The black and white goat

So you all know how much experience I have had on a farm - not a heck of a lot. So these past 19 months have been a very eye opening experience in so many ways, including life in the country and farm yard animals. Well, last year about this time, our neighbor John who lives just next door brought home a new fuzzy farm animal. From a distance it looked just like Rosie our goat. It was just about her size except it was black and white. And I thought it was darling! Mind you I observed this little critter from the comforts of my back yard and never really took a good look at the animal.

I was actually a bit jealous that John had such a cute goat. Having never had much experience with goats before, I had no idea that you could get them in black and white. It was adorable! Well one Sunday not long after John brought home his little critter, I was commenting to Darran about how cute John's black and white goat was, and wondered why we couldn't get a black and white goat too. Darran looked at me like I was on drugs or something and then commented, "Jen, John doesn't have a black and white goat." I assured him that indeed John did have a black and white goat and it was the cutest goat I had ever seen. So on the way down our little road Darran drove especially slow as we passed John's house so he could see this black and white goat.

Well, that black and white goat happened to be this:
And I have never been able to live it down. Yes, that cute little animal that I thought was a goat actually was a calf (and yes I do know what a calf looks like). Well needless to say the "black and white goat" has become a regular joke around our house. And the "black and white goat" has grown quite a bit and become quite the stud...all my social club that lives in the fields behind our house make regular stops at the "black and white goats" place to see if they can get some attention. It must be frustrating to both the social club and the "black and white goat" that there is a fence in the way. It is though quite funny to watch the spooning that goes on in the field behind our house. Oh how I love living in the country!

Lemon Tree

So one of the many things I love about living here is that we have our very own lemon tree! How cool is that? I know that it's a silly thing to get excited about, but I do get excited every time I am making something that calls for lemons and all I have to do is walk out back and pick one fresh off our tree. It's something that I definitely didn't grow up with in Utah. Well, our tree is out of control!!! I have lemons coming out of my ears, and I am wondering if any of you have any great lemon recipes...I've done lemon squares, lemon bars, added lemon to homemade salsa (yummy) and used it in a variety of main meals...if you have any great lemon recipes...send them my way please! That or come and pick some of our lemons!

My ocean walk

This is the Kilkunda (Killy) bridge...it is one of my favorite sights here in our area, especially when it's high tide and the waves are crashing in the back ground. It is from the old train line that ran from Wonthaggi (where one of the biggest coal mines operated for several years) to Melbourne. They have converted the old train line into that fantastic rail trail that I told you about earlier. This is also the bridge where we walked to when my mom was here and I had been on crutches for 2 weeks. Let me just tell you that the walk I took today to the bridge seemed like a walk in the park compared to that walk on crutches.
This the other end of the rail trail that I took pictures of on Monday. From this part of the trail you have constant views of the ocean and all it's beauty.
It has been raining all week long, and when I got out of my PT appointment today the rain had stopped and the sun came out, the sky was blue so I snatched up the chance to get out and take a walk while it was sunny and warmer.
The ocean waves were incredible. The colors of the ocean were spectacular and the walk was great, until it started to rain. And boy the wind coming off the water was sure cold! Luckily I was almost back to the car. These views never get old that's for sure!

Just wish it was warm enough to go play in the waves! Looking forward to doing that in November! :)

Morning Walk

So what's a girl to do when she has been given the all clear from her doctor and hasn't been able to work out for 3 1/2 months? She puts on her trusty Merrill shoes and heads off on her first bush walk since March! I got up this morning and thought, "What a great day to go for a walk, and by golly, I can so I should!" :) And I did!! I quickly got dressed, grabbed my camera and jumped in the car and drove 3 miles to the rail trail that runs along the coast and started my adventure! I started the trail at the point that runs by the local kangaroo mob...

And boy was I glad that I grabbed my camera. All the kangaroos were down in the lower lands eating breakfast when I got there. I was able to get quite close to them and take a few pictures. As I got closer they all stood up on their hind legs to see what was going on and check out who was on their turf. Did you notice the baby joey in this mama's pouch? Look closely and you can see it's ears just below it's mama's arms.
Hmmmm...looks like I got a bit too close for comfort as they all started jumping away. Boing... boing...boing...
I hadn't been on this part of the rail trail, but I knew that there were several beach accesses from the trail. And since I haven't been to the beach since March, I wanted to see how close I could get without getting on the sand. That is one thing I forgot to ask the doctor about...when could I start walking on the sand, guess I'll ask my physio next time I see her.
This is one of the access points to the beach, and I thought I'd check it out to see how close it would take me without actually getting on the sand. So up the stairs I went...down a little track until...
I came to this...oh I was so close to the ocean, I could hear it, I could smell it...but I couldn't see it, and because of this sand, I turned around and went exploring for the next beach access to see how close I could get.

I tell you, I live in a pretty incredible place! Who would have thought that as I walked down this particular part of the rail trail that on one side I would have the kangaroos and ocean and on the other side I would be surrounded by beautiful farm land as far as the eye could see. I love this time of year as the green fields are so vibrant because of all the rain and moisture...really it is beautiful!!!
So I came around the next bend and this is what I saw...from the trail! How pretty is this? The beach was pristine...no one on it, no surfers in the water, just the birds flying low above the waves looking for their breakfast! So of course I had to stop and just breathe in the cool ocean air and listen to the waves hitting the rocks. For a girl who grew up in the mountains, I really am loving living so close to the ocean, who would have guessed?
I stayed and enjoyed the fresh ocean air for a while, but then I thought that I should start heading back. By this time I didn't want to push my luck too far, as after all this was my first walk and I didn't want to push my Achilles more than I should. So I turned around and started heading back to the car...
Past the kangaroo's...and on back home. It was a great walk, a fun time and my Achilles did really well...I can't wait to go again tomorrow! Oh the adventures!!!As I was pulling out of the place I parked I noticed this sign and had to snap a picture. It's not everyday that you see one of these signs...especially when you're from Utah! And it's always a helpful reminder as kangaroo's do as much damage to your car when you hit them as a deer can...who would have known? Until next time! Happy trails!

