There have been no confirmed cases of the swine flu in Australia yet (though Josh is claiming that he has it), but after seeing the following on the news today, I'm not sure if I'm in a safe place or not:
http://livenews.com.au/news/elderly-man-attacked-at-by-vermin-at-miceinfested-nursing-home/2009/4/30/204653
[If the link doesn't work, then let me just paraphrase that there is apparently the Darling Downs is experiencing a mice plague and that one unfortunate man in a nursing home was eaten at by one of these mice. I believe that he lived, but I don't think that just a little nibble. Oh - and that nursing home was here in Dalby.]
A MICE PLAGUE? Are you kidding me? I'm going to work on keeping the house REALLY clean, hoping that the elevation keeps them out and staying out of the rooms that we don't use.
In other, happier news, Josh got off work today at 2:30 and started his long weekend. He's scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday off, but will also have Monday off because of a public holiday (Labour Day). I'll be working on Friday and Monday, so I'm not exactly sure what he'll be up to while I'm working, but I imagine it'll be a lot of sleep and playing on the computer, PSP and DS. He's excited about the time off, but I don't think that it's really adjusting him to having to work 11 days straight.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
where the winds come sweeping down the plains
Josh and I are from the same small town. And the town that he was born in is even smaller than the town that we grew up in. So we really had no lofty city folk attitude on moving to Dalby, because.....hello, we're home-grown small town people.
But when you can run just 1/4 of mile from your home and this is all you see, you start to realize that you aren't in Georgia anymore.
My mom had asked what the countryside looked like and as of right now, I only have pictures of what it looks like in Dalby immediate (hopefully this weekend I'll get some from the bush and from Toowoomba area). I compared it to the US midwest because it's really, really flat and there are a lot of fields. But the trees kind of throw that off, right?
When I went running, there was this pretty heather growing all on one side of a particular road. It was really pretty, but I was careful to run directly in the middle of the road for fear of a not meeting a creature slithering out of all that grass.
And there are sporadic cactuses (cacti?) in fields. I'm used to the typical cactus in the desert so to see one in a field that I'm sure is used to keep horses, it just seems odd.
But mostly in Dalby, there are fields.
Lots and lots of fields.
And apparently, my fear of meeting creatures unknown whilst out running is not unfounded since I came across this about 2 streets over from my house. Obviously this one is dead, but where there's 1, there's a million.
But when you can run just 1/4 of mile from your home and this is all you see, you start to realize that you aren't in Georgia anymore.
My mom had asked what the countryside looked like and as of right now, I only have pictures of what it looks like in Dalby immediate (hopefully this weekend I'll get some from the bush and from Toowoomba area). I compared it to the US midwest because it's really, really flat and there are a lot of fields. But the trees kind of throw that off, right?When I went running, there was this pretty heather growing all on one side of a particular road. It was really pretty, but I was careful to run directly in the middle of the road for fear of a not meeting a creature slithering out of all that grass.
And there are sporadic cactuses (cacti?) in fields. I'm used to the typical cactus in the desert so to see one in a field that I'm sure is used to keep horses, it just seems odd.
But mostly in Dalby, there are fields.
Lots and lots of fields.
And apparently, my fear of meeting creatures unknown whilst out running is not unfounded since I came across this about 2 streets over from my house. Obviously this one is dead, but where there's 1, there's a million.
Monday, April 27, 2009
The 1950's called - they want their women back.
When we agreed to move down under, I never knew that it meant that we were going to travel back in time.
Though, I doubt that in the 50's, it was this easy to get connected to the world.
Though, I doubt that in the 50's, it was this easy to get connected to the world.
Also, when I asked for the dishwasher to be fixed, I never meant for this to happen:
It doesn't bother Josh though since he says that he HAS an Australian dishwasher.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Weekend in Review - 25.04 and 26.04 2009
Josh had Saturday off from work because of ANZAC day which is a national public holiday. Basically it is the same as Memorial Day back in the states (was created to honor the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps members who fought in WWI), but seems to be held in a much-higher standard here. Everyone town has a dawn ceremony and a parade - when I watched the news, there were 10,000 people who had camped out at the Brisbane war memorial for the dawn service.
Here is Dalby's war memorial and park. I took this picture on Tuesday. When we made it down to the city, this area was crowded with people. We couldn't really understand what was being said over the microphone (take a harsh accent and magnify it) so we didn't hang around long. It seemed that most everyone was coming and going as wanted.
So basically we used the holiday to catch up on our sleep. We slept in that morning, talked to both sets of parents and then headed out on a walk. I wanted to show Josh the walking path along the creek and let him see what I had been doing for the past week. He enjoyed the walk, but was a little over it by the end (we were out about 1.5 hours). Anyway, it was cool to see a lot of the nature that we wouldn't get to see otherwise.
