Australian Day, January 26, 2015

I experienced my first Australian Day last Monday.  John was working 12:30p-11:30p so I basically had the whole day to myself to find what Australian Day was like.

The news coverage and take on the day was one of relaxing and enjoying the beach, or bar-b-que, or just with friends at a park. I think the bigger cities had parades but Bundaberg didn't have one. You saw people wearing the Australian flag on every piece of clothing you can think of. I saw a flag on bathing suits, men and women's, sunglasses, shorts, wife beaters (ask you teen age son what that is), sandals, visors, baseball caps, shoes, and waving the flag out of car windows and motorcycles. Showing the flag seemed like "the big" thing. The flag was also up where homes had flag poles, and of course in public places.

Yes, I am in great shape!

This public holiday coincides  with the end of the summer vacation for school age children, they return to school the day after, so it has the feel of Labor Day in the States. The back to school sales were all over the TV and radio, the shelves were stuffed with school supplies, and even though the thermometer said 39 degrees C, the feel of fall and the start of school was in the air. Well, not so much, but that's because I'm still thinking January, Wisconsin mode, I haven't transitioned yet to the fact it's summer here.

Back to Australian Day, I headed to Bargara for the beach. It was hot in Bundaberg, but there is usually a breeze off the ocean in Bargara so I thought I'd do what real Australian's do and hang at the beach.  It may not have been quite 39 C in Bargara but it was pretty darn close to that. And there was no breeze, at all. I was able to settle in on Kelly's Beach, a little further down from the beach in town, which was very crowded. I had a book I was trying to finish and sunscreen, I was set for at least an hour. (the strength of the sun has kept me to under an hour) The tide was coming in and that meant I had to watch where is was sitting because all of a sudden you can be wringing out wet things, this has  happened, more than once.


The water here is delicious. It is so warm that it's not even cooling. As I sat in my chair I saw many people go in and bob around forever, you just don't get cold. And there were dogs, Australians love their dogs, which were in and out of the water playing. Truly it was a wonderful time.

The most interesting thing to watch is something I'll try to describe.

I saw a gentleman, who was in an electric wheelchair, descend onto the beach by way of a ramp used to launch boats. He was accompanied by either his daughter and granddaughter or his wife and daughter, I couldn't tell as I was too far away.  His chair had a trapeze that swung over the right side of his chair which is used to transfer him from chair to car or bed, or in this case the beach and water.
His helper placed a sling under him, and attached it to the trapeze, they then lifted him from the chair and carefully, so carefully, lowered him to where the sand met the water. The gentleman had use of only one arm best I could tell, but that was enough to get him launched into the surf where the waves caught him and lifted him up effortlessly into the surf. He was free! The water became his freedom he swam and bobbed around for the better part of an hour. It was truly beautiful to see the man and the sea and his helpers all enjoying the day as anyone else would. The little girl with him played as all children do, oblivious to the limitations of his flesh, but in tandem with him. When it came time for him to get back into the chair, I thought, "wow, getting out of it was the easy part". But it became obvious that this activity is something they do often as they lifted him back into his chair as effortlessly as he had gotten out of his chair. I tried not to be obtrusive in watching but it was a lovely moment. It made my day.

So that is how I spent my first Australia Day, it was nice and quiet and very Australian.

Mon Repos Turtle Rookery

We visited the Mon Repos Turtle Rookery last Tuesday night and had a wonderful experience with the Loggerhead Turtles of Bargara.    http://www.bookbundabergregion.com.au/

The Mon Repos (my rest) Beach

The Loggerhead Eggs

Egg Laying

The Turtle Experience starts out by watching a video with the history of the turtles at Mon Repos and how the Queensland Government is working hard to conserve this area for the turtles to continue their quest to procreate, just as they've done for thousands and thousands of years. The season for the laying and hatching of eggs goes from November to March, with almost a constant delivery of females laying and hatchlings hatching from January to March. We witnessed the hatching of eggs, but a group just after us got to see the female laying her eggs. You don't know what, if anything, you're going to get to see the night you're there, and one group will see one thing and the next something else. If you are able to hang around, you may be able to go out and see the other activity.

The hatchlings emerge from their nest, where the date of laying has been recorded by the scientists who work at Mon Repos, and they need to get to the ocean by moonlight to imprint their internal "GPS" for that beach. With the development of the Bargara beach area, the light pollution has confused the little turtles and they can head in the wrong direction or toward the road, instead of toward the water. 

http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/mon-repos/cut-the-glow.html

The rangers are constantly monitoring the beach for the emergence of the turtles and direct them to the water by shining a flashlight in the general direction of the ocean. This becomes part of the turtle experience for the visitors as the rangers allow the guest to stand with the legs open and the baby turtles walk between them following the light they are shining.

The idea that this process has been happening for time eternal is awe inspiring. The females have been monitored for almost 70 years and they stay fertile well into their 70's. This area has the greatest number of Loggerhead Turtles laying eggs and returning season after season. Loggerhead Turtles are endangered. They are seen in other parts of the Pacific Ocean but this is the epicenter of the breeding. Green Turtles and Flatback Turtles also procreate here, but they are not endangered species.

http://www.southerngreatbarrierreef.com.au/turtle-season-november-to-march

Watch for our kangaroo sightings.....oh yea, we haven't seen any.

Good thing Scout's not here!

                             

What you really need.

Since I'm sure there are untold numbers of people I don't know reading this blog, that's a joke, I will explain how I've had to rethink almost everything I own and need to own over the last year. Most of us leave sorting out their life's possessions to someone else, like their kids, after they no longer can deal with it. I know because that happened to me (us) twice as our parents became in firmed. It's a process that leaves everyone angry, for having to do it, resentful, for having to do it, exhausted, for having to do it, and swearing that this will never happen to my kids because I will sort out my own stuff.

This is one of the projects I had to do before we left for our big adventure. We were selling the house we had lived in for 24 years and where ever we end up after Australia, it will be smaller than the 4 bedroom home we enjoyed for so long.

311 East Acacia Rd Fox Point, WI

Sold on 12/10/2014

The house was the receptacle of my stuff, Johns stuff, and our kids stuff, and most of it was just stuff. By that I mean it wasn't things we used or thought that much about. That is until you have to make a decision on keeping it or not. The kids didn't want much of anything, they are a generation of digitalizing everything and if can't be, they don't want it. My stuff was somewhat easier, if I hadn't used it or worn it recently, it was gone. Those who know John know how that went. It was a hideous project and I'm not sure it was easier on this side of it, meaning cleaning out my OWN stuff. I will say that it makes you very conscience of buying anything ever again. Which brings me to Australia again.

The Beastie leaves for Holiday Home Camp

We have 2 suitcases in which we need to pack what we "need" for the year. Each bag can't weigh more than 50 pounds, well they can but you pay extra, and I guess you could take more than 2 suitcases but again that would cost more. Both John and I come from Scottish backgrounds and as Elaine from Seinfeld said about George, "I wouldn't say you're cheap, just extremely careful with money". So here we are, planning a year away, packing away all the winter clothes and deciding what to pack in those 2 suitcases so we won't have to buy much in Australia. Luckily, I had the help of a KIWI (New Zealander) friend Trish, who guided me in the process. She explained that Australia is much more casual and I should pack accordingly. No suits for John, (bathing suits ARE good) no fancy stuff for me, and just a lot of summer shorts and skirts and tees. Sounds great!

3 of the 4 Suitcases

Maybe I can away with just one suitcase, oh wait, I need shoes, and tennis stuff, and accessories.

Oh wait, maybe I need to hijack one of John's bags? He doesn't need much, scrubs don't take up much room, and he doesn't have accessories. Great, I'll have 3 and he can have 1.

Oh wait, again, I forgot about the piles of stuff from the dining room table that needed to go with us to Bundaberg...the textbooks.....the camera.....the 20 tablets of paper with lists that he'll never get to....oy vey, back to 2 suitcases for me.

Somehow we did get packed into those suitcases, and except for shuffling a textbook or 2, out of John's suitcase into mine for weight distribution and we took off without paying extra. Unbelievable.

