Car Shopping

Since we had to sell both cars in Houston, now we have to buy at least one and probably 2 cars in a relatively short amount of time.  OK - we have 6 weeks to get at least 1 car BUT the company just doesn't understand.  It takes me MONTHS sometimes YEARS to decide what to get.

For example, I bought the Camaro in 1995 and hadn't seen anything I would even think about replacing it with until the new Challengers came on the market.  (And even then I didn't fall for it.)  We bought the Toyota in 2004 and were perfectly happy.  No thoughts of replacing it.

Now we must decide what to purchase for a commute car and a car we can comfortably ride in.  Neither can be too big because the parking spaces are tiny here and the lanes are cozy.  And yet one vehicle has to be big enough to ferry guests (and luggage) to various places. 

I can't really see life without at least a small SUV.  If we don't have one how will we get large purchases to the house and where would we put the bike rack?  But will an SUV fit in the garage? Of course it is only for a couple of years.  (BTW - there will be large purchases...that isn't going to stop!)

Back to searching....

Next Challenge...

When I started telling people we were moving to Australia and that I was going to be on leave, one consistent question went along the lines of...aren't you nervous, scared, etc? 

The answer is no...I have always liked change - the new and unknown and how will I react, what decisions will I make.  Granted, this is one of the bigger personal changes I have been through but we moved to the one country most like the US and most likely the easiest to transition to.  People are VERY friendly and always helpful.  I am well known at the coffee shop and the hardware store.  Making daily trips to those vendors right now.

In fact, today's blog is a test of how well I can write in a public area.  Does writing take precedence over people watching?  Guess we will see by how well this is written?  

Oh look -  I digress...

I do have to admit.  I am apprehensive over the next challenge scheduled for this weekend.

Driving on the LEFT side of the road.

Yep.

Even when I am in the passenger seat now, I concentrate on what to do if I was diving and panic because of the times I know I would have made the wrong decision.  The street markings are backwards to me and instead of the standard "look left, right and left again" rule, it is now "look right, left and right again".  (This is a good rule to remember crossing the street also.)

But I can't NOT drive here so I will hit this challenge head on and hopefully nothing else. I am going to give it a whirl this weekend.  At least in the neighborhood. And I am going to let Robert ride in the passenger seat to provide guidance.  :)

And I Thought Alaska Was Expensive

After arriving in Brisbane yesterday, we had a VERY busy day and by the end of it, we were tired puppies.  However, we sacrificed and went to the local grocery store.  Here are some price comparisons (keep in mind this is AUS $$ so you have to take these prices times ~ 1.09 to get the US price):

Bottled Water 24 pack of 600ml bottles - $10

1 Hass Avocado - $2.48

1 pkg 2 rolls (short) paper towels - $3.50

1 – 24 pk diet coke (12 oz) - $16

1 pound chicken breasts - $10.50

6 oz Philly cream cheese - $4

8 oz Jarlsberg cheese - $7.40

We may have to change some of our eating habits!

BTW – the tax rate here looks to be 10%.

On a different note, I tested the temporary washer and dryer.  The washer is a 5.5kg washer.  Translation:  one load equaled one each: bath towel, wash cloth, hand towel, floor mat.  No more.  This will take a lot of time to do laundry.  Lucky I’m on a leave of absence. 

Estate Planning

For years we have bantered about the fact we need to do estate planning.  The conversation generally went something like:

“We should do something.”

“You’re right. We should do something.”

And then we would do something ELSE, forgetting about estate planning until the next time one of us thought of it. 

Now, because of the move overseas, we finally did our estate planning.  We completed it.  It is done and we don’t ever have to revisit it again unless we choose to.  And, of course, I will choose to.  We forgot to put any clauses in about pets owned at the time of our demise.  (I know – I know – HOW could I, who has ALWAYS considered her dogs the equivalent of children, have forgotten future pets!!!  I blame the move and additional stress of the last few weeks.)

As with any endeavor that involves planning, this one was a learning experience. Of course the one thing I learned that I actually remember is depending on how you structure things, the federal government could get a lot of money.  We avoided that structure.

Another part of this exercise was to complete our Medical Directive to Physicians.  This generated the most discussion between Robert and myself.   This is the document which states what we want to have done with regards to life support and added something to the effect of – we really really mean it. 

Those are tough conversations to have.  And, once you make the decision, the proper thing to do is to let your family know your wishes but even our lawyer said she has never talked to her family.  In today’s busy world, who wants to take the family together time (such as Christmas, Easter, etc,) to discuss death – even as it is a part of life.  Our family generally doesn’t.

Robert keeps telling me he will go before me.  I keep telling him if he dares to leave me like that, I am cremating him, putting him in a box and gluing the box to the dash of the car.  (Hopefully no one will mistake it for an ashtray.)

Something to think about...

When living in Houston during 2004-2006, we were very lucky to find both a yard service and a cleaning service that were absolutely top notch and took very good care of us.  Of course when we moved back to Houston, we called the same companies.  Luckily, they were still in business and once again agreed to help us out.

I talked to the lawn service owner the other day and she voluntarily assured me they were going to watch the house and make sure there were no problems and thanked us profusely for our business.  She even told me she would take pictures if I wanted them to letting us know the yard was still in good shape. What great people.

Yesterday, I saw our house helper for the last time (well - until we move back).  We have become friends over the years and I have heard about her kids growing up, how she met her husband, what her life was like before coming to America, we celebrated when she became a citizen, etc. She always took care of Squirt and cried with me when we lost him. Before I left to run errands, she was in tears and thanked me for everything. I will miss our chats and our friendship.

