Monday Funday

Today was one of those days involving lots of ferrying around of children. First up was nursery, then ballet shop ( for ballet shoes and tights), library for storytime, playdate for lunch, ballet, then a big cool off sesh in Lucy and Charlie's pool. The littluns have decided this is their new second home so it's pretty taxing trying to peel them away when it's time to go. On the plus side their water confidence has taken an almighty jump and it means I get to sit around the pool with a glass of something cold and watch all the fun. Not much to grumble about really....

Le weekend

Despite the soaring temperatures we had quite a bit of fun this weekend. Yesterday started with a trip to view a house on Learoyd Street which was at the top of our budget but needing at least $100k to make it habitable. I always find it interesting to see how other people choose to live and this place truly left me flabbergasted. There were nooks and crannies everywhere and despite their obvious taste in vintage crockery, clocks and interiors, the house was otherwise remarkably odd. One double bedroom even had two bikes mounted on the wall....perplexing to say the least.

In short, we've decided to put house hunting on hold for a while. It's stressful and time-consuming and adding more pressure than we need at this stage of our new life. I already feel like a weight has lifted off a bit and we can focus on other things like building our careers again and seeing what other delights Perth has to offer.

With all house-discussions firmly aside (for now) we jumped in the motor and headed to the State Library of WA to browse the finalists of the Press Photographer of the year awards. It was inspiring to see so many talented photographers housed under one roof and there were some seriously special and unforgettable moments caught on camera. From state hero Danny Green's anger at an early fight finish to the naked gunman who brought Perth to a standstill last year - it made for an interesting and entertaining visit. Much to us girls delight, we also discovered pre-school storytime on Wednesdays and book-making lessons on Monday arvos. That's us sorted for this week then.

Today was mostly spent on the beach but we managed a quick stop off at Planet where I finally got my hands on Spaces - a photography book featuring an inspiring collection of homes where creative types live, work and play. Who wants to live in a mansion when you can find tranquility on an Amsterdam houseboat or at the top of a Welsh windmill? I can't wait to get through this one...

Morning tea

Yesterday morning I was invited for morning tea along with eight other school mums. Now I've got visions of the ideal pad for us Greens but it wasn't until strolling around the beautiful, quaint corridors of Monica's private little haven that I realised this was it, the bricks and mortar that dreams are truly made of. The veranda around the outside, the English style garden, the country kitchen, high ceilings, huge bedrooms...it's the kind of house you see on those amazing property shows when the pain-staking renovations and misery has passed.

The morning involved a multitude of home-baked culinary delights, flowers, delicious tea and lots of chit chat about our kids and school. Turns out Fin's making quite the impression amongst his peers and that he's gained a little prestige from being first up to win an honour certificate. We've even had a few offers of a swim after school which we're gladly accepting (anything to get out of our tropical hell hole). Another heatwave has hit so temperatures inside are at an all time high and the portable air con unit is starting to grumble with the extra work.

On the plus side, we handed our notice into the agent today which means just two weeks more of enveloping heat before we move our clan to cooler climes. The hunt now begins for a new humble abode - one with air con this time. Tres exciting.

Bargain hunter

The hefty price tags on supermarket foods In Perth has had a great impact on our shopping habits. Whilst we were often careful in the UK, I don't remember looking at special offers or price tags with quite so much interest as I do now. A mere glimpse of a 2 for 1, BOGOF, 3 for 2 or money off sign and I'm there like a shot, analysing said price, said product and how it might fit into our weekly meal planner (or indeed whether the kids will attempt to eat it).

Another thing I've become fond of is supermarket own brands and bargain ones at that. IGA have a 'yellow label' line of goods which are remarkably cheaper than non-IGA counterparts. Whilst Coles have an 'essentials' line much like Tesco's basics. Whilst the snob in me actively skirted anything with 'bargain' written on it at home, here I can't stop myself. I've even been known to delve into the bargain bin featuring food very much on its last legs in order to bag the Green team a cheap find, elbowing the lady next to me with competitive fervour.

Since we're living in the most isolated city in the world it seems doubtful that there's anything we can do to make feeding our family cheaper, aside from protesting outside IGA or encouraging a bunch of bogans to go on hunger strike with us. The mini Green's are the largest consumers of food in our house - they munch on enough fruit to feed a small army every week and require lots of snacks to keep energy levels up and melt-downs at bay. All this heat has also increased their appetite for ice creams - especially white chocolate Magnum's and fruity rocket lollies which are at least 4 bucks a pop.

