Home Among The Pine Trees

I bought a new mirror to sit upon the dresser, since I still don't have a mirror in the bathroom.  I am not going to buy a decent bathroom mirror as this is not my house and I still haven't been given permission to hang anything up in this home.  There was a routine inspection today and I need to call the real estate tomorrow to find out what their findings were.  Yesterday, a new gas meter was installed so when I came home, the gas had been turned off.  Gas is needed for the stove, oven, hot water and heater.  I don't need a heater just yet but hot water is especially important to me.  I like to have a hot shower first thing in the morning. 

I found the 'new' gas meter in the corner of the garden, close to the house, right near a prickly bush and, using the pamphlet that was left in the mailbox, attempted to turn it on.  The gas meter looks nothing like their diagram, so I called a friend, who handed the phone to her husband and he told me how to do it.  I had to burn one of the hotplates on the stove for a few minutes and if it lasted, then that meant the gas was definitely turned on properly.

That task completed, I went outside to the backyard where the water heater was, pulled open the door and tried to follow their instructions.  I could find the pilot light, but couldn't figure what the piezo button was.  I pressed this and that but nothing yielded nor worked so finally, I called the maintenance guy from school who came over a couple hours later.  It didn't work the first time, so we had to wait a few minutes and I showed him through my home and explained some of my US treasures to him.  He knows how to play cribbage and I told him that Dave had taught me to play online and that when we first played in real life, as I didn't know how to score, Dave 'cheated' and won the first game.  (True story.)  Actually, Dave and I used to also play as partners in yahoo cribbage and we were a formidable team.  I told Simon that Dave and I were also very good at the game "Cranium" and as Dave was ruthless and I was competitive, it was another game we would win together. 

The water heater was lit and I think I know how to do it myself, should I ever need to.  I enjoyed my lovely hot shower this morning and was able to have yummy roast chicken for dinner tonight.  After dinner, I finally tucked into a hot cross bun.  When I was in the States for the last 2 Easters, hot cross buns was not something I got to eat and I had missed them.  The first bun I ate tonight, did not taste as good as I had anticipated but I tried again and the 2nd one was fruitier and therefore yummier.  Unlike the States, the supermarkets here have a wider array of chocolate Easter eggs and most Easter eggs are chocolate.  Cadbury's, Red Tulip and Lindt are my favourite chocolate Easter eggs.  There is also not as much emphasis on Easter baskets in Australia, nor on making and decorating your own eggs. 

Although Australia is somewhat influenced by the States, especially due to popular TV shows, there are still some differences.  It was interesting in the staffroom at recess today as we were discussing Simon's birthday party which he has invited guests to dress up as their favourite movie character.  It had been mentioned that I could dress up as "Annie Get Your Gun" and then someone said, "But you'll have to find a pair of cowboy boots".  They looked suitably surprised when I commented that I already have those, a western shirt and a Jacaru hat.  All I have to do is find a gun.. a toy gun, perhaps a water gun as that would be useful. 

Which brings up another story.  At our wedding BBQ, someone had confiscated a water gun and it was on the table in front of Dave and I.  Every now and again, I would pick it up and squirt someone and before they turned around, I would slide it in front of Dave.  He would naturally be blamed as his family and friends didn't know me so well and Dave was the sort of guy who would use a water gun on unsuspecting friends.  I was telling a friend this story recently and she said, "You would have been the first person I'd have blamed!"  Ahh yes, Dave and I were similar in more ways than people realised.

One more final story.  Yesterday afternoon, a father of one of my students came into speak with me and he was originally from the States, from California.  I told him I was from Washington State and he clarified that I mean Washington above Oregon and not on the East coast.  He was pretty excited about that and asked me if I knew where Kettle Falls was.  When I told him that I had even been to Kettle Falls, he was even more impressed as his father had lived in a log cabin somewhere in that vicinity.  I told him I had lived in Reardan and he knew where that was which impressed me since I had friends from Spokane who didn't know where Reardan was.  It was really great to know that someone in Australia knew about Reardan, knew about the area where I had lived and had even been there.  When he talked about 'propane', and when he spoke with his American accent, it made me feel good and reminded me that my life with Dave was real!