The Fresh Smell of Spring!

Awe.... the fresh smell of springtime in Minnesota....achoo!!  Well...I guess I'll  trust what others are saying about it smelling like spring...right now I can't breath through my nose and my voice sounds like a raspy 30 year smoker.  Oh...wait...that is me...but raspy voice doesn't exactly come to my mind.

Yup...I've got the dreaded spring cold/sinus infection complicated by allergies and the slow spring here has every flower, tree, grass and mold variety all firing at once and one of my worst nightmares come true.

I've had allergies for many years now but it's been a few since nature has exploded all at once and I've only had a couple of colds in the past 4-5 years that haven't been much to speak of...until now.  So I am feeling a bit sorry for myself and have jumped straight into the pajamas the minute I've walked in the door from work the last two nights.

Oh well...this too shall pass...another week and I'll have forgotten about my red 'Rudolph' nose caused by continuous blowing which freakishly sounds like a honking goose.  I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a 'warning-infectious disease area' sign on the outside of my cubicle tomorrow.  My co-workers haven't pulled out the face masks yet...and it probably is my imagination but am I getting more instant messages versus visits to my cube lately??  But can I really blame them?!  LOL

Ummm...would someone please pass the NyQuil??


Until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

A Red Carpet Departure!!

I did not sleep well and was up and down a few times during the night.  I would go outside and sit for a while just looking up at the stars and whatever the constellations were that I was looking at.  Heaven knows I could only identify the moon and knew absolutely nothing about the stars in the Southern Hemisphere.  A couple of weeks earlier it had dawned on me in the middle of the night looking up at the stars that I was truly in the Southern Hemisphere when I tried locating the Northern Star and realized I knew not a single star shining in that night sky. 

Even though I wished it away morning came and it was time to head to the airport.  I am one that doesn't like to be seen getting verklempt but from time to time I had to wipe a tear away.  I'm sure Natalie probably noticed but didn't say anything which was probably a good thing as I would have lost the battle right then and there instead of later. 

Before I arrived in Australia I had given Natalie a hard time about having the red carpet treatment and a band playing when I landed.  Well of course that didn't happen and I never expected it but now, leaving Australia I had to laugh as we approached the international customs departure area.  Lo and behold there before my eyes was a red carpet at the entrance!!  It was a brief moment of humor...and then I had to say goodbye.

You never leave someone behind, you take a part of them with you and leave a part of yourself behind. 

~Author Unknown~



My Last Saturday

Despite all of my wishing and hoping my last Saturday had arrived and Sandi, Natalie and I were going up to one of their favorite villages high up in the Dandenong Range for brekkie in the quaint village of Olinda. 

It was a lovely, sunny morning as we drove up the Dandenongs and soon we found ourselves in Olinda.  I don't recall the name of the restaurant but the food was yummy. 

It was kind of humorous to me when I took that first sip of my 'long black' coffee that morning...when I first arrived in Australia that first sip gave me quite a jolt...it was so strong.  Now having my last cup of 'long black' the first sip seemed pretty normal to me...no screaming taste buds from the sudden jolt of caffeine.  Had I really gotten used to that caffeine jolt?  It appeared so.

After brekkie we strolled down the boardwalk wandering in and out of the quaint little shops.  I found a key rack made of a board and square nails with an Australian penny embedded in the wood and picked it up for myself. 

Natalie had hated dealing with pennies when she was in the U.S. and because of her strong dislike I had sent her a paperweight that had U.S. pennies embedded in it as a joke.  I chuckled when I first got to Aus and spied that very same paperweight sitting on the ledge in my bedroom.

Pennies hadn't been used in Australia for quite a few years as it was taken out of circulation in 1991.  Much like the value of the U.S. penny the Aus penny was worth about .833 of a cent at that time so it made sense to stop using it.  I think we should consider doing the same thing here with the penny.  So I just thought it right that I have my own Aus penny to take home.  Anyways...
The day went by quickly and the next thing I knew Sandi was dropping us off and we were getting ready to head over to Natalie's mum's for dinner with Rob and Auntie Barb.  It seemed only fitting to spend my last evening in Australia with Natalie, Helen & Bob just as I had spent my first evening with them...only this time I would stay awake!!

The evening was full of chatter and laughter and once when I started to tell a joke Auntie Barb chimed right in and started reciting it with me and we both laughed...I surely didn't expect her to know that one!!

But, as was typical, the evening flew by and it was time to head back to Natalie's and finish up with last minute packing and get ready for the long flight back home to Minnesota.  I'm just not sure how a month's time could go by so damned fast but now, just over two months later looking back it was a blur of sights and sounds and people that can only be described as amazing.  For a first international trip I doubt if I will ever be able to top this one...truly a dream come true.

So until next time...wherever you are...have a wonderful day!!