Perhaps the clear answer is to start deducting pocket money to put towards the fruit cause, I'd doubt they'd even notice....

Now THAT sounds like a plan ;)

Jet ski fun and a little bit of crochet...

Well we're back in our stifling little house and positively steaming once again...

The weekend was good. The zzz's came and went between Shelleypingpong's midnight visits to her outdoor toilette but we had some time to relax in the cool, eat some nice food, bake cakes and enjoy some champers by the river. Fin also mastered the great art of the monkey bars and took his first ride on a jet ski, courtesy of new friends Lyn and John. The rest of us had a go on the doughnut ring - great fun, though admittedly I spent most of it wailing for John to go easy on the gas whilst attempting to rid litres of the swan river from my eyes/hair/ears...

Sunday's adventure was a visit to one of Perth's many upcoming free festivals. There's stacks of exciting events happening over the next month - ballets, concerts, gigs, cinema, contemporary dance, art - so we are excited, especially since it involves minimal damage to our rapidly dwindling bank account. Sunday's offering was a variety of hand made wares and though I went in search of a crochet blanket for our couch, instead I found a lady who runs crochet classes. Hence I will be attempting to make our very own crochet blanket, the key word being 'attempting'. Whether I actually finish it or not remains to be seen.

Granny chic here we come!

House-sit

There’s a buzz of excitement in the Green household this morning because this arvo we are going to (drum roll please…)

an air conditioned house!

Hurrah!

The family Green have been succumbed to house sit for the two K’s whilst they jet off to Sydney for the weekend, leaving us to keep on eye on their pad and look after Shelley the dog. I envisage calm tempers, hot food, make-up that doesn’t slide off, jeans, hairdryers, coffee! We might even have a hot bath should the temptation present itself and put PJ’s on so we don’t have to look at each others’ lily whites for a change. In fact what I’m looking forward to most is being able to sleep/cook/play games/read to my kids without the constant buzz and whirl of a fan in the background. Now won’t that be nice.

Until Monday…

Excuse me, where are your shoes?

Since Perth is steaming hot for 4 months of the year, it’s natural that people will go shoeless from time to time, after all there’s nothing quite as revolting or uncomfortable than hot, sweaty paws. What's not quite so natural however is to go barefoot in shops, supermarkets, libraries etc. When I first witnessed this I thought it was a simple case of memory loss and that said shoes were sitting by the front door at home, simply forgotten in the rush of the morning. But actually these people are choosing to leave their shoes at home and opting for the soles of their very own feet to carry them around for the day. Of course there is the prospect that they may be too strapped for cash to afford them but it’s most probable they are simply so laid back, shoes just don’t feature in their list of things to do.

Now I wouldn’t mind this so much were it not for the hygiene issue.  If you’re walking from your car, into the supermarket, through the shopping centre and so on, there’s going to be quite the build up of grime going on there. I witnessed a man go into the gents (for a quick wee presumably) at the shops the other day, he then proceeded to exit the lavatory and head straight to the fruit and veg shop to pick up his 5-a-day. Quite what he transferred from the loo to the veggies shop in the process is probably best left un-analysed, but it does pose the question, should there be a shoe law in place?!! For shopping centres at least where people are picking up fresh provisions?

I propose the council set up rental machines in highly populated areas where shoe-forgetting people are at large. Just a couple of dollars and out pops a pair of thongs – simple and easy to use and the shoes are theirs for the duration of their visit. It could be quite the little earner for Stirling council.  

The playroom lands...

D and I have become a tad lacklustre in our parenting technique of late so we decided to re-inject some traditional play activities into the kids lives with a little lounge area at the back of the house. This part of the house is a little odd. Not quite a room but a little too big to be made redundant, it's a perfect den area for little people and has just the right amount of space for Lego constructions, tea parties, lounging around with a book or playing Guess Who (our current fave).

It also means all our favourite stories can be displayed at a reachable height which will hopefully encourage a greater instinct to read and enjoy books. Bay has discovered she loves having her books all on one shelf and spent half an hour flicking through her personal library this morning (albeit whilst sitting in the washing basket). We also spent an hour making Lego houses, cars and rockets - something we haven't done for months it seems.

So here it is, our new mini Green snug. Long may it last.

In Australia...

