framed

rarahs

And we are all in one frame!  It didn't last long.

Perthlings

This blog started out as a gift to all the Earthlings I know.  It is a way to share our lives with those far away and stay connected.  It just feels better than a facebook status update and allows me to express how I feel and journal where we are at.  I want everyone who we have left behind to stay part of our daily lives in some small way.  I want the grandparents to know when the boys' teeth fall out and when they get medals.  I secretly hope that when we do make the big trip back to SA, the blog has bridged the geographical divide between us and allows us to just pick up where we left off.  It is so encouraging when I get a message from a friend who is appreciating my words.  It is great to get a comment from a distant shore about our activities.  I feel as if we can still be part of your life, even though it is fair to say you have moved on and the hole we left has closed.

So you can imagine how confronting and humorous it is when I see a Perthling and they comment on my blog!  I start to reread recent entries in my mind hoping that I haven't in any way offended the locals or sounded like a migrant!  More often now I see friends who may say, " I see you went to Mandurah on Rob's birthday" or "Hugo looked great with his Tiger face paint".  It takes me by surprise and I have to laugh.  They are visiting this site.  Big Brother is watching me. 

The truth is, you can keep up with my life even when you are a daily part of it!

The blog is published for Earthlings not Perthlings.  But how fabulous that Perthlings peak too!

Thermochef

Since our arrival on this continent, the dinner table/picnic/barbecue conversation almost always touches on the Thermomix.  Or as it is fondly known, the TM.  Instead of discussing who is staying and who is leaving or what Malema said last, we now discuss who has a TM, who wants one and who can't be bothered.  This little baby is like another set of hands in your kitchen.  Not only does it chop, grind and grate but it has a built in heating element to cook as well.  The result is that you can literally throw your veggies at it from 5 metres, push a button and leave it to make a beautiful smooth pureed soup within minutes.  The TM kneads pizza or bread dough in one minute.  It weighs the ingredients, makes white sauce, biscuits, muesli, smoothies and much more.  With the TM by your side, you can have coleslaw within seconds, fresh hummus, gorgeous dips and warm fresh custard readily available.  It has revolutionised the kitchen and literally chopped out the prep time.  And just when you thought it couldn't get better, you find that it has a steamer attachment which fits on top of the jug as well as a rice basket which fits snugly inside.  So while your rice is cooking, you can also be steaming fish and vegetables in two layers above. 

But all this good news comes at a price, and a big one too.  For $2000 you too can grind your sugar to icing sugar, make strawberry daiquiris and smouldering curries.  I wasn't convinced.

The truth is I didn't really get it at all until I attended a home demo which is the only way to see and purchase this little cooking dream.  Well, forget about FB friends, I became obsessed with having my own little TM friend.  I started working out how many bras would buy me this chopping frenzy.  I looked at every recipe with TM tinted glasses.  I stewed and curried over it.  But I still couldn't bring myself to jump the $2000 hurdle. 

Just before I fell over the line, it finally happened.  A competitive product hit the shelves of our local Kitchen supply shop, aptly named the Thermochef.  I attended the in store demonstration and fell deeply in love.  It's a rip off of the real German deal.  Its mom is Spanish and its dad is Chinese.  How it bypassed the patents, I will never understand.  But hey, it does EVERYTHING that the TM does at just more than a third of the price.  I rushed out with my $760 to fill the void I had created in my kitchen and my life.  We make a great couple.  I love my TC.  And I love all it gives me in return.

together forever

We have been, and also hope we will be, together forever.  Not to steal the thunder from Rob's "all-the-fours" birthday, it was also the day we met, 18 years ago!

He doesn't look that pleased to be framed in a heart with me, but I am so happy!  Thanks Rob for a thrilling ride through 18 years.  You are still divine.

All the FOUR's

Rob is 44!!  We celebrated our gorgeous man's birthday last Sunday.  In our efforts to be a bit different and spontaneous, we invited some friends to join us for a drive to Mandurah which is about an hour south of Perth.  It seems that our friends are also keen to get out a bit and four families came along.  We had a great lunch at The M restaurant and pub while the kids played on the boardwalk on their scooters and Ripstix.  We then walked around the waterfront development and bought ice creams and had a play at a great kids' park.

It was all very relaxing and family friendly! 

We are so blessed to have a fantastic husband, amazing father and Godly man leading our home.  I am so grateful for Rob's health and happiness on this special birthday.

Happy Birthday, my man.  May there be many, many more!

This life

Before this life I have chosen, I had no idea:

• that skirting boards get covered in dust so quickly
• that the kitchen cupboard fronts need constant wiping
• that hanging out washing can take out years of your life
• that boys can wee so skew the dustbin next to the loo gets covered in urine
• that the floors need constant mopping
• that finger marks stick on everything
• that food leaves the boxes in the pantry at night and wonders around the shelves
• how much stuff you can retrieve from inside your own couch
• the microwave gets mucky so quickly
• what an effort it is to defrost a freezer
• that fridge shelves get sticky
• what a workout it is to clean properly

Before I chose this life I had no idea how hard it is to keep your own house clean.  I have done it today.  It is all sparkly and clean.  Thirty more minutes before the troops arrive to unravel all my good work.

Phew, I am exhausted.

gnomesville

While on our Bunbury escape we stumbled across some gnomes who impressed me so much, they deserve their own moment in my blog.


gnomes everywhere



As far as the eye can see is a field of gnomes near Bunbury.  These little men and women have been left here over the past few years in honour of a loved one who has passed away or to remember a significant occasion such as a "hens' weekend ".  They represent various schools, Rotary Clubs, churches and social groups from around Western Australia and beyond.  There is an unwritten invitation to paint and place your garden gnome where you feel he/she will be happy for all to enjoy.  It is a treat just walking through the pathways and reading each plaque and taking in each story.  There are young gnomes, old gnomes, naked gnomes and smoking gnomes.  Each has a story to read and enjoy.

I am told that the thing to do in Australia in the 80's (when gnomes held pride of place in the front yard) was to steal your neighbour's gnome and then send postcards back to its owners from the gnome as you traveled around the country.  These little fellas then found there way to an open field near Bunbury and Gnomesville began. 

I even managed to hold an INTIMO lingerie party in Gnomesville as I found a group in dire need of a panty upgrade.

tough customers

My favourites were the gnomes who were clearly far from home.

migrant gnomes

Then you have to love the sense of humour in this: