Our life out West

Game Over

2008-08-10T13:35:00.002+10:00

I miss my family. I miss my friends from high school and my university years (from Quebec and Europe) and now my friends from Hobart. People I care about I normally communicate with over the phone, the email or Facebook, so it's a bit useless to keep this diary. All it's used for is to feed a psycho's fake public profile in Facebook anyway. It's a public website, so I can't complain, right?

The blog sucks. I'm sick of it.
This is my last post. Good bye!

Going Out

2008-06-27T15:10:00.003+10:00

Tonight is SKM's (Marc's company) end of financial year party. Partners are invited but not kids, so Philippe will be experiencing a new baby sitter for the night! Well, for about 45 minutes, then he'll be asleep.

I should be excited. The function is held in a trendy bar in the city, with loud music and lots of drunk people. I feel awkward going out with my near-29-week belly! Somehow, watching a good movie sitting comfortably (impossible these days) on my couch seems like a more natural option at this stage.

On the other hand, we hardly ever take the time to do things just the 2 of us, or I should say, without young Prince Philippe. So a bit of grown up talk won't hurt! Actually, now that I think of it, no one there but us has got young children. Wow, that should really change me.

Have great summer weekend in the Northern Hemisphere. And if you're in Tassie, well, cover up!

Fatty Aussies

2008-06-24T13:25:00.002+10:00

This is official, Australia is now the fattest nation in the world with 26% of the adult population being obese. It was all over the news last week and this is what I saw on TV. Who would have thought the Americans could be beaten on the disease they invented???

This is almost unbelievable when you think about it. 9 million Australians are over-weight, of which 4 million are obese. This is making me sick, even though I know it's not a simple issue... I cannot imagine how all these people feel. I now carry an extra 11 kilos being pregnant and I feel huge and heavy, most night (not to say all) I'm exhausted at bedtime. I puff when I climb the stairs and I struggle to carry Philippe over 50 meters (he's nearly 13 kilos now). How could I weight twice as much as that and live freely?

How about a swim this afternoon and a salad with those pork chops? (Marc you know what we're having for dinner!)

Phili-Franglish

2008-06-20T14:54:00.002+10:00

It is fascinating to watch the process by which Philippe is learning French and English at the same time. Linguistics literature suggests to use a consistent framework to work within so the child understands that a different set of symbols (words making up a language) is used in different circumstances. For us, it is French at home, English elsewhere (mainly at childcare, playgroup and also some TV) and it really works. Philippe responds equally to people talking to him in English at childcare or to me and Marc in French. In fact, it works so well that when we visited friends from Quebec a couple of weeks ago, Philippe was puzzled to hear other people speaking that funny lingo we use at home! The only thing he doesn't seem to get is No, or Non... but who would think this is a language issue? Definitely not a parent! My only wish at the moment is that we could eventually move in a strange country, that way Philippe could pick up a third language before he reaches 7, the ultimate age before which you can learn any language without a foreign accent (or so they say).

In the meantime, here are a few things we now hear non-stop through the day (Did I ever mentioned Marc's nickname as a child was motor-mouth? Well, I'm sure it's a dominant gene).

In the animal kingdom:

Doggy: when I say chien or dog
Minou: (Cat - Kitty) At first pronounced the English way "menew" but now fully Francais!
Badda: (from bird?) pointing at trees and the noisy birds in them (can't say oiseau yet).
Ducky: Bigger birds and proper canards
Totu: Do you get that one?
Rooooaaaarr!: Any wild animal (lion, zebra) and the farm animal he doesn't know (lambs!)
Toala: (Koala) As a mantra, is the bath, as a war cry, pointing at the tea towel, ad nauseum
Moo: The English cow, obviously, as everyone knows that the French one goes Meuh
Kh-Kh: (Horse) or the sound you make with your tongue when you call one
Toutou: Any teddy bear or other stuffed animal not comprised in one of the above

First sentences (or syllables put together):

Ah oui! as a parrot when I talk to Marc or think out loud (very dangerous now with that talking toddler around!)
Tapete (T'as pete), meaning "you farted" which he now use in the right context when he or Marc farts (because I don't).
Recent combinations: Papa paati (Dad gone), Bu paati (bus gone), Minou dodo (Cat sleeping), Tapete Papa!

No relation to anything known:

Baba: truck or bus or anything big on the road
Nono: Milk or water, you have to figure out for yourself, but you usually find out with the reaction if you guessed the right way
Fa-Fa-Fa: I couldn't see any connection at first, then I realised what it meant and I was ashamed of myself. Let me know if you find it...
Pitou: A motorcycle... no idea where he got that one from...

Given that list, my guess is he probably knows around 30-40 words right now. Not bad for a bilingual baby, hey?

Numero Due!

2008-05-14T13:41:00.003+10:00

I'm back. After over 2 months without internet access from home, it's finally solved. Well, we still can't answer phone calls from the wireless handset but who cares when you have a mobile phone and an ADSL2+ connection to the fantastic world wide web?!?

I haven't written about our biggest news of the year. You might know about it if you're family, live in Tassie or are a friend on Facebook. Otherwise... we're expecting another baby! Here it is, as it was a few weeks ago. The photo is taken with a 3D ultrason! Cool, isn't it? I finally managed to get into the obstetrics clinic I wanted to be in for the delivery of the baby.

In Australia with the private health system, you get to choose where and what kind of birth you want to have. Turns out the doctor my Hobart obstetrician recommended in Perth is a very popular and busy doctor. I guess I called his clinic so many times that the office got tired of me and ask the doctor if he wanted to look after me so I would stop harassing them! As he knew my Hobart doctor, he said yes! I was really happy with that. You can't really pick the person who's going to deliver your baby in the Yellow Pages, can you?

Now you want to know the sex, right? Well you'll have to wait a few posts and make a guess...

Pizza

2008-03-18T17:09:00.002+11:00

No pizza in the city, no pizza in Subiaco, the trendy, cool suburb. What is going on? Definitely a business opportunity for La Piazzetta or something like that.

In the end, we found it in Northbridge, the former Italian suburb, now turning Asian. There are still a few streets where loud Italians are talking on their mobile on the sidewalk, moving their arms up in the air as they chat. The pizza was great, ready in minutes and the owner's daughter was delignted to instruct us on how to get to the real Italian shops, delis and butchers. Grocery shopping now seems a whole new exciting experience! Aren't Italians great? Anywhere they are?

We're moving this weekend (I said that before, right?), Philippe is starting child care on Tursday when our belingings are being delivered, and I'm now looking for work in Perth!

Ciao, ciao amici!

WA

2008-03-14T14:50:00.002+11:00

Things have moved quickly in the last few weeks. Here's a quick update, no photos, sorry I'm writing from an internet cafe until we are established in the new house...

It's still summer here, with the daily temperature about anywhere between 30 and 40. A bit hot, really!
We found a nice family house in Kensington, we'll be moving next week, right on time for the long Easter weekend. Our furniture has arrived, the car won't be far away...
Things are pretty expansive in general but there seems to be a few exceptions. I bought blueberries (from Tasmania) for 2/3 of what I usually paid in Hobart, and there were good - it's a mystery.
It shouldn't be hard to find work, Marc has already mentioned me to the System people at SKM and they want to see my resume (I better get busy).
After a quest of 10 days, I managed to find sourdough bread; no more of that industrial crap you buy at the corner store.
Mission for today: find a nice pizza place who delivers... quite challenging in Perth, really...

Have a good Easter break.
Edith

Chapeau! To single moms... and bilingual kids!

2008-02-01T20:30:00.000+11:00

and to single Dads... Marc has been away for the whole week, I'm completely exhausted. It takes a lot of energy to get ready for work before Philippe wakes up, get him ready, drive to child care, park the car, walk to work, work all day, reverse itinerary, feed Philippe, play toddler games, bathe Philippe, put Philippe to bed, have dinner, clean the house, go to bed, and start again! I bet you're out of breath, just by reading it.

Honestly, single parents are real champions. If you know one, do him or her a favour: offer to babysit for a few hours, they'll love you!

As it was Australia Day long weekend last week, we went up north to visit Marc's family. Everyone was happy to see Philippe and we found out he could speak English as well as French: he kept saying "Doggy" after he met Chloe, Marc's cousin's dog! As I kept repeating "chien" it took me a while to pick it up... Now when I say chien, he says doggy... He must know it's the same !

A cousin looked after Philippe for a whole 24 hours! We drove to (almost) the north-west corner of Tasmania up to Stanley, went to dinner at Wild Cafe in Penguin, slept at a B&B also in Penguin and had a quiet morning with breakfast and a walk around the farm. What a change! I'm ready to do it again!!!

On the last day we had a family picnic in Deloraine, on the way back to Hobart. Philippe had the unluckiest day ever, and by far his worst pain experience so far. A few minutes after we arrived, he was standing a meters away from me. I saw a bee on his hand, which he then put in his mouth! As I screamed and pushed everyone aside, Mars did the same. As Philippe started crying, his mouth wide-opened, the bee flew away, unharmed. And there we are, looking everywhere for the sting on that crimson red screaming baby. Turns out he was only stung on the finger, but still, that hurts like mad!!!! Marc took him for a walk and on the swing to change his mind, and it did the trick. An hour later, Philippe, excited as always, was running down from the toilet block when he suddenly decided to change direction and landed face first, or I should say, mouth first, into the cast iron rail!!! This is NOT good! Can you think how hard he cried and how much blood there was??? I just felt terrible. Both lips were cut and Marc said Philippe also fell on his face from the shock so he was nose bleeding as well!!!! What a day! (Maybe we should go home straight away...) Relax, I'm all stressed out but it wasn't so bad after all. An icy pole (pop sickle in Canada) did the trick: stopped the pain AND the bleeding.

Babies are very resilient. Was Philippe stopped in any way after that? Oh no, I had to catch him 3 times before he was going for a swim in the Meander River that runs by the park. Can I just say we were real happy to get home that night. We had a lovely (supervised) walk on the beach and we all slept like babies. No, that's not true: Marc was up at 4:15 to catch the 6am flight for Perth...

Long time no post...

