Moving Shop to a New Site

Thank you for reading and following Life Happens! I have ventured into the brave new world of web domains, and developed my very own website.

Please visit my new cyber-digs at www.theprofessionalhobo.com to check it out.

And while you're at it, subscribe to the feed via email or reader (links at the top right hand corner of the page).

Thanks for your support, and I look forward to seeing you on "the other side"!

Blue Skies...Nora Dunn

Roundup: November 1-15

Here are my public rants for the last two weeks. I am preparing for some family visiting for the last half of November (which is a big deal when family=Canada and home=Australia!), so I imagine my online life will get pretty quiet for a while. I hope I don't go into withdrawal, what with an online addiction such as I have!

WISE BREAD

How (and Why) to Start an Investment Club

Would you like to be on the same financial page with a group of people? Meet regularly with like-minded and fun individuals, and collectively learn about and discuss new financial concepts? Are you tired of labored conversation at dinner parties, where any topic that touches on money is frowned upon? Then joining or starting an investment club may be just what the doctor ordered!

Why Couples Fight Over Money and What to Do About It

There is no denying that financial matters lay at the root of many – if not most – couples’ problems. While some openly communicate about the issues at hand, more couples yet don’t even recognize exactly what the problems are and thus allow a bad problem to worsen, and in some cases, culminate in a break-up or divorce.

Here are some of the issues that cause friction in our romances, and what to do about them before they blossom into a host of irrevocable thorny problems.

VAGABONDISH

Voluntourism: Hip or Hype?

Although my spell checker doesn’t yet recognize it, “voluntourism” is indeed an industry-recognized term for volunteer vacations. But does it really do all the good that we think it does?

PROFESSIONAL ADVENTURER

Defining Home on the Road

When everything familiar feels like it is a million miles away, you can still create a sense of “home” while traveling or living on the road. Described in this article are a few ways you can define your own home on the road.

"She'll Be Right, Mate": Words to Live By

Your dog just died. “She’ll be right, mate,” is the sympathetic response of your Australian friend.

Climate change is upon us. The whole country, and in particular the state of Victoria has endured over a decade of drought. “She’ll be right, mate,” replies an Aussie as they seem to shrug off an evident problem.

You are hiking, get terribly off-trail, the sun is going down, and you fall into a pit of poisonous snakes. “She’ll be right, mate,” your Aussie friends say, shifting from foot to foot as they ponder what on earth to do.

As a characteristically Australian gene, “she’ll be right, mate” is built into every Aussie’s vocabulary from the womb. It literally and figuratively sums up a way of thinking, and a way of living here in Australia.

Although at first blush the flippant template response of “she’ll be right, mate” may appear to casually ignore the severity of a situation, it is not intended to do so. Instead it is an expression of support, and a general acknowledgment that things tend to work out for the best. And in its most basic and crude form, it is simply something to say when you are perplexed by a problem you can’t solve.

World Peace? She’ll be right, mate.

Financial Meltdown? She’ll be right, mate.

Lost your job, house, wife, and money? She’ll be right, mate.

And if you still think it’s an irresponsible or flippant expression, try saying it yourself. You may surprisingly feel much better for it!

Except there is one necessary provision: you must say it with an Australian accent. Otherwise it won’t work, it will sound strange, and you’ll just feel silly. (Yes, even sillier than you’ll feel after saying a nonsensical expression with a foreign accent).

Trust me.

Four Seasons in a Day...Literally

I always figured that Australians in general tend to exaggerate.

The water levels can’t really be that low can they? (Actually yes: a huge nearby lake is at 23% capacity – 75 feet below its full level - due to more than a decade of drought).

The summers aren’t really that hot, are they? (Actually yes: 40 degrees is common, even the norm).

My initial suspicions that Aussies tend to blow everything out of proportion has been proven wrong a few times now. Although a general undertone of exaggeration exists in many ways, it is not so extreme as to be noteworthy.

No, Australia is simply a country of extremes, it seems.

