1. Stopped being excited about going to Australia and instead felt scared and regretful.
It's the long plane ride thing. I feel like this every time we plan to go on one of them.
I hate long plane rides.
I also felt nervous about leaving the cats.
But that was last night and now it's morning. I'm feeling better again...excited.
I'll probably go back and forth like this (emotionally) for the next few months.
2. Went to Tallygarunga.
Today I'm going to read the continuation of Just Like A Strange Rain. This is the story thread with Améa and Artemisia.
They're both in the Southern Cross Tower at Tallygarunga.
When I left them last, Arti offered Améa some of her Snickers bar.
3. Saw that the story thread takes place on September 18. It's 8 days after the story thread I read yesterday—the one where Jezabel came to talk to Améa at Améa's hotel.
4. Read the story. There was only one post added. Améa accepted the piece of chocolate. It was hard for her because she felt accepting it equaled weakness. But she was hungry, and it's hard to resist chocolate.
Améa than thanked Arti by complimenting Arti on her drawing skills. It's a sweet scene. It's nice to see Améa opening up a bit. Well, she doesn't really open up. But she lets go of a tiny bit of her tough exterior.
Maybe Améa and Arti will be friends one day. They might be good for each other.
5. Saw that my Australian of the day is James Angus. I don't think he' related to David Mackenzie Angus; although they were both born in Scotland.
James Angus was born in November 1836.
In Scotland, he grew up to do railway work.
In his late twenties, he and his wife migrated to New Zealand. Then when Angus was in his forties, they moved to Sydney.
6. Learned that Angus moved to Rooty Hill, New South Wales and owned a vineyard there.
7. Found Rooty Hill on Google Maps. It's about twenty minutes west of Parramatta.
8. Learned that the name of the vineyards property was Minchinbury.
Minchinbury was famous for their champagne. Lord Wiki says the vineyards stopped operation in 1950's. I wonder, though, if the champagne is still out there for sale.
9. Found this webpage about Minchinbury. It's less about the champagne and more about the property.
The original owner of the estate was a guy named Captain William Minchin.
The website says much of the Minchinbury land is now made up of housing developments. The winery is in poor condition and is currently owned by real estate developer.
A developer was given permission to do redeveloping on the condition that he (or she) fix up the winery. He didn't do it. Because of this, legal action was taken again him. So then another developer was given permission to do some developing.
So far nothing has gotten off the ground.
10. Wondered who owns the property now—the first developer or the second one?
11. Found a website where you can buy Minchinbury champagne. They say it's $9.34 per unit. Is that per bottle? Isn't that pretty cheap?
I actually don't know if it's champagne. They say it's sparkling white. Is that the same as champagne?
12. Consulted Lord Wiki. He says Champagne has to come from Champagne France. Otherwise, it's sparkling wine.
13. Read Michael's post about riding his bike to work in Adelaide.
It's an electric bicycle. I guess the difference between that and a motorcycle is that a motorcycle runs on fuel. Also Michael says the electric bike gives him exercise. I don't think that's the case with a motorcycle. Right?
With the electric bike, you pump the pedals to get the motor working. I guess it's a combination of manpower and electric power.
It sounds pretty neat.
14. Went to taylorraehilson's YouTube channel. It belongs to a girl named Taylor Rae.
I started to listen to her Hallelujah cover. I sort of expected it to be not-so-good, because she's had only 6 views. But I'm listening, and I think she has a great voice.
15. Listened to Taylor Rae's cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody".
I'm less impressed with her singing in this video. It's not awful, but I don't think it's great.
It could be that I'm used to the song being sung by an ensemble.
The first time I heard it was on The Sing Off.
16. Decided I'm going to stop posting the trip photos. I'm really hating all the captions I wrote. Or maybe it's a bad memory for me? The photos themselves aren't bad memories. But I wrote them when I was depressed.
It's hard to explain.....
But let's just say I'm not enjoying doing the work.
I'd rather spend time on other stuff.
I think I'll feel better if I just quit.
The other thing is, I don't want to take up all my photo space on Blogger. I plan to be doing this blog for a LONG time, and if I post so many 2007 photos, I think I'll run out of room too soon.
