Whoa, Whoa, Whoa Felines....

I can't help it.
I really miss my kitties. I had to take them to C.A.T.S. the final full day I was in Medford before departing for Perth, Australia. C.A.T.S., for those of you who are not familiar, is the acronym for Committed Alliance To Strays; a non-profit organization that takes in stray, abandoned, and unwanted cats and kittens and cares for them in the most loving, clean and pleasing environment. They are located in Jackson County on Ross Lane. They do not ask for money, or anything in return. They simply take cats and kittens, make sure they are healthy, comfortable and loved, and put them up for adoption to people looking for a new companion. It is a labor of love for the folks who work and volunteer at C.A.T.S.; a most extraordinary gathering of people who love and are devoted to felines of all kinds who are in need. Jan Whetstone is the executive director, (forgive, please, if that is not the exact title) of C.A.T.S., and has been for many, many years. The energy, time and love she has devoted to cats and the organization is simply extraordinary. The minute I am on Medford turf again, I plan to become a humble servant to do anything that needs doing for this organization.



I acquired one of my cats there; Sosche. He came to me at 4 weeks old, brought in by someone who found him and didn't know what to do with him. Because he was "under age" I had to be his foster home until he was old enough to adopt. He was tiny and scared when Sam and I brought him home that day in June. We were smitten instantly. My other cat, Misha, was less than thrilled with this adorable bundle of fur, but it wasn't long before Misha was won over. I had Misha for 9 years and Sosche for 5 years before our journey to Perth became a reality. I relinquished them both to C.A.T.S. amid copious tears, hysterics and hyperventilation. Jan was on hand to personally take care of me (yea, me, not the cats!) since I was a bigger wreck than they were. They were scared; I was devastated.

Today, I have seen their pictures posted on the C.A.T.S. website (www.kittensandcats.org) and it tears my heart out. I hope they are still there when we return to the States because I will go there and snatch them up again. I miss them terribly. But, because C.A.T.S. is such an amazing organization, I know they are being loved and cared for and if they are adopted by anyone during the time I am away, I know whoever gets them will be a genuine cat-lover. The folks at C.A.T.S. are very good at making certain the home these cats go to is the right one for them.

We also miss and talk often about our dog, T-Bone, whom we gave to a couple who seemed to fall in love instantly with T-Bone when they met him. For those of you who don't know, T-Bone is a Border Collie, and smarter than all of us collectively. He was "adopted" by a couple with a huge love for animals, and had a dog appropriately named "Aussie" whom they wanted a friend for. We are in touch with these folks often and have been told of the spectacular way that T-Bone has enriched their lives. He will be going to agility training classes when he reaches one year old, which is in October. Our family is hoping to be able to see T-Bone perform in a dog agility show which are often held at the Jackson County Expo. Border Collies in particular are known to be outstanding performers for this venue. It will be such fun to see him!



Our adventure Down Under is fully underway, but we miss our pets every day. If anyone is moved to volunteer or donate time, money or supplies to C.A.T.S., I would consider it a personal favor to me, repayable many times over when we return.

Pets enrich our lives in so many ways. Remember to love and appreciate yours while you have them. And remember, with July 4th approaching, it's scary out there for dogs and cats. Keep them inside.

God Bless.

Winter is for the Dogs

G'day mates! How ya goin'? No worries here down under. Not even on the first official day of winter. Winter? Ha. That's what they call it here, but seriously....
Winter is frozen fingers; socks in bed; hands encircling a cup of something hot and steamy; sitting by the fire; turning up the heat, putting on warm fuzzy socks, bundling up in a blanket and STILL being cold. Winter is feeling like your bones are cold. Get out from under these warm blankets in my bed? I think not. Flippin' brrr!
Take a look at winter in West Australia. Seriously. It is laughable. I took my bike out for a ride on 21 June, the first official day of winter here; Winter Solstice. Shortest day of the year. I rode on one of the glorious bike paths that hug the stunning shoreline all over the greater Perth area. What I encountered didn't have any of the trappings of a winter day. The coastline was teaming with people out enjoying a gorgeous day. I saw people wearing pants, shorts, wet suits, swimming suits, sports bras, bare chests. Winter? Whatever, mate!

