Category Archives: Australia

Friday Flashback: Baby Brother’s Birthday Edition

Feeling nostalgic on the Eve of my baby brother Jonathon’s 34th birthday.

I call this one “Deer in Headlights”.

(side note: My other brother, Ben, had very pink cheeks and I really wish my hair had remained that thick and shiny)

And this one I’ve titled “unfulfilled musical dreams.”

Bonus points for the circa 1980 Bonds Wondersuit. I don’t think they make them in that color anymore.

And, finally, “End of Summer Glow”.

This one just screams Aussie Kids. I don’t think there can be any mistaking where we came from.

Happy birthday, Jonathon. I hope you celebrate just like we did in the good old days – with lots of food, lots of fun and a nice long nap at the end.

Five Great Aussie Children’s Books

It’s been some time since I’ve posted for five things Friday. It’s also been some time since we returned from our visit to Australia. So it seems appropriate that this Five Things post features goodies that we bought back from our trip all those weeks ago.

I really should take an extra suitcase just to carry all the books I bring home with me from Australia. Many of them can’t be ordered through Amazon and those that you can buy in the States are “translated” to American English. I prefer to pay good money in Australia to see a “u” in favourite and read words like petrol instead of gas and torch instead of flashlight.

But, I digress. On to the list.

1. The Rainbow Serpent by Dick Roughsey
Note: you can buy this book on Amazon in the US for about $100 but I recommend getting an Australian Pen Pal to send you one. I paid about $15 Australian.

Thomas became very interested in Aboriginal culture during our latest trip home so, when I spotted this book that I recognized from my own childhood, I just had to add it to our already too-heavy luggage. The Rainbow Serpent tells an aboriginal dreamtime story about how the earth became populated with animals. There are a number of versions of this story available but I love the traditional aboriginal style illustrations in this one. A true classic.

2. Queen Victoria’s Underpants by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

I am a huge fan of this Author-Illustrator team (see also Peet the Sheep-Sheep, Diary of a Wombat and Too Many Pears), so I was thrilled to spot this book about a lady who made the very first pair of underwear for Queen Victoria. It’s fun, it’s funny and the illustrations are, of course, adorable. I think I may like this book a lot more than my children do.

3. The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

This book is a little strange but in the best way possible. The artwork (yes, artwork) is incredible and so detailed that I know the kids and I will be finding new hidden treasures in the images for years to come.

 

I recently ordered Tales from Outer Suburbia to put aside as a Xmas gift for the kids and, if I’m being honest, it might be more of a gift for me than for them.

4. Wombat Stew by Marcia K Vaughan

This is another book that you might want to get from an Aussie friend ($350, seriously Amazon?). A fun, classic story about a Dingo who is looking forward to a meal of Wombat Stew but is outsmarted by a bunch of other Aussie animals that come to the wombat’s rescue. It reads like Stone Soup but with a much less happy ending for the Dingo.

5. Flood by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley 

I realize that this is yet another Jackie French/Bruce Whatley entry on the list, but this one had to be included. It’s not the happiest of stories and probably won’t be one that the kids want to read again and again but it’s a piece of art. Flood tells the story of the 2011 Queensland floods from the perspective of a cattle dog that has been separated from his family. It’s moving and sad and beautiful. You’ll notice that the illustrations have a much different feel to other Whatley-illustrated books that I’ve shared and that’s because he decided that, for this story, he would paint in watercolor and with his left hand to provide a unique, melancholy look. Incredible!

(Please excuse my badly painted toes in this photo. The book refused to stay open on its own).

So, there you have it. A collection of new books that are apparently way more expensive to buy in America than I had anticipated. If you have to have one of these books and  don’t have a friend in Australia to send you a copy, you should either a. find yourself an Aussie friend (I have it on good authority that Aussies are awesome) or b. consider purchasing from Readings, one of the best independent bookstores in Australia. They ship internationally for a flat fee.

Let me know if you have any of these books and what you think of them. And, please, share your own favourites in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for great children’s books and, with Christmas around the corner, I have the perfect excuse to stock our library.

10 Things I Love About Northern Victoria

I’m back in the U.S., back at work and feeling like I never left, so I need to keep posting photos and stories of my vacation just to remind myself that I did recently spend 6 weeks in Australia.

I grew up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne  and my parents moved to Northern Victoria after I moved to the states, so I have only recently had the experience of living in a small country town. While we spent a lot of the time camping in and around small towns as I was growing up, the experience of actually living in country Victoria is still foreign to me. There are a few things that are tough to get used to – bumping into someone you know (or my parents know) every time you head to the grocery store, limited restaurant options and 45 minutes to the nearest movie theatre come to mind – but there are also many wonderful things about country Victoria. Here are 10 things that I appreciate about living in the Aussie outback, not that I plan to move there anytime soon. I’m pretty sure I’ll always be a city girl at heart.

1. Plenty of room to explore, play and run around
Perfect for two active boys. The swing with a view is an extra bonus.

2. Wineries
And wine tasting, of course.

3. Frosty Mornings
Yes, it’s cold, but the best thing about a frosty morning is that it promises sunshine later in the day.

4. Wildlife – in the wild
Growing up in the suburbs of Melbourne, it was a rare event for me to see Australian animals in the wild. If we were lucky we might spot a wombat or a Kangaroo while camping, but, most of my Australian animal encounters occurred at the zoo. So, you can imagine my excitement when the boys and I spotted a herd of Kangaroos eating grass by the side of the road, or my insistence that we walk the golf course at dusk for the express purpose of capturing a few photographs of the elusive creatures. And, yes, we also saw our fair share of the less fortunate animals who failed to look both ways before crossing the street. RIP.

