Christmas 2009

Obviously, I've been procrastinating posting our Christmas story. Like Christmas, the pressure was horribly daunting - too much to get into one package and one shot to get it right.
So, I decided to just lay it on the line. Christmastime was sad. Sorry. With my mom dying in March and no one here to do "regular" Christmas with, it had many really sad moments of loneliness and blech. Just for the record, "Regular Christmastime" has: Holy Supper with disgusting dishes like herring and fish and egg, lots of decorations, carols on every radio station and in every public place for a month, snow or at least weather within 80 degrees of the possibility, too much visiting, cookies, boil-o, Lithuanian songs and the state of Pennsylvania.
Fortunately, I'm a grown-up most of the time and I can fake it. Thomas had a really good Christmas and faking it can make a person feel better.
Christmas morning, we finally had to wake Thomas up at 10 a.m. What child is this? We had a nice video call with some of our family on their Christmas Eve.
We took our time opening prezzies which translates to: hours. We had a great brunch of eggs, ham and pancakes with berries and whipped cream. Thomas saw an angel with a trumpet in his dippy egg. Can you?
About 3 p.m., we packed for Ross River Resort; about an hour out of town. People had told me it was "rustic." That's the sunny Aussie attitude for you - it was yuuuu-cky! We had a $125 a night cabin. The floor was stone which could be neato except it hadn't seen a cleaning in a few decades. The walls were wood slats which had been upgraded in the last generation by stapling burlap along the inside. There were too many spiders even for me. The pictures actually look way better than the real thing. I'm done complaining now. Back to making it an exciting adventure.
The area was beautiful. The pool was fine except for the cleaner constantly crawling along the bottom like a horseshoe crab with its vacuum hose trailing across preventing a good swim. The people running it and taking us on our tour the next day (Ossie's Outback Adventures) were exceedingly nice.
The STARS at 3 a.m. when I couldn't sleep because it was 90 degrees with the a/c full blast and the scratching, chewing noise next to my bed was disconcerting, were indescribable. I'll try to make them describable. It was like looking deep into a bouquet of asters - the tiny, white ones. There were layers of stars. Once you saw them, caught your breath then started breathing again, you saw more, then more, then more, then more. They made me feel incredibly small and incredibly omnipotent at the same time. That was worth it.
Saturday (Boxing Day), we had a 4-wheel drive tour of N'Dhala (rhymes with koala) Gorge, known for its petroglyphs. Most of the carvings at N'Dhala are from the last 2,000 years, but some are up to 10,000 years old. The sun was high and clear so the photos aren't great.
There are around 6,000 carvings in the rocks of the gorge. We found some our guide had never seen. They were quite fascinating. Harry, our guide, said the reason for the amount of carved rock art in the N'Dhala area is its abundance of resources - plants, animals, easy water and caves for shelter. The ancient Aboriginals didn't have to spend their days hunting and digging for food and water here, so they had the luxury of free time. The sacredness of the place is reflected in the symbols - again, the creator caterpillar-beings and many others. Tom found one he called the parachute man.
Our walk was about 2 hours and we were all parched back at the jeep. We were then treated to an extra driving tour of a cattle station on the way. Some wild horses, called "brumbies" live here but were invisible that day. The bores or wells for cattle attract a lot of birds. We saw flocks of zebra finches in the hundreds with the "Droughtmaster" cattle. The cattle live on just the scrub they find in the outback desert - no hay or grain. These are some tough cattle.
Back at the ranch, we gorged on Aussie burgers at the main house - beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, pineapple, beetroot and a fried egg. Hit the spot.
The rest of our trip was spent in the pool. A pink-eared duck was there the next morning and I know it was a pink-eared duck because I got a bird book for Christmas. Thanks Santa!

PS Images from N'Dhala get their own blog entry.
PPS The little white fluffy guy is Happy - a pup were were sitting for a friend.

