What a week

Last week was odd. Almost every member of the family was sick at one point, like sick enough to stay in bed for a day, someone went to the hospital and another one called an ambulance. Gee, more drama than one week needs.

My fancy new phone was stolen too.

There was a tsunami in Samoa, flooding in the Philippines, an earthquake in Indonesia. My amazing Aceh housemate’s house was destroyed by the earthquake, she and her husband are OK. A facebook update from a common friend confirmed she was OK, a follow up email from her gave me a bit more detail, and then I learnt that she’d lost her house via a newspaper article in Melbourne (her story starts in the 4th last paragraph). The newspaper also confirmed that she is pregnant. I hope she doesn’t mind that the newspaper told me before she got the chance. She’d alluded to it in her email but wanted to tell me ‘in person’ via a skype call.

Happy news about pregnancy aside, it got to a point where I lost count of how many sets of “bad things happen in threes” I was up to.

I just followed a link to an article on Twitter which coincidentally and very surprisingly mentions another friend in the midst of earthquake recovery. We chatted on skype on Friday as he waited in a UK airport to be flown out to Padang. Now I know he’s arrived and at work.

Last week was also a really fun week. Em came to stay in Rushworth while she was on school holidays, so we did some gardening, baked banana bread and played Connect 4. Then Siobhan, Abby and Chloe joined us and we stayed indoors doing nice indoor things while it seemed to rain for a few days. Most of us slept Saturday away as we waded through a nasty virus. I slept through my 10 year school reunion. I don’t recall ever having a week that was so quiet and so eventful at the same time.

Port Fairy

I got back from Bangkok just in time to join everyone on a holiday down at the beach. It’s the middle of winter here so this was more of a “look at the beach from the vantage point of a wood fire” kind of beach holiday.

The Beach House

We stayed in a great house just outside of Port Fairy, called Bluestone Bay. It comes highly recommended by the people at Where Is Sarah? It was huge, warm, had a great kitchen and totally comfy couches. But the best bit was the view:

View from the house

View of the house

View out the back

Braving the cold to get some pics

Play time

The weather was lovely for most of the trip. After a few days of mild, sunny weather there was a bit of rain. Which obvs means….

Puddles!

Reuben loves muddles (mud + puddles)

It's a COW!

Chloe and the very hungry caterpillar

Seriously fuzzy caterpillar

Venturing further afield

One day we decided to go for a walk to the lighthouse, then we realised that the lighthouse was a few kms further than any kid was interested in. But we went for a wander anyway. The weather was great and the kids were happy to go climbing on mildly dangerous rocks along the coastline.

What better use for a rock at the beach

Strike a pose

I wanna throw the rock into the ocean Sar...

But then it got cold…

Abby realising that she's over it

Wait for me Mum!

Muuuuuum!!

After a week of taking turns to babysit the twins inside the house (a great way to ensure an afternoon nap by the fire), Jess decided it was their turn to go for a walk along the beach.

Twins go for a walk

Eventually it was time to leave Bluestone Bay.

Before we go home...we have to make at least one sandcastle

The others headed back to Melbourne to resume work/school/regular life, while MJ and I headed in the opposite direction for another few days, but I’ll save those photos for tomorrow.

The last of the Photikans

So I did a rubbish job of reporting on my last trip to Australia. I didn’t take many photos while I was at home (I was too busy sleeping), and because my “reports” of travel are just strings of photos with captions I don’t have much to work with.

So just to make it feel like I’ve met the minimum reporting requirements here are a few random photos from my trip and we will just call it even, OK?

The Night of Jess and Beck’s Double-birthday Extravaganza

Lara at the European after Jess and Beck's birthday

I would add some photos from the party but it’s hard to pick my favourite one out of 500 photos of 17 drunk people trying to squeeze into one shot. I might just create a hall of fame. That reminds me, did I mention the party? In case I didn’t…Jess turned 30 and Beck turned 40 and it was a ridiculously funny party. There were even chocolate cupcakes with pink icing…so we smashed them in each other’s faces. Obvs.

Museum Day

I took heaps of photos the day Meaghan, Clare, Ryan, Miles and I went to the museum.

Skeletosaurus

Ryan in the museum playground

Fountain in Carlton Gardens

Ryan resting by the fountain

Miles exploring the garden

Clare and Meaghan walking through the gardens to the tram

Ollie and Liam turn 1!

The other time I took my camera out was another lovely Melbourne day out. Ollie and Liam’s first birthday at the Children’s Farm and Convent.

Sarah tries to get a smile out of Ollie...Ollie is not impressed

Chloe and Rueben (this is one photo out of a very funny series)

Nanna, Liam and Ollie

Done! that’s a load off my shoulders…

Short trip to Rushworth (all those who understand the double meaning raise your hand)

In my short trip back to Australia I was able to squeeze in a trip to Rushworth (in between my busy sleep schedule). Here are some photos:

1. One of the most compelling reasons to squeeze in a trip to Rushworth

Kitchen fire

2. On Saturday MJ, Benj and I did some burning off. Here we pitted the barrel against the pile-of-stuff-bonfire. Both have their strengths: the barrel is more efficient, but the bonfire can handle some of the larger or more unweildy items.