Now that we have been here for 3 weeks, I have rethought what I ended up bringing. Since I haven't really connected with a social group of friends I haven't worn any of the cute outfits I brought. The accessories could have been one pair of earrings, a watch, one handbag, flip flops and my tote bag. I could have carried on! Hopefully this lack of social functions will change and I will use all I brought.

John has used all the scrubs and books he brought, he packed very practically. I hate to admit that he was more practical than I, but he did do a good job on pairing his packing down to just what he needed. I'm sure he'll end up needing more, in fact, he has already found a bike to use, because of that he's had to buy a helmet and lock.

As far as the rest of our stuff, I hope I can locate the things I've packed away for a year, it's all kind of a blur, but I labeled the boxes and know sort of where they are stored. Straightening it all out will be a job for next year when we're home.

"What about the Cricket?"!!!!!

YES! It is true! I have been able to see Downton Abbey and I'm all caught up with you American viewers. My very capable and savvy nephew James, sent me a Facebook message about using Slingbox as a way to view Downton Abbey after he saw my post about not wanting any spoilers spilled on Facebook. I was able to set it up with his help via the Facebook messenger app and in about 20 minutes I was catching up on all the doings with the Crawley's and the downstairs staff.

I have to say that as technological as I thought I'd become, I'd never heard of Slingbox. It is a device you use to access your home networks, and it also works as a DVR. So my brother-in-law, George, who works in Virginia, can sign on to the family's Slingbox in Illinois and not have to pay for cable services in Virginia. (At least I think that's how it works.) Diana, my sister, records Downton and I can sign on and watch it, as long as no one else is using the device. That isn't a problem as my time is 16 hours ahead of Central Midwest Time and our viewing times are compatible.

www.slingbox.com

Here's the trouble. I hate watching it alone. I had a very special arrangement with my bestie Meg about watching Downton Abbey. We got together every Sunday night, or Monday if someone was unavailable, but it was determined that we wouldn't watch it without each other or our Bailey's Irish Creme. Because Downton Abbey was shown in January and February in the Milwaukee viewing area, it was real snuggly to sit and watch it with a dear friend and a Bailey's in the middle of winter. It made the Polar Vortex winter of 2014 tolerable. Now I have neither, Meg or the Bailey's. (Or the polar vortex winter!) I saw Bailey's in the store today and I walked right by it. I couldn't bring myself to buy it, and maybe I shouldn't have watched the first three episodes without my friend. 

I am hoping to re watch all the episodes with Meg when I return to Wisconsin, with a BIG bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme. I guess I just don't have the self discipline to have waited to watch it. I hope she will understand. 

Meanwhile

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TODAY WITH THE PACKERS??????????

Sightseeing in Rum City aka BUNDABERG

One of the things John and I love to do when we get to a new city is take the doubler-decker tour bus tour. This we learned about this from our dear Berlin friends, Wolfgang and Regine Lohrer, when we visited them in Germany. They suggested a ride on the top of the bus to get the best overview of Berlin. We climbed on board with the 3 boys and the Lohrer's, who did EVERYTHING with us. I were very tired when we first boarded but it WAS the best way to get a feel for the city and where everything was in a very compact and efficient way. Our favorite tours are the type you can jump on off, not from the top deck, but you can get on and off to explore one of the stopping sites. In Athens we used the bus as a way to get to all the ruins as the taxis were on strike and we could get on and then off.

Well, there is no double-decker bus here, the closest we can get to that is John sitting on the roof of the car with his camera, but he keeps falling off and because it's a rental car we should not be doing that. But I have gotten around with my camera to snap some pictures of unique buildings or homes.

I'd like to start with a picture of the Australian Flag. It's a combination of the Union Jack from Great Britain and the Southern Cross constellation. Here's what the very reputable site Wikipedia says about it:

The Australian National Flag has three elements on a blue background: the Union Jack, the Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross. The Union Jack in the upper left corner (or canton) acknowledges the history of British settlement. Below the Union Jack is a white Commonwealth or Federation star.

This flag sits at the center of the business district in Bundaberg, I love to see a flag flapping in the breeze on a crystal clear day.

I'm going to use this little flag a lot!

