"I think I see giant apes living in there"

Title is Kelvin's apt description of my mother-in-laws tropical gardens.

Our arrival in Australia brings 110 degree heat and humidity that the locals can't remember having experienced in the last few decades. Everything's green though, which is not common on this desert landmass. We have frangipani flowering our yard and mangos ready for picking. We picked most to keep the flying foxes (gigantic bats) from gobbling them all up in the wee hours of the morning.

Spend a lot of time hearing from locals - family, friends and strangers alike - about what is happening in the US. Fascinating variety of reports. My favorite so far has been that due to America voting Obama in, all Americans are now homeless. All of us. Yes. Correct.

Having a bit of a time adjusting to food costs in Australia. My favourite examples:

single serve container of yogurt, $3.50

12 oz bottle of water, $3

single meal of vietnamese noodle soup, $18

The advice we've been given? "Only eat what's on special at the shops". Like white bread and 65% lean ground lamb, which tastes like death. Mmmmmm.

Alhena loves the laughter of the kookaburra in the mornings, and thinks the plants are marvelous. The heat hits her pretty hard, so she sleeps a lot when we're out wandering about. She loves the watermelon here, but is still deciding if mango and passionfruit are her thing. She loves the magpies that live at our house too, and helps Kelvin feed them cheese. Because nature always provides magpies with a regular supply of cheese.

The only free wi-fi anywhere that we can find is at McDonald's, and runs as though they are channeling dial up from 1991.  Interesting problem in 2012.

Oh, and a tarantula the size of a giant's hand has taken up residence in my jeans that were hanging on the line. Yay!

Wishing you all well, and hoping winter remains mild.  Photos of Alhena will follow soon.    :)