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363 days after arriving, FFM and I departed Perth. We abandonded Travis and at this very moment I suspect he's living the sad and lonely bachelor life and doing things like sleeping in, leaving the seat up on the toilet, and eating dinner at 9 o'clock at night.
Meanwhile we're having the worst bout of jet lag ever compounded by a dire and terrible disease I seem to have picked up along the way which is keeping me coughing all day and night. I finally broke down and went to a doctor today, and am armed with all the medicines American doctors love to prescribe. I'm still coughing but, fingers crossed, should be able to sleep. FFM was given strict instructions NOT to wake up at 1am requesting cars to play with. We had a three hour discussion last night about the fact that even though he can see the cars from his bed he's not allowed to play with them until morning (i.e. when it's LIGHT outside).
I'm laying low for a while, but we did make it it mostly in one piece to Denver. We are ensconced in Granny Annie's basement B&B for the time being, more details to follow as soon as we know them.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Hedgehog
Knitting project of the moment, felted toy hedgehog for soon-to-be baby girl Shahin.
The felting doesn't work as well in my frontloader washer, I'll have to figure out a better process in the future. I love these, I've made a couple of them now and poor FFM doesn't have one of his own yet. He got really attached to this particular one. Next one is his, I promise. Each one is totally baby safe and gets a little shaker inside so they rattle when you give them a jiggle.
The felting doesn't work as well in my frontloader washer, I'll have to figure out a better process in the future. I love these, I've made a couple of them now and poor FFM doesn't have one of his own yet. He got really attached to this particular one. Next one is his, I promise. Each one is totally baby safe and gets a little shaker inside so they rattle when you give them a jiggle.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The grumps
Right on cue, it's a week before we depart and -
1) FFM has a raging cold.
2) FFM screams, whines, whinges, and throws temper tantrums unless he is doing one of his regularly scheduled activities like swim lessons, daycare, etc.
3) 3.5 out of 4 bags are packed and I'm stressed about how to fit the last few items I think we might need over the next 6 months in. I'm glad I don't have to worry about what I'm forgetting, Travis can bring things when he comes in 3 months. It's really too expensive to mail stuff and I'm so tired of buying duplicates.
4) No new houses seem to be coming on the market in the part of town we really would like to live so I'm not really excited or inspired to house shop at the moment and sincerely hope that changes when I get to Denver.
5) I'm exhausted, not sleeping, and getting headaches all the time.
Tomorrow I get my hair done AND it's daycare day and I'm sure that will help improve my outlook , but it's too grumpy around here at the moment. This part of moving/traveling I won't miss, the week/days before a big trip when FFM gets unsettled and ticked off and intractable, I guess I'm spoiled the rest of the time.
1) FFM has a raging cold.
2) FFM screams, whines, whinges, and throws temper tantrums unless he is doing one of his regularly scheduled activities like swim lessons, daycare, etc.
3) 3.5 out of 4 bags are packed and I'm stressed about how to fit the last few items I think we might need over the next 6 months in. I'm glad I don't have to worry about what I'm forgetting, Travis can bring things when he comes in 3 months. It's really too expensive to mail stuff and I'm so tired of buying duplicates.
4) No new houses seem to be coming on the market in the part of town we really would like to live so I'm not really excited or inspired to house shop at the moment and sincerely hope that changes when I get to Denver.
5) I'm exhausted, not sleeping, and getting headaches all the time.
Tomorrow I get my hair done AND it's daycare day and I'm sure that will help improve my outlook , but it's too grumpy around here at the moment. This part of moving/traveling I won't miss, the week/days before a big trip when FFM gets unsettled and ticked off and intractable, I guess I'm spoiled the rest of the time.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Didgeridoo duet part 2
About a year ago I posted a video of FFM and Travis playing 'didgeridoos.'
While in Brisbane Travis got to know an Aboriginal man who makes didgeridoos and bought one for himself. When I went back to Brissy in May he sent me with instructions to try to buy another one for FFM.
Now, to pick a good didgeridoo you have to play it, and I'm terrible at playing it. I can't make my lips flappy enough so it just buzzes. I was really hoping someone there would be able to test them out for me so I could complete the rare task that Travis has asked me to do. We got lucky, Travis' friend wasn't there that day but one of his helpers was able to perform enough that I was able to pick a really nice didg for FFM.
