Friday, September 30, 2011

Back in the Groove

I slept until 6:30 although I had to get up three times through the night to go out to the bathrooms.  I am finding that I have less fear about going out into the dark.  I don't even flinch anymore at the sight of a gecko in my room, and I can let a small spider crawl across my floor without feeling like I need to kill it.  Now big spiders and snakes....I'm not there yet.

I read this morning in my Bible.  I still have 776 chapters to go and 77 days in which to read them.  I need to bump my daily readings up from 6 chapters a day to 10 chapters a day if I am to finish reading the entire Bible before I leave Australia.

John's car wouldn't start this morning, so he didn't leave for Cairns at 4:00 a.m. as usual.  I decided not to go to town today.  I don't want to go anywhere.   About 7:00 the neighbor, Charlie, came over with a load of wood chips, and he jump-started the car.  John went to the markets, but he is not doing his radio program today.  John's trip from the UK to Cairns was 38 hours and yet he was up at 3:30 and ready to go to Cairns.  Amazing.

I had a nice quiet day here at the farm.  I got some computer time and knitted on my scarf.  I put the hose over on the melon patch and gave it a good watering.  I worked on my Philosophy of Nature Cure lesson about Women's Suffering.

"Nature Cure proves every day that acute and chronic inflammation can be cured, adhesions can be dissolved, tumors can be absorbed if they are not too large, by natural methods of living and treatment."

I studied my French lesson...I am such a poor French student.  All these other people in the world are multi-lingual.  Surely, if so many people around the world can learn second and third languages, I can, too.  It's ridiculous!

During the summer here in Queensland sunbathing will have to be before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.  (It will be the same in Arkansas.)  The sun will be too hot during mid-day...it will be unhealthy to lie out in such conditions.  That doesn't mean we won't be able to work out in the sun.  We will still be doing our gardening work up until about 11:30.   I took a little sunbath at 3:30, then got a nice shower and knitted on my scarf.

I'm reading Iris & Ruby by Rosie Thomas.  Big thumbs up on the first 82 pages.  Some of the lines are so well written I wanted to take out my pen and underline them.

Supper tonight was 1/4 papaya, tomatoes, cucumbers, sauerkraut, and a bit of pomelo.

John Fielder knows so much.  I'm getting really good at picking his brain.  At dinner tonight, one of the things we talked about was gourmet raw foods.  Gourmet raw foods are actually not much superior to cooked foods. They are highly seasoned which causes you to eat things you would not eat in their natural state.  Also, they are expensive to prepare and wasteful...nor are they necessary.

Nature Cure is not a type of medicine or alternative medicine.  That is hard for most people to understand, because they are so indoctrinated to think medically.  Nature Cure and medicine are opposites.  You have to decide which camp you are in.  It's very difficult to be jumping around from one mind-set to the other.  Nature Cure is a totally different way of thinking.  John was so happy to realize I understood this.   Of course, I have known this for several years, but I guess I had never articulated it to him in a way so that HE knew that I knew.

John did not chastise me about my diet while traveling.  He said that it did not bother him at all.  It's all about learning, and we are all at different places in our understanding.  None of us think exactly alike.  Nevertheless, our simple, raw foods are tasting really good right now.

Since we have wood chips now, I fixed up my Lugable Loo to go into my room.  No more night time excursions to the toilets.  I practiced my flute.  My flute playing is coming along pretty good, I think.  I knitted until about 7:30 and then read Iris & Ruby until I went to sleep.

To health and happiness.

 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Back to Clohesy River

I slept later today...got up at 6:00.  I got to chat on Facebook with my friend, Linda Morris.  So good to hear from folks at home.

I got everything packed and ready to go back to the farm.  John and Sarina arrived to pick me up at 9:00.  The hotel billed me for my internet usage at a very high rate even though I had paid $15.00 for 20 hours access time.  Turns out I had plugged into the broadband service which is different from the wi-fi service I had paid for.  They refunded my wi-fi payment, but that left me paying about $95.00 for internet.  By the time I learn everything I need to know to smoothly navigate through this world, it will be too late to use it!

Sarina took us around to get some supplies.  Rusty's Market is not open on Thursday so we went to Woolworth's at Raintree Shopping Centre.  I bought some water, and John bought fruits and vegetables.  We went to Kuranda to check out the organic shops there.  John got some dates, nuts, and young coconuts.  He also made some contacts with a couple of people that will sell his excess produce from the farm.  He was happy about that.  Our last stop with the Servo near the farm where we bought a watermelon for me.

After dropping my bags off in my cabin, I went up to John's house for lunch.   But first, I had to go out and check on my watermelon patch.  There are eleven plants up...two honeydews for John and nine watermelons for me.    The veggie patch looks like a jungle.  It doesn't look like it has been watered at all since we left, so many things have gone to seed.  It will need some work next week.
The melons....eleven of them up while we were gone....with no watering.

The grown up veggie patch getting a drink after a month of neglect.

There were three letters waiting for me that had come in the mail while I was traveling.....one from my Mom and two from friend, Theresa.  Theresa closed one of hers with, "Loving you with prayers".  Is that not the sweetest expression!

For lunch I only had watermelon.  I'm trying to make up for my sins of the past month.  I weighed 50k when I left here, and I weighed 52-1/2 k when I got back.

I got my computer set back up in the office, paid some bills via Bill Pay, payed John for my room and board via PayPal, and checked Facebook and email.

I unpacked and swept my room.  It's getting warm here in Queensland now.  It's time to start leaving all the doors and windows open.  Does that mean the critters can come in whenever they want?   We are out of mulch, so I am not able to put the Lugable Loo in my room yet.  Oh well, I still have the flashlight to go out to the toilets at night.

Before supper John checked out the condition of things.  Our celery is doing great.  John thinks the soil is about where it is supposed to be, because the plants fared so well while we were gone.  Many of the lettuces went to seed due to lack of water.  Maybe we will save the seeds, pull up the plants, and plant new plants next week.

My supper was watermelon and brazil nuts.  I practiced my flute for the first time in a month and then knitted some on my scarf.  I was asleep a little after 9:00.

To health and happiness.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Great Barrier Reef

I'm getting up too early.  3:30 is too early.  I used the time to work on my Facebook page.  I put up some of the Sydney pictures and talked to Travis on Skype for a little while.

I walked from my hotel to the Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises Terminal.  It was a 35 minute walk.  At 8:30 we began to board our boat. 

I met a young couple from Peking, China (aka Beijing, China).  She was fluent in English, and we talked during most of the cruise.  I learned some things about China  It reminded me of my conversation on the airplane with John Newton who said China is THE new super-power. I am interested to learn more about China. It is very expensive to live in Peking, but most people want to live there even though it does cost much more.  This is where parents can get their  children into the best schools so they will have a chance at getting into a good university.  There is a strong emphasis in math in these desirable schools.  It is competitive and you have to put forth much effort to put yourself into the top.  Shan (the name of the Chinese lady) and her husband live in the city, but she travels an hour one way to get to work.  She went to school for three years in Finland, so she is fluent in Finnish as well.  She's studying French now, but only gets to practice five hours a week!   She said the industrialization of China has led to much pollution...much worse than in Australia.  Shan was interested in the simple, natural life I am studying here  She acknowledged that some of that would be healthier.  She said maybe China will be going that direction in another 50-100 years, but right now they are in an urban, industrial mode.  I was impressed with Shan and her husband.  She mentioned Tiananmen Square...When I mentioned it she smiled and asked if I was familiar with it.   I told here that at my home we have the picture of the young man standing boldly before the tank in Tiananmen square demonstrating the courage of the human spirit.  She has my contact information and hopes to come to the States soon.  Maybe we will meet again.

