What you need

We have been here in this beautiful country for 6 months now and so much has changed in our lives that I want to take a minute to talk about.
When we left our home in the US, we sold all of the things that we had horded over the past 40 years of our lives. I had fallen into the misconception as many people do that these were things that we "needed" to survive. We sold our big screen plasma tv, oak antique bedroom suite, children's bedroom furniture, dishes, appliances, clothes, clothes and more clothes. We had a membership to the many price clubs so we could "save" money buying in bulk. We had 4 trash cans that we filled up twice over a week with 3 small children and 2 pets. We left our country with 9 suitcases. 9 suitcases and that was all.
In these suitcases were the things that we knew we could not replace here. Pictures of family and friends left behind. Small momentos from our past that little meaning to anyone but us. A suitcase full of christmas ornaments that we had collected and wanted to keep to hand down and adorn our tree here in the new country. 2 Lionel trains again that would be under our christmas tree as they had been when we were kids ourselves. 1 suitcase of toys that the girls picked out themselves. And the rest were clothes and a computer.
Since we have been here I am surprised at what little bit we have replaced. We have a small 10 inch t.v. that a friend gave us so that we can watch the 5 channels that you get free here in Australia. A sofa and 2 chairs that the same friend gave us so that we could have a place to plant our rumps to watch the beautiful t.v. A dining room table that has entertained many friends. This we picked up used from the Quokka, a local trading paper. A few toys that we bought at yardsales and were given to the kids as presents. A bed for all. Dishes. A Kenwood mixer so that I can make my cakes and decorate them the way that I love to do. 2 space heaters and a Webber kettle grill that we picked up off the curb and have made the best smoked ribs I have had in monthes. Our rubbish has gone from 4+ cans a week to 1 bin because we waste so little. Mainly because the cost of food is higher and we do not have the cost clubs that was supposed to be saving us money.
We have no video games. We have no dvd player. We have no cable. We have no home phone. And we are doing better for this. We were so wastefull. The first few months were rough and even our oldest daughter will say occasionally that she misses her toys but then I remind her that if we were back in the US, she would not have a park outside her door that she could play on. She would not have been able to play in the ocean. She would not have seen the colorful sunsets that we have here and she would not be able to pet kangaroos at the parks. Then she is happy and does not miss her old things as much.
There are days that I do cry still over the lost items but not as often as it was. I know that I will have a car again one day (yes, I still do not have a car but that is ok.) I do not buy as much because the shops close early so you can't go shopping out of boredom. And my nails and hair look better than they have in years because I am eating so much healthier foods.
What we need to survive is so little. What we want is usually a lot more than what we need. I don't think we will go back to the way we were.
6 months and loving it.

More on the weather

I know, I talk a lot about the weather here but weather is something that I have always been fascinated with. I use to stay glued to the t.v. as a child and watch the weather when a snow storm was coming. Usually because I wanted to get out of school but still. Then when the Weather Channel came along, I was hooked. I would watch any storm, anytime. And I loved Jim Cantorie. So when I got here, I was in for a rude wake up call. The weather here is, well, a bit boring. Even the weather forcasts are boring. The weather is described as "Fine", "Showers" ( which may be typhoons but called "showers", and once I saw it described as "uncomfortable" because the heat was to be 44C that day (114F). I know, I need to stop whinging about it and get use to the fact that there really is NO weather here on the west coast but I ran across this on you tube( God bless you tube) and nearly wet myself laughing. If the weather forcast was really done like this, I think everyone would love it.
*Warning* The "F" bomb is dropped many times in this clip but it is funny. All my Ozzie readers will get a laugh I am sure.
Cheers!

So this is how the other half lives?

No, not the rich. Just people in the southern hemisphere. It is getting closer to winter here in Oz and it is really pretty surreal for me. First, living in a very arid climate, winter is the rainy season so it is strange for me to see things come alive and bloom in the winter time. Also it is really not that cold. At night it gets down to 6 C/42 F. That is not too bad when you have heat but since I live in the land of denial ("It does not get cold here"), very few houses have heat. Luckily we have a lovely fireplace so we can add our fair share of pollution to the air. And we do every night. It is also odd to me to plant a garden in the winter time and have it produce vegetables.
The days have gotten to be very short with the sun coming up at 7ish and setting at 5:30. Pretty early. If I want my clothes to dry now I had better have them on the line by 9 am or it probably won't be happening today. These short days do very little to help people with seasonal depression. And it is not even technically winter yet.
Well, that is all I have to say for today.
Rambling thought~ Rose now has 6 teeth! In 2 weeks! Wow. Go Rose!

