Tico's getting bigger!

This weekend we went to visit Tico and couldn't believe how much she'd grown! She's now allowed in the outside pen and is running around, playing and getting up to mischief! She's due to come home after the 25 November, then the fun really begins ....

The furniture has arrived!

At last, our furniture has arrived but in true Underwood style it didn't go off without a hitch! At exactly the same time as our furniture arriving, the guys turned up to collect the rental furniture! So it was a case of running around saying what was to stay and what needed to go.

When the guys turned up with our furniture, they had a massive truck with five wooden crates on it. I stupidly asked, "which crate is ours?", for them to say "all of them!" I can't believe how much stuff we have! From living out of three suitcases and a bit of rental furniture, we now have masses of stuff ... most of which we don't really need...


The guys bought all the boxes in and I had to tick off which box had arrived against the ones which had been packed. They called out the box number as it came out of the crate. I kept wanting to shout, "house" but didn't think it would go down well!

They were all here, which is excellent news (I think the guys were very surprised!) The guys then began to unpack when disaster struck. One of the guys was using a Stanley knife to cut into the boxes when he sliced up his hand very very badly. It went all the way down to the bone (cutting it) and there was masses and masses of blood! We managed to pack it up as best we could and then it was off to casualty. He looked a real tough guy, but I think it shook him up pretty badly. Luckily Nige had taken Molly and Anna to the beach out of the way so she didn't see the carnage ...

Anyway, we have masses of boxes to unpack and very little enthusiasm ...

Molly meets the local wildlife!

Yesterday I took Molly to the local park and she came face to face with the local wildlife! I was just walking along in the heat (yesterday was a scorcher!) and I could hear Molly ferreting in the long grass near a tree. I thought that she's found a mouse or something (I'm still in Longhorsley walking mode) but went to investigate as she just wouldn't leave it alone. Then I heard some hissing and I got a bit panicky. This is the park where there is bushland and a big sign at the entrance about snakes (see Nige's earlier post). However, Molly had come across her first Bobtail Lizard (or Blue Tongue Lizard as they are commonly called). This lizard is quite big, has a stumpy tail as though someone has chopped it off and when it is confronted by anything, sticks out it's blue tongue to scare them away. It can bite and kills it's food by crushing it. So you can imagine, I didn't want Molly to go putting her nose near it! Of course, Molly didn't know this and wasn't frightened by it (I was!). She kept leaping around trying to play with it. In the end I had to put her lead on and drag her away. The lizard made a quick dash through the fence into the bush.

I know that Adam would have loved it ....

Here's a picture of it and the park where I was walking -

Molly's Home!

Molly is home safe and sound. Now I know that she's only a dog, but we are SO SO glad to get her home from the kennels. She has been home one night and she has already completely changed the dynamics of the house. Anna is playing with her, chasing her around the still empty rooms (when will our container arrive?!) and there's now noise and hustle and bustle!


We took her to the park last night and it was great, getting out the house and talking to other dog owners. Now, if you're a dog owner you'll understand how excited I get about this ... in every park they have free doggy bags and a bin to put the poo in when you have picked it up. Now, these bins are emptied every week! How great is that.

In Bateman, which is a small suburb, we have three parks, all with children's play areas, big fields, BBQ area, seats etc. Two of them have ponds with ducks as well. The big park, Piney Lakes, has an environmental centre, a huge area of bush land, a great kids play area and a huge lake with ducks etc. This is just near us. There are also play areas in nearly every suburb. The Australians really know how to use the outdoor space!

The car has arrived!

We went to pick up the car (dog-mobile) today and it's a big un! Nige was very sensible and let me drive it home (I think he was a little scared of it). It's great! I even managed to park it at the supermarket (our local independent grocer!) and didn't hit anything!

Nige's comment ; Just need to get it kitted out with full off road equipment! Or perhaps dark tints and spinners? (mmm maybe not)

Anna says it's shinier than Grandad Bobs car (won't be for long based on the Underwoods car cleaning record....)

PS Molly is released from solitary confinement tomorrow, yippee! Now we can fill the car with dog hair.

Visit to Noble Falls

This weekend we took a trip into the hills and ended up at a place called Noble Falls. It's a bit of a grand name for a river that has a little white water and a small waterfall. We had a little walk around, play on the playground (everywhere has a playground) and a little paddle. We have vowed to come back with a picnic, Molly and a towel!

Tico (the puppy is getting bigger)

We went to visit the new puppy, that we have named 'Tico' and she is getting bigger. She now has her eyes open and can crawl on her tummy. We must be mad!!

We've bought a car!

We have been and bought a car. It's big enough to get us all in, Nige's bikes and the two dogs. Any guesses what type? Answers on a postcard ....

Search for a new car

Well the search is on for a new car, interesting set up here, some are very expensive, some cheaper than UK (4x4's so no suprise there). Stamp duty on all cars, new and used is the greatest suprise. Looks like we need something dog (x2) friendly, with enough space for bikes of course. Anna set her heart on this little one however.......don't worry we decided it was too small!

New member of the family

We have a new member of the family, due to be with us on the 25 November!

Who thought I was talking about anything other than a puppy!!



Our puppy is the one closest to the head of mum - Bebe!

Visit to the zoo

Well it's school half term, so I'd planned a visit to the Perth Zoo. The zoo is great, smack bang in the middle of the city and has an enviable conservation program. It's a modern zoo and aims to provide visitors with the opportunity to encounter the natural world and get involved in conservation action. It has bred many animals for release into the wild and at the minute it's building a new enclosure for two Sun Bears that it's trying rescue from Cambodia. These bears will be used in a breeding program to try and increase the numbers for the endangered bears.

Anna's new friend, Anja (her second cousin) came along with us and it was a great day. As it's half term, there was face painting and crafts available.

Still waiting for the container to arrive

Nige's Post: We are still waiting for the 40ft container with our worldly posessions to arrive (it arrived in Fremantle on 29th Sept and should take two weeks to clear customs. Living out of a suitcase is getting boring now and I getting bike withdrawl symptoms ( I think the off road scene is little behind the UK , see pic of latest model shown at the Perth country show!). However very bike friendly is Perth as we noted, and have met a number of fellow MTB'ers who have the same affliction.
Have been feeding my exercise habit with trips to the gym (free membership of two with work, seems as if you have no option to be healthy or else!) and some running, hence the bad back. The local nature reserve about 2 mins from the house has some 'north shore' even Teamzimmer and the IMBA would approve of, although the warning signs will take some time to get used to.....

We've found a house

Well, we managed to find a house in Bateman and it's literally a 5 minute walk to Anna's school -which is great. We are renting furniture at the minute until our arrives, so the house is very echoey!

Visit to see a kangaroo (it had to be done!)

We just had to go to a nature reserve and see the kangaroos, koalas and other native animals. Anna absolutely loved it!

Bank holiday

Nige was very chuffed to find out that it's a Bank Holiday today.

The weather is good but instead of going to the beach we decided to go and visit SciTech as Anna is fasinated with the sky etc at the minute. I think she's trying to understand that when it's night here, it's day in the UK.

SciTech is Perths' equivalent of the Life Centre/Discovery Museum in Newcastle. There is a fantastic Planetarium, which runs a presentation of the night sky, showing all the stars and planets. Anna was hooked!

Nige has been suffering with this back though, so didn't enjoy it as much as he hoped!