2008-01-22T20:20:00.000+11:00

It has been the busiest December-January period ever. We've made a big decision: we're moving out of the Arm, to Perth, Western Australia. In a nutshell, here was our life for the last little while:

- We got invited to spend 3 days in Wellington, NZ to find out if we could live there: the answer to this question is yes, definitely! Beautiful city, cool cafes, friendly people, not overly expensive and green, green, green and more green mountains all around! This seems just so refreshing after 4 years in dry Australia.

- Marc then flew to Perth for interview and things became tricky: we didn't know where 2 go...

- We had a quiet Xmas week, spending lots of time outside on the beach. Philippe is a real beach baby, not afraid of the water, and has really good balance in managing the waves. We watch the yatchs coming up the river during the Sydney to Hobart Sailing race.

- Back to work, we had made up our minds: it is Perth, provided we can have a look at the place before agreeing to move. First weekend in January, we fly to Perth to have a look. When we got out of the airport, it was 41 degres! It felt like walking in an oven. 2 hours later, the Fremantle Doctor (nice fresh sea breeze) had came in to cool down the city. The temperature dropped to around 30. It's like that every day, pretty neat! Provided you live close enough to the sea to get the breeze.

- We stayed in Fremantle, the cool suburb we would have lived in 10 years ago (before having a family). Lots of cafes, boutiques, beaches, etc. Unfortunately not affordable, unless you can pay the $1.5 million people are asking for a 4-bedroom family house!

So we'll be renting for a while. Hopefully we'll manage to find a place close to the beach. It shouldn't be too difficult as the city is built along the coast, and all the beaches are protected areas with sand dunes and natural vegetation (endemic species). I'm excited about moving but it's going to quick! I'll miss beautiful South Arm but that will be fun to experience a new climate (no winter there) and a new lifestyle. Imagine: not having to wear socks, ever again! It just seem sooo relaxing!

Happy 2008 from Tasmania!

Did you say "Can Bra"?

2007-12-19T20:33:00.000+11:00

That's how most Australians pronounce the name of their capital city (Canberra) ;-) Sounds funny to me but again, people from Quebec will typically say Briz Bain for Brisbane!

The Conference was interesting, I caught up with many people I've been meaning to meet for a long time, Compuware (our software provider) fed us a lot of really good food and the wine was flowing... That's what business trips are all about, right?

Did I miss my 2 men? Oh yes! I called home every morning, as I couldn't sleep past 6 o'clock anyway... bad habit from having a child I suppose. And it seems Philippe said "maman" for the first time while I was away.

I did a tiny bit of shopping on the City Walk and found really cute European-designed and made baby all-leather sandals for $103.00 !!! Excuse-me: no thanks! Given his growth rate, Philippe would need about 4-5 pairs in the coming year. Needless to say it's a bit much!

I stayed with Ruth, a friend of mine who left Hobart a year ago. She lives in Watson, a nice quiet suburb about 15 minutes from the CBD (City Business District, or down town if you want) . Last time I saw her was at my birthday last year so we had a lot to say. We stayed up quite late every night, even though Ruth needed to rest as she flew back to Tasmania with me to ride the ABC Giving Tree, a charity bike ride across Tasmania (about 500km!) to raise money for children in need for Christmas. She's just a machine! Unstoppable! Strong! Fit!

As the conference was only 2 days, I had the Friday off to visit the city. I decided to go to the War Memorial. This is huge! You could spend 2 full days visiting the museum if you wanted to read everything. I learned a lot about how the Australians were involved in the 2 world wars, not something we learn at high school in Canada. The war in the Pacific was terrible: the Japanese were very cruel with their war prisoners. There was also a special exhibit on Lawrence of Arabia. I got to see the clothes he wore, some of the maps he drew, etc. Very neat!

That's it. I flew back home and I was the most excited one (between Philippe and myself) when I opened the door. Marc was happy I was back, he was even more happy that maman was back!

Feeling Good - J'ai la bougeotte!

2007-11-29T17:10:00.000+11:00

I've got itchy feet! Good timing: I'm flying to Canberra for work next week. That's not what I mean though... I think I'm ready for the next big thing. What is it gonna be? We can only wait and see.

In the meantime, another great summer is here! We love the beach and Philippe is a champion walker! He runs on the beach, splashes mud everywhere, eats plenty of sand (it's clean, isn't it?) and enjoys the cold water! We had a great time last Saturday. We might go again for a quick splash after dinner.

We've started the veggie patch again. Last weekend we put peas, lettuce, basil (lots of basil!). The leeks are nearly ready, the tomatoes are doing well. We ended up getting a few broccolis from the winter crop but then they got full of worms and we lost the rest of it (cauliflowers and cabbages as well). We have a new ennemy this year: a possum eats all our strawberries, apples and almonds! And now he started having a snack in the peach tree! What can we do apart waiting for the monster at night with a gun??? I'm joking - the only think I kill is spiders, and just the small ones (I leave the big huntsmen for Marc to throw outside!). I used to think possums were cute, now I know better: they're a nuisance, just like raccoons in North America. Anyway...

Work is busy, but good! Next time I'm bored, I might just stay quiet. I now have 3 projects in parallel and no time to complain. I'm going on a project management course next week, as well as meeting my software supplier in Canberra. I'll be staying a few days to visit the Capital city and to spend time with my good friend Ruth I haven't seen since my last birthday. Marc will be a busy single parent operation!

Where would you like to see more photos? Flickr or Facebook?

P.S. This photo: morning meal before leaving for work.

Weekend in Sydney

2007-11-13T21:35:00.000+11:00

That was excellent, apart from the flight from Hobart to Sydney, which I did with Philippe as Marc was already there for the week. Pass the details - all I will say is imagine a newly-walking, 14-months old who has to sit on his mom for over 2 hours, stuck between the window and the biggest person on the flight: NOT FUN!

It was our first trip since the round the world back in April. How we enjoyed it! We ate brunches, Japanese, Chinese, gelati, Marc cooked a bolognese and Philippe learned to use a straw so he can have Mummy's yummy fresh fruit juice!

On Saturdays we drove to the Blue Mountains, east of Sydney, for a bit of scenery, photos and bush walk. The weather was pretty average and I had packed for summer so we didn't really walked and the photos are a bit dull. But it felt nice anyway. That photo is probably a very famous one of Australia: The Three Sisters at Echo Point in the Blue Mountains, NSW.

Sunday we went to the beach. If it's not summer yet in Tassie, it certainly is at Bondi! We did the sea walk between Bondi and Bronte and could no longer resist the water! The sea was pretty rough, we even saw the lifeguards in action. As they came back from a rescue their boat hit the rocks and they had a hard time getting everything (and everyone) back to shore. Marc and a few other guys ended up going to help as they were cutting their bare feet on the rock. Not good for a lifeguard!

Meanwhile, Philippe was eating sand and seemed way to busy to be interested in lunch. Even if the surf was too big for a swim, the rocks make a natural pool at one end of the beach where the waves are much smaller and you can take the family for a nice "trempette". Marc was quite happy to sea that Australian women now also do it the French way: monokini!

After that we met with our friends Patrick and Jayda (from Longueuil and New Castle) and went for gelati. As you will see if you've got access to Energium's photo on Flickr, Philippe was covered with a wetsuit, a hat and had sunscreen on. Good parents. But then, we didn't think WE needed sunscreen. Why would we? Now we've pretty badly sunburnt. Stupid parents!

See ya!

P.S. Videos of little walking Tasmanian Devil on Facebook too. But you've got to be my Friend.

Une Dent !!! (First tooth!)

2007-10-17T22:24:00.000+11:00

Il etait d'une humeur excecrable ce matin. Je ne savais pas trop pourquoi. Il ne voulait pas se faire prendre, ni se faire laisser par terre, pas de calins, ni de cereales, ni sa bouteille d'eau. Il a meme fait une sieste en route pour la garderie, alors qu'il avait eu une tres bonne nuit, bizarre...

En voiture lors du retour a la maison, on discutait du fait qu'il avait eu une mauvaise journee avec sa gardienne. Il avait les joues toutes rouges; il s'est encore endormi... J'ai essaye de le faire souper. C'est pas toujours facile a 6h30, apres une sieste tardive; c'est comme nous quand on est trop fatigue, on n'a pas vraiment faim. Et la, parmi les cris, la bouche ouverte, elle etait la!!! La premiere dent, que tous les experts nous predisent depuis deja plusieurs mois! Le bout d'une dent, en fait, qui venait d'apparaitre sur la gencive de Philippe. Vite, le livre de bebe, faut ecrire ca tout de suite pour ne pas oublier. A 1 an, 1 mois et 1 semaine, Philippe a sa premiere dent!

Tout d'un coup je me sens soulagee: au moins, je sais pourquoi il est grognon! Je suis tout a coup beaucoup plus patiente, malgre mon rhume, cette toux qui ne lache pas et une journee qui a commencee a 5h du mat, ou on est parti sans le sac (lait et dejeuner) de Philippe, ou j'ai donne un cours pendant l'heure du lunch et patati, et patata.

Un peu de Baby Panadol (l'equivalent du Tempra en Australie) et Philippe est de nouveau lui-meme pour le reste de la soiree. Il etait tellement occupe a jouer qu'on a manque l'heure du dodo, resultat: il a eu une autre crise de fatigue pendant l'episode du pyjama. Celle-la, c'est jamais drole! Il est tellement triste quand il veut dormir... Le dernier boire, Dodo la Planete Do, superbes berceuses du monde et Philippe est parti au pays de Morphee. Quelle journee fantastique, bonne nuit Philippe.

No posts lately...

2007-10-01T16:16:00.000+10:00

I haven't written anything for a while, and done that on purpose. I've been feeling crappy lately and didn't want to depress anyone.

We seem to have a break from baby ailments. No cold or gastro for what? A good 4 days so far. It's spring, and the weather is terrible. Unlike Quebec's spring, Tassie's spring is a time for storms, gusty wind and fallen trees. It's sunny for 15 minutes and then, it's as if you're inside a ping pong ball, traveling through a cloud. (No, I'm not doing drugs.)

Back to my domestic chores!

Bonne Fête Philippe!

