Broadbeach Christmas Carols at Kurrawa Park

A Winter Wonderland!

Again, they came with their tables and folding chairs, their silverware and Christal, their hors d'oeuvres and snacks, their battery operated candles and Christmas toques and celebrated Christmas communally in the park.

Instead of decorations, children hung from the trees and the birds in the park sang along to the Christmas tunes almost drowning out the sounds emanating from the loud speakers!
Where: Kurrawa Park Broadbeach
When: 5.30pm

Saturday 19 December 2009

Entertainment: Donald Cant

Danielle Everett

Casey (Australian Idol Finalist 2009)
& Michelle Barnes

The Australian Youth Choir

The Rainbow Teddies

Samantha Mooney


Steffi Burns (Australia's version of Miley Cyrus (but she is only 12 years old and performed like a pro!)

Santa and his elves and so much more... this fantastic night of entertainment concluded with an incredible Christmas Fireworks display on the beach!










The firework display on the beach was magical and totally awesome! It's wondrous excitement was only surpassed by the romantic walk home on the deserted beach, under the stars and the moonlight with my soul mate!

A walk on the beach

Regent and I were walking along the beach on Saturday morning, planning our Christmas Holidays deeply engrossed in conversation, when a wave splashed across our legs and left a horrible sting around my foot upon it's retreat!

The pain was instantaneous! When I looked down, I realised the reason for the pain was the dreaded Portuguese Man of War that was wrapped around my ankle! So, after I did my dance of unwrapping my foot without touching the dreaded tentacles to the tune of Regent chanting "Are you o.k., your foot looks mighty red" ... we continued on our way, with me saying, I'm OK, it's not so bad...it just really stings!

We then came upon the Lifeguard Unit like a mirage in the desert. A simple spray bottle was taken out from the back of the Lifesaving Truck containing something that I believe he called "Sting Go!" or "Sting be Gone" (I was really too busy gazing into my savior's baby blues to actually take note) and sprayed it on my foot. The Lifeguard said that when he saw me dancing around he knew exactly what had happened!

The relief was immediate for both of us...for me as it immediately took the sting away and for Regent as he would not be forced to whip it out and urinate on my ankle (I'm sure that's what they recommended to do on National Geographic)...! So when blue eyes said: "I can tell you are not from here with your accent" , we answered in unison :"We're Canadian eh..."

Our Christmas picture

We took a dozen shots with the cat, without the cat, with the automatic timer to include in our Christmas card this year...you know, with girls it's not so simple! The hair must be just right, the expression
must be just so with not a hair out of place...OMG! , such drama. A consensus we did achieve and got the pictures made at Walmart on Saturday morning as planned. Thank God for small favors!

So what I did in Canada for two weeks was my theraputical Christmas baking, namely Gingerbread cookies and Chocolate chip cookies which the girls tell me taste exactly like the ones at the Subway Sandwich shop! I told the girls that they must have stolen my recipe, which they promptly reported to all their girl friends at school (although I showed them the recipe was on the chocolate chip package). It's nice that someone in this world hangs on my every word!

Gingerbread cookies (great for bribery purposes)

Sift together,

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl,

Cream 1/2 cup butter until soft.

Stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup honey.

Add 1 whole egg.

Stir flour mixture into this mix.

Wrap in wax paper and place in fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Roll dough and cut into desired shapes.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Our family favorite frosting: 1 cup icing sugar + 1/2 cup Nestle Quick + a few drops of water.

I had better not come across these at the Subway Sandwich shop!

Regent and Gabriele with the Worlds greatest Grandaughters!

Joyeux Noel!

Merry Christmas!

Felice Navidad!

The long and winding road back to Oz...

This is what we left Montreal in on Sunday afternoon. A harrowing 1.5 hour journey to the airport (that usually takes 30 minutes!), that included a detour back to Nicky's when Alicia noticed that I had grabbed her mom's shoes when I left the house instead of my own!!! I was not popular in the car, let me tell you!

Then the "hurry up and wait" at the airport on the tarmac for "de-icing" which made our trip to Toronto (the first leg) 2 hours instead of one ... full of worry if we and our checked baggage would make it to Sydney airport. Well, the good news is ; we made it in plenty of time and so did our luggage! The flight left Toronto and then Vancouver on time; with us in our lovely business class seats! No worries and no complaints!
We were sad to leave our loved ones again, however once we got to the Gold Coast Airport in Coolangatta and felt the heat and wonderful humidity of this warm climate, well it did a lot to soothe our sadness...
So, yesterday I went grocery shopping and the cashier at the Woolworth food store asked me if I had been away for the past couple of weeks as he had not seen me around? I do believe that we are quickly becoming locals around here!

