29 June - Day 130

We had a great weekend away in York which is a small town less than 1.5 hours outside of Perth. We stayed at a very cosy stone cottage - The Nelson Cottage! The wood burning fireplace was just what we needed for the chilly evenings and it was nice to soak in the claw foot bathtub. The cottage was furnished with antiques but also had some modern touches. Mike enjoyed visiting the alpacas and pony in the wee hours of the morning while I was still in bed. We went to the York Food & Wine Festival on Saturday. We enjoyed sampling the food and also went to two cooking demonstrations where we learned how to make the perfect omelette, garlic prawns, bruschetta and barramundi. The best part was that we got to taste the dishes. We were also given 3 free cooking magazines. The drive back to Perth on Sunday was beautiful. It's been awhile since we had a lazy Sunday drive. Back to reality this week - until next time!

21 June - Day 129

We had "M's" parents over for lunch yesterday and had a great day. "M" cooked a delicious lamb tagine and made a mozzarella and tomato salad with rocket leaves from the garden. This was the first time we had picked something from the garden. For dessert we had yummy cupcakes.

19 June - Day 128

I've decided to change the rules of my blog. While I still plan to post 365 entries, I won't necessarily have a posting or picture every day. For the first 127 days, I have shared some of my favorite highlights and will continue to do so as "M" and I have new experiences or just have something we want to share. Hopefully, I will still be posting several times a week. Thanks for continuing to read!

18 June - Day 127

In July last year, we spent a weekend in Fremantle with our friends "J" & "C". We stayed at a self-contained unit overlooking the water but the highlight was our degustation dinner at Harvest in North Fremantle. I was reminded of this today because my friend "C" and her partner "S" are going to Fremantle this weekend and will enjoy the delicious degustation at Harvest tomorrow night. Harvest is in a converted house with funky decor. The staff are friendly and we were very impressed with the food.

17 June - Day 126

Perth might be one of the most expensive places to live but when you look at some of the characteristics of this city, it starts to make a bit more sense. Perth is one of the most isolated metropolitan areas on earth. The nearest city to Perth with a population over one million is Adelaide in South Australia, which is 2,104 kilometres (1,307 mi) away. Perth is geographically closer to Dili (East Timor), Singapore and Jakarta (Indonesia), than it is to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. While isolated, Perth is a very desirable city to live in and has been ranked 8th on the 2010 world's most livable cities list. While the list was based on stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure, it's also worth noting that Perth has the highest number of average daily sunshine hours of any major Australian city. Something that I am very thankful this winter!

16 June - Day 125

Veggie garden update! It's been 4 weeks since we planted our vegetable garden and it's amazing how quickly things are growing. The broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower and coriander are all doing very well. Sadly, our tomatoes aren't pictured as they're looking a bit unhappy. Hopefully they can make it through the winter and will start to thrive in the spring. In a few weeks, we should have enough fresh vegetables to feed the suburb : )

15 June - Day 124

"M" and I visited a wine festival in McLaren Vale last year when we took a trip to the Adelaide area. The winery looked like a fort and was on a beautiful piece of property. They had a band, wine tastings and a variety of food options. I thought of this picture because we will soon be spending a weekend in York for their annual food and wine festival.

14 June - Day 123

It looks as though I will be spending a week or more in Darwin during September. I'm involved in planning a Career Development Week for all ConocoPhillips Australia employees and the Darwin week will be held towards the end of September. It's an exciting project and while I don't look forward to being away from "M" for a week or longer, it will be nice to see the end result of all my hard work. "M's" brother, sister-in-law and our niece live in Darwin so it will be great to spend time with them. I'm hoping that "M" can go up with me for a weekend so that we can all spend time together. This is a picture of the ConocoPhillips office and plant site in Darwin where I will be spending some of my time during that week.

13 June - Day 122

"M's" brother "C" is a Major in the Australian Army and recently returned from 6 months service in Afghanistan. We learned this week that he received a gold commendation for his leadership and service while there. This is a top honor which is rarely awarded. "M" was able to speak to him tonight to share how proud we are of him. This picture was taken last March when "C", his wife "D" and their daughter "I" visited Perth.