2007-09-11T10:16:00.000+10:00

Philippe is 1 today, September 11! We celebrated last Saturday so all his friends could join us. It has been a fantastic year and I'm sure the best is yet to come.

So far, Philippe is crawling across the house, can open sliding doors, drawers and cupboards. And he still has no teeth. Nope, not a single one. So much for all of you, baby experts, who have been telling us for months: "Yes, this baby is teething, I know when I see one!"

Madame Broute-Broute

2007-09-03T09:03:00.001+10:00

After a few more colds for Philippe, a lung infection for Marc and gastro for the whole family, I'm back again! A little tired from disturbed sleep patterns, but ready for a new week and a busy one: we're hosting Philippe's 1st Birthday party next Saturday.

Butt F*** Nowhere. (I learned that expression from Marc many years ago, probably on a trip to Gaspesie! I can't remember. Definitely somewhere in Quebec where there are thousands of small villages.

If Marc hadn't taken a picture I wouldn't have a clue where it was, except somewhere between Sherbrooke and Ham Nord, where my Dad lives. The cow welcomes you to Asbestos, a mining and agriculture area of Quebec. From the cow's back, you get a nice view of the surroundings, the 7 towns making up the Asbestos region. Enough! If you want more, click on the photo you should be able to read what the cow has got to say...

A few updates:

September already! Spring is here, as I wrote last year, it starts on the 1st September in Australia.
The winter garden wasn't successful; nothing really grew and spider mites are eating the cabbage leaves. Too bad. It's time for the spring garden.
Special hello to Carole, Valerie and Ruth who emailed me in the last months and I still haven't replied. Bug hug, I miss you!

Girl Power

2007-08-14T21:34:00.000+10:00

I declare this blog a girl's blog (hence the nice pinkish colors) until Marc does something about it...

I bet you can't tell where I am!

2007-08-14T21:25:00.000+10:00

If you can, you've been everywhere in... Canada! That's the only hint you get. I'll tell you the whole story of this monstrous cow (what else could it be???) in a few days, when you've had a go at finding the place. We really had to take photos. (Marie-Eve and Marc you're out of the competition!)

There's a lot more on photos on my PP365, AND I've got a profile on Facebook! Gee, what's going on with me? it must be fever! Good night!

Home is where the heart is or The beach is gone

2007-08-10T07:34:00.000+10:00

I took this photo on my first walk on the beach after we got back from Canada. I realised I really missed the place where I live while I was away. I just feel so good being close to the sea, feeling the energy and the sound of the waves. This place is magical. I couldn't leave right now.

Then we settled back into routine again and I couldn't help to think the trip had gone by to quickly: I haven't seen everyone I wanted to see, I wish I spent more time with my Mom and Dad, etc. I really miss them at the moment, and the rest of the family and some of my best friends as well. I can't see my nephew and niece grow up, I don't chat with Val anymore, I won't see Annie's daughter Aude before she's a toddler...

So home is where the heart is. But where is the heart??? I don't really know. Maybe I could move to an island in the Pacific (half-way between the 2) but that wouldn't help.

Apparently there's been an underwater earthquake somewhere near Indonesia. Not sure as I don't follow the news. But guess what? We've been having a high tide for 3 days now! We could hardly get home as the sea is getting on the road (on the neck to the peninsula) and yesterday as I went for a beach walk with Philippe, the beach was gone, replaced by raging waves and wind. There was 1 meter left between the water and the sand dune. That's where I walked for a while before the water raised even higher and I had to climb my way up the dune. with the pram. Meanwhile Philippe was asleep, deep into the arms of Morphee.

Is this it? Is Global Warning (no typo here) happening just now? We've been saying it for a while but it just suddenly became a lot more real: I'm not buying a house ON the beach.

Hello, Hello!

2007-07-30T11:19:00.000+10:00

It's been a while - again! Here are a few updates:

PP365: I've added more photos. They range from April 5th to May 13th, our trip overseas. I'm missing a few days (end of March and early April) as the photos are on a CD somewhere... I'll keep doing the project but I no longer take photos daily, more weekly. I also want to start putting movies on YouTube but you know how it is, I've got no excuse, really...

Return to work: It feels great to be working again! I spend 2 days at home with Philippe, he goes to day care for 2 days and stays with Marc on Fridays. We all have a good time with this new routine now that Philippe has settled into day care. He wasn't too keen at first and spent 2 weeks in the first four being sick (gastro and cold) and missing out but he's fine now. My favorite day is Friday since as the boys stay home, I can head off early and spend a lot of time on my own before meetings start. I've had lunch with my friend Mel last week and she said it was the first time in 10 months she saw me without the baby. Exactly!

Going Out: We went to the Zoo last weekend. It was the first time in 2 monts we drove somewhere not for work or running errands in the weekend. We really have to get a life! Any suggestion for a family activity for next weekend?

The computer: Turns out the video card was broken. Now that's it's been repaced by the Sys Admin (Marc) I hope to be a little more regular in giving you some news. Next step: a photo selection from our trip on Flickr.

Veggie Patch: In Australia you can have a winter garden. Except this year it's been so cold, nothing grows. Tiny spiders are eating the broccoli leaves and possums are eating the whole plants. With a bit of luck we might get a few leeks and some broad beans.

That's it for now! If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, enjoy summer! Talk to you later, Edith xx

Lurker Alert

2007-07-02T21:27:00.000+10:00

There is a lurker among us and he knows how to Google.

I can see you watching us!!!! Show yourself.

Vilain Virus

2007-06-26T22:02:00.000+10:00

I'm not over my enthusiasm to talk to you about our trip. It's just that our computer is not working at the moment (virus???) so I spend my days without the internet or even the photos from our trip. It got fixed last week but it's broken again and the technician is busy giving the bath or cleaning up baby mess so who knows how long it's gonna be...

Back soon...

Bonne Fête Marc!

2007-06-19T12:31:00.000+10:00

Mon cher Papa Marc,

Joyeux Anniversaire! Je suis content que tu passes beaucoup de temps avec moi quand tu rentres du travail. Tu es aussi super avec Maman même si elle n'est pas toujours commode ;-)

Je t'aime beaucoup,
ton fils Philippe xxx

Back to Switzerland - Vous avez dit Chocolat!!!

2007-06-17T10:11:00.001+10:00

A great thing about Swiss is they make the best chocolate in the world. Not the Cadbury crap we find here (no offense but Australians haven't found the real thing yet...) but delicious, delicate blend of cocoa and the most amazing flavors.

This photo was taken at your average supermarket. There was a complete aisle of different flavors to choose from. We got about 5 kilos (11 pounds for you Canadians) of dessert such as dark chocolate with caramel and fig filling, milk chocolate with passion fruit mousse, almond and hazelnut chips, and Marc's most wanted and probably the one we'll try last: dark chocolate with cherry and chili!

We've been indulging in a new flavor every night since we've been back, watching our downloaded TV series Lost, Heroes and Marc's new series Time Break. The stocks are getting low already, it won't be long before we'll have to go back to get some more.

My favorite chocolate is dark chocolate with whole hazelnut. Thank goodness we got a few packs of that classic combination. Crunchy and not too sweet, you can eat a whole pack in one night!

What's your favorite chocolate???

My StarMania CD: where the bloody hell are ya?

2007-06-12T21:23:00.000+10:00

I gave it away before I left Montreal in 2004. Was I stupid or what? Have you got it??? I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when it suddenly hit me: I started singing Ziggy for no reason. My 2 men are in bed with a cold (boooooh!) and I'm back in high school with Ziggy, la Serveuse Automate and Johnny Rockfort... Mais ou est donc ce foutu CD???

We're back! We've been home for exactly a month. Not that I know where home is at the moment, all very confusing. Where did May 2007 go? I don't know. I've got soooooooo many topics I want to write about, especially the trip, but can't seem to find the time. I've been busy making puree for my son as he now eats like a little pig and always wants more and more of the good stuff I prepare. I actually just dropped an ice cube container full of prune puree to be frozen in the freezer. What a lovely mess. I only stopped singing for a few seconds to replace the words with a big "tabarnak" then I kept singing while mopping between the bloody freezer cracks for about 20 minutes! The engineers who designed freezer apparently never thought that you could spill liquid on the way in. Pas fort! What makes me sad is all the puree that ended-up in the sink...

Anyway, we had a great trip around the world, except for Air Canada. They really sucked. I'll tell you more about the trip soon. It was just a quick word to say hello as some people are starting to wonder where / why we're hiding. Photo: the Brunet-Watson Domingue family in Vancouver before heading back to Australia.

Round The World 2007 - Mega Post

2007-04-29T12:15:00.000+10:00

I haven't posted since Singapore. Where to start?

We had a lovely 5 days in Geneva where the whole family got gastroenteritis (Sensational.) Marc got sick first on our way from Singapore, then I was really sad to see my little Philippe being sick and not eating. Thank goodness it only lasted 2 days. It was finally my turn. It started the day we were touring the Swiss Alps (even more sensational). Luckily, it was all over when we catched our flight for Montreal at 5 am on Saturday morning.

Apart from that, Switzerland was great. We spent a lot of time with our friends Les Dunand. They all seem very happy to meet our son Philippe. We went for walks in the vineyards with Raphael, the third son of the family, who is learning the arts of wine making. We drove to Evolene, a typical Swiss village of the Valais with Jean-Marie and Alexandre. We visited Carouge, an old suburb of Geneva where Jean-Marie now lives. We spent some time chatting with Martine and we ate WAY TOO MUCH raclette, cheese and chocolate!

We then flew to Montreal via Frankfurt. That sucked. If you can avoid the Frankfurt airport, do so!!! It's badly ventilated, people smoke everywhere, there is no decent food, you can't find water or the toilets as the information system consists of a bugged touch screen boot that returns the list of all the airport facilities regarless of your query. And of course, no one to talk to to give you some live information! Air Canada sucked as well but what can you do when you live in a shoe??? They're the only ones servicing the Canadian cities and we need more Aeroplan miles.

