mini rant

Tonight on the ABC news there was 15 minutes of vox pops from people stranded because of the Qantas strike, 4 minutes of other news (including 3 Aussies killed in Afghanistan) then sport and weather. Rubbish. 

swish

Thanks to a kind invitation from a friend, today I did something I've wanted to do for a while - attend a The Way We Wear Vintage Fashion Fair. I'm usually more of an op-shopper than a vintage shopper - but have been keen to see what the selection and the prices might be like where the suppliers have done plenty of the hard work for you. The selection this morning was impressive, and there were some good value deals to be had. I also liked the exhibition that was included in the price of the ticket - Dressed for the Voyage, which had fashions from survivors of The Titanic disaster. I had no idea that there was a South Australian nurse, Evelyn Marsden, who was a Titanic survivor who went on to return to Adelaide, then lived in Wallaroo before going to Sydney. What a life journey. 

just pics

morning has broken

One thing I love already about living here is being close to the lake. Not only do we get a view, but we also have some great walks close by. Today and yesterday we went for early morning walks. There is hardly any noise, except for the squawking of the sulphur crested cockatoos, and the occasional bike bell.

But the weather has gone all moody European. We've had to put the heater on a couple of times. 

You give me fever

My Canberran friends tell me that we've been very lucky over the last couple of days - it has been very warm since we arrived. Tonight we couldn't believe it - it was warmer here (30 degrees) than in Brisbane (26 degrees). The weather has been great but there is a lot of pollen floating about and things have been rather sneezy in our household. Not sure if it's because we're unpacking and there's lots of dust about, or whether earlier allergies are rearing due to drier conditions. 


Said Canberran friends have been a great help - providing a delicious dinner on the night after our truck arrived, lending a blow up bed and generally providing support. Including bringing milk when invited for coffee. 


This gets me thinking about how wonderful our family and friends have been over the course of our adventure to going overseas and then returning. We are so grateful for all the love and help. XXX


Anyway, here are some scenic views. 

You have reached your destination

Anyone with a Tom Tom will recognise the phrase above. And now we have a mattress, we have a place to call home and we have a view. So we feel like Tom is right. 

phase one

Removal day today. It wasn't too bad but we had to repack some things: when we put stuff in storage we didn't pack for extended travel. Then we had to take a detour to our old house to pick up some miscellaneous items so it all took much longer than expected. After a trip to our old favourite for lunch, the Rock and Roll Bakery (their white choc and raspberry brownie is the best ever bakery dessert), we returned to our kind hosts for a brief interlude, then to M's old work place to say hi, and finally on to dinner with some good friends.  A long, tiring but good day. 

Brisbane wheel - from Sunday night

back in Brisvegs

Had an interesting flight on a Dash-8 to Brisbane. The flight was delayed. M had been telling me that we were heading into stormy weather with our flight. And then a helpful fellow traveller noted that we were travelling on the same kind of plane that recently crashed in PNG. Yeah, thanks for that. In the end we had bit of turbulence but landed safely into the arms of some good friends. 

the ball is rolling

Today was a busy day organising things for our trip to Brisbane. Looking forward to catching up with people and seeing what is in our storage shed. Did we keep the mattress in the end? The kettle? The last few days in Brisbane were really hectic so we're not exactly sure what we've got. It'll be just like Christmas. 
We had a lovely lunch today at the cutely named Pulp Kitchen at the Ainslie shops. 

And saw a whole head at the Lyneham shops

Sign of the month

Such creative use of the apostrophe - I stand and photograph in awe. 

Vinnies, Dickson

I know...

...I have to stop taking photos of signs soon - but check out this one. This is in the bathroom of our current hotel. 

danger brain

This made me smile this morning. Our brains felt a bit high voltage after spending yesterday working out what we should do about houses...

Finally!

Yes we have a place to call (rented) home! A great relief. We actually ended up having the choice of two places. When we went back to have another look at the first place we realised it was way too big for us. So we've gone with the second, more expensive (but with many advantages) option. Now everything is moving quickly to organise relocation of stuff. I'm not sure how we're going to go with so many things and so much living space. It's going to be weird for a while I think. 

Good luck Julia!

Well, does Julia know what she is in for? I hear that she and Tim have to leave the Lodge and at short notice too. Politics may be tough but wait til she tries house hunting in Canberra. Good luck! At least she won't be any competition for our rental price bracket. We had calls today from the two agents where we've had applications for a week or more. Only today are they checking references - are we still interested? Yes!!! We need somewhere to live!!!


