Our Day...

This morning we woke up and very spur of the moment decided to rent a car for the day, to get some errands done, that we needed to do, without the hassle of needing to take a cab. We went to the re-conditioned wood place that Steve posted about earlier, to get the wood we need, for the coffee table that Steve is building us. I think this is coffee table #3 that he's made for us...we really need to stop moving! Anyway, I wasn't nearly as excited about going to the wood store as Steve, but I have to say, I really liked it there!! There were so many cool things just waiting to be turned into something amazing! I have a lot of projects lined up for Steve, after going there! I get the inspiration, he does the work...perfect team wouldn't you say?;)

This is what we bought...all the wood and an old sign only came to $85. Pretty good, I'd say and the cool thing is that the wood, is a wood you can't get in Canada. It's very nice...I forget what it's called but it's a type of pine.
You kind of have to dig for stuff...it's like a Frenchy's for wood. They have a lot of really amazing old stained glass windows...

This is the sign I bought...it's made of metal and Steve is going to build me a frame for it (we bought the wood today). It's an old ad for a sewing machine and it says..."The Little Woman's Best Friend"...can you imagine?! We really have come a long way as women. I'm not sure why but I've always been a bit obsessed with the way women lived in the olden days. They were true champs, or as the Aussies say, legends.

The wood we got today...Steve's sanding it as we speak...well, as I write...
Here's his genius sanding table. It's actually working quite well. We'll post more pics as our projects progress...As for the rest of our day...we headed to the beach, just cause we had a car and we could!

Jesse being Jesse...

And...the beach...

Jesse LOVED the beach today. He swam like the Duck Toller that he is and enjoyed a few good rolls in the sand. It was a really nice day...not as chilly as it has been. Steve even went swimming. Everyone at the beach thought he was crazy. I actually had one lady come up to me and ask me if we were from overseas. I told her yes and she said..."I thought so when I saw your husband in the water!" Another man remarked to me that Steve was in fact crazy and if he was wearing a wetsuit, well, then, maybe he could see it, but bare skin was just nuts. Steve said the water was warmer than the air. I'm sure we have both swam in colder water at Rissers beach. However, I still stayed on land in my cozy down vest.
Jesse prints.

Fetching the stick. Jes loves his sticks. He didn't want anything to do with the other dogs who wanted to play. He was completely focused on the stick. There were a few dogs around. The beach becomes an off-lead dog beach after 4 p.m.

Give it a shake! We got to the beach pretty late in the day, but it was nice because we got to see the sun go down. There is also a full moon tonight, which looked very cool over the ocean.

Jesse does not look impressed.

Now the ordeal of trying to brush Jesse begins. He's shedding his undercoat at the moment and the salt water has turned him into one big mat. He's not going to like what's in store for him tomorrow!

The book I'm reading at the moment...

I haven't written anything on here in awhile...luckily Steve has been picking up the slack. To be honest there hasn't been much happening. It's been too chilly to really bother renting a car and doing day trips. Once the weather warms up a bit, we have quite a few places we want to go. Mostly, life lately for me has consisted of snuggling in bed, with my hot water bottle and reading. Pretty much all there is to do when it's cold and you don't have a TV! Anyway, it's all good because I am reading the most inspiring book. I just love it! You know when you read a book and it almost feels as though it may have been written for you?? It's called, "Living with Joy, Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation". My boss loaned it to me and it took me awhile to actually start reading it (not sure why exactly), but now I can't get enough! I'm not sure if it's the kind of book everyone would enjoy but if you're anything like me and struggle a bit with standing up for yourself or allowing yourself to be truly happy and do what's best for you, without feeling guilty, etc...This is a great book. I know of few of you reading this right now, would really appreciate this book...hopefully you know who you are and can check it out! Again, it's called, "Living with Joy", by Sanaya Roman...

6 km

Yesterday I was able to squeeze out a 6 km run at lunch, felt good. It was a very sunny, cool day so it was good weather for a run. I ran all around New Farm, which meant I was running along the Brisbane River for 90% of the time. There's some really beautiful houses and yachts along the route, which made for some good eye candy. It took me about 40 minutes to do the 6 k's, I kept it at a slow pace for the whole time and still felt as if I could go a couple more km when I reached work. I'll do 2 more 6 km runs next week along with two, 4 km runs, then bump it up to 8km the week after. I should be good to go for the 10 km, July 22nd fun walk/run race.
A note to George, spend the money on good shoes if your running....I just got a pair of Adidas and it makes such a difference. Money well spent. I also got last years "style" so it was on sale. Sales are good.

