I apologize for not writing until now in Not-So-Hum-Dingers

We’ve been down here at the home that Sezzie grew up in since Thursday, December 5th. My brain was pretty scrambled by the travel, but I’m feeling mostly settled in for the holidays.

I’ve been having a very relaxing time. This place feels like a second home. I’ve been sleeping on the couch in the lounge room, but I’ve still managed to sleep in later than I would if I was back in our bed back home. I’m sure it’s because I know I’m on vacation and that I don’t NEED to wake up and get ready for work, I’m just glad that I’m not waking up stupid early.

We’ve eaten some pretty amazing food. Sezzie’s mom makes this curried sausage dinner that is one of those heap-of-veggies-and-meat-cooked-in-a-flavourful-liquid and served over mashed potatoes (or a slice of real-honest-to-goodness bread that Natey brings home from the bakery where he works, which he gets to bring home completely gratis). Sezzie and I of course have had a meat pie each, even though it wasn’t the first thing we ate upon arriving here. I’ve had a Greek yogurt, a granola bar, and what’s called an “oaty bar” for breakfast pretty much every morning, with coffee made using the now-luxurious-to-me Nestle instant coffee powder and a touch of coffee milk. I’ve enjoyed my nightly bowls of cereal, too, having some that I can’t get back home (this lovely stuff called Just Right, Nutri-Grain, and the Aussie version of Raisin Bran called Sultana Bran). We had dinner at Café Spice yesterday evening, which was an Indian spice-nagerie of deliciousness served with a good heap of authentic naan breads.

I’m not too worried about the weight that I’ll most likely gain while here because I have a good system set in place with my salads-and-oatmeal-from-work back home. But I’ll still have to try and not overdo it while I’m here, just because.

I’m keeping my dish-washing chops honed by washing the household dishes here in the morning time. Doing something helps me feel like I’m earning our stay here, and that helps me enjoy my time a lot more.

Ashley has been amazing. She’s all about hugging her Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Natey, and she’s had impressive endurance with us going places (we were at the zoo today from 9:30ish AM until 2:30 PM, and she didn’t even ask to breastfeed the whole time) and she just continues to be my proudest achievement.

And one more thing! When I hear an American on TV they sound really ridiculous to me, but thankfully I can absolutely hear when it’s an actual American speaking or a non-American trying to do an American accent. Living on Earth is pretty funny with all of these humans doing such basic things (communicating) with little nuance-ish differences.

I love my Oz-family with no reservations, and I’m so grateful to have them all in my life.