Since we've been here for a whole two months (and counting!) I thought it would be interesting to share some of the observations between life in Australia and dear old blighty. On the whole I think we're much the same - we go to work/take the kids to school/visit friends/go to the supermarket/organise playdates/get excited about movies/book reservations at a restaurant/visit the beach...but the way we do all of these things is marked with some distinct differences, because....

In Australia:

• You are greeted with the words 'How you going love?!' to which you reply 'good thanks, you?'
• You drive slowly but confidently and your sole purpose is to get from A-B. You're wary of other drivers but you DO NOT LET THEM OUT under any circumstances. Beeping of horns is a rareity.
• Cadbury's chocolate tastes a bit crumbly, probably due to it being dipped in some sort of heat/melt-resistant coating.
• Watering gardens is essential and is usually done via a reticulation system that involves a simple switch of a button. The greener the grass the better.
• Fitness is part of daily life. People run, visit the gym, visit parks with their personal trainers, speedwalk around the neighbourhood....they understand the importance of physical exercise and how it benefits body and soul.
• When your child gets a cut or graze you put a band aid on.
• Your mailbox sits outside the front gate or wall and your mail is delivered via speedy postmen on little moped's with flags attached to the back of their bike.
• There are several ways to take your coffee - flat black, flat white, tall black, tall white, plain black, plain white, frothy coffee, cappuccino, latte - the most popular of which appears to be the flat white.
• You drop the kids to school in an air conditioned car, it's too hot to walk.
• Shops are closed on Sundays (apart from newsagents, supermarkets and liquor stores it seems).
• Buses are supposedly frequent but few and far between. Everyone has a car in Perth.
• Vegemite is a childhood staple that tastes like Tippex.
• Spiders are stamped on or drowned...as most of them are venomous and the ones that aren't are too big and hairy to touch.
• Football is of the Australian rules variety. European football is known as soccer and is played mostly from March onwards when the weather cools down.
• There are take-away restaurants everywhere. Chicken Treat, Red Rooster, Hungry Jacks, McDonalds...fast food lovers are seriously spoilt for choice.
• Lollipop ladies are equipped with a whistle and two flags which they wave furiously in the middle of the road.
• There are hundreds of different bank accounts and you pay for something using cheque, savings or credit. If you opt for credit, you'll probably get charged by the bank who'll pocket the admin fee gladly.
• Flipflops are called 'thongs' and everyone wears them...even school kids.
• Beaches are long, open and jaw-droppingly gorgeous with sand that twinkles in the sun and clear turquoise waters that beckon you in.
• Children talk about snow in awe like it would be the most amazing experience ever. Quite understandable since the white stuff simply doesn't fall on this part of the earth.

Some interesting points because in England...

• The normal greeting is 'hi, how are you', to which we respond 'Ah, I'm ok thanks, but you'll never guess what happened to me yesterday...the boilers broken down...my shoulder's killing me....etc etc.
• People are speedy drivers and tooting, swearing and giving other drivers the bird is commonplace. We do however let other folk out and are happy to help out in a crisis.
• Cadburys melts in your mouth and is especially nice dipped in tea. We don't need to worry about heat-protective coating cause it's usually cloudy and miserable.
• We rarely water the garden. The rain does it all for us.
• People go to the gym but by god, we like to moan about it. In many cases we'll drop it at the last minute in preference for an essential viewing of Emmerdale/Eastenders/My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and a pack of Tesco's custard creams.
• We use plasters
• Postmen deliver through a letterbox in your front door and don't think anything of banging on the door/window/gate at 7am if they have a parcel to deliver.
• Our coffees are usually a simple choice of latte, cappuccino, black or espresso.
• We walk the kids to school cause it's a good opportunity to get some fresh air, hell we'll even don the wet weather gear if we have too...anything beats fighting for a space at the school gates.
• ALL the shops are open on Sundays and are packed to the brim with people. We love consumption. Imagine if they were closed, we'd have to stay home and read, go for wet-weather walks and errr talk to our families.
• Buses come every 2-3 minutes in the city, every 5-10 elsewhere. If that bus driver is late you are fully entitled to complain about it.
• Marmite is where it's at. Hmmmmm yum.
• We don't often see our eight legged friends and if we do, they are swiftly cupped and disposed of out of the nearest window. Nothing to be scared of here.
• Football is talked about everywhere and has a huge following. Not a footie fan? I can't even talk to you...
• Fast food usually involves a toss up between McD's or Burger King. Nandos if we're feeling flash.
• Lollipop ladies have a lollipop stand (and sometimes an umbrella) which they stand in the middle of the road, using the other hand to wave road-crossers along.
• You pay for something on a credit card or bank card and are only charged if you don't pay it off in time.
• Flip flops emerge in the summer and we'll wear them if it's hot enough. If we've had a nice pedi we might treat ourselves to some Havaiana's, otherwise we'll go for the free pair on the front of Elle magazine.
• Beaches are mostly covered in pebbles and shells that hurt your feet. The atlantic is a dark murky blue, often with tell-tale bubbles/foam on the surface we probably don't want to touch. Brave folk swim...others simply stand and watch.
• We buy sledges in the snowy season and enjoy some speedy fun for a couple of days before the neighbourhood turns into a world of grey slush and navigating the road by car becomes a matter of life or death.