What has stuck with me though is a comment she made about always treating her as a an equal.  How else would I treat her?  It bothers me to know there are still people in this country that don't treat others as equals.  That's very sad and shows how far we still have to go.

I am very thankful for the people that have worked in and around our homes over the last 15 years and will miss interacting with our current friends regularly. They have giving us time back in our lives which  has allowed us to do other things when not at the office.

PS - To the internet service person I yelled at this morning - I apologize for yelling at you. Please don't think it was because I was not treating you as an equal.  I have no problem yelling at anyone.

New Discovery

When not working, I am MUCH more interested in spending time on my home computer.  I went to the hotel last night and left it here at the house.  I think I had some withdrawals from it since I couldn't check my email, etc.  Maybe this will pass when I get an iPhone in Brisbane.

Last packing day and they are here already.  We filled 7 containers for the ocean shipment which is a very important number.  That translates into we can buy 3 container worth of new stuff overseas to bring back.  :)  Our air shipment, which covered a good portion of the floor in the bedroom, weighed 170lbs (30 lbs shy of what we could have taken) and fit into 3 boxes.  Our suitcases will weigh more when we fly over. 

The piano just came down the stairs in a controlled fashion.  We are never taking it up a set of stairs again.  While that doesn't help this crew any, the next crew will be happier. 

Down to the final house cleaning (Thursday), carpet cleaning (Friday) and bug spraying (Saturday).

Day 2

Packing continues.  The move crew is much more lively today.  I am not sure why unless they see the light at the end of the "stein" tunnel.  Most of the steins are packed now...well...except the ones in the master closet on the highest possible shelf.

Robert is giving me the time update in 15 minute increments.  It is just like pacing only different. 

We believe all of the export paperwork is complete.  There was the TSA form, the Australian import forms and the some other form I don't remember the name of.  That was last night's work.

We also completed the seller's disclosure statement for our house.  All that is left is the carpet cleaning, the bug spraying and the regular house cleaning.  (Not that we have dust or anything...)

Here We Go!

The packers arrived this morning.  I have only made approximately 27 changes in what we are taking and what stays.  Robert is pacing like a worried momma bear watching out for her bear cubs.  Back and forth...back and forth...  I am making notes of our experience (what to do, what not to do and what buttons to push) as Robert wants to publish a document for the next several families to move to Australia.

This pack and load has been completely different from any other move we have made to date.  All other times, the master bedroom was the last to go meaning we could stay in the house as long as possible.  This time, it was the first to get packed as the rule is - ocean and air first - rest of it later in the week.  I'm not exactly sure why except maybe that way we can't panic and put more stuff in the "go over" than we originally planned. (Besides - I fooled them and made my changes before they got the boxes sealed.)  I AM SO HAPPY we went ahead and made hotel reservations for this week.   I MAY have been a little cranky to have to sleep on the floor. 

Packing for a crated ocean shipment with limited space is also different than an in country move with the company.  Every available nook and cranny, every drawer, every cubby is filled with something.  There is none of this one item per box business this time around. 

At this rate, unless they bring a smaller crew tomorrow, it will take at max 1.5 days to finish. 

Count Down...

OK - It's time to get seriously busy.  Movers show up sometime Monday (I just realized I don't know when) to start packing and guess what... I am starting to second guess what we need to take and what we need to leave.  I KNEW this was going to happen.

How do I solve this dilemma? 

I goof off reading Facebook posts and writing here. 

On the upside, we sold the SUV last night.  The only thing we have left to get rid of is the piano.  Unfortunately, I don't think that is going to happen and it will go into storage.  We have learned something though...next time it comes out of storage...it stays on the FIRST floor.  NO taking it upstairs.


We did find out the house we requested has been successfully leased for us.  SO we do know what we are moving into and have an idea our stuff will fit.  :)

Things are moving along!

Sold my Camaro.  I know it is in good loving hands.

Dropped off the ATV and trailer.  I know they are in good loving hands.

Sold the washer and dryer.

Only the SUV and the piano left for sale.

Now down to what stays in Houston and what goes with us.  I have split the kitchen goods into 2 areas...I have no doubt I will need something I put in storage.  I have also found some stuff I forgot we owned.  :P

Wednesday the inventory needs to be turned in.  It will be interesting to see how close the inventory matches what the moving company does.

Inventory, Inventory, Invenory...

Down to the final sorting.  I have everything captured in a document mostly split between Ocean, Air, Storage, Carry, and about 5 other tabs.  It won't be long now!  Just have to be finished by Wednesday!!!

It takes 5 nights

Traveling West to East apparently takes 5 nights to get back into a "normal" sleep pattern for people my age.  Last night was the first decent sleep since we returned.  I'm good to go and ready to work on the house.

Speaking of houses, once again, we bought high and looks like we will be selling low.  Oh well...can't do anything about that.  I am tired to using our stock management rules for houses.  We need to get one of these things right.  :P

I sure many of you have been waiting for a baby ducky update...We have 2 broods right now.  One mama w/ 9 babies and I saw a new brood this morning freshly hatched and scurrying around.  I am pretty sure the new mama is one that came to eat in our drive last year as a chick.  She has 15 lovely little chicks.  They are SO cute. Of course, I didn't have the camera.  Will see if I can get a snap tomorrow.

BTW - our visa has been approved.  We are good to live in Australia for the next 4 years.  We passed the Cultural Assessment yesterday (I call it the mental exam).  The only paperwork left is for our company to approve our medical tests.  I had to have a chest x-ray yesterday for TB.  The tech asked me how long had it been since I had a chest x-ray.  I went with "never".  Should have clearance by the end of the week.

Who would have thought...

