TansEmpire

February 07

February 28th, 2007

Hi all, doesn’t time fly but then with February being a shorter month it’s no surprise. So it has been 3 months and we have survived the worst of it, winter. Although I love the cold (especially the snow) the weather made it hard to meet people as everyone seems to bunker down and keep to themselves. Now that the sun has starting shining and the temperature is over 10 degrees everything is coming to life and groups (such as book clubs & meetups etc) start up again so I am expecting March to be a month where I can really settle in to meeting people and creating a life here. I have been suffering a major bout of homesickness over the past 2 weeks or so, missing my puppies especially and with the commencement of the football preseason things really took a turn for the worse. I unfortunately took my frustrations out on Andrew in a bizarre attempt to make him as unhappy as me, but thankfully he is one amazing man who has helped me work through this and is supporting me in making attempts to meet people. He will be around a lot more this month so we are trying to attend functions as a couple to try and meet other couples, as it’s important for Andrew to also meet people outside of his work environment also. 

During February we celebrated a couple of very important milestones which also drove home how important it is for us to be supportive and make this life here together work. On February 4th we celebrated our 1 year anniversary of meeting in a cafe for brunch in Yarraville which somehow turned into lunch and beyond. This day was originally to be our wedding day but boy how things changed as 2 days later we celebrated our 6 months wedding anniversary. It sure has been an amazing year, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I am married to the man of my dreams and although life is hard right now I know we are doing the right thing for Andrew’s career and for us as a couple in the long run.

February saw several snow storms, the worst being over Valentine’s day which meant we had to cancel our dinner plans in Baltimore as there was no way we could make it as the roads were not cleared in time. The snow storm kept the state closed for 2 days and I am quite surprised at how the region allows the snow to dictate their life. We by know means receive anywhere near the amount of snow that the Mid West or Canada do yet it seems as though the world stops here for no good reason when it snows. My book club meeting was cancelled 2 days before the meeting due to snow yet the night of the meeting was actually fine! So I can’t quite get my ahead around this! The weather also delayed Andrew’s flight out on the Friday night to Miami where he was to work for the weekend. Unfortunately he was unwell when he left following on from me having I suppose you can call the flu for the week or so prior to that. He got worse whilst trying to work in Miami and was diagnosed with an inner ear infection so he stayed on an extra day before heading to Ohio for the weeks work ahead but after one night he knew he needed to return home which he did. So he spent a week laid up in bed resting but isn’t quite over the dizziness which we will get looked into when he returns home from a trip later this week.

So March will be a quiet month for travel, this will be good giving us some time to check out the lay of the land as they say. We just returned home from a week in Malvern Pennsylvania which is west of Philadelphia. I didn’t manage to get to Philadelphia on one of the days as I slept in so instead I went to Longwood Gardens which was owned by the DuPont family. They are the most amazing gardens (see the photos) even in the dead of winter with the most amazing Conservatory filled with plants from bulbs to ferns to cacti. The outside grounds were peaceful during the cold but according to the many short films shown around the place they are quite amazing during the rest of the year so I am looking forward to returning their again to see the transformation. As one of Andrew’s regular clients is in this region I will have ample time to return as well as get to see Philadelphia. I just hope that I don’t fall into the same trap I did when I lived in the UK in that I thought I had forever to see the major sights so I didn’t bother until one day I realised I was leaving and yet to see some of the major tourist attractions. So I am determined to ensure that I spend time touring Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia & New York well and truly before we are due to return home.

During the month Andrew and I babysat a gorgeous black labrador, the eldest of 4 labradors that one of Andrew’s bosses Jeff and Jennifer have. She is quite unwell and requires medications so whilst they holidayed in St Lucia and then saw family in Florida we looked after Daisy with her siblings staying at home with the house sitter. She was a lovely dog who wasn’t able to move much so it wasn’t too taxing taking care of her, she just wanted lots of attention and cuddles, of which I was more than willing to provide. However having her only reminded me of how much I missed Baxter and Charlie but I know that they are better off with my parents than me putting them through the ordeal of travelling and quarantine. I can’t wait for our first trip back to Australia (probably in October 2008) to give them lots of cuddles and kisses!!   

So for those of you who know me well will realise I am quite upset about the recent loss by Australia in the 1 day cricket competition and can only hope that they will get their act together in time for the World Cup this month. It’s sad that I am so close to the action but unable to attend but it was too late to try and arrange something as tickets for these events are sold out years in advance. Thankfully if they don’t perform well I can concentrate on the football but as I mentioned above that just makes me yearn to be at the ground, hearing the crowd roar and the siren sound. Thankfully I am able to access the games over the internet and we are looking into changing cable providers as one station in Washington DC shows 1 game live a week and repeats of others which will be better than relying on the internet. 

One observation I would like to make is the amount of broccoli which is consumed here. I asked a local recently whether it is something that is grown locally but no it’s just a vegetable that is eaten as much as the Irish eat potatoes. It is served in restaurants, frozen meals and by families alike. I was never a great fan of broccoli but I eat it all the time now and it reminds me of when I lived in the UK where I grew to like zucchini & capsicum which was eaten a lot there as I never really ate those vegetables much either. But alas there is no chance of me ever, and I mean ever, growing to like mushrooms!!!

Well, not much more to say. The management of our apartment complex has changed hands and unfortunately not for the better. The new company don’t seem to have the same focus on the community aspect as the prior manager’s so I think Andrew and I will see out our lease and review the situation and see what our options are at that time. The region (and even many states around here) are heavily populated with managed apartment complexes so it won’t be a problem to find similar accommodations as we love not having to worry about the maintenance of the property and having everything managed for you.

So I will sign off for this month. I hope you are all well and I look forward to any comments you may have and please email me if you have time and update me with your lives.

Entry Filed under: January 07