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 Hung ParliamentPosted under News by Christian on August 22, 2010 @ 9:34pm Yesterday we had to vote in the Federal Election. It is compulsory to vote in Australia, and so we had to go to the local council run sports centre and queue up for our turn. It's harder than just voting for your preferred candidate, we have to prioritise all candidates - and in our electorate it is 8 - and so we need to know and understand not only all parties, but also all candidates - including the "loonies" who have absolutely no chance of being elected, but still need to be prioritised relative to each other. It's called preferential voting. The campaign by the two main parties - Australian Labor Party [sic] and the Coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party, has been negative and mud-slinging instead of about what they will achieve in the next three years. It's also been presidential-style, with the focus being on the party leaders instead of party politics. The result when we awoke this morning was so close that they are waiting for postal votes and re-counts. We may not know the result for many days. Front tooth finally gonePosted under Thomas by Christian on August 18, 2010 @ 9:45pm It has been "hanging" around for a while now, Thomas has had a loose front tooth for around three weeks. Last week he was quite concerned about it and asked me to pull it out - and the pliers could not get a good grip and it just made him bleed (and scream). He has been really worried about swallowing it by mistake and at some meal times it was a bit of a battle to get him to eat even the softest of foods. Last night he had a corn on the cob - and ate it with one side of his mouth... But today, at school lunch time, he was eating a sausage roll and found a small white thing in his food - he said he did not even feel it coming out. Last week he had his school photos, and luckily he had all his teeth - but he has lost it just before his seventh birthday. Cabinet makingPosted under Family by Christian on August 18, 2010 @ 9:38pm After installing the new oven, I could work out how the old oven could be removed. It turned out to be very easy to remove, and so I started work on making a new cupboard in the space. Fortunately, as we were moving to a larger oven, the cupboard doors and sliding drawers from the larger cupboard could be cut down to fit in the smaller space. For the 72cm wide space above the oven, I had a drawer front that I could cut down to be 10 cm high and I put some magnetic catches on it so that it would stay in place. Then I progressed onto trying to cut down the cupboard doors - which are solid wood and jointed. I had to get my router out so that I could cut in a mortice into the existing side panel, and then to cut a tennon into the remaining part of the door. I used the plunge router to cut most of the excess wood away too, not only because it was fun, but because it also gave me a very straight edge. It turned out that the straightness of the edge was critical for a good quality finish, as when I dry-fitted the parts together, Ann asked me when I was planning to get started on the doors... I glued them up and clamped them tightly, and the following morning I noticed a small mistake of around 1mm where I must have slipped during a cut. It was only a small defect, but noticable. I also noticed a slight un-squareness on one door, where the top fitted perfectly, but the bottom was another 1mm short. I was able to resolve the square issue with the adjustable hinges, and the slipped cut was resolved with a bit of wood filler and one of Thomas' brown pencils to match the colour. Using some more off-cuts, I also managed to fit the sliding shelves that I had cut down to size, and so where the old oven had been, we now have two (slightly smaller) shelves and a set of doors that match the rest of the kitchen. Only a tiny bit to finish around one edge, and it will be finished - it already looks like it had always been there. A good saving of 600 dollars... And I used my router for a proper job and not just a few little tasks. New ovenPosted under General by Christian on August 2, 2010 @ 9:59pm For a while now, we have been disappointed with the small size of the oven installed in the house when we moved in, and so we have had our eyes peeled for a larger oven that would fit under our stove top. Width and height were not a problem, as there were cupboards that I could remove, but depth proved to be a bit of an issue. Most wide ovens are also quite deep, and with careful measurement we were able to find three ovens that were wide enough and also shallow enough to fit into our space. After waiting several weeks for it to be delivered (even after they took our money), it was sitting in the kitchen in a box, just taking up space - so I decided to try and install it myself. First, I took apart the cupboard under the hob and had to cut off the protuding screws. I did some research on the Internet about needing insulation, and found that no extra measures needed to be taken - the new oven could be in contact with the wood of the cupboard. Then I hit my first problem, the gas pipes for the stove top stopped the oven from being pushed right to the back, so then I had to lower the oven a bit, which left a large space above the oven. Fortunately, there was a power socket within reach, and I was able to just plug in the oven and start to use it. Ann was then able to test out the theory, and after a roast dinner, the outside and top of the oven were still cool - so I knew that it would not be a fire risk. Once installed, we needed some cabinet work done to fill in the gap at the top off the oven, and to have the old oven removed and a new cupboard put in it's place. Ann got a quote of $ 600, so we agreed that I would try and do it myself, and if it all went wrong, we would shell out the $600 for it to be done properly. Return flightPosted under Traveling by Christian on July 24, 2010 @ 8:55pm Another long day wasted in travel. We were up before dawn and on the trip to the airport we got a lovely view of the