12 June - Day 121

I had a lazy day today but "M" worked at the rental property with his Dad. Our fence needed repairing as did some things inside the unit. "M" lived in this property when I met him and it was my first home in Perth. We decided to keep the property and rent it when we moved out and bought the house we're in now. We had great tenants for the first two years but they recently relocated to the Northern Territory. We have a showing tomorrow and hope that we will find the ideal tenants.

11 June - Day 120

The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup kicks off in Johannesburg, South Africa tonight when South Africa plays Mexico. "M" is out with the guys this evening at a pub and may get to see some of the action on tv. The Australian team, the Socceroos play Germany on Monday. Until 2010, Australia had only ever qualified for two World Cups, both of which were held in Germany in 1974 and 2006. I was in Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup when Italy beat France. I didn't attend the game but the excitement on the streets was amazing. I hope Australia has a good showing this year! The US plays England tomorrow night which should be a good match. Just like with the Olympics, I'll root for both my home country and my new country.

10 June - Day 119

One of the first gifts I received from "M" when we were dating was this Australian phrasebook which has a subtitle of Understanding Aussies & Their Culture. I looked at this book and thought - How hard can it be? Surely, it's not that different from the US. Well, I was wrong. It's taken me almost 2 1/2 years to understand most of the phrases I hear. In the first 6 months of living in Australia, I came home from work almost every day and asked "M" what something meant. Even now I hear the occasional phrase where I have to ask for interpretation. Here are a few of my favorites:
Breakfast = Brekkie
The Big Smoke = City. Some of the Offshore guys I interview who live outside of Perth refer to Perth as The Big Smoke. As you can imagine, I had no idea what they were talking about when they said "So, you live in the big smoke!"
Cheap as chips = Very inexpensive
Flat out = Being very busy
Rug up = Dress warmly
Spewing = Very upset
Charge like a wounded bull = To charge high prices, expensive
Looks likes a dog's breakfast = Something that looks terrible
As rare as hen's teeth = Very rare
The list is endless, not to mention all of the shortened words and slang. I can honestly say that being in Australia, I have learned a second language : ) And I'm becoming fluent!

9 June - Day 118

We went to a Forest Hill Wine Dinner tonight with "J" & "C" at the University of Western Australia University Club. This is where "J" & "C" are having their wedding reception in March. We had a great evening. We were in a dining room with a table set for 30 which provided an intimate atmosphere. Prior to the first course being served, the chef described each dish and how they were prepared. The highlight of his description was a white chocolate parfait where the white chocolate had been roasted. Three courses were served. The entree was grilled quail, celeriac puree, white truffle and solferino vegetable dressing which was paired with a 2007 Forest Hill Block 8 Chardonnay and a 2008 Forest Hill Estate Chardonnay. "M" preferred the Estate wine pairing while I preferred the Block 8 but both were very nice. For main course, baked lamb wellington and mushroom duxelle with roasted root vegetables was served with a 2007 Forest Hill Estate Shiraz. The shiraz went nicely with the dish and seemed to be a favorite amongst the guests. The dessert was a beautiful date sponge pudding with roasted white chocolate parfait and macaroon served with the 2008 Forest Hill Estate Noble Reisling. Paul Carruthers, Brand Manager for Forest Hill provided some history regarding the vineyard and described each wine in detail. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to Paul and enjoyed hearing more about the wines throughout the evening. Forest Hill wines are some of our favorites as we served them at our wedding and also enjoyed the degustation at their vineyard when we visited Denmark recently. Thanks to "J" & "C" for inviting us to share this experience!

8 June - Day 117

Keep Left. This was not a familiar sign when I first arrived in Australia but now that I have finally managed to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road, I am much more comfortable when it appears. When I first arrived in Perth and "M" took me for a practice drive in his manual Subaru, I was totally confused. I couldn't figure out which was the gas peddle and which was the clutch. Everything seemed completely backwards. After about 5 minutes, I told him there was no way that I was going to learn how to drive on the left and how to drive a "backwards manual" at the same time. I've kept my word and haven't driven his car since. Instead, I'm now comfortable driving my Ford and have only found myself on the US side of the road a few times, thankfully before any harm came to anyone. I can honestly say it took me 1 year to feel at ease when driving and I no longer have to use my saying of "wide right, close left" when turning.

