Nat's trip

So I have been feeling really bad that I haven't written much about Nat's trip here to Oz. We had such a fabulous time together and had so much fun, that I didn't ever want her trip to end and her to go home. We sat down several times while she was here to add something to the blog, but then we would get a great idea for another adventure and we would be off always with the thought of, "we'll add something to the blog when we get back." Well, we never did add anything when we got back and now she is back home in Utah.

There was even an attempt to have Nat add something to the blog about her experience here while I was at work, but that just happened to be the night that Phelps won his seventh gold medal so nothing got posted on the blog.

Then there is the excuse that Nat was going to send me some of her favorite pictures that she took while she was here so that I could add them to the blog, and well, I'm still waiting for those photos! :) In all fairness to her, she hit the ground running (literally) when she got back to Utah and hasn't had time to even catch her breath or come up for air, so hopefully in the next week or two she'll send me some of her fave photos and I'll add them in another post. But until then, I thought that I would add a few of my faves that I took while she was here, and try to give a brief description as to not all bore you to death, but hey, this is my blog, so I can be as long winded as I want, right? :)

Okay, that first picture at the top, of the yellow flowers...well they are called wattle...it's a beautiful flowering tree actually, it is the stuff that Rosie the goat loves to eat off our tree in the back yard, it is stuff that kangaroos love to eat as well. I took that photo when we were at the Healesville Animal Sanctuary, it rained and rained on the drive there, but as soon as we got to the sanctuary it cleared up and was a beautiful day.

While at Healesville we met and saw many little Aussie critters. Including this guy, a Eastern Grey Kangaroo and several of his mates (friends). He seemed to be more interested in eating than in our visit, who could blame him, right? We also met the koala's... which Nat happens to love and it was so fun seeing her reaction the first time she actually saw these animals in person. We stopped and met the Koala keeper and learned all about koalas. They love to sleep, and they sleep about 20 hours a day, we just happened to be there when they were waking up to eat. And even better Hamish (the boy koala) decided to come down out of his tree and...
walked across the encloser to get to the good eucalyptus leaves to eat. Now I know many of you, probably haven't seen a koala walk before, so I was happy to snap this photo, to show you all how they get from tree to tree. It was a new thing for me as well.
Here Hamish is now that he has found a better tree with nice tasting leaves. The Sanctuary is a must see for anyone who comes to visit! We had such a great time seeing all the Aussie animals, was a bit sad though that we weren't able to see the Tasmanian Devils though, oh well, it's an excuse to get Nat to come back.

Another thing that I loved about Nat's trip here besides her just being here, was that we were able to get out and explore, bush walk, hike, beach walk and she even ran (how I missed running with her, but due to my Achilles running is out until November). Nat has always been my work out buddy and it was fun to be out with her again, it was just like old times...such fun sweet memories we had while on these adventures and fun new memories we made! I loved showing her the Aussie landscape, with all the gum trees and the winter green.
Here is Nat on one of our bush walks. This is going through the Tea Tree bushes. On one side of the trees is the ocean and on the others the local mob of kangaroos.
Being winter we had a couple days of crazy weather...you never knew when the sun would poke it's head out and shed a little light on our adventures.
Proof that Archies Creek does really exist and that Nat was here.
A typical Aussie road sign. This is located just as you are coming out of Wonthaggi, the nearest town about 15 minutes from us. We had to stop and get a photo as it's something you just don't see every day in Utah. We stopped and parked at the caravan park and walked down to get a good shot. People probably thought we were crazy tourists, but hey, we are so it didn't matter. Every time I pass this sign now, I smile just thinking that Nat actually was here to visit.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I began my beach walking physio while Nat was here, and here are some of the cool shots that I took from those adventures.
The tide was out and this was a little tide pool I found while exploring the beach... Thought it was pretty cool that it had it's own sand and sea shell in a pool the size of a large grapefruit.
The barnacles on the rocks as the tide was out.
The ocean foam, the waves and the blue sky...beautiful but it was a bit chilly on this particular day and the foam was every where. When the wind blew it just jiggled like jello.

This is the Powlett River and there is a bridge just behind me where I stood to take this picture. Nat needed to go for a run as part of her training and so I tagged along, and walked and took pictures while she went for her run along the rail trail. These are just a few things we did while she was here! We had such a fantastic time and I am so glad that she came out to visit! What a great friend she is and I am so lucky that our friendship has lasted these past 17 years. I look forward to posting her favorite photos and adding more stories to blog...hopefully soon!

A tough day at physio

Yesterday I had a physio appointment at nine in the morning. When I got there my phsyio Leon (who is filling in for Fiona while she is on vacation) began talking to me about my progress while he was doing a bit of ultra sound on my ankle. As we chatted, he told me that I was doing very well in my progress and that he was happy with the progress I was making. Always a good thing to hear your physio say, especially after a week of new exercises that hurt and makes you question if you are making any progress at all. Anyway, as we chatted he asked me how my beach walks were coming along. I had told him a few weeks ago (when Natalie was here) that I had started walking down at the beach on the sand and wondered if it was "too soon" he looked at my chart and said that they usually don't like people who have my injury to be walking on the beach any sooner than 5-6 months after surgery, and that I was a couple weeks ahead of my time, but that if I didn't have any pain that I should keep going on those walks. Happy with his answer Nat and I did a lot of beach walking and exploring while she was here, then when she left it started to rain and rain and rain all week long in fact that I wasn't able to get to the beach. So finally last Saturday it was a beautiful Aussie day and I was able to get back out on the beach. However the rain came back this past week, and I again was kept away from the beach. But Friday morning when I got up for physio it was such a beautiful day that I told Leon as soon as I was done with physio that I was heading to the beach for my walk. He simply smiled and said, "Well, that is part of your therapy, and probably one of the best exercises that you could do to strengthen your ankle, your Achilles, and your calf muscles." So, after getting a massage, and a few new balancing exercises I headed off down to the beach to complete my tough physio session...and this is what I saw..... This is a new beach route I tried out. I parked at the Kilcunda beach car park (near my favorite bridge) and instead of walking toward the bridge, I walked in the opposite direction towards a little beach called Shelley beach that I have been wanting to check out for some time.
I knew that I was going to go on my beach walk after physio so I threw my camera in the car , and boy was I glad! This is seriously the color and clarity of the water...I just had to snap a picture to show you all what the water is like by my house.
It was low tide when I went, which was good as I would have never been able to get from the Killy beach to Shelley beach if it had been high tide. I travelled over a lot of rocks. Walked on a lot of sand.
Stopped to take in the beauty

And the breath taking scenery
Smelled the ocean air
Listened to the crashing surf

Took way too many pictures

And then came to Shelley beach which was a little alcove of sand with lots of green and trees but it also had a section of beach that was just these small sea shells....boy did I have a fun time....and sign me up for more physio if it is going to be a rough session like this one! Oh and on a side note I have to apologize for the spots on some of these pictures...the ocean water/air got on my lens and I didn't realize my camera lens was spotty until I downloaded these photos. But I hope you'll forgive me and see the beauty of my surroundings here in the land of Oz.

Olympic Fever

Now with the Olympics over, I think that maybe, just maybe my life can get back to normal. With Natalie coming out to visit and the Olympics happening, I feel like I have been on vacation myself. And if you were to look at the current state of my house, you would probably agree that I had taken a vacation. And hence the reason that I haven't really blogged about Nat's time here or what has been going on in my world the past couple weeks.

What is it about the Olympics that draws us in and doesn't seem to let us go? I found myself sitting in front of the TV mesmerized everyday by these Olympic athletes and the tremendous strength and feats that they were able to accomplish. I loved the personal tidbits that were shared about some of the athletes and their journey to the Olympics.

I missed the Bob Costus commentary and the high lights that the US does on their athletes, but I gained a greater appreciation and knowledge of the Australian sporting hero's that were apart of these 2008 Olympic games. I found myself cheering for anyone who was playing the US men's basketball team. I avoided the tennis, field hockey and soccer all together. I was crying when the German weight lifter got gold and fell to the floor remembering his wife who had been killed in a car accident the year before, who had been his biggest support and fan. I was upset that I missed the final game in the men's volleyball gold medal match between the US and Brazil because I had to go to work. (Who won by the way?).

I laughed when the Aussie hurdler was interviewed after winning the silver medal and said something to the affect of, "Did this just really happen, will you pinch me to make sure it is true, I just can't believe it." I stayed up late into the night watching the US relay teams drop their batons and sat in amazement watching Bolt run like it wasn't even an effort to obtain gold in the 100m and 200m races. Incredible! I even found myself fascinated by the table tennis...now is that going to far???? Is that when you need to cry out for help that you have an unhealthy addiction? Of course staying up to watch the Olympics until two in the morning is another sign that I got carried away in this Olympic frenzy. It didn't hurt that we are only two hours behind China and so we were getting the Olympics on two networks everyday from 11 am until 2 am. They covered the Olympics brilliantly here. You can sure tell that I am in a country that loves their sports!

