Martha's Black Dog is closing

The first coffee shop in Socorro is evidently closing, according to my old friend Brian. It's too bad. Martha's cafe was a big advance in the liveability of Socorro - somewhere to go for a capuccino. The coffee was of variable quality (her staff changed a fair amount) but just being there was good enough. And her desserts were usually excellent.

Before I knew Judi, I used to go there in the evening for a late night coffee and dessert (I was running a lot in those days and could afford the calories). I remember sitting there with Paul Harden discussing Comet Hale-Bopp. We cruelly told a nearby eavesdropper that we couldn'd discuss what we knew.

The day Judi and I got married we went there for our reception (the four of us). Gavin had a great vanilla shake, I remember. The photo of Judi and me is still on the wall - she looks just gorgeous.

Thanks Martha.

Tim

Mermaid Avenue

I just noticed that we don't write about music. Strange because we both listen all the time to various stuff. So... currently we're really enjoying Billy Bragg and Wilco, Mermaid Avenue. The lyrics were evidently written by Woody Guthrie and music provided by BB and Wilco (separately and together). So the sensibility of Woody with the beautiful music of Wilco.

A shoutout to my new friend Joel who introduced me to this great music.

Tim

One more thing....

Judi forgot to say that the beaches in Australia are really great. A few too many sunbathers, though.

Tim

The Good, The Bad, The OK

At the risk of incurring the wrath of our Australia friends, I would like to comment on some of our findings in this new home...

For example.... Like what's the deal with the bread here? The fanciest and healthiest bread we've found is white bread with some seeds on it. When I've been to the bakery and ask the worker what each kind is, the response is:

That's white bread in a round form. Oh, that one is white bread that is baked in a square pan. That one is white bread with a crispy top, and so on....and each shape has a different name (e.g., Tiger Bread, Farmer Bread, etc.). Even the whole grain bread here looks white.

Haven't they heard about bread that you can eat three bites from and the resulting nutrition will last you for the next three months? Actually, we found the same thing in France - sort of tasteless, white bread. Can someone tell me where we can find bread that'll put hair on your chest? One friend suggested a bakery near the CBD, but what about us folks in "Suburbia?"

Australia offers some wonderful things, but I miss The Great Harvest Bread Co. in Albuquerque, NM (and real robust bread!).

Speaking of eating, the restaurants here in OZ are wonderful - and we've been eating out mostly in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney. The restaurants tend to be intimate with excellent service. Very often you will find yourself being served by a member of the owner's family. And you want to talk about variety??? If you want to eat Gado Gado that might be the main dish from some obscure Indonesian Island, you could probably find it here. We have eaten Sri Lankan, Singapore food, Japanese, various types of Chinese - you name it - OH, and the gourmet pizzas! What they lack in bread here, they make up in varieties of pizza.

And on the road.... that is, roads that are narrow and not particularly efficient for a city the size of Sydney, are the drivers. Growing up in Boston, I remember that driving can be stressful - dangerous in fact. I thought Boston drivers were the meanest until I drove in New Jersey. New Jersey drivers aren't just mean - they actually try to kill you. I was almost run off a busy freeway by a crazed semi-truck driver. Then, if you drive in New Mexico you can witness another type of bad driver - NM drivers aren't mean - they're just dumb! They have no sense.

So far, I have found Australian drivers to be mostly proficient and polite drivers, unless you hesitate for a moment prior to entering a round-a-bout or making a turn - then you get the proverbial "BEEP!" Australian drivers like to use their car horns, so if you're new in the area or trying to learn how to drive on "the other" side of the road, you can expect to get beeped at a lot. I have beep marks all over!

I have probably bored you enough with my remarks, so I'll sign off for now. I will continue the pros and cons list in a later posting.

Judi
(PS: Tim and I really like it here - honest! An amazing experience we have had here is the deliveries are made on time by professional, efficient and polite workers who take pride in their jobs. It's great and something we weren't used to in NM! Oops, here I go again.... )

See the comet

As you probably know, NASA is going to crash a spacecraft into a comet tonight (July 4). You can see it live on the Charles Sturt University (Bathhurst, NSW) remote telescope:

http://black-hole-net.mit.csu.edu.au/telescope/resources/deepimpact.asp

Note also the archive of images of the comet taken on previous nights.

