June 21st Happy 2nd Birthday Ella

June 20th Normality is Slowly Returning

When Minnie decides she would like to be outside on her 'Throne' - you know life is returning to normal. She is still drugged up and they now think her 'illness' could be spinal, so we have to stop her from jumping up and down and climbing steps. Guess who had to lift her on the throne - I don't think Royalty have it this good   And if you are wondering - the pot she is in is full of wild grass growing, and should it ever die, there is a new one good to go next to it. This is her favourite outdoor spot, to keep an eye on the comings and goings in the neighbourhood and her chill out place when we are in the garden.

We have had to put some creative thinking to use here. Well I did the thinking and George did the do-ing.  We don't want her jumping on and off sofas when we are away from the home, so have the grateful use of a child's playpen.  But the bars were a tad wide and we were worried about a Houdini escape - so George made up some temporary makeshift barriers

June 19th My Parking Is Bad And I Know It..

Well, in my defense, these lines were on a funny angle!!!

June 18th A One Month Labour

It may have taken one month, but it has been worth it. I have been waiting ever so patiently for our Aloe to flower. Finally my patience has paid off

June 17th A Pie, A Pie. It Isn't In The Sky

Yesterday I had my panties in a bunch

wondering what to create for dinner and lunch

Then I gave a wholesome sigh

I would use left overs for a pie

I created a new flavour

Something that both of us could savour

Let me present to you my new pie

The flavour is to live for - made by me, so no

need to wonder why!

I hereby present my Chicken and Cauliflower Cheese Pie

June 16th The Quest For The Ultimate Peeler

It has been many years, but finally I may have found the ultimate vegetable peeler - and I don't mean the two legged one.  The best vegetable peeler I had was a cheapie but damn it was good. However that dropped through the gaps of life and got into some heat  - in other words it fell through a gap in my previous, very old dishwasher and tumbled on to the element (yes, the old dishwasher had an exposed element - but that is long gone now).

Back to my peeler... my previous passable one had a burnt handle and I have bought numerous new ones to try and replace it, and they just didn't cut the mustard or peel the potatoes well.  On holiday in Perth we had to frequent a shopping mall (Peppa Pig Weebles anyone?) and I spotted in a kitchen store a Ceramic Peeler. Quite expensive at $20 + but I decided to take a gamble.  And the gamble paid off. Here is my new, super duper ceramic vegetable peeler, and may she live with us for many days. Plus I have a different dishwasher so she won't burn her bum like her predecessor.

June 15th Precious, Our Precious....

June 13th - 14th Goodbye Perth - Hello NZ

Time to say Good Bye to Perth and hello to NZ.  We ended our stay with Raewyn cooking us the most beautiful Seafood lunch ever. Yabbies, Garlic Prawns and Seafood Chowder were on the menu. One Yabbie managed to make an escape and survived a tumultous death

Guess what we spied at Perth Airport? I am glad we do not have the following fast food Franchise in NZ. George would live there!  He had one final indulgence before leaving

 

 

We flew in to a crisp, crisp - and I mean very crisp - Winter morning. Welcome back to NZ and driving down to the Waikato this is what we saw to greet us

That's Fog in dem dar hills!

Welcome Home to Foggy Waikato

June 12th Today We Sailed Over The Seas

Well we did cross the ocean - by ferry and to Rottnest Island. A government owned island. Only 20kms (can't remember the exact measurement but you get the drift - pardon the pun) from Fremantle. A totally different world is out here. Small sandy bays, ideal snorkelling spots, Humpback Whales at migration time, and just the odd Great White Shark sailing by. The Quokka is the local furry inhabitant, a marsupial native to Western Australia and predominantly found on Rottnest Island.

There were a few of these hanging out at the local shops. Then it was time to explore the island. No private vehicles are allowed, so exploring this approx. 80sq km island is by bike only. Fortunately for the small time span we had, there was a local bus tour

There were approx 20 graves in the local cemetery from the original European settlers

Bikes aren''t stored on the island, instead they are kept on the ferry

Back to Fremantle Harbour and I am guessing this was a school fishing class?

This was our last day, so for our last night in Perth we indulged in a City Lights Dinner Cruise on the Swan River. Because it is winter in Perth, tourist numbers have dwindled so there were only a total of 12 people indulging in the cruise. Yay, yay and yay!!

One of the day's highlights. Buying a coffee before we left Fremantle Harbour.  The man at the counter asked our names and enquired as to George's accent. Then in front of a packed harbour building (it was situated inside the ferry terminal) he broke into a loud song. Instead of Come On Eileen, it was Come On Irene - I got the whole rendition, extremely loud and complete with banging forks and spoons. What an experience to remember. Great voice and great coffee!!

June 11th Raewyn's Secret Garden

June 10th. A Gold Mint & Something Fishy

We spent an informative morning at The Perth Gold Mint - yes, we touched and saw lovely big - and I mean big - nuggets of Gold.  No photography allowed (for obvious reasons). George decided to sneak a small piece out for a photo op

After an educational morning reflecting on Perth's gold history, it was time to head to the coast to Hillary's Beach and the WA Aquarium

June 9th. Some Orstraliana

Time to head to a wildlife park today to indulge in some Orstraliana Flora and Fauna

This is Sammi. I have him on video saying "Scratch Me Scratch Me". I spent at least 5 minutes giving Sammi a neck scratch. I knew these nails were good for something

Well after that lot it was time to indulge in some retail therapy for my beautiful Grandies - Peppa Pig Weebles any one?  Arriving home look what Raewyn found in her wine cellar for our dinner accompaniment (sp???)