'Christmas in July' 2010

Nothing symbolises the true spirit of Christmas like a paper Chuck Norris star atop a Christmas tree, so Aradhna and I were indeed infused with holiday cheer when we spotted this one at Emily & Michael's 'Christmas in July' party this weekend. I haven't rectified our camera situation (meaning it's camera phones until I get a new Canon) so these grainy images of the soiree that Aradhna snapped with her iPhone will have to suffice.

I understand the eastern half of the US is experiencing an oppressive summer so viewing this photograph of a roaring fireplace may be as inviting as a solar-powered electric beach blanket on red-hot sand, but when it's a very moist 4 degrees C outside (40 degrees F) a stoked hearth is a requisite in every mountain home. (Holiday-related sidenote: When describing the annual Christmas Eve 'Yule Log' broadcast on New York City's channel 11 as a kid, I received stares one would expect if caught using the solar-powered electric beach blanket described above.)

Fellow American ex-pat Emily grew up outside Columbus, Ohio and met her New South Wales-born husband Michael while they both worked in London. They owned a place on Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD for several years before buying a house in the Dandenong Ranges, about 35 kms southeast of the city. The transformation of the formerly rustic first floor is complete and looks spectacular. Michael said the upstairs is a work in progess which I'm eager to admire.

A look down the table reveals Emily to the left, a lovely woman from Scotland whose name I forget because I'm a schmuck, a candlelight-obscured Michael at the table's far end, the Scottish woman's equally lovely Scottish husband, a mad Melburnian named David who runs a pub in South Melbourne and whose banter with childhood buddy Michael is like a never-ending Python skit doused liberally with single malt, and an old man from the USA.

Emily & Michael prepared an outstanding 5-course meal:
1) Perfect mushroom soup
2) 'Cleansing' pear & parmesan salad
3) This amazing plate of Christmas favorites turkey, stuffing, potatoes & gravy
4) Another cleansing salad, this one strewn with juicy blood oranges
5) American-style pumpkin pie (i.e. made with Libby's brand canned pumpkin purchased from an American-import store) served with whipped cream. There was also an English pudding, but this Yank paid no attention to it.

Aradhna captured this table-level view between courses. As you can see, large glasses of wine dominated the tablecloth-covered landscape. The woman in red is David's American wife, Jen. She's a Florida native. Not shown in any of these photos are David and Jen's three lovely daughters. They were no doubt whispering to each other in an upstairs room about their shared lack of adult role models.

Aradhna grows more beautiful by the day while the lug beside her deteriorates in equal measure.

Saturday in Sassafras.

Aradhna & I drove up to Emily & Michael's Sassafras abode yesterday for a party celebrating Michael's b-day. Lovely to see both of them, of course, but also a pleasure to meet their friends (a bunch of whom are pictured above). Emily is a fellow ex-pat who met her Aussie husband when they both worked in London. Several ex-pats were at the party. Always nice to hear a familiar accent -- even ones being worn unrecognisable by years in Oz.

Wild weather made Emily & Michael's lush property a multi-sensory experience. A wall of wind crossed the Dandenongs, followed by sheets of wind and hail the size and shape of human eyeballs (right). Sassafras is roughly 40 km from Melbourne's CBD, which copped a pounding from the 'freak storm' that dropped hail big enough to damage the roofs of Southern Cross Station and the Arts Centre.

No such dramas in the mountains. The party carried on unfazed while a soft fog wandered through the tops of surrounding evergreens (left). I stepped outside several times to absorb the air's ripeness and sink my feet into beds of soaked pine needles and mud. A brilliant change from Brisbane's unrelenting sub-tropical onslaught. It's good to be back in Victoria.

Last snaps.

Loss of a valued possession happens in stages. First, of course, is the losing, which the mind can't recollect but lingers as a shadow, a foul tingle, a haunting of the conscience that something's amiss. The brain's Battalion General quickly swings into action, uninvited, and claims control of the situation. "Enemy combatants have been accounted for," it bellows. "False alarm, false alarm!" Like all military proclamations, these assurances fade like smoke from a rifle, and the rational brain gets itchy for visual proof that all is indeed well. A futile search follows, revealing nothing. The shadow grows and hovers, a brutish ghost with heft and an axe to grind: Stupid possessor. Foolish owner. Loser.

So ... here are the last photos taken with a camera that was a constant companion in the Fiji Islands, several Aussie states, even the US back in 2007. The one above is the last one downloaded onto my laptop. It was taken Sunday from outside the State Library of Queensland in South Bank.Aradhna and I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Emily & Michael's ever-improving homestead in Sassafras.
Bahut sundar ladaki.
Dandenong Mountains skyscape.
Theo seeks shade outside our Ivanhoe apartment.
Aradhna with Kathryn, a former colleague and friend who's had us up to her newly built home in Preston for several delicious meals.
Aradhna is greeted by Dot.com, Kathryn's friendly pooch.
Some doofus.
Theo showing what he's got.
My ride back to Brisbane.
Riverside view in South Bank Parklands.

Lunch in the Dandenongs.

Mom and I took a 30-minute ride to Sassafras in the Dandenong Ranges yesterday. A short walk through ferntrees (above) and a couple curio shops preceded meeting Sassafras resident Emily at the very popular Miss Marple's Tea Rooms for lunch.
Miss Marple's Tea Rooms.
Mom and Emily behold a pair of daunting desserts.
Looking west on a winter afternoon.

Holiday snaps.

Holidays aren't the best time to move, as shopping & visiting friends & eating will always trump packing & cleaning & unpacking & organizing & cleaning some more. Even now clusters of untouched moving boxes remain scattered throughout our new place, taunting us with promises of drudgery. So I'll take a nod from the Driffield House cherub shown above and blissfully share holiday photos instead.
Aradhna & Liz on the deck of Liz's parents' home in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, where we shared dinner on Christmas Eve.
Mr & Mrs Bamford, Liz's lovely parents.
Christmas day brought a trip to the Dandenongs ...
... to visit the amazing new home of Emily & Michael in Sassafras.
Michael mans the heavy equipment for what was my first authentic Christmas bar-b in Australia.
Giant ferns act as sentries throughout the property.
Astounding views abound at Emily & Michael's 'Diffield House'.
I'd slow for it, if only I knew what it was?