Shan and her husband apparently have a good relationship.  They had fun together, they were intellectual equals, and seemed to be equal partners in the relationship.  In the Asian communities, for the most part, it looks to me like the women are strong and on equal footing with the men.

Another interesting conversation I had with with Shan and her husband on the trip home was about Chinese fortune cookies.  They laughed about them, because they have never heard of such a thing.  I explained that in the States at Chinese restaurants one always receives a fortune cookie at the end of the meal which contains a little bit of advice such as...Work hard and you will succeed.   The husband said that in China the closest thing he has seen is a custom of putting a coin inside a dumpling.  If you are the one that gets the dumpling with the coin inside then you are the lucky one.   I told them when they come to the States I will take them to a Chinese restaurant where they can get a fortune cookie.

The boat docked at Green Island.  It is not a very big island.  I think I could have walked around the whole thing in an hour or so.  There is a luxury resort on Green Island which looked like a nice place to vacation, if you like to Scuba dive.  That's all there is to do on Green Island...swim, snorkel, scuba dive, eat and drink.  I walked around on the beach and waded in the water. 

At 11:45 I went on the semi-sub tour where we sat below water level and looked out at the coral and the fish.  We saw a sea turtle, a barracuda, bat fish, sargeant major fish, giant trevally, emperor fish, and more.  This was scuba diving for the faint-hearted.

I ate the buffet lunch which was served on the boat.  My lunch was watermelon, a lovely salad, coleslaw, rice, and penne pasta.  Part raw....part cooked....all vegetarian.

At 1:15 I went on the glass bottom boat tour.  This time I saw the coral and the fish by looking down from above.  This was snorkeling for the faint-hearted.  Coral is an animal and not a plant.  Although the coral does not move around on its own power, the branches we see are groups of animals that are similar to little jelly-fish clustered together.  The colors of the coral and the fish are not what you would expect.  Although the coral and the fish are brightly colored this is not apparent as you view them under the water where the light cannot penetrate.  The coral to us looked brown.  A fish that looked to us to be brown with blue spots would be red with blue spots in brighter light.

In the afternoon, I tried to lay out on the beach, but about ten minutes in the hot sun was all I could manage.  I bought some postcards, a bottle of water, and an orange.  I sat at an outdoor table at the restaurant and read my book.  About 3:00, I decided I'd had enough and went back to the boat to await the 3:45 departure.

I met a wonderful Vietnamese family from Sydney.  The mother left Vietnam on a refugee boat in 1982 at the age of ten.  Out of the eleven children in her family, eight of them left Vietnam as refugees.  Her parents and three siblings remained in Vietnam.  She was in Singapore for three years before immigrating to Australia.  Her daughter is 14.  Her son is 10.  The children included me in their conversation and when they left to go run around the boat the little boy turned back and waved at me.  I said, "They are so cute."  She said, "They are gorgeous kids".  She told me she had raised them to be respectful to all people...young, old, rich, poor.  I said, "How did you teach them?"  She said by talking to them...talking a lot.  She said she still talks to them and keeps the communication open.  The kids have all the Western advantages of i-touches, camera, vacations at Hong Kong Disney World, etc., but they still showed people the respect they had been taught by this soft-spoken, loving Mom.


She told me about life in Vietnam now.  Things have improved, people are freer to travel, but there is much poverty.  A few people are rich, but most are kept in poverty by a government that controls the population by controlling the food.  Not many have the courage to speak out in opposition of the government because the consequences are dire.  One egg cost more than most people can afford to purchase.  Before communism, the families had small farms or vegetable patches where they grew food organically and were able to have chickens or other small livestock.  Now the only food available to them is chemically grown, mostly imported from China.  The communist government does not allow the people to plant any food.  They are not allowed to farm or plant a garden.

Farming and gardening is a threat to governments that want to control the population.  To be a free people we must be able to grow our own food.  That is a right worth speaking up for.  In the free world we need to be aware of large corporations taking control of seeds and water supply.  Free people must be able to feed themselves.

We docked at Cairns at 5:00.  I walked to Woolworth's and bought a salad, a piece of watermelon, Brazil nuts, two oranges, and an avocado.  I got to the hotel about 6:00.  Supper in my room was watermelon, salad, and Brazil nuts.  I spent the evening on the computer and getting everything ready to go to the farm tomorrow.

Kuranda Tourist Train and Sky Tram

I woke up at 2:30 a.m.  According to the Paton Learn to Knit book my stitch tension and my row tension are a little tight.  It says to try again with the next larger size needle.  If I can't find a 7.5mm needle at Kuranda, I may just unravel what I have done and try to use less tension.

I got to say hello to grandson Caleb on Skype this morning.  He was finishing his school work and getting ready to play World of Warcraft.

I checked email and Facebook and read my Bible readings.  And I was suddenly very sleepy.

I walked to Cairns Central Station to catch the train to Kuranda.  It was about a forty minute walk.  On the way I stopped at a place called Fusion and got a fresh orange juice.

The Kuranda Tourist Train departed the station at 9:30.  The ride to Kuranda took about 1-1/2 hours.  We stopped at Barron Falls to get photos and enjoy the scenery.  A little two year old boy named David sat beside me with his family.  It was a joy to experience the train ride with him, because he LOVES trains.  He had on his Thomas the Tank Engine t-shirt.  I had a window seat so he sat in my lap a little while and looked out the open window.  He was a sweetheart...very verbal...can could count backwards, which impressed me immensely.

Julie, a new friend, sat across from me on the train.  She lives in Melbourne now but just recently moved back to Australia from a two year stint in China with her husbands job assignment.  She was interested in my studies on natural healing because she has had life-threatening health problems recently.  She commented on how you wonder why you meet certain people.  I agree.  When we got to Kuranda Village we stayed together and took the free bus to the markets.  We had lunch together at The Queen Bee Cafe.  We both had a fresh carrot-apple juice and a Caesar Salad.


I bought a Kuranda shopping bag for $4.50 at the Kuranda train station. 

For the return trip, I took the Sky Tram.  I didn't want to ride by myself so I tagged along with a young Indian couple from Melbourne.  They were celebrating their one year wedding anniversary with four days in Cairns.  The trip back down on the Sky Tram was about an hour.  My hands were clammy, so I guess I was a little nervous about being so high.  I acted calm, though...at least most of the time.

The Sky Tram ended at the bottom of the mountain.  My tour package included a bus ticket to get me back to the Mercure.  My ticket was for 4:00 p.m. so I had to wait an hour for my bus.  There wasn't any room on the 3:00 bus so it wasn't possible for me to go earlier.

At 6:00 I went down to the restaurant, Teshi's, here at the hotel and had dinner...peppermint tea, vegetarian saffron linguine, and some hot chips.

I unraveled all my knitting and started over....trying to get the tension right.

To health and happiness.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Gerson Therapy

This morning one of my chapters in the Bible was Exodus 5.  I found it to be quite beautiful.  I looked at it as the 10 generations from Adam to Noah describing our spiritual growth and the way we think.
1.  Adam = Red Earth
2.  Seth = Fixed, Put, Who Puts
3.  Enos - Mortal Man, Sick
4.  Cainan = Possessor, Purchaser
5.  Mahalaleel = Praising God
6.  Jared = Ruling, Commanding, Coming
7.  Enoch = Dedicated, Disciplined, Fearless, Just, Solitary
8.  Methuselah = He has sent his death.
9.  Lamech = Poor, Made Low
10.  Noah = Repose, Consolation, Comfort, Rest, Peace, Silent, Strong, Slow, Loyal Friend

At 10:00 I caught the Mercure Shuttle to the center of Cairns.  This shuttle runs every hour from the hotel to the city center and back to the hotel.  It's about a twenty minute walk, otherwise.

I followed two young ladies on the shuttle to Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises.  For tomorrow I booked the Kuranda Classic and for Wednesday I booked the Full Day Reef Cruise which includes a glass bottom boat and semi-sub.  Total for both $198.00.

I decided to walk back to the Mercure.  On the way I had lunch at an Indian place called Curry Express on The Esplanade.  My vegetarian lunch was jasmine rice and saffron rice topped with lentil curry and a chickpea curry.
 

I spent the afternoon surfing (the internet), resting, and reading.  I finished the Heidi book.  I read that book when I was a child, but I enjoyed reading it again.

I had supper at The Blue Mango Cafe here at the hotel.  I had peppermint tea, salad, and vegetarian pizza.

I watched The Gerson Miracle on You Tube.  It is a full length feature about Dr. Max Gerson's work.  People should know about The Gerson Therapy.   Dr. Gerson's daughter, Charlotte, carries on her father's work.  The Gerson diet is juices hourly, three full vegetarian meals, and fresh fruit for snacking at any time.  Charlotte Gerson said that obesity is hunger.  People are full but not nourished.  Here is the link to the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=sbIixJI_oa4&ob=av4e&feature=mv_sr

Here is the link to the Gerson Institute web-site:
http://gerson.org/
 

To health and happiness.





Sunday, September 25, 2011

Brisbane to Cairns

I dreamed about SIL Ken and grandson, Zac...something about a casino, a beauty shop, going to eat at a burger joint, and Zac slipping on a snow covered step and getting his foot soaking wet.

I was up at 5:30...way ahead of the 7:00 alarm.  I am ready for 3-1/2 days at the Mercure on the Esplanade with a little luxury.  And I'm ready to get back to the farm on Thursday.

David dropped me off at the airport a little before 9:00 a.m. on the way to visit his brother.  David was a good host, and I hope he'll come to Arkansas next year.
David Fielder using his fry pan.
Toll roads here are managed much better than they are in the States.  There are no toll booths...no stopping to pay tolls or show your prepaid cards.   Tolls are paid electronically.  The tag goes behind your rear view mirror and is read by a sensor as you drive past a tolling point.  When David drove through there was a little beep that meant his toll account had been automatically debited.  You get a tag from toll providers by paying a security deposit and a pre-paid toll balance.  When your balance drops below a certain amount, your account is topped off by charging your credit card or checking account.  Traffic never misses a beat.  It's a great system.  The Northeast Corridor in the US needs to look into this.

I was at the airport in plenty of time for my 1:40 flight on Virgin Blue.  I found my gate and then decided to try one of the computers in the airport where you drop in a $2.00 coin for 20 minutes of internet time.  I lost my money.  Nothing happened.

At NRG (Natural Regenerating Good) I bought a tropical juice with passion fruit.  Passion fruit is so good.  Can you grow passion fruit in Arkansas?  It will be worth pursuing.

Through Qantas Connect I was able to get 2 hours of internet for $10.00.  I checked Facebook, Drudge Report, and email.  Then I updated all my aps, installed Minesweeper and Spider Solitaire, and then Skyped with my sister, Sheila,  until I ran out of time.

At 10:30 I bought a Greek Salad and a box of chips (fries) to eat at lunchtime.  There was a gate change, so I found my new gate and settled down to play Minesweeper, Spider Solitaire, and Freecell.  Then I ate my lunch and read in Heidi.

At 12:30 I noticed my flight was no longer included on the list of departures at my gate, so I went to find my new departure gate.  That's the bad thing about getting to the airport so early.  If I had arrived an hour ahead of time like a normal person I wouldn't have had to move so much.

Security at Australian airports is not nearly the hassle it is in the U.S. airports.  Everyone still goes through a security check, but it is not like a police state.   Friends and family can go with you to the gates and see you off when you board your plane.

My seat mates on the flight were a British couple who have lived in a small village in France, Duoe La Fountaine, in the Loire Valley, since 2002.  They bought a ruin and made it habitable.  Now they are working to make it like they want it....a job that will never be done according to the lady.  They have done most of the work themselves.  They also bought a second property there and restored it to sell for income.  We talked about learning French...she is fluent...and her 93 year old neighbor whose cat died while in her care.  The old lady lives in a lovely home with no hot water and no toilet.  But now she has a new cat companion, thanks to the lady in the seat next to me. 

If you want to renovate a ruin in France, here is one to look at.  
http://www.france4u.eu/offer-i-id-i-3510-i-house-to-renovate.html

I worried all day that my luggage was not going to be on the plane.  After I dropped my bag and went through security, I remembered that when I printed my boarding pass no luggage tag had printed.  I had not put a luggage tag on my bag!  I couldn't remember the man who checked it in putting one on either.  My bag weighed 21 kilos...20 kilo limit.  I offered to take out some books, but the man at the counter said it was okay.  As I waited at the carousel to pick up my bag, I had a negative mind that it was not going to show up.  I was already missing my marked up Bible and my notebooks I scribble in all the time.  Bag after bag came by, but no royal blue with a pink luggage tag.  But finally, there it was!  I was so HAPPY!

Price for a shuttle on Sun Palm Shuttle Service to the Mercure Harbourside Hotel from the airport was $12.00.  The driver said, "Welcome to the tropics!"  What beauty.  The hotel clerk was friendly.  My room looked over Trinity Bay and came equipped with internet access in my room for $15.00 extra.  I am loving the luxury of it all.  After traveling for so long, I am worn out in body and mind.
View of Trinity Bay  from the balcony of my room at the Mercure.
None of the lights would come on in my room, so I called the reception desk to find out why.  I had been given two room keys and one of the keys must be inserted at the light switch by the door before any of the lights will work.  I had never seen that before.

I had dinner at Teshi's Restaurant at the hotel.  I had a pot of peppermint tea, a wonderful garden salad, and a side of jasmine rice.  I enjoyed every bite of the food along with the lovely view of the sea and the swimming pool.  Cost of the meal:  $24.00.
Peppermint Tea

Garden Salad from Teshi's Restaurant.
 The internet is working great in the room, but everyone at home was asleep.  I watched television and read until I went to sleep.

To health and happiness.

Knitting Project

I got up at 6:30 and read from the Robert Fulghum book, the Bible , and Heidi. I washed my hair and showered.  My next shower will be tomorrow at my hotel room in Cairns.  I did one last load of laundry and packed my bags as much as possible.  David was at work so I used his computer to check on everyone at home.  I ate seed/nuts and watermelon.

I decided to take the bus into Brisbane to the Queen Street Mall and get the things for my knitting project.  I got Patons Learn to Knit book with 19 easy projects, 4 balls of Patons Inca Yarn, bamboo knitting needles (7mm), a tape measure, and a wool & yarn needle.  Grand Total:  $52.05.  This will give me something to do besides eating!  Can you take knitting needles on a plane?  It would be something to do on the 20 hour flight home in December, if they allow it.


I ate lunch at Queen Street Mall.  I don't want to tell anyone what I ate.  It was a horrible choice.  Fish and Chips.  It's like the most popular food in Australia, and I have wanted to try it ever since I got here.  So I had it for lunch.  The longer I am traveling the harder I am finding it to eat right.

