Hi all. Melbourne is honoring Earth Hour tomorrow night. I'm curious what the information level in the US is on this movement, but also wanted to bring it to everyone's attention.
Love,
Christy
I just signed up to the new Earth Hour website for 2008 and I thought you might like to take a look and possibly sign up too. Earth Hour is on 29 March 2008 at 8pm, and it looks like it's going to be really big. So far, as well as Sydney, there'll also be Chicago, Tel Aviv, Manila, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Brisbane and Toronto all turning off their lights for an hour in the name of fighting global warming. And I'm sure there'll be more cities by March. Sign up for Earth Hour with me by visiting http://www.earthhour.org/sign-up and join the movement.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Have you ever had a Hot Cross Bun?
I wanted to mention that we had our first Hot Cross Buns experience down here this Easter season. I don't recall ever really seeing a hot cross bun in the US before, but they are big down here, in Melbourne at least. So I've recently had that little ditty stuck in my head for about a week, but all I knew of it was, "Hot cross buns, hot cross buns; one a penny, two a penny; hot cross buns." Here's the original and alternative versions according to Wikipedia:
(The "ha'" is pronounced "hay", and refers to a half penny coin no longer in currency.)
Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
hot cross buns.
If you have no daughters,
give them to your sons,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns
Alternative lyrics are:
Hot cross buns,
One a penny buns,
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Hot cross buns.
Fresh, sweet buns,
Come and buy my buns,
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Fresh, sweet buns.
Nice, light buns,
Buy my currant buns,
Come and try them,
Then you'll buy them,
Nice, light buns.
Hot, sweet buns,
Good for everyone,
All your daughters,
All your sons,
All love buns.
Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
Everybody loves hot cross buns.
I much prefer the alternative lyrics - way more catchy and interesting, and I dare say suggestive? he he
Since it was our first hot cross buns experience, we splurged and bought 2 high-end bakery buns, rather than the cheapie Safeway bag-o-8 buns. I thought they were delicious, but Andy wasn't a big fan since they were chock-full of raisins.
Aren't you glad you visited the blog today?
Cheers!
Love, Christy
Monday, March 24, 2008
recent Buddy pictures from Zach
A few recent photos of Buddy that we received from Zach. Don't you think Mirror Pond should consider hiring Buddy to promote their beverage? I certainly do.
Cheers!
Christy
Cheers!
Christy
March 2008 Happenings
Hello from Aussie-land. Hope this finds you all very well and happy.
A big Hip-Hip-Hooray to my sister and her family for FINALLY getting moved into their new home in Colorado. For those of you that don't know, she and her family have been living in various locations since last June as they waited on a new home being built. We saw our first glimpse of it today via a webcam tour. Cheers to that!
Things here are good. Highlights since our last thorough update:
*Jason Nielsen (a dear friend of ours) is back living in Australia! He is serving as the chef at The Sovereign Resort in Cooktown, Queensland (far NE corner of the country). It feels good to know that there is a friend so close, even though it would take us days to drive there or hours to fly there. There is just something in knowing that a good friend is on the same continent, I guess. We're already looking forward to making our way up to this croc-infested section of Australia sometime in the next few months, hopefully.
*I went to an Aussie dentist named Bruno.
*We attended our first Aussie long-weekend music/camp festival, Golden Plains, at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, which is about 2 hours outside of Melbourne. We saw some rock that made my head hurt, an amazing sunset, a music venue where couches and all of your own drinks (including full kegs!) are allowed anywhere, Ween (superb), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (excellent), and even a band on the second night that, when asking the crowd whether they should continue to play or go home, I shouted out "GO HOME!" and a gentleman walking past us stopped and emphatically agreed with me. We met some fun and interesting folks and heard a ton of good, new music.
*We bought a new BBQ on our way home that weekend, taking advantage of having a rental car to get one to our apartment.
*I've started receiving acupuncture treatments in an ongoing effort to breathe through my nose.
*I attended an outdoor performance of Romeo & Juliet at the Botanical Gardens with our friend, Rosemary, and her daughter, Amy.
*We spent Sunday the 16th at the Grand Prix races and attending the KISS concert that night! It was just over 100 degrees in Melbourne that day, and our cheapie tickets didn't allow for air-conditioned access to any of the exclusive grandstand seats (damn!), so we mostly wandered arounds the grounds as slowly as possible, stopping multiple times near the sprinklers and drinking plenty of VB and water. None the less, it was pretty cool to see the cars racing and simply moving that quickly in person, especially around a park loop that is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. The KISS concert was part of the big finale for the races, and what a finale! I don't know how else to say it - it simply rocked! It was also one of those concerts in my mind that was so bad, it was good. Again, we met some fun and interesting folks. I wore my brother's KISS shirt, which he sent me all the way from Omaha, Nebraska - thanks, Steve! That rocked, too.
*We celebrated a rather lackluster and hot (again, 100 degrees) St. Patty's Day by grilling a mini meat-fest for ourselves, drinking a couple of beers, and listening to Dropkick Murphy's real loud. Sadly, there were no leprechaun sightings to be had in Melbourne this year. Maybe next year.
*We've enjoyed our long Easter weekend. We spent Friday night trying out a little Chinese Dumpling House and taking in some super-chill jazz at a tiny jazz club downtown. We hosted a BBQ with our downstairs neighbors on Saturday. We webcam'ed it up with a bunch of family and then went to the Melbourne Museum today. We've watched about 7 episodes of Sopranos. We've had some serious discussions about how long we may live here (more on that below). Currently, I'm writing this and Andy is off at an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.
*We're headed to another new part of this country April 6-10. Andy will be presenting a paper at a conference in Ballina, so we will both be spending 4 days in the Ballina/Byron Bay area, which is along the east coast in northern New South Wales. We've heard great reports about the Byron Bay area, so are looking forward to visiting.
*I continue to work and love my job down the street 3 days a week. Andy continues to be satisfied with his position with Monash Uni.
On the topic of moving back to Portland: we are pretty seriously considering moving back around May of 2009, so if anyone is still considering coming here for a visit, you've got about a year. Our initial grandiose ideas about extensive travels prior to leaving this region of the world are beginning to be clouded by the realities of moving, finances, and (ok-let me stop kidding myself) my ongoing feelings of, "I kinda just want to go home sometimes." There, I wrote it. Yes, we're ok. No, I'm not depressed. Yes, I'm enjoying this experience and it will be worth it; it already is and has been worth it. But it feels weird to have our lives on a set timeline in a foreign country, after really being at home in Portland and our lives there. I can't help but feel that no matter how worth it this move was/is, I am missing out on many of the people and times that I truly love. I'm finding that I have to mentally encourage myself to stay focused on the positive aspects of being here, much more than I thought I would. Trust me, I could go on & on with this topic, but the main point is that if you think you might be coming this way while we are living here, best to make it within the next 12 months or so.
Enjoy the small slideshow and the video clips, and be well! Love and miss you all.
Cheers!
Christy
Grand Prix Action
You're Beautiful
This Song Unites The World
A big Hip-Hip-Hooray to my sister and her family for FINALLY getting moved into their new home in Colorado. For those of you that don't know, she and her family have been living in various locations since last June as they waited on a new home being built. We saw our first glimpse of it today via a webcam tour. Cheers to that!
Things here are good. Highlights since our last thorough update:
*Jason Nielsen (a dear friend of ours) is back living in Australia! He is serving as the chef at The Sovereign Resort in Cooktown, Queensland (far NE corner of the country). It feels good to know that there is a friend so close, even though it would take us days to drive there or hours to fly there. There is just something in knowing that a good friend is on the same continent, I guess. We're already looking forward to making our way up to this croc-infested section of Australia sometime in the next few months, hopefully.
*I went to an Aussie dentist named Bruno.
*We attended our first Aussie long-weekend music/camp festival, Golden Plains, at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, which is about 2 hours outside of Melbourne. We saw some rock that made my head hurt, an amazing sunset, a music venue where couches and all of your own drinks (including full kegs!) are allowed anywhere, Ween (superb), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (excellent), and even a band on the second night that, when asking the crowd whether they should continue to play or go home, I shouted out "GO HOME!" and a gentleman walking past us stopped and emphatically agreed with me. We met some fun and interesting folks and heard a ton of good, new music.
*We bought a new BBQ on our way home that weekend, taking advantage of having a rental car to get one to our apartment.
*I've started receiving acupuncture treatments in an ongoing effort to breathe through my nose.
*I attended an outdoor performance of Romeo & Juliet at the Botanical Gardens with our friend, Rosemary, and her daughter, Amy.
*We spent Sunday the 16th at the Grand Prix races and attending the KISS concert that night! It was just over 100 degrees in Melbourne that day, and our cheapie tickets didn't allow for air-conditioned access to any of the exclusive grandstand seats (damn!), so we mostly wandered arounds the grounds as slowly as possible, stopping multiple times near the sprinklers and drinking plenty of VB and water. None the less, it was pretty cool to see the cars racing and simply moving that quickly in person, especially around a park loop that is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. The KISS concert was part of the big finale for the races, and what a finale! I don't know how else to say it - it simply rocked! It was also one of those concerts in my mind that was so bad, it was good. Again, we met some fun and interesting folks. I wore my brother's KISS shirt, which he sent me all the way from Omaha, Nebraska - thanks, Steve! That rocked, too.
*We celebrated a rather lackluster and hot (again, 100 degrees) St. Patty's Day by grilling a mini meat-fest for ourselves, drinking a couple of beers, and listening to Dropkick Murphy's real loud. Sadly, there were no leprechaun sightings to be had in Melbourne this year. Maybe next year.