sun rising over the mountains, where it caught the ravines and valleys, showing them off beautifully. I was able to send Ann off in the airport to make sure we were in the right queue - because the line was right out of the door. It turned out that not only were we in a queue for the wrong flight, but there was also a special queue for families with young children, and so we were checked in quite rapidly, and then had to go through security. Daniel was playing up, and Thomas then started, but once we finally got through all the queues we were able to go to the airline lounge to have a bit of a relax. Concerned about missing our flight, we left in plenty of time to get to the gate, and had our last bit of Fiji air on the way to the plane. Five hours later, and after many round-trips of the aisles, we were in Sydney, and had to transfer from the International terminal to Domestic. Ann had forgotten that we need to go through customs at the first port of entry, and so we were filling in the forms and waiting our turn to be x-rayed and checked. We saw a sign that Border Security was being filmed, but it turned out that there were no camera crews around. It also turned out that even though we had items to declare, we were waved through without any further checks. Ann spotted a shortcut, and then we were on our way to the bus to the Domestic terminal. We could not use the airline lounge (I can't get access to Qantas lounges with my Priority Pass, and there was a one hour wait, but soon we were back on our way to Adelaide. By the time we arrived back at our house, the sun was setting over the Adelaide Hills, and there was just enough time to get a curry delivered and we were all in bed, happy that the travelling was over, but not pleased that we had left 28 degrees and sun and returned to rain, clouds and 6 degrees. Relaxing day by pool, then fine diningPosted under Traveling by Christian on July 23, 2010 @ 6:59am After yesterday's long trip out to an uninhabited island in the middle of Nadi Bay, we decided to stay in the hotel grounds for the day. Ann managed to get a few minutes of book reading, and I was playing with the boys in the water slide and the children's pools. We were also joined by Secka, Elvis and their boys - who we met yesterday on our cruise, and they all played together on the slide and in the pools. Thomas and Daniel needed me to go with them on the slide, so I was very busy running up and down the steps. The other family left for lunch, and then we had pizza with the boys by the pool. In the afternoon, we managed to get cocktails at the pool bar, and then the boys went into the kids club. It was only a dollar for each boy for each year of their age, and they really enjoyed it. Ann and I then went to the "adults only" pool, where we could relax away from other children whilst ours were being entertained and cared for. In the evening, we had a babysitter come in and look after the boys whilst we went to the "fine dining" experience in the hotel, Cross, which is right behind the main buffet style restaurant. It was modern and elegantly decorated, quiet and quite a change from the rest of the resort outside the door. It was a fixed menu, and we both decided to have two courses, but for us to share my starter and share Ann's desert. The restaurant were OK with that, and so we began with a "tapas tasting platter". I think they were used to parents, because the food arrived quickly without too much lingering between courses. Our main course was spectacularly presented and delicious, but disappeared from our plates a bit too quickly. The chocolate desert was again beautiful, but not too beautiful for us to devour it. It tasted stunning and had 5 different textures of chocolate - we should have had two, but it would have been too much to eat. We were finished quickly and back to the boys and the babysitter - who had let Thomas stay up, much to our frustration... Firewalking and Fiji cultural experiencePosted under Traveling by Christian on July 21, 2010 @ 7:27pm In one of the other Denerau resorts, the Westin, they have a twice-weekly Fijian cultural show, including a 'fashion' show of traditional costumes for warriors, chiefs and the women. Fijian men spend most of their time and effort on their hair and headpieces, and to touch the head is considered an big insult - the last person to be eaten in Fiji 150 years ago was eaten because he pulled a comb from the chief's hair. We also saw a Kava ceremony, with kava being prepared for anyone who wanted some - Thomas posed for a photo, and the traditional roast - under the ground and wrapped in palm leaves. We had roasted chicken, lamb and pork, and local seafood with some local vegetables. The highlight of the evening was the firewalking - but I was a little disappointed that it was not really fire walking, as they had a bonfire of logs and large boulders, and then then took off the flaming logs, leveled out the rocks, then brushed them with cold wet green leaves, and then they walked on the "hot" rocks for a few seconds. It was a great atmosphere and they built up the suspense for each person walking on the stones. 'Oolala' cruise to uninhabited islandPosted under Traveling by Christian on July 21, 2010 @ 7:26pm This morning we woke early again, to get down to the harbour to catch a boat. It was a dedicated boat of around 35 people, just going to the island of Sabala. We bumped into another family - Elvis and Seca, and their boys Max, 7 and Alec, 5. They had been to the island the day before and enjoyed it so much that they were back for more. Thomas immediately started to play with the boys, as their ages are either side of his, and Daniel was more interested in trying on the life-jackets, which made Ann quite happy. It was not long before we were close to the island, and the little tender boat that had been towed behind was being loaded with bean-bags, a pair of kayaks, a massage table and a few large crates of chilled drinks. We were handed fins and a mask and snorkel, and then we were on the little boat on the way to a sand-bar with some small bushes. There was a single