So when I heard that Melbourne (and surrounding areas) is known for having “Four Seasons in a Day”, I chucked it up to good ol’ Australian exaggeration.

Not so much.

I am used to getting dressed just once per day. I awake, get dressed, and think little more of the clothing I am wearing other than to appreciate the fact that I am not relegated to walking around naked.

But here, it is necessary to dress (and undress) many times a day.

The mornings can be cool. This can also be an understatement. The mornings can be downright frosty, even as we are into the full swing of spring. Combine that with living in a bluestone cottage, nestled at the bottom of a valley and surrounded by tall trees, and I basically live in a large ice box. (In the dead heat of summer I will be thankful for this, I’m sure).

So when I awake, I layer up, often including scarf, hat, and down jacket.

Then, as does happen some days, I head into town. The afternoon rolls around, and all of a sudden I notice that everybody around me is dressed in sandals, shorts, and t-shirts. I am still wearing a scarf, hat, and down jacket. And I wonder why I am getting strange looks from passers-by. I sheepishly strip down what layers I can, trying to acclimatize to the day and wondering where I went horribly wrong. Was it really that cold this morning? Or is it just not that warm right now and everybody around me is nuts?

As soon as I become accustomed to the liberating lighter weight of my clothing, I get home, the evening progresses, and I realize I’ve been shivering (teeth literally chattering) for the last half hour. Heaters go on, and the scarf, hat, and jacket are donned once again. Another frosty night is in store.

Locals would probably tell you that my experience is “nothing. You can get four seasons in an HOUR here, mate,” as I have heard more than once. Everybody seems to have a tale of going out for lunch, enjoying the warm summer weather one minute, and a snowstorm the next. This seems to be mainly a Melbourne-centric phenomenon, but it can happen up here two hours away too.

Four Seasons in a Day…. Vivaldi would have a field day with this one.

Roundup: October 16-31st

Another busy few weeks, with some new venues for my writing as well! please enjoy.

WISE BREAD

6 Myths About Real Estate

When stock markets go down, people tend to thank their lucky stars they own real estate, and others yet rush to the real estate market as a safe haven. But real estate isn’t always what it is cracked up to be either. Here are six common myths about owning real estate.

Asset Allocation for All Markets

Achieving the right asset allocation can be like groping around in the dark (and not in a fun kind of way!) if you don’t know where to begin. This article will help you to determine the proper asset allocation for your money.

Sexually Transmitted Debt: Eewww!

You can contract more than just disease by sleeping with the wrong person…watch out for sexually transmitted debt, which can creep into your sex life while you remain blissfully unaware. Your doctor won’t pick up on it; there is no blood test for this one. Your bank book and credit score though: they will bear the brunt of this contagious and insidious plague.

Post Divorce Finances: 7 Steps to Rebuilding Your Financial House

Severing a conjoined life and combined finances as a result of divorce is painful through and through. The jump to a single income lifestyle paves the way to feeling the cash crunch, and if children are involved it is even more pronounced. Even if the breakup is liberating, there is still some mopping up to do after the storm. Here are seven things you can do to set your new life up on the right foot.

VAGABONDISH

Practical Guide to Vagabonding and Long Term Travel – Part 5: Making Money On the Road

As you can tell from the series so far with taking the leap, determining how much money you need, the nitty-gritty of getting ready, and getting all your gear together, there’s lots to this whole Professional Hobo thing. Here’s how you can keep the trip going by making some dough along the way.

Practical Guide to Vagabonding and Long Term Travel – Part 6: The Cost of Living on the Road

You’ve got all the links to the previous parts above, so enjoy this last installment in the series. With all these tools, you too can join the ranks of being a Vagabond (or Professional Hobo) like me! Maybe I’ll see you on the road soon…

TRANSITIONS ABROAD

Caretaking Jobs Abroad: Some Creative Ways to Travel the World Long-Term

Transitions Abroad is another new notch on the writing post, and one I’m incredibly proud of, as they are an incredibly reputable source for travel information. Look Ma: I’m a real traveler now!

There's a Redback in my Kitchen

Australians and arachnophobes alike will know what I’m talking about here.

Despite learning the hard way the punch a centipede bite can pack, seeing snakes slither in Springbrook, and discovering the Australian Huntsman taking over our microwave, we have become somewhat complacent about the dangers that abound here in Australia. We have had so many Australians balk at our timid inquiries as to how to deal with being in a county rife with the world’s most dangerous creatures, that now we simply do as the Aussies do: shrug and go about our day.

And this really is the only way to cope with the tiny venomous creatures that lurk in dark corners and slither along side us. Parents adopt the mantra of “look before your reach” to their explorative kids, and when walking in tall grass you make lots of noise so the snakes can hear you coming and give you a wide berth. (As an aside, I am quite excited to see a snake here – on my terms of course. I’d like to see it from afar, admire it, and be done with it. Being surprised by one – which is more often than not how it goes – is another matter).

On with the story, Nora. There is a Redback in my kitchen that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

In my general complacency, I have essentially convinced myself that the really bad spiders don’t live indoors. Or at least they don’t live indoors anywhere I happen to be. When I clean the cottages after guests leave, I feel no fear about reaching around corners, under furniture, and in other dark places in an attempt to get everything spic and span. One area I thankfully have missed – until now – is underneath the floor lamps.

“I think I just found a Redback,” Kelly calls out one day. I don’t pay it much heed, since he has cried wolf a few times now, once almost hoping that the tiny (harmless) spider in our bathroom was a Redback, among other instances. But the waver in his voice this time is enough to pique my curiosity. Ginny saunters over calmly to investigate, and confirms Kelly’s observation.

“Yes, that’s a Redback spider. A very pregnant one at that,” she says, observing the eggs that have already been laid in the spider’s lair under the lamp. “This is the perfect place for one; it’s dark and cool and secluded,” she says, as I make a mental note of how many floor lamps and other similar dark cool places exist in our own cottage.

Redback spiders are the cousin to the Black Widow, and as such are the second deadliest spider in the world (next to the Sydney Funnelweb spider – thankfully indigenous to Sydney and not Melbourne). Despite its horribly venemous bite, I know a guy who has endured two bites, and has lived to tell the story, with little more than a few hellish weeks of illness to show for it. But children, the elderly, and unhealthy should beware of the Redback.

The good news is that Redbacks are very docile creatures; unlike other spiders, they won’t jump, and won’t come after you. They will bite only if coerced into doing so, for example if you pick one up or really get in its way.

We took care of that Redback swiftly, and closed the chapter our lives that saw us as oblivious to these poisonous creatures. Now we were on the hunt.

And our search was rewarded – while cleaning the other cottage, underneath a floor lamp no less, was Redback number two. But this time Kelly – ever the little boy – decided to keep it as a pet.

This is why there is a Redback in my kitchen, in a plastic container, being fed ants and flies by the maternal Kelly himself. His lifespan is probably not going to be too long (the spider’s that is) given that plastic containers are probably not its ideal habitat, and I hope to let it go soon.

It gives me the creeps just thinking about our new house-pet. I dread going into the kitchen half expecting to discover that the (covered) Tupperware container is eerily empty…cue in the horror movie music.

Which is why I simply don’t go into the kitchen any more. It’s actually a great diet regime – what a way to cut down on snacking. Take this to extremes, and I have visions of my emaciated self withering away in the living room, while Kelly dotes on an ever-growing Redback spider. I wonder who will last longer…the Redback…or me.

And if you're not shuddering yet, check out this video showing our discovery of the lovely Redback.

NOTE: Upon further research, we are not so sure that this is a Redback, and not a near relative to the Redback (like the Brown Widow). We are told that adolescent Redbacks lack the distinctive red stripe, but we're not so sure any more. Does anybody have any feedback given what you've seen?

Recipes From The Road: Homemade Flat Pizza Crust / Naan / Pita / Tortilla Chips

Yes, one little recipe can do it all!