We finally landed in Montreal. Thanks to the baby in the stroller we got the bypass and got into the country quickly. I nearly took a photo of Philippe next to the Canadian flag but decided not to. Both my mom and dad were waiting for us. I was so happy to see them, I ran with the stroller to meet them. No one got injured but we all shed a tear anyway! We then drove 4 hours to Pembroke, Ontario where we stayed with my sister Andree for the weekend. When I finally went to bed that night, I had been up for 22 hours and had fed the baby 8 times. I was completed exhausted and could not even answer questions! Andree helped me to bed and I fell asleep with Philippe in the minute. We killed the jetlag in one day!

It was great to see Andree and Sebastien again. It had been over 3 years since the last time. They now have a beatiful daughter Laura, 7 months older than Philippe. As it rained for 3 days, we spent all our time there talking about the old days and admiring our babies. They live in a house of over 100 years old, fully refurbished of course, and very comfy. Andree and Sebastien being good Quebecers, it was freezing outside but very warm inside. We spent the weekend in shorts and t-shirts, just like a Tassie summer! So much for all the winter clothes I bought for Philippe before leaving home...

Then back to Montreal. But that will have to wait. It`s almost 11 pm, I'm figthing one of the worst cold ever, Philippe is wacking every hour of the night so I'm off to bed. I have so much more to say so stay tuned for the next episode! (Photo will be added tomorrow, promise!)

Love, Edith

Philippe's Singapore Fanclub

2007-04-12T15:28:00.000+10:00

They all loved him (I can't find the exclamation mark on this Swiss keyboard...) Of course he was smiling at everyone from his stroller and making all sorts of cute little noises that would make everyone go "Ohhh".

Our 3 days in Saingapore were fantastic. We visited Chinatown where Chinese man and woman would smile at Philippe and touch his feet. We bought silk scarves, had tailored shirts made for us and I also found some pretty cool western pants. We visited an indian temple (yes, in Chinatown) and many Chinese temples too. Impressive and beautiful. We ate like it was our last meal, 4 times a day, in fact as often as we found something new. My favorite is Ice Katchang, a desert made from shaved ice topped with fruit and coconut syrups, green jelly, red beans and corn. Strange but yummy.

On the second day we visited Little India where we found a nice Punjabi suit for me. Apart for shopping, little india was quite exhausting: crowded, noisy, smelly at times, but still very interesting. I guess it gave me an idea of what India would be like. Again, we ate curries and all sorts of good stuff with he locals. The indian food turned out to be Marc's favorite in Singapore.

We went out to a Peranakan (mix of Chinese and Malay culture from the first migrants to Singapore) restaurant. Everything was delicious, a million flavour hit our taste buds: lemongrass, coconut, chili, lime, coriander, etc. The beef rendang was to die for and I couldn't get enough of the fish cakes. We didn't quite manage to enjoy the infamous local fruit "durion" tough. I cannot really describe it, all I can say is that it tastes like brown...

On our last day, we had lunch in Kampong Glam, the Arab district where we visited the Sultan Mosque. It was the first time I set foot into a mosque. That neibourghood is getting more and more hip, with local designers sharing the streets with the more traditional fabric shops. More cashemire scarves, and more food.

A quick dash to Orchard Road, one of the coolest shopping destination in the world. Name your brand, they've got it, except mine: the Benetton and Sisley stores in Paragon shopping mall apparently just closed down. And to say I came all the way from Australia. We ended up finding nice clothes at Calvin Klein Jeans. I forgot how i like the way CK jeans look like - always good (where-s the bloody exclamation mark???)

More news from Geneva after our day trip to the Valais today.

Depart - It's a Go!

2007-04-05T07:48:00.000+10:00

It's 7:45 am. We're leaving home in 45 minutes with Stu who's driving us to the airport. We've had 3 hours of sleep but hey, we're ready!!! I wish I could have showed you the size of our suitcases (Philippe has the biggest!) but the camera is also packed and ready to go. In brief, the latest news:

Philippe and I are now Australian permanent resident;
The whole family is enrolled in the Australian bureaucracy: Medicare, Family Assistance and the lot;
Philippe had a third cold in less than 2 months and he seems to be just over it... wish us luck for the plane trips ahead!
He is almost crawling (rocking back and forth on all fours) and now eating three meals a day, mainly puree;
I'm very excited to leave - I've been talking about this round the world trip for over 2 years now.

More news and photos from Singapore, our first stop!

Love, Edith

Insomnia

2007-03-17T04:20:00.000+11:00

Only 18 days before our round the world trip. My head is too busy, I'm tired and I can't sleep. It is currently 4:32 am and I've been awake since the last time Philippe woke up, 1:38 am. Very productive time: I've cleaned up the office, checked my bank accounts, completed my subscription to the Ordre des Ingenieurs and I'm about to update my PP365 with new photos. THANKS TO THE INTERNET!

Mind you, I'd rather be in bed, dreaming. Do you suffer from insomnia under stress? Tell me what makes you sleep...

Nice painting, don't you think? I found it here and discovered the artist, John Hrehov, at the same time.

Abundance

2007-02-25T19:27:00.000+11:00

As we've mentionned in various posts, this year we planted quite a garden. Guess what... things are growing in such abundance that we can't keep up.

We planted 20 corn seeds which are yielding 4-6 ears per stalk. This must be the sweetest corn we've ever eaten. We eat as soon as it's picked. My favourite way is by leaving the last layer of leaves then cooking them on the barbie. I've even eaten them raw! Yesterday, Edith took the kernels off 11 cobs and pureed 3 for Philippe which then got put into ice cube trays for later eating and the rest ended up frozen in ziplocks for use this winter. A total of 2 kg of kernels...

Three zuchini plants which are simply out of control. We have made zuchini cake, zuchini and bacon quiche, zuchini soup, grilled zuchini. Plus we eat it raw in salads and put it on home made pizza. We've given heaps away to friends and colleagues, whoever will take them! Any other ideas of what to do with them?

Three cucumber plants which have yielded at least 15 kg so far. We've mostly eaten them raw on their own or in salads although I made a cucumber and red capsicum (Australian for Bell Pepper) relish using, get this, 3.5 kg of cucumber from a single picking! I used a recipe I found here with lots of extra spice. However, after having made it I'm afraid the vinegar content may be too high but we'll wait and see once its had a few months to rest up.

Making relish:
This gave about 3 litres of relish.

Three different patches of green beans which we just can't eat so we blanch and freeze in ziplocks. Edith also made some puree for Philippe which went into ice cube trays for freezing and use later. If we skip a day of picking they just get too big and the taste and texture is nowhere near as nice so those ones end up back in compost.

Eight tomato plants plus two which just spouted from compost added to the garden (unfortunately, we lost a large plant during a wind and rain storm). The wooden structure you see is a huge truss which I built with scrap wood. We've put runner strings up them and get the vines to grow up the strings. The first type of tomato to ripen were the cherry tomatoes - you have never tasted such fruit. We are starting to get the standard beefsteak tomatoes to ripen and next will be the roma tomatoes which we will mostly use for tomato sauce for the winter.

We planted something like 20 basil plants. Next weekend we will be making huge quantities of pesto which will then be frozen for later use. When we do this, we add only oil and garlic. When it comes time to use it, if we are after genovese pesto we add parmsan and roasted pine nuts. We also freeze them in ice cube trays so that we can have small portions if we want them.

Four aubergine plants in a hothouse which are probably going to yield around10 fruit in total. We'll be eating our first ones tonight. We've had so so success and for some reason the leaves seem to be suffering. Also, grasshoppers have been in the hothouse and chewd some leaves.

We started the spring season with 4 or 5 batches of radish, peas, and we've been eating various types of lettuce, including radichio and arugala (rocket) for months. I can't seem to find any pictures a the moment so you will just have to take our word for it.

We even had a rock melon (cantaloupe) which grew of its own accord from the compost. Its single fruit has been picked but not yet eaten.

There are also grape vines with tons of fruit, a peach tree with maybe 50 fruit, a fig tree and an apple tree.

As you can see, we have been fruitful! Please, if you are in the neighbourhood, stop by and help us eat our veggies!

New look

2007-02-23T20:31:00.000+11:00

We've decided to change the "look and feel" of the blog by experimenting with different templates so don't be surprised if it looks different whenever you visit us. Please let us know what you think.

Nous sommes dans une période d'essaie pour le 'look' du blog. Ne soyez donc pas surpris de voir que le site est différent lorsque vous venez nous rendre visite. SVP, laissez nous des commentaires avec votre avis.

Oda the Mermaid Girlfriend

2007-02-19T10:27:00.000+11:00

We've been going to the beach with Philippe almost every day in the last week. The weather (and the water) have been warmer than usual and we all enjoy being in the water at the end of the day.

Philippe seems to enjoy it more every day. He looks at the coming waves with eyes wide open and likes to feel them breaking on his legs. If the water is warm enough he goes as deep as his chest... otherwise we sit in the sand for a few moments. Quite calming after an exciting day of playing on the floor, rolling, screaming and talking in the heat of summer.

Hier, quand je lui ai mis son maillot, on dirait qu'il savait ce qu'on allait faire. Il s'est mis a jaser tout seul pendant que je mettait mon maillot a mon tour. "Oda, Oda, Oda, Da, da, da!" Peut-etre qu'Oda est une sirene de Halfmoon Bay et que Philippe en est amoureux...

After the beach, into the hot shower with Dad to rinse off the salt and sand, lotion on his skin to keep it soft, a nice pyjama and a feed. Makes a good start for an early night! Philippe a des journees bien remplies ces jours-ci!

Sur la photo (29 Decembre dernier) c'etait sa premiere fois a la plage. L'eau etait froide et Philippe n'a pas trop apprecie...

I am an Australian!

2007-02-17T22:20:00.000+11:00

Yes, you read correctly. After just over 3 years in Australia, yesterday I became an Australian citizen. It took several months of waiting for the paper work to get through but I have now received the official phone call from Canberra saying I am "in the system" and that I should get my official certificate in a 2-3 weeks.

I have actually reclaimed the citizenship I lost as a child when my Father (an Aussie) took Canadian citizenship thereby giving up his Australian citizenship without knowing it. This means that I don't get a citizenship ceremony and I don't get to swear an oath which is actually quite disappointing.

