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Published: January 8th 2008
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Happy New Year to everyone from Perth!!!
Well, we have finally made it through our first christmas in Australia. What a rollercoaster of emotions 2007 was. Thinking back to this time last year we were unsure when or if we would move out to Australia and now we are here!
Bisc went into the vets for an operation the Friday before Christmas to have 5 lumps removed. He has had them for about 6 months but the UK vets wouldn't do anything with them as we were so close to coming out to Oz so this was the first opportunity for him to have the op. It was such a shame for him as it was so hot and he couldn't go swimming for 2 weeks so he felt really sorry for himself ... poor little boy :0(
Christmas was the strangest time and shopping for food for was really weird as I didn't know what to do .. should we have a 'traditional christmas roast' or go for the aussie alternative the 'barbie'. In the end we just kept checking the weather report and when it said that Perth was going to be a stinker and the
hottest christmas since 1915 - they weren't wrong - 40 degrees on christmas day and 44 on boxing day!!!! In the end we just cooked on the barbie and then swam in the pool drinking champagne .. a winning combination alcohol and swimming!!!
I have never experienced 44 degrees before in my life and believe me I really dread the day I have to do it again it was unbearably hot. You just feel like you are inside an oven with the heating on full blast (or sat in Dougie's mums front room - sorry Ann!!!). On boxing day, Perth was the hottest place on the entire planet .. can you believe that?!
The day after boxing day we had our first UK visitors - Aileen and Bob. I used to work with Aileen .. well I say work more like chatting about Australia at each others desk!! It was really nice to see a friendly face and hear a Warrington accent! We had a barbie and a good old chat in the garden until I drove them back to their hotel in the city so they could continue with their holiday onto Sydney for the new year
celebrations.
We also met up with my long lost relation Debbie and her husband who migrated out here earlier this year and now live about 5 minutes down the road! She took us to an Indian restaurant and we had a lovely night catching up.
Doug and I had a quiet New Years Eve as Doug was working in the day so we just sat in the garden watching the sunset having a bottle of wine or 2 .. bliss!!
On New Years Day we went down to Freo to see the yachts take off on a round the world race .. it was spectacular and we cheered for the West Australia yacht .. and the Liverpool one!!! The yacht from Liverpool was the last to leave the quay and was sent on its way by a group of ex-pat scousers shouting "calm down, calm down!!!" It was a really humid day, really hot but also cloudy so when we got back home we just went straight in the pool to cool down .. it is so nice to do this especially when you think it is January!!
Doug went back to work on the 2nd
Jan and I started looking at jobs to apply for. I really am not sure what to do out here and want to find a job that is interesting and will keep me busy! I have now not been at work for 3 months and I am starting to get on my own nerves!!! I have never not worked or been at college etc so not having anything to do each day is really grating on me. So hopefully I will find a job soon otherwise I will end up talking to myself!
We finally had Foxtel (Sky) fitted .. great - hundreds of channels of crap now instead of just 4!! I very rarely watched TV in UK as I just didn't have the time but over here I seem to be making up for it I'm ashamed to say. So if I am not cleaning the house, shopping (have found an English shop here .. but Doug won't let me go as he feels we should fully embrace the aussie life .. but I feel that a few home comforts won't hurt .. so ready salted hula hoops and vimto here I come!!!) I watch not only
Me and Debbie!
My long lost second cousin who just happens to live 5 minutes from us in Perth! crappy Aussie tele but also crappy American stuff as well .. I think I will have square eyes!!!
We have also had the furniture delivered .. it all arrived safe and sound except for a few items held back by quarantine for further investigation. However, the customs officer can't get me a list of those items so we will have to wait to see what they were!! Everything here is done at the Perth pace of life - so in other words you never get called back and nothing gets done so because of the constant calls I make to the quarantine office I am now on first name terms with Glenn the quarantine officer and although he is very nice and friendly and apparently he had a great weekend you will be pleased to know .. I still don't know what has been taken off me ... aaaghh!! :0)
Out of all my boxes (67 in total!) only a fruit bowl was broken so the guys at Pickfords did well! The 2 delivery guys were a bit odd to say the least and arrived late and promptly sat on the drive for 1/2 hour having a cigarette!!!
The drive at the house is awful as the house is so low down from the road the drive is so steep (almost a 45 degree angle!). As they were on their 3rd cigarette a white car turned up outside with 2 men in suits. The delivery guys just carried on smoking and chatting as they other guys came to the front door and asked for Douglas Martin .. as they were so serious looking I thought they were either the police or quarantine inspectors .. I nearly passed out!!
Infact, it turned out they were Customer Services Managers from Pickfords who were out in the area to check on the service by the delivery guys .. the delivery guys seemed to find some energy after they found out who the visitors in suits were and unpacked the van within an hour .. strange that!!!!
We spent the weekend unpacking and placing the furniture around the house making it look more like home. It is a little strange seeing things from my old house here though! We just need a few little more things to buy now and we are starting to feel quite settled in this little
Round the World Yacht Race!
Liverpool yacht left the harbour ... closely followed by the police boat ... !!!! house!
I met Doug when I was 15 and we started dating when we were 18 and one of the things I have always loved about him is the fact that he is so caring for animals. Over the past years if he was not coming home with motorbikes (long story!!), lost wallets and police warrant cards (again, long different story!) he was always bringing home lost or injured animals! He has brought back everything from hedgehogs (or as our neice Jenny called it 'spikey dog') to puppies and dogs - so many so that I have nicknamed him Dougie Dolittle!!
Well, last night was no exception. Doug worked late so we took the dogs to the beach later than we normally do. On the way back to the house it was just getting dark and as we pulled into the road near to the house we saw a little black dog. Doug jumped out to see if she was ok, which thankfully she was - just frightened. We knocked on about 4 doors round the area to see if anyone knew who the dog belonged to as she wasn't wearing a collar. After, no success we decided
to take the dog to the vets to see if they could scan if for a microchip. Unfortunately, it didn't have one and they didn't recognise the dog but decided to take the dog in for the night and then pass it on to the RSPCA in the morning .. poor little dog. Hopefully the owners will find the dog as last time this happened Doug made me walk round Birchwood in the pouring rain putting up 'found posters' on every lampost!
So, at the beginning of 2008 we seem to be sorted and we are now looking forward to our first full year out here and our 17th year together!!! We are planning a few trips around WA for our holidays in a few months time and getting excited about all the new places we have yet to see here .. it is hard to believe that we live here now as it is so beautiful.
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ann ( sybil)
non-member comment
how dare you.
you know very well our grandogs like sleeping in our sitting room at 40 degrees, it got you all used to the heat.lots of love basil and sybil. lots of kisses to our grandogsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.