Arrived down under

We're finally here. We've bid farewell to our apartment-with-the-view in Singapore for the last time, waved good-bye to our belongings as they went off to the ship in their container, and had final meals with friends we've made. Those weren't to say farewell, they were for au revoir, because you can bet your boots we'll be coming back. Well we have to en-route to the UK, but we hope to visit for a little longer than a stopover.

We've been in serviced accommodation in Perth for 10 days now, and we've had highs of 40*C (104*F) and lows of 14*C (57*F). Now THAT is taking a little getting used to. Even at its hottest, although you feel the sun burning your skin through your clothes, you don't perspire here as you do in Singapore. At 28*C straight out of the shower there, you're needing to towel twice. In Perth the air and the wind is so dry (the last rain was last November!) that everything evaporates instantly. It's thirsty work living here.

It’s pretty too, especially the river and Kings Park. Last weekend we had a Sunday afternoon drive to Cottesloe beach and were surprised to find crazy traffic and hundreds of people with binoculars and cameras all staring down at Fremantle Docks. We listened in on conversations as we walked past people, and finally took a photo of the Docks, zoomed in and found that that enormous cruise ship was the Queen Mary 2, just leaving port. How about that! As we watched her sail literally into the sunset, we spotted a couple of dolphins playing just beyond the wave-line. That made our day.

We've got our internet, PO Box, mobile phones, bank accounts, car rental and our application for a house sorted out. We have to wait for confirmation from the landlord, but as the other applicants have 2 dogs and smoke, we'd be surprised if we lost it. Keeping fingers crossed though! Our possessions have arrived in Fremantle and are going through Customs inspection. We hope to get them by the end of the month, just in time to get everything moved into the house. Let's hope it all dove-tails nicely.

We're finding our way around the city, on foot and using the free CAT buses (Central Area Transit). We've worked out that the sign for Manchester in department stores actually means bathroom and bedroom linen, and that letter boxes are back to red again after Singapore's white ones. Our worries about whether sushi had made it this far south are unfounded - there are sushi bars EVERYWHERE, yay! Daytime TV seems to slide professionally from interview to article to advertisement without leaving the couch, before you've really sussed out what's going on. (I now absolutely NEED a steam-cleaner and some wrinkle-filler...) I haven't found a scrap-booking shop yet, although there are several on the net. Plenty of time for that though!

Having managed to pack a skeleton stash, my crafting has been a non-entity since we arrived here. DH only went back to work on Monday, and what with having appointments most days and needing to go out for meals, there hasn't been much time left. And, (and I know this sounds poncey) the chairs and table in our serviced apartment are the exact height to make my back hurt to the point of insomnia, and no craft challenges are worth that. I'll keep trying (yeah, I know, idiot that I am) but if you don't see any pretties from me for a while, then that's why.

If you've read this far, PLEASE take a minute to stop and leave a comment? I've been feeling as if nobody goes near me unless I join a challenge. I've moved so far away from everything I'm familiar with - it would be nice to know my friends still stop by. THANKS! :-)