The next step is to sponsor Edith and Philippe for their permanent residency. Philippe is not a citizen although he was born here because Australian law states that for a person to be a citizen by birth, at least one of their parents must be either a citizen or a permanent resident at the time of their birth. Because Edith and I were here on a temporary work visa (4 years is still temporary), he did not qualify. So, he is a citizen of Canada. After two years of permanent residency they will both be entitled to apply for citizenship.

I now get to vote, pay the Medicare levy (1.5% of my salary) and go on the dole. I am looking forward to the first, dreading the second and laughing about the third.

Here are some very interesting facts about Australia:

• The name Australia comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognito which means the Unknown Southern Land.
• A little over 200 years ago Australia was sparsely inhabited by the aboriginal people. In 1788 the first European settlers arrived in the First Fleet.
• It is estimated that right now, there are 20,758,120 people in Australia. 73.9% were Australian born and of those born elsewhere, 36.2% came from the United Kingdom, New Zealand or Ireland, with the majority of the remainder coming from Italy, Vietnam, Greece, China and Germany
• Around 80% of the Australian population lives within the eastern seaboard or the coastal fringes of the continent. Australia is one of the world’s most urbanised countries, with about 70 per cent of the population living in the 10 largest cities.
• The smallest state is Tasmania
• It is the driest continent on earth with around 1/3rd considered desert
• Australia is the lowest continent in the world with an average of only 330 meters. The lowest point is Lake Eyre in South Australia at 15 m. below sea level.
• The hottest temperature recorded in Australia was 53 degrees celsius at Cloncurry in Queensland in 1889
• In 1832, 300 female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It was said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter."
• In 1838 it was declared illegal to swim at public beaches during the day! This law was enforced until 1902.
• Australia was the second country to give women the vote. The first was New Zealand.
• Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.
• In 1954, Bob Hawke was immortalised by the Guinness Book of Records for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob later became the Prime Minister of Australia.
• January 26, Australia day, is the anniversary of ships arriving in Sydney carrying a load of Convicts.
• Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason. Australia is the only country whose people eat both animals on it’s coat of arms.
• A monotreme is an animal that lays eggs and suckles its young. The world's only monotremes are the platypus and the echidna and are found only in Australia. Monotreme means “one hole” because they use the same hole to poop, pee, shag and give birth. When a specimen of the platypus was first sent to England, it was believed the Australians had played a joke by sewing the bill of a duck onto a rat.
• The box jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous marine creature. The box jellyfish has killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.
• The Sydney Funnelweb spider is considered the world's most deadly spider. It is the only spider that has killed people in less than 2 hours. Its fangs are powerful enough to bite through gloves and fingernails. The only animals without immunity to the Funnelweb's venom are humans and monkeys.
• In 1977, Alan Jones scored a surprise victory in the Austrian Grand Prix. Initially officials were going to play the Austrian anthem but then realised that Australia and Austria were not the same country. Unfortunately, they didn't have the Australian anthem so instead a local drunk played "Happy Birthday to You" on a trumpet.
• Australians may refer to Americans as 'Seppos'. This is an abbreviation for 'Septic Tank' which is rhyming slang for 'Yank'.
• The name for the Australian marsupial Kangaroo came about when some of the first white settlers saw this strange animal hopping along and they asked the Aborigines what it was called. They replied with 'Kanguru', which in the native language meant 'I don't know' or ‘what are you talking about’
• Australia was founded by Convicts. Its homicide rate is 1.8 per 100,000 population. The United States was founded by religious zealots. Its homicide rate is 6.3 per 100,000. Almost 400% greater than Australia.
• For each person in Australia there are two sheep and over 16 rabbits, the latter introduced in 1859 by one enterprising man who brought 24 wild rabbits from England in an effort to remind him of home.

Brave petit Philippe

2007-02-15T22:59:00.000+11:00

Il a eu son premier rhume dimanche passé. J'étais toute émue de voir mon petit malade... On a eu une nuit plutôt longue, alors que Philippe se réveillait toutes les demies-heures à cause de son nez bouché. Pauvre petit: les bébés ne savent pas qu'on peut respirer par la bouche!!! (Après 3 nuits, il a compris.) Il est venu dormir dans notre lit, ou on l'a installé sur un oreiller coinçé entre les nôtres pour le garder la tête surélevée. Le matin il se réveillait en toussant et en grognant mais après quelques minutes il était de nouveau lui-même, tout souriant et joueur. Le plus dur est passé, maintenant c'est Papa qui est malade (ah les hommes!).

What a great birthday!

2007-02-03T17:35:00.000+11:00

I should have posted that a week ago and it's getting a bit old, but I want to share it so here it is!

January 25th was my birthday. Marc invited some friends for drinks after work. I was so excited: First time I was going out since Philippe was born, first time I intended to have more than 1 glass to drink in 13 months!!!! And so many grown-ups I hadn't seen in ages...

A lot of people turned up: Andrew & Selina, our first friends in Hobart and fellow bush-walkers; Mel, good friend and colleague and now neighbourg; Chu, former colleague and now good friend, Greg, Gerrard and Manny, 3 colleagues I enjoy(ed) working with; and Ruth, who made it from Canberra for the week-end.

I had a great time! The kir royal (plural!) certainly helped, but it was more the fact that I realised I made really good friends in Australia and I miss them when they're not around. It will be a birthday to remember. Marc, thank you for organising and driving. Je t'aime.

I miss my Montreal friends a lot too. I hope to see many of them in April... I should email them as it seems not many people read that blog!

We're coming home! - On s'en vient!

2007-01-24T20:52:00.000+11:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. You may have noticed my PP365 is late too. Haven't put any pics since Christmas. But here I am, finally telling you we'll be flying home in April! I can't wait to go. I think about that trip ALL the time. I'll be a great time for the family, I mean Philippe, Marc and I. We're flying aroud the world YIPEEEEE! as the airfare are just about the same price as going to Canada from Sydney. We'll spend 3 days in Singapore, 5 days in Switzerland to visit our good friends and former neighboor Les Dunand and then 3 weeks in Canada. In Quebec (Montreal and Sherbrooke) for 14 April - 3 May and then, a week in BC. Tell us when you're around, we want to see you!

I can't wait to go, I'm already thinking of the clothes I'll pack in Philippe's suitcase! Here is a list of things (mostly food), we will definitely enjoy when we're around:

1. St-Viateur Bagels I haven't had bagels since I left Montreal in March 2004. I can't wait to get a smoked salmon and cream cheese one.

2. Smoked Meat. I never actually ate at Schwartz so I guess next April would be a good time to do so. If it's too crowded as usual, perhaps a big smoked meat and a fat piece of cheese cake from Ste-Catherine St. will do just fine!

3. Poutine: I guess you have to be genuinely Quebecois to enjoy it, and I do! Is Rapido on Plateau Mont-Royal still the best???

4. Renaud-Bray. I can't wait to get in there to see all the latest BD (bandes dessinees) and get some story books for Philippe. So far we only have one baby book for him in 3 languages (Francais, Espanol and English) thanks to Philippe's friend Lise who sent it from Montreal.

5. Real baguette and croissants. Maybe Carole et Yannick would argue over that (being French!) but Au Pain Dore or Premiere Moisson are good enough for me, and I'll make sure I get plenty!

6. Sirop d'erable: you can buy some in Australia for about 3 times the price and it's made in Ontario. What's the point. My mother makes the most delicious maple syrup pie and maple mousse (to die for!!!). Plus she'll have the whole range of maple products on the table. I'll make sure to order ahead. I wonder if it's the right time for sugar shack???

7. Tintin and Spirou et Fantasio: That's it, it's decided: I'm shipping my BD collections across the planet I miss reading them too much. And Pierre, I think I'll get my XIII back too, hope you enjoyed!

Looking forward to see you soon!

Happy New Year from Tasmania

2007-01-02T19:04:00.000+11:00

It was the best 1st January in a long time. It started on New Year's Eve with some friends at home. We prepared food during 2 days. Salads, dips, Marc's favorite smoked chicken on the BBQ and oysters - freshed and cooked, all prepared by Marc. The food was fantastic, the friends were great company. Even Philippe had a girlfriend, beautiful Anais.

You can tell it's been a quiet evening when at midnight we only needed one bottle of Champagne for 7 people! That must be because of the pregnant girl and the 2 breastfeeding mothers... The next morning we had breakfast with Andrew and Selina who stayed over for the night. We then did nothing for the rest of the day, had naps with Philippe, ate the left overs and had more oysters. The weather was fine (in Oz that means sunny) with a nice sea breeze across the bedroom. It just felt really really good to be alive and breathing the fresh air.

Happy New Year from Tasmania. May 2007 be full of surprises, happy, healthy and wise. I hope to see you on our round the world trip to Switzerland and Canada.

P.S. That photo is a year ago at our friend Steph in Melbourne.

Bravo Philippe!

2006-12-29T10:17:00.000+11:00

Ca y est: il a tourne de son ventre a son dos! Un vrai champion, il a fait ca comme si c'etait tout ce qu'y a de plus facile. Et 5 fois en ligne!

That's it: he rolled over from his tummy to his back! I'm so proud of him, he did it 5 times in a row. Then this morning, he did it again for Marc.

He is now asleep and loooks like an angel. Can you tell I'm in love???

Christmas does not exist - Noel n'existe plus

2006-12-24T16:08:00.000+11:00

For 3 years in a row, it hasn't felt like Christmas at all. It all seems a bit weird seeing a big Santa with a white beard and Christmas trees when it's 30 degrees, we go to thebeach, have BBQ and eat cherries and watermelon!

I felt depressed because I was at the other end of the world, away from the family I love. Never thought I missed them so much. I said to Marc I didn't want to celebrate. Marc seemed to feel the same.

Then for some reason, I got excited: I brought Philippe to take a photo with Santa, bought some decorations. Marc ordered a turkey and brought the tree inside so we could decorate it. Yolande bought a present for Philippe.

So it is Christmas after all.
Peace on earth to all beings of good will

P.S. Si vous voulez une traduction, demandez-la!

Franglish - Merci Marie! ou Les commentaires utiles...

2006-12-17T10:02:00.000+11:00

Tadam!!! Un post en français!

