Happy Feet

With winter approaching, we decided to get us some uggs!!

So here's a bit of historical trivia for you, which I found interesting. For ages, the terms Ugg/Ug/Ugh/Uggies have been used as general terms to refer to warm, cozy sheepskin footwear. However, a few years ago the American Deckers Outdoor Corporation trademarked the name "Ugg" (and all derivatives thereof) and started mass producing "UGG Australia" brand boots, which are made in China. The company started going after the numerous small businesses in Australia that made uggs and threatening them with fines and lawsuits. This is a little like someone trademarking the word "chopsticks" and then suing anyone in the world that tries to sell a product called "chopsticks". So the little Aussie manufacturers banded together and fought back, and are now allowed to sell "uggs" again.

These are actually Ben's uggs

So Ben and I bought our uggs (since we can call them that) from a place in Dubbo that makes all their products on-site with all-Aussie sheepskins. There are doors from the shop to the factory, so you can look through and see people working - it seems like a very happy atmosphere. They also employ a number of people with intellectual disabilities, which is great. And they're just so friendly and willing to make whatever you want - I think this was probably one of the happiest shopping experiences I've had! And we're not shoppers, at all.

Tamara also gave me some great socks from Tassie, so my feet are extra happy!!! (...although 2 pairs of wool socks plus uggs was just for the photo - I'm not that pathetic.)

Underwear boy

Well - it's the end of an era. Peter (aka Underwear Boy, due to his chronic, unabashed lack of clothing other than boxers... and sometimes just briefs) is moving. For those of you who haven't heard about U-Boy, he's renting a room from Tamara, and therefore my housemate when I house-sit for Tamara. He's a criminal lawyer, and his company had relocated him to Dubbo to get more familiar with aboriginal crime. Now they're sending him to Walgett, which is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and if you say the name with the right drawl, I think it captures the essence of the place. From the sounds of it, Dubbo was just breaking him in - Walgett is where he'll get into serious stuff.

But anyway, he's known about this move for ~2 months. This morning, he slept in until 11, got up and made a huge breakfast, chatted on the phone, had a few cigarettes. Then apparently while he was in the shower, he had an epiphany that he's moving in 2 days, because he suddenly runs out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, leaving wet footprints all over, picking up clothes with one hand and moving dishes around with the other - and starts freaking out about all the stuff he needs to get done. Which led to the following conversation:

Peter: This sucks – why does this stuff always happen to me?
Kerry: Other people move, too.
Peter: I’m like a victim.
Kerry: Of what? Having a job?
Peter: Yeah. Why can’t I just be on an island somewhere, drinking and smoking, with lots of pretty girls that don’t want to marry me.

Yup - that's Peter.

Lazy river, lazy day

Ben and I spent the rest of the weekend takin' it easy. We headed out to "Butlers Falls" just south of Dubbo, but we failed to spot anything that remotely resembled a waterfall. In fact, it was so still that it was perfect for skipping stones. The name must refer to something else.

Ani enjoyed soaking up the sun and playing in the water and pouncing on things in the grass (luckily not snakes). And Ben and I proved to be entertainment for some of the local kids. A few young boys walked by us, and we could hear them debating our accents for quite a while.

On the way home, we decided to stop by one of the local wineries. However, being the end of the day on Sunday, they didn't have much open for tasting. We tried two reds, but since it was such a warm day, we were really in the mood for a white. Unfortunately, they only had 1 bottle of anything white, and it had been opened to pour one glass of wine - the managers had left for the weekend with they keys to the wine shed. So they offered us a taste, and then I (in my oh-so-classy-wine-snob way) asked if we could buy the rest of the bottle at a discounted price. Ben insists she hesitated, but I swear she was more like "whatever - it's the end of the weekend, nobody else will be drinking it." And it's Dubbo - anything goes.

So we took our mostly full bottle of wine and walked through the vineyards and down to the river (again) and soaked up a bit more of the beautiful day.

My birthday

Leaves changing colours, temps getting colder, shorter days... must be my birthday! As I mentioned on Ben's birthday, the flip-flopped birthday eco-cues are one of the weirdest things about living in the other hemisphere. I had grown quite accustomed to lilacs, lilies-of-the-valley, and bleeding hearts around my birthday. Even more than cold Christmases or autumnal Halloweens, I miss my spring-ish birthday. (...but yes, we are still wearing shorts.)

But despite my lack of spring flowers, I had a wonderful birthday weekend, primarily because Ben was here, but also because it really felt birthday-ish. The vets had a cake for me on Friday, Tamara gave me wonderful socks from Tasmania, Maria sent a bottle of wine up with Ben, Kristie sent me a text message, I had a pile of cards from home, Ben decorated my room with balloons and crepe paper and had a confetti gun and everything - y'all are great!!!

On Saturday, we went to see Spamalot, which was a lot of fun, and it was the New South Wales premier, no less. We actually saw Spamalot in Chicago for my birthday a few years ago. Between professional Chicago theater company or local Dubbo theatre group, you might think Chicago would win hands-down, but we both kind of liked Dubbo better! First of all, you're just much more up-close and personal, but also, the whole idea of Spamalot is that it's a spoof on people who took themselves too seriously, but in Chicago, they took themselves too seriously. Dubbo still had amazing costumes and scenes, but without so much attitude. But we came away from both performances with aching cheeks from laughing so hard, which is always a good way to spend your birthday.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Unlike Father's Day, Mother's Day is actually the same in Australia as it is in the US. So to the two best mothers in the world, we hope you have a double-whammy of a super Mother's Day!! We miss and love you both lots!

Underwear Boy and narcissism

One last ode to Underwear Boy.

As Australia is mourning the loss of the classic Aussie bloke (seriously – there’s a competition to find/celebrate those rugged outback men), Underwear Boy is doing all he can to contribute to the rise of the metrosexuals. I realize that I am not the most appearance-oriented person, but I am continually amazed at UB’s vanity. He spends more time in the bathroom in one day than I do in an entire week, and has twice the number of “beauty” products as Tamara and me combined. I honestly don’t think that is much of an exaggeration. He has multiple different hair gels, hairsprays, shampoos, and a hair straightener for his 1-inch hair! One day I counted 11 bottles of hair regrowth formula in the bathroom, which is kind of ironic since he once told Tamara “My goal is to become a fat, bald lawyer. All the best lawyers are fat and bald. But not until I’m 30.”

The blue circles are UB's, the red circles are Tamara's, and the green circle is mine.

He has 2 pictures up in his room – one of him and his fiancé, and one of him and his “stunning” chest. Interestingly, his investment in his appearance seems to stop at anything that would involve too much effort (i.e. exercise). He has a few dumbbells in his room, but I’ve only seen them used as a doorstop. And apparently, eating an insane amount of grease every day is also part of his health regimen. He has gotten visibly fatter in the 3 months I’ve known him – an observation facilitated by his chronic lack of clothing.

Once again, we shake our head and say “Oh Peter.” This entry is not meant to offend anyone who identifies with UB – just to share my enlightening experience of living with a metrosexual.

Fruit of the Day: Dragonfruit

This fruit comes from a cactus, and it looks just great, doesn't it!?!? But for as vibrant as the color is, the taste is actually quite subtle. It's mildly sweet, but there's no distinguishable flavour to it. But it's quite refreshing, and apparently low in calories!