What's going on

It has been a busy few weeks since I wrote last. We are in fall, which is still odd for me being it is April and had my daughter's first birthday party here in Oz. She was 5 on the 24th and funny thing was the weather was exactly the same as it is in April in Va. Sunny then showers and cooler at night. Preparing for the birthday party was a helluva lot harder here though than it was in VA. For starters, we only had Saturdays and Thursday nights to shop for all the supplies for the party. That is the trading hours here, Mon thru Friday 8-5 except Thursday when stores are open til 8 and Saturday 8-5. What a JOKE! I think we drove more on Saturday than we have the whole time here because you can not go to just one store and buy all you need. No, no. That would be too easy. So we ran from one shop on one side of town and worked our way to the other end of town. In 9 hours we made 7 stops in about as many suburbs. we finished our grand shopping day at 4:58pm. The only real rant I have tho is we drove about 15 km to go to the Toys R Us and as soon as I walked in the door to run in and grab the toy I wanted to get for Sarah, the power went OUT! We left and planned on running to the mall next to it and the lights were out in the WHOLE DAMN AREA! So we had to fight all this traffic with no stoplights and head all the way back down south to hit our area and try and find some substitutes to her birthday present.

She had a great birthday and played with many of friends. And lucky for me the birthday cake I made with very few tools turned out a success. I am just glad that we have a few months to recover from the birthday party til the next one in August. This one will be simpler and hopefully I will have a car by then so that I can run errands during the week.

Tomorrow Sarah ends her long 2 week "fall" break and heads back to school. And I survived!!!

Why I never became a journalist

Journalism is not a glamours job. This is why I never wanted to be a journalist. But it sure makes for a good laugh. Enjoy.

Oh Lord won't you buy me ...

I am having a very whingie day today. Actually for the past few weeks I have been feeling blue. I am not really homesick but just feel sad. I can not quiet put my finger on the feeling I have. It is this empty dark feeling in my heart. I try and keep a smile on my face for everyone around me but it can be hard somedays to do that.
We have been here for almost 5 months and still we are setting up house. I am having some serious sticker shock at the price of getting all the little things in our house that I took for granted in the past. Little things that I miss like a cheese grater, cookie sheets, cake pans (and I had lots of cake pans), my KA mixer, skillets of various sizes, a cd player and radio, etc. The thing I miss the most is a car though. I have been a very independant and mobile person since I was 16. I have driven thousands of miles by meyself and never thought twice about it. Now, it is a challenge to go anywhere. Not having a car here in Perth is like missing your leg. And also using city transit with 3 kids under 5 is nearly impossible. I am sure it IS possible but I have not been brave enough to attempt it. Getting a double stroller on a bus is got to be a feat in itself. So now that Sarah is on her fall/spring break, we have very little to do except sit here at home and I try to think of crafts to entertain her and her sisters for t he next two weeks. This pisses me off like you would not believe! It pisses me off that I can not go to the library or to the craft store with them. It pisses me off that we can't go to the beach on the pretty days. It pisses me off to be so dependent on others to take me places (which others mainly means my hubby when he gets home from work). It pisses me off that shops close at 5!!! Am I homesick? No. I am just sick of BEING AT HOME!!! Oh Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz... Hell, a moped at this point would be nice.
Enough whinging.

Easter report... just a bit late

Easter came and went here in Perth and the kids had a great time. Unlike in the states, Easter is almost as big as Christmas here. The grocery stores are LOADED with tons of Cadbury and Lindt chocolate eggs. And instead of just having 1 day for a holiday, they take 4! Everything shut down on Friday for the obscervence of good Friday. Obviously no seperation of Church and State going on here... And most places did not get rolling again until The Tuesday following Easter. They take off Easter Monday which totally confused Rob for some reason. He kept thinking Easter was on Monday until I told him it was just another reason for the Ozzies to take off to recover from all the BBQ's on Sunday.

They also have the Easter Bilby here. And in our house, the Bilby came on Friday night and left lollies. The kids thought that was grand. I have more to say but not enough time right now. Enjoy!