I'll pass banana for now...

Australia is one of the countries whose currency is in dollars. The value, however, fluctuates a few cents. With this in mind I thought that the prices of some of the commodities Down Under would be a little bit more or less than what we have up in North America. I had a big surprise though when I stepped in a grocery store. Their prices were unbelievable. They are more than double as that of ours back home. Here below are a sampling of what they have.

Click image to enlarge.

Chicken at $5.79 a kilogram (1 kilogram = 2.204 pounds). That makes a pound of chicken at $2.63. I can't complain about our $0.99/lb.

Barbequed chicken at $10.90. I can't tell how many kilograms it is, but, by the looks of it, it's about 1 1/2 kilograms.

A bunch of spinach at $2.50. Bananas at $11.99 a kilogram. Cosmetics are also sky-high in prices.

However, kitchen appliances, electrical gadgets, household appliance are basically the same in prices as what we have. That also include electronics such as flat screen TVs, laptop computers, memory sticks and etc.

Clothings are the same in prices, some are made from other countries. I purchased a couple of blouses and a sweatshirt. Some are on sale as they are making room for winter clothes. It is now their autumn here and soon winter will be upon them. Our summer back in the U.S. is their winter here.

Grilled kangaroo anyone?

Kangaroos abound here Down Under, but I have not seen one strutting before my eyes. I have seen a lot of them on TV though. This is one native animal I would like to see in person alive. But that will be a few days from now as my husband and I were promised by my sister-in-law's friend that she'll take us in the countryside and there'll be some there prancing before us.

In the meantime, my husband being an adventurous one when it comes to cuisine would like to try kangaroo meat. With the help of my husband's niece we found this exotic meat at the Queen Victoria Market in downtown Melbourne.

Kangaroo meat in marinade.

Gil, my husband's nephew, marinated the meat in bolgogi sauce, chopped onion, and crushed pepper corns.

On the grill.

And done, ready to eat.


My plate.

I thought I was not going to eat it, but it looked so good; tasted good I ate a lot. It was...yummy...yummy.

Across the oceans.

Your voice crossed the Pacific,

So overjoyed to hear.

Glad to know you care;

And still remember

Your online buddy

Among so many.

Winter Wonderland

Rarely do we get snow in our part of Southern California. Most of the time they are found in higher places, like Mount Baldy, or Big Bear. The last time we had snow was some 20 years ago.

In any event, snow started falling here on Jan. 2nd, in the early afternoon. It continued on until night time. After midnight the snow on the pavements melted and by morning we had a few scattered around on unpaved ground; and on plants, bushes and grass.

View of the front yard.

The houses across my street covered with snow.

In the front by the driveway.

In the back yard.

It's pouring...

Rain soaked patio.

It's been raining the whole day and whole night. Nothing much to do...except, eat, watch tv, surf the web, sleep...and eat again. Got to do some walking out there; stretch my rusty legs; mobilize my system lest I stiffen.

If I stiffen I would be...
hard as a rock
laid in a pine box.

:-D

Misty little town

We had a dose of rain last night and this was the sight I saw as I walked out of my front door this morning. The little town down the hill was covered with mist.


After a good dousing everything seemed so clean and fresh.

My succulent was happy to have been drenched with cool rain.

Misty view...
and more mist rising. It was not nippy today. It was a bit warmer than usual.

Hello!

My long absence in the blogosphere had some of my friends wondering about my well-being. At this writing all is well. I am fine, and have been for quite sometime; for months now. I know, that in the past I have written about my struggle to pass a road of darkness; of uncertainty. That is all over now. I have a new lease in life and will take advantage of it as life is getting shorter each day.

Why the silence then? "Nabagsakan ng katam." I would rather play computer games than wrack my brain for an essay. I would rather sleep; go biking and eat than think.

In any event, I thank the good souls out there who were concerned.

Good night all...and Happy Thanksgiving.

Heat wave

Ten days ago I would wake up in the morning and look out my balcony and see mist shrouding the hillside below. It hovered up to my house, to the trees and to my backyard. The temperature was cool much like late winter or early spring. Summer seemed to have moved farther away from my calendar. But days later it turned nasty...wicked...wickedly hot.


Ninety degrees Fahrenheit was the temperature recorded in my patio 2 days ago. Yesterday, Friday, it was at 100F degrees! I was dripping wet with sweat when outdoors. So, I stay in the safety of a cool air-conditioned room to avoid any heat stroke.

Global warming? Hmm...Al Gore must be saying, "I told you so."

Sunday siesta and mangos

I woke up from my siesta and felt like snacking on something. Took the stairs and made my way to the kitchen and searched for something to fill my hungry tummy. Looking around and there they are...mangos (or mangoes). I sliced one and about to gobble it up when hubby came from behind me; caught me. In any event, I shared with him some. He doesn't eat much of it, so I had most of it.

