It's winter, but not as we know it

As I write this it is day 5 of spring in the Sunshine State and already temperatures are in the high 20s and even early 30s.

I have nothing against blue sky and sunshine, but I do miss the rain, grey clouds and chilly temperatures. I have a couple of drawers dedicated to winter clothes and no chance to wear them. The locals though were spotted on occasion rugged up with scarves, gloves, beanies and puffer jackets like you wouldn't believe...and the coldest it has been is 5C...one morning !!

Anyway, I decided that while "real" winter was happening in the southern states that  it was time to go and get bone-chillingly cold; to remind myself what it was like. We booked a weekend in Canberra, but ended up with one night in Sydney as we couldn't get direct flights at reasonable prices.

familiar landmarks

a rainbow walkway

lived here for 10 years, never saw this building before !

look at THAT light

...and THIS building facade

terrace houses - my favourite of all time, will I ever get to live in one ?

rainbow bike outside an INDEPENDENT bookstore

check out that window box !

waiting for pizza, in an authentic italian pizzeria

corner Oxford Street & Crown Street

Convicts built this bridge, on the original roadway to Goulburn at Towrang

Bungendore houses, did convict ancestor Joseph Dickinson, the plasterer, work on these ?

The entrance gate to Willeroo, Lake George; place of birth of Joseph's daughter Sarah

floating sphere sculpture - reminded me of Welly, just a bit, capital city art

Little National - perfection

St John's Church, Canberra

School house at St John's, built by the Campbells to benefit the children of the Scots shepherds working his land and which looks like it has been transported straight from the Highlands

Great-great-great-great-great-grandparents

Rainbows in the spray

So as you can see - gorgeous days - definitely chillier than home, but not as freezing as we had prepared for. Also, not enough time to do everything or go everywhere, so next year we will be back...maybe earlier in the season too.

#52Stories, Week 15, Where did you go the very first time you moved out of your parents' home ? Did you have roommates ? Did you live alone ? Did you get married right away ? Tell the story.

Sydney.

August 1979. Back when you didn't need a passport to jump the ditch.

I went with a friend - well she went first and I joined her later. Long story. We shared a unit with her sisters who had been in Sydney for a couple of years.

It didn't last. She went back to New Zealand about three weeks after I arrived. Her escape plan failed - or maybe it was her plan all along, there was a baby on the way !

But I stayed, I continued to share with her sisters, who I knew vaguely from Wellington. It was tough, but I'm not a quitter, and it made sense. They had a three bedroom unit, there were three of us. Ashfield, inner west, close to transport, close-ish to the city, good shopping. We fell into a comfortable sort of routine, sharing the shopping, cooking, housework etc. 

We would each buy the paper on the way home from work and see who could complete the crossword first and get the most words in the TARGET puzzle. Watch the Young Doctors, Cop Shop, Skyways, Dallas, Countdown - listen to Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Cold Chisel, Dragon, Boomtown Rats, Little River Band, Doobie Brothers. The lady downstairs didn't like Bob Seger's Katmandu. She used to bang on her ceiling (our floor) with a broom or something until we turned it down.

On Fridays we would meet after work at Wynyard, have ravioli or canneloni for dinner at an Italian "restaurant" in the arcade then hit the bars. There were a few in the station complex, part of the Menzies I think. One was style like a plane long and narrow with fake windows  - a bit different. I learned pretty quickly to change how I ordered my drinks. 

"Vodka and Raro" 
"What ? Bloody Kiwis !" 
"Ooops, I meant Vodka and Orchy" or 

"Southern Comfort and Paeroa" 
"Huh ?" 
"Oh, I meant Coke"

Mostly we would end up at a couple of wine bars somewhere around Angel Place before making our way home in a cab or on a late train.

On Saturday nights we'd go back into town, running to the station in our heels to catch the train, catch a movie, have a wine or three, check out a live band at a pub, go to a party in Bondi, Paddington...or go to a Leagues club or RSA. 

Sundays sometimes we'd do a bit of shopping or sightseeing. See how far we could get on the trains without paying a fare, and if we got caught without a ticket we'd say we'd got on at the last station. Best deal ? A day out to Gosford to the Wildlife Park (where the bats had us scrambling, almost on the floor from one end of the nocturnal enclosure to the exit door, in fright) for just a 30 cent train fare- return ! Score.

After about six months we moved to the North Shore and lived in Artarmon, close to Chatswood in a great apartment. Eventually though, they decided to return to New Zealand so the partnership broke up and I went off on my own. 

In a new direction. Making new friends.

Two and a half months of neglect

I have no excuse except that I have just not been motivated.

My job is b-o-r-i-n-g, just not enough to do which makes for v-e-r-y long days. It is very unsettling and it drives me crazy. I don't like having nothing to do. Especially if I can think of other ways I would fill my days were I not sitting at my desk going demented from inactivity. The downside of days like this is that I become weary from the inactivity and then just can't get out of my own way to do anything productive once I am home.

Anyway, a few things have happened in this last two and a half months.

Mum and Dad went on an overseas trip which didn't unfold as planned and ended up being extended and with much of the time spent getting to know the NHS, with Dad in hospital and Mum visiting. They were well cared for by both the NHS and by cousins and friends which was a much better situation than if they had been staying in hotels the whole time. Still it was very stressful from here, trying to communicate between timezones, understand what was happening, keep everyone in the loop about developments and swinging between the urge to jump on a plane and go be supportive, or stay here and not be so reactionary. They are home now and stuck in our healthcare system waiting for decisions to be made, and battling their travel insurance provider.

In mid September we had a quick weekend trip to Wellington. Travelling together but socialising separately. It was a really wet weekend, but it was great to see a few people and catch up over meals. I ate SO much those 3 days. I really enjoyed being back in the old familiar streets, even if they were petty damp. I spent 2 or 3 hours at the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa. If you get the chance before 2018 you should go. I did a bit of shopping too.

After Mum and Dad had arrived home safely, it was off to Sydney for the long weekend for us. It was all a bit of a rush and we had accommodation dramas (which all worked out in the end) and had not packed the right sort of clothes for the weather. I lived in Sydney for 4 or 5 years and I don't recall it being so windy in October ! But we survived, we did most of the things we had on our lists and walked for kilometres and kilometres in between bus-ing train-ing and ferry-ing around the city.

This weekend just ended, we flew to Nelson and drove to Blenheim to surprise Dad for his birthday. It was a very wet weekend again - seems to be a theme developing with our weekend breaks ! Lunch at the Fat Tui in Marahau was planned (and happened) it just wasn't sitting on the beach taking in the stunning weather this time. There will have to be another visit in summer before they close for the season.

Then it was on to Blenheim for the surprise - which went down a treat. The weekend ended on a shaky note though as we were woken at 12.0am with the house twisting and rolling and jerking on its foundations.

7.8 Kaikoura Earthquake - more on that next post. But for now here is a link to photos and information about the event