36hrs

After 6 months of being in Oz, we finally had our first visitors arrive safe and sound at mid-day on Saturday! With ease in our hired car, we whisked Kay and Pat (mom & aunt) from the passenger pick-up at the Melbourne Airport. The Ladies must have had that "vacation high" going on, as they were jovial and high spirited even after flying 15hrs, sleeping very little and having minor connection/luggage drama. I was impressed.

Jim, Mom, Aunt Pat and I all returned back to our one bedroom palace. They got settled in a bit. And when I say "settled in," I mean they unloaded about 10kg (25lbs) of candy, baked goods and general naughtiness our of their suitcases (Thank you Mary Pat!). While I silently studied the 5lbs I would gain during their visit, Jim and I discuss aloud the miraculous feat that just occurred. How did they get all this home-packaged food into the country? Including nuts?! SO MUCH STUFF! A few months back, Jim had brought over some freeze dried camp dinners. The customs lady held him up for 10min reading all the ingredients of the sealed bag. If you even have an apple, they tell you not to bother and just throw it away. Again, I'm impressed.
After the the unloading, we made a grocery list and headed out. We took full advantage of our car, filling up our little hatch back with goodies from the farmers market, super market and liquor store. If you're gonna play some cards, ya gotta stay properly nourished. That, and Jim and I drink soy, not cow milk.
Later, we had an engagement celebration dinner at Little India. This was Kay and Pat's first Indian food experience. They handled it like pros.
Unfortunately, (and fortunately) this was Jim's only time to spend with us all. He is visiting Texas and Colorado during the duration of The Ladies' trip. The only really beneficial thing of his absence is the extra space that his body won't occupy in the house.
Sunday morning, I chauffeured Jim to the airport, returned the rental car and headed to yoga class. Whilst I did these things, The Ladies attended mass at a church in the neighborhood. I gave them a map and the "sneaky way" directions. They were able to navigate the hood quite well.
I returned home to find them sitting on a wall inside of our locked gate, but not in the apartment. Hmmm. I had left them a spare set of keys. What I hadn't done is told them that the door locks by itself, like a hotel door, and there is no need to turn the lock on the handle lock. I know this, but for me leaving the house is a reflex. I just don't think about it. We don't have a key for this second lock.
When they left for church, Mom wasn't sure, so turned the handle lock (just like at home in MI) and found out later that the key didn't work. Luckily, the kitchen window was open, so I only had to acrobat in through it to get us all in the house. Prior to my arrival, they had planned that I would be able to do this. Good thing I could deliver.
Following that adventure, the rest of the day was low key; with naps, reading, a movie and dinner. The Ladies were coming down from their high and we all enjoyed a rest day.
Tomorrow, we might tackle the beach.

Amazing

It's a flower inside a flower!

With Attitude

My initial sighting was probably about 2 months ago, as I was walking home from the park. One of the pubs I pass to get home has a recess in its facade. The bench for the tram stop occupies this space. As I approached the tram stop, I could see a crazy shoe ensemble popping out from the recess where the waiting bench is. It was one of my all time favorite combos, the curious sock/sandal phenomena. The sock was bobby style, but instead of being folded over, it was rolled down. The shoe on the foot was a hybrid shoe sandal, with a dab of the pale blue sock peeking out of the open toe. "This is going to be good," I thought.
When I got to the recess in the building I saw THE MOST fabulous sight. It was an astonishingly old woman waiting for the tram. She had white curls brimming from underneath a small woven hat. Her skin was powdery, with smooth wrinkles, and she had on large, light blue "Sally Jesse Raphael" prescription glasses. She wore a pale blue sweater, with the cuffs of the sleeves rolled up; as to not interfere with the paper coffee cup in her left hand and the cigarette in her right. As I walked by, I had to slow down so I could drink her up. I pretended to read the tram schedule just so I could take her in. I could only think of one thing: Bad Ass.
I really wanted to take her picture but I was just too shy to ask. I got home and tried to make a sketch, but it just came out all wrong. So, I have engraved her in my memory.
The other day, I was taken aback to exit the train station, and find her before me again. She was sitting on a different tram bench, but she had the ciggie in hand, and the same glasses and hat. Her socks were different socks, but still with sandals. Again, I was paralyzed with awe. I wanted to take her picture again, but it would have just been too weird. Instead, I took a picture of her back, from across the street. She looks like she might be able to kick my ass, so I wanted to be careful. After, I was walking toward my house. I turned around and watched her cross the street and shuffle the opposite direction from me. I'm pretty sure the sit on the bench was just a cigarette break.
It occurred to me over the weekend that this lady is like someone I know; like someone I've seen before. I was finally able to put my finger on it.Just like Maxine! That might also explain the predisposed intimidation I was feeling.

Not in their DNA

Today, following a delicious breakfast, I did a little primping before my yoga class at the gym. Nothing special, just deodorant, moisturizer and mascara. After the class, Jim and I went to the beach. We swam in the ocean and basked in the sun (with SPF). On our way back to the train station, we stopped at a cafe. A casual friend, from my catering job, happened to be working there. I had a brief conversation with her about NYE plans. We sat and waited for the coffee. Once it was ready, I said bye to the friend and we rode the train for 20 minutes to our stop. We walked in the door at home and Jim suggested I make an early dinner; we were both starving. I prepped the meal (mini pizzas made with english muffins and side salad) and put it in the oven. Having a free moment, I went in the bathroom. Glancing in the mirror, I was horrified to see that the normal "dim" circles under my eyes looked more black paint smears. I thought, WTF? Then remembered the mascara...and the swimming. And the convo I had with my friend. I had a baseball cap on and it was dark in the cafe, but I was still conversing with her with like 18" between us. Sigh. She probably thinks I'm abused.
I tidied up the situation and went on with my dinner business. Later, after showering, the remainder of the mascara was deposited in the same location. I went out to Jim and explained all the things we had done during the day with my eyes looking like this. I asked, "didn't you notice?" He replied, "you had sunglasses on." "Not the whole time," I retorted. I got inches from his face, and asked, "is this something you would notice?" For effect, I was eying ceiling and pointing with my finger. To this he replied, "probably not."

A word about temporary living

You will take what you can get, wherever or however you can get it.

Dear Universe,
Thank you for the file cabinet we found on the sidewalk. It is just what we needed for more storage in our single-closet house.

Background:
1 closet (that is not even 1 meter x 1 meter) x 2 people = :(

For weeks, I've been eying some Ikea shelf/cabinet/with doors type things for additional storage. Under the bed is getting kind of full and under the futon in the lounge room looks messy. I was ready to throw down $150 or so on one of these nice looking pieces of knock-down furniture.
While walking home from the train station at 930 last night, Jim and encountered this beauty. It was on the sidewalk just a few houses down from ours. It is a bit rusty, but it was fairly clean, and it is fully functioning. I'll take 4 drawers over shelves any day.Also by luck, we were able to quietly relocate it to its new home with a mini dolly/hand truck that I inherited from the Americans.
The dolly that I wondered "what I will use this for?" came in handy and I still have my $150. Perfect.