My hero, Jamie Oliver, was the one to show us this little number, although he uses it soley for pizza crusts. Once I got over my fear of using yeast in recipes, I embraced this one fully. It makes a huge amount, which is good because it’s messy to make, a little labourious, and you can freeze the extra quantities for quick and easy use later.

1 kilo bread flour

1 pint tepid water

21 grams yeast

pinches of salt

1 tsp sugar

Put the flour in a very large bowl (we don’t have a bowl large enough, so we use a large pot).

Make a well in the middle of the flour, and add the rest of the ingredients in order to the well.

Stir with a fork, starting with the middle and allowing the flour to slowly incorporate. As it turns into dough, roll up your sleeves and start kneading. You’ll probably find that there is enough flour in the bottom of the bowl to keep kneading, but if you need more, add more.

Roll the dough into a sausage shape, and cut into 10 pieces.

IN THE MEANTIME:

This recipe is best accomplished if you have a buddy who can simultaneously prepare the tin foil and organize it all while your hands are covered in flour.

Tear off 10 even squares of tin foil. Lightly grease each one with olive oil.

BACK TO THE DOUGH:

On a floured board, roll out each of the 10 pieces into a crust 20-25cms in diameter. (If you are making tortilla chips, then roll out the dough as thinly as you possibly can).

Put each crust on a piece of greased tin foil. Whatever quantity you aren’t using right now, you can pile on top of one another (the tin foil serves many ingenious purposes for this recipe, including separating the crusts in the freezer), put into a freezer bag, and freeze.

When you want to use the frozen crusts, you will simply have to pre-cook them for a few minutes so as not to be too soggy.

Now, here are the different applications for your dough creations:

PIZZA CRUST

This dough will make beautiful unleavened pizzas that have a gourmet flare and are great for preparing and sharing at parties. Put whatever you want to on top of the crust (I like fresh tomatoes diced and squeezed to get the moisture out, garlic, basil, fresh mozzarella pieces and salt & pepper), then put the pizza (on the foil) directly on the oven rack at the highest temperature for about 10 minutes.

If you like really crispy thin crusts, then pre-cook the crust for a few minutes, flip it over, add the toppings, and put back in the oven until it reaches your desired level of crispiness.

NAAN AND PITA

This Indian/Greek flatbread is excellent with any sort of saucy dish. Since it is both Naan and Pita bread, it is truly neither and yet still a bit of both. If that makes sense.

Put your rolled out dough (on the tin foil) directly on the oven rack at the highest temperature for 5 minutes, until slightly puffed and browning on top.

Remove from the oven, flip the bread, an put back into the oven for a further five minutes, until the underside (now the top side) is slightly browned.

For more "Naan"-y Naan, brush the bread with a little oil or melted butter. (For more "Pita"-y Pita, don't).

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

Yes, I know. Tortilla chips are made from corn. But like all things made by yours truly, this is one tortilla chip with a twist!

Use dough that is rolled out to be as thin as possible. This gives you the best chance of having crispy chips.

Put a very light coating of olive oil on top of the dough.

Put in an oven at the highest temperature for about five minutes, until the top has browned.

Remove from oven, flip the dough, and repeat with the other side. Depending on your oven, you may have better luck cooking this under the broiler, at least for the last half.

If you want super-crispy tortillas, flip over again and cook for an additional few minutes.

I happen to like it with one crisped side and a little bit of chewiness to the other side, so I only flip it once. It isn’t really a tortilla chip, but it goes incredibly well if cut into wedges and served with our Warm Mexican 5 Layer Dip!

Roundup: October 1st - 15th

Please enjoy my range of rants from the last two weeks:

WISE BREAD

Supermarket Shopping for Savers: 6 Ways to Avoid Their Tricky Traps

Going to the supermarket and sticking to a list is an exercise in discipline and requires fortitude and resilience of epic proportions. Employing tips like “don’t shop when you’re hungry”, “look for the no-name brand”, and “avoid the checkout counter displays” are simply damage control.

Here are six tips on how to get in and get out without going over your budget.

6 Small Business Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them: PART TWO

After reviewing the basics in Part One, now we’ll take a look at the remaining two (ultimately the most involved and arguably the most important) strategies for success in your small business.