Tim

Evening in the northern woods

I was in the northern Netherlands last week for a scientific meeting. Our hotel and the meeting place were in the Dwingerveld - an old forest. We were fortunate to be able ride bicycles to and from the meeting. The cycle paths there are superb, of course. The ride in the morning was a good way to wake up, and that in the evening was a preparation for sleep - very peaceful with extraordinary dusk lighting even at 9 and 10 o'clock.

Compared to Australia, the woods in the Netherlands are quite boring - no strange trees losing their skin and no shrieking brightly coloured birds. But there were big mosquitos, quick to converge from all around.

I got back here on Sunday. The next day I went for a (mountain) bike ride along the fire trail. I couldn't find my helmet so I went without it - strictly illegal here. It wasn't a good idea, either, because I fell off my bike at the end of a steep ride down to a stream, falling most satisfyingly onto the ground and then down across a big slab of rock and into the stream. A nice welcome back to Australia :)

Tim

Goodbye to a Special Lady

Claire Hughes was in her late 80's I think and still very sharp. She died recently after a lengthy and painful illness. She had told me several times that she wanted to die - that it was time to die - that she was tired of living with pain.

I met Claire when I lived in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). She lived with her friend Marcy, another wonderful woman. Claire and Marcy were nuns for many years until they decided it was time to start a different kind of life. They started their new life with few belongings and little money because the Catholic church requires that you donate all of your personal belongings to the church. Claire had an MS in Library Science and Marcy was a teacher (mostly English as a second language). As nuns, they traveled and lived in interesting places that included Hawaii and Bolivia. They moved to Globe, Arizona and worked there, then moved to the Phoenix area and then up to Prescott, Arizona.

I met Claire at a vulnerable time in my life. I had just separated from my "ex-husband" and moved to Mesa, Arizona to start my new life. I met Claire because she was my second cousin (my mother's cousin). I loved her because she was warm, and caring, intelligent and wise. Despite her connection to the church, she was open to all kinds of ideas and beliefs. It truly surprised me; I didn't expect such openness. It was a comfort to me just to know that she and Marcy lived nearby.

I only lived in Phoenix for 2 1/2 years, so I didn't get to spend a lot of time with Claire and Marcy, and subsequent visits were from a long distance and brief. When Tim and I were getting ready for our move to Oz, I would liked to have driven over to Prescott to say goodbye. I talked to her by phone on several occasions in those last months, so at least we had some contact. However, my car was in the shop for hail damage for two months and the last couple of weeks were frantic to prepare for our move. I didn't say goodbye to Claire, even though I knew she was dying. I wish I had. I wish I had taken the time and the effort to go to Prescott.

I feel blessed that I got to know Claire. She was a cool old lady. I'm not sorry she died - I hate to think of her living with such pain and she said she was ready to go. I will miss her though. Even though I didn't see or talk to her very often, it felt good just to know she was there.

So goodbye Claire - I know you will keep them in line up there! My love to you.

Judi

Our home in the trees

P6190229.JPG
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

I want to show you the huge and beautiful trees that surround our new home. The tall trees are gum trees, but there are many other types I haven't been able to identify... yet.

Judi

Time for a vacation....

P6190211.JPG
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

I guess you can see here why I haven't posted for a while. Our house is filled with full boxes, empty boxes or "stuff". Too much stuff. It's an eye-opening experience to move from a home with two double garages, a large kitchen, three large closets and a walk-in to a home with one small closet, one small walk-in, a small kitchen and a carport for storage. This after four garage sales. Who says we're materialistic!? Actually, most of the "stuff" is like the thirty miscellaneous coffee mugs we couldn't bear to part with because of the memories associated with each.

I am taking action to combat the overload. I have bought garment racks to store/hang clothing, assembled various storage units, and I am even buying a huge wooden storage unit/wardrobe that I "won" on EBay. Don't ask how I expect to get this to our house - I haven't figured that out yet.

It's overwhelming, so I set small goals for myself each day. At least I can find one neat and clean corner - one.