The Incredible Shrinking Town

There's been some fun the last few weekends. Some of the hotels here have a deal for locals where if you eat in their restaurant, you can stay and use the pool. It's pretty neat. The town pool is really nice, but it's fun to be somewhere else for awhile.
In fact, that feeling of - that's great, but what else is there?- starts to pervade a lot of one's life here. Alice is an island. It is an oasis surrounded by desert - thousands of miles of it. A ten minute drive has you on the edge of town and there is no town ahead of you... for hours and hours.
There is heaps to do and see here, in Alice. It just starts to occur to one (ahem, me) that this is all there is. There's lots of it (I realize I'm repeating myself), and it's beautiful and fun and wonderfully interesting, but then... there's nothing else. Sometimes, I worry that heaven will be kinda similar. "Halleluia, halleluia..." Four billion years down; eternity to go.
Back to the hotel pool - we were all hungry after church last Sunday and we decided to eat at the Alice Springs Resort where Tom's group had had a Christmas party.
The food was tasty and the staff was so nice. We were the only people in the restaurant. There was no one else at the pool either. Thomas had been asking to drive his remote control boat somewhere and the glimmer of an idea came to us both. I asked the manager if we could drive the boat around the pool so long as we didn't bother anyone. In true Aussie style: "Aw sure , no worries."
We had the pool as our personal marina for a good 3 hours. There was a stone fountain in the middle which added to the excitement with "driving blind" behind it. Tom and I both raced the boat swimming. The skipper was in fits of giggles. The flies and some other patrons came in about mid-afternoon, so we headed home - 7 minutes away.
I hear there are three or four more hotels in town with the same lunch/swim deal. We'll have to work the circuit. Thomas took the photo in our backyard to look like one he saw in a catalog. He's quite fascinated by marketing; especially the Sham-WOW!

Thanks for Everything

Nope. There is no way to have an American Thanksgiving in Alice Springs. People try...and try...and there are turkeys in shops and cans of pumpkin stuffed in suitcases from trips home. The Saturday prior, we were invited to a nice American gathering at a friend's house - 30 people; supremely brave woman. Still, no filling vs. stuffing wars, no keilbassi; there's no place like home.
Soooooo... why even try?!
We decided to throw tradition out the window and invent our own Aussie Thanksgiving. It was great!
My original plan was to get our barbecue grill Wednesday and have a cook-out at home. Alas, I forgot to never count on anything happening quickly here. The grill was available, but the truck wouldn't bring it from the warehouse until Thursday after 3.
I went to swim aerobics in the morning. Tom and Thomas built a cool robot sent from his pal, Carly back in Warrenton and then, we hit the outback trail!
I'd been hearing a lot about the Telegraph Station lately - a large historical/natural area just a couple kilometers from town. A friend had seen a 2-metre Perentie lizard very up-close there recently; another man went on about the nice trails and a local gal had recommended the carpark for kangaroo sightings in the evening. The also have grills - nice, push-a-button gas grills, free for the using.
We packed chicken breasts and thighs, drinks, lettuce and bread, mayo and the all-important Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce (feel free to send a can whenever you want). Cans of baked beans and corn rounded out the meal and I had baked a pumpkin pie with a grave and respectful nod to our fellow pilgrims. Oh, don't forget the camera and binoculars. Oh, and aluminum foil. Oh, something to put the leftovers in. Should we bring these apples? How about macadamia nuts? Oh, hand sanitizer and paper towels. Come on, get in the car!
It was a warm day, only in the 90's. There were nice tables at a good height to sit on as well as eat on. The birds were terrific. I heard the flute-like song of a pied butcherbird and found it sitting on the restroom wall. Flocks of Port Lincoln parrots were chasing each other through the palm trees. Tom and Thomas walked over to the visitors' center while I got the chicken sizzling.

Feeling very Pilgrimmy, we gave thanks a lot: for our home here in this wild, new land; for surviving 3 months armed only with a Visa card and SPF 45, for our friends and family back home.
Our sandwiches and sides were yummy. The company was interesting, too. Right about at pie time, a young kangaroo came hopping into the picnic area. He was in no hurry and soon laid down in the shade of a tree. Ok, "hopping" isn't the right word. See, roos have a kind of non-airborne movement where they are on all-fours and just go: paws.. feet... paws...feet. It's not hopping. Definitely not walking. It's good for eating grass. Let's call it "loping." So, he loped around a little and checked out the picnic table beyond ours. They (2 Aboriginal kids and a white woman) had left to play frisbee. When the Aboriginal kids saw the kangaroo, they crept slowly toward it making a soft clicking noise. It turned and loped right up to them!
Just kidding; it hopped away. When it did, it came on an angle toward us about 10 feet away. Can you find it in both pictures?
When it was at a comfortable distance again, it browsed some grass awhile then went its kangaroo way.
With the kangaroo gone, my men decided they'd had enough food and flies and wanted air conditioning and their robot again.
I told you it was a great day.

