Australia Day

Australia Day - 26 January

This is the date Australians celebrate the anniversary of the landing of the first fleet at Port Jackson in New South Wales in 1788, a date popularly considered to be Australia's birthday. All around the nation, local councils and authorities mount concerts and firework displays to help celebrations get under way with a bang. Fireworks are considered a centrepiece of the occasion ... as everyone needs an occasion to let off some rocket!

This year, the 26th fell on a Tuesday (also the last day of the school children's summer vacation). In order to attempt to curtail the whole nation from "chucking a sicky" (refer to Aussie colloquialisms back in a September post) since last week there have been numerous public announcements advising that calling in sick on the Monday or the Wednesday when one is not sick and scheduled to work would be considered very un-Australian indeed!
Judging from the crowds on the beach on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, I would say that frolicking on the beach with a huskie (cooler full of beer) buried in the sand, was very Australian indeed!

On this highly auspicious occasion, here are just 10 things that I love about Australia:

1. The 22 million Australians!
2. The weather! Weather it's good or bad, it's never boring!
3. The way everyone greets you with "how ya going mate!" and actually listen for a reply!
4. Nature, it's in your face!
5. The cost of magazines! Double the price of the rags back home, which finally managed to cure my addiction to newsprint, especially that the American mags come out one month later here!
6. The way politicians do not get away with anything that they say or do here. Now the stores plan to ban politicians from malls during elections campaigns...referred to as Pollie-free zones!
7. The beaches and the lifeguards. I know, I've mentioned the lifeguards before, but they do an excellent job, I cannot stress that enough!
8. The formally thunderous young iron men (sport wise, not iron workers) who are now dads...I see them on the beach teaching their boys and girls to surf on their boogie boards. Very nice!
9. The Aussie wine and Amber fluid (beer)! I'll drink to that!
10. The way Aussies shorten everything! i.e. : Brissie (for Brisbane), Ute (for Utility Vehicle- I know the word "truck" would be just as short, but not the same...), Aussie (for Australian), Pollie (for Politician), you get the picture!... You gotta lov' em!

...Crikey! I almost forgot, the Breeze radio station @ 100.60 FM as their key catch phrase is: "We play the music other stations have forgotten existed!" ... and it's true, all those great 70s and 80s tunes that never get played anymore! We have it on all the time and are constantly saying "I haven't heard that one in years!

Sunday morning at the fair

This weekend we went to the Jupiters Casino (a hop and a skip across the Gold Coast highway from our place) to the Rotary Antiques Fair including Gold Coast Cars & Book Fair.

I noticed the car fair portion re-ignited my husband's love of ownership of a vintage cars ... as I believe that he has since been "surfing the net" looking for a prize to perhaps own again...hard to fight off what we really love even by arguing the practical side of the passion! ... one just cannot be practical all the time. He just sold his 2 vintage vehicles with no outward sign of "seller's" remorse, but now ...well, time should tell.

As for me, there was no hiding my joy at the sight of old books, maps, furniture, dishes, keys, pictures...one vendor offered to sell a whole set of "antique" relatives for which I could make up any type of family history that my imagination could wish to invent! I passed, because truth be told, fact is far more amazing than fiction, especially when it comes to relatives!

I did however manage to find a few treasures that I just could not resist:

• 2 sets of antique keys ( a gift from my favorite husband, that he gallantly attempted to barter, however his bartering technique just does not appear to have a positive effect here...it's not the first time! (the radio episode still being tender in our memories!).
• Some lady linen hankies, just because they are nicely embroidered and because nobody carries them anymore. A piece of ancient history! It did remind me that when I was young, I loved watching my dad get ready for work. I recall that the last the would do was to take out a fresh linen handkerchief from his drawer and before putting it in his pocket, he would always put a drop of mom's perfume on it . I remember finding that very romantic at 10 years old and still find it so romantic at over 21!
• An antique hat pin just 'cause it's cool.
• A birthday postcard with an inscription to Pete from his cousin Winnie in the back dated 1923.

And last but certainly not least, a British edition of a Winnie the Pooh book of verses (poems)- not an antique book per say, but a British edition that we could not find in Canada, for our dear little Lily who's first look on the world will be a bedroom decorated in the world of Pooh!

"Sometimes, said Pooh, the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts!".

