'Tis a strange place

I've had 12 hours of excitement and discovery since I arrived. (Let's not mention the more than 24 hours it took to get here, shall we?)

For instance, did you know:

1. American Airlines don't feed you? I didn't realise this til I was safely strapped in for my 3 hour flight from LA to Dallas and looking forward to lunch. I could have bought a snack box for $4 but it sounded completely unappetising and had turkey in it. So I arrived in Dallas starving. And Texas isn't the best place for a vegetarian to be looking for a little something healthy to eat... Got a great postcard of the airport, though (that last comment is loaded with sarcasm, by the way)

2. There really is a man on the moon? We flew into Philadelphia in a massive storm last night (which caused the captain to go for a bit of a joy ride for 40 minutes before deciding to actually land) and at one stage the clouds cleared and there was definitely a face on the moon. Or maybe I was in advanced stages of hallucination...

3. In America, you flick the lightswith up to turn on the light and down to turn it off.4. And in the bathroom you pull the tap up to turn it on.

5. Don't ask me how to turn the lamp off - my brain had gone into overload by the time it was explained to me.

6. Hours of fun can be had by reading the labels on the food and trying to work out what the heck all the ingredients actually are and, more importantly, why someone felt it was necessary to add whatever it is to, for instance, a pottle of yoghurt.

7. You can buy red bananas!8. Everything really is bigger here - the food packages, the shopping trolleys and even the fruit and vege bags at the supermarket.

9. Hours of entertainment can be had by noticing such differences and commenting on them . Cries of "really?!" and "Get outta here!" have been regularly heard this morning. Also fun is teaching Americans new words. So far we've done taradiddle (to get completely sidetracked on the way from point A to point B) and plonker (an idiot).

So what did we do on my first day in the USA? Went frugalling, of course!First stop in the morning was The Beehive Thrift Store where I bought some craft fabric for $4.50 total and a pile of Osh Gosh and Baby Gap clothes which I plan to sell on eBay upon my return to hopefully cover the cost of my cruise.Then we popped into The Lighthouse Thrift Shop up the road, dodging a crocodile of little people tied together by their wrists and going for a walk. "Hello Mum! Hello Mum!" they all chorused as we went past which was very very cute but a little disconcerting as I don't remember giving birth to a gaggle of little black babies 4 years ago.

Anyway, into the shop and we discover it is Bag Day. Which means you buy a large paper grocery bag off them for $5 and stuff it with as many clothes as you can. So with my canny packing methods we managed to fit almost a garbage bag full of designer babywear in the bag (plus a grey hooded sweatshirt for me as the forecast for sailing day is cold) for that price.

Plus I bought 4 pairs of baby sneakers for $2 each: Adidas, Nike, New Balance and Chuck Taylors.Final stop for the morning was the Salvation Army where we cleared them out of designer baby duds before heading off to lunch...

(There's more but I've had the internet hang on me twice and reboot once while I was writing this so I will take it as a sign and tell you about our adventures at Target next post - Nancy sure knows how to show a visitor a good time!)

Checking In

Well it's been an interesting couple of days, let me tell you.

I woke up at 3am yesterday morning not feeling too good. By 6am I had been to the loo three times and puked once. This was not good.

But, ever the optimist, I had a shower, got dressed and raced across to the shops to do all those last minute bits and pieces. Had a conversation with the chap in the post office through my post box (he says he enjoys me coming to get my mail because one of the post boxes will suddenly go "Woohoo!" or "Grrr!" depending on what I discover there.) and explained that I was going to be away and the cat sitter would be picking up my parcels, if there were any.

Bought Mizone which is good for dehydrated and upset tummies and staggered back home where a lay down on the sofa sounded like the best idea in the world. And it because clear that going to work was a really dumb idea so it was back to bed with me.

Which is all fine and dandy except I needed to drive to Sydney that afternoon. And I know from past experience that if I did the whole "I'll feel fine by then" routine I wouldn't and would end up having to drive at night. Which is not something I really want to do on only my second long drive.

So at 10:30 ish I got up, packed the car and headed to work just long enough to set my out of office email and fax my time sheet off before hitting the road. With a bucket on the passenger's seat just in case.

Made it to Sydney with a wee sleep in the back of the car at a service centre along the way (and an empty bucket!) and spent the rest of the afternoon dozing on the sofa.

Princess B and Princess M arrived home and held a "Happy 39 and 50 weeks" celebration with delicimo roasted garlic and pumpkin risotto and a rocket salad for dinner, a birthday cake with candles and wishes and lovely presents!

