Going to Market

Magpie

The Birds & this beautiful Australian morning wish you a hearty Hello!

We had another wonderful day yesterday. Missy was able to try yet another variation of her maternity outfits that I brought and after breakfast she and I were off to market. I had no clue what to expect & after a successful drive ( we lived ) in the car on the citilink ( toll road I think ) to downtown Melbourne ( pronounced with a lazy L and and no R sound ) we found ourselves in a bustling tented area full of market vendors of all sizes and shapes. It cost us $7 to park our car.....cheap for Melbourne standards, as there is only a small amount of parking available, but we were congratulating ourselves for a good parking space and with our wheeled cart were off to barter great deals.

As my family and friends well know....my juices get really worked up over bargain hunting so I felt like I had walked into paradise and proclaimed we should do all our shopping there from now on. :-) In many ways it was similar to our First Monday at Canton in East Texas....the difference being that there was a full produce area, meat market, cheese, wine and other items area as well as the doo dad area. (clothes and souvenirs or almost anything you could imagine ) It was so cool! We walked the entire area and I found just the things I was looking for. Of course there were many booths with " authentic " Aboriginal and Australian mementos & Kangaroo and Koala items of all shapes and sizes. I enjoyed listening to the Aboriginal pipe or whatever that music maker was....and the other instruments they use for music. The paintings were very interesting too. I have discovered Australia to be much more than that though....just as Texas isn't all cactus, cowboys and oil wells... Australia is a beautiful resourceful country and is nothing like the perception I had of it.

Aboriginal Art

After we filled our rolling bag ( or properly called Trolley ) with mementos, fresh produce, meat , cheese and such we headed off to see a bit more of Melbourne, " on the way home." :-) We accidently found most of what we were looking for as we avoided hook turns ( I don't even know how to explain this traffic procedure.... It is sufficient to say Missy and I avoided it at all cost) difficult streets & too much traffic. We saw the parliment area and definately want to return there... I also took photos of a beautiful church ( or at least I think it is a church ). We hope to return there as well. We drove through beautiful neighborhoods and pretty much laughed all the way home at our Laurel & Hardy attempt at site seeing.

Church

I tried fish & chips today....and THAT was interesting. The vinegar is free...but you have to purchase the ketchup ( or sauce ) and that includes tartar sauce at 30 cents each. There was skin on the fish....I do not do skin..... and an interesting fried item that was pink inside. Missy thought it was crab. It was mushy...and pink....and we did not eat it! The fries ( or chips ) are always good. Large and hot and perfect. :-) All I need is a Braums vanilla shake from Texas and I would be set. :-) After we returned home we took Wally for a walk up to Ashburton, which is the little shopping area that seems to always be near all little townlets around the city. They remind me of lower Greenville in Dallas, beautiful English gardens and gated yards all along the way. Love it! We were in search of a cake and pie store ( we call them simply bakeries. :-) There we purchased Vanilla Slices, blueberry danish & some baked concoction with cream inside and this white puffy topping with very fine grated coconut on top. They have those items everywhere. At home we split them three ways and ate them like little piggies. I think we decided the blueberry danish was the best. Wes prepared lamb on the grill for dinner and it was awesome! I brought dried ranch seasoning from Texas and we made ranch potatoes to go with it. Yes....I may gain a few pounds before I return. :-(

Gated Yards & English style gardens

I watched Australian Idol with them before bed. Oh my...as if American Idol wasn't enough. I protested at first saying I had some things I needed to do...but I could tell it was a family affair....so made my way in for the torture. Of course, I was quickly drawn in as we measured each participant's talent and they became very animated as they talked about the person they championed and how they thought it would play out. I enjoyed that most of all and was glad I joined them as I think they do for me when I become very animated over Fox News and the political drama of the day in America...or shall I say...hour. :-) That is family after all....joining in and sharing and being tolerant of each other. Things that I miss the most while they live here.

I have been keeping up with my family in America as well and it is notable to mention that this is homecoming time and there is much to do about the games and dances for Jimmy, KK & Pierson. Ashton has a choir concert, Justin has the last of his football games & Johnathan, mommy & daddy went to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin in Seattle, Wa. Pictures of course of every bit of these important events are being furiously taken for Mimi since I can't be there. :-) Larry & Sassy are doing well. They have developed their routine. Larry let Sassy listen to my voice yesterday and he said she got all excited and shook. I sure miss them and Wally gives me extra hugs cause he knows it.

Well I am off to my day. Missy & Wes will work today and I have laundry and some baby organizing chores to do in the future baby area plus prepare Chili Rellenos for dinner. :-)

Just a side note.... you can click on any image on my blog page and it will enlarge the image.

Have a Blessed Day!

Elaine