Words I'd rather erase from my vocabulary :)

So here we are just 9 weeks 2 days till we fly out. My feelings are so mixed, we will truly all miss this place which is our home. But, we're starting to remember some of the things we've really missed about Australia which is exciting, like Sakata rice crackers, Oporto, great coffee.. ok it's all food, any expat will tell you that's par for the course. This has in fact given rise to almost unbearable homesickness.

There are some things I will not miss, here is a selection of words I'd like to unlearn.

• Freezing fog
• Sleet
• Snow
• Ice
• - temperatures
• Boiler
• Radiators
• Snow days
• Grit
• Vajazzle (trust me, don't google it if you don't know)

Mostly to a theme, I have really been OK with the weather, I don't know if it's harder right now because it's been so extreme so early this year, but I have been finding myself in freakout mode.

These are things I'd never really even heard of in Australia. I'm certainly not saying that the humidity and heat are easy to live in, far from it, but I'd never before been scared to leave my house due to weather (well I suppose I wouldn't like to in a thunder storm but it's not really the same fear of, will I make it to the car?)

With such a short time remaining, we are all doing our best to stay positive, keep our eyes on the prize. It feels like the end of a marathon, but somehow we need to sprint to the finish line.

I wonder if we'll emerge victorious, proudly shattering that ribbon, or slouch across with tears and recriminations. Part of me seriously wonders if we will be able to make it at all, but experience tells me we probably will.

Gotta run :)

Hidden Glasgow 1. The Green City

Yay my very first Hidden Glasgow post!

One of the first things I noticed when we moved here is the amount of green space in and around the city centre, it's quite amazing really. So that's my first surprise.

Even though a lot of people live in tenements (now usually quite posh, large and very expensive) they have access to free, sprawling green areas. Pollok Park (photo ^Highland Cattle at Pollok Park Chris Upson and > Moo n Coo) is only about 10 minutes drive from the city centre, yet is home to a herd of Highlan' Coos, some gorgeous draught horses, an old mill, a stunning contemporary museum and art gallery, an historic home, seemingly endless walking paths, forests, mountain biking trails... well let's just say this isn't a park but a P.A.R.K.

Most cities would love to have one amazing park like this in their midst, but for Glasgow it's just the beginning! Glasgow Green is over at the Southeast border of the city centre. It has a monument commemorating the years that locals strung up their washing on the green, as many people lived in one small room (I heard a story from some Glasgow friends of their happy, contented little friend, he and his nine brothers and sisters, along with their parents shared a room. And not just to sleep, that was it! He literally slept in a drawer, which sounds funny but it's so harrowing, it's hard to imagine). Glasgow Green also contains the 'People's Palace', complete with a Victorian Glass house, just stunning on a chilly morning. The rest of the building contains a social history museum, including child-sized laundry just in case you didn't believe how harsh life must have been in 19-20th C Glasgow. A little unsavoury now, the green is bordered by the mighty Clyde river, and is a great spot for cycling, picnicing, and avoiding freaks.

Far more pleasant is Rouken Glen Park (photos) which is up the road from us! That's Southside for those who aren't familiar. A huge pleasure lake complete with swans and ducks is a favourite with the kids. Keep exploring and you'll find a truly stunning waterfall, which I'm told is spectacular when it freezes in Winter. Gently rolling hills contain alternating grassy fields and woody wildernesses, perfect for hide and seek. I do wish I could convey the scale of these parks, they go for blocks and blocks. And winter just changes the landscape to a sea of white - overwhelming for Sydneysiders who have never had to live in snow (the girls had never even seen it).

Keep going South, about 15 mins past our house, (about 30 mins from the city) you are in The Country. It's quite remarkable just how soon the houses give way to cows, fields and slopes. Keep heading this way and you'll hit Calderglen Country Park. Don't let their publicty turn you off: Formerly part of the Calderglen and Torrance Country Estates, the park extends along a scenic wooded glen forged out by the Rotten Calder River, a tributary of the River Clyde. Don't worry, Rotten Calder River is just a name... it's not really a river. This park includes a wee zoo (complete with Aussie animal section, the sound of the kookaburra's laughing was good for the soul) and plenty of woodland walks.

These are just a few of my favourites. Glasgow is a city full of open public green (orange or white, depending on the time of year!) spaces, which is a pretty good way to live, in my book. The kids are out there on sledges in the snow, kagouls & wellies (raincoats & gumboots) in the rain. No hats in the Summer, but hey, you can't have it all. And it doesn't happen THAT often, after all!

Our last 6 months in Glasgow

So, how odd that I'm writing this having made shepherd's pie last night too! Over a year since my first, I'm now a pro, at my, what, third maybe!? Anyway, I really want to remember our experiences here so I thought I'd restart my blog.

We are moving home! For so many reasons, most importantly my MIL is very ill with a progressive disease and we really miss our family.

Today I cried watching stupid Border Security, imagining walking into Sydney airport, being home! It had never really occured to me what this might be like.

"It was one of these mysterious fairy calls from out of the void that suddenly reached Mole in the darkness, making him tingle through and through with its very familiar appeal, even while as yet he could not clearly remember what it was...Home! That was what they meant, those caressing appeals, those soft touches wafted through the air, those invisible little hands pulling and tugging, all one way!" The Wind in the Willows.