5. Birds
You hear them first – the magical songs of the magpie, the painfully loud squawking of the cockatoo and unmistakable laugh of the kookaburra – then you see them and you can’t help but be amazed by the diversity and adaptability of nature.

6. Afternoon Tea
I shared photos of my very high class afternoon tea at The Windsor hotel previously, but there’s nothing quite like the classic Aussie country afternoon tea. I was fortunate enough to witness one after photographing a concert put on by my Mum’s choir at the local Uniting Church. More people turned up to the concert than expected so the church ladies went home to pull more food from their freezers. Just the sight of jelly slice and a few lamingtons transported me back to childhood vacations with my grandparents. A good old country afternoon tea is just not the same without Jelly slice.

7. That feeling that you’re alone in the middle of nowhere
No traffic noise, not a building as far as the eye can see. Just the sound of birds and the feeling of being completely alone in the world – well, except for a couple of noisy children.

8. The sky at sunrise and sunset
No two days are the same.

9. Clouds
While I realize that clouds can be found everywhere, there’s nothing quite like looking up and seeing them within a bright blue, enormous Australian sky. Yes, I took a LOT of photos of clouds.

10. Gum Trees
Unmistakeably Australian and, with about 1,000 different varieties, never boring.

And now I’m feeling just a little more homesick…

10 Things I Love About Melbourne

Thanks to a sabbatical perk courtesy of the company I work for, the boys and I were able to spend a wonderfully long six weeks in Australia this time around with Kei joining us for the last 2.5 week. This is the longest period of time that I’ve spent at home since we moved to the states almost 10 years ago. It also marks the first time in a long time that we’ve traveled there for no reason other than to relax and have a good old Aussie holiday – a holiday without the need to nurse children or change diapers. In a word, AMAZING!

One of the best parts of this vacation (besides the lack of diapers) was the amount of time we had to really take a good look around Melbourne. In the past we had a day or two here and there to check out the Zoo or maybe go out for a meal in the city, but this time we had an opportunity to really explore the city. The boys and I spent a week at the beginning of the trip visiting museums and the zoo and then Kei and I were blessed with three child free days in the city immediately after he arrived. I’ll go into more detail about some of the adventures we had in future posts but for now I just want to reflect and share a few things I love about my home city in no particular order.

TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MELBOURNE

1. “Winter”

Although the city was a little dreary when we arrived, the sun came out for us on multiple occasions. High temperatures hovered around 10 Celsius (50 F) most of the time we were there. Although locals complained about the bitter cold, I found it an easy transition from a still-dreary Portland. Besides, with so many things to do indoors in Melbourne, we were easily able to plan our activities based on the weather. The only downside was the thousands of kids that joined us thanks to an unfortunate alignment with the Victorian school holiday period.

2. Art

Street art, galleries, modern, classic, sculptures – everywhere you go there is something beautiful to look at in Melbourne. Sure, some of it will make you scratch your head but that’s what makes it so interesting.

3. Streets that look like they belong in a Harry Potter novel

I love Melbourne alleys and arcades. Many of them contain hidden treasures like tiny little Parisian-inspired cafes or an entire store dedicated to Babushka dolls.

4. Coffee art

Portland has great coffee and, every now and then I’ll get a cup with a beautiful heart or fern leaf adorning the froth. I can safely say, however, that this trip to Melbourne raised the bar just a little bit in the coffee art department.

5. Modern Architecture

I love how modern architecture exists beside classic buildings. The colorful box is part of the Melbourne Museum while the glass stained door below is a new addition to St. Patrick’s cathedral.

6. Classic Architecture

As much as I love the city I live in, there’s something to be said for classic Victorian architecture, with a little Art Deco thrown in for good measure.

7. The FOOD

I pretty much ate my way around Melbourne – which is why I need to get back to the gym stat! The diversity of people living in the city means a wonderful diversity of food and, I can honestly say, that I had only one bad meal during my entire trip (it was Pizza and I think we made a poor restaurant choice). Here’s an incomplete list of the food I enjoyed in and around the city:

  • Fish and Chips from local shop in Brunswick (usually the first thing I eat after my flight lands)
  • Indian on Sydney Road, Brunswick
  • Thai food at Longgrain, Little Bourne Street
  • Greek food at Tsindos, Little Lonsdale Street
  • Yum Cha (aka Dim Sum) at Westlake in Chinatown
  • Amazing hot chips from Lord of the Fries (more than once)
  • Eggs Benedict at a little place just outside the Block Arcade

8. Public Transport and Pedestrian Friendly Streets

We’re lucky that my brother and sister-in-law live just outside the city center but, even if they didn’t, getting around Melbourne would be easy thanks to the multitude of trains, trams and buses available. Once you’re in the city, the best way to see everything is to walk. You never know what you might come across – Rhinos on skateboards perhaps?

9. Museums and Galleries (a lot of them are free!)

There’s no shortage of things to see and do in Melbourne if you’re short of cash. While a few museums charge for adults, kids can enjoy free entry, while others require that you pay only for special exhibitions. Here’s what we managed to see during a very busy couple of weeks – I’ll share highlights of some of these adventures in future posts.

10. Plenty of things to do with kids

Now the boys are a little older, I was excited to take them out and about during our visit. In addition to Scienceworks and the Melbourne Museums mentioned above, we also managed trips to the Melbourne Zoo, The Aquarium and Healesville Sanctuary (about 45 minutes outside the city). While these activities proved a little more expensive, we covered the need to see some Aussie wildlife and spend some fun time outdoors.

The boys weren’t with us when we visited the center for the moving image but they would have loved it so it’s definitely something we plan to take them to on our next trip.

So, there you have it. Just ten things I love about my home city – I’m sure there are many more that I could come up with given more time to reflect on our fabulous fun-filled vacation. As much as it feels good to be back in Portland, this list made me a little homesick.