They are now in season. And when they come in truck loads they sell them really cheap. I bought these ones at 4 for a $1. They are good the way they are or dipped in bagoong (shrimp paste). Yum!

Oldies but goodies

My husband and I cruised on down to Old Town Newhall last Sunday to see the vintage cars on display. These old cars date back to the 1930's and up to the early 1970's. They are pampered by their owners; and have spent so much money on them.

They are candy colored from a distance. There are no posted information about the cars' make, year it was built and so on. Some of them have retained their old engines replacing some faulty or rusty parts. Others have totally replaced them.

A Jaguar. Can't tell what year this was built.
(Click image to enlarge.)

1950's convertibles.

A flatbed truck. Can't tell what year.

I love this one. A hardtop convertible with the top going in the trunk. The top must have been custom built.

Must be of the 1930's. Not sure, though.

Another version of the one above. This one has 6 wheels.

Multi-colored cars.

Truck of the 1960's?

A blue 1930's.

A gray 1930's. This reminds me of the era of Al Capone.

Another truck. This one has white side wall tires. Fancy.

More cars.

This one has two fronts and two steering wheels.

Here's the interior.

This is a new car. I've seen some in town and they are kind of cute. They are made in France.

This band provided the music. At the time I took the picture they were playing The Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm drivin' in my car
And a man comes on the radio
He's telling me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination

I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say
I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I......

I have sinned

Do I feel guilty? NO! Of course not.

Eating something I have not had for quite sometime, and something that would make my diet out of wack was a guilty pleasure. It was not one of those very special kind of food, and in actually, it was but a simple easy to prepare pancake.

What's left of the 2 thick 7-inch dia. pancakes.

My husband and I took an early morning walk last Saturday, and instead of driving back home after, we drove to Denny's Restaurant, a 24-hour eatery, and had breakfast there. I ordered 2 pancakes and coffee. I slathered the butter and poured the syrup over my pancakes and ate it, savoring every morsel. Hmmm...it was heavenly. I know that the butter would clog my arteries, and the sugary syrup would feed those little creepy crawly cells inside of me, and attack me later on. But life is getting shorter to not enjoy it.

I will end up in a pine box anyway, but I will have enjoyed life and I'll have a fun ride. WOO HOO!

Been wondering

I found a wallet many years ago. It was on a weekday, when my co-workers and I took a lunch break. We parked on the street, and while I dug for coins in my purse to feed the parking meter, the two went ahead to the restaurant to get a table. As I rushed to join them, I saw the wallet on the sidewalk. I looked around to see if the owner was still around, but there was no one in my immediate surrounding. I went ahead to the restaurant and showed my boss and her associate what I found - an inexpensive blue cloth wallet. She, my boss, opened the wallet and counted the money. There was a total of $27 in one dollar denomination; no ID card. But there was a library card with the owner's name.

"A young girl owns this," she said. That's obvious since it didn't have a driver's license, no credit cards, receipts or other stuff that clutter older people's wallet.

After work, I went to the nearest library which was about 3 miles away from the office and dropped the wallet there. The young woman at the counter looked inside the wallet and counted the money. She then wound a tape around it and let me go. She did not get my name, nor my phone number.

That was many years ago...maybe about 8 or so. I never went back to the library.

I'm just wondering now, if Allison (I forgot her last name), who by this time could be in her 20's, has ever been reunited with her wallet.

Found keys!

My husband and I take a walk in the evening at the bike path, by the river. It is 2 miles down the hill from where we live. We drive there, park our car and walk at the pedestrian lane alongside the bike path. We go eastward for half an hour and back for another half hour.

About 2 weeks ago, on a nice warm early evening we did the same routine. On the way back to our car we saw a sign taped on the drinking fountain's post that said, "If you found keys pls. call 000-000-0000. Tks." A few yards away my husband saw the keys hanging on the latch of the gate that led to the parking lot. He took the keys and handed it to me. I pulled the sign and tried to call the owner, but I didn't get an answer.

The next morning I called the number again and an answering machine turned on and I left a message and my land line phone number. In less than 5 minutes my phone rang and it was the owner. I told him I have his keys and he can come and get it. I gave him the direction to my house.

At 9 AM my door bell rang. He was on the dot. I opened the door and saw a tall man (over 6' in height). He is about 35 - 40 years old with a few gray hair near his temples. Nicely built, kind of like a Hugh Jackman type.

We did the usual greetings then I handed him his note and his keys. He thanked me profusely, then shook my hand; wished me a nice day and left.

Hey, come back any time! We'll have coffee, tea, or beer, you and me.