Avons-nous des lecteurs francophones oubliés? Trahis par la langue de l'Internet? Bafoués, choqués, blessés? Si vous me lisez et l'anglais vous emmerde, faut le dire. C'est à ça que ça sert, les commentaires! Ne soyez pas gêné, j'adore ça (même ou surtout si c'est pour me dire que vous voulez du français.) Faut pas faire la tête! Je croyais qu'on n'avait pas de lecteurs francophones (uniquement, je veux dire).

En passant, gros effort ce matin: je me bats avec le clavier pour trouver les cédilles et les accents circonflexes... remarquez c'est probablement un bon exercice. Il ya 2 semaines, j'écrivais sur le babillard les semence à faire au jardin. Quelle fût la surprise de Marc lorsqu'il a vu que j'avais listé ''lettue''. Ça m'a pris un p'tit moment pour réaliser l'énormité de l'erreur, et je ne m'en suis toujours pas remise...

Je crois que Renaud-Bray et Archambault vont avoir notre visite en avril prochain lorsque nous serons au Québec. En attendant, je cherche des livres pour faire la lecture à Philippe, pas facile! Envoyez-moi vos suggestions de livres pour enfants. Je ferai un tour sur Amazon...

Je vous fait un pacte: pour chaque commentaire en français, je publie un post en français avant notre voyage au Canada. Ça vous va? Au fait, comment vous aimez ma photo? Je l'ai trouvé sur un site qui a finalement clarifié la différence entre Estrie et Cantons de l'Est. Si ça vous tente, c'est ici. Intéressant, puisque c'est là que ma famille vit.

Bon ben, la balle est dans votre camp.

Bisous de l'Australie ou (je ne trouve pas le u accent grave) après une nuit avec les copains sur un bateau, Marc est rentré ce matin à 8h30 et fait maintenant la sieste avec Philippe.

How much would you pay for a banana?

2006-12-13T22:33:00.000+11:00

Up to $19.99 a kilo!!!! That means I payed $4.65 for a banana when I realllllly wanted one. It was a few months ago, after Tropical Cyclone Larry hit Australia. The cyclone hit Queensland, where all the Australian bananas grow. It destroyed, amongst other places, Mission Beach, where we went on holiday with Marie-Eve and Steve last year, and all the banana crops. They started importing some from overseas but they wouldn't taste the same and they were bloody expensive. I no longer cook my banana bread to bring at the office - not that I go anyway. The price is now down to $5 a kilo, which still makes it over $2 a pound. But when you think about it, it's a question of choice: how much would you pay for a cocktail? A banana is much better for you.

P.S. New photos on my PP365. Success of the day: Philippe went to bed without a tear! I'm off to bed.

What kind of reader are you?

2006-12-04T20:41:00.000+11:00

I took a little online quiz to see what kind of reader I am.
Here are the results:

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

So, what kind of reader are you?

Didn't get the job...

2006-11-30T09:44:00.000+11:00

Et non, je ne l'ai pas eu, mais l'autre gars non plus!!! Ils ont decide que personne ne satisfaisait aux exigences du poste.

But look, despite what the picture says, I'm far from desperate! I'm a little disappointed I couldn't show them I can do it. On the other hand, I would have felt a lot of pressure to go back to work early and it would have been difficult to ask for a part-time job while Philippe grows up a little bit.

The interview process was long - 2 one-hour sessions plus one feedback session - but interesting. That certainly was good practice for the next time I'll be looking for a new job, plus, my CV is up to date, which never happens between jobs... I still have a job waiting for me when I'm ready. So I really feel good about the whole thing!

Project Philippe 365

2006-11-24T11:25:00.000+11:00

Francois gave me the idea: one photo per day for a year. I'm doing it with Philippe, to see how he changes day after day. I've started about a month ago and missed a couple of days but in general you can see how it is... It's on Flickr again, under the set PP365. Other photos of the family will be posted in other sets.

New baby skill: Philippe started drooling a few days ago. I read it lasts until they learn to swallow their saliva - around the age of 19 months. A long way to go! You're likely to see bibs on the photos from now on.

Job interview

2006-11-14T09:06:00.000+11:00

I'm going for a job interview tomorrow. Is that silly or what? I plan to be on leave for at least another 6 months, but of course, opportunities never come when you have nothing to do. Just like the day we bought our loft in Montreal, Marc was also signing his contract to move to Australia to work. Major events in my life seem to always happen simultaneously. Or is it the case for everyone else???

When I filled out the application for this Manager Information Systems position, I was 38 weeks pregnant, sitting on the fit ball, trying to focus on the professional achievements of the last 2 years. I should really update that CV more often! Three days later, my son was born and I forgot all about it... Now it's time to get back into it. I cross my fingers all will go smoothly. I've never been on interviews where I knew everyone on the panel, plus where 2 of the interviewers are actually the referrees on my CV. Should be interesting. Girl's concern: the good thing is I still fit in my best outfit!!!

I'll tell you more when it's over.

Word verification

2006-11-03T14:47:00.000+11:00

Sorry folks, I've had to turn on the annoying but useful word verification feature in the Comments section due to the arrival of several undesirable spam comments on how to make money fast while selling viagra to Zimbabweans who have $32 million stuck in a South African bank and require a partner to get the money out of the country in exchange for superflight golf balls or breast enlargements and hot stock tips.

I am a shark killer

2006-11-02T22:33:00.000+11:00

I haven't posted in a donkey's age and I have so much to tell. Rather than try to catch up all in one shot, I'll spend the next several days going piecemeal through the latest events and happenings of my daily grind. This post is about the shark that I caught with my speargun.

I was out on the lookout for flathead and there was nothing around. The water was cold and I was paddling around looking and about to give up and was thinking of heading home to warm up. Nothing, I must have been on the wrong tide. All of a sudden I see a shadow scoot by so I begin to follow. I'm on the surface at about 2-3 metres depth with my speargun loaded on the first notch only since flatty is soft fleshed and anything more is wasted effort. I see this shape on the bottom and I'm thinking "that has to be the King of the flatheads" so I begin the hot pursuit. From the suface, I aim down to the supposed flathead and pull the trigger with the point of the spear probably about a metre from the fishes head. Instead of going right through and nailing it, the spearhead barely goes in and the "fish" turns on its side to shake out the barb. Wowwww, I think to myself, I'd better head down for a better look. Duck dive, straight down I go and what do I see? Shark gills. I'd actually pegged a Port Jackson shark. In my defence, from a few metres straight up, the outline of a Port Jackson is alot like a the outline of Flathead (other than the obvious difference in size - lets just write that off to suspended matter and distortion due to 3 metres of water). Well, the shark didn't seem too bothered by fact that I'd just sunk a barb about 2 cm into head and it just kept swimming along at the same speed. Well, I surfaced and kept kicking in an attempt to track while attempting to re-arm the speargun, this time at the second notch. Taking no chances and not liking the idea of a wounded beastie going out to die in the open sea with no one to eat it other than the other beasties (cuz I'm not a beastie, I'm a ... human), I drop back below the surface and level the spear head just above the shark's head. I did the whole "stop breathing part way, and gently squeeze the trigger" thing which I was taught back in my army days and released my projectile less than 10 cm from the targets head. Do I sound like some sort of crazed killer here? I hope not, cuz it's really about how I want to provide for my family and not abuse from nature and all that.

Anyways, I took the shark out and it measured just over 1 metre (it looks shorter in the picture because it's all curled up). So what do am I supposed to do with shark? Thanks to the wonderful knowledge imparted by the power of Google, I spend two days soaking the shark flesh which I'd preapared (also thanks to a link provided by Google) in ice water and lemon slices. After the two days, I dipped the flesh in olive oil then powdered it with a fish curry powder which I like then grilled it on the barbie. Does Yummy describe the sensation?

One more friend on the web!

2006-10-19T17:15:00.000+11:00

My friend Francois asked my for photos of my life in Tassie for 2 years before I managed to send him something. It helped me realise I could do better to stay in touch with people I like around the planet.

Since then, I've caught up with technology (would you believe it - me, an IT analyst). In the last year, I bought a digital camera, started using email (outside work) and my Yahoo account and made this blog with Marc - Marc created the blog but I'm now the main contributor. My next challenge is to make movies from the images I recorded since Philippe's birth on the video camera.

Now, am I right to complain about my friends and family not using the internet??? Maybe, maybe not. Since I've been on maternity leave, I've been looking forward to get any news from Francois, my only friend with a blog. But not anymore. I couple days ago, I found out that Pascal, another of my friend in Canada has got a blog too. That's great! I now have 2 friends I can look forward to hear from. And I'm sure there is more of you out there.

DO YOU KNOW ME and HAVE YOU GOT A BLOG or a PHOTO ALBUM? If the answer is yes, hurry up! Send me the links so I can stay tuned.

Enjoy spring or fall, depending where you are!
Edith

Philippe a 1 mois - One month old

2006-10-15T17:41:00.000+11:00

Philippe turned 1 month old this week. I've put some new photos on Flickr to show you how he changes, and how our days are like.

After one month, we're still alive and quite well. Yes, he will have the odd bad night (like last night when he stayed awake for 2 hours) but he usually settle nicely. He feeds well, sleeps well and grows very quickly. He no longer fits in his smallest pyjamas. So, I'd say so far, it's not as bas (read as hard) as I expected. Thanks to Marc for keeping me balanced and to Yolande for allowing me the afternoon naps. It makes a huge difference when you can think clearly.

Here's an idea of what the first month was like (for me):

- I lost 9 kilos in the first week (pretty amazing!) and 3 more since then.
- I don't drink wine as it passes through the milk and I don't want Philippe to get it.
- I love my morning coffee, but it's now a "coffee flavored steamed milk".
- I'm always hungry after the mid-night feed: I struggle between the 2 most important things : should I get up and eat something or get some sleep while I can?
- I started a new book a week ago, I'm at page 58.
- I still haven't found the news headlines for September 11, 2006 that I want to add to the Baby Book.
- I got back in touch with most friends from my hotmail and yahoo adress books and got news from a lot of people I met at l'INSA (when I studied in Lyon for a year in 1996-97).
- I miss my family in Quebec and Ontario more than ever before.
- We went out for brunch on the second weekend. I still had the baby blues and felt terrible, but those eggs benedict were really good!
- Philippe and I have started the yoga class together. I thought my son was a noisy baby. He's nothing compared to some others in the room!
- I saw the first smile and my heart nearly came out of my chest. I had never felt so much love at once.
- 3 days later Philippe did a smiling session to share with Dad and Grand-maman.
- Whenever the weather in not too windy, we go for walks on the beach. I love to carry Philippe around and he sleeps with the sound of the waves.
- I managed to get my toe nails polished and had my hair done once since we came back from the hospital!
- I feel myself again. Normal, and improved. Philippe is making me a better person.

