Bruno told me when we lived in Brisbane years ago, that the water whirls the opposite way down the drainpipes in Australia (or in the East.) I don’t know if he was kidding (I don’t think so) and I did watch the whirlpool draining and it seemed to be going clockwise – is that the way it goes in the west?
Anyway, the other thing is that all loos (toilets) in Australia (private and public) have two buttons for flushing – one of the left for half flush and one on the right for full flush. You can guess which one you need for which, but it is all to save water, of course. The other thing one has to remember is that when you need a bathroom while shopping, you have to find a public one in a mall or in the street. Most eating places and tea rooms or coffee shops do not have them.
Oh, the other thing I found out today, while recording my receipts in my account book, was that many of them said “rounded up” or “rounded down” before the total amount. When looking at my change I realised that there are no pennies any more over here, which is why they round the total off. So, if you buy gas and it is $20.02, then it is rounded down to $20. If it is $20.03, then it is rounded up to $20.05. It all balances out in the end, I suppose. There are also no one dollar bills, they have those in coin, so the money is actually more heavy in the pocket – but without pennies much less of it. (Since most young people in the US seem to discard pennies all over the place as being worthless, it would seem a good idea for the US to adopt the same practice.) Australia actually has one dollar coins and two dollar coins (golden color) and large silver 50c coins, along with silver 20c, 20c and 5c coins. It is very similar to the English money system. The bills are $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 – all in different bright colors with a transparent window in them.
What else is different over here are the “road trains.” Huge lorries (trucks) with two, three and more cars being pulled behind them to drive the huge distances across the desert and through the bush country. In town here, they are mostly just two car ones, but they are big. When I tried to find some model road trains from Australia to send my grandchildren, there were none. All the toy stores seem to have only US models, probably made in China. There aren’t even any English model cars, taxis or buses.
Here are a couple more photos I have managed to take: Many of the close ups come out really fuzzy because it is almost impossible to take a photo on the phone without moving it.
Happy cat, Ted, napping on my tummy - which looks bigger than it is, really!
Pond on the patio, which now has a wire mesh all over it since we witnessed a carrawong bird stealing a goldfish from it the other day! Naughty bird, as Hugh (aged two) said. I am trying to get a photo of the carrawong.
Ro standing by a wattle tree on our walk to her brother's house in town
Granny Ro Ro battling to change young Max's nappy (diaper.) She doesn't "do" dirty nappies, but was persuaded just this once!
Ted in kitchen - awaiting food
Views from the wall of windows in the fitness centre I have joined. Nice!