My Forrest Gump moment on Broadbeach

The Na'Vis from Pandora were found hanging out on Broadbeach Saturday morning! A well deserved R and R after the success of their latest venture! I am not aware of how the film Avatar is doing elsewere, but here in OZ it's a great success!!!
Hanging with my peeps On Broadbeach!

It will soon be here

The Year of the Tiger

The Year of the Tiger begins on February 14th 2010.

Drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords for 2010. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it wont be a dull 12 months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will be bringing far reaching changes for everyone . New inventions and incredible technological advances have a chance of occuring. For all of the Chinese Horoscope signs, is one to be active - seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and individual talents.

Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger Year - blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime!

You could go to the following link to find out if you are a Tiger and what is your Elemental sign:

http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/tiger(Zodiac) or Google Year of the Tiger.

Tweety birds

Rainbow Lorikeet of Australia

Magpie

White Ibis

Since about a month now, every evening at 6 p.m. just as the sun is coming down , we have had the privilege of a front seat to the most amazing spectacle! The Rainbow Lorikeets perform a nightly high speed "fly around" of the tall buildings in the area in perfect synchronicity as a flock. Although they usually travel in pairs, it happens that they come together as a flock to protect their territory (usually from other Lorikeets and from Magpies) before splitting up in pairs again. I know they are coming, because they are quite vocal screeching and screaming something that sounds a lot like "look at us, we are beautiful, fast and well coordinated"! That performance always manages to put a smile on my face!

The White Ibis is everywhere around here, in the parks, on the beach, around restaurants, on our building property, etc...that beak is amazingly long...their call a long croak and they are scavengers. Experts are still trying to decide if this bird is a pest or an endangered species...

They move very slowly and at times stop the traffic when they wander out onto the road.

Now that mating season is over, the Magpies are a lot less aggressive. This morning, when I went for my walk (at 06:00), a man was out walking his little dog and was being followed by a few Magpies that I thought had their eyes on the puppy. I soon realised that the man had a bag of bird feed that he was throwing into the air one at a time and the birds were taking turns catching the food in mid-air!

We are in such close proximity to nature; more than we have ever been in our lives. I love that about this place!

Aussie Beach Bums

Here is a picture that I will treasure for always; a picture of my favorite husband enjoying himself in the pool!

Those are one of those priceless moments that do not require a Mastercard!


After a frolic in the pool, we headed out for a relaxing walk on the beach on Saturday morning...there I discovered how very interested I have become in Australian water sports since we we have come here to Australia.

Perhaps it's men in team uniforms that is so attractive to me. I must say that a man in a "budgy smuggler" and sunscreen lotion is far more enticing than hockey pads and helmet!

My German friend Monika has coined a special nickname for these athletes

that I believe appropriately describes them:

"Yum Yums"

Yes ladies, these pictures are for you, because although we may be on a diet, we can still look at the menu!

Sea rowing competition in Broadbeach sponsored by AussieBum.com.

AussieAussieAussie!

So you say it's your birthday

So today, January 6th is my good friend Sharon's birthday!

Sharon and I met at work when Regent and I first moved to T.O. Sharon and I car pooled to work together for 8 years! ...we keep joking that this feat should be recorded in the book of World Records as we have never heard of anyone carpooling for this long! It was great and saw us through those long commutes...I am always thankful that we were able to do that.

When Sharon and I met 12 years ago, she was just a baby who had just started dating her husband; I was younger than I am today (enough said about that!). Today, she is a married woman with two beautiful girls of her own (and a very handsome, successful husband as an added bonus!). So, this virtual bouquet of Frangipani is for you Sharon and I hope you will have a very happy day and all that your heart desires in 2010!

December 23rd 2009 until today, January 5th 2010

Surfers at Byron Bay


Regent's favorite Kangaroo Scrotum "pusher's" stall in the market in Brisbane ...

Regent bought a few more to be able to offer as gifts...





The Lighthouse in Byron Bay

The rolling hills in Byron Bay

Regent and Gabriele at Byron Bay...

we walked them thar hills in Byron Bay!

Regent and Dirk working on their tans in the pool on ...ummm, let me think ? Of course, on Christmas day!

Regent and Gabriele showing their colors on the beach on Christmas day.

Notice that I am wearing sunglasses!

My handsome favorite husband at the cliffs off Byron bay.

