Bowling Rules!

That's right, it's the latest excitment. Phil and I went bowling on Wednesday night and had a great time. We went about 3 weeks ago, but sadly in the 4th frame my thumb nail broke (about 5mm into the pink part) and I was forced to bowl left-handed. Now, I admit I'm a poor bowler at the best of times, but left-handed bowling wasn't my forte. Having said that, I might have gotten a very similar score on Wednesday - I have never had so many gutter balls. In good nail news, while my nail chipped a little bit, it remained intact through all 3 games.

This weekend we're heading down to Hervey Bay to get all suited up with camping gear. We need to get a tent, stove, cooler, lantern - more or less everything for 7 months of roughing it. If they make commission, they will definetly be happy to see us coming.

On the 4wd front, we may have found a great deal! We took a second look at one of the first Landcruiser's we'd seen and it looked good. We took it to get all tested and it passed with flying colours. So, we're in the process of buying it. I will give a full report (with pictures) once (or if) the deal is done. Phil is very cautious when talking about it; he's all "ifs" not "whens" so he's made me cautious as well, I don't want to jinx it!

I also added a picture of Phil pulling this hilarious face when he was playing his bass last weekend. Hee hee.

Brisbane - Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Phil and I headed up to Brisbane this past weekend to look at Landcruisers. We went left right after Phil was done work on Friday night and pulled up to the hostel that we'd booked into around 10:30 pm. It's an old Queenslander from the 1920s that has been converted into a hostel and the couple who run it don't live on the premises. When I chatted with her earlier in the week, she said she'd leave the doors open and a set of instructions in our room - fair enough. We showed up, only to find the place locked. Another tenant let us in, but the door to our room was also locked up and we couldn't get a hold of the owners until 11:00 pm. When they showed up they were really accusatory, telling me I had given them the wrong days (which I hadn't). They told us that they could boot a friend of theirs out of his room and we could stay there but move in the morning. To be honest, the place didn't even meet my fairly low hostel/hotel standards so we moved on. The problem arose when the next few motels we tried were full - we finally ended up getting a very nice (though pricey) hotel room just after midnight. It was one of those nights when I was so pleased to have a nice bath, a beer and fall asleep on a very comfy bed (a nice change from our apartment where the mattresses are terrible).

We spent all of Saturday, from about 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, looking at cars in lots and private sales. Oie! It was hard work and there is so much crap out there, but we found a few really good options and are feeling very good about our options. As most people know, we were getting a bit nervous about finding something of quality in our price range but now we just have to decide on which 4wd we want - a much nicer position to be in for sure.

On Sunday we decided to go to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which is located right in Brisbane. I wanted to hold a koala - it's one of those "must do while you're in Oz" type of activities. We had a great time!! I got to hold a koala, as you can see here (though not the most flattering picture of me) - they're so cute, but with harder bums than you might imagine. The place had a bunch of koala "pens" with several koalas sleeping in trees - they look either like little kids or drunks slumped over on their little branch seats. Very cute. We saw a baby one wake up and have a snack on some nearby leaves.

The other thing you get to do in Lone Pines is feed kangaroos. We fed three of them - a young little guy, a big old fella and one of the cute little red ones that Phil is feeding. They are so cute when they eat out of your hand, except for the big one who was quite drooly.

It was a great trip and it made me realize what a big city Brisbane is and what a small city Bundy is - all that traffic was driving me crazy. We might go back next weekend to pick up a car if we decide we want one from there, so maybe there will be more Brisbane adventures to come...

Gecko Nursery!

I finally snapped a picture of one of our many totally cute baby geckos. They make their way into the house from the great outdoors and we usually spot them stickily climbing on the walls, windows or high-tailing it (literally) across the floor. I spilled some sugar a few days ago and this little guy (about 1" long) licked up a bunch of it - he was so cute with his little red tongue licking the floor. They give us hours of entertainment - we get to look at them up close (we can get about a foot away) and we have to corral them so they're not likely to get stepped on in the hall or the bathroom. We're extra happy to have them after the loss of our front hallway spider, Spidey, who disappeared about 3 weeks ago, but left an egg sack that hatched a few days later. Some of the little babies are still clinging to the web, but I suspect they'll get cleaned away during Easter when someone else will be living in our apartment for a week.

The Monsters Arrive Safely in Canada

I sent a few of the Stupid Sock Creatures I have made here back to Canada. I gave one to my stupendous friend, Heather, who is practically my sister and is featured here with her creature. The monster is still nameless, she is choosing between three options. I sent her one because(drum roll please) she is finished her Masters of Fine Arts!! Well, almost, she defends tomorrow but there is no doubt in anyone's mind that she will pass with flying colours. I feel like a mom, no one could be more proud (especially since I know how hard the whole process is). Anyway, I am totally proud of her and I'm so happy that she likes her new creature. These pictures are totally hilarious.

I also sent one home to my mom for her birthday! She has named hers Polly after the women in the family (my mom's grandmother, mom and me all have the name Pauline) which I think is totally wicked. Mom is calling her the first grandchild and is very happy about the new family addition (mydad's comment was that, for a grandchild, she's awfully quiet). My folks sent me this picture with Orpheus (grey) and Polly. Orpheus was the first creature I made who I gave to my dad as thanks for the book. Happy birthday mom!!!

My final picture is one that my dad sent me of Orpheus and the tea cozy and pot holder that my mom made - I think you'll agree that they're pretty wicked.

Clean Up Australia Day

Last Sunday was Clean Up Australia Day down at Barolin Rocks. After getting lost for a while, and going home to get a map, we arrived at Barolin Rocks, one of the locations set up for the day. We got registered and picked up our bag and gloves and started scavenging for trash. What a clean spot! There was barely any garbage to be picked up. We scouted around for about 45 mins and found only a cardboard box, a few scraps of paper, a piece of styrofoam and a bottle cap (and lots of ants) but we felt like we'd done our duty. We took the bag home with the intention of finding a part of Australia that needs to be cleaned (though I admit we were lullued by the sea's siren song as soon as we got home because the ocean was looking gorgeous, so nice and calm). The rest of Sunday involved a nice long swim, a bit of body surfing (and enough of a dunking that Phil's nose was leaking all day), a few drinks and a game of backgammon (I got wholloped - 3-0).

On the way back home, we drove past an open field that had a family of kangaroos!! Imagine my excitement! I sprang from the car and walked up to get this shot (I had to zoom in on the photo, there was no way to get too close). I had terrible visions of getting boxed by the male 'roo, so Phil went in closer and got a couple more great action shots of the family heading for the hills. These are the first kangaroos I have seen in Australia, so I feel very happy to have finally seen one of its most famous animals. Now I just have to hold a koala....