I could be a tour guide...

We have company this week!  Friends from the States are visiting us and I have doubled the number of kilometers put on the car over the last 5 months this week alone. 

We hit the Gold Coast and Hard Rock Cafe.  Our friends became human hamsters in an Oz ball.  We went to the Australian Zoo.  Hung out on the beach.  Took in Valley Festival, the free comedy show plus several other things here and there.

And then there is always shopping and just walking along the river!  :)

They are off diving today and will be climbing the Story Bridge tomorrow.  

Sadly, after that they are leaving us.

But they were the first guinea pigs for me driving around the area and I think we did OK.  Ready for the next group to come now!!!

One year ago today...

Our little buddy, Squirt, left us due to kidney failure.  We were blessed with his puppy kisses, antics and love for almost 15 years.  He was always happy to see us and ever ready to go on an adventure wherever we lived. We cherish every minute we had with him - still wishing for more.

 I hope you are getting a t-bone every day little guy!

 

Learning from the Australians

I have discovered one of the great things about living in Australia.

Going out for coffee mid-morning.

It took a while for me to come around and it took a friend of mine who is Australian to convince me to try it.  I have decided, what a great way to spend a few minutes each morning.

I either go for a walk with someone or by myself and always plan it where I end up and at a coffee shop.  I order a mug of long black and wait for it to cool off.  It is here where we catch up on gossip and chat and enjoy the weather.

Robert will have to learn this habit as it may be hard to break once we move home!

It Fit!

Back in April, I commented on the size of appliances, especially the washer and dryer and how small they are in comparison to the beasts I had in the US.  (Along with the fact I needed to purchase based on kilogram size.)  We picked an 8.5 kg machine with the assurance our king size sheets would fit in the washer.  So far...so good.

I never thought about the king sized mattress pad/protector and of course, it is time to wash it.

I thought about taking it to the dry cleaners to see if they would launder it.  And as long as it would fit in their machine, the answer was yes.

Then I asked the price. 

$30.

OK - I bought the mattress pad in 2004 (when we moved to Houston the first time) and paid $69 for it.  (Yes - I still have the receipt.) 

With this in mind, I decided to stuff it in the washer and see what happened.  Worse case would be I would get to buy a new one.  Probably time anyway after 8 years.

Good news - it worked just fine!  I was able to stuff it in and get it washed and dried without paying for either someone else to do it or buying a new one.

The washer and dryer have passed their final test with flying colors!

Rigth to vote

Yesterday, I received a notice in the post that I had not enrolled to vote and I had 14 days to comply.  Not only do Australians have the right to vote for their government officials, it is against the law if they don't vote. 

This indicates there should be very high turn out for elections...definitely more so than the United States.  It does make me wonder if forcing people to vote also forces them to make an informed decision or do some of the voters walk in and randomly pick names.  I am sure there is a mix of each.

As for me, I do have to fill out the form and let them know I am not a citizen allowing them to update their records and avoiding fines for not responding...

Huntsman Part 2

I called the pest control people today.  The conversation went along the lines of...

"Are the spiders you've seen Huntsman spiders?"

"I believe the large spider was."  (BTW - there has been only one other spider and it was flattened with a shoe however I felt bad calling out the pest people over just one spider.)

"Well, since it is getting warmer, Huntsman are coming in to the cooler temperatures."

"I don't blame them.  I have been too."

"Huntsman are good spiders to have."

"If I knew it was a male and I wasn't going to have 50,000 little Huntsman running around my living/dining room, he would be welcome to stay with us. "

I gave notice this afternoon that all spiders residing in our house are scheduled to meet their maker Wednesday afternoon.  They now have 48 hours to pack and leave.

New House Guest

Apparently we have a Huntsman Spider now living under the entertainment center. 

I have mixed emotions about this...Huntsman are not necessarily poisonous and eat other bugs. 

So, are there other bugs living under the entertainment center?

However, they are very large spiders and can be quite a surprise when walking along the floor.

Must call bug man Monday...

Me - 1, Dryer - 0

My clothes dryer has the impressive ability to turn a set of king size sheets into a solid, tightly wrapped football.  I don't know how it succeeds with this trick but after 50 minutes I pull out a bullet that is the dry fitted sheet  on the outside and a wet top sheet on the inside.  I couldn't wrap it as neatly if I practiced.

But I foiled the machine today.

Tossing in three tennis balls while drying fixed the problem. 

Glad I remembered to bring the tennis balls with me to Brisbane.

View at Lunch

Yesterday, we drove up to Montville north of Beerwah.  It is a little hamlet with incredible views.  Towards the west are the Glasshouse Mountains.  Toward the east is the ocean.  Below is a picture of the view we had at lunch...The buildings should represent Maroochydore.

We also saw a Racehorse Goanna on the way home.  He was rather large and running across the highway.  No pictures but the web site should give you an idea...

Blogging vs Facebook posting

I have come to realize Facebook is mooching on blog ideas.  It is very easy to snap a shot on my phone and post on FB with some snappy comment and ignore Moose Droppings.

Apparently, similar to an exercise regime, I have become lazy about writing.  I enjoy creating snippets but lately have enjoyed walking to the park and reading my books more.

Maybe the answer is less interesting books!

Margaret River

We almost didn't go to the Margaret River area and I am very glad we did.  There is some beautiful country to see and we could have easily stayed 2-3 days in this part of Australia. 

The Busselton Jetty happens to be the longest wooden pier in the Southern Hemisphere.  It is 1.8k (1.1 mile) long.

 These are Karri trees in the Boranup Forest.  They are extremely tall and very thick.  They are amazing to walk through.  Again - could have spent hours hiking here...

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.  This is the most south-westerly point on the Australian continent and happens to be where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet.  This lighthouse projects light over 40k (almost 25 miles).

 I could have spent hours here in the blustery, cold wind and rain watching the waves crash to shore.  Although it would have been better from the top of the lighthouse.

Southern Ocean

 Indian Ocean

 We also toured Mammoth Cave which is NOT named for Mammoths.  It is named because of its size.  The area of picture in the middle where the lighter color stone is happens to be a jaw bone in the rock.

The Perth and southwest area of Australia is a great place to visit and I am glad we had the opportunity to be tourists there!

Next Australian adventure - Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and Cairns (Great Barrier Reef).