Maybe in Oz

Last night after the final point of the Australian Open Phil turned off the tv.  I promptly yelled at him to turn it back on because I wanted to see the awards presentation.  Phil looked at me and said "Who are you and what have you done with Suzanner?" I've never really been a big sports fan (unless you count watching gymnastics or ice skating during the Olympics, which I'm sure most of you don't).  But somehow in the past two weeks I've become a tennis fanatic.  We went to our first match last year and Phil was excited because going to one of the majors was a lifelong dream come true.  I enjoyed it more for the new experience than anything else. The Australian Open grounds has a very festive atmosphere.  Besides the stadiums there are several practice courts you can watch players warm up from and two large screens where people can see the matches while hanging out on the grass.  There is a group called The Heard that dresses up in green and gold ...

There Will Be Pins: How to be a Quilter's Husband by Patrick Cook, the husband of Valorie Cook from Grand Rapids, MI So your wife is a quilter. That doesn't seem so bad, does it? It's a nice quiet hobby, conjuring up images of our sturdy pioneer mothers, keeping their families warm and creating beauty out of old shirts and printed feedbags. You think of plump grannies in rocking chairs, piecing a Log Cabin block by firelight, cat asleep  at her feet. An idyllic picture, right? You're living in a dream world, buddy. They buy their fabric whole now, in yardage and "fat quarters" (whatever they are). They cut this perfectly good cloth into smaller pieces, and then painstakingly, by hand, sew them back together. This process calls into question all the advances of the  industrial revolution. Quilting generates a blizzard of debris. Fabric scraps and batting clog and burn out your vacuum cleaner. (Hint: don't go barefoot. Your feet were never meant to be ...

Lately I've had the travel bug big time.  We have several trips planned for the year so far - King Island in March, Vanuatu in June, New Zealand in July, Kosciusko in August, and Pert/Busselton/Esperance in December.  It's still not enough though and there's only so much vacation time and money.  So I decided it's time we start exploring Melbourne more.  First up, Back Beach in Sorrento. I saw this picture on pinterest a few weeks ago and today we went exploring to try to find the real life version.  Here's the  original picture . It's called Back Beach in Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula, about a 45-minute drive from our house.  When decided to go explore the beach today we both forgot one critical thing - it's January (summer) and Aussies love their beaches in the summer.  They also seem to take most of the month of January off to stay at said beaches.  This made for a very long drive out on the one lane road.  Eventually we ma...

It's 10 pm January 1, 2013.  It's official, summer vacation is over and tomorrow morning we have to go back to work. Because of how the days lined up I was only off for a week, but I think we were able to make the most of it.  On Christmas Eve we carried on with the tradition we started last year of having a picnic on the beach followed by a visit to the Phillip Island penguin parade.  They are extra cute this time of year because the babies are almost full grown and stand outside their nests yelling for their parents to come home.  One of these times we are going to steal one and keep it as a pet :) We started Christmas Day off with a run around the park with our friends from the running group.  Then the cats and dog got to open their pressies, and soon it was time to head down for Christmas lunch with our Aussie family.  Cracking poppers and wearing crowns seem to be a requirement for Christmas lunch in these parts, as does a nice roast and some Chr...

Last weekend we made the 7-hr trek to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).  A 7-hr drive in Australia feels like it is twice as long as a 7-hr drive in California.  With the exception of the submarine sitting in a park in one of the small towns we went through, the scenery is very monotonous.  We left earlier enough that we reached the city in the afternoon with just enough time for Phil to check in for his half ironman and then make a quick stop in the National Gallery of Australia. The next morning we were up way too early but were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise as the athletes got ready for the race.  Fortunately the rain from the day before had cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful morning.  The Capital served as a nice backdrop during each leg of the race. Phil ran a good race and finished an hour sooner than his last race three weeks ago.  Then it was time for a quick recovery nap before we went to the War Memorial. ...

A couple weekends ago our good friends from the running group held the second annual Brumbys Run, named after the Brumby horses that she loves. The Brumby horses are a feral breed that were introduced to Australia in the late 1700s.  There's a big movement to eradicate them because they are non-native, though I wonder how people who are here because of recent immigration can possibly suggest such a thing. The Brumby Run was a half marathon starting and ending at their property in the foothills of the Dandenong Mountains.  Running that far is not my cup of tea, so we went for a bird walk in the area instead.  After the run, we all shared a relaxing brunch potluck under the gum trees.  Here are a few snaps from that beautiful day. Mae Lee with Trooper The wild King Parrot that ate out of my hand, Phil with Trooper