It's the long plane ride thing. I feel like this every time we plan to go on one of them.
I hate long plane rides.
I also felt nervous about leaving the cats.
But that was last night and now it's morning. I'm feeling better again...excited.
I'll probably go back and forth like this (emotionally) for the next few months.
2. Went to Tallygarunga.
Today I'm going to read the continuation of Just Like A Strange Rain. This is the story thread with Améa and Artemisia.
They're both in the Southern Cross Tower at Tallygarunga.
When I left them last, Arti offered Améa some of her Snickers bar.
3. Saw that the story thread takes place on September 18. It's 8 days after the story thread I read yesterday—the one where Jezabel came to talk to Améa at Améa's hotel.
4. Read the story. There was only one post added. Améa accepted the piece of chocolate. It was hard for her because she felt accepting it equaled weakness. But she was hungry, and it's hard to resist chocolate.
Améa than thanked Arti by complimenting Arti on her drawing skills. It's a sweet scene. It's nice to see Améa opening up a bit. Well, she doesn't really open up. But she lets go of a tiny bit of her tough exterior.
Maybe Améa and Arti will be friends one day. They might be good for each other.
5. Saw that my Australian of the day is James Angus. I don't think he' related to David Mackenzie Angus; although they were both born in Scotland.
James Angus was born in November 1836.
In Scotland, he grew up to do railway work.
In his late twenties, he and his wife migrated to New Zealand. Then when Angus was in his forties, they moved to Sydney.
6. Learned that Angus moved to Rooty Hill, New South Wales and owned a vineyard there.
7. Found Rooty Hill on Google Maps. It's about twenty minutes west of Parramatta.
8. Learned that the name of the vineyards property was Minchinbury.
Minchinbury was famous for their champagne. Lord Wiki says the vineyards stopped operation in 1950's. I wonder, though, if the champagne is still out there for sale.
9. Found this webpage about Minchinbury. It's less about the champagne and more about the property.
The original owner of the estate was a guy named Captain William Minchin.
The website says much of the Minchinbury land is now made up of housing developments. The winery is in poor condition and is currently owned by real estate developer.
A developer was given permission to do redeveloping on the condition that he (or she) fix up the winery. He didn't do it. Because of this, legal action was taken again him. So then another developer was given permission to do some developing.
So far nothing has gotten off the ground.
10. Wondered who owns the property now—the first developer or the second one?
11. Found a website where you can buy Minchinbury champagne. They say it's $9.34 per unit. Is that per bottle? Isn't that pretty cheap?
I actually don't know if it's champagne. They say it's sparkling white. Is that the same as champagne?
12. Consulted Lord Wiki. He says Champagne has to come from Champagne France. Otherwise, it's sparkling wine.
13. Read Michael's post about riding his bike to work in Adelaide.
It's an electric bicycle. I guess the difference between that and a motorcycle is that a motorcycle runs on fuel. Also Michael says the electric bike gives him exercise. I don't think that's the case with a motorcycle. Right?
With the electric bike, you pump the pedals to get the motor working. I guess it's a combination of manpower and electric power.
It sounds pretty neat.
14. Went to taylorraehilson's YouTube channel. It belongs to a girl named Taylor Rae.
I started to listen to her Hallelujah cover. I sort of expected it to be not-so-good, because she's had only 6 views. But I'm listening, and I think she has a great voice.
15. Listened to Taylor Rae's cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody".
I'm less impressed with her singing in this video. It's not awful, but I don't think it's great.
It could be that I'm used to the song being sung by an ensemble.
The first time I heard it was on The Sing Off.
16. Decided I'm going to stop posting the trip photos. I'm really hating all the captions I wrote. Or maybe it's a bad memory for me? The photos themselves aren't bad memories. But I wrote them when I was depressed.
It's hard to explain.....
But let's just say I'm not enjoying doing the work.
I'd rather spend time on other stuff.
I think I'll feel better if I just quit.
The other thing is, I don't want to take up all my photo space on Blogger. I plan to be doing this blog for a LONG time, and if I post so many 2007 photos, I think I'll run out of room too soon.