Nine Signs You Need to Fire Your Financial Planner

When you open your next financial statement, you may be in for a condition called "statement shock". The onset of statement shock often sends people looking for new financial planners. Here are nine reasons why you may need to look for a new financial planner yourself.

How to Financially Educate Your Children

You have the power to create and mould your child’s financial imprint. It is through your own actions, discussions, and attitudes towards money that your children will develop habits – both good and bad – that will carry them through and last a lifetime. They won’t learn it from anybody else; finances are not taught (at least not thoroughly enough if at all) in schools, and nobody else is going to show them how to succeed in life and avoid the huge financial pitfalls that lurk around every corner. So do your child a favour and give them a huge helping hand! Here are a few ways you can help them create a healthy relationship with money.

VAGABONDISH

Practical Guide to Vagabonding and Long Term Travel – Part 3: The Logistics of Getting Ready

If you missed Part One and Part Two, you can fill in the gaps here, before finding out some of the nitty gritty details and arrangements you make before embracing the life of a Vagabond.

Practical Guide to Vagabonding and Long Term Travel – Part 4: Gear up For The Road

Okay, so read up on Part One, Part Two, and Part Three, then you’ll be ready for what this installment has to offer! (It just keeps on going)…

The AFL Grand Final: An Australian Institution

There are two specific sports in Australia, the culmination of which grind many places to a total halt, in some cases warranting an all out public holiday: the Melbourne Cup (a horse race, yes a horse race), and the recently held AFL Grand Final.

AFL, which stands for Australian (Rules) Football League, is a widely popular sport in Australia. “Footy”, as it is commonly referred to, is the anchor pin in most communities and schools, with teams formulated even in areas where you wouldn’t think there were enough people around to make up a full team, much less an accomplished one.

Although you may have thought that Cricket would be more popular, it is something of a moot point. The two sports are not so much in competition, as cricket is the summer sport of choice, while footie is the winter sport. Similar to North America, where hockey is the winter sport, and baseball is the summer sport. (Sort of. I guess it depends on who you talk to).

And the AFL season each year is bode adieu to at the AFL Grand Final. Think “Superbowl Sunday”, except it happens on a Saturday, the commercials and half-time shows have considerably less focus and money poured into them, and AFL is considerably more interesting to watch.

As somebody who is not exactly accomplished in the world of sports (okay, not at all. Does the game start with a tip off, bounce out, or tee-time? Who knows), I won’t even try to get into the rules of AFL. But here are a few glaring differences between AFL and any other sort of football I’ve seen that make AFL a fun sport to watch:

Round Field

Practically every other sport you watch happens in a rectangular playing area. So what do the Australians do? They come up with a sport that can only be played in specialized stadiums! The place is bloody round! This adds a completely different strategic element to the game, and arguably makes it more difficult.

Constant Play

Although playtime isn’t technically constant, it’s a heck of a lot faster in pace than North American Football.

Almost No Padding

Similar to hockey, AFL players are warriors, taking and giving hits that would render many an innocent bystander otherwise unconscious or irreparably wounded. And these guys get right back up and keep on going, all with no padding to speak of. Not even the shoulder pads that North American football players don, and certainly none of the elaborate gear that hockey players wear. During the AFL Grand Final this year, one bloke took a severe hit to the jaw, and tottered off the field for 10 minutes or so, while the medic hurriedly assessed and then bandaged up the player. Then, unbelievably, head swathed and covered in bloody bandages, he returned to the field to finish the game! Another player broke his foot but remained around (on crutches) for the game to finish, and somebody else allegedly made it through the match with broken ribs from a previous game. Warriors, they are.

Huge Stadiums

Australians love their sports, no doubt about it. In schools there is a huge focus on sports, and in news sports overshadows entertainment news; in North America it seems that sports and entertainment more equally share the majority of a news show, whereas in Australia the same allotted majority of the news program focuses much more on sports. (In both cases the focus on anything other than news is sad, but we won’t get into that)!

A testament to how much Australians love footie is the attendance for the most recent AFL Grand Final: over 100,000 people. What the view is like from the nose-bleed section is debatable, but there is no denying how the atmosphere with so many people would be something else to experience.

Punch, Don’t Pass

You can’t just toss the ball to another player while you are going for gold. Instead, you either kick the ball or pass it by essentially punching it to them. I’m sure “punching” is a laughably wrong way of describing it to an Australian, but I think you get the point. Don’t just toss the ball; hit it with your fist (underhand) first.

(This is by no means a comprehensive list of differences or AFL rules; just a few simpleton observations, made by somebody who knows nothing about anything about sports. I’m a dancer; what can I say!)

So to celebrate AFL Grand Final day, we did what most Australians who weren’t actually at the game did: we went over to a friend’s place, drank beer and ate chips, and watched the afternoon game on the telly! At half time, we ventured into the backyard where I realized that I have no business playing footie, but got a few decent kicks in nonetheless. After the game finished, we enjoyed a beautiful bush walk (a perk to living in the country) in the Cathedral mountains, then an amazing barbeque dinner.

Two teams from the state of Victoria (where we live) were playing this year, which made the competition palpable. Most people you talked to had an allegiance of some sort, which made the AFL Grand Final this year even more exciting in this area. “What are you doing for the Grand Final this year” was a great conversation starter with anybody when at a loss for words, and immediately opened doors.

I had no particular allegiance (I simply appreciate a good game). And having experienced the final match for the State of Origin back in Brisbane (a rugby match which pits the Australian states against one another), and now the AFL Grand Final, I can only imagine what excitement the upcoming Melbourne Cup will hold.

However I can’t help but recall the horse race scene in My Fair Lady where everybody is dressed up to the nines and watching disinterestedly – oh yeah and singing (it’s a musical – once a triple threat performer, always one!). I’m guessing that people won’t be wearing white gloves and elaborate hats at the Melbourne Cup – much less singing – so I’m basically starting with a blank slate, and am looking forward to exposure to another Australian sporting – and iconic - event.

King Parrotts: A Common Australian Sight

Local Australians tend to view the copious King Parrots with varying degrees of enthusiasm or converse nonchalance. Some people are quite interested to observe them when they land on a stair banister close by. Others don’t even bother to give them a second glance.

Either way, nobody can deny that King Parrots are gorgeous birds – the males with red heads and beaks and brilliant bright green stripes highlighting their dark green wings, and the females with iridescent shades of red and green covering their bodies. Similar to Rosellas, which are also brilliantly colourful birds, the abundance of rainbow colours in many Aussie birds are anomalies and welcome deviations from our somewhat drab Canadian repertoire of feathered friends.

We are used to seeing the likes of cockatoos and parrots as pets in large cages, owned by somewhat eccentric people. Here in Australia, they all fly free. (And although I have previously owned birds myself, seeing these large creatures unfold their wings and take to the skies makes me feel somewhat sorry for their captive cousins).

Interestingly though, wild King Parrots tend to have a tame side to them that is eerily reminiscent of their caged Canadian friends. We have a collection of about eight parrots that live just outside our front door. They frequent the hanging bird feeder that sits outside, regardless of whether or not food is there. And with minimal training, I now have them (literally) eating out of the palm of my hand. The next step is to have them tame enough to sit on my arm – a commonly achieved goal of anybody here who has the patience to work with parrots.

Since King Parrots are so easily tamed, many locals surmise that parrots as a species are naturally tame. In actual fact, they’re just really smart. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist of a wild parrot to eventually link humans to food, and to realize that people are generally not a threat. Similar to Ravens, which have been credited with the admirable capability of deductive reasoning (a quality that many fellow humans seem to be somewhat lacking in!), our parrot friends are quick learners.

So although we have no desire to cage our colourful flying friends, we are enjoying their company and songs, observing their animated interactions with one another, and are learning to develop a relationship with each of them. The more you learn about birds, the more you realize that the phrase “bird brain” doesn’t give these creatures half the credit they deserve.