August 31, 2004
Photos of St. Helens and St Marys
We have some more photos of our latest trip to St. Helens and St. Marys on the east coast. There is some great bush walking there. We also walked out on a unspoiled beach. Click here
Posted by at 05:33 am | Comments (1) | Permalink
August 29, 2004
New Directions
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have found a church. They’ve got it all: small groups, nice people, after service cuppa (morning tea), craft group, etc. We’ve had lunch with a few people there and it’s been fun.
The church is called New Directions Community Church and they don’t have a website or I would link to it. Their one big drawback, I know. It’s affiliated somehow with Willow Creek (the huge church in Chicago.) They all keep talking about Bill Hybels. Who knew he was so famous in Tassie?
Posted by at 5:41 pm | Comments (2) | Permalink
August 27, 2004
Crafternoon, Intl.
After my visit to New Directions Community Church (sorry for the lack of linkage—no website!!), I was invited to the church craft group. I went to my first meeting today. Much like crafternoon, it was a small crowd and biscuits were provided. (Unfortunately they were store bought, which cannot hold a candle to Mary’s.
I hemmed my pilates pants, which were in need of repair due to the mangling they received from my bike chain. I’m going to add flowers and ribbons in memory of the lost length. Pics to come later.
Posted by at 05:01 am | Comments (1) | Permalink
August 24, 2004
Bushwalking to Dramatic Views
Aussies are tough. Make no mistake.
We had a couple of fine days in the forecast so we decided to travel to the east coast to have a look at the sunny coast. We arrived in St. Marys a small inland city at the gateway to the coast. The travel guide said St. Patrick’s Head was a steep hike to a 360 degree view. Little did I know how challenging this bush walk was going to be.
Posted by at 04:31 am | Comments (2) | Permalink
Wildlife Park Photos
Photos of our fun trip to the wildife park.
Posted by at 04:16 am | Comments (3) | Permalink
August 22, 2004
Our new ride...
Today I went for my first drive in Tassie. I was kind of freaked out about it, not being used to the other side and all. I took this picture at the end of my 10 minute journey to church—don’t I look relieved?
I had to go on my own today since Rob was working. I must say that I did pretty well. I managed to keep to my side of the road and even got the turn signal right several times (although I did try to signal with the wipers a bit.) Now that I am confident in my international driving skills, I think I’ll visit all sorts of places.
One problem with driving on the opposite side of the road is that the wheel is on the other side of the car, so I’m always walking around the car to the wrong side. Doesn’t it look a little forlorn on the left side of the front?
It always amazes me for a second when someone tells you a car can go from zero to one hundred in five seconds. Of course, it’s in kilometers, so it’s really 60 miles an hour. It just sounds so FAST!
Posted by at 01:07 am | Comments (2) | Permalink
August 20, 2004
Cute little devil
Contrary to looney toons opinion, they don’t spin around or slobber.
It’s rainy this weekend and Rob is working, so not much else is going on to relate. I may bake some cookies later. Tomorrow I will visit a church that meets at Riverside High School, recommended to me by Australia’s Emergent contact Fuzz Kitto. (Doesn’t the name just say it all? How cool is that??) I had a tea date yesterday with a nice woman from another church we visited. Nothing else to report. Sweater pics coming soon especially for Deanne.
Posted by at 9:30 pm | Comments (2) | Permalink
August 19, 2004
Let there be light!
Living in another country is always an interesting experience. There is always something to learn, another way to do things, and things are just different in general. For instance, power. In the US, people take power for granted. Power, as in electricity. This week, always when Rob is at work, I have experienced a lack of power. On Tuesday, I turned on the porch light, only to have it blow out and all the other house lights go out with it. No problem, made a journey through the flat in the dark to find the fuse box, which turned out to be outside. Lights back on and all is well. Wednesday comes, Rob leaves to go to work. All is well, I’m quietly writing email to Jason and the lights and heater go off. This time as I go out to the fuse box (so much easier to find in the light) I hear the neighbors checking as well. It’s a power loss for the neighborhood. For no foreseeable reason. There is no bad weather, or teams working down the street, or anything. Just no power. So I spent some time at a restaurant/coffeeshop down the street, read for a while, and several hours later power comes back on. Just as easily as it went away. Just in time for me to turn on the electric blanket and go to bed.
Posted by at 03:45 am | Comments (1) | Permalink
August 17, 2004
Photos of Launceston and Tamar Valley
Here are the latest photos from our recent travels.
Posted by at 9:18 pm | Make Comment | Permalink
August 16, 2004
Kangaroo Close Up
Rob had last weekend off, so we decided to use the time to our advantage. We had planned to take a trip to Freycinet, but the East coast was rainy and we had to come up with a new plan. On Saturday we drove up to Devonport, a beach city nearby that boasts the Spirit of Tasmania cruises to Melbourne and Sydney. The beaches there are nice so we will definitely make a return trip in warmer weather. We also stopped at a chocolate factory on the way home—yum.