So we don't know where we will be on Thursday night, or after that. We've got four houses to look at tomorrow, and hoping to hear back from the two agents of sloth. 


One good thing completed today was M handing in his signed contract. Now all we need is an abode, a car of our own, and a career for me. Hehehe.

Happy F & C Day

What great news to know that we've moved to a state territory which has an extra public holiday. Yes, today was Family and Community Day. So no house hunting. Instead, M and I checked out the Jerrabomberra Wetlands - parts of which look a bit desolate as a willow tree removal project is currently underway. 

grevillea at the wetlands

Then had a look at Queanbeyan and later this afternoon went for a great walk at the base of Mt Ainslie. Plenty of kangaroos around. 

nature, grey in fin and flipper

After a takeaway coffee from Cockle Cafe in Pt Elliot (10/10), we checked what was happening beachside. There were two whales frolicking relatively close to shore so we had a fantastic view, even without the binoculars. Then it was off to lunch at Bombora Cafe on Goolwa beach before heading home. A wonderful weekend but it was good to get back to M and house hunting hideousness.

Middleton CP is very clean

w w whale

The birthday surprise went off perfectly. It was a sisterly outing that was also a best of tour of Fleurieu Peninsula. Willunga markets- including the Quarry markets- Mt Compass, Pt Elliot, Authenticity for lunch and massage for the birthday girl and then to Middleton. Wildlife sightings : seals, whales and black cockatoos. A bit of op shopping. The day was over all too quickly.

Dribbles the cat at Authenticity

escape

I've run away to Adelaide to help celebrate a family birthday. I had a great day checking out the art gallery, river torrens and the library. An afternoon in the library has given me an insight into how multi skilled librarians need to be!

on the wall

A very grey day. We didn't see any inspiring houses today either. However, I'm enjoying spotting all the stencil art around the city centre. 

And M cooked a pork roast for dinner, which was wonderful.

Sign of the week

please do not touch gnomes

Five things you might not know about Floriade:
they have cooking demonstrations
you can get a free Canberra Times there
they have plenty of stalls selling food, arty crafty things and gardening implements
they have a 'paint a gnome' competition
you're not allowed to touch the gnomes. 

the hunt continues

Back to the house hunting today. We had a look at a couple of houses. One apartment (at the very top of our price bracket) looked pretty good from the outside. It's near a lake and someone was practising his/her bagpipes - if we take the place let's hope that's not a daily occurrence. We're taking a look inside tomorrow. As with most of what we've already seen, there's a ten minute viewing window only. So we won't be late.  

Another beautiful sunny day

We had a wonderful lunch catching up with an old friend and then enjoyed the sunshine over a cup of coffee. And making the most of the excellent weather, we had a walk this evening (loving the daylight saving) around by Lake Burley Griffin. M spotted a couple of water rats frolicking in the water - they were so fat you could almost mistake them for otters! And we walked around Floriade on the way home.

apartment complex kitty

Good day, sunshine

A beautiful day here in the National Capital. 
Having spent many hours admiring and photographing war memorials in other countries, we thought today was the right time to take a stroll down Anzac Parade while we are staying so close. 

Anzac Parade - and there's snow on the mountains

Royal Australian Airforce memorial

Royal Australian Navy memorial

Red banksias in Reid

Then, after all that exercise, we had an easy afternoon at home. No driving anywhere for the first time in months. 

eat eat eat

No house hunting today. We had fun sightseeing and reacquainting ourselves with Canberra and environs. In the morning we visited the Hall markets and purchased some local coffee and honey. And in the afternoon we had lunch with visiting family. Unfortunately the weather was not good for sightseeing outside - so we made do with the interior of the Wig & Pen (famous for its cider and beer). Then dinner out in Kingston. Might need to do some exercise tomorrow. 

Street art

And I think this might be the worst name for a cafe that I've ever seen... 

Canbrrrrrrr

Yes we have arrived and it's rather cold. The place where we're staying is ok - the coffee machine is great and there is a pool, so we might go skating later if conditions hold. 

Looks great doesn't it - but it was about 7 degrees. 

SEVEN degrees!!

We've seen about 20 houses in total today and yesterday - some just 'drive-bys' to see what the outside looked like. There was one today that could be alright.