Aussie Jingle Bells (Brilliant!)

Dashing through the bush, in a Rusty Holden Ute

Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs

It's summertime and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs

Oh jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day. Hey!

Jingle bells jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine's getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos

The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.

All the family's there, sitting by the pool

Christmas Day the Aussie way, by the barbecue.

Oh jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day. Hey!

Jingle bells jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze

The kids and uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes

The time comes 'round to go, we take the family snap

Pack the car and all shoot through before the washing up

Oh jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer's day. Hey!

Jingle bells jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Holden Ute (rhymes with boot) = a type of open back van (just about every bloke in Oz dives one)

Esky = a cool box

Kelpie = an Australian breed of dog

Singlet = vest

Thongs = flip flops

Swaggie = swagman, a drifter

Just done my first week in my new job as Sales Consultant. Love the hours, 9am to 2pm but there's so much to learn, it's all a bit mind-boggling at the moment. Also it's bad timing going part time now Simon is out of work but we didn't know at the time. Simon has applied for a few jobs and is waiting to hear. He is also starting looking at setting up his own business doing pretty much what he did in the UK.

My new job is in Spearwood which is a 35 minute drive through a huge industrial area. All the guys in the Utes drive like nutters and the huge lorries aren't much better. I'm on a "Welcome to Bankwest" induction course in the city tomorrow and Tuesday. Need to catch the train at 7.25am in the morning! Thought those early train days were over when I left Paymaster!

Our container is due to arrive with us on Thursday. Yipppeee!! Don't know where the hell we will put everything though! We definately wont need the wardrobes we shipped coz all Aussie houses have built in closets. I'm betting that some of our stuff will be damaged as the guys who packed it in Cleveleys weren't exactly careful getting it into the container!

Well we are officially in Summer here now and the weather is certainly hotting up. The shopping malls have all got the Christmas Decs up and the Christmas adverts are on the telly, some of the houses are even decorated like the one on the National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, but I'm not feeling Christmassy at all yet! Worse still......I haven't even started Christmas shopping yet! If I was in Britain I would have it all bought, wrapped and under the tree by now! It's my work's Christmas party this Friday night, looking forward to that, it's a free bar all night! Got a new frock and new earring so I'm ready to go!!

Nathan has fallen in love (awwwww bless!) with a little girl in his year group. He wants to buy her some jewellery for Christmas! Maya has been snorkelling with Simon today at Point Peron. She's looking like a true beach babe now, with a gorgeous tan. Even Nathan has a tan so he doesn't look like Gollum anymore!

Not sure if anyone is still following this blog or if I'm just talking to myself. Can you click on the "comment" link below and just give me a quick "hi" to let me know that I'm not the only one on this blog.

Presuming there is someone out there.........I'll be back soon! x

Update

Little Harry was back in hospital over the weekend as he has jaundice. After some treatment under the UV lamp he is back home and being monitored. Just got off the phone to Linzi and she said he is now feeding better and seems happy and content so all is good. Missing them terribly but feeling better now I've seen them on webcam.

So what have the Dawbers been up to lately.............well, not last weekend but the weekend before, we went to Point Peron beach with the snorkles. The dolphins were quite close to the shore (about 100m away) so Simon swam out to them. They got up really close. Then Simon looked down under the water and there was a big stingray swimming underneath him (glad I wasn't out there I would have freaked!)

Simon, got laid off the same day little Harry was born so he has spent the last week applying for jobs. He had an interview yesterday and was offered the job but would need to buy a trailer and other equipment that would bite too much into our funds so he hasn't accepted yet while we think about it.

We had a lot of rain last week, absolutely torrential downpours on our steel roof! Kept us awake! Over the past few days though the weather has been slowly heating up and today reached about 36 degrees.

