The Aussie alphabet: Q is for Queensland

The beautiful state of Queensland, my home for the 6+ years of living in Australia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland

As diverse a place as you could imagine, in every possible way. Huge - according to Wikipedia, bigger than all but 15 countries. 

Home to the Great Barrier Reef which used to look like this

but sadly now looks more like this

Brisbane is the capital and largest city: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane   Brisbane was the home of the Turrbal and Jagera people but got its name from the first governor of the penal colony that  as  If you don't want to read the whole Wikipedia entry, here is a link to the Brisbane CBD as seen from a nearby suburb.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skyline_of_Brisbane_CBD_seen_from_Paddington,_Queensland_in_May_2020,_01.jpg#/media/File:Skyline_of_Brisbane_CBD_seen_from_Paddington,_Queensland_in_May_2020,_01.jpg 

It was an amazing place to live and I miss so much about it.

Oh, USA.

I'm glad my granddaughters are seeing what's going on in the country right now. 

We haven't had people so energized since the Vietnam War protests when I was a few years older than they are now. But African Americans were left behind then, more likely to be drafted and unable to come up with any sort of deferment. Left behind, again, as they had been left behind in 1865, left way behind during Jim Crow, after WWII despite honorable service. Yes, we had recently passed the Voting Rights Act and that was something, but barely.

I hope we're serious about doing the right thing this time.

The Aussie alphabet: P is for possum

Often of a summer evening, well, really any time of year, we would be enjoying dinner or after-dinner on the deck and be visited by a possum. I don't know if it was always the same possum, but it was always interested if there was food on the table. Sometimes it would come quite close to the table (and us around it).

These possums are Oz natives, as you can read here in the Wikipedia entry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_brushtail_possum

Here's an explanation of the difference between Opossums that are native to the Northern hemisphere, and Possums that are native to Oz, from the perspective of a Kiwi. Possums were

introduced from Oz to NZ (bad idea apparently as they are now a big PEST) but their fur does make lovely knitted goods so that's an idea for you knitters.

https://www.outlawyarn.com/possum.html#/

You can see they're sort of cute. But mostly you don't want to get that close to them.

Back after almost 5 years of nothing.

Q: Why have you returned to this blog after almost 5 years of nothing?

A: Because I was finally sick of what Facebook is doing to our country, and some people I know don't like/don't use Twitter or Instagram, so they can find me here.

Q: What are you going to write about?

A: I don't know yet. Probably quilts will be involved some of the time.

Q: How often will you post?

A: To quote the current occupant of the White House, "we'll have to see."

Q: Any words for your audience?

A: What audience?

Thank you for reading this interview. See you back here soon. I think.

The Aussie alphabet: O is for Opera House

How could O be for anything else?

The Opera House, normally:

Photo credit: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about/media/photo_gallery.aspx

Bonus: the Harbour Bridge in the background!

You can see more pictures of it if you click on that link just above, and read about the history, the construction, etc. etc. if you want. Fun fact: the architect - Danish!

The Opera House, during Vivid Sydney 2014:

Photo credit: me.

The building is beautiful and, of course, iconic. Never actually made it to a performance within the walls, but really, that's okay.

Now that I think of it: O can be for one other thing: 

This is an opal in the rough - still embedded in the rock it formed in.

Credit: http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/mineralmuseum/picshow.php?id=25867

And this is a fire opal ready to be set into a piece of jewelry. These guys are super expensive, when they are solid - (this one isn't, it's on Etsy!) and stunning.

Read all about them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opal

The Rainbow quilt top is done

A little history: This top came from a kit I bought in California about 10 years ago.

The shop was in Fullerton, or somewhere near there. I just fell in love with the colours. Then it sat around for ages while I made other quilts. Finally last year - no, late in 2013 - I got it out and started putting it together. Then I was interrupted by the need to piece and finish a thank-you quilt before we left Oz. While that one was being quilted, I finished this top, minus the borders. I finished the borders working on it for parts of the past 3 days.

I was going to look for someone to quilt it for me, because it's too big to quilt on my home machine. But a shop in the area rents time on long-arm machines and they have a sit-down machine that is a bit less intimidating than the ginormous stand-up ones but that I think is still big enough to do the job. So I'm going to go out there next week and see if I can get started doing it myself. Also plan to put a real label on this one, not just write on it like I usually do.

The Aussie alphabet: N is for Ned Kelly

Moving on with the Aussie alphabet - I hate to leave projects unfinished! - -

Ned Kelly is the Jesse James of Australia, I guess you could say. He's known as the last of the bushrangers, defined as bandits of the Australian outback ( = bush) who harassed, robbed, annoyed, and sometimes killed the more law-abiding folk around them.