*We've enjoyed our long Easter weekend. We spent Friday night trying out a little Chinese Dumpling House and taking in some super-chill jazz at a tiny jazz club downtown. We hosted a BBQ with our downstairs neighbors on Saturday. We webcam'ed it up with a bunch of family and then went to the Melbourne Museum today. We've watched about 7 episodes of Sopranos. We've had some serious discussions about how long we may live here (more on that below). Currently, I'm writing this and Andy is off at an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.
*We're headed to another new part of this country April 6-10. Andy will be presenting a paper at a conference in Ballina, so we will both be spending 4 days in the Ballina/Byron Bay area, which is along the east coast in northern New South Wales. We've heard great reports about the Byron Bay area, so are looking forward to visiting.
*I continue to work and love my job down the street 3 days a week. Andy continues to be satisfied with his position with Monash Uni.
On the topic of moving back to Portland: we are pretty seriously considering moving back around May of 2009, so if anyone is still considering coming here for a visit, you've got about a year. Our initial grandiose ideas about extensive travels prior to leaving this region of the world are beginning to be clouded by the realities of moving, finances, and (ok-let me stop kidding myself) my ongoing feelings of, "I kinda just want to go home sometimes." There, I wrote it. Yes, we're ok. No, I'm not depressed. Yes, I'm enjoying this experience and it will be worth it; it already is and has been worth it. But it feels weird to have our lives on a set timeline in a foreign country, after really being at home in Portland and our lives there. I can't help but feel that no matter how worth it this move was/is, I am missing out on many of the people and times that I truly love. I'm finding that I have to mentally encourage myself to stay focused on the positive aspects of being here, much more than I thought I would. Trust me, I could go on & on with this topic, but the main point is that if you think you might be coming this way while we are living here, best to make it within the next 12 months or so.
Enjoy the small slideshow and the video clips, and be well! Love and miss you all.
Cheers!
Christy
Grand Prix Action
You're Beautiful
This Song Unites The World
Friday, March 21, 2008
Barack Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' Speech
My objective for embedding this video to our blog is that you take the time to listen to this speech. It is just over 37 minutes long. I would love to hear back some personal impressions of this speech, and how it is being regarded in the US.
Best wishes-
Christy
Best wishes-
Christy
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tasmania Vacation - Feb. 24-March 1
Christy's Tasmania Vacation Highlights:
*Never-ending spectacular scenery, often times allowing us total isolation. It is pretty amazing to travel to such fantastic locations that are still sparsely populated and undeveloped.
*When we went to bed on Sunday night, it was fairly cold and windy, and we were concerned about our Monday morning sea kayak trip being cancelled. We woke on Monday morning, however, to complete calm and sunshine. 2 ladies that we met on our trip had been waiting for the weather to clear since Saturday to go on their kayak trip.
*Our camera stayed dry & Andy found my prescription sunglasses in the water after we rolled our kayak as we surfed it in to shore.
*Feeling like we could create our own scenic postcards while camping at Wineglass Bay.
*Breakfast with the wallabies on Tuesday morning.
*Drinking wine and listening to tunes in the car as it poured outside on Tuesday night.
*Finding that the trust we had put in our tent staying dry as we sat in the car and drank wine and listened to tunes as it poured outside for about 3 hours was realised!
*Our little rental car, Echo, successfully making it up the very steep hill to reach Huon Bush Retreat. Seriously, the hill was so steep that at the base of the hill there was a STOP sign with instructions/recommendations about how to make it up the hill depending on what type of vehicle you were driving! "Go, Echo!" we chanted.
*Taking showers upon our arrival at Big Tree Cabin on Thursday (um, neither of us had showered since Sunday morning in Melbourne prior to our departure, unless you count the quick dip in salty/sandy Coles Bay on Monday morning when we tipped the kayak).
*Relaxing next to a warm woodburning stove in both the cabin and the tipee.
*Celebrating the early hours of February 29, champagne glass in hand, soaking in the outdoor tub on our Big Tree Cabin deck.
*Receiving multiple international phone calls on Friday!
*Spending Friday night in a luxury tipee!
*Seeing how happy it made Andy to be the master of the grill again on Friday night as he prepared our steaks for dinner.
*Eating fun-size Snickers every night as our dessert all week long.
*Crisping up cinnamon-sugar donuts on the top of our woodburning stove on Friday night in lieu of our camp tradition of roasting donut holes (we have been unsuccessful in finding donut holes anywhere in Australia yet).
*Spending the entire week on the type of vacation that Andy and I really love.
*The video that I took of Andy explaining how he had won our game of Snakes & Ladders (I'll get that up on the blog soon). giggle, giggle
Christy's Tasmania Vacation Bummer:
*Andy lost his prescription sunglasses in the water after we rolled our kayak as we surfed it in to shore.
Hope everyone is very well and happy.
Cheers!
Love, Christy
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