The first storm this winter

Alicia and Joanie's cat, Zuba is quite happy but I suspect also a little bored!
The cat is happy that he is getting a whole lot of attention with the dog in the kennel this week; but I think he is a little bored because we are not quite as exciting as the dog during the long day with the girls gone to school. He appears to like me even though cats never like me; and puts up happily with my petting and talking to him.

So, the weather man lied as the snow only began the moment the girls set foot outside to take their bus to school. They were so sure about not having to go to school, it threw a wrench into their negotiation tactics! They were not happy campers!!!

Over the day though, we got 30 something centimeters of snow, so the minute the girls got off the bus, they put on the full Monty of snow equipment and headed out to play with the neighborhood kids until dinner time! The big excitement of the day for them was when their bus got stuck in the snow and the bus driver made them all go sit in the back (to put weight there) while he maneuvered the vehicle back and forth out of the snow trap! We

were offered two very passionate reenactments of that episode. After dinner, the girls called their friends to find out what radio or television station we would need to listen to in the a.m. to confirm to their grandma that their school is closed. There was no doubt about the school being closed on Thursday, as one friend's mother who "works for the school", said that all schools would be closed because the buses would get stuck on the uncleared roads on Thursday.

The girls went to bad last night with the reassurance that there would be no school this morning!

The snow stopped late Wednesday night, but the road clearing crews were out in force, so that the promised day off from school was not to be! Much to the girls chagrin...

Darn those street cleaning crews!!!

Our week in Quebec

We arrived at Pierre Eliot Trudeau Airport on Friday evening and Nicky picked us up. So, it appears that she changed her car again to accommodate their trysts to the cottage every week end. The girls and Nicky had Friday off, so we spent the day together and went for dinner at a Greek restaurant the whole family together including Stephan. As the 9Th December is Pascal's birthday, we celebrated that at the restaurant as well.
Veronique and Pascal were driven to the airport by Stephan at 04:30 (!) as their flight out of P.E. Trudeau was at 06:20 to Miami Beach and then to the Port to catch their Cruise Ship.
On Saturday, Joanie's Cheerleader School held a little show and so we attended that. Joanie was very proud to see us there seeing her being tossed around and into the air! Very nerve racking!!! After the show, we went over to Stephan's in Morin Heights to check out the renovations he made on his house. Great job; what a lot of work from the heart! My son, he is such a perfectionist!
On Sunday we were invited to Regent's mom's place for dinner. We picked up Rolande on the way and headed up to Ste-Julie. There we had a lovely, typical french Canadian Christmas dinner complete with home made Tourtiere, Ragout de boulettes, feves au lard, etc... We had a great time, lots of laughs and great food!

Great to catch up with the Dussault family news and to see with our own eyes that everyone is doing well!

On Monday, the girls did their best to negotiate a reprieve from going to school, without success. They made the best of it, as they still had the special opportunity to come home from school on the bus instead of Nicky picking them up after work.

On Tuesday, the girls did their best to negotiate a reprieve from going to school, again without success.

On Tuesday evening, the weather forecasts a 30cm dump that will begin during the night. The girls are convinced that their wish for a Wednesday without school will finally come through!

Darn weatherman!!!

On the way home

Sydney Airport, waiting to board our flight home to Canada on Friday, November 27Th ...
We are very excited, checking our emails for any news from home!

Lee Ann will be picking us up at the Airport in Toronto tonight around 16:30 ... she has the whole week planned out for us. We are looking forward to getting our first look at her baby belly!

Arrived as planned at Toronto Airport. We spent the evening at home catching up with Lee Ann. So nice to see she missed us as much as we missed her!
Saturday morning, we were up at 03:00 without any hope of getting back to sleep. Did a few housekeeping chores and went to the bank once it opened. We took a ride out to Cambridge to visit Walter and Noreen, which was great, catching up on things we missed while we were away and seeing that Noreen is doing well! The ride home was really something, fighting "jet lag", screaming at each other in the car with the windows open so that we would not fall asleep.

