Saturday 16 June 2012

First Winter Garden

It's raining and foggy here on a Saturday night, when I should be finishing off report cards.....but no!
There are many other more important distractions.
Perhaps it means we have settled in, as my little garden has sprouted a few pea shoots and lettuce leaves. I tried planting broccoli seedlings, but some black infestation is enjoying them immensely. I'm not normally very competitive when it comes to broccoli, but perhaps I'll stand up to the little critters, just to show them who I am.
It does seem odd to be advised to plant a winter garden. Fall is when all the snowy little lambs are born, and when farmers seed their crops. It's when we comb the resale shops for wool sweaters, amazingly rare in a state that produces so many sheep! Most everything is made from synthetic fibers, nasty in the heat as well as the cold, I say. Who knew we'd want woollies here? I love my sheepskin booties, I do! It's just that slate floors get cold in an uninsulated house and night temperatures are down to about 3C lately. We like our indoors to stay above that! A " reverse air con" unit works hard to warm up a 2 storey house, but as warm air rises, the main floor stays rather cool. We just wear layers, as good Canucks all know. It seems unheard of here. I have students who still wear their summer uniforms of shorts and tshirts, instead of pants and "jumpers" to school. With a morning reading of 7c on my classroom thermometer, I keep my layers on, thank you, until our heater kicks in.
The past week certainly kept us busy with odd weather. Perth had a tornado and two major storms. We had 125km/hr winds and rain, ending in a power failure that lasted only 4 hours here, but in the surrounding areas 160,000 homes went without power for up to several days. Some schools closed due to damage or lack of power, but ours remained open. Aside from several trees and branches down, there was little change in the pace around here. We plod on.
Last night was the wind up party
for the Williams Repertory Theatre at the Williams Pub. It was lovely! Every cast member was recognized with a small gift and thanked for his or her unique contribution to the production. We quite enjoyed feeling a part of the community, knowing everyone in the room. Wine was tasty and food was good, replenishing our waning energy after weeks of late rehearsals. We were the only people there not from this area, which made me realize just how unique our cultural immersion is in this small town. Gina noted that we'd be quite anonymous in a large city like Perth, had we lived there. Here it seems that everyone knows of us, which can be a bit unsettling. People notice when the campervan is gone from our driveway, when our lights are on, and even whether our laundry is hanging out or not. Their friendliness happily outweighs any loss of privacy to date. We get chatted to by locals wherever we go in this area who all seem to know something of us before we get there. Comfortable? Sort of....it's growing on us.


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Sunday 10 June 2012

Dramatic Interludes

A new me has been seen in Williams this past weekend, similar in looks but wearing heavier make-up and projecting dialogue quite determinedly. My fling with live theatre has come and gone, without any talent scouts beating a path to my dressing room door. The good news is that, with the support of five other cast members, sound and light crew and an energetic catering staff, we managed to entertain about 400 people over two nights. No rotten produce was flung my way, nor were there any boos, hisses or loud catcalls apparent. It may have helped that the bar stayed open to serve our audience throughout the evenings, but who's to say that made a considerable difference? By all reports, our performances were a success. Now that the challenge of learning lines and rehearsals twice a week is over, I am going to miss it a bit, but I am glad to have it behind me. Polishing the performance as we developed our characters was finally rewarded with audience laughter and applause, mostly at the intended moments. The absolute highlight for me was not enjoyed during any public performances, however. That came much later, when Kees shared with me some video clips of what had actually transpired on stage. Seeing myself perform rather surprised me, as every move and nuance that had occurred was captured on film, undeniable proof of my goofy expressions and shameless reactions to other actors on stage. I look heavier than I'd like to, dammit! And older. But it was not all bad. My hair was glossier under bright lights than I ever knew it could be. I like the way my new black boots looked, so flippantly dancing with abandon. But what cheek I had! We laughed until the tears streamed down our faces, with a mixture relief and disbelief at what I had done. In public. Voluntarily. Okay, I admit to having some fun....but, really who was that??? And where has she been all these years?
I guess I haven't embarrassed my immediate family too much, as Kees and Gina both seem a wee bit pleased with the dramatic production, but it seemed as if Mother Nature herself wasn't wanting to be upstaged. I do wish that violent storm hadn't blown into town late Sunday afternoon, knocking out power for four hours and causing trees to come crashing down over several roads. Reports of winds up to 120km/hour were recorded in the area. It was most inconvenient, effectively postponing our planned cast party. Even if roads had become passable, the local pub had no way to cook and serve our dinner celebration. Nor could I get to work efficiently on progress reports online as I had intended, golly gee, without power. Resourceful as ever, Kees made us hot drinks on the propane stove in the camper van. We enjoyed our "emergency supplies" of munchies and spent a pleasant evening playing a rollicking game of Scrabble by candle light. Just the three of us. We made a very fine picture of cozy contentment, if Kees had cared to record it. Gina beat me by five points.
It was certainly a memorable weekend. I'm sure that we'll never have another one quite like it!

Saturday 2 June 2012

At Last, We Made it to Margaret River!

The initial pull to Western Australia was never living in the tiny town of Williams. Try as we might, there is just not enough to keep us interested there for long. Many eyebrows have been raised when I tell new acquaintances where I work, as Narrogin has a formidable reputation as having a high rate of dysfunctional inhabitants, to put it bluntly. I have met many lovely people there, but it is not the place for us. Gina often sees the unsettling undercurrents of troubled youth in her high school and I teach some of their younger siblings. There is a good reason that staff here are paid very well for the risks and challenges they face. I don't get those extra "danger pay" benefits that Bec does, nor do I get paid her bonus for working at a relatively remote school. Hence our delight with grabbing every option to remove ourselves to urban or coastal destinations. It's just a lot more rewarding!
This weekend we are finally exploring the famed Margaret River wine region , where prices are sky high for accommodations that are booked up weeks in advance. We have scored 2 nights at a caravan park in Prevelly, on the ocean known for world class surfing and recent bush fires that scorched the area severely last year. Our campsite was spared, but I wish the less than pristine shower block had been torched. Ok, enough grousing! The area is mostly bucolic! We enjoyed warm sunshine and a rich verdant countryside for most of the 3 hour drive here. We saw forests, fields, and rolling hills full of sheep, many with springy new white lambs. We visited a delicious chocolate factory, where free samples proved the quality so good that we needed to purchase a few decadent morsels, as well. Naturally! Next came a cheese factory, where we were easily distracted by more tasty samples and purchases. Onwards to the town itself, where we spent time mapping our plan of attack for vineyards tomorrow and an hour shopping for essentials like socks & underthings. By 3 pm we succumbed to a late alfresco lunch on the patio of Settlers Pub, enjoying local wines and bites of locally produced breads, cheese, olives and seafoods. So impressive was our planning that we managed to park deck chairs on Surfer's Point to witness scores of dudes in wetsuits enjoy riding impressive waves, while the lacklustre sunset happened behind an annoying bank of clouds. We shall just have to try again tomorrow!
Night falls quickly here. We skipped dinner, content without. It is mostly quiet in the park, so we settled in very early to bed, to read and write. We are very glad to have our own wireless network with us wherever we go. Kees makes sure of that!