Halloween Down Under

 I count myself extremely fortunate to have experienced Halloween in French Canada, English Canada, Switzerland, England, and now Australia.  However, it is clear that the notion and associated protocols of Halloween are only clearly understood and respected in North America.  The rest of the world has much to catch up with.

Remember this?   Halloween in Switzerland

We have burned effigies of Guy Fawkes, and launched firecrackers and rockets in London in a gruesome re-creation of the ill-fated gunpowder plot of 1605.

But for me Halloween meant having a costume big enough to fit over your winter jacket, ski pants, and tuque.  It meant traipsing from one house to the next over common lawns and ONLY approaching houses burning Jack O'Lanterns at their front door.  It meant screaming in mock terror at the pretend graveyards, and most importantly, it meant a seriously bulging bag of WRAPPED candy booty by the time we returned home with frozen feet and runny noses.

The ninja, the witch and J as a vampire ghost(?)

 I didn't plan anything this year as Halloween really isn't marked in Australia, particularly a day before the start of Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival.  Melburnians twin passions are Footy and horse racing.  All the city decorations and excitement are directed towards a week of racing leading to the iconic running of the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.  Halloween is brushed off as ridiculous, potentially dangerous, and consumptive.

Consequently, J in his usual passion for all things holiday-related took it upon himself to help organise a group of like-minded souls and together this empowered little group made a plan.  They nominated a house (not mine) as command central, plotted a route, recruited parents, and wrote a rather long-winded but lovely poem to recite at each door.  The poem was quickly abandoned in favour of the traditional "Trick-or-Treat!".

Trick-or-Treating beneath the Palms

...and in front of Birds of Paradise

October 31 in Melbourne saw temperatures of 30c, not at all appropriate but the group soldiered on.  They pounded on locked gates, they yelled into intercoms, they chased homeowners down long windy driveways, they climbed long stairs in search of hidden front doors, they sweated under their costumes in the humid air.  In short, they worked hard!

Their booty was a tad pathetic.  A banana and five-dollar note being my personal favorites.  Most people answered their door looking bemused, and offered a Tim Tam or bowl of M&Ms to be shared.  The idea of WRAPPED candy was not clear.

In the end though, the joy and magic were palpable amongst this little motley group of ghouls.  J looked up us as we walked back to command central and inquired happily, "can we do this again next year?"

Monday Musings

It was a weekend of doing a few things to satisfy my Spring clean/fix/polish/shine/sweep'ing instincts.   Despite their best efforts to duck, both C2 and J got roped into my mania.

We don't have a yard at our little house in Melbourne but we do have two courtyards that are rather pleasant when swept clean of piles of possum poop, and smelling sweetly of blooming jasmine.  Our trees were trimmed this week ridding us, in the process, of three possum nests so J and I swept, washed, and scrubbed the courtyards, planted flowers, fresh herbs, tomatos and pepper plants, and J's requisite pumpkin plant.

We weeded, we put down mulch, we sprayed our beautiful roses, and we swept away bags of hayfever-inducing fluff blowing down from our Plaine tree.  We reswept mulch after Murphy kicked it all directions making a nest to lie in.  After 14 years, she still hasn't realized that she is an indulged Labrador and not a wolf in the wild.

 We fixed hoses, we trained ivy and jasmine, we clipped creepers, we watered, and we hung outdoor candles.  We decorated (rather tastefully for once) for Hallowe'en.   We buried our faces in the intoxicating smell of fresh laundry blowing on the line.

We shoehorned the 20-somethings out of their 20-somethings cave, hustled them to our courtyard table, lit the candles, popped  a bottle of Champagne and shared seared tuna with a mango/avocado/cilantro salsa.  It was heavenly.

The next day, my back was so stiff, I could barely move. 

Sports at 9

C2 and I are both dedicated to fitness and nutrition, we do our best to stay healthy and in shape.  Fitness gives us the energy to get through the myriad challenges of being older parents, and in C2s case, insane work hours and a grueling travel schedule.

We have tried very hard to shape J's view of nutrition in the direction of moderation, and the importance of fueling his body to fuel his brain.  Most of the time he gets it, the rest of the time he craves gummy bears.  He also sees us working out a lot, and carving time out of our every day to devote to exercise.  During the last school holiday, I had him do some circuit training in the park with me.  He occasionally runs with me, and mountain bikes, and skiis with us with an energy most adults would covet. 

A week ago, the charity I work with, Child Wise, held a fundraising 5K run.  J had expressed an interest in running the race some weeks back but I didn't really take him seriously.  Cut to the night before the event and on our way for Lhaksa (a Malaysian dish very popular in Melbourne that deserves its own blog post), whilst discussing the race, he insisted that he run it with me.  Reluctantly I agreed, as I figured I would be sacrificing a real run for a walk/run with J, but he was adamant.

