Endings and Beginnings

Dear all,

It is only about 100 degrees outside as I write this.  Last evening at 8pm it was 109 degrees.  It will likely get there again today.  This is supposedly the most severe heatwave to hit the Melbourne area since 1908.  I am not sure whether we should count ourselves as lucky to witness this kind of history.

The children started school yesterday.  There was lots of excitement and nerves.  The school community was very welcoming and made each of the students feel at home.  At dinner, Lincoln announced that after a full day at school he has concluded that it is ok to stay.  So I guess things went well.

On Monday, my father passed away (http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/144298AFD2E15B7A8525754B00610009?Opendocument).  While this was not totally unexpected, it still trying for family and all who knew him.  As the obituary says, "In his memory, people are encouraged to do something for a person in need of kindness."

God Bless and be well,

Nord

Life Without A Car

Dear all,

It is the end of a rather long day.  Up "early" (that is a relative word, here on summer vacation) and out the door - on the bike, to the bus, to the train to downtown Melbourne to run a few errands and back again.  The errands included signing up the family for a year of healthcare and dental care ($490 USD), seeing whether we could salvage Sky's cello (uh ... no), and picking up a vacuum cleaner (to suck up spiders more rapidly).

The transportation has become an adventure unto itself - and certainly the talk of many locals.  The other day my tag-a-long cart flipped in the middle of the road leading up to our house sending groceries all across the road.  I was particularly upset that our desserts from the local pie shop got a bit mangled.  The local pie shop is really quite special and their desserts are quite beautiful - not something you like seeing fly across the road.  It was sort of like having ice cream fall off a cone.

Yet, my wife wrote up a piece that I thought you would all enjoy to truly capture the essence of our no car existence.  Here goes from Margaret ...

This was my day today ...

My errand was to pick up my new bike at the bike shop.

Please keep in mind that it was 102 degrees today.

Leave the house at 9am.  Walk to the bus station.  It is already blazing hot.  This takes 45 minutes.  The bus station is "just around the corner" according to the original reports.  Get on the bus with lots of teenagers and tourists.  Ride for 45 minutes.  Get to mall, change buses, take another bus ride / route, and ultimately arrive at bike shop.  

Total time since I left the house ... 2 hours ... total accomplished so far ... nothing.

Get lovely new bike.  Go back to bus stop and attempt to ride the bus with the bike and get denied by bus driver ... despite the fact that the first bus driver of the day assured me that I am allowed to put my bike underneath the bus in a special compartment.

I realize now that I must walk the bike along a highway back to bus number one and hope that another bus driver will be nicer.  Please keep in mind it is almost noon and it has gone from blazing hot to ridiculous.  It is not an insignificant walk back to bus number one.

Walk for 45 minutes ... dripping with sweat hoping that a snowstorm will blow through at any minute.  Arrive at bus stop.  Thank goodness, this bus driver allows me to put my bike underneath the bus and I get on the bus towards home and pass out.  I, of course, have no water or anything at all to drink.

Back at bus stop "near" house.  Get on bike and attempt to ride home.  Did I mention it was REALLY hot?  Get attacked by bugs (monster swarming flies) that live here in the Yarra Valley.  Try to ride bugs and swat flies at the same time, realize that I am swerving wildly, and decide to give up swatting flies in favor of safety on the road.

Finally arrive back home.

Sunburned, bug bitten, exhausted with new bike in tow.

Total time away from house ... 5 hours ... number of errands completed ... one.

hmmm .....

I hope you appreciate your car next time you toot off to do an errand.

Margaret.

There are a couple of items of note ....

1 - Teenagers - they do ride public transportation a lot.  The driving age is 18 and the teenagers see public transportation as incredibly freeing and affordable.  With gas at over $4.00 per gallon over here, car travel is rather expensive.  It is always entertaining to watch the teenagers on the bus ... but it certainly is comforting to know they are doing it on the bus rather than driving and acting the way they do.