I still find myself dumbfounded by some of the differences and am slowly understanding various terms and customs. I now realise that 'fly by' points are for the mining community and that if I try to let someone out of a side road, I risk causing an accident rather than doing a simple good deed. It's an interesting journey this moving to another country lark....

Love is an app called Instagr.am

Since becoming an iphone user, I've had hours of fun playing around with the photography apps, the best of which has to be instagr.am. A little bit quirky, a little bit retro, this clever little programme has the ability to turn the mundane into objects of beauty, otherwise simplistic images are given an arty edge and any flaws are seemingly washed away with a tap of a button. What's not to like?

Whilst I adore film cameras, original photography methods and digital darkroom processing, there is something oddly satisfying about capturing special parts of your day - and achieving the desired effect - in 3 short seconds. I imagine 'traditional' photographers would find the whole process rather distasteful (it's all about the art! The technique! The work!) But you've got to love a bit of speed in life - especially when it creates something beautiful at the end of it all.

Instagr.am on Twitter
Interesting article in Business Week

Lamingtons

The Lamington has existed for years as a signature Australian sponge and is devoured in antipodean households everywhere, especially on very important days like Australia Day. Rather ironically I feel it embodies the Aussie spirit – confident, brash and a little bit loud on the outside but soft and lovely on the inside.

Little B and I sat down to a few Lamington’s yesterday arvo and I can confirm they go beautifully with a little dash of cream on the side. They’re also rather lovely dipped in jam and make a great accompaniment to afternoon tea. These ones were the shop bought variety but I am planning a little bake-fest this weekend so the kids and I can master this Aussie treat with flair. Since they are D’s favourite, it would be rude not too. They shall be better than the Borough market offering, by god they shall!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/3352/lamingtons

If anyone fancies giving them a go...

Fin-tastic

I usually dislike blowing my own kids trumpet, but for now I will put personal preferences aside and go for it because today was one of my proudest mummy moments of 2011. One week in and already the boy is going up on stage to accept an achievement of award. He even got to shake hands with the Principal, much to his delight.

Now Don Barba is a head to impress. He knows ALL the kids names, always has a smile on his face and never seems to raise his voice, even when under obvious stress (which I witnessed during the registration process before Christmas). He's also a sociable wotnot and has already organised a series of parents picnics and events for school families, what a trouper.

Fin's certificate was for being 'kind and considerate to others and demonstrating a grown up and confident approach to school'. When I was a kid I'm pretty sure I was doing everything humanly possible to get out of going to school, whilst D was on the other side of the world vomiting at the front gates. So quite where he gets this keen interest in being institutionalised is rather beyond us. Not that we're complaining of course...

Well done Fin, we are a very proud house this eve :)

Show me the jobs...

It's becoming increasingly apparent that unless you're a skilled person or some sort of office support worker, finding journalism or PR work in Perth is tricky business. Three agencies have now returned my CV citing 'we're sorry but we don't have any jobs to match your skill set, please try again later'. The local papers 'don't hire freelancers' and most office jobs are about schmoozing with the higher ranking officials and keeping the stakeholders happy. Urgh.

Come over as a plumber, sparkie, builder, engineer or secretary (basically anything that compliments housing or mining) and the world's your oyster, but the creative industry's are appearing a little harder to crack - possibly because there are fewer of them and the companies that do exist are already full to the brim with happy, hard-working people.

How to overcome this dilemma? Well to be honest, I'm not sure. I'm a mum who realistically needs flexible working hours, but I'm also a worker at heart who adores writing, photography, churning out press releases and working for a worthy cause. What I absolutely don't love is being stuck in an office filing papers and waiting for the clock to tick that little bit faster so I can go to lunch/sneak out for a coffee/go home. Shame really as there are TONS of part-time admin roles that I could go for...but not to the detriment of my soul...