Sunday morning, we were up at 6:30 and out the door shortly after for the race around Albert Lake in South Melbourne.  The speeches were made, the warm-up completed, the starters' pistol sounded and we were off...fast.  About every half-kilometer, I'd ask him if he wanted to walk, but he just shook his head and eyed the next runner in front of us to pass.  He threw back some water at the half-way mark water station and increased his pace.  With the final in his line of sight, we sprinted to the finish.

The gold standard for any adult is to finish a 5K under 30 minutes...J's time?  29.28.  He was puffed but very proud; so was I!

A Few Days of Sun on the Sunshine Coast

Take one hard-working husband and put him in Las Vegas for a once-every-four-years conference, add in one two-week school holiday, a pinch of chilly Melbourne weather, two live-in dog/house-sitters and...voila...you have one tired sun and salt-water craving Canadian girl with her ever-ready 9-year old bolting for the sun.

That was J and I last week as we spent 6 days seeking sun and fun north of Brisbane on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, specifically, the beach and surf town of Noosa.  It's one of those upside down concepts in Australia that one heads north for sun and heat, and south for cooler temperatures.  It has been a chilly and wet winter and spring in Melbourne, so we were happy to head to the Sunshine Coast hoping it would live up to its name for a few days in September.

We flew early into Brisbane and caught a shuttle for the nearly 3-hour drive up to Noosa.  Note to self or anyone else wanting to head to the Sunshine Coast: fly into Moorychdore not Brisbane!  Once there, however, we settled into our hotel on Hastings Street across from the main Noosa Beach; both were bustling with the school holiday crowd. The sun was shining, the waves were beckoning and we headed straight for the gorgeous beach slipping towels into beach bags, slapping hats on our heads, and slopping sunscreen on most parts.

Noosa's beach is stunning!  Long expanses of powder-soft sand, warm water that we played in for hours, waves, which on one side of the breakwater were perfect for frolicking with abandon, while on the other were perfect for surfing (not that we did any but others certainly indulged).  Wild bush turkeys amused us as they amboled about the sand looking for dropped bits of food.  One day, winds brought jellyfish into the water and the surf fairly boiled with them.  I was stung once but it was mild and nothing like the significant sting I received in the waters off Western Australia.  We played baseball (or jellyball) with the plethora of dead ones on the beach.

 J ate snowcones in the sand, we took long walks out to the breakwaters, and we absorbed sun and salt, life's greatest pair of health elixirs.  Every night, we worked our way through chapters of  "The Magic Faraway Tree" books.  C2 joined us on our final two days toughing out a long 24-hour trip from Las Vegas to Brisbane and carried on to Noosa to join us.  Truth be told, it was perfect timing as J was suffering terribly from missing his Dad whilst still putting on a brave face.

One of the wild bush Turkeys that so entertained us!

Finding zen on a deserted beach along the Coastal Trail

J and his Queensland Inukshuk

Watching sand crabs on a deserted beach off the Coastal Trail

On our final day, the heat cooled somewhat and we hiked the Noosa National Park Coastal Trail, a 10K beautiful track along the open Coral Sea ending at a place called Hell's Gate.  The trail was lined with Pandanus palms laden with fruit, Tea trees, deserted wild beaches, stunning cliffs, and pods of dolphins swimming close to shore.

Hell's Gate

From Hell's Gate looking toward a deserted beach...we had to get there of course

Dolphins!

It was a calming and rejuvenating few days as we readied ourselves for the start of Term 4 next week.  Two and a half more months of school and then Year 3 is done and the summer holidays will be upon us.  Another one of those upside down Australian concepts.

The iHouse

It seems to be symbolic of the times in which we live that the Australian Family Hendricks household is surrounded by all things i.   Every meal, we push to one side various MacBooks,  iPhones, iPods, iPads, iPhone chargers, iPad chargers, MacBook chargers, iTimemachines, and even an iMouse. All of our film watching is rented or purchased from iTunes and streamed through our Apple TV.   The majority of the music we listen to all day is streamed from Pandora to our iPod on our Bose iPod docking station. 

Geez with all of this itechnology, i need an iraise at my ijob.   In spite of C2s initial reluctance with the proprietary nature of the Apple O/S, clearly resistance has been futile;  we have drunk the kool-aid!

Within our household's iWorld, i have observed something which i am coining "igenerational".

The 40-ahem-somethings and the 20-somethings both have a MacBook

The 40-ahem-somethings each have an iPad and and iPod, neither of the 20-somethings do

The 20-somethings each have an iPhone,  neither of the 40-ahem-somethings do

Why?

