29th December 2012 ~ It was a rough night last night. We woke up with a start at 2 am because we heard the chickens making a racket. I knew straight away what it was. We chucked on some clothes and ran over there. There were feathers everywhere and we thought the fox had taken another chicken. They were so scared, even Patrick the rooster let me gently guide him back into the coop. Normally he would be jumping at me, talons out and ready for action….I really hate that chicken… For a while we thought the fox had pulled one of the chickens through the mesh because her whole tail was lying on the floor. We eventually found her rammed under the water trough. She had wedged herself so far under it I had to bend the wire mesh on the outside of the coop to get her out. I thought she was dead but she dead but somehow she survived the ordeal. I decided to let her stay in the coop with the other chickens instead of bringing her in the house which would have probably freaked her out even more. Especially with Phoebe in there.We set the trap again and we walked down into the paddock being careful not to draw attention to ourselves. I could feel Napoleons eyes on us as soon as we walked into his zone. We could see the foxes eyes by the dam and judging by the noise I would say its killed a duck. We decided to leave it, as much as I wanted to strangle the bastard thing, we knew if we spooked it too much it wouldn't come back to the coop And hopefully into the trap. Much to my disappointment there was nothing in the trap come the morning. Having thought about the predicament we might have been in had we caught the fox and not been able to kill it maybe it was best  that the trap was empty. The chickens were staying in until we cleared up the mess and then we based ourselves in around the chicken coop to try and fox proof it. It is going to be an impenetrable chicken fortress!

We spent an entire day digging around the base of the wire which ran around the coop and sunk boards into the ground either side of the mesh, screwing it between the boards and backfilling the channel we had dug. The sun was blazing hot, since we were the only ones at home I decided to get the pasty white flesh out and continue working in the Aussie heat in my bikini top. Work on the chicken coop didn’t finish until late into the evening but at least they are safe.

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21st December 2012 ~ After buying a new pair of clippers for Nick we headed down to Reece for the Christmas lunch. It was so strange parking up in the visitor car park and even stranger signing in as a visitor! It was lovely to see both Gwen and Nga at reception. We had missed them. After a coffee from the new coffee machine and being handed a bag of free Reece goodies we headed into the lunch room and waited for the stampede of employees eager for their hot beef rolls and baked potatoes. As the staff trickled in from the warehouse we were greeted with lots of hugs and looks of complete surprise. It made me realise how much I had missed everyone here. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone again, hopefully we will be back sometime in the future.

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17th December 2012 I swear sometimes this cat is like having a child. She was up at 3 am crying for attention and walking all over the bed. I got up to go to the bathroom and she followed me into the bathroom. Then she wanted to come in the bed but she wouldn't settle. She got up an hour later and wanted to go out. Monica was meowing outside the cottage for ages last night and this morning. She wants to come in but Phoebe won't let her. They had a fight again this morning. I’m hoping they will both work out their differences and start getting along soon. Robyn informed me that a huntsman had decided to move into the letter box! This is not good news, I may have to volunteer Nicks services for checking the mail box. As Christmas is looming the thought of not being with our family for another year has been playing on my mind. I understand its only one day of the year but for both Nick and I Christmas is a time of being with the people that we love. However, being away from our loved ones makes us appreciate the time we have spent with them and the little but precious contact we have had with them since we left.

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11th December 2012 ~ We phoned the visa bureau again today just to double check how obtaining a tourist visa would work should we be unlucky and not manage to get enough working days in order for us to obtain our second year visa. It was bad news from the start of the phone call. According to the person we spoke to the visa bureau would not grant us a tourist visa after being in the country for a year on a working holiday visa even if we could prove that we hadn’t moved from the Melbourne area and we had been virtually working 7 days a week paid and voluntary in order to get our visa. I was really upset with the news but like they explained they could not be certain of our motives for wanting to stay in the country when we have had a year to see the place. There must be a real problem with people coming in and working illegally if they are not prepared to even consider us for a tourist visa. Its so hard when you try and stick to all the rules  and regulations.

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7th December 2012 ~ We were fortunate enough to have a full day of work today picking lilies which meant more money in the bank. It's been very hot and the UV index was 11 so I slapped on the factor 40. Picking lilies sounds like an easy job but I can assure you it’s not. Especially in the heat and the humidity. The bunches are so heavy as you carry them up and down the rows. As soon as a desired amount is collected you have to place them a certain way against the wire in order to preserve the delicate flower heads. After a morning picking  am normally covered in bruises and my arms are heavy and aching. Its a good workout! After work we took ourselves off to Uptech 4x4 garage in the little town on Monbulk to have some new wheels and tyres fitted on the Jackaroo. Upon arriving we were greeted by several cheerful employees. The actual change over of the wheels was rapid and we were soon on our way back home to Beaconsfield with a lot more grip on the road. The tyres we had gone for had come off an old 4x4 that was sat in the yard. The tyres were brand new and had only been used for rolling the 4x4 around so they still had the little nodules on them. We paid the grand total of $650 for 5 wheels and tyres and the fitting. A much better price than some of the garages were quoting us and the service was great. The garage itself is dated, out the back is a 4x4 graveyard, a wonderland for any enthusiast looking for a deal. On one side of the disused gas pumps is a small shop full of dusty bottles of oil and 4x4 parts. On the other side of the pumps is the work shop and high above our heads was a 4x4 with the biggest set of tyres I have ever seen!

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4th December 2012 ~ I had a massive panic today thinking I had lost our wallet. We searched frantically in the cottage in all the cupboards,  under the bed and anywhere else we could think of. There is nothing worse than the feeling of losing something valuable. It contained all our credit cards, medicare cards and cash. The Jackaroo was turned upside down too but we found nothing. The last time I remember having it was when we parked at the train station in Narre Warren. Just as I was dialling the number for the police station I moved some postcards in the glove box and noticed the familiar shape of our little grey travel wallet. A huge sense of relief washed over me. There is nothing worse then the sense of losing something valuable and recently I have been so forgetful and I have been putting things in strange places. I blame it partly on being tired.

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2nd December 2012 ~ It was a blissful lie in this morning which was unusual for us. After having our breakfast we did a bit of work outside in the garden before driving down to Narre Warren to get the train into the city centre. The 2012 Sexpo was being held at the exhibition centre. It would be a chance for us to experience something a little bit different. After looking at a few write ups on a few various websites I had some idea of what to expect. The journey on the train took just under an hour and we got off at Southern Cross station. The exhibition centre was a short walk past one of the old hostels we stayed in when we first arrived in Melbourne. Looking at the shabby outside of the hostel and the stained curtains blowing around out of the open wooden windows made me realise how good life is for us now! A tidal wave of people flowed past us, all of them carrying various unmarked bags full of naughty goodies from the Sexpo. After paying our entry fee were headed into the main doors. A long wall had been erected to block out the view of the stands from the general public which was a good idea. Some very toned young men wearing little aprons and elf hats were on the first stand we came across. Of course I had to take a picture! The Trash Dolls had a rather brightly coloured stand advertising lap dances. They certainly drew some attention from passers by. The place was packed with all sorts of people from young to old including a couple that looked like your sweet little Nanna and Poppa casually watching some very attractive topless ladies on stage. Pricasso was an interesting chap dressed in a giant pink PVC hat, thong and boots. You can imagine by the name what he painted his pictures with! Having watched him intently for a few minutes I started to wonder how he stopped “It” from getting sore however he did grease himself up with oil before starting….nice. A huge stage lit up with purple lights stood pride of place looking over all the bustling stored selling everything from sex toys to lap dances. I managed to get a quick picture of the legendary Ron Jeremy who was sat on the other side of a desk talking with another guy while a lady with the biggest boobs I have ever seem handed out free t-shirts. We followed the flow of people, hopping from stall to stall to see what was on offer. We had to stop for a chocolate filled pretzel break! There was a live performance from Trinity Porter on the stage and I found it quite funny how the audience all gasped in shock when she removed her tiny little g string and finished her performance. What were you people expecting coming to a place like this? As we walked towards the end of the convention there was a live demonstration of BDSM by several ”older” people. That was enough for me! We stayed there for a few hours before heading back to the station where we shared our carriage with a very drunk Mexican guy who fell asleep and started snoring very loudly the whole journey back. It was certainly an interesting experience I will never forget!

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30th November 2012 ~ It was another hot day today and the poly tunnels were very humid. If it gets really hot in there they put on the sprinkler system which instantly cools you down. The only problem with putting water into the tunnels is the mud that is created. It sticks to your boots and you end up with a 6 inch platform of thick red mud on the bottom of your boot which makes it really hard to walk up the rows with the bug bunches of lilies over your shoulders. After a long, hot and sticky day at work today we raced home for a shower and we were off for Nicole's 18th birthday meal at one of the local restaurants. I was so tired but I had made a promise I would be there and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. By the time we got there the feeling of tiredness faded. After our meal we up going back to Nicole's house to eat the most awesome birthday cake from the Cheesecake shop. I love that place!

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26th November 2012 ~ We were woken up by the biggest clap of thunder followed by what I can only describe as monsoon rains!! The whole sky has been lit up by the lightening and the thunder is that loud the cottage is shaking. This was like a super electrical storm. Poor Phoebe was so scared she came in bed for a bit and then hid in her litter box. All this action before 5 am…. So much for a lie in!! Today we cut up some of the old gum tree that had fallen in the bottom paddock. Nick managed to get the old chainsaw working, that thing would take down a forest. Slowly the woodshed stocks are getting back up to a reasonable level. It should be full come winter time. I normally get the job of stacking the woodshed. I try not to look for spiders and just concentrate on putting the logs on top of each other like a rickety old jigsaw. All the bark we have kept to one side because that makes excellent fire lighting material.

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24th November 2012 ~ This morning we had the joy of being woken up by Phoebe pulling both our mobile phones off the side table and onto the floor. They were on charge so she pulled the leads out as well. Then she followed me into the bathroom and sat on my foot meowing, bit me and ran off into the lounge and hid under the door mat chewing on a shoe lace. She's a crazy cat!! We were going to have a lie in but that's not going to happen. Not with this crazy cat throwing herself around the cottage. It was decided that we would do  bit of work in the morning before it gets too hot again. I think it's going to be 36 again today. We're meeting Mark and Nicole in Berwick for lunch to use our vouchers for subway. We have a spare buy one get one free voucher so we thought we would give one to them. We also have a voucher for the cheesecake shop!! That place does the most incredible cheesecake. So many different flavours. The blueberry one is the best. You can buy a quarter for $7. The quarters are huge. Our voucher is buy one get one free so half a cheesecake for $7.... Sounds like a good plan. Ok so the Subway branch at Eden rise were more than useless. The voucher we had was for a buy one get one free foot long sub. Since I don’t eat bread I asked if I could have a salad bowl which in theory is cheaper and not as much work is involved, plus they save on the bread. I know that isn’t what the voucher advertises but I thought common sense on the staffs part would come into play. But oh how wrong I was. They wouldn’t me have a salad bowl because they had to “Count their stock” so I had to order a foot long veggie delite accompanied by an empty salad bowl so they could put it through the till as a foot long. After money and vouchers were exchanged I proceeded to scrape the contents of the sub into the empty salad bowl and throw the bread in the bin. What a waste and completely unnecessary. Something tells me I am never going back there again!

