AJ and Sarah - Life in Perth

Adam's 40th birthday

2011-12-31T04:44:00.000-08:00

AJ and Sarah went to their neighbour Adam's 40th birthday party last night. The evening was a blast, with Adam's extra special castle decorations to liven the place up and a face painter for the night to entertain us all.

Both of us indulged in face painting for the first time in our lives. Sarah decided on a tiger and AJ on a snake. The results speak for themselves - a very competent face painter who managed to turn our ugly mugs into works of art.

Congratulations to Adam for reaching the big FOUR-ZERO milestone.

Sarah, before the face painting.

Sarah, after the face painting. Tigress.

AJ's snake head.

Going native

2011-12-24T02:17:00.000-08:00

The front garden has now been planted out. We have three grass-trees (otherwise known as black boys), some native grass (which should grow to about knee height) and some kangaroo paws, which will have lovely flowers in red, yellow and orange.

After almost 18 months, we can also park our car in the driveway. Just the fence/gate, garage door and some other bits and pieces to go and we'll almost be finished.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Love Sarah and AJ xxxx

The BMW is enjoying its new home.

Grass trees and bull-rushes

Catherine Elizabeth Holly-Clark

2011-12-17T23:26:00.000-08:00

This week marked the passing of AJ's mother. Here is a little tribute for which AJ did the visuals. The violin solo is by Nik Waters, AJ's nephew.

Front driveway

2011-12-03T22:03:00.001-08:00

Our front garden is beginning to take shape. It's very different to the back-yard, being more old fashioned and in keeping with the original character of the house. We've chosen to go with a recycled brick driveway and path and we will eventually be planting native plants and grass trees as a feature. Can't wait to see it finished.

It won't be long before we'll be able to park our cars off the street again. Yeah.

A work in progress - our new recycled brick driveway.

Herringbone pattern recycle brick pathway.

This weekend also marked the photographic shooting of the Wilmot's Annual Christmas Photo (our neighbours). The theme selected for this year's photo was The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Lucy and Rosie perform in The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, for the Wilmot's Christmas card.

14 years owning Emma

2011-11-23T03:07:00.001-08:00

Today marks the 14th anniversary since we picked up our cat Emma from a rescue centre in Melbourne.

We recently wrote a letter to the rescue centre updating them on our adoption. They decided to publish our story on their website.

View Emma's story here.

Emma's stunningly good looks.

Our new resort

2011-10-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

Our back yard suddenly transformed into a resort this week as all the beds were planted out and the water feature was finished.

The Queen was in town today to open CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) and we were fortunate to have a public holiday (delayed from earlier in the year) so they could have less people in the city while all the big wigs are there. That meant we could relax and enjoy the new back yard!!

We're still pinching ourselves, because it feels like we're on holiday!!! All of AJ's design efforts have finally paid off.

Our new 'resort'.

New wooden panels have been installed on parts of the fence with a Jasmine creeper plant in front of each.

Water Feature Complete

2011-10-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

Water feature full and bubbling away. Plants in the beds too!

Garden Night Lights

2011-10-18T04:03:00.000-07:00

AJ has been trying out the garden night lights to see how they look. Now we need some plants.

Oslo and beyond

2011-10-14T02:44:00.001-07:00

The final destination with Ian and I together was a two hour whistle-stop tour of Oslo before going out to dinner with some work colleagues of Sarah's for a wonderful Vietnamese meal.

In a very short time we managed to fit in a quick visit to Oslo's 'ski jump' (now I know why I don't ski), a walk around the amazing park that contains more than 200 Vigeland statues and a night-time walk up to the top of Oslo's famous new opera house building (directly across the road from our hotel).

We then parted our separate ways, with me making a short stop for a meeting in Stavanger and Ian spending an extra day to explore Oslo before flying back to England.

The Oslo ski-jump, viewed from a mid-level elevation.

A different perspective of the Oslo ski-jump from the mid-level elevation. Now I know why ski-jumping is not for this little black duck.

Vigeland's obelisk.

A Vigeland statue. Two philosopher's contemplating life?

Sarah in Sweden and Norway

2011-10-14T02:15:00.000-07:00

For the last week or so, Sarah and her brother Ian have been travelling through Sweden and Norway. Sarah was on a work trip, while Ian was having a Scandinavian holiday. We hired a Volvo XC60 to travel around in and after brief stops in Orebro and Linkoping for work meetings, we made it to Stockholm on the Saturday for a Millennium book series walking tour and a trip to the Vasa Museum.

The Volvo XC60, our trusty vehicle that we managed to do 1000 miles in.

Sarah at the entrance to Lisbeth Salander's 'secret' luxury apartment in Stockholm (which Lisbeth buys at the end of book one).

The Vasa ship, which sank on her maiden voyage in Stockholm port in 1628. It was recovered 333 years later in 1961 and restored to be put on display in this museum.

It was then a mad dash over to Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden, before making our way up the coast towards Norway. In Gothenburg, we took a short boat ride to familiarise ourselves with the city. Ian particularly enjoyed the animated commentary and facial expressions of the tour guide and the low level bridges called the 'cheese slicer' and 'hair dresser', which we had to duck to avoid.

The highlights of the west coast of Sweden and south east coast of Norway were:

The fish stew that Ian ordered at a restaurant in Skarhamn (I wish I had ordered it too).
Visiting Northern Europe's largest Bronze Age carving
Walking around Fredrikstad's fortressed old town area.

Ian enjoying his fish stew at a gem of a restaurant that we found in Skarhamn, Sweden.

Sarah standing next to Northern Europe's largest bronze age rock carving. Pretty impressive at more than 4m long.

The canons along the defence walls of Fredrikstad's old town, Norway.

AJ back in Perth

2011-10-07T01:35:00.000-07:00

AJ's been back in Perth for a bit over a week as Sarah continues her business travels in Scandinavia.

On the homefront the rebuilding of the garage has progressed with the roof complete and rear wall almost done. The storm-damaged garage door is next but the insurance company is trying to skimp and put in a cheap and nasty door. We'll see about that!

The bricklayer has finished his work on the front fence so now we can turn to gates and timber infill panels.

The cats are quite happy as the new garage wall means the rear garden is enclosed and they can finally go outside. They've been indoor cats for a few years now but have never taken to it as anybody who's seen all our scratched furniture will attest. Once I tweak a couple of likely escape routes over the fence I think we'll be able to let them out there regularly.

Emma explores the newly enclosed back yard

Jam Jam leaves the exploring to Emma

Front fence brickwork complete

Nevada Nirvana

2011-09-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

The last week has been spent in Las Vegas with Sarah at a conference all week and AJ going on some photographic expeditions. Highlights of the week included:

Driving through Death Valley and managing to get a flat tyre (what is it with us and flat tyres when travelling through California?)
Meeting up with Colin (our best man) in Las Vegas for an evening
Finding that we had 'ringside' tickets from our hotel room to see Tears for Fears, who were playing a concert at our hotel pool on the night we checked in (our hotel room looks over the pool).
Sarah meeting lots of new people at the conference
AJ going gun-shooting at "The Gun Store" a famous tourist attraction in Las Vegas
AJ taking a one night trip to the Grand Canyon to get some sunset, sunrise and night-sky shots

Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park

Night shot of our hotel pool,

where Tears for Fears gave a concert.

"Shout-shout let it all out...."

Night sky over the Grand Canyon from Mather Point.

Little streaks are aeroplanes.

Sunset over the Grand Canyon from Yaki Point.

Giant trees, canyons and deserts

2011-09-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

We've been driving up hill and down dale all through California these past few days. Since leaving Carlsbad, we spent three nights in Visalia (near the Giant Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks) and one night in Lone Pine.

The Sequoia forest was pretty amazing. The western slopes of the Sierra Nevada at a particular band of elevation is the only place in the world where these trees exist and they've been around for 4500 years. They aren't the tallest or the widest trees on the planet, but they are the biggest (by volume and weight). It is kind of breath-taking to stand in awe of these amazing giants of nature.

A Giant Sequoia - the world's largest tree.

We managed to 'stretch' our legs with some up-hill walks. So much so that our legs are still aching!!! And we know why the trees like it up at +7000ft elevations, given that it started raining almost as soon as we arrived on day one (while it was still blazing hot down in the valley below).

Right next to the Sequoia National Park is King's Canyon - a beautiful big canyon with a river running through it. We took a very peaceful walk around a meadow at the bottom of the canyon.

The bridge over King River, part of the Zumwalt Meadow Walk,

King's Canyon National Park.

Yesterday we drove over to Lone Pine, on the other side of the Sierra Nevada. It's a tiny little town, but well set up for tourists. Dinner was possibly the best so far (thank you tripadviser) and a short outing to the Alabama Hills at the back of town proved to be a surprisingly interesting little pit-stop. Apparently the hills have been the back-drop to many movies including parts of Gladiator, Iron Man and Hopalong Cassidy. They are also at the bottom of a climb to Mt Whitney, which is the highest mountain in continental USA and attracts all sorts of 'Everest type' hikers and climbers.

An Arch in the Alabama Hills looking through to the Sierra Nevada.

View of the Sierra Nevada.

Barstow backwater

2011-09-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here's why you should always use the resources of the Internet to check on a hotel before you make a booking.

The Holiday Inn Express at Barstow on Historic Route 66 is possibly the most diabolical hotel we've ever stayed at. Situated right on top of a massive train switching yard, all you can hear all night is train wheels screeching (like high pitched fingernails on a black-board) as this installation keeps America on the move 24/7.

We should have known something was up when we checked in and they offered us free ear-plugs!

Minor relief from the industrial noise was supplied by the almost as loud air-conditioner that sounded like a diesel loco had de-railed and was heading straight for our room.