The temp was high 60's, low 70's. I found my way to a dog exercise area of one beach; people can let their dogs be dogs here without having to keep them on a leash. The unabashed joy I saw on the faces of these dogs was pure magic. Of course, they didn't know it was the first day of winter and couldn't have cared less. But I was struck by it. In Oregon the first day of winter is generally drizzly and/or foggy. Cold and yucky. But hey, it's winter, it's supposed to be, well, cold! West Australians don't have a clue about winter. They feel terribly inconvenienced to wear a hoody if the temps dip below 75 degrees, or, if they have to exchange their flip flops for a pair of socks and shoes; not that I've seen many concessions in those areas yet.










Aussies dream of a winter vacation up north (remember, it's always opposite day in Australia!). Up north it's a nice, sunny 80-85 degrees. Better yet, go to Bali or some other Indonesian island where the real warmth is.

Aussies like to squirm and compain about enduring the winter. One friend I have said she has lived here most of her life and she characterized it as something of a surprise each year when winter rears it's ugly head in Australia. Like, "hey, who turned down the sun?" Well, that's not all that winter is here. It actually rains here in the winter too. But it's nothing like the days upon days of rain we have to endure in Oregon. It's usually a day or two of major downpour, and then several days of sun and delightful temps. I am still quite comfortable riding my bike during the day wearing shorts or capris.

Winter in West Australia? I think I can handle it.
But hey, mate, the days are already starting to get longer here! No worries!

What's In A Word?

We've all learned some interesting vernacular since we've arrived in Australia. Sharing a few with you all here:

trolley = grocery cart
jumper = sweater or sweatshirt
saltana = raisin
tea = either a cuppa, or, dinner, depending on how it's used in the sentence
petrol = gas
how ya going? = how are you?
mince meat = ground beef
flat white = latte
bather = swimming suit
booking = reservation
biscuit = cookie
can do = OK
bloke = male friend
mate = male or female friend

There are a couple that hurt our ears, so-to-speak, because they are so cumbersome to us. They say "maths" which is short for mathematics. We just say "math". They also pronounce the "h" in herbs, where the "h" is silent when we say it in America.
The letter z, almost never used in Australia (the letter "s" is used in place of it in most spellings) is pronounced "zed".
Here's an interesting one; they spell yogurt "yoghurt".
Almost all the cheese is just labled "tasty cheese"; not cheddar, or muenster, or monterrey jack. There are custards and creams in the dairy section galore; I have no idea what to do with them, but they seem fattening so I just stay away!
They eat lots and lots of lamb; like we eat chicken in America.
All the cookies are hard and crunchy; there is no such thing as a soft baked cookie in Australia. Steve and the kids are trying to get me to make cookies everyday, and then try to sell them. We are all convinced that if they knew what they were missing, they would give up their "hard biscuits". Of course, when you eat them while you are drinking your morning tea, they soften right up, so I think that's what they like.
They don't use any numbers with their letters like, 1st or 3rd. Instead they say the number instead of the month first; 1 (one) June. I've created some major confusion for some of the school administrators when I would forget and put the month first. Whoops!
Every kid at every school in West Australia has to wear a hat when they have recess or activities outside. To not have a hat on invites a warning and/or your right to be outside revoked! They take their sun exposure very, very seriously here. The incidence of skin cancer is very high in this country.
This summer we will have to lather up!

G'day, mates!

Lions and Tigers and Bears....Oh My!

