Appreciating My Husband More Each Day!

For about ten days, Bob worked out of the apartment due to the flooding. I always like when he works at home. Even though I have to make sure I’m doing something quiet at times when he is on the phone, I like to see him working. I get to understand a little more about his job and I get to see “work Bob.”  Not that he is any different at work than he is at home, but I get to see how he interacts with people and carries on his business. I’ve seen and heard him relate to his boss, coworkers and his team. When talking to his team, he always makes sure he starts out by asking each how they are doing or joking with them about something. I think it puts them at ease and shows them how much he cares; then he is able to conduct his meeting with them. When talking with his boss or other coworkers, I sense that they have a great respect for him and his knowledge as well as him for them.

Not ever having traveled with him while in this business, I realize now why he is so tired when we talk by phone or Skype. He doesn’t have regular work hours. Even though he has given most of his duties back home over to someone else for the time being, he still needs to conduct his weekly meeting with his team and keep up with what is going on with them. He schedules his weekly meeting on Saturday morning at 6:30am so it is a convenient Friday afternoon meeting for his team. He sometimes has other meetings late at night or early in the morning for the same reasons. Phone calls are numerous as well and he actually has two cell phones now; one global phone for back home and one Australian phone for the people here. Countless emails come at him constantly due to the different time zones. Just trying to keep up with my few emails while we are here is overwhelming and he receives them day and night.

Working late...not a bad home office!

I don’t think many people get to see their spouse in their work environment. It makes me appreciate how hard he works, how knowledgeable he is about his business, how dedicated he is to doing the job right and how he interacts while being true to his beliefs.

I’d like to tell you all how very proud I am of him and what a testimony to his faith he shows in all areas of his life.

Thank you Bob!

Date Night

Last Saturday night we had a nice date night. We had been out and about during the day running errands and seeing some sights. Bob wanted to take me to this restaurant he had been to before on the river. We stopped by to make a reservation on the way home.




From above you can see the ramp going  back and forth through the stairs.

 


From down below you can't tell there is a ramp there.
Kingsley's is that open restaurant at the top of the stairs.
It also has an area where you can sit inside as well.

 

It was a beautiful evening as we walked to the restaurant. It was so sad to see some of the lower restaurants had to be completely gutted because of the water damage. But Kingsley’s was up above and opened again. We sat outside and had a nice view. Actually I could look back to the Story Bridge and our apartment building.

Since Kingsley’s is a good steak place, we each had an Australian steak and ordered chips (steak potato fries) and green beans with roasted almonds. The meat was very tender and juicy and the chips and beans were great!  For dessert, we decided on the chef’s newest creation. I forget what it was called, but it was like a light cheesecake with macadamia and white chocolate in it. It was a great choice.



I forgot to take a picture of our meal.
After one bite I remembered to take a picture of the dessert.

 

It was a wonderful evening and as we sat there talking the moon came up. My camera wouldn’t pick it up very well; it just looked like a big light. But it was beautiful!

Because of the lights being out on the river boardwalk we went home the “back way” by the streets but stopped to get some beautiful pictures of the moon over the Story Bridge.

Mainly Music

Thursday mornings at the Salvation Army church they have a program called Mainly Music. (There are 500 Mainly Music groups around the world).  It is a time for Moms to come with their 0-5 year old and have some fun. First there is a time of music and dancing. Then the children have a snack time that the Moms help them with. After snack time, the mats are picked up and toys and play things are brought out for the children to play with while Mom has morning tea and some adult conversation. 

I was asked to help and had a great morning. While the music time was going on three of us “grandmas” put out the food. The children had water, fruit and biscuits (cookies) and the Moms (and one Dad) enjoyed tea or coffee and goodies. The snacks are brought in by someone different each week and are to be homemade. Today the adults had individual Pavlovas, Lamingtons and cheese scones!



Biscuits or Bickie's (cookies) shaped like
Koalas, Kangaroos and Australia.





Lamingtons



Cheese Scones



After we served everyone and we get to have tea or coffee and join in the conversations or lend Mom a hand by holding the little ones while they enjoy their morning tea. Grandmas cleaned up the kitchen while many others helped with the cleanup of the room. Toys, mats, bowls, trays, sippy cups, etc are all stored in the Mainly Music storage before everyone goes home to hopefully have a long nap time!

It was a wonderful time and a great outreach to Moms and their little ones. Some are from the church and some are not. I really enjoyed it and hope to be able to help again.

I forgot to get a picture of the individual Pavlovas as we fixed them up with cream and fruit just before serving. Lamingtons are named after a governor of Queensland (1896 to 1901), Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane Ballie, Baron Lamington. Some say they are named after him, others say they were named after his wife Lady Lamington. They are squares of sponge cake, dipped in chocolate and sugar and covered in coconut. Yummy!