Burning stuff

3. It turned into night very quickly

Burning stuff, then it gets dark

4.On Sunday the girls came to Rushworth and Em took me for a spin on this monster

Emily on the quadrasaur

5. We also did more burning, and cleaned out the wash house, finding little treasures like this:

Sarah's art from grade Prep. I hit the peak of my talent shortly after.

6. In the evening it was time for marshmallows

Abby toasts marshmallows

Abby eats marshmallows

7. And I made a cake! We fed it to people the next day and it got rave reviews. But then when I told them I made it from a packet (obvs) I got chastised! What!? Since when are packets evil? Without them there would probably be 90% less cake in the world.

I made lemon cake!

MJ visits Thailand

Last month MJ came to visit for a couple of weeks. Even for a fairly chilled out couple of weeks I have about 500 photos to post so I’ll break it up into smaller posts.

First thing on our agenda when MJ arrived was to get acquainted with the coffee suppliers of Ari. I would be going to work during the day so MJ needed to know how to get her coffee fix on her own. Survival skills tested. Fortunately you only have to walk one minute in any direction from my apartment and you will bump into someone selling coffee.

At my favourite Ari cafe, Wawee

Wawee Coffee is my favourite place to go because it’s in a garden with trees and birds and a gazeebo! The above photo was MJ at the beginning of the trip.

The photo below was taken two weeks later, just before MJ’s return to Melbourne. It was on this trip to Wawee that we sneakily stole bits of plants for me to grow at home on my balcony. We put them in water and they’ve all sprouted roots! Now I just need to find some dirt!

The gazeebo at Wawee

fare thee well and feed me delicious food

I’ve been in Bangkok for over a month so I think it’s time I posted some pictures of my farewells in Melbourne.

As usually happens, on  my last night in town the fam got together for dinner. As usually happens Jess made cupcakes, which is probably my favourite Fortuna family tradition (apart from everyone getting together in the first place).

Early in the evening I asked the girls to come outside so I get some photos of them before it got dark and these were the poses the girls thought apt.

They’re ridiculous. I didn’t prompt them in the slightest, it was more like “Oh I know! Let’s lie on the grass and look like we’re selling socks in a target catalog!”

There was also some inexplicable tree hugging going on. When I asked why they thought it was a good pose, Em was too exasperated to even explain. “It just looks good OK!”

Chloe wasn’t so fussed about posing, but she did need to point out that her pajamas were boys jarmies. (“Today I’m wearing buzz lightyear for armani. I feel fabulous!”)

The excellent thing about have a big immediate family who have a million kids is that getting everyone together for a simple dinner turns into the event of the century. There is no shortage of ceremony denoting my departure when 15 turn up and crowd around a table.

The night before my farewell, I had a special girls only no boys allowed farewell at the European. I’d been hoping for a visit to the European for a while and it really knocked my socks off. Eating rice and chicken off plastic plates while perched on the side of a broken footpath doesn’t really compare to the fancpantsness of our meal that night. The lemon is wrapped in organza. Need I say more.

I’d been harping on about oysters so Lara made it happen. A photo of Lara with Parliament looking a bit special in the background, and oysters in the foreground. Gah, I want to climb into the photo right now and eat every single oyster…and say hi Lara while I’m there, of course.

Clare joined us a little later and the food consumption tipped the scales of delicious as Paul, our man on the ground, kept bringing us tastiness after tastiness. You know what…they had schnitzel! Oysters and schnitzel in one night!? I can’t handle that kind of perfection.

Yes indeed, that is apple crumble soufle you’re looking at. Yes indeed, it was a sweet and delicious morsel, thank you for asking.

I had another farewell party too (greedy no?) Although this one was a “hello, goodbye” party for a few people I hadn’t caught up with in the 18 minutes I was back home. Amanda hosted and cooked her lasagne, which she knows warms the hearts of all, especially Sarah. She called this get together “the Fortch look-in party”.

All the old Fortch classics where there. Bryant even graced us with his self-important presence for a minute or two (I simply must get back to thesis. It’s very important you know).

The guy in the far back of this photo (I don’t remember his name) told the funniest story about the pirated DVD trade in Melbourne. Lemon gelato nearly came out of my nose. I’m still laughing. Other people have built comedic careers on the foundation of a single joke…I think this guy should too.

And we reminisced about Amanda’s and my genius forsight to spend some of the zero dollars we had as students to buy that hand printed White Stripes poster from when they toured sometime in 2002 or 2003. One day we’ll be rich!