Bundaberg is known for a couple of things, RUM and GINGERBEER. There are acres and acres of sugar cane being grown and watered everywhere. They make rum to export all over the world and one of these hot evenings we're going to make a Rum and Tonic with some dark Bundaberg Rum. Woody Pelton makes the best Rum and Tonic's and they always remind me vacationing with he and Chris. They plan to come and visit so I'll save some for them!

http://www.bundabergrum.com.au/

The other famous export is Gingerbeer. This drink is like a strong Ginger Ale, non-alcoholic, and very tasty. You can see by this sign that it's famous around here and everyone drinks it.

We have yet to take either tours, the rum distillery or the gingerbeer plant, but plan on doing it before April. FYI, you can buy Bundaberg Ginger Beer at Costco and Sendik's Markets if you're a Milwaukee person. I found it over a year ago at the Costco in Grafton, Wisconsin, and knowing we were going there, had to buy it. You can't always find it there, but it's worth the look. Sendik's has it with their soft drinks. ($$)

http://www.bundabergrum.com.au/

The Post Office Building sits at the start of the downtown business area.

We found out that it's really not a working post office but a shopping area now. There is one lonely mailbox at the back, outside.

Yes, there's a Target here. We have bought many essentials for the barely equipped house we're in there and plan to go back for this and that as needed. Thought my Minneapolis friends and family would like to see this.

One of the prettier old governmental buildings, resource management, that sits in downtown.

This is the Bundaberg Olympic Swimming Pool, and park. I took this from outside as they were closing but it is a full pool with starting blocks for competition. You'll see that sun protection is everywhere, even at the pool and beach. The sun here is very strong and they stay out of it. ME TOO! 

I will show more when I know more about Bundy. Our next adventure is buying a car. 

Ugh

Huge Disclaimer.....John Blogging.....A bit loquacious....Enjoy

Bundaberg Base Hospital

For those of you who have ever received a voicemail from me, you know this may be a bit painful. It's just what it is.  First another disclaimer:  I'm still trying to make sense out of a bunch of stuff (as will be apparent) so some of this is probably wrong (what's new?).  But that gives you some more accurate insight as to what I'm experiencing... I'm often not sure what I think I "know" is actually correct.

Today I'm going to try to introduce you (confuse you as) to the medical "system":  The medicine practiced is certainly "first world" in the sense that the facilities and training are in line with what you would expect in an up-to-date smaller Wisconsin town's Emergency Department (think Beaver Dam) and the specialties represented are primarily the basics with complex issues having to be transferred;  for instance, we have no cath lab, no neurosurgery on-call,  no interventional GI doctor, etc.  Also, there are restrictions ("guidelines") as to the appropriate tests or medications that you may order without "permission" from above, based upon protocols.

My personal experience is that of an old guy (who worked in the same department for 30 years) struggling on many fronts.  Naturally, I don't know where any equipment or supplies are, I don't know anyone's name, plus I'm having to learn several new computer systems (there's a separate system for labs, one for x-rays, and one for the tracking board in the department and the patient notes).  Those of you who know me, know this is all playing right into my productivity strength.  Add to this a department full of people whose positions aren't entirely clear -- there are "specialists", senior medical officers (SMO -- that's where I am now), PHO's (Primary House Officers), Registrars (resident equivalents, I think), and Interns.  People are training here from all over Australia and the world, which means that you get to experience accents from the United Kingdom, Scotland, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Ireland and probably others to those from Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Mackay -- and you have a Tucker asking people to repeat themselves multiple times.  They probably think my hearing aides need refurbishing.  True we all speak a form of English but Australians use a lot of slang so even when I do understand the words, I often don't know the meaning.  For example, "to spew" is to vomit but "spewing" is to be very angry; "rotten" is drunk, feeling "crook" is to feel sick or ill.  I have no idea how many people I've misinterpreted already!

Dr. John Tucker

Next week we get all new interns.  They only stay at a given location for 6 to 12 months and then travel to another training location for their next stint of training.  I'm not sure I get it -- they must always be applying for a new position.