I often think of little Mole yearning for his home when I feel homesick. It's a sensation difficult to describe (not if you're Kenneth Grahame obviously) but it really is almost painful at times. Like the pit of stomach drops and tears prick my eyes if I suddenly see a picture of Syndey Harbour. The majesty of the Opera House, gleaming, gleaming against the crystal laughing waves. OK, hyperbole maybe, but it's so true. It gave me a rush to lay eyes on it even when I lived in the city, but now oh it's like a magical land to me, the Emerald Palace, Oz truly.

Of course I don't imagine my halcyon view of Sydney is entirely accurate, there will be problems and vexations wherever you live. I've never been one to believe in running from problems, they always find you and then you're just far away from those who might have helped.

OK, so after a brief moment in my homesickness, on to the topic. Glasgow.

This city is not kind to strangers, with its harsh, cold reputation. The Glasgow kiss (a headbutt). The Glasgow smile (slitting someone's mouth ala the Joker). Dirty, poor, freezing, bitter. And that's just the people! The indecipherable language is a real barrier to visitors too, I cried after talking to Bruce's new boss on the phone the night before we left Sydney. I couldn't make out a word. Was this to be my life? Left for dead in a frozen gutter with a deep fried haggis in one hand?

Luckily Glasgow is so much more than any of this. It is a city that rewards your decision to give it a chance like a cat who stops trying to bite and instead rolls over exposing a warm soft underbelly.

So I'm going to blog on things that have surprised me about Glasgow. Things you probably didn't know. Bruce and I visited Glasgow briefly in our camper-van-around-the-UK trip many years before we imagined having kids, let alone living here. We rated every city in Europe we visited. Glasgow came last. I said I never wanted to return, as far as I was concerned, the city centre's winding one way system criss-crossing hills interspersed with suspicious looking hoodlums was more than enough to turn me off for life. But living here is different (THANK GOODNESS!!) and that's what I'd like to share.

A calming trip to Ikea

The girls and I decided to go somewhere nice and safe - Ikea! We had loads of fun. Genevieve went to Smaland while Madeleine and I went and looked at all the toys. Then we grabbed baby trolleys - so cute - really got shopping.

Of course, on the way Madeleine tipped a sippy cup of water over her (thanks to me there was a change of clothes in the boot!) and I nearly caused a huge accident, about to go through an orange light, then stopping short - good test for the brakes, I think! Well we were all fine, I was a bit shaken, but very impressed with the brakes which was a pleasant surprise.

Then I made more bread - brown with linseeds today! YUM.

We've been planning our family holiday in Australia, it's going to be tonnes of fun (I hope!) It seems so strange to be a 'foreigner' coming to Australia.

Chilly

Gosh it's cold this morning! It fills me with dread that I'm finding the July weather nippy, as how will we cope come Winter??

My battle to feed 1 1/2 yo is continuing, although last night she ate some mushroom soup with corn in it. Usually, she'll only try something if it has a cocktail stick in it! She's technically too small for her age. Which usually wouldn't worry me, but a doctor here hinted that there might be an underlying problem. She said a range of blood testing etc... I just can't do that to a healthy baby. And despite a range of food allergies (eg has a drop or two of milk and immediately has a rash around her mouth) she is a healthy bub. The dairy does make it harder to pump her full of food. Oh and a tomato allergy, so all those tomato-ey sauces are out and I need to be crafty. Oh AND she's super fussy. Hohum. I'm confident it will pass eventually.

We had some success with 'kineseology' in Sydney, which I was dubious to try, but it really made a difference for her. Not sure that Glasgow is that 'alternative' yet.

Because of all this I'm very wary of joining a dr here, I want to find one who will not insist on pricking and poking my sweet little bubba. I don't like the 2 old men I saw at the first surgery we visited. Trying to find out if we can join somewhere else, but doctors are one of the mysteries I'm yet to unravel here!

6 weeks into our Glasgow adventure

Well, it's been 6 weeks and we are certainly "settled" now. That is we have the car, the house, the phone on, food in the fridge... but I still don't really know anyone here. I think that will take a while - not to mention a while to get used to.

It's strange that it's the little things that make me mad/ sad/ miss home. I get to talk to family and friends on Skype or the phone, so I feel quite close to all the people still. And thanks to the kids, I never feel 'lonely' exactly. But no rice crackers in the supermarket? I'm livid. Bad coffee? Furious! I wonder if all expats feel the same.

Already it feels strange to hear my accent, and in my head I try to 'glasgow' my sayings: doon to the hoose etc ... but then it comes out in the broad Aussie and it sounds weird!

Right now the kids (4 and 1) are going nuts. Screaming tantrum (1 yo) and kicking me (4 yo). I think being a parent teaches you an ability to block that stuff out. Oh except when you can't handle one more whinge or wheedle, then you have no patience at all.

So looking forward to my 4yo starting nursery school! I got a notice that she's been accepted into the local preschool class, which said to call the school to find out her starting date. So I searched online and found a phone number and rang it, thinking, hmmm isn't it holidays here... of course it was. When I called the council she said to call them when school goes back. Sigh. So many little things here to try to understand, I wonder if I ever will, and if I do, can we move back to Australia and fit in there?

Anyway I'm looking forward to school because it means friends. For her and me (I hope). Adults to talk to as well as a couple of hours a day to spend with my little one.

As I'm not working here at the moment, I've been cooking heaps.. which I think is the exception here. Ingredients are harder to find than pre-made meals/cakes/etc. Today I baked delicious bread rolls with olives, cheese and herbs, and we ate them all up for lunch yum. I wish someone would make me a really nice roast dinner. I'll have to put that on my wish list for our visit home in October...

Ok here ends my first ever blog :)