Thank you for the fun and yummy farewells guys. I can only imagine the welcome home celebrations will be just as tasty.

My very own new home

Sunday night

Guess where I am? Sitting in my new apartment! Contracts have been signed, a billion gagillion baht has been paid up in advance, and I’m ready to go…for one year! I am completely weirded out (in a good way) that I will be in the same apartment for a whole year. Such…stability. Perhaps that says a lot for my unrelenting need for change, but it also says ONE YEAR! I might as well decorate!

One of the very cool things about my apartment is that I’m its very first tenant. That means my bed is brand new, and the fridge still has the operating manual sitting in the crisper. I have a big balcony with a beautiful view of a brick wall, but unlike other ‘balconies’ there is more than ‘standing room only’. There is serious lounging potential (if one doesn’t mind a bit of stifling heat). My apartment has a kitchen, lounge room, bedroom and bathroom and all but the bathroom is separated by imaginary walls in my head! Yes, it’s one very multipurpose room, but I love it…a small space designed to to feel a lot  bigger.

Monday afternoon

This is going to sound like a bit of an Oscar’s speech but I really do need to thank a number of people who helped me find the place, do the negotiating, scrape together huge amounts of cash at short notice, etc… There were quite a few factors working against the smooth flow of the day yesterday and as my nerves frayed (convinced something would intervene and tear my new home away from me) I was overwhelmed by the extra help I was getting from people I know well and people I didn’t know at all.

How’s this for a great spiritual problem: I am receiving too much! I needed to send gratitude out by the bucket load for fear of two things. 1) that people wouldn’t know I was grateful, 2) Karmic backlash. I called in favours that weren’t mine to call in! So my favours bank is in serious deficit. I sent out a few shout outs to the Universe in general as I drove along in a taxi yesterday (because, as I might have already told you, the universe is ON MY SIDE in a big way…I have proof), I also did some victory dances throughout the day, but I need to step it the gratitude and the giving. I’m thinking some kind of offering to the gods could be helpful (any and all gods), but I’m also just on the look out for any opportunities to pay it back or forward (probably both to be on the safe side).

Any ideas?

Snapshots: Reuben

Reuben loves noodles just about as much as his Auntie Sar does.

Liam and Oliver get baptised

Liam is pretty much the luckiest kid ever because he has ME to guide him spiritually through life.

Liam looking just about as cute as a little fella can look and his naturally beautiful godmother.

Liam and Oliver getting oiled

I will be frank in the admission that it’s been a while since I’ve been to church. I’m pretty sure Jess and Mark were aware of that when they recruited me so I guess they’re OK that I’m on a fast track to hell (after all, they’re in the same lane).

The words of any mass are so drilled into my brain from years of going on Sunday that I immediately turn onto autopilot as soon as I enter a church, but when I wasn’t instinctively thinking ‘is it over yet?’, ‘I’m hungry’ and ‘I need to wee’, I noticed the priest’s attempts to make church relevant for the adults, and a bit entertaining for the kids. I liked this guy and thought he pitched his explanations of the rituals at the right level (I’m guessing less than 10 percent of the people attending the baptism regularly attend mass so he was right to assume that his audience was pretty ignorant). He also found time to talk about the Footy Grand Final and the new animated film Wall-E (it was possible he was sponsored by Pixar).

I realised how out of practice I was at going to church when my response to the priest’s strong comments opposing changes to abortion laws in Victoria was “Gee, that’s a bit bold! Is he allowed to say that?”

After the christening, like all good Catholics we headed straight to the pub. Jess found a great room upstairs at the Grandview Hotel in West Brunswick and it was just right for a group of adults and kids, plenty to drink and plenty of space to run around. AND the jukebox only played Billy Idol’s White Wedding, which was lucky because that was exactly what we wanted to hear.

I got to see plenty of cousins and friends and all of those flamin’ brothers and sisters and neices and nephews. Jess made cake with accompanying cupcakes again. Twice in two days! sen-bloody-sational!

Happy Birthday Chiara

After a relaxing week in Rushworth it was time to get back to Melbourne and the reunion tour. Before Liam and Oliver’s christening on Sunday another special occasion had to be celebrated with cake, dancing and lots of pink. Chiara’s 7th birthday.

Chiara contemplates turning seven

As usual, Jess upped the ante with a seriously glam hot pink heart cake (with accompanying hot pink cupcakes).

Chiara is pretty much an adult now, so she very maturely received her guests for the evening (there’s always quite a crowd when you have 10+ aunts and uncles) and very politely thanked people for and showed off her presents. She also entertained said 10+ aunts and uncles with some seriously serious dancing. Sure, the girls pretended it was just a game – we all dance around and when the music stops we have to freeze – but it was clear these guys had been practicing since forever to pull their funky moves.

Abby, one of the twins (but which one? who knows?) and Chiara

The adults love cupcakes too