A visit from Fairy Princess Caroline

Today was the playgroup Christmas party and Anna was very excited as there was going to be a visit from Fairy Princess Caroline! Sure enough, right on time, Fairy Princess Caroline appeared and she managed to keep all the kids mesmerised for a whole 45 minutes. I was really surprised as Anna took it upon herself to go and sit at the front with her new friends and joined in all the games, songs and actions.

We were all asked to buy a book and wrap it. The children were going to be given them as presents from Santa. Anna dutifully went up to Santa and collected her present. This is the first year that she hasn't been scared by him!


Playgroup put on a party "tea" and the kids seemed to love it. There was bowls of sweets ("lollies"), sandwiches with sprinkles on them, pies (you can't go to any "do" in Australia without there being pies) and fairy cakes. Pretty much what the kids wanted to eat! So much for the 9 portions of fruit and veg that they advertise here.

Anyway, Anna had a great time and I am now asked constantly if Fairy Princess Caroline was real, and if she is, where does she live...

Oh, Molly seems to love her "roast" and veg that I have to make her twice a day. She is just getting wise to the fact that I hide her tablets in it. She has also had another seizure so it looks likely that she has epilepsy, along with the allergy that we are treating her for at the minute. Poor thing.

Oh, and another thing, I have a job! I went for some contract work and they offered me a permanent job of 16 hours a week working from home. It's to do some documentation for a web-based application, should be good!

Visit to the Chocolate Factory

This Sunday I took Anna to the local chocolate factory out in the Swan Valley. Swan Valley is about a 25 minute drive from the centre of Perth and contains all the wine vineyards so it's a big attraction.

Unfortunately, Nige had to work so wasn't able to come with us.

As I write this I still feel sick having stuffed myself with dark chocolate, but it was a great day.

When you went into the factory they had three bowls of white, dark and milk chocolate to try. You could look through some windows into the factory to see how the chocolate was being made.



Anna had to try all three types of chocolate, well you never know which one you like! We left having bought some chocolate for Nige and having had an ice cream (it's very hot today!).

Molly has started her elimination diet and seems to love kangaroo, lentils and sweet potatoes ... it's probably loads nicer than that horrid, dry processed stuff she was on! We'll just have to see how she is after six weeks (fingers crossed!).

Molly's had a visit to the dermatologist

Molly has had her first consultation with the dermatologist and I feel positive that we can get her problems sorted. Firstly though, I am so glad that we only live 5 minutes away from the leading veterinary hospital in Perth. It makes it so much easier and it's great to know that she's being seen by the best in the country (Karen F - you would LOVE the facilities that they can offer!).

Molly had to be sedated so she could be examined. It was kinder to her as she is so anxious at the minute. It turns out that she definitely does have a skin allergy to something and also a mild infection... poor thing! She has been put on 4 tablets a day, I have to give her a bath twice a week (now that will be fun - NOT!) and she has to have a complete change in diet. I am going to have to feed her kangaroo, camel, donkey, goat, horse, ostrich or buffalo (it has to be a meat that she hasn't eaten before) and for her carbs she can have lentils, sweet potato, barley and pumpkin. Now I know that she's a dog, but I just can't bring myself to give her donkey or horse, so I think it will be kangaroo (I could also slip a few steaks in for Nige). I guess I'm going to be busy cooking. We have to keep up the regime for 6 weeks and then go back for further tests. This is where I wish we had full pet insurance. As to the seizures, we just have to monitor them.

On another note, the weather has really heated up and summer seems to be here.... just right for Christmas!

Our first BBQ ...

It had to happen sometime and last night we held our first Housewarming Party BBQ! Nige had been out and bought this huge silver monster that masqueraded as a BBQ. You could have cooked a few cows on it I tell you!

For the housewarming we just invited the family, which is my aunt Bea, cousin Jane and her husband Tyrone and son Derrien, cousin Carol and her husband Adam and son Carl, and cousin Claire and her husband Paul and daughter Anja. There was also my cousin Tony and his partner Jane ... phew! It was a really good night courtesy of Jamie Oliver's Botham Burgers and roasted tomatoes and mozzarella cheese (for the token vegetarian - me!) Anna and Anja get on really well and they just played together the whole time. In fact they played together so well that there just was no time to eat. Maybe next time!

We are already planning our next one! Apologies as no-one took any photos ...

It's getting hot!

Well the temperature is really starting to heat up at the minute. It's been a consistent 33/34 degrees from morning to night. There has also been a referendum recently to bring in daylight saving. This means that from December, Perth will now be another 2 hours ahead of the UK. Apparently, Australia has been trying to bring in daylight saving for a long time but there has been fierce opposition from the country (something to do with confusing the cows!). What it means for us is that it will be darker in the morning (yippee ... Anna might sleep in later) and lighter at night. At the minute it gets dark at around 7.15pm. With daylight saving, it will get dark around 9.15pm, which is great as you can do more things at night, but it also means that it won't cool down till then. I'm not sure what will be best!


This weekend we went to a BBQ with some of Nige's work colleagues. It was good to get out and meet other people in the same position as us. They had come from Perth to Aberdeen for work and had been out here coming up to a year. They also had a pool in the garden which was a huge hit for Anna. With the heat, I wish that we had a pool! Maybe for the next house ...



We had our usual Sunday trip into Freemantle this weekend. I love Freemantle. It's such a vibrant place where pretty much anything goes! There's lots of boutique type shops that I keep promising myself that I will shop at and a real mix of food and entertainment. It also has one of the best markets in Perth.

I have enrolled on a dressmaking course at the local college and I'm really enjoying it! I must admit that I'm finding it hard to actually use my brain and do some work. Who would have thought that pattern cutting could be some complex!!

Molly seems to be getting a little better and seems to be enjoying her walks again. She is finding the heat a little hard and when we go to the local park I have a hard time keeping her out of the pond. It's a little grander than Archie's Pond back in Longhorsley and I keep looking out for the ranger.

She has also managed to find a turtle and a snake. I just wasn't quick enought to catch Mol and then take a photo before they escaped. Maybe next time ...

Anna's birthday party!

Yesterday was Anna's birthday party at the local leisure centre. She has been very very excited about this day and I am pleased to say that it went well and I think Anna and the kids really enjoyed it!

We had 15 kids at the party, some from kindy, some from pre-primary (the classes are taught together) and a couple from a playgroup we attend. There was also three boys! Now, this is a first, Anna inviting boys to her party!!

I was nervous about having so many kids, many of them that I didn't know or parents that I hadn't met but it was a great day. The party started in the Gymbakids room, which is like a Castle Mania play area and then we moved into another room for the party food and a few games. As usual the kids ate all the crisps (or chips as I now need to call them) and left the fruit. Nothing changes there then!!

Today is the school fair and it looks as though it's going to be another good day!

PS Molly has had a few days on her tablets and seems to be a bit better. Fingers crossed!

Things change ...

We have had a bit of a scare with Molly (our dog) needing a late night dash to the local emergency vets (which happens to be the university vets hospial, 5 minutes down the road). She had a seizure which was very scary and ended up having lots of bloods tests and a complete examination.

It turns out that she has a very severe allergy to something in Oz which has made all her feet swell and become very very itchy. She even tries to bite you if you go near them, so if you know Mol, you know that biting is just not in her nature. The vet explained that the seizure may be relating to the anxiety and stress over this, or she may have epilepsy, which becomes apparent when dogs reach her age!

She has been back to the vets and is taking a course of tablets to help her allergy, after which they can start to do some tests for the seizures! Poor girl! We have also been advised not to have the puppy, as the vet didn't want another change for her, and for her to become stressed and upset about it. Therefore, we are unable to have the puppy (Tico). We are all upset over this, but Mol comes first!

As an aside, it's amazing what happens at an emergency vets in the middle of the night. There was some sad cases but also bizarre ones! A lady bought a frog in. She had it in a bucket. She bought it in as she was afraid that it wouldn't know it's way back home as it was night! Another lady had a bird in a tupperware box. She said it had neurological problems as it couldn't fly. She was willing to pay for any tests that were required to find out why the bird couldn't fly ... I guess taking it out of the tupperware box would be a start ....

Anna's Birthday

It was Anna's birthday today, so a day to do something special (Nige had the day off work as well!).

In the morning we went to the local dog walking beach and took Molly for a walk.



She loved it and even pinched another dog's ball and ran off with it into the sea. I think she thought that no-one would follow her ... she is getting braver! Must have been her stint in the kennels which has bought all this bravado on around other dogs!

In the afternoon we went whale watching. It was really great. The boat for the trip left from Freemantle which is the big port here. Between October and the end of November is "whale watching season". You can see Humpbacked Whales on there way down to Antarctica just of the coast of Western Australia. When we boarded the boat the captain said that they had been following a pod of whales just that morning, so everyone's expectations were very high. Unfortunately, in the Underwood tradition we had missed the boat (pardon the pun!) and didn't get to see any whales. We did get to see dolphins, which Anna was happy with. You never know we may go back ... I have some sea-sickness tablets left!



Late afternoon was a birthday tea. She's having her party on Saturday at the local recreation centre.



It was a great day and Anna want to bed very happy!