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20th November 2012 ~ The first day of our new job! Our day started at 5 am, luckily we were used to the early starts, and we had a 40 minute drive to the packing shed which is 250 Queens road, Wandin East, Yarra Valley. A fox had a narrow escape as we followed the narrow roads through Wandin. When we got there our induction consisted of "this is the lunch room, this is your supervisor Graham, here's your knife and there's the yard!" I have never seen so much red mud, so many lilies and poly tunnels. We had to pick all day but we got a 20 minute tea break and a 40 minute lunch. We had to use our hooked knives to cut the stalks in a certain way. Then the carriers would come and collect the bunches for us as we went along the poly tunnels. It was like a jungle in there. It was 30 degrees outside so I dread to think how hot it was inside!! We both sweated all day!!! I must have drunk at least 2 litres of water just at work. Luckily we made a few friends on the first day. Sharon was great to talk to. She had started there a couple of weeks before us. Corey, one of the tractor drivers was pretty friendly too. We were exhausted by the time we got home and filthy from all the mud we were trampling through during the day. Both my arms were covered in bruises from all the lily stems and aching from carrying the bunches but it was all worth it. Just to finally have another job that meets all the right criteria for a second year visa is a blessing no matter now hard it is. We’re both not scared of a bit of hard work. I think tomorrow we are going to be aching!

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19th November 2012 ~ I spent the entire weekend posting advert after advert on Gumtree and every job website we could find. There was a huge amount of response but 100% of the response we were getting was from people either in the wrong postcode area or the wrong type of work. It was another full day spent all day driving from farm to farm, from packing shed to packing shed. It was like a scene out of the nativity, minus the donkey..... Everywhere said no. We even turned up at the blackberry picking place. He said come back Thursday but I think that means no. After pulling up to the open doors of a shed we had a chat with a lady called Judy who runs a lily picking and packing business. She took our details and we weren't expecting to hear anything back. We had a call back from Judy as we were driving home!! Work starts tomorrow picking and packing lilies. $16.50 per hour whoop whoop!! Someone must have been listening to my prayers!

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16th November 2012 ~ Our last working day, and I actually feel really sad. I’ve made so many friends in the 6 months that we have worked here at Reece. Its been a wonderful experience and we have enjoyed it. Our last day, as we predicted, was a very long day and there have been so many problems with the building site and the plumbers. The warehouse was evacuated this morning because the alarm went off!! Luckily it was just a drill and everyone got out of the building quickly.We got told to walk down to the meeting room at break time and we were greeted with lots of smiling faces and a little leaving party for us. They had got us a tray of cakes and a tray of fruit. I felt like I wanted to cry! Reece has really looked after both of us, like all the staff employed here. We couldn’t have asked to work with a nicer bunch of people and we will miss them all very much. There was lots of goodbye hugs at the end of the day. I felt the tears stinging the eyes a few times saying goodbye to people but I think I held it together pretty well. After saying goodbye to Nga at reception we walked to the Jackaroo for the last time. It reminded me of leaving Bonboniera and how I had felt all day, like it was the end of an era and the dawn of something new. It filled me with mixed emotions again and a familiar hint of fear, of the unknown once more.

Our joy was short lived. A trip to McDonalds for a coffee to celebrate suddenly turned sour when we called Steve from Wandin Vale orchards to confirm what time we were starting on Monday. His response was “I don’t know who you are” and “I haven’t got any work yet”. My heart sank. Had karma once again come to bite us hard on the backside. What were we doing wrong? And was this a sign that this second year visa wasn’t meant to be? We only had a few weeks left to get. How hard could it be? The drive home was a very quiet one and all I wanted to do was hide myself away. We broke the bad news when we got home, and like usual they raised our spirits with their kind words. Looks like we will be taking another trip up to Yarra Valley again.

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12th November 2012 ~ I’m not going to get too excited just in case its too good to be true but  Nick just got off the phone to the blackberry picking place we called a few weeks ago. We start work there on Monday. Working hours are between 7am and 5pm 7 days a week but we can pick and choose our hours. We get paid by the punnet for some jobs and an hourly rate for others. So it's going to be hard work to get these days in but hopefully we will get a visa from it. A huge sense of relief washed over me. Friday is our last working day at the warehouse and I honestly thought we would have nothing set in stone before we left. Things are finally looking up for us and our second year visa!

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11th November 2012 ~ Today was the eagerly awaiting Melbourne Tattoo Convention in the city centre. Nick and I parked up at Narre Warren train station  and met Mark and Nicole on the first carriage, they caught it from Pakenham further up the line. We had to buy a Myki card for the train because they don't sell tickets anymore. It cost us $10 each! But $12 out of the $20 was just on the cards. You tap it on a machine to get into the station and out of the station at the other end and you use it on the trams too. We arrived in the city centre at the Southern Cross station and walked to the tattoo convention. I hadn’t realised Mark and Nicole, being locals didn’t know their way around the city. A powerful smell of disinfectant hit us as we walked through the doors of the exhibition centre and we were surrounded by the low buzzing coming from every booth. A lot of people getting tattoos in all styles, shapes, colours and styles. Incredible pieces were coming together on peoples skin, it was amazing to watch the artists work. I recognised a few famous artists names from California, London and LA. As predicted there were some really strange people walking around too!! Some poor guy was getting his elbow tattooed with a very impressive looking sunflower. Others were getting portraits of family members or famous celebrities. Some booths were selling piercing jewellery, clothes and books and others were selling beautiful tattoo prints. We were captivated by the performance of a blood painter that used an airbrush and his own blood to create some really beautiful pieces of work. They were very impressive, but maybe a little macabre. Nicole wanted her nose pierced so we found a booth that would do it for her. I joined her in a little room and watched her. I had a text from the boys outside asking me to film it on my phone, how nasty are they?! A session of Jelly Wrestling was next on our agenda. It was a promotion for a local strip club. They were offering Scnitz & Tits for $40 a seat. So you get your chicken schniztel dinner and a show for that price....what a bargain.…
We stayed at the convention for most of the afternoon and headed to Flinders Street on the tram to get some dinner. Mark, Nicole and Nick opted for McDonalds and I had my coffee fix. The flinders street station was just across the road so we caught the train back to Narre Warren from there. All in all it had been a good day.