Here is my theory:

The 40-ahem-somethings use their iPods whilst exercising in our valiant attempts to ward off the evil effects of aging.  We also use cool apps on our iPods like Pandora so we can listen nostalgically to 80s music (we love us some Depeche Mode and Erasure) whilst reading the daily newspaper on our iPads.  This segues nicely into how we 40-ahem-somethings use our iPads to access digital newspapers and magazine apps like The Atlantic and The Huffington Post.  Also, we use iBooks on our iPads to read books on airplanes and in doctor's offices.  Are you noting the lack of gaming on our devices?  Are you with me so far?

We 40-ahem-somethings use our smart phones (Blackberries in our case) to call, and fast text message things like "pick up milk", "landed safely",  and "Skype tonight?".  In my case, I also occasionally check in on Facebook.  The screens are too small and I'm too paranoid about data charges to do much else with it.  Are you still noting the lack of gaming so far?

The 20-somethings, on the other  hand, listen to music on their iPhones whilst sporting gigantic headphones to walk to the tram.  While on the tram, rather than stare out the window and marvel at the world going by, they  play game apps on their iPhones and become immersed in the world of Brain Trainer, Logos Quiz, Temple Run, and Astro Runners.  They also do this while waiting in line at the grocery store, the bank, before the movie starts, or in bed waiting to fall asleep.

Their iPhone text messages tend toward long threads of meaningful conversation with each other; things like "What do you want to do tonight?" "I don't know I'm kind of tired, how about a movie?  How's work going" "Pretty good, I've made a few sales,  I had a meeting with my supervisor and he seems happy with my performance so far.  I don't know about a movie, it's Wednesday and not cheap night" "Glad work's going well, by the way, the mall is open for a special event until midnight tonight, so I think after yoga, I'll go there and see what kind of deals I can get""Oh great idea, why don't you and Auntie Kiki go and I'll watch J, maybe we can go get some Laksa tomorrow night""Awesome, ok, see you when I get back, have a good rest of the day, love you".

It's an interesting anthropological istudy, don't you think? Any opinions?

Father's Day Down Under

The weather is getting warmer - check
Trees are popping and flowers are blooming - ok check
September 1 is the first day of Spring - uh ok check
September 2 is Father's Day - uh seriously??

Yes it's been a balmy warm early September down under.  I am seriously disoriented;  it feels like Indian summer but for the scent of jasmine, Australian wallflowers, and daffodils most definitely heralding Spring.

Adding to my disorientation is the Australian custom of celebrating Father's Day in September.  Quaint, cute but most definitely curious!

We started our day by expecting C2 to make his usual Sunday breakfast: Lemon ricotta pancakes, chicken sausages, bacon, and fruit salad.  He did so with good humour.  He accepted J's gift of a "Daddy's Only" beer carrier filled with Belgian Leffe beer with good manners.  We told him he could do anything he wanted with his day but then told him that no, he couldn't go mountain biking, he was coming beach walking with us.  He accepted that news with less than good humour or manners but beach walking we went.

It was a warm sunny day and after a hurried kitchen clean-up, we drove about 30 minutes south along Port Phillip Bay to Bon Beach.  We walked, we ambled, we played, we rough-housed, we attempted handstands, we threw sticks for Murphy, and we collected shells. 

 
 

After that we were hungry.  We're hungry a lot in this house.  At C2s request, we drove a further 30 minutes south to the town of Mornington at the top of Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula to one of our favorite spots, D.O.C. Mornington, home of the best pizza in Melbourne!  It was close to 3:00pm by the time we got there, so we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table....it's always busy at D.O.C.

We rolled out of D.O.C. and down to Mornington's beach for another amble in the fading afternoon light.

We returned home around dinner time, poured a glass of wine and decided we were all hungry again.  Dinner was fit for the King that C2 is:  Seared tuna teriyaki with a paw paw, melon, avocado salsa, and wilted spinach.  I hope it made up for the lack of mountain biking.

A Random Thursday Evening

It's Thursday evening around 9:30,  I am half-watching a French film on SBS, am pointedly ignoring the stack of laundry beside me begging to be folded, and hoping that the black cherry candle I just lit will mask the smell of fried fish left over from our fish tacos tonight.

Jus and Chelsea are sleeping after working a long day, J is sleeping after an evening playing Nintendo with Jus, Murphy is snoring after a long play in Central Park keeping her tennis ball safe from a group of Labrador puppies. 

C2, as he has been often of late, is in Perth.