And I felt as sick as a dead dog the whole way through :-(

After an early night and a long sleep I'm feeling almost human again which has been much helped by the discovery at check in that I'm flying business class. Woohoo! So here I am in the Business Class Qantas Club playing on their free internet after eating their free breakfast and wishing it were late enough to justify drinking their free wine. Althought it is 3pm in Los Angeles and 6pm in Philadelphia right now....

Time goes by so slowly...

More wonderful birthday goodies today. I'm feeling particularly spoiled this week!

In this morning's mail from Sis was a cool card, US$50 to spend on something fabulous in New York and an article on a couple of people in New Zealand who have set up a similar business to mine.Then this afternoon at our staff meeting I noticed there seemed to be an awful lot more food than there usually is for a meeting of 7 people. And all these extra people milling round. Obviously my poor brain has buggered off to the airport already as I had no inkling this might actually be an afternoon tea for me!

But it was and I was very touched to receive a card full of wonderful birthday messages. Plus a Lincraft gift voucher. Which mysteriously turned into my first pair of pinking shears at the counter of Lincraft. Then I came home and guess what?

I finally decided I should maybe pack. Guess which of these piles is not going with me? And guess who else will be left at home, no matter what she thinks to the contrary? (Soundtrack: Enigma, The Cross of Changes)

Oh My!

I've decided I like birthdays. I particularly like 40th birthdays.

Today there was an interesting looking box waiting for me at the Post Office from my pal Kerry in Melbourne...Cool wrapping (including a new black and white button for my collection - I'm happy already) Inside a groovy black box with a hand drawn daisy on it (I loooove boxes so could stop now and life would be just peachy)

But wait, there's more! Inside I find

A JAM FANCY DOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yessiree I am the proud owner of Sensible Girl Hero.

I'm in complete and utter shock and must take her to work to show off. I fear I'll be pulling her out of her box and shoving her in complete stranger's faces on the bus going "Look! Look!! I got a Jam Fancy doll for my birthday!!"

Kerry, you're a star. I owe you a very very large cocktail next time I'm down for Retro.

Rainy Sunday afternoon domestics

Well I was planning to mow the lawns and give Miss Daisy a bath but nature decided otherwise and sent rain.

Princess B's shoe bags are finished:and:I even made a little band to hold all three of them together:Cooling in the kitchen is a Peach Danish which I'm taking to J's tonight when I go to dinner.Alison Holst's Peach Danish from Very Easy Vegetarian Cookbook

1 or 2 x 425g cans sliced peaches
75g butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup juice from canned peaches
1/4 tsp almond essence
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
2-3 tsp lemon or peach juice
1/4 cup toasted flaked almonds

You can make an adequate cake using one can of peaches, but two cans is nicer, if you have them. Drain the peaches in a sieve, keeping the liquid from the can.

Warm the butter until it melts, in a fairly large pot. Add the egg, milk, 1/4 cup of the saved peach juice and the almond essence, and beat with a fork to combine.

Chop the peaches in the sieve roughly, then add about half of them to the liquid mixture with the flour and sugar. Fold everything together until the flour is dampened, taking care not to overmix or break up the fruit. Stop mixing before the mixture is smooth.

Spray or line a cake tin 23cm square (or a roasting pan which is a little bigger), spread the mixture over the bottom evenly, then arrange the remaining peaches evenly over the top.

Bake at 190 c for 15-30 minutes (depending on the size of the tin) until the centre of the cake springs back when pressed. Put the hot cake on a rack, or leave in the tin if you can serve wedges straight from it.

Mix the icing by beating the icing sugar with enough peach syrup or lemon juice to make a thick cream. Drizzle this over the warm cake, then sprinkle with the toasted flaked almonds.

Note: toast the almonds on an oven tray while the oven is heating up. They should turn light brown in about 2-3 minutes.

(Soundtrack: Thomas Dolby, Astronauts & Heretics)

Walkies!

My friend Mondo who has recently started blogging (*waves hello*) mentioned that she goes walking and talking on Sunday mornings. So I invited myself along (did I mention there is breakfast as well? And Mondo paid for mine which was very generous of her)I walked past some nature.Then I walked past some more nature. Then I started to get worriedThere seems to be an awful lot of this nature stuff around. I'm not sure I like this idea after all...

Second Hand Saturday

I was going to do a Frugal and Free next week but thought that would be a bit odd while on holiday so this a bit Frugal and a bit Second Hand (if that makes sense)

Went to the hairdresser's this morning to have Boyd make me look suitably New York-ish and they've put their prices up. But to make up for that little surprise I got this: Excellent score!