The buses were not running right today.  The bus from Capalaba to downtown runs every 30 minutes.  I waited for 1 hour and 10 minutes before a bus came that told me it was going into the city.  At one stop everyone got off and the driver told me I had to get off, too.  So I had to catch another bus into the city.  I finally got there.  Coming home, everything worked like it was supposed to.

At Capalaba Central I bought toilet paper, corn on the cob, watermelon, and chocolate at The Sweet Shop for a thank you gift for David.  He had mentioned earlier that he loves chocolate, so I got him a little gift box with 1/2 block of five different types of fudge.

Facebook has not been working for me because they blocked my account.  They didn't recognize the device I was using to access my account (David's computer).  It's unblocked now, thank goodness.  Travis was getting worried about me.

Supper was raw corn on the cob and watermelon.  David and I watched the movie The Last Samuri starring Tom Cruise.  Then we watched a documentary about Australian Road Trains.  Road trains are big semi-trucks that pull two, three, or more trailers.  David is a truck driver, and he has driven a road train before.  The film showed a lot about Australia from a trucker's viewpoint.

I got packed as much as possible so I'll be ready to head to Cairns tomorrow.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Help

I am glad I don't have to do anything today.  I had a crazy dream about someone with emphesema.  I tried to tell her what I have learned about natural healing, but I knew she would not have "ears to hear".

I stayed in bed until 8:00, then I did my laundry.  David does not have a dryer, so I hung the clothes out on the clothes line.  They were dry in less than an hour.  David was gone to work, so I had free access to his computer.  What a way to spend a morning!  Loved it!

My Bible readings are going good.  I have finished 27 books, 39 to go in 84 days.  It's been enjoyable reading through the Bible again and seeing what resonates at this time.

I ate grapes and raw peanuts about 10:00.

I walked to an op shop called Vinnie's and bought three paperback books for $6.00... Heidi, which I already own at home, but I want to leave it at the farm.  It illustrates some of the principles of the simple, natural life...Robert Fulghum's Maybe (Maybe Not) which I plan to finish today and leave here...and Iris and Ruby by Rosie Thomas about a British grand-daughter who goes to live with her 82 year old grandmother in Cairo.  I have no idea whether it will be good or not, but it will be something to do at the airport. 

At Capalaba Central Mall I bought a slice of watermelon and a bottle of lemon sugar cane drink (product of USA) and enjoyed them both while sitting on a bench outside the mall.

I went to the cinema and watched The Help. This movie has made it onto my favorites list.  I cried and laughed and cried some more while walking home....along the highway...because it was getting a little bit dark.

David was home from work when I got back to the apartment.  He was cooking chicken and eggs.  I chopped up onions and tomatoes for him to cook in his fry pan.  In Australia, a skillet is called a fry pan.  He said a skillet is the rod for a shish kabob.  I used a frypan and steamed a sliced onion with some water and barbcue sauce.  My supper was lettuce leaves layered with avocado, green onion, tomato, barbecue onions, and barbecue sauce.  We had watermelon for dessert.

Facebook didn't seem to be working very well, so I gave it up and went to bed about 8:30.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Gold Coast

I talked to grandson Caleb on Facebook Messages.  His newest interest is playing Doomsday Defense.  He has a strategy worked out.  He is a neat kid.

I was struggling a bit with tiredness, but nevertheless, the Gold Coast was calling.  I caught the bus at the Capalaba shopping center into the city, then caught the Gold Coast Express train to Nerang.  I had my lunch on a bench on the train platform while waiting on the train to arrive:  avocado, grapes, orange, banana, and seed/nuts.  The train ride from Brisbane to Nerang is 70 minutes.  At Nerang, I took the Surfers bus to Pacific Fair.  It's about 100 km from Capalaba to Pacific Fair.

At one of the train stops three young men, teen-agers, got on the train.  One was a very dark Aborigine, the other two were white.  For some reason, I got an uneasy feeling about them.  I have my passport, credit card, drivers license, and some of my cash in a separate small bag that I can keep around my neck when I travel.  I took that little bag out of my purse, put it around my neck, and zipped my windbreaker over it.  About that time, the police entered the train and told the black youth to step off the train.  The white youth followed them.  The police still had him when they let the train go.  Got to listen to that intuition!  Hoodlum youth are a real problem along the Gold Coast.  I heard people talking about it and saw much evidence of it.

Turns out Pacific Fair is a gigantic shopping center with no beach in sight.  The bus driver pointed straight ahead and said, "The beach is a long way that way".  In the mall I bought a fresh apple/pineapple/mint juice.  It was a disappointment.  The apples must not have been the best.  The girl at the juice counter said, "You'll have to go that way (pointing a different direction), but it's about 5k".  What the heck.  I've come this far...beach here I come.  Outside the mall, I asked another lady the best way to get to the beach.  "Which beach?", she asked.  "Any beach", I replied.  She suggested Broad Beach and pointed in the same direction as the bus driver.  It was only about six or seven blocks.  It was a beautiful sight.  The sand was golden and fine.  The Pacific Ocean was big and chilly.  People were playing in the surf and sun bathing (sun baking in Australia).  I sat in the sand to people watch and read my book.  Too bad I didn't take my swimsuit, because I got a pretty good tan with tan lines.  When I had enough sun, I walked back to Pacific Fair to start the journey home.

At Nerang station there was bad news.  The trains were not running because of a power outage in Brisbane.  The train was 1-1/2 hours late, and when it did arrive all the waiting passengers crammed in like sardines.  Fortunately, I got a seat, many did not.

It was already dark when we pulled into Central Station in Brisbane.  At the bus stop across from Central, the driver on the first bus that pulled up told me he did go to Capalaba...about an hour trip in the traffic.  At Capalaba shopping center, I picked up a schedule from the cinema and then walked to David's along the highway rather than down the dark walking trail through the woods.  This is the first time I have failed to be in before dark.  But all is well.

I showered, checked Facebook and Drudge, and ate my supper...raw corn on the cob and raw peanuts.  I visited with David a little while when he came in from work and Haidong training.  Haidong is the name of the martial art he practices.

Bed at 9:00...very tired.

To health and happiness.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Australian Army Band

The light in my room burned out.  I pulled the bed over to stand on but wasn't able to figure out how to remove the cover.  I left David a note, and he called maintenance to come fix it.  The won't come until tomorrow, though.

Today is the day to go back on all raw.  I don't like the way I feel...hemmoroids, puffy face, and swollen hands and ankles.  The body is doing the right things with what it is being given to work with.  I just need to give it better stuff to work with!

The philosopher's stone:  Each of us has a God-given right to individual freedom.

I took the bus into Brisbane and got off at Elizabeth Street.  It's just a block to the Queen St. Mall.  I took the escalator up into a shopping mall and browsed in a craft store.  I almost talked myself into buying a "How to Knit" book, needles and some Australian wool to knit a scarf.  Almost.  I'm still trying to decide.  Pros...It's a useful skill and it's something to do in idle moments at the farm and other places.  Cons...I'm not very crafty and for the price of the book and the yarn I can buy a wool scarf.  Buying a scarf, though, is not the same as making your own scarf.  It's the difference between buying veggies at Wal-Mart and growing your own in your backyard.

I went back to the Oasis Juice Bar and ordered Juice #2, the Ibiza Islander with orange, apple, pineapple, and passion fruit.  Very good.