As I go through papers and drawers, inventorying items, getting ready for the packers, who would have thought it would be so hard to decide what you can live without for 2-4 years.  Granted, some of it is easy,  For instance, I know I don't need ANY of the books in the library.  I have plenty of electronic books to read but will I need that coat?  Do I need my heavy hiking boots?  How many wine glasses should we take?  Do I really need 3 same sized casserole dishes?  I haven't used more than 1 at a time since I got married.  Do I really need every financial paper I've collected for the past 25 years? 

We did buy new (smaller) computer desks and an area rug this weekend.  Also made the call to put the monster 5 burner gas grill into storage and buy a small 2 burner grill to take with us. 
 
I am just about out of decisions for the day... Luckily, there are only so may days left before we have to turn the inventory in and then it will be a done deal...

AH...Shopping

I am testing the "no international transaction fee" credit card VERY thoroughly this week.  Food, mass transit cards, oh yes...appliances.

We had to purchase a fridge, washer, dryer, freezer and of course a wine cooler for the new town home.  (Yes - the wine cooler was required.)  It all went well as far as I know but hands down the toughest decision was the washer/dryer.  They sell them by kilogram capacity. 

The manager was exceptionally nice and spent well over an hour with me helping me spend Robert's money.  But I was stumped on the kg decision.  The appliances appear SO small here.  Always before, I would open the lid and look in and say - yep, it looks big enough.  Here, I had to know how many wet kilos did my king size bedding take up.  (The answer is apparently 8 but I went 8.5 just to be sure.)  And, me being the "black and white - no shades of gray - if you have 8 on this side you have to have 8 on that side" person that I am, have a devil of a time understanding that a dryer only needs to be 6 kg when the washer needs to be 8.5.  (Something to do with wet/dry.)  Still not entirely sure, I went with the 8kg dryer.  It was pretty funny. . . at one point the manager asked me how many pounds we purchased in the states.  I said we don't - we just do big. 

The dryer has a condenser.  That means it recovers the water and I can use it for watering my plants which we won't have because we won't have a yard.  Luckily, we should be able to connect it to the sink and have it drain automatically.

Space is at a premium and these are stacked units.  SO that means I will need a step stool every time I do the laundry.  (Must go update the inventory.)

Time to go walk around the mall and see if there is anything else I need to use that card on...  :)

City Life - First Impressions

While I have lived in big cities before, I have never "lived" in a city.  I have always been on the edge - pretty much suburbia.  The last few days in the Central Business District of Brisbane has been interesting. 

I never pictured a downtown area in the US with many non-business people.  Of course, I have also never spent a lot of time in big city "downtowns".  Here, the CBD is lively with families and shoppers from when the stores open until closing time at 5 pm or so.  It reminds me of going to a festival that only occurs on a weekend and happens to be in a downtown precinct.  Or maybe a better description is just the local US mall only outdoors. It is even busier on the weekends and as the day grows long (especially on the weekends), the more eclectic the outfits. 

This last weekend was Palm Sunday.  There were several areas for kids to meet and greet not only the EB (Easter Bunny) but other spring time (I guess - fall time here) characters.  There were balloon animal creators, story tellers and several street performers.  There was a flea market in one of the plazas, a rally for nuclear disarmament and of course the regular South Bank craft vendors. And it continues this week. Street performers from jazz bands to tap dancers are all up an down the Queen Street area and a rally / fund raiser for autistic children yesterday.

Today was appliance shopping day and I haven't been able to spend much time in the area.  I guess I'll head downstairs to sit in one of the cafes, have a glass of wine and read a book. Well - after I check out the new part of the mall that just opened. :)

 I could get used to this. 

New Home???

Not finalized yet, but this is the one we chose! Three bedroom, 2 1/4 bath, one living, area/dining area combined.  It will be cozy!

NOPE - You can never have enough pictures of cute Koalas!

Can everyone spot him?  He actually ran across the ground in front of us.  They can move right along when they want to!

Australian Zoo Day

Yes - once again - we go house hunting and end up doing something touristy!  But it just doesn't get any better than this!!!

We visited the Australia Zoo yesterday.  This is the one made famous by Steve Irwin (Crikey Mate) and his family (Terri, Bindi and Robert) still participates in the shows every day.  It is one of the best zoo's I have been to for animal interaction.  They had a Tasmanian Devil on a leash, the Cheetah, the Dingos, a couple of lizards (OK - they weren't on a leash).  The shows were interesting and the animals VERY active.  We either hit the right day or they work with the animals more than any other zoo I have been to in order to make it interesting and to keep people coming back.  If you ever make it to Brisbane - this is a must do!!!

An Echnidna.  While no relation (to my knowledge) to a hedgehog, they sure look like one!

 Big Salty Crocodile.  Terri Irwin is standing just on the left.  They are trying to get the croc to strike.  They have several in tanks behind the stadium (The Croceseum) and I believe they use a different croc each day of the week.  That way they can control their diet and make sure they stay a little peckish.

 Dingos!

 A wombat.

 And should my Koala Hugging Career fail, I can always feed the Roos!

 Check out their claws (yes, I got a tiny bruise).

What I want to do when I grow up...

Bad news...

The owner's of the property we want to rent turned down our small pet request.   Housing is hard to come by here.  This means another couple of years w/o a puppy.  I'll have to take up a new hobby - such as travelling EVERYWHERE with RLT.  (He will be SO glad to hear this.)

Cost of living...

Apparently is pretty high in Brisbane.  For example, a 24 pack of diet coke in the local discount store is $25 AUD.  Guess I'll go back to drinking water - it's better for me anyway.  However, that price is better than the $4 you pay in a restaurant for a can.  A lot of the grocery store prices seem very similar to Alaska.  Regardless, I am going back to the US and stocking up on things like sunscreen, ziplocks, etc. so don't be surprised when there is an article in the Houston news about the run on dry goods at the local Wal-marts.

