Gone on a Lucky Country

I know I haven't been here in forever and usually I don't have a very good excuse for my prolonged absences; but this time I have a few decent excuses.  Our life has been busy busy over the last couple of months...  We took a beautiful holiday to Fremantle and the Margaret River region.  We drank (and bought) lots of gorgeous wine while we we there and returned in just enough time for a busy week of catch-up before Joe went in for surgery. Ha ha!!  See?  I do have good reasons?  I win....


My poor husband had been having horrible problems with breathing that were growing steadily worse over the last six months.  Sleep was eluding him (and by proxy, me) and slowly, breathing during the day also became a real hardship.  He started up with a horrible hacking cough, his asthma returned and every cold virus and allergy irritation seemed to be attracted to him.  It all happened so gradually over a period of months that neither of us really saw the true impact that it was having on us.  We were both exhausted, we were getting sick constantly and poor Joe could hardly breathe!  He finally got a referral to see an ENT specialist who took one look and told him that he need surgery and soon...

Basically, everything in Joe's breathing area (Please don't be intimidated by my fancy medical terms - I'm really just like you) was swelling up and slowly cutting off his airway. Nice right?  Additionally, he has some genetic malfunction where his esophagus is weak and will continue to swell and get irritated  if not taken care of...  The long and short of all this gross medical talk is that Joe had to have surgery.  In this surgery, he had his adenoids and tonsils removed - he also had part of his soft palate shaved back and he had his entire esophagus cauterised, widened and scored with little cuts to ensure a strong esophagus for life.

It was a rough procedure and there was a whole lot of pain involved.  A whole lot.  Joe could tell you a lot more about the specifics of the pain; but let me tell you, it was hard just to watch him go through it.  It was made much worse by the fact that the dose of pain meds that they gave him wasn't even half strength. He wasn't eating or drinking and I started getting concerned.  Thank goodness for my lovely sister Julie who is a nurse.  She gave me all the proper info on what safe dosages were, I called Joe's Dr., he agreed and we went forward with better pain management.  That's when things started turning around and the healing process began.  Yesterday was just 3 weeks out from the surgery and Joe is feeling like a whole new person.  He still gets a bit tired and sore when he talks too much and he still has to concentrate a little bit when he's drinking so as not to allow the liquids to come out his nose!!

The best part of this whole procedure has been the sleep.  Oh!  The Sleep!!  Neither of us realised (again, as it al happened so gradually) how little sleep we were actually getting through the night.  It has been absolute heaven to go to bed every night and wake up feeling truly rested.  As the sleep has improved, everything has improved.  We are in good moods all the time, we want to go out and do things, we are happy and life is beautiful.  I know that anyone reading this who is a parent will understand what I am talking about when I say that 6 solid months of interrupted and crappy sleep can make life seem like a very dark place.

Anyway, if you add together the general misery leading up to the surgery, the surgery, the recovery and some other largely life-changing decisions that have gone on in the last week and a half (and no, I'm not preggers) than I would say that I have some darn good excuses for neglecting you for the last month or so.

I promise I'll be better from here on out - and really, with this much sleep in my life, I am feeling like there is not much that I can't do right now.

More news to follow in the coming weeks - we are welcoming summer, our first overseas visitors and some big changes here so there should be plenty of writing material!

• In Australia, you are supposed to drive (AND WALK) on the left.  This bullet point is for the crazy woman in Cook and Phillips park this morning who walked straight towards us on the right (direction not degree of correctness) of the side walk and then made us stop completely and shuffle around so that she wouldn't have to walk on the correct side of the side walk.  I hope that you are reading this!

• I had cinnamon toast for brekkie this morning and it was magical.  Not cinnamon bread that was toasted - oh no!  This was white bread toasted with cinnamon sugar on top.  Joe was sick this week and one night for dinner he made himself cinnamon toast - I wasn't even paying attention till he sat down with it and the smell hit me.  It was one of those visceral scents that transport you to a time in your childhood.  I think the last time I had cinnamon toast like that was when I was living at home and my Mom made it for me.  I can't believe I forgot about it - it's so comforting and delicious especially with a hot cup of tea.

• Joe and I are going on a date night tonight - we have both been sick with horrible flu/cold/coughs and since we are now all recovered we will be celebrating with dinner and a movie in the city.

