Christmas countdown 10, 9, 8...

It's been rainy and cloudy for the past couple of weeks, but we finally had a nice sunny day today (Sunday). What a perfect day to unwind after a long week! We started off with brekkie at a place down the street from us. Sydneysiders love their brekkie, and so do I. Is there anything better than bacon, eggs and coffee made by someone else and served to you?

Vic's big breakfast:

Then Gus and I grabbed a bus down to the CBD (Central Business District - or what us Canadians would call downtown) to catch the Christmas parade. It started off like your typical Christmas parade, with a reindeer and some marching bands, but got stranger and stranger as it went on. There seemed to be no particular Christmas/holiday theme to it, check it out:

Starts off with a reindeer...nothing odd there.

But then, Star Wars characters came marching down the street...


Followed by an inflatable whale and panda...

...and some people in crazy big-headed costumes (I think they were promoting the Philipines)

Even Gus seemed a little puzzled!


It was especially odd to be watching a Christmas parade on a warm, sunny day. At one point, a guy came by with a big tub of sunscreen, squeezing out a dollop for anyone who wanted/needed it. Surreal, especially when compared to our last Christmas parade in Ottawa, where I distinctly remember wishing that I had worn my longjohns!

When we got back from the parade, we met up with Vic and went down to the beach for a swim. Gus and Vic played in the waves and when they were done we headed to the ocean pool up the street so I could try out my new snorkeling gear (a recent b-day present). Once I got the hang of it (i.e., stopped swallowing water), it was pretty cool. I can't wait to try it out in some of the better snorkeling beaches close by.

Bringing home the bacon

Vic's been out sailing a couple of times since we did the harbour sail a few weeks ago. He helps out on any of the boats that need extra crew at the Friday nights' Twilight sailing races. This past Friday, they held a raffle afterwards and Vic won first prize.....a huge meat tray, with eggs, bacon, sausage, steak, pork chops and a leg of lamb.



If you know Vic at all, you'll know that this is one of the best prizes ever. A tray full of meat is right up there with winning millions in the lottery. It's the equivalent of me winning a tray filled with chocolates and puppies.

Aside from eating meat all weekend (eggs and bacon for breakfast, sausages for supper last night and lamb cooking in the oven as I write), it's been a quiet weekend. Yesterday, I dragged Vic and Gus out to an event called 'Good Food Affare'. Vic and Gus were mostly miserable the whole time (the traffic was horrendous and the 'children's area' consisted of a carousel for toddlers). It was also really crowded, with a ton of people trying to get at the free samples of yummy foods and wines. I did manage to eat some delicious all natural ice cream and bring home a baguette and award winning goat's cheese before either Vic or Gus suffered total breakdowns, so it wasn't all bad.

During the weekdays, I'm still plugging away at my thesis. At this point, I have a pretty clear idea of what I'm going to do, and just need to clarify some of the methods/analysis. If anyone has any good references for trend analysis or cost analysis, send them my way! Some weeks I'm very productive and others - not as much. It's sometimes hard to stay on task when the due date is three years down the road!

And for grandparents' and cousins' viewing pleasure...two pics of Gus at the skatepark, practising his dude moves. sweet as, bro.

A day at the zoo

No, I'm not talking about my life with Vic and Gus, I'm talking about how I spent my Saturday. I was looking forward to a day at Manly Beach, which I've heard is beautiful, with lots of cafes and shops to break up the swimming, boarding and sunning. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. The day started out rainy and cold, with a high expected of only 21C. Gus suggested a day at the zoo, and off we went.

Taronga zoo is on the north shore of Sydney, so to increase the adventure-factor, we took the bus to Circular Quay, then the ferry to the zoo. Here's a glimpse of creepy Luna Park we spotted from the ferry. I'm not sure if you can see the gigantic face that gives it its creepiness, so if not, check out this link: http://www.lunapark.com.au/


Once off the ferry, we took the cable car up to the other end of the zoo.


As far as zoos go, it was pretty good. There was some great scenery behind the animals. Check out the goats below, and the Opera House in the background.



A day at Taronga Zoo is a nice way to spend a cloudy, cool Saturday in Sydney. Today (Sunday), I took my first surfing lesson. I was pretty nervous about it, but determined to give it a go. The release form I had to sign didn't make me feel much better. It started off with statements about how the water might be cold, and the sun might be hot, but then it got into things like: 'You may get caught by a rip and dragged out to sea...and 'You may get bitten by an ocean creature' Aaaaagh! To top it off, everyone else in the class had tried surfing at least once before and the instructor was throwing out the surfer terminology like we should all know what she was talking about. I kept having to interrupt to clarify what she was saying, because I was terrified I would miss some key piece of information and get caught by a rip and dragged out to sea. It was really hard work, but I managed to stand on the board at least twice (after many, many, many attempts).

I got me some wheels

It's Sunday and we spent the day at the beach. We've got a bit of a routine going now. Gus and Vic go in first and Vic helps Gus catch some waves on his body board. If you look closely at the picture below, you'll spot Vic in the red board shorts and Gus ahead of him zooming to shore on his board.


When Gus gets tired and cold, he'll come on shore and warm up on a towel beside me and we'll talk about the gnarly waves, while Vic goes back in with his own body board to catch some waves on his own (that's him below with the green board and red board shorts). After our usual routine, we caught up with some new friends and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and chatting. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that we get to spend the day at the ocean and we're not even on vacation... we LIVE here!!

This week I finally bought myself a bike. I had originally hoped to pick up a used bike, but there is not one used bike store in Sydney. So, it's taken me a while to come to grips with the fact that I'm going to have to lay down way more money than I had hoped for a bike. It was well worth it. I am in love with my bike. I may end up divorcing Vic and marrying my bike. It has a great big basket on the back for all the books and papers I drag back and forth and the best part is no more waiting around at a bus stop checking the time on my cell phone every minute because I'm worried the bus is going to be late, which will make me late to pick up Gus from school. Navigating roundabouts (of which there are exactly 3 on my way to school) are a little tricky on a bike, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon. If there are any bike afficionados out there with some tips, send them to me!

Halloween in Sydney

On Halloween, Gus told us that some of his classmates said they were going trick-or-treating. After supper, we went to check it out. On our street, we found a condo complex where there was a group of kids dressed up and knocking on doors. So we ran home, Gus threw on his costume and we went back out. Although the tradition of trick-or-treating is slowly catching on in Sydney, they still haven't figured out the system of putting out a jack-o-lantern to signal if you're giving out candies. Luckily, the next block over, we caught up with a few kids who were ahead of us and who were bravely knocking on every door and would then point out to us which house was giving out candies (not that many!). If you look at the little pile Gus collected, you'll notice a couple of chocolate santas!! This poor man probably searched through his cupboards for something to give Gus, and came up with some Christmas candy from last year. One woman gave him some unwrapped gummi worms she pulled out of her purse (what??).

The next day, we went to a kids' Halloween party given by the American Society (an expat association). Gus picked up more candy, did some arts and crafts and played a few games. Below is a picture of him eating a cookie he decorated at one of the tables.



Today is 'Try Sailing Day' in New South Wales. So we went out to Rushcutter's Bay and did a little sail of the harbour. Vic said Nicole and Keith have a house nearby but we didn't spot them out today. It was a little cloudy and not too hot. The sailboat was a Clansman, a 30-footer (that info is for you Dad!). Ross and Chris, the men who took us out, said the weather and wind were perfect for sailing. We got some great views of the opera house and the harbour bridge and Vic and Gus enjoyed playing crew on the boat. Success!