What is your favourite food ?

I will tell you something I just learnt.

Possums like parsley. 

In particular they are loving ours ! 

In Bendigo it just grew and grew and was out of control. Here it has been more of a struggle. The heat we thought.

Since moving though, it has just been decimated. I couldnt work out what was going on - I even bought a new plant.

Next day. No Leaves. Just stalks.

Pesky little devils.

Time to look for a cloche or something to stop them having a feast.

Other than that revelation, things are going well. We are enjoying exploring the new neighbourhood and deciding where to hang artwork and photos on the walls.

Winter has arrived. Well winter in a Queensland manner of speaking. It is definitely nowhere near as cold as what we are used to, but it is cooler. A decidedly bitey cold wind some days, but we still haven't felt the need to break out the puffer jackets, gloves and beanies to look like a local.

I have been back on the job search treadmill again since the end of May, but have a temp assignment to start in a day or two and run for a couple of weeks. Hopefully there are some other more promising roles on the horizon.

I've been enjoying going to a regular trivia quiz night since moving and hope to get to a few more of the walks with the walking group I have joined. I have also been trying to organise a regular meet up for current and past students from the UTAS Diploma I studied. So far we have had three meetings and it is fun to share study stories, research and help each other. I've joined the Genealogical Society too and been to a couple of meetings.

Last week I caught up with several friends, some who live here and others who were visiting. Some from past jobs in New Zealand and some from jobs here. And there are more in the pipeline.

It's all about networking - right ?

All I really need now is a job....so that I can have holidays - lol. Isn't the ultimate purpose of working a means to fund your out of work life ? If it is something that you truly love as well, surrounded by great people it is even more perfect.

Surely it is my turn soon.

Birthday Treats

Lots of things have caught our eye since we have been living in Brisbane. Finding the time to go to places, or do things gets a little tricky; the hum-drum of life pushes them down the list.

So what better timing than to try to do some as part of Birthday Day activities. That’s what happened.

Favourite dinner and a cake decorated with edible flowers from our garden and then a day full of surprises.

Food, discovering laneways, more food, playing with kittens and cats at not one, but two cat cafes and then watching the sunset on one of the shortest days of the year.

Green Heart Fair

Since most of the boxes had been emptied and collapsed we decided to go ahead with our plan to check out the Green Heart Fair. A promotion of sustainability, the opportunity to find out what services and organisations are operating in our community.

Lauren was feeling a bit rubbish with a sore throat, but such is her commitment to doing her part to save our planet she still wanted to go. As always, parking was the trickiest part, but we were lucky and fluked a space close to the entry.

There were electric vehicles, composting hub information, beekeeping, water conservation, food charities, workshops and presentations. As well there were some food trucks, coffee carts and a small market selling eco and sustainable products. The council had native plants to give away – we got two each and also went to hear Craig Reucassel from the ABC programme War OnWaste speak.

It was a good day, although the clouds were building and Lauren was fading fast so we headed home with our goodie bags.

NOTE: Strep and the common (but nasty) cold were on the doorstep and only one of us remained uninfected.

NOTE: It has come to my attention that as ratepayers we can get 2 native plants EACH year from the Council. This city is growing on me even faster than I thought it could.

Move In Day

Moving Day

What is worse ? Packing or unpacking ?

I had collected the keys on Friday afternoon having taken the day off to deal with any last minute unforeseen catastrophes. There were a couple, but nothing major and just like that we were homeowners.

During the day I had tried to reorganise the storage unit to make it easier for the moving guys the next morning. Some things were coming to the storage unit, others were to be removed to go to the new address. While doing that I had loaded the car with some boxes, which we intended to take over after Lauren finished work; and to make several more trips.

That done, and takeaways for dinner we went to bed, planning to be up bright and early to dismantle beds. We are pretty whizzy with allan keys these days.

With the car loaded and the truck packed we were off to the storage unit to supervise the “what goes to storage and what comes out” manoeuvre, and then meet them at our new home for the unloading.

All done before lunch ! Well the big stuff anyway – the endless trips to bring other stuff in the car seemed to go on forever. By the end of the day we had had enough and left the last couple for the next morning when we needed to go back to meet the cleaners anyway.

During the afternoon, we had reassembled beds and begun emptying boxes. Somewhere to sleep and knowing whereabouts of the kettle, cups and tea and coffee doings are priorities we have come to appreciate in this recent gypsy life.

We got a delicious takeaway locally – healthy too – and then carried on for a few more loads. While we were at the old place, the sky burst with an amazing display of fireworks. They marked the end of school fair in the park just over the road. We felt it was a fitting farewell from the neighbourhood to us !

We fell into bed and next morning made the last two trips while the cleaners did an amazing job on the rental. Still not good enough for the real estate though. We have never had so much trouble getting bond back at the end of a lease as we have in Australia this time. The property was 100% cleaner than it had been when we moved in, but they still disputed it.

If we had opted to clean the rental ourselves and then apply the same, if not more, elbow grease to clean the new place properly we would have been even more annoyed. If only the same fastidiousness applied to vacating homeowners. YUK.

But it was done. From now on there are just decisions to make, where to hang art, where to put furniture.

Home Sweet Home.

Tour Guides again

After an iffy start to their holiday – thanks foggy Auckland – Anne and Mark arrived for a week long holiday. They had booked an apartment in Fortitude Valley since there were no spare beds at our place.

We collected them from the airport and dropped their luggage off before heading out to find something to eat after the long day of travel. Next morning we met and walked through the city along the river to the Botanic Gardens and then to Southbank.

The main reason for their visit was attending the Truck Show later in the week, but we played tour guide when we could as well. My job had been extended, so my plans to have been able to do things with them during the day, or to loan them our car were quashed. However they hired a car and managed to get in a couple of days exploring without getting lost or frustrated in traffic.

We met them for dinner a couple of times through the week and again on the weekend, doing some sightseeing and truck viewing along the way.

Before you could blink it was the end of the week and time for them to squash everything back into their suitcase and head for the airport to begin the journey home.

Is it Autumn yet ?

There are some towns with reputations or attractions that just need to be visited. Stanthorpe is one of them.

It is in the Granite Belt, a little further inland and south from Allora where we went once before to see the sunflowers. The region is known for its microclimate and winemaking, but there are also microbreweries and an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

It also gets quite cold there in winter. Well cold for Queensland anyway. It seems to share the competition for the title of coldest town with nearby Applethorpe where for many years 100% of the apples in Queensland have been grown.

We went to see if autumn might be hiding there – if it gets frosty and sometimes even snow, you would think there might be some colour in the foliage.

We found some, but not as much as we had wished for. So renown for the chilly winter temperatures is the town, there is a giant thermometer in the park.

Then it was time for the drive home and to continue the packing and organising for our upcoming move. Only weekends and evenings available for those tasks since we were both working.