No, we didn’t buy a farm, God no. But apparently it’s the thing to do. In the US one might strive for a beach house in the Hamptons. In England the rich leave London on the weekends for their “cottage” in the country. Here in Australia, once you’ve really “arrived” – you buy a farm. Growing…
Today is Father’s Day in Oz. Why is it in September? I did a little searching around because I was curious and could only assume it was due to the weather being so glorious here in spring. What I found out was its date origin has to do with retail spending. Apparently, shopping fatigue is…
We haven’t posted much as of late because currently life is pretty dull. Not complaining, happy to be a hermit and enjoy the continued peace. Anti-mask protests seem to be the thing to do around the globe at the moment. I find it strange to protest staying healthy and safe but I’m not too bothered…
We discovered yesterday that my first baby would be 5,000 days old today. In light of 6 months of staying at home, living in a new city with no friends, and the bleak outlook that is life in the time of Rona we needed something to lift our spirits. Today we celebrated this beautiful, intelligent,…
Thanks to my dentist, I’ve learnt a new Aussie word this week. He had asked me if I had lived in Oz long enough to understood the slang locals use – I said I thought I had. He then questioned if I had ever met an “Ocker”. I had no idea what he was talking…
Caroline and I are taking an online watercolour painting class. It’s really for her, my budding artist, but I play along in case she needs assistance. The class is offered via Zoom and there are probably 10 other people in addition to the instructor. It is a very relaxed 75 minutes of wetting the paper…
The government today declared the state of Victoria a disaster. Community transmission of Covid is out of control and untraceable. As a result, new lockdown rules announced at 3pm today come into effect at 6pm this evening. Gone are the days of giving people 48 hours warning before new rules come into play. We’ve been…
I received the board game Secret Hitler as my Secret Santa gift for Christmas in July. I had never heard of the game before tonight but was intrigued by the name. We love having family board game nights in our home – it’s something we do regularly. Recent lockdown purchased favourites include Dominion and Tapestry,…
Christmas in December in the Southern Hemisphere feels wrong in so many ways for an ex-pat used to a cold and snowy holiday. The weather inches towards hotter and higher temperatures, there is sunshine every day, and the kids finish up their school year for the summer. We’ve been in Australia for going on 4…
Slippery Dip – If this makes you think of a frozen dessert from an ice cream truck, a slip and slide, an old fashioned carnival ride or something a bit more perverse – you would be wrong. A slippery dipper (or slippery dip) is found in almost every playground around the world because it is a slide!…