OK, well maybe not Lions or Tigers, but we did see bears! Last Saturday we all piled in the truck and headed north up the coast to Yanchep National Park for our first official outing to see the area outside of Perth.
Equipped with a roasted chicken, chips, cookies and the beloved footy, we set off for a day of "come what may"; one of my favorite modes. No real plans, just the day ahead and let's see what we see!
Yanchep isn't far up the coast from Perth, but it feels like a completely different place. It reminded me alternately of Northern California because of the low, scrubby brush along the side of the road; Oregon because there was a grove of pine trees planted in the middle of nowhere; and the midwest where I grew up because of the expanse of land to the horizon, some of which had crops planted on them. I am beginning to get a sense of just how huge Australia is and how little of it is actually inhabited and/or developed.
We arrived at the park, paid $10 to get in (per vehicle; not bad) and found our way to a beautiful spot for a picnic near a lake. There were a lot of people there with the same idea; it was a simply gorgeous day in late autumn. No jackets or sweaters required, it was plenty warm and the sun shone brilliantly. The park had lots of wide open spaces and walking paths everywhere. I immediately took note of the animal droppings in the grass and was told by Steve that it was "roo doo"; the kangaroos are in abundance in any large expansive areas and this was certainly a popular spot! Roo doo is obviously a fact of life here and no one seems to take much notice; without being unnessesarily graphic, roo doo is just like rabbit pellets, except a bit larger.
Within minutes we had food spread out on the table being devoured by everyone. Sheesh, we had only been in the car for 30 minutes; you would think we hadn't eaten for 3 days!
Footy immediately followed lunch and I decided to set out for a walk around to see what else was there. We were briefed at entry to the park there was much to see and do there.
I soon found my way into the Koala sanctuary and could not have been more delighted. There weren't many people around, and Koalas were visible and viewable in several locations. Some were eating, some were sleeping or just sitting; all were completely adorable. I gathered up the rest of the family to come have a look and we all stood in awe of these little creatures, very accessible to us at just about 1 or 2 ft. away! Their diet, we learned, is purely eucalyptus leaves. I couldn't help but think their breath must be quite pleasant!
Once we had our fill of Koala watching we stopped by the Chocolate Drop for a delicious chocoate confection and piled back into the car to head further north to Lancelin. A short 40 minute drive and we are there. The town is small and sleepy; the kids find a park and play footy, Steve and I browse a shop. A long walk on the beach follows as the sun begins it's decent into the ocean. It is quiet, beautiful and serene. The sand on the beach is as fine and as white as sugar, the surf gentle. Lobster boats bob in the bay and the sun dips lower and lower and the cool of the evening begins to make itself felt. After a quick stop for a beverage at a restaurant on the beach, we set out for home, urged to watch out for kangaroos on the road at dusk. We watched diligently, but didn't see a single 'roo. We didn't see lions or tigers or roos, but we are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

The Rules of Footy

Australian Rules Football is an oxymoron. From all indications there ARE no rules in Australian Rules Football. Played with a bigger, softer, similar shaped ball it appears that the object of the game is to kill the player with the ball. Where American Football is slow and there is a whistle signaling the end of the play when someone breaks a fingernail, ARF is fast paced and manly. The players are unencumbered by those pesky helments and pads, and wear shorts and a muscle shirt. Good thing too, because there are muscles galore!
Sam came home from school a few weeks ago very excited about having "discovered" Australian Rules Football and proclaimed it "super fun". He asked if we could buy one so he could practice for the interschool sporting event that was coming up for which he signed up to play ARF. Great, and here we are in a foreign country with a $100,000 deductible on our health care coverage.

Being the cautious and discerning Mom that I am, I immediately went out and bought a "footy". (Australians abbreviate EVERYTHING!) Well, playing with the footy has run rampant through our house, with all of us participating. To toss the footy around, you either serve it underhand like a volleyball, or you kick it with the top of your foot so you can direct where it's going to go. Footy's don't bounce like American footballs either, because they are more rounded on the ends. And, a footy is never thrown over hand with your fingers on the laces like in America. We have two fully empty rooms in our house until our container arrives with our things from America so Sam, Lucas and Camerin toss the footy around in one of those rooms to blow off some energy. It's dark here by 5:30 p.m. as we move headlong into winter, so I'm thankful they have somewhere to kick the footy around.

Sam's interschool sporting event took place and his class lost, but he had good fun. He discovered most of his classmates play ARF much as our kids play soccer, so they were good. But hey, no worries, mate! Just kill the guy with the ball!

Ode to the Red, White, and Blue!

