Back down South

We went round to a friend's place in Holland Park for earth hour. They had bought candles to light the place up for the big lights-out at eight pm, and apparently didn't see any irony in sitting in their spa-pool on the balcony (which they said had pushed their last electricity bill to $700) to watch Brisbane's lights go out. It seemed churlish, as guests, to point out that there might be a contradiction there, so we relaxed with a glass of bubbly and enjoyed the evening instead. Why's the planet going to hell in a handbasket again? Oh, yeah...
Next morning, we had breakfast together in a Gabba cafe and headed into the CBD for yet more provisioning, before meeting up with Oscar and Aida, who wanted to see K again before we headed South.
My last week at work flew by, and we met up with my colleagues in town on Tuesday - because they wanted to say hi/bye to K as well. We also ended up trying to pick up the Tasmanian meatsafe twice more before it was finally ready, and even now there are bits of the original paint sticking stubbornly to the metal mesh. Getting the thing to a presentable state is becoming a labour of love.
After putting it off for a couple of years, I finally bought a walkman last week. I'm much happier with music in the background when going about everyday tasks, and should remember to never leave myself stranded without it, even for an hour or so - it can make the difference between a dark mood and a light mood, especially when alone.
The final packing and drive South was something of an adventure - tessellating all our possessions from our West End room into the car took me 4 hours, and unpacking everything at the far end took almost as long - so the packing and unpacking altogether took three times as long as the drive from West End to Nimbin. Foolishly, we decided to get a meal out in West End rather than trying to cook before heading out - our food took 90 minutes to arrive, and we ended up not hitting the road till after 9 Brisbane time, and getting home at 01:15 NSW time. Feeding the baby at 5am was even less fun than usual on Friday morning.
On Saturday we headed over to Nimbin sports ground for the first time ever. I'm not a great follower of any of the football codes they play in these parts, so I'd never thought to go along. On this occasion, it was because C had won a design competition for the Headers ( the local football-with -a-round-ball team) and three of her designs will soon figure on various bits of Headers merchandise. Once T-shirts are on sale, pictures will follow.
On Sunday we did the Lismore car boot sale - it's an unlikely venue for a great market, but I like markets and I'd venture that Lismore car boot sometimes verges on being a great market: It has live chickens, rednecks selling Eureka flags, a good selection of unhealthy fried food, and in excess of 50 stalls that sell absolutely nothing I could ever imagine being of any use to anyone, ever.
The first two days of the week back in Nimbin should have been all about getting ahead in my new job. Instead, both days were taken up almost entirely by felling trees. I'd negotiated a price on the understanding that I'd pitch in as a second groundsman while the chainsaw guy cut the trees down and the chipper bloke reduced the branches to wood chip. I'd expected the whole thing to be full-on, but I was surprised by how much bloody fun it was. I was also amazed at the speed and professionalism of the guys with the chainsaws - if you live in Northern rivers and need trees removing or shaping, I highly recommend the Treeshape guys. Not only did they take down four huge polonia trees and a large cocos palm, and reduce the whole lot (bar the trunks) to wood chip in less than a day and half, they also reshaped a fifth 30 metre tall Polonia to reduce the shade it cast and make it safer in high wind.
That's all done with now though, and I'm currently dealing with the more mundane issue of finding enough space around and about the place to dry out about a metric tonne of polonia heartwood - as I'm reliably informed it will only be good to use as firewood after next southern winter, in 2009.

Smashes and Dashes

The week began inauspiciously - just as I was turning into my street in West End, I was rear-ended by a tired, late commuter. This meant a further dose of insurance/leasing company/garage paperwork, accompanied by a side-order of hold music with every step - it's becoming the soundtrack to my life.
There was better news on Tuesday though, when C rang to say that the scan she had been sent for due to concern at bub's small size had come back with the all clear, in fact more like a "what are you worried about?"
Also on a brighter note, this being my last week in work before working from home in readiness for my daughter's birth in the next couple of weeks, there were lunches with colleagues, and, more unexpectedly, gifts for the baby and mum-to-be. So many gifts in fact, that they almost left me unable to pack the car at the end of the week. People here in Oz have been remarkably supportive, helpful and kind over the last few months, which has made it far easier than it otherwise would have been to start a family so far from home. Somehow I suspect I may be too tired, when the time comes, to send individual thank you cards - so, thanks, everyone - it's really appreciated!
On the Friday, I drove to the airport in the morning to meet C's mum, Rose, off the plane. We got lunch at the Gunshop, and Rose spent the afternoon exploring the South Bank and the Expo '88 site. Once I had finished work for the day, Rose accompanied me on a very important mission - to West End's Cuban Cigar Shop where the suitably mustachioed proprietor Filip Pilioras talked this cigar newbie through his options, eventually settling on the award-winning and aptly named Bolivar for the big occasion.
As I have with every 12 hour jet-lag, Rose woke on Saturday at 4am. As I was up by 6, we took advantage and picked up some fresh produce at West End market before meeting John, our ex-flatmate who is taking over my room while I work from home. Before I could get away in the car however, I was recruited by Marina to saw branches off the fir-tree in the back garden for use as an improvised Christmas tree. This left me a bit knackered for the drive down to Nimbin, but it was still a nice drive - showing Rose the sights of the Tweed Valley and Wollumbin.
We spent Sunday perusing the covered market at Lismore - because it lacks local colour, I have ignored it this past year but it's packed with bargains and interesting nik-naks, and I came away with useful, good value purchases, and no regrettable impulse-buys.