Mind the Gap

Daddy got to go to Sydney and Canberra for a week, so Thomas and I had our own adventures. We filled a magical Sunday with magical stuff. First: church, and promised a dollar, Thomas was good. Considering early martyrs paid with their lives, a buck isn't so bad. Plus, the exchange rate is currently 92 cents.
The plan was swimming in the backyard next, but since we were finally graced with a cooler day (temps had hit 110 the past week), we skipped that and Thomas found one of those ridiculous airplane tragedy movies on the telly. Written 20-odd years ago, it had become a comedy with flare guns shooting down fighter jets and flight attendants in mini-skirts climbing ladders - often.
By 2 p.m., we were ready for real-life and headed to Emily and Jesse Gaps.
No one living knows who Emily and Jesse were. Rumors they were daughters of an explorer have been proven untrue, but they have nice gaps. Local "Gaps," BTW, are not places to find deals on sportswear, but natural openings in the McDonnell Range which runs along the south side of this area.
They are about 10-15 minutes' drive away, but since I forgot to look at which road they were on, it took about an hour. When you visit, remind me to take Ross Highway.
Emily is first and very pretty. It is a registered sacred site and one of the most important in the "Dreaming Trail" of the aboriginal people who believe the caterpillar beings, who created the topography of this area, came to the surface here and spread out across the Simpson Desert. There was a major battle here between the caterpillar beings and the stinky beetle beings with great losses especially to the caterpillar side. Their guts dried and formed the rocks on which Thomas now climbs.
I can't seem to find out how old the rock paintings are, but they were there when Europeans came in 1871 and up to 13,000 years before that. They are maintained by generations of people who inherit the responsibility. Local mineral clays are used, mixed with animal fat.
The paintings are roped off and there is a barbed-wire fence a short way into the gorge. Like many places here, there are implied rules, but no way to enforce them. So, it is up to the individual. This individual chose to not cross the barbed wire even though there were about as many footprints in the sand beyond it as before it.
Hey, sacred is sacred and no one should have to pay me a dollar to be good.
Next stop: Jesse's place about 5 minutes down the road.
Our fly nets were very handy on this day as the other few tourists we saw spent a lot of energy constantly shooing.
I can't stop thinking of Jesse as the Jan Brady of the gaps. She's not quite as pretty... her paintings are ok, but she's no Marcia, er... Emily. Emily gets the exciting Caterpillar - Stinky Beetle battle. Jesse gets compared to Emu fat. There are some important ceremonial objects buried there. Both sacred sites are only for "initiated" men. If "initiated" calls to mind scary scenes from Roots and articles from National Geographic, you've pretty-much nailed it.
Same barbed wire a short distance in, same easy way around it if you want.
Next: back to visit our old friends, the wallabies at Heavitree Gap. This time, we were early but found them already waiting. This time, they were almost scary-friendly, climbing onto laps and digging into the food bag like crazy goats at a petting zoo. Thomas spent his time "training" them to sit up for food and follow a rock he had rubbed the smell of pellets into. We sat with the wallabies and watched the sun set on our really fun day.

NEW-BORN BABY TURNS SIX!!

