I I I I guess it has been a few days since I last “blogged” and I didn’t realize it. I think the jet lag has hit me in week 2 of the adventure as I have just been dragging the past couple of days. Not quite sure why but hopefully it will go away pretty soon. I have been walking and walking and exploring the areas that I can walk to. There is a lot to see. I have spent a lot of time looking in and around the shops on Flinders mall –when they talk about a mall here it is not a mall like we have which is a closed in building. It is a street which they close to traffic and have a middle section where you can sit, hang out, talk, etc. lined with shops and restaurants on either side. It took me awhile to figure that out. They do have “malls” as we know them but they call them shopping centers I guess.
I am about ready to give up on the coffee machine and get a french press. I know that it really shouldn’t make a difference how I make my coffee but you know you get used to what you are used to!!! Lorrae took me to a really nice kitchen store which had tons of french presses and ones that you use on the stove top but noooooo electric type ones at all. They suggested maybe Kmart (and I think I detected a little bit of disdain in their voice…..Maybe I dreamed it) so we will have to see if that works. If not I may have to just get a french press and be done with it. You wouldn’t think this would be such a big thing for me but it is!!! And they really dont’ drink coffee like we do anyway—most of it is espresso and strong. I guess American coffee is probably not the way to drink it!!!
So Lorrae took me to the grocery store yesterday and I got some tips on practical things like laundry soap, what brands are good, etc. The thing that I still can’t get over is that small size of everything! In America you have the mega size–influences of Sam’s and Costco I guess—and here it is all very small packages of things. I think they must go to the store every other day but then after looking at their pantries and general lack of storage area that makes sense. I think I have too much of my mother in me of buying ahead when it is on sale, etc. to be able to move past that!!! I will definitely have to adapt!
We also went to a couple of kitchen stores and a very nice furniture store—pretty pricey but very nice stuff and very nice owner. I think Lorrae and Mark have given them a lot of business. The other thing they do is curtains/draperies/upholstery so it will be a great resource if / when we need that kind of stuff. We ate lunch at a great little place and then she brought me back to the apt. I keep telling her she doesn’t have to “look after” me but she is so gracious and I am probably a bit of a curiosity to her!!
When we were driving around there is construction everywhere in Townsville—it is growing really fast and roads are closed off everywhere. Those orange construction cones are called witches hats here and there were a lot of them that we encountered yesterday.,
Aaron leaves today for Melbourne so we are hoping to catch him and call him on Skype before he leaves—I need to double check his flight times. I have to do a little rigging on my computer to use Skype since I don’t have the built in camera and microphone so we usually use Chris’ but it works great to be able to talk to folks. I need to get more of my family on it!! The boys and Colleen and Chris’ dad are good at it so it isn’t that hard to learn how to use it!
Chris is going to another one of the mills this morning and then coming back to get me so we can look at this beach house together. We are just going to meet the realtor there so that will be good. Then we can go from there and shop or whatever!
There is a beautiful sunrise this morning and it is a little chilly out—looks like only around 49 degrees right now but it will get up to 71 degrees as the day goes on so that won’t be bad. After all—it is winter here!! I do think Aaron is going to be a little bit chilly where he is going to be so he has to pack a lot more warmer stuff!!!