Merry Christmas!

Oh christmas blog, oh christmas blog,
that's how we keep in touch with y'all
Oh christmas blog, oh christmas blog
herein's news which will you enthrall.

A letter to the folks who freeze,
from the heat of the antipodes

oh christmas blog, oh christmas blog,
we're constantly thinking of you all.


I know that it's still Christmas (or, as the nickname-mad aussies say, "Chrissie") back in the US, so this should get in just under the wire as a holiday blog, but here, we've cleaned up the wrapping paper, made all the phone calls, slept as long as we could in the heat, and now it's Boxing Day.
Either way, we're enjoying a couple of days of relaxation before things get a little busy next week.

The only problem is that it is hot. I mean, really, really hot. Today it is predicted that the mercury will top out at 43 degrees C, which doesn't sound like much until i punch it into the unit conversion feature on my phone (the only feature that gets used much), and realize that this is a whopping 110 degrees F. Even if I wasn't feeling hot before, now I do. Luckily, we've made friends with a couple 2 houses over who have a swimming pool.

The other solution is to head to the beach, which we have already done. At 10am, it was over 90, and we sat roasting on the beach with the rest of town, occasionally splashing in the Indian Ocean to cool off. Then, if you can believe it, it became too hot for the beach. So now we're back home, watching a little of the boxing day test cricket and trying unsuccessfully to ignore the list of things that we really should be paying attention to.

Such as cleaning out the guest room. Kirk (a friend from Rochester) arrives tomorrow morning, and his room is where all of our hockey equipment is currently spread out, drying over the break in the hockey schedule.

Or getting ready for Nathan to start a new job. Tired of driving an hour and a half a day, I've taken a new job a little closer to home. Theoretically, I will be working fewer hours and driving fewer hours, which has the result of being able to see some of this huuuuuge country that we are trying to explore, but the early indications are that I will be working just as much. Hmmmm.

Or packing. Our lease is up, and we found a great new place in a very cool part of town, but it is going to mean moving this weekend, and even then our lease will only be for 6 months, and we may have to move again at the end of that time. Sometimes i think that in the last few years, all i've done is load moving trucks!

Luckily, during this busy time, Kris is required to take a 10 day break while the university shuts down -- which is a nice benefit to the position -- and it couldn't have worked out nicer in terms of having time when Kirk is here and moving and stuff.

I hope this finds you all in good spirits!
Merry Christmas.