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7th November 2012 ~ A package from my Mum arrived today, good old Mum. Inside was a pair of comfy knickers, my favourite leopard print cardigan, a bra bag and some MAC make up. I love my Mum! And best of all it all smelled like her which gave me those instant home sick pangs. Phoebe had also left me a present, however this one was much less desirable than the package from my Mum. Phoebes present came in the form of a headless baby rabbit on the door mat with its guts smeared all over the concrete outside the door. No matter how hard Nick tried we couldn’t get the stains off the floor. Thanks Phoebe for thinking of me! She trotted over shortly after that with a smug look on her kitty chops. She knew what she’d done, I’m sure of it.

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6th November 2012 ~ The work situation is getting desperate and we finish at the warehouse soon so we had to do something so we decided to pack ourselves up in the Jackaroo with some lunch and water and left the cottage in search of work. We drove up through the Dandenong ranges to Yarra Valley. It was beautiful down there. Its basically a huge farming community with rolling green hills, mountain backdrops and lots of little roads, streams and dams. Our first stop was at a lavender farm and the woman there has work for us in December. Her sons are setting up a rasberry farm and they might need help so she is going to call them for us. Next stop was a little further down the road at a courgette farm after that and Nick ended up going into an old couples house for a chat. Half an hour passed and I was starting to get really worried. All sorts of weird and wonderful thoughts were being processed by my highly active imagination. It turned out they had invited him in and given him a load of information about other farms in the area. He was also informed that the Delancey family from Guernsey had set up farms here and there were a lot of local Guernsey surnames in that particular area! Its a small world! They said if we really get stuck for work to call them again and they will help us. Lunch was eaten on the side of the road before continuing on our job search. On the way back we pulled over where the 1000 steps is. A huge colony of cockatoos covered the railings on the left hand side. Tourists were pouring off buses and making a beeline to the birds to take pictures of them. After a brief walk around the gift shop we headed home with a stack of hand written notes from the elderly couple Nick had spoken to and feeling no closer to finding a job.

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4th November 2012 ~ Today was spend outside with the whipper snipper or strimmer as us British would refer to it. The whole back of the cottage is looking super tidy and is minus two large bushes of ivy and some over hanging branches. Phoebe was on the hunt and managed to catch a baby bird and rip the poor things tail off. However, I managed to rescue the bird before it became dinner and put it in a box away from the killer cat. Phoebe can be so lovely but underneath that cute exterior is a cold blooded killer! I’m surprised she is still choosing to stay with us here in the cottage when she has such a lovely home she could go to.

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2nd November 2012 ~The couple we live with got back from holiday today and came over with the dogs to bring us a  lovely thank you card from Billy and Kya and a bottle of perfume for me and some After shave for Nick!! It was a really nice and very unexpected gesture. Its nice to have some perfume, I don’t have many luxuries while we’re on the move. Its nice to feel a little bit feminine sometimes. And we don’t mind looking after the dogs, they are no trouble for us, we are only happy to help out.

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31st October 2012 ~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Today we decided to go out with the dogs up to the Dandenong ranges. Billy and Kya always get so excited when they know they are going out in the car and even more excited when they see the blue material shopping bag with their leads. Its a race to see who can jump in the car first and a struggle to try and close the back door on a very excited Kya who insists on poking her nose just a little too far out of the door. The drive took us through Upper Beaconsfield. I love the old retro garage up there called Moonshine Motors. Its like something out of a Dukes of Hazard film. Then there’s the hilarious sign for “Sally’s Big Ass Burgers” featuring a lady in a red dress with her back to you lifting her skirt to expose a massive burger. I love Australian signs, it makes me realise how much us Brit's complain about anything and everything. The slightest hint of something crude and all hell breaks loose. I don’t miss that. Kya made a point of standing just behind the seats breathing her stinky dog breath on us for most of the journey but how can you possibly be angry with that face? We drove through Belgrave past the signs for Puffing Billy and up through Olinda. There was something magical about driving through the huge gum trees on route. It makes you wonder how they grew so big. We had to pay to park in the car park but it wasn’t much. After giving the dogs a quick drink of water it was time to saddle up the pooches and get walking. Billy led the way, as usual, pulling Nick along the forest pathways. Kya walked quietly beside me. Noisy cockatoos were circling in the trees above and the odd lorikeet swooped past as we followed the undulating dirt pathways. After an hours walk we came to a opening where we could look out over the forest below. We stopped off at Olinda and took another walk down to the waterfalls. Again we were greeted with that ear piercing noise of the cockatoos in the trees above. Billy dragged Nick all the way down to the waterfalls and all the way back. He forgets that he’s an old dog sometimes. By the time we got home after an afternoon walking both dogs crashed out on their beds for the evening. I was uncertain whether or not we would have any kids trick or treating up here. If I was a child I would not walk down the pitch black driveway in the dark. Running down there in the evening freaks me out at the best of times, but then again I’m a wimp. Plus I don’t actually know if any kids live in the area. We will have to see. Candy stocks are in place if Nick can contain himself!

