Another Fine Day in Brisbane

Today was another fine day in Brisbane... and for once I was out and about rather than stuck inside my office all day. Had a great sushi lunch after some meetings downtown, then drove back to the University along the Brisbane River. There are lots of nice parks along the river, and just to the right (out of the frame of the photo here) is a public climbing wall which is illuminated at night. There are also lots of great markets along the river on weekends, with interesting crafts and great food..... 

Young Man at Ease

Here Michael William Somerville takes his ease of an afternoon, contemplating the mysteries of the universe in the snug comfort of his dashing jumpsuit from Down Under. 

Grandmother & Grandson

Grandma Evelyn holds Michael William Somerville in his blanket, knitted by Aunt Nancy! 

Easter Saturday Garage Sale

Today we had a garage sale with our neighbors Ann and Paul. They are great neighbors and friends, and certainly know all of the ins and outs of holding a profitable garage sale. We had a lot of fun, sharing stories and hot crossed buns while the public looked over our wares.... What did the public buy, you ask?

1 ice shaver
1 metre of fish tank filter fluff
1 lava lamp (orange with gold sparkles)
1 Indian sari (turquoise)
1 dress (mine) from a trip to Greece nearly 20 years ago

 

Audubon Being Cute

Audubon did not help AT ALL with the garage sale. Was tempted, as I usually am, to put them on display to at least attract customers.... sigh - they will probably never earn a decent living, even if they do somehow manage to finish their latest project, building a Foucault Pendulum (view details at Tim's Blog). 

Little Creatures Brewery, Freemantle WA

Here is the GREAT Little Creatures Brewery in Freemantle, WA. Although the beers (particularly the pale ale) are excellent, the food is great as well (had marinated kangaroo skewers, among other things, on this visit...).  

Indiana Teahouse - Another View

The seaside dining in Perth is always dramatic... 

Dramatic Seaside Dining

Am in Perth this week again, and yet again my Perthian (?!) friends have taken me to another picturesque seaside eatery - the Indiana Teahouse. 

Wallet to Match Pink Purse

An impulse purchase at the Brisbane airport - matches the infamous Pink Purse! Quite the find... 

Dramatic shot of Perth

Am off to Perth again today for a few days for meetings, etc. Perth is perched right at the southwestern edge of Australia, and sometimes gets spectacular lightning storms.... 

Lazy Sundays....

Today was a beautiful, lazy day of repotting plants, washing sheets (which the cats are always keen to help with), and reading the paper. Although Australia's weather, and particularly Brisbane's weather, is pretty moderate all year long, you can start to feel the change of the seasons in subtle ways. Like today, there is a persistent breeze blowing, just a bit cooler than the usual summer breezes. Fall is just around the corner...  

Zamboni guards purse...

Today I gave a talk to a local community group about how to keep your memory healthy later in life. I always stress that being organized and trying to make things to be remembered more "memorable" are two important strategies later in life. So today I used a new visual aid; the purse Tim gave me for Christmas this year. I said, "This is a purse that is hard to forget - literally." They all laughed, and they'll probably remember the purse long after they forget the actual talk... 

Here's to Great Friends (unfortunately, at great distances...)

Today am happily remembering the great time I had in Hawaii with our friends Monique and Ken, who just recently got hitched. We're looking forward to seeing them in Seattle this coming July when we head to the States, along with... 

Tim's Parents Arlene & Rod

...Tim's parents Rod and Arlene Kastelle, who live in Aberdeen, Washington (although here they're just about to embark on a tour of the Sydney Opera House with us)... 

Evelyn Pachana!

...Nancy's mom Evelyn, who lives in Barnegat, New Jersey (although here she is contemplating downtown Auckland from the Sky Tower while on a visit to New Zealand)... 

More tourist photo-ops...

...and last but ABSOLUTELY not least, we'll be visiting Joann and Bryan in North Carolina, to see our new nephew Michael William Somerville. 

Announcing Michael William Somerville

Well, it has been an exciting time - I've become an Auntie! My sister Joann and her husband Bryan Somerville are the proud parents of Michael William Somerville. Michael William Somerville was born on March 5, 2005 at 2:26 PM
Weight: 7lb 9.7oz.
Length: 20.5 in. 

Auntie Nancy very proud!

The new Mom and the baby are doing GREAT! It is an amazing feeling to be an Aunt - am so happy to have a nephew to hang out with. Tim is very excited, too. Joann is telling the baby all about Australia - he will be wanting to ride in a kangaroo pouch one day! 

Science Meets Parliament Meets Mary

On a completely different topic, was visiting Canberra last week for Science Meets Parliament, which is great but was a bit of a yawn in the end. By chance got to stand right next to Princess Mary as she entered the Great Hall in Parliament House..... 

Big hats all the rage

She was not, however, wearing this hat.... 

Blue Duck - 5 star views and excellent food!

Here is the lovely Blue Duck restaurant, where I'm often taken by my knowledgeable Perthian (? :) ) hosts. The sunsets from there are spectacular - this trip there were lots of kayakers in the surf. To see more shots of the Blue Duck, go to their photo album. 

UWA - Western outpost of academia in Australia

I'm doing some work at University of Western Australia, which is one of the 8 "sandstone" universities in Australia (sort of like the Ivy League universities in America, although virtually all universities here are publicly funded). UWA has a lovely campus with TONS of parrots rocketing around.  

Perth - City on a distant shore

Here's where I am - Perth! Imagine a country the size of the continental USA, where there is NOTHING between the Mississippi and California except a city of 1.3 million roughly where San Diego is, and nothing but wild and barren desert in between. Perth itself is a great city to visit - lots of amazing restaurants (see above for my favorite - the Blue Duck) and beautiful beaches (again, see above).  

Zamboni holds court

Here's Zamboni acting like a regular dinner guest! Actually, he is holding forth on various topics close to his heart, such as despair over the NHL season cancellation, and the finer points of the infield fly rule, and whether the increase in pinot noir consumption as the result of a film is really a good or a bad thing... 

Zamboni

I am the unbelievably cute cat Zamboni, whose head markings look like New Zealand (which was cool when we lived there...)