The Story of Down Under

Here we go... the reason we took this trip was because Husband had registered to participate in a trade show in Brisbane, and he was also hired to teach a workshop. So off we went. And, of course, we couldn't just go to the trade show and then leave. We had to expand the trip, because it's AUSTRALIA, and because this summer is our 40th wedding anniversary.

We left on May 4. Flight out was to Los Angeles. We had a 5-hour layover, so we had arranged to meet my cousin and his wife for dinner. They took us to a delicious and wonderful Italian restaurant just down the block from Venice Beach. We had good food, good company, and a gorgeous sunset to enjoy before they dropped us back at the airport for our 15-hour flight to Sydney.

We arrived in Sydney on May 6, May 5 having been lost somewhere between here and there. It was 7:00 AM, too early to check into our hotel, so we left our luggage there and then went out to explore. First is our hotel, then fall colors in Sydney. School girls eating lunch.. so proud to tell me that they are in their last year and will graduate in September. We walked around Darling Harbour area and ate lunch there.

Above: more of Darling Harbour, Maritime Museum which we did not go into, and Hubby entering our restaurant.

After checking in at hotel, we had a shower and a nap and then went out for more exploration of Sydney.

Above includes Chinese Friendship Garden and random city shots. Below, Hyde Park, including War Memorial and a statue of Captain Cook, the leader of the first European group to arrive in what is now New South Wales.

Next stop, Australian Museum where I was especially interested in the Aboriginal Culture exhibit. Good museum! The top floor is a café with a fabulous view of the city.

Above: me with a stuffed koala, and the last of these 4 is a photo of two rolls of Aboriginal art fabric.

This next beautiful building is called the Queen Victoria Building. We did not go inside.

We stopped at this giant bookstore and bought a couple of Australian books for kids. Sydney is a very cosmopolitan city. People there are from all over the world, especially Asia. We heard many different languages and accents. Restaurants reflect a world of yumminess. Our hotel was just outside of Chinatown.

And all of that is just our first couple of days! Lots more to come...

I'm Dead Chuffed, Mate!

Macko and I just returned from a trip up the boohai, along the eastern coast of Australia and a little time with the Kiwis in "En Zed" (N.Z. = New Zealand).

It was a cracker of a trip!!! I have 2,000 photos to sort through, so I'll start with just one or two, to give you a taste. Then I must hit the sack and try to rearrange my inner clock. Bugger me, I have that dodgy jet lag that needs to get off the grass.

a surfer at Gold Coast

me up in the Q1 tower, looking down on Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise

Friday Books: I'm in Australia!

Surprise! I'm writing this from Australia. What a wonderful country. Husband and I are having a great time. While IN Australia I finished reading a fabulous book about Australia's early days of white settlement. That rocked my world. Here's the review:

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville... I have become a huge Kate Grenville fan. This is the second book of hers that I have read, and I have loved them both. Grenville is a beautiful writer. She tells stories with the nuances and ebb and flow of human interactions. Friendships develop, people grow and change. None of it is forced or too quick or far-fetched. It's all lovely and touching. This story takes place in the early days of white settlers arriving in Australia. One British soldier becomes interested in the language of the indigenous people in his region. They strike up friendships and help each other learn. It is a beautiful tribute to language itself and how intricately language is tied to culture. I was blown away. This, like her other book, The Secret River, is heavily based on a true incident which she carefully researched. A wonderful book. The best part is, I finished this book while traveling in Australia! It couldn't have been a more perfect experience.

And another review -- of a book I finished just before coming here:

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - This is a popular book; most people love it. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. The story takes place in Australia. It's about a man who has autism but doesn't know he has it. He decides to put his scientific knowledge and methodical logic into the pursuit of finding a wife. You can guess how successful he is with this approach. It's humorous and interesting. Part of me was impatient with him for not knowing himself well enough. On the other hand, I often wonder how well I know myself. Are there things about me of which I am completely oblivious? Things that other people find annoying or things that hinder my own ability to function? It makes a person wonder...

My Friend and Frida Kahlo

S. made this quilt, an homage to Frida Kahlo. Isn't it pretty??? She was thinking the blue part of that middle border shouldn't be blue. I personally LOVE the blue. It brings out the blues in other parts of the quilt, and it pops on its own. She was soliciting advice on keeping or replacing the blue. I think she decided to leave it blue. I hope so.

(You know how pictures don't do a quilt justice, and the colors aren't true. Just believe me on the blue question.. it almost looks green in this photo.)

Friday Books: My Ideal Bookshelf, Take Two

A while ago I told you about my new book: My Ideal Bookshelf edited by Thessaly La Force, art by Jane Mount. It offers a page on which I was invited to create my own ideal bookshelf -- books that helped me learn to love reading, books that taught me a lot, books that I LOVED, books over which I laughed and cried. I chose books from my past and books that I have read more recently. It was fun but hard to come up with my list. I ended up adding books... and might add to it over time, too! Here's my ideal bookshelf as of today:

They're kind of hard to see, so here is the list:
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn
The Family of Man by Edward Steichen
Jane Addams, World Neighbor by Melissa Gilbert
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umragar
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

More Little Bags

I have been making a lot of these little bags. I got on a roll. I own about 4 million zippers, so I might as well use them up. Right? I enjoy making these useful little things. Then I love when I give one to someone, and later I see them using it.

Shop Hop Fun

A group of us went on a metro-area shop hop. We stuffed ourselves into one car, and off we went. I had planned to buy very little. Oh, my good intentions... where did they go??

These three quilts are hanging in one of the shops. They were made by someone named Carol (obviously, with a name like that, she is highly talented). She is a member of one of my guilds.

I bought some raffle tickets for this beautiful quilt. I love it! I won't win it until October, just in time for cold weather when a new quilt will be the perfect thing... (crossing my fingers).

I won three door prizes!

We stopped at a coffee shop and showed each other our purchases.

Fun day! Not too hot, not too cold, so schlepping in and out of a car all day long was not a problem. I think most, maybe all, of us completed the whole round of metro shops. Maybe we'll win more prizes!

Friday Books: A Country Doctor

A Country Doctor's Casebook; Tales From the North Woods by Roger A. MacDonald, M.D. The author is a Minnesota doctor who worked in northern Minnesota starting in the 1940s 'til he retired in 1980. This book is stories of his patients, the strange, scary, exciting, and touching adventures he had as a family doctor doing house calls and being on call 24/7. I grew up in a small Minnesota town, and our doctor was very similar.. he made house calls, and I remember him giving me penicillin shots in my butt as I lay sick on our sofa. So as I read this humorous and interesting book, I thought of the family doctor we knew and loved when I was a child.