Hello Everyone,
Things have been a little bit busy around here, hence the
time between posts.
Matt and I are both doing pretty well. Things related to
gold, and especially the company Matt works for, have been up, down, and all
around recently. As of now, Matt’s mine is still running and we are still
making the most of our time here in Perth, however long it lasts!
Since my last post, Matt has had two swings here in Perth,
and two at Plutonic.
The week of May 15th-22nd, we had one of those
quiet yet busy weeks full of appointments and errands that flies by but you
feel like nothing was accomplished! Matt began visits at the chiropractor, and
has since had some relief from his lower back pain. We did see the new Star
Trek movie that week, and we tried out a restaurant just down the street called
Miss Kitty’s Saloon. They serve gourmet twists on American/Canadian food tapas
style. I especially liked the fried pickles, and Matt loved his Monte Cristo
sandwich when we stopped in for brunch over the weekend.
Matt headed back to work from May 23rd to the 29th.
I began tutoring Peter and Galina, a geologist couple who used to work on
Matt’s swing but have since switched. We meet for a couple of hours on Thursday
and Tuesday while they are in Perth and work on beginner’s Spanish. And they
pay me! I was also busy that week with translating safety Powerpoints for
Siegwerk and planning Matt’s birthday party (which is this Friday!)
The week of May 30th – June 5th, my
brother Peter’s girlfriend Katie celebrated a birthday with a trip to Decorah
and Luther College, our alma mater. Happy Birthday!
Matt and I saw the Great Gatsby, which he read the week
before (apparently F. Scott Fitzgerald isn’t required reading in high school in
England). It’s been several years since I read the novel, and I enjoyed the
movie. Matt gave it maybe one thumb up…
Saturday we had dinner at Miss Kitty's, and it didn't disappoint. I had homemade baked cream corn, among several other things, and Matt had poutine and roast suckling pig, amongst other dishes. We left absolutely stuffed. America!
We did some shopping for décor and drinks for the birthday
party and on Sunday we headed to the Wannaroo markets, which were a bit of
a let down, so we drove to Cottesloe for lunch at Vans café, which we first
went to about a year ago, and loved even though it is very overpriced. The
prices are still high, but the food is also still very good! We also checked out some WWII tunnels between Cottesloe and Fremantle. Matt has the photos on his phone...
Monday was Western Australia Day. Yes, each state and
territory has a day. No, absolutely nothing special happens except everywhere
is closed and the kids are off school. The weather was nice, so Matt and I took
a walk, tried out his new camera, which is for his birthday from his parents,
at least in part :), and we ended up walking 11 kilometers.
We wandered
through the suburbs of Maylands and Bayswater, and made it to Riverside Park,
which was busy with families BBQing, dogs running around, and to my delight, an
ice cream truck!
On Tuesday we visited the chiropractor and made a lovely
roast dinner, with lamb, mashed butternut squash, roasted vegetables and
buttermilk biscuits for an American spin. Then Wednesday, instead of heading
back to work, Matt stayed an extra day in order to watch the BRITISH and IRISH
LIONS take on the Western Force in rugby. Originally, we wanted to see the
Lions play in Melbourne on Matt’s birthday, but tickets for those matches were
all used up on “club members.” So, we went for the next best thing and watched
them here in Perth at Patersons Stadium. Unfortunately, Matt’s Lions shirt
didn’t arrive in time. Fortunately, mine did. Fortunately, he has lots of England rugby jerseys.
I enjoyed the match, although
even with all of the Lions fans the atmosphere was a bit lacking.
That was
until the Welsh guy a couple of rows in front of us pulled bagpipes out of his
backpack!
Click here to watch the video on youtube – remember Matt’s
getting used to his camera and forgets it isn’t his phone :).
The Lions won easily and Matt was very happy to fulfill his
dream of watching the Lions play (as they only play as a team on international
tours).
He headed back to work Thursday morning, I headed over to
Peter and Galina’s to tutor them. We made plans to visit John Forrest National
Park for a 10K hike on the Heritage Railroad Trail the next day.
The trail goes through the national park and follows the
(removed) tracks of the railroad that used to connect Fremantle and York.
Along
the way there were lots of birds, beautiful hills, and a few reminders of the
railroad that used to be like trestle bridges and the first and, until 2007 the
only railroad tunnel in WA. (The second is the subway tunnel in the CBD).
The
tunnel was built in 1895, and yes, we walked through it. We had a BBQ in the
middle of the park, surrounded by kookaburras and magpies that swooped in to
try and steal our food. It was very nice to get out for a hike on a week Matt
is at work, and I look forward to more socializing and Spanish sessions with
Peter and Galina.
Today I cleaned the house and yard and got the rest of the
groceries for the birthday party. Tomorrow I will be busy baking triple
chocolate cupcakes and Cornish pasties. Wish me luck! We will be sure to post
photos of Matt’s Cornish-themed party, as well as that of Vince, our friend and
former housemate, who is also turning 30 and is having a Roaring Twenties
birthday Saturday night!
Happy Father’s Day in advance!
PS - So far, so good with all things rodentia. As in, we haven't heard anything!
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