Pamper Day and York Trip

Saturday was a good day for me. As a belated birthday present, Nige had told me to have a "pamper day" and that's exactly what I did. In the morning I went to The Shearing Shed hairdressers in Freemantle. In Perth, things are exactly what they say they are and so The Shearing Shed was a hairdressers that had been set up as a shearing shed (an up-market one of course!). There were wooden stalls for each customer and loads of weird paraphernalia hanging on the walls. Two hours later I left with some highlights and a calm disposition! It was then on to a quick sandwich and a taxi ride to the spa. I had a deep cleansing facial and a full body massage ... absolutely bliss!

Nige also had a good day as he took Anna swimming in the morning and then she had a party to go to in the afternoon.

On Sunday we decided to try out Anna's new portable DVD player for the car and had a drive to a place called York. York is an historic town in the Avon valley about one and a half hour's drive from Perth. York has a long history and a unique past with many of its old buildings still being used today. It has the reputation of being the first inland European settlement, in about 1831.

Getting there was lovely and we saw a real change in the landscape. We went over the hills, through forest and then into what would be rolling green fields if it wasn't for the drought. The fields were dry and sandy but it was still lovely to see a change in the scenery.
The photos are of the Town Hall which is still being used today and the jail and court house. The jail is now owned by the National Trust and is a tourist attraction.

Labour Day Bank Holiday

It was a Bank Holiday on Monday and a really, really hot day. Some people were saying that it was as hot as 42 degrees! It was one of the hottest days that we have had since we have been here. What made it all the more unusual was that the days preceding it, it had been cooler and rainy. I even had to get the duvet out!

In the late morning Anna went to a party. It was the 5th birthday of a little girl from school. It was at her house and there was face painting and a clown. All the kids had a great time! Nige and I also managed to grab a coffee; just the two of us!

The afternoon was especially hot (the hottest time of the day in Perth is from 3pm onwards) and so we went to cool off at the local swimming pool. We could hear our neighbour's kids in their pool and it made us very jealous. Unfortunately, everyone who doesn't have their own pool also had the same idea and so the swimming pool was packed - good though! We contemplated going to the beach but it was just too hot!

The photo is of Nige and Anna outside the swimming pool. People here, because of the heat, go to and leave the pool in their bathers! Seeing people walking out of the swimming pool in just their bathers and towel takes some getting used to. Especially when they just hop on their bike/motorbike!!

Quiet time ...

Well, it's been a quiet couple of weeks, back into the routine of school, work and housework. Nothing much changes there then! Anna is loving school at the minute, which is great.

We are contemplating buying a house ... you know us! We have just been looking at renting and there's hardly anywhere (especially nice!) that will allow dogs. We also want to keep Anna at the school and so can't move to far. The house prices have really shot up here in the last couple of years with a basic 3 bedroomed, 2 bathroomed house (single story - not much to look at) going for about 200 - 350k. Long gone are the days of picking up a bargain! Watch this space!

Last night we went around to our friends house for a BBQ. It was a great night. Anna had a bath there and put on her nightie and my friend had put loads of cushions down in front of the TV so the kids had a "Pajama party". It wasn't a late night but a great one!

It's Molly's birthday today - she's 2. Anna wants to bake her a "steak cake" and buy her a present. So today we are off to the pet shop! A nice and relaxing weekend ...