2 - Ride Through The Country - Guy and Helen who own our home here have been extraordinarily nice and have been our own personal Australian Ambassadors.  They took us up into the hills yesterday - realizing our limited transportation options.  The tour through the hills was breathtaking.  The eucalyptus trees are massive.  It felt very much like a drive through the redwood forests in California

Stay warm / cool.

Cheers,

Nord

Nature

Greetings from Yarra Junction.

First, Happy Birthday to my sister Shawn.  She is turning 39 again today.

It has certainly been a week that makes one contemplate the concept of distance.  We finally got our phone hooked up, which made many family 

members and friends just a phone call away.  In fact, I could swear that our phone sounds better from Yarra Junction than from Freeport.  Yet news that a few family members and friends made hospital visits this past week, made us feel every single one of those 11,000 or so miles away from Maine.

To help bring you all a bit closer to Yarra Junction, I have included a few photos from our yard / house that Skyler took this evening.

There is much to report as we are starting to get settled in.  Everything from finding a wonderful organization nearby called the Gawler Foundation to Phin and Sky's trip to Melbourne with very welcoming classmates.

Yet, for today, I am going to focus in on Nature.

I consider myself a nature "enthusiast."  I like to be outdoors, I like to hike, garden, etc.  I am a big fan of Thoreau - enjoying those contemplative moments looking over a serene pond with birds chirping in the background.

I had felt the same calm fascination when I first saw a few kangaroos out the back window the first morning I awoke in Yarra Junction.  They watched our family closely and eventually bounded off across the field - a picture of grace and beauty.

Fast forward a couple of days and Lincoln comes running into our room and wakes Margaret and me up.  He yells, "Mom, Dad you have to see this.  Two kangaroos are fighting in the driveway!"

Huh?

Lincoln was right.  Sure enough, two sizable kangaroos were going at it at the end of the driveway.  It was quite a display of kick-boxing.  Right there and then, Lincoln stopped all discussion of capturing a kangaroo.

Fast forward another few days.  We are all about to go to bed after a long day of travel in and out of the city.  I say goodnight to Sky and walk toward my bedroom when Sky screeches, "Dad come HERE!"

Now for those of you who don't know her well, Skyler is as tough as they come and loves nature.  She was the one nominated to remove a spider from the shower earlier in the week and did so while proclaiming our collective wimpyness.

I knew I was in trouble when Sky said, "Dad you NEED to get IT!"  I walked into the bathroom to come face to face with a hairy spider approximately the size of my hand.

At that particular moment, I did not take time to contemplate exactly what Henry David Thoreau would do but it certainly didn't feel like a Walden Pond sort of experience.

I did finally subdue the man-eating beast with a combination of tools no shorter than four feet.  I later relayed my story to the wonderful folks who own our house, Helen and Guy.  They had a good laugh at my expense and said, "Naaay, they wouldn't hurt ya ... but let me tell you about the ones that will ..."

Clearly nature should be revered whether in Freeport, Maine or Yarra Junction, Victoria.  Yet, for the time being, I am not sure whether I want to choose a front row seat.

Cheers,

Nord

  

We're Here

Dear all,

Happy New Year to all!

The news of today is that we finally secured internet access at our house so we are able to communicate with the outside world once again.

There is much to report but short summary is ...

We got here pretty much all in once piece - all but the cello that ended up arriving in a few more pieces than one.  We have been sleeping a lot to catch up on all the sleep we didn't get on the ride over.

Our home is beautiful, especially the surrounding land.  It is filled with beautiful trees and flowers and many kangaroos.  Skyler reported back that she saw 23 on her first walk around the grounds.

We are just starting to get settled and used to the many cultural differences between Maine and Yarra Junction.  The Australians have been amazingly pleasant and patient with our (my) American blunders. 

We are on our third day as a car free family and I think we are becoming the talk of Yarra Junction.  We biked / jogged past a nursery school on our way home from the store today.   The children out front could not stop giggling as they watched our group pass.

Cheers,

Nord