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28th October 2012 ~ It was a very hot day today so we decided it would be a great idea to work in the garden! The hedges needed re-shaping and the rose bushes needed cutting back so that was top on our list of things to do. We managed to obtain some free roof bars for the Jackaroo from a friend of ours.  In fact we ended up borrowing their trailer and bringing back an old futon bed frame, some wooden posts and a bike! The bed frame is going to be cut down and made into a roof rack for the Jackaroo, the posts will go in the wood pile for fencing and the bike is going to be fixed so I can hopefully ride it. I was suddenly reminded of all the times I had called my Mum a womble for going through our rubbish to see what she could re-cycle, or ‘saving’ things that would be useful later on. After all we are expert ‘Skip Hunters’, ‘One mans trash is another mans treasure’ and all that jazz. Oh and a major factor that comes in to play is money….we never have enough of the stuff to buy new so its either second hand or make it! I experimented with a new potato and cauliflower curry recipe for dinner which turned out to be a spectacular dish. I served it with wholemeal pita bread.

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22nd October 2012 ~ After work today in desperation I updated our Helpx profile and within 5 minutes of the update we had a phone call from a woman who owned a cattle station about 5 hours drive from Beaconsfield. She seemed really keen to employ us but a big part of us doesn’t want to move away from the place we have called home since March. Plus she wanted 30 hours a week, each from both of us in exchange for accommodation and food which I thought was a bit steep, especially when she reeled off the hours and jobs she wanted doing. Shortly after that we had another phone call from someone who owned a dairy farm on the banks of the Murray river. They were keen to employ us too. So at least we have a back up plan should all else fail. Luckily we found the Helpx website which has proved a valuable asset during our travels.

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18th October 2012 ~  Upon my arrival at the Warehouse I was told that I'll be based in credit returns all day today which is great. I like a change from standing around supervising and I like being able to move around, even if its only putting away returned stock. Yet again we are waiting for an important phone call. This time its from our agency to tell us where will be posted for work next. Last time we spoke to them we were told they might have found work in the Yarra ranges on a vineyard which is an hours drive. It's better than a 5 hour drive to Mildura working in 40 degree heat. Although we have a few weeks left working at Reece we need to have something in place for when we leave just in case we can’t make up enough days to get our second year visa. Its been such a stressful time. Part of me wants to give up sometimes but I want to stay here so badly. I can’t wait until we finally hit the road and get to see some of this beautiful country but in the meantime we need to knuckle down and get on with some work to fund the next 12 months should we choose not to work and just travel.

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17th October 2012 ~ Piñata kitty went into labour, finally! We had a text this morning with the good news. At the time of the text there was only one little black kitten. Unfortunately we had to go to work so we couldn’t go over and see the new arrival. By the afternoon Monica had still only had the one kitten. We had another text to tell us Monica was going to the vet where she was induced after an X ray to check if there were any more kittens in there. Monica gave birth to two more kittens, another little black one and a tortoiseshell. As soon as we arrived home from work we went straight over to see the kittens which were hiding underneath Mum. They were so tiny! And Monica was doing a great job of looking after them. She’ll make a good Mummy Puss.

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14th October 2012 ~ Today was spent in the feed shed rat proofing. After cutting all the panels we went to work screwing them into the wall after putting up sheet metal in the corners to stop the little critters chewing their way back in. The goats had to be shut in the bottom paddock because they are so nosy when the feed shed door is open, in face, in general they are just nosy creatures. Nick fitted a new floor in there after we had finished the panelling to try and give it more support. When everyone got home from work it was decided we would have a go at catching goats and flipping them over on their backs so we could trim their hooves! It was hilarious to watch everyone tackle Anne Marie who is the largest of the girls. After a swift rugby tackle it took three of us to hold the squirming goat down while one of us tried to trim off the excess on her hooves. Since we were all unsure how far to cut them down the decision was made to lave it to the experts. Nick made the wonderful discovery of a crispy lambs tail in the goat shed. It must have dropped off and a rat had tried to pull it behind the wall. With the amount of poison that we put behind the wall and in the ceiling I would be surprised if any rat survived for 5 minutes in that feed shed now.

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Saturday 13th October 2012 ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY!! I cannot believe it was a year ago today we were watching you blow out your candles on your puffin cake. It was also the last time I saw my brother and Leah. I hope whatever she is doing today makes her happy. She has plenty of people who will want to celebrate with her on this special day. I had organized a mug to be printed with a picture of both of us in the helicopter we took a ride in when we were in New Zealand. It was a cooking lesson out of a medieval cook book today. Chicken poo slush was on the menu, for the plants, not for us! We have standards you know! After chipping some crispy nuggets off the shelf in the coop we proceeded to mix some water with it until it reached the right consistency before pouring the slop around the plants and roses. It seems that no matter how hard you try not to splash the foul smelling mixture on yourself you always seem to get little stinky splatters! YUCK!

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Thursday 11th October 2012 ~ We seem to have no end of problems at the moment with the Jackaroo! The clutch slave cylinder went while we were driving to work yesterday morning. Luckily we managed to get home again after work via Repco to get the part we needed. Nick fitted the cylinder last night. It was $43 which was the fraction of the cost of a new clutch and that has sorted the problem... We hope. At least we know the Jackaroo has had a new head gasket, a new clutch slave cylinder and front brakes since we have had it. We have had 2 dead kangaroos on our road in as many days. The road kill is pretty big over here compared with the odd rabbit or hedgehog back at home.

