Up Over (opposite of "Down Under")

I have returned to my old abode in the states for six weeks.  Five of my weeks here are being spent working full time, which is a god send.  After having lived in Australia, unemployed for five months, a few full paychecks are going to be like winning the lotto.   This trip back "home" to Olympia has been scheduled since March.  As a Nurse Practitioner I need to keep my required clinical hours up in order to maintain my active license in Washington, so I figured if I spent the Aussie "winter" in the Olympia summer, I could have the best of both worlds.  My original plan was to stay here for 3 months, but at this point in my move to Australia, it 

 just felt like too long to be gone (with input from Susan!), PLUS, I want to get back to Susan, Woody and Buddha.   So far it seems like the right amount of time.  I have been back here for two weeks+ now and I will be heading back to Oz the end of August.

I have my house rented out so I have moved into my 37foot 5th wheel RV which is parked behind the house. This trailer is OK for me and is working out great.  I have satellite internet and satellite TV access from the renters.  I am true White Trailer Trash for this 6 weeks, and proud of it! 

  The weather here has been unbelievable, a week of temps in the upper 90- low 100's!(32-40.6 C')  The rest of my time here it has been in the 80-90 F'.  Thank god my white trash trailer has AC. Thank you god, thank you god..

I am enjoying seeing the deer out grazing behind my place in the woods every morning.  Of course they do take a toll on my very young fruit trees which have not grown much in two years.

Returning to work has been great, I have really missed direct patient contact. The old folks are who I have the pleasure of seeing.  I think part of the reason I am enjoying the work so much is that I know it is short term.  How did I ever work full time all of these years and keep my sanity? I don't know if I could go back to the same level of intensity now that I have had a break from the rat race, especially the freeway traffic congestion.

Well, I have a few more weeks to reconnect with family and friends here and look forward to any opportunity to drink wine, relax and chat... 

A Weekend in the Village of UKI, and Breakfast with John Hurt

Two weekends ago, Susan and I spent the weekend staying with two friends (Sara and Karin) in the Village of UKI.   The main draw was the reggae band playing at the Uki Hall and an opportunity to let our hair down and go dancing.  The event was called the "Glo Dance".  The music was good, but got much better after a few glasses of wine. The dance was open to all ages, as no alcohol is sold/served - it is fairly common to BYOB to most restaurants and events here.  I would say this dance reminded me of a dance that would take place at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA., but I think there were far more dreadlocks per capita in Uki!  I imagine about 25% of the dancers were on "E" as well.  It made dancing with everyone really fun to say the least.  

The next morning we went out to breakfast at the local Uki Cafe.  Both the food and coffee where excellent.   OK, I exaggerated about having breakfast with John Hurt, but he was eating at the cafe that morning also (along with about 10 other diners) and looked a little rough, like perhaps he was at the dance as well.

Uki is a great little community and Susan and I will look for a house to rent or buy there.  I think the population is around 800 and they have a community dance about once a month to which half of the community shows up for it. They also have "trivia night" every thursday evening -  we still need to give this a try.  The people in the village seem to be very organized with planning a "sustainable community" as well.  Planning on growing enough food to support the population, alternative power, water conservation, etc.  There is even an organic brewery on the docket for consideration!  

Australian Drivers License

Two days ago I managed to get my Australian drivers license.  I was very thankful to not have to take a test!  I am much more relaxed about driving on the left hand side of the road these days.  I don't have to repeat "stay left" like a mantra any longer while driving.  I do go back the mantra when making a turn onto another street, especially a right turn.  Most of the time I find myself walking to the correct side of the car to drive it, but when I make a mistake and walk to the right side of the car in public, I just  casually pretend I am checking something on the passenger side, then go to the drivers side :)  .

I wonder how long it will take me to adjust when I come back to the States this summer?

It Feels Like Fall in the Pacific NW Here!

The beach after the storm!

It is nearly winter here, but it feels like fall in the Pacific NW.  Grey skies, lots of rain and temperatures in the 50's  when there is no sun.  When the sun does make a rare showing, it can shoot up to the 80's.  I am praying for sun.  We just lived through another big flood.  It was a "40 year flood " in the region.  We get cut off from the outside world very easily and there are at least 5 causeways that we have to cross to get out of the valley.  The first one is right outside the gate :)  It makes going anywhere impossible for days at a time.   We just need to be sure to have enough wine on hand at any given time!  Drinking wine and playing dominos is not a bad way to pass the days of rain and being cutoff here!!

Our quiet little Crystal Creek becomes a raging river!  This is the water (not at the peak of flooding) going over the causeway next to the driveway.

The roads are in constant need of repair from getting washed out.  The shire is pretty good about getting crews out to patch the damage.

There seems to be little "normal" stuff here!  Either too much or too little water!  Forget standing in the basin to save water, at least this week! 

Another Resident Snake

OK, I have finally seen the resident Red-Bellied Black Snake (poisonous) .  Susan has been telling me there is one that lives under Woody's house, but until now it was just another "Australian bush" story.  Susan went out to cover up the generator with a tarp and the Black snake was under it.  She left it alone and came for reinforcements!  I grabbed my camera and a long handled shovel.  We talked about if we should kill it or move it away.  Apparently these snakes have a territory and it would return if simply moved. We now have this little puppy who likes to explore all spaces outside, and this snake would kill him right away if bitten.  In the end, I simply took photos, and shooed it away.  He crawled under the washing machine I think, which is under Woody's house.   I hope the snake can live peacefully under the house and leave us alone and I hope it was not a mistake to not kill it.

Internet Facts:

The red-bellied black snake's head is barely distinguishable from the body as there is no obvious constricted neck area. This snake is dangerously venomous but bites are rare because it is usually a placid and fairly docile snake, preferring to enact a lengthy bluff display with flattened neck and deep hisses rather than bite. It grows to a length of 2.5 metres, and is a very distinctive snake because of its simple and unvarying coloration. The upper surface of this snake is glossy black while the belly is light pink to brilliant red.