What a Pearler!

One of the first things that Jack wanted to show Noel and Diane (who are visiting) was the Maritime Museum. He loves that place (though he always views everything at high speed) and had only been there the day before on a school excursion. His class got a special sneak preview at a new exhibition on pearling. Noel particularly liked the diving helmet. I still like the Megamouth shark best of all.

come home harvey!

I also found this in my drafts. I wonder if Harvey ever made it home?

LONDON - A resourceful pooch is on the run in northern England after using a trampoline to catapult himself out of his fenced yard.
Harvey, the squat Staffordshire bull terrier, apparently bounced his way to freedom after being unable to make it over the fence of his family's yard in York.
Harvey's owner Laura Kidson said her children Chloe, four, and nine-month-old Cole, were devastated about their beloved pet's disappearance.
"The fence isn't all that high but he couldn't get over it on his own and must have used the trampoline to bounce himself into my neighbour's garden and get out," Kidson told The Northern Echo.
"He's something of an escape artist and he has got out before but not for a long time and we were just starting to think that he'd stopped all that."
The three-year-old dog had been known to enjoy the odd bounce on the trampoline before, joining Chloe and her cousin Morgan as they practised their highest leaps.
"My daughter won't stop crying and I'm really worried someone might have him and be mistreating him, because he's such a lovely gentle dog," Kidson said.
"I got him just after I had Chloe and she loves him. One of my real worries is that they are the most stolen dog. I hope no-one has picked him up off the street to sell him.
"I have phoned the police and the council dog warden, but no-one has seen or heard of him and we're getting desperate."
The search for Harvey continues

Workplace dress up shenanigans!

I found this draft when I was having a look at my unpublished blog posts. I have a new job in a library over here but dressing up opportunities seem unlikely. Dare I say that dressing up is frowned upon. Sigh. Well, there may be one low key opportunity on the 19th of September that will require me to dust off my cutlass...

This makes me miss these guys who I coerced into dressing up at every opportunity, in fact it started escalating as we got closer to me leaving. Bless their cotton socks for humouring me. 

 

 

And yes, that's me dressed as a pumpkin being prodded by a devilled egg!

Welcome Max!

My friend Professor Pants had her baby last week and there's been much excitement. Unfortunately I am here and they are there so no cuddles yet but holding newborns always make me nervous, even after having two of my own.
I had found something at the shops that was too funny not to purchase and Jack made a marvellous card. It's rather wonderful having my own graphic designer on staff.

Beetroot

When I want to impress someone I bake them what S refers to as the big guns, my sourdough pumpkin loaf, unless they don't eat gluten then I hand them some chocolate, unless they don't eat sugar then I hand them a celery stick, unless they are paleo then...oh that's right I don't have paleo friends. 

Lately I've been wondering about a beetroot loaf. I've played around with carrot and sweet potato and potato but I had an inkling beetroot would be worth a try. The dough was an amazing colour and I couldn't wait to cut into it and was surprised when I did. 

Also surprising was the flavour which wasn't beetrooty at all. All I could taste was the dill and the rye flour. Tasty but very unexpected.

 

Watch your back Tim!

 I find it fascinating that Westralia (as my brother calls it) has produced so many interesting authors. I was always a fan of Elizabeth Jolley (until I found out about here grasscutting) and I'm not the only one in this family interested in Tim Winton. Jack loved his story The Bugalugs Bum Thief and I love Cloudstreet though the ending of The Riders made me cranky. We are both looking forward to a puppet version of his story about a groper called Blueback.

I like to read for location or more precisely when I am in that location so I have been reading and re-reading books with a Westralian feel. I re-read The Shark Net by Robert Drewe. I love this book so much. A memoir that works well with Cloudstreet as they both involve the story of murders in Perth in the 1950's and 60's. I also read Lost and Found by Brooke Davis which was a cute and quirky and downright odd and I started reading Peter Whish-Wilson's book on Perth that comes from a series of biographies of Australian cities by Australian authors which are fantastic. 

When we moved here I noticed that Subiaco library had a Tim Winton writing competition for kids and so I urged Jack to enter. He delivered his story to me at the eleventh hour (still not sure if it got there in time) and I took a very quick photo. I'm not sure if it will win, but then again maybe a story about the 3 little poos might amuse the author of The Bugalugs Bum Thief.

Eat all of the food

After living in a rural area for 13 years it's only natural surely that I'd go a little crazy when presented with so many eating opportunities. Junee exotic was Danny's Kitchen which served country Chinese food (Chicken and Almond or Beef Chow Mein) or umm...a curry pie from the bakery. Actually not long before we moved a new restaurant opened up that served Indian and Italian food (a natural pairing) though sadly we never got to try it.

Here I am like a kid in a candy shop surrounded by places to purchase Pho, sushi, macarons, noodles, dumplings, cannoli, bratwurst, paella and well, you get the idea. Jack is usually my partner in crime (while Sam subsists on a diet of fishfingers and sauce) although sometimes S and I sneak away for lunch together. This week we found a fantastic place in Northbridge for yum cha and a few weeks ago we had pickled octopus and pizza at Little Creatures. I'm definitely going back for more of those dumplings.

Sushi from The Modern Eatery in Fremantle

A Gourmet Hotdog aka the Scoundrel from Run Amuk in South Fremantle (the homemade lemonade is delicious). We've only been there 3 times since we moved here...that's ok isn't it?

My cannoli connoisseur at our local pasticceria

Xiaolongbao from Northbridge

Trains, Meccano and Lego

Being new to these parts we like to get out and about most weekends and make the most of what our new city has to offer. There were only so many times we could do that in Junee, Licorice Factory or Roundhouse Museum.

Last Sunday we went to a model train fair (I know, I know) which was actually quite cool due to the lego constructions which seemed to steal most of the attention from the trains and meccano.

Not too hard to guess which the boys preferred.

AQWA

My very beautiful friend Professor Pants gave us a lovely present before we left (one of many thoughtful, wonderful gifts we received). She listened and decided against any large unwieldy objects and gave us a family voucher to AQWA which is the aquarium here in Perth. Today, we packed food and water and essential items and left Fremantle, heading north to Hilary's boat harbour which is where the aquarium is located.
It was overcast today, which had locals rushing to don woolly jumpers and light their fires but as it turned out, it was the perfect day to be indoors looking at fish.
We saw many wonderful fish including Dory and Nemo ( I wonder if aquarium people love or loathe that movie as little people shout their names excitedly as they spot them both) and some great jellyfish. The best bit would definitely be the moving footway/underwater tunnel that had even the most experienced underwater observers amongst us (S) pointing excitedly at smiley mouthed rays, turtles and of course sharks.

Fremantle Heritage Festival

They do love a festival here and not so long ago there was a heritage festival. Part of the celebrations centred around Athur Grady Day. Who was Arthur and why did he get his own day you ask? Arthur was the first person to ride a motorbike around Australia in 1924 which is particularly impressive when you see how much suspension there was on bikes then (zero) and how horrendously uncomfortable the seats looked.

 In his honour, Kings Square was filled with vintage bikes and cars and one or two Clydesdales and there were vintage buses ferrying people to places like the Maritime museum where a gold coin donation got you in for a looksee.

Back at the square and the Town Hall there were displays of old gramophones and telephones and a group of sartorially splendid Morse Codians just waiting to send a message for you. And funnily enough the weather was glorious.