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Sunday 7th October 2012 ~ Today we decided to use a couple of free tickets a neighbour had given us to go to the Leisurefest 4x4 show. It was a short drive from where we live, parking was a nightmare but  we saw some amazing 4x4s and we got lots of free things too! Seeing some of the modicifations to the 4x4’s made us realise how basic the Jackaroo was at the moment and how much it could potentially cost to start a project like that. We took home a few ideas from the show since there is no way we could afford half the stuff there. The dogs couldn’t come with us because they weren;t allowed so we took them for a walk when we got home. Nick came with me and nearly had his arm ripped off by a very excited billy. He loves his walks!! Kya was being very well behaved, as usual. When the couple we live with got back I had to bring the animals back because Nick was in bed. He had been sick and he's had a dodgy stomach. He stayed  in bed all evening other than dashing to the toilet to be sick. I got my licence back today so I drove to the shop to get him an energy drink and some bread so he could eat some dry toast. He might not go to work tomorrow depending on how he feels. No kittens yet, piñata kitty still hasn't popped!

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Saturday 6th October 2012 ~ It was an early start because the couple we live with were off for the weekend again so they dropped the dogs off to us before heading out. Apart from pruning the passion fruit, mowing and tidying up the garden we wanted to do something with the dogs. They both looked bored so we decided to take them for a walk. Kya is excellent on a lead because she was trained as a guide dog. She just trots by your side, although she tires very easily, bless her. Billy on the other hand pulls so hard, he’s not easy to control! He has a leather harness he has to wear! Just as we were walking out of the drive Billy decided to try and pick up two of his blue rubber bones so he could take them on his walk. I knew that he wouldn’t carry them for long. Its like a child picking up an armful of toys to go out with, you know you are going to be the one carrying them, but I let him take them. My assumption was right, no sooner had we walked down the drive one of the bones had been dropped on the floor, the next one followed shortly afterwards. Then they both needed the toilet! We hadn’t even left home yet! It must have been all the excitement! They both enjoyed their walk, even though I went on my own I just about managed with the two of them. I had to drag Kya back up the hill because she was tired. She’s such a princess puppy.

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Monday 1st October 2012 ~ Phoebe very kindly woke us up again wanting her breakfast. She seems to be spending an awful lot of time here now Monica is at the main house. As much as we love her coming to visit and having something to eat here we don’t want to encourage her too much. She does have a home, and a very nice one at that. Nick started measuring up the new front door to replace the old one Billy had destroyed during the storm. He even managed to rip the metal strip off the bottom of the door, poor doggy. I tried one of the good food recipes for a green detox soup which actually turned out really well. We had that with some sour dough bread which I tore into chunks and drizzled with olive oil and garlic before grilling it for a few minutes. Its amazing what you can create on a budget!

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Saturday 29th September 2012 ~ Phoebe was scratching on the door at 6:00am so we let her in to have some breakfast and a cuddle before heading out to wash the dogs. There is a dog washing area at one of the garages nearby in Berwick and it costs about $10 to do both dogs. They are both so well behaved and jump up into the bath. They are obviously used to people taking them here for a bath when they need it. It was still really muddy around home from all the rain that had been falling. We attempted to tension the new fence we had put up down by the cottage but in the process got the ride on stuck in the mud. I got stuck with the job of sitting on the ride on while Nick pulled it out of the mud with the tractor! Needless to say who got very dirty! Its always me! I managed to make a phone call home to my Mum in the evening which always makes me feel better. Its something about her voice that immediately makes me feel calm. Maybe its a Mum thing. She always knows the right things to say to lift my spirits no matter how bad I am feeling and always encourages me to continue on this journey no matter how tough it gets. She’s my rock and I don’t know what I would do without her.

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Friday 28th September 2012 ~ We were up really early because the dogs were being bought over to us. A VERY pregnant Monica was dropped off last night because we’re looking after the property this weekend. Her big fat kitty belly is full of babies!! I couldn’t help myself, I had to have a feel! We had to leave the dogs in the garden while we went to work. It was freezing cold when we left the house at 6:15 am but after our first break it was 20 degrees?? The black clouds started roll in and the sky turned a strange green colour. A huge storm started and all I could think about during the huge claps of thunder and lightening flashes was poor Billy at home in the garden and he was petrified of storms. It was pouring with rain when we left work and by the time we got home Billy had ripped our front door apart and was laying in an exhausted heap in the rain, covered in mud. I felt so guilty. We ushered both shivering dogs inside and I put them in a warm shower. I wasn’t worried about the mud, grass and mess in the bathroom, just as long as the dogs were ok. I put their beds out in the lounge in front of the fire with a couple of towels and they both fell straight to sleep.

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Monday 24th September 2012 ~ There has been a huge debate at work today about changing break times. We normally have a 15 minute break in the morning, a half an hour lunch and a 15 minute break in the afternoon. The company want to try a half hour break time in the morning and a half hour lunch. As you can imagine everyone has their own opinions in regards to changes. They have tested it out at another Reece branch and once everyone had got used to the different times they were fine. I am assuming it will be the same once these new times take effect but for the mean time I think there is going to be a lot of debating amongst the staff, which is normal. Nick and I are going to stay out of the debate. We are both happy with whatever time we get. Its not like were going to be here for much longer. We leave in November. My arm was really painful today and the bruising had come out a bit more overnight. I had another eventful run this evening. There is a house at the end of the road and they own a couple of dogs. The gates are normally closed and they just bark at me as I run past but tonight the gates were open!! Out of the dark come two dogs, snarling and barking at me, jumping up, I was so scared. I didn’t look at them I just carried on running but I was thinking if one of them bit me I wouldn’t think twice about putting the boot in! I eventually lost them at the end of the road. This evening run is starting to become a bit of an obstacle course……they said things come in threes….what’s in store for tomorrow night?