Judi

Angels of Mercy

Angels of Mercy
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

This is Brian (left) and Glenn (the other side). They are removal experts from Ambrose and Sons and they are moving our things into our house as I type this. Bless their hearts. Now for the unpacking - YUCK!

Judi

Morning Mists on Delivery Day

It rained last night so we have some mist this morning. Here's a view from our balcony.



Tim

Angry Email Messages and Miracles

I'm almost afraid to say this, but.... but..... but.... the movers are coming tomorrow morning (Wednesday) with our stuff! Phew. (I really missed my little Fiskars manual drill.)

Judi

On the fire trail

Sydney has immense areas of undisturbed bush. In our neighbourhood, the houses form fingers into the bush. Fire is a real risk and so there are many fire access trails down which a truck can drive or people (and dogs) can walk. About 1/4 mile from our house is a trail heading north. We all four (12 legs in all) walked along it today. Here's the slideshow (21Mb so be patient). The music is from a very good friend of ours, Mark Holdaway.

Tim

You call that a dog? This is a dog...

Karma meets some sort of creature, perhaps a dog, maybe not.



Strangely, Sammy didn't try his usual humping trick.

Tim

Our furniture, different clothes, our nice comfy bed..

I had to wait a day before I wrote this or it would have had too many expletives to publish. You would think that since our container arrived in port on May 23rd, that we would have our belongings by now - even considering customs, quarantine, etc. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Now our local mover won't deliver our belongings until he receives payment from --- well, here's where lies the problem.

Elvis, our local guy, sends emails to Omega Shipping asking for his payment before he will deliver our container. For some reason, Omega does not respond to his inquiries. (BTW, this is the second time around for these particular actions). I forward a strongly worded email to our original contact/broker, TransLogisitics, attaching the email from Elvis that explains his predicament. TransLogistics forwards my email to Omega Shipping who says that every time they have contacted the Container Line, they are told that our belongings have been released. They send a strongly worded email saying that the current situation is not their fault. The bottom line is that Elvis will not deliver until he is paid.

While I am giving credit where credit is due to these organizations, I wouldn't want to leave out New Planet Movers located in Las Vegas Nevada. The original two packers they sent to Socorro (Vitali and Vitali) arrived on time and did a good job (or so we hope). Since the container never arrived from Phoenix, Vitali and Vitali had to leave for another job. New Planet told me they would send a replacement team right away, and don't worry, "I know these guys personally, They'll do a good job for you." Perhaps they would have done a good job for us if they had ever shown up - how many days did we wait for them? I also found out that my contact at New Planet didn't know "these guys" from Adam. On New Planet, LYING is an acceptable form of communication.

Now I haven't told you about the original estimate that Translogistics bid that was - ugh oh - $2k higher than what was originally thought. Hmmmmm. I haven't mentioned that Eli, my contact at Omega Shipping, went on vacation during the beginning of our move and left everyone hanging - even leaving a voice mail for me saying that we had to pay the packers ourselves (this was not the deal - this cost was included in the agreed upon cost). Of course, with our garage full of packed and ready household goods, the container never arrived, and when it finally did, it was twice the size of the original order.

I guess I could go on and on with the telling of this ridiculous saga, but why weary both of us? My suggestions to these companies.
1. Use the phone, not just emails to communicate.
2. Hire people and organizations that can be trusted and who have proven themselves before.
3. When a key contact goes on vacation, be sure they debrief the poor schmuck left to do the work.
4. Pick someone who will actually have the integrity and professionalism to take responsibility when things go wrong (i.e., not pass the buck (or email) from one person to another.
5. Remember that an international move will be stressful - and that a company's lack of competence will have deleterious effects on the "movees."
6. There are more suggestions, but these are a good start.

So, to date, we don't know when we will have our household goods to furnish our new house. We have found that living out of suitcases for two and a half months can develop character (if not holes in the shoes you wear day in and day out). We discovered that it is especially important to read the fine print on shipping contracts. We are hoping that an internet blog can be mightier that the sword. Perhaps we will have to hire a hostage negotiator to obtain our belongings. Stay tuned, that's not a bad idea.

A Pissed Off Judi

"I'm not a'scared of no stinkin' death adder!"

While my handsome and brilliant husband is reading, or rather listening to Homer, I research nature's instruments of death such as: the Death Adder, the Funnel-Web Spider, the Red-Bellied Black Snake, and killer Cone Shells. My interest was piqued on the day our house sale settled. I met a neighbor on the street who said he bought his land 33 years ago to the day. He mentioned that sometime in the last eight years, he has found both a red-bellied black snake and a six meter python in his back yard - remember, he lives right down the street from us!! I wish he hadn't told me about his reptile adventures, since I have only just recovered from my first close encounter with a huge Huntsman Spider in my kitchen. These spiders are large enough to carry you off, but fortunately they are considered low risk (non toxic to humans) and non-aggressive -- although if cornered can give you a painful bite.

Sammy, Karma and I still make daily visits to the local dog park (in Westleigh, NSW). It's a great place for me to socialize and meet new people and for the dogs to exercise without leashes. Unfortunately, during our last three visits, a Basenji attacked Sammy (she has also attacked other dogs in the past). Her "Mom" is good about grabbing her and taking her home right away -- her punishment is "time out" in the "Sin Bin." We hope this is a temporary attitude problem and that she will improve her manners. My two furry pacifists don't appreciate this kind of behavior, and Sammy has taken to staying close when "Bowie" the Basenji stops by.

Just a note: No word from the movers for several days. So close yet so far.

Judi

Fair Ilium

I've been listening to an audiobook of "The Iliad" when driving to and from work every day. It's the old Samuel Butler translation read by Robert Lescaut. Really, really excellent. It's so good, in fact, that I'm worried about not paying enough attention to the road.

Homer is one of my all time favorites. I've read both the Iliad and the Odyssey a couple of times (maybe more). It's an interesting question as to which is better. The Iliad is the ultimate war story full of passion, horror, blood, and great deeds. The Achaens come to Troy to reclaim Helen, hence the famed thousand ships. They lay siege to Troy (also known as Ilium) for nine years. The Iliad is the story of what happens in the tenth year. Most of the action takes place on the plains in front of Troy. The Odyssey has more subtle charms, being the story of Odysseus returning from the Trojan wars to his home and long lost wife and son in Ithaca.

So while I'm driving down the Beecroft road, I'm really back 3500 years or so in ancient Greece. The power of literature.

Tim

Progress

Yesterday we closed on the house on Nattai Close. So we are the legal owners. All of the money eventually transferred as it should. The Foreign Investment Review Board approved our purchase (very quickly). ANZ Bank (eventually) loaned us the money. We had a last minute "discussion" with various parties about the details of the contract (confusingly worded to those of us new to Australia) but we resolved that.

So we had a bottle of Asti last night. The bloke at the bottleshop asked me why we didn't choose Moey. Took a while to figure out he meant Moet et Chandon!

Tim

The Sydney Opera House and the Manly Ferry

The Sydney Opera House
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

The Sydney Opera House is probably the most photographed piece of architecture in the world. It truly is magnificent and extremely photogenic. (Click on this photo and see some other photos from the day.)

Last Saturday, Tim and I took the ferry to Manly, NSW. We had tried to take the Manly Ferry last October when we were visiting, but it was canceled due to rough seas (although the trip is all within the harbour). The ride over was lovely - a bit brisk, but blue skies and enough wind to encourage lots of sailors to take their boats out.

When we arrived at Manly, we were pleasantly surprised to find the annual Food and Wine Tasting Festival happening (I guess you could call this "People Heaven."). We chose some delicious cheese and fruit plates and a couple of nice red wines. Later we did some requisite shopping and headed back - although this ferry was inside seating only, too hot and packed.

We had a fun day, perfect weather, good food and wine - we were tired, but content... and pleased with our good luck and fine timing.

Judi

Duffle Dog

Duffle Dog
Originally uploaded by Judi Blue.

Since we still live out of suitcases until our household goods arrive (hopefully next week), Sammy decided to benefit from the situation.

Perhaps he didn't want to be sent in a pet carrier as on his trip to quarantine. In any case, he's a dog packed and ready!