I need to start bringing some dollars in. What would you do??????

Inspired.

Today started off with a couple of hours of work whilst the lady went to nursery followed by coffee at Linda's - Lucy's mum, Enfield gal and new Mount Lawley buddy with a huge million dollar home on North St. I was flabbergasted and impressed by their obvious interest in design and gawped in awe at the amazing vintage furniture and beautifully designed pool. Naturally Bay didn't want to leave so I had a bit of a task to peel her away from the confines of luxury and back to our 'rubbish house' as she now calls it. Kids sure do have high expectations these days...

This arvo involved a trip to Aunty G to sort my crook neck out, I wouldn't exactly call it a relaxing massage but as the saying goes, no pain no gain right? I think she worked a little bit of magic during the half hour session and am hoping these darned migraines will now begone once and for all.

The Walcott Street house was nice but a little bit pricey for the space and had a strong whiff of divorce in the air (which the agent confirmed). So a big no no for us. On to the next one!

Lazy Sunday

Today was a typical lazy Sunday - lay in, DVD, coffee, trip to book shop, beach, home, veg on couch. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Inglewood soccer club where the finster was signed up to his first pro footie club. The $400 bucks registration fee made my shift around in my sandals a bit, but according to D it's a good investment - especially if he becomes as good as David Beckham. We have high hopes...


We've started looking at houses and are off to see a little gem of a pad on Walcott Street tomorrow. It's close to school, is decked out beautifully and has a neat little plunge pool out back - perfect for those days when it hits 40 degrees and you need a quick cooling fix. It's way above our price range but hey-ho who cares, you have to aim high in this life right?

Grub's up!

Last night involved a trip to the South of the river to Glenn and Bec’s for the third in the latest line of monthly dinners. We were treated to roast lamb, asparagus, veggies and some of the most delicious miniature meringues I’ve ever tasted…this spread will take some beating! It’s our turn next so we’ve got quite a bit of prep to do. It’s turning into a bit of an informal Come Dine with Me, all we need are a few number cards (easy), some open honesty (errr yeah), a token drunkard (there’s usually several) and we’ll be golden J

On a different note we discovered a fab new pool today with flumes, a wave machine and outdoor inflatables, much to the kids delight. It’s been great to watch them increase in confidence – Fin has started launching himself into the water whilst Bay is constantly attempting to swim at every given opportunity.  My brother in law is scheduled to swim around Busselton Jetty tomorrow (all 3.6k’s of it) so perhaps with continued perserverance they’ll be as good one day.

Good luck for tomorrow Kim!

The Travel bug

I've picked up some real gems from the library of late, the most recent being Stephen Scourfield's book, Western Australia: An Untamed View. He has this amazing, instinctive ability to capture places and people in their natural environment and has explored each and every corner of the state (all half a million k's of it) to create his fantastic collection of images.

Thanks to Mr Scourfield, I now have a nice big long list of places to visit - Wave rock, The Bungle Bungles, Kelly's Knob, Denmark, The Capes, Geraldton, The Treewalk, Broome - all of which shall be transferred to the itinerary sometime soon and no doubt push the Green machine to its maximum capabilities. Speaking of which, the engine has become a little rattly of late and we had a suspicious water leak coming from underneath. This car is one big ball of bad karma, an exchange is on the cards soon methinks...

How much was that Lexus Hybrid again?

School begins!

Here we are at last - a new school year, a new teacher and lots of new faces for Fin to get to know. He leapt out of bed at 6.45am this morning and embarked on a full grooming routine to ensure he looked his best for his big day. Neat little socks, gel in the hair (he's rocking the slick Elvis look today), teeth cleaned, t-shirt buttons done up to the neck. It's funny watching him fuss over those little details that many kids of the same age miss - perhaps he'll be an architect or some sort of designer when he grows up...

Mrs Jasper was lovely and helped him find his seat. Next door buddies are Aoife and Matthew - both lovely kids and about a foot shorter than the boy. Papa Dave also came along to see the new day in and wished him 'the best of luck with the good looking sheila' - ie. Aoife - sat next to him. Naturally I had to suppress a little snigger...I completely see where my husband gets it from.

So all that remains is to wish my beautiful buddy the best luck in the world for his new school life. I feel excited, happy and relieved that we have an element of routine back into our lives and I know he feels the same...now to get the lady settled and we're home n dry. School rocks!