The Thinking Blogger Award!!!

I am so very excited to say I have been awarded a Thinking Blogger award by Nearly Dr. Ferox

I’m told there are rules that go with this award too. To quote Dr. Ferox:

There are rules attached to this award
1. You must write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think
2. Acknowledge this post
3. Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote
**Of course all of these things are optional…it’s just a nice way to recognize your favorite blogs.

So, here are the five blogs I nominate to receive the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ from stinyexoticvet.

1. I Must Be Crazy
2. Nearly Dr. Ferox
3. Naiveterrain
4. Peterinarian
5. Voy al Caminero

Last Days :(

Well, Andrew has gone back and I miss him so much and so does Steve. He was great fun to have around. We succeeded in doing everything I hoped we could and showing him everything I wanted to. He loved going to the Seaview where I used to work and having Absinthe and lemonade and hanging out with my old co-workers and boss. He loved that darn pin ball machine as well. We were able to make it to a Sunday Session at the Left Bank his last Sunday here. I also had to squeeze in Little Creatures for his second to last night and my old Aussie "Family" showed up to meet him. Fatima, Jason, Sam, and Mikey, and then of course Steve, Jarron and Chrissy. Andrew got to finally try kangaroo and he liked it alot. I had a delicious prawn and cilantro pizza I split with Chrissy. Such good times and of course some good Little Creatures freshly brewed Pale Ale.

The next day, and last day was back to the Seaview for the last round of Absinthe and pinball. After that we headed over to Steve's parents house and had a huge dinner and they had a lovely cake for him as well. Thank you Steve, Nicole, Lynn, and Ken for all of your hospitality!!!

Rottnest!!

Next: On to Rottnest. You cant really have someone come and visit and not take them to Rottnest. It is a little island only thirty minutes off the shores of Fremantle by ferry ride. We ate at the dome cafe over looking the water. Andrew had his 30 wt. Motor oil coffee, I swear that stuff could grease an engine, and I had some blended yummy sugar chocolate coffee thing of doom that kept me going for the next two days strait. We rented our bikes, because there are no cars on the island, and headed to the Kingstown Barracks Hostel where we would be staying for the evening and put all our stuff away. I have stayed at a few hostels so I knew what to expect...one shower and toilet to share and communal kitchen. Does not matter, you meet the coolest people at Hostels.

We rode back into town and after doing a bit of shopping we rented our snorkel gear with the intention of snorkeling all day. We passed the first bay and lo and behold there were about ten young ladies dancing on the beach and on a boat in their bikinis
giggling and drinking away. Sooooo what to do what to do, " I feel like a donkey stuck between two bales of hay who starves to death" Those were Andrews exact words Ha ha ha! He said he is going back to the grocery store and if there is still one case of Corona there then that means he is supposed to buy it and go back to that first beach.

Back to the store we go and sure enough there is a case of Corona. He puts that on his shoulder and we walk all the way back to the beach. He walks right down into the middle of all the Aussie girls and says who is thirsty. Needless to say we spent the whole day dancing and the beach and on the boat and playing beach cricket.

Went back to the Hostel and there to greet us on our doorstep were little critters the island was named after. Quokkas were everywhere. These little marsupials came right up to us. We went outside to take some photos and met some great guys who were from Queensland...Hawka, Macca, Thom the Pom, Alex from France, Avery from California, and Ethan. They made us a huge bowel of homemade vege soup and then we shared some drinks put our helmets on, I threw a little blaster in my bag with Bob Marley tunes and we jumped on our bikes and slowly rode our bikes back into town.

It was so nice with the wind blowing a little the stars out and all of us a bit tipsy biking around singing "Dont Worry About a Thing" Arrived at the pub and all the ladies were there and we watched Andrew dance the night away. Macca's bike was stolen so he got to ride on the back of Andrews bike on the way back to the hostel...it looked so funny.

The next morning Steve arrived and after a nice breakfast at the Dome again it was time for some snorkeling. Andrew and I were a bit hung over and we saw no reason for Steve to rent a bike so we walked to all the great snorkel spots. Saw an octopus and many other pretty fish. Steve loves to be under water, I think that is why he has yet another nickname...FISH...I just call him Scuba Steve. The water was a bit cold though so I had to keep coming back to land to warm up. Andrew and I are sitting there and we hear Andrews name being called from the top of the rocks over the next bay. Look into the distance and realize it is Macca...30 minutes later he swims into shore, I have no clue where he came from LOL. He joins us and we go off to the next bay where he swims with no fins or snorkel. Just a mask is it...WOW. The guys stay out in The Basin for hours chasin fishies and I join for a bit with a wet suit this time. Rottnest was so much fun!!!

Surfing time

When we got back from the red sands of the outback it was time to hit the beach again. This time it was to the very touristy and windy Scarborough beach. Did not even know Steve was on a construction site in that part of town. Once he finished work he came down to join us. He neglected to remember any boardies in his car and looked like the Seaside Strangler when he arrived in work gear and steel toed boots. A quick change into denim shorts and a makeshift belt with a piece of rope from work and he was good to go. The wind was a bit strong but the water was soooo nice.