Regent and Gabriele at the ends of the earth...The Eastest end of Australia!

A nice steak dinner in Brisbane at the end of a day of shopping with Dirk and Monika.

Do I hear "Charge it!".

Dinner in Broadbeach at our favorite Thai restaurant on December 26th.

On December 23rd, our guest arrived from Germany, Dirk and Monika ... well actually they arrived via Singapore as they had left Germany in a manic snow storm two days before arriving in Brisbane and spent a day and a half in Singapore.

We drove to the airport in Brisbane at midnight to pick them up and the rain started while we were driving on the ramp to the Arrivals pick-up area. By the time we got them all settled in the car, the rain was pounding like it always does in this sub-tropical climate...it is always a very serious affair for about 7 minutes until the sun comes back out. Regent joked that they had brought the rain over from Singapore as it never, ever rains in Queensland ! Hummm, Famous last words.

The next morning, we got up late and it was raining again (or still...) and so it went with showers and thunderstorms throughout the entire festive season and until our guests left on January 1st 2010! We will never, ever again claim that it never, ever rains here! Because as we later found out, it always rains here in the summer time and only more so during Christmas holidays. But Aussies are minded for that and are not deterred from their usual favorite outdoor activities, such as the people in the building next door to us who were enjoying their time in the hot-tub under an umbrella (I'm not quite sure how safe that was...).

With Dirk and Monika over the wet week, we went to visit Surfers Paradise, did some shopping at Pac Fair, drove to Brisbane on the Sunday after Christmas to visit the markets. Although not very many vendors showed up because of the weather, many bargain hunters were out and about in Brisbane. We enjoyed a most wonderful day and a great Steak dinner! We took a day to head out to the north coastal region of New South Wales (NSW), destination Byron Bay. The unspoilt gem of NSW the tourist brochures promise, Australia's most easterly point (we got a shot of the exact place!). This area is home to many who prefer an alternate lifestyle (read hippy lifestyle!) away from the big cities and the rat race and is most appropriately a haven for surfers. We got some great shots of what is to me the Australia of my imaginings: rolling hills, large farmland, animals in the fields, coastal rain forests, crashing surf, etc... Even though we ultimately got caught in a downpour, it was a wonderful day communing with nature...

On New Years Eve, Regent and I walked into Broadbeach after dinner just to see what was going on. In town there is a nightclub called "Howling at the Moon", that has a Neon sign on the top of the building that pictures a wolf howling at the moon (how appropriate!). Out of the neon sign, there were flames jutting out and just as I turned to Regent and asked him "Do you think those flames are usually coming out of the sign?" we hear the fire engines from afar... Now this is what I appreciate about living in a relatively small town...we were all kind of spectators to this huge event and all had a front row seat to it even though the fire crew did set out a safe parameter so that they could do their work. Never a dull moment! By the time they reopened the ice cream place under the nightclub that was able to serve us the ice cream we came for in the first place, it started raining again and so we headed for home, in the pounding rain as it started raining just as the firemen had extinguished the fire!

Once home, the rain continued past 8 p.m., when the first set of fireworks were exploding in Broadbeach, so we watched those from the balcony of our apartment with Dirk and Monika. The second set of fireworks were scheduled for 12:00 on the nose and would be shot from the highest building in Surfers Paradise, as well as in Broadbeach from the beach. We sat around in the apartment and had a few bottles of Wine and Beer making bets on whether or not the New Years fireworks would occur. Well, I guess it should be considered a good omen that the rain stopped at 11:35! So we headed out to the beach at that time with our bottle of Champagne and glasses; the beach was full of revellers! What a wonderful time we had and the light show was spectacular! So Dirk and Monika called their son in New York City (he went there with 5 friends from Germany to experience NYC on New Years Eve!) and their daughter in Prague (she wanted to experience New Years Eve in Prague! )...you gotta give Europeans that, they really love to travel!!!
We called our family and friends in Canada to be the first in the world to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!

Zachary Georg Winkler 19 June 1990

A very sad event occured yesterday amid all the new years celebrations and ordinary life.

My dear nephew Zachary, born 19 June 1990 passed away at home in Calgary on the 1st day of January 2010 at 17:45 Calgary time. Zachary had been courageously battling Ewing Sarcoma since April 2008.

Zachary will be sadly missed.