We have not yet heard if we have been accepted for the town house we put an application in for.  If we do get it, it is approximately 2 blocks from the path along the river, 4 blocks to a water taxi stop and about 4 miles from Robert's office.  He will have to drive through the city to get there.  It has rooftop access and you can see some of the city.  There is an SPCA close by for me to volunteer at along with lots of shops and cafes.  No yard though.  We will have to bring some AstroTurf in case we get a dog. :)

It is about 1/3 of the size of our current house.  MOST of our stuff will go into storage for the next couple of years.  We need to choose wisely on what we bring. and when we move again, it will be like having 2 different Christmas celebrations in one year.  :)  We go in a few minutes to measure the new space.  I should have pictures to post tomorrow. 

If we are turned down for a house, we have #2 and #3 picked out.  One is near the gov'ner's mansion and the other is an apartment on the river with beautiful city views.  The hard part will be which one to apply for.  I have a favorite but I am not certain RLT does...

More to come!

Aaaahhh - Spiders

As you are probably aware, Australia has some rather poisonous critters here.  I haven't done all of the necessary research to be able to recognize the venomous spiders and deadly snakes - that will come while sitting in the park after we move. 

Regardless, I saw some REALLY BIG spiders yesterday.  The golden orb spider can have a leg span of over 7 inches and a body almost 2 inches long.  They have gold bands on their legs. http://www.learningspark.com.au/shop/nt/gospider/index.html

Then there's the Huntsman...they like living in flat spaces such as under your sun visor in the car.  That will be tons of fun the first time I flip the visor down while driving on the left side of the road in Brisbane traffic and a (REALLY BIG) spider falls in my lap.  I believe we only saw dead Huntsman spiders yesterday - inside the houses.  http://www.mdavid.com.au/spiders/huntsmanspiders.shtml

The capper though was the GIANT spider on the deck of one of the Queenslander houses that had a huge web with a dead mouse in it.  I wasn't thinking or I would have taken a picture of it.  Luckily it was outside of the house and the agent assured us the house would be cleaned once a lease was signed. 

Btw - most of these homes don't have screens on the windows and many don't have air conditioning where you must open the windows to get a breeze. 

Day #3....

Now...where is that perfect house???

Somewhere in a city of 4 million, you would think we could find a place to live.  The leasing process is different here.  As a potential renter, you make an appointment with the manager, review the property, and if you think it is one you are interested in, you put in an application.  The owner then reivews all of the applications and picks who they think will be the most stable renters. I view it as a credit check on steroids.

Most of the houses here have hardwood floors.  At least the rent houses.  They are beautiful. 

On a different note, coffee here is VERY strong.  I get mine with 2 sugars and can't taste it what-so-ever.  I'm afraid to try it straight.  It is also expensive, but I figure in the long run, I will save money as it only takes 1 cup to make up for the 6-8 cups I drink at home.  :P

House Learings...

Houses in Brisbane are smaller and more expensive than Houston. I'm not that surprised about either item, except they are expensive enough they rent by the week.  For example, one of the houses was fairly new construction, 3 bedroom, 3 bath and 2 car garage.  They are asking 1300 AUD / per week.  That will be close to $70,000 US for 1 year.  Amazing!

We also discoverred there is no need to bring the oven roaster or the cookie sheets.  They won't fit in the ovens.  It is also good we came prior to packing to at least view the houses.  Even if we don't find a place this trip, I now know better what to pack and what to leave home.  Basic rule - leave most in storage.

I have been saying, we have too much stuff.  I have now confirmed it!!!

There is great public transportation here.  Busses, ferries, water taxis, trains, etc.   I hope to become a master at using the system so I don't have to drive much.

Still trying to find that perfect location where the commute will be short and groceries close (see driving comment from earlier :P).

The Next Adventure Begins...

Yes - WE ARE MOVING TO BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA!!!!

I have only one word for that -

YEA!

Robert is being transferred on his project and I am going to take a break and NOT work in an office for a couple of years to see if I will be able to survive in retirement.

I don't think that will be a problem.

Our house hunting trip will be the first time I have ever been to the continent.  Hope I like it.  :)

Anyway - this should give me time to start blogging again.  I hope you stop by to check it out periodically!

EGAG - Trying to change email addresses

WHAT A NIGHTMARE!

Hum...I must be taking the summer off...

OK - Maybe the middle 6 months of the year.

To everyone who has encouraged me to keep writing, I expect to return to creativeness in a few months...until then...thanks for the thoughts and have a great summer!

In Preparation for Vacation

This morning, we decided to go to a kolache restaurant for breakfast. Unfortunately, it was closed for Easter. SO, we decided to try the Colombian bakery right next door.

You know, the best way to learn a language is total immersion which is what we found this morning. With the clouds, drippy-ness of the day and the uncomfortably high humidity, I am sure this is what it will be like when we head to Columbia later this summer.

The food was excellent and everything we tried, regardless of size, was $1.10.

And we never did find anything but baked goods.

Happy Easter everyone!

We have Squirrels

When we lived in Houston in 2004, our yard was never visited by a single squirrel.

We are covered with them now and of course, we have a squirrel feeder for corn cobs. Not a fancy one mind you...this one is 2 pieces of 1X4 nailed together at a right angle with a nail to hold the cob. It is on one of the palm trees by the pool.

They still like bird seed better. We have a bird feeder hanging on a shepherd's hook. It initially started by the palm trees also but then we saw the squirrels use the sago fronds to get on the feeder. So we moved it. Then they used the patio chairs. So we moved it. Then they used the table. So we moved it. (Notice a pattern - the squirrel was winning!) The last location we caught them climbing the shepherd's hook itself. Now we have a lovely green circle of plastic designed to keep the squirrels from getting to the bird feed.

