We lost Uncle Arthur to lung cancer. It all seemed to happen very fast. I was away in Australia when the news came in, and upon my return, he passed away. I only had a quick visit with him in his later stages of the cancer, a sadness I will...
Besides seeing my precious family, another reason to come back to Maryland was my favorite time of year. I came back at the peak of autumn colors! My apologies and thanks to my son Miquel, who did all the driving and put up with me! 🙂
While in Australia, I missed three birthdays. (I might have been tempted to make it four, but Laura threatened me). I missed in order, Silas, Miquel’s, and Enric’s. So even in my jet lag stupor, it was up to me to make their promised dinner, Moroccan Lamb, which I learned...
After a flight from Perth to Sydney to Dallas to Baltimore…I was back to my Maryland home with some little ones who showed me in many ways they were extra happy to see me.
With only a short time left to my stay, John and I headed out to the Indian Oceanside for one last sunset together in 2013. We tried out our new video camera on the sunset:
Making Mud Cake with John? On kind of the spur of the moment, we invited the boys to dinner. I had mud cake for the idea for dessert. I wanted to ice it, but John said he’d like something simpler. Icing sugar on the top, for example. So, I thought...
John takes me to Caversham Wildlife Park almost each time I am in Perth. I never get tired of going there. This time there were some new displays. So I grabbed my cell phone and got a movie of it: We were told they are very communicative and that...
John has been extremely diligent in making sure I get to see as many Indian Ocean sunsets as possible. Given this time to Perth there has been a lot of rain and clouds, there were days there just wasn’t any sun. This day, we were taken by surprise and decided...
So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ~Genesis 1:21 I feel like, in Australia, I guess because so many animals...
Last time we went to Bells Rapids, there was no water. Not a drop. It’s hard for a Marylander to understand this. However this visit, where it may not have been as much water as John was expecting, given the amount of rainfall we had been having, I surely got...
Early Saturday morning, we went on our guided bush walk in Koondoola Reserve.
Last summer (Australian summer), we went to the Whiteman Park bird hide, but there was no water anywhere. This Spring had been wet so we decided to give it another try. Over 100 bird species are recognized as having their range or breeding ground within the Park grounds. Numerous water...
Some scenes of what there is to see, driving through the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. We even got to see some Everlastings. The hills were colored with Patterson’s Curse. The setting sun put a glow on the Salmon Gums. A perfect end to a perfect day together.
Leaving Rica Erickson Reserve and headed east along the Wheatbelt we came across this likely little known place called Lake Ninan. Lake Ninan is situated just 10 kms west of a little place called Wongan Hills, in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Stepping into this salt lake area, we felt...
We went to the Rica Erickson Nature Reserve before, but John thought there might be more flowers this time out. So back again we went.
The Wildflower show event was still going, but we saw some flowers on the paths outside of the main event.
In the night, we knew there would be fireworks, but John kept warning me not to expect much. (I was so impressed by the fireworks on Australia Day). The evening’s activities were so much fun, Oz Rocketman and Horsepower, that it didn’t matter to me if the fireworks were good...
Part 1 HERE I was pleased to have a trip around Western Australia in one place. What a great time the Perth Royal show was. But even more fun was to come at night….
Each year the District Displays come alive with the flavours of Western Australia. From all corners of the State, ten regions each create an original display which shows off the best of agriculture and innovation. Designed and created by teams of volunteers they are a colourful celebration of human endeavour,...
We have so many October birthdays in our family, but Enric’s is the one who started it all. I am sad and sorry I can’t be with him, but looking forward to one of our silly and crazy family celebrations very soon. Enric was the first baby to our...
We actually got to see the Rocketman 3 times our trips to the Perth Royal Show. He was a winner with the children. From the official website: Who is the Ozrocketman? David Clarke is an ex RAAF aeronautical maintenance engineer specializing in Avionics. His training was second to none and...
As we wandered around the Perth Royal show, we saw something out of the corner of our eyes in the main arena. Horses! I didn’t expect so many different kinds nor all the jumping and excitement that was to come. We both took so many photos of them all day...
Like any state fair, or any carnival, or any trip to Ocean City, the Perth Royal Show had rides. They label this section of the show, “Sideshow Alley.” Now it’s well known that I don’t DO rides, I get dizzy, nauseous, and am basically no fun at all at an...
So I was curious what kind of food stands and event like this would have… Much of what I saw looked very American to me.
… and I am half the world away. It’s painful and heartbreaking not to be with him, making him fideus, and being together as a family. I will hope to make it extra special on my return. For now, I hope he knows he is loved, missed, and thought of...
Sometimes what is old is new to young people. In the Heritage Hall section of the Perth Royal Show, there were several things I can remember seeing growing up and others I wasn’t old enough to remember. Great section to the show. John and I went through a few times....
What I know about sheep I could count on one hand. Australia they say, has more sheep than people. So the Perth Royal show was a good place to see and learn about sheep. This is a cute news story on the sheep herding at the Perth Royal Show. ...
Or not eat cake, because most of these were too beautiful to consider eating! Like our state and county fairs, the Perth Royal Show has a food competition. Some of them are: Patty Cakes Biscuits Slices Cakes Muffins Macarons Preserves Jams Pesto Chocolates Decorated Cakes The Jams and Preserves Small...
The first time I was ever in Australia, Laura and I missed the opportunity to go to the Perth Royal Show by one day. It was a shame, as John had talked about it to me well before we were married, and it always sounded like a fun event. Now...
(For Silas and RubÃ) For ages now, I have spoiled my two grandchildren with mints. Even my last trip back from Australia, I was sure to bring back lots of mints as well as left a pile of mints on my desk for them. On the occasion when I got...
I guess as soon as a little girl gets her first dollhouse, she starts to appreciate the world in miniature. So when John suggested we go to the WA Scale Model Expo, I was happy to go. Here are some photos of the event that I took that turned out....
Did you know that each year, Perth witnesses the biggest whale migration on the planet? Every year the whales follow an ancient system of oceans paths that circle the planet called the Humpback Highway. Ever since John took Laura and I to the Southwest Coast and we spotted whales from...
Another weekend, another flower show visit. Any why not? The variety of flowers seen here is not to be believed. So many representing all over Western Australia, which really should be another wonder of the world. (Someone needs to get on board with that). Today’s visit we also took in...
I am starting to really appreciate the Sunday morning before church routine John and I have of going to the markets. Some times we go on a Saturday, like this day.
We took the car in today, and while it was in the shop took a short walk in the Bush. We saw a few spider orchids between wind and rains.
Some interesting maps… First one, considering the world’s population in a concentrated area…if the world lived in one city. And just where are most of the people located? The world has roughly 7 billion people, and each color on this map represents a part of the world where 1 billion...
This year is 50 years that Kings Park Festival has shown off the many varieties of flowers of Western Australia. This is a month long event. I was here with Laura in 2010 and couldn’t wait to come back. People from all over the world come to see this flower...