HAPPY 4th of July!

I may be living in Oz, but it doesn't mean we didn't celebrate the 4th of July in style...and with sparklers! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th and enjoyed the potato salad, picnics and fireworks for me! God bless America!

A little taste of America

So can you believe that I have lived here in Australia for over 18 months? Wow, the time has sure gone quickly!!! What a wild ride it has been since moving here that is for sure! Well, when I first moved here I had heard about an American store that sold American goods in Melbourne. I was excited to think that there would be a place I could go if I was craving something from America and pick up what I needed. However, after looking at their website and the prices of what they were charging for things that I knew I could get for a fourth the price, I just couldn't bring myself to go spend that much on American things. Okay, so that was 18 months ago when I first moved here.

Since I had gotten some money from my parents for my birthday, I decided that I was going to go and treat myself to a few things American. And boy did I treat myself! But my rule was if I wanted it I was going to get it and I wasn't going to look at the price. As you can see from the picture above these are just a few things that I have missed.

Most of you who know me know that I am not a big mayo fan, but it is an essential ingredient when you are making salad dressings and I like a little bit in my tuna sandwich's. So when I bought some mayo here, I was expecting mayo like Best Foods from America, and what I got wasn't even close. It was runnier, and sweeter and it just didn't make for good salad dressing, or dips or things like that. So when I saw the bottle of Best Foods I had to get it (I didn't even look at the price).

The girls who worked with me know what a sucker I am for Red Vines, and when I saw the tub that graced our office for years, I knew it would be gracing my home! Skor bars are by far one of my favorite candy bars from America and when I saw that they had them, I had to get one. It still tasted as good as I remembered, even if it had been exposed to the heat and the chocolate had started turning white.

Darran loves Barq's root beer, and since you can't get root beer here, we picked up a couple of cans. It didn't last long, but it did taste good! We have been talking for months to our friends about smore's...you can't get graham crackers here, they have nothing even remotely similar to it. So we decided to get all the things for smore's and instead of using Hershey chocolate, we used our yummy and ever so tasty Cadbury chocolate...and boy was it heaven! They also don't sell pumpkin in a can, so I haven't been able to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, or pumpkin pie or anything like that so I was DELIGHTED to see that they had pumpkin pie filling and that it was on special!

The only things that we bought that weren't pictured were a Twinkie and 2 ding dongs. We each ate a ding dong on our way home, and Darran had the Twinkie with his first can of root beer. All I can say was that it was a darn good ding dong!!! It was a fun and quick trip to the USA food Store, and I don't know if we'll be back in another 18 months or so, but it was fun to go and get a little taste of America, even if it did cost us $65!

Oh Happy Day!

This past week I had my final appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. YIPPEE!!! And once I finally got in to see him, it was definitely worth the wait! He checked out my scar, and my flexion and was very please with how much mobility I have in my ankle. He told me that he thought that his team could have done a better job on the scar, but over all he was very pleased with what he saw. Hmmm...yeah, I would have loved them to do a better job on the scar, but what are you going to do? :) I'm just grateful that I can walk and that my tendon has been reconnected!!!

Anyway...after looking at the scar he asked me to stand up and stand on my right leg while having my left leg in the air (so that all my weight was on my right leg). Now I have to say that after 3 1/2 months of not putting weight on your foot, to suddenly put all your weight on your one leg is a bit of a trip! So I stood on my right leg. He then asked me to see if I could balance on that leg for 10 seconds. I did that, but was very wobbly. (When is the last time you tried this?)Then he asked me to close my eyes while balancing all my weight on my right leg. I did, and oh, last maybe 2 seconds. He then asked me to do a toe raise with my right leg. I just laughed at him and thought, "yeah, right like that was going to happen." I couldn't believe how nonexistent my muscles were. So he had me do toe raises with both feet. That I could do. After he had me do those things, he told me that until I could stand on my right leg and balance with my eyes closed and could do toe raises just with my right leg I couldn't start jogging or running again. He said that those would be the best exercises to do to get my muscles built up and strong again.

He then asked me if I had any questions....hello, like a million, so I started firing questions to him left right and center, and you know what, he answered just as quickly as I was firing!
1. Do I have to use the crutches anymore? (Answer: Nope give them back today) :)
2. When can I start driving again? (Answer: Now)
3. When can I start working again? (Answer: Now)
4. Can I start exercising? (Answer: Yes)
5. Can I bike? (Answer: Yes)
6. Can I swim? (Answer: Yes)
7. When can I play sports? (Answer: At least a year)

He told me that if I started to run in the next 4-6 months, that I should only run in a forward direction. Now that may sound funny to some of you, but what he meant was no cutting or running side to side, like in basketball, tennis or things like that. He told me that I should keep going to physical therapy to help get stronger, but if I would do those exercises he had me do at home, I would get stronger quicker. So...I've been doing those exercises 2-3 times a day, which is a good thing, but boy do I feel it when I'm done! Who would have thought that toe raises and balancing exercises would hurt so much! Just shows you all how much my leg muscles have atrophied. He told me that I didn't have to come back and see him, unless it started to hurt or I reinjured it again. I can tell you I was all smiles as I walked out of his office and down to the PT department to turn in my crutches! I am a free woman, and it feels great!