As we made a pact to stay awake until at least 8 p.m. we tried hard to remain awake, but we were tittering
on the edge of a coma, so after waking up a couple of times by our own snoring we packed it in at 06:45 !
What a great sleep that was! Pure Bliss!
On Sunday, I made spaghetti sauce and Gord and Lee Ann came to dinner. That was great, back to normal life...
On Monday Lee Ann and I went to the Arts and Craft Show downtown Toronto to look at all the cool Baby stuff they were offering. We did more window shopping than anything else, planning for her little sweety!
On Tuesday, Lee Ann and I made a surprise visit to our old CPC office...so great to see everyone again! We had a lunch date at a Vietnamese restaurant in Etobicoke and then on to my current office for a "December Birthdays" celebration with my friends! I got to show off my daughter and my granddaughter in production! On Wednesday, Lee Ann and I baked Gingerbread cookies and Sucre a la creme. She now has her Christmas supply. Thursday we packed our bags and closed the house again. On we go to Quebec to spend a blissful week with our grand children!

The arrival of the Schoolies in Surfers Paradise!

We had our first hint that something peace threatening was in the works when we saw the young families and retirees heading out of town on Friday morning in droves... (in your mind, here would be a good time to start playing the theme song from Jaws, softly as a background ...);
Then we heard the term "Schoolies" for the first time (like any remarkable event in History, we remember where we were and what we were doing at the time!), from the ladies at the reception desk at the Ocean Royale and since we did not wish to sound totally clueless and uninformed(I don't know why we were not forewarned by our Guru, Anthony!), we returned the same look as they gave us...(the O.M.G.! look of impending disaster simmering in the air!). So this drove us to pull out our :"Living and Working in Australia" our handy, dandy Guide of 2009 and look up the term, but not a mention was made of this event that soooooo appeared to strike fear in the hearts of Queenslanders! Was this a conspiracy or simply a mistake in the edition of the Tourist Guide that I purchased?
Could it be a "school" of poisonous fish heading for our parts that would force the population out of the Ocean?
Then on the Friday evening news, we got our first look at the legendary threat descending upon us! The dreaded "Schoolies"! (the background theme music in your mind should go up a notch here); they are the grade 12, High School Graduates from all over Australia that head out in droves like Locusts to the Gold Coast to celebrate the end of their life as High School Students. How bad can that be ? They looked harmless enough in their starched white shirts and blouses and grey slacks and skirts!
The first order of business upon their arrival (right after checking into their hotels, motels, backpacking hostels, etc...)and buying beer, is to collectively walk into the Ocean in their School Uniforms and abandon their clothes to the waves...
After that's it's two weeks of drinking, dancing, drinking, singing, drinking, general rabbelrousing, sex on the beach (no, not the cocktail!), more drinking) and other assorted shenanigans that are a Right of passage for every Australian Youth!
The parents, who actually deliver the fruits of their wombs to the Gold Coast in the family vehicle, appear as excited as their teens for this event. This year, local law enforcement decided to impose fines on parents caught supplying their underage teens with alcoholic beverages. One father who was caught by the Police was told they would not impose a fine (ahhhhh, they felt sorry for dad!) this time but would simply confiscate the alcohol. Upon seeing the disappointed look on his son's face, dad said to his son (in front of the Police officer no less!); "Don't worry son, I'll just go buy you some more". The Police officer then imposed a $700.00 + fine on dad!(Brutal... no more Mr. nice guy for you!).
Other than waking up with hangovers, light deprivation (on the Gold Coast!), sunburns, or to unexpected (as in no memory of having it done!) Tattoos and piercings as well as strange charges on their credit cards and cell phones, the "Schoolies" do not appear to be the biggest worry as somewhere around daybreak, they run out of steam and sleep until sun set! What they attract is not so tame. (Now would be a good time to have the full volume on the Theme of Jaws!)
O.M.G. the dreaded Toolies!

Toolie (two-lee): Name, masc., dangerous predator lurking on the Beaches of the Gold Coast, annually reliving their own "Schoolie" experience and preying on the young, clearly chemically impaired female Schoolies that are easily identified by their bright yellow arm bands (it gives them the opportunity for reduced prices at the local pubs, restaurants and stores) or their tight Tee Shirts boldly and proudly emblazoned with the word: "Schoolies 2009".
Talk about a parent's worst nightmare!
We went to Surfer's for a look-see, but hung out mainly back at the Ranch at Ocean Royale. Thank God we will also be evacuating next Friday when the reinforcements will descend on the area for another week in Paradise!