They can still get to it somehow (we haven't seen how yet) but at least they aren't on it so much now. The birds actually get food and the squirrels are eating the corn like they are supposed to.

Besides, when they really want bird seed, they can always go to the duck food in the driveway. I looked out the other day and there was a squirrel, lounging on his belly, back feet turned up and eating right along with the ducks. It's a wonder he didn't get stepped on or nipped.

One busy little squirrel is building a nest in the neighbor's yard. He is building his condo at the very top of a tree and should have a lovely view. Interestingly enough, he runs down to the bottom branches, breaks a branch off and then carries it back to the building site and weaves it in. (Of course to see all of this, I had to get the binoculars out. Wonder what the neighbor's thought...) Apparently nest building is very tiring as he would lay down on a lower branch periodically and just relax. But not for long and then it's back to building.

Can't wait to see the little ones!

Houston Rodeo Excursion

I had forgotten how big Rodeo is here. We had the opportunity to go to the Houston Rodeo a couple of weeks ago. I had never been. It reminded me a lot of a county or state fair with the carnival, food vendors and exhibits only it was WAY more crowded and I could walk around drinking wine as long as I didn't leave the grounds.

For the Rodeo part, we saw Tie-down roping, Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Barrel Racing and Bull Riding. Those cowboys are crazy doing some of those events. If I remember right, the top three places in each event received money. In the Bull Riding event, of the 10 cowboys, only three stayed on the bull long enough to have the ride count which made it easy to see who the winners were.

I really enjoyed those events. However, the best was yet to come!

Chuck Wagon Races look like fun. I view it a lot like NASCAR or the Texas Highways. Hop on, wait for the gun and go as fast as you can in a circle!

The there was the Calf Scramble. This recipe calls for 28 FFA (Future Farmer of America) students, 14 calves, 14 rope bridles and 1 square drawn in the center of the arena covering about 1/3 of the floor. When the gun goes off, the students chase the calves around the arena and the first 14 that catch, put a bridle on and (sometimes) drag a calf back into the square, win a prize. (Unfortunately, I missed what the prize was.) The trick to this is the calves don't necessarily see the fun in this event. They had their own ideas about where they wanted to stand and look at the crowd and it wasn't necessarily from the middle of the arena in a chalk square.

But the best was yet to come.

What really ROCKS at the Rodeo is...

MUTTON BUSTIN'!!!

This event is SO much better viewed than described but I'll try.

All you need is several full grown sheep and 10-12 kids that weigh between 35 and 60 pounds. (I'm sure there is a release or two involved also.) Wrap the kids up in padding and helmets with face guards. Put one sheep at the far end of the pen (all the other sheep will follow the lead sheep). Place one child on top of a sheep and turn them loose. The kids are laying on the back of the sheep holding on to sheep's wool with the object being how far can they go without falling off. The winner this evening went almost the length of the pen but I think that was because he was too scared to jump off. He received a slightly bigger belt buckle than the other participants and can now proudly say he is a top mutton buster!

The Houston Rodeo is a great event as it is mostly done to raise money for scholarships. They have raised millions over the years and I am really glad I was able to attend. Next year we may have to get more tickets!

It's Squirt's Birthday

Yes - 13 years ago today - a great thing happened.

Squirt arrived into this world destined to make me a very happy dog lover.

He is reaching his napping years - wait - he has been there for quite a while now. A 20 minute walk suits him just fine and a daily squirrel chase keeps him young. He is losing his hearing but then so is Robert. :)

There is no doubt in my mind life has been much better with him and I am thankful for that.

Happy Birthday Little Buddy!

Humidity arrived!

I stepped outside this morning and couldn't breathe. Yes - it was a balmy 68 degrees and 118% humidity but not raining. And just look at the calendar...it's only January!

I knew this would happen...therefore we bought a tread mill for the really warm, muggy months.

The first one delivered to our house was busted. The second one arrived Monday night. We took the crate off moving the smaller parts to the upstairs combination guest / weight room.

Last night's goal was to carry the deck upstairs.

Well - THAT was way easier said than done!

It had to weigh 250lbs and you could only grip it in an awkward way and it had to go through doors on it's side. My arms are now a lovely shade of splotchy purple and brown due to the bruises.

By the time we got it to the base of the stairs, I was almost in tears and quickly rethinking this whole treadmill thing. There was NO way I was going to be able to get it up the stairs.

Luckily, our master bedroom has an alcove we were going to put furniture in. Now it houses the treadmill. (Just look at the money we saved with that maneuver! Plus we will be able to actually use the guest bedroom as a guest bedroom!)

Tonight's chore is to finish putting it together...after we carry everything back downstairs. Maybe by Sunday I'll be ready to try it. After all, we don't want to rush into these things!!! :)

Welcome to 2010!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve! We did the standard stay at home again this year. I had forgotten what it was like in Houston on New Year's Eve. The firework mortars finally stopped about 2:30am this morning.

We have been off the last week and have done tons of work around the house. We have 2 boxes in the garage to unpack today and we will be officially finished. We are donating 12 boxes of goodies tomorrow and every flat surface on the 2nd floor has a stein on it. Thus the next big item to handle...where to put all of the steins. Never a dull moment here.

The ducks in our neighborhood now recognize the green feed cup used to poor out their kibble on the drive. I would like to think they recognize me and my voice but I get a lot more attention when I am carrying food. Squirt watches the ducks but normally leaves them alone. We have one goose that will chase him and he really doesn't like that.

May the new decade be even better than the last for you!

Merry Christmas to All!

