Down Under with Jan Mikaela Nora and Ella

It may not seem like a big deal, but in fact this is major for us: today Australian Immigrations granted us our Permanent Residency. Yeeeeaaaaa !!!This is the end of a long process which started four years ago, when we took our first steps towards a life in Australia. A good year later we moved Down Under, and since then we have been living here on a limited temporary status. Today we can finally close this chapter. We can now live and work anywhere in Australia, buy property, make full use of the medical and educational system, and be eligible for child support and other government benefits. And most important: we can stay in Australia forever. Although it does not mean that we are Australian citizens yet (we’re still Swedish and Dutch), for sure it means it is now time for some serious integration. So please sing along with us the unofficial Australian national anthem: Waltzing Matilda . Cheers Mate !!! click here for our photo slide show of Oct-Nov 2009 .

The first heat-wave of the season is a fact: more than a week long temperatures of +35°C. It’s the earliest heat-wave in 100 years; way too early for Jan and Nora. They are puffing, sweating and hoping for cooler days. Mikaela and her dad are coping like a true Jaselius: they seem to enjoy it. Grandpa Alf (Morfar in Swedish) has been a busy bee in the past few weeks. Apart from the typical duties of being grandpa (changing diapers, feeding and entertaining Nora), he fixed about everything in and around the house that needed fixing (e.g. garden, trees, furniture, airco). He’s already looking forward to us buying a house, so he can put his teeth in a more serious renovation project. One of his best ideas so far was a small mini fan for Nora in the car seat. So no more overheated trips for our little girl. Brilliant ! This weekend we went for a trip to Port Fairy to meet Joy and John, friends of Alf from his many sailing trips. They used to own a dairy farm, so we got a tour around