Then I picked up V and M and went on a Shopping Sherpa Frugalling adventure. (Sorry - forgot to take the camera so you'll just get pics of the end result not the destinations...)

First stop was Vinnie's Dickson where V loaded up on baby books and I picked up a funky apron for Princess B (with a suitably royal theme of the coronation) for $2.Then we did the Belconnen Vinnies/ Salvos two step with more baby books (and some Pumpkin Patch clothes) for V, books and a silver trinket box for M and two videos ($3 each) and some self cover buttons ($1) for me:Then, as if that wasn't enough, after a stop off at the Indian grocery store for supplies for V & M we headed out to Queanbeyan.

See, we've got smart. We now know that Salvos doesn't close til 2:30pm and Bargain Hunter is open til 4:30pm. Salvos was a disappointment for a change but at Bargain Hunter V got some more Pumpkin Patch stuff and I got (but V kindly paid for) some grey wool and some black wool with coloured speckles (80c for both), some more knitting needles (don't know how much they cost),two still sealed toothbrushes with (this is the exciting bit) travel sized tubes of toothpaste (30 cents per set)and some more braces for Dad ($3) that I'd be tempted to keep for myself if I had a smaller chest.

Total cost: $9.

And while I was poking round at Salvos in Belconnen I turned to M and said "you know, this is what I'll be doing this time next week - except I'll be in Philadelphia!" with a big grin on my face.

Now do excuse me - I have to go deal with a certain upstart rabbit...

What's that girl up to?

Hello Dear Readers

I'm worried about The Shopping Sherpa. She seems to be in complete denial (and we're not talking about a river in Egypt) so I thought I'd step in (since I have such beautifully large feet)

You've been asking for a clearer idea of exactly what she's up to over the next few weeks and she's obviously too addle brained to take the hint so I took the liberty of pulling out her trusty filofax and compiling the following for your entertainment and edification:

Thursday May 11th: She flies Sydney - LA - Denver - Philadelphia. Poor deluded fool seems to think she'll be able to wrangle an upgrade to Business Class.

Friday 12 & Saturday 13th: Staying with Nancy (Queen of Everything) and Joe. Shopping at Target, Kmart and various thrift shops. Generally hanging out.

Sunday 14th: Off to the ship with The Queen of Everything for a 5pm sailing out of New York harbour.

Monday 15th: All at sea.

Tuesday 16th & Wednesday 17th: Hamilton, Bermuda

Thursday 18th: At sea. Probably racing round like a mad thing trying to fit in all the activities. Although I did hear her mutter last night while admiring Scott Hamilton's bald head on Skating with Celebrities (which I was quite shocked to find her watching, I have to say!) that she might try to spend the entire cruise learning how to iceskate properly....

Friday 19th: Back to Philadelphia to prepare for the arrival of Princess B of Libraria who arrives that day.

Saturday 20th: General touristy things in Philadelphia probably including a Farmer's Market (I've told her to bring back carrots for yours Trudy truly but she ignored me - see what I have to put up with?) General sulking because it would appear she won't be able to watch Eurovision for the first time in years. Princess B will be eating a cheese steak.

Sunday 21st: Atlantic City with Nancy and Joe, Princess B, and Kelly and Andy from a previous cruise (Nancy and Joe in the back row, Kelly and Andy in the front) for the official birthday celebration. I believe there is rumblings of a visit to see the Poseidon Adventure at IMAX to mark the gathering of 5 cruisers.

How lucky is this girl that she gets to have a birthday do on the other side of the world with 5 people she knows and likes? Nancy did offer to invite some people she didn't like just to balance things out but TSS gracefully declined that kind offer...

Monday 22nd: Recovering in Philadelphia.

Tuesday 23rd: Princess B and TSS head to New York!

Wednesday 24th: The official birthday. No doubt she will be driving Princess B nuts by constantly singing "I will sing, sing a new song" as she has been doing for the past week at least. If luck holds they'll both be going to see Spamalot with cheapy tickets. Otherwise there will be general random wandering and experiencing and eating and drinking of birthday cocktails.

Thursday 25th: The Old Fart Shopping Sherpa and Princess B will be recovering from the day before and heading back to Philadelphia.

Friday 26th: Nancy (Queen of Everything) and Joe are finally left in peace as TSS and PB pack their bags (and a large dolls house) and fly to Chicago.

Saturday 27th - Monday 29th: There will be much visiting of excellent architecture and dolls houses, eating of cheesecake and riding on Ferris Wheels. If there has not been any bowling so far in the trip that will be happening as well as a viewing of X Men 3.

Tuesday 30th: Final day in the USA. TSS flies to LA and has a day there where she plans to see some more good architecture.

Wednesday 31st: Lost forever in a time shift.

Thursday 1st June: TSS arrives in Sydney where she will spend a day or two or three recovering before driving home.


Love and carrots
Trudy

Naughty naughty

I made the fatal mistake of deciding to fill in the half hour I had before I met friends for drinks tonight by popping into Cash em in CDs. And it got worse when I left the $2 rack for the inner depths of the shop.

Suddenly the $50 I had tucked into my wallet had leapt out, grabbed two CDs and was sitting at the counter looking very smug.

I must admit it appeared to have quite good taste - in its company was the new Erasure CD Union Street ($15.95) and Andy Bell's solo album, Electric Blue ($14.95) so I decided not to argue and let them come home with me. After stopping for a couple of cheap cocktails at Candybar, of course...

I have to say at first approach I wasn't impressed by Union Street - possibly I had preconceived notions but when the original songs are so perfect, why remake them, even if you are the original artists? I played the first couple of tracks and found my mind wandering. Then I realised they'd covered Rock me Gently, my favorite Erasure song of all time so I skipped to track 11. And very very soon was skipping down the stairs to find the original to rinse out my ears.

I'm still hopeful it'll be one of those CDs that will grow on me. At the very least it will tide me over til the next "proper" Erasure CD arrives and will complete my collection.

On the other hand, when the Andy Bell CD was released I was underwhelmed. Had no interest in buying it. Vince was my man, not Andy. But I'm finding I may have been hasty in my assessment as (on first listening) it's rather good. OK, I'm biased as Claudia Brucken pops up on it and I have more and more time for her work particularly after the fantastic OneTwo CD with ex OMDer Paul Humphreys.

Friday "Frugal and Free" File

1. Frugal. Can I count my cruise to Bermuda? Can I? Can I?

At US$324.41 for 5 nights (including accommodation, food and entertainment. Plus the little matter of transport to Bermuda and back) that works out at US$64.88 a night (or AU$84.17). Cheaper, I would say, than being on land. Hehehe (sorry had to add that last bit!)

2. Free. E at work was doing a cleanout at home and gave me a bag of fabric. Two huge massive lengths - one lovely 70s green, the other 70s red. And check out the cool vintage bag they're in - so old it's in again!

(Let me know if you'd like some of either length - I have more than enough to share!)

3. Free. The team at work went out for a drink (and, for some, dinner) last night. V and I kicked on afterwards at Candybar and she bought me a birthday cocktail.

I also got my first birthday present this week. Oddly I seem to forget that birthdays involve the receiving of presents so they always come as a bit of a surprise. I now have my very own copy of From Thrift to Fantasy and a lovely crisp $50 note to be spent on something special thanks to Mum and Dad.

Seven sleeps to go...

... And I suppose I should think about what I'm taking. Dragged out my drawings from past trips as a starting point. I think I'll end up just recycling the last one rather than actually have to think about what I'm packing.

See, I've been pretty much wearing the same things every time I've travelled for as long as I can remember (with minor variations). Which can make my trip photos a little, shall we say, monotonous: NZ Royal Tour 2005 (dreaming of business class): white T, black trousers (I think you'll find the denim jacket tied round my bag as it was hot in the airport) Italy 2004: White T (good thing you can't see the gelato splodge in the picture), denim jacket
Russia 2003: black T, black trousers, denim jacket.

New Zealand 2002: There's that black T, denim jacket combo again...New Zealand 2001: Black T (I guess the denim jacket is hanging off the back of the chair.)

I could go on but that would mean finding the old print photos and scanning them in. You get the idea though. My general rule is I only take an item of clothing if it a) doesn't need to be ironed b) can dry within 24 hours (preferably less) after being handwashed in a sink and c) goes with at least 2 other items of clothing I'm taking.

So this evening, instead of thinking any more about packing I pulled out the sewing machine and made the first of three shoe bags for Princess B from the fabric I got last weekend:

(Soundtrack: Hotel Costes Quatre)

A Royal invitation

Not sure how much I've been banging on about the possibility of shoehorning a 5 night cruise into my already bursting itinerary in the States - my friend Nancy is a part time home based travel agent and occasionally gets brilliant deals on cruises.

We've both spent the past month or so with fingers, toes, legs, eyes and arms crossed that the cruise of our choice will turn up in the travel agents' bargain bin and just before I shut down my computer this morning the following landed in my in box:

"The Queen of Everything hereby requests the presence of Princess Smartypants on a 5-Night Bermuda Cruise on Explorer of the Seas from May 14 to 19, 2006!!!!!! We go it!!!!"

So I am now officially excited and can say I'll be visiting 7 cities in the 21 days I'll be away (not including Sydney) and will (hopefully) get to go iceskating at sea. And I think Nancy is a star!

Farewell to an old friend...

We'd not really planned to go to IKEA this past weekend when I was in Sydney but then I realised it would be my last ever visit to Moore Park IKEA which is closing down the last Sunday in May (while I'm away). So it became more of a pilgrimage than a simple shopping trip. Sadly they've started emptying it out already so it was a shadow of its former fine self. But in terms of not being tempted to spend money this was somewhat of a blessing..

Moore Park IKEA May 2006

Moore Park IKEA May 1996

IKEA was high on my list of "must visit" places when I was planning to spend my 30th birthday in Sydney - my first trip overseas. My friends had sent me a copy of the catalogue in advance which I drooled over so often in the lead up to the trip I knew it almost by heart! The photo above was taken on my first full day in Sydney, just after I'd been to a scooter shop.

Who need the Opera House and Harbour Bridge when you can get pictures of yourself in scooter shops and IKEA when you travel?!

(And here's an IKEA related link in case you need a giggle)

Sydney second hand report

(Actually, that's not quite correct because Woy Woy is 40 km north of Sydney - and a lovely train ride it is. If you ever get the chance to take it, make sure you're sitting on the right hand side of the carriage for the best views.)

A frugaller's delight with four op shops within about a block of each other!

1. RSPCA: A small but well organised shop split into two sections across the courtyard from each other. The first is the usual clothing, kitchenware and other goods and across the way is furniture, bedding and curtains. Nicely laid out with stock easy to find (except for the knitting needles which I finally spotted on the top of a tall bookcase which was displaying glasses.)

My haul: Craft supplies!(Ignore the circular needles and the marking pencils which I bought new at the local craft shop.) Underneath are two cushion covers and an embroidered table cloth (60 cents in total) which I plan to turn into shoe bags for Princess B's trip.

2. Animal Welfare League:Handily right next door to the RSPCA and once again separated into 3 distinct rooms: firstly books, toys and manchester then clothing and shoes and finally kitchenware, sportsware and other household goods. My haul: nothing.

3. Lifeline:One of the most beautiful op shops I have visited (but I suspect they have moved into a previously decorated space.) The goods are nicely displayed with plenty of space to move around but to make up for this the prices are rather a lot higher.

My haul: Brand new backgammon set in a tin for $5.I think this will be heading to Sis assuming she still plays backgammon. Funky colourful daisy tablecloth for $4. This has decided it wants to stay at B's house. 4. Vinnies: (No pictures permitted). A little further away than the cluster of other shops but worth the walk round the corner.

If you're feeling a little pooped after digging through the previous three shops there is a good cafe on the corner between them and Vinnies where you can stop for a coffee and snack to keep your energy levels up. They even have the internet if you feel the need to brag in your blog about your purchases so far.

Vinnies store is situated just opposite the wharf in a large bright space separated into two areas, clothing and manchester to the left and kitchenware, books and other bric a brac displayed on rows of metal shelves to the right.

My haul: Best find of the day: net curtains complete with matching tie-backs! The ones in The Land of Spare Oom are falling apart and I found these for $8 at Vinnies.They looked suspiciously similar to the ones I have in my room and I figured $8 was worth the gamble. And I was correct. Not my taste at all but I guess the landlady will be happy if I ever bother telling her...

Total spend: $17.60 on frugalling, $13.85 on knitting needles and marking pencils

642.4 and other social events (new & improved with photos!)

Greetings from Woy Woy public library, which is my sort of place. Staid and solid looking on the outside:But with a wicked sense of humour. They have a Spike Milligan room! And a fairy garden with a gnome crossing: It's been a busy and social couple of days - Thursday night saw the inaugural 642.4 - a gathering of Librarians (642.4 is the Dewey number for social dining, in case you're wondering.)

Good food was eaten, wine was drunk, gossip ensued and a good time was had by all.

Friday morning I was on the bus to Sydney. I was hoping to be able to give you reports of op shopping in the big smoke but alas by the time the business part of the day was over the shops were closed. Hopefully I'll have better luck today and can bore entertain you with tales of my discoveries.

Princess B of Libraria and I stayed with the King and Queen of Maryville last night and were taken on a state visit of the local RSL.

Good food was eaten, wine was drunk, gossip ensued and a good time was had by all!