Oh, I haven't mentioned that almost all the medications have other names (e.g. acetaminophen or what we would commonly know as Tylenol is "paracetamol" and ibuprofen is "neurofen" -- and those are just the over-the counter examples).  So now the "weak" 83 year-old, who doesn't know her past medical history, hands me a bag of medications (none of which I'm familiar with) so I will "know" what her previous medical issues are -- I think you're beginning to get the picture.

The department has several "areas".  There is an "Urgent Care" area, an "Acute" area which is composed of 14 telemetry beds with 2 "resuscitation" beds and a "trauma" bed (we are the main trauma recipient for the region), and an "Observation" area.  Admissions can go to Observation (<24 hour stay planned), MCDU (Medical Clinical Decision Unit) if it looks like a 2 to 3 day stay, a full admit bed (longer looking admits), ICU, or CHIPs (their version of VNA but patients return to the ED for follow-up).  Clear so far??

Every day at 7 AM we do "hand-over" where there is supposed to be a short teaching session (assigned on a rotational basis) -- that's only happened once so far while I've been here; followed by turning over the patients in the department to the people who have the assignment for the area those patients are in.

Senior Medical Officer (SMO) shifts are 10 hours plus 1/2 hour built in for lunch (very civilized!) Shifts run 7 AM to 5:30 PM or 12:30 PM to 11 PM -- only junior house officers do nights with an SMO or Specialist "on-call".  We do 8 of those 10-hour shifts every 2 weeks (averaging 40 hours/week) but most people group their shifts so that they then have a string of days off.  Two of the SMO's actually live in New Zealand and come to work their block of shifts and then go home to New Zealand.  With this system, I started with 7 shifts in a row.  As you can only imagine, Ellie was "thrilled" to have the only person she knew on the entire continent walk out the door to leave her alone with all the "fun duties" that needed attention (e.g. setting up the house, getting groceries, straightening out health insurance, etc.).  She has made her displeasure clear -- if you catch my drift.

For those of you who are still interested, Australia is waiting for you.

My next entry will be about the types of patients we see -- it's worth the second read.

Tuck

Learning Curve Lesson #1

I called the Bundaberg Tennis Club to find out about the tennis scene in Bundaberg.

This is a facility located fairly close to our house with 6 clay courts and lights, but whenever we drove by there were no nets up and no one around. But there was a phone number to call for information so I called. I got a nice voice mail back from "Bill" who said there was a "social" Wednesday night and it would be lovely for us to come by and meet some people. Little hitch in that we had reservations to see the Mon Repos Turtle Hatching through the Queensland Park System on Wednesday night from 7p-? as you can stay and watch the turtles lay eggs or eggs hatching for hours. So we rescheduled the turtle tour and made our plans to go over to the tennis center to finally meet some people.

We got ready to go, put some nice (ironed) casual clothes on, I put make up on for the first time in 2 weeks, and we headed to the tennis club. To our surprise the "social" meant casual tennis playing NOT a time to meet and drink. So here we were, not ready to play tennis, but ready to socialize. We were very disappointed that we didn't know the lingo, we would have loved to hit a little, but we did connect with a very knowledgeable gal named Val who gave John and I all the things we needed to get going with some tennis here. She probably thought we were crazy to show up in regular clothes, not tennis clothes, for a social. Looks like there is a program very similar to the Interclub program I played in Milwaukee for women during the day. I think I have to come and play, try out, so the speak, and then they will let me play or not. From the level I saw the other night I should be fine but it will be a different group of women, and we all know how women can be!

In the mean time, my Visa card has been shut off due to some fraud tried through my PayPal account. I'm really upset by this as it is the second time a breach of security has occurred through PayPal. I tried to close my account at PayPal and it wouldn't let me! I sent their security address a scathing email documenting what has happened to me through this account, TWICE. No response yet, stay tuned. We all have aggravations in our little lives, I understand that, but trying to undo things on auto pay from Australia is a nightmare. Chase (the Visa card) has expressed via UPS a new card to us, I'll let you know how fast that is across the world. In the meantime, I have to monitor the account vigilantly to catch anything that I didn't authorize. That part is easy as I haven't used it here at all. We are adjusting.....serenity now........

