Cars & Cats

Friday, August 9, 2013

We are now the owner of two new cars.  (well, one is new new and one is new to us.) We pick up the Corolla from the Toyota dealership on Tuesday next week.  Today we bought a 2011 Holden Captiva. I know.  I bet you have never heard of Holden cars and are probably wondering if we bought the Australian version of the Yugo.  I had the same concern but Erich did the research and we are good.  So tomorrow we will return the hire (rental car). Finally.


The Holden Captiva

Erich and I were at the mall the other day to do our banking, (our bank is in a darn mall too!) (Have I mentioned that I don't like malls??)  and we went to lunch in the food court.  I was very excited to see the KFC.  I had an AMERICAN tasting chicken sandwich for lunch and it was AWESOME.  Except they called it a burger.  Hmmmm...

I went to our house today to do the inspection for the rental agency.  I documented and took pictures of every little scuff.  The house is in really great shape and I can't wait to move in!!  While I was there the neighbor across the street had me over for a cup of coffee.  Her daughter is in kindergarten at St. Monica's Primary with Charlie and Chaney. I had talked to her through Facebook about the school before we had decided to go there. By the way, "primary school" in Australia is Kindergarten through Year 6 (6th Grade). 

We continue to have issues with Chaney at school drop off.  Today's behaviour (notice the Aussie spelling?) became more defiant and mad.  She had to be restrained again as Erich dropped them off.  I know we are doing the best thing for her but it breaks my heart.  I talked to her kindergarten teacher after school and the teacher isn't overly concerned.  She thinks it will work itself out soon.  We are going to offer rewards for going into school "like a big girl" and see if that helps.  I'm glad the twins have a teacher that has been around the kindergarten block a time or two. 

I really miss my kids during the day.  I knew that when they started kindergarten it would be a transition for me since both kids would be heading out the door.  I knew that my days would suddenly seem empty.  But what I didn't think about (and really should have) is that there just wouldn't be much time to spend with them.   I've shed a few tears because I miss playing with them, reading with them, talking with them, etc. as much as I used to.  Why can't they stay little forever?!

Erich woke up in the middle of the night and asked me where the cat was.  "I haven't seen the cat in a while.  Where's the cat?"  We don't have a cat. I thought this was the funniest thing.  So I lay in bed in the middle of the night laughing.  And then Erich got frustrated that I was laughing and not taking him seriously because he was concerned about the cat.  THAT WE DON'T HAVE!!  (We both are laughing about it now.)

 

Random Thoughts and Observations...

• They pronounce the letter Z like "zed".  Hmmmm.   "...W, X, Y, and Zed."   Just doesn't sound right to me.
• They pronounce Nissan (the car company) "Ni-sin"   (So Erich's car, the Nissan 350Z is pronounced "350Zed Ni-Sin") Ha!
• I looked at a pair of white runners (tennis shoes) for Charlie today. $99 and up....  For a little boy's shoe...
• One of the things I will miss about living in the hotel apartment is that someone comes in every Friday to clean, change the sheets, take out the trash, etc. It's heaven.
• Stores close early here.  The malls (and the grocery stores in the malls) close at 5:30 Monday through Thursday, 9:00 on Fridays, 5:00 on Saturdays and 4:00 on Sundays. 
• Adelaide time is 30 minutes behind Canberra.  Not an hour.  30 minutes.
• One of Erich's cigars he likes to smoke is $30 here. For one cigar.