The Paradox of our time

I read this message today by the comedian George Carlin. I think he has become after all the years of looking through a comedic lens, quite a philosopher ...

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;

wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints;

We spend more, but have less;

we buy more, but enjoy less;

we have bigger houses and smaller families;

more conveniences, but less time;

we have more degrees but less sense;

more knowledge, but less judgement;

more experts, yet more problems;

more medecine but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get too tired, read too little, watch TV too much and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor."

I have a lot of faith that the current young generation will change that...our grasshoppers will become the Masters. We have much to learn.

H2O

"A lifetime without Love is of no account;

Love is the Water of Life;

Drink it down with heart and soul"

Rumi

What is this?

Guess what this animal is?

It's as big as a pig and lives in South Eastern Australia and in Tasmania.

It's a Marsupial with an inverted pouch, because it's a digger...

It's a herbivore with a very slooooooooow metabolism... it takes 14 days for it to complete digestion! It has a big brain...it's very smart and moves slowly (all that weight on those short legs!).

It's butt (posterior) is made of cartilage, so when it's attacked by a Dingo or a Tasmanian Devil, it burrows into a nearby tunnel and presents his impenetrable posterior; and kicks their preditor's head in with those stubby but poweful legs!

At times they are feeling crabby or in a bad mood.

It's rarely seen in nature , as it's a nocturnal animal, but it leaves distinctive cubic faeces in it's path.

It's name starts with a "W" and rhymes with Wazzat!

A day in the life

This is me, in my blogging corner of the apartment on Monday morning. Regent caught a nasty cold at the office last week sitting under an air conditioning vent (I cant leave him alone for a minute!), one of those nasty "Men colds" that are so much more intense than the ones we women get! Kidding aside, it was really quite bad, enough that I was seriously worried for his well being. However, since he has no time right now for something as frivolous as a cold, no matter the seriousness, by sheer force of will and pigheadedness he mindfully cured himself of his cold and left for work this morning in great form! I am truly married to a Superhero! Now if I could only bottle that ... I could make a fortune on Ebay!

Reading on the beach on Sunday afternoon. Yes kids...that's your dad reading a B-O-O-K!

On Sundays mornings, by force of habit, we still rise before our 07:00 alarm. By this time the Sun is already screaming in the sky and the area is teaming with people walking, running, bicycling, doing laps in the pool, surfing, etc...I realize why that is as we used to tell the kids this when we took them on vacation with us: " You guys can go to the disco, the show or whatever in the evening, but by 07:00 we will all be up, wide eyed and bushy tailed having breakfast in the dining room so that we can join in on all the activities at the resort during this week of vacation. So the first couple of days,

they would have a great nightlife and actually believed that we would forget about them in the morning and let them sleep in :ahhhhhh, the optimism and fantasies of our youth...these were quickly shattered by their dad's call to revelry at the crack of dawn and by the third day they would actually crash before us from sleep deprivation! Then the real family vacations could start, the ones we have such great memories of!

This Sunday we had a typical Sunday in Queensland for us. We got up bright and early as previously discussed, had breakfast ...pancakes, ('cause we found some Canadian Maple Syrup here that actually cost more than a good bottle of Wine but was worth every penny since it reminds us of home!). We then walked over to the arts and crafts market near our place that occurs every second Sunday and is simply fascinating for the collection of wares on display! All kinds of lotions and potions, teas, candles, jewellery, snake bite ointments, crystals, shells, wood carvings, furniture, fruits (tiny little bananas that taste like banana heaven!), veggies, baking, fortune tellers, Outback
chapeaus, tye die clothing, etc... really entertaining!

We then bring back our treasures to
our apartment and get the car to head
out to our Pizza Hut to pick up our lunch of a Large Super Supreme Pizza, (hold the mushrooms) for

$6.99 AU and a case of beer next door at the Bottle Shop! At the Pizza shop we are known as Mr and Mrs Smith as explaining our family name is just too much of an effort!

Then we pick up our fruits and veggies at our favorite Veggie stall

just down the road from the Pizza place.

Once home, we have our very Yin and Yang lunch (A nice cold beer and a nice hot Pizza!). Yummmmm!

Bon Appetit!

The remainder of the day is usually spent either reading on the beach or the balcony... just like being on vacation!

No worries mate!

