Sweet success!

A few parents of our Child Care Centre and I ran a cake stall today as a fundraiser. We started at 8:30am and held it just outside the Centre to catch the morning crowds of students and staff (who happen to walk past on their way in from the train station). We had two sessions, morning (till 10am) and afternoon (3pm until sold out!). And I am proud to say that we did really well with it! Not quite as well as we did a couple of years ago, but still pretty amazingly considering the last minute organisation (we were meant to do it the week before and then forgot to organise it, and postponed it for a week).

I made cupcakes, chocolate crackles and toffees. My mother helped out and made a delicious apple teacake (I know it was delicious because a workmate bought it and shared it... heheh), and helped me ice the cakes. We were up until midnight! And I'm definitely "caked out" now. Too many sweets for one day.

Icy times ahead

Man, it was freezing this morning - apparently there was 30cm of snow at Thredbo last night.

So cold that Dan told Dante to keep an eye out for polar bears this morning. We didn't find any, but maybe that's because we're in the Southern Hemisphere. Should have been looking for penguins instead!

A house with three levels

We had a very quiet Anzac Day last week - didn't go out, didn't go to any parades... just sat around the house recovering from my trip away.

Dante decided that he wanted to build "a house with three levels".
"What?" I said, "How are you going to do that?"
"With cardboard and sticky-tape," he replied.

And at that he ran into the kitchen to the Craft Supplies box and came back with just those things. And proceeded to cut shapes for walls and roofs, which wasn't too easy with his blunt little scissors vs fairly strong cardboard. He requested assistance with taping them together, which I happily gave. I was so impressed at his continued enthusiasm, persistence and creativity! He also decorated each section as we went, writing his name and the names of his friends on the back walls.

Once the main structure was built, he quickly ran off and came back with empty yoghurt containers "to be the people". He knew that ordinary textas would rub off them so put together faces from tape and cardboard. Then he realised that there were no stairs, so he rigged up a lift (with help from us for the string).

The final creation is very "Dr Seuss" in my opinion, and also very cool. I'm so very proud of Dante for making this, completely using his own initiative.

Autumn colours

It's starting to get a bit chilly these days now that we're TWO THIRDS through Autumn! It was certainly a shock coming back from tropical Hainan to 9°C temperatures (at 6am), but I'm starting to get used to it now.


Anyway, I'd forgotten the nice thing about Autumn - watching the leaves change colour. There's an avenue of trees outside my building (at work) which I love looking at and watching the effect of the seasons. They're doing some major construction work at the moment (they've just completed the demolition phase) so it's not as pretty as it once was... but at least they saved the trees that would have otherwise been demolished. They pulled them out with a big chunk of dirt and they're now sitting on the lawn outside my building (hence the lack of trees on the left hand side of the above picture).

In Winter the trees are so bare, and then they start budding in Spring and the street is awash with white blossoms before the leaves appear for Summer. It's really quite lovely!

added 6 May 2006

I managed to take a picture of the trees in boxes. The weirdest thing was that they had green leaves when they were first taken out of the ground. Within a few days the leaves had all turned red, then fell off. And now if you look closely, they have buds on them! How bizarre!

Spot on, Ross Gittins

I just read this article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Ross Gittins about the effect of the rising price of petrol. Ross Gittins is the economics editor and has a regular Wednesday column in the paper. I used to have to read him when I was studying Economics at school.

Anyway, this article really struck a cord with me. It's something I've been thinking (and sometimes saying) for quite a while now. Every now and then I'd receive one of those forwarded emails telling me to boycott a particular petrol station or not to buy any petrol on a particular day to send a message to the petrol company that "It's not on!" for them to put prices up so high. I used to get incensed (and still do) by those emails and usually responded (to everyone on the list) that it was a useless, pointless thing to do. Higher fuel prices means that more money will be spent on researching alternative fuel sources, and alternative transport methods, and would (hopefully) encourage people to use more public transport... It's so great to hear someone so well respected as Ross Gittins espousing the same opinions.

Well, that's enough about this for now. I still feel terrible for driving in to work every day (but with a full car - Dan and the kids) but when the kids get older we'll be able to use public transport again... and hopefully by then the Sydney system won't be as expensive and unreliable (it's cheaper for us to drive). In the mean time I'll stop complaining about the fuel prices ('cause I still do, even though I know it's not really such a bad thing) and increase my contributions to The Wilderness Society and Greenpeace.

Bananas = gold

Atticus loves bananas. While I was overseas he apparently ate at least two a day. And he can say "nana" very clearly, and very often.

Anyway, we ran out of them on Friday, and on Saturday we had to go and buy some. Normally the fruit shop we go to (which has a great name, by the way: "Smashing Pumpkins"... which is partly why we go there, I think!) is quite cheap.

