Thornleigh

The litte suburb that we live in, Thornleigh, is about 30-40 minutes away from the CBD (Central Business District) of Sydney and about 20 minutes from Epping, where I work (if the roads are totally clear, which doesn't happen often). Most of the houses here are well kept up and pleasant, quite a change from Socorro where we had a reputed drug dealer living in a crappy trailer no more than 400 yards from our house.

Thornleigh is edged on the north and west by large areas of bush. The Great North Walk which goes through here on the way to Newcastle is a favorite of many people we know. We have yet to set foot on it.

Our house is in a steep sided valley down which a little stream runs, falling over one 10 foot waterfall and many smaller drops. The sides of the valley are very rocky. Many houses, like ours, are built on top of very substantial boulders.

There are trees all around. Our kitchen is at the level of the treetops so we see the crowns swaying in the wind, and birds perching in the most precarious places.

Every day, flocks of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos fly past, to the west in the morning and back east in the evening. The general effect is of an avian West Side Story. You can almost see the sneers on the beaks of these feathered hoodlums. They screak continuously in flight. I'm glad they don't live nearby. By comparison, my buddies the Lorikeets are delightful, friendly, happy, good company - always ready for a visit and a burbling, whistling chat.

Althought it is winter, evenings here are fine. It's very dry at the moment and so we see few clouds. The stars are surprisingly bright and clear. Summer evenings should be a real pleasure, especially from our gazebo at the back of the house. I can't wait.

Tim

Karma in Doggie Heaven

Dog in Doggie Heaven
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

I love this photo of Karma. With ears upright, he is practically flying over the grass at the beach front dog park. Tim thought the photo would be better with "all" of Karma, but there is something about the implied action - the front shadow - the pure joy ... I just like it (hope you do too).

Judi

Dog Pile

Dog Pile
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

This is a typical scene at the Rowland Reserve leash-free dog park. The park is on a beach in a northern suburb of Sydney - Bayview. Karma, Sammy, Tim and I had a wonderful time at this park which is located on the beach and in a small harbor. You can see all kinds of dogs there and every one of them looks to be totally enjoying him/herself.

This was the first salt water Karma and Sammy had ever been in - having grown up near the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. After an initial, "this doesn't taste like the stuff we usually drink look," Sammy and Karma continued to lap up the salt water when thirsty.

Rowland's Reserve is unquestionably doggie heaven for both dogs and their owners. We'll be back!

Judi

Update

The container is here in Sydney but magically shrunk from 40' to 20'. Seriously this might be a problem since it means that the container was opened and repacked somewhere. We'll have to check the contents carefully.

We also signed the loan documents today. We're on schedule to close sometime next week.

Finally we watched Liverpool vs AC Milan (recorded at 4:30am this morning) on the Foxtel IQ tonight. While not as well designed and altogether wonderful as TiVo, the IQ will do. However, we did miss the end of the game (it went to overtime). Liverpool won after coming back from three goals down. Very cool.

Tim

Speed, speed, speed...

Test run on 26/5/2005 @ 8:58 P.M.

Mirror: Bigpond
Test type: Cable

Your connection speed:

kbps: 4964.1
KB/s: 620.5125
Mbps: 4.84775390625

Glorious, especially after 33.6k.

Update: The download limit is 30GB. After that amount in a month, it slows down precipitously. However, I doubt that we'll reach that limit any time soon.

Tim

Ships and Dogs

After checking the tracking site for the ship that is carrying our precious cargo container, I have some concern that the ship appears to be somewhere in the Bering Sea. I could swear that the Conti Shanghai was just there a few weeks ago and why didn't it arrive in Sydney yesterday (May 23) like it was supposed to? When Tim refers to "smooth sailing," I don't think he is talking about the Conti Shanghai!

Despite daily walks and frequent trips to the leash free dog park, Sammy still feels the need to explore his new home. Each night, I let the dogs out the back door (so they can relieve themselves if needed). This was working well until Sammy decided that he can disappear into the darkness and wander the neighborhood. Wandering dogs are not something the local councils are very tolerant of, and I get terrified that he will get hit by a passing car (he's completely black, you know). The first night he disappeared, he came back near the house 30 minutes later and we brought him inside. Last night, Tim found him on the street where we have our daily walks - a street with speeding cars. Ugh! Needless to say - Sammy won't go out without a leash for a very long time!

Note: I'm learning to feel more comfortable driving on "the other" side of the road. It's only on roads with no other traffic that there is the risk of going back to old habits. Furthermore, I only turn on the windshield wipers a few times a day now (instead of the turning signal). This is a big improvement and should be good news to other drivers in our area.

Judi

More keets

One more great picture:



Tim

Mortgage

We got the mortgage approved today. Should be plain sailing from here on!

Tim

I for one welcome our new Lorikeet overlords

They are here:





All your beaks are belong to us!



Smuggle this movie out to the human resistance!

Tim

Sunday afternoon

I'm sitting out on the balcony, enoying the sun and the lorikeets. Two lorikeets are about two feet above my head, eating from the hanging basket. They are messy eaters and stuff keeps falling on my laptop as I type. One keeps hanging upside to look quizzically at me - he's saying something but I don't speak lorikeetian yet.

Progress - we have broadband and wireless now. Plus I got my car from CSIRO. We ordered a kitchen table. Still looking for a desk for the office and one of those propane heaters that you see at outdoor cafes. Our furniture is due to arrive in Sydney tomorrow but I doubt we'll actually see it for a couple of weeks.

It's getting quite chilly in the mornings now. The days are clear and warm with lots of blue sky so the fall is much like that in Socorro. I miss the smell of chile.

Judi's gone shopping but today is a quiet day for me. We drove a little too much yesterday. The traffic here is bad even on a Saturday, especially down by the shopping areas.

That's it for now.

Tim

My birthday

Nice day. I went to work as usual (no vacation time accrued yet). A lot of people congratulated me and a bunch of people signed a card. Made me very happy! Back at five to see my honey. For dinner, we went to eat at Sunil's in Thornleigh (recommended by one of my presents Sydney Eats.) It's Sri Lankan food, similar to my favorite cuisine, Indian.

No angst about turning the big Five-Oh. Forty was fine and I can't remember thirty so it couldn't have been too bad.

The bad side is that I miss Gavin and Zoe and my friends in Socorro. It would have been fun to celebrate with Andy, drinking tequila down at the Cap as we used to. Andy, bring a bottle when you come to visit.

Tim

Morning walk

It's Sunday morning. We took the dogs for their normal walk:



Beautiful sights all around:



Returning to our house in the trees:




Tim

A highwire act

Driving to work this morning I saw a remarkable tussle between a possum and a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos. The possum was on a telephone wire crossing above the road. The cockatoos were surrounding the possum on the the wires, shrieking and flapping wings. The possum was edging slowly and very gingerly along the wire. The cockatoos would back off as the possum advanced. One cockatoo was hanging upside down and beating its wings. Then the traffic moved on and I lost sight of the confrontation. My money was on the possum.

Update: Our friend, Mehr mas, from Iran, asks in her comment on this posting what does the last sentence mean? It means that if I was to bet on the outcome, I'd bet my money on the possum winning the confrontation.

Tim's Birthday - THE BIG 50

I bought Tim a few gifts and gave him two this morning. I'll give him the rest this evening. The first gift was a CD that I thought he might enjoy. It's an excellent soundtrack from "A Rabbit-Proof Fence," the Golden Globe-nominated score by Peter Gabriel. I highly recommend the movie. It's a true story of hope and survival. At a time when it was Australian government policy to train aboriginal children as domestic workers and integrate them into white society, young Molly Craig decides to lead her little sister and cousin in a daring escape from their internment camp. Molly and the girls, part of what would become known as Australia's "Stolen Generations," must then elude the authorities on a dangerous 1,500-mile adventure along the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the continent and will lead them home. The film is a beautiful testament to the undying strength of the human spirit.

Tim's second present was a book about Sydney (area) dining. We like to eat out, but it's difficult to know what's good in a new area. It will be fun to check out the recommendations.

FYI... Zoë received a medal of achievement with highest distinction for her honors research project in Psychology. (I hope I got that correct.)

Ramblings on settling in...

My new morning routine consists of walking the dogs in the neighborhood, alternating days with visits to the dog park. The walks have been good to get us in shape. The dogs were essentially inactive for one month while in quarantine, and I was... well, lazy.

Just now, Sammy barked at something down the street, and then I heard a loud squawk. I don't know what Sammy was upset about, but the two rainbow lorikeets feeding on the pawpaw rinds (that are in a hanging basket on the balcony) were irritated about the disturbance. Four feet away from a barking black furry thing and the birds did not budge. Surprisingly, Sammy doesn't seem at all interested in them either.

I might have seen a Satin Bowerbird this morning. (At least that is the only bird in our book that looks like the one I saw.) It was just meters away and since it didn't move I thought it might be hurt or sick, but it finally flew to a nearby bush. Even if this bird is not a Satin Bowerbird, they are interesting to read about - the males are so romantic - they bring courtship to a whole new level!

I was lamenting recently about how much I missed cold juice (no refrigerator). Then I thought about people who don't even have food. Then I decided not to whine anymore.