To top it all off, the room was pokey, dingy and tired. The bathroom must have had its ergonomics designed by Salvador Dali as to enter it you needed the skills of a supple limbo-dancer.

To add insult to injury, all of these facts were easily obtainable on the Internet and there was another Holiday Inn Express with much better ratings only a few miles away. Doh! Oh tripadviser.com dear friend, why did I not use you?

View Larger Map

A quick look at Google Maps would have revealed the

proximity of our 'hotel' to what must be one of

North America's largest train switching yard.

Balboa Park, San Diego

2011-09-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today we had a relaxing day in Balboa Park, San Diego. The park is home to 14 museums, several gardens and the world famous San Diego Zoo. We didn't go to the zoo, but we managed to visit the Botanic Garden House (tropical plants), the desert garden, the rose garden, the Museum of Photographic Art, an organ recital (with a 9/11 theme) and the Timkin Museum of Art.

A different style of dog walk

The Lily Pond - outside the Botanic House

The Botanic House

Having worked up an appetite, we used our trusty GPS device to find 'The Studio Diner' for a burger and milkshake. We only rated the diner as three stars out of five, because while the decor was good, the air-conditioning was on maximum (we were freezing), the service was luke warm and the food was only average quality.

The Studio Diner - open 24/7

Lastly, we drove to La Jolla Beach for a short stroll and then went for a trip down memory lane - visiting Mission Beach where we stayed almost exactly two years ago for our last weekend in the USA while we were living here.

USS Midway, San Diego

2011-09-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Our outing today was to visit the USS Midway in San Diego - an aircraft carrier that was in active service for 47 years from 1945 to 1992. It was the first air-craft carrier commissioned by the USA post WWII. We visited on the carrier's 69th birthday and one day before the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.

Sarah on board the T2 Buckeye - a plane for pilot training

We spent about two and a half hours exploring the carrier, including the flight deck, 'the island' (the tall bit that includes the control tower), the admiral's quarters and war room, the hangar and two talks by former navy aviators about the 'catapult' process' and 'arrester' process for take-offs and landings. It was pretty mind-blowing to learn that a fighter plane takes off and lands every 45 seconds (particularly when they explain everything that's involved).

Sarah standing in front of an F/A 18 Hornet

(in Russian colours to simulate a MIG for the Top Gun flight school)

We also learnt a few new terms:

A dog-bone - a tiny piece of metal shaped like a dog-bone that keeps the plane from taking off until the catapult is activated;
The meat-ball - the light that the fighter pilots use to monitor whether they are on the right guide path when coming in to land on the carrier; and
The pickle switch - used by the LSO (Landing Signals Officer) to 'wave off' a pilot if their approach is not going according to plan.

View Larger Map

A cool interactive map that AJ created from Google maps.

You can zoom in and out as you please!

Southern California

2011-09-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

It's day three in the USA and Sarah still isn't properly adjusted to the time zone. She spent most of the day snoozing in the car and now that it's 9pm, she's wide awake!

Since Los Angeles, we've visited 'La Brea tar pits' (Ian's recommendation), we've been outlet shopping at Barstow and we are now spending the weekend on the coast, in Carlsbad - north of San Diego. We've also managed to do some of our old favourite things, including:

An outlet shopping spree
A chocolate thick-shake (American style - at least 8 scoops of ice-cream!)
A couple of mexican meals - one at 'The Pink Taco, Los Angeles' and another at 'Los Olas, Carlsbad'

The USA is definitely not the place to come if you are hoping to stay on a diet!

Dire Wolf skulls from La Brea Tar Pits

(apparently the wolves hunted in packs and over 400

skulls have been recovered from the tar pits)

Carlsbad at night

Our hotel in Carlsbad. Can you see Sarah?

Pool & Shopping

2011-09-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

We've been busy over the past few days. The final stages of the pool are coming together, with work commencing on the water feature. Fence painting has also started and will take about a week to complete.

Meanwhile, we have started our holiday. After spending a day in Brisbane for Sarah's work, we jet-setted across the Pacific and landed at LAX this morning. We're staying at an airport hotel tonight and will pick up a rental car tomorrow. We had a productive shopping day at the Apple Store, WellsFargo Bank to sort out our affairs and the local supermarket (the quality and variety of produce made our jaws drop compared to Australia). It reminded both of us just how much we miss the shopping convenience of the United States!!!

The water feature tiling begins.

Stunning view from our airport hotel room!

Front fence and rear deck

2011-09-04T02:18:00.000-07:00

Both the front and rear garden are moving along now. In the back, the decking area is finished and at the front, work has started on our new fence. AJ reckons it's going to be the landmark fence of the suburb by the time it's done!

I'm looking forward to using that decking area in summer for a drink by the pool.

The front fence begins to take shape.

The new rear deck ready for poolside drinks in summer

New Swanky Wardrobes

2011-08-28T04:39:00.001-07:00

We had lots of progress this week on the inside of our house.

The main bedroom, ensuite, powder room and study were all painted and we had brand spanking new wardrobes installed in our bedroom.

Quote from AJ "it's like living in a clothes store"! And no, that's not because our clothes are amazing, but because the shelves and hanging space are so spacious that we can finally fit all our clothes in one place.

Wish we'd done this years ago!!!!

Sarah showing off our new wardrobes.

Wicked

2011-08-20T04:26:00.001-07:00

We went to see Wicked on Thursday night and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening of entertainment. It's an alternate 'spin off' story to the Wizard of Oz, which focuses on the relationship between the 'wicked' witch of the west and the good witch of the north.

Based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the central theme of the story is what it means to be wicked.

Elphaba and Glinda - the two witches.

Pool fence & cat adventures

2011-08-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

The pool fence went in this week, which has made our back garden suddenly look more finished than not (sure beats the temporary fencing).

The cats have been enjoying some supervised outings into the great outdoors. As usual, they want to go straight to the places that they are not allowed to go in!

Jam Jam looking longingly through the new pool fence.

Emma and Jam Jam admire their new perspective on the back garden.

If you look carefully, you can see another couple of 'cats' in the reflection.

The pool solar heating has been on and the pool blanket is covering the water, which has meant that with a week of sunshine, we've managed to get the pool temperatures up from 14 degrees to 20 degrees. Hopefully with a little more sunshine, we can get the temperature up to a swimmable 25 degrees within the next couple of weeks.

The Last Chapter of Harry Potter

2011-07-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

To belatedly celebrate Sarah's birthday, we went to see the last Harry Potter film - Deathly Hallows Part II. It's the first time that we've been to the cinema in ages and ages (we can't even remember the last film we saw at the cinema).

We made a night of it, eating out first with our neighbours before settling in to watch the movie. A thoroughly enjoyable night, albeit a little sad to be the final movie!

The Deathly Hallow Part II.

Evil Voldemort meets his nemesis - Harry Potter.

Rolling out the green carpet

2011-07-29T20:29:00.001-07:00

Works shifted to the front yard yesterday. The tarmac driveway, concrete and brick paths have all been cleared ready for a new makeover. Thankfully we have a special temporary green astroturf carpet to allow us to get to the front door without dragging in the mud.

Instead of a red-letter day for Sarah's birthday, it was a green-carpet day!

We love our new path to the front door.

The 'aspect' from our front door.

Russian cats

2011-07-18T02:29:00.001-07:00

A little surprise birthday present arrived in the post today. The package was from my brother Nigel in a bubble wrapped envelope and as I opened it up, a mysterious plastic bag with a little ornament became evident.

I read the note from Nigel first, which explained that the contents of the package were a birthday present for me, found by Tina and Sophie on a recent expedition to Cambridge markets.

To my great delight - I found a set of "Russian cats". A perfect surprise gift for a cat lover like me! Thank you to Nigel, Tina, Sophie and Kate for the special birthday present. It made my day.

Russian cats - a special present from Nigel, Tina, Sophie and Kate.

Fencing, paving and decking

2011-07-16T19:19:00.001-07:00

The garden has come a long way in the last couple of weeks. Fencing, paving and decking have been the focus of activities.

Paving activities commenced with levelling off and bringing in construction sand to prepare the ground. At this stage, the paving is about half way round the pool.

We've also put in an area of timber decking behind the pool. It should be a nice spot in summer to enjoy a glass of wine while watching people in the pool.

Life's a beach! For one weekend it looked like we had a beach on our

back doorstep as we prepared the ground for laying the pavers.

Pavers being laid around the pool. Timber decking visible

behind the pool and on top of the pool-box (left of picture).

We have also replaced all the old asbestos fences with a non-asbestos equivalent. It's nice to have straight/upright fences for the first time since we moved into the house 11 years ago.

Fencing being installed down the side of the house.

Our path is clear!

2011-07-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to Mark and Matt for clearing our front path this week. It's a great way to keep your customers happy :-D

Sarah shows off our clear path to the front door.

Small things keep us happy!

Front row seats

2011-07-02T02:17:00.000-07:00

The landscapers have continued at a cracking pace this week. Today we had some timber poolside seating installed, featuring Jarrah hardwood tops and under-seat storage areas for all important pool toys. The retaining walls have also grown in height and are now almost ready for the fencing man to come in and replace the existing asbestos panels.

We've had heavy rain in the past few days, so the newly installed soakwells/sumps are already being put to the test.

In the next week or two we're expecting to see quite a few changes as the paving begins and the in-ground pool-blanket-box is installed.

Front row pool-side seats

Jarrah timber seating surrounding the pool

Meanwhile, Emma enjoys licking her chops after her daily milk supplement ends up with milk droplets all over her face.

Emma's amazing tongue licks the milk off her face!

Going down the drain...

