BurbleChaz

Tomorrow, we will have signed the lease on the apartment. There's a mixture of delight and trepidation here. The new place will suit us perfectly. The quality, environment, location and lifestyle are just what we had hoped for. So, we're preparing for another big move. Well, maybe not that big. It's only us, our flight luggage and air freight, and it's two kilometers, not seventeen thousand. Still, there's lots to prepare.

On the downside, it comes with a gym, and there are views of the Telstra Dome playing area. (Aussie No-Rules). Certain Persons are going to be comparing my shoulders with those of 18-year old professional athletes. Not favourably, I suspect. I'm going to need a whole new set of excuses.

Once we've moved, we're going to need to buy a bunch of stuff. Here, unfurnished means empty. We'll need a fridge/freezer and a washer/drier. There's total agreement here on the requirement for new ones. Some things, no matter how well refurbished, just have a slight 'Ewww' factor.

Then, there will be the things we'd expected, like a bed, a table, some chairs, a sofa. Or maybe not. The flat is so modern, we may go with a more creative approach. The Interior Designer, she plots and plans...

Then, there'll be heavy lifting. There always is.

Continuing the random leaps of today's burblage, wine: Today, we tried the Henschke 2003 'Euphonium'. Cab Sav, Merlot, Cabernet Franc (I'd never even heard of that before). A lovely, deep, tart wine. Went well with the steak. I'm still trying to understand the way Australians dismantle cattle. What we bought today as fillet would be called rump in England. It was, of course, excellent. The meat here is superb and cheap.

The potatoes here are lovely. (I'm blogging about potatoes? Help!) I have have a problem estimating potato volumes. I always buy far more than we need. At the end of today's meal, the dish was still very full. When the Hard-Working Table Clearer picked the dish up, one of them decided to go out with style. It leapt from the dish and performed a double-twisting triple-pike into My Glass Of Henschke. Subsequent evaluation showed that the potato was less than a millimeter smaller in diameter than the glass. I let the potato have the rest of the wine. I hope they're happy together. In landfill. (not bitter at all).

We're going to need a car. Not very often, but just enough to make owning cheaper than hiring at weekends. Melbourne is not car-friendly, but we want boats, bikes and the capability to leave the city for a few hours at a weekend. We're moving away from convenient city-runner cars (like our last one), and the concept of a slightly more beefy unit is being discussed. The Toyota RAV4 is being contemplated. If any of you have opinions about our taste in motor vehicles, please mail me.We're looking for a vehicle capable of carrying a couple of bikes, towing a boat trailer, and hacking about Melbourne and the surrounding areas, out to the Dandenong ranges. No serious off-roadery planned. That's what the bikes are for. (And the boats. Obviously). We're considering an older, cheaper machine. We'll only drive it once or twice a week, so reliability and fuel efficiency can be traded for price. Seriously, advice is welcome. Any Land Rover Worshippers with opinions?

When we were viewing our potential new apartment (lease not signed - no hubris), we completely missed the balcony. That shows how much the apartment sold itself to us. I wonder if a penthouse barbie is possible?

[From the Person Who Notices Important Things. The apartment also has a swimming pool. And a sauna. And outside barbecue area. And a (shared) lawn that somebody else mows. Have I mentioned the views yet...?]