Bizarro World

Australian terms and things that are “normal” here:

High Tech clothes dryer: 

Very complicated to run efficiently, to use this appliance you need to start early in the day as the wind dies mid afternoon and the clothes will not dry quickly.

Will need a complicated accessory to work correctly: Clothes pegs (pins in US)

If you ask for clothes pins in the store you will get safety pins which will not be easy to affix the clothes to the clothes line.

The rain that comes, even with the sun shining, may be difficult to control, and the drying time will need to be extended. 

Very economical to run. 

Clothes will not shrink due to harsh temperatures. 

Towels may feel like sandpaper, but this will become less objectionable as your skin toughens up.

Sheets will smell wonderful and you will sleep like a baby.

Tasty Cheese: 

I ordered something with “tasty” cheese, (I am from Wisconsin) and asked what type of cheese is was-answer “tasty”, and I thought oh good that will taste good. 

WRONG, tasty cheese is a mild cheddar cheese, which does taste good.

Brekkie: breakfast

Coffee: How much time do you have?

 (I miss my Keurig!_)

Flat white: Espresso with frothy milk

Skinny white: Espresso with frothy skim  milk

Long Black: Watered down espresso

Short Black: Espresso

Long Mac: Machiato with double shot

Strong Espresso with a little milk served “up” in a glass

I understand from my friend Trish that Starbucks in Bayside, Wisconsin is now serving a Flat White which my New Zealand friend is thoroughly enjoying.

Burger King is called Hungry Jack here. My guess is that the “Royals” didn’t appreciate a burger called “king"?

Where in the world but here do people riot over a Dart Competition? Yes, this happened this weekend. Fans pay money to watch Darts being played and someone got the idea to throw chairs and cause a disruption. The upheaval ended up on the 10 o’clock news and everyone was upset by the unruly crowd. They also dedicate a TV channel to this sport. And to one with paint drying.

Muriel’s Wedding- a must see movie which somehow I managed to see many years ago. 

Toni Collette plays Muriel and it was her break out role. This is Australia culture in movie form. It takes place on the Sunshine Coast which is very close to where we are living. Rent it, Netflix it, stream it, just see it. It will explain a lot of what I’m experiencing in Bundaberg.

Bundaberg is the fattest city in Australia…..more to come on this little nugget.

What would the world be like without libraries? Or better yet, Here's to you, Mr. Bookman!

I am sitting outside of the Bundaberg Library blogging.

I decided to go online this weekend and look to see if there was a library here and if so, where is it, and how easy would it be for me to get a library card being a very temporary resident. To my delight I discovered there is a beautiful library and it is open until 1pm on Saturday. I hurried over to check it out, with our lease agreement in hand, to try and sign up. Because I had identification, the lovely "Sandy", didn't need the $50 deposit for people without ID and she issued me a card right away. I was
good to go. You see I have a real soft spot for libraries. Growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, we had an unbelievable library which I used all the time. This isn't how it looked then, this is how it looks now.
This building is 4 times the size of the one I used as a child, which seemed immense to me.

Entry view. Photography: Scott McDonald ©Hedrich Blessing 











Newer libraries have to be bigger I guess. Here's Bundaberg's Library.







So I am thrilled that a place which has always been a comfort to me is here, in a BIG way, in little Bundaberg, Queensland.
http://library.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/


This library has all the books, magazines and media you would want, plus a Cafe, and best of all Wi-Fi for free.  This is HUGE as the cost of internet here is expensive and my habits of going on line, checking email, downloading this and that, checking Facebook, watching the credit cards, bank statements, and generally not thinking at all about my data consumption, has my bottom line shrieking! I have already, in the 10 days of having a personal wi-fi, had to recharge (read add money, lots of money) 3 times to stay connected.  We had free wi-fi when we were staying at the Best Western, so I did all the stuff I normally do, plus Facetime, and checking out things to do in Bundy, and all the usual meaningless time waster stuff.  So finding a place that is comfortable and easy to get to, where I don't have to buy anything to stay, is great. The blogging and downloading of pictures from my IPad and phone are real data drains, and I can do all this here, for as long as I want. (Colin, my youngest son, is probably laughing reading this because of an ongoing discussion we've had about our Unlimited Data Package from Verizon, our cell phone provider in the US. Verizon is no longer offering unlimited data and any change, from any of our 4 lines, will cancel this for the whole group. John and I are now spinning off the plan as we don't want to pay for phones while gone this year....bye bye unlimited data......)

