that requires outlets every 10-12 feet.  In this kitchen, there are only two outlets.  All mixing, toasting, blending must be done within about 2 feet of the "appliance garage" (I like the appliance garage).

I'd also add a fireplace.

We've been using the heating system, since the temperature has been dropping overnight.  I like that the thermostat has a timer - unfortunately it's not a timer where you can set a specific time for the heat to click on or click off.  Instead, if the heat is on, you can set it to go off in a certain number of hours.  If the heat is off, you can set it to go on.  My new approach is to really heat up the bedrooms before going to bed, then turn off the heat and set it to go back on at 5:30 or so.  I'm the only one who has bought into this approach, though...

I like that you can turn off the electricity at the source.  Every outlet has a little button.  Even if something is plugged in, it won't work unless you flip the little switch at the outlet.  This cuts down on the "vampire" effect of appliances.  It's also fun to play tricks on family members.

The master bedroom closet is a walk in - no door - and it is California Closet designed. I really, really like having the shelves and drawers and the double rung hanging areas.  I find that I'm neater and put my clothes away in Australia than I was in the US.  I attribute that to the closet.  Also, I wear a lot fewer clothes.  I don't think I've "dressed up" at all since arriving.  One of the benefits of working from home for a company 10,000 miles away!

I'm not thrilled with the all-tile floors in the house. Makes everything seem colder. And the lighting in the bathrooms is DARK.  And there's no heating vents in the bathrooms, so they never seem to warm up.  But I love the shower - it's a dream shower.

In 6 months we have to move house because the house's owners will return from Hong Kong.  I hope to find a place we like as much or more than this house.  It's been a great first home in Australia.

First Day of Winter / What Does Roseville Look Like?

Winter has officially arrived in Australia.  June 1 is the First Day of Winter.  No snow in the forecast, but it has been the rainiest autumn in 8 years - over 530mm of rain.  Of course, I have no idea how much rain that is unless I use the internet to convert to inches (20.9 inches).  The trees are still green, the bamboo in the neighbor's yard is still growing, and the kookaburras still wake me up at 6:15 every morning.

There are two trees changing colors on our street.  They are maple trees (thanks 9th grade biology) with sharp, pointed leaves, and they are turning into golden yellow balls of light.  The picture really doesn't do the view justice, although you can also see the white van that is permanently parked in front of the neighbor's house.  In addition to the white van, they also have a white pickup truck, which is frequently parked right across the street from our driveway (makes backing out a challenge.)

So, that's the view from our spare room window.  It occurs to me that I haven't posted many (any) shots of our village.  Here is a virtual tour of Roseville. 

When you arrive in Roseville by train, your first visit is to the Roseville train station.

From the train station, you can walk to our house by crossing Pacific Highway and walking along the Rifleway.

The Rifleway is a short cut that involves a few sets of stairs and an elevated pathway through a few backyards.  Nicole walks the Rifleway every day on her way home from school.

In the center of Roseville, on the other side of the train station, is our new church, St. Andrews Anglican church.  During the summer, after the service, "supper" is served outside the main doors.

At the end of the walk from train station, through Rifleway, to home, you arrive at our front door:

What I Did Today

Since we arrived back in December, there's one thing I've really, really wanted to do. Today, I finally got to do it. I got to PET A WALLABY AND A KANGAROO!!!

Larry and I headed to Featherdale Wilderness Park where the wallabies and kangaroos (at least the not endangered ones) hop around freely.  What a sight to see!  We of course purchased the food, served in ice cream cones, and braved the compound.

Wallabies are simply adorable.  And the Koalas....! Well, take a gander at these shots.  Yes, the Koalas in the picture are real.  And yes, my husband is rabbit-earing the Koala.

As adorable as the wallabies, kangaroos, and koalas were, the Cassowary was aggressive.  I leaned on the fence to take its picture, and it lunged for the park map in my hand. Yes, it lunged, as you can see from this picture:

After it grabbed the map, it pecked at it a bit then swooped it up from the ground, folded it in half with its beak, and swallowed it down whole.  Couldn't believe my eyes.  Hope it doesn't get sick from it.