Sunday was much warmer, so we went to Liffey Falls Reserve. It’s only about a 45 minute hike to four separate, enormous cascades. It’s very tropical and rainforesty there, although cooler than I expected. Liffey Falls is also very close to home, so it was a great walk for the morning. We had a picnic lunch, and then we were off to the main attraction. The thing Rob has been waiting on the edge of his seat for: Wildlife! Specifically, Trowunna Wildlife Park. We made it just in time for the last tour of the day, which was incredible. (We almost missed the tour because we stopped at the Chudleigh Honey Farm and got stuck behind a tour bus from a nursing home.) We saw, and touched: koalas, Tasmanian devils, Spotted Quall, Wallabies, Kangaroos, Wombats—name your marsupial. We both got to hold a wombat, a very cuddly experience. After the tour, we fed the forrest kangaroos that were everywhere. They like to be patted on the back, between their hind legs. Several animals had joeys in their pouches as well, and there was an adorable baby koala.
Seeing so many Tassie devils up close is kind of wild. They have a bad reputation due to the sounds they make and the way they look. Devils aren’t bad, they’re actually kind of cute. The sounds they make are during play with other devils, not a hunting sound. They kill their prey very quickly and only pick on the slow and the ill. They leave nothing behind and improve the quality of other species due to their selection and their immune systems. Tassie Devils are smart too. They have an unbelievably strong jaw, so watch where you put your hands.
Posted by at 08:11 am | Comments (2) | Permalink
August 14, 2004
A Fine Day for a Drive
While Hobart was a bit wet with some intemitent showers, the forecast for Launceston is “Fine Day”. This is the officail Tassie forecast description for a sunny day. So on one fine day, we were picked up by a driver from the hospital and driven across the state. The countryside between Hobart and Launceston is quite beautiful.
Posted by at 04:03 am | Make Comment | Permalink
August 13, 2004
Hospitality
While stumbling around on the web, I found this: www.emergingchurch.info/blogs. I checked out a few of the sites and one of them got me thinking about this past Sunday. Rob and I visited a local church. Traditional service, older crowd, all very friendly and nice. After service tea and chatting. The amazing thing was, that in a conversation with someone, we were invited to their sister’s home for tea that afternoon. As in, will you come home with us? We were a little surprised and accepted the offer. We had a marvellous time.
This is how I want to be purposeful about hospitality. I want to be able to bring people into my home and show them warmth and connection. I don’t want it to be about hosting and having nice things to give people, although those are great too. The thing I really want to give, rather than cookies and tea, is myself.
The thing is, it’s not easy to do this. It’s difficult to let people inside. It’s hard to always be available. It’s hard to be left behind or rejected. It’s hard to work through awkward times when no one knows what to say next. Despite all of these worries, sometimes I do it anyway. Invite someone for dinner even if I have no idea what we will talk about. Go shopping with a new friend when I am reluctant to let the real me be known. It’s always hard and often painful, but when I allow myself to be open, God blesses that. Friendships are forged.
Next time you’re in my neighborhood (wherever it may be), stop in. Even if you haven’t called first. Even if my house is messy. Even if you don’t know me that well yet. We’ll have some tea and cookies.
Posted by at 06:40 am | Make Comment | Permalink
August 12, 2004
No camera??
Today, the worst happened. Rob and I had been walking around the city, taking photos, and were on our way to the Cataract Gorge. It’s a really lovely walk, lots of beautiful natural surroundings. We rounded a corner and then we saw it: our first wallaby!! Rob pulled out the camera just in time to see that the batteries had died. Our first wallaby and no camera. (It was still pretty cool.)
Posted by at 07:44 am | Make Comment | Permalink
First things first
Many of you may be asking yourselves, now that Rob is working in Tasmania, what is Erica doing with herself? How does she fill her days? What was one of the first things she went to do when Rob went in for that first shift at the hospital?
Well, my curious friends, I will tell you. The first thing I did was…
Posted by at 03:05 am | Comments (2) | Permalink
August 11, 2004
Hello Tassie Winter
We arrived in Hobart to take care of some buisness. I must admit, I was not quite prepared for the drop in temperature from Fiji to Tassie. I left Fiji in shorts and a golf shirt. I walked out onto the tarmac from the jet to a chilly drop in temperature. It’s winter time in Tassie.
Posted by at 08:38 am | Comments (3) | Permalink
Anyone for some Kava?
Some people say hello with and handshake. Others with a warm hug. The Fijians like to say hello with a little drink that tastes like muddy water and makes your tongue numb.
Posted by at 06:22 am | Make Comment | Permalink
Fiji Photos
Click here! to look at our fiji photos.
Posted by at 06:16 am | Make Comment | Permalink
August 04, 2004
Barefoot in paradise
Fijians are known for their warm hospitality. As soon as we stepped off the boat we were greated by smiling Fijiians. Welcome back home they said to us with a smile. Bula! A warm welcome to you!
Posted by at 02:16 am | Comments (2) | Permalink
