Summer's End

We are halfway through February. It is actually Valentine's day today, but the season, the weather, and the upside-down calendar, says that it is the dog days of summer with autumn just around the corner. As I said in my last post, it has been a mild and wet summer, so the shift is harder to notice. The days are starting to get shorter and the nights slightly cooler.

I try to flip the calendar in my mind to help me understand where I "should" be. I drew a clock before we left Arizona, with the months where the hours would be. Australian months were directly across from those of the Northern Hemisphere. For example, January = July, February = August, etc. So March will be September. I still have embedded in my psyche that September = Autumn and back to school. March = snow melting, and Spring rains around the corner. So, I say "March = September = Autumn". It is very confusing, and I do feel a little confused most of the time. I don't know if I will ever get switched into this southern groove.

Anyway, school has started up. David and Valerie are back to waking up at 6:45, and Mira goes off to college in 2 weeks. At work we are clearing out the beach towels and focusing on stocking new yarns. Everyone seems to be getting prepared for a little winter nesting, although it is still about 4 months away.

We decided to do a few last minute family activities before the Summer holidays were over. We went out to dinner at our favorite dumpling restaurant - Din Tai Fung, we went on an overnight trip up the coast, Valerie had a little party at our house with a few friends, and David and I had a date night where we went out to dinner and a concert.

The trip we took was just two hours up the coast to Newcastle. It is a small city/large town. I think the town is driven by the energy of their university, and tourism. It reminded me a lot of Santa Cruz, California, where I went to college. For a small town, it was pretty hip. There were lots of galleries, cute gift shops and cafes. People seemed relaxed and stylish. The town is surrounded by beaches and there are victorian baths and a lighthouse. It is also a major harbor with large cargo ships coming and going all the time, hauling Australian minerals to Asia.

It was an interesting drive there and back through all the really small towns that seem much less penetrable. I really liked Newcastle though, and I felt like I could see myself living there under different circumstances.

Lastly, I just want to mention the fun that David and I had on our night out. We went to dinner at a stylish little restaurant called Berta. They serve creative Australian cuisine with a focus on locally sourced ingredients. They do a lot of meat, so we had to choose from what was left. I took a picture of the white fish sashimi in squid ink and fresh samphire. It tasted better than it looks in the photo. We also had lacinato kale with white beans, delicious mussels in a sauce I can't remember, and something else that I can't remember. Anyway, it was charming and fun even if it was more than we would usually spend on dinner.

We walked from the restaurant through some small back streets where we came upon a "pop up art exhibit". The graffiti was done on paper that was glued to the walls. The whole thing was very cool and magical. No one else was around and it was almost like seeing silent ghosts.

The concert was in the Sydney City Recital Hall off of Angel Square which I had never been to. It is a small venue and really relaxed but nice. We saw one of our long time favorites, Lambchop. If you don't know of them, they are kind of a hip, alternative, folk band from Tennessee. The lead singer is the force behind the band and his voice is amazingly deep and hypnotic. He was very down to earth and friendly towards the crowd which made the music even more enjoyable.

It has been 8 months now since I moved here. I won't lie. The adjustment is difficult, and it is not over yet, but somehow, with the help of the seasons, time goes by. Looking back, it seems to go fast, and I think I am enjoying being a city girl. At work, they added the 60's song "Downtown" to the music loop that they play everyday. I've got it, along with other songs, on my personal soundtrack.

(the photos are, from the top: architecture in Newcastle across from our hotel, me and David at the restaurant Bocados in Newcastle, you gotta love a town that has public graffiti art, knit bombed light posts, and historic convict barracks - Newcastle, the beaches, the ships, and the lighthouse - Newcastle; the pop up gallery art near Alberta Street, ugly but tasty sashimi, and bird cage chandelier outside the recital hall.)