New Aussie Bossie
First, we went to new Aussie bossie's for lunch. They live not far from us in a Sydney suburb with their two daughters, one who is a teen and was off with friends at the famous Bondi Beach and the other a bit younger. She was great company to the Muffin. They live in Sulpher Crested Cockatoo Land as opposed to our Lorekeet and Kookaburra Corner. We had a great luncheon barbeque and learned that meats must be bought at butchers in Australia....Other notes of interest from this visit:
We all had a handful of cashews shortly before we left excluding the youngest Mack. We get there and learn the present daughter has allergies. I was thinking like allergies from plants as it wasn't revealed. Time goes by and we learn, she has peanut allergies with cashews being the worst to her. OMFG, we could have killed her. Glad we didn't have a European style kissing meet and greet. We are just all damn lucky that nothing happened. We think we had all washed our hands before we had gotten there at some point after eating the cashews.
Next note of interest is that both girls are elite gymnasts and the oldest is in competition to be on the Australian Olympic Team. Pretty cool, huh? I guess, I need to keep no secrets, she is in the news here. If she makes, oops, when she makes the team, I'll be sure to shout out, so you all can root for our new Aussie bossies daughter!
Muffin had a fabulous time in their pool with her wings on and playing with their dollhouse. She did not want to leave.We overstayed our welcome. I had no idea what time it was. Feel bad. But wow, we enjoyed every outdoor space they had, by the pool, deck with grill, back deck overlooking the dammed creek. Yes, I used the correct dam.
Final note, the baby enjoyed sucking on a mango seed. It was a mess, but delicious getting all the mango off the big seed. We plan to get some mangos on our next grocery spree or delivery...
Isn't he beautiful? Aren't you all proud of me that I finally have a photo on here? Look out world, my blogabilities are improving. Winning!
Old Aussie Bossie
We had socilalzed a little with this bossie and his family and the children while in the U.S. I had crashed lunches with The Man, his Aussie Bossie and coworkers at Thai Diner in Carytown often enough that he is no stranger to the Muffin, as I always had kids in tow.. In fact, Muffin told him she loved him on Christmas.Of course, the girl is way more affectionate with him than his lovely bride, and I have been meaning to tell her what a FLIRT the little thing is, always preferring the boys, except for me. Hope she'll forgive my wayyyy heterosexual three year old!
We had been near his house before when we went to The Train Shed, the rustic Thomas the Train ride....have I posted about that yet? Will have to check. The town is listed as the same name as their address. Funny. It's a breath of fresh air out there with cow farms, etc. A little Calvert County like. The trees aren't so tropical but they still get the little lizards I could live without.
They live in a lovely, expansive house and you better believe Muffin did not want to leave. She loved playing with their girls in their saltwater pool, and they had some friends over, too. So much so that the next day (we spent the night) she wanted to leave her toothbrush in the drawer in the bathroom. Girl likes being part of a bigger group than our little family of four.
They had neighbor friends over who were very nice and had four kids. One named Lachlan. Lachy... I love it. The Man loves it and had it on his list, but Lachlan McLaughlin sounds like a storybook character. Maybe I should bring him to life in my spare time. (Uh Oh, it occurred to me how some of you might take this. But all I mean is. he could be the main character of my first published book...)The Muffin could use the name one day. No pressure.
Let me brag for them a bit about their home...Hope they don't mind. Just a few features of interest:
- some lighting in the house has sensors so like when you walk into a hallway they pop on for a bit and then pop off.
-they have a really cool long walk in pantry, with a walk-in refrigerator at the end like a restaurant at a smaller scale.
-they have a huge laundry room (yes, bigger than the Pink House, and bigger than my sisters for those of you who have seen hers.) Sorry to trump you sister and husband...There is a TV in the laundry. However, please note there laundry area is quite a ways away from the living areas.
-beautiful stacked stone wall (sandstone is what seems to be plentiful here in Aus)...with fire place.
-outdoor kitchen that is covered/roof. Almost like a separate house or room, but open to the pool, with a dishwasher and bathroom.
-Villeroy and Bosh sinks, toilets and tubs. I've only seen that stuff in magazines. Really. Of course, The Man likes that modern look a lot and I don't think he was familiar or even noticed the brand. I just notice these things.I was not being nebby. Really.
The next day we all drove to the Blue Mountains. Called this because of the eucalyptus that grows there (koalas favorite food) emits oils and gives a sheen of blue above the mountains. It was a beautiful overlook. There are trails and rides across the mountain. We just took it all in. No one was up for lugging Big-you know who and Little Muffin through a mountain HIKE.. In fact Old Aussie Bossie had done so with one of his girls on a backpack once upon a time and states he could not walk the following day. I am sure that was tough, because just the general getting around with Lug #1 and Lug #2 has my back tweeking.
Here is a view of The Three Sisters, in the Blue Mountain. Read an Aboriginal Story about this when you type in few words on your Google search or Wikipedia. Honestly, I had to do it and I was there, because the signage was lacking any real definition, except part of the Seven Sisters...
Cheers to my three sisters! Miss you all much.
Everyone was so nice to us. We plan to have them all over to our humble abode for The Man made bbq once our furniture has arrived and we have made some sense of it all. They both live in much more modern homes than ours with more modern everything...appliances, toilets. etc! Our house feels like a dump after being at those houses. It's just older.
I am missing home, a lot but these visits have been nice distractions and they sure know how to lay out the hospitality door mat here. The big thing that is hard is you know, we come with a lot with two kids. Everyone has been gracious, everyone wants a little "cuddle" on the baby boy and Muffin is loving playing with other kids. Thank Goodness she starts preschool next week. (more on that next post, maybe?)
Toodles.
P.S. If anyone has any great ideas to share with me to thank these people, please send me a message, comment here, something. I am a little mind muddled and would really like to thank both bossies and their "partners", but old Aussie bossie had us for Christmas, bestowed us with gifts, had us spend the night at their casa...I have one idea for the OAB (Old Aussie Bossie, no ideas yet for the NAB (new Aussie Bossie)...would a thank you note suffice for the later?
Some FOODIE things you should know in case you are coming to Australia for a visit, extended stay or relocating indef.:
BBQ' s here in Sydney seem to include: lamb, steak,sausages.
They do not really have bbq like we eat bbq. We have promised to fix it for old Aussie bossie, but think we may have to import some ingredients.So far, no hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken or kebobs. ( A kebob is a whole different definition here--it is not meat on a stick, it is the meat from the stick on a sandwich like a PEDA which is sort of like a pita. Confused? Just eat it. Now off to ask my local butcher if he can get The Man a pig shoulder...
The only real tasting hot dog I have had is from Costco and I am not a fan of the sausages. The ones I got from the butcher called breakfast sausages, taste the same as the ones I have had at lunch and dinner. Not a fan. Not offensive, just not a fan. However, Italian sausages were good.
Vegemite- It's made from like leftover brewing stuffs or something. Google it, people.We tried it at OAB's and they had given us some,too. The Man likes it. You spread butter on your toast and a teeny bit of the V stuff. It has a strong flavor. It again was not offensive, but I did not enjoy it. The Muffin has not tasted it yet and you never know what her pallete might like. She loves crab, calamari, fish....
I think a thank you note is perfectly acceptable. You could maybe add in a drawing by Viv of the fun she had.
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