OK, so we are all feeling a bit homesick now. We miss the good old US of A! Hmmm, what do we miss? I miss the grocery stores and being familiar with the items on the shelves; I miss good bread and non-dairy cream for my coffee. Sam misses a good donut; he said they are not-so-good here, which is saying a lot for a not-so-discerning 11 year-old palate. Steve misses tri-tip steak with every fiber of his being. Lucas and Camerin seem to miss just about everything. We all miss our friends!
Steve and I did discover an AMAZING pizza place which serves seriously authentic pizza, like from Italy. It's the best pizza either of us have ever eaten and we solemnly promise to take everyone there who visits us here in Perth. Everyone hurry; we want to go back often!
Last night I served meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and a fruit salad (with papaya!) which made everyone feel warm and fuzzy and reminded of home. Certainly anyone from the Mid-West would have felt right at home! We needed comfort food. It worked. During dinner there was much lip smacking and reminiscing of home. It reached such a pitch that someone started singing the Star Spangled Banner in honor of our homeland and we all chimed in. After reciting the Pledge of Allegience we all felt better. (just kidding about that part, but really, it could have happened!)
Ah, but our journey here is just begun and we have much to do and explore. I'm grateful our family has this opportunity to miss the USA. Our new perspective will be something we will all draw on in our lives forever!
God Bless America!

Wet and Wild!

We experienced our first major winter storm here the other night/day. Beginning in the middle of the night, a storm swept through Perth and surrounding areas with winds around 50-60 mph with rain coming down sideways. Sam thought the world was coming to an end, Lucas slept through the whole thing and Steve and I lay awake as doors creaked, windows rattled and the earth seemed to shake violently. It was really quite spectacular! The homes here are all made of brick, which is, of course, no accident. They keep things cooler in the hot Australian summer and secure during the windy, rainy winter season. Amazingly we didn't lose power or suffer an ill effects from the storm, except for some sleepless hours in the night.

Temps seem to rise into the 70's each day no matter what. Locals are wearing scarves, jackets and hats with their flip flops, but you do see some boots now and again too. Us crazy Americans have been swimming in the ocean as recently as a week or so ago, and that is lunacy to the locals. We can't help it; the water is warm!

Old Brain, New Tricks

I knew it was going to be a challenge; I simply refused to even consider it when I first got here. But, eventually the wander lust took over and I had to do it; I had to drive on the left side of the road. We found an old car in decent condition and, though Steve wanted to buy me something nicer to drive, I liked the idea of an older car to bump around Perth in. Besides, if I crashed, it's not such a big loss, right? That reason loomed large in my mind. I've always been a reasonably good driver, though I've been told I have a lead foot. Never mind that. The main thing I kept thinking was; I'M GOING TO BE DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!
Well.
A brain trained since the tender age of 16 to drive as we do in America, on the right hand side, does NOT make an easy transition to doing all the driving in "opposite" mode. Sheesh. Serious concentration is necessary for a simple run to the grocery store; hands tighten on the steering wheel as I approach one of the 8 million rotary's that are in place to keep traffic moving; everything is coming from the right....yikes! Hold on for dear life, kids! So, I squeeze my eyes shut and make a go for it. So far so good, but I can't talk and drive at the same time anymore. Ha.
And last night it happened. A short ride to the church where I dropped Lucas and a friend off for the youth group gathering. I wasn't concentrating enough as I left the parking lot and drove down the street toward an intersection ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE STREET! I got to the intersection just in time to meet a car head on, turning onto the street in my lane. Yup, a not-so-gentle reminder; every day is opposite day in Australia.

Surf's Up!

The Indian Ocean is really quite spectacular. The water here in early June is still really quite warm. Keep in mind it's late autumn here now! We all went swimming yesterday at Mullaloo Beach. The surf is great here and the water is clear and without many weeds. We have acquired two boogie boards with which we can ride the waves right into the shore. It is such fun and doesn't require much skill, thankfully! However, as Steve and I both experienced yesterday, those waves will leave you with your pants full of sand if you don't catch the wave just right! (makes you walk funny when you get out of the water!) We also tried our talent as long jumpers; Sam turns out to be fairly good at it, and Camerin laughed too hard to really be able to do much of a jump at all.

Monday was a holiday; Foundation Day. It is a day celebrated to signify the founding of Western Australia by settlers. Obviously, the rest of Australia's states (there are 7 in all) do not celebrate this holiday, but it was a day off for schools, businesses, post, and stores.