One of the many reasons that I love watching the Olympics is that it brings back such fun and found memories of when the games were in Utah in 2002 and I had the opportunity to volunteer. What fun memories and great friendships were made during that experience...the Olympics really are a great way to bring people together.

Happy Birthday Cutie 2 Shoes!

With all the fun that has been going on over in this part of the world, I am finally getting around to doing a birthday post for my youngest niece, Allison, who just turned two on Saturday. Wow, it's hard to believe that just two years ago we were there two days after she was born, and Darran asked when she would be old enough to play and start "doing fun stuff". Happy memories. She is a beautiful little girl who has brought such joy to our family with her love, laughter, antics and personality! It's been so fun to watch her grow and change and now listen to her talk when her mom calls! We just wish we lived closer. But we want Allison to know how much her Auntie Jen Jen and Uncle Mr. Wiggles love her! Happy Birthday!!!!

A package from America

Yesterday as we were heading out on another adventure, I got a thing in the mail saying that I had a package at the local post office. Natalie was insistent that we go pick up my mail, and since we had to go by the post office anyway, it was just natural that we stopped.

So this is the local post office, near Archies Creek. It is connected to the "Corner Store" in Dalyston about 3 kilometers from our house. And as we walked in the post office, this is what we saw...
A big beat up and bent box. Now for those of you who have sent stuff before, or who want to send stuff, or who are going to send stuff, don't let the look of this box scare you. Because in the 20 months of living here, this is the worst damage I've seen to a package that I have received. So, please keep sending the packages! :) And if you haven't why not start? :)
Hmmmm...what would Miss Brenda K. Hansen be sending me, and why in tarnation would Natalie want to take pictures of this? And of the local Post office (there are limits to being a tourist!) Needless to say, the gal at the post office is now going to not only think I'm a weird American but I have weird friends too. hehehehe

Anyway, getting back to the box. As we went out side, for more photos. I looked at the tag that said, "stuffed toys" and knew immediately that I had foreign visitors, that just won't leave me alone. I thought for sure that when I moved to Oz, I had rid myself of these pesky creatures. So I opened the box, and this is what I saw inside.
Now these chickens have quite a little story. (and in my story telling ability I'll try to keep it in a nutshell) My friend Renee' hates chickens and has had these lovelies for years. And about 4 years ago, decided that she wanted to sell them at a yard sale a bunch of us were having. Another friend of mine came to the yard sale and wanted to get something funny for Renee' for Christmas and asked what stuff was hers. When I pointed out the chickens and told this friend about them, she thought it was the perfect funny gift. Renee' was so excited to see that her chickens were sold, and thought she was rid of them. But then at Christmas got them back as a gift. And so it began the saga of the traveling chickens. Renee' gave them to Natalie, who then gifted them to Andrea, who then passed them to Brenda and now...through a bumpy ride (well looks like that from the box anyway) are here with me in Oz.
And now...the chickens get to experience the true Aussie life...isn't it sad that they have made it here before some of you? Just stay tuned for the adventures these chooks are going to have here in Oz, I promise it will make you want to buy a ticket and come experience life as they know it as well.

FINALLY

So after a month and a half of having the chooks come to live with us, they have finally graced us with this. A beautiful, yummy (I hope) egg. What a fun surprise to walk out to the chook shed yesterday and find this the first egg. It ranks right up there in my excitement of having Nat come to visit. :)

Look Who's Here

So my dearest friend from Utah, Natalie has come to visit! YIPPEE!!!!!!! It has been an adventure from the start. She had a great flight over. Sat next to a homey from Brooklyn, who was coming to see his Aussie babe. Got to Melbourne, and due to fog was diverted up to Sydney. All the while I was sitting at the airport in Melbourne waiting for her....the nerve that there was fog! Then by the time she got to Melbourne...being the funny person that she is decided to be the LAST one out of customs...just kidding, she was near last, but not by her fault...not only was her flight diverted, her luggage was too. So FINALLY after waiting at the airport for 3 1/2 hours, she decided to show up! :) Seriously, it was fantastic to finally see her, and we kept poking each other and saying, "Are you really here?"

We had a great time catching up during the 2 hour drive from the airport to my house. And then jet lag set in, and I had to go to work, so I left her to her own devices and actually dumped her off at the side of the road as I drove in to work so she could, "stretch her legs". But let me just say, she asked to be dumped off, I didn't push her out! :)

We have had one adventure (because that is just what happens when you come to Oz) after another, and will be posting more about our adventures, the places we've gone and the things we've seen and done...so stay tuned.