2011-06-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

The landscaping is finally getting back on track after stalling in recent weeks while another job caused the landscaping company some problems. Today's milestone was the installation of all the drainage, including a very big concrete 'sump' where all the rainfall run-off collects.

That should 'pave the way' for work to commence on paving at the rear of the house.

Sarah stands next to the sump - (partly covered with soil)

The sumps before installation

Meanwhile, Emma and Toejam have been enjoying playing a 'fishing' game on the iPad...

Emma goes 'fishing' on her new iPad. When she successfully catches one, it disappears, ripples appear and then the fish reappears.

Cakes and Photos

2011-06-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

We've been continuing to do a baking project each weekend. This week was a repeat appearance of a favourite - afternoon tea orange cup cakes from Stephanie Alexander's "The Cook's Companion". The recipe seemed to work better by using a food processor rather than a traditional mixer. A bit counterintuitive for a cake but they did rise better and had a lighter texture than last time.

Afternoon tea orange cup cakes.

AJ has also been trawling through his photo archives and reprocessing some old images. It's funny how images that were rejects months ago can seem fresh and inspirational now.

Sugarloaf Rock, Western Australia

Stormy afternoon at Smith's Beach, Western Australia

Rendering ruckus

2011-06-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

We are now officially fed up with traipsing through sand and dirt every time we want to get in and out of our house! Can't wait until the paving is done in the front and back yards - when we can finally stop dragging dirt into the house.

In the interim, we are patiently watching some further changes take shape in the back yard. This week it was brick wall rendering. On the interior, all the ceiling vents for the ducted heating/cooling system were installed, so it's only the control unit to go and then we will be able to heat and cool our house for the first time in almost a year. Yeah!

Rendered walls slowly drying out.

We've finished all the Harry Potter books - so we're ready to see 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' when it comes out in cinemas in a couple of weeks.

Baking delights

2011-06-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

This week, we've been busy doing some baking therapy. Beautiful fresh bread in the bread-maker and a peanut butter and chocolate torte, which is about as decadent as it gets!

We're going to have to share the torte with our neighbours or we will never fit through the front door again!

Beautiful freshly baked bread - all you need now is smellivision.

Chocolate and peanut butter torte.

Check out the Oreo cookie base...

Mmmmmm - chocolate......

Brick laying continues

2011-06-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

The garden slowly but steadily continues its transformation. The latest work includes further brickwork to enclose the utilities area (housing the air-conditioning unit and the pool filter), ripping up the old concrete path down the side of the house and building retaining walls around the perimeter of the garden.

The external window shades for the bedroom, kitchen and main room are also now installed. Their main purpose is to keep the sun out in summer, so we won't get full use of them for a few months yet.

In other news:

Last weekend, we dusted off the bikes for the first time in over a year for a short ride to our local cafe
We've nearly finished the Stephen Fry audio-books of Harry Potter (we are on the last book) and we've watched all the films except the last one
AJ has started painting the laundry, so we are hoping we can bring in the washing machine off the verandah this week

View of the back yard from rear corner

Pool Christening

2011-05-28T01:44:00.000-07:00

AJ decided to christen the pool this week. Despite the 20 degrees temperatures (too cold for Sarah), AJ was determined to immerse himself in the new pool (Sarah thinks he's gone stark raving mad)! He lasted for one walk up and down the length of the pool before retreating to dry land.

The pool was also christened by 'Robbie the Robot' as we are colloquially calling our new robotic pool cleaner that sets itself off on a two hour cleaning cycle.

Meanwhile, the new patio area has a roof that we can manoeuvre to allow the sun through during winter and close off to block the sun in summer (and keep the rain out).

New patio louvres that we can move

with the sun and close in the rain!

Pool Progress

2011-05-21T00:01:00.001-07:00

There's been lots of progress in the back garden this week, with the electrics for the pool being wired up and the brickwork starting to be laid. Within a few short weeks, we should have our own private oasis!

Reflections - wish I didn't have to wait till summer before I could use this...

Brickwork commences for the seating area around the pool

10th Wedding Anniversary Weekend

2011-05-09T03:25:00.000-07:00

AJ and Sarah enjoyed a long weekend down in Margaret River to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. It was a very relaxing affair with nowhere in particular to go, no-one in particular to please and nothing in particular to do. Pure bliss!

Cupcake bouquet - a beautiful present from AJ

Forest Rise Eco-Retreat - enjoying a cosy night by the fire

Sunset over the rocks at Injidup Beach,
south of Yallingup, Western Australia

The Amazing Flying Pool

2011-05-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Friday was a milestone for our garden redesign. The pool arrived! Sarah was sorry to miss it (somebody has to work!) but luckily AJ was able to capture the event on camera.

Due to access problems in the front yard a larger crane than was planned had to be found at short notice. The bigger crane materialised and the delicate procedure of lifting, shifting and dropping the pool into place began. Check out the photos...

The big lift of AJ and Sarah's new super-size-me 'bath-tub'

Over the house she goes...

Dropping her into place (spot the neighbour green with envy)!

Settling into her new home.

Say Sayonara to our Back Yard...

2011-04-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be worthwhile posting a couple of shots of our back-yard as it is today, because it should be one of the last times it will be in this sorry state of disrepair. What has been for over a decade a pile of leaves, weeds and mounds of dirt/sand, will soon be a swimming pool, paving, planter boxes and a mini vegetable patch for Sarah (to remind her of her childhood growing tomatoes)!

Work is due to commence next week with the installation of the pool.

Can you spot the two pussy cats surveying the back-yard?

Hard to imagine that within a few days and weeks this area will be transformed.

Our very own Backyard Blitz (where's Jamie Durie when you need him?) - if you don't know Jamie, look him up on the Internet and you'll wish he was coming to visit your backyard too!

The front yard will also transform from a pile of dirt into a swish set of plantings with a proper fence and electric gate. We can't wait. Photos of the front yard will have to wait for another day.

Highlights of the week...

2011-04-09T22:27:00.002-07:00

This week had some interesting highlights for us. Without going into details, here's just a few..

Sarah gave her first ever affidavit for a Federal Court proceeding
The rangehood/extractor fan was installed in our kitchen
AJ went for all day interview tests
Sarah had two blood tests (no it's probably not what you are thinking)
We hosted dinner at our house for Sarah's university friend Elly
Sarah finished her Swedish thriller trilogy book series

The new kitchen range-hood

New beginnings in the garden

2011-04-01T04:06:00.000-07:00

The landscapers have started preliminary earthworks to get all the soil down to the right level in the back garden. So far we've had three truck loads of soil removed, with at least another six loads to go (including the hole for the pool). It's exciting to think that in just a few weeks we will have a lovely outdoor area and pool!

Meanwhile the inside of the house is getting ever closer to being finished. The kitchen is now installed and in use with just a few finishing touches to go. After six months of living in a small temporary kitchen, it's lovely to be able to put away all our utensils and food.

View from the back concertina doors - future patio and pool area

Emma enjoying the new 'breakfast bar' area

Sarah and Emma at the kitchen bench

Swedish thriller books...

2011-03-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sarah's been addicted to the Millennium Trilogy books by Stieg Larsson.

They've been on the best seller list for a long time and AJ read them all over Christmas. Sarah started reading the first book - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo while down in Margaret River. Only five days later that one was finished and she was on to the second one - The Girl who Played with Fire. She finished that today in equally lightning speed so there is now only one more book to go - The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, which is cued up ready.

They are a crime/murder-mystery style of book with some violent scenes in places. You won't be able to put these books down!!!

The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson

Getaway while floors are being done

2011-03-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Our floors were being sanded and polished this week, which involved putting chemicals down to finish them off. We thought we'd take the opportunity to get away for a few days while all that was occurring, so retreated down to our favourite local destination - Margaret River.

Here are a few photos of some landscape images AJ took as well as a picture of the finished floors!!!

AJ's early morning photography

escapade resulted in this beautiful shot.

And this one...

Sugarloaf Rock, Western Australia.

And here's our own amazing home landscape -

finished floorboards. Yeah!!

Kitchen Cabinets Installed

2011-03-10T03:43:00.001-08:00

Today marked another milestone in the building project with completion of the kitchen cabinetry. The stone bench tops will now be measured, cut and installed in a couple of weeks. Then it's just a little plumbing work and installation of a range hood and we'll finally be back to having a proper kitchen.

New cabinetry in place.

Drawers, drawers and more drawers.

Sculpture by the Sea 2011

2011-03-06T20:32:00.001-08:00

We went to our favourite annual art event in Perth today - Sculpture by the Sea. Here are a few of our favourite images.

Blast from the past

2011-03-05T00:57:00.003-08:00

We went shopping today at our local supermarket and came across a little surprise as we drew into our car park bay....

In the next car parking spot to us was my actual first BMW - the quartz blue 1 series! It made me a little nostalgic as I absolutely loved that car. It had a couple of minor dents that weren't there when I had it, but otherwise looked fine - must be 6 years old now.

Brother and sister BMWs have a clandestine meeting in the supermarket car-park.

Eco-Retreat

2011-02-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

Perth's heat wave continues with no end in sight. 38 degrees both days this weekend and the same all this week.

To save ourselves from going 'tropo', we decided to escape for a weekend down in Margaret River at the Forest Rise Eco-Retreat.

Pure heaven!

We arrived at 8:30pm on Friday night to find a wonderful little sanctuary in the forest with relaxing meditative music playing and a bathroom to die for.

Don't want to go home!!!

The spa bath for two under a forest canopy

House Progress

2011-02-18T19:07:00.001-08:00

AJ has been busy doing some geospatial analysis of our building works and the progress since late August 2010. It's quite incredible what is available for free on the Internet!

Looking forward to the next few months of photographic instalments as we slowly begin to transform our garden. Watch this space!