The Tasmanian Devil ran around in circles, over and over again, lap after lap, in the track it had been working on for quite a while, judging from the track.

We admired the dingoes, the dozens of birds, and the reptiles.  We saw some of the most poisonous snakes in the world, safely behind glass.  I hope I never see them anywhere else!

Club Med and The Whitsundays

After 5 days in Airlie Beach with an exciting excursion out to the Great Barrier Reef, we headed out into the Whitsunday Islands for a stay at a Club Med Resort.  We love the all-inclusive vacations:  plenty of games and activities for Larry; lots of teens for Nicole; and a supply of beach chairs for me.  Club Med Lindeman Island did not disappoint.

From arrival to departure, we caught only glimpses of Nicole as she spent most of her time with the Teen Club.  Larry hiked the island paths.  They both tried their hands at the trapeze.  We sailed one morning and played bocce.  We taste tested the cocktails and mocktails of the day.  At night, we enjoyed the evening's entertainment, put on by the resort staff.  The best show was their take on Cirque du Soleil - truly amazing to see the tricks up close.

The Whitsunday Islands are gorgeous, stunning scenery.  There are 74 islands, only 8 are inhabited, and they are part of the Great Barrier Reef protected area.  If you get a chance to visit the area, be sure to choose an Island resort as your base to visit the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea.

Vacation Critters

We continue to enjoy the wildlife Australia has to offer.  Our holiday in Queensland brought us into contact with a few new critters.

The Great Barrier Reef: More than Great

We arrived home Tuesday evening to find Sydney airport in the  middle of a security breach!  After reflecting on the ease of domestic transport (didn't even have to show a photo ID to get my boarding passes), it was unexpected to find that they had evacuated the entire terminal of all staff and passengers.  Everyone had to be re-screened because 14 or 16 people had gone through security without proper screening.  The airport was "chokkers" with people, and the airspace filled with planes unable to land because of lack of gates and/or ground crew.  An interesting end to an otherwise flawless family holiday.

Starting in Airlie Beach, we enjoyed picture-perfect weather, which has been rare in Queensland this year.  (You may remember they've gotten quite a bit of rain and experienced overwhelming flooding.)  We rented a Moke and drove up the coast.  Kudos to Larry for driving a Very Stripped Down vehicle that maxed out at 80kph and had the gear shift on the left-hand side.

We drove the Moke to Cedar Creek Falls.  Along the way, we felt very adventurous as we drove over a slightly flooded causeway to reach a secluded and stunning waterfall.  We proceeded to break our camera on the rocks lining the falls - thank goodness for camera phones!

Large, striped lizards greeted us in the parking lot. As far as I can tell, they were monitor lizards (aka Goanna lizards), and they were more afraid of us than we were of them.  As soon as you started approaching, they moved rather quickly into the woods.

We also drove up to Bowen to see Horsehoe Beach, a lovely little beach where we ate our lunch with a view of the Coral Sea.  Why is it called the Coral Sea?  Well, along with sea shells, little bits of coral are strewn across the beach.

The next day was our Big Adventure Day.  We boarded the FantaSea Cruises boat and headed 40 miles out to sea where their ReefWorld pontoon awaited us.

Fortified by 2 immodium, a dramamine, and a Xanax, I not only survived the 2-hour boat ride but donned a bright pink stinger suit, goggles, and a life jacket to snorkel with the denizens of the deep.  (I looked like a giant Peep in the pepto-pink stinger suit.)  After mastering the art of breathing through the snorkel, I floated along like a giant piece of seaweed, admiring the flash of blue and green darting around me.  I was most impressed with the giant clams with their brightly-colored "mouths" that opened and closed rhythmically. (Okay, so I didn't take the following two pictures, but what I saw looked exactly like these photos.)

Nicole made her first scuba dive, and the instructor called her "a natural." She positively glowed when she returned from her dive and wanted to go again.  Good onya, Nicole!

The trip out to the Reef was definitely the highlight of our Airlie Beach stay - then it was on to Club Med on Lindeman Island.  Watch for that update on the next post!