Since then the two have occasionally gotten out their didgeridoos to 'play' them. FFM's previous playing always consisted of just singing into this giant, hollowed out tree limb. Last time, however, he got it. And I'm not kidding when I tell you I was floored that our 2 year old had the lung power and flappy lips (OK, I'm not surprised about the lips) to get some decent notes out.
He looks like he's anxious to get out of the shot, it's simply because this is about the third video I took and he really wanted to watch it on the camera screen. He doesn't get that when he gets up he's not in the picture anymore...
While in Brisbane Travis got to know an Aboriginal man who makes didgeridoos and bought one for himself. When I went back to Brissy in May he sent me with instructions to try to buy another one for FFM.
Now, to pick a good didgeridoo you have to play it, and I'm terrible at playing it. I can't make my lips flappy enough so it just buzzes. I was really hoping someone there would be able to test them out for me so I could complete the rare task that Travis has asked me to do. We got lucky, Travis' friend wasn't there that day but one of his helpers was able to perform enough that I was able to pick a really nice didg for FFM.
Since then the two have occasionally gotten out their didgeridoos to 'play' them. FFM's previous playing always consisted of just singing into this giant, hollowed out tree limb. Last time, however, he got it. And I'm not kidding when I tell you I was floored that our 2 year old had the lung power and flappy lips (OK, I'm not surprised about the lips) to get some decent notes out.
He looks like he's anxious to get out of the shot, it's simply because this is about the third video I took and he really wanted to watch it on the camera screen. He doesn't get that when he gets up he's not in the picture anymore...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Seen on MSN's home page today
My homepage is set to msn.com and when I flipped open the laptop during naps this afternoon, lo and behold is a headline screaming "America's 10 Strongest Housing Markets" with a photo I recognize. Hey, I say, it's Boulder! There it is, front and center on msn.com. I clicked on the article, below is the first paragraph from BusinessWeek. Click on the title to read the rest.
The 10 strongest U.S. housing markets
By Prashant Gopal of BusinessWeek
Wait a second. At a time when real-estate prices have been in almost perpetual free fall for more than a year, are there really places around the U.S. where home values are going up? Unbelievable as it may sound, yes. According to real-estate site Zillow.com's second-quarter home value index, there are more than 30 metro areas across the country where values have risen from the first quarter of the year to the second quarter. The winner? Boulder, Colo., the affluent Denver suburb where the share of homes with increasing values rose nearly 60%.
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There was an article in Denver's 5280 magazine back in May (my mom saved it for us to read while we were there) detailing several Denver area neighborhood that have all had increasing values. Thus the good news around Denver, anyway, that the housing market is stabilizing.
We're not moving to Boulder, but Denver area real-estate's been in the national news a lot lately. Now, if only some of those home owners (other than all the willing ones in Castle Rock and Aurora) would just get off their duff and put their houses on the market so we could buy one. Our realtor emailed me some listings this morning and I'm sure hoping things pick up in the next couple of weeks as the pickings are a bit slim!
The 10 strongest U.S. housing markets
By Prashant Gopal of BusinessWeek
Wait a second. At a time when real-estate prices have been in almost perpetual free fall for more than a year, are there really places around the U.S. where home values are going up? Unbelievable as it may sound, yes. According to real-estate site Zillow.com's second-quarter home value index, there are more than 30 metro areas across the country where values have risen from the first quarter of the year to the second quarter. The winner? Boulder, Colo., the affluent Denver suburb where the share of homes with increasing values rose nearly 60%.
__
There was an article in Denver's 5280 magazine back in May (my mom saved it for us to read while we were there) detailing several Denver area neighborhood that have all had increasing values. Thus the good news around Denver, anyway, that the housing market is stabilizing.
We're not moving to Boulder, but Denver area real-estate's been in the national news a lot lately. Now, if only some of those home owners (other than all the willing ones in Castle Rock and Aurora) would just get off their duff and put their houses on the market so we could buy one. Our realtor emailed me some listings this morning and I'm sure hoping things pick up in the next couple of weeks as the pickings are a bit slim!
