Settling in

Happy Saturday!

Well, we have moved since my last post and are settling into our new house. It is far smaller than I am used to but I really like it...it is far less to clean! It is just a 2 bedroom house but it has a great backyard and the location is ideal. We are just a short walk down the hill (or actually mountain) to our favorite square of shops with the butcher, baker, candle shop, deli, produce market, barber, Chinese place, fish and chips place, and pizza place. All Locally owned and operated. It is nice to go to places where you walk in and they know you by name. We love it. Plus, across the street from the shops is the local mall which contains the other grocery stores, the bread store, K Mart, and everything else.

This morning, I ventured down the hill to pick up a few things at the mall, like floor cleaner for my wood floors. Of course, I ended up buying more than I had planned and this is what I looked like when I came back...loaded to the gills with bags and stuff! I at least got in some exercise before I came home and ate a piece of Texas Sheet Cake that I made yesterday...which was divine. (Recipe here if you are interested http://thebeautifulbasics.blogspot.com/2011/03/texas-sheet-cake.html)

Aussies are very conscience of the sun and skin cancer, so they wear hats a lot. It is a good thing! I don't really know why the sun seems stronger down here, but it does. Someone told me it is because the hole in the ozone is right above Australia, so the UV rays are stronger. I really don't know the true scientific reason, but I think it is smart to wear a hat and protect yourself from the sun when there is a prevalent concern for skin cancer.

As a side note, we have now just entered the Autumn season here, which is actually cooler than the summer! In Texas they seem to be very similar at times but it has been cooler here. Today the high was 84 F and the low is around 69 F, I think.

One thing we have noticed is that there are people here from all over the world...literally. We went to our friends house last night and they made real Italian pizzas for us because the husband is Italian. They were so great and the company was fabulous. His wife is Aussie, but her mother is British...there are lots of Brits here...its a regular melting pot.

Earlier in the week we went to the pizza shop down in the square and I got the lasagna...I love lasagna! However, I was surprised to see how it came out...

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, those are French fries! Or, chips as they call them here. The meal was good, the owners were friendly and warm, and we had a great time, I just couldn't believe I had chips on my plate with lasagna!

And next we had Aaron's pizza, it is called the Nonni pizza and it has just about everything you can think of on it...artichoke hearts, ham, pancetta, Italian sausage, some other sausage that looked like a sliced hot dog, onions,anchovies, roasted red peppers (which they call capsicum), dollops of Bolognese sauce, cheese, pineapple, mushrooms...and probably 6 or 7 other things I have forgotten, it was just piled on with all sorts of stuff. He said it was good...not as good as our friend Ang made last night, but still good!

I am thankful for the emails and notes I have received from some of you who are enjoying our chronicle of our adventures here in Oz. It is different here in Oz, some people have said it is similar to the US back in the 1950s and in some ways I agree, and I actually think that is a good thing, it is a compliment. People are friendly and Aussies take time to spend time with family and friends. They don't live to work like many Americans do, I think they enjoy life more and we are learning to do the same.

Until next time...be good!

Heather