Down By The Bay

Since Australia Day is a public holiday, Bob had the day off (although he did have a call or two and did some emails). We had a nice morning. We went down for our workout and were greeted in the lift with a “Happy Australia Day!” Bob confessed we weren’t Australian and he confessed he was French, although his accent gave him away.  He was heading down to the gym as well and he and Bob talked about France while on the bicycle, I was on the treadmill. We also met a true Australian on the lift and he was meeting 11 others friends to celebrate with and none of them being Australian. We all agreed it was nice we could all benefit from their holiday!

Later we went out for a little walk and ran into a coworker and we each talked of our plans for the day. He was heading down by train to see the soccer match. Our friends, Barbara and Graeme, picked us up about 3pm and we headed east. We drove out to Wynnum to see the area and ended up a little south in Lota to meet another couple there and had a nice time visiting over coffee (I had tea) while enjoying the cooler weather by the bay.  Of course the men gathered in the chairs and the ladies visited at the table.

Some of the many sailboats we saw



Pictures of the bay and Mangrove trees with the tide in.



After the tide went out

Packing up to go for dessert

We joined together and had a light picnic supper of cold chicken, potato salad, tossed salad and crusty bread. Finishing off the evening we drove back to the other couple’s, Barbara and Gordon, beautiful home and had a traditional Australian dessert of Pavlova and coffee (me with my tea). Pavlova was created by a chef from the Perth Hotel Esplanade in 1935 to celebrate the visit of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.  It has a meringue base topped off with cream and fruit. As you can see we had strawberries, passion fruit and bananas on top.
Barbara didn’t think it was picture perfect but I assured her it was. It was delicious!

Pavlova

Winston their long-haired dachshund

We had a nice time visiting before heading back home. While driving back over the Story Bridge we noticed that one side was lit by green lights while the other side had yellow lights, the color of their Olympic and national sporting colors.  From our balcony we noticed some fireworks off to the south, which surprised us because the big celebration at South Bank was cancelled due to the floods. But we enjoyed the display of colors.

It was a nice day and a great break in the middle of the week to get away and have a bit of relaxation with friends!

Happy Australia Day!

On January 26 1788 the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain arrived at Sydney Cove and commander Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack. Today Australia celebrates that anniversary as well as celebrating Australia and everything Australian. Many activities today are going to be geared toward fundraising for flood relief. (Information gathered from www.australiaday.org.au)

So, today a couple of Americans will join their new Australian friends to celebrate Australia Day. We have been invited to Wynnum about 25 minutes east of Brisbane on Moreton Bay.

Parliament House

The Parliament House is located right outside the city gardens on the banks of the Brisbane River. The Parliament House is the seat of the Queensland Parliament. Queen Victoria separated “Queensland” from New South Wales on June 6, 1859 and it was originally to be called “Cooksland” but was changed to Queensland in her honor.

The lobby is where they roll out the red carpet for visiting dignitaries, unfortunately I did not qualify to receive such royal treatment and had to enter the visitor’s entrance and go through a metal detector. But I did receive a personalized tour as I was the only visitor at the time!

The stained glass windows on either side contain texts from Psalm 127.  They are of the Prince and Princess of Wales at the time of the 1860’s construction of the lobby, who later became King Edward VII and his wife Alexandra. The staircase leads to the two upper floors with the debating chambers and Member’s Reading Room on the first floor and the galleries and Library on the second floor.

The Legislative Assembly Chamber has green carpet while the Legislative Council Chambers has red carpet copying the colors of the House of Commons and House of Lords in England. Since March 1922 the Queensland Parliament is the only Australian State Parliament not to have an upper House. Therefore the Legislative Council Chamber is mainly used for ceremonial and formal events. It made it all the more personal to see the chambers as I was able to picture who sat where after seeing many government officials on the news during the flooding.

The two Waterford crystal chandeliers and side lights in the Legislative Council Chamber are taken down once a year and the thousand or so pieces are cleaned and polished.

I’m following Rachel’s advice and always taking my camera with me and I have even been bringing an extra memory card in case I take too many pictures. Sadly I forgot all about making sure my camera was fully charged and my battery ran out partway through the tour. But I hope go back with Bob sometime, I think he would really enjoy it and I can get more pictures then.

Sometimes I wish I had brought our Canon camera with the telescopic lens. Do they still develop 35mm film? Oh well, they may not be great pictures but I’m getting lots of them.

Getting Around Brisbane

So how do you get around and see a city like Brisbane?  Especially when you don’t have a car. That is what I wondered before I left home.  What would I do without a car? But even if I had one, did I really want to drive on the “wrong” side of the road while being on the “wrong” side (actually the right side) of the car? As you know by now I was excited about using the river ferries. They are used not only by tourist but by commuters to get up and down the river to work. Taxies, which are how we came from the airport, are always available. We have a phone in the lobby that we can pick up to have a taxi here in a flash.