OH the trials of living in Texas. OK - it's not just Texas. We will call it the South.

I had forgotten the joy of bugs. It didn't take long to remember.

We had the bug man spray before our stuff got here. Once our stuff arrived, I hand washed every dish in the house because the dishwasher was busted (which took 6 weeks to fix). Then I found little bugs in the silverware drawer.

SO I drug it all out, washed every dish and eating utensil in that cabinet again, called the bug people, drenched that half of the kitchen in bug poison and have been happy since.

Well - until Monday. That's when the fire ants showed up on the pantry floor. Sure enough, there is a little tiny pin hole they were coming through. Luckily, they were on a suicide mission and died once they reached the light. Very luckily, they never got off the floor and up onto the upper shelves with the food.

Regardless, we called the bug man, drenched the house again inside and outside with liquid bug poison and granules. Next step once everything dries (which is a challenge with our humidity) we will caulk that and no more bugs in the pantry.

AND THEN - I left my good tennis shoes out in the rain last night. Guess I'll get new ones at the after Christmas sales next week.

Even though there is a lot of griping above...I am still very thankful. I have a roof over my head, plenty to eat and a loving family.

And cooler weather today.

I pray you are in similar circumstances.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Oh to find time again to blog...

I know...I know...I'm behind! I haven't taken time to discuss the unpacking. Such as finding the rat trap in with the kitchen dishes. Or the broken dishwasher..etc. (I feel like I have gone back in time. Just guess how long it has been since I had to dishes by hand EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!) Or the lost 6ft wooden ladder and Robert's missing wet suit.

We have most rooms except for the office ready to go. And then we start the garage.

I will get back to it one of these days!!!

Oh how I miss our goods

Like the bed...and table...and cooking utensils.

When moving with the comapny, your goods always lag behind you. Anwhere from 2-3 days to 4-6 wseeks. We are in that second cagtegory now.

Currently, we have the same air mattres we used when moving to Alaska. I remember in Alaska it worked OK. We tested it before we left. Bought it back with us in the meat wagon.

Something happened in the transfer.

Yes. It developed a slow leak.

Each night, I fill it with air (thank you Lord for the automatic airpump incorporated into the bed).

Each morning we are sleeping on the floor when we get up.

I would guess a minimum of two more weeks of this.

We did purchase a new love seat and recliner. I may be sleeping there soon!

Setting up a new house and wildlife pictures.

I always forget what it takes to set up a house when your stuff is 3 weeks behind you. We have no pots, pans, cleaning supplies, food, etc. and need to get by on minimal stuff so we don't accumulate too much extra stuff.

Trust me...we already have too much extra stuff.

We have made two runs to Target, sent Squirt off for a grooming session at PetSmart (he wasn't happy), grocery store (the produce is SO good!), got internet, cable, phones, new cell phones, Bed Bath and Beyond and still need to hit the furniture store and lumber yard.

Our house has a 3 car garage and we aren't sure all of the garage stuff will fit. It was hard getting the trailer and two cars in last night for Halloween. (See - too much extra stuff.)

I forgot to mention, we finally got a sturdy canvas tarp for the last two days of the drive. The previous three tarps had ripped to shreds and ripped open a box of stuff on the trailer. We left a path of powdered laundry soap and kitchen matches across Wyoming and Nebraska...

It is nice having a pool again. Temps here have been 75-80 the last two days with clear sunny skies. Very hot for a former Alaskan.

As promised in the title...here are some pics from our trip:

Sheep at Stone Mountain in Canada...Maybe they're Stone Sheep???


Caribou in the middle of the road...


Squirt after 5 long days navigating and guarding the car and trailer!

Happy Anniversary Robert!

Tomorrow is our 5th wedding anniversary. It has flown by. We have crossed the country twice and had numerous adventures. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Looking forward to another 50!

More Trip Moments

Yesterday we had great weather for driving. A little cool in the morning but 4WD wasn't required and good temps all day.

No...

Yesterday's issue was a local redneck who was passing in a no passing zone on a blind hill and when he (yes - it was a "he") crested the hill I had a decision to make. Do I want to go over the cliff (no guardrails) or do we try and survive a head on collision. Luckily, the VW bus the redneck was passing realized what was about to happen and ran off the road giving said redneck room to get back on his side of the road. BTW - I went with head on collision because it was a really high cliff.

I was a little shaken by the episode.

Today's weather was a little dicey coming from Kamloops to Osoyoos, Canada where we went through customs. There was a little black ice and snow/slush on the road but we put it in 4WD and made it just fine.

Customs / Immigration went well. After answering 200 questions (what, where, when, why, how far, any horns, any new dog food, any firearms, any purchases in Canada, opening the doors, opening the hatch, etc.) it looked like we were good to go. Then the customs agent asked one last question...what's in the meat wagon?

Well, cleaning supplies, emergency supplies, 2000 rounds of ammo.

After the agent picked his jaw up off of the ground about the amount of ammo we had (which you can carry up to 5000 rounds), he decided to call it in. He told his superior we were moving from Alaska to Texas and had ammo. I was waiting for the superior to say - Alaska to Texas with only 2000 rounds??? That's not enough - search them. Anyway, they let us go without further waiting or searches.

I am sorry to say we will probably be replacing our windshield. After three winters on Alaska roads (where they use gravel instead of salt for ice) and driving the Alcan twice (where they use gravel instead of salt), we have approximately 3279 chips in the windshield. Several nice new ones from this trip. I'm just glad we didn't replace it prior to the trip.

In case you are curious, the most we paid for gas on the trip so far was somewhere around the Yukon Territory and British Columbia Canada territory line. It was $6.20 a gallon. It was an $82 fill up.

