And now for some fauna...

this little guy hangs out in our yard. he tightropes along the cables that connect our roof to the street. he shimmies around in the bushes at night. this particular night he was on the fence about the impromptu bike maintenance shop we set up on our front step, intruding on his nighttime run of the place. I coerced his forgiveness with a little swatch of nut-bread.

silvino, the possom, and my front tire inner tube

fairy pods

for about 1 month these gigantic green pods were sneakily growing on a vine through the bougainvillea next door. I inspected them everyday, desperate to know what they were - a new exotic fruit? Pterodactyl eggs??- until one beautiful sun-filled morning on my way out...

SHA-ZAAM!!

did I mention I live in Who-Ville?

blue mountains trek

apparently the views are to die for...

we thought they were more

to Dao for...

feliz pascoa! (bonnes fêtes de pacques!)

tutti frutti fun for all!

roast pork, beach badminton (and tag)

easter beer hunt and egg colouring (with markers)

guitar, bad jokes and chocolate!

Easter Bunny Cometh!

(that's 1/2 a loaf of pumpkin sourdough from the local bakery. yum!)

((in the rat proof box i got for $4 at the thrift shop...

a necessary piece of equipment for the kitchen in my new abode))

(((it works for las cucarachas tambien)))

((((gross!!))))

Just kidding!

Fat Tuesday

Fun fact!

Australia surpassed the USA for being the BIGGEST population per capita... that's right,

Obesity™

is now available overseas!

Is this in any way related to the latest and greatest ad-campaign sweeping "Chemist" stores (drug stores) across the great Outback?

Or maybe it's the rocketing rise of weight-loss reality-elimination series crushing the networks... Like Kool and the Gang would say, "Ya gotta get up to get down!"

For those mature Ozzi's that have escaped the modern Omnivore's dilemma, they've launched their own ad campaign to rub it in the gravitas of Gen Y's gross overdose on gravity...

but g'luck gettin' there with our national diet, boo Ya!

Reminds me of the San Francisco ad campaign to raise awareness of family diets:

"Childhood obesity:

Don't take it lightly"

I KNOW! THAT WAS SO PUNNECESSARY!!

great job advertising agency responsible for this - you just created the kamikaze pun!!

(Fat Tuesday? it's almost Easter... and we're getting in the mood! Hard to forget, my housemate has put little chocolate eggs all over the house. In the soap dish, in the breadbox, in the mugs in the cupboard, in our shoes... everything you open SURPRISE! chocolate.)

Oz or Italia?? --- You make the call!!

So... walking down the street in Dee Why, a beach town on the Northern side of Sydney, I ran into some Italians, and they were like, "

"

and I was like, "No way!" and then they were like, "

!!!"

But dee Why?? It's APRIL! and we're a bagillion miles away from Cappuccinos that are actually "little coffees" with mostly moist foam and not just Latte's disguised with chocolate sprinkles.

(I've never understood the Kiwi/Ozzi/Pomi system of coffee nomenclature. Could a Latte by any other name taste so bittersweet? Ya it could, it's called a Flat White. What's the difference? A deeper (self-appointed) knowledge of etymology and anthropology might reveal to you that the answer is "None" now that the espresso machine+culture has arrived on the scene but that hence upon ye times of olde, like 10 years ago, it was drip coffee with some foam on top.)

Because once upon a time in the Land of Cappuccinos and feline infested toppled marble blocks, there was a Christmas celebration with a Roman-now-turned-Mexican hermano, and every single house, apartment, human erected structure (David's butt, quite a cheeky sight...) had a Santa climbing up/hanging in desperation from a ladder dangling from it. Some people celebrate with presents and carols and wintergreens. Others with Santa paraphernalia that simultaneously reminds you of... ok, Santa, but also the KKK, the biggest loser, and helicopter rescue divers.

"JUST HANG IN THERE!!! IT'S GONNA BE OK!!! THERE'S GONNA BE PRESENTS!!!"

In about 8 months.

ma voisine

My neighbor is an amazing architect -

and super intimidating.

she redesigns her abode every evening.

during the day she sleeps with her legs all tucked in

at the top of the web - with one leg resting against

the central thread, monitoring any movement.

I don't have a good enough camera/skills/bravery

to get a closer, better picture. I forgot to mention -

she's missing one of her right legs, 2nd from the front.

this arachniphobe has learned to endure oh so much

over the past few years... but it's worth it for

la vista: