Been a while since I posted up here - been working a lot more than normal to supplement family income and kids have been off school for last two weeks for the end of term break.
Spent most of today at son's soccer club presentation day. Now the season's finished it's nice to catch up with the team parents again, and good for the lads to catch up - plus of course it gets him away from the Playstation which is the bane of my life!!
The team's coach was away on hols at the end of the season so we had a standin and boy, what a difference! This guy was encouraging of the kids, focussed on what they were doing right, made good tactical decisions during matches, and several of the lads noticeably bloomed under his coaching! Real shame we can't persuade him to take over the position next year. The usual coach was almost the exact opposite, always focussing on what they'd done wrong in a game, constantly demoralising them, and frequently making some baffling decisions during matches which often seemed to mean the difference between winning or drawing a match and losing, such as taking off the strongest defender at a vital point, taking off two or three players at a time and replacing them with others with different playing styles, thus losing vital time while the team readjusted. I even started staying to watch training sessions after my son complained that the coach was swearing a lot and using languge that I really don't think is necessary to a team of 11 and 12 year olds.
Anyway, he's coached the team for three years now, and several of the lads are having second thoughts about coming back next season if he's going to be the coach again.
How do we tell him it's time for a rest?
At the presentation today, while we were waiting to go in for our turn, he asked all the lads who was coming back next year: one said - I'm doing AFL instead, another said he was a 'maybe' and my lad said "I'm a maybe too". This guy turned to my son and said "Don't be daft, you'll be back, no other team would want you!"
Now maybe this is his idea of a joke, maybe not, but I really think it was totally out of order. What a thing to say to a kid, in front of all his mates! It's really tempting to leave and find another club solely because of that comment, if it weren't for the fact that most of his mates all play here, and it's a great group of lads really, just let down by this total tosser of a coach.
OH said I should have said something but I'm never good of thinking of the right words at the time - later, sure, all comes to me, but never on the spot!
Need to think of a way to tell this guy he's totally out of order, without having to 'cut off our nose to spite our face'. Anyone any ideas??
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Anything that can go wrong...
Had one of those days last week where everything I did - or tried to do - turned out wrong! Been working much more than my normal two days a week to top up the household income while OH is contracting, and on Friday was looking forward to going to a Business Class Corporate lunch in the City. First thing that went wrong that morning was as I got out of the car, I laddered my tights - huge gaping hole that made the damn things very uncomfortable to wear (temps hit nearly 30 that day and couldn't wear my usual 70 denier opaques, had to put on something a bit thinner, couldn't go without as my winter skin is horrid and pale and couldn't inflict those on the world just yet!)
Ok, so leave the office to get to the lunch, stopping at KMart en route for a new pair of tights. End up queuing behind a couple who only had one pair of kids shoes to pay for - should have been in and out of there in minutes, but they wanted to quibble over the price, manager has to be called.... I ended up changing queues but eight minutes of valuable time has been wasted! Pulling back out onto Port Road, I needed to turn right, sat for another five minutes behind white van man who obviously wanted there to be not another car in sight before he pulled out! Finally I gave up, turned left and threw a quick U-ey onto Port Road...... only to find road blocked by jack-knifed lorry! Arrrggghhh... now have just 20 minutes to get into City! What should have been a quick diversion was slllloooowwww as ended up stuck behind some tourist driver who obviously doesn't know the back roads (more arrggghh), finally end up on Port Road, heading for the City. Making fairly good time when I get a call from the colleague I'm meeting there saying the car park opposite hotel is full, suggesting turning in at the Casino and parking in that one instead. Did this. Parked. Now dead on the time I should be there. No worries, just need to cross the road.
Come out of wrong door of carpark, end up by the river, can't find my way out to North Terrace. End up (in heels, still with hole in tights as not had chance to put new ones on) walking what seems like miles, ending up on bridge OVER North Terrace (with no bloody parachute when I need one!) Ten minutes to find my way back to the bit of North Terrace I need, giving up on finding hotel, finally ask passer by - he points to the building we're almost outside of, looking at me like I'm total idiot!
Hot, sweaty, late - rush in, grab seat, slowly manage to relax over nice meal and speeches (some better than others!) - do the 'networking' thing and recognise a neighbour and friend there. Find out he came in by bus and offer him a lift home. All good.
Walk across road to car park with said neighbour/friend.... spend next fifteen minutes searching for my car! Getting really embarrassed now - he's too nice to say anything, but keeps sending surreptitious texts (can imagine what they say "stranded in underground car park with complete ditz, home in 20 minutes"..... "still looking for car, make that 30 minutes"..... "still looking for her car, maybe 40 minutes"....) Why are so many cars in Adelaide silver? Why don't I have one of those keyrings that makes the car beep at you from a distance? Why do all floors on a car park look the same?
Finally realise we're in the wrong car park!!!!! Manage to find way out of there, and into another one, and thank god, there's the car. Thank you God! Poor guy must now think - with good cause I admit - that I am total and utter dizzy hopeless bint! Instead of a 20 minute bus ride home, it's taken him nearly 30 minutes just to get into the car! He's the parent of one of daughter's best friends - never again can I call her a dizzy blonde - or if I do, he's going to straight away know where she gets it from! I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole! Must have hurt his ears with my embarrassed chatter all the way home! Why can't I just shut up?
What a total bloody disaster!!!! Shouldn't have ever got out of bed!!
Ok, so leave the office to get to the lunch, stopping at KMart en route for a new pair of tights. End up queuing behind a couple who only had one pair of kids shoes to pay for - should have been in and out of there in minutes, but they wanted to quibble over the price, manager has to be called.... I ended up changing queues but eight minutes of valuable time has been wasted! Pulling back out onto Port Road, I needed to turn right, sat for another five minutes behind white van man who obviously wanted there to be not another car in sight before he pulled out! Finally I gave up, turned left and threw a quick U-ey onto Port Road...... only to find road blocked by jack-knifed lorry! Arrrggghhh... now have just 20 minutes to get into City! What should have been a quick diversion was slllloooowwww as ended up stuck behind some tourist driver who obviously doesn't know the back roads (more arrggghh), finally end up on Port Road, heading for the City. Making fairly good time when I get a call from the colleague I'm meeting there saying the car park opposite hotel is full, suggesting turning in at the Casino and parking in that one instead. Did this. Parked. Now dead on the time I should be there. No worries, just need to cross the road.
Come out of wrong door of carpark, end up by the river, can't find my way out to North Terrace. End up (in heels, still with hole in tights as not had chance to put new ones on) walking what seems like miles, ending up on bridge OVER North Terrace (with no bloody parachute when I need one!) Ten minutes to find my way back to the bit of North Terrace I need, giving up on finding hotel, finally ask passer by - he points to the building we're almost outside of, looking at me like I'm total idiot!
Hot, sweaty, late - rush in, grab seat, slowly manage to relax over nice meal and speeches (some better than others!) - do the 'networking' thing and recognise a neighbour and friend there. Find out he came in by bus and offer him a lift home. All good.
Walk across road to car park with said neighbour/friend.... spend next fifteen minutes searching for my car! Getting really embarrassed now - he's too nice to say anything, but keeps sending surreptitious texts (can imagine what they say "stranded in underground car park with complete ditz, home in 20 minutes"..... "still looking for car, make that 30 minutes"..... "still looking for her car, maybe 40 minutes"....) Why are so many cars in Adelaide silver? Why don't I have one of those keyrings that makes the car beep at you from a distance? Why do all floors on a car park look the same?
Finally realise we're in the wrong car park!!!!! Manage to find way out of there, and into another one, and thank god, there's the car. Thank you God! Poor guy must now think - with good cause I admit - that I am total and utter dizzy hopeless bint! Instead of a 20 minute bus ride home, it's taken him nearly 30 minutes just to get into the car! He's the parent of one of daughter's best friends - never again can I call her a dizzy blonde - or if I do, he's going to straight away know where she gets it from! I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole! Must have hurt his ears with my embarrassed chatter all the way home! Why can't I just shut up?
What a total bloody disaster!!!! Shouldn't have ever got out of bed!!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Winter Weather
Well, in the midst of our South Australian winter, the forecast for today is someehing like 27 degrees! And tomorrow, it's back to 16 degrees.....,
It's amazing how a bit of sunshine affects people's moods, just waking up to a blue sky makes it easier somehow to get out of bed, and DD went happily off to her last school soccer match of the season this morning at 8:30, while we have DS's match later on today at 12. Once we've got those activities out of the way, it's tempting to head for the beach for a walk with the dog to make the most of the weather.
One of the great things for me about living here is the knowledge that we will definitely get a summer every year - perhaps it's a uniquely British thing to obsess so much about weather, but I have to say it still gives me a small boost to read in the International papers about the English summer being a washout again...sorry, if you happen to be reading this in the UK, but I can't help a small gloat!
Adelaide - unlike (so I'm told) places like Queensland - does actually have a distinct Winter season, although of course 15 degrees here feels cold now, and we very rarely have frost (although it does happen occasionally, specially in the hills), but in my opinion, that just makes it so much better when Spring does arrive. And of course, the sun and the heat themselves can be negatives: many's the time at the start of the soccer season here when kids' practices have been cancelled because it's too hot. As someone whose fingers go blue at the slightest hint of coldness though, all I can see about the summer here is "Bring it on!"
Off now to soak up some heat....
It's amazing how a bit of sunshine affects people's moods, just waking up to a blue sky makes it easier somehow to get out of bed, and DD went happily off to her last school soccer match of the season this morning at 8:30, while we have DS's match later on today at 12. Once we've got those activities out of the way, it's tempting to head for the beach for a walk with the dog to make the most of the weather.
One of the great things for me about living here is the knowledge that we will definitely get a summer every year - perhaps it's a uniquely British thing to obsess so much about weather, but I have to say it still gives me a small boost to read in the International papers about the English summer being a washout again...sorry, if you happen to be reading this in the UK, but I can't help a small gloat!
Adelaide - unlike (so I'm told) places like Queensland - does actually have a distinct Winter season, although of course 15 degrees here feels cold now, and we very rarely have frost (although it does happen occasionally, specially in the hills), but in my opinion, that just makes it so much better when Spring does arrive. And of course, the sun and the heat themselves can be negatives: many's the time at the start of the soccer season here when kids' practices have been cancelled because it's too hot. As someone whose fingers go blue at the slightest hint of coldness though, all I can see about the summer here is "Bring it on!"
Off now to soak up some heat....
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Am I a bad parent?
While OH was away recently on his family visit to the UK, I got chatting to the parent of one of DS's friends, and she mentioned that a series called TrueBlood had been made based on the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.
Well, I've read the books: they're fairly light reading as far as vampire stuff goes, good characters, nothing too highbrow, and certainly not anything I'd hesitate to let my 14 year old daughter read. So I trot along to the video hire shop, ask if they have the series on DVD, get handed Series 1,
Disk 1, and head home for some escapism viewing.
What I didn't do (and should have, I guess!) is check the rating. After sitting down with 12 year old son and 14 year old daughter to watch the first disk, I could quite easily see how this series was given an R18+ rating!! Not being greatly into censorship, and believing that actually violence is more damaging than nudity and sex scenes, I didn't leap up and turn off the TV; in fact the three of us had a good laugh about some of the graphic "vamp sex" scenes, and I discovered that my 12 year old son probably already knows an awful lot more than I'd have guessed!!
Anyway, once we'd watched the first three episodes on Disk 1, it seemed silly not to watch the rest, so we've now watched all of the first series! Does that make me a really bad mother? I'm actually really adamant that DS can't play Grand Theft Auto on his Playstation, and that's because having seen a bit of it, I felt the whole tone was crass and abusive of women, whereas apart from the sex scenes, Trueblood actually has a fairly high moral level, with strong female and male role models. On the violence front, there's a fair bit of blood spattering around at times, but I think the whole vampire angle makes it less realistic, and certainly it's not glorified in any way (like it seems to be on GTA from what I've seen).
DS's school have just sent home a note saying they're doing some sex education in the coming weeks for Years 6 and 7 - (although I've been told adamantly I have to refer to it as Growth and Development, not sex ed!) - I kind of think it's a bit late! Show 'em all Trueblood, and discuss!!
Well, I've read the books: they're fairly light reading as far as vampire stuff goes, good characters, nothing too highbrow, and certainly not anything I'd hesitate to let my 14 year old daughter read. So I trot along to the video hire shop, ask if they have the series on DVD, get handed Series 1,
Disk 1, and head home for some escapism viewing.What I didn't do (and should have, I guess!) is check the rating. After sitting down with 12 year old son and 14 year old daughter to watch the first disk, I could quite easily see how this series was given an R18+ rating!! Not being greatly into censorship, and believing that actually violence is more damaging than nudity and sex scenes, I didn't leap up and turn off the TV; in fact the three of us had a good laugh about some of the graphic "vamp sex" scenes, and I discovered that my 12 year old son probably already knows an awful lot more than I'd have guessed!!
Anyway, once we'd watched the first three episodes on Disk 1, it seemed silly not to watch the rest, so we've now watched all of the first series! Does that make me a really bad mother? I'm actually really adamant that DS can't play Grand Theft Auto on his Playstation, and that's because having seen a bit of it, I felt the whole tone was crass and abusive of women, whereas apart from the sex scenes, Trueblood actually has a fairly high moral level, with strong female and male role models. On the violence front, there's a fair bit of blood spattering around at times, but I think the whole vampire angle makes it less realistic, and certainly it's not glorified in any way (like it seems to be on GTA from what I've seen).
DS's school have just sent home a note saying they're doing some sex education in the coming weeks for Years 6 and 7 - (although I've been told adamantly I have to refer to it as Growth and Development, not sex ed!) - I kind of think it's a bit late! Show 'em all Trueblood, and discuss!!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Beware the Magpies!
Noticed a few magpies collecting grass for nests today, so it won't be long before they turn into Birds to Beware!
When they're nesting, these huge black and white birds, with wicked-looking beaks, turn into ferocious agressive missiles, dive-bombing unsuspecting walkers, cyclists - they even attack the dog! Many's the time when I've been very glad to be carrying the ball-thrower in my hand, as something to wave at them when they swoop threateningly towards me.
You have been warned.....!!!!
When they're nesting, these huge black and white birds, with wicked-looking beaks, turn into ferocious agressive missiles, dive-bombing unsuspecting walkers, cyclists - they even attack the dog! Many's the time when I've been very glad to be carrying the ball-thrower in my hand, as something to wave at them when they swoop threateningly towards me.
You have been warned.....!!!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Barossa Wine Tasting Tour
With the famous Barossa Wine Region right on our doorstep, it's one of the first places we take visitors. However, that means that despite several visits, I've always had the driving responsibility, and never been able to fully taste and test in the past. Decided to reward myself for 'keeping the fort' while OH was away with family in the UK, by organising a small tour of the wineries - with driver and minibus - for some of us expat girls, so yesterday, on a glorious sunny day after a week or grey and rainy ones, 13 of us and a dog set off to eat and drink our way around a few selected wineries.
The minibus company (Des's Minibus) was a great choice - not only for their prices, but also because Valerie in the office there was such a great help with sorting out the itinerary, suggesting venues, and making all the calls to book us in. We had a vague idea of where we wanted to go, but she pulled it all together for us. Our driver on the day, Sue, was also great - very experienced and knowledgable - and fitted in with the group just fine.
We started with coffee and cakes at Lyndoch Bakery, and then visited Rockford Wines, (love their 'Alicante' rosé) Turkey Flat Wines (great artwork on the walls, and another ex-pom - from Reading - to serve us!) and Langmeil Wines (fantastic sparkling shiraz!) before a lunch stop at the Tanunda Hotel, and then more winetasting at Seppeltsfield (woonderful range of fortified wines), then food tasting at Maggie Beer's. The day just flew: great company, some interesting wines, fantastic weather and scenery - just great fun! And we didn't even get banned from anywhere!! Brontë, Guide Dog in Training, was a hit everywhere and the quietest of all the girls!
Hopefully nobody had a headache at the end of the day - although for the first time in ages, when OH offered me a glass of wine with dinner, my response wasn't quite as enthusiastic as normal (but I still had one....)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Aussie Abbreviations
One of the things that makes me smile here in Oz is the lovely way the locals abbreviate words and names. Ambulance crews are "ambos", firemen are "firies", swimming costumes are "cozzies" and of course, the ubiquitous barbecue is a "barbie".
The names things is great fun too - DD and I were reading in the International Express the other day about an (australian) motorcyclist who had performed a stunt jumping over the half open Tower Bridge - his name was quoted as Robbie something (sorry if he did it for fame and so people would remember his name - I can't!). DD pointed out that surely if he was an Aussie "Rob" he wouldn't be known as "Robbie" but as "Robbo"! Anyone called Jon here ends up being called "Jonno", Steve become "Stevo", James becomes "Jammo" and so on! Actually, thinking about it, this seems to be a purely male thing! Can't think of any female names that get shortened/lengthened in the same way, although I have to admit that Bonny the Devil Dog does often get called Bonno.... but then she also answers to Bonzo, Bons, and several unmentionable names as well!
The names things is great fun too - DD and I were reading in the International Express the other day about an (australian) motorcyclist who had performed a stunt jumping over the half open Tower Bridge - his name was quoted as Robbie something (sorry if he did it for fame and so people would remember his name - I can't!). DD pointed out that surely if he was an Aussie "Rob" he wouldn't be known as "Robbie" but as "Robbo"! Anyone called Jon here ends up being called "Jonno", Steve become "Stevo", James becomes "Jammo" and so on! Actually, thinking about it, this seems to be a purely male thing! Can't think of any female names that get shortened/lengthened in the same way, although I have to admit that Bonny the Devil Dog does often get called Bonno.... but then she also answers to Bonzo, Bons, and several unmentionable names as well!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I can see - it's a miracle!
Well, had laser eye surgery today, and so far, so good!
Really thought I was going to come out of there with great padded dressings on both eyes, so expected to have to be guided home by the lovely friend that kindly drove me there and back. However, came out of there already able to see better than when I went in, and apart from some slight dryness in the eyes now (7 hours later) all is good!
After doing the paperwork and handing over the credit card, I was taken into a small room and talked through the eye drop routine, given a tamazepan to calm me down and make me feel a bit sleepy (it didn't!) then sat in a very comfy chair to wait my turn. Nice nurse came and took me into the surgery room, where I was kind of expecting to be given some sort of sedative, but no, just some anasthetic drops in the eyes, which stang (stinged? stung?) very slightly, laid down with head in a little hollow (I thought they might put some kind of keep-still brace on, but no, just the hollow), surgeon (opthalogist?) came in, chatted with him about last night's tv (an eye op, would you believe it?), he lined up the laser, made a little flap in the eye (I didn't feel a thing, just kept looking at the green light!), told me the laser would take 10 seconds, slight smell of burning, counted to 8, and all done! Moved on to next eye, repeated procedure, ten minutes later walked out of there, already seeing better!
My wonderful friend drove me home, four hours lying in bed with my eyes closed, woke up when the kids got home et voila! Can't believe it's been so easy - most painful part was the paying for it!
Still early days obviously, and must concentrate on putting drops in when due, and resisting urge to rub eyes at all but all being well, so far so good! Got to go without a shower for 72 hours though, so hope the deodorant is up to the challenge!
Really thought I was going to come out of there with great padded dressings on both eyes, so expected to have to be guided home by the lovely friend that kindly drove me there and back. However, came out of there already able to see better than when I went in, and apart from some slight dryness in the eyes now (7 hours later) all is good!
After doing the paperwork and handing over the credit card, I was taken into a small room and talked through the eye drop routine, given a tamazepan to calm me down and make me feel a bit sleepy (it didn't!) then sat in a very comfy chair to wait my turn. Nice nurse came and took me into the surgery room, where I was kind of expecting to be given some sort of sedative, but no, just some anasthetic drops in the eyes, which stang (stinged? stung?) very slightly, laid down with head in a little hollow (I thought they might put some kind of keep-still brace on, but no, just the hollow), surgeon (opthalogist?) came in, chatted with him about last night's tv (an eye op, would you believe it?), he lined up the laser, made a little flap in the eye (I didn't feel a thing, just kept looking at the green light!), told me the laser would take 10 seconds, slight smell of burning, counted to 8, and all done! Moved on to next eye, repeated procedure, ten minutes later walked out of there, already seeing better!
My wonderful friend drove me home, four hours lying in bed with my eyes closed, woke up when the kids got home et voila! Can't believe it's been so easy - most painful part was the paying for it!
Still early days obviously, and must concentrate on putting drops in when due, and resisting urge to rub eyes at all but all being well, so far so good! Got to go without a shower for 72 hours though, so hope the deodorant is up to the challenge!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Harry Potter
Went to the drive-in on Saturday to see Ice Age 3 and the latest Harry Potter film. Had never been to a drive-in cinema before moving to Adelaide, but it's a great thing to do. It's much cheaper than the 'normal' cinema - quite an expensive family night out on any night other than cheap Tuesday - and it cost just $40 per car for the two films. The night was fairly mild, but we loaded the back of the Territory up with pillows and bedding, put the back seats flat, and arranged the four of us in various positions with reasonable views of the big screen. You then tune your radio into a particular frequency for the soundtrack, and you're away! We always take snacks and drinks with us as well, as the stuff on sale there is pretty average at best.
Ice Age 3 was great - pretty predictable, but you get what you're expecting - good animation, feel good story line, few laughs along the way. I found the Harry Potter film really disappointing though - mostly filmed in almost total darkness, or monochrome, trying to be all "arty" - and pretty hard to follow unless you've read the books. I was disappointed that there weren't any good mythological animals in this one (apart from a dead 'spidery' one), Hagrid hardly featured, and despite reading a few reviews that raved about the 'humour' in this episode, I don't think anything in it caused me to even crack a smile! I really think the makers are relying on a loyal fanbase to make the film a success, whereas as a standalone film, it would sink without a trace! Luckily DD has read the books, and was able to explain some of the more obscure bits (there were lots!) to us afterwards, although even she said there were loads of bits left out.
All in all, a bit of a disappointment.
On a completely different note, I really wish I could stop caring about this damn Ashes series: found myself feeling quite depresssed driving to work this morning, hearing that the Aussies were only 5 wickets down! It's just a game...it's just a game....I don't care... I don't care.....ohhhhhhhhhhhh I do care, I do!
Ice Age 3 was great - pretty predictable, but you get what you're expecting - good animation, feel good story line, few laughs along the way. I found the Harry Potter film really disappointing though - mostly filmed in almost total darkness, or monochrome, trying to be all "arty" - and pretty hard to follow unless you've read the books. I was disappointed that there weren't any good mythological animals in this one (apart from a dead 'spidery' one), Hagrid hardly featured, and despite reading a few reviews that raved about the 'humour' in this episode, I don't think anything in it caused me to even crack a smile! I really think the makers are relying on a loyal fanbase to make the film a success, whereas as a standalone film, it would sink without a trace! Luckily DD has read the books, and was able to explain some of the more obscure bits (there were lots!) to us afterwards, although even she said there were loads of bits left out.
All in all, a bit of a disappointment.
On a completely different note, I really wish I could stop caring about this damn Ashes series: found myself feeling quite depresssed driving to work this morning, hearing that the Aussies were only 5 wickets down! It's just a game...it's just a game....I don't care... I don't care.....ohhhhhhhhhhhh I do care, I do!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Disappointing reading
Don't you hate it when you get to the end of a book and feel that the writer kind of lost his enthusiasm for the plot? Just finished reading The Lake House by James Patterson, and it really seemed like he got past the middle of the book, having carefully built up the plot, the background, the characters, then got bored with it all and rushed an ending, not tying up any of the loose ends, not resolving any of the issues, and - having got characters into situations - just forgetting about all that, reintroducing them into the narrative with no explanation of how they'd escaped their earlier predicaments! I feel seriously cheated - especially as I wasted serious time when I could have been reading something better - or even doing housework - struggling through to the end!
Shame on you James Patterson! It felt like one of those high school stories you write in an exam, then when you realise you're running out of time, you close it all off with "and then he woke up, and it was all a dream!"
Definitely not one to recommend. Going to have a go at another Jodie Piccoult now - The Tenth Circle, borrowed a while ago from a neighbour (whoops!) Feel kind of reluctant to get started as her books are not the lightest of reading - perhaps I should wait till the kids are back at school for that one!
Day one of eye drops in preparation for laser eye surgery next week - can feel every muscle in my body tensing up with nerves at just the thought....
Shame on you James Patterson! It felt like one of those high school stories you write in an exam, then when you realise you're running out of time, you close it all off with "and then he woke up, and it was all a dream!"
Definitely not one to recommend. Going to have a go at another Jodie Piccoult now - The Tenth Circle, borrowed a while ago from a neighbour (whoops!) Feel kind of reluctant to get started as her books are not the lightest of reading - perhaps I should wait till the kids are back at school for that one!
Day one of eye drops in preparation for laser eye surgery next week - can feel every muscle in my body tensing up with nerves at just the thought....
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Struggling to support the Aussies
Look, I've been here nearly five years now, was born in Australia and am the proud holder of an aussie passport.....but however hard I try, I can't bring myself to support the Australian cricket team! I'm sorry, I've tried, really I have....
It's made harder by the fact that Ricky Ponting - the Australian captain - seems incapable of doing the correct things with his mouth! He talks with it barely open, can't keep it shut when he's chewing, and as for the dribble that comes out of it....or do I mean drivel?...!!! Every time the camera panned onto him at Cardiff yesterday, he was chewing his gum with his mouth agape - made me feel quite ill - and then he spat it out on the floor! What a yob!
Give me Pieterson and Collinwood any day - at least their mothers taught them some manners!
And what's the idea of holding the first test at Cardiff? Did the English (English, you note, not British) team decide the home team advantage didn't apply to them? And isn't God Save The Queen the national anthem of Great Britain? What's the idea of some chesty welsh bird singing the "Welsh National Anthem" before either of the others?? Just hope the Barmy Army are suitably represented in the crowd.....
What with the Torchwood special and the Ashes both being in Cardiff, I must have missed the point when it was declared centre of the universe! Silly me....
It's made harder by the fact that Ricky Ponting - the Australian captain - seems incapable of doing the correct things with his mouth! He talks with it barely open, can't keep it shut when he's chewing, and as for the dribble that comes out of it....or do I mean drivel?...!!! Every time the camera panned onto him at Cardiff yesterday, he was chewing his gum with his mouth agape - made me feel quite ill - and then he spat it out on the floor! What a yob!
Give me Pieterson and Collinwood any day - at least their mothers taught them some manners!
And what's the idea of holding the first test at Cardiff? Did the English (English, you note, not British) team decide the home team advantage didn't apply to them? And isn't God Save The Queen the national anthem of Great Britain? What's the idea of some chesty welsh bird singing the "Welsh National Anthem" before either of the others?? Just hope the Barmy Army are suitably represented in the crowd.....
What with the Torchwood special and the Ashes both being in Cardiff, I must have missed the point when it was declared centre of the universe! Silly me....
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Ashes
What can I say? First day of the Ashes today (if it's not rained off by the English summer) - fingers crossed for Freddy and the boys!
And what about old Lance last night? Sooooo close to wearing the yellow jersey - go, boy, go!
And what about old Lance last night? Sooooo close to wearing the yellow jersey - go, boy, go!
The kids' favourite restaurant
Out for dinner last night to the kids' favourite restaurant, and - on a Tuesday - mine too! On Tuesdays at The Buckingham Arms, Walkerville Terrace, kids of 14 and under eat free, which means that for four of us the bill comes to around $50.
The Buckingham Arms has what is known here as a "smorgasbord" - or open buffet. There are a few places around that do a similar thing, including the Civic Park and Settlers at Ingle Farm, but what makes the Buck stand out for me is the civilised surroundings: some other places have a kind of "canteen" feel, but at the Buck the restaurant is comfortable, carpeted, really quite "grown-up"!
The food is good too - a great salad bar with small bowls of salad that get replaced and refilled often so everything is fresh, lots of sliced cold meats, fish, prawns (in and out of their shells), mussels and calamari, as well as the usual potato salad, tomato salad, pasta salad, and soup and rolls. Main courses have a choice of carvery roasts, casseroles, curries, stir fries, as well as things like samosas and spring rolls. Desserts have hot and cold choices and - and this is the reason it's the kids' favourite - freshly made doughnuts in cinnamon sugar, and an ice cream machine! And there is always a plate of cheeses with crackers and fruits. Coffee and tea are free, and there's a water cooler for when we are feeling really cheap and don't want to pay for drinks for the kids!!
Always come away from there feeling totally stuffed, because I can never choose between the main courses so end up having about three different platefuls!
The Buckingham Arms has what is known here as a "smorgasbord" - or open buffet. There are a few places around that do a similar thing, including the Civic Park and Settlers at Ingle Farm, but what makes the Buck stand out for me is the civilised surroundings: some other places have a kind of "canteen" feel, but at the Buck the restaurant is comfortable, carpeted, really quite "grown-up"!
The food is good too - a great salad bar with small bowls of salad that get replaced and refilled often so everything is fresh, lots of sliced cold meats, fish, prawns (in and out of their shells), mussels and calamari, as well as the usual potato salad, tomato salad, pasta salad, and soup and rolls. Main courses have a choice of carvery roasts, casseroles, curries, stir fries, as well as things like samosas and spring rolls. Desserts have hot and cold choices and - and this is the reason it's the kids' favourite - freshly made doughnuts in cinnamon sugar, and an ice cream machine! And there is always a plate of cheeses with crackers and fruits. Coffee and tea are free, and there's a water cooler for when we are feeling really cheap and don't want to pay for drinks for the kids!!
Always come away from there feeling totally stuffed, because I can never choose between the main courses so end up having about three different platefuls!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hah!
LOLOL Call me a pathetic creature who takes pleasure in small things, but have to admit it made my day yesterday when I heard that the lad who had been selected over DS to play goalie for the district team (see May entry about nepotism) apparently got red-carded in the first match of the tournament for arguing with the ref! Hah!! Bet they wish they'd had a spare goalie now!!!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Shoe Demerits
Just inside our door we have a large pine cupboard, full of shoes. There are only four of us (well, four that wear shoes, as the dog and cat haven't got that civilised yet) but there always seems to be lots of shoes!
What really gets me though, is that everyone comes in the door, takes off their shoes by the cupboard......but doesn't put them inside! Every time I tidy up the kitchen (ok, I'm not the tidiest of people so it doesn't happen all that often!) I end up picking up pairs of shoes from all over the house, returning them to the cupboard, putting them away, and just doing that makes the whole place look so much tidier - although vacuuming up the dog hair helps too.....
Well, I've had enough of clearing up after everyone. I have drawn up a chart on our whiteboard, and for every pair of shoes I find not put away, the responsible person gets a demerit point on the board! At the end of the week, the person with least demerit points gets a bar of chocolate.
And guess what? It's working! OH was most put out to get back from a trip out somewhere today to find he'd been given a demerit point. Kids thought it was hilarious and OH even tried erasing his point, but for the rest of the day, everyone has put their shoes away!! Yippee..... will it last? Time will tell.....
What really gets me though, is that everyone comes in the door, takes off their shoes by the cupboard......but doesn't put them inside! Every time I tidy up the kitchen (ok, I'm not the tidiest of people so it doesn't happen all that often!) I end up picking up pairs of shoes from all over the house, returning them to the cupboard, putting them away, and just doing that makes the whole place look so much tidier - although vacuuming up the dog hair helps too.....
Well, I've had enough of clearing up after everyone. I have drawn up a chart on our whiteboard, and for every pair of shoes I find not put away, the responsible person gets a demerit point on the board! At the end of the week, the person with least demerit points gets a bar of chocolate.
And guess what? It's working! OH was most put out to get back from a trip out somewhere today to find he'd been given a demerit point. Kids thought it was hilarious and OH even tried erasing his point, but for the rest of the day, everyone has put their shoes away!! Yippee..... will it last? Time will tell.....
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Girls Night Out
Great girls' night out at the Golden Grove Tavern last night - for the first time we weren't the last to leave either - which either means we're slacking, or we've managed to drag some of the locals down to our level!!
Nice to meet some old friends, as well as some new ones. I really enjoy getting the views of Adelaide through a newcomer's eyes, kind of helps to remind me of what's so special about this place. Got to get cracking now on organising some ideas for a winery trip at the start of August to the Barossa! Hello to any of my fellow drinkers from last night who might be reading this, and don't forget to let me know your favoured date (between 2nd and 9th August) and any favourite wineries to visit - we need to find a nice place that does great lunch platters, then we can plan the rest of the stops around that!
Back to work today and the office is planning a 4th July American Independence Day morning tea next Friday - hot dogs and doughnuts - and there's a poster up for a Bastille Day dinner on 14th July. Why is England the only country in the world that doesn't seem to celebrate any sort of National Day? It's a real loss I think: perhaps we should plan on having a British expats' party next year on 23rd April for St George's Day or something! In the meantime, I'm happy to celebrate every other country's milestones with them!!
Nice to meet some old friends, as well as some new ones. I really enjoy getting the views of Adelaide through a newcomer's eyes, kind of helps to remind me of what's so special about this place. Got to get cracking now on organising some ideas for a winery trip at the start of August to the Barossa! Hello to any of my fellow drinkers from last night who might be reading this, and don't forget to let me know your favoured date (between 2nd and 9th August) and any favourite wineries to visit - we need to find a nice place that does great lunch platters, then we can plan the rest of the stops around that!
Back to work today and the office is planning a 4th July American Independence Day morning tea next Friday - hot dogs and doughnuts - and there's a poster up for a Bastille Day dinner on 14th July. Why is England the only country in the world that doesn't seem to celebrate any sort of National Day? It's a real loss I think: perhaps we should plan on having a British expats' party next year on 23rd April for St George's Day or something! In the meantime, I'm happy to celebrate every other country's milestones with them!!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Let the music begin
Just wanted to post up about the great standard of music teaching at primary school level here in Adelaide.
Spent Sunday afternoon at a concert organised by the Primary School "Instrumental Music Service", featuring various musical groups: the Primary Schools String Orchestra, the Primary Schools Wind Ensemble, the Primary Schools Guitar Ensemble, and a group called the Fleurieu Flutes. Had to keep reminding myself that all these kids are no older than about 13 - most younger than that! They were absolutely fantastic, the concert was a sell-out, and it was a pleasure to watch and listen to.
DS has guitar lessons once a week at his state primary school - this costs us the huge sum of $50 a year, and that covers the loan of a guitar too! The school also has a choir, which DD was a member of when she there, and every year in September the various state primary school choirs from across Adelaide get together for a massed performance at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Again, the standards are so high - especially considering they only get to rehearse altogether maybe once or twice before the concert - and it's quite a sight, seeing all these kids up on stage in their bright-coloured t-shirts, choreographed and in time.
As a totally non-musical type myself, I am in total admiration of what can be achieved with, and by these kids. Long may it flourish!
Spent Sunday afternoon at a concert organised by the Primary School "Instrumental Music Service", featuring various musical groups: the Primary Schools String Orchestra, the Primary Schools Wind Ensemble, the Primary Schools Guitar Ensemble, and a group called the Fleurieu Flutes. Had to keep reminding myself that all these kids are no older than about 13 - most younger than that! They were absolutely fantastic, the concert was a sell-out, and it was a pleasure to watch and listen to.
DS has guitar lessons once a week at his state primary school - this costs us the huge sum of $50 a year, and that covers the loan of a guitar too! The school also has a choir, which DD was a member of when she there, and every year in September the various state primary school choirs from across Adelaide get together for a massed performance at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Again, the standards are so high - especially considering they only get to rehearse altogether maybe once or twice before the concert - and it's quite a sight, seeing all these kids up on stage in their bright-coloured t-shirts, choreographed and in time.
As a totally non-musical type myself, I am in total admiration of what can be achieved with, and by these kids. Long may it flourish!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Fun in the Hills
Had a great night last night up in the Hills at a tiny village called Mylor. Each year the primary school there puts on a fantastic family fireworks night, with a huge bonfire, homemade soup for sale, music, and best of all, a wonderful fireworks display.
As a kid growing up in England, we always celebrated Guy Fawkes Night - us kids used to make a guy, build a big bonfire in the woods to burn him on, and all the families in the street used to get together to drink mulled wine, or whisky (the adults, obviously) and eat baked potatoes in their jackets with lots of butter, whilst pooling our fireworks stocks, which one of the brave dads would set off for our "oohs" and "aahs"!
Later, we took our own kids, well wrapped up in scarves, hats, gloves coats and wellies, to a local Essex Village - Woodham Mortimer - every year on 5th November, where they had hot soup for sale, a big fire, and a fireworks display! It's one of those things that you remember well into adulthood, and something that most born and bred aussies have never even heard of. Oh, there are fireworks on New Years Eve and a few on Christmas Eve that you hear, and occasional displays at the end of an open air concert, but as these things tend to happen in Summer, there's always the thought at the back of your mind that it's kind of irresponsible in the middle of such a dry country at its driest time...
The Mylor display is perfect, it's cold(ish! the hills always feel colder and damper in the winter than the other suburbs), slightly muddy, dark, so the gloves, hats and scarves can all come out. There was mulled wine for sale (we took our own, non alcoholic version in a flask so the kids could have some too - with a hip flask of rum to add to the adults' cups!), pumpkin soup, the ubiquitous sausage sizzle, a roaring fire (firies on hand just in case....), and a big field for the kids to run around in. Everyone up there is so incredibly friendly - this is our third year there so we knew to take our own marshmallows for toasting in the fire, but the first year we went we didn't have any and people who did have were so kind - letting our kids have some of theirs, offering use of their "toasting sticks", and just generally chatty and happy. There is a great mix of young and old - everything from the smallest toddlers, through groups of teenagers with their friends, parents, groups of friends, grandparents... To prove what a small place Adelaide is, we even bumped into a friend of my daughter's from her old Adelaide City soccer playing days!
The fireworks themselves managed to go on for just the right length of time, not too long so you start getting blase, and not too short so you feel slightly disappointed! Everyone "ooh-ed" and "aah-ed" dead on cue, there was plenty of noise, loads of rockets, the occasional Catherine wheel and golden fountain - I loved it! Definitely one for the diary to look out for around this time next year - it's a little bit of a drive up the freeway, but well, well worth it!
My recipe for alcohol free mulled wine: Buy a bottle of "alcohol-removed" Shiraz from your local supermarket. Pour into a saucepan. Add a generous pouring of orange juice, a cup or so of water, couple of spoonfuls of sugar, and some cinnamon sticks. Take a large orange, slice thickly and stud the slices with cloves. Add these to the saucepan. Heat until almost boiling, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, allow to cool slightly, and pour into glasses, removing any stray lumpy bits like bits of cinnamon stick or escaped cloves. Wrap hands round glass and sip slowly, preferably in the open air, whilst warming your behind at a large bonfire! For added buzz - and adults only, add nip of brandy or dark rum, either at the heating stage, or straight into the wine in the glass before drinking!
As a kid growing up in England, we always celebrated Guy Fawkes Night - us kids used to make a guy, build a big bonfire in the woods to burn him on, and all the families in the street used to get together to drink mulled wine, or whisky (the adults, obviously) and eat baked potatoes in their jackets with lots of butter, whilst pooling our fireworks stocks, which one of the brave dads would set off for our "oohs" and "aahs"!