I don't think I'll add up how much we spent on gas. I'm just glad to see it under $3.00 a gallon!

AlCan Challenges

Day 1...Anchorage to Tok

On a bright note - the moose stopped by at Sheep Mountain to wave good-bye - what a nice send off - and totally unexpected!

Back to day one challenges...Gale force winds going through the Mat-Su valley. Snow on the road at Glennallen making it a little slick and leaving cell service 60 hours. (Yes - I had withdrawals. However, Robert had a much worse case.) Snow falling at the Canadian Border where we spent the night. We had to get gas about ever 175 miles. (Pulling the trailer through the mountains uses LOTS of gas.)

Squirt mostly slept in his bed.

Day 2...Tok to Watson Lake

Woke to snow on the roads. Made it through customs. Found the gale force winds again. (We are going into winter - WHY are the winds blowing from the south?) Squirt slept most of the day on my lap or in his bed. Ended the day in ice fog and 32 - 33 degrees. Got here after 12 hours or so. Glad we have the 4WD but how much gas are we using?

Day 3...Watson Lake to Dawson Creek
Started the day in freezing rain - luckily that only went on for about 150 miles before it warmed up enough to help the roads. Spent most of the day in 40's t0 50 degree weather. Fish is still frozen. Squirt slept on my lap the entire time I wasn't driving. He got sick. Doing his laundry now. Based on the prices in Canada, I certainly hope the dollar is doing well against the Loonie. We saw caribou, sheep and several buffalo on the road. Once again, we did see a moose but it was dead on the side of the road. (We have never seen a live moose in Canada...) Robert thought about taking the rack off of the moose except for the jail time that would be associated with it. (That and the rack wasn't that big. :) ) Good GRIEF we are going through the gas.

Our second running of the AlCan highway was successful. I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful the drive is. The mountains are exquisite and the wildlife sightings special. It is even better when you have the entire road to yourself. So what if it is slick here and there. It is worth making the run in the fall.

Squirt however is pretty sure we took a wrong turn.

Our last day in Anchorage - but we will be back!

Yep...they took container #1 away yesterday and now container #2 has arrived. We should be done by mid-day here. Don't know if we will leave tonight or tomorrow.

It sure has been fun and we will miss living here. Houston, of course will have new adventures and I do plan to keep writing and not change the name of the blog.

We don't know where we will go from Houston but we do know someday we will be back in Alaska with a cabin on 50 acres or so. Just have to find the right 50 acres!

We lost our neighborhood moose calf this morning…

Since Robert was home and the packers were there, I decided to go to work this morning. About mid morning, Robert called and said, “Hey, I just met the ADF&G representative!” (ADF&G being Alaska Department of Fish & Game.)

Of course I said – “What’s up?”

Well…I guess the packers were ready to work on the long rifles and Robert had to go downstairs and open the gun safe. He then left them and went back to the kitchen to work. Pretty soon he heard…

Ka…BOOM!!!

OK. Think about the situation. He just opened the gun safe, turned it over to people that normally don’t use guns and heard a gunshot. That would freak me out.

He ran downstairs, opened the garage and asked if everyone was OK. The crew chief said they were fine and the noise came from outside. WHEW!

So, Robert went outside and there stood the rep with a gun in his hands. Sadly, he had to put down our neighborhood moose calf today because someone had hit it with a car and broke one of his legs.

What a sad way to leave the neighborhood. Hopefully she will have twins next year!

Packing day #1

Has started...4 more to go!

It finally happened!

After three long years of waiting patently (OK maybe not so patiently)...a moose is bedded down in our yard right outside our living room window.

I put Squirt out for one last run and heard the tell tale crunching of brush next door. Sure enough, a moose was stripping the branches of our neighbor's trees. I went to the end of the deck, sat down on the chair (dripping w/ rain water) to see what would happen next.

She was a little unsure about us - after all - just last week the Great White Hunter Dog of the North had charged and she had to defend herself from the 12.7 lb Whirlwind of Destruction and she could tell he was out again.

BUT safely confined to the deck.

She eventually snorted, hopped the decorative log fence and laid down.

We decided to leave her in peace and watch her inside.

It makes me wonder if she was one of the calves raised in the neighborhood over the last couple of years. Maybe even the one I saw when it was only 5 hours old our first Spring (born across the street from our house). It would be so cool if she came back to have a calf here next Spring...

Countdown...

5 days to pack off...

11 days to getting in the car and driving south...

Winds are blowing like crazy now...our for sale sign has tipped over as well as one of our planters.

The other day, we were sitting on the back porch eating dinner and Robert said "look at how low that eagle is flying!"

Sure enough, I looked up and saw a big bird headed right for us. You could hear his wings flap. Only it wasn't an eagle. It was a raven with a biscuit stuck on it's beak camouflaging itself as an eagle.

I'm really going to miss this place - well - except the ravens!

Squirt - Protector Extraordinaire

With the house on the market and a showing today, Squirt and I had to get up and get it all pretty - make it look as good as we can for a quick sell. One of the required items is to sweep the leaves off of the deck.

It was about 8:30 and grey this morning due to the rain (making leaf sweeping even more of a challenge) and I let Squirt out the gate on the deck into the yard and started sweeping.

I didn't know there was a moose munching on the birch right around the corner. Squirt did however.

Since living here, I've come to discover, moose have an incredible ability to camouflage themselves. We have a new paper delivery person and you never know what door the paper will be at in the morning. Not 5 minutes before putting him in the yard, I had stepped out the front door looking for the paper. I had to be about 6 feet from the moose's nose. She didn't say a thing, didn't move, stopped eating and hid behind our birch tree. That's probably when Squirt saw her first.

Squirt didn't say anything either.