Vendredi le 13 novembre 2009 Un jour important au calendrier

1. Fete d'Alicia 2006 St. Marthe
2. Colombie Brittanique Ete 2007

3.Chez Stephan en hiver 2008

4. Orlando, Floride Novembre 2008

5. Alicia, Superstar en Ontario!!!


6. Bebe Alicia

La legende d'Alicia Lebel

Il etait une fois, dans un Royaume eloigne et exotique qui porte le nom de St-Eustache, qu'une extraordinaire petite fille, qui se nomme aujourd'hui Alicia, est nee un vendredi le 13 novembre 1998 relativement (pour le mois de novembre!) bien ensoleille.

Et voici qu' aujourd'hui, en ce vendredi le 13 novembre 2009 elle fete ses 11 ans (deja!!!) au Royaume de la Pomme.

Depuis le jour de sa naissance, les vendredi le 13 nous representent, a tous ceux qui ont le plaisir de faire ou d'avoir fait sa connaissance, les jours les plus chanceux de l'Univers!

Alicia est toujours aussi miraculeuse, precieuse et speciale aujourd'hui a 11 ans, qu'elle etait le jour de sa naissance en 1998 quand ses quatres grandparents, oncles, tantes, parents et amis, l'ont admiree bouche be et emerveilles pour la premiere fois! ... La legende dit que le jour de sa naissance, elle semblait regarder les gens qui l'entourait curieusement en se disant : "C'est qui cette collection de gens bizarres qui me font des grimaces et des goo goo, gaga?!!! Ne savent t'ils pas que j'aimerais bien me reposer apres avoir effectuer tout ce travail de naitre!!!"

C'est evident qu'elle est nee avec un air relativement plus serieux et raisonnable que nous les adultes!

Par contre, malgre le choc initial de faire notre connaissance, Alicia semble s'etre bien adjuste a l'attention de ce groupe d'ancetres plustot curieux et ne cesse de leurs accorder toute son attention, respect et un amour qui semble etre sans limite!

Aujourd'hui a 11 onze ans, Alicia est une grande soeur qui prends sa petite soeur Joanie et Alexandre sous ses ailes quand ils necessite sa protection. Elle est une fille genereuse qui assiste ses parents quand ils ont besoin d'aide. Alicia est une etudiante interessee et motivee a reussir, et reussie tres bien d'ailleur aisement! Alicia est une jeune fille artistique, interessee dans les sports, qui aime la nature, les animaux, sa famille et ses amies. Un rayon de soleil pour nous qui sommes assez chanceux de l'avoir parmi nous (par minou?) !

Bonne fete cherie! Nous serons bientot (d'ici vingt ans environ!) a te souhaiter un prince charmant, mais je crois qu'en ce moment de ta vie tu aime encore ta famille et tes amies bien plus que tu apprecie l'attention des jeunes garcons. Nous en profitons donc encore un petit moment d'etre les vedettes les plus aimes de ta vie!

On te souhaite alors beaucoup de bonheur et tout ce dont ton coeur desire! XXXOOOXXXOOO

Still living and breathing in Queensland

I suppose that I have been slacking off lately on my Blog postings, this is to be expected I suppose once one settles into a comfortable routine anywhere...and we are people who love; no

I will rephrase that, Regent and I LOVE an established routine! We rejoice in structure even while attempting to be spontaneous! When we spend a week in an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean, the first order of business will be staking out our place on the beach, the restaurants, the show place, the markets, etc...and then we can have a great time and just relax...because we went there to get away from our daily routine! The one we had in Canada, not the one we put in place on vacation!

A lot of things (good and bad) that we have no control over have been happening in Canada, so our hearts have been torn in this regard. Was it not John Lennon who said that "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans". How very true...

Right now Regent's project is demanding a lot more of his attention, so weekends are mostly spent resting up for the week to come. The great thing here is that a two hour walk on the beach to the sounds of the Ocean is truly the best medicine for whatever ails ya and does lead to much meditation and soul searching and planning for the future... ahhh, the luxury of downtime.

At my favorite second hand bookstore, I picked up a collection of Poems (Poem for the Day-

that contains 366 poems, one for each day of the year (including one for leap years). The person who compiled the collection suggests that memorizing poems is immensely valuable for times that might scare you (like when the plane takes off or the dentist drills into your tooth), one can close ones eyes and silently recite something.
I have never really delved into poetry since my school days; when we had to learn them by heart or suffer the dire consequences! So with this book I realised that not all poems are stuffy and inexplainable, but rather a piece of literature that is very much open to interpretation. The same poem may mean to the same person something different on any given day depending on how you are feeling in your heart and soul.

