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).

Perth Blackjack Rules

We had a rainy day with time to kill and the casino called to us.  We played blackjack.

The rules are slightly different in Perth than in the US and the dealers have to be on their toes watching the bets.

For all my blackjack playing friends...here's the rundown:

1.  Anyone can play any open spot from anywhere on the table.

2.  Anyone can bet on anyone playing.  If I am getting good cards and winning, people standing and watching can wager on my cards and my play.  Reminds me of craps and takes getting used to.

3.  The dealer deals their first card face up and does not deal a 2nd dealer card until all other hands are finished. If no hands are left to play against the dealer, no 2nd dealer card is dealt.

4.  As soon as you hit 21 you get paid.

5.  If your hand has 5 cards and you haven't busted, you get paid.  For example, if I have a 2, ace, 3, 3 (19), I can take another card with no risk of busting and get paid for having a hand with 5 cards.

6.  You can double down after taking a hit.  For example, if my first two cards are a 2 and a 3 and I draw a 6 (making 11) I can then double down.

7.  If the dealer hits 22, it is a push (standoff) - none are paid.

8.  There is no hand shuffling.  After each hand, all cards are fed back into the machine and into the decks.  (It looked to be 3 decks.)

I think it would be very confusing to learn in Perth and then play in Vegas. 

Looking forward to trying Brisbane blackjack one of these days.

Rottnest

Went to Rottnest on Tuesday.  We were caught in a couple of rain showers, but the coves and beaches were just beautiful.  This would be a favorite spot of ours if we lived in Perth.  The boat ride to the island included 4-5M swells - pretty rough.  But all was well and we enjoyed the day walking on the sand.

Osprey nest on the high point of the rock.

 One of the many, beautiful beaches (totally devoid of people) to walk on.

 Gull nest.

 Various birds on the beach.  We stood and watched the sandpipers chasing and running from the surf for quite a while.

Baby Quokka - when the Dutch discovered the island, they thought these little guys were rats when really they are a marsupial like a roo.  Hence the name "Ratsnest" - Rottnest.

"You have any food???"

 Quokka joey in the pouch - the tail is showing.

Another fun day goes by in Perth!

Caversham Wildlife Park

A fun place to visit and a beautiful day to visit on.  Unfortunately, I didn't write down the names of some of the animals/birds...

Like this one...I don't have a clue what it is.

 Baby tawny frog mouths.

 Adult Frog mouth - master of disguise.

 This bird had the deepest call I have ever heard.  Almost like a tiger chuffing.  He was very vocal for a Monday.

 Check out the neon beak.

 Snoozy Koalas available for petting.

 Giant flying foxes - these are the kind that live by our house.

 Lunch!

 White roos - they don't occur naturally - only in zoos from selective breeding.

 Yep - there's a joey in there...feet and tail out.

 Momma swan and babies.

 Baby swans

 One, unhappy wombat.  This guy weighs about 25 lbs and can run up to 40k (24 mph).  He would have much preferred staying in his pen today.

 A shy little possum.

Freo (Fremantle) Sights

Saturday was our day for Freo.  Winter was still trying to make a statement so while it was a little breezy, it was still sunny off and on and a nice day to be out walking and shopping in the community.  Fremantle was the original port city in this part of Australia and is older than Perth.  Once again, they have maintained and continued using the old historic buildings and the streets are beautiful.

 Early Church

 Window in the church

 Indian Ocean

 Pine tree with the needles going up instead of down.  These were all over the area.

 Round house

 Of course - who wouldn't want to go to Notre Dame in Australia???

Tomorrow is Swan Valley Winery tour.  :)

More Perth Pictures

Thursday, I took some pictures of the local buildings.  They have done a wonderful job of leaving the older buildings mixed in with the modern skyscrapers.

Pretend the gates are closed - they are to the Royal Mint.

 Perth Mint - they still make coins here.

 An old Catholic (?) church in CBD.

 St. Mary's Cathedral

 Convent

 Where little Mercedes cars go to school!  It is actually a very pretty campus!

Friday was a messy, windy day - winter making sure no one forgets her. 

Perth Images

Some of the pictures I took in the botanical garden at King's park and a few other sights...

                   A really big Boab tree

 Momma parrot going in the nest to feed.  I waited for about 20 minutes to see if she would poke her head out so I could get her face...she didn't cooperate.

                       Eternal flame memorial

                         WWI memorial

                          WWII memorial

                  Kangaroo Paw plant (the red, fuzzy flowers)

Perth from King's park- our hotel is the one WAY off in distance close to the yellow crane (if your eyes are good enough to see that!).

         I just liked the ship weather vane on this building...

         Roo family sculpture on Adelaide Terrace

It's rainy this morning...hope to get out later and take more pictures...