Looks like it's been rather a while since I last wrote. The reasons for that are plentiful - setting up a new home, starting the term, and applying together with my husband for a partner visa for him. The amount of evidence required for this is insane, and it doesn't count really at all if you're married, because people can just get married to try to get into the country. Of course, New Zealanders can stay here indefinitely. But they don't share the same rights with Australians, and I want my husband to be able to get the most out of living here, just as I do. Hence we applied, even though it was horrendously expensive. Here's hoping that the result (after the 20+ months of waiting) is positive!
This term has been rather frantic. I spent some time editing the next volume of The Fledgling Account with my publisher, and that book is now up to the stage of formatting for print. So hopefully it won't be long until that one is released too.
I've been bursting at the seams with music students, which is a good and rewarding thing, but it can be tiring too. The local high school here put on the musical Fame, and a number of the main characters in the musical were students of mine. It was enjoyable to watch them all perform. Earlier in the term, my creative writing students from the Christian College attended the Ekka. For the uninitiated, the Ekka is a huge agricultural show and festival that showcases everything from cows to poetry from all over the state. I wasn't sure how my students would go, but two of them did score Commended certificates in their poetry category, placing just below the official awards given to other students. So that shows that we're on the right track, and for the small country town of Chinchilla, we did pretty well!
The weather is at last starting to warm up. We've had several quite cold frosts throughout winter, but now when I check the forecast, most of what I see is 26, 28, and up. We even have some 30 degree days approaching. Winter is all but over and spring is here. I don't suppose we really have much hibernation for the animals here, but I have noticed that the bird-life has become more active and varied again. The parrots are going crazy as all the blossoms come out, and it's a very raucous affair in the morning. I've also seen some magpies dive-bombing already, which is never a pleasant experience to be on the other end of I've heard. So I'll be exercising some caution with where I walk in the next few weeks. I've heard that some frogs and toads bury themselves over winter. I don't know much about that, except that we've finally had some proper rain for the first time in a bit over two months, and with the sudden rise in humidity, some frogs have started to vocalise (which is surprisingly loud - whenever I try to find them, it's like locating a ghost: they seem to be everywhere and nowhere at once). The kangaroos of course have been around the whole time and seem to be able to survive every extreme.
Not too long ago, my husband and I took a day trip to the Bunya Mountains and saw our first echidna. It didn't like me particularly much and pulled its nose in when I tried to get closer for a better look.
It's three weeks till the end of term already, and time does seem to fly. Michael and I are planning a trip back to New Zealand again at the end of the year, to visit family. It seems like it's getting rather close already. In the meantime, here's to the coming of spring and the boiling of summer. I'll keep writing on my latest new project and anticipating a new book release in the near future.
More soon.
This term has been rather frantic. I spent some time editing the next volume of The Fledgling Account with my publisher, and that book is now up to the stage of formatting for print. So hopefully it won't be long until that one is released too.
I've been bursting at the seams with music students, which is a good and rewarding thing, but it can be tiring too. The local high school here put on the musical Fame, and a number of the main characters in the musical were students of mine. It was enjoyable to watch them all perform. Earlier in the term, my creative writing students from the Christian College attended the Ekka. For the uninitiated, the Ekka is a huge agricultural show and festival that showcases everything from cows to poetry from all over the state. I wasn't sure how my students would go, but two of them did score Commended certificates in their poetry category, placing just below the official awards given to other students. So that shows that we're on the right track, and for the small country town of Chinchilla, we did pretty well!
The weather is at last starting to warm up. We've had several quite cold frosts throughout winter, but now when I check the forecast, most of what I see is 26, 28, and up. We even have some 30 degree days approaching. Winter is all but over and spring is here. I don't suppose we really have much hibernation for the animals here, but I have noticed that the bird-life has become more active and varied again. The parrots are going crazy as all the blossoms come out, and it's a very raucous affair in the morning. I've also seen some magpies dive-bombing already, which is never a pleasant experience to be on the other end of I've heard. So I'll be exercising some caution with where I walk in the next few weeks. I've heard that some frogs and toads bury themselves over winter. I don't know much about that, except that we've finally had some proper rain for the first time in a bit over two months, and with the sudden rise in humidity, some frogs have started to vocalise (which is surprisingly loud - whenever I try to find them, it's like locating a ghost: they seem to be everywhere and nowhere at once). The kangaroos of course have been around the whole time and seem to be able to survive every extreme.
Not too long ago, my husband and I took a day trip to the Bunya Mountains and saw our first echidna. It didn't like me particularly much and pulled its nose in when I tried to get closer for a better look.
It's three weeks till the end of term already, and time does seem to fly. Michael and I are planning a trip back to New Zealand again at the end of the year, to visit family. It seems like it's getting rather close already. In the meantime, here's to the coming of spring and the boiling of summer. I'll keep writing on my latest new project and anticipating a new book release in the near future.
More soon.