The Middle of Nowhere!!!

The next day was spent at the dog beach. Keaton and Storm had a blast and Andrew and Steve frolicked all day as well. I am so proud of Keaton!! He actually did some swimming and did not panic in the water. We had a blast at the beach and I could not stop snapping photos.

I had to take Andrew to a Sunday session at the Cott. It was ok for the first hour and then the youngsters started to get on the nerves. For a complete contrast I took Andrew to meet Daryl and Anne who I did my Alpaca prac with. We had a great time with the quads and animals. Andrew got to see and pet his first kangaroo and she even had a little joey. We stayed the night there and swam in their pool because it was about 100 degrees. The next day something possessed us to go even further into the heat and the outback to the huge formation known as wave rock.

What a contrast to go from the beaches of Cottesloe to the wheatbelt and red sands of waverock. I even let Andrew give driving a try and besides entering the road on the wrong side he quickly learned to stay left...left...LEFT!! It did not matter if he stayed in the middle, there was nobody out there for the majority of the time. What...nobody else wants to brave 112 degree heat, no air con, middle of nowhere red sands...Why ever not??

New Years!!!

So New Years has come and gone. Happy New Year everyone. I cannot believe it is 2008 already. Wow!!! We had a house party here so everyone could party safe and not have to worry about anything. I think everyone had a great time. Good food, good friends, and good fun.

A day to recover and clean and then Andrew and I went to the Perth Zoo. We took the train all over Perth. We went to Mandurah and had the worlds largest pile of fried fish and chips goodness. Back on the train to ride into the city for the zoo and caught another train back to Cottesloe beach for some photos and a pint. After that it was back onto the train and into freo to make our way to the Seaview where I used to work.

Andrew Down Under

Well I have been so busy and so happy these past few weeks. I got excellent grades, my brother is here, and I get to start surgery next semester. I had a great time celebrating my first Aussie Christmas at Steve's parents house. I cooked up a huge feast and had a great time doing it. I made cherry cheese tarts, pumpkin pie, artichoke dip, spinach dip, and my own very successful cheese log. I was so happy everything turned out, I just need to work on my pumpkin pie presentation...it looked funny.

I got to pull open my first Bon Bon which is apparently a British/ Aussie tradition and wear my little hat with everyone else. Great food and great people. After that we had a great time watching the dogs open their presents. Also the little kitty. Did I say kitty?



Yes I did... Steve and I kind of became parents to a little abandoned kitten at my work. There was a litter of 11 dumped off, seemed from different mums. My work found homes for four kittens and the other six were taken to the pet shop across the street. All that was left was this pure white little kitty that we could not home because he could be blind or deaf. Well he is not blind or deaf, but he has a huuuge belly. I brought him home so he would not be alone over Christmas and had some tests run on him over the holidays. Turns out he is Coronavirus positive meaning that he will eventually have FIP. Very sad because it has a 100% mortality, it is just a question of when. Well Steve and I talked and decided to keep the little bugger until his time runs out and give him the best life while he is here. He has acquired the name Guinness because he went after Steve's beer, Fat Head, Mud Guts, Puppy Cat, Kitty Dog, Pissant, shit kicker you name it. He runs the house, the dogs, Steve and even me. He is an absolute riot.

So Keaton, Storm, and Guinness got their Christmas presents. Keaton and Storm got new stuffed animals, tennis ball with an animal, bones and pig's ears. Guinness got four little glitter mice, a scratching post and a new life :)

Christmas over and one of the hottest days of the year, or so we thought. Boxing Day, the day Andrew landed was 44 degrees or 112 Fahrenheit. I warned Andrew the heat would be like a punch in the face and sure enough after his two hour delay on the tarmac they opened the door onto the runway and the heat went SMACK.

Next stop was home to give him his gifts, Steve got him a boomerang and Jack and Coke in a can which he was fascinated by. I got him goodies like, Milo, vegemite, Burger Rings, Fredo Frogs and other things. Then it was over to Steve's folks house for food and AIR CONDITIONING.

So the next day it was time to show him what vacation in Australia is all about. Time to go to Cottesloe beach, and there were people everywhere. After the beach it was time for wakeboarding with Steve's friends Jarron, Chrissy, and Josh. We went down to Bonneys and wakeboarded and had a huge bar-b-q. After that we went back to the house and started a huuge Wii tournament. This new game console is awesome because four people can play at once and it is all interactive. Tennis, Bowling, Fencing, wrestling and much more can be played. What a great day!!!

A day or two of relaxing at the house and then we went out to the Fremantle markets and cappuccino strip. We sat right on the road practically and watched life go by over a good feed and some Pure Blond. Then we went off to hit the shops at the market and wander through there for a few hours. Stopped at the beach for a swim on the way home. Next day was New Years but we had to get a wakeboard session in with Fatima, her sister, and a million jellyfish at deep water point.

Tune in for the next blog which will be New Years, more beach, the zoo, and a night on the town :)