As an example, I give you exhibit A.
As we were walking along the creek, we heard really cool bird sounds that we have never heard before (there's one bird here that sounds like windchimes), but we also kept hearing this sound like an animal dying up in ahead. And then we came upon this:
At first, I was like 'What are those weird things hanging from the trees?' Josh was almost immediately sure that they were bats. I told him that I have never heard of bats hanging out in the public out in the sun like that. 
I'm not quite sure what the deal is. There were seriously about 200 hundred of them hanging over these 3 trees. And it wasn't just like those little, gray bats back home in Georgia that fly over your pool as the sun is going down in the summer. These are big black bats that more than likely turn into vampires when the moon is just right.
I found it seriously creepy and wanted to keep walking. Josh could have sat there for hours watching them. He kept wanting them to fly towards us so that he could get an idea of how big they were. I told him that was crazy talk.
Eventually, I got him to keep walking and we made it into town (and to the memorial). On our way out, we stopped at Brumby's, the local bakery, and got a delicious Apple Danish type creation and a wildberry teacake. We will definitely be making more stops at Brumby's soon.
Once we got home, we both feel asleep (maybe the jet lag is catching up). We hung around the house most of the afternoon - my major accomplishment was getting the ADSL set up, so now we can both be on a computer right next to each other. Around 4:30, we went for a drive out to the power station so that I could know where it was and so that Josh could show me what the bush looks like. That's seriously what they call going out to the power station - going out to the bush. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately, my camera battery died and needed to be recharged so I haven't taken any pictures yet. No worries - there'll be plenty of time to get some.
Also, some might be wondering about the official ROO count. As it stands:
Josh - 3
Rebecca - 0
Dead on the side of the road - 2
I was highly disappointed that we drove 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back and didn't even see a single jump mark. However, I remain optimistic that if it's that's easy to hit a kangaroo, then eventually I will see one.
Today (Sunday), Josh had to go back to work so it was another 4:00(ish) wakeup. Since I didn't have to work, I went back to bed (after talking to Beth/Scott), did laundry and dishes, played on the computer, went for a run, took a bath and read my book until time to pick up Josh (don't be jealous of how completely awesome my Sunday was). On weekends that he has to work, Josh gets off at 2:30, so I got to pick him up at 3 from the park so it's not going to be so hard on me, but I think that a 4:10 wake-up is a 4:10 wake-up and Josh was still pretty exhausted. Luckily, it meant more time for us to hang out which I always enjoy. Only 4 more days of work for him and he's off for a much-anticipated 3-day weekend.
As for me, I'm just going to try to avoid the bat tree as much as possible over the next 4 days.
Here is Dalby's war memorial and park. I took this picture on Tuesday. When we made it down to the city, this area was crowded with people. We couldn't really understand what was being said over the microphone (take a harsh accent and magnify it) so we didn't hang around long. It seemed that most everyone was coming and going as wanted.
So basically we used the holiday to catch up on our sleep. We slept in that morning, talked to both sets of parents and then headed out on a walk. I wanted to show Josh the walking path along the creek and let him see what I had been doing for the past week. He enjoyed the walk, but was a little over it by the end (we were out about 1.5 hours). Anyway, it was cool to see a lot of the nature that we wouldn't get to see otherwise.
As an example, I give you exhibit A.
As we were walking along the creek, we heard really cool bird sounds that we have never heard before (there's one bird here that sounds like windchimes), but we also kept hearing this sound like an animal dying up in ahead. And then we came upon this:
At first, I was like 'What are those weird things hanging from the trees?' Josh was almost immediately sure that they were bats. I told him that I have never heard of bats hanging out in the public out in the sun like that.But sure enough, they were bats. Hundreds and hundreds of bats.
I'm not quite sure what the deal is. There were seriously about 200 hundred of them hanging over these 3 trees. And it wasn't just like those little, gray bats back home in Georgia that fly over your pool as the sun is going down in the summer. These are big black bats that more than likely turn into vampires when the moon is just right.I found it seriously creepy and wanted to keep walking. Josh could have sat there for hours watching them. He kept wanting them to fly towards us so that he could get an idea of how big they were. I told him that was crazy talk.
Eventually, I got him to keep walking and we made it into town (and to the memorial). On our way out, we stopped at Brumby's, the local bakery, and got a delicious Apple Danish type creation and a wildberry teacake. We will definitely be making more stops at Brumby's soon.
Once we got home, we both feel asleep (maybe the jet lag is catching up). We hung around the house most of the afternoon - my major accomplishment was getting the ADSL set up, so now we can both be on a computer right next to each other. Around 4:30, we went for a drive out to the power station so that I could know where it was and so that Josh could show me what the bush looks like. That's seriously what they call going out to the power station - going out to the bush. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately, my camera battery died and needed to be recharged so I haven't taken any pictures yet. No worries - there'll be plenty of time to get some.
