Paluma and pie

So, uh, I'm a sucky blogger. My excuse is that I don't have the internet at home. We just barely got a phone line, two months after we moved in. There is broadband in the house, but Andy and I are major tight-asses, and with the uni just a 15 minute walk away, we don't really see the point of paying for it. But anyways....

A little over a week ago, we got out of the house and went up to Paluma, a world heritage rainforest /mountain range. There's a teeny little village at 1000 m above sea level, and heaps of walking tracks, and creeks and waterfalls and gorgeous views all the way to the coast. It's about 45 minutes drive from the house, so it was a nice day trip. Of course, my camera batteries died after about 4 pictures, so most of the views will live on in my mind. We played around in Little Crystal Creek, although the water was positively frigid, so although I was prepared with a bathing suit, it was unnecessary. Then we drove up a bit further and hiked a little. The air was so much cleaner and cooler than it is in Townsville. It was refreshing. We went to a few different overlooks, where you could see out to the coast. It was a hazy day, because Brisbane keeps catching on fire and the smoke is finding its way up here. But it was really nice to do something different.

On the way back we stopped at Frosty Mango, this little roadside cafe that has all sorts of tropical fruit dishes. We got a 5 scoop boat of vegan ice cream in exotic flavors--mango, jackfruit, cashew apple (the fruit of the cashew nut), tree grape, and black sapote (aka choc. pudding fruit). Then we went to a really nice beach in a little town and had a picnic near the water, just hummus and eggplant dip with nice bread and veggie sticks. We saw heaps of rays, and I think stepped on a few--luckily they didn't sting me. They did, however, scare the crap out of me. There were a ton of hermit crabs and sand dollars and star fish, too. The water wasn't very nice for swimming in, because it was so murky, but it was a good day overall.

Other than that mini-adventure, I've been hanging around Townsville, mostly. We got a library card (yay for public libraries!), so I've read a lot in the past two weeks. Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, Virginia Woolf, George Elliot, and Philip Roth have all had a home in my room for the past fortnight. I've basically come to the end of the perpetual revision process for my PhD application, and I'm planning on turning it in this week. Then I wait--they notify scholarship applicants of the decision by January. I'm still not scuba certified (goddamn Andy's dive gear was broken forever), but that should be happening soon. The Papua New Guinea trip, where I will be a 'research assistant' for Andy's honours research, has been pushed back until October. We are drinking our second batch of homebrew, which tastes good, but neither batch has been very fizzy lately. I cook a lot, especially lately because Andy has been busy with work or his honours. Plus, cooking helps me relieve stress (which I've had a lot of, since I sort of hate living in our house).

Basically, my life is boring, so what would I blog about anyways?? I'll make it a springtime resolution--I will post more often. Spring started 3 days ago here, but who's keeping track, really?