The progress of building works from 21 Aug 2010 to 8 Jan 2011.
Clearly we didn't get the colour selection of the new tiles right.

Curious cats

2011-02-07T14:12:00.001-08:00

The 'Berlin Wall' came down today and the pussy cats had their first view from the front of the house to the extension at the rear. Very curious... so that's what all the banging and crashing has been about.

Surveying progress in the new extension.

Ceiling painted in main room...

2011-02-06T03:27:00.001-08:00

AJ has been busy this week painting the ceiling in the main room before the electricians come to install the down-lights.

The 'Berlin Wall' comes down this week (the partition between our living area and the back area), so we'll be able to walk in and out of the extension for the first time!

Painted ceiling and doors installed in preparation for the knocking down of the 'Berlin Wall' this week.

Floor boards are down

2011-02-04T03:09:00.000-08:00

Our new floor has finished being laid this week and it's looking great! The very last thing that will be done is the sanding and finishing of the floor to make it look all shiny and new. The boards are made from a very popular Western Australian hardwood called 'Jarrah' and they are recycled from another house (as well as reusing what we already had available from the kitchen area).

We are getting closer and closer to handover. We estimate approximately another week to do the finishing touches (skirting boards, lighting, further bathroom fixtures, tile grouting and a final clean up of the whole place). Then we'll be onto our other jobs - lots and lots of painting - internal and external, fly-screens, wardrobe fixtures, garden/landscaping, awnings, finishing the air-conditioning and probably lots of things we haven't even thought about yet!!!

PS - we're getting a pool! Does that make you want to come and visit us????

Laying the floors - a work in progress

Laying the floors - complete! (just sanding and polishing to go)

New State Theatre, Western Australia

2011-01-29T20:31:00.001-08:00

We went down to the new State Theatre today to have a look around. It's an impressive building and great to finally have a facility like this built to replace the mostly very old and tired theatre venues in Perth. There were lots of people there to have a 'sticky beak' around the new venue.

Foyer of the new State Theatre, Western Australia

Heath Ledger Theatre - can you spot Sarah?

Heath Ledger Theatre from the stage (can you still spot Sarah?)

Lining up to visit the new State Theatre of Western Australia

Hardwood Flooring

2011-01-28T20:07:00.001-08:00

It's been a very hot week in Perth and very humid (the temperature outside is currently 39 degrees Centigrade), with the threat of a weak cyclone tomorrow.

Despite the oppressive temperatures, work on site has continued and we are now only a couple of weeks from taking over from the builders to do the painting and kitchen. The wooden flooring is going in at the moment. Should look lovely when it's all done.

Timber battens go in.

Floor in the old kitchen comes up.

Floor inspection.

Dense jungle

2011-01-22T19:33:00.001-08:00

The jungle at the front of our house has become even more dense since some isolated storms came through Perth a week or two ago. We need a machete to get to the front door at the moment - while making our way past the tree shoots, portaloo, wheelbarrow and skip!

Progress on the house and planning for the garden continues. We're beginning to look at fences for the front garden, but it's quite a tricky job as they are expensive and nothing stands out that we really like.

It was AJ's birthday this week. We celebrated by going to a local Spanish dessert place that makes traditional churro (elongated doughnuts) with dipping chocolate. Heaven.

Robinia tree shoots take over the front yard!

Welcoming party - patiently waiting for AJ and Sarah to get home from a fence hunting expedition.

Joinery in the Addition

2011-01-15T06:04:00.000-08:00

Work has begun on the fiddly finishing details in the extension like:

completion of all the ceiling cornices;
architraves around the windows and doors;
preparing the bathrooms for tiling;
fitting cupboards in the laundry and bathroom; and
installation of bathroom appliances.

The tradesmen are making fast work of it all and we're still on schedule to complete the builder's portion of the house at the end of February. We are then planning to paint it all ourselves and install our own kitchen.

Cupboards for the vanity - fitted in the ensuite.

Living room with ceiling and cornices complete and architraves starting to go in for all the windows and doorways.

Two pussycats sleeping while the tradespeople are on the job!

Creeping Jungle

2011-01-09T03:03:00.004-08:00

We arrived back at home on Thursday after an enjoyable four night stay in Denmark.

Our chalet in Denmark on the south coast of WA -
Zen cottage, Karma Chalets.

We also took a photo today of the front of our house, which is most definitely a 'work in progress'. The trees we took out in the front garden at the beginning of our extension project have decided to turn into a creeping jungle - with loads and loads of little suckers coming up from the original tree roots. We're going to have to get someone to give the trees a treatment to stop this from happening. Meanwhile, the skip out the front has been delicately placed at a high angle on top of a pile of sand. We're both looking forward to having the inside and outside of our house all organised. We suspect our neighbours are too!

Our 'beautiful' front garden - skip on a high angle and trees that were removed creating their own 'landscaping'.

Denmark, WA

2011-01-04T18:58:00.001-08:00

AJ and Sarah have spent the last few days staying in Denmark, WA. We are staying at the Karma Chalets, which are a pleasant little getaway with tranquil surrounds overlooking some vineyards.

A special touch is that the owners give you a little packet of bird seed when you arrive and every morning we've been visited by a couple of local parrots, colloquially referred to as twenty eights, because of the sound of their call.

We've found some great local restaurants attached to wineries and we're hoping to go canoeing this afternoon if the weather holds up.

Happy New Year - 2011

2010-12-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

Sarah and AJ have had a relaxing time over Christmas and New Year, with lots of short walks up to our local cafe for breakfast and movie watching at home while sheltering from the heat in our one and only air conditioned room - the kitchen/living room! The hot weather is definitely not as fun while we are mid way through our renovations and without our normal air-conditioning system throughout the house.

We welcomed in the new year with our neighbours and friends. Party poppers, party blowers, home made pizzas, champagne and sparklers helped us celebrate in style.

New Year's Eve at the Wilmot's house, Mount Hawthorn

AJ - the photographer's own sparkling creation!

Melbourne and plastered walls

2010-12-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

This week saw AJ and Sarah take a quick trip to Melbourne (2 nights). Sarah had work meetings to attend and AJ took the opportunity to visit his Mum and sister. Unfortunately there wasn't any time for socialising with friends while we were there, so that will have to wait for next time.

Meanwhile, the house continues to progress well. The walls now have a skim coat of plaster on them and the big bi-fold/concertina doors were installed. The space seems bigger now that we have white walls.

AJ was also official photographer for our neighbour's Christmas card (he does this every year) and this year they were two little angels. Lucy is the older one and Rosie is the baby.

Lucy and Rosie - Christmas angels

Our bedroom with new white walls

Lounge area with new white walls and rear concertina doors

Christmas debate - exhibition - ceilings

2010-12-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

Another busy week for Sarah and AJ in the lead up to Christmas...

AJ successfully had two photos accepted into a local gallery exhibition, Sarah participated in a Christmas debate on 'Why Santa needs Facebook' with her local toastmasters club and the gyprock for our ceilings in the extension all went in. We also had a great Christmas dinner on Wednesday night at a swanky Perth restaurant with one of the law firms that Sarah has done lots of work with over the years.

Two of AJ's photos in the Perth 'Collective' Exhibition

New ceilings and rendered walls in the living area

Sarah dressed up as part time elf in Santa's workshop -

participating in the 2010 debate on 'Why Santa needs Facebook'.

Dinner - Market - Plaster Preparation

2010-12-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a very varied week, with everything from attending a big leadership dinner, to manning a market stall and moving on to the next stage of our house extension - preparation for plastering.

Sarah finished her Leadership WA course by officially becoming a Fellow of the Pro

gram. Both of us attended the dinner and Sarah went up on stage to collect her certificate and badge. It was a fun night because we knew so many people there after spending the year together on the program. I don't have a photo from the evening, but the video that was shown on the night can be viewed on this website. Once you start playing it, it can take a while to download - so you need a little patience.

On Thursday night, we both manned AJ's market stall at Subiaco markets. We had a fun night with live music and lots of Christmas festivities laid on for people. There was lots of interest in AJ's photos, however, we discovered it wasn't really the right target market as people were mostly looking for small Christmas knick-knacks. The good news is that AJ has been accepted to show two of his photos at a local collective photographic exhibition this month.

AJ at his market stall in Subiaco

The house continues to progress quickly. The roof is now complete and the plasterers started work on the base concrete render that goes on before they start plastering. In a day they managed to finish our bedroom and en suite. They are making fast work of it.

View from the kitchen

View from the lounge

Our bedroom

An arty shot of our future ensuite

Roof is almost raised

2010-11-28T03:03:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks, the builders have been working on the roof of our house. All the rafters are done and the tiles have been laid. Just some pointing/cementing of the ridge tiles left to do. There's been lots of banging and crashing going on, but hopefully we're through the worst of that now. It's also been hard to take any photos because of all the scaffolding that's up in the backyard.

A view from the neighbour's backyard of the roof covering the new bedroom at the rear of the house.

Other than work on the house, we've been getting ready for AJ's first photographic market stall, which we will be running on Thursday night (a Christmas market stall at Subiaco Markets) and Sarah has finished her Leadership WA course. Just the final big dinner to go on Wednesday night and she will officially be a Fellow of Leadership WA.

Today we took a drive up a new coastal road that has been built between Perth and Cervantes. It cuts about an hour off the previous journey to get to 'The Pinnacles'. We took the car off road for a short while, driving through a shack community at Grey. It's a bit like a scene out of a Mad Max movie, with people who have these little beach shacks in the middle of the dunes. The Government is slowly getting rid of them all as development occurs in that part of the State.