Albert Street Uniting Church is a beautiful old church just off the Queen St. Mall.  It is a Wesley Mission now.  I toured the Art From The Margins Exhibition there.  All the artists live in challenging circumstances...homeless, mental illness, prison, physical disability, etc.  I voted for my favorite, a lady in a hat by Fiona Crowe.  Another one I liked looked like a child's painting, but the message was too deep for a child.  It showed a man swimming in a river with an open-mouthed crocodile coming along behind him.  The title of this painting was Life Be In It.  The artist was named Peter Brown.  I took a picture of it to send to Peter Brown, my former boss at Ryerson.

I ate my lunch on a bench outside the Albert St. Church.  Lunch was avocado, grapes, watermelon, and seeds/nuts/fruit mix.

At 11:30 I went back into the church to get a good seat for the free Lunchtime Concert.  The performing group was ensembles from the Australian Army Band.  A woodwind quintet made up of a flute, oboe, bassoon,French horn, and clarinet performed first.  I didin't get the names of all the pieces, but they played Jurasic Park...arranged by the fluitist...a tango named Oblivion...arranged by the oboist, Petite Symphony, Schindler's List, and Can Can.  The flute player was awesome.  All were exceptionally talented.

A brass duet of a tuba and an alto horn played a fugal piece by Bach...Concerto in D I think.  A brass quintet played Gershwin's Love is Here to Stay from An American in Paris, and the theme from the Pink Panther.  A ten piece brass group finished up with a sacred piece and a Canadian Brass piece.  It was a wonderful concert.

I sat beside and in front of four ladies named Dawn, Marjorie, Pam and Barbara.  Marjorie heard me telling Dawn where I am staying at Clohesy River, and she began to tell about living at Atherton up on the tablelands not far from Mareeba.  These ladies insisted that I need to go to the Gold Coast.  They suggested Pacific Fair as the best place for me.

I walked down Ann Street to Central Station and checked on what I need to do to go the the Gold Coast.  The ticket man said to buy a 14 zone ticket from the bus driver in Capalaba, get off at Central Station, take the train to Nerang, and take the bus to Pacific Fair.

After taking the bus back to Capalaba, I bought a few things at Woolworths...avocado, watermelon, onion, corn, tomato, barbecue sauce.

David was off work today, so I got a chance to visit with him a little while.  My supper was so good.  I spread avocado on a lettuce leaf and layered corn, topped green onion, radish and tomato, topped with barbecue sauce.  I had four of these.  David fried some french fries (chips)...so cruel...I ate a few of them.

We walked to the shopping center after supper so David could show me the cinema.  I plan on going to the Gold Coast tomorrow, but Friday and Saturday I am going to stay around here, do laundry, pack, and go to movies.  Brisbane is so spread out, it's not easy to get around without a car.  Besides, I am running out of steam.

After the walk, we had watermelon, and I showed David pictures of my family on Facebook and the video I made about driving to Old Union.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=trip+to+old+union&aq=f

Sorry I can't post any pictures this week.

To health and happiness.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Brisbane

I walked to the bus stop this morning without any trouble.  It only takes about 20 minutes if you don't get lost and keep back-tracking.

I paid $6.90 each way to take a bus into Brisbane.  Based on the driver's suggestion, I got off at Elizabeth Street.  I had no plan, so I just started walking.  Brisbane does not have the European feel like Melbourne and Sydney.  It is a city of corporate headquarters...more like Dallas or Oklahoma City.  The city does not cater to tourists as much as Melbourne and Sydney, either.  You see a lot of corporate types walking briskly to their next important meeting (or lunch).

The Queen Street Mall is several square blocks with no motor traffic.  There are many, many shops with nothing I want to buy.  I found a place called Oasis Juice Bar and ordered a large Jamacan Juice...watermelon, orange, apple, and more.  I sat on a bench to rest and drink my juice.  I chatted with the young man sitting next to me, and found out he is 21 years old, from Columbia.  He is studying in Brisbane for a year and hopes to return to Columbia and have a career in the Columbian military.  He questioned me if I knew where Columbia was.  Thank God, I knew somewhat.  He seemed to be close to his family and told me that he has a brother that has a son.  Then he asked me about my family and about the United States.  An interesting question he asked, "Are the cities in the United States as quiet as Brisbane?"  I told him Arkansas is a small state and our capital, Little Rock, is quiet.  He could hardly believe that Little Rock could be smaller than Brisbane.

I found a little news agency and bought a $2.00 map of the center city.  In a second-hand bookstore I bought a book called The Birthdays by Heidi Pittor for $5.00.  I need something to read because I haven't figured out how to turn on David's television.

Lunch was at a place called Yash Indian Cuisine.  It was a vegetarian meal of rice...half covered with Dhal Makhani (a bean dish) and half covered with Vegetable Khorma.  I also got a vegetable roll.  It was delicious, but  I had a stomach ache before I got out of the mall.

I rode the free hop on hop off City Circle Bus around to figure out what I may want to do next.  Then I caught the bus back to Capalaba.  At Mango Mick's I bought grapes, watermelon, and a bottle of water.  David was gone to work, so I showered, dressed for bed, and got on his computer to check on everything at home.  Supper was grapes, watermelon, and nuts.  It was a nice quiet evening.  I finished reading Pomegranite Soup, and I played Free Cell on my phone until I couldn't stay awake.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Sort of Lost

I dreamed about friends that have passed on again.  This time it was Max and Benny Weisenborn.  Max had just started redecorating the house when she died.  There was lots of food brought in as is the custom.  I offered her son a chocolate chip/raisin cookie.  He said, "I love chocolate chip/raisin cookies."  When I told him his mother had made these particular cookies before she died, it made it even more special.  Benny then began to redecorate the house, and he was choosing lovely things.  That's when I woke up. 

It was a day of learning my environment here in Capalaba.  I packed my lunch and took off down the trail that David showed me yesterday.  Nothing looked familiar, but I walked it out all the way to the highway.  I thought possibly I had walked the wrong way...so I turned around, retraced my steps and walked the other way.  Nothing looked familiar.  A man walking towards me told me he was walking to a shopping center, so I followed him back along the way I had first gone.  To make a long and tedious story short, I walked for over three hours without ever getting my bearings.  I knew I was in the right area because I found the bus stop, and I remembered the library.  I was so tired and thirsty and my leg was hurting, so I ate my lunch about 10:00...avocado, pear, apple, seeds and nuts.

I found a second-hand store and bought a book for 50 cents...Pomegranite Soup by Marsha Mehran.  Thumbs up on this book.  I think all my girls will like this book.  It's about three sisters who left Iran at the beginning of the revolution and ended up opening a restaurant in Ireland.

When I got back to David's townwhouse he told me I was in the right place.  I rested, read my book, and napped for a couple of hours, then got up and tried again.  This time, I had more confidence and more information.  Woolworth's is a grocery store chain here in Australia.  I bought an avocado, salad dressing and a lemon there.  At Mango Mick's I got a slice of watermelon, tomatoes, green onions, two bananas, 3 ears of corn, and nuts.

David was gone to work when I got back, so I used his computer to check Facebook and emails.  Supper was corn (raw on the cob...so good), salad, watermelon, and nuts.

I'm loving the nice shower.  I got on my pajamas, and read my book until I couldn't stay awake any more.

So nothing much happened today, except I did a lot of walking, figured out how to get into Brisbane on the bus, and learned how to get around the neighborhood here in Capalaba.