structure, which offered some shade, but the point of the island was the sea - pretty quickly Thomas and I were out having a snorkel - but Daniel complained about being left out and so I returned so that we could play together. We all then had a paddle and a play in the sea, and once Daniel was bored with that, Thomas and I went back in to the sea - this time in a kayak, paddling around the island and enjoying the scenery. A buffet lunch was served, and then even Ann took Thomas out in a kayak, and I took Daniel out for a paddle, and then went for a longer snorkel with some other couples that we met on the island, where I saw a considerable number of fish, a small shark and lots of coral. Meanwhile, Thomas and Daniel were with the captain of the ship, planting a coconut - with their names written on it - on the island so that it would grow into a palm. I had swam back to the main boat, and so Ann then took the boys onto the small tender so that they could return to the main boat. Thomas was allowed to steer the tender, and then on the return to the mainland he was also able to steer the large boat - zig-zagging around and causing a bit of sea-sickness. We got back to Denerau, tired but satisfied from the trip. Sigatoka River Posted under Traveling by Christian on July 21, 2010 @ 7:25pm This morning we woke very early so that we could be collected by a bus to take us to Fiji's largest river which has it's mouth on the Coral Coast, Sigatoka river. It was well over an hour before we were in Sigatoka town, where we were dropped at a giftshop for a coffee break, and encouraged to do some shopping. We then returned to the mini-bus and then bumped along an unsealed road for around half an hour, winding through narrow lanes between the hills and the river edge. It was stunning rolling countryside, which helped distract us from the peril of the rolling roads. We arrived at a little shed and a landing, where we were all fitted with life-jackets and ushered to a waiting jet-boat, which excited Thomas and Daniel. We sat aboard and then we were off on a high-speed journey along the river. The river is shallow during the dry winter season, and at times we could hear the jet boat grinding on the stones and the edge of the river. The boat driver - "Captain Jack", was very skilled and took us very close to sunken trees and winding around the narrows of the river. He stopped a few times to tell us about the white marble mountains, the history of cannabalism in the region, how the river floods 15 metres deeper that today's level, he pointed out caves and natural springs and villages on the river's edge. After a while, we stopped at the river bank and we were able to get off, and were greeted by some locals. We then walked 10 minutes to the village, where we were able to see how local Fijians live. Our first stop was in order for all the women to wear a supplied sarong, and then wer were taken into a concrete building for the Kava ceremony, where I was given my half-coconut shell of muddy-brown liquid to drink in one go. I drunk it all down at once, and it tasted like muddy water with a herbal edge, and my mouth and tongue went numb. Thomas was most interested and tempted to taste it, but as the tradition is to drink a whole cup in one go, he was not able to. We then were given a guided tour of the Fijian village, and then given a lei of local flowers and leaves, and a strange smear of talcum powder on each cheek. The next building we were taken to was a hall for a meal - all vegetarian as historically the only meat that Fijians ate was either human or pork. Then the singing and dancing began - and we were all encouraged to dance. Ann was asked to dance several times, and Thomas got involved too, and Daniel was dancing with some local children. When I showed Thomas how to use the video camera, I then had a bit of a dance. The return to the jetboat was a hot walk back through the bush, and our Fijian guide decidced that she was going to carry Daniel the whole way - which I was very grateful for. She would not let me carry him, and I expect that she was quite used to carrying small children on her back, and we even passed her children, in a group of four 5 year olds roaming around on their own. I was talking to her about the buildings, and she pointed out that all the kitchens were kept seperate to reduce the risk of fire, and to stop smoke and heat affecting the main buildings - the men always have the better houses and the women and children have smaller buildings. We put on our life-jackets, and then the boat was off. We were warned by Captain Jack that when he was going to do a 360, he would make a hand signal so that we could "hold on tight". Daniel was on Ann's lap, but he was loving it - every time the boat spun around and we got soaked, he would yell out "more, more". Thomas also had a great time and was very wet by the time we returned to our coach. It was a long and slow journey back to our hotel, and we were the last off... Fireshow in FijiPosted under Traveling by Christian on July 19, 2010 @ 6:30pm This afternoon, at dusk, we watched the flame torches being lit around the resort. A Fijian warrior runs around the resort, followed by children from the kid's club who are also dressed as warriors, and he carries a flaming torch that he lights the gas flames in almost all corners of the grounds. The flames look great at night, but they also help keep the flying insects down as the insects are drawn to the warmth and light and then get burnt - it seems to work as I only saw one mosquito - in the lift on the first day. A little different tonight was the special fireshow - after the torches were lit, and the sun had set, we were entertained by some Fijian women dancers, then some men dancing (or practicing their warrior moves, it was hard to tell), but as it got darker the men brought out their flaming torches, lit at both ends, and we were treated to a show of flame twirling and gymnastics. Daniel and Thomas were transfixed, and our front-row seats had a nearly uninterrupted view of the show. |
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