7 June - Day 116

Today was a holiday and we were both off work so "M" surprised me and told me that I could pick out two recipes and he would cook them for me (anything I wanted)! I looked through all of my Delicious magazines (a gift from M's parents) and selected two beautiful dishes. My lunch selection was corn soup with pan fried mushrooms. I was in charge of reading the recipe and "M" was in charge of cooking. "M" was more than half-way through making this dish when I realized that the recipe called for the ingredients to be pureed. That wouldn't be a problem for most people but we didn't own a blender - until today! Instead of getting upset with me, "M" just laughed and said "Ok, let's go buy a blender". Not an easy task on a holiday when most of the stores are closed. After calling 3 stores with no luck, we finally found one open. Blender in hand, we returned and "M" finished the dish (at 3:00pm). It was worth the wait! Very yummy and we are both taking the leftovers to work tomorrow. After cleaning up from lunch, "M" started on dinner. I had selected an aromatic chicken pilau with cinnamon, tomato and nutmeg which was another new recipe from Delicious magazine. This dish has 11 spices, several of which we have never cooked with. It smelled like Christmas in our house and the dish tasted amazing. We have plenty of leftovers and I look forward to eating this again tomorrow night. We had a great day cooking together. I am very fortunate to have a husband who spoils me!

6 June - Day 115

This week marked the beginning of winter. Just as the US is starting to warm up, Perth is getting colder. Thankfully, it hasn't been too cold. In fact, it feels more like fall to me - crisp, football weather! "M" and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood this evening. The one thing you don't see much of (at least compared to West Virginia) is the bright changing of color on the trees. We have two tallow trees in our front yard. The one that we planted last year has already changed color and dropped most of it's leaves while our mature tallow is still mostly green and full.

5 June - Day 114

Our friends "F" & "C" had us over for dinner tonight at their new house. "C" made a fantastic 3 course meal of pureed vegetable soup, roast lamb leg with fried potatoes and salad and an apple crumble for dessert. Their daughter "O" is beautiful and loves "M". Tonight she asked if she could sit on his lap while taking her bottle and then asked if he would put her to bed. He was in heaven!

4 June - Day 113

The Perth Wildcats are Western Australia's professional basketball team. They won the 2010 Championship and are the most successful team in the league. They have achieved five championships and have appeared in the finals for 24 straight seasons. Knowing that I am a big basketball fan, "M" took me to a Wildcats game shortly after I came to Perth. We had a great evening but it was a very different experience compared to a US professional game. The stadium was much smaller, similar to a small college stadium and they didn't have any cheerleaders. Instead, an announcer would use a microphone and start chanting DEFENSE! The most surprising thing was that they played loud dance music almost the entire game, including when the players were on the court. We felt like we were at a nightclub watching a basketball game : ) "M" had never been to a game before and was just as surprised as I was. We had fun but I prefer my basketball American style : )

3 June - Day 112

These two black books may not look like much but they mean the world to me. When we were dating, my husband saved every email we sent to each other. On my first birthday during that time, I unwrapped my present and saw these two black books. When I opened the first page and saw the date, I knew what it was and couldn't quit crying. I had no idea that he had saved every single email. During 10 months, we accumulated a 2 volume love story. On the last page, he typed the following vital statistics:
Pages: 526 (single spaced and double-sided)
Paragraphs: 10,096
Lines: 28,367
Words: 250,805
Characters: 1,129,622
Cutting, pasting, formatting, binding: Countless hours!
On the front page, he wrote: Our love, captured, forever!!
I thought of this because I'm off work tomorrow and want to go see the movie Letters to Juliet. I don't really know what the film is about but the tag line is "The greatest love story ever told is your own." I couldn't agree more and am so happy that my husband kept those emails and that we have our love story in print.

