A frosty reality.
Have I told you of my misconceptions of life in Australia? My research into our plans to emigrate to this wonderful land were based on three soap operas. Home and Away. Neighbours and The Flying Doctors. I do not recall ever watching these programs on our TV in Dublin and seeing frost. There were bikinis galore, cold bottles of beer, red dusty hot roads and beads of sweat needing to be wiped from the brow of Sam Patterson, the brave pilot who flew to rescue the sick and the dying in treacherous outback conditions. I spent many a teenage day dream rubbing sunscreen onto his smooth tanned back. I did not day dream about helping him scrape the frost off the windscreen of his sea plane.
Before we left the UK I gave away all of my children's hats, scarves and gloves as well as all our winter coats. We would not need them I smiled smugly. Oh how the mighty fall. This morning at 6am I dragged my tired body with sore throat and aching limbs out of bed and shivered as I dressed in my Nurses uniform. I wriggled my numb toes on the cold kitchen tiles as I waited for the kettle to boil. I rubbed my goose-bumpy arms as I quietly shut the front door behind me and unlocked my car. It was COLD. My windscreen was iced over. It took 5 minutes of hot air blowing inside and me scraping outside before I could see enough to drive.
Tomorrow morning if it is still frosty I have a plan. I shall put a light smudge of ruby red lip gloss on my lips, spray a subtle mist of expensive perfume over my neck and make sure my toe nails are painted like freshly picked cherries. I shall stand at the bottom of my icy driveway and swoon dramatically falling into a gentle faint onto the grass, lips pouting and eye lashes a flutter. Maybe then I will hear the distant hum of the Flying Doctors plane travelling across the lake and I will know that I am about to be rescued by the rugged Sam.
Then and only then, will my faith in my Australian dream be renewed.
HA! And it never seems to rain on H&A or Neighbours either! It was chilly today. And Lake Mac has a very mild weather compared to other places...
Hi Gina .. I am amazed how you did your research :-) :-) and yes your right no ice but I am sure there was rain and storms...
Do you not have winter over there at all .. ??
Yes, there is a proper winter season here Anne. It just takes me by surprise every year! Certainly not what I thought I was moving too but at least the long hot Summer and the mild Autumn and Springtime make up for it!
See, that is why I never watch soap operas! :)
What I wouldn't give to be frosty right now. I'm so tired of this heat....I would gladly trade a day or two with you if we only could!
Let's spend Saturday at your place soaking up the sunshine and then pop over here on Sunday to cool off!
We've had stunning weather in Cornwall for what seems like weeks with our first real rain falling last night.
I know you don't live in Sydney, but did I mention John and I will be there for three days in early November on our way to New Zealand. Hope it's warmer then.
I didn't realize that Australia had cold winters, either! Do you get much snow, if any?
See...this just proves that much of my information about Australia has also been from TV and movies.
Oh Gina... ypu paint such a great picture with your words. You took me right back to those movies and shows!! Hope you are rescued by Sam... otherwise your neighbors are going to think your NUTS!
November should be lovely. Yourself and John will have a wonderful time soaking up the sunshine while seeing the sights!
Yes it does snow in parts of Australia Crystal. Just not near where we live...
Diana, I'm having second thoughts about my dramatics tomorrow. I'm thinking I should add some body shimmer powder to the mix too...!
Brrrrr...it sounds cold just thinking about it!
We've had several Australian Exchange Students through the HS we attended. They always come to visit the first week of January where it's FREEEZING and in the dead of winter. They left their summery warm Australia for cold, cold, Seattle! Crazy people!
What a lovely, lovely post! For a moment there, I was waiting for the Flying Doctors, too. And I'm afraid I want to paint my toenails cherry red, as well. I'm a little bit of a copycat.
Love your blog. Love it. It's in my reader now. Yay!
ROFL...make sure to put on a scarf and hat before you swoon. I would hate for you to get frostbite on those ruby red lips...hahaha...best post I've read in a while! Kim
Hahaha too funny about your research.
I chose a job in Melbourne over a job in Canberra because I had bought silverchair tickets for Melbourne late that year and thought if I took the job in Canberra I'd miss the upcoming concert in April. Initially the Canberra job was better pay too.
The CEO of my organisation asked me why I chose this workplace. I told him the truth. It came down to silverchair tickets. I think he was surprised.