We've all been on a slightly new schedule of late.  Jus and Chelsea are now working.  I work Mondays and Wednesdays, and Chelsea and I have committed to an AMAZING yoga class on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.  We're doing Ashtanga yoga which has been helping with a chronic lower back problem that has been plaguing me.

Making those 7:00pm classes though means sprinting home after the school run to prepare dinner, complete homework, and get the kitchen cleaned before our 6:40 sprint out the door.  J is loving his alone time with Jus; it's a frantic win-win!

My exercise regimen has been impacted by this nagging back issue in that I've had to take a sabbatical from running...and just when I bought my new bright pink Adidas.  Unfortunately, those extra  5-10kgs I've been carrying around for 18 months, since I first discovered Tim Tams, aren't going to lose themselves.  So...Justin has put together a program for Chelsea and I that involves yoga, swimming, and some viciously mean circuit training.  That's all ok but he's also dictated that we must drink 2 litres of water a day, eat at least 8 vegetables a day, and cannot eat a morsel after 8:00pm.  NOT A CRUMB!!

I've been finding myself desperately hunting public loos for the last week, and finding that by 8:01pm, I'm starving....    He might be on to something though, I'm down almost 2kgs in the first week.  I haven't seen the arrow move in that direction in quite a while.

It's now 10:28, Justin, Chelsea, and J are still sleeping.  The French film is still droning on, but I've lost the plot, Murphy is now staring at me, waiting for her last walk and bedtime meal.  Me?  I'm starving!   How was your evening?

Olympic Junkie

I am and not ashamed to admit it!  I have followed the Olympics avidly since the 1976 Montreal Games.  They were held in my home town and I remember vividly the exploits of Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci and Alberto Juantareno.  The Hungarian swim team trained at my swim club, and I remember rising early every morning for a week to get to the pool and watch in awe as they went through their laps.

Every two years I wonder if it's too late to take up Biathlon, Rowing, Cross-country Skiing, or Field Hockey.  Every two years I watch in wonder, in admiration, and cry at every high drama moment where life-time ambitions are achieved or dashed in a heartbeat.

This year, we've all cheered Usain Bolt and Mo Farah, the amazing results of Team GB.  I've alternated between rooting for Team Canada and Team Australia finding my loyalties swinging equally between the two.

I've seen the following advertisement from Australian telecommunications giant Telstra about a thousand times in the last two weeks, and all five of us in the Hendricks household are humming it constantly, perpetually setting each other off.   I swallow a lump in my throat everytime!

Winter Wine and Beaches

C2 is in a period of extended business travel - bummer!  Seeking to avoid another weekend as a single parent and under the guise of showing the newly extended family some of the region surrounding Melbourne, Justin, Chelsea, J, Murphy and I headed an hour south into the beach and wine region of the Mornington Peninsula.

We based ourselves out of a cottage in Merricks with easy access to the broad beaches of the region and the many, many vineyards in Merricks and Red Hill.  We were surrounded by rambling gum forests teaming with King Louis parrets, Cockatoos, and Galahs.  Kookaburras serenaded us early in the morning and we were greeted by a haughty but curious pair of Alpacas in our back field.

Jus and Chelsea at the Stonier Vineyard a few meters from our cottage

Our Alpacas!

Given that it has been a wet and chilly winter thus far, we were delighted to welcome a weekend of warm sun and blue skies.   Over three days, we fit in visits to five wineries.  Wine tastings carried on to more "tastings" back at the cottage followed by cozy dinners and relaxing movies curled up in front of a fire.  Lots of beach walking helped exorcise and exercise the energies of boys (young and older) and dogs.

 Point Leo Beach, Merricks

On Saturday afternoon, we joined a group on horseback for a trailride out to wild Gunnamatta Beach on the Bass Strait.  It was J's first real horse experience and pushed him hard outside his comfort zone but he did it and by the time it was over, he'd loved the experience and his sweet horse Chewie, and was very proud of himself.  Truth be told, it pushed me somewhat out of my comfort zone too as we trotted through narrow ditches ducking under low branches, trying somewhat in vain to convince our mounts not to chew on the tempting tidbits growing on either side, and making our way through the crashing surf and roaring tide at Gunnamatta.  My back is not thrilled a day later but wow what an amazing experience!

Heath, Porka, Gus, and Chewie

Gunnamatta Beach

Chelsea on Heath, Jus on Gus

J on Chewie

J is loving having his big cousin to play with, to roughhouse with, and to learn from.  Justin is an awesome role model who cuts J no slack with rudeness or entitlement.  He makes him finish his dinner, excuse his burps, and remember to say please and thank-you.  J takes it all with good humour, good effort, and (for the most part) good manners.