Dear Tracee,

This one's for you. xxooxx

Another Sunday. I dislike Sundays. I prefer Thursdays. Oh well! Soon it will no longer be Sunday.

Yesterday was a great day. I had a lunch date with Amelia, Lisa and Hayley and then we headed to QPAC to see Avenue Q (a hilarious musical theatre type thingy). We laughed a bunch - especially at the "My girlfriend lives in Canada" song. Her name is Alberta, she lives in Vancouver.....

Oh right - Happy 22nd b-day, baby bro. I'm sure he doesn't read this, but I just needed to put it out there. I called him at around 11:30 pm Ottawa time and he was in line for Patty Boland's. I'm sure he had a wonderful night. We only talked for a minute as it was quite loud on his end, but ended the call with promises to call me in a couple of days. My response? "Lies! Still love you though."

Jeremy has his Easter vacation now. Urgh. I think next weekend we might rent a car and head out to Stanthorpe, which is part of the Granite Belt. We will camp and do a wine tour. Otherwise, I think Jeremy plans to spend his holidays studying for his upcoming exam in April. Here, let's see what Wiki has to say about the Granite Belt...

The Granite Belt is an area of the Great Dividing Range in south-east Queensland, Australia centred around the town of Stanthorpe. The cool high country of the granite belt is found to the south of the Darling Downs and north of the New England Tablelands.

The area gains its name from the predominantly granite rocks that distinguish it from other areas that make up much of south-east Queensland. The Granite Belt is known for its spectacular flowers and produces virtually all of Queensland's $40 million apple crop from one million trees grown by 55 orchardists.^[1]

The Granite Belt is further distinguished by its elevation, which makes it the coolest part of Queensland. This, and its relatively low rainfall, has made it attractive for viticulture. Winter months can be very cold on the Granite Belt, and nighttime frost is very common. Bleak overcast conditions on rare occasions bring hail, sleet and snow. Situated at between 450 m (1,480 ft) to 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level, the altitude is the main controlling factor for the climate.^[2] The elevation creates a climate of four distinct seasons on the Granite Belt.^{[citation needed]}

The area is a popular tourist destination, particularly for the short break drive market from Southeast Queensland/Northern New South Wales. The boom in wine tourism has been a key driver and while winter is popular, the region benefits from being a cool contrast to coastal humidity in the summer.

The area is Queensland's premier wine region and home to the Queensland College of Wine Tourism. Many of the fifty-plus wineries in the region have enjoyed significant success with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay for some years. Recently Verdelho has performed very well and many wineries are experimenting with alternative grape varieties, including Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Petit verdot.

Wow, that was a lot. Now don't you feel like you've learned something? (Tracee, I'm talking to you as the primary reader of this blog!) It's actually really interesting that because of the elevation they have such a distinctive climate. Snow in QLD? Unfathomable.

I'm so curious to see how the Canadians will fare when winter comes.

Also, in other exciting news, Crystal has purchased her plane ticket to the land down unda! Sidenote: at UQ, there's a daycare centre with a sign out front advertising for "Kinda Dance". Every time I pass it, I wonder why anyone would sign their kid up for it. We'll teach your kids to dance...kinda, not really...but then my brain clicks in and realizes it's the Canadian equivalent of "Kinder Dance". Oh silly Aussies.