State of the Nation - L'État de la nation

2006-10-02T19:05:00.000+11:00

Last Saturday, a couple hours before our visitors arrived. Thank god there are 3 of us to look after the house and Philippe or how would it look like??? Let's face it: we're not exactly on top of things! What are we doing all day? Well, I'm mainly feeding Philippe or trying to catch up on sleep, Yolande looks after the kitchen 3 times a day (cooking and cleaning), while Marc runs around, organising the veggie patch and giving Terrapine a hard time because she keeps brining back some dead bunnies on the door step! So the new baby is keeping us all busy!

The paediatrician said not too think logically or try to establish some paterns. Absolutely right, go figure why Philippe will eat every 2 hours and then sleep for 5 hours... Anyway, we got lucky on Saturday, he was sleeping so we manage to get the place cleaned before the visitors arrived! Felt really good!

****************************
Samedi dernier, quelques heures avant l'arrivée de Micheal, le cousin de Marc. Heureusement, nous sommes 3 à s'occuper de Philippe et de la maison, je me demande de quoi ça aurait l'air! On n'est pas encore tout à fait en contrôle. En général, je nourris Philippe ou je sieste pour ratrapper le sommeil perdu la nuit, Yolande s'occupe de la cuisine 3 fois par jours et Marc cours partout, dans le jardin ou à chicaner Terrapine qui passe son temps à nous livrer des lapinots morts sur le pas de la porte! On ne flâne pas vraiment...

Le pédiâtre avait raison: il ne faut pas utiliser la logique pour comprendre l'horaire d'un bébé naissant, chaque journée est différente. Samedi on a eu de la chance, Philippe a fait un long dodo et on a réussi a tout nettoyer avant l'arrivée de la visite. Ah, ça fait vraiment du bien!

Philippe takes a bath

2006-09-22T14:34:00.000+10:00

I've put some new pictures up on Flickr. Same as previously, if I haven't given you access and you think you should have it, send me an email energium AT yahoo DOT ca and I will add you to my friends list.

The Shadow of the Wind

2006-09-22T11:29:00.000+10:00

I am reading a fantastic book right now called The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (original in Spanish, I've got the translation). I picked it up before heading to hospital for the birth. The story takes place in Barcelona following the Spanish Civil War during the early years of the Francist dictatorship and tells the tale of a young boy, Daniel Sempere, whose father is the respected owner of a used book store. One day, when Daniel is still quite young, his father takes him the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a near mystical, hidden palace where abandoned or forbidden books go to end their days. The tradition has it that when a person visits the Cemetery for the first time, he must pick one book to keep and cherish forever. Fate and destiny seem to drive Daniel to pick up The Shadow of the Wind a book by an unknown author by the name of Julian Carax. Daniel is enthralled by the book and determined to find out more about the mysterious author. This leads to an incredibly complex and wonderful story of love, betrayal, murder, and mystery.

Daniel meets and befriends a mysterious homeless man who goes by the name of Fermin Romero de Torres. Daniel introduces the man to his Father and they end up adopting him and taking him on as hired help in the book store. Fermin is overwhelmed by their generosity and becomes their most loyal supporter and friend. Meanwhile, Fermin has fallen well and truly in love with Bernarda, the maid of another book store owner and begins considering the possibility of becoming a father himself. One day in the book store, Fermin asks Daniel (and this is the point of this post):

‘May I ask you a personal question, Daniel?’

‘Of course.’

‘I beg you to answer in all frankness,’ he said, and he cleared his throat. ‘Do you think I could ever be a father?’

He must have seen my puzzled expression, and he quickly added, ‘I don’t mean biologically – I may look a bit rickety, but by good luck Providence has endowed me with the potency and the fury of a fighting bull. I’m referring to the other sort of father. A good father, if you see what I mean.’

‘A good father?’

‘Yes. Like yours. A man with a head, a heart, and a soul. A man capable of listening, of leading and respecting a child, and not of drowning his own defects in him. Someone whom a child will not only love because he’s his father but will also admire for the person he is. Someone he would want to grow up to resemble.’

‘Why are you asking me this, Fermin? I thought you didn’t believe in marriage and families. The yoke and all that, remember?’

Fermin nodded. ‘Look, all that’s for amateurs. Marriage and family are only what we make of them. Without that they’re just a nest of hypocrisy. Garbage and empty words. But if there is real love, the sort you don’t go around telling everyone about, the sort that is felt and lived…’

‘You’re a changed man, Fermin.’

As I read this passage while resting on my cot in the hospital, I began to reflect that this is exactly what I wanted to be for Philippe. Someone to look up to and learn from. To share ideas and feelings with. Someone who guides and instructs and who is there to listen and maintain links of love and friendship. I want Philippe to be a better person than me, without my faults and vices. I want to be the one who guides him along the paths of life, to point out pitfalls and helps him get back on the path when he stumbles and falls. The path will be of his own choosing but I will walk it with him.

Our walk in the paddock

2006-09-18T08:43:00.000+10:00

Yesterday arvo (that means afternoon in Aussie), Edith and I went for a nice little walk in the back paddock to do a bit of bird watching and to try out my new 1.75x telephoto lens for my camera. As we walked along, the Masked Lapwings were going crazy which was a sure indication that there were Lapwing chicks about. Sure enough, Edith's sharp eyes picked up a little movement which couldn't be anything else. As we slowly made our way towards this little bird, the cries of the adults became much more strident and the baby responded to the alarm by sinking down to the ground. I continued onwards but I must have blinked because suddenly I had no idea where the little bird was. I tried to walk away again and wait behind a natural blind thinking the bird would eventually rise but it ended up being much more patient than I. So I tried to find it again and after some time of walking up and down to cover a grid I suddenly saw it!

This little chick was perfectly still and nearly invisible until you were right up on it. In fact, if I had not been scrutinising the ground in an attempt to find it, I never would have seen it and could very well have stepped on it. Terrapine walked right by about 2 metres away and never had a clue it was there. That's effecient camouflage.

I took a few pictures, admired the marvels of nature and then left the poor trembling chick alone.

Photos of Philippe

2006-09-17T10:42:00.000+10:00

Well, we are now home. Our first night was good as Philippe slept soundly all night 3 to 4 hours at a time. Yay! Everything is going smoothly: baby is feeding well, Mother is resting and starting to get up and about. I have been going a little bonkers trying desperately to get everything ready. I will be working half days from home for the next two weeks starting Monday so I have today to get things ready for Edith to be "on her own".

Edith and I have decided that we don't want to put any pictures of Philippe on the blog just yet. We feel funny about possible public consumption of the pictures and want to attempt to control who sees what. So, I've created a Flickr account which I will be using for now to post pictures. I've already invited some people but if you haven't received an invitation yet, don't worry it's just that I was lazy and only sent it out to those whose emails I knew by heart or had ready access (ie two clicks or less). If you want to access the pictures, please send me an email at
energium AT yahoo DOT ca (replace " AT " by "@" and " DOT " by ".")
and I will give send you an invitation to the email address of your choosing.

That's it for now, Edith and are going for a little walk just now with Philippe to get some fresh air and enjoy the lovely weather.

I will post more interesting stuff soon. I will try and get Edith to post a bit about her experiences at the hospital if she feels up to it.

Bienvenue au monde Philippe!

2006-09-14T12:27:00.000+10:00

Notre adorable bébé Philippe est venu au monde lundi le 11 septembre 2006 très précisément à 12h33. Il pesait 3710 grammes (8 livres et 3 onces pour les anciens) et mesurait 50 cm. J'ai ressenti le plus grand bonheur de ma vie en mettant moi même mon fils au monde. Edith qui a travaillé comme une championne va bien mais elle est très fatiguée comme vous pouvez vous l'imaginer. Nous pensons renter à la maison samedi et nous vous écrirons un post plus détaillé avec photos.

Our adorable first baby Philippe was born on Monday, September 11^th 2006. He weighed in at a very respectable 3710 grams (8 lbs, 3 oz for you Philistines) and measured 50 cm. Short and stocky like me. Welcoming my son into the world was the most powerful experience of my life. Edith is very well but understandably tired after her long effort. We expect to be home on Saturday and we will write a more detailed post with pictures at that time.

First Day at Home

2006-09-06T07:56:00.000+10:00

I left work last night, thinking it will be at least 6 months before I go back. It felt stange! I'm not on holiday; I'm just at home, preparing for the arrival of our baby and the new adventure we're about to begin. Two weeks ago I was so tired, I wished I could quit work and spend the days sleeping. But in the last few days I realised the lifeI've been knowing for the past 8 years (since I graduated from Polytechnique) was almost over: I almost said "nooooo!" I'm not ready! What a weird idea to have a baby, what was I thinking!!! I'm really confused: one minute I'm very excited by everything that's going on and the next, absolutely scared about the birth and brining a new baby home. At the moment, I'm just really happy and at peace. I can't wait to see our little one's face and hear the first scream.

Funny how when something is changing, you realise you'll miss it (work). Well, that's my mood for now, it may be different in a few weeks / months. Marc seems to be preparing for the eventuality where I never want to go back. For the time being, I's impossible to imagine!