Also, some might be wondering about the official ROO count. As it stands:
Josh - 3
Rebecca - 0
Dead on the side of the road - 2
I was highly disappointed that we drove 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back and didn't even see a single jump mark. However, I remain optimistic that if it's that's easy to hit a kangaroo, then eventually I will see one.
Today (Sunday), Josh had to go back to work so it was another 4:00(ish) wakeup. Since I didn't have to work, I went back to bed (after talking to Beth/Scott), did laundry and dishes, played on the computer, went for a run, took a bath and read my book until time to pick up Josh (don't be jealous of how completely awesome my Sunday was). On weekends that he has to work, Josh gets off at 2:30, so I got to pick him up at 3 from the park so it's not going to be so hard on me, but I think that a 4:10 wake-up is a 4:10 wake-up and Josh was still pretty exhausted. Luckily, it meant more time for us to hang out which I always enjoy. Only 4 more days of work for him and he's off for a much-anticipated 3-day weekend.
As for me, I'm just going to try to avoid the bat tree as much as possible over the next 4 days.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Australian is Funny - Part 2
As seen on the top of our rubbish bin.Sorry for the no-post yesterday (and the lame one today). By 8:00 last night, I still had some work to be done and all I was thinking about was crawling into bed. Luckily, we got to sleep in until 6:30 (!) today. We went for a walk so I'll post some pics from that tomorrow (when Josh is back at work) and we drove out to the power station so that I would know how to get there in case of emergency and so I could have my first roo sighting. I'll have an update on that tomorrow as well.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
23.04.2009 - Bullet Style
- No run/walk today (so no real pictures other than the TV one below) because I had mid-morning coffee with some other girls (Kathy and Sharlane). Kathy is American and has been here since January. They will be here until everything is go (at least as long as us). Sharlane is Australian, but they relocated from Perth. I was gone during the break that I would have taken for a run and so I needed to get more work done when I got back.
- Sharlane has the loveliest accent, but she seems to like our American ones. Her little boy, Mitchell, is 3 and he was telling me all about Scooby-Doo and I only understood about 1/4 of what he was saying. Imagine a 3-year-old mumbling. Now imagine a 3-year-old mumbling with a strong accent. I just nodded my head, smiled and said 'Yeah?','Really?' and 'That's so neat.' over and over again. It seemed to work.
- Josh caught the bus today. Hooray. But is voice is still basically gone. He alternates between sounding like a prepubescent boy and a 60-year-old man who has smoked his whole life. I'm going to try to talk him into letting me take a video of him talking.
- Josh has to work this weekend which actually works out better because Saturday is a national holiday and so he gets it off. Those poor schmucks on A Shift get the weekend off and can't use the holiday later.
- Official kangaroo sighting count - Josh 3, Rebecca 0. I might have to start taking some drives out in the countryside.
Is there anything good on the telly?
Chances are if you are in my house, then the answer is no.
Those who know me might be clued into the fact that I like TV. It's not that I have-to, have-to watch it, but I'm one of those people that really appreciate the inventor of the DVR. On a Monday, you can record Gossip Girl AND J&K+8 AND How I Met Your Mother AND The Hills AND not get fussed at by your husband that you are wasting your life away watching crap TV (he does love HIMYM). You can simply wait until he's preoccupied with something else (the 360, computer, cleaning) and just catch up on everything you've recorded in the past week really fast!
Let's just say that this year in the almost Outback is going to make me appreciate those American rainy Saturdays where all you have to do is stay in the house.
We have 5 TV channels. Okay, really we have about 15 actual channels. But it's really just a ploy to make you think that you have more channels because REALLY you only get 5 broadcasts and they just decide to repeat them on some of the stations. It's all very strange really and I can't quite figure it out.
Luckily, I have already figured out the best times TO turn on the tube. See below.
Those who know me might be clued into the fact that I like TV. It's not that I have-to, have-to watch it, but I'm one of those people that really appreciate the inventor of the DVR. On a Monday, you can record Gossip Girl AND J&K+8 AND How I Met Your Mother AND The Hills AND not get fussed at by your husband that you are wasting your life away watching crap TV (he does love HIMYM). You can simply wait until he's preoccupied with something else (the 360, computer, cleaning) and just catch up on everything you've recorded in the past week really fast!
Let's just say that this year in the almost Outback is going to make me appreciate those American rainy Saturdays where all you have to do is stay in the house.
We have 5 TV channels. Okay, really we have about 15 actual channels. But it's really just a ploy to make you think that you have more channels because REALLY you only get 5 broadcasts and they just decide to repeat them on some of the stations. It's all very strange really and I can't quite figure it out.
Luckily, I have already figured out the best times TO turn on the tube. See below.
Obviously, I turn it on at 5:30 in the morning once I get back from dropping Josh off and log on to check into work. Otherwise I would be crawling back into bed. Because getting up at 4:45 every morning? Seriously overrated.
The Today show listed is just like the Today show that we have back in the States. Almost. I actually like it even more than the American one. They do report on real news, but they also seem to play more practical jokes on each other. Also, at the end of every hour they have their "Hollywood Gossip Guy" come on with the latest juice. AND like every hour and a half they do a countdown of the 'most clicked' on the internet - some sort of rating of what everyone is watching on YouTube. And while I do want to hear the real news, it's also just plain funny to see them scare the co-host with a fake crocodile.
And then naturally, if I'm around, I might switch it on at noon. Not so much to watch, but more to just listen. It gets awfully quiet in this house and it's nice to hear American voices every so often.
What I don't get is what you see listed at 2:30 and 11:00 and what was actually playing at 5:00 when I took this picture - High Definition which actually stands for High Definition Demonstration. For an hour 4 to 5 times a day, all that plays on several stations is a video of pleasant looking mountains and rivers and people bicycling and flowers all dubbed over with music. It is the weirdest thing. And the kicker is that we are pulling straight cable from the wall so we're not even watching in high-def. Everything looks blurry and fuzzy. And it's on 8 channels! So everytime you flip, you keep getting the same thing over and over again!
Thank goodness for the internet and DVDs.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
22.04.2009
It's about 8:30 at night and I am exhausted. I think that the last few nights of less than 7 hours of less than par sleep is catching up to me. So this will have to be a quick (and probably boring post). The day started off well. Josh made it up in time and we got him on the bus. I came back home and was able to get over 9 hours of work in. While I was here, the plumber came back and fixed-fixed our water so I was able to start doing laundry (since I didn't want to wash our clothes in hot).
After I finished working, I thought that I should go out and enjoy the day a bit so I went for a run/walk. A run because I am aiming to be a runner again and a walk because I know what the extra weight and recently healed broken toe mean to me running. Again, it was beautiful outside.
Roo went with me and I took a few pictures (specifically for Sydney and Olivia). This is one of the posts that tells you how high the creek has gotten when it floods and supposedly tells you whether it's safe to cross the bridge to the left of the picture that crosses over the creek.
The creek is all the way behind those trees. I'm pretty sure that if the creek rises up to 2.0 m way back here, then I'm not going to leaving my house, much less wondering if I can drive my car across the bridge.
Also, Roo stalked some birds in a sanctuary that I passed during the walk portion. I apologize that he just looks like a big brown blob.
We see these birds all over the place, but I have had a hard time getting a picture of one. We have one that seems to like to hang out on our fence, but as soon as I grab my camera, he flys away.
Josh calls them penguin birds. That makes me happy.
So I got back to the house around 4 only to discover that while we had lights and air con (broken, but still) - none of the outlets were working. I went and looked at the fuse box, but didn't see any that were off. So I proceeded to get ready to go to town and made it to Big W and Woolworths for just a few things before going to the park around 5:15.
After I finished working, I thought that I should go out and enjoy the day a bit so I went for a run/walk. A run because I am aiming to be a runner again and a walk because I know what the extra weight and recently healed broken toe mean to me running. Again, it was beautiful outside.
Roo went with me and I took a few pictures (specifically for Sydney and Olivia). This is one of the posts that tells you how high the creek has gotten when it floods and supposedly tells you whether it's safe to cross the bridge to the left of the picture that crosses over the creek.
The creek is all the way behind those trees. I'm pretty sure that if the creek rises up to 2.0 m way back here, then I'm not going to leaving my house, much less wondering if I can drive my car across the bridge.
Also, Roo stalked some birds in a sanctuary that I passed during the walk portion. I apologize that he just looks like a big brown blob.
We see these birds all over the place, but I have had a hard time getting a picture of one. We have one that seems to like to hang out on our fence, but as soon as I grab my camera, he flys away.Josh calls them penguin birds. That makes me happy.
So I got back to the house around 4 only to discover that while we had lights and air con (broken, but still) - none of the outlets were working. I went and looked at the fuse box, but didn't see any that were off. So I proceeded to get ready to go to town and made it to Big W and Woolworths for just a few things before going to the park around 5:15. I was enjoying reading my book until the bus came at 5:35 and no Josh got off. So I waited in the car for about 10 more minutes and then decided to come home to see if he would show up here. About 2 minutes after I pull up, he's coming in the front door. Apparently, he JUST missed the busses and had to get a ride with another guy who lives out here. So, I put him in charge of trying to figure out what was wrong with the outlets. It turns out the dishwasher uses too much power and trips the circuits. I'm not real sure what the point of a dishwasher is if you can't use it without shutting everything else off.
So dinner, show and Josh is in bed already. He lost his voice today and apparently the guys are giving him a hard time - something about sounding a bit prepubescent. I'm rushing to write this
so that I can clean up the kitchen and get his shirts in the dryer (he finally got more than 1 shirt today). Maybe, just maybe I'll have a chance to look at one more work issue before I pass out.
so that I can clean up the kitchen and get his shirts in the dryer (he finally got more than 1 shirt today). Maybe, just maybe I'll have a chance to look at one more work issue before I pass out.
No one ever said that it was ALWAYS going to be glamourous!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
21.04.2009
As predicted by yesterday's post, Josh did wake up at 4:10 while I manage to stay in bed until the much more decent hour of 4:45am. We loaded him up and got him to the bus with plenty of time to spare. I think that he's going to have quite the stories to tell based on the men that ride the bus.
I came back home and logged on to work for about 5 hours or so. I think that it is going well so far. I basically catch everyone in the last 2 - 3 hours (or 0.50 hour for the early birds) of their day, so we'll see if I need to start staying up later to try to grab anyone at the beginning of the day.
Then I took a break and headed out for a run/walk while the air was still relatively cool. Down the street next to ours is the golf course. It took me 6 minutes to walk there. Here it is. I liked how green and quiet it was.
I've only played golf once (on our Alaska vacation last summer), but maybe we will have to take it up. Only if we can borrow others' clubs, of course.
Right across from the golf course is where the walking/biking trail starts that runs along the creek. This is Myall Creek. Kinda spooky, right? I have no clue what lies underneath that brown, murky water, but all I could imagine was coming face to face with a crocodile. Anyway, I was more interested in running along the path over to the left of the picture.
So I ran for about 10 minutes into town where I stopped to take this picture. For the past 3 days, I have been cracking up because I had no idea why someone in Australia would name their hotel this. Now, knowing the name of the creek, it's obvious that the 'M' in the sign is suppose to work double-duty for both words, but to me, forever more this hotel will be Motel Y'all.
Then I ran just 2 or 3 minutes more and hit the cultural part of town. Below is the Dalby Bowls Center. It's bowling, but with suspicious rules. Josh and I watched some of it on the telly in Brisbane, but couldn't figure out the object.
Right next door is a Anzac memorial park of which I took a picture, but decided to save until Saturday (Anzac Day). Behind the park is the pool. I did take a picture of this, but it really didn't do it justice. As you can see, there is a little kiddie play area in the front, but if you peek behind the mushrooms, you can catch a glimpse of the 8-lane, 50-meter pool. Off to the right of the picture is a grandstand of seats. It's pretty nice for such a small town. The only sad part is that it closes this Sunday for winter and doesn't reopen until September 6th.
But no worries, because right on the other side of the pool is the Dalby Croquet Club and I'm pretty sure that they don't stop playing croquet in the winter. I'm not real sure what it takes to belong to the Croquet Club (or Bowls Center for that matter), but perhaps I should be looking into it.
And then I just turn around 180 degrees from this picture and you can see the Big W. The Big W is in Dalby ShoppingWorld which is at the end of the main street of Dalby. I decided not to head over to the main street to take pictures because (a) I'm trying to keep these posts shorter and (b) I'm aiming not to run out of things to blog about. Anyway, you probably can't tell, but Big W's slogan is 'We Sell for Less'. Yeah - that's right. It's just a smaller Walmart.
And there's the creek and the pathway again so I decided to run home. I did come across this odd grouping.
I thought it was weird to find 4 different birds just kind of chilling together. Though I suppose that they are all of the duck-like species.
I came back home and logged on to work for about 5 hours or so. I think that it is going well so far. I basically catch everyone in the last 2 - 3 hours (or 0.50 hour for the early birds) of their day, so we'll see if I need to start staying up later to try to grab anyone at the beginning of the day.
Then I took a break and headed out for a run/walk while the air was still relatively cool. Down the street next to ours is the golf course. It took me 6 minutes to walk there. Here it is. I liked how green and quiet it was.
I've only played golf once (on our Alaska vacation last summer), but maybe we will have to take it up. Only if we can borrow others' clubs, of course.
Right across from the golf course is where the walking/biking trail starts that runs along the creek. This is Myall Creek. Kinda spooky, right? I have no clue what lies underneath that brown, murky water, but all I could imagine was coming face to face with a crocodile. Anyway, I was more interested in running along the path over to the left of the picture.
So I ran for about 10 minutes into town where I stopped to take this picture. For the past 3 days, I have been cracking up because I had no idea why someone in Australia would name their hotel this. Now, knowing the name of the creek, it's obvious that the 'M' in the sign is suppose to work double-duty for both words, but to me, forever more this hotel will be Motel Y'all.
Then I ran just 2 or 3 minutes more and hit the cultural part of town. Below is the Dalby Bowls Center. It's bowling, but with suspicious rules. Josh and I watched some of it on the telly in Brisbane, but couldn't figure out the object.
Right next door is a Anzac memorial park of which I took a picture, but decided to save until Saturday (Anzac Day). Behind the park is the pool. I did take a picture of this, but it really didn't do it justice. As you can see, there is a little kiddie play area in the front, but if you peek behind the mushrooms, you can catch a glimpse of the 8-lane, 50-meter pool. Off to the right of the picture is a grandstand of seats. It's pretty nice for such a small town. The only sad part is that it closes this Sunday for winter and doesn't reopen until September 6th.
But no worries, because right on the other side of the pool is the Dalby Croquet Club and I'm pretty sure that they don't stop playing croquet in the winter. I'm not real sure what it takes to belong to the Croquet Club (or Bowls Center for that matter), but perhaps I should be looking into it.
And then I just turn around 180 degrees from this picture and you can see the Big W. The Big W is in Dalby ShoppingWorld which is at the end of the main street of Dalby. I decided not to head over to the main street to take pictures because (a) I'm trying to keep these posts shorter and (b) I'm aiming not to run out of things to blog about. Anyway, you probably can't tell, but Big W's slogan is 'We Sell for Less'. Yeah - that's right. It's just a smaller Walmart.
And there's the creek and the pathway again so I decided to run home. I did come across this odd grouping.
I thought it was weird to find 4 different birds just kind of chilling together. Though I suppose that they are all of the duck-like species.Also, that big one down there. Big enough to take my leg off if he had wanted to. Seriously, I walked WAY around the pathway to avoid contact with him. Look at his scary goose/duck leg - you could eat that!
And then I came across this tree and took a picture because I've only seen fake trees that look like this.
So I got home and took a shower (since I don't want to become one of those stay-at-home people who feel like they don't have to get around just because they stay at home all day), at lunch and worked some more. The guy(s) came around to check on the problems with the house, but the one guy told me that he was waiting to hear from someone else about the air con units (his words, not mine) and the other plumber guy replaced the water pump to make the water come out more forceful, but discovered that our switch was broken. Meaning the switch that determines whether we use town water or tank water. And by tank water, I mean water from that big rainwater collection tank out in our front yard. Yeah - that could explain why we were getting grass in our ice water. He left at 5 with promises to be back in the morning with the part to fix everything.
And wouldn't you know it? He saw a dang kangaroo on the ride home today! And all I've seen are birds that can swallow an appendage. His comments were that it just like a big, dumb, overgrown deer, but I'm sure that it was much cuter than that. He was tired after a long day of work. He had a induction meeting and safety briefing right when he got there - apparently, they went over all of the toxious plants that you should not touch. He worked side-by-side with the other Cablematic guy out there and appears to be learning a lot really quickly. I asked him how impressive the plant was and he said that it was pretty amazing. He did mention that he doesn't like walking the plant because there are cranes everywhere and you have to keep looking up to make sure that no one is going to drop anything on you.
And then I came across this tree and took a picture because I've only seen fake trees that look like this.
So I got home and took a shower (since I don't want to become one of those stay-at-home people who feel like they don't have to get around just because they stay at home all day), at lunch and worked some more. The guy(s) came around to check on the problems with the house, but the one guy told me that he was waiting to hear from someone else about the air con units (his words, not mine) and the other plumber guy replaced the water pump to make the water come out more forceful, but discovered that our switch was broken. Meaning the switch that determines whether we use town water or tank water. And by tank water, I mean water from that big rainwater collection tank out in our front yard. Yeah - that could explain why we were getting grass in our ice water. He left at 5 with promises to be back in the morning with the part to fix everything.
Which was fine with me since I needed to leave soon to get Josh anyway. I made it over to the park at 5:30 and he was just getting off the bus. I took a picture of his work outfit because though I think that he is incredibly manly coming home from building a power plant, those shirts that they have to wear are hideous! It's an Australian standard though so at least he fits in.
And wouldn't you know it? He saw a dang kangaroo on the ride home today! And all I've seen are birds that can swallow an appendage. His comments were that it just like a big, dumb, overgrown deer, but I'm sure that it was much cuter than that. He was tired after a long day of work. He had a induction meeting and safety briefing right when he got there - apparently, they went over all of the toxious plants that you should not touch. He worked side-by-side with the other Cablematic guy out there and appears to be learning a lot really quickly. I asked him how impressive the plant was and he said that it was pretty amazing. He did mention that he doesn't like walking the plant because there are cranes everywhere and you have to keep looking up to make sure that no one is going to drop anything on you. After he got home, we had a good 2 hours of seeing each other before he had to head off to sleep again. So our first day of a routine seemed to go fairly well. I didn't get too bored or lonely (not with all the work I have to do) and I think that Josh is feeling better about the job now that he's gotten a day out there under his feet. So we're ready to do it again!
Monday, April 20, 2009
20.04.2009
I have to get to bed because apparently I am in charge of taking Josh down to the bus stop in the morning. He is getting up at 4:10 am to catch the 5:30 bus. I will be getting up much closer to 5:00 am.
So, Josh woke up feeling much better this morning. We still made the drive into Toowoomba just to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with him and there wasn't. The doctor prescribed something similar to Tylenol and we drove back. It was like driving from LaGrange to Atlanta for a 15 minute meeting and then driving back.
After we got back into Dalby, I talked Josh into running errands with me. We managed to get our local phone line hooked up and should have DSL within the next week (I'm running on a mobile broadband modem now). I just have to wait for the WI-FI modem to get here. We went to the Big W (read: Walmart) to get stuff for the house, to Sam Dick's (an electronics store) to buy a converter and TV for the bedroom and to Woolworth's (a grocery store - not a drugstore like I thought). At Big W, we ran into James, the other guy from Josh's office who made it into town today. We were happy to see another expat.
Back home, I managed to get some work done so that I couldn't call it a complete waste of the day and we just hung out. Josh went to bed around 8 and I told him that I would follow soon, but I guess that was a lie. I have got to quit doing so many post with that many pictures!
So, Josh woke up feeling much better this morning. We still made the drive into Toowoomba just to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with him and there wasn't. The doctor prescribed something similar to Tylenol and we drove back. It was like driving from LaGrange to Atlanta for a 15 minute meeting and then driving back.
After we got back into Dalby, I talked Josh into running errands with me. We managed to get our local phone line hooked up and should have DSL within the next week (I'm running on a mobile broadband modem now). I just have to wait for the WI-FI modem to get here. We went to the Big W (read: Walmart) to get stuff for the house, to Sam Dick's (an electronics store) to buy a converter and TV for the bedroom and to Woolworth's (a grocery store - not a drugstore like I thought). At Big W, we ran into James, the other guy from Josh's office who made it into town today. We were happy to see another expat.
Back home, I managed to get some work done so that I couldn't call it a complete waste of the day and we just hung out. Josh went to bed around 8 and I told him that I would follow soon, but I guess that was a lie. I have got to quit doing so many post with that many pictures!
#3 Charthom Place
That's our new address for the next year - #3 Charthom Place, Dalby, QLD 4405. It's a brand-new, 4-bedroom, 2-bath house. But don't be impressed, it's not quite what you would find back in the States. Here it is:
It's yellow so Beth would like it.
Living room complete with loveseat, chair, TV and my sweet husband who feels well enough to put together the shelving system we bought for the bathroom. Also, the kitchen table in the background with all of my stuff on it. See, I actually AM working over here.
And here's the kitchen as taken from the kitchen table. Standard.
Here's the first of our air conditioners (up high). We have 2. This one is broken since the left indicator light is blinking which means that we haven't turned it on for fear of creating a fire in the house. It has been hot the past 2 days.
This is part of our backyard as taken from the french doors that you could see from the front door picture (3 up). There is a nice covered deck which is great because otherwise I don't think that we could enjoy the outdoors. Have I mentioned how hot it is?
Back inside, here is a boring picture. It's taken looking down the hallway from the kitchen/living room. See, you can just see a piece of the brown loveseat sticking out to the left. Anyway, there are 3 doors on the right (2 guest bedrooms and a bath) and 2 doors on the right (a guest bedroom and the master bedroom).
Another boring picture. This is the guest bedroom on the left. The bed is not made up because Josh wouldn't let me go in there since the room was so hot. The blinds are shut because that's the front of the house and we face west so it makes the house...hot. I'll make up the bed in the morning when the house cools down into the teens (see, I'm getting this celsius thing). Anyway, the other 2 guest bedrooms look just like this except they have no furniture in them.
This is the guest bathroom. Check out that bathtub. Nice, right? I will be testing that out sooner rather than later. There is also a sink opposite the tub. The toilet is separate. Apparently, across the way, there are 4 guys sharing the same house layout. I don't know how they are doing it.
Here's our laundry room. We have a washer and a dryer and a sink.
We however, do not have vent out on the dryer so if I run something really wet in the dryer, it turns that little bitty room into a steam room. Thus, I had to use this today -
What you can't see in this picture is the pail and towel underneath the air conditioner catching the water dripping from it because you guessed it - this one is broken too. Apparently, we are not suppose to run this one either due to the indoor water dripping, but I would back on a plane to the states if we weren't running it. Someone was suppose to come out today to look at it. Hopefully they will make it tomorrow.
Here is our closet. LOVE.
There are 3 piles of dirty clothes on the floor only because there is a slight issue with the washer. I wouldn't say it's broken, but I can only wash with hot water right now. Otherwise, the laundry room floor gets flooded. Again, someone is suppose to be out today.
For the last picture from inside the house, here is our master bath. It's not spectacular, but it does have pretty awesome heating lamps. Because as much as I complain about how hot it gets, it is actually pretty chilly walking on tile at 5:30 in the morning.
Okay, last 2 pictures. Here is the garage. It's nice and wide especially since we only have 1 car. That door in the garage up to the left leads out to where the clothes line is and the door into the laundry room and back of the house.
Our car is a Holden. I have never heard of it before, but I kind of think that the emblem is cool. It drives well. As well as it can for having a steering wheel on the wrong side of the car.
It's yellow so Beth would like it.I think that it kind of looks like a double-wide...thus Josh likes it.
Most of the houses around here are built on stilts because when it rains in Queensland, it pours (though the state has been in a drought for over 20 years). And when it pours, it floods. And when it floods, it moves houses on slabs around so everything gets messed up. So now, they build them on adjustable stilts so if the flood does move the house around a little bit, they can just adjust the stilt up or down. Apparently, the fact that it is built up also helps keep the vermin out (for which I am immensely grateful).
Also, that sky in the pictures above....not doctored at all. Gorgeous, right?
Here's from our front door:
Living room complete with loveseat, chair, TV and my sweet husband who feels well enough to put together the shelving system we bought for the bathroom. Also, the kitchen table in the background with all of my stuff on it. See, I actually AM working over here.And here's the kitchen as taken from the kitchen table. Standard.
Here's the first of our air conditioners (up high). We have 2. This one is broken since the left indicator light is blinking which means that we haven't turned it on for fear of creating a fire in the house. It has been hot the past 2 days. This is part of our backyard as taken from the french doors that you could see from the front door picture (3 up). There is a nice covered deck which is great because otherwise I don't think that we could enjoy the outdoors. Have I mentioned how hot it is? Here's the other part of our fenced in yard. It runs along the back of our house. I think that it would be perfect for a dog!
Back inside, here is a boring picture. It's taken looking down the hallway from the kitchen/living room. See, you can just see a piece of the brown loveseat sticking out to the left. Anyway, there are 3 doors on the right (2 guest bedrooms and a bath) and 2 doors on the right (a guest bedroom and the master bedroom). Another boring picture. This is the guest bedroom on the left. The bed is not made up because Josh wouldn't let me go in there since the room was so hot. The blinds are shut because that's the front of the house and we face west so it makes the house...hot. I'll make up the bed in the morning when the house cools down into the teens (see, I'm getting this celsius thing). Anyway, the other 2 guest bedrooms look just like this except they have no furniture in them.This is the guest bathroom. Check out that bathtub. Nice, right? I will be testing that out sooner rather than later. There is also a sink opposite the tub. The toilet is separate. Apparently, across the way, there are 4 guys sharing the same house layout. I don't know how they are doing it. Here's our laundry room. We have a washer and a dryer and a sink.We however, do not have vent out on the dryer so if I run something really wet in the dryer, it turns that little bitty room into a steam room. Thus, I had to use this today - That, my friends, is a clothesline. And apparently widely used around here (you might have noticed the one out yonder in the picture from our deck). That little spot of land gets tons of sun so my guess is that I might be going green and hanging more things out than I dry. I just don't think that I can bring myself to hang our delicates out for all the neighbors to see.
Back inside next to the laundry room (remember, the last door on the left from the kitchen) is the master bedroom. If you were confused about what bedroom is the master (well, other than the fact that it has an ensuite), you could tell from the evidence of the 2nd air conditioning unit in here
What you can't see in this picture is the pail and towel underneath the air conditioner catching the water dripping from it because you guessed it - this one is broken too. Apparently, we are not suppose to run this one either due to the indoor water dripping, but I would back on a plane to the states if we weren't running it. Someone was suppose to come out today to look at it. Hopefully they will make it tomorrow.Here is our closet. LOVE.
There are 3 piles of dirty clothes on the floor only because there is a slight issue with the washer. I wouldn't say it's broken, but I can only wash with hot water right now. Otherwise, the laundry room floor gets flooded. Again, someone is suppose to be out today.For the last picture from inside the house, here is our master bath. It's not spectacular, but it does have pretty awesome heating lamps. Because as much as I complain about how hot it gets, it is actually pretty chilly walking on tile at 5:30 in the morning.
Okay, last 2 pictures. Here is the garage. It's nice and wide especially since we only have 1 car. That door in the garage up to the left leads out to where the clothes line is and the door into the laundry room and back of the house.Our car is a Holden. I have never heard of it before, but I kind of think that the emblem is cool. It drives well. As well as it can for having a steering wheel on the wrong side of the car.
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