1 more sleep til we go to Warrnambool for a weekend of whale watching and quilting! Life is good.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
1 more sleep!
1 more sleep til we go to Warrnambool for a weekend of whale watching and quilting! Life is good.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Where's Jenny?
That's right... I'll be living in an Emergency Management Conference for 2 days! So far it's been great though, the theme this year is "rescue" (woohoo) and there's a diversity stream as well.
Today I got to learn about search and rescue in Virginia, dealing with people who have been affected by a traumatic experience, rescue operations involving visually and hearing impaired people, swift water rescue, and International Rapid Response surgical teams. Woohoo! All in all, it's not a bad way to spend a few days when you're a disaster junkie!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Marin & Max
Happy wedding day Marin & Max! It's the 27th in Australia... which means it's the 26th in Milford, CT!!!
CONGRATS!
What a perfect weekend!
What a great weekend... filled with nothing but quilting and Dr. Mario. Does it get much better? Yes... with a BULLDOGS game! We are heading out in a few minutes. Bulldogs v. Carlton Blues. Go Doggies!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Frosty July
As we walked toward our car as 6am this morning (yes, 6am... we go swimming now!) we heard the oh so familiar, "Scraaaaaape... scrape, scrape, scrape" sound that we haven't heard since our last Chicago winter. Our neighbours were scraping the ice off of their windscreen, and we needed to do the same. We live in Australia, we live by the beach, and it's July. No matter how many times I think about the northern and southern hemispheres, I just can't believe it's frosty right now!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Winter in July
It's still weird that it's cold in July. Today it's 5 degrees, with a top of 14 (Celsius, of course). In the grand scheme of things, and in comparison to Chicago, it's really not that cold. It's just so so strange!
(oh, and living in an apartment with "polished concrete floors" doesn't help!!!)
(oh, and living in an apartment with "polished concrete floors" doesn't help!!!)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Nintendo NES
Oh yeah... that's right... we got an old school Nintendo (thank you eBay)! We actually got it on Megan's birthday and we've been glued ever since. We got 10 games, but so far only 1 works. And only sometimes. And only if you blow in it (just like 1985).
Go Dr. Mario, Go!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Where the hell is Wall Drug?
In honour of Wall Drug, here's a "Where the hell is Pine Creek" sticker!
Monday, July 21, 2008
153-81
Ahh... this was a happier result. This is the game in Darwin. At many of the stadiums you can run around on the field after the game. It's great to see everyone line up with their balls and wait for the siren... then it's absolute organized chaos for the next 20 minutes or so while everyone gets to play!
Sad day for our dogs.
Well, the first half of the game was AMAZING. It was all tied up 47-47 going into halftime. But things went downhill after that. Our boys fell apart and the final score was too ugly to even post.
But all in all it was an exciting day. We arrived at Skilled Stadium in Geelong (75 kms from Melbourne) at 10:15am since gates were scheduled to open at 10:30. We ran like hell when the gates opened so we could score one of the few seats (300-400 seats for general admission ticket holders). We got a seat and settled in for the next few hours until the bounce at 2:10pm. Don't worry... we brought a box of quilting supplies, so we had plenty to keep us entertained!
Once the game was over and our hearts were broken we headed off for a lovely fondue dinner with Janice (Megan's coworker), David and the boys. Yummy... cheese helps cure a broken heart.
Next week: Carlton Blues at the Telstra Dome. Yeah!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Big day tomorrow. Big day.
Our Bulldogs (#2) play #1 Geelong tomorrow. Our boys are the footy equivilant of the Chicago Cubs... so it's kind of like facing off against the Yankees. No one in Australia has any faith in the Doggies... except for us and our fellow fans. We bought tickets to the game before they sold out (in THREE minutes) and we will make the 75km trek to Geelong tomorrow. Recommendations are to get there when the gates open, 4 hours before game time. The crowd is supposed to be 95% Geelong supporters. Oh dear. I hope we get out alive!!!
GOOOO DOOOGGGGIES!!!!!
Aussie English 101
1. carn: Carn means "come on" and comes from the drunken crowds of Austrailan Rules Football. It can be extended past "come on", as it can be used like "carn the Pies" when you cannot say "come on the Pies".