But not this weekend. Bananas were so expensive! People cashing in on the recent cyclones in Queensland. I bought the smallest bunch I could find - five bananas. They cost $6. That's $10/kg. I couldn't believe it. I also couldn't believe that I actually bought them. Oh well, that's how much I love my kids... right?

And they are SO being rationed out. No more than one per day.

Home and stuff

Well, I've been home for several days now, and slowly starting to recover from the trip and travelling.

The plane landed in Sydney at 6am on Saturday morning, and I took my time going through duty-free and customs so that Dan could organise the boys and come inside to pick me up. Oh, it was so lovely to see them all again! I had tears in my eyes! Dante came and gave me a huge hug and said in a wobbly voice "I missed you, Mama!". Atticus had the most astonished look on his face when he saw me, as if to say "What are you doing here?". Then the biggest grin appeared and he reached out for me and gave me a delightful hug and snuggle. Sigh. I missed them so much. Dan was very happy to see me, too, although he was too exhausted to show as much enthusiasm as the boys.

We came home and I had a nap, then waking up and realising that we had one hour to get ready for Jaime and Shannon's wedding! Argh! I frantically showered and prepared myself while Dan dressed the boys. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was really nice, informal and relaxed. It was a wonderful wedding. The only downside was that in the rush to get out the door, I forgot my camera! I couldn't believe it! I'd carried it EVERYWHERE with me for the previous eleven days and forgot it on such an important occasion.

Anyway, we had to leave the reception fairly early - around 8pm - and I completely crashed out while we were driving home (i.e. I fell asleep - no car accidents were had). Struggled to put the kids to bed, changed into my PJs and went to bed.

Since then we've had some more relaxing days. My parents and brothers came home the next morning and the kids were so happy to see them, too! I was meant to return to work on Wednesday but was still feeling really under-the-weather so I stayed at home and napped (and did loads and loads of washing). Back at work yesterday, though... and it hasn't been too bad. I think it's been easier because it is still school holidays so there's not such a mad rush in the morning to get out of the house and to school on time. Dante goes back to school on Tuesday so that will be a challenge for me... still used to sleeping in from my trip (plus the difference in time zones has made things difficult).

Well, will write again soon... I've got pages and pages of notes from the trip which I need to write up and post! I've also uploaded some more pictures of the trip to my Flickr account if you care to peruse them!

At Hong Kong airport

I'm currently at Hong Kong airport, with an hour to kill before I can board my plane home. Yay! I'm so looking forward to see my boys and Dan, even though I'm dreading the flight (especially after the flight from Sydney to here - blargh).

The Hong Kong part of the trip has been a whirlwind. I've only spent 36 hours here. Did as much shopping as I could, but wasn't able to buy much. I wish I could have done more shopping in China - a little cheaper than here in HK. Last night we spent several hours looking around the various markets in Mon Kok (on the Kowloon side of HK) - Ladies Market, Goldfish Market, Electronics Market (which was more like a series of shops). Today we went for a ferry ride across the harbour to HK Island and had a look around, and then that was basically it for me. A mad rush back to the hotel, a quick shower and then onto the airport shuttle bus. My father was a bit sad to see me go - I think he was more worried about me travelling by myself than anything else. Even though I'm 30! I guess in his eyes I'm still a little girl. And anyway, I'll see him in a day and a half when I pick them up from the airport in Sydney!!

Well, I'd better go. There's a grumpy looking man waiting to use this free internet terminal... See ya when I'm back at home!! (And I'll post some more pictures then, too).

Last day in China

We are currently in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, and leaving tomorrow morning to go back to Hong Kong. It's been a great trip, although thoroughly exhausting. I can't remember if I've said that already... interestingly, I can't access my own blog here in China - seems to be censored, I guess. I can still post entries, though. (Obviously).

Yesterday we went and saw a couple of properties here in Haikou that belonged to the family. One is a fabric shop, with apartments above it. A little derelict and dirty, but not unlike a lot of the places we've seen. The government had taken over control of the property for a number of years and the family was able to claim it back in 2001, so the Uncle who showed it to us (a different Uncle to the one that has been taking us around) was very proud to show it to us. The other building is a massive big old hotel... I'm not sure if it still operates as one. It was apparently the first Western-style hotel in Hainan. A beautiful old building - the little ornate details were amazing. But, like the first building, very dirty and derelict. People were still actually living in it, though! I couldn't believe it. We couldn't go up to the third story because it was dangerous... and my dad said that the building is condemned (or should be)... and the best thing to do would be to knock it down and put up a new multi-story thing. I was devastated to hear that, but can understand it, too. It would cost many many more Yuan to renovate the thing than to put up a new building. The location was excellent, too. Very close to the city central and the river. The ownership is a bit contentious. After visiting the building we went to a government office where my dad chatted to a bureaucrat for an hour (while we waited in the car). He came out happy, so hopefully something good will come out of it and the family can reclaim ownership.

