There's a Man Smoking on my Roof

We have two giant gum trees in our backyard and we're having them trimmed back this morning. The tree trimming fellas have just arrived and one of them climbed up on the roof with a chain saw on a pole. I looked up and there he is, smoking on my roof. The cheek of some people! Steve isn't fussed but I am. That reminds me, I forgot to take before pictures:/ Now there's just the cleanup...at least we'll have fuel for our new heater next winter.

All Quiet on the Home Front

Well, I just got home from dropping my mom off at the airport and the house seems very quiet to me. There's no one like your mom and it was so nice to have her here. When you're 10,000+ miles from home, you value the time you have that much more. I finally had my mom here to visit with, and to show my new house. She helped with the gardening, showed me how to strip a table, helped me pick out some new things for the house, convinced my husband to hire someone rather than try and trim our big gum trees himself, figured out how to make something out of the bricks and other materials we had laying around the yard to hold the chopped up wood, baked her fabulous cheesecake and lasagna, and generally just made my house more beautiful. Thanks Mom...and miss you!

Mom's Visit

Mom's been here 2 weeks now and we've taken her around to see quite a few things. Here are some pics. So far we've made it to The Big Rocking Horse & Wildlife Reserve, another reserve I completely forget the name of at which you can hold a koala, Hahndorf (no pics) for beers, scenery & sausages, Melba's Choc Factory, The Old Adelaide Gaol (can you believe it was open until 1988 with those conditions!), St. Peter's Cathedral, and much more. The hubs took a day off work and took the mom to Waterfall Gully, Sky Lookout and Penfold's (killed me to work that day) and we're off to the Barossa with the in-laws as well. Gotta love being a tourist in your own city...outtie to the zoo now...

Paguo & The Expat Resume Doctor

I've just recently had an article published on Paguro, an expat website, about my resume writing business---have a look if you have time: http://www.paguro.net/Members/suzerwill/the-expat-resume-doctor/

Our House

We've been working hard trying to get the house cleaned up, inside and out, before mom arrives next weekend. Spent hours outside cutting grass and trimming bushes etc yesterday, and this is the finished result. (He's mad at me at the moment because I cut down a bush he says he told me only wanted trimmed.)

Victor Harbor

Not sure why they spell it the American way. I'm sure there is a story to that; so far, I've only come across superficial evidence that it used to be spelled the 'proper' way. Steve and I took the day off for our anniversary and wandered down to Victor Harbor, stopping in McLaren Vale along the way.

Words - Reverse 'Stupidity'

I was just having a quick look at the Chicago Tribune news feed on my Google homepage and read this:

TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE: Popular bassinet linked to 2 deaths

My train of (stupid) thought was, "What's a bassinet? Is that some type of musical instrument? How could a musical instrument kill someone? Maybe there's something toxic in the metal?" My excuse is that perhaps that word just isn't used down here, although I just know someone is going to come and tell me differently, and I'll have to admit being a bit slow today. It reminded me of the time in England when I saw a sign that said "Zebra Crossing" and thought perhaps I'd unwittingly wandered into a wildlife reserve.

This Marriage Thing

I have a new link to share (over on the left). It's a great blog. Steve and I are celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary next week, whoo-hoo! It's been a busy year, and full of changes and accomplishments. I love being married. I was never one of those people who felt like I had to have a man to complete my life, but it sure is better with Steve around. Anyway, one of the recent posts on This Marriage Thing is about whether it is easier to get married to stay married. That almost seems like a no brainer. Marriage is work, but unlike my current job, it's the kind you enjoy going to every day;)

Shameless self promotion---if anyone wants to see, or re-see my wedding & honeymoon photos, click here.

Time for a Summer!

I haven't had a Summer in about 3 years. I am sooooo sick of Winter, and Spring, and Autumn! Because we've been moving between the top and bottom of the globe, and living in countries that don't really have summer (such as England and New Zealand), we've missed out on the past few summers. I have got a case of the winter cranks at the moment that I am not going to be able able to properly shift until I get some sunburn!!

5 Birthdays in 5 Countries

I haven't really thought about it as such until today, but my last 5 birthdays have been in 5 different countries. At 28, I was in Northern Ireland staying with a loser boyfriend and his family and my mom was there to visit. At 29 I was back home in Chicago and my best friend had a party for me. About two weeks later I moved to Leeds, England to begin studies for my MA. At 30, I had a party for myself with my new friends and classmates in England. At 31, my fiance (husband to be 2 weeks later) picked me up from work and took me to a lovely restaurant for dinner on Auckland Harbour. And now, at 32, my husband (of almost 1 year) is taking me out to dinner at our favourite local Thai restaurant in a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, where we have settled permanently. It's almost unreal. It's not as though I was travelling to exotic and different places just for my birthday; I was living in them, making my way through my life, in a strange pattern that landed me here in Australia at the end of my journey.