This is Ned, aged about 25, shortly before his death.

Ned was born in 1855 in Victoria, the eldest of 8 children of John and Ellen (Quinn) Kelly. John had been transported from Ireland for pig theft, and married Ellen in 1850 after serving his sentence of 7 years. 

By the time he was 14, Ned had already been in trouble with the authorities, and his chief occupation seems to have been horse theft until he graduated to killing police officers who were trying to apprehend him, and robbing banks. He was declared outlaw in 1878, complete with a price on his head, and finally captured in 1880 in a shootout with police. At this last shootout, he was wearing this suit of homemade armour, now iconic in Australia:

Image from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-528900/Ned-Kellys-home-armour-display-archaeologists-grave-Australian-prison.html


He was tried for murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death; he was hanged on 11 November 1880. As has happened with other so-called outlaws, there are those who yet view him as a hero struggling against the oppression of the ruling class and their agents, the police. His exploits are now the stuff of legend.

Back in the USA: Austin

I have taken another very long break from writing. Here's what happened since my last post in September last year:

1. My stepson got married on a boat in Hawaii.

2. We packed up our apartment in Brisbane and moved to a temporary rental in Austin, TX.

3. We bought a condo in Austin.

4. We moved into the condo, with our stuff that we packed up (see 2), on Boxing Day 2014, exactly one year to the day from when we were packing up our stuff to move into our rental apartment in Brisbane after selling the house there.

5. Phil started a new job.

6. My brother-in-law died at 71, way too young.

7. We bought a Vespa and took a course on motorcycle safety and management.

8. Phil had knee surgery.

9. I started to learn to knit.

So it's been an eventful almost 6 months.

Today I went to a quilt show at the Austin Convention Centre. I am always in awe of what other people can do with fabric. I took quite a few photos, of the quilts I liked, and they are still on my phone. Later. But my stitching room is set up, and now that most of the fixing-up needed here is done, it's time to get back to it!

The Aussie alphabet: M is for morning tea

Morning tea. Now there is a custom that needs to be adopted in the US.

Morning tea - not just a cup of something hot at around 10 or 10:30 in the morning, like the American coffee break.

Morning tea has tea, yes; coffee (always - this is Australia where they are serious about coffee). But there's more! Because you can't drink tea or coffee without a little bit of something to go with it, can you?

Scones. Banana bread or carrot cake. Lamingtons (yuck, but some people like). Even brownies. Or savoury treats like mini-quiches. Often bite-sized so you can have more than one or two. Sometimes fruit. Mmmmmm. You almost don't need lunch.

No conference, meeting, or gathering that happens in the morning will fail to offer you morning tea. It's part of the deal. Always good to know in case you didn't leave yourself enough time to eat breakfast; you needn't worry that you'll faint before lunchtime. Morning tea to the rescue.

I shouldn't leave M, though, without mentioning 'mate' and mateship. 

Mate = friend, buddy, pal; can be used as a noun ('my mates are coming by later') or a form of address to virtually anyone regardless of how well you know them ('hey mate, how're you going?' - to a friend you haven't seen in a while; 'no worries, mate' - to a stranger who has just apologised to you for some minor contretemps like bumping into you in a crowded space). In the past it was used mostly by men ('blokes') to other men. These days it's for anyone, though it seems to me I hear it mostly from blokes.

Mateship = an Australian value implying equality, loyalty, and friendship (says Wikipedia). A bit more intense than camaraderie. It comes up in military contexts where each one depends on and looks out for all the rest, a Band of Brothers kind of thing, or other circumstances in which a group of people share a common, usually difficult, experience.

6 years

This past weekend marked 6 years since Phil and I arrived in Oz for our gig. And it has been an adventure for sure.

We made some good friends.

Bought, and sold, a house.

Got to know two different neighbourhoods in Brisbane quite well and became acquainted with a few others. 

Visited North Qld, Byron Bay (several times), Sydney, Melbourne (both multiple times), Adelaide, Hobart, and surrounding areas of each.

For my part, I finished a PhD and a few quilts, taught some fabulous future midwives, and helped a few young new Australians learn English.

Phil created and led an innovation lab at the university, with much success and some frustration, and was sought out as a consultant or speaker at universities and schools, and even the Federal government.

Now as we anticipate leaving in just a few weeks, here is what I'll miss:

Friends.

TimTams. Yes, you can order them on Amazon, but they are super expensive, so no.

Living on the river in West End with the view that I never tire of, and where I can walk to everything. 

The CityCat ferries, most civilised transportation ever.

The weather, especially spring and fall.

The jacarandas in bloom in October.

Being 2 hours from Melbourne.

Really excellent wine, even though I can't drink very much of it at a time.

Prices that include tax and service charge.