As the day progresses, it seems more and more normal to be here (at home) and enjoy the present moment. Not too sure what I'll do just now, maybe have a look at the veggie patch. I'll say goodbye with this picture, l'Atoll de Rangiroa - Polynesie Francaise, taken a few minutes before landing:

Sept 1st, Australian Spring is here

2006-09-01T19:07:00.000+10:00

Australians have a funny way with seasons: unlike other places around the world, seasons here begin on the first of the month, not as per the Earth's position around the Sun (equinox and solstice). So today, 1st of September, is the first day of spring while it's still summer for another 3 weeks or so in the northern hemisphere. But regardless of dates, nice weather has been with us since we moved here. There's hardly any rain - it rained 3 times in the last 2 months (how can it fill the water tank?) - even though winter is supposed to be the wet, cold, miserable season. None of that in South Arm! We've been enjoying Sunday lunches on the terasse (the deck as they call it) all through winter!

The last couple of weeks have just been amazing for the eyes, with new colors appearing everywhere. These few photos show you what we see when we leave for work in the morning (snif!). Fortunately, the drive is not too ugly, with water and beaches and sand dunes and mountains, so it's also a nice part of the day. Follow the link for more photos (Yahoo - Spring in South Arm) if you feel like having a look at what I saw on my last Wednesday lunch walk.

I've been working from home on Wednesdays for the last few weeks. It has made the long 5-day week feel much easier for my growing belly. This week is my last week at work (hip, hip, hurray!) so I hope to spend even more time enjoying home, the garden and the beach until the baby arrives. Life is hard...

Okay you cwuddy wabbit, I know you're in there, come on out

2006-08-31T19:28:00.000+10:00

We have rabbits at our place. Lots of rabbits. When I walk around our paddock around dusk I see litterally hundreds of the cute little bunnies. Rabbits are a big problem in Australia. English settlers, trying to turn Australia into England, introduced rabbits to the landscape. Only problem was, contrary to England, there was no natural predator so the rabbits did what they do best: they bred like, um, rabbits.

Thing is, rabbit meat is really yummy. So, in my new incarnation as a "gentleman farmer" I've decided to do something about our rabbit infestation while providing good tucker for the family. My solution was to build a trap. Not a leg trap or anything cruel like that but rather what is refered to as a live trap. Besides, I don't want to end up harming any native wildlife (although it would be cool to catch a bandicoot so I can see one close up before releasing it). I based my design on something I found here and this is the end result:

I put the trap out last night but I haven't caught anything yet. Maybe tonight I'll get lucky.

Of course, catching a rabbit is just the first part. Then, you have to, gulp, kill the cute little fella and then skin and clean him. I've only ever killed bugs, fish and when I was about 13 or 14 I had to kill one mouse that my Mother had captured under a pot in the kitchen sink and accidentaly ripped off it's leg - I chose to drown him by holding him down with a straw in a margarine tub filled with water. So, I'm not sure how I'll fare and I don't think a rabbit will fit in a tub of margarine. I guess I'll try to wring it's neck... As to skinning and cleaning, well I googled and came up with this lovely pictorial essay. We'll see how I go!

In the meantime... I'll keep you posted. If anybody has any useful tips or suggestions, please leave them in the Comments section.

Update:
This evening, we noticed that Terrapine was scratching around her ears and face. Upon inspection, we realised that she had a sudden flea infestation. Later on I found a headless bunny in the basement. My guess is that Terrapine caught her first (?) bunny and while chewing off it's head caught an entire flea circus.

Result: Terrapine 1 . . . . . . . . . Marc 0

Oh, and don't worry about the fleas. Terrapine gets a regular dose of flea meds so they will die disappear.

Bedaine de laine et bedon rond!

2006-08-30T16:59:00.000+10:00

Yes, I know, it's about time I publish something for my family and friends back in Canada!

Where can I start? I'll be 37 weeks through my pregnancy tomorrow. This means, theoretically, only 22 days before the baby arrives. I feel enormous and I'm getting quite restricted in certain movements, but apart from that, I feel great! Marc has at least one good laugh a day: when I get out (or try to get out) of bed in the morning. Don't laugh, it's not funny turning a 10 kg belly around! - actually, it is! What else? Oh yes: colleagues usually find it funny if I drop something on the floor. But there's always someone kind enough to pick it up for me. Well, good incentive never to become obese!

Here is a photo of me, taken a week ago. You must admit I don't look that pregnant:

Now, have a look at this one, taken 30 seconds later:

Impressive, isn't it? Marc and I both have a feling it's a baby boy, probably because we call it le bébé. Or maybe it's all those kicks in the ribs, and huge tidal waves through my belly during meetings when I wear stretchy tops. No one has ever noticed or admitted to noticing, but I'm still getting paranoid! So, what do you think: boy or girl? Use the comments section to tell us.

Choosing a name is quite a challenge given the dual-citizenship, bilingual background the baby will have. Must spell the same in English and French, sound OK in both, and what about family name: between the 2 of us, we have 3 last names! I think we'll take the baby name book with us to the hospital. One thing for sure: you won't know the name before the baby's born. Tell me how you chose your chilren's names. Any interesting stories?

French Polynesia

2006-08-22T14:14:00.000+10:00

In June, Edith and I decided to get away for a couple of weeks so we went to French Polynesia since we have friends who live in Papeete on the island of Tahiti.

We spent a few days in Papeete and while there we popped over to Moorea which is just a 1/2 hour ferry ride to stay with new friends at their beach house. Then we flew to Fakarava, a tiny atoll in the Tuamotu archipeligo. On that island we stayed in a tiny little hut right on the water (see pictures). The lagoon was gorgeous and so full of fish. I did four dives in the Pass (where the lagoon connects to the sea) and saw the most amazing variety of corals, plants, fish and... sharks! Next we flew to Rangiora which is the principal atoll in Tuamotu. After Fakarava, Rangiora was a bit of a disappointment but beautiful none the less. We took a boat across the lagoon and went to the "Blue Lagoon" which is basically a lagoon within the lagoon (I love that word, lagoon).

You can see some of our pics if you really feel like it.

Everything went well except that Edith's ankles got swollen on the way over and she struggled a bit with the heat. But it was still a wonderful trip.

By the way, I didn't buy Edith the necklace she is wearing in one of the pictures. I couldn't quite get the $200,000 together. Maybe next time. She had to settle for an ordinary old pair of perfect tear drop pearl earrings. Poor girl.

The Natural Edge Project

2006-08-22T12:24:00.000+10:00

Yesterday evening, I took part in a tongue in cheek debate sponsored by Engineers Australia. The subject was "Engineers created Global Warming". I was second speaker for the affirmative and we won! I'm sure it was my dazzling rhetoric which made the difference. Or was it my use of the phrase "Society's Master Integrators" when referering to Engineering. I even got a nice bottle of Semillon out of the deal.

The really interesting part though was the opportunity to meet and discuss with Cheryl Paten. This incredible woman is a member of The Natural Edge Project, a think tank that deals with sustainability issues in Australia and abroad. She is the Education coordinator of this group which I gather means she travels around and talks to organisations about sustainability (rough job, eh?). What is really interesting about this group is that they are all young(ish) professionals who come up with alternatives to the way things are running now. They have a volunteer 6-month internship program which performs all sorts of research. I've put my hand up and I may just be doing a bit of work for them next year.

For such a new and young group, they have an amazing reach and audience. They are remarkably well respected and received everywhere from government, technical bodies to industry and political movements. I think the secret to their success is that they tell the truth while backing it with cold, hard facts. Also, they propose solutions which are practical, realistic and more importantly allow people to make money. Being largely comprised of engineers they are very much interested in innovation and re-design of processes rather than band aid solutions which don't really work. One of the things she said last night which really struck me was that as engineers, it is our role to innovate humanity out of the pending crisis (or is it here already) related to GW.

If you're interested in this type of stuff, you can also visit Treehugger, a webzine which deals with new products which are aesthetically pleasing, innovative and environnementally conscious.

2006-08-19T11:17:00.000+10:00

Welcome to Edith and Marc's new blog all about our life here in South Arm, Tasmania. What can you expect to read here? We'll tell you about what we've been doing, life in general here in Tassie, birds, our cats, and of course Edith's pregnancy (35 weeks so far) and the soon to arrive new member of our little family unit. I may also subject you to my musings with regards to the state of the world, the state of my mind and whatever else I feel like since this is my (I mean OUR) blog.

Where is Tasmania? Well, it's not in Africa (you're probably thinking of Tanzania). Tassie is the island state to the south-east of Australia.Where is South Arm? Just across the Derwent River from Hobart about a half hour drive from the cbd. Here is a Google Earth pic of South Arm:

If you've got Google Earth installed you can actually see our property (well not really our property since we rent...). It is 7.5 acres right on the beach. Right now as I sit at my desk I can look over the monitor and see the water and Tinderbox on the opposite shore. Life is good.

We moved to Tassie nearly three years ago from Montreal, Canada and moved here in South Arm back in May. We moved out of the City and chose to live in a more rural area just because we could. I mean, where else in the world would we be able to afford to live on such a huge beachfront property in such a massive house and only 30 minutes from the city? If you know of such a place, let me know! Here is a picture of our house seen from the paddock (Australian for a huge field):

In the foreground, the little shed is in our soon to be veggie patch. Actually, this afternoon I'll be going out to plant our spinach, endive, celery, broccoli, dill, chamomile and sage. If I have time I may even plant a patch of shallots and spring onions. So far this season, I've only gotten the garlic in but our hope is to have a really large garden which I'd like to run year round. I'll keep you updated with pictures and if I get around to it I may even draw up the garden plan in Visio and post it. Here is me examining the garlic patch about a month ago:

One of the issues we've been struggling with about the blog we've been meaning to start for ages is what language to publish in. You see, we are both from Québec and prior to our life in Tassie our day to day language was French. At home, at work, and out and about in town. But if we write in French then none of our English friends in Canada, the US, Australia or wherever will be able to read us. And what about our European friends: German, Spanish etc? We had thought of having an English and French blog with translated posts but this seemed like a way of killing the project before it even got off the ground. And besides "Notre vie dans le Bras" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. We think pretty well everyone is able to understand English and like it or not English is the lingua franca so English it is. However, feel free to post in the comments section in whatever language you want. As we go forward, we will see how things evolve and we may choose to publish in French sometimes and English the rest.

That's about it for now! We will try and post a few times a week. In closing, here is a picture of Edith which I took on Fakarava in French Polynesia when we were there in June: