Didn't Wal-Mart buy Woolworth's in Canada? There is no Wal Mart here - at ;east not in Adelaide.
The front of our home and it is february - not July and look at all that green.
Unpacking n Feb. 5 - still Feb 4 where we came from.
February 23, 2010
Two and a half weeks – it’s interesting that it seems like we have been here forever but for no time at all.
We’ve walked quite a few evenings in the park about three blocks from the house. It follows the river into the city one direction and into the hills (18.5 kms.) in the other. It’s only about a 45 min walk into the city.
There are many types of black and white birds – small penguins that look just like their larger namesake. I heard that they don’t fly, but then I thought I saw some in a tree, so I guess we’ll find out…. There are some that look like small prairie chickens, ducks, robins, only slightly bigger, and some that sound like crows. They don’t sound exactly like crows but they are as annoying!
We have had cooler weather most of the time; so have been able to get about. 30 degrees is starting to feel “cool”. Fortunately we have most days in the mid to high 20s. However, the sun is very hot in the afternoon. The UV is extreme almost everyday, a few days it falls to very high. I have a wide brimmed hat that is UV protection 50. I got it at the Cancer Council. Their hats aren’t bad but the clothing is awful. We’ll just have to stick to cotton and cover up.
It’s rained once, but is incredibly dry here. The grass in the yard grows with almost no water and the weeds don’t take over. I haven’t quit figured that because usually the weeds take over in the hot, dry weather. Where there is no grass the ground is simply bare. There are beautiful roses in the yards in the neighbourhood. I don’t know how much work it is to grow them.
The Gum trees loose their bark and the trunks are multi-coloured and smooth. The leaves are like big maple leaves – at least I think those are the gum tree leaves. They are falling – I think because autumn is coming. It may just be because it is dry. The leaves are brown and crunch under our feet in 40-degree weather.
The evening sky has few, single easy to see stars. Here we are looking out of the Milky Way instead of into it (At lest that’s what an Aussie friend in Canada told us). There are few stars and big empty areas. The moon is brighter – probably due to fewer stars, but maybe also because there is the hole in the ozone. Two nights ago there was a haze around the moon like a sundog.
Prices are a little higher. We are not sure about things like health care – it may cost more because there appears to be more private care. Housing in about the same as it would be in a bigger city in Canada. Minimum wages seems high – about $15.00 an hour, but it may buy the same standard of living.
We have the car now and have done some driving. Everyone seems to be able to drive on the wrong side of the road. I’m not sure how they all learned to do it so well. They are so good that no one has run into us while we are practising. Some “foreigners” have flags on their cars. We think it is to warn people that they may be driving on the opposite side than the locals do. Maybe we should have one. Fortunately, the car is easy to drive and is an automatic. I can drive a standard, but its hard enough staying on the left without having to change gears, too.
We are regulars at the bakery and coffee shop down the street now. All the coffee in the shops is made in espresso machines – very tasty. Long black is a black coffee, short black is espresso, flat white is half milk. The first time I went out and the woman with me ordered a flat white, I thought she was ordering wine.
We’ve taken trips to two of the beaches – back to Brighton so Dave could see it. We went to Brighton on the train. We also went to Glenelg on the tram. It is closer and the tourist beach. It is a walking mall near the beach. And, the cars have the right of way. The signs at the corners tell pedestrians to yield to cars. The sharks have the right of way, as well. When the shark siren went everyone got out of the water. That wasn’t a surprise but the cars were. The ocean was cooler than I expected even though it was in the heat of the day. And, in the evening the beaches cool off quickly. In fact, we found it quite chilly. The wind off the water is cold.
The central market – opened Tuesday to Saturday – is like a big famers market and specialty shops. The produce is wonderful. We are here at apple, melon and pear harvest. One of my favourite foods in cantaloupe – rock melon here – juicy and melts in my mouth.
The fringe festival officially opened on Friday. We went to the parade in the evening – with about 20,000 other people. We watched the parade, which lasted about 90 minutes. Sue is getting around – she knew two of the people in the parade. Then went to the Garden of Unearthly Delights. The centre stage band was called Mojo Juju & the Snake Oil Merchants. Give them a listen at http://www.myspace.com/mojojujuvoodoo.
Instead of selling popcorn, the venders sell corn on the cob on a stick.
Saturday, we went to Darlene and Greg’s for supper. On the way Greg took us to the top of Mount Lofty so that we could see the view of the city. Fabulous. You can see the entire city.
Leaving we saw a kangaroo in the bush having a snack. It was BIG, about the colour of a mule deer, and just munching on the grass. It finally did hop a short distance so we could see it move. It stays bent but hops on its hind legs.
Darlene and Greg live in the hills in a beautiful location. Very enjoyable visit and really nice to see the hills. It will be awhile before we drive up there on our own….
Sunday, we vegged all day. We were really tired. Combination of heat, jet lag and everything being new and different. As Dave describes it, it is kinda surreal. Its different but similar and the same, but different .
Last evening we went to the Garden again, then wondered down Rundell, one of the main market streets in the city. The band WooHoo Revue was busking. They are playing the Fringe Theatre at the Garden this evening. They are really good. Again, give a listen at http://www.myspace.com/thewoohoorevue. They were joined by a couple of belly dancers who are part of the festival but were just on the street and decided to dance. Great show!!
The music has different influences here. There is more African and middle eastern and, I’m sure, other influences that I’m ignorant of.
The folks we are renting from have been super accommodating. We have everything we need here and they have been willing to help with whatever we ask. Sure has made our transition easier.
The garbage system here has three parts. We have a trash can, a recycle can and a compost can. The trash goes out every week and the recycle and compost alternate. I know there are similar systems in Canada. We should be doing it in Regina. The bio basket (see photo) we have for in the house is the same as what we had in our guest house in PEI. PEI has strict garbage restrictions, because they don’t have much space, but the entire planet is quickly running out of “space” and forgiveness for the garbage we produce.
The other flowers on this plant are In-house bio basket
individually yellow or pink.
Do these ducks look familiar?
This cactus is in our front yard
This is local grass - a close up of the photo plant below
Is this a lily? It grows on the plant below.
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