Later, we took our own kids, well wrapped up in scarves, hats, gloves coats and wellies, to a local Essex Village - Woodham Mortimer - every year on 5th November, where they had hot soup for sale, a big fire, and a fireworks display! It's one of those things that you remember well into adulthood, and something that most born and bred aussies have never even heard of. Oh, there are fireworks on New Years Eve and a few on Christmas Eve that you hear, and occasional displays at the end of an open air concert, but as these things tend to happen in Summer, there's always the thought at the back of your mind that it's kind of irresponsible in the middle of such a dry country at its driest time...
The Mylor display is perfect, it's cold(ish! the hills always feel colder and damper in the winter than the other suburbs), slightly muddy, dark, so the gloves, hats and scarves can all come out. There was mulled wine for sale (we took our own, non alcoholic version in a flask so the kids could have some too - with a hip flask of rum to add to the adults' cups!), pumpkin soup, the ubiquitous sausage sizzle, a roaring fire (firies on hand just in case....), and a big field for the kids to run around in. Everyone up there is so incredibly friendly - this is our third year there so we knew to take our own marshmallows for toasting in the fire, but the first year we went we didn't have any and people who did have were so kind - letting our kids have some of theirs, offering use of their "toasting sticks", and just generally chatty and happy. There is a great mix of young and old - everything from the smallest toddlers, through groups of teenagers with their friends, parents, groups of friends, grandparents... To prove what a small place Adelaide is, we even bumped into a friend of my daughter's from her old Adelaide City soccer playing days!
The fireworks themselves managed to go on for just the right length of time, not too long so you start getting blase, and not too short so you feel slightly disappointed! Everyone "ooh-ed" and "aah-ed" dead on cue, there was plenty of noise, loads of rockets, the occasional Catherine wheel and golden fountain - I loved it! Definitely one for the diary to look out for around this time next year - it's a little bit of a drive up the freeway, but well, well worth it!
My recipe for alcohol free mulled wine: Buy a bottle of "alcohol-removed" Shiraz from your local supermarket. Pour into a saucepan. Add a generous pouring of orange juice, a cup or so of water, couple of spoonfuls of sugar, and some cinnamon sticks. Take a large orange, slice thickly and stud the slices with cloves. Add these to the saucepan. Heat until almost boiling, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, allow to cool slightly, and pour into glasses, removing any stray lumpy bits like bits of cinnamon stick or escaped cloves. Wrap hands round glass and sip slowly, preferably in the open air, whilst warming your behind at a large bonfire! For added buzz - and adults only, add nip of brandy or dark rum, either at the heating stage, or straight into the wine in the glass before drinking!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Easydata Indicators
Went to the official launch last night of a new application giving access to all sorts of statistical and graphical information in the various regions of South Australia. Been involved quite heavily in gathering the information from the various local authorities for inclusion on this site, so good to see it up and working. Really brought home to me how important a bit of networking is in Adelaide - it really is a case of who you know, and my boss is truly an expert at that. The new Easydata tool will be officially available to everyone from 1st July and will be accessible from here, under the Regional SA tab. Some very interesting stuff on there.....
Have to work on my pommie pronunciation prejudices though - it really jars with me everytime I hear the word 'data' pronounced to rhyme with 'carter' (or even 'carder') rather than rhyming with 'indicator'! And while I'm on the subject it's pro-ject not prow-ject and prow-gress not pro-gress!!
Have to work on my pommie pronunciation prejudices though - it really jars with me everytime I hear the word 'data' pronounced to rhyme with 'carter' (or even 'carder') rather than rhyming with 'indicator'! And while I'm on the subject it's pro-ject not prow-ject and prow-gress not pro-gress!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Proper little housewife, me!
My solution to these cold winter mornings - a slice of homemade bread pudding and a nice cuppa for Morning Tea!
My favourite bread pudding recipe is adapted from a Delia Smith one - here - except I add lots of cherries, a few cranberries, then any other dried fruit I can find in my cupboards - this time I used some muscat wine instead of brandy to soak the fruit in as well (must have drunk all the brandy!)
To go with that of course you need a nice cup of tea, and that's
where my latest craft masterpiece comes in - a "traditional, knitted tea cosy" to keep the pot warm. According to my husband, it's the only thing I've ever knitted that actually fits its intended wearer, and I guess the colours might not be to everyone's taste, but it was really easy, once i'd found some basic instructions here, and I'm now so inspired I might even make another one (in different colours, maybe!)
Final touch a nice tall mug to wrap your fingers around to keep warm, and you're sorted!
My favourite bread pudding recipe is adapted from a Delia Smith one - here - except I add lots of cherries, a few cranberries, then any other dried fruit I can find in my cupboards - this time I used some muscat wine instead of brandy to soak the fruit in as well (must have drunk all the brandy!)
To go with that of course you need a nice cup of tea, and that's
where my latest craft masterpiece comes in - a "traditional, knitted tea cosy" to keep the pot warm. According to my husband, it's the only thing I've ever knitted that actually fits its intended wearer, and I guess the colours might not be to everyone's taste, but it was really easy, once i'd found some basic instructions here, and I'm now so inspired I might even make another one (in different colours, maybe!)Final touch a nice tall mug to wrap your fingers around to keep warm, and you're sorted!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Recession? What Recession?
Called in to the new retail centre at Gepps Cross yesterday (or "Gepps X" as they call it, making me remember gritting my teeth every time I passed the sign on the M25 back in the home-country that announced the "Dartford X-ing" - don't they realise a "cross" isn't an "x"?). Absolutely stunned with how many people were there - there was even a queue to get into the car park! Most of the queuing though was because it was raining, and of course, everyone wanted a space right outside their chosen shop; if you didn't mind walking for a few minutes and parking a bit further away there were loads of spaces! Once inside the stores it was no different - the queue to pay in Harvey Norman's was filling up half the store, and there was certainly no sign of any recession.
We needed a new telephone as our current one is driving us mad - the '4' key only works intermittently and when you have something like that, you realise that about 99% of the numbers you need to dial need just that number! Obviously any mobile number has a 4 in it, and of course the country code for the UK is 44, and our Daybreak Calling Card code has a 4 in the local access number and five 4s in the actual code! We also must both have larger than average fingers, and find a lot of these handsets have keys designed for a five-year-old's tiny pointy fingers, rather that our great big lumpy ones, so we wanted something with big buttons. We were actually lucky enough to find a really helpful staff member in Harvey Norman's who knew what she was talking about, told us that several hands-free sets have bad reception if you have broadband, and was able to advise us which did, and which did not have this problem, so we have ended up with something that hopefully will improve our phone experience no end!
Prices for printers and computers have really come down - they had a printer/scanner/fax machine for just $47! That's almost cheaper than the toner cartridges! And we got a laptop for DD - who's been nagging for ages that she needs one for her homework - for less than $650 (after some sort of cashback we still need to apply for) - need to look into the education tax refund now as well to see if we can claim even more of that cost back. Result one very happy daughter!
We needed a new telephone as our current one is driving us mad - the '4' key only works intermittently and when you have something like that, you realise that about 99% of the numbers you need to dial need just that number! Obviously any mobile number has a 4 in it, and of course the country code for the UK is 44, and our Daybreak Calling Card code has a 4 in the local access number and five 4s in the actual code! We also must both have larger than average fingers, and find a lot of these handsets have keys designed for a five-year-old's tiny pointy fingers, rather that our great big lumpy ones, so we wanted something with big buttons. We were actually lucky enough to find a really helpful staff member in Harvey Norman's who knew what she was talking about, told us that several hands-free sets have bad reception if you have broadband, and was able to advise us which did, and which did not have this problem, so we have ended up with something that hopefully will improve our phone experience no end!
Prices for printers and computers have really come down - they had a printer/scanner/fax machine for just $47! That's almost cheaper than the toner cartridges! And we got a laptop for DD - who's been nagging for ages that she needs one for her homework - for less than $650 (after some sort of cashback we still need to apply for) - need to look into the education tax refund now as well to see if we can claim even more of that cost back. Result one very happy daughter!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Laser Eye Surgery
Well, I finally had my assessment today - after five days of wearing my nerdy specs. I felt really nervous, like it was a job interview, but actually everyone I saw was really nice. The upshot of it all is that apparently I have thick corneas, and small pupils, so am actually quite a good candidate for something called Lasik. There are two main types of surgery on offer - Lasik or PRK (I think) but Lasik is the preferred method - for me anyway - as it has a quicker recovery time.
I was trying to work out this morning how long I've worn lenses for - I can remember when I first tried some, walking up and down Regents Street in London with my eyes streaming, so must have been when I was working in Great Portland Street, which dates it back to about 1988. They used to put lenses in your eyes, then send you out for a walk for half and hour and check you when you got back. I went straight for soft lenses, as they were easier to wear, and over the years I've experimented with some great coloured ones (bright green were my favourite, although I had some mauve ones too) and ended up with daily disposables (which I buy here from netoptical - http://www.netoptical.com.au). Putting my lenses in is the first thing I do when I wake up, and taking them out the last thing I do at night - that is, when I remember and don't fall asleep on the sofa with them still in! In fact, I haven't even owned a pair of glasses until about a fortnight ago, when I needed to get some for my five days without lenses, prior to the assessment. I hate wearing glasses, they hurt my nose and my ears, and I hate the fact that you have peripheral vision issues wearing them. It has been very tiring wearing them since Saturday, and took me a couple of days to get used to.
My prescription for years has been -6 in my left eye and -4 in my right, although at my last eye test it had gone to -6.5 in the left. According to the consultant, the fact that (a) they are different and (b) I'm used to being 'undercorrected' by that 0.5, means that they have the option to correct one eye for distance, and the other eye for reading, meaning I hopefully won't need reading glasses quite as soon as I would otherwise, so that's what I'm going to go for. Best case scenario is that four hours after the surgery, I might even feel good enough to drive! I'm preparing myself for slightly longer recovery, just in case!
Have booked in the surgery for 23rd July - cost will be $2,600 per eye, but apparently some of that is claimable back against tax. Am still absolutely perified, but it's a relief that I can have the Lasik, and if anything needs redoing within five years they do it for free. Similarly if Ican't get on with the different corrections, they'll redo it and make both eyes the same, likewise for free.
There's an interesting forum here, that I've been reading: http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/index.php - I think obviously this is a forum specifically for people who've had problems, so it may be slightly weighted towards that rather than the "all went well, best thing I've ever done" brigade. But it's good to get both sides of the story, I think.
I was trying to work out this morning how long I've worn lenses for - I can remember when I first tried some, walking up and down Regents Street in London with my eyes streaming, so must have been when I was working in Great Portland Street, which dates it back to about 1988. They used to put lenses in your eyes, then send you out for a walk for half and hour and check you when you got back. I went straight for soft lenses, as they were easier to wear, and over the years I've experimented with some great coloured ones (bright green were my favourite, although I had some mauve ones too) and ended up with daily disposables (which I buy here from netoptical - http://www.netoptical.com.au). Putting my lenses in is the first thing I do when I wake up, and taking them out the last thing I do at night - that is, when I remember and don't fall asleep on the sofa with them still in! In fact, I haven't even owned a pair of glasses until about a fortnight ago, when I needed to get some for my five days without lenses, prior to the assessment. I hate wearing glasses, they hurt my nose and my ears, and I hate the fact that you have peripheral vision issues wearing them. It has been very tiring wearing them since Saturday, and took me a couple of days to get used to.
My prescription for years has been -6 in my left eye and -4 in my right, although at my last eye test it had gone to -6.5 in the left. According to the consultant, the fact that (a) they are different and (b) I'm used to being 'undercorrected' by that 0.5, means that they have the option to correct one eye for distance, and the other eye for reading, meaning I hopefully won't need reading glasses quite as soon as I would otherwise, so that's what I'm going to go for. Best case scenario is that four hours after the surgery, I might even feel good enough to drive! I'm preparing myself for slightly longer recovery, just in case!
Have booked in the surgery for 23rd July - cost will be $2,600 per eye, but apparently some of that is claimable back against tax. Am still absolutely perified, but it's a relief that I can have the Lasik, and if anything needs redoing within five years they do it for free. Similarly if Ican't get on with the different corrections, they'll redo it and make both eyes the same, likewise for free.
There's an interesting forum here, that I've been reading: http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/index.php - I think obviously this is a forum specifically for people who've had problems, so it may be slightly weighted towards that rather than the "all went well, best thing I've ever done" brigade. But it's good to get both sides of the story, I think.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sea and Vines
Spent a lovely day down at the McLaren Vale Sea & Vines Festival today with OH. It takes about an hour to drive down there from here, so we got there about midday (after a public holiday lie-in, throwing in another load of washing, a big bowl of porridge and taking the devil dog out - or at least OH and DS took her out!).
Visited Shingleback Winery (http://www.shingleback.com.au/) first - nice plate of tapas to share, nice glass of wine each, and some good live music. Enjoyed watching one or two brave couples who got up to dance - they obviously knew what they were doing, but they always look so serious, these people who've been to dancing lessons together! If they could only smile and look as though they were enjoying themselves, rather than counting 1..2...3...and swirl in their heads! Still, I wouldn't have the nerve, so good on them. Next stop was Maxwell's (http://www.maxwellwines.com.au/)- a lovely little winery with some great music, and Korean food to snack on - lots of people dancing there! Realised it must be hell on earth being the driver of one of Des's Mini Busses (http://www.dessminibus.com.au/) and having a bus-full of cackling, steadily more-drunken women!
Next stop Rosemount Winery (http://www.rosemountestate.com.au/)- fantastic location right at the top of a hill with wonderful views. Great music too, although a bit more "late night jazz-y" than mid afternoon, nice plate of cheese to snack on there, and bumped into Brother- and Sister-in-law with nephew and niece - Adelaide always amazes me with how small a place it really is! Of all the wineries we could have chosen, and the relatively short time we'd been staying at each, what were the odds of meeting up by chance with our only other rellies this side of the world!? It's always good to see them though as, despite living in the same town, we're actually about 45 minutes drive apart so don't get together as often as we should - and nephew and niece seem to be growing up at a tremendous pace!
Next winery - Wirra Wirra (http://www.wirrawirra.com/default.aspx)- was the only slight disappointment of the day - mainly because they'd run out of chocolate bread and butter pudding and didn't have an alternative dessert on offer - and we were both in the mood for some chocolate, but also because the music there sounded like a bad karaoke singer - not sure if the original band listed might have finished early and handed over to this guy, but it was not pretty! If you get a chance to go there though, take a look at their fantastic wooden fences - certainly a cut above the average!
Headed off to final stop at Scarpantoni Wines, http://scarpantoniwines.com/, absolutely jumping there with just about everyone in the marquee on the dance floor, and a very acceptable steamed chocolate pudding with whipped cream - yum!
After spending the rest of the weekend almost housebound - I'm booked in for my laser eye surgery assessment on Wednesday so am in the throes of the "no lenses for five days beforehand" regime and wearing my incredibly nerdy, $59 from Specsavers, hopefully-never-to-be-worn-again, glasses! - this was a really nice day out. Next year we're definitely going to get a group together and hire a minibus with driver - although I will do my best not to become one of those cackling women!
Home just in time to take DS to his soccer training. Luckily we timed it just right so the infamous Adelaide one-way freeway was running in the right direction for us both on the way down there and the way back. Everytime we use that road though, we ask ourselves who on earth ever thought that was good idea (apart, of course, from the South Road Traders' Association who were worried about missing out on passing trade!) - any time you meet someone interstate and say you're from Adelaide, that's one of the first things they mention. It's a bit of a laughing stock! Still at least the Festival State can still do Festivals well - especially ones based on food and wine - two of my favourite things!!
Visited Shingleback Winery (http://www.shingleback.com.au/) first - nice plate of tapas to share, nice glass of wine each, and some good live music. Enjoyed watching one or two brave couples who got up to dance - they obviously knew what they were doing, but they always look so serious, these people who've been to dancing lessons together! If they could only smile and look as though they were enjoying themselves, rather than counting 1..2...3...and swirl in their heads! Still, I wouldn't have the nerve, so good on them. Next stop was Maxwell's (http://www.maxwellwines.com.au/)- a lovely little winery with some great music, and Korean food to snack on - lots of people dancing there! Realised it must be hell on earth being the driver of one of Des's Mini Busses (http://www.dessminibus.com.au/) and having a bus-full of cackling, steadily more-drunken women!
Next stop Rosemount Winery (http://www.rosemountestate.com.au/)- fantastic location right at the top of a hill with wonderful views. Great music too, although a bit more "late night jazz-y" than mid afternoon, nice plate of cheese to snack on there, and bumped into Brother- and Sister-in-law with nephew and niece - Adelaide always amazes me with how small a place it really is! Of all the wineries we could have chosen, and the relatively short time we'd been staying at each, what were the odds of meeting up by chance with our only other rellies this side of the world!? It's always good to see them though as, despite living in the same town, we're actually about 45 minutes drive apart so don't get together as often as we should - and nephew and niece seem to be growing up at a tremendous pace!
Next winery - Wirra Wirra (http://www.wirrawirra.com/default.aspx)- was the only slight disappointment of the day - mainly because they'd run out of chocolate bread and butter pudding and didn't have an alternative dessert on offer - and we were both in the mood for some chocolate, but also because the music there sounded like a bad karaoke singer - not sure if the original band listed might have finished early and handed over to this guy, but it was not pretty! If you get a chance to go there though, take a look at their fantastic wooden fences - certainly a cut above the average!
Headed off to final stop at Scarpantoni Wines, http://scarpantoniwines.com/, absolutely jumping there with just about everyone in the marquee on the dance floor, and a very acceptable steamed chocolate pudding with whipped cream - yum!
After spending the rest of the weekend almost housebound - I'm booked in for my laser eye surgery assessment on Wednesday so am in the throes of the "no lenses for five days beforehand" regime and wearing my incredibly nerdy, $59 from Specsavers, hopefully-never-to-be-worn-again, glasses! - this was a really nice day out. Next year we're definitely going to get a group together and hire a minibus with driver - although I will do my best not to become one of those cackling women!
Home just in time to take DS to his soccer training. Luckily we timed it just right so the infamous Adelaide one-way freeway was running in the right direction for us both on the way down there and the way back. Everytime we use that road though, we ask ourselves who on earth ever thought that was good idea (apart, of course, from the South Road Traders' Association who were worried about missing out on passing trade!) - any time you meet someone interstate and say you're from Adelaide, that's one of the first things they mention. It's a bit of a laughing stock! Still at least the Festival State can still do Festivals well - especially ones based on food and wine - two of my favourite things!!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Pink in Adelaide
Just a short post as I remembered I hadn't mentioned our night out on Wednesday - too tired to write about it the next day! We - that is, DD and me - went to see Pink on the second night of her trip to Adelaide. She was awesome! How she did that show two nights in a row I will never know: she must have been exhausted, and even more amazing, how did she walk - let alone run and dance - in heels that high??!!
From the minute she rose up out of the stage on a suspended trapeze-type thing, to the end when she was again on the trapeze, spinning at great speed, being dipped into a tank of water, and singing all the time, the show was absolutely spectacular. She's back in August, and a friend who was with us on Wednesday has already booked her tickets to go and see the show again. If tickets didn't cost something like $130 each, I'd be tempted myself!
Everything was so well done - the dancers and the band were amazing, the acrobatics outstanding, and the stage set stunning!
From the minute she rose up out of the stage on a suspended trapeze-type thing, to the end when she was again on the trapeze, spinning at great speed, being dipped into a tank of water, and singing all the time, the show was absolutely spectacular. She's back in August, and a friend who was with us on Wednesday has already booked her tickets to go and see the show again. If tickets didn't cost something like $130 each, I'd be tempted myself!
Everything was so well done - the dancers and the band were amazing, the acrobatics outstanding, and the stage set stunning!
The cover versions she did of Bohemian Rhapsody and "I Touch Myself" were brilliant - I really need to know where she bought her sofa from! But the absolute best for me had to be Family Portrait - the pianist was fantastic, and the song was incredibly powerful. I've run out of superlatives now though so here's some pictures DD took at her first experience of a "real" concert!
Nepotism - or something very like it!
Just need to rant a little (for a change!): Son has been trying out for the District soccer team - initially we were told they'd hold two trials, three if absolutely necessary, to select the final 14 players. Son tried out for the position of goalie, and the first week there were about five kids trying out for that role. At the end of the second trials, they cut the numbers down to 22 - and son made it through that cut, along with only one other goalie.
Now, turns out this other goalie is already in the state team (state under 12s I guess as all the kids have to be primary school age) but hasn't actually turned up to all the trials, and in fact has broken his arm, so last night, the fourth trial, he's there with his arm in plaster, playing in goal (for the first time at trials) but unable to actually use his arm - quite a disadvantage in a goalie! The tournament is due to be played in two weeks.
At the end of the trials yesterday they announced the final 14, and lo and behold, this other guy gets the nod, and son gets rejected - with the proviso that if the other guy doesn't get medical clearance before the tournament, he'll be the emergency reserve. Now call me biased but surely if this other kid hasn't had medical clearance yet, he shouldn't be at the trials, and if his parents had any sort of common sense they'd have told him "well, son, as you're injured give the District team a miss this year and let some other kid have a go!" - or even "well, son, it's pretty foolish playing soccer with your arm in plaster - what if you fall on it, or the ball gets kicked at it, and the injury is made worse"! But no...... Surely there is some sort of duty of care - both on the part of this kids' parents and on the part of the coach?
What is he doing out on a soccer field with an arm in plaster, prior to receiving medical clearance, which he obviously hasn't had yet? What is the coach doing picking him when (a) he isn't fit to trial, and (b) he hasn't attended all the trial sessions, and certainly yesterday was the first time he'd been put in goal, and rarely got a touch on the ball (with his feet or his head, NOT with his arm obviously!) It does make me wonder -being the suspicious type - if maybe there is some sort of favouritism going on here. Son has been left totally bitter, feeling it's not about skill and dedication and the selection process was purely arbitrary!
If they do end up calling on my son to fill in at the last minute I'd really like to tell them where to stick their district team, but son was so keen to play, so I guess we'd have to say yes, and in the meantime, just stick small pins in a little soccer goalie doll and hope this other poor kid doesn't get medical clearance to play!
Keep telling myself it's only a game, but hey, it's a tough life lesson to learn for a 12 year old that the system sometimes, in his words "just sucks"!
Now, turns out this other goalie is already in the state team (state under 12s I guess as all the kids have to be primary school age) but hasn't actually turned up to all the trials, and in fact has broken his arm, so last night, the fourth trial, he's there with his arm in plaster, playing in goal (for the first time at trials) but unable to actually use his arm - quite a disadvantage in a goalie! The tournament is due to be played in two weeks.
At the end of the trials yesterday they announced the final 14, and lo and behold, this other guy gets the nod, and son gets rejected - with the proviso that if the other guy doesn't get medical clearance before the tournament, he'll be the emergency reserve. Now call me biased but surely if this other kid hasn't had medical clearance yet, he shouldn't be at the trials, and if his parents had any sort of common sense they'd have told him "well, son, as you're injured give the District team a miss this year and let some other kid have a go!" - or even "well, son, it's pretty foolish playing soccer with your arm in plaster - what if you fall on it, or the ball gets kicked at it, and the injury is made worse"! But no...... Surely there is some sort of duty of care - both on the part of this kids' parents and on the part of the coach?
What is he doing out on a soccer field with an arm in plaster, prior to receiving medical clearance, which he obviously hasn't had yet? What is the coach doing picking him when (a) he isn't fit to trial, and (b) he hasn't attended all the trial sessions, and certainly yesterday was the first time he'd been put in goal, and rarely got a touch on the ball (with his feet or his head, NOT with his arm obviously!) It does make me wonder -being the suspicious type - if maybe there is some sort of favouritism going on here. Son has been left totally bitter, feeling it's not about skill and dedication and the selection process was purely arbitrary!
If they do end up calling on my son to fill in at the last minute I'd really like to tell them where to stick their district team, but son was so keen to play, so I guess we'd have to say yes, and in the meantime, just stick small pins in a little soccer goalie doll and hope this other poor kid doesn't get medical clearance to play!
Keep telling myself it's only a game, but hey, it's a tough life lesson to learn for a 12 year old that the system sometimes, in his words "just sucks"!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Dining and Drinking
Great girls' night out on Thursday at the Golden Grove Tavern. We try and do this about once a month, and post up details on the forums so anyone that may have just arrived can come along, and we had about ten of us this week. Great to meet Sue for the first time and welcome Georgie who wins the prize for newest arrival, and nice to see some familiar faces too. As usual, we were the last ones in the bar, with the landlord having to shoo us out and lock the doors behind us! The Golden Grove Tavern is actually one of the better places as far as this is concerned, we went to the Tea Tree Gully Hotel a couple of months ago and were made to feel like complete dirty stop-outs for being out past 9:30pm!
Felt a bit hungover going into work in Port Adelaide on Friday morning, but a great celebration lunch at the Argo Hellenic Greek Restaurant, (http://www.portenf.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=716&c=25816) celebrating the Enterprise Centre our office is located in having won "International Incubator of the Year" award recently, and our boss having just come back from the awards ceremony in Kansas. Great food, and apparently it's huge fun on a Friday night when they have live music and greek dancing. Can highly recommend the Mixed Platter for Two - which had more than enough for four of us!
Out again in the evening with some friends of OH to a restaurant in Norwood called Manto's - http://www.mantocafe.com.au/ - have to say this is one of the best Italian restaurants I've been to with some really nice things on the menu, good atmosphere and friendly staff. I had the Pollo Spinaci, which was chicken breast with baby spinach, pears and walnuts - just the right size portion (after stuffing my face at lunchtime as well!) and extremely tasty. Norwood Parade is full of restaurants and cafes and has a real buzz in the evening, and this place is definitely worth checking out if you haven't been -it's opposite the Hoyts cinema. Upstairs from the Cafe is Maxim's where there was live music from a couple of R&B bands, open till late - I dragged OH away at nearly midnight and it was still going strong! Perhaps we should have one of our next girls' nights out there (there were certainly lots more men than girls there last night!) - they won't throw us out at 11pm! http://flightcentre.agfg.com.au/guide/sa/adelaide/adelaide-surrounds/norwood/restaurants-dining/maxims-wine-barbistro
Feel like I need a bit of a rest from bars and restaurants now for a few days, but our oven and grill are still out of action - mouse number 9 caught in the humane trap in the oven overnight - I don't think I ever want to eat anything cooked in there again!
Felt a bit hungover going into work in Port Adelaide on Friday morning, but a great celebration lunch at the Argo Hellenic Greek Restaurant, (http://www.portenf.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=716&c=25816) celebrating the Enterprise Centre our office is located in having won "International Incubator of the Year" award recently, and our boss having just come back from the awards ceremony in Kansas. Great food, and apparently it's huge fun on a Friday night when they have live music and greek dancing. Can highly recommend the Mixed Platter for Two - which had more than enough for four of us!
Out again in the evening with some friends of OH to a restaurant in Norwood called Manto's - http://www.mantocafe.com.au/ - have to say this is one of the best Italian restaurants I've been to with some really nice things on the menu, good atmosphere and friendly staff. I had the Pollo Spinaci, which was chicken breast with baby spinach, pears and walnuts - just the right size portion (after stuffing my face at lunchtime as well!) and extremely tasty. Norwood Parade is full of restaurants and cafes and has a real buzz in the evening, and this place is definitely worth checking out if you haven't been -it's opposite the Hoyts cinema. Upstairs from the Cafe is Maxim's where there was live music from a couple of R&B bands, open till late - I dragged OH away at nearly midnight and it was still going strong! Perhaps we should have one of our next girls' nights out there (there were certainly lots more men than girls there last night!) - they won't throw us out at 11pm! http://flightcentre.agfg.com.au/guide/sa/adelaide/adelaide-surrounds/norwood/restaurants-dining/maxims-wine-barbistro
Feel like I need a bit of a rest from bars and restaurants now for a few days, but our oven and grill are still out of action - mouse number 9 caught in the humane trap in the oven overnight - I don't think I ever want to eat anything cooked in there again!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Dinner, anyone?
Here in South Australia, I reckon the local councils can pretty much be judged on their attitudes to pet animals. Tea Tree Gully Council, for instance, under which our suburb comes, is very pro-dog, anti-cat: lots of places to walk dogs off lead, pet parks with jumps and hoops for your dog, council-run dog training classes, excellent facilities.... show them a cat on the other hand and their response is "lock it up, lock it up, spawn of satan, lock it up!" They haven't managed it yet, but there seems to be constant debates about whether cats should be allowed at all, and if so whether they shouldn't be kept totally contained and confined to a cage at all times to protect the native wildlife. Make a note of that bit coz I'm coming back to it in a moment!
Tea Tree Gully is separated from Campbelltown Council only by the glorious Linear Park, with the boundary line somewhere in the middle of the Torrens River - barely more than a stream at this stage, but over there, as far as I can make out, dogs are bad, cats are good, which means that anyone with any sense who wants their dog to have a nice walk crosses over to this side of the river and lets them run off lead, and I am constantly panicking that Bonny the Devil Dog will cross over the river after a duck or something, inadvertantly leaving me open to a large fine for having her off lead on the wrong side of the river!
Now, we have a cat and a dog, but I'm afraid our cat is never in her life going to a be a threat to local wildlife, in fact, she's been running her own native wildlife breeding programme, unbeknownst to us, in our kitchen! Yes, she's brought in a little native mouse, set it up in comfort and style somewhere (possibly behind the fridge!) where it's happily given birth to its own little brood, quietly and discretely until the last few days, when we noticed strange things happening.... the tin foil lining the grill tray was shredded into tiny pieces, and then the baking paper on one of my baking trays was ...errrrmm... how can I put this?.... decorated with small black mouse droppings! Yes, we have mice. Not living in the oven as such, but certainly paying it and the grill tray frequent visits, cleaning up any crumbs that may have been left, processing them through their little mouse bodies, and leaving the results in my oven!!! Ewwwwww, I never want to eat anything from there again!!!
Dreading the thought of dead mouse in the oven even more than mouse poo (well not more than, but god, the combination....!), I managed to buy a "humane" mouse trap which we duly baited with chocolate and put into the (unlit) oven last night. Two hours later, one trapped mouse, taken for a walk into the park and released. Reset and replaced the trap and this morning....result - two trapped mice! How many more of the things are there? OH has told me to check the trap today and if filled, to take the occupant into the park for release a good distance away (is there such a thing as a homing mouse?)
I already get strange looks when I take the dog out for a walk, and the cat trots along with us as far as the river, then waits for our return and runs out to greet us. Heaven knows what people are going to say now when they see me taking the dog, the cat, and a caged mouse out for a walk in the morning!
Anyone fancy a nice roast from my oven?
Tea Tree Gully is separated from Campbelltown Council only by the glorious Linear Park, with the boundary line somewhere in the middle of the Torrens River - barely more than a stream at this stage, but over there, as far as I can make out, dogs are bad, cats are good, which means that anyone with any sense who wants their dog to have a nice walk crosses over to this side of the river and lets them run off lead, and I am constantly panicking that Bonny the Devil Dog will cross over the river after a duck or something, inadvertantly leaving me open to a large fine for having her off lead on the wrong side of the river!
Now, we have a cat and a dog, but I'm afraid our cat is never in her life going to a be a threat to local wildlife, in fact, she's been running her own native wildlife breeding programme, unbeknownst to us, in our kitchen! Yes, she's brought in a little native mouse, set it up in comfort and style somewhere (possibly behind the fridge!) where it's happily given birth to its own little brood, quietly and discretely until the last few days, when we noticed strange things happening.... the tin foil lining the grill tray was shredded into tiny pieces, and then the baking paper on one of my baking trays was ...errrrmm... how can I put this?.... decorated with small black mouse droppings! Yes, we have mice. Not living in the oven as such, but certainly paying it and the grill tray frequent visits, cleaning up any crumbs that may have been left, processing them through their little mouse bodies, and leaving the results in my oven!!! Ewwwwww, I never want to eat anything from there again!!!
Dreading the thought of dead mouse in the oven even more than mouse poo (well not more than, but god, the combination....!), I managed to buy a "humane" mouse trap which we duly baited with chocolate and put into the (unlit) oven last night. Two hours later, one trapped mouse, taken for a walk into the park and released. Reset and replaced the trap and this morning....result - two trapped mice! How many more of the things are there? OH has told me to check the trap today and if filled, to take the occupant into the park for release a good distance away (is there such a thing as a homing mouse?)
I already get strange looks when I take the dog out for a walk, and the cat trots along with us as far as the river, then waits for our return and runs out to greet us. Heaven knows what people are going to say now when they see me taking the dog, the cat, and a caged mouse out for a walk in the morning!
Anyone fancy a nice roast from my oven?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Autumn in Adelaide
Just back from walking the dog and Adelaide truly is a great place to be in the autumn! The sun is out, the sky that clear, bright blue, the grass thick and green and wet with dew.... Don't think I ever took much notice of birds and birdsong when I was in England - perhaps it was because we didn't have a dog so I wasn't out walking in parks first thing in the morning, but this morning as the magpies yodelled in the trees, the galahs flew squeaking overhead, small lorakeets swooped like speedy spitfires, flashing orange, red, emerald green and blue feathers, and the grey heron stood patiently in the river shallows, I was struck anew with how lovely a place we live in. Autumn mornings, when you wear gloves and a scarf against the fresh morning air, but sunglasses are essential, are absolutely glorious here!
The recent dew-y mornings and a bit of rain over the weekend has softened the ground enough for a whole load of mushrooms to break their way up through the soil - some I'm sure are the normal field mushroom, the type you get in the supermarket, but I'm not brave enough to try them, whilst others are tall and thin, or spindly and yellow, or crusty-looking and mustardy in tone. Where before the grass was a smooth swathe, it now looks like it's broken out in a nasty case of acne!
Off to the opticians this morning for an eye test - have decided to take the plunge and look into laser surgery for my eyes - first step is to get an up to date prescription, then buy a cheap pair of glasses to wear in the five days leading up to my laser consultation, when I'm not allowed to wear my lenses... then the terrifying wait. Everyone I've spoken to who's had it done says it's the best thing they ever did, and I fall asleep so often in my contact lenses that I really feel I should get my eyes fixed before doing them serious damage, but I'm so damn scared!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Adelaide Essentials
Actually, thinking about it, this is probably Australia essentials! One of your very first purchases when you arrive in Oz, and something that you really, really can't live without here, is....... fold up camping chairs! Preferably the ones that fold up umbrella style, with little drink holders in the arm rests! The 'low slung' ones I've seen around also look very useful, although I'd say not essential as we've managed without - those can go on the "nice to have" list!
We bought some when we first arrived and they've been invaluable. You take them with you on all occasions: to the kids' sporting events and training sessions, to open air concerts, to the drive-in cinema, to people's houses for barbecues, to office parties that invariably are held in a public park somewhere, and of course the obvious - when you go camping or out for the day to just about anywhere! In fact we have taken ours to so many places that we started off with four of them, and somehow have managed to leave two somewhere, but goodness knows where! The two remaining ones are now looking very much the worse for wear, the dog chewed her way through one of the drink holders at a very early stage, and a couple of the plastic bits on the hinge mechanism have started to give up the ghost - time for a trip to a camping shop methinks!
Just one small word of warning: went to get out our two remaining ones to take to the Pedal Prix at the weekend (http://www.pedalprix.com.au/) and realised we'd left them outside on the patio, folded up and lying on the floor (the chairs, not me!) OH picked up the first one, shook it open and firstly out fell three cockroaches - yukk, I hate those things. Flipped it open and on the back there's this huge redback spider, shiny red spot on its back - thank goodness OH hadn't picked it up by that particular edge. On the ground where it had been lying was an extremely large and very scary-looking wolf spider! All that wildlife on one little chair! Funnily enough, even after cleaning everything off it, we decided not to take that particular chair with us after all!!
The Pedal Prix was a great laugh. Unluckily for the competitors, the day was rainy and drizzly (quite a novelty I must admit, here in drought-stricken SA), but for us spectators that meant lots of spills and near crashes on the hairpin bend, as grown men (more competitive dads I suspect) hurtled round the track, mixing it with kids from high schools down to primary age (I think the minimum is Year 5 but that's still only 10 year olds and some of them looked so tiny!) all in their pedal powered vehicles, some a lot more professional-looking than others! By the end, there were vehicles with pieces hanging off them, holes, and held together with yards of tape, and a lot of tired little - and not so little - legs I bet! 9 hour race for the next event, followed by a 24 hour race in September to be held in Murray Bridge - must get round to booking a campsite....and buying those camping chairs!
We bought some when we first arrived and they've been invaluable. You take them with you on all occasions: to the kids' sporting events and training sessions, to open air concerts, to the drive-in cinema, to people's houses for barbecues, to office parties that invariably are held in a public park somewhere, and of course the obvious - when you go camping or out for the day to just about anywhere! In fact we have taken ours to so many places that we started off with four of them, and somehow have managed to leave two somewhere, but goodness knows where! The two remaining ones are now looking very much the worse for wear, the dog chewed her way through one of the drink holders at a very early stage, and a couple of the plastic bits on the hinge mechanism have started to give up the ghost - time for a trip to a camping shop methinks!
Just one small word of warning: went to get out our two remaining ones to take to the Pedal Prix at the weekend (http://www.pedalprix.com.au/) and realised we'd left them outside on the patio, folded up and lying on the floor (the chairs, not me!) OH picked up the first one, shook it open and firstly out fell three cockroaches - yukk, I hate those things. Flipped it open and on the back there's this huge redback spider, shiny red spot on its back - thank goodness OH hadn't picked it up by that particular edge. On the ground where it had been lying was an extremely large and very scary-looking wolf spider! All that wildlife on one little chair! Funnily enough, even after cleaning everything off it, we decided not to take that particular chair with us after all!!
The Pedal Prix was a great laugh. Unluckily for the competitors, the day was rainy and drizzly (quite a novelty I must admit, here in drought-stricken SA), but for us spectators that meant lots of spills and near crashes on the hairpin bend, as grown men (more competitive dads I suspect) hurtled round the track, mixing it with kids from high schools down to primary age (I think the minimum is Year 5 but that's still only 10 year olds and some of them looked so tiny!) all in their pedal powered vehicles, some a lot more professional-looking than others! By the end, there were vehicles with pieces hanging off them, holes, and held together with yards of tape, and a lot of tired little - and not so little - legs I bet! 9 hour race for the next event, followed by a 24 hour race in September to be held in Murray Bridge - must get round to booking a campsite....and buying those camping chairs!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Four wheeling adventures
Son's birthday today so yesterday we had a Go Karting party planned for him at a local track. He's been dying to try Karting for some time now, but a lot of places have either a minimum age limit or a height limit, and as he's just turning 12, he hasn't been able to do it in the past.
We booked a session at Go Kart Go (www.gokartsgo.com.au) which is located off Research Road in Pooraka - about 20 minutes drive from here. Had a few dramas initially as needed a minimum of 8 (and at $30 a head didn't want to go much over that!) and one of his mates was grounded so unable to come. Managed to find a brave last minute replacement, so rushed around Friday afternoon, stocking up on junk food to feed the brave racers between their two ten minute stints. Times like this I really miss Marks & Spencers, as could at least have got semi-healthy junk to snack on from there! Ordered delicious ice cream cake from Cold Rock - layers of Chocolate Ice cream, Vanilla with Mars Bar mix ins, then Ferrero Rocher flavour with crushed Maltesers, and headed to school to pick up the lad. Chatting to Debbie at the pickup spot (another Taurean - happy birthday Debs) then headed back to car thinking just enough time to get home, tidy up, heat up sausage rolls and garlic bread, then head off to Go Kart track then disaster! As Deb's car drove away round the corner, I turned my ignition key.....nothing....absolutely nothing! For some reason, my car battery is completely dead! Panicked phone call to OH (just about to go into his first week's progress meeting at new job), garbled explanation of the problem and received very very basic instructions on how to push start a car (thanks dear but I just need to know how to do it, not how it works!).... thank goodness there was a slight downward slope as had to get poor son to push me down the road, and thank heavens, results! Son was a little concerned as engine fired up and I drove away down the road but I did come back for him (eventually)!
After that drama, the Go Karting went really well - with amusement provided by another parent who joined in giving a whole new meaning to "Competitive Dad"! Kids had a great time, junk food went down a storm, and sleepover afterwards at our place deemed a great success on the basis of the three boys only getting two hours sleep in the night! I hate kids' sleepovers - just too many non-family members in the house - but they seem to be the big thing here, and no birthday would be complete without one!!!
We booked a session at Go Kart Go (www.gokartsgo.com.au) which is located off Research Road in Pooraka - about 20 minutes drive from here. Had a few dramas initially as needed a minimum of 8 (and at $30 a head didn't want to go much over that!) and one of his mates was grounded so unable to come. Managed to find a brave last minute replacement, so rushed around Friday afternoon, stocking up on junk food to feed the brave racers between their two ten minute stints. Times like this I really miss Marks & Spencers, as could at least have got semi-healthy junk to snack on from there! Ordered delicious ice cream cake from Cold Rock - layers of Chocolate Ice cream, Vanilla with Mars Bar mix ins, then Ferrero Rocher flavour with crushed Maltesers, and headed to school to pick up the lad. Chatting to Debbie at the pickup spot (another Taurean - happy birthday Debs) then headed back to car thinking just enough time to get home, tidy up, heat up sausage rolls and garlic bread, then head off to Go Kart track then disaster! As Deb's car drove away round the corner, I turned my ignition key.....nothing....absolutely nothing! For some reason, my car battery is completely dead! Panicked phone call to OH (just about to go into his first week's progress meeting at new job), garbled explanation of the problem and received very very basic instructions on how to push start a car (thanks dear but I just need to know how to do it, not how it works!).... thank goodness there was a slight downward slope as had to get poor son to push me down the road, and thank heavens, results! Son was a little concerned as engine fired up and I drove away down the road but I did come back for him (eventually)!
After that drama, the Go Karting went really well - with amusement provided by another parent who joined in giving a whole new meaning to "Competitive Dad"! Kids had a great time, junk food went down a storm, and sleepover afterwards at our place deemed a great success on the basis of the three boys only getting two hours sleep in the night! I hate kids' sleepovers - just too many non-family members in the house - but they seem to be the big thing here, and no birthday would be complete without one!!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Phew! Where did the weekend go?
Thank goodness I only have two kids! How on earth parents with three, four, or even more manage I cannot imagine!
Out of school activities are so popular here, that if you come across a child that doesn't do some sort of hobby, sport, music activity in addition to their school stuff, it's the exception rather than the rule. Even trying to limit what ours do, both for reasons of cost and of time, at weekends you have to be a scheduling queen to work it all out (which I am, of course, thanks to my handy HP organiser, which as a phone, is a very good diary!!). Ours just do soccer (one in a school team, one in a club team), choir (daughter in both school and Aussie Girls Choir), drama (just daughter) guitar lessons and ensemble (just son), and something called Pedal Prix (just son - don't ask!)
So now the soccer season has begun here, this weekend for instance we had to take darling daughter to school soccer match on the other side of town for 9:30 kick off (more on that later!), then darling son to club soccer match for 12:15 kick off at different venue, then darling son to Pedal Prix practice at 2pm - and that's just the Saturday! Sunday (Mothers' Day here in Oz) had to accompany DD to Mothers Day Classic - a charity walk/run in aid of Breast Cancer Research, where her choir were singing before the start, and then do the walk with the girls - which, admittedly was great fun for a great cause but hey, it was hard dragging myself out of bed at 7am on a Sunday! When Channel 9 pointed a camera at me before the walk and tried to get sense out of me for an interview, they were wasting their time I'm afraid!!
On the subject of soccer venues, DD goes to a high school that's about ten minutes drive away, probably walkable in about 40 minutes, but in their wisdom they have decided that the girls' soccer A team should play all their matches at a school on the other side of Adelaide! Whereas the B and C team get to play at home every week! She was so pleased to be selected for the A team, as last year the B and C teams played elsewhere, and the A team played at home! Just can't win.......
Added to all of their social and sporting commitments, we try and fit in time to do stuff together, so Friday night (the only night there isn't some kind of training/rehearsals/lessons) we headed out for a meal at the Pepper Leaf Restaurant, Tea Tree Gully. This is a Vietnamese Restaurant apparently, which as far as I can make out is a cross between Chinese and Thai. Not having eaten "vietnamese" before though, we could have really done with a Set Menu with suggestions on how much to order and what goes with what! Faced with this huge menu covered in assorted dishes, we were a bit in the dark, so I have no idea if what we ended up ordering is typical of their food or not. It was ok, but all the dishes we ordered were heavy on carrots, red peppers (that's capsicums, to us aussies!) and onions! I imagined pots of prepared veg in the kitchen, with the chef throwing handfuls of each into different sauces, adding a bit of meat and coming up with 50 variations!
Saturday night we had tickets to see Cats, a production by MetMuscials at the Arts Theatre in Adelaide. Bought the tickets ages ago, but foolishly didn't look at the seat numbers so when we got there it turned out they'd seated the kids in a completely different part of the theatre to us! Unable to change them, as the show was more or less full, but surely when you buy a family ticket of two adults plus two kids, common sense would dictate that you would like to sit together?! Anyway, the performance was good, even if OH felt the actors went a little over the top with their cat mannerisms - even thought one was going to lick her own bottom at one point when she raised one leg high up in the air!
Anyway, that's our busy weekend over - until it all starts again next week! Just can't imagine how parents manage with more kids than our two - chatting with another choir mum on the walk, she mentioned a friend of hers that has 11 kids..... now that just doesn't bear thinking about, in so many ways!!
Out of school activities are so popular here, that if you come across a child that doesn't do some sort of hobby, sport, music activity in addition to their school stuff, it's the exception rather than the rule. Even trying to limit what ours do, both for reasons of cost and of time, at weekends you have to be a scheduling queen to work it all out (which I am, of course, thanks to my handy HP organiser, which as a phone, is a very good diary!!). Ours just do soccer (one in a school team, one in a club team), choir (daughter in both school and Aussie Girls Choir), drama (just daughter) guitar lessons and ensemble (just son), and something called Pedal Prix (just son - don't ask!)
So now the soccer season has begun here, this weekend for instance we had to take darling daughter to school soccer match on the other side of town for 9:30 kick off (more on that later!), then darling son to club soccer match for 12:15 kick off at different venue, then darling son to Pedal Prix practice at 2pm - and that's just the Saturday! Sunday (Mothers' Day here in Oz) had to accompany DD to Mothers Day Classic - a charity walk/run in aid of Breast Cancer Research, where her choir were singing before the start, and then do the walk with the girls - which, admittedly was great fun for a great cause but hey, it was hard dragging myself out of bed at 7am on a Sunday! When Channel 9 pointed a camera at me before the walk and tried to get sense out of me for an interview, they were wasting their time I'm afraid!!
On the subject of soccer venues, DD goes to a high school that's about ten minutes drive away, probably walkable in about 40 minutes, but in their wisdom they have decided that the girls' soccer A team should play all their matches at a school on the other side of Adelaide! Whereas the B and C team get to play at home every week! She was so pleased to be selected for the A team, as last year the B and C teams played elsewhere, and the A team played at home! Just can't win.......
Added to all of their social and sporting commitments, we try and fit in time to do stuff together, so Friday night (the only night there isn't some kind of training/rehearsals/lessons) we headed out for a meal at the Pepper Leaf Restaurant, Tea Tree Gully. This is a Vietnamese Restaurant apparently, which as far as I can make out is a cross between Chinese and Thai. Not having eaten "vietnamese" before though, we could have really done with a Set Menu with suggestions on how much to order and what goes with what! Faced with this huge menu covered in assorted dishes, we were a bit in the dark, so I have no idea if what we ended up ordering is typical of their food or not. It was ok, but all the dishes we ordered were heavy on carrots, red peppers (that's capsicums, to us aussies!) and onions! I imagined pots of prepared veg in the kitchen, with the chef throwing handfuls of each into different sauces, adding a bit of meat and coming up with 50 variations!
Saturday night we had tickets to see Cats, a production by MetMuscials at the Arts Theatre in Adelaide. Bought the tickets ages ago, but foolishly didn't look at the seat numbers so when we got there it turned out they'd seated the kids in a completely different part of the theatre to us! Unable to change them, as the show was more or less full, but surely when you buy a family ticket of two adults plus two kids, common sense would dictate that you would like to sit together?! Anyway, the performance was good, even if OH felt the actors went a little over the top with their cat mannerisms - even thought one was going to lick her own bottom at one point when she raised one leg high up in the air!
Anyway, that's our busy weekend over - until it all starts again next week! Just can't imagine how parents manage with more kids than our two - chatting with another choir mum on the walk, she mentioned a friend of hers that has 11 kids..... now that just doesn't bear thinking about, in so many ways!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Ladies Who Lunch!
One of the hardest things when you move to a new country is re-establishing a circle of friends, when you've left all the old ones behind. I was thinking about this yesterday, as I had a lunch date with some more girlfriends, and I was reflecting on how one friend leads to another, then another and so on! I met Debbie first when she moved out here from the UK and her kids were at the same school as mine, through her I met another Debbie, whose daughters were friends with the first Debbie's, then we met Donna, who's a friend of Aussie Debbie, then another English friend Louise started coming along on our lunch meet-ups, so we now make quite a respectable group! Well, respectable in terms of group-size if nothing else!!
Usually we meet at either Cafe Primo in Tea Tree Plaza or Caffe Buongiorno in Tea Tree Plus. Yesterday we thought we'd try out the newly opened Cafe Verde in the new Fairview Park shopping centre! It's a tough life but someone has to do it.....
First two negative points about the centre - there's no ATM there yet so the only way to get cash out is by buying something at Foodland there, and the loos are a bit of a treck from the Cafe, so go before you're really desperate just in case when you get there they're temporarily closed for cleaning (isn't that right, Louise!?!) Ok, that's my pommie whinging out of the way.
The cafe itself was very nice - similar in a lot of ways to Caffe Buongiorno - all the usuals such as Chilli Prawns, Salt and Pepper Squid, Pizzas (I liked the sound of the Tandoori Chicken one - I'm trying that next time!) and a tasty chicken with asparagus, broccoli and blue cheese sauce. Only downside was all five meals didn't come at once, but they did give us some free chips to nibble on and apologise with free coffees all round, so can't really moan! Good wine selection too. Apparently they're open 8:30am to 10pm 7 days a week, so next time I might check out their breakfast menu!
Back to real work today over at the Management Consultants in Port Adelaide. Oh, and the good news is that OH now has a four week contract job after being made redundant at the end of February. Only a short term thing, but Adelaide is all about getting your face and name known, so fingers crossed for this one - at least it will hopefully stop him from nagging me about hanging up my clothes: when he's at work during the day he doesn't keep tripping over the pile!
Usually we meet at either Cafe Primo in Tea Tree Plaza or Caffe Buongiorno in Tea Tree Plus. Yesterday we thought we'd try out the newly opened Cafe Verde in the new Fairview Park shopping centre! It's a tough life but someone has to do it.....
First two negative points about the centre - there's no ATM there yet so the only way to get cash out is by buying something at Foodland there, and the loos are a bit of a treck from the Cafe, so go before you're really desperate just in case when you get there they're temporarily closed for cleaning (isn't that right, Louise!?!) Ok, that's my pommie whinging out of the way.
The cafe itself was very nice - similar in a lot of ways to Caffe Buongiorno - all the usuals such as Chilli Prawns, Salt and Pepper Squid, Pizzas (I liked the sound of the Tandoori Chicken one - I'm trying that next time!) and a tasty chicken with asparagus, broccoli and blue cheese sauce. Only downside was all five meals didn't come at once, but they did give us some free chips to nibble on and apologise with free coffees all round, so can't really moan! Good wine selection too. Apparently they're open 8:30am to 10pm 7 days a week, so next time I might check out their breakfast menu!
Back to real work today over at the Management Consultants in Port Adelaide. Oh, and the good news is that OH now has a four week contract job after being made redundant at the end of February. Only a short term thing, but Adelaide is all about getting your face and name known, so fingers crossed for this one - at least it will hopefully stop him from nagging me about hanging up my clothes: when he's at work during the day he doesn't keep tripping over the pile!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Five Go Wild in the Grampians
Just back from a wonderful girlie weekend in the Grampians with the other Home2Home girls - left to right Sherie, Judy, Mary and Mandy - www.h2h.com.au
As a family, we've done a small amount of travelling since arriving in Adelaide in 2004: we've driven to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road, and to Sydney, then down the coast to Melbourne and back on the "fast" road. We've also flown up to the Gold Coast about three times now. One of the places we've missed so far though has been the Grampians - mainly because when we were planning to come back through there in 2006, they were hit by terrible bushfires.
Judy and Mandy had found this wonderful camping park purely by chance a couple of years ago, and had raved about it ever since, and as Mary from our Home2Home helpdesk in the UK was over visiting, it seemed a good chance to see what they were talking about. We hired a people mover (some Toyota thing - not sure of the model!) from our friend Brian at Aussie Car Rentals (www.aussiecarrentals.com.au), Sherie from Migrate Mates (http://www.migratemates.com/) flew down to join us, and we set off Friday lunchtime, heading East!
Well, what can I say about Emu Park Holiday Camp (http://www.emuholidaypark.com.au/)? If you've not experienced any of Australia other than the Cities, then you really need to check this place out! Alan and Vicki, the owners of this fantastic 40 acre park, are also the local fauna rescue people so as you wonder around, wallabies and kangaroos that they've nursed back to health and released watch you pass, and if you're very lucky (as we were) Vicki will have a current resident that she's bottle feeding - we even got to help with this, after which L
S the 'roo thought Mandy was its Mum and followed us back to our cabin! Mrs Possum visited us in the evenings - we had been told to be sure and shut the cabin door or she'd be in and on the sofa! - and a pair of Wedge Tailed Eagles flew overhead! The fields around Wartook are just full of 'roos and emus - so much so you really have to drive cautiously, constantly on guard for one bounding across the road in front of you. I imagine living in country Australia is tough - the climate means you're either having to buy in water or you have too much and have to be aware of floods, it's a long old drive even to get your groceries and a long trip on the school bus every day for kids, and then there's the bushfire risk in the summer - but this place, with no mobile phone and very little TV reception, is the place to go to truly relax. They even have a fire-proof shelter - the terradome, complete with double spa bath - that you can rent out by the night for the romantics amongst you (well, it sleeps up to four, so we'd be sharing with the kids - not sure about romance there!)
S the 'roo thought Mandy was its Mum and followed us back to our cabin! Mrs Possum visited us in the evenings - we had been told to be sure and shut the cabin door or she'd be in and on the sofa! - and a pair of Wedge Tailed Eagles flew overhead! The fields around Wartook are just full of 'roos and emus - so much so you really have to drive cautiously, constantly on guard for one bounding across the road in front of you. I imagine living in country Australia is tough - the climate means you're either having to buy in water or you have too much and have to be aware of floods, it's a long old drive even to get your groceries and a long trip on the school bus every day for kids, and then there's the bushfire risk in the summer - but this place, with no mobile phone and very little TV reception, is the place to go to truly relax. They even have a fire-proof shelter - the terradome, complete with double spa bath - that you can rent out by the night for the romantics amongst you (well, it sleeps up to four, so we'd be sharing with the kids - not sure about romance there!)We visited Halls Gap Food and Wine Fair on the Saturday, and had a great meal at The Wander Inn (http://wanderinn.wordpress.com/) with some family friends of Mary's (complete with great live music by their son while we ate), and then visited their sheep farm on the Sunday, learnt all about the shearing process, and got to bottle feed a 3 day old Suffolk lamb - we christened him Chops - before a wonderful lunch in their beautiful farmhouse. These lovely people had never met half of us before, but welcomed us and treated us like family, it was wonderful.
In between these fantastic experiences, us girls got to plan, and set the world to rights. We talked about ways to get the message across to potential migrants in the UK that if they want to use an agent, it's well worth considering one who is in Australia rather than automatically opting for a UK-based firm: Australian Migration Agents must be licensed and regulated (unlike their UK counterparts); their costs are often substantially lower, and more important than all that; when you land in your new country, your Australian Migration Agent (if it's a good one like Sherie!) is there on the ground to help you settle so you're not just left floundering. Sherie is based in the Gold Coast, but handles visas for migrants to all parts of Australia, and has links with people all over to help her clients when they arrive - like us, here in Adelaide! She often visits the UK and holds 'clinics' offering help and advice, so get in touch with her if you're looking for a great agent who not only knows her stuff, but cares about her clients well beyond the call of duty!
Wartook is about 5.5 hours drive from Adelaide - mostly on the Dukes Highway, the A8 - so if you're planning on checking out Emu Park, try and plan on at least a long weekend, if not longer. We only had two days there but it was so peaceful and welcoming that it felt like a real break - although we all wanted to stay longer!
Back to normality now - son's SAPSASA (South Australian Primary Schools Amateur Sports Association) soccer carnival all day today and back to nagging darling daughter to do her homework in the evenings, despite her doing her best to act out Swine Flu symptoms after the school sent home a list of them to watch out for - I'm not really such an uncaring mother (honestly!) but I'm sure if you have swine flu, it doesn't just hit on school days then take a break at weekends! Sometimes after such a great weekend, the everyday family hassles are just that little bit harder to put up with......
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Is it me?
One of the things I really miss about the UK is the standard of broadcasting - not only on the television (Australian TV is pretty dire!) but also on the radio! Seems like the main qualification to be a radio presenter here is to have been an ex-footballer or a friend of someone famous - imagine David Beckham, or Victoria's Beckham's bridesmaid presenting on the radio, and you're probably already 100% better than the choices here!
The best station I've found that doesn't make me get to the end of a car journey with tightly gritted teeth (usually) is ABC News Radio - I listen on 972 am - an Australia-wide network that plays a lot of programmes from both the BBC, an American Station called NPR, and a German one called Deutsche Welle Radio. I miss spoken word comedy stuff on the radio though, so still use the internet at home to listen to lots of stuff like Radio 4's The News Quiz and The Now Show, as well as my dirty, guilty little secret - The Archers Omnibus edition!
Driving home from Port Adelaide this afternoon though, listening to ABC, and had to consciously restrain myself from yelling at the radio! Now I'm not highly educated, don't have a doctorate or even a degree, and the highest qualification I hold is in bi-lingual travel and tourism, but even I can hear that this is wrong: .... "we need to ensure we come out of this recession better than what we went into it".... and a little later "stronger than what we were before".... aaarrrgggghhhh, enough with the "what"!! Once I could understand, the nerves of being interviewed on radio, the strong wish to get a message across, but this, or similar (each with that aberrant "what") was repeated five - count them - five times! Who was the interviewee? The "Federal President of the Australian Education Union" - I give up...........is it me????
On a brighter note, the local library has an excellent stock of books on tape/cd, available to borrow free of charge, so I shall be saving my blood pressure in future and listening to Terry Pratchett books whilst driving instead (I've tried Jodie Piccoult, but have found it's difficult to drive whilst crying and some of her books are soooo harrowing).
The best station I've found that doesn't make me get to the end of a car journey with tightly gritted teeth (usually) is ABC News Radio - I listen on 972 am - an Australia-wide network that plays a lot of programmes from both the BBC, an American Station called NPR, and a German one called Deutsche Welle Radio. I miss spoken word comedy stuff on the radio though, so still use the internet at home to listen to lots of stuff like Radio 4's The News Quiz and The Now Show, as well as my dirty, guilty little secret - The Archers Omnibus edition!
Driving home from Port Adelaide this afternoon though, listening to ABC, and had to consciously restrain myself from yelling at the radio! Now I'm not highly educated, don't have a doctorate or even a degree, and the highest qualification I hold is in bi-lingual travel and tourism, but even I can hear that this is wrong: .... "we need to ensure we come out of this recession better than what we went into it".... and a little later "stronger than what we were before".... aaarrrgggghhhh, enough with the "what"!! Once I could understand, the nerves of being interviewed on radio, the strong wish to get a message across, but this, or similar (each with that aberrant "what") was repeated five - count them - five times! Who was the interviewee? The "Federal President of the Australian Education Union" - I give up...........is it me????
On a brighter note, the local library has an excellent stock of books on tape/cd, available to borrow free of charge, so I shall be saving my blood pressure in future and listening to Terry Pratchett books whilst driving instead (I've tried Jodie Piccoult, but have found it's difficult to drive whilst crying and some of her books are soooo harrowing).
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Adelaide Central Market
Went into Adelaide Central Market today to stock up on cheese for our girlie weekend. The plan was to kill two birds with one stone and drop OH off to sit his citizenship test in Currie Street en route.
Firstly, I've not been to the market on a Wednesday before - we tend to go on either Friday night or Saturday: Friday night is good for atmosphere, they have live music playing usually in the buskers spot, lots of families out and about, lots of "tasting" samples (you can almost get a whole meal if you time it right on your way round!) and a real buzz to the place; Saturday is good because the market closes at about 3pm so around lunchtime, lots of the stalls start to reduce their stock and you can get some real bargains. Anyway, Wednesday during the day, some of the market stalls aren't open, but I guess about 60% of them were, including my favourite cheese one, the car park was half empty (so I didn't have to do that "stalking" thing and follow someone back to their car for their space!) and even better, I found that by spending more than $10 at my favourite meat stall, I got a voucher for two hours free parking! I shall be going on a Wednesday again!!
Met up with OH (unable to take his citizenship test after all as the computers went down!) and we had a great lunch at Ace Bar, in the middle of the market. Voucher from the Entertainment Book meant we got two rump steaks with chips and salad for the total price of $15! Really nice steak too. Washed it down with a couple of nice glasses of the house wine specials, beats working any day!
Unfortunately for the rest of the afternoon, things went a little downhill. Needed to lodge the kids' aussie passport renewal applications at the Post Office. Having got all the paperwork together, filled out the forms online, printed them out, got the photos taken in a local chemist so they are exactly the right size, got them signed by a neighbour, realised we needed our parental signatures signed too so grabbed another neighbour doing his gardening to do that, I trundled off to the Hope Valley Post Office, only to be told I needed a "Corporate" Post Office such as the one at St Agnes or Tea Tree Plaza. Drove to St Agnes, queued for about ten minutes, got to the counter, only to be told by very unhelpful man that I should have made an appointment and I was too late to make one today! Apparently it takes them ten minutes to "check you've filled the form in properly" (D'oh, I have filled out forms before - and could read through and confirm I'd answered all the questions in about two minutes!) so that's another job that has to go back in the "To Do" list!
At least OH and I won't need any dinner tonight - kids are sorted with some $1 prime beef burgers from my favourite meat stall (think it's called "Feast") - the burgers are so thick and chunky that you can cut one in half through the middle to make two 'normal' sized ones! So much for Coles advert about feeding the famiy for under $10 - I could do four of us for less than $5 with these - and that would include the buns, and some salad too!
Firstly, I've not been to the market on a Wednesday before - we tend to go on either Friday night or Saturday: Friday night is good for atmosphere, they have live music playing usually in the buskers spot, lots of families out and about, lots of "tasting" samples (you can almost get a whole meal if you time it right on your way round!) and a real buzz to the place; Saturday is good because the market closes at about 3pm so around lunchtime, lots of the stalls start to reduce their stock and you can get some real bargains. Anyway, Wednesday during the day, some of the market stalls aren't open, but I guess about 60% of them were, including my favourite cheese one, the car park was half empty (so I didn't have to do that "stalking" thing and follow someone back to their car for their space!) and even better, I found that by spending more than $10 at my favourite meat stall, I got a voucher for two hours free parking! I shall be going on a Wednesday again!!
Met up with OH (unable to take his citizenship test after all as the computers went down!) and we had a great lunch at Ace Bar, in the middle of the market. Voucher from the Entertainment Book meant we got two rump steaks with chips and salad for the total price of $15! Really nice steak too. Washed it down with a couple of nice glasses of the house wine specials, beats working any day!
Unfortunately for the rest of the afternoon, things went a little downhill. Needed to lodge the kids' aussie passport renewal applications at the Post Office. Having got all the paperwork together, filled out the forms online, printed them out, got the photos taken in a local chemist so they are exactly the right size, got them signed by a neighbour, realised we needed our parental signatures signed too so grabbed another neighbour doing his gardening to do that, I trundled off to the Hope Valley Post Office, only to be told I needed a "Corporate" Post Office such as the one at St Agnes or Tea Tree Plaza. Drove to St Agnes, queued for about ten minutes, got to the counter, only to be told by very unhelpful man that I should have made an appointment and I was too late to make one today! Apparently it takes them ten minutes to "check you've filled the form in properly" (D'oh, I have filled out forms before - and could read through and confirm I'd answered all the questions in about two minutes!) so that's another job that has to go back in the "To Do" list!
At least OH and I won't need any dinner tonight - kids are sorted with some $1 prime beef burgers from my favourite meat stall (think it's called "Feast") - the burgers are so thick and chunky that you can cut one in half through the middle to make two 'normal' sized ones! So much for Coles advert about feeding the famiy for under $10 - I could do four of us for less than $5 with these - and that would include the buns, and some salad too!
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