To health and happiness.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sydney to Brisbane

This was a travel day.  My flight to Brisbane was at 11:05, but the Sydney Shuttle picked me up at 7:30.  After my experience with Sydney Shuttle coming into Sydney, I decided not to take any chances by taking a later shuttle.

I talked to Travis on Skype message this morning.  He was watching football and waiting on the Razorbacks to play.  Woo Pig Sooie!  Missing football season is not a good thing.  They play a type of football here, and they refer to the game as a footie.  You can go into a sports bar and watch the footie on television.

When I left Sydney Central Hostel at 7:10 a.m. there was no one at the reception desk.  Someone had thrown a rock or something at the glass front door and shattered it.  The glass was still in the doorframe, but was totally shattered and swinging back and forth when you opened the door.  It had masking tape running across it in numerous places to hold it together.  I carefully opened the door and eased my bags outside, praying that the glass would not come tumbling out because of me.  Whew!  Made it.

The airport shuttle that picked me up promptly on time had a friendly Sikh driver.  He dropped me off at terminal 2.  Turns out I needed to be at terminal 3, but it was only a short walk across the car park.  Checking in was not much trouble, but I had a two hour wait for my flight.  I got a fresh apple juice and a bowl of muesili at a place called NRG (Natural, Regenerating, Good). 

I sat between two interesting people on the plane.  John Newton was a young Australian who starts up businesses and runs them.  One is Jumping j-jays.  They rent out inflatable amusements for parties and events.  He had been in China that morning and was headed back home to Brisbane.  He owns a house in Dallas and lives there part of the year.  He's not very happy that he lost a million dollars in the American economy though.  He encouraged me to visit China and gave me his card.  I can stay in his apartment there if I want to go.  The lady on my other side was an 81 year old sweetheart who was taking her first airplane ride.  She was being met at Brisbane by her grandchildren.  I helped her with her seatbelt and kept talking to her and answering her questions.  John Newton was chatting with her, too.  When we stopped to await take-off, she wondered why we were stopping.  I told her the pilot was awaiting word from the tower that it was our turn to go, and then we would go very fast down the runway and take off.  When we left the ground, she put her hands to her mouth and tears popped in her eyes.  I patted her on the leg and re-assured her that everything was fine, those awful sounds of wheels being lifted and the shaking were all normal.  Imagine, me, who didn't fly for many years because of fear being able to comfort someone about flying.  She soon got into the spirit of it, and had a cookie and tea from the flight attendant, and got up and went to the toilet.  She never did figure out how something as big as our plane could fly, though. 

I had an apple and a tea on the plane.  For lunch, I had a wrap of egg, luttuce, and tomato.

I wasn't able to book a shuttle to David Fielder's house from the airport, so I hired a taxi.  Another nice Sikh driver.  I sat up front with him so I could get a first look at Brisbane.  He delivered me to David's door for $65.00.

David and I walked to the shopping center.  First he got spare keys made, so I can come and go while he is at work.  He showed me the bus stop, and we went to the grocery store.  I bought things to make a salad, a quarter of a watermelon, an apple, and a nut/seed/fruit mix.

David does a martial arts that involves the use of swords.  I can't remember the name of it.  He recently competed in Korea.  He is also engaged to a lovely lady in the Phillipines.  They plan to be married in October.  David's friend, Bill came over and visited with his two children, Mattie and Cameron.  David and Bill both want to visit the States, so I invited them to come to Arkansas.  Travis and I may be entertaining Australians for awhile.  I hope so.

For supper, I fixed a green salad with cos lettuce, radishes and tomatoes.  David scrambled eggs with red bell pepper.  My supper was salad, a bit of the scrambled eggs, and watermelon.  David and I split the watermelon.

David showed me how to get on his computer, so I will be able to check in every day.

I got a nice shower and got to bed about 8:30.   When I took off my shoes and socks, I discovered that my ankles were very swollen which let me know that toxins are building up in my body.   My tongue was coated, too.

To health and happiness.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

La Boheme

Something I ate made my body work hard to detox...head aches, congestion, and my face feels puffy.  My first guess is something in the Thai food (maybe MSG)...but possibly the salad dressing...or maybe too much salt...or a combination of those things.  The body lets you know when you are out of balance.  Detox symptoms are a good thing, but they are also can be a clue that you are taking in more toxins than you need to.  Weight gain and fatigue are other clues.

When I went across the hall at 7:00 a.m. to use the toilet someone had recently been in and made a mess.  I can tell a lot about this person by his urine.  It was a male, he was drunk, and his body is in a highly toxic state because his urine is very dark brown.  He will certainly feel bad when he wakes up.  Possibly he never feels very good.  I was nice and cleaned up the bathroom for the next person.

My DIL Amy is headed to a big wedding in Minnesota and leaving her husband and three children to get buy best they can without her.  I am proud of her for taking this trip by herself.  I hope this will be a fun time for all of them.

Grandson, Caleb, called me on Skype.  He is enjoying playing WOW with the group he plays with which includes his Daddy and lifelong friends of his Daddy's.  I told him to listen to some of La Boheme on You Tube so that he can hear some of the music from the opera.

I walked the two miles up Pitt Street to the Sydney Opera House.  On the way I took a quick tour of the Opal Museum.  It had some opalized fossils on display.  It was a small museum, and it only took about ten minutes to tour it.


I got to the Sydney Opera House about 11:00.  I had some peppermint tea while I waited for the Opera Bar to open.  At 11:30, I ordered lunch at The Opera Bar - green salad and yam chips.


La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini was the opera playing for the Saturday matinee.  It was sung in Italian, but I paid the extra $50 to get a set where I could see the English subtitles.  The orchestra was also visible from my seat, so I could see one flute player.

A funny thing happened during the performance.  Marcello (Andrew Jones) threw his paint brush on the floor during one of the scenes and it bounced into the orchestra pit.  He looked at it and shrugged  and everyone laughed.  This his next part to sing translated into English as "My paint brush has a mind of its own".  Everyone laughed more.

After the opera, I walked back to Sydney Central.  I got laundry detergent and two ink pens at the 7-11 near by.  I went into a little Thai restaurant near the hostel and ordered some stir-fried veggies and rice for my supper.

I washed a load of clothes which was not as easy as it sounds.  After loading the washer and putting in my three one dollar coins nothing happened.  So down I went...58 steps to get help.  Help came back up with me...58 steps... and plugged in the washer, but my coins were lost.  So I put in three more coins and the washer started working.  So down I go....58 more steps...to get more coins from the manager.  Then back up to finish my laundry.  Then down the 58 steps to book my airport shuttle for tomorrow and then back up the stairs to dry my clothes in the dryer.  Then down about 50 stairs to take my laptop into the lounge to access the free wifi.  Maybe I won't gain any weight in Sydney.

I got a text from AT&T that I had exceeded my International Plan, so I called and upgraded the plan.  Hopefully that will keep me from getting a gigantic phone bill.  This new plan was $200 which is quite expensive, but I only need it for one month.  Once I get back to the bush, I will cancel it.  The man at AT&T told me to keep my data roaming turned off unless I am using the phone.  That was my mistake.  I guess I won't be listening to The Buzz radio program any more.

To health and happiness.

Balance

The message for the day was balance.

I walked up Pitt Street to Circular Quay and bought a ferry ticket to Manly Beach.  Price $13.50.  Senior citizens of Australia pay $2.50 per day for a ticket that will get them on any government ferry, bus or train.  It's a great deal.  A couple sitting beside me on the ferry use those tickets as their means of getting around.

