Cast of Characters

Steve: Family patriarch. Of Greek descent! I clearly try to eavesdrop every time he's on the phone and speaking Greek just because its fun to try and detect the Aussie accent. We've had a few great conversations about Greek history - we bonded over a mutual love of Themistokles (for CYA kids - yes, Diamant influenced).  Steve also holds up the philosophizing tradition of Classical Greeks. It can be exhausting, but he has some very interesting opinions on the world.  He claims his ruminations come from his years of solitude during fishing season, when he'd spent months on a boat. While he used to be a fisherman by trade, he now does mechanics out of the garage next to the main house.

Bronwyn: Steve's wife and the one who delegates the chores to Carlyn and myself. She grew up in South Australia but she and Steve moved to Tassie about 15 years ago, in search of a lifestyle that would be more relaxing. Bronwyn is certainly eccentric, but there is never a dull moment in the house so it keeps the slightly solitary atmosphere out here much more upbeat. Her favorite activity is perusing the consignment shops ("up-shops") and the similar stores run at the dumps ("tip shops"). She always brings home the most ridiculous stuff!

Ellanda & Dave: The Irish couple who is working here as well. They are working here in hopes of getting an extension of their year long working holiday visa (which is what Car and I have).  If you perform a certain number of days work in specific sectors, you can get a second year on that visa.  Since they are ultimately seeking residency, they are just sort of biding their time here until they can work that out. Ellanda is great and a stellar cook!

Nik & Kate: Bronwyn and Steve's kids. Nik is 18 and just decided to move to South Australia and live with his cousins for his last year of college (college is more like high school, our college is referred to as uni). Kate just moved out of the house too, to live in a shared apartment in Hobart. She's only 16, but we've learned that its not such a big deal to leave home that young, since its not expected for people to leave home when they go to uni.

And the animals...

Juno, Layla, Sophie: The two Newfoundlands and German Shepherd that live here. I love them, except when they slobber (which is a lot, unfortunately).

Tom & Salem: The two cats (Tom is, predictably, in our room as I write this. But not wheezing! update: unfortunately I have to report that as soon as I published this, he began to wheeze.)

Colonel Parker & 30 additional chickens: Colonel Parker is the only one with a name - he's named after Elvis' manager, who was apparently a very wily, smart guy. The rooster version gained his name by being the only one smart enough to learn to be nice in order to get more freedom. He is allowed out of the coop, while the rest of the roosters and chickens stay inside.

... and then there's us... two relatively city girls who are becoming more in tune with the country lifestyle. It's definitely an experience!