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and a very sticky kepyboard - ekyeboar. d. yuck.
the very sad truth is that one of the most unsettling parts of the moving process for us has been not having internet available at hom.e. when i can sit at my own computer and my fingers can fly freely again on our happy keyboard and i have access to the outside world in my barefeet again, then i'll really feel at home.
other than that, we really love our new place. surrounded by boxes though we may be, we're quite comfortable there. our new apartment is quite old...it's got maybe 20 years of life and character built in, which i don't mind. the bathroom is traditionally ugly 70's, it may be older than me, but it is completely forgiven. it has a bath. I love it! And the kitchen is just as easily forgiven its scratched floors and questionably gold colour scheme by virtue of its pantry. It is the best pantry I have ever seen! It's nearly a room, you can just walk into it. it's got its own light and 6 spice racks in the walls! I'm in heaven. The whole place feels like just the right combo of hemispheres for me - like good Minnesotan home, it's got wall to wall beige carpeting in all the rooms (bar the bathroom and kitchen of course), but like any respectable Queensland home, it has a good sized veranda , where you can actually sit and eat comfortably outside. We've even got the traditional aussie seperate toilet -- next to the bathroom, which is just for bathing. and doing laundry. It's a nice spacious place, and we're quite happy there.
and we're quite sore and exhausted and we'll be moving in slow motion for the next few days, but you've all done the moving thing, so i'll spare you the details and the whinging. we've also decided that next time, when we do finally decide to buy a house, we'll move properly -- let the professionals do it. we'll save up...it's worth the cash!
so back to running errands and unpacking. thinking of you all my friends and family...
may you neever have to type on a keyboard as sticky as this one. i think i'd better go wash my hands.
take care :)

Tasting Outback Queensland

Last weekend was a very tasty weekend. :) We spent it with some friends, a ute, a whole bunch of massive granite boulders, and a few delightful little wineries.
Stanthorpe is a little town about as far south as you can go and still be Queensland. It's just on the border with New South Wales. It's quite a drive from Brissy, but we enjoyed the travelling too. Sometimes, at the end of a long week, the further you get from the city, the more the country air seems to seep in and let you breathe easier and smile bigger, you know? :)

Wherever I go I look at the trees. It sounds a bit boring I guess, and I'm only rarely nerdy or informed enough to know actually know the names of the trees, but I just love being surrounded by them. I especially love to note how many different kinds of gum trees there are here. And in this far southern part of the state, surprisingly scattered with the eucalyptus, there are some maples and other deciduous trees and vines. they reminded me that March really is Auttumn here. So anyway.... I just hope that explains why I have so many photos of trees. Lots of wildlife frolicking about as well :)

We visited three different wineries along the road over the weekend. Queensland is not normally noted for its wines, but apparently the industry is just beginning to really take off in recent years. And we certainly didn't mind sampling what this region has to offer. I was happily surprised. Inside and out, the wineries had all kinds of character and charm. I felt so sophisticated and relaxed! it may have been all the tasting :)

Saturday night there was a big opening dinner put on by one of the wineries, to celebrate their re-opening. that's where the photo you see at the top fits in. They had a local Italian restaurant cater the feast. I was so impressed, they had excellent Tiramisu -- one of the most perfect desserts ever invented if you ask me -- and they even designed a special gluten free meal and beautiful dessert just for Danny. So if you're ever in Queensland, this is my unashamed plug for the Summit Estate Winery in Stanthorpe -- it's fantastic.

There's a beautiful National park nearby with a satisfyingly strange-sounding Aboriginal name: Giraween National Park. It's all Granite boulders and gum tree forests, which we got to navigate with some stomach-churning but very exciting off-road driving. And then we also did some more lesiurely strolls and climbs. I thought of my family and outdoorsy friends in MN, you guys would love it out there!

In this photo you will see a ute: it's short for "utility vehicle," and it's basically just an Aussie word for pick-up truck.

It was so nice to be out in the country with friends, just enjoying ourselves. I'll have to hang on those memories for a long time now, as it seems it'll be awhile before we can take a weekend away anywhere again. but that's news for the next post...stay tuned!

29 So Fine

This title is brought to you by a happy young girl who's now officially not-quite-30-yet. And also by mom, one of many well wishers who wrote or left messages for my birthday which I so rudely ignored while I was out of town. I figured I'd better put up a quick post about my birthday weekend, before the week is over and it's a bunch of other people's special weekend.



Danny found us a holiday apartment for the weekend in Caloundra-- a nice little town on the Sunshine coast, just north of Brisbane. But the Sunshine coast was not so sunny. It was the windiest, rainiest, cloudiest set of 3 days we'd had here since the last time I forgot we lived in the tropics (whenever that was.) So we didn't go swimming. no worries! It was perfect for us -- we walked the windy boardwalk, we strolled around the air museum for hours, we had a lovely seafood dinner, and we spent most of the time relaxing in our hotel room. It was a very thoughtful birthday gift from my very thoughtful and sweet husband. (cue the "awwwes." :) ok, you can stop now.)



Now that I can post photos again, I've got to show off one of the beautiful babies in our lives...

Sebastian and family
He's about 4 and 1/2 months now I think?


Enjoy. I think that's all the words I've got at the moment. I just got back from my body balance class...which is a bit of Thai chi, pilates, and yoga - all put together for a sort of stretching boot camp. (i love it!) the instructor makes us really work. so much so that when i'm done even my brain works a whole lot slower than usual for about 8 hours. so forgive my lack of cleverness, and go enjoy your weekend :)

lots of love,
licia

Finally photos

So I finally found a way to put photos up on my blog once again! apparently it's our home computer that doesn't like to post pictures, but I can do it on my laptop.
So here are a couple of photos from the end of our last trip to the states in December. I don't think my parents got to see the one of all of us together; it was taken during one of our long Minnesota goodbyes, before we went to the airport. The 2nd photos is at TGIFridays. good fun. I quite miss that place.

You may recall the story I told about my sister Audra getting engaged on Christmas morning? And I'm lucky enough to get to go back to Minnesota for a short visit for her wedding. In July. Happy days :)



So that's about it for now. There will be more current Aussie photos to come again on this site.
Have a good and peaceful weekend....it's coming up soon enough!