Over the weekend we went to Rockingham Spring Festival on Saturday and then on Sunday afternoon we went to Sepentine Falls. Dave - if you're reading this - it was hell on Earth!!!! Flies flies flies everywhere. Oh my God, I've never seen so many flies! Couldn't even open my mouth to complain about it or I would have swallowed 6 million flies! I sat on the rocks frazzling in the sun while Simon and the kids had a dip in the water. Next thing about 20 feral people with filthy feet and dreadlocks turned up, effing and jeffing all over the place. We were only there 15 minutes then got the hell out of there! So Dave - next time we drive down to Serpentine I think it will be for a few cool drinks in your bar and we'll give the falls a miss unless all the flies bugger off! hahaha x

It's my last week working in Baldivis. I move on to my part time post as Sales Consultant in Spearwood next week. Looking forward to the shorter hours but not looking forward to learning another new job so quickly!

Little Harry!

Our new arrival!!!!

This morning (or last night UK time) little Harry James Evans decided to shock us all and come in to the world a month earlier than expected. I haven't slept much last night. Spent the night nursing the phone waiting for news. He weighs a very healthy 7lb 7oz. Congratulations Linzi and Mark. You have made us a very very proud Nanny and Grandpa! Uncle Nathan and Aunty Maya are chuffed to bits. All of us feeling incredibly homesick right now. Wish we could all be there with you.

Well done Linzi, love you to bits!

xxxx

Well, Wednesday last week we were "livin the dream", Wednesday this week we are totally fed up!

Simon is at risk of being laid off and doesn't know from one day to the next if he's gonna have a job, so he's now on the job hunt again. Also we found out this week that because Simon is a sub-contractor we wont be able to get a mortgage any time soon and might even need to wait up to 2 years unless we can raise a 40% deposit (we only have a 20% deposit!). Then got home tonight and the Real Estate Agents who we are renting off are coming to do an inspection of our rental soon and have given us a list as long as your arm of things they will be checking. It basically means that we will have to go through every nook and cranny of the house with a fine tooth comb and do the mother of all spring cleans! If anything is not up to scratch they will charge us $25. From what other people have told me, these Agents will always find fault to try and rip you off for more money. I WANT A MORTGAGE!!! ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!

Okay, now that's off my chest................Maya went off to camp this morning. She will be in Balingup until Saturday. It was raining here all through the night and this morning, although it was really warm. Hope the rain keeps away from Balingup! The storm we had during the night was a bit fierce. The thunder was the loudest I have ever heard and the rain was bloody intense! Woke the whole house up. Maya and Nathan usually enjoy a good thunder & lightening storm but they were scared to death last night!

Nathan and Simon are going whale-watching on Saturday morning. I need to wait here for Maya to come home from camp but then we'll go up to Fremantle to meet them off the boat. I think we will be heading to Point Peron on Sunday so Nathan can try out his new snorkling set he got for his birthday.

Friday the 13th tomorrow. Joy!!

Catch up

Had a busy weekend, spent Saturday catching up on shopping, ironing, housework then got ready for the halloween fancy dress party. Sunday we eventually crawled out of bed (morning after the halloween party!) and we drove up to Kings Park in the city. It was a beautiful day and an even more beautiful place. Great views over the city and swan river.

Had a day off work yesterday (Tues) and had my first Aussie hair-do. I'm proper blonde again now instead of two-tone! Made a picnic in the afternoon and when Simon got home from work we picked up the Fitzes and all went down to eat our tea on the beach and watch the sun go down. The kids were playing in the sea, us adults were chilling on the picnic rug listening to The Eagles "Hotel California" as the sky glowed orange and purple with the sunset. Then to make the moment even more perfect a group of dolphins appeared bobbing about in the sea right in front of us. We really were "livin the dream"!! Perfect evening!

Anyway........back to work this morning and was told I'm being transferred to the Spearwood branch as a part time Sales Consultant. I'll be working 9.30 to 2.30 each day. So another step up the ladder and another job to learn! I'm really pleased.

Simon has not had such good news. The Govt over here has slashed the grants for the home insulation which means some of the insulation companies are going to suffer. Simon's boss has told him that it is likely he will need to cut back and as Simon was last in, he will be first out. So it's a case of waiting to see what happens and in the meantime Simon will keep his eyes and ears open for something else.

Back in the UK, Linzi has moved into her new home with Mark. Really proud of the pair of them! xx