Manly Beach was beautiful, of course.  I walked in the sand and along the water's edge to let my feet come in contact with the Pacific Ocean.  It was cold, but that didn't stop a few brave souls out there surfing.  How do they do it?
Manly Beach


I sat on the cement steps overlooking the beach and the ocean and had an orange and half an avocado.  I got into a conversation with a lovely lady named May who was there with her little grandson, Jack.  May lives in Manly.  She immigrated to Australia from Scotland forty years ago.  We spent about an hour together, talking non-stop.  We walked over to Shelly Beach together and then back to Manly Beach.  May is a retired nurse and interested in health and natural healing.  We learned from each other.  My lesson from May was to stay balanced in my life, including diet.  I already try to do that by not making rules for myself.  I don't make it a law to be 100% raw, or 100% vegetarian, or 100% vegan, because I reserve the right to decide when I want to eat something different.  Balance is choosing to eat the foods that make for a better life.  Stressing about not being 100% anything is not balance.  Eating from addiction is not balance.  Eating junk food or meat that is full of hormones and antibiotics or genetically modified foods is not balance.  May and I parted with hugs and email addresses.  She is coming to the states in May, and I am hoping she will put Arkansas on her list of places to visit.
Here I am at Shelly Beach

May and Jack at Manly Beach

I ate lunch at a Thai restaurant.  I had the lightly steamed vegetables with rice.

On the ferry back to Sydney, the man next to me was in a series of phone conversations with people trying to find someone to distribute medications for him.  He said to me, "Were you listening to my conversations?"  I said, "Yes, I thought you must be a doctor".  He started asking me questions about my travels and then? about Arkansas.  "What is Arkansas famous for?", he asked.  "Bill Clinton", I answered.  He asked about my favorite cities....I couldn't pick one.  He talked about 9/11.  Then he said something important.  I heard the same thing from Eve when I was in Melbourne.  He said, "I've always liked Americans because of their confidence.  They have a "give it a go" attitude".

I walked back down Pitt Street to the Pitt Street Mall and listened to the street musicians.  One of the street performers was my second reminder to stay balanced.  His act was a crazy, dangerous balancing act.  He balanced on a sawhorse on top of two other saw horses and then on top of blocks on top of the highest sawhorse.  He certainly knew how to balance.
Balancing Act

In my case, balance will come from choosing freely and wisely...not from cravings and addictions and programming.

I bought some cashews from a street vendor and a salad from Subway.  I went to the lounge at Sydney Central to get on the internet.  I called David Fielder to find out about getting to his house on Sunday.  I need to pre-book the airport shuttle on Sunday at Brisbane, but I can't get the phone number to work.  I hope I can book it when I get to the airport.  Otherwise, I'll have to fork over the money for a taxi.

I got a shower and washed my hair and the water was HOT!  I'll be all clean for the opera tomorrow.

I ate my salad while I played games and uploaded my pictures.  I wrote postcards to send home.

One last bit of balance....Today is the halfway point in my stay in Australia.  I have been here 91 days, and I will be home in 91 more days.  

To health and happiness.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Rocks

Hostel life....I had to get up at 2:00 a.m, 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to go across the hall to the bathroom.  My kidneys are working overtime.

I heard from John Fielder finally.  He is doing well in the UK, but he had no internet service in Brisbane.  Since I will be staying at his son's house next week, I have a premonition that I am in for the same plight.  Hopefully, the i-phone will still work.  I consider internet a necessity!!!

I thought I would go to Manly Beach today, but when I stepped outside it was chilly and raining.  I quickly decided to wait until tomorrow to go to the beach.  I walked all the way up Pitt Street (about 2 miles) to Circular Quay (pronounced key).  I did not find anything I wanted to buy along that whole street.  Amazing how many things I don't need anymore.  I stopped in a couple of bookstores, but even there, I could not make myself buy something that would add weight to my luggage.  The food was really tempting today.  All the smells were so enticing.  As soon as I got to Circular Quay I found a bench to sit on and had a banana and some of the seed/nut mix.

I walked around the section of Sydney known as The Rocks.  It has cobbled streets and old brick buildings.  I so much wanted to tour the Susannah Place Museum.  It is a row of four 19th century terrace houses that show life in Sydney at the turn of that century.  The first tour was not until 2:00, so I would have had to wait four hours to get in.  I just took some photos of the exterior and decided to move on.
Susannah Place Museum

Susannah Place

Here I am in The Rocks

I sat on a bench in The Rocks and had the rest of my lunch which was avocado, orange, and seeds/nuts.

I walked along George St. which runs parallel with Pitt St.   A vendor was selling some mixed seeds/nuts/dried fruits for $5.00, so I bought a container.  The vendor called it nature's lollies.

Town Hall is on George St.  My plan was to tour it, but that plan was thwarted because it was closed to prepare for an event.  I just sat on the steps, watched the people go by, and listened to a good solo guitarist play on the street beneath the statue of Queen Victoria while I ate my nature's lollies.

St. Andrew's Cathedral is next door to Town Hall.  They had a sign out front...Organ Recital at 1:10.  It was 12:45, so I went in, and what a treat.  The building was beautiful.  I enjoyed just sitting in the quiet.  The organ recital was by Edwin Taylor who is the organ scholar at Christ Church St. Laurence, Sydney.  He played four pieces:  Rhapsody No. 2 by Herbert Howells, Preambule "Psalm 23 v2 by Percy Whitlock, Adagio in D Flat by Franz Liszt, and Prelude & Fugue in G by J S Bach.  It was a lovely concert.  It was free, but I put $5.00 in the collection basket.
The organ in St. Andrews Cathedral

I went into an Asian Place called Lemon Pepper and had a miso soup and a bowl of rice.  It was good.  I don't know how to eat with chop sticks, so I used my own fork.  Darn it!  I left my fork in the restaurant.  Oh well, it's actually John's fork.  I guess I will have to buy him a new fork.

I went to a place called Event Theater.  The movie ticket was $22.00!  The sitting areas outside the fourteen theaters look like VIP lounges.  There are regular concessions and also bars that serve alcohol.  The seats were padded and luxurious with a little built in table for your popcorn and snacks and a place for your drink.  The movie showing at the time I was there was Horrible Bosses.  It had a star studded cast, but I can't recommend it.  It was nothing special.

I got a salad at Subway to take back to the room.  I went down to the lounge and accessed the internet until about 6:30.  I washed up...without getting into the shower....and dressed for bed.  Then I had my salad, played games on the computer, and listened to The Buzz radio station from home on my i-phone.

Toranga Zoo

I walked to Darling Harbour .  Since I got there before Captain Cook's Ferry Service opened, I walked across the harbor and back on the foot bridge.  My ticket for the zoo and the ferry ride was $50.50.  The ferry made stops at Central Quay and Fort Denison on the way to Toranga Zoo.  I thought the people that worked for Captain's Cook's were not very customer oriented.  They were friendly with each other, but didn't engage with their customers very much.
Captain Cook's Ferry 

At the Toranga Zoo, I took the sky car up to the zoo.  I shared the car with people from Atlanta.  I went to the Seal Show first.  The seals were little darlings.  So cute!  Then I went to the Free Flight Bird Show.  The peregrine falcon can fly over 300 miles per hour.  The birds flew very close over the audiences heads.  One of the birds touched my hair.  It was a good show.   I ate my lunch while waiting on the bird show to start.  I had avocado, orange, mandarin, pear, and nuts/seeds/sultana mix.  I sat next to a line of Muslim women who spread out a feast of all kinds of cooked foods, flat breads, fresh salad and fruit.  It really looked and smelled good.  I kept hoping they would offer me some since I was really curious about what it was.
Going up to the zoo on the skycar.