2 June - Day 111

"M" was supposed to be at a work function this evening but unfortunately has come down with a cold and couldn't attend. Such a shame as the function was being held on the Crystal Swan, a floating glass walled boat which provides panoramic views of the Swan River and city. Hopefully we'll both get to go on board sometime in the future.

1 June - Day 110

When I moved back to the US from Doha, Qatar and before moving to Australia, I started going to yoga with my Dad. I had never gone to a yoga class previously. It was a great class with an excellent instructor. When I moved to Perth, I wanted to continue yoga and found a studio close to work. I started with a 6 week Ashtanga Yoga training course at Yoga Space on Hay Street and continued to go off and on for several months. It was a very intense program and great exercise. I quit my yoga routine sometime back and am looking forward to getting started again. I plan to sign up for a new 6 week course! Maybe some day I'll be able to do this move as seen on the Yoga Space website!

31 May - Day 109

Happy Wedding Anniversary to my Brother and Sister-In-Law! On this day 2 years ago, "M" and I were witnessing the wedding celebration in Richmond, Virginia. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Now, my Sister-In-Law is pregnant with their first child. What a great way to toast an anniversary!

30 May - Day 108

The Swan River is the centerpiece of Perth. My friend "A" and I walk around the river most Saturday mornings and when Dad was visiting, he, "M" and I walked around the river every day that we were in Perth. A common sight from the river bank are black swans. The Swan River was named after these birds and the black swan is also included on the West Australian state flag. They are distinguished by their long necks which form an S shape. Black swans are primarily located in southeast and southwest Australia.

29 Day - May 107

We have had a lazy, relaxing Saturday. We haven't cleaned or worked in the garden but instead have watched tv and listened to music. My Mom found a great website called stereomood and sent us the link this week. The web address is www.stereomood.com. It is a music site that allows you to choose your emotion and then populates a playlist for you. Today, we chose HAPPY!

28 May - Day 106

"M's" Aunt & Uncle have a beautiful piece of indigenous art hanging in their dining room. Aunt "G" has explained some of the elements of the paining to me and the story behind it is fascinating. Tonight we were out and saw another great piece of indigenous art and it has really inspired me to start looking for a painting. Aboriginal art always tells a fascinating story. Myths, rituals, spirituality, beliefs, magic and sorcery are common in the paintings. Each piece is unique. Some use vivid and vibrant colors and others use earth tones. We hope to find our unique piece sometime soon.

27 May - Day 105

Jumping crocodiles! This is what we saw when we visited Litchfield National Park in Darwin. As part of the tour, we were taken on the Original Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruise. At first we were worried that we wouldn't see any crocs but once the cruise guide started dangling food, they came out in full force and put on quite a show. Although we were in the boat, it was still scary to be that up close and personal to such a large animal.

26 May - Day 104

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Ánna Pávlova. The dessert is believed to have been created to honor the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. I had my first Pavlova when my friend "K" served it during a summer dinner party. My Dad & "T" also got to enjoy this classic Australian dessert when they visited Perth recently and "M's" Mum made a delicious pavlova.

25 May - Day 103

I went to an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia breakfast meeting this morning. The topic was "Managing the Melting Pot - Insights Into Managing Western Australia's Increasingly Global Workforce." Speakers from several different companies provided their perspectives on building and developing culturally aware leaders and embracing diversity. One of the first things that struck me when moving to Australia was the cultural diversity of people, seemingly from every country. What amazed me even more was how many people from other cultures and ethnicities had been raised in Australia and therefore had Australian accents. In the meeting this morning, I learned that over 20% of people living in Australia were born overseas. We were asked by the presenter to raise our hands if we were born overseas and well over 20% of people raised their hands, including me. It's great to live in such a multicultural city.

24 May - Day 102

I have booked us in for a quick winter getaway in the not too distant future. We will be heading to the small town of York which is 60 miles from Perth and located in the Avon Valley. The town was established in 1831 and is Western Australia's first inland settlement. We have booked a cute little cottage and have found a degustation menu to enjoy. We will also be going to a festival which is being held at the Town Hall.