advent tree

As the movers carried our Christmas tree box into the house last month they called to me, "you Americans sure like your Christmas trees, don't you?"

Yes. Yes, we do. We brought an artificial tree here, unsure whether fresh pine trees would be available or affordable (turns out not really, on either count). We didn't bring many of our holiday decorations but I was adamant about the tree. I placed her in the kitchen bay window the day after Thanksgiving, gently yoking her with the laden task of making us feel holidayish in the midst of a heatwave*. 

And it's mostly worked. Well, the lights worked with the adapter for about 15 minutes. They burned manically bright and then, a few minutes later, Sam called "Um...the lights are flickering!" and by the time I came into the room they had dimmed and some had gone out. But no matter.  Just her green presiding presence--almost matriarchal--makes me feel grateful and full hearted. 

She's not fully dressed yet, our tree. We're waiting to fully decorate her until we are all five here together, which will be about December 20th. In the meantime, I decided to use it for a simple advent tree for the kids (especially since apparently I didn't feel as adamant about bringing our old beloved playmobil advent set). I rounded up some craft paper envelopes, plain old labels cut into flags, and a mix of goodies and fun activities as contents to reveal each day. (Never mind that I missed the first three days or that the later day envelopes don't actually have anything inside yet. Baby steps.)

 She's a work in progress but, as I'm feeling keenly lately, aren't we all?

*Over the weekend it was 97 degrees. That was when I had epiphany #45098: The first Christmas took place in a warm climate, too. So I decided to just embrace it, move on and get festive.

Sweet (new-to-us) discoveries

Part of the fun of moving across the globe is sampling a whole new music scene. Happily, there is a lot going on here in Australia with a wealth of talented artists that just don't get the exposure in the states--at least not yet or not as much. While we were already fans of some of these before we came here (I'm looking at you, Angus & Julia Stone and The Temper Trap), it's been fun to discover what we've been missing out on. 

Here are a few new-to-us Aussie faves that you might like, too (and, yes, for those of you who are Australians, it's probably old news):

Little Red
- 4-piece indie pop band (sadly they just broke up in July, though)
- upbeat, happy energy and a bit of a retro sound in some of their songs
- try Rock It , Coca Cola

Angus & Julia Stone
- brother-sister duo with unique voices and close harmonies
- Big Jet Plane was their big breakout, also used on movie soundtracks and commercials
- try Big Jet Plane, I'm Not Yours, Just a Boy

The Temper Trap
- The lead, Mandagi, was originally a busker in Melbourne
- I first loved them on the soundtrack for 500 Days of Summer 
- try Sweet Disposition, Trembling Hands

Lanie Lane
- blues+jazz singer-songwriter-guitarist (and florist, to raise money for her album)
- charming, eclectic sound
- just won best independent blues & roots album
- try That's What You Get for Falling in Love with a Cowboy, What Do I Do

The Rubens
- a fairly new band (started in 2011) but they are gaining fast
- soul + blues + rock, reminiscent of the Black Keys (who they opened for here)
- try Lay It Down, My Gun, Never Be the Same

More to come...

Contentment

We're slowly easing into setting up house (nothing on the walls yet though) and holiday decorating around here, gradually adding layers of Christmas cheer and trying to talk ourselves into feeling like it's almost December. Mostly I'm just feeling very grateful for the ordinary joys of my life right now and for a few minutes to just sit and be. A raise of the glass to Billy Collins who, as always, captures the sentiment perfectly:

I Ask You

What scene would I want to be enveloped in
more than this one,
an ordinary night at the kitchen table,
floral wallpaper pressing in,
white cabinets full of glass,
the telephone silent,
a pen tilted back in my hand?

It gives me time to think
about all that is going on outside--
leaves gathering in corners,
lichen greening the high grey rocks,
while over the dunes the world sails on,
huge, ocean-going, history bubbling in its wake. 

But beyond this table
there is nothing that I need,
not even a job that would allow me to row to work
or a coffee-colored Aston Martin DB4
with cracked green leather seats.