• It really irritates me when I get a work email that someone has signed only with their initial.  I know they don't mean anything by it; but to me it says, "I'm so busy and important that I can't be stuffed to write my full name for you..."

• I am hosting a pierogi party at our place sometime in the next month where lots of people will come over, I will teach them how to make yummy pierogis, we will make them all day and then we will all have dozens to keep in the freezer like little bags of gold!  This party necessitated me buying a pasta maker and I treated myself to a gorgeous black Atlas beauty.

• Best for Last....  My husband has the greatest sense of humour...  We have a slow leak in the S pipe under our sink.  I have a little bowl under it catching the drips; but it seems to be getting worse.  I asked Joe to email our real estate agent about it and, let me tell you, if I had wrote the email it would have been matter of fact, boring and no frills.  This is the email that Joe sent:

As some of you may be marking off the days on a special calendar and trembling in anticipation may know, Joe and I are leaving on Sunday the 22nd for an almost 3 week holiday in the States.  Excitement abounds and I am even more busy than usual - what with the packing and preparing...

You would think that being busy would be bad for blog writing; but, in this case, it is forced me to get some stuff done.  I've been wanting to blog about our Easter holiday; but the photos have been sitting - leering at me from my sadly neglected pictures folder.  How do you choose 4 or 5 good photos of the 12 Apostles when you have about 40 photos of them in different shades of sunset?  See... you understand now...

Well, Joe's mom (i.e. the greatest MIL ever) has planned an open house for us during our visit so that we can see the whole family without having to cram a bunch of individual visits into our time there.  We decided to put together a folder of pictures so that people could see where we have been and how beautiful this country is...  Well, actually, I was just going to throw everything into a folder and let it play at random; but Joe has been nice enough to put together something with some heft and depth.  The photos will actually be in order and there will be some labels and explanations as needed.  That will save us from standing next to the tv all day saying - "Yes, this was our trip to Thredbo" - "Oh, that's an Echidna".

Anyway, this whole process necessitated an afternoon on the couch with Joe going through my pictures folder.  I have come to realise that I am not nearly as organised as I like to think I am...  The pinnacle of embarrassment came when I had to show him a folder entitled "Random Australia" in which I had pitched an alarming number of completely random photos.  Add to that the existence of additional random folders in my on-line Picasa account that I had uploaded from my phone; and I am truly feeling sorry for him.  We had many conversations like this one yesterday:

"Oh honey, I don't really like that photo - you should really put up the one of the Botanical Garden"

"Where are those ones?"

"Oh, they are in the folder called Nature - Sydney - Garden"

"That one is empty"

"Oh.....  Did you try Random Australia?"

"Yeah"

"Oh....  Here, let me have the mouse"

click.... click.... click... click...

"Here they are!  On-line in my Uploaded Blog Pictures folder"

"Thanks (almost invisible eyeroll)"

Anyway, the upshot of all of this is that we went through all the photos from our Easter holiday and they are now sorted and done.  I was going to have this blog post actually be about Melbourne with some pictures; but now it's sort of long and I don't want to blow everything at once!

Tomorrow my pretties - tomorrow....

But here's an arty picture of the Opera House to tide you over (I know that it doesn't have anything to do with our trip to Melbourne; but I'm feeling guilty for not having any other photos in this post!)

Back when I was younger, I dated this guy....  He used to play me this song in a misguided attempt at romance...


To be honest, I always found it a bit creepy; but I understood the sentiment.  I was in my mid-twenties when I was first introduced to Patty Griffin (Thanks to my sisters!) and this song...


I love this song - love it, love it, love it.  Even if I am not having a "heavenly" day, just listening to it can lift me about halfway...

Today was a perfect day, a heavenly day...  We had plans to go to a rodeo with our fabulous American friends; but, as Joe was still recovering from Wednesday's sunburn we decided to bow out and spend the day inside.  What made it so perfect?  If I described to you all of the little things that we did today, the yummy dinner, the movie we watched and the tiny meaningful moments that made up the day, it would only lessen the experience.

For now, I just want to snuggle into bed knowing that I have another entire day tomorrow to try to repeat today....

