All the mod cons

While there's life, there's hope. Last night we saw a family of racoons and two baby deer.
AND we have a temporary toilet and washing up basin!!!!!

So now we will have a flushing loo and be able to wash up. There will be no hot water but we are hoping that the electrical company will hook the house up this week so that next week we will have electricity and be able to run our fridge and stove. Today we are going in to Home Depot to buy a bed and a few sticks of furniture and plates, pots and pans etc... It's not all too shabby. Last night we dined on the edge of the lake and watched the sun go down as we ate our Canadian salmon and sipped our Californian chardonnay.

I'm just saying "shut the front door".

So far the phrase of the trip is "Shut the front door". We were at the tar pits outside the LACMA Museum in L.A. with Aliza and Lucca staring down at the bubbly bog which holds the bones and fossils of creatures thousands of years old. Beside us was a large African American woman who wondered what the strange smell was and we hypothesised that it was sulphur escaping from the middle of the earth. Her response was an incredulous "Shut the front door". This totally inexplicable phrase seemed to sum up so much and so little at the same time.

We are now in Charlevoix and it is very cold and grey. When we drove from the airport yesterday it was all sparkly sunshine and lush green pastures and trees. Now I'm huddled over the heater looking out on to a grey cold lake. The weather reflects the mood perhaps. We have arrived to a shell of a house. Our plans of living the dream in the new house feel a bit still born. Later on I will post a few pictures of where we are at the moment.
So far our trip has been great fun. We had a lovely time in L.A. and then flew on to spend more family time in Chicago. We walked those mean streets and again found the city architecture breath-taking. There is such a wonderful mix of new and old and sense of adventure and trying to outdo the last great building.

This lovely old metal clad building is a department store. We were told it is very famous and it is called the Sullivan building.

Just across the road was this gorgeous old clock and check out the interior of the next building just a few blocks away.

Every city has its charms but every time I come to Chicago I am knocked out by the grandeur and craftmanship of the buildings.

International travel is truly amazing. Touching down in L.A. three hours earlier on the same day we left Sydney we were  picked up by Aliza and whisked back to Culver City. There was a shower and a cup of Joe's magnificent coffee waiting for us And then we walked down the road to Tessa's school to watch a knuckle-biting series of races. We particularly loved the one where the kids had to run with a leaking cup from one container to another. The fiendish cleverness of watching small children getting drenched as they attempted the impossible. The fun was hilarious and the jet lag was kicking in viciously.

Not only does Joe make a mean coffee, he also specialises in breakfast pancakes!

Joe says he works in digital effects but we know he really runs a trendy little joint called Joe's which makes the best coffee in town.

11/6/2013.
Tomorrow Tom and I leave Australia for the U.S.for six weeks. I am feeling the usual buzzy excitement of looking forward to the trip  - a change is as good as a holiday. And this is both a change and a holiday. But it is hard to leave Sydney at this time. The city is pulling out all stops with sensational weather - clear blue skies, sparkling water and bright sunshine. At night the city has been bathed in light and colour for the Vivid festival but now for something completely different. We are flying to Los Angeles to see Joe and Aliza and the kids, then on to Chicago to catch up with family and explore more of this exciting city and then on to Charlevoix - that stage vortex of nature, emotions and dreams. And this time we intend to finish building Tom's dream house and LIVE in it!
But now I have to pack and have one least walk on Manly beach.