My favorite part of the zoo was the Kid's Trail because it had sustainable housing and a garden.  The house was new, modern, and beautiful.  Outside there was a rain tank and firewood storage underneath the tank.  There was even a cute outhouse.  I took a lot of pictures of the garden.  The little beds were all enclosed in netting or wire.  I wonder if that is to keep the critters out...or to keep the people visiting the zoo out?
Rain tank with firewood storage underneath.

The outhouse.

One of the covered beds.

After seeing the show at Imax yesterday about the orphan elephants in Kenya, I felt sorry for the elephant they had on display performing silly little tricks.  Elephants have high intelligence and strong family ties.  I just wondered what kind of cognizance he had of his situation.

My ferry back to Darling Harbour was at 3:45. At 2:45 I was too tired to walk another step, so I just went to the ferry pick-up area and waited on the bench until time to go.  When we docked at Darling Harbour, I bought a salad at Subway and then walked to Market City and bought a veggie juice (carrot, celery, apple, beet, and ginger).  In the grocery store I got 2 bananas, an avocado, an orange, and a pear.  I got turned around coming out of the store and walked the wrong way into Chinatown.  I don't like not knowing exactly where I am.  I quickly back-tracked and used my i-phone to get going the right way.  I got back to Sydney Central about 5:00.   I make it a point to get inside before dark every day.

I went to the lounge for computer time, then washed up without getting into the shower, and got ready for bed.  I had supper in my room and played games on my computer.  Supper was avocado, salad, veggie juice and mix of seeds/nuts/sultanas.  I loved my supper.  It was good.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Darling Harbour

I got to talk to Travis on Skype this morning.  I was lucky enough to find free internet for a little while this morning from my room.

I commented on one of Richard Crozier's posts on Facebook about personal responsibility and a guy named Steve Dupere followed up.  I thought what he wrote was good and worth sharing..."High blood pressure...take a med?  Try eating celery daily and dropping the bacon, ham, potato chips, coffee and so on.  Put down the soda and try a smoothie or, God forbid, water."

I walked to Central Station to catch the HOHO bus at 8:30, but since they weren't going to leave until 9:00 I walked to Darling Harbour.  It's a nice area and the view of the harbor is beautiful.


I went to the Imax Theater which has the largest screen in the world.  It's over seven stories tall.  I saw Born To Be Wild in 3D.  The 3D was awesome.  It was an inspiring story about Dr. Birute Galdikas who adopts orphaned orangutans in Borneo and Daphne Sheldrich who adopts orphaned elephants in Kenya.  They rescue the babies and raise them in a way so they can be released back into the wild when they are ready.  Heartwarming story.  Imax ticket...$19.50.

I walked to King St. Wharf and checked on the ferries...trying to figure out how this works.

I had lunch sitting on a park bench at Tumbalong Park at Darling Harbour.  Lunch was avocado, grapefruit, banana, and mixed seeds/nuts/sultanas.


I toured the Chinese Friendship Garden.  Admission $6.00.  The garden was designed and built by chinese architects and gardeners from Guangzhou, China.  It was peaceful and serene.  I had a cup of jasmine tea in the tea house before I left.

I caught the HOHO bus to Circular Quay.  There was a fruit and veggie vendor on the corner.  I bought a pear, avocado, and mandarin for tomorrow.  I checked out the ferries here, too.  There were two aboriginal guys playing a didjeridu.  I love how it sounds and thought about buying a CD...but I probably wouldn't ever listen to it at home.  I bought some salad dressing at the deli.

I rode the HOHO bus back to Central Station, dropped my bags off at my room, then walked several block up George Street to get a salad from Subway.  Salad at Subway is $6.00.  Everywhere else it is about $11-13.

I wish I had a day pack so I wouldn't have to carry my bags on my shoulder.  I have one in my closet at home, but I wish it was here with me.

I went to the lounge for free internet, then took a cold shower and washed my hair.  The water fools you.  It acts like it is going to be warm until you get in.  Then it goes cold on you.  By the time I rinsed my hair, it was very cold.  The good thing about that is that it makes my room seem not so cold.

I ate supper in my room.....avocado, salad and seeds/nuts/sultanas.  Today was a good day with eating raw foods.  It's not difficult if you have your food readily available.

To health and happiness.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

HOHO Bus

I dreamed about Jenelle Peterson last night.  It was quite real.  We were talking about all the things that had been done and said since she passed away.  I needed to tell someone that she was talking to me, but no one else had heard her.

When I woke up this morning my bathroom was occupied, and I had to wait a long time to get in.  I needed my Lugable Loo bad!

About 8:30 I walked a few blocks to Central Station and bought a two day pass for the Hop On Hop Off bus.  I asked if they had any discounts and the lady said, "I hate to ask but are you...."  I said, YES!  So since I am a senior I got two days for $40.00.  The HOHO bus is good for getting the feel of a city.  You see all the major sites plus get the commentary.

I hopped off at the Sydney Opera House.  I bought a ticket for the Saturday matinee performance of La Boheme.  The ticket was $155 but it allows me to see the English subtitles.  Then I spent $8.00 for an order of FRIES!  I know.  I swear that was the best choice I had for lunch.  I ate my fries and looked at Sydney Harbour while chasing off sea gulls that were aggressively demanding food.  This was not Jonathon Livingston Seagull.  This was those other birds...the ones that only thought about eating instead of flying.  I think they were there to remind me I should be flying instead of eating fries.


I paid $29.00 to take the tour of the opera house.  It has quite a story.  Here is a link for anyone that is interested.  http://jornutzon.sydneyoperahouse.com/househistory.htm

In the afternoon I took the HOHO bus to Bondi Beach.  There was a shop that made me a fresh juice with watermelon, orange, and pineapple.  It was good and ALIVE!  The beach was beautiful.  It's famous for being great for surfing, but I heard one old dude telling his mates that the surf was not very good today.  That water had to be cold!


There was a restaurant on the beach where I got a lovely garden salad and a vegetable juice made with beets, carrots, celery, and ginger.  At a place called Fresh In Bondi, I bought two oranges, a grapefruit, an avocado, two bananas, and a bag of mixed seeds/nuts/sultanas.

I visited with the HOHO driver from Bondi Beach because I was too tired to climb the stairs to go on top.  He recommended a couple of ferries to take from Circular Quey.  Turns out that even though he is from New Castle, Australia, he went to boarding school in Delaware for five years from the age of twelve.  His profession was journalism.  He lived in McAllen, Texas until two years ago because of some business interest he had there.  I said, "That's a dangerous place."  He agreed and told me that after he was broken into the third time, he bought a pistol.  Interesting man.  I don't know why he is driving the HOHO bus at age 72.

At Sydney Central, I went into the lounge area to access the free wi-fi for a while then went back to my room and ate my RAW LIVING FOOD supper.  It was good.  I have plenty of fruit to take with me tomorrow, so I will be good for lunch tomorrow.

I washed up with cold water and put on my sweater over my pajamas and robe.  It's cold again in my room.

My sister, Sheila, suggested I find a better place to stay.  I seriously considered it, but I have paid $71.00 a night for a private room here.  The other hotels in Sydney that are not hostels range from $250-600/night.  I think I'll stick it out here.  They have given me free wi-fi and it is normally $2.00/night.  Besides I want to put off as long as possible having to get my bags down all those stairs.  There are 58 stairs.

To health and happiness.