Trolleys

The carts (trolleys) in some Sydney markets make me avoid shopping for groceries. 

Although they may look harmless enough, they are hard to control, have a mind of their own, insult my intelligence, and give me a bad attitude!

Trolley stand at Woolies (Northbridge plaza)

One of my favorite grocery stores in Sydney has the worst shopping trolleys.  

They roll on four caster wheels that swivel in eight different directions.

If you push it toward the left, it may go right or straight ahead, but not in any direction you thought.

When I finally get the trolley to go straight, I'm at the end aisle - frustrating!

Rotating casters.

Rotating casters.

It didn't seem to matter how many years of experience I had pushing shopping carts in the US. 

Here, I am out of my league.

But I am not alone.

I've looked for and seen plenty of other shoppers struggling. 

It's not till you complete your shopping and head to the front end of the store that you find plenty of room for wild & reckless trolleys.

Stores front end.

One afternoon, I volunteered to push a trolley packed with groceries to the car while my daughter put my grandson in his car seat. 

The grocery store's car park was large and full of slopes, making it next to impossible for me to control its speed or move it in a straight line on the designated walking/trolly path.

Walking and trolley pathway.

Of course, it didn't help that we parked downhill in the last row of the car park. 

I was relieved when I got the groceries safely to the car but had to return the trolley.

It was so full of trolleys there was hardly room for mine.

Cluttered trolley stand.

So, I tried to shove it into the other carts, and it came alive, taking off on a downward slope with the back wheels foraging toward a car that was waiting in a line to exit the car park.  

It hit!  A Mercedes!

The furious driver hopped out and closely looked over her vehicle.

Lucky for me, there were no damages.  

Weeks later, I was dumbfounded when I learned that the back wheel of this wicked cart locked! 

Somebody could've told me!

On a positive note, at least the trolleys have cup holders. 

But good luck, trying to drink a  cold or hot drink while wheeling the crazy cart.

Red wheel lock on trolleys.

Trolley cup holder.

While I refrain from pushing trolleys in that grocery store, the carts in the local big box hardware store are easier to move, don't get away from you, and they have wheels that snap into the groves of an escalator.   

Big box store's escalator.

Big box store's escalator groves.

Grandson riding down the escalator in a locked shopping trolley at Bunnings hardware store.

 

Since I'm not too fond of shopping, I need all the motivation I can get, and pushing these trolleys helps my mood and gives me a better shopping experience. 

Trolley rage  . . . 

Crazy carts . . . 

Escalators with trolley locks . . . 

I am NOT in Kansas!

Backyard Birds - Magpies

Magpies in the neighborhood.

Magpies are friendly social backyard birds with tons of personality. 

When I noticed one perched on the back of a patio chair perfectly posed.

I slowly raised my iPhone to take a picture, hoping to get it before he flew away.  

Looking right at me, he struck a pose!  

To ensure I would capture his best side, he turned from left to right before facing the front.  

A magpie - posing left in the front garden.

A magpie - posing right in the front garden.

A magpie - posing face front in the garden.

Magpies are black glossy birds with white markings. 

They have long tails and measure between 17 to 23 inches in length.

The sheen on their plumage is a stunning purplish-blue iridescent that blends in nicely with its reddish-brown eyes. 

A magpie's cautious stare.

Magpies are as noisy and expressive!  

They are songbirds that carol in high pitches and can mimic birds of other species. 

They can even imitate some human sounds.  

They are vocal when threatened, begging, or mating. 

If you scold them, they will caw at you.

These are not shy birds - nosiness is in their nature!

  

Magpie bird sounds.

When scavenging for food, they look and sound like a flock of crows, and rightfully so. 

Crows and magpies are members of a species of birds called Corvidae.   

After passing the "mirror test," Corvids proved to be highly intelligent and self-aware, with the ability to recognize their reflection in a mirror.

   

They remind me of an old cartoon from 20th Century Fox about a pair of highly intelligent magpies named Heckle and Jeckle.

The cartoon birds were mischievous and funny when aggressive, which was no mistake. 

Aussie magpies can be pretty amusing when misbehaving.  

Heckle & Jeckle

My son-in-law was barbecuing on our back patio one day when a magpie swooped down and grabbed a chicken thigh from the bowl of raw meat headed for the grill.

I called out to the bird, which startled him, causing him to drop the meat.  

It landed right back in the bowl of raw chicken.  

Some stuff you can't make up!

A magpie - looking for a snack.

Although their regular diet consists of insects and small animals, some human scraps are attractive. 

My grandson played around during breakfast one morning while eating on the deck. 

He stepped away from the table momentarily, and a magpie perched on his cereal bowl ate his cereal.   

Sometimes, Aussie magpies don't even try to be sneaky.

They will be bold and full of attitudes.

Magpie with an attitude!

Magpies don't like to look directly into human eyes, so I made a habit of staring at them to deter him from any funny business.

  

Then I heard that they could remember human faces, and if they don't like something you do to them, they will swoop down on you later.  

I stopped starring at them.

They like being social and will invite themselves into your home if the door is open.  

My daughter had to chase a magpie out of the house one day and, afterward, clean up the poop he left on the living room floor.

Now that wasn't very nice!   

When nesting, they are territorial and will clack their bills and swoop people walking nearby to defend their offspring.

One reason cited for this overly aggressive defensive behavior is  testosterone poisoning.  

Sydney's local councils will put up warning signs in nesting areas people should avoid.  

Magpie swooping warning sign. 

Magpies love food handouts to nibble on, and my grandson enjoys feeding them bits of bread when allowed and not on the upstairs deck.

 

However, that doesn't stop us from worrying that they will remember him and, when we least expect, show up at the house.

A magpie feasting.

A magpie - thinking about feasting.

Fierce, fun, and arrogant, these birds are sometimes difficult to tolerate, but they will be your mate for life once they get to know you!

And who wouldn't want that?   

Posing birds . . . 

Vain birds that peak in mirrors . . . 

I am NOT IN Kansas! 

Aussie Mail

Australian Customs, Quarantine, and Inspection Services check all packages entering and exiting Australia.

So, before mailing a package to Sydney, first, check with the International Mail Centres of New South Wales or the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to be sure the item you're mailing is not a biosecurity risk.  

Be sure to complete the correct customs form for your box's size and weight.

And make sure your shipping address is valid.

I ordered piano books a while back.

The shipping country on my package was Australia, but my credit card's billing address was America.

Somehow both countries ended up on the mailing address - Australia US, and I never received the books.  

 

Pay the correct international shipping costs for your box's size and weight, and DECLARE all the contents in your package or prepare to pay a fine.

Australia is a biologically diverse country. 

It has a unique ecosystem created by various plants and animals found only in the country. 

Food, plant, or animal products from other countries can potentially introduce new pests and diseases into the environment. 

Because of this, packages are subject to strict import regulations.

I mailed several bags of brightly colored potpourri to my daughter as a Christmas present (pressie) to Australia a few years ago. 

It was held up in quarantine for six months before being delivered.

Potpourri is a dried plant material with added scents and dyes. 

Before Aussie grocery stores sold Old Bay seafood and poultry seasoning, I mailed two large cans to Sydney, which customs threw out!

I received a friendly letter from the Australian Post apologizing, but no refund.

Bay leaves, used to make Old Bay seasoning is a plant product.

Customs is not only just concerned about what's coming into the country, but what goes out.  

My daughter sent me a dried flower arrangement from Sydney for a Christmas gift.  

They didn't arrive until two months after the holiday because customs had to fumigate them before they were permitted to leave the country.

Customs will ask permission to fumigate suspicious packages or return them to the sender.

As a government agency, they take no responsibility for any damages.

 

And besides, fumigation can cost up to $65.00 or more.

My daughter paid for the fumigation, and to my surprise, it didn't damage my flowers.

It's really fun to see post office mailboxes throughout Sydney neighborhoods. 

The domestic cost to mail a letter in Australia is $1.00, and there is no Saturday delivery.

No one has to walk far to post a letter.

I don't use mailboxes because my packages are usually international, but they are convenient if I need them.

Mail from the US arrives within two weeks, and packages not held up in customs take three to four. 

Mail carriers in Sydney are colloquially called posties. 

I get a kick out of seeing friendly posties drive up on scooters to deliver the mail. 

Posties are well-trained scooter drivers and can maneuver them on wet roads, footpaths, and roundabouts, which I'm still trying to figure out.

They wear bright colors, a helmet, neck protector, and gloves for protection.

 

While on scooters, their primary dangers are magpies, birds that swoop, and dogs that love to chase.

My co-mother-in-law dropped by one day with her Labradoodle, Hairy. 

He is well-trained, gentle, and non-aggressive. 

However, he couldn't resist chasing the postie down the road. 

It took our regular postie quite some time before stopping again for a friendly chat. 

Fumigating mail . . . 

Neighborhood mailboxes  . . . 

Posties on scooters . . . 

I am NOT in Kansas!

Aussie Money

The national currency in Australia is the Australian dollar.  The denominations are $100, $50, $20, and $10 notes. 

The 'one-hundred' is green, the 'fifty' gold - the 'twenty' red, the 'ten' blue, and the 'five' pink.  Each note pictures a famous Australian. 

The notes are made of a plastic polypropylene polymer and can't be torn intentionally or by normal wear and tear. 

And as a bonus - it's all waterproof!

The money is almost too pretty to spend, but with the current foreign exchange rate ($1.00 US = $71.36 AUS).   

That's like having a 25% off coupon for everything I buy anywhere in the country! 

I'm going shopping!

Exchange rates change, so check the exchange rates before booking your flight for a spending spree down-under.

Along with the Aussie dollar, the currency includes coins worth $1, $2, and 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents. 

The one-dollar coin is gold and similar to the quarter but heavier. 

Two-dollar coins are smaller than the one-dollar and slightly larger than a penny but three times as heavy.

The silver coins are sized proportionally to their value.  And, there are NO pennies Aussies got rid of them in the '60s.

You never pay extra for sales tax because it's already calculated in the merchandise price, so you only ever pay what's on the sales ticket. 

But if something costs $4.99 and you pay with a $5.00 note, don't expect a penny back. 

Counting money is the same, but you need to remember the Aussie coins look different than those in the US.

So, you can imagine my confusment when my bus fare was $2.40, and I gave the driver two gold coins and two twenty-cent coins, like below and he looked at me as if something was wrong.

 

I kept thinking that the $1 gold coin should be smaller than the $2 gold coin.

And finally realized I was giving him two $2.00 coins which added to $4.40 instead of $2.40.

To me, at first glance, they looked alike. 

Each time I overpaid, the driver smiled, gave me a $2 coin back, and asked, "Visiting?"

(Yeah, how did he know?)

Australia is a constitutional monarchy.  Its elected Head of Government is a Prime Minister who governs within a parliament, and the Queen of England is the sovereign who reigns but does not rule.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's official jeweler designed the currency, which is probably why the Queen is on the front of all Aussie coins, not to mention so pretty.

 

Australian dollars come in vivid colors, and to me, look like Monopoly money.  But be very careful, because it's not!

Queens . . .

Waterproof money . . .

No pennies . . .

I'm NOT in Kansas.