Steve (sore legs) Dickinson

Steve's Ambitious 6 Month's

So I sat down and had a long conversation with myself to figure out what I want to focus my spare time on over the next 6 months. I narrowed the list down and here they are the winners.

Vegetable Garden

Something I have thought about a lot and never have really done. Now that we are renting a house and its sunny all the time I have decided to start a garden. I'm doing it a little different then the usual plowed fields. I'm going to do what's called a "Square foot garden"
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

"Square Foot Gardening is a uniquely simplified method of gardening that produces 100% of the harvest in only 20% of the space -- AND -- without all the hard work and drudgery of single row gardening."

I've read a lot about this technique and I think it will work out good. I want to grow lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, green beans, strawberries, snow peas and a few others.

Wood Strip Kayak

I've wanted to build my own Kayak for a few years now, and I have the space now to do it.
http://oneoceankayaks.com/Kayaks.htm
This will be a labour of love and will take a few hundred hours of swearing and sweat, I can't wait. I'm starting this within a month and hope to have it done by October. After it's done I want to build one for the wife and name it the HMCS Chatter Box. I might have to put water wings on her's.

Coffee Table

I've already started this, and once I get the wood it should be done over a couple of weekends. I was told about a re-conditioned wood place about a 25 minute walk from our place. It's awesome, we walked up on Saturday but it was closed by the time we got there. We stuck our head through the fence to have a look and it was a glorious sight. Lots of old beautiful wood all sorted and just waiting to be made into something.
Here's the site.
http://www.thebigredshed.com.au/
I will spend hours at this place, I love wood, and it loves me....
I've started buying wood working tools again, I've still got a ways to go but I'll get all the tools I need eventually. I just got a really nice tenon saw off ebay, she's a beauty.
http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?NameProdHeader=Tenon+Saw
I'll need to pick up a table saw and a router for the Kayak. There's 3 or 4 buy and sell places around us so I've been able to pick up second gear at a decent price.

Home Made Wine

Something both Cari and I have wanted to do for a while now. After tasting Kathy and Joe's homemade wine, (by tasting I mean having many bottles....) we thought we would start off by doing a small batch in about 2 months or so. Again, we have the space to do it so theres no better time.

Running

Since I've moved to Brisbane I've lost 18 pounds. 12 weeks ago I gave myself a dead line to loose 10 pounds in 12 weeks. I was 216 pounds at the time, and tomorrow morning is the 12th week, I think I made it, I should weigh in at 206. It really helps that we don't have a car, so we have to walk everywhere. I get up at 6am almost every weekday morning and walk the dog for 30 -40 minutes. It takes 35 minutes to walk to work and 35 minutes to walk home. I also walk at lunch for 45 minutes. The last couple of weeks I've started running at lunch, so I now do a 4 km run 4 to 5 times a week (we do have a shower at work) All this walking/running and eating better has made loosing weight really easy. My end goal is 180 pounds, so I still have 26 pounds to go, so that should take about 6 to 7 months. I want to start doing fun runs and competitive running sometime, my real goal is to do a half Marathon (21km run) not sure when I'll be able to do that. There's a fun run coming up near us on July 22,
http://www.mbrr.net.au/index.asp?page=2
I'm going to do the 10km race.

So thats my next 6 months in a nut shell, add to that hopefully a couple scuba dive trips, a trip to Figi at Christmas, a dozen or so day trips to where ever, a couple cooking classes that Jeff and I want to take and few hot dates with the ball and chain (that would be Cari) I think I'll be a busy fella.

Steve (moven and shaken) Dickinson

A random post...

...about random things happening in our life...

1. We rented a Toyota Corolla last weekend and decided to take Jesse for a spin, to see how he fit in the back (Corollas have hatchbacks here, more like the Matrix in Canada). Anyway, he fit great! It would be SO nice to have a car like this, where Jes and all the dog hair are in the back! If we get a new car, we'd definitely consider getting one of these...Oh! AND! We found a Greek restaurant! The first one that I've seen since I moved here! Have I mentioned that I LOVE Greek food?! I was missing Montreal for the Greek grub but this new place was pretty good too! We got take out and drove home.

Jesse looking out from the back...

2. Jesse isn't allowed on the couch...he listens so well...This is where we find him every morning and every morning we boot him off. He knows he's not allowed (whenever he sees us, seeing him, on the couch, his ears go down), he just doesn't care! Little stinker.

3. There's a cool statue in the park by our house...well actually, there are 2 cool statues...I like the one about Canada and Australia being friends, but the snake one is just plain cool too...

This is the Canada one and this is what it says...click on it to make it big...

4. Speaking of Canada...I have officially realized that in many ways, Canadian winters are easier than Australian winters. Yes, I know that you are all going to argue with me that Brisbane only gets as cold as 8 degrees and that that's a whole lot better than -40. This, is obviously true. However...in Canada, once the temperature starts to drop in late Fall, we turn on our heat and relax in our cozy homes, wearing only light clothing. We do have to bundle up to go outside, but upon reaching our destination, we can undress and warm up. Not the case here. The temperature has been at about 8 degrees and there's been a chilly wind. Our house has NO insulation and the wind literally blows right through our home. As Steve has said, it's like living in a tent. So, we dress warm to walk to work and when we're outdoors, which is fine. I actually like bundling up. I love the feeling of rosy red cheeks when you walk in the cold, it reminds us of home. What I don't like, is that when we come home, take off our coats, scarves and gloves (yes gloves...it's been cold!), it's the same temperature in our house as outside! The floor is SO cold, because, seeing as you can look right outdoors, through the cracks, the wind comes straight through there and it's super drafty! Last night, when I got home, I had to put on a shirt, 2 sweatshirts and wear a scarf to stay warm...in my house! It reminded me of when the power would go out at home, in Canada and it would start to get cold in your house.

Since, every single one of you reading this probably thinks I'm being dramatic (after all it is Australia!), imagine, if you will, for a moment, what it would be like to live in a summer cottage, with no heat or insulation, in late Fall in Canada...chilly, right? Well, that's about what it's like here. I need to get some warmer clothes. I'm kicking myself for not bringing my sweaters with me! My boss even brought me a sweater and coat to wear, because I didn't have any warm clothes and she thought I needed them! She told me that she and her fiance wear fingerless gloves and hats in their house to stay warm!
You should have seen Steve and I last night...we brought a heater (one that just plugs in) but it's total crap. It doesn't heat very well. I think the problem with our house is that it's all very open, so we probably need a pretty big heater to actually warm the place up. Anyway, having said that we did put it in the bedroom last night and it helped a bit to take the super chill out of the air. Steve and I crawled into bed with a hot water bottle around 7:30 last night to get warm. This was after I baked muffins, so I had an excuse to turn the oven on and I stood by the oven for warmth! There is nothing worse than feeling cold in your own home! I woke up the other morning with the craziest neck pain EVER...it lasted for 2 days and I couldn't even wash my hair or put a shirt over my head, without crying in pain! My boss, who specializes in muscular skeletal, said it might have been caused from being cold in my sleep and holding my body tense during the night! Apparently, it's even colder in Sydney and Melbourne. Although, the girl I work with is originally from Melbourne and she said that it is just as cold here in Brisbane as it is in Melbourne, so maybe it's just an extra chilly year...? Anyway, enough about the weather...we only have 2 more months of not being able to sit comfortably on the toilet seat (it's so cold!) to go, so I shouldn't be complaining, right? Righteo. Whoa, number 4 was long....moving on...

5. Steve is a huge stud...he told me to add this one...(he does have his moments though!)

6. I started taking Chinese herbs. My one boss, who I've been seeing, does nutrition, while my other boss is an acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist. I've been doing the acupuncture for awhile...I've just started taking the herbs. The tasted so yucky when I first started drinking them but I'm already starting to get a taste for them. You just mix them in hot water and drink it like a tea. I think this, in combination with diet, is really going to get my digestion working properly...hopefully no more belly aches, once and for all! Oh and I had this done awhile ago but never posted the pic that Steve took. One of the practitioners at work did "cupping" on me...very effective but left some nasty bruises! Did I mention that I love where I work??

That's good for now! Off to make supper and try to warm up!

Congratulations Selena and Tom!

Congratulations to my friend, Selena and her husband, Tom, on the birth of their first child...a boy! They named him Noah Clifton Flynn. I stole this picture off of their blog...hope they don't mind but I thought it was a great pic! For more pics go to...http://tomandselena.blogspot.com/ . Congrats again guys!

As promised...more videos...

The "Hip...Hip...Hooray!" thing is an Aussie thing. They always say it at the end of Happy Birthday. I had never heard it before but apparently, according to Jeff, they also do that in the UK. I think it's fun!

Steve's 30th...

So, as most of you know...Steve turned 30!!! And, seeing as it was his 30th birthday and well, really, you only turn 30 once, I wanted to do something special. So, I planned a little surprise birthday dinner at a Japanese restaurant, where you grill your own food, at the table. Everyone pays one set price and for 90 minutes, they just bring out tons of food...everything from chicken to seafood to cow's tongue! (Cow's tongue is surprisingly good, by the way! Sardines...not so good...) It was a good time and I think Steve was pleasantly surprised. I had taken balloons and a cake to the restaurant earlier in the day, so I just told him that it would be the 2 of us going out for dinner. Anyway, it came together nicely...Steve didn't even seem to mind the singing of Happy Birthday, and the cake that they brought out in the restaurant (I have a video to post of this). Kate and Morgan brought champagne and we all toasted to Steve's old age (see above pic of Steve with the Champange bottle) and after dinner we went for a couple of drinks at a really cool bar, that reminded me a lot of what a bar in old Montreal would be like. You'd have to ask Steve, but all and all, I think turning 30 wasn't so bad after all...

The grill that's at the table...
Steve hard at work grilling...

I had to be sneaky with the cake. I baked it while Steve was at work and then took a cab to work, so I could hide it there, so he wouldn't know I made it. I felt like a criminal...I had to hide all the evidence. I washed and dried the dishes and threw away the garbage, so there wouldn't be a trace of baking evidence around the house!
I picked up the balloons at the party store and was planning to walk them to the restaurant, and the delivery guy was like..."Honey, you can't walk with those! The wind will take you away! I'll drive you!"...Aussies really are nice people!

I posted some videos but I still have a couple more to post, so stay tuned...

Counting down the minutes.....

Have you ever wondered what it must feel like sitting on death row waiting for the day you walk down the green mile, sit in a chair, take a deep breath, then ZAP it’s all over. Sitting here typing, watching the clock slowly tick down to 12, I think I might have a tiny idea of what they go through. Beside me, my left over McDonalds is getting cold…. my last meal, my expensive dog and loving (loving = crazy) wife will be the only witnesses when the clock final reaches 12:01, and the switch is flipped. It will be all over…no fan fare, no parade, not even a Priest will bless my future journey. What could I have done to prevent this? Can’t I have one more chance? Does it have to be this way?
I already know the answers, but asking the questions make's me feel better. It will all be over soon. I knew this day would come eventually, there’s nothing I can do to stop it, I brought this on myself and I must now live with the consequences. There’s just nothing I can do to stop the clock and prevent the inevitable.

I just need to convince myself that turning 30 is not a death sentence, its just the beginning… of the end….I heard someone say that 30 is the new 25, I wonder if that’s true….I guess I’ll find out. I thought of some of the things I get to look forward to now…..Viagra, Hemroids, hair loss (or more hair loss as the case may be) saying “when I was your age….”, sore knees, back, arms, legs, head, ass, nose etc…., rocking chairs, farting, yelling at kids to get off my lawn, and the always enjoyable… laxatives…

The last 9 years 364 days have been good to me, I went to school, I found work, I got married, I stayed married, I got a dog, I flew said dog literally half way around the world, I’ve worked in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Moncton, Halifax, Montreal and Brisbane, I’ve worked in tv, films and games, I stayed married….., I made some awesome friends (only a few, friends cost money) I haven’t gone to jail, I’ve never tried drugs, and I have most of my hair. Who knows what’s going to happen over the next ten years, but if its as good as the last ten years then I have nothing to worry about. I don’t know where I’m going, but I know where I have been, and if that’s any indicator of what’s to come then its going to be a sweet ride.

Steve (bring on 40) Dickinson

Life lately...

This past week has been a bit of a crappy one. My tummy aches have come back for no apparent reason and I started getting a toothache. Luckily, our landlord at work is a dentist, so I popped in quickly to see her on Friday and the bad news...I need a root canal!!! And, I just have to say that dentist stuff is not cheap either! I'm currently taking antibiotics to help with the pain, in case an infection has flared up. Ugh.

On top of that, we've been freezing in our house! Yesterday morning it was only 12 degrees and I'm not joking, our house was sooooo cold. The floor was like ice, the toilet seat felt like when you pee on a toilet at a campground in late September in Canada and even my glasses were freezing on my face when I put them on! This is the kind of chilly in Canada that would definitely require the heat to be turned on but we don't have a heater! I went yesterday and bought a couple of sweaters and today I'm going to buy a coat. I actually wore my scarf yesterday that my Mom made me and Steve ironed his socks in hopes of warming his feet! Who knew it could get so cold here?!

Anyway, things are looking up. We're actually in the middle of another long weekend, thanks to the Queen and her birthday, and we're going to a Queensland Day festival in the park later today. I think we'll also swing by the market...Jeff wants to get a chopping board for his new place and I just like looking!

I have to admit, I've been feeling pretty far from home these days, but am making the most of it. I know that I won't feel like this forever. I remember how homesick I felt in Montreal and now I miss it!! As my co-worker would say, It's just like a wave, that will come and go, like a wave in the ocean. She believes everything in life comes and goes like the waves in an ocean and we just have to ride out the wave, knowing it will pass. Kind of a nice way to look at things. Anyway, I sure do miss all you guys though! Hope you're having a great weekend!

Above is the bird that visited us yesterday on our back deck. He was very tame and let me get close to take a picture. I have to say, that of all the birds in this place, this guy sings the prettiest song. It's very nice to hear.

Let the rain fall down!

It started raining last night while we were having dinner and...it's STILL raining and it's now almost dinner time today! This is a big deal because it NEVER rains for this long. I haven't experienced a rainy day like this since we left Canada. And, it's not just rain, it's pouring down, bouncing off pavement, your jeans are soaked to the knees from walking to work, rain....and I LOVE it! Funny how just having a rainy day can make it feel a little more like home. I think I was actually growing tired of always seeing the sun. Or, maybe it just makes me appreciate the rain more. I love the way it sounds hitting our tin roof when we're all curled up cozy in bed and I love hearing the cars driving through the puddles outside our house. I especially love the fact that a good ole rainy day reminds me of going to work in Canada and that whole feeling that comes with a grey rainy day. It's funny because people were coming into work SOAKED today and not a single person complained. Everyone said how thankful they were to see some real rain. It's kind of nice the way everyone comes together, to rejoice in the possible aid that this bit of water, falling from the sky, will offer the drought. One lady told me today, that when she was driving last night, there was a sign over the highway saying, "We are in drought. Enjoy every drop of rain." Kind of cool, I thought. Anyway, yeah rain!

Friday night...

Kate and Morgan had a few of us over last night for drinks. Everyone brought a bottle of spirits and the drinks flowed, quite steadily throughout the night. I've been feeling a little homesick this past week and I think getting out with everyone was just what I needed. We had a great time! Thanks for having us over guys! Some pics...above is Jeff and Kate...
There was lots of booze. I think Morgan would fit in great in Nova Scotia...he's mastered the Maritime pour...although, I do truly believe it was the double shots of Barcardi towards the end of the evening that saw the demise of many of us! Rough times soon followed...
Brianna and myself.
Adam and Brianna brought this bottle of...whatever it is...it was really yummy but dangerous because it was so sweet, you didn't realize the amount of alcohol in each drink!

Jeff and Kate.
Brianna and Adam...cute couple...
Vic and Morgan. Is this Vic's classic picture pose?

Lots of laughs were had by all...
And lots of great conversation...

Not quite sure what this chat was about but it looks like it was interesting!
"Don't be that guy!!!"...classic Vic line, to match the classic Vic picture pose! hehe:)
I think I may be assaulting poor Jeff in this picture...

We each took a turn trying to walk a straight line, with our eyes closed. As far as sobriety tests go, I think we all failed miserably.
Adam preparing to walk the line...

I think this may have been taken towards the end of the evening...
This was definitely towards the end of the night...Jeff has mysterious bruises which may or may not be a direct result from the acupuncture that Morgan did on him using a pen...

Kate and Morgan live in the heart of an area called "The Valley"...where Steve works...Anyway, it's a huge clubbing zone (they actually live over a club), so we had way to much fun throwing food at people's heads and yelling to the crowd below. Yes, I know...but it really did give hours of entertainment!
This guy was friendly...
These guys were very friendly!!

Thanks again Kate and Morgan!!!