Cousin Love!

Chris's brother arrived with his family on April 12, and after a mere part-day acclimation, we hit the ground running. Sights around Adelaide, sunset at the beach with fish & chips, kangaroos in the wild, cuddling with koalas, a footie match (Aussie rules football), wine and beer tasting at local and McLaren Vale venues - and most of that before these poor folks had even adjusted to the time change.

Easter in SA

That's no rabbit - it's an Easter Bilby!

Easter in South Australia is a big deal - or at least a big reason to skip town.  Good Friday and Easter Monday were both official holidays, and some shops were closed on Saturday as well. Judging by the news accounts, those traveling on the roads found ridiculous amounts of traffic.

Our own Easter morning started early, as we hoped to participate in the Easter sunrise service at the beach. With coffee and hot cross buns in hand, we hiked from our house toward the appointed location. Unfortunately, we were about 20 minutes late, and the service lasted about 20 minutes. We set foot on the beach just as the Salvation Army band was playing their last piece. Oh, well! We proceeded to the playground across the road.

After regrouping at home (and dressing appropriately), we headed to the Uniting Church of Brighton for their 10:00 am service. Chris and I were grateful that they include a time for children in a separate space of the church, which makes for a more reflectful Easter experience for us parents! After the service, the children helped decorate a cross (mounted outside in front of the church along Brighton Rd) with fresh flowers - a nice connection to our congregation in Decatur.

We headed to Glenelg via bus for the afternoon, where the council mounted a child- and family-friendly Easter event for kids - both girls took on face-paint as Easter bunnies and enjoyed the crafts and games there, despite the predictable mood bounces from too much Easter sugar. The weather was rainy off and on, so we were grateful that we managed to get off to numerous activities without getting drenched.





















Normally, we host or attend a large Easter dinner with a bunch of Decatur friends and their children. We missed that celebration this year, and settled for more simple fare of lamb chops, peas, carrots, some excellent honey wheat rolls made by Chris, and a great lemon tart made with fresh lemons from a friend's tree.


This week, we're celebrating at the arrival of Chris's brother and his family from the Pittsburgh area. Together, all nine of us will be headed out on more adventures around Adelaide and then on to Cairns in Queensland. Good family bonding time!

Smiley Fritz

Alison pointing to a crumpet. Our guest, Will, was not so impressed with this brekkie option.

In our early days here, one of my challenges was to sort out all the shopping options for stocking in food. We live within easy walking distance of a Foodland IGA (whose charming slogan is The Mighty South Aussies), a green grocer (fruit and veg), a butcher, and several bakeries. Prices for food and drink are a bit more than in the states. Coupling this with a strong Aussie dollar means that we have become budget shoppers. As one of my favorite things to do in a new country is to visit the grocery, it has been more fun than hardship to sort out all these options.