I went through a period in my life where I was big on New Years resolutions - I'm over that phase and instead of making a horrifying list with things on it like "Drink 3 litres of water everyday" or "Spend less money" I now just try to take a couple of days early on in the year for some reflection.  Firstly, I make a list of things, people, experiences etc... that I am thankful for (yes, I know that's what Thanksgiving is for) and, where I can, I try to thank them or pay something back or forward if I can.  Secondly, I try to be really honest with myself about the things that I really failed at throughout the year; but conversely, I recognise the places where I excelled - where I improved and then I try to build on them for the next year.

Honestly, I haven't really sat down to have "the big think" for this year yet; but some initial findings have become crystal clear.  Moving to this great country has had it's ups and downs.  More ups than down (Although, I confess I still struggle with the Anti-Americanism that I find so often); and so so so much learned from this whole experience.  My marriage is starting this New Year with a depth of love and shared experience that is overwhelming.

I've made friends here - incredible, generous, funny, wonderful people that enrich my life on a regular basis.  Friends that I can even see every day for a whole week and not get sick of!

Seriously though, this year is going to require an especially long "think".  If I find anything interesting I'll let you know.

I've posted below a video that I took of the New Years Fireworks - It's quite long and you can hear my uncontrollable giggling and laughing (a side effect of champagne and excitement).  It's also shaky and very "homemade" - so, I recommend forwarding to the last couple minutes to catch the grand finale.  Or, if you have no interest in hearing my super-annoying voice, you can watch the one below this one that was professionally taped!  If you have the time, I would watch both - if you are short on time I would definitely watch the professional one!

Just a quick note about the fireworks - They have a very good show at nine for the kids and then the regular ones at midnight (I think this is brilliant).  Also, they shoot them off from many different locations in the Harbour so that, depending on where you are, you can see the same thing as everyone else (I think this is brilliant as well).  So, the ones to the left in my video were being shot off from Ft. Dennison; but there were more to the left of that and them three other places on the right of the bridge.  It was nice cause there was a view from all the windows in the apartment!  They also shoot fireworks off the tops of the skyscrapers in the CBD - this city is crazy about it's fireworks! 

Anyway, enjoy!  I hope you had a wonderful New Years celebration - I'll see you again soon!

Just a warning - this will most likely be incredibly long, boring and rambling as I am determined to catch up and write about the last week and half all in one post...  Strap in, this may get bumpy....

I suppose I should be grateful for my insomnia tonight - it certainly lends itself to blogging far better than sleeping an a warm comfy bed would...

It's pretty incredible having an actual living room full of furniture - we spent so long with nothing that I had almost forgotten what it was like to invite people over without asking them to bring their own chairs with them!  I was really in a rush to get all of this set-up this past weekend because Monday night I was hosting my ex-pat book club at my place.  I knew it would push me to get more done than I would have otherwise...  Quite honestly, if I hadn't been hosting the book club, I think the armoire would still be unpainted...

Monday morning I had plans to go see "Eat, Pray, Love" with my friend Kim.  I hadn't seen her in a few weeks and I was missing her like crazy...  She had just gotten back from a holiday in Western Australia so we had much to catch up on at our lunch after the movie.  I really wanted to sit around and talk to her all afternoon; but she had to pick her son up from school and I had a ton more to get done before book club.  It was a resounding success, although I hadn't read the book and those that had read it didn't really like it.

(I have to pause here to add that I had ordered the book weeks before but it hadn't arrived yet.  Also, I have to add that I got it several days after the book club meeting, started reading it yesterday, finished it today and I thought it was one of the worst books I have ever spent painful painful hours trying to slog through).

Where did I go?  Well, nowhere really - I was here the whole time... I just wasn't in the mood to write anything.

So, I'll give you the highlights since I've been on hiatus....

We had a long weekend and our first Aussie holiday (it was their labour day) - we had friends over for a dinner/game night that Sunday as it was too rainy for a picnic.  Also, we had Australian Daylight Savings Time go into effect.  So, we used to be 14 hours ahead of the States and now we are only 13?  I think?  These uneven numbers are really screwing with my head.

Also, we went to Ikea and now we are the proud owners of, not one; but two couches!!  It is extremely exciting to sit in something that is not a bed or a bench from a patio set.  We have big plans for this coming Friday evening to go out to Ikea again and buy ourselves two armchairs and a bookcase! Who Hoo!!