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Sunday 23rd September 2012 ~ Yesterday we were up early and out by 8 am. The first job to do was to put in new fence posts leading down the track by the cottage. The old posts were rotten and some of the star pickets were so rusty they had snapped. We took the old fence down and used the mower to clear up a bit so we could see what we were doing. Nick took the tractor down to pull out some of the old star pickets and we had to go and get some more concrete. We always seem to run out! I used the manual borer to make the holes for the posts once we had measured out where everything was going. We had a couple of slices of toasted Guernsey Gache with butter for our break thanks to Joanne who posted us a loaf from home. In the evening we went round to Willies house. We work with Willie at Reece. We met his wife and their beautiful son Jordan. It was a great evening and we spent most of it playing a quiz game until late! Its wonderful to be able to see what sort of lives people have outside of work and put faces to names.

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Friday 21st September 2012 ~ This week has flown by so quickly, I think I blinked and its Friday again. Monica has been to the vet and after looking at her teeth the vet informed us she is actually about 6 years old, she’s just tiny! And there is a possibility she could be pregnant too. That would explain the expanding belly. I hope she is going to have kittens! At the beginning of the week Nick was stuck in a scissor lift putting up new bird netting outside the roller doors at work. I was watching the builders down at the end of the warehouse. There was a huge saga with some damaged plasterboard for the toilet block extension. Apparently it somehow got wet. It wasn’t while it was stored at the warehouse but it must have been stored somewhere damp before they bought it. Wednesday was so cold. Nick let me borrow his jacket while I was watching the builders. The wind coming through the roller doors where I stand was bitterly cold. Everyone is wrapped up warm with hats and scarves on. I would never have thought Australia would be this cold. Whilst watching the site on Yesterday I was asked by one of the men working on the toilet block if I had a boyfriend?! To which my response was “No, I’m married” which came as a bit of a shock to him. Even if I wasn’t married I couldn’t really see any attraction there. Unless the bum crack hanging out the back and beer gut hanging out the front did something for me, I think not. When we got home after work Billy and Kya were waiting in the garden for us. Billy had been excavating again. There was mud everywhere and a large hole on the lawn.. I can’t blame him though, he’s a dog and that’s what dogs do.

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Sunday 16th September 2012 ~ Yesterday we had our first roast dinner cooked in our little oven. We were going to have chicken but it was Nick, not me that decided he wanted quorn fillets instead! Mark and Robyn were out over night so we had both dogs and the cats inside with us. We went to the cinema to see “The Watch” with Mark and Nicole. It wasn’t the best film I’ve ever seen but it was good to get out of the house and be in good company. Today was spent mowing the lawns on the ride on and clearing up all the cuttings. Monica was supposed to go back to the main house when everyone  arrived back home but she decided to hide behind the TV instead so she stayed an extra night with us in the cottage. It will be good to have the bed to ourselves tonight. We had both dogs and the cat in bed with us all night. I don’t know who snores louder, Billy or Nick!

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Friday 14th September 2012 ~Another busy week at work has passed again. I have spent the week rotating jobs. I have been watching over the builders in the new toilet block area, escorting electricians, plumbers and CCTV guys and managed to spend some time back where I was before in credit returns putting the pallets away. I really missed the credit returns department, its like one little family. It was good to be back on the ride on again, saving my poor feet. I still have a cyst in my foot which I really need cut out but it can wait. Its been there for nearly a year now, it can probably wait a bit longer. I still have the disc with the scan results for the doctor. I know that leaving problems isn’t the best thing to do but I’ve always been like that. Part of me hopes that sometimes they will just go away on their own.We eventually finished work at 4:30 pm and headed home to remove some rotten sleepers from the retaining wall we have been demolishing/rebuilding. Its amazing how heavy the rotten sleepers were! It was a real struggle trying to move them from where they were to the back of the wood shed but we managed it, eventually!

Nick and I have started a diet to try and lose some of the weight we have put on since we left home. I feel like I have gone from super fit to super fat in the past 12 months. Sri Lanka’s amazing curries didn’t help the waistline and it was impossible to do any form of exercise while we were there. We had our weigh in today and I had lost 4.4lbs and Nick had lost 6.5lbs!! So going back to a healthy diet has worked. We discovered an app for our phones called My Fitness Pal. Its like a calorie counter/log and its really come in handy. I downloaded the Good Food App for my phone too so we have lots of healthy recipes to try. It feels good to be able to go for a run everyday again. That is one thing I really miss about being at home is being able to run and ride my bike. I feel happy when I feel fit.

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Sunday 9th September 2012 ~ A tree had fallen into another tree right on the far side of one of the paddocks. It was far too wet to take the tractor down there so Nick took the buggy complete with chainsaw, handsaw and bungee cords to attach the logs to the buggy. The trip down to the tree was very muddy and with my husband driving it made matters even worse! I ended up covered head to foot in mud. There was mud in my hair, up my nose, in my mouth and my boots! Dirt washes off easily so we carried on cutting up the tree and transporting the logs back to the shed. It was my job again to stack the wood shed and I found a fair few hairy huntsman’s in there while I re-arranged all the logs to they would stack properly. I don’t mind the spiders as much as I did when we first moved here to Australia. Just as long as I can see where they are and they are not on me then I’m normally ok. I’m not too bad with moving them if I have to although most of them are too big to use the old glass and piece of paper trick.

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Friday 7th September 2012 ~ Its been an extremely busy first week back at work with lots of late finishes but we don’t mind. We enjoy working for Reece so it doesn’t make any difference to us. We are getting back into the swing of things in regards to the early starts and early bed times. It helped that we were up at 7 am everyday when we were away in New Zealand. I managed to speak to Bo briefly on Thursday morning while we were on our way to work. It always lifts my spirits to hear his voice. I miss my not so little brother so much sometimes. I even managed to have a quick chat with Leah. They are both really happy and enjoying their jobs which in turn makes me really happy. We had gale force winds last night so I didn’t sleep very well. When there is a gust of wind the cottage roof lifts and creaks with the pressure. To top that off the front door blew wide open while we were asleep, waking me with a start. There were leaves and twigs blowing into the lounge. It was like a scene off a low budget horror film. I put one of the chairs in front of the door to try and stop it happening again. Nick called the Visa Bureau to try and get some answers to a few questions we had. After being on hold for 30 minutes he eventually got hold of someone who was actually really helpful and offered to send us some information via email. We had our tax forms to fill out too. I left Nick to that job while I carried on with other “Wife things” like clean up and fold clothes.