Ah, 'tis true. Thomas Alexander is six years old. He's a lot more fun now. I see more and more glimmers of a sentient human being in there. He makes jokes that actually make sense (sometimes). He is reading more and more every time we turn around and continues to astound with Yoda questions like, "Can you count to one by infinities?" Maybe he's still so awful in church because he's a buddhist.
He officially passed his grade one advancement assessment with flying colors (!!), so he will proceed to grade 1 with his class in late January. I must point out, this is NOT skipping ahead. Although he has done terrific accomplishing so much in one quarter, he should be going on to grade 1 here, for his age. In August of 2011, when we come back to the US, he will be 3/4 through grade 2, but just starting start second grade in the states... we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. I am just thrilled he is doing so well and loves school!
BTW, one question was: Which coin could buy the most lollies? Most kids pick the biggest coin. The Aussie 2-dollar coin is about the size of a nickel. He should get extra points for knowing what lollies are.
The festivities marking the turning of the six were many and varied. There were cupcakes for the class. I thought those balloon blowers were cute to stick in each, but didn't realize they honked. Can you imagine 21 kids with honking balloons? Cacophony is the only word for it. Good thing Mr. M has an unfailing sense of humor. He even tried to give Thomas 6 spanks "and one to grow on." Thomas escaped, but when was the last time a teacher could even playfully spank? 1970?
That evening, we had a few friends to Sammy's Pizza - sort-of the Chuck-e-Cheese of Alice Springs. They have an indoor play area with a slide and a network of soft, climby stuff. That's it.I must say, they're pizza is better than Chuck-e's and kids from 2 to 13 were happily playing and enjoyed their balloons and lollie-bags.
Thomas picked a Wall-E cake from Wendy's, which is Baskin Robbins. He has never seen nor heard of Wall-E to my knowledge. HOW does Disney DO that??
He had a wonderfully memorable and happy birthday. Now, I just have to deal with all the kids who want to come home with him to see his new toys. They're CRAZY!
(and I love it)

Desert Park

Now this a field trip. No going to visit the fire station. No seeing how the mail gets sorted.


This is an Aussie Field Trip, so bring water and watch for snakes!

First, Mr. M and Mrs. Mac gather everyone and their recess (that means snack) onto the bus. Mr. M is the teacher and drives the bus.
Off we go, kids! Here we are, kids!- about 200 meters up the road at the Alice Springs Desert Park. http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/
Since I was a helper-mommy, I drove Thomas straight there and he didn't get his school hat. He's the one in the tan with the attached fly net. All the kids thought that was way cool. Ah, to be six.

The park is a beautiful representation of various desert habitats - whether actual or created. There is also a Nocturnal House with bilbys, bandicoots, quolls, hopping mice and other really cute freaks scurrying about. Mid-way through our walk, we got to see the raptor show. These are the best-trained owls, kites and other birds I've ever seen.

They are PROS. Unfortunately, my camera skills are not nearly as refined and I mostly have pics of some guy standing in khaki shorts. The birds fly up at exactly the right time, show whatever behavior the guide is talking about, then disappear.

I promise, anyone who comes to visit us will see the Desert Park.



I think this is a black kite. Yes, they know it's brown.



They made some lush, tropical areas, too with flight cages of cockatoos, bush turkeys and

Look! A Kookaburra sits in an old... oh, nevermind.


We didn't make it to the kangaroo enclosure, the salt pans or the emus, but Mr. M says we'll go back before the school year ends in December. Wow, I hope grade 1 is this much fun. Ummm, for Thomas. Yeah.

Thomas: Geared-up and Gettin' Hot

So much to tell you about! I'm going to break it into several posts. Let's start with... Thomas! He spoke his first Australian word on Halloween. We were done trick-or-treating and were driving out of town to a star-gazing thing. We passed a really halloweened-up house and he said, "We should go back home and collect my pumpkin bag." Collect! They've gotten to his brain.

They've gotten to his body, too. His class and every elementary class in the school has had swimming lessons every day for the past 2 weeks. In nine classes, he's gone from a kid who screamed for a dry towel while getting his hair washed to swimming under water and retrieving toys from the bottom of the pool! I can't do that! Miss Taryn Nottle, the P.E. teacher at Living Waters school, gets all the credit. She spent her time with the kids who had the least experience and our Thomas bloomed like a waterlilly. Let him re-phrase that to, "I'm just like a boat now."

My aqua-aerobics classes are at this same town pool.
We set up one of those inflated-ring-topped waterbag pools in the backyard and we've all been enjoying it. Temps have already hit 105, but they hide the truth by saying it's, "42."

I think we'll spend a lot of time wet or indoors in the up-coming months.

It kind of messes with me to have people talking about spring horse race season and summer vacation coming up and Thanksgiving is around the corner and the stores have Christmas trees up.


Speaking of Halloween (I did up at the top, remember?), this is my friend, Renee.
How often do you think she gets to wear THAT vest?
Renee comes with Chloe, too cute in her handmade rainbow pony costume; also Ty, a Big Boy Thomas really likes and two teen girls who make great sitters.

Since this post is about Thomas, I guess I put them in to show we ARE making friends and even some little boy friends at school. No pics of them yet.
Oh, wait! Yes, on the field trip...