No, it's all here,
the clear ovals of oranges, a book on Stalin,
not to mention the odd snarling fish
in a frame on the wall
and the way these three candles--
each a different height--
are singing in perfect harmony.

So forgive me
if I lower my head now and listen
to the short bass candle as he takes a solo
while my heart
thrums under my shirt--
frog at the edge of a pond--
and my thoughts fly off to a province
made of one enormous sky
and about a million empty branches.
~Billy Collins 

. . .

p.s. Well, my short, comments-off experiment is over, folks. It felt too much like I was prattling on at you with my hands over my ears (lalalala). I discovered I like the back-and-forth exchange (or at the very least the possibility) rather than shouting out into the universe with my ears closed. Less megaphone, more conversation.  Comments feature, activate. 

I really do love the emails, though, so thank you for those and feel free to write anytime.
basic.annie@gmail.com 

We gathered together

When I was young, my dad periodically oversaw some international university students and we sometimes invited them to our house for dinner. One year we invited a man from Africa to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, along with our friend Aldena, an older woman (and quite a character) in our neighborhood who often joined us for holidays.  

Midway through the dinner, Aldena politely asked the man, "So what do you eat for Thanksgiving in Africa?"

The man paused for a moment and then replied, "Well, we don't have Thanksgiving there."  

"You don't?  Oh, my.  Really?  I can't imagine." Aldena was aghast and very disappointed in the continent of Africa and their apparent unthankfulness.

All of this is just to say: of course Australia doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, the holiday marking that feast when the indians graciously gathered with and welcomed the newly arrived pilgrims to the American continent. It's just a regular old work and school day here...but that didn't mean we were going to ignore one of our favorite days of the year.  So we pulled the kids out of school for the day, went to a movie matinee in the morning (Skyfall, which opened yesterday here), came home and made lemon meringue pies and stuffing, and then joined friends at their house for a gathering of expats and Australians. It was a terrific Thanksgiving feast with all of the traditional fixings. (Which was no small feat, really. It's harder to find turkey here. Or shortening. And canned pumpkin is non-existent.)

See the guy in the red ^? He is my second cousin, Craig. I'd never met him but I knew from his last name that we were probably related and sure enough, his dad Chuck is my mom's cousin so our grandmothers are sisters. He's doing an post-grad internship with Major League Baseball here in Canberra. (Maddy works for him there.) We were happy to have a family connection here. Such a small world.

Also? Kathleen, the dark-haired woman at the head of the table looking right at the camera, is a long-lost cousin on that same branch of the family tree (we just figured this out a couple of weeks ago). She is my mom's second cousin; her grandfather was my mom's grandfather's brother, both Brockbanks. So here we three are, halfway around the world in the same city, in the same ward, at the same time, from the same family tree. Lovely!

This year we're the new arrivals on a new continent. There's so much to be thankful for, especially for close and faraway family and friends. Love to you all. And Happy Thankgiving!

Say what?

A while ago I volunteered to go get the ward choir music bound at the local office supply store. I was wandering around trying to find some of those clear covers and plastic spiral bindings and couldn't locate them anywhere. Finally, I spotted a store employee and asked him where to find them.

"Oh, right. Those are online."

"So I have to order them online and then come and have these bound?"

"Uh, no, love. Online."

"Sorry?...but...online?"

(guy holds up nine fingers and speaks slowly)

"A i s l e   N i n e"

Ohhhhh.

. . .

Today on the drive to school the guy on the radio was talking about Elton John (who just did a concert here last night) and how his favorite song of the evening's performance was Tony Danza. While not a huge Elton fan, I was pretty sure I was aware of most of his songs and surprised that he wrote one about the Who's the Boss actor. Hmmm, interesting. Then he proceeded to play the song: Tiny Dancer. Ohhhhh.

. . .

Still finetuning my ears to the nuances of the Australian accent, I suppose, but it's very entertaining in the meantime!