An aside here,

I just had a reporter from Bundaberg's TV Channel 10 asked me to comment on an apparent hacking of the Library's website last night by Syrian extremists. NO, I'm not kidding......They posted anti-government propaganda and extreme Muslim rants. I didn't comment because I didn't know anything about it, but even here, you're not immune from what is happening all over the world. 

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bundaberg-library-website-hacked-by-people-claiming-to-be-from-free-syrian-people/story-fnn8dlfs-1227181518953?nk=5055318b763fb47e45eb6915b6e954d1

So I will leave this entry with good thoughts of why free libraries exist in this country, and most democratic, free societies, a thank you to the good people who work in them (shout out to Joy, my niece, who is a librarian) and the happiness they bring, even to visitors. I would encourage everyone who is in a new place for a time, to check out the library where ever they are and enjoy what they have to offer.

Adjustments....

Everybody knows that you drive on the left here in Australia, right? (I mean correct, trying not to confuse.) Do you all know that everything is reversed in the car? For example, the blinker is on the RIGHT side, window washer on the LEFT. In the book my sweet sister, Tracy, gave us The Americans Guide to Living in Australia, it comically talks about knowing you're behind an American because they are turning and the wipers are on with brilliant sunshine. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to both of us. We laugh every time. But there are other things about the driving that makes you feel like if you don't pay unrelenting attention you will be crashing your car. The round a bouts are one of these things. 

In Wisconsin we are just seeing these traffic inventions from Hell. Round a bouts save loads of money by not having to put traffic lights up at busy intersections. Traffic lights cost a lot of money, and they can break and need maintenance, and can be run into by drunk drivers. So Wisconsin has followed what many states have done and used these round a bouts as an answer to controlling busy intersections. That said, I have only been in a couple of intersections where they have been placed and I was confused, as was everyone else, as to how the traffic pattern was supposed to work. The Wisconsin DOT has taken to the air and created public service announcements teaching us dumb drivers how to manage these intersections. Clearly, there's a problem.

Now add driving on the left and a GPS yelling at you to take the 3rd or 4th exit in the round a bout. They are frightening. I never know which way to look first, I always do left and it should be right as they don't stop. Then the car on the left SHOULD yield to you but they are uber aggressive here and if you waffle even a little they take the intersection and you're left shaking as you thought you should go and they nearly hit you. And they are everywhere. I thought I could find my way by busier roads which have stop lights but eventually you have to turn and there the dreaded round a bout is! I will get the hang of them but I pray I don't have an accident.

I can't even speak about parallel parking.

Suffice it to say that all of this is a process and I will get there. And John is no master of the lefty drive either, he just acts like he knows what's going on. 

Now for something you'll REALLY enjoy!

I have been waiting to collect as many photos and video clips from the wonderful couple who is "fostering" our dogs while over in the land of kangaroos and dingos. I want you to meet the Haas's
of Lake Geneva.

Joe and Lois Haas are friends of Kim and Don Parker, who are our son, JP's, in-laws. When we were searching and searching for a family to watch over our prized pets, Scout and Bear, we put out a wide net to our friends, neighbors, work relations, and relatives to keep an ear out for anyone willing to take on our two active dogs for the year we're out of the country. (Background needed here, there is a 3 month quarantine for all animals coming from the US. Australia doesn't have rabies, either in wild or domesticated animals and they want to keep it that way, so they impose this long quarantine for animals looking to live here.) We never considered bringing them for that reason and also because the flight over is done without sedation for the dogs and because the flight is so long we just didn't think it was realistic to have them here.