Carlton Supporter: Carn the Blues!
Collingwood Supporter: F&%$ that, mate! Carn the Pies!
Carlton Supporter: Carn the Blues!
Collingwood Supporter: F&%$ that, mate! Carn the Pies!
More Northern Territory pics
Just in case you haven't seen enough... here come more Northern Territory pics! Our computer is slow, and Australian internet is strange (the most you upload/download in a given day, the slower the connection for the following day or so), so it takes a loooong time to post all our pics!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Comment away!
Back by popular demand... COMMENTS! And by "popular," I mean Melissa. Thanks for making us feel loved!
So, let's just refrain from posting pyramid schemes and links to sketchy websites and we'll all be happy.
:)
So, let's just refrain from posting pyramid schemes and links to sketchy websites and we'll all be happy.
:)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Frilled neck lizard
Yeah, that's right... Trevor caught this [angry] little guy. For 2 days he started out the window of the vehicle until finally he spotted one in the tree. He hopped out, grabbed it by it's tail, and amazing the hell out of all of us!
"Billabong"
Main Entry: bil·la·bong
Pronunciation: \ˈbi-lə-ˌbȯŋ, -ˌbäŋ\
Function: noun
Etymology: Wiradhuri (Australian aboriginal language of central New South Wales) bilabaŋ
Date: 1861
a: a blind channel leading out from a river b: a usually dry streambed that is filled seasonally
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Pretty ugly
This picture pretty much sums up Australia. Everything is "pretty ugly"... or "pretty" in some ways while also being "ugly" at the same time.
Croc & Roo
Not joking... croc and roo were our entre (appetizer) for our bush camping evening. It was followed up by barramundi (yes, I ate fish), potatoes and veggies.
Waiting for sunset
Megan and Trevor are just waiting for the sun to set over the water. Not a bad end to the day.
Rainbow Serpent
This is the home of the Rainbow Serpent. It is sacred land and the Tiwi Islanders don't take any food or water from the lake or surrounds. There's also a giant scary croc who lives in there!
Getting ready for our bush holiday!
No rain tarps allowed... just the open air tent and the ability to see the stars ('til you take out your contacts) and hear all the critters crittering around!
Bush Holidays
On the Tiwi Islands families take their kids on "bush holidays" during the school holidays. In most cases this means packing up the kids and heading back to their traditional land. The kids learn about hunting and searching for bush tucker (food). In this case, Red Cross volunteers were on the islands and were assisting with bush holidays. They were taking the kids swimming, teaching them games, and just generally playing around and giving the kids a good time. I LOVE the Red Cross.
More art
This is an interesting blend of Tiwi art and Christian art in the Catholic Church on Bathhurst Island.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Goo Doggies!!!
The Tiwi Island Bulldogs won the 1997 Tiwi Grand Final. Once people found out we were footy fans AND Bulldogs fans, then sought us out for conversation about all things footy. It's turns out that out of the 2,000 +/- people who live on the Tiwi Islands, there are 3 professional AFL footy players (including a Doggie)! Footy is their second religion. We obviously fell in love with the Tiwi people instantly!
Tiwi bound
Here's our baggage handler for our flight to the Tiwi Islands. Oh yeah, and he's also our PILOT.
Determination
Doesn't this look like one of those motivational posters you'd see in some corporate America office? Well, these little guys are everywhere in the NT and are so used to fires coming through that they just toast a little on the outside, then start growing again!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Our first caravan park
What an experience this was. This was our first caravan park and it opened the door to a week full of crazy adventures. This park was having a free sausage sizzle at 6pm, followed by live music and dancing. Keep in mind that this park is basically in the middle of nowhere (Middle of nowhere Australia... not middle of nowhere America where you can still find a McDonald's and Starbucks within 10 miles). We missed the sizzle cause we thought the pub down the road might be playing the footy (or the "kick and giggle" as they call it in the NT). Once we returned we met a couple of great retired couples who shared their tips on all their favorite swimming holes with us. They also all wanted to know, "How much did that thing [the caravan] set you back?" Apparently talking about money is quite normal!
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