So Much to Tell...

Hello everyone.  It has been a busy few weeks and there are several things to tell you about.  First off, I want to give a shout out to my sister, Anne-Marie.  She was awarded Employee of the Month at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

CONGRATULATIONS, sister!

There are many updates, so I will just jump right in:  

I have begun working with a woman to make and then sell her jams and preserves at a local farmer's market in town.  We also sell fresh scones (made by a man named Romeo) with cream and jam.  Some of our yummy spreads include:

Apple Jelly

Lemon Curd

Zucchini Pickle

Pomelo Marmalade    Pomelos taste somewhat similar to a grapefruit and look like this:

Bundy Rum Pineapple Pickle     Bundy is short for Bundaberg, which is both a city and Rum brand:

Strawberry Jam
Beetroot and Oragne Relish
and Tomato Jam.
Australians adore their chutneys, relishes and preserves.  It really is a key part to the food here.  I've only scraped the surface in trying all of the wonderful flavours.  And, now....I have the chance to make them.  By the way, mom, my knife has come in very handy ;)

The second job I've picked up is working part time as the Office Administrator for the National Parks Association of Queensland.  They work towards the preservation, expansion and good management of the National Parks throughout the state.  The office is a short bike ride away from our house and I will most likely work M-W.  Along with the regular office duties, I am hoping to help expand their membership and get them on some social network sites.  Yes, that's right!  I'll finally be on FaceBook....sort of.

Because I won't be working Thursdays, this gives me the opportunity to continue my work on the city farm.  Along with a friend named Carly, we will be responsible for a small piece of the land across from the composting area.  On Tuesday, I weeded out a lot of Nut Grass.  It looks like this:

I planted some Lebanese Cucumbers, Zucchini, and two varieties of sunflowers--making sure that the tall flowers would be in the west so as to not shade the veggies.  We are also maintaining a small banana grove.  Banana plants do well to grow in threes.  You have a grandmother, momma and a baby.  When a fourth sucker (another shoot from the plant) comes up, you can carefully transplant it to a different area and it essentially becomes the new grandmother of another bunch.  After 5-10 years, you chop down the grandmother because it becomes prone to disease and pests. 

Two other projects that I might become involved with:  Open Doors is an organization that reaches out to LGBT youth and they are getting ready to move offices and look into starting a youth advisory council.   The Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland is writing a grant for funding a youth empowerment program for international students to begin sexual health programs at the local universities and schools to train young people to act as peer leaders.  Time will tell how involved I become with those...

Hugo's brother, Thibaut, is in town.  The three of us went to our first Aussie wedding; a woman from Brisbane married a Torres Strait Islander from Thursday Island:

Many of his aunties and uncles traveled down for the festivities and performed Island songs and dances that were beautiful.  We met wonderful people, ate delicious food and I stayed to dance the night away.  After the party was over, I had a lovely bike ride home along the river.

Two days ago, we all went to Mermaid Beach down on the Gold Coast to spend one night and enjoy the ocean.  We woke up at 4:45am to watch the sunrise over the Pacific.  That same day included many treats:
***delicious, savoury breakfast with avocado and tomato on Turkish toast, which is made from bread that looks like this:

 

***walk on the beach

***platter of sushi followed by ice cream

***swim in the water

***WHALE SIGHTING!!  Yes... I saw my first whale, standing with Thibaut on the sand.  (I was standing with Thibaut--not the whale) There were several slapping their tails on the water and jumping up above the horizon.  For those of you who don't know, there is a real war going on between the whalers and the people trying to protect these mammals.  

Another animal sighting which wasn't as nice involved a magpie.  

These CRAZY birds are a complete pain in the tushie.  (Especially during nesting season) they swoop down and attack bikers.  Do you see how big their beaks are?!  They can really cause injury.  So, you might see a sign like this one...  

In attempt to protect themselves and keep the magpies from coming too close, people attach cable ties to their helmets....

to try to prevent this...

Yikes!  Within the past week, Hugo and I both have put cable ties onto our helmets because of magpie "incidents".  (Both of us experienced their infamous swooping.  In order to deter the bird, I swatted it with my right arm while trying to keep control of the bike with my left hand; Hugo not only swatted, but proceeded to get off of his bike and throw his water bottle and other items from his backpack at the bird :)  Don't mess with this Frenchie!  )

Hugo continues to amaze me with balancing his duties as a student, teacher and sweetheart.  He's also becoming a professional at managing the barbie... (bbq grill)

My plans for visiting Colorado in December are set.  I look forward to seeing wonderful people, experiencing the sensation of "cold", eating Mexican food and seeing that Northern Hemisphere sky.