The dog park is interesting. It's a great place to meet people (and of course, dogs). However, I think that Sammy and Karma are the only non-pedigreed canines. Australians seem interested in Karma who is part Border Collie and part Australian Shepherd. Several Border Collies are regular visitors to the park; however, did you know that the Australian Shepherd is not even Australian? It appears to be an American "breed". Go figure! ... I introduce Sammy as a "Spoodle" (Poodle/Cocker Spaniel mix). There are many varieties of the "mixed poodle breed" such as: labradoodle, lahsadoodle, and so on.

Tim turns 50 in five days - May 18th. What do you get someone who has just bought a house, a home entertainment system, a wide screen TV, an incredible coffee maker, etc? Spiritual enlightenment? (Suggestions are welcome!)

Judi

Keeping up to date

For our regular readers, I can announce that the money finally made it from our bank in NY to our bank in Australia. We have sufficient Australian Dollars to pay the 20% on the house. In addition, the Foreign Investment Review Board decided that even though we are Foreign Devils (an official designation, I believe), we can buy the house, as long as once we leave we sell it back to an Australian.

We have a fridge. Hence salads, soy milk, and cool drinks. Interestingly few fridges here make ice automatically. The US mania for ice in drinks evidently has not travelled here.

Tomorrow we get cable and perhaps faster internet (currently dialup). The English Premier League will finish soon but there are interesting soccer games coming up after the season. In addition, the Tour de France will be on soon.

Big rain here tonight. The house gutters really need cleaning out. A lot of water overflowed onto the balcony. No leaks through the roof, happily.

Work is going well. Much interesting discussion this week centered around the South African equivalent to the xNTD, which they call KAT (short for Karoo Array Telescope).

That's it for now.

Our home - the movie

Here's a little movie about our new home (Quicktime format, 4.6MB).

Judi

Ten thousand desires

I didn't post last night because we watched a movie, Samsara. One always wonders about the Buddha's family who he left to seek enlightenment. In Samsara, a young Tibetan monk finds enlightenment but then finds his carnal desires coming to the forefront. He falls for a beautiful woman and chooses to leave the monastery. Memorable lines from the movie - "is it better to satisfy ten thousand desires than to conquer one?" - "how does one stop a single water drop from drying up?". The movie is set in Tibet but filmed in Ladakh. The landscape is startlingly beautiful and much like New Mexico: huge vistas and snowcapped mountains. The soundtrack is worth listening to just by itself. We give the movie two thumbs up.

We will continue to satisfy our own ten thousand desires today. We have yet to buy a fridge, washer and dryer, office furniture, etc. I'm not sure what desire we have conquered. Judi bought Karma a doggy bed which he is now using after spending some time sleeping next to it. The dogs seem to have survived Eastern Creek with the only apparent consequence being some loss of conditioning. They'll get this back in a few days of running with the dogs at the leash free park.

A kookabura has just started up his racket outside (it's 6am here). I'm off to make some coffee.

Tim

What I love about Oz

1. The crazy, noisy, beautiful birds...

From our balcony this morning, I watched 8 "Rainbow Lorikeets" arguing and fussing with each other in a nearby tree. The Lorikeet is a very noisy bird, with a lot to say and is often seen in large flocks making high pitch screeching and chattering, especially when feeding. Their name gives you an idea of their colorful beauty.

The "Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo," with its distinctive sulphur-yellow crest and loud raucous screech. About 25 of them flew overhead this morning - they are not just a sight to behold but a sound as well! Sammy almost jumped out of his skin!

One other bird that never ceases to make me laugh is so far just a sound to me. I don't know what bird it is, so bird lovers, please educate me. The sound is like a very loud, strange child who is whining or crying. It sounds quite human, but comically so. (I & out what the bird is - a Raven! It sounds like ##%^$**&%^.)

[Note: Right now, it sounds like the classical hollywood version of a tropical jungle just outside my door.]

Listen to more Aussie bird calls and definitely check out the kookaburra.

2. The Weather.... So far, our weather has been perfect - warm days and cool nights, with the occasional harmless cloud floating by.

3. The friendly and helpful people I have met so far. Almost everyone I have dealt with has been professional, polite and seems to care about how well they perform their jobs. They even laugh at my self deprecating jokes and don't seem to mind staying late at their jobs if it means helping out.

I also love the low key, friendly way people spend chatting with a total stranger. And I love the term: "No worries!"

Food. You name it, they got it - oh, and it's good.

Things I am sure I will learn to love about Oz:

1. The traffic - fast, faster and fastest on narrow streets. The streets are a bit like Boston's - designed by the cows walking through the young city. Streets are hilly and windy and can often have several different names depending on which section of the street you are driving on. I don't usually need an excuse to get lost, but this aspect doesn't help much.

[Note: I am having less trouble driving on the "wrong" side of the road than I expected, however, I did find myself toottling down a local street.... well, you get the picture. I am even almost cured of turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals.]

2. The bugs - 'nuf said.

It's great to be in our new house. I'll be glad when our furniture arrives so that we can actually unpack our bags, and a refrigerator would come in handy for food storage - but hey - we're experienced campers!

Judi

We're in

The doggies were ecstatic to see us. No bad feelings, evidently. My worries about Sammy bearing a grudge may be ill-founded. They did some world-class sniffing and peeing outside the Quarantine Center and then we drove back to town. We checked a few things on the house and then decided to proceed. We handed over the 10% downpayment in exchange for the keys and then moved our small amount of belongings into the house.

For supper we had bread, cheese, chutney, fruit, and some Asti Spumante. We're both quite exhausted, and so are Sammy and Karma.

It's three weeks to the day since we arrived. Not bad!

More tomorrow.

Tim

The big day

Today we move into the new house and get the dogs. We'll have some Ikea furniture, including a bed, delivered this afternoon so hopefully we'll be able to sleep at the house tonight. Tomorrow the cable will be connected and we'll get the TV and stereo (the very foundation of the Maslow pyramid of needs). Perhaps I'll be able to watch the soccer this weekend.

We're both excited to get the dogs out of the slammer. I fear that Sammy will have become embittered and suspicious - think Bogart in "High Sierra". Karma will be fine as long as we find something white for him to confuse with a sheep.

Our money is coming across the electric wires slowly ("Across the electric wires/the message came/he is no better/he is much the same" - a famously bad poem from the Victorian era). We have about 40% of it and can make the down payment. The rest should be here before we get all the other paperwork done.

Tim

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

Where do I start? We have a new house, I have a new car and I am picking up my beloved doggies on Wednesday. I have to admit I am most excited about seeing the dogs. I keep picturing those sad little faces behind bars and my heart breaks. I hope they remember me and more so, that they aren’t mad at me. They have not had any exercise for one month, so I need to scope out an area near the quarantine station where they can run and play like crazy!

Timing has worked out incredibly well for us. We not only found a house to buy, but the owners are allowing us to move in right away for rent and prior to closing. We are moving into the house the day before the dogs get “out of jail”, so they will be able to stay with us. In addition, our belongings should be arriving and delivered by the end of May – so no second moves are necessary. (Those movers are going to love the three flights of stairs to reach the main floor! Tim and I will just get in shape.) I also found the car I wanted right before our move which will help since we won’t be able to share anymore due to the distance to Tim’s work.

My new car is a 2001 silver Toyota Echo Three Door Hatchback.

It might remind you of those cars all the clowns fit into at the circus. It is very cute, but with plenty of room for me, the dogs and some groceries (or whatever). Best of all, it practically runs on air – so petrol costs should remain nominal. I wanted red or blue or some more exciting color, but this car has only 25K Kilometers on it (15,500K miles) – so it was too good a deal to turn down.

Tim mentioned our shopping spree this past weekend. Besides his “dream coffeemaker”, we had to replace many of the appliances that we sold before we left Socorro. That means items like toasters, vacuum cleaners, blenders and basic furniture to hold us over until our stuff arrives on the ship. I finally gave in on Tim’s big screen TV – you only turn 50 once in your life! Besides, how can you effectively watch soccer on anything smaller? Impossible! :)

Today I am going back to the Ikea store and buy a sofa bed for us to sleep on until our own bed arrives. The sofa bed will make a great addition to one of our guest rooms. I’m also going to buy a couple of comfy chairs and other items, so that staying in our new house won’t feel so much like a camping trip.

Remaining is the fencing contractor to erect a barrier to “maintain” the dogs, car insurance, paying the house deposit and other inescapable tasks. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

I am excited about our new house – it’s totally opposite from the house we sold in Socorro. I am concerned about funnel web spiders biting my dogs – particularly Sammy, the digger. I will probably have some restricted areas that are particularly high risk.

Thanks to all of you who are reading our blog. It is nice to be able to keep the important people in our lives up to date on the details of our great adventure. Be sure we get to hear from you as well!

--Judi

Coffee problem solved

When we left the US, we had to leave behind our beautiful Krups coffee maker - one that ground and drip-brewed on a timer. After a lot of searching here, we gave up on being able to simply get another. So in mourning, we bought a fabulous and fabulously expensive espresso machine, the Delonghi Magnificat. This grinds and brews espresso at the touch of a button.

The official rationalization is that it's my fiftieth birthday present.

Tim