From this weekend

This is my room (newly improved with a 'desk') and Easter dinner:

Brian, Alex, Jordan and me

Mixed Easter Bag

I had a pretty relaxing Easter, and one of the best parts of the long weekend was that I didn't go in to BoZo for three days in a row! I managed to get a bit of work done from home, as well as usurp just enough wireless internet to check my email a couple times.

Saturday morning Jordan, Alex, Brian and I went down to the farmers market. Because of the stupid national folk festival at Expo (I call it stupid because it is $77 per day to get in, and FOLK festivals are meant to be for poor people) the farmers market was not happening, but we went to the veggie market in North Lyneham instead, then had coffee at the cafe next door. It was our first outing together, which was pretty neat.

I spent Easter going for a long run, then dashed off to one of the two Lutheran churches in all of Canberra. This little church in Turner only has one service a week, and it so happened to be in Finnish. I knew it was a Finnish service before I arrived, but I wasn't sure if it was actually in Finnish (how many Finnish Lutherans can there be in Canberra?), but since things like this tend to happen to me, it was. There were only about 16 congregants, and I am certain that I was the only person under the age of 75. It was a little weird. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if more people said hello or Happy Easter, but maybe since I sat in the back and old eyes are hard of seeing, I was able to keep an especially low profile. Nonetheless, I am glad I went, particularly since I had not been inside a Lutheran church since leaving Raleigh.

I baked bread pudding for brunch (it was a bit dry and crispy and reminded me of eating crunchy cereal) and munched on hot cross buns, then in the evening each of us in the house cooked up a dish to share for dinner. Jordan and Alex didn't go home for the weekend, and Brian--like me-- had no where else to go, so we all hung out together. Jordan and Brian made really awesome curries (green chicken curry and red beef curry), Alex whipped up an apple rhubarb crumble for dessert, and I tried making shepherd's pie for the first time. It was not as impressive as the other dishes, but it did the trick.

It was nice to spend time with the house-mates this weekend, and I feel lucky that 1) I didn't have to be by myself for Easter and 2) we all get along really well. Even though we all have our own schedules and don't really see that much of each other (which can also be good), it is nice knowing there are people around because I think if had to live by myself I would go a bit nutty--and possibly become a crazy cat lady and keep hundreds of animals for company.

I spent yesterday (Monday) working on my presentation, but I took a few minutes off to visit the psychic expo down the road. I had seen advertisements for it and was curious to see what it was like. It was a lot smaller than I expected and really only focused on getting readings done by the psychics, with a take-a-number-and-wait-for-your-favourite-seer approach. Besides that, there weren't many booths and workshops like they advertised, so I left.

Since I had been working from home a bit I decided I should get a desk. The previous residents of the house left tonnes of pieces of old furniture out the back. There are at least three office chairs, two tables, a desk, two wardrobes, several couches, a vacuum, a broken dryer, and many other random pieces of crap. I dragged in a table with lots of funky black marker drawings--as well as a few cob webs--on it to use as a desk. Now I am certain I don't want a bed, just so I can conserve the rest of my floor space for stretching. Besides, I have been sleeping great without one!

Feels like Fall

Today is the first day that officially feels like Autumn--not only is it rather cool, but it is the first time it has been overcast (though not rainy) since we returned, three weeks ago. The deciduous trees are even losing their leaves. It is super dry again, so even though the leaves turn brown and fall, they are not really changing pretty colours like red and orange. However, I suppose it is better than those last few Autumns we had in North Carolina, where it would remain very hot through October and the trees would drop their leaves, bright green, from their branches.

Seth would like this weather, and it is too bad he is missing it--he flew back to New York on Wednesday morning. Nonetheless, I am sure he is loving the snow and having a great time being home with his family, especially for Easter. He hasn't been home for Easter in years!

Today, Good Friday, is a public holiday, as is the Monday after Easter. I suppose it has been almost two full weeks since the last public holiday, so it is nice they are giving the Public Servants a four-day weekend to let them unwind. As for me, I will try to get working on a conference presentation, and if I can get it done by tomorrow night I can enjoy my Easter, too.

Here are a few photos from the past two weeks:

Seth showering at BoZo (we got pretty comfortable there, if you couldn't guess!)...

...but we finally found a place to live! The girls we moved in with, Jordan and Alex, are also in the process of unpacking.

Our first morning in the new house. The tiny bedroom looks a bit less cluttered now, but I still don't have a bed! I am getting used to sleeping on the floor and will probably not get one (even though Julien and Heather offered me one). I like the floorspace that even a twin bed would totally devour.

Artur and Moose during their housewarming party. Moose, who grew up in the US, lived in the Emirates for a while and sometimes wears the traditional clothing. Before I took the photo, Artur (from Russia) advised Moose not to say "bomb".

Jan and Greg's farewell party at El Dorado (Dickson). Alecia and Reggie are presenting Jan with a poster-card, while Greg, not paying any attention, is busy yakking away.

Seth's poor, busted up guitar--the case is destroyed, and the guitar itself is also cracked. Before he left he made sure to make a nice big sign so people at the airport would know who is responsible for the damages: Qantas Airways, the main airline in Australia. (This happened last March when he flew back to Australia from the US. Qantas still refuses to pay for the damages).

Kaima came over for a 'visit' on Wednesday. He actually wanted to use the kitchen to bake ultra-cute Japanese muffins!

The very mini, yet delicious, finished product!