As I said, Squirt went into the yard and I was sweeping. The next thing I hear is Squirt barking, something heavy stomping on the ground and low, deep, grumbling, growling noises.

Isn't it interesting what you think about when in a crisis. Over the last 3 years, we have seen moose in the yard 30-40 times.

I have never seen a bear in our yard but I know they have wondered through and that was my first thought.

Oh NO - Squirt surprised a bear. What am I going to do?

Then I saw it was a moose.

Then I thought, what am I going to do?

(BTW - there were probably some expletives intermixed between the "what am I going to do" statements but no need to re-create that!)

I have never heard a moose make that type of noise before. Normally they don't vocalize unless it is during rut and they sound different then. This must have been a defensive sound. I'm sure the moose would feel good knowing I initially thought of bears when hearing her.

Anyway, Squirt had run up behind the moose, started barking and the moose had turned and started grumbling and stomping. Luckily, Squirt was fast enough to get away from her hooves. He ran across the yard and the moose looked at me and turned back to munching on the tree again.

Of course, Squirt wouldn't come to me. He was too busy strutting around the yard marking territory.

Both considered it a win.

However, when we saw momma and baby later this afternoon (pictures above - not the same moose from this morning - I know because these two were watching our escapades from their bedding spot across the street) Squirt opted to keep quiet.

Maybe Squirt learned an important lesson today. (I doubt it!)

What a beautiful weekend!

We found a house last week in Houston - YEA!

We spent the weekend fixing this one up to put on the market (anyone want to move to Alaska - we have a great house for sale!).

It was 65 Saturday.

We saw a pod of Belugas Friday!

We saw 3 moose Saturday in the neighborhood!

We saw 2 sheep and an eagle Sunday (not in the neighborhood). However, we did see 2 moose in the neighborhood!

Little nippy on Sunday.

TERMINATION DUST ON MONDAY MORNING!!!!

And it just marched right down the mountains Monday night. None in the yard yet. It was supposed to hold off 4 more weeks! Someone apparently didn't get the message!!

Thank You Karma!!!

We lost the bid on the last house and found a better one closer to the office! I feel much better about this now!

Back to Houston

As many of you may know by now, we are not moving to the Middle East but instead, back to Houston, TX. We recently went there looking for and bidding on a house. We found a very nice one, way far from work so the commute won't be pretty (uglier for Robert than me). But it is only 3 years old, has a pool and 3 car garage.

We drove around our old stomping grounds, checking out how much has changed and the answer is LOTS. Some good, some still to be determined.

Of course, all of the driving around, the people, the cars, the stoplights, malls, shops, restaurants, etc. made me realize once again how very hard it will be to leave Alaska - the weather, wildlife, native art, skiing, hiking, ATV riding, scenery and overall grandness - it's a perfect package. We have enjoyed it so much and do plan on moving back in retirement if not sooner. We will have a couple more Alaskan adventures...selling our house and driving back to Houston - this time in the winter.

Of course Houston will also have adventures and I plan to continue to write about them. I have also decided not to change the blog name - just my bio. I was actually called a "local" not to long ago by a "local". I'm no longer a Cheechako...now a Sourdough! :)

2009 State Fair - Really Big Veggies!

I love seeing these things at the fair...

...A 14lb puff ball mushroom...


...Really tall sunflowers (see the one almost touching the roof??)...


...A 22lb radish - a new Alaska record...


...A 146lb watermelon...


...A 125.9lb world record cabbage


...A 594lb pumpkin - note the new world record white rutabaga weighing in at 82lbs and the red beet weighing in at 24lbs...


...And a big kale for decoration...

Squirt LOVES the UPS man...

We opened the door tonight to pick up the package and this is what Squirt found...

Where else but here...

I was out with Squirt tonight for our evening walk when my cell phone rang. A friend of mine had free tickets to a concert at a grand re-opening of a local bowling alley. Her husband got sick and she invited me to go. I said - Sure!

After all - how many times to you get to go listen to the Beach Boys on the spur of the moment!

It was to start at 8 and we got there about 7:30 or so, grabbed our lawn chairs and headed into the bowling alley parking lot where the tents were set up. I think there were approximately 600 people. The weather was perfect - probably about 55 degrees with a strong southwesterly wind. A light jacket was the only thing needed.

Of course...I didn't take the camera...who would have thought they would let those in. Oh Well...next time...

I did notice as we were leaving all of the patrol cars ready to corral the rowdy fans. (I don't think there was much "rowdy" going on - but then, I wasn't over by the beer tent.) At one point, my friend said something like this being an older crowd...since many of their songs were written before I was born...I had to agree.. :)

I still enjoyed it, sang along to some great music and say thanks for the opportunity!

The Bear Rug is Here

Finally...after months of waiting...it is finished! As you can see below, Squirt wasn't too sure about it. In fact, the first night, we had to go check on it as we went by going to bed to make sure it hadn't moved. THEN the next morning, he stood at the top of the steps pointed toward the bedroom, sniffing to see if it was OK. I had to turn on the light for him to go check to make sure the bear hadn't moved. In fact, for 5 days in a row, I had to turn the light on each morning for him to check to make sure the bear hadn't moved. Luckily...it hasn't moved.

Now we just have to make sure our new house has a place for it to hang!

What a Beautiful Moose Morning

As the days get shorter :( and we slide towards winter months, it is always a lot of fun to see a mother moose and her baby.

This morning as I was out watering plants, I heard little trees being destroyed and looked over 2 houses and there they were - just enjoying the heck out of the leaves.

I was so glad to see a new momma moose here as I am pretty sure the one we have been watching the last 3 winters was shot this year about a mile away because it was threatening a person (for interfering with her twins).

What a good way to start Friday!