The Plunge Down Under

My Pittsburgh Pantry

Before we moved away from Melbourne, I participated in an expat blogging challenge.  The goal was to post every day of the month of February based on a prompt provided by the talented organizer, Cristin over at Between Roots and Wings.  One of the most popular prompts was the one that asked us to write about our overseas pantry.  My post titled "Notes from my Australian Pantry" was a fun one to write, and as we filled the empty shelves of our Pittsburgh pantry, I began thinking about writing an updated version.  This morning at church a friend stopped me to ask if I was ever going to write about my American pantry--just the motivation I needed to sit down and put thoughts into words.

Here, Kim, and anyone else who may be interested, is what our pantry looks like at the moment.  For starters, it's much smaller.  But since we are in the middle of summer and able to fill our plates with fresh produce, that hasn't been a problem.  

The very first items I purchased were ones that were either impossible to obtain in Melbourne, or at least difficult.  They include canned black beans (I was able to find dry black beans at a few locations, but they require planning ahead of time for meals, which turned out to be a problem for me), steel cut oats, corn meal (for our favorite corn bread), bread and butter pickles, graham crackers and marshmallows that melt when roasted.

Perhaps the single ingredient that was impossible to substitute in any way were chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  I even looked up how to make my own adobo sauce (too complicated for my liking, and besides, I couldn't find many of the ingredients needed), and while the word chipotle began to appear in a few select ingredients such as a jarred salsa, it was still relatively uncommon in Australia when we left.

For a great recipe with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, try the Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork.

Resurfacing: Bumps Along the Way

Our youngest child ran away from home today.  Convinced that no one in this family loved him, that he had been mistreated and misunderstood for far too long, he packed his bags and departed through the front door.  Actually it was a wicker basket that he packed.  First he carefully dumped out the dirty clothes, and then he emptied the contents of his dresser drawers into the basket.  The socks came last. I counted them as he paused to say good-bye at the bottom of the steps.

"It's a good thing you packed plenty of socks," I said.  "They will probably come in handy."  

He glared at me before saying a final good-bye.  As soon as the door shut, the girls and I burst out laughing.  It sounds cruel perhaps, but that is exactly what we did.  He has been threatening to run away for several weeks now, and I was weary of hearing about it.  I decided to let him carry out his threat, at least for a few minutes.  His older brother was given the responsibility of (secretly) keeping an eye on him.  Every few steps this poor, mistreated child looked back toward the house, hoping no doubt that someone would come out and beg him to return.  His face grew a bit sadder each time he looked back and realized that no one was coming after him.

Resurfacing: Summer Camp

 

 Our oldest at the flag pole in 2010

The last thing our older two children did before we boarded the airplane to move to Australia was attend a camp known as Summer's Best Two Weeks.  For both of them, at least in the years of their lives before they moved to Australia, the camp more than lived up to its name.  They looked forward to it all year long and talked endlessly about it during the long winter months.  Summer's Best Two Weeks contains many of the traditional elements of an American summer camp:  bunk beds and college-age counselors, a scenic setting on a lake, craft and nature activities, archery, sing-a-longs, rivalry between teams, chants and other rituals, overnight camping trips, poison ivy and sporting competitions.

Postcards from Western Australia: The North West Cape

Moving to Pittsburgh has presented a challenge for me when it comes to writing.  I'm not entirely sure why I have found it so difficult, but each day I put off writing a post until about a week goes by, and then I force myself to bang something out on my keyboard.  Hopefully that will change once we settle into more of a routine.  We have certainly made some progress toward that end.  R has begun a new job (in Pittsburgh!), the kids have been enrolled in school, and currently three of them are away at a two-week summer camp.  

While I wait for the inspiration I need to write, or until I become self-disciplined enough to sit down and write without it, I have been going through my photo library.  Today I am sharing with you some of my favorite shots from our two week trip to Western Australia.  Most of them were taken on the North West Cape, near the town of Exmouth.  We found Western Australia to be a place like no other.  Wide skies, red earth, little wildlife, even less human life, and far, far away from almost everywhere.

How to Entertain Four Aussies in Pittsburgh

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting friends from Melbourne for one week.  Our primary goal was to spend time together, but while we were at it, we thought we may as well do our best to show off Pittsburgh to its best advantage. This felt like a tall order, as most Melburnians are rightly proud of their sophisticated city.  We happen to think, however, that the City of Bridges also has much to offer.  I have compiled a list of suggestions for covering Pittsburgh's highlights, and at the same time, for offering overseas visitors a glimpse into life and culture in America's heartland.*  

1.  Take them to Walmart and Giant Eagle (pronounced Gynt Igle in Pittsburghese). 

The euphoria from the cheap prices will for several days.  We threw in Costco and Dick's Sporting Goods into the mix on the first full day for an extra bonus for our grateful guests.  It's not just the merchandise--the fellow shoppers and friendly workers add to the cultural experience. 

 2.  If there are children involved, a visit to Kennywood is a must.  Confession:  We never told our own kids about Kennywood before we moved to Australia.  We managed to keep it a secret from them.  Kennywood was a hit with all of the kids, although the adults could have cheerfully given it a miss.

Born on the Fourth of July

It's the fourth of July, and this year, we have the privilege of celebrating two birthdays.  As much as we miss Melbourne, it is a great feeling to be on American soil for the birthday of the United States.  Sharing the day with our dear Aussie friends is a double blessing.  The whole week has been one long celebration (more to come on that later), but today we have kicked it up a notch, beginning with a special breakfast.  Red, white and blue bunting has been strung on our back porch, a flag is flying from our front porch, and firecrackers are planned for later.  

Happy Birthday, America, and Happy Birthday, Gillian!