Bricks are almost all laid

2010-11-07T02:36:00.002-08:00

The bricklayer has almost completed his work at our house. He's running a couple of days over schedule, so it will take him until Tuesday to complete his work. Once this is done, we'll be on to the roof construction. Some of the materials for the roof (timbers and steel) have already arrived in the front garden. We're now approximately six weeks into the whole process and things have been moving along at a very steady pace.

Sarah recently hit her 15 year anniversary with her employer and to mark the milestone, the company provide a modest bonus to spend on items of your choosing. Sarah went to her favourite clothes shop in Perth (Empire Rose) and had a good dose of retail therapy to spend her money. Long overdue!!

Sarah's been asked to go to Brisbane for work meetings on Thursday and Friday this week and we've booked AJ on frequent flyer points to go over aswell.

The walls keep going up...

2010-10-23T23:41:00.000-07:00

While Sarah was away in India for a week with work, the brick walls have continued to go up. Some of the internal walls have been built, so we can now see the outline of our new bedroom and ensuite. It's easier to picture what the final house will look like now.

The house of bricks

2010-10-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Progress continues on the extension with the bricklayer starting whilst we were in Queensland for a week.

The walls start going up

Curtis Falls on Mt Tamborine, QLD

The river below Curtis Falls, QLD

One of Sarah's work colleagues relaxes on a motor yacht on Morton Bay

Solid Foundations...

2010-10-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

With the demolition phase over, we're now starting a new chapter of construction - beginning with the concrete slab for our extension. From here on in, our new house will begin to grow before our very eyes. It's exciting to see how much progress has been made in such a short time.

The new slab for our extension

The Amazing Shrinking House

2010-10-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of photos of the latest progress on our renovation. Most if not all of the demolition work is now complete (including some of the old interior walls), so hopefully the next phase will be starting to build the new bit of our home.

It's been exciting to see the progress....

New view from the back of our house

Outline of our additions

A hitch hiker from Lake Ballard

2010-09-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sarah had an interesting post script to our Lake Ballard adventure. Today, whilst getting out of her car at work she found a hitch hiker from the Lake Ballard area - a big wolf spider like the one AJ took a picture of on the salt lake. Maybe it was the same one.

Sarah's hitch hiker

Day trip to the Gormley statues at Lake Ballard

2010-09-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

It's a long weekend in Western Australia, so we thought we'd go on a bit of long car trip in the BMW. The Gormley Statues at Lake Ballard are something that we've been wanting to see for a while, but it's a very long car trip and we've never got around to it before.

On Saturday we set out and drove 6 and a half hours from Perth to Kalgoorlie. A pub dinner at the Palace Hotel, Kalgoorlie and a good night's sleep at the Rydges hotel were the highlights of our stay. On Sunday we drove up to Menzies (about an hour and a half north of Kalgoorlie) and then hit the dirt road and travelled a final 50km to get to Lake Ballard - a salt lake in the middle of nowhere to see the statues.

The statues were put here in 2003 to mark the 50th anniversivery of the Perth Arts Festival by a British artist called Anthony Gormley. He deliberately chose such a remote site, so you'd have to make a real effort to see them and so that you would get the sense that you were miles off the beaten track. Interestingly, the journey isn't over until you make the final leg by foot onto the salt lake to see the statues. They cover an area of between 7 and 10 km and the further you go out onto the salt lake, the more your feet start getting wet as water collects on top of the crystalline salt.

Sarah also saw her friend Frank at the statues - he was camping there for a couple of nights with his family.

It was a cool place to go and despite the long journey - well worth it. We're back in Kalgoorlie now and will be heading back on the trip home this morning.

Sarah with a Gormley statue

A hill-shaped island on Lake Ballard

One of the Gormley statues

AJ's footsteps on the salt lake

A surprise inhabitant on the salt lake

Dust in our wake as we head back to Kalgoorlie

Demolition Derby

2010-09-24T19:37:00.001-07:00

There's been lots of progress this week on the house. The diary of demolition activities this week was:

Tuesday: 'Cut and seal' the electrical points in the back half of the house - making safe all the electrics in the part of the house we're not using. Also dug out lots of soil from the back garden where the new part of the house will be going.
Thursday: Demolition commences - roof of sleep-out and laundry come down and back wall of sleep-out comes down. AJ receives a coincidental visit from a man who used to board in the sleep-out 38 years ago. He missed seeing it again still standing after 38 years by 3 hours. AJ discovered a good old story from the house. Apparently the reason that we don't have a brick wall on the back of the garage is because the wife of the couple he boarded with was learning to drive and drove straight through the back wall!
Friday: Laundry & toilet completely removed (including concrete floor slab) and commence demolition of original rear wall of house.

Here's a couple of photos of where we were at the beginning and end of the week.

Spot the difference

Kitchen stripped out

2010-09-20T02:18:00.000-07:00

The whole back area of the house has now been cleared of all our possessions and the pavers in the back yard pulled up and neatly stacked on pallets in the front "garden". The pavers will be reused when we re-landscape after the building works.

Part of the project included moving the kitchen temporarily to another room. Some of the kitchen cabinetry will be recycled into the new kitchen.

Before and after in the old kitchen

Renovation works continue

2010-09-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

More preparatory works happening in the back yard with removal and slight relocation of retaining walls. The new structure will pretty much fit in the flat, paved area in the foreground of these pics.

Before...

...and after

Renovations Begin

2010-09-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of exciting days with work finally beginning on the major renovation and extension work we're having done on the house. For the next six months Sarah and AJ, along with Emma and Jam Jam the cats will be relegated to just two rooms and a bathroom at the front of the house. A small portion of the kitchen will be temporarily relocated to the current main bedroom that will serve as a kitchen/sitting room. The front lounge will become the temporary bedroom. Most of our belongings will be put into storage for the duration. Tree removal and landscaping has begun, with the main builders starting construction in a bit over a week. Unfortunately three mature trees had to go, but we will be planting mature ones to replace them afterwards.

Before and after in the front yard

Before and after down the side

Yet another Melbourne Visit

2010-09-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

AJ and Sarah are back in Melbourne for a few days. Sarah is on Rio Tinto business and AJ is carrying the bags and acting as official trip photographer.

AJ spent a few hours in the Royal Botanic Gardens in South Yarra. He's entering the Gardens in Focus photographic competition for images taken in botanic gardens in Australia. Here are a few of this afternoon's efforts, including a very tame kookaburra.

Farmers' Market and Araluen Botanic Park

2010-08-29T04:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we went to a farmers market with our neighbours on Saturday and drove out to Araluen Botanic Park today to wander through the gardens and take some flower photographs. The weather was gorgeous and the some of the first tulips of the season were out in full bloom.

Our neighbour's daughter Lucy enjoys a cupcake at the Mt Claremont Farmers Market

The best of Araluen

Tulip

Cherry blossom

Sydney 10 years after the Olympics

2010-08-25T06:14:00.001-07:00

Sarah and AJ went to Sydney for a few days this week - almost 10 years to the day from when the Olympics were held there. Sarah spent most of her time involved with work while AJ explored the city a little with his camera. Sarah's work centred around a conference at which her boss was speaking.

The highlights of the trip included:

Eating chocolate croissant at the Lindt chocolate cafe, Darling Harbour - Sydney, and buying some new flavours of chocolate Lindt ball only available from the cafe -- yummy!!!
Exploring the area in and around Darling Harbour in Sydney. It's very touristy there, but the weather was beautiful and it was easy to walk to the city.
A couple of nice dinners with Sarah's work crowd at restaurants in or near Darling Harbour (Malaya was a good Asian restaurant).
An afternoon for AJ taking photos in the Sydney Botanic Garden with his photographer friend, Sue Stubbs.
Sarah spending an afternoon out at the Qantas Operations Centre learning about their operational and maintenance processes.
Catching up with our friend Carmel for dinner on Monday night.

Some of Australia's important sea-faring heritage at the Maritime Museum

The Pyrmont Bridge, Darling Harbor with the monorail streaking overhead

Sarah's highlight of the trip - a visit to the Lindt Chocolate Cafe and a breakfast of croissant with Lindt dipping chocolate

A week in Melbourne

2010-07-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Sarah and AJ spent the week in Melbourne. Sarah was there primarily for a four day leadership course and a day in the Melbourne office to meet up with her peers. Meanwhile, AJ had a little holiday, spending time visiting friends and family as well as taking photographs to add to his portfolio.

We arrived on Saturday evening and went straight over to Julian and Betty's house to see the happy trio including little Olivia. Sunday was spent having a leisurely pub lunch followed by pastries from the Port Melbourne bakery.

Julian and Betty had recently bought themselves a new VW Golf, so their Smart Car is currently spare until it's sold. That meant that we were lucky enough to have the use of the Smart Car for the week. It's been a while since we've driven a car that attracts so many stares and smiles. Even the concierge/valet parking staff at the hotel thought it was great and we may have found a buyer from amongst the hotel staff.

Sarah's course started with a bang when the bus that had been laid on to shuttle people from the hotel to the course decided to break down on the way. Nothing like a mini crisis to break the ice among the participants and get people to know one another. Once we'd pushed the bus out of the way of the tram line, we set about walking the remaining 3km to the course!

Thursday was Sarah's birthday and the course organisers were kind enough to lay on a big cake accompanied by a rendition of "Happy Birthday" and a box of Hague chocolates for the occasion. Sarah's team also managed to win the business simulation exercise that was part of the course. AJ bought a very special birthday cake from one of the famous patisseries in Acland Street, St Kilda, complete with two little cat chocolates named after Emma and JamJam. Very special.

We finished off the week with a visit to see one of AJ's old school friends (David Llewellyn) for dinner on Friday night and a trip up to Woodend on Saturday (about an hour north of Melbourne) to see AJ's sister and family. They recently moved to a five acre property up there to experience the country life. After a hearty Italian lunch and a tour of the property, we headed back to Melbourne for our return flight to Perth.