So I would like to share my favorite "specimen du jour" that I have found with you for your enjoyment! Feel free to memorize to your hearts content:

Warning, by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension money on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

By Jenny Joseph (May 7th, 1932- )

Scary...but I have hoarded pens and pencils my whole life!

This one is for my dear sister-in-law, Noreen

New Every Morning

Every day is a fresh beginning,

Listen my soul to the glad refrain.

And, spite of old sorrows

And older sinning,

Troubles forecasted

And possible pain,

Take heart with the day and begin again.

Susan Coolidge (January 29th 1835 - April 9th 1905)

Love you and cant wait to be picking out red hats and purple frocks together!

Raspberry & Mixed Berry Muffins

Made these Aussie muffins for Regent and now he loves me dearly!

Try them, you'll like em too!

The Melbourne Cup

This is Australia's most famous Tuesday...aka the day that stops the Nation! At 3 p.m. Melbourne time, on the first Tuesday in November, Australians everywhere stop for one of the Worlds most famous horse races. Since 1877, Cup day has been a public Holiday for Melbourne ... and the rest of the country just appears to take the day off (chuck a sickie!) to flock to the track. People from all over Australian states usually take the time off to stop what they are doing and watch the race to see if their "flutter" has paid off. This includes many schools, which wheel televisions in to the assembly hall for the children to watch!

Then there is all the pomp and pagetry of the race. People take a year to find that perfect outfit (usually something vintage from the 40s or 50s and the most extravagant plumed, flowered and netted hats you have ever seen for that cup party or bar attendance! Just fabulous to watch! This year Olivia Newton John sang the National Anthem and the winning horse was named "Shocking Crime Scene"!

On Saturday night we went into town for dinner, ahhh a nice Aussie steak dinner, since it was Halloween night. The children in town were costumed, the girls as princesses and the boys as pirates (did they call each other or what!). We asked our waitress to guess what our costumes where (we just looked like everyday) she said she could not guess...so we told her in a loud voice that we where dressed as American Tourists! So our Kiwi waitress said she was costumed as an Aussie waitress! Very imaginative...she really looked and sounded Australian!

On the centre stage in town there was a presentation of Bollywood dances by the Australian Bollywood dancers (who did not appear to have ever set foot in India!). These Aussie ladies take dancing lessons at their Yoga school and present their repertoire in public every couple of months. The choreographies are very complicated and just the setting up of each dance would take the Master of Ceremonies (whose clear british voice could have been used in mystery films or a butler for Count Dracula!) a few minutes as the plots of Bollywood movies are always so complexe and lenghthy! The ladies danced for 2 hours without any breaks and had many costume changes! Very impressive! A most excellent weekend that added to our cultural knowledge of the country!

A Sunday in the markets...

Sunday morning we got up early and went to Carrara Markets on a mission! We were hunting for a laughing Bhudda; a special request from Lee Ann for the second floor landing of her house.

We found a seller of discount pots and homewares and were surprised at what was available for the home gardener, such as the giant elephant in back of the Bhudda on this photo. Also available were statues of Balinese
Godesses as large as my whole backyard!!! Think big!




So, the challenge will be to find a way to pack and transport Mr Bhudda back to Canada and not make him lose his smile!!!

The things available for purchase here in Australia are quite ecclectic, for want of a better word. Who knew they made and actually sold lighter holding Kangaroo Scrotums and that my husband would just be so amazed by them (that's it on top of the printer!) I guess it's for the man who has everything! Kind of nice to see that nothing of the animal is wasted though... I dont know where this prize will end up back in Canada. I suppose there's always EBay!

He really wears his new Aussie hat well!

My most amazing purchase though was this $1.50 celery that will last me a month even if I do decide to make celery soup!

The car races were on this weekend, so we tried to not wander out too far as the traffic was horrendous...but just staying around was great too and we were able to see from our balcony the firework show on Saturday night! It was beautiful!!! How I love fireworks!!!

A Sunday in Brizzie!

Brisbane, warmly referred to by the locals as Brizzie, is the state capital of Queensland.
Brisbane is now the third most important port in Australia for value of goods. The major exports are sugar, coal, grain and container freight.

On Sundays, there are a couple of markets that are set up for the day in the middle of the city and are just great if you can find parking. On a week day, the parking on the street is meetered, but cannot be used on Sundays. Underground parking during the week goes for a premium of $48.00 per day, however we did manage to find an underground parking that accepted "casual" parking for $8.00 per day but you needed to get your car out by 16:00 promptly or be locked in!
Nothing casual about that!


