Brisbane is slowly getting cleaned up from all the flood damage. Emma’s office building was one of the last and even then the fire systems in the building were not working for several weeks so they had to have security guards on every floor with whistles in case a fire was spotted. The car park under the building is still not ready yet. Just last week some of the ferries started running to most of the ferry stops although there are still some not repaired yet. Our favorite park, New Farm park, which is right by the river is all cleaned up and we spent last Sunday morning there with some friends. The dads had the kids while all the women enjoyed brunch. Last Friday night we went to see the movie “Tangled” under the stars in New Farm park. They have a large screen on the side of one of the Powerhouse Art Centre buildings. You can rent beanbag chairs or bring your own blankets and pillows and sit on the grass and watch the flick. We had a blast watching the movie while watching the moon rise and the bats fly over head. Several of the kids friends joined us and everyone had lots of fun.
January 26 is Australia Day and celebrated much like the 4th of July in the US. If you are close enough you head to the beach or else have a barbie with friends and enjoy the sunshine. The day is to honour the landing of the first convict fleet. We headed out to the beach on the Sunshine Coast with Aunty Kat and had fun playing in the sand. The waves were a bit too big to swim for the kids but they had fun making sand castles and getting their feet wet. We are fortunate to be right between the Gold Coast to the south and the Sunshine Coast to the north, both with lots of nice beaches. With all the nice weather we have had we have spent lots of time at the pool. The kids just love spending the day at the pool and we are spoilt for choice! They also have swim lessons every Friday and they are making really good progress.
On February 12 Emma and I celebrated Valentines day with a nice dinner and a show. Our friends the Swarts were nice enough to volunteer to watch the kids. Alex and Ellie just love playing with Cian and Niamh so are always happy to see them. We had a lovely dinner at The Fox. It was nice to have some really good American style ribs! Then we walked over to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre for the show. The centre is right by the river and the show’s opening had been delayed by two weeks. The night we were there the car park was still closed. We saw “Wicked” and it was wicked good! We are really enjoying being in civilization again and being able to go to shows. It was an awesome night out and a lovely Valentines!
We have been looking at a lot of houses and finally come to a big decision. We have put our house in Stratford up for sale so we can buy something here. If anyone is looking for a house a short walk to the new Olympic Stadium, Aquatic Centre and athlete’s village in London then give us a shout. It was hard to decide to part with the house. Although it is very tiny and we would never live in it again, we really enjoyed living in it when we were in London pre-kids! Based on what we have heard it should sell quickly then we can get serious about houses here!
We are all still loving life in Brisbane and in Australia. I have come up with one more complaint for Australia Post. This is the first place we have lived since London that delivers the mail right to your house. The kids love it because the postmen ride motorbikes down the sidewalk stopping at each house to stick the post in the postbox. Since they usually have to reach they usually only stick the letters half way into the box, leaving a bit sticking out. It does tend to rain here a lot, especially on short notice a rain storm will sweep through. That means that we frequently end up with wet mail which is getting very annoying.
I find the Aussie slang here very amusing. They of course have a penchant for shortening words and putting a long “I” on the end. The famous one is barbie, for BBQ, or eskie, for a cooler, or cossie, for a swim suit, or Aussie, for Australia. They also like to put an “o” on the end of a lot of words like speedo, for speedometer. As in most countries, different regions also have their own slang. Cossie is the most common term for a swim suit. Here in Queensland they call a swimsuits “togs”. I have come across my favorite term though, many times. They have used this term in the papers and the radio when discussing Tony Abbott, the leader of the federal opposition, who is athletic and does triathlons and swims. I found it hilarious when I came across it recently though. We are going to Sydney over the Easter break as the Tonks and Taplins are coming out from England to visit. There is an ocean swim in Bondi during the time we are down there that I am going to sign up for. While reading the website for all the details I came across this discussion of what you are allowed to wear. This has been a big issue in the sport of swimming the last couple years so of course they wanted to be sure everyone knew what was allowed. I have copied it exactly as it is written on the website and highlighted my favorite term for a men’s swimsuit.
A budgy is a small parrot native to Australia. You have to love the Aussies!
January 26 is Australia Day and celebrated much like the 4th of July in the US. If you are close enough you head to the beach or else have a barbie with friends and enjoy the sunshine. The day is to honour the landing of the first convict fleet. We headed out to the beach on the Sunshine Coast with Aunty Kat and had fun playing in the sand. The waves were a bit too big to swim for the kids but they had fun making sand castles and getting their feet wet. We are fortunate to be right between the Gold Coast to the south and the Sunshine Coast to the north, both with lots of nice beaches. With all the nice weather we have had we have spent lots of time at the pool. The kids just love spending the day at the pool and we are spoilt for choice! They also have swim lessons every Friday and they are making really good progress.
On February 12 Emma and I celebrated Valentines day with a nice dinner and a show. Our friends the Swarts were nice enough to volunteer to watch the kids. Alex and Ellie just love playing with Cian and Niamh so are always happy to see them. We had a lovely dinner at The Fox. It was nice to have some really good American style ribs! Then we walked over to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre for the show. The centre is right by the river and the show’s opening had been delayed by two weeks. The night we were there the car park was still closed. We saw “Wicked” and it was wicked good! We are really enjoying being in civilization again and being able to go to shows. It was an awesome night out and a lovely Valentines!
We have been looking at a lot of houses and finally come to a big decision. We have put our house in Stratford up for sale so we can buy something here. If anyone is looking for a house a short walk to the new Olympic Stadium, Aquatic Centre and athlete’s village in London then give us a shout. It was hard to decide to part with the house. Although it is very tiny and we would never live in it again, we really enjoyed living in it when we were in London pre-kids! Based on what we have heard it should sell quickly then we can get serious about houses here!
We are all still loving life in Brisbane and in Australia. I have come up with one more complaint for Australia Post. This is the first place we have lived since London that delivers the mail right to your house. The kids love it because the postmen ride motorbikes down the sidewalk stopping at each house to stick the post in the postbox. Since they usually have to reach they usually only stick the letters half way into the box, leaving a bit sticking out. It does tend to rain here a lot, especially on short notice a rain storm will sweep through. That means that we frequently end up with wet mail which is getting very annoying.
I find the Aussie slang here very amusing. They of course have a penchant for shortening words and putting a long “I” on the end. The famous one is barbie, for BBQ, or eskie, for a cooler, or cossie, for a swim suit, or Aussie, for Australia. They also like to put an “o” on the end of a lot of words like speedo, for speedometer. As in most countries, different regions also have their own slang. Cossie is the most common term for a swim suit. Here in Queensland they call a swimsuits “togs”. I have come across my favorite term though, many times. They have used this term in the papers and the radio when discussing Tony Abbott, the leader of the federal opposition, who is athletic and does triathlons and swims. I found it hilarious when I came across it recently though. We are going to Sydney over the Easter break as the Tonks and Taplins are coming out from England to visit. There is an ocean swim in Bondi during the time we are down there that I am going to sign up for. While reading the website for all the details I came across this discussion of what you are allowed to wear. This has been a big issue in the sport of swimming the last couple years so of course they wanted to be sure everyone knew what was allowed. I have copied it exactly as it is written on the website and highlighted my favorite term for a men’s swimsuit.
Cossies
To qualify for points in the series, swimmers must wear only conventional cossies. This means no fastskins, no wetties, no cossies that cover any part of the arms or legs. Blokes must wear conventional budgy smugglers, and laydees must wear one piece or two piece, but without arms or legs. No hi-tech material, either, and no material with any flotation property.
A budgy is a small parrot native to Australia. You have to love the Aussies!