The cats were pleased to see us when we walked through the door!

A new photo for AJ's reportoire - a Melbourne laneway.

Olivia enjoys a swing in the park with her Dad.

Sarah's special birthday cake from the cats.

Sarah and Ursula try and solve a spherical jigsaw puzzle while Cocoa the dog enjoys a warm lap in front of the fire.

New car

2010-07-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sarah took delivery of her new car on Friday - a BMW X1 (new model for 2010). It's sparkling bronze in colour (which means a metallic mid brown), with beige interior. Nice to drive and it's an all wheel drive, so it can cope with mild off-road conditions, which is handy if we decide to do any long trips in Australia.

The interior and overall size is quite similar to the X3 we had in the States, only it is lower to the ground than the X3 and is ever so slightly smaller in dimensions.

So, after a year since returning from America - we're back to being a two car family.

Sarah picking up her keys from the BMW dealership in Perth

Pasta Time

2010-06-28T05:40:00.001-07:00

Recently, AJ has been reviving his pasta making skills. Last week he made tortellini with a ricotta and spinach filling. Today was fettuccine with some pesto sauce. The pasta machine has been a valuable addition to the kitchen.

Pasta Machine - one of the most useful gadgets in the kitchen

Margaret River adventure

2010-06-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

AJ and Sarah went down to Margaret River over a long weekend last week. Veterans of the Margaret River area, we thought that we would try something a little different this time. So... bright and early on Saturday morning, we packed up our stuff and headed down to Margaret River on the three hour drive ready for a 10:15am "Discover Margaret River" tour. The tour received very good write-ups on our favourite travel site - TripAdvisor.com.

Sarah managed to get an extra couple of hours sleep during the car trip down there and was ready for a big day. We started the tour being met by our guide - Sean, who in a very laconic style, explained to us what we would be doing for the day - canoeing, wine tasting, lunch and a short walk along the Cape-to-Cape coastal track. We were accompanied only by two other people (a god mother and daughter) as Sean always keeps his tours to a maximum of six people.

Encouragingly, we started with the realisation that we would be chauffeured around by Sean in his lovely Landrover Discovery 4WD. Canoeing on the Margaret River (which was perfectly still) was idyllic, wine tasting was fun as always and lunch at an exclusive vineyard not open to the general public was very special. Sean wowed us with his gourmet picnic lunch consisting of olives, caesar salad, pate, smoked trout dip, sundried tomato pesto, breads and chicken terrine. Of course accompanied by some of this exclusive winery's finest.

Canoeing on the Margaret River

To finish off our expedition, the weather was perfect for a stroll along the coastal track and a photo opportunity near sunset by the cliffs around Margaret River.

Cliffs near Margaret River

Day two of our long weekend consisted of a bike ride from Margaret River most of the way down to Prevelly and back and then into Margaret River township for a coffee and some relaxation. As a quick detour, we wandered into our favourite Aboriginal art gallery while we were there, and spontaneously decided to buy two new pieces to add to our collection. We don't really have room for them in the house at the moment, but they'll be perfect for when we have the house extended/renovated.

Finally day three - we decided not to be out-done by the recent elephant hunters in London, so we spent some more time 'cow herding' in Margaret River to finish off the trip.

A night at the theatre

2010-06-03T05:02:00.000-07:00

Sarah returned to Perth this week after her trip to Canada and London. On the day she returned, we went out to the theatre to see a production called The Clean House. Both of us were pleasantly surprised with the production and enjoyed its humour. It was a story about neat, orderly houses, people with cleaning obsessions and contrasting this with the complexity of their lives.

The Perth Mint

2010-05-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

We went along to the Perth Mint on Sunday to continue our theme of exploring local tourist attractions. The Mint is a heritage listed building and the only operating Mint in Australia other than the main one in Canberra. The Perth Mint looks after precious metal and commemorative minting activities, while Canberra does all the minting of Australia's standard coins.

Some of the fun and games that we got up to included:

Sarah lifting up a replica gold nugget (see photo)
AJ picking up a real gold ingot (very heavy), which Sarah was too weak to lift
AJ weighing in at approximately $4.5M worth of gold
Sarah weighing just over $2M worth
Watching a real gold pour
Pressing some little copper medallions

The Jazz Cellar

2010-05-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

We went to a jazz club around the corner from home on Friday night. It's a secret club that you enter through an old English style phone box. It's been going for 16 years and started out being for an older crowd of people, but over time has become popular through word of mouth with the younger set.

It was a great night and a real gem of a discovery. We've lived here nearly 10 years and have never heard of it before, so we're very grateful to our neighbours for suggesting that we both go along. Particularly great that we can walk from home.

The venue is unlicensed, so it's all BYO food and drinks. Fabulous atmosphere and fabulous talking to the doorman John, who has been involved since the very beginning with the band members. It's only open on Friday nights and you can't book in advance. It takes 100 people and you have to get there early as tickets go very fast. It's always full!

Foot tapping fun! Watch this video for a good understanding of what it's all about...

Fremantle Prison Tunnels Tour

2010-05-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we traveled to Fremantle Prison for the second time in recent weeks. This visit was to take a tour of the tunnels beneath the prison.

The tunnels were originally dug by convict labour in the 19th century to supply water to the prison and later to the whole harbour town of Fremantle. As demands on the early wells increased, tunnels had to be dug horizontally out from the vertical shafts to improve the capacity of water supplied. Eventually, around 1000 metres of horizontal tunnels were dug by hand in the limestone below the prison. As demand for water grew even further, the tunnel system began to draw salt water from aquifers below the fresh water table and the supply became unusable for the human consumption. A 400 metre bore provided temporary replenishment to the system, but eventually alternate sources of water were found for the town and the system was basically closed until the late 20th century.

Our 2.5 hour tour began with a short AV presentation covering the history of the tunnels. Then came the fun bit. We all had to don a lovely set of disposable white overalls, wellington boots, a safety harness, life vest and finally a hardhat with headlamp. Then came a comprehensive safety briefing, a breath-test to make sure that we weren't under the influence of alcohol and a demonstration of how to use the harness system on the ladders for the 20 meter climb down to the tunnels. A devise on the front of our safety harness clipped into a rail system mounted on the ladders. If we slipped, the devise would lock in the track and stop our fall.

The ominous looking main shaft down to the tunnel system.

The business end of the tour started with our climb down the ladder system and a walk through some of the dry tunnels. Most sections are only 4 to 5 feet high, so AJ was crouching most of the way. The lighting is very dim and the whole system has a very creepy, abandoned feel about it. At one point the guide had us turn our headlamps off and all the tunnel lights were extinguished. Being way below ground in a pitch black, silent tunnel was an unnerving experience for most of us.

The next stage was the highlight. We split into pairs and boarded tiny, two-person punts a bit larger than a standard bathtub. Using small paddles, we set off to explore the "wet" areas. These are the tunnels dug out horizontally to increase the draw of water from the vertical shafts and have about two feet of water in them. As the boats are flat-bottomed punts, they can go in any direction, except where you want them to. We seemed to spend more time fending off from the walls than actually paddling along. Nonetheless, it was an exciting experience to be moving along these spooky tunnels, way below ground and to reflect on the horrendous conditions the convicts had to endure building them. We had another "lights out" session that made traveling along in these crazy boats in the pitch black an even more memorable experience.

By the time we emerged from the tunnels back into daylight, we were looking at our 'best' for a photo in our safety gear - hence the superior photographic product below. It took Sarah a couple of days to get over the muscle soreness (which says more about Sarah's fitness than it does about the strenuous nature of the ladder descent/ascent), but we both thought it was a very worthwhile rather unique tourist experience in Perth.

A pair of intrepid tunnellers. Their identities have been obscured to protect the innocent.

Cervantes camping

2010-04-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the Anzac Day long weekend in Australia, so AJ and I thought we'd go north and camp out at a sleepy little beach-side town called Cervantes. We arrived at about 4pm on Saturday and set up for the night. Unfortunately, we both slept as well as I would imagine people do in a crowded hospital ward. A few of the people around us were talking until about 10pm and our camp-site was conveniently located next to the camp-ground toilets, which meant we heard all the night time and morning traffic. Worse still, our alarm clock went off unintentionally at 3:45am.

The last straw came on Sunday when a nearby semi-permanent site decided to turn on their 'camping' flat-screen TV and watch the Anzac Day football while imbibing copious amounts of Jim Beam and Coke. Seeing the writing on the wall for that evening's sleep, we decided to de-camp early and head home.

We did manage to fit in a short morning bike ride and an evening walk on the beach, but both of us were relieved to be home on this occasion.

De-camping from our salubrious digs at Cervantes, adjacent to the toilet block.

Red Bull air races

2010-04-17T03:31:00.000-07:00

We went along to the Red Bull air races today in Perth. Earlier in the week, during rehearsals, one of the planes crashed in the river - apparently the first crash since the race started a few years back. Luckily the pilot came out of it OK.

We decided to cycle into the city to get a bit of exercise. It turned out to be quite a work-out as we took a few wrong turns and deviations along the way. An hour there and about 40 minutes back. Our prime vantage point was Sarah's office - 8 stories up and facing the river....

Those magnificent men in their flying machines - Red Bull air races, Perth, 2010.

Home sweet home

2010-04-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

After just over two weeks away from home, we've made it back to Perth. Pleasingly, the cats have lost a little bit of weight while we've been away and they were very happy to have us home (evidenced by the fact that one of them is sitting between the keyboard and screen as I type this).

The journey home from the UK to Australia was reasonably pain free, although, I'm not sure if we will ever describe 20 hours in the economy class cabin of a plane as painless again. The wedding cake also made it unscathed from both the journey and customs inspection.

