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Published: January 2nd 2009
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Our Waterfall!
So cool to swim under - even if I nearly drown everytime because it's so deep!!! Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!!
Merry Christmas from Down Under (again!!). I had a lovely Christmas Eve at work and had the pleasure of recording the RAC Christmas Choir who sang traditional Christmas carols as well as the aussie alternative ones such as Jingle Bells (dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden ute!!!) - which had me in stiches (all this in 30 degree heat!!). I have the strangest job at the RAC and basically do lots of shopping trips, organising events and sales incentives - I also get to decorate and theme rooms in the Call Centre for Christmas etc so as you can imagine it's quite a laid back job and I am finding it quite difficult as I have always worked to really tight deadlines and had busy hectic jobs!
Later on Christmas Eve Doug and I made a visit to the beach and were shocked to see that it was deserted so we had a run up and down the beach acting like idiots with the dogs and as always threw the tennis balls for them into the ocean so they could swim out to them (we honestly go through about 3 packets
of tennis balls a week and they appear on the weekly shopping list now as an 'essential'!!).
We woke up really early on Christmas Morning and opened our pressies from the UK (thanks for the new knickers Ann - can't beat UK ones - also thanks to my dad who sent over essential supplies such as Hoola Hoops and Scampi Fries for Doug!!!
The best part of Christmas for me has always been buying and wrapping presents for the dogs as they are hilarious opening them up! Biscuit must remember he really likes doing this as on Christmas Eve when I placed all the pressies under the tree - he sat by it all night saying please (holding his paw up!!). He even woke us up early on Christmas morning whimpering and we thought he needed a wee - but all he really wanted to do was sit by the tree again with the presents - he is such a lovely dog and although is now 10 years old and getting a bit old and grey - he is so loveable and is really like a big old teddy bear who loves his cuddles! Aussie on the other
hand is a little bundle of energy and is so cute and aged 5 he still looks and acts like did when he was a puppy. I feel really bad about Aussie as he has never really been the same dog he was before he went into quarantine. We think it must have really affected him and once we drove past the quarantine station in Byford with the dogs in the back of the car who had been asleep for ages - Aussie woke up startled and started sniffing outside the window and we are not sure if he smelt the 'quarantine smell' but he immediately threw up in the car - poor baby :0(
Doug had insisted on a 'proper' Christmas Turkey Dinner so I cooked it all and it was really nice (even managed to find good old PAXO stuffing!!) but such a strange feeling to eat a Christmas Dinner outside in the warm sunshine with our Christmas hats on! After Dinner we took the dogs over to the park for a run and were hijacked by our neighbours who insisted we go round to their house for drinks - so never one to turn down a
social invite - we went along and had a great time getting to know a few more of the neighbours (there are about 7 houses on our street and 6 of them are inhabited by English migrants!)
On Boxing Day we went down to the beach really early in the morning and it was glorious with many dogs and horses in the ocean. As it was such a lovely day we decided to head back to the house and pack a picnic and go down to Golden Bay in the South - it is about an hour's drive but the beach is deserted so it is like your own little piece of paradise and swimming in the warm ocean is fantastic! We had a great day and didn't get home until really late - totally sunburnt and tired but happy (and we wore the dogs out too!). We found out later that there was actually a great white shark in the area and it actually ate a man at the beach a bit further down in Port Kennedy - thank goodness we didn't go too far out! As we were off over the weekend as well - we spent
both days gardening, doing odd jobs round the house, BBQ'ing and swimming in the pool - such a lovely way to spend the hot days!
As Doug was feeling a bit homesick over the holidays I thought I would surprise him and get him a webcam so he could 'see' his dad so on New Years Eve! We set it all up and got it running and then we went next door to our neighbours Dave and Claire for a party! It was brilliant and they had even hired a singer/DJ so the music was great even the impromptu karaoke session and we didn't have to stagger home very far! We then got online with the family and everyone had met up at Doug's mums house so we got to see my dad and brother and also Doug's brother which was fantastic and we didn't get to bed until 3.30 am!!!
New Years Day was a very quiet affair at the Martin's Household!!! Doug had a really bad hangover but I wasn't too bad so set about tidying up a bit and then made us a huge Full English Breakfast! Doug was feeling better in the afternoon so
Smiley Moon!
Venus and Jupiter line up with the crescent moon to make a smiley face! we just swam in the pool and chilled out in the garden. It is so nice to do this as we don't really get a lot of time off together as Doug is always so busy at work. We have been trying to work out how we can see more of WA as it is such a big state and we have seen so little of it. We have been all over Australia on the countless hols over the years but mainly concentrated on the east coast and have drove from Sydney to Cairns on a driving holiday and also along the Great Ocean Road on our way from Adelaide to Sydney one year - but we have done hardly anything in WA! Hopefully, this year we will be able to get some time off together so that we can venture out a little further!
Later on New Years Day we took the dogs down to the beach for a swim but it was absolutely packed so we headed off back home and spent nearly 2 hours chatting away to Doug's sister Sally & husband Pete who was also on line with a webcam - we even got to see their great dane dog 'Baby David!' and he is huge - standing at nearly 6 foot tall when he stands on his back legs! They were a bit mean to us though and started showing us packets of Walkers crisps on the webcam to tease us - so we retaliated with some ice lollies Doug found call 'Golden Gaytimes' - could start a new game here I think - CAM WARS!!!!!
We are looking forward to 2009 and going into our 2nd year in Australia. Doug was promoted again at work and he starts his new position next week so he is concentrating on that and I am quite settled at the RAC now and love the short drive to work and getting back home for the dogs each night. Now equipped with our webcam and countless other ways of keeping in touch with family and friends it does make you realise just how small the world really is and how you can communicate in so many different ways.
So, I wish you all a happy and fantastic 2009 and hope that everyone is well and enjoying the UK winter as much as I am enjoying the Aussie Summer!!!!!
P.S. I forget to mention in my last blog that we actually saw 'the smiling moon' early on in December. Not too sure if a big thing was made of it in the northern hemisphere but 'down under' in WA you could quite clearly see venus, jupiter and the crescent moon all lined up to make a 'smiling face!' we took it as a good omen for us as we were still moving into the house at the time!
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Ann and John Fave in laws
non-member comment
We is not jealous
we love the frost and damp and cold and every one coughing and spluttering all over you. LOL We would hate to be in the sunshine and in the pool - so there !!! We are telling lies Jo Jo. We can not wait realy. Love Ann and John XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX for you all