This past weekend sucked a bit - our downstairs neighbors smoke and mostly we can't smell it; but Friday night it was really bad and it had Joe and I up all night with allergies etc.... (I do recognize the irony of an ex-smoker complaining about smoke) so Saturday was mostly a bust and rainy to boot.  I think there were like 3 naps that day?  Sunday was better though with blue skies and sunshine.  We decided to walk all the way around Neutral Bay - We made it to the High Street Ferry Wharf and then caught the ferry to Kirribilli.  Then we walked into Kirribilii proper for some brunch.

*Side note - Have I told you about the Orange Juice here?  I didn't think so.....  They don't serve you orange juice from cartons or concentrate here.  They go juice oranges into a glass for you.  Yeah....  The first time I ordered it I thought the place we were eating was extra snooty or something; but no - pretty much wherever you order juice, it will be freshly made.  Yum...

Anyway, after brunch (I swear every time I say brunch I think of "How I Met Your Mother") we walked across the Harbour Bridge into the Rocks/Circular Key.  We had just missed our ferry so we had about an hour to kill.  We got sorbet and sat in the sunshine to people watch - honestly, it was so much fun I didn't even want to go home.

Monday (2 days ago) was our second wedding anniversary.  We both worked (me only half a day though) so it wasn't any huge celebration.  I did make a nice dinner though - pork roast, apple/potato pancakes and green beans.  We got each other cards and little gifts - usually, I am the winner in this department.  I always write long sappy messages in my cards and pick out the perfect presents.  Yea, Joe totally beat me this year - his card (and what he wrote inside of it) was so perfect that I cried and he got me Ugg slippers.  I have needed new slippers for months and I just keep forgetting to buy myself some.  So, he beat me to it and got me like the most incredibly comfortable footwear ever.  I know it's bogan to wear them outside so I won't; but I will be wearing them at every second while I am in my home!

Last night Joe worked late - really really late....  I stayed home all day because I was waiting for the Post to deliver something (which they never did - don't get me started on how annoyed I am with these people) so it was a long hard lonely-ish day.  I did have three Skype dates that morning (thanks Ladies!) so it helped break up the day a bit.

Also - just a quick thanks to Jen for the Birthday care package... Everything made it through quarantine.  I literally walked out of the post office, found the nearest bench, ripped the package open and started laughing.  I LOVE MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME!!!!!!  Thanks also for the great card, candy, stickers, chili powder etc....  You will be happy to know that the M&Ms did not taste like chili powder!

Ok, I am off to get ready for work

So, I spent almost the entire day yesterday catching up on ironing.  Half of our clothing + a dozen space bags + being in a crate for 3 months = equals a ton of laundry and ironing. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

It's very exciting to have a desk on which to put my laptop and really type.  I think it makes me want to post longer blog entries (if these last two are any indication) when I sitting comfortably to write instead of sitting on the bed with the laptop balanced precariously on my knees.  Plus, I got to stack up all of my books in piles around me - I am trying to decide which of them I am going to read or re-read and in which order.

After they left, I basically skipped around the apartment for a half hour taking pictures of boxes (yea, I ended up deleting them - they were very boring) and looking at our unwrapped photos.

Friday was very eventful - I met a fellow Yankee and blogger Friday morning for coffee and a museum tour which extended past those activities into lunch, a walk and a ferry ride.

I want to write a longer and better post about that later as I have a bunch of gorgeous pictures to share...

I know that lots of women claim to have “the best husband in the world” etc… but; I really believe that mine has them beat. I’ve been stressed and anxious this week and Joe knew it so he took me out for dinner and a movie on Friday night. We tried a Thai place up on Military that Elsa blogged about and it really lived up to its reputation. It reminded me of Mai Thai, which, oddly enough, made me happy and not homesick. It was also such a good price! We had two mains and split some jasmine rice. I also had a glass of wine (and a glass of port if I’m being honest) and our bill was only $50.
Did I mention that they deliver?

We went to the Orpheum Theatre to see “Inception” after and I wasn’t expecting to like the Theatre or the movie nearly as much as I did. The Theatre is really old-fashioned in this fabulous art deco sort of way; but it has a great digital picture/sound etc… Plus they have special showings of old black and white classics and they also do showings of Opera at the Met once a month. I think Joe and I are going to see Carmen next month…

After all that we ended up walking home. I love the walk home (all downhill). It’s just shy of 2 miles and it is on beautiful quiet streets. We talked and held hands the whole way home.

