Maybe in Oz

We had a great time visiting the two of you and our other friends in Australia.  I finally learned how to say the name of the city (Melbin) and we got to see lots of things that were new to us.  Tassie was amazing.  It is like its own country just loosely tied to the mother country.  I got a great sense of the pride Australians have in their country and in all things Australian. I got the sense that you guys are enjoying yourselves and your jobs here but you don't feel like you are completely one of "them."  I want you to know that we do not have accents, they do! I'm sorry that I spoiled the last few days of our "holiday" by falling but I guess these things happen.  You both "stepped up to the plate" as the expression goes and gave me the time I needed to recover enough to fly home.  Thanks also for letting me try your new quilting frame and machine.  What a great thing that is. Australia is truly an interesting and different place and ...

Phil sent this to me the other day, and whether you were rooting for Romney or barracking for Barack, I think both sides can see the humour in this.  The two things they forgot to mention though are the higher income tax and the carbon tax.  Not the panacea some think it is! I guess the moral of the story is that there is no perfect system.  Every country has its own take on a political system, and while some are better than others they all have one fatal flaw - humans are involved.   When I was back in the states last month people kept asking me what Australia thought of the election. The answer: not much.  There would be an article in the paper once in awhile showing so-and-so on the campaign trail, but Australia was as concerned with the US presidential election as the US is concerned with who is Prime Minister here.  There was a campaign, an election, and life goes one.  It was sometimes embarrassing though to see just how much bickering ...

Today is not just your ordinary Tuesday.  Well, to be honest, for most of you it's not actually Tuesday yet but trust me, you'll get there eventually. So it's Tuesday, November 6th, the first Tuesday of November.  What does this mean?  Election Time?  Well yes, but like I just said, you're not there yet.  So what it means is that today is Melbourne Cup Day, a state-wide public holiday for a horse race.  Seems kind of silly to me, but a day off work is no laughing matter. I guess the theory is that we're supposed to be at the races today, but we are just enjoying the day off, trying to convince our brains that it's really not Saturday.  I've been working on some sewing projects and watching the thunder storms roll in.  Perhaps the weather didn't realise it was Melbourne Cup Day - thunder storms and horse races can't be a good combination. I get the impression that Melbourne Cup Day is a lot like Memorial Day in the states in that it serves as...