Since I left you last (or neglected you sounds more like it) our excitement level has sky rocketed! We are in our new place and it is certainly a change from where we were. Life on a budget sucks but you got a do what you got a do. Enjoy my blog and let me know how much you miss me when you are done reading!
I believe when I last wrote to you, we had just spent a wonderful Christmas with Maureen’s family and we were packing our suit cases to head to Albany to visit Liz’s relatives. The packing we did but the heading to Albany part got a bit tricky…let me fill you in. We booked a bus ticket from Perth to Albany with the intentions of leaving on the 28th and coming back on the 31st because I had to work New Years day. We arranged to have Maureen drop us off at the station and Joe and Donna planned on picking us up in Albany. To prepare for the trip Liz had a bake fest and made the entire family her yummy muffins to take with us so we loaded those up along with a couple of sandwiches for the bus ride and then we packed up Maureen’s car. She drove us to the station and helped us unload while Liz went to get our tickets. Once we unloaded, Maureen and I headed over to Liz at the ticket counter. The lady was having some issues finding the tickets so she just printed new ones. Liz handed me the tickets and I began reading the information. I thought to myself that it was a bit odd that the tickets said the bus departed an hour ago so I brought that to the lady’s attention. She kindly informed us that we did indeed miss that bus to Albany and the next bus to leave was full so we wouldn’t be able to leave until the following day. Lesson learned here was not to let Liz read military time! Needless to say we canceled that trip and saw it as a chance to get in some apartment shopping.
Maureen took sympathy on our situation and decided to take us to Burswood casino for a lovely smorgasbord and some gambling. Liz and I exchanged some Christmas cash for a few chips and we gambled the night away. After losing a bit on the slots, we decided to try our luck at the Roulette tables. Maureen had a blast losing her money and for some reason she was dead set on the number six so for the next 20 bets we always put one chip on the number six. Our very last chip landed us thirty five to one odds when the mark hit six! We didn’t win that much money but we definitely left with more than we came with. I could not believe that it actually hit six on our very last chip! I always knew I was addicted to gambling but unfortunately this experience has made that addiction ten times worse.
Those were just a couple of fun experiences in the midst of our apartment hunting. Maureen let us take her car to go apartment shopping and she was kind enough to come with us and lend her opinion about certain areas. Trying to find a place to live was an absolute disaster! Apparently real estate agents are pretty busy around here because open houses only last fifteen minutes and you are required to go in order to get an application for the residence. It was an insane process and right when we were preparing to live on the streets we found a place not to far from where we were. It is a bit old with no air conditioning but it will suit our needs! I have already started a long to do list for our realtor and I graciously add to it on a daily basis as things around the place fall apart. We have this jank water heater that you can hear turn on and off and it is pretty sensitive so when you turn the cold water a little too far it shuts off and the water turns to freezing or vice versa if you are trying to adjust the warm water! It is dreadful hearing that clicking noise that lets you know you are about to get third degree burns or hypothermia...take your pick! “No worries” is what an Australian would say so I am sticking by that.
Shortly after getting settled into our apartment, Liz’s grandparents arrived with their friends Larry and Beverly. They spoiled us rotten while they were here and Liz and I enjoyed every minute of it. Hearing the four of them talk was entertainment enough for me. They have that deep Northern Louisiana accent that I actually had trouble understanding when they first arrived. It didn’t take me long to get back into the swing of things and before you knew it I had my little twain back. We took them down to Margaret River where we enjoyed a couple of wineries and some amazing food. We stayed at a place called Cape Lodge that was a stunning location. It was a far cry from camping in a shitty tent our first go round in Margaret River. We stopped at a shearing shed on the way home and it was probably one of the coolest things I have seen since I have been in Australia (not to sure what that says about the things I have done). The man showed us how to shear sheep and how the dogs mustered the sheep which was probably my favorite part. The man was even kind enough to let Granny cop a feel of a sheep’s ball sack.
It was so great having visitors from home and when we returned to Perth, Liz and I took them to the wildlife park and to Janebrook so they could see where we worked. I introduced them to all of my favorite animals and we sat down to have a group photo with Little Lawrence, my favorite wombat. Once Granny and Mrs. Beverly wiped out the wildlife park’s gift shop we headed to Janebrook for some lovely wine and another great meal. Liz got to show off her wine tasting skills and was really impressive when it came to bull shitting! For their last night in Perth, we arranged a dinner with Maureen at our favorite Italian restaurant, Spaghi’s. It was a fun night for everyone and it was really sad to have to say good bye. It left me missing home for sure. The next morning, Liz drove them to the airport and I took off on my bike for work. I hadn’t been to work in five whole days and I was seriously missing it! Everyone gave me a hard time about how quite it had been around the park but I know they had missed me. Things are going fabulously at work and by that I mean no recent animal attacks!!!
For the time being we are just settling into our place and enjoying our time in Australia. We have already been here for four months and it still feels like we arrived yesterday. My home sick meter goes up and up but I know I will be back before long. My Australian vocabulary usage has increased dramatically so when I come home saying funny things, I better not get any lip from any of you and for all of my Cajun friends with thick accents don’t be offended when it takes me a while to understand you again.
*Funny story of the week: Grandpappy and Mr. Larry were reimpressed at how well Liz and I could navigate throughout Australian and how well we had adjusted to driving on the wrong side of the road. Being guys, they were dying to give it a try. Thankfully they both did very well and we all survived their trial drives with no accidents. Since the guys had their turn, Mrs. Beverly thought it was only fair that she try too. She hopped in that driver’s seat, made a few comments about how different it felt, and not five seconds after putting the car in gear did she crash right over the curb. This lady cracks me up beyond belief so when this happened I about peed my pants! She said, “It’s just a rental, it will be fine!” Her driving privileges were removed after that.
G’Day
Lindsay Ezell
LC
Snook
Ez-E
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