Ok, so Brisbane looks like it is going to be queen of storm city! I just got done tossing everything I could that was on the deck into the house-a stack of cardboard boxes over a foot tall, 2 huge boxes filled with packing paper, the laundry rack. W.O.W. is all I have to say. I was drenched just from the side blow! The grey water tank will be nicely topped off again-bring on the laundry and toilet flushing. I understand that these storms are not unusual, this is just typical spring into summer weather. Then we get into cyclone season-oh the joy!
Unpacking is going ok, so far. We figure the house is only about 1200 square feet, so just over half of what we are used to. I went to a builder supply store and bought a hand truck. Great story there-suffice it to say I have to find the bike tire pump to fill the tires. In one of the boxes down in the garage, most likely buried in the far back corner. . . I managed to get one tire inflated at the gas station, but the valve is wonky on the other one. So, I manhandled some boxes down to get some room in the living area-good thing too or I would not have had room for the stuff from the deck!
Lyle gets back from a week in Newcastle tonight! He's been gone since Monday, so has missed out of much of the box drama. I think he feels bad. He'd better feel bad! At any rate, there are still 4 wardrobe boxes in the upper hallway so we have to go sideways, and stuff all over the bedrooms. We'll continue to unpack, repack and sort and in the meantime, start keeping our eyes out for a bigger place next year! It's nice to know my clothes are here, but can't get to them as the dresser is in the middle of the boxes in the garage. Sigh. Tell me again why we didn't just store the winter coats with my parents? 2-3 wardrobe boxes will just be taped back up as they won't be used here!
Sunday will be a busy day for us. Lyle is running a 10k Bridge to Brisbane race that starts at 6:00 am. That's right, 6 AM! The start is about 8 miles from here, and I think I can get him within about 1k of the starting line. We are figuring a 4:30 departure to get him there as they are expecting 30,000 racers for this part! He'll have to take his cell phone and call when the bus gets him back to the starting point for a pickup! We are also going to a BBQ with a family we met at the fireworks last weekend. Their 2 older girls are 1 year older and 1 year younger than Alex and their youngest is just a bit older than Annika. They all get along great and all the girls were bugging the moms to get together so they could visit again! They are also inviting their neighbors who have a boy Ian's age so he has someone to play with too. Super nice people!
Saturday is go through the garage day and sign Alex up for school swim team day. She's excited! She also signed up for softball for her term 4 sport day. Aussie schools take about 1/2 day each school week and devote it to sports-Cricket, Netball (think basketball without a backboard), soccer, Aussie Football, rugby, etc. She wasn't able to participate since we moved here as the signups are for the term. We pay $5 per week for transportation-so it works out about the same as an after school league. But better as our weekends are ours! They play against other schools, have tournaments, and parents can go watch as well. School swim team practices after school, time depending on the squad she goes with, inter school meets are Friday evening.
Confirmed that the USA TV's do not work in Australia. Oh, well. All we used it for at home was DVD and Netflix anyway. I managed to get the telly and DVD player hooked up, the kids are bugging me to get the Wii up and running too. Before we left we bought 3 voltage transformers to step down from 220 to 110 so our electronics don't fry. I have to run the TV stuff through the transformer-working like a charm! I had to swipe a power strip from the computer box until I find the one that goes with the TV stuff, but for now I am thankful to watch something besides the 10 movies we brought with us 2 months ago. If I have to watch Megamind one more time I think I will LOSE my MIND!
More later family and friends-I am glad to keep you up to date! Feel free to comment on the site as well. Let's me know I'm not just writing to cyberspace!
Unpacking is going ok, so far. We figure the house is only about 1200 square feet, so just over half of what we are used to. I went to a builder supply store and bought a hand truck. Great story there-suffice it to say I have to find the bike tire pump to fill the tires. In one of the boxes down in the garage, most likely buried in the far back corner. . . I managed to get one tire inflated at the gas station, but the valve is wonky on the other one. So, I manhandled some boxes down to get some room in the living area-good thing too or I would not have had room for the stuff from the deck!
Lyle gets back from a week in Newcastle tonight! He's been gone since Monday, so has missed out of much of the box drama. I think he feels bad. He'd better feel bad! At any rate, there are still 4 wardrobe boxes in the upper hallway so we have to go sideways, and stuff all over the bedrooms. We'll continue to unpack, repack and sort and in the meantime, start keeping our eyes out for a bigger place next year! It's nice to know my clothes are here, but can't get to them as the dresser is in the middle of the boxes in the garage. Sigh. Tell me again why we didn't just store the winter coats with my parents? 2-3 wardrobe boxes will just be taped back up as they won't be used here!
Sunday will be a busy day for us. Lyle is running a 10k Bridge to Brisbane race that starts at 6:00 am. That's right, 6 AM! The start is about 8 miles from here, and I think I can get him within about 1k of the starting line. We are figuring a 4:30 departure to get him there as they are expecting 30,000 racers for this part! He'll have to take his cell phone and call when the bus gets him back to the starting point for a pickup! We are also going to a BBQ with a family we met at the fireworks last weekend. Their 2 older girls are 1 year older and 1 year younger than Alex and their youngest is just a bit older than Annika. They all get along great and all the girls were bugging the moms to get together so they could visit again! They are also inviting their neighbors who have a boy Ian's age so he has someone to play with too. Super nice people!
Saturday is go through the garage day and sign Alex up for school swim team day. She's excited! She also signed up for softball for her term 4 sport day. Aussie schools take about 1/2 day each school week and devote it to sports-Cricket, Netball (think basketball without a backboard), soccer, Aussie Football, rugby, etc. She wasn't able to participate since we moved here as the signups are for the term. We pay $5 per week for transportation-so it works out about the same as an after school league. But better as our weekends are ours! They play against other schools, have tournaments, and parents can go watch as well. School swim team practices after school, time depending on the squad she goes with, inter school meets are Friday evening.
Confirmed that the USA TV's do not work in Australia. Oh, well. All we used it for at home was DVD and Netflix anyway. I managed to get the telly and DVD player hooked up, the kids are bugging me to get the Wii up and running too. Before we left we bought 3 voltage transformers to step down from 220 to 110 so our electronics don't fry. I have to run the TV stuff through the transformer-working like a charm! I had to swipe a power strip from the computer box until I find the one that goes with the TV stuff, but for now I am thankful to watch something besides the 10 movies we brought with us 2 months ago. If I have to watch Megamind one more time I think I will LOSE my MIND!
More later family and friends-I am glad to keep you up to date! Feel free to comment on the site as well. Let's me know I'm not just writing to cyberspace!
Glad to hear you are settling in, making friends and doing lots of different activities. Keep blogging---I am enjoying it!
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