Enter Joe and Lois. They are an active, retired couple who moved up to the Lake Geneva area a few years ago. They live in a area where they can play golf, work out, swim, and really enjoy life in and around Geneva Lake. They are dog lovers. How do we know that? When they built their house, a dog bath was included in the plans, in the heated garage, brilliant! They have had many dogs, but the last pair they had was a pair of Golden Retrievers named Toby and Sizzle.  They lost their dogs a few years ago and have been fostering dogs from the shelter when they had overflow, and babysitting neighbors dogs when needed. Their house is packed with pictures of their dear dogs from their many generations of pets. We knew from the first moment that if they wanted us, we REALLY wanted them to help with the dogs. We had a few meet and greets, one with their "grand-dogs", a pair of Pom's that their son Steve owns, and one with a neighbor's dog who will need to get along with our dogs. You know serious dog people when they are this careful about who they bring into their home as far as pets go. (Obviously they let us in so not so careful with people!) Because they have had a pair of Golden's, they are fully aware of the temperament and how do I say this, possible shedding issue with 2 hairy dogs? Joe laughed when he realized he had on a black, fleecy, sweatshirt, which looked like he had brushed the dogs with said sweatshirt, "I guess I won't be wearing this shirt for a year!"

I want to share some of the videos they have sent of the dogs "acclimating" to their new home.

Scout with glove

Nosing around for chipmunks

Can I bore you a few more videos? The dogs are adjusting so well that I'm afraid they will forget us altogether! Of course that would be a good problem as we fretted so about the dogs, and finding them a good home. It is a GREAT home and a tremendously lovely couple who have embraced our "mangy mutts"!

Dogs with toy

Lois thought it was so nice that Bear let Scout win this battle of the toy. I had to clue her in that Scout ALWAYS wins and Bear just deals with it.

We are so grateful to the Haas's for the care, feeding and loving of our dogs. Somehow God got us connected with this special couple and we are just happy it all worked out. So enjoy the videos, I will get better about uploading these things, you can't believe how many times I've tried to make the process easier, by the time I return to the US I'll have it down!

Home Sweet Home for a bit

We have settled into our little house in Bundy (as the locals call it) and it's very comfortable. The house is about 1mile from the hospital and 2 miles from the city central. We are on a corner with great windows and sunlight. There isn't much landscaping on the lot, as far as that goes, in the whole neighborhood is pretty bare, as you can see.

Front of 396 Bourbong St. Bundaberg

I spent the morning getting groceries and then unpacking (finally). I have been amazed at how

 expensive everything is, even though we traveled here a few years ago and I had sticker shock then, because we were in touristy and then BIG city Sydney, I thought it might be a little more affordable here. Wrong. So I decided to venture out to Aldi, a worldwide German grocery food chain which I know from Milwaukee as budget minded, especially for a big shop like this one was going to be. So I did the big shop as much as I could, they don't have beer or wine, sort of the necessities of life, but I knew where I could find those. $270 later and a trunk (boot) full of food I was headed to what will be our home for 3 months.

Doesn't look like much, does it?

I don't think I'll have to go out again for a while, and after eating out for the past week, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to cooking  a few meals. We have missed the veggies and salads, we ordered them whenever we could but it's not that easy to eat well when it's every meal.  I thought the house would definitely have a grill (barbie) but to my surprise it doesn't. When it's 90 degrees out (sorry Wisconsonites :( ) I am in a grilling state of mind and now I have to rethink everything!

Here are some snaps of the kitchen and dining room.

Master bedroom and bath

Laundry Room!!!!!!!

Second bath with soaker tub

My closet, no comments thank you.

So that's the house, very comfortable and clean, much nicer than I expected. The hospital system is putting us up for the 3 months we'll be in Bundaberg for the inconvenience of having to move twice. I guess we'll make the best of it and not gripe too much about how much everything is to buy, considering this is a freebie.

This was an informative post and not too entertaining, I'm sorry! Just like getting in today, it was getting the job done and moving on. 

I will tell you that I've connected by Facetime with 2 of my bestie's from Milwaukee and it's a piece of cake! Just look to see if I'm online and ring me up. I love the connection and catching up, I even shared Meg's fireplace and some Chardy with her. Delightful! John is working 7 days in a row and I might just loose my mind if I don't hear from some of you. I am missing you all dearly and thinking about the freezing weather back home. Stay warm and I will send out something more entertaining this weekend.