We had already decided that we would spend the weekend in utter relaxation doing whatever we wanted so Saturday started off low-key with a lie in. I made breakfast burritos (whoo hoo! First Mexican food we’ve had since we got here) and then we headed in to town to do a bit of shopping. We looked at some furniture shops, had a coffee and we also headed over to a little shop where I had seen an attaché case/laptop bag/satchel that I thought Joe might like for his birthday. He did like it, so we got it and I was going to wrap it up and put it away till the 31st; but he started using it straight away.

So, the rest of the story needs some background…..

First of all, there is something that I have heard on all the ex-pat blogs and all the ex-pat websites that I am starting to not agree with. There is this whole perception that Americans are sooooo wasteful and throw away perfectly good things while the Aussies recycle everything and only ever buy what they need etc…. It may still be true in theory; but I just have to say – I have never seen such nice trash before in all my life. Every weekend, people pile perfectly nice things on the kerb for the trash men. I am amazed by some of the items that I have seen!

Secondly, Joe and I have no furniture as of yet (our crate still hasn’t arrived) and even when we do get our stuff, we really brought very minimal furniture. In hindsight, I would have upgraded to a full container and brought all of our stuff; but, oh well…. Also, furniture here is crazy expensive and I refuse to overpay for something just to have it. I can’t get rid of my bargain hunter mentality so I might as well embrace it.




Sunday we relaxed as well… We were going to take a walk in the early afternoon; but a crazy freak storm blew in and postponed those plans. The storm brought hail and also very strong winds – strong enough to blow open one of the dining room windows and break the latch so we couldn’t refasten it. Great… So, Joe takes a wire coat hanger, a Swiss army knife and a broom (MacGyver anyone?) and manages to wire the window shut. Say it with me people….. Rock… Star…

The afternoon cleared right back up again and we headed out for our walk. We ended up walking over to the Neutral Bay ferry wharf to check it out. We found a couple little restaurants that looked yummy and delivered (good to know since they are right around the corner) and we also ran into our neighbors from across the hall in our building. It was lovely! We stood on the sidewalk and talked for ages – they are such wonderful people!

On the way home we totally found an organizer for the bathroom, another lamp and also two chairs and a small table. It was heaven to be able to eat dinner in chairs that night and to set my laptop on the table and (very comfortably) watch a movie without having to sit in bed.

Have I mentioned yet that both of the lamps in this story work? No electrical problems no burnt out bulbs…Just perfectly functioning lamps.

Don’t get me wrong, most of the stuff that we have picked up will get replaced when we get our crate or slowly, as we start furnishing the apartment. I don’t relish the idea of relying on Saturday afternoon trash runs for furniture; but it’s nice for now to at least have a couple things. Plus, I will be on the lookout for treasures in the same vein of the wardrobe we found…

I’m just hoping that when I find them, I have Joe with me to help!

I am too busy to blog tonight as I am going out to dinner and a movie with the most handsome, caring, loving and wonderful husband any girl could be blessed enough to have.

But....  I did want to share with you why it took me forever to cook dinner last night. 

Look at this distraction... It's a wonder I ever get anything done!

I am convinced that lentils are a food that I should just automatically like.  Most of my family likes them, they always sounds really good to me and I generally like that sort of thing anyway.  I have such a texture problem with them though - they either seem overcooked and mushy or sort of undercooked and grainy.  But I digress...

 How can you go wrong with such a great combination of ingredients?  They looked even better once they were all chopped up in my bowl.



So, the red onion, Roma tomato, Lebanese cucumber, scallions red capsicum (pepper) and feta cheese got a bit of olive oil and lemon juice sprinkled on them and then waited patiently as I pan fried (not much choice as I only have 2 pans and one was cooking the lentils) the chorizo.  It was really greasy and I think next time I'd like to roast it in the oven? or something that doesn't involve it spattering grease over my clean stove.  So, once that was done I caramelized some garlic and onion, added the lentils and sauteed till they couldn't look or smell any better.


Voila!  Mixed all to combine and served with a green salad.  Joe really liked it (or at least he said he did and took the leftovers for lunch); but I have to admit that I wasn't impressed....  The flavours were great; but the lentils really ruined it for me. Same texture problems, I'm afraid.


So, I figure it will be another couple of years before I find a recipe or something that will make me think "Maybe I'll like lentils this time?". 

If I do, I'll let you know.