One of the markets that we went to had a ferris wheel permanently set up on location that is used year around and gives riders a great view of the city. As well, this market in the middle of this city has a wading pool (huge!) for the kiddies that is supervised by lifeguards (love those lifeguards!) and a sandy beach! This way mum and dad can go off shopping at the market while the kids enjoy themselves in the water!

After visiting the markets, we toured the shipping district of downtown Brisbane and took time to be entertained by the many Buskers out and about! So much talent lurking on the streets of Brizzie!

The day was crowned with a lovely dinner of steaks and VB (Victoria Bitters) beer!

Needless to say that after all the walking and fresh air, we were exhausted once we returned back to Broadbeach (Brisbane is about 1.5 hours drive from Broadbeach). Regent makes this treck three days a week!

Beautifull flower gardens in the middle of the city!

Market view! So much local talent !

Our AHA moment

We had been seeing people on bikes that had put many inverted tie-wraps on their helmets and we could not figure out why! So, as usual, our kind Guru of everything Aussie, a.k.a . Anthony, sent us the following information:

For most of the year magpies are not aggressive, but for four to six weeks during nesting they will often defend their territory vigorously. People walking past may be seen as 'invaders' of the territory, prompting the magpies to fly low and fast over the person clacking their bills as they pass overhead.

The experience of a magpie attack can be quite alarming, but it is usually only a warning. Only occasionally will a bird actually strike the intruder on the head with its beak or claws. If this unusual behaviour persists, there are ways of reducing the risk of physical injury to humans.

If a magpie swoops at you:
Walk quickly and carefully away from the area, and avoid walking there when magpies are swooping (elementary my dear Watson!).

Make a temporary sign to warn other people (personally, I'm getting myself out of there!).

Magpies are less likely to swoop if you look at them. Try to keep an eye on the magpie, at the same time walking carefully away (ah yes, that true protective armour when it comes to the animal kingdom...eye contact!). Alternatively, you can draw or sew a pair of eyes onto the back of a hat, and wear it when walking through the area. You can also try wearing your sunglasses on the back of your head (o.k., so that one is my favorite!).

Wear a bicycle or skateboard helmet. Any sort of hat, even a hat made from an ice cream container or cardboard box, will help protect you. Or, (this one was not in the article, but was admittedly figured out by a lot of people!) put 2 dozen inverted tie wraps sticking up from your bicycle helmet to confuse the birds!).

Carry an open umbrella, or a stick or small branch, above your head but do not swing it at the magpie, as this will only provoke it to attack (I think this one is a might risky...in my book it's a thin line between holding above your head and giving the impression that you are attacking!).

If you are riding a bicycle when the magpie swoops, get off the bicycle and wheel it quickly through the area. Your bicycle helmet will protect you. Hopefully!

...and this is my suggestion, wear ear plugs because the critters are mighty LOUD!

The markets on the Gold Coast

One of the events this month on the Gold Coast is the 2009 Super GP (formally Gold Coast Indy) which will be held at Surfers Paradise from October 22nd to the 25th). Judging from the preparations occuring since over a month, this promises to be a really big event bringing many racing enthousiasts to the area!

Five minutes drive from our place, one will find the Carrara Markets, Queensland's biggest and best permanent markets open every Saturday and Sunday with free entry and free parking. The markets boast over 500 stalls, so if you dont find it here at a bargain price, then you really dont need it! There are even pony rides and face painting for the kids. Fun for all!

Every first and third Sunday of the month at the Park in Broadbeach, one can find an Art and Craft Market magically set up in the early morning hours to admire and perhaps acquire the work of the local artists and crafters. Here one can find a lovely piece of artwork or jewellerie, can have ones fortune read, buy some locally grown fruits and veggies, bakery items, plants, home or bush remedies. Very interesting.

On Sunday morning, Regent and I drove to Coolangatta which is the most southern Gold Coast suburb, bordering New South Wales and Tweed Heads which is the most northern NSW suburb. The surfing beaches here are stunning and the headland at Coolangatta is truly breathtaking! We parked the car and walked the beach for many kilometres enjoying the scenery and some great people watching as these beaches are widely enjoyed by many locals and tourists alike. Very Zen!

We may have gone ahead and spent some of our kids inheritence, but not all of it... yet! Dont worry, be happy!