Bush Dance

We are off to a bush dance at church now. We are dressed in matching jeans and and green gingham outfits (just like last year). I will try and find the photo from last year too, to see if you can recognise Billy Bob and his girlfriend / sister.

(3 hrs later)

Got a photo. One from this year and not last year. This is us just before we left the house. . .

Byron Bay

Went to Byron Bay last weekend for a mini holiday / diving expedition. Schalk, Rob and I left Brisbane at 7:30am Saturday morning for a leisurely 2hr cruise down to the hippy capital of NSW (don't know if that's true or not but why let the truth get in the way of a good story!).




Had a great time and got to the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland.



For the afternoon, we decided to lie on the beach (still winter might I add) and work on our tans. Very relaxing.


Sunday morning Schalk and I went for a dive out at Julian's Rocks. 18m underwater, surrounded by Sharks I found saw a silver glint on the ocean floor of coral. Of course I had to go and pick it up. What did I find you ask .. .well none other than a Tiffany's ring! I took it in to be valued the next day. Turns out after my high hopes of it being coated with platinum, it was only sterling silver and retails for $220.


Also while out in the boat heading to the dive spot, we saw humpback whales breaching out int the ocean. Then when we were underwater and you opened your ears you could hear the whales talking to each other (eeeehh, eeeehh, eeeehh). Pretty amazing.

Lots of (6 in total) Grey nurse and woobygongs (sand sharks) but came back with all my limbs so that was nice. I only did the one dive coz it was too cold for me and I get motion sickness once I get back on the boat the second time. Should do something about that really. Schalk went out for a second dive that afternoon and saw a stingray!

New Axe

Well, here is old the 'axe' . . . actually in the form of a trailer.



Rob picked it up for free as some guy at work had it in his backyard full of plant matter and no longer wanted it. We took it up to Bribie (might I add that I'm surprised it made it up there in one piece, without leaving anything in the path of other traffic sharing the road with us.)


Two weekends later, this is the almost complete result (all it needs is a paint job):

The reality behind this picture is that all that remains of the original trailer is the axle, the wheels (not the tyres) and the triangle bit at the front that hangs on to the car. EVERYTHING else had to be replaced.

And not only was it previously a 6x4 foot trailer, it is now a slightly-under-7-foot x 4-and-a-bit-foot. It fits the motorbike on the back of it though!!

I was impressed none the less. It was a learning curve for me coz I had never seen Rob take on a project like this. But he passed. Not only was it 'complete' in a suitable amount of time but it also came suitably under budget. Under budget that was if we were planning on buying a brand new trailer in the next 10 years!

Axe Handles

So have many axe heads and axe handles do you need before you have a new axe?
Watch this space . . .

Visits and Trips

We dont have internet at home at the moment which is why this updating has been slack. It should be turning up next week.

Dad came for dinner and hang out for the afternoon on Sunday which was nice. After a small mix up as to which train station to pick him up from (South Brisbane vs South Bank!) we went home and had a nap in front of the the rugby. Then off to dinner with Chris and Merilyn at Jamaica Blue . Lovely place. Not quite sure what demographic they were aiming for with the punk/rock music to the $25-$35 mains. I had lamb hokieen noodles stirfry and it was amazing!!

Went 4WDing on the Saturday and as per Robs blog . . .wives are not allowed to go next time. I had enough of my heart jumping into my throat when I saw the truck teetering on two wheels with a drop off only a couple of meters off to the left and watching the truck slide backwards down a hill straight towards a rock. It was a day with a few expletives and tears. The truck looks nice and muddy now though.

Work is great. Heaps of new responsibilities and a pay rise which is nice.

Just need to buy a bigger house now!

What we've been doing

Although we have been ultra busy I don't feel like any of it has been blog worthy, but here is a few things that we have been up to:

A weekend in Bribie with Robs parents because Robs old worship pastor/leader (who is a missionary in Japan with his family) were over so we went to Rob's old church to listen to Dave and Nat preach. Heaps cool. And their daughter Mia has grown up so much since we saw them a year ago!

Celebrating birthdays in many shapes and forms: phone calls, picnics, dinner parties etc

Going to the movies. First was 'Shrek 3' at the drive in (thank you Tamar for chaperoning us) Much funnier and better that Shrek 2 which was a relief. Also saw 'Romulus, My Father', an Australian movie about depression, child abuse, psychiatric problems etc. I was too distracted by the rat in the cinema that was chewing on a paper bag about 5 seats across from me so didn't get the full concept of the movie!

Signing a new contract at work next week to be put on permanently (as apposed to the 3 month contract I'm technically on now.)

Life is good. . . .really busy, but good!!

Things coming up include;

Lots more dinner parties, visits from family (both Kiwi and Aussie), house hunting and 4wd driving and maybe if we are lucky . . . internet at home.

12 Hours of Rain

Check it out!!! It has rained for the past 12 hours, nice constant drizzly rain, and even over the dams.