There was a storm coming on Friday evening so Nick and I went to check on the sheep. Mary was missing so we took a walk down into the bottom paddock to try and find her. There she was, hiding behind a pile of logs with a newborn lamb. She still had the placenta attached to her so the lamb must have been minutes old. It started to rain and the wind really picked up. We were both worried about leaving Mary and her lamb in the paddock during a storm. In the end it took 2 hours of trying to coax her with food to get her and her lamb up into the shed where it was warm and dry. To even get to the shed we had to put Napoleon in the tennis court because he was being so aggressive. The noises he was making were terrible, we think it was because Mary was in distress. We had to shut all the goats and the sheep down in the bottom paddock so we could put some fresh hay, food and water in the shed and guide the pair in the right direction. We were soaked through by the time we had finally shut the gates and let a very angry Napoleon out of the tennis court. Even though we tried our best to avoid a fight with him he still managed to head butt Nick right on the knee!

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Monday 3rd September 2012 ~ It was a 4:30 am start today as it was our first day back at Reece plumbing since we left in July. I was so excited to get back to work. I had laid out our work clothes, knives, boots and swipe cards ready. I had even put out our bowls of porridge and cups to make the getting ready part of the day run smoother. We were greeted by Stuart, our supervisor when we arrived. Our start time was now an hour later so we start at 7 am and finish at 3:30 pm. After a meeting with Mark and Stuart about what our new job would entail we took a walk around the warehouse to see all the changes that had taken place since we left. There is a huge extension going on the back of the warehouse which is what we will be involved with from now on. My first job was to get up on a scissor lift to label some new racking that had been put up. It was the old blue one again! So it was all fun and games trying to get the thing to work properly (you know a bad workman always blames his tools!) For the rest of the day I was watching a couple of guys who were servicing the security cameras around the warehouse. Our 3:30pm finish slowly passed and finally at 5pm the workmen were almost finished doing what they needed to do. My feet were hurting by the end of the day from all the walking around so it was nice to finally get home and relax. We had some left over vegetarian shepherds pie that I had cooked the night before. Somehow I still managed to squeeze in a run before hitting the sack.

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Saturday 1st September 2012 ~ We have had the house to ourselves while the couple we live with have gone away. They have taken the dogs with them so its very quiet! Its been a crazy couple of days trying to get the garden in order again. Its amazing how much plants and grass grow in a month.  I put on the backpack sprayer and put down 36 litres of weed killer all over the property! My back was aching after that effort but its better than putting them all out by hand. Since we had been away there was no food in the cupboards so we had to do a big food shop. We went to our usual green grocers in Fountain Gate to get all our fruit and vegetables. It is so expensive to eat a healthy diet but I look at it as an investment in your health. You can’t put a price on good health. I would not want to eat processed junk food to save money.

There was a new addition to the family while we were away in new Zealand. Monica, a little black and white cat has been adopted. I think she was a stray and a family member had brought her home. She’s such a tiny little thing, we’re assuming she’s a kitten judging by her size she can’t be any more than a year old. Monica is staying with us while her new Mummy and Daddy are away. She is a very vocal little girl and loves attention however this attention seeking is happening during the night when we are trying to sleep. But with a face like that who could be angry. There has been so many fallen trees what the stack of logs to be split has been slowly increasing. We had managed to get a petrol log splitter from a friend which has been a fantastic contraption. Nick and I spent nearly  a whole day loading the dry logs onto the log splitter and stacking the wood shed. I managed to speak to Mum on the phone in the evening, It was great just to hear her voice again. I missed her already! She said she was really suffering with jet lag and it was worse than it was when she arrived in New Zealand. I could sympathise with her as I remember I had really bad jet lag when we were in Los Angeles a few years ago. It was so bad I couldn’t stand up without feeling like I was on a boat in rough seas. Tonight was also the night I lost my “Dirty Dancing Virginity”. What an epic film!

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Tuesday 28th August 2012 ~ Its my 28th birthday today!! Happy birthday Me! Our flight from New Zealand to Melbourne wasn’t until 9:00pm. Mums flight via Los Angeles was at 9:30pm and both flights were displayed next to each other on the board so it made it much easier to see when we were supposed to be making our way to departures. While we were sat waiting Mum noticed a spider crawling around her bag. It was a white tail! The first one I have ever seen in New Zealand. I swift swat with a brochure soon sorted that little situation out. Tina and Nigel came up to have a swift coffee and see us off. I opted for a salad from  Tank Salads for dinner. I asked for a green salad that comes with baby beetroot and orange segments. Judging by the puzzled face on the  teenager serving me, he was obviously new to the job. I was correct in my assumption and after a long wait and watching the poor boy check his A4 laminted sheet of instructions I was handed my salad minus the main ingredients and tuna mayo on top? Before we could say a proper goodbye we were called into departures and only had 10 minutes to get to the gate! There were so many things I wanted to say to my Mum before we parted but there just wasn’t enough time. As predicted I cried, a lot!

It was a 4 hour flight back to Melbourne, we whizzed through security to meet a very tired Mark who had been on an earlier flight from Brisbane and he waited to pick us up. It was an hours drive back home to Beaconsfield where we were greeted by some very excited dogs and Robyn. There was food in the cupboards and the fridge when we got back and the fire was lit! We might have to go away more often. We are certainly looked after well.