Christmas Day In Margaret River

   We had a tough schedule to stick to on Christmas Day, but somehow we managed…

8:30 a.m. - Wake, shower, dress

9:00 a.m. - Breakfast in manor house

10:30 a.m. - Walk along river, mosey through town, window shop, etc.

11:30 a.m. - Cook Christmas Dinner

1:00 p.m. - Drink wine & snack

4:00 p.m. - Eat Christmas Dinner

5:30 p.m. - Drift into food coma

6:00 p.m. - Watch DVD whilst food digests

7:30 p.m. - Eat dessert & drink more wine

8:30 p.m. - Watch another DVD & sip port

10:00 p.m. - Pass out

   The two primary obstacles to overcome over the course of the day were 

1) Pacing our alcohol consumption and

2) Cooking a traditional-ish Christmas dinner in the most miniscule oven ever

   I am proud to say that we were highly successful in accomplishing both tasks.

                   

Left: our ittsy-bittsy kitchen (and we didn't even use the microwave!); Right: our cook kit

           

                                  

Voila! Roast pumpkin and sweet potato - yummmmm!!!

                     

Before and after shots of Christmas dinner - Left: Rob ready to dive into our fabulous fare of roast free-range turkey leg (cooked w/ butter and garlic), roasted sweet potato and pumpkin w/ cumin and cinnamon, buttery garlicky mashed red potatoes, sauteed asparagus and onions, cranberry sauce, and a lovely bottle of Cab-Sav; Right: Rob feeling decidedly "chockers"

                                 

Oh, Pavlova, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways…  We polished off all but a small chunk of this four-person pav before the night was out.  Oh, the luscious, gooey goodness!!

Christmas In Margaret River - Day 1

   The concept of a warm Christmas is so utterly foreign to me.  Yes, I've done the sunny Christmas holiday escape to Central America a few times in my life, but having months of heat during the buildup, execution, and aftermath of this chilliest of holidays strikes me as just plain weird.  I've had to laugh every time the lyric, 'oh, the weather outside is frightful…'  rang out on the airwaves whilst shopping over the past month - yeah, "Oh dear! It's 80°F and stunningly sunny outside, that is simply dreadful!"  What a bunch of weirdos…  Stranger yet is the prevailingly northern-hemispheric-centric holiday decorations - wreaths, holly, fake snow, reindeer, etc.

   So, with no fireplace to curl up beside with a mug of peppermint cocoa, and absolutely NO need for one, I couldn't bear the thought of spending Christmas at home.  Rob and I packed his little 4WD to the gills and headed south for slightly cooler climes and a little much-needed R&R.  First stop, our fav little coffee shop - Antz Inya Pantz www.antzinyapantz.com run by an American expat from Spokane, WA - to fuel up for the 4-hour drive.

         

   The drive down to Margaret River was relatively uneventful, winding down through the lush countryside.  We made a brief stop in Bunbury to pick up some fresh fruit for our Christmas dinner, but didn't really have the foresight to grab the most appropriate or needed items.  I've never taken so much extraneous food on a trip and still managed to be without key ingredients for planned dishes - definitely could use a PDA…

   We were sorely disappointed to find our planned lunch stop, Cape Lavender, unexpectedly closed and thus rocked up in M.R. cranky and über hungry.  Fortunately, the recommendation we'd received for eats in town panned out before the trip was completely ruined.  Settlers Tavern www.settlerstavern.com/ served up large and tasty late lunches to an eclectic mix of music.

    Finally, in the late arvo, we were able to take a load off and start to unwind in the quaint tranquility of the Bridgefield Guest House www.bridgefield.com.au

                          

   Rob and I relaxing with a bottle of Margaret River chardonnay on the porch of our private little cabin.

           

   View of the Bridgefield Guest House wishing well and sunset on the main house

                              

   Jade - the cat of the house, who had clearly been left to run the joint while the owners were off enjoying themselves.

 

Boing!

I finally caught a glimpse of a kangaroo in the wild long enough to snap a photo  -

Last weekend Rob and I went out to John Forrest national park to do the 15 km hike I did the first weekend I was here.  We got started a good two hours later than we should have and got a wee bit lost following a horse track that added 3-4 extra kilometers to our trek.  These two small misfortunes equalled a few brutally hot hours of hiking as we finish

ed the loop.  On the flip side, it gave us an extra stunning bit of ground to traverse and we ran smack into a momma kangaroo and her joey.

We were marching along, and as usual I was completely fixated on my feet in an effort to not end up with my face in the dirt.  Rob, on the other hand, was all eyes and ears up and out to catch any little item of interest in the vicinity.  According to him, I would have walked directly into the roos had they not bounded off just before I plowed into them.  Good thing they were paying attention…

It was amazing to me that they only bounced off about 15 meters into the bush and then just stood there, allowing me to get my camera out of the pack, position myself for a shot and actually snap one before they took off.  The youngin' was definitely the more skittish of the two, taking off before I could get a better shot with both of them.  Oh well, he was pretty damn cute anyway.