Jam Jam reacquaints herself with Sarah after our two-week trip away from home.

Our wedding cake will finally make it home

2010-04-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will be leaving the UK and returning to Australia. A special package will be traveling with us - a box containing the top tier of our wedding cake. The special day took place in 2001, so as you can see the cake is in remarkably good condition. AJ has taken some photographs in case something happens in transit or we aren't allowed to bring it into Australia due to quarantine regulations.

The cake was expertly made by Sarah's Mum and was originally three tiers. It was baked and decorated in London and transported to our wedding place at Cockburnspath, East Lothian, Scotland in the back of Sarah's parents' car. Our wedding day was made all the more special for having such a beautiful cake handmade by Mrs Russell.

The top tier of our wedding cake

Detail of the beautiful cake made by Sarah's Mum

Farewell SE Asia and hello London

2010-04-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

After six nights in Vietnam we bid farewell to Asia and winged our way to the UK for a week-long visit with Sarah's family.

The first day was a bit of a write-off with AJ suffering from the jet-lag side effects of a 15 hour flight from Singapore (and a 12 hour lay-over en-route from Vietnam). Saturday and Sunday were family catch up days - seeing Sarah's mother and all the Russell siblings and their families - Gillian, Linda, Stuart, Nigel and Ian (who picked us up from Heathrow).

Day three saw Sarah, AJ and Ian head into London for a visit to the Tower of London. We were able to see the Crown Jewels and visit the towers where various kings and queens were imprisoned and beheaded.

Ian, Tower of London

The busy interior of the White Tower, Tower of London

A Fusileer stands guard in the grounds

of the Tower of London

In the late afternoon AJ peeled off for a solo trip to Colchester to catch up with his friend, Peter (an army staff sergeant) who is based there, while Sarah, Gillian, Ian and Stuart headed to Beckenham for a dinner out.

On day four, AJ returned from Colchester and in the afternoon we went shopping at a big centre called Bluewater - located in a former quarry. We bought all our Easter gifts for the family from our favourite English chocolate shop - Thorntons. There were all sorts of goodies to be bought, including chocolate chimpanzees, chocolate teddy bears and chocolate cats.

Day five was very touristy with a trip to Hever Castle in the afternoon and a night-time Jack the Ripper guided walking tour in the East End. Hever Castle is close to a town called Edenbridge in Kent and was the home of Anne Boleyn before she was beheaded by her beloved husband - Henry VIII (a nice link back to the previous day's visit to the Tower of London). The Castle was then gifted to Anne of Cleves (Henry VIII's next wife) as part of her divorce settlement. I think I know which wife came out better from their marriage to the famous king.

Sarah and Ian in the far distance, gardens, Hever Castle

Detail, Roman fountain, Hever Castle

The Jack the Ripper tour started off badly when the guide failed to appear. Luckily a rival company had a tour starting soon after, so we signed up and started our journey through the streets of the City of London and the East End to hear about the gory murders of five prostitutes in the late 19th century. No one knows who Jack the Ripper was, but these tours have learnt not to let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Our guide regales us with tales of terror in the East End

Day six has been more tourist activities with visits to the residences of Winston Churchill (Chartwell House) and Charles Darwin (Down House). The Churchill residence was a sedate home near Westerham, Kent and Darwin's house was his 'home laboratory' to experiment with and observe natural selection with plants.

Churchill's private residence, Chartwell

Cu Chi tunnels and some good old fashioned propaganda

2010-03-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today was an education in Vietnamese political history and resistance to the decadent, bourgeoisie, capitalist pigs from the imperialist USA and their lackeys (i.e. Australia).

We learnt about the Cu Chi tunnel complex north-west of Saigon, which was a major concentration of resistance to firstly French colonialism and later American support for the independence of South Vietnam.

The tunnels have been widened to accommodate western tourists. There are gruesome displays of different man traps using various configurations of bamboo and metal spikes, proudly displayed by the enthusiastic staff. One in particular was described as the lady-man trap because you wouldn't be having children after being caught in it.

AJ and Sarah looking happy in the Cu Chi tunnels

AJ got a kick out of firing a few rounds from an M-16 rifle "liberated" from the American oppressors. Sarah fired a single round and declared the army life was definitely not for her. The noise from the rifle was deafening!

The other lesson we learnt today was not to buy souvenirs from factory shops. We bought a small gift for a friend in Australia, only to find the very same one back in Saigon for one fifth of the price. Oh well - it's only money!

We polished off our trip to Vietnam with a great lunch (best on the trip so far) at a restaurant run to help under-priveledged children and orphans. The food was delicious.

Culinary highlights of Vietnam have been:

Fried sticky rice ball (Mekong Delta rest stop near My Thon)
Mekong Delta elephant ear fish in rice rolls (village restaurant, Mekong Delta)
Prawn and lotus stem salad (Huong Lai restaurant, Saigon)
Tomato Soup (Cao Tho French/Vietnamese restaurant)
Beef and noodles wrapped in a lettuce leaf (Lemongrass restaurant, Saigon)
Different versions of porridge each morning at the hotel buffet breakfast - squid porridge, pork porridge, beef porridge and lastly fish porridge. What will our last morning bring?

Sarah's coffee gets spilt in Saigon traffic

2010-03-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

Newsflash - AJ Holly reporting from Saigon, Vietnam.

Today Sarah's coffee was partially spilt and nearly knocked out of her hand in chaotic afternoon traffic.

Whilst crossing a busy road, a delivery truck cut across her path and lightly touched her left hand, which was holding the aforementioned coffee.

Her watch bares evidence of the offending truck's paint and will be sent straight to the lab for analysis. Nobody at the scene recorded the number plate of the vehicle.

Sarah is fine, but her coffee looked pretty sad after the incident. Her watch will need some Brasso to get the paint off the glass.

Further updates to follow as details come to hand.

A sad looking cafe latte after the fact

The watch with offending blue paint

Day 3 and 4 in Vietnam - Exploring the Mekong

2010-03-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

Day three began with saying a temporary goodbye to Saigon and hello to the Mekong Delta for a two-day guided tour. After breakfast and checking-out, we were greeted by our guide, Hu, and driver, Tommy.

1.5 hours on some of Vietnam's finest roads[sic] took us to My Thon (west of Saigon). Here we were picked up on a boat and taken to Dragon Island where we were treated to honey tea, sugared coconut and ginger and some fresh fruit with traditional Vietnamese music. We were then ushered down a narrow passage through the trees towards a san-pan pick up area. In the sweltering undercover of the coconut trees, we were paddled down a narrow 'canal-like' area back to our boat. The lady paddling our san-pan looked and smelled very hot in her nylon full body suit protecting her hands and feet.

On returning to our boat, we were taken to our next Mekong Island destination where they showed us how to make coconut candy and AJ was offered a snake juice for medicinal purposes. Not sure why, but he declined.

If san-pans, boats and Vietnamese roads weren't enough, we added horse and trap to our list of transportation modes as we were shepherded off to our lunch-spot on what we now realized was a well beaten tourist path.

Lunch was a delicious meal of elephant ear fish (in rice rolls), spring rolls, fried noodles, rice and fruit.

One of our favourites - elephant ear fish.

After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon traveling to Can Tho and arrived in time for a short rest before dinner at a French colonial building. The hotel we stayed at turned out to be army run and the bed was like concrete. In hind-sight we wished we'd spent the extra $100 for 4 star luxury.

Day 4 started bright and early with a 6:30am river departure to go and see the biggest floating market on the Mekong Delta. It was a pretty interesting experience, seeing the stall-holders with vegetables on poles on the top of their boat to show people what they are selling. One can only imagine that this lifestyle will be phased out over the next 20-30 years as roads and cars begin to replace the rivers as the main mode of transport. We feel very lucky to have seen this part of Vietnamese culture.

Water melons at the floating markets.

Traders at the floating market advertise their wares on a pole.

The trip back was long and tiring, broken up only by another 7 course lunch. The highlight of this meal being a really cool sticky rice ball that was blown up like a balloon.

Good Morning Vietnaaaaaam! Day 2

2010-03-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

We started the second day of our Vietnam adventure with the complimentary hotel breakfast. Experienced Asia travelers will be familiar with the odd fusion of Eastern and Western breakfast cuisine at hotel buffets. However, both of us were surprised by the squid porridge. I have no idea if it's a staple in the Asian diet, but it didn't look too good.

After breakfast we headed out to see a couple of the covered markets. On the way we explored the backstreets lined with tiny stores and workshops. The first stop was the Ben Thanh Markets where the locals buy their everyday goods like clothes and home wares. AJ was sucked in by a stall holder selling him three t-shirts he didn't really like, don't fit and cost too much. The local merchants place huge superstitious emphasis on the outcome of the first deal of the day - a bad deal means a bad day. I was the unfortunate first customer to barter that day. They didn't like Sarah and kept trying to distract her because she kept telling AJ that the T-shirts were too expensive and instructing him to drive a harder bargain.

This little dog provided us some entertainment outside a scooter workshop. He was dressed in rags and kept watch over the side-walk while his owners chilled out indoors.

Second stop was the Dan Sinh Army Surplus Market that was little more interesting than your typical army surplus store in Australia or anywhere else.

After a quick rest back at the hotel we headed out again and had lunch at the Lonely Planet-recommended Lemongrass Restaurant which lived up to expectations (yummy beef & noodles in a lettuce leaf). We then walked on to the War Remnants Museum (formerly the Museum of American Warcrimes). This confronting and politically charged institution is a must for the Vietnam visitor and is quite unforgettable.

We really liked the spaghetti noodle power cables throughout the city.

We're topping off the day by writing this blog while sipping on 'Happy Saigon' cocktails on the hotel's rooftop M-Bar. Tough life.

AJ and Sarah head through Asia and beyond.

2010-03-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday 19 March we headed off to spend a few days in and around Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and a week in London visiting Sarah's family.

The trip began with one night in the equatorial splendour of Singapore. We stayed at the semi-funky Gallery Hotel. A short walk from the hotel is the canal-side area of Roberston's Quay with a multitude of bars and restaurants. AJ had a Vietnamese bolognese with chicken and lemongrass while Sarah had soup with a side order of fries with a very Asian kaffir lime dip. The evening was a gentle transition before tackling oh-so-Asian Vietnam.

The Gallery Hotel, Singapore: red arrow indicates our room.

A 4am wake-up pre-empted an early flight to Ho Chi Minh City. After a short delay we were on the ground by 9am local time and zipping our way through the chaotic, but somehow smoothly flowing traffic. The Majestic Hotel is our home for the next few nights.

Our first day has been laid back with catching up on sleep, a short explore of the local area topped off with an evening drink in the rooftop bar. What adventures await us in the mystical land of Vietnam?

The Saigon River, view from The Majestic Hotel.

Sarah and AJ have a look at two public art events.

2010-03-06T03:43:00.000-08:00

In the past week we've seen two public art events. The first was the Margaret River cow parade staged in and around the Margaret River region about three hours drive south of Perth. We were down there for a couple nights on a mini-break over the WA Labour Day long weekend. We rented a self-contained holiday bungalow at Isaacs Ridge and enjoyed a relaxing time sampling the local gourmet produce, reading, watching A Clockwork Orange and of course seeing the cows.

The cow parade is an international event staged in different locations around the globe. A series of life-size fiberglass cows (in this case 85) are decorated by local artists and placed around the region. We spent the better part of a day driving around to various locations and visited about 25 cows. By answering questions on at least 15 cows we can enter a draw for a prize. Fingers crossed.

The second event was Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe Beach in Perth. This is an annual event that exhibits outdoor sculptures by mainly local artists in a seaside setting. Perth isn't well known for its public art so this is a great opportunity for locals to see works by both established and emerging artists. Best of all it's free and accessible.

AJ and Sarah's favourite cows from the cow parade.

AJ liked the Aboriginal cow and Sarah liked the techni-coloured dream-coat cow.

Two sides of an interesting sign at Cottesloe Beach as part of Sculpture by the Sea.

A week of new starts for Sarah...

2010-02-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

This week marked two new starts - I began a new job within Rio Tinto and commenced a development course called Leadership WA. Both will be large features of 2010!

As part of my new role, I went to the University of Sydney on Monday and Tuesday to meet with the Austr alian Centre for Field Robotics (who Rio Tinto is working with on mine automation). I visited the robotics workshop and saw the below exhibit. It consists of two robotic wheelchairs that detect where you are, nudge you and produce a little love letter from its in-built mini-fax machine. It's very clever and has been exhibited at some art galleries in Australia as demonstration of human/robotic interaction.

Interactive robotic wheelchair exhibition

I also saw robotic airplanes, all terrain vehicles and underwater survey vessels. Very cool!

UAVs (Unmanned aerial vehicles)

Queensland adventure

2010-02-07T01:19:00.000-08:00

The last week has seen both of us traveling in Queensland. The adventures started with AJ flying to Cairns and then driving on to Port Douglas to visit Henry (an old school friend) and attend his 40th Birthday party. AJ had a great time catching up with Henry, getting to know his wife, Lesley and their three children as well as visiting some of the local sights. The only hiccup was a Port Douglas stomach bug that had AJ confined to his hotel room for 24 hours.

The second phase of the Queensland expedition was Sarah's attendance at a two-day business meeting on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane. AJ flew down from Cairns and we rendezvoused at the Novotel Twin Waters. AJ relaxed as Sarah did some heavy business. Friday had us say goodbye to Twin Waters and hello to Castaways Beach just south of Noosa. We rented a self-contained beach house for the weekend and had a very laid back time sipping

Queensland's finest lattes and cupcakes, eating fish and chips and walking along the beach.

The hands-down highlight of the trip has been a congratulatory lunch with a colleague of Sarah's at the Spirit House Restaurant in Yandina. Leigh and Jonathan are expecting their first baby in May. Lunch consisted of a whole fish 'Spirithouse' special and a number of other Thai food delicacies, surrounded by a jungle setting. The weather added to the atmosphere, with pelting rain, thunder and lightning, making us feel like we were in part of South East Asia rather than Australia.

Whole Fish House Special at the Spirit House, Queensland

Australia Day Fireworks

2010-01-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

Australia Day 2010, Perth, Western Australia

Went to the local supermarket to get a view of the Perth Australia Day Fireworks. We thought we might be one of just a few people who would think of doing this, but it turned out half of the local primary school had decided to do the same thing!

Camping in Walpole

2010-01-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

The tree lined shore of Walpole Inlet

Mouth of Walpole Inlet with the Southern Ocean in the distance

Rudolf the red nosed Laser - two bikes for antlers and a faded red nose

Cosy Nornalup Teahouse - it was a full house the night we went

Dolphins staying with our boat on Walple-Nornalup inlet

AJ and I had a mini-break this weekend, given Australia Day fell on a Tuesday this year, so it made sense to take the day off work on Monday too.

The blog-worthy moments of the weekend were as follows:

Tried out the newly opened freeway that by-passes Mandurah to the South of Perth. It's great! Took at least 45 minutes off the journey by our estimation and it was much less stressful driving on the new road than navigating through Mandurah traffic.
Used our 'Mother-Hubba' tent for the first time since being back in Australia. Stayed at Coalmine Beach Caravan Park.
Caught up with our friend Tim a couple of times while we were in Walpole. We knocked on his door on the off-chance he might be there for the long-weekend (he spends about a third of his time in Walpole and the rest of his time in Perth) and lo and behold he was in and pleasantly surprised to see us. We hadn't seen Tim since before we went to the USA. To celebrate, we decided to go for dinner at the Walpole pub.
Went for a bike ride on a dirt road attempting to get to a place called Circular Pool. Unfortunately, the long shallow incline and the more difficult dirt road than I am used to (bitumen) defeated me before I could get to the Pool, but it was a good half an hour of exercise nevertheless.
Took the Great Forest Trees drive through Shannon National Park.
Had a decadent meal at "Nornalup Teahouse". AJ and I both thoroughly recommend it and will be looking for an excuse to go again. AJ had smoked kangaroo and I had prime rib-eye beef. Yummy! The only downside is that the business is for sale and the chef is the owner, so you'll need to be quick.
Went on a "WOW" wilderness tour of the Walpole inlet with Gary Muir, a charismatic tour guide. We had three dolphins swimming along with us for quite a while and took a walk from the inlet over to the ocean-side beach.

New Year in the Clare Valley

2010-01-04T03:54:00.000-08:00

AJ and I are now safely back in Perth after spending the new year in Clare Valley, South Australia with friends. AJ summed it up by saying it was the best new year he'd had in 15 years (his father passed away on NYE 13 years ago).

Colin and AJ partying in the Clare Valley for New Year

We spent a couple of days up in the Flinders Ranges before New Year's Eve. The weather was hot, hot, hot, which made it a bit difficult for us to be too adventurous, but we managed to go on a short drive through the park and spend lots of time relaxing.

The Flinders Ranges

The weather in the Clare Valley began to cool down after the first day, which made for an enjoyable environment to relax, go on a long bike ride and catch up with friends. It was so successful that tentative plans are already being made to hire a house-boat on the Murray River next year for a bunch of us.

Sarah finished her first book of the year - "Blacktown" by Shayne Weaver. Another auto-biographical book, which is beginning to emerge as a genre of book that I particularly like.

Glenelg Beach Town Hall, Adelaide

Rainforest, Adelaide Botanic Gardens Conservatory

Adventures in South Australia

2009-12-29T01:07:00.000-08:00

We decided to take a week break over the New Years period to South Australia. Neither of us have spent much time there so this is definitely a journey of discovery.

We arrived on Boxing Day via a smooth and uneventful direct flight from Perth. We picked up our rental Corolla (with sat-nav) and it was a short, 20-minute drive to our CBD hotel. The day was rounded off with a quick tryout of the heart rate monitors Santa gave each of us with a walk around the block and a visit to a convenience store for breakfast supplies.

Day 1 was cultural pursuits. First stop was the Art Gallery of South Australia. We were impressed with the small but very high quality collection on display. We saw works by Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, John Brack, Fred Williams, Rupert Bunny and Tom Roberts just to name the Australia collection. Lunch was at the gallery's lovely restaurant with what is probably the best coffee I've ever had west of the Murray. Day 1 also saw visits to the (closed!?!) National Wine Centre, Botanic Gardens (including the excellent Bicentennial Rain Forest Conservatory) and the forgettable and unfriendly South Australian Museum.

Day 2 could be summed up as hot with too many people! First off we decided to head for the sea, so we drove down to Glenelg Beach, a popular shopping strip and beach for Adelaidians. Being a long weekend Sunday it was packed to the rafters, very hot and we began to fade pretty early on in the piece. We lasted long enough for AJ to take some photos and a walk down the pier. Next we headed to the hills behind Adelaide, where we hoped the temperatures would be cooler. Alas, the temperature was still searing, however, we wandered up and down the 'German' settlement of Hahndorf and drove over to Mount Lofty Summit, where the highlight (apart from the views of Adelaide) was the sleepy little Koala bear that we stumbled across near the carpark.

Day 3 has been on the road, making an impromptu trip to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges (about a 5 hour drive north of Adelaide). Sarah also finished reading A Fortunate Life by A. B. Facey (a Christmas present to AJ??). She highly recommends it.