Last night we had dinner with a bunch of relatives, on my father's mother's side. It was so cool to see my grandmother's youngest sister and brother. Her sister was a spitting image of her - quite uncanny. And a couple of Aunties looked so much like my own Auntie! A couple of the younger cousins could speak English so we had a much more enjoyable evening chatting to her. She said she was very "confused" that we were unable to speak Chinese! Makes me feel bad for never learning. Perhaps now I'll have more of an incentive to learn. Although, I've been trying to learn some Hainanese while I'm here. It's quite difficult, especially getting the tones right. The funny thing is that I keep accidentally speaking in Hokkien instead!! :) (another dialect spoken in Malaysia, I think).

Anyway, tonight my brothers and I are keen to do some serious shopping - we all exchanged some money at the beginning of the trip and haven't had a chance to spend much of it - our father keeps paying for everything! (Shouldn't complain, should I?!) It will be a challenge going out without an interpreter. My dad will be staying at the hotel since the hundreds of relatives from last night will be coming to say a final farewell. I don't know if we'll be around to see them or not.

Well, I'll post some more pictures and write a bit more about my experience when I get home and have more time. It's been a really great trip, although frustrating at times. I really hope that I can bring my kids here one day and show them the place... and I will definitely learn some more Chinese before then!

Our ancestor's house

On the first day in Hainan we visited the ancestral home in a village near the city of Qiong Hai (close to Baishi Ling - a mountain nearby). It was quite an experience! We were all already very tired after a long journey by plane and van, and it was overwhelming to come there.

As we drove up the dirt road we noticed that there was a car following us. Then we came upon a red banner strung up across the road, and recognised my father's name on it! Apparently it said something like "Welcome back". We got to the house and there were red banners around the door, and people waiting out the front. The car that followed was a journalist (also distant relative - like most people we met... several family tree branches apart)!

Papa was so very excited by it all. He immediately jumped out of the van and started telling us about the place, after greeting those people that he knew. We'd brought along a little voice recorder and tried to get him to talk into it, but he kept wildly waving his arms around so I'm not sure how good a recording it will be. My brothers and I quickly went around taking pictures of as many things as we could, whilst trying to chase down my father and asking him to "Slow down!".

The house was incredible. It was more of a complex than a house. It had an outside wall (which had holes in it, apparently for shooting out of), and multiple courtyards and buildings. The first part was for receiving visitors and such, then there was the second building which had a small altar to pay homage to the ancestors, and then the third inner building which is where the family lived. Papa showed us the room where he lived, and the original building where the first guy, Cheow Keng, lived.

The place was in pretty good nick - the cousin who was/is taking us around obviously went to some trouble to clean it up for our visit. The brickwork was nifty (I took a couple of photos for desktop backgrounds!) and the wooden carving details were incredible. There were a few pieces of original furniture there - a couple of beds, tables, wardrobes. They would look beautiful if they were to be restored. There were also some painted tiles here and there (near to the ceiling) which were still mostly visible. Every doorway had a little bit of wood about a foot high at the bottom, which one has to step over. I think this is meant to stop demons from coming inside (because they obviously can't step over things!).

And every step we took, every photo, every word was accompanied by the local villagers crowded around. They were all following us and watching the show. My dad was quite the celebrity! I guess village life is pretty boring, and we were the week's entertainment!

At one point the most massive butterfly flew by and almost into my head (I ducked). It was absolutely HUGE. I wasn't sure if it was a small bird or bat! Afterwards we were told that noone had ever seen one like that before, and it was actually my grandmother coming down to check on us. They say that I look a lot like her when she was young and that's why it came so close to my head.

After that, suddenly there was a huge BANG! Followed by more noise, and smoke. They had this huge roll of red firecrackers and lit it inside the middle courtyard. Wow - the noise was deafening. We tried to get a photo of it going off, but small rocks were being flung about and it was probably bad for our ears to be quite so close. I got a good picture of the immediate aftermath. Red paper was strewn about the ground and smoke filled the air.

After some photos out the front with the journalist, we walked a little way around the corner to the river (apparently a famous Bamboo Rafting river) and had a quick look. The houses were all still being lived in by the villagers, but none of them as big as our complex. I tried to take a picture of some of the cute little kids that were there but they ran and hid behind their mothers. Oh well!

Anyway, it was a worthwhile experience coming to see the place. We wished we could spend more time there but it was a little like a circus and we were being rushed around. One day I hope that I can come back and bring my kids (when they're a little older, of course) to show them their heritage and Chinese roots. Got to learn to speak the language first, though!!