I'd liked to know why the Yellow Cab Co. taxies are orange.....

while the Black & White Co. taxies are black and white!

There is the rail system that brings people in and out of the city. Something new, that I’ve never seen before is the CityCycle system where you can “rent” a bicycle from one spot and return it to the same or different spots around the city. You just need to subscribe by the year, month or day and make sure to wear a helmet. Bicycle and jogging pathways can also be found around the city. 

Central Station

CityCycle bicycles

The bus service runs in the city and there is even a free bus loop Monday through Friday from 7am-6pm that goes around “downtown” clockwise or counter-clockwise making about 11 stops throughout the downtown area. You just find the special stops and wait 15 minutes for a bus.

Well for me I have been walking. Even though parts of the river walk are out of use due to flooding, walking seems the best way. Not only can I use the exercise, but I can get from our place down to the heart of the CBD in 20 minutes.  The central business district or the CBD is only 2.2 km² or 0.8 sq miles. So instead of waiting for a bus, taxi, train or rent a cycle, I walk. Plus I seem to find something new no matter how many times I walk down the same street.

Speaking of streets, my first day here Bob informed me that the streets that run parallel to Queen Street and the Queen Street Mall, which is named after Queen Victoria, are named after female members of the royal family (Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary) and the perpendicular streets are named after male members (Albert, Edward, George, William). That sure did save me when I decided to be daring and try a different street than how Bob had showed me to get to the mall to pick up my map and visitors information!

So everyday I always make sure I carry my map just in case, and I head out to find something new to see. Even though I venture out alone, I feel you are here with me as I share my adventures with you.

Thanks for walking along with me! 

The Story Behind the Story Bridge

From our patio we can see part of the Story Bridge. The day we arrived I noticed people on top of the bridge and this was the first picture I took. Bob told me you can climb the bridge and see the view from the top. I’ve watched many people going up and down and I was curious as to why it was named the Story Bridge.

The group of people I saw our first day here.
It's equivalent to being 22 stories high!

The Story Bridge

The Story Bridge is named after John Douglas Story who was an influence in getting the bridge built to alleviate traffic from the downtown area. It opened July 6, 1940 and 50,000 people crossed it in celebration.  During construction it took 12,000 tons of steel and four lives. The road that crosses the bridge is the shortest highway in Australia called the Bradfield Highway named for John Bradfield who designed both this bridge and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  You can go for a 2  1/2 hour climb at dawn, daytime, twilight or night over the southern half of the bridge, and is one of only three bridges in the world that you can climb. You must undergo a breathalyzer test and you wear a safety harness secured to a continuous static line.  If you happened to watch Oprah climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge it is the same process.

(Information gathered from Wikipedia, Story Bridge Adventure Climb pamphlet and Brisbane Inside Out Guide).

Another group on a climb.

It seems to attract a lot of visitors. I’m sure the view would be fantastic. With my fear of heights you would not get me up there. I’m sort of glad Bob’s ankle won’t allow him to try and convince me to climb up there. Sorry Bob! I don’t even know if I could just walk across the bridge. It doesn’t seem that high from our 18^th story, but when you are down on the river walk it is high! We have enjoyed watching the activity of the bridge and it is so pretty in the evening all lit up.



Bob told me no worries he would hold the bridge up for me!





We've been under the bridge, on both sides of the bridge,
even driven across the bridge.
But we still haven't walked over it or climbed up it!



All lit up!



City Botanic Gardens - Part II

I expected to see more flowers and flowering trees than I did it being summertime here. I did see a nursery area where they had a few things ready for planting and another area where men were working to prepare the soil. Our friends tell me they can get four seasons from their vegetable garden, so I’m not sure if it’s the same for flowers. Maybe I will have a chance to go back again and have the guided tour. It was a warm morning, but most of the pathways were shaded. It did get warm in the sun, but that’s when I took my break under the tree. I first heard then saw a very loud bird, but I did not have any luck getting a picture of him. There also were a few butterflies I encountered but again I did not get a chance to photograph any.  So here are a few of the flowers and plants I did see plus a friend or two that I encountered on my way through the garden.



Bird of Paradise



I just thought this was interesting how the moss grew in the cracks.

I liked this blossom just laying on the pathway.
When I looked at the picture later I noticed the ant on the petal.



I'm not sure who startled who.
I was just trying to see the name of a tree and this guy scurried out of the undergrowth.



Dusky Moorhen





I wandered back the same pathway later and my little friend was there again.
I wasn't sure if he would let me pass, but he just sat there while I took
another picture and walked on by.



As I was leaving the gardens I looked back to see what kind of picture I could get
and I saw this guy carrying a branch.
 He's an Australian White Ibis also known as a "Sheep Bird"