Other than a mutual cranky pants moment at the blazing hot end of the hike, as we were both suffering from creaky painful joints and desperate for cold water to jump into, it was a pretty great day.

Alley Cat

One of the things I've missed most since arriving in Perth is my precious pussy, Dexter.  I find few things as soothing as  snuggling with him, stroking his head, and avoiding being bitten.  I still miss him terribly, but for now a little substitute will suffice.  

Rob's cat Alley came to us from Melbourne a few weekends ago.  At first she sequestered herself to the undersides of beds and couches, was terrified of the train passing a few blocks away, and generally wasn't really taking care of herself.  After several days of this antisocial behavior, she wasn't the sweetest smelling cat, so we decided she desperately needed a bath.  Considering what a catastrophe this could have been, I'd say it went fairly well, although I'm not entirely sure Alley would agree…  It did get her grooming again and she suddenly became a little more brazen about exploring the house, developed a new interest in eating, and was far more social in general.

 

Little Aussie Friends

One thing I've always really appreciated about Alaska is that if something's going to kill you, at least you'll see it coming.  Not so in Australia.  This morning I had the pleasure of catching a Red Back Spider (pictured here) sneaking up under my bike seat just as I was about to ride off to work.  Scared the bejeezus out of me - the idea of Australia's deadliest spider biting me in the ass as I pedaled to work was quite unsettling.  So, after a bit of flailing about and other ridiculous acts, I managed to flick it on to the ground and stomp it a few extra times for good measure.

   I wondered, after the initial shock wore off, if I hadn't overreacted just a wee bit - just how 'deadly' are these spiders, because Australians don't seem to live in mortal fear of these pea-sized murderers.  The morbidity rate from the Red Back is, in fact, diminishingly small.  It seems that they're only a real threat to children, the elderly and the infirm, and there have been no reported deaths since the development of an antivenom.  Turns out one has several hours to receive treatment after being bitten and it's only needed if symptoms get nasty (i.e. vomiting, excess sweating, pain beyond the region of the bite, etc.)  But still, I think a bite might have ruined my day.

Sunsets

Perth has an abundance of wonderful vantage points from which to enjoy a good sunset - of which it also, most conveniently, has an abundance.  Most weekends Rob and I set off a few hours before the sun starts to go down to stake out a good spot, enjoy a glass of wine or a beer, maybe some dinner, and bask in the rosy glow.  Over the past few weeks, we've shivered the evening away at King's Park, packed a picnic and played Uno along the foreshore, savored a fabulous meal on the dock in South Perth, and whiled away the late afternoon at Scarborough Beach.  

While each of these evenings had its own highlights, last night at the beach was my personal favorite.  Although we were unprepared and underdressed for the wind, the water was so refreshing and we had an absolute ball jumping in the waves.  This was actually the first time I've really been in the ocean (aside from testing it with my toes a few months ago) since I came here.  I was absolutely screaming with delight getting pounded by the waves - what a blast.  After our swim, we grabbed some fish & chips, a few beers, and a spot facing the water to watch the kite surfers play in the wind before the sun went down.  It was by far the most relaxed I've been in a long time.

Rob had a great surprise in store when we got home - the Sex and the City Movie!  I've wanted to see this for, what, six months now!  It was great to finally get my fix.

It would have been the perfect day had I not walked into a wall and nearly knocked myself out when I got up in the night… owh. :(

New Job!

It seems an insurmountable task to stay up-to-date on this blog anymore, but I'm still giving it the ol' college try.  The biggest news of the past week or so is the job I've been offered.  A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a lecturer position in applied geology at Curtin Uni, just around the corner from my present office.  I felt that the interview itself went really well, but the 45 minute public talk I gave to a hand-full of geo-types was kind of a blur, so it was difficult for me to honestly assess my chances.

When the department chair called me a couple of weeks later, the tone of his voice and the way he beat around the bush convinced me he was trying to find a way to let me down easy.  So, imagine my surprise when he told me that after careful consideration the committee had decided, almost unanimously, that I was the best candidate for the job.  They were very impressed with me and, as it turns out, they were thanking their lucky stars that I was in the right place at the right time because I have exactly the skill set they were hoping for.  It turns out that igneous petrology is an area of great need in addition to a passion for teaching.  Lucky me.

So, I negotiated my contract last week and will be returning to Perth on a three-year contract to start July 1, 2009.  This gives me just a few more months to finish up my Ph.D. and try to crank out a few more papers (woo hoo).  As sad as I am to leave Alaska, I am very excited about the prospect of teaching full time and living in Australia.