You know your from Indiana when

You take March Madness seriously..


Your neighbors leave their extra tomatoes and zucchini on your porch fully knowing you already have to many from your garden..


You know your neighbors.. 


You caught lightning bugs and kept them in a jar over night at least once when you where a kid or you have done this with your kids..


You know what a cookie exchange is...


You have attended a fish fry.. and know what fried Indiana catfish tastes like..


You have had deer in your headlights more then 10 times..


You have walked though a corn or soybean field to get somewhere.. Or just to see what its like to stand in one..


You know Wabash is a place and a river ... and there is a song all about it..


You know what month the Indy 500 is in..


You know who Lady Victory is and where she lives..


You can make at least 5 different kinds of casseroles..


You were a Colts fan when it wasn't cool to be one..


You truly believe with your whole heart that basketball was invented in Indiana.. and not in Massachusetts..


You call yourself a Hoosier and your proud of it..


Back home again in Indiana,
And it seems that I can see
The gleaming candlelight still shining bright
Thru the sycamores for me,
The new-mown hay sends all its fragrance
From the fields I used to roam,
When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash,
Then I long for my Indiana home.
- BALLARD MACDONALD

I love it when Graham cooks for me!

I am a super lucky girl, I know most lady's don't get husbands who cook amazing meals for them. But I am one of the lucky few. Graham spoils me at least 2-3 times a week with a wonderful meal, often from a complicated recipe. He cooks every night of his school holiday breaks. Last year after his last exam he came home and cooked a chicken for 4 hours in a hard brick like dough, the chicken inside the bread brick was so yummy!!

This picture is from last Good Friday this year, Graham's family came to visit and he made this snapper dish. It was melt in your mouth delicious! It was an expensive meal so we have not had it since, but I can't wait till next year, I will request we have this again on Good Friday!

This week I came home from a meeting and Graham was baking ginger bread men.. in August.. they where good, although they felt rather Christmasy to me..

My favorite Grazy meals are:
Lasagna
Bread (he bakes all our bread, we don't buy store bread)
Home made Pizza's (from scratch)
Grilled Snapper
Chile Mussels
Crispy Chicken Tacos

Thanks husband for being amazing, your a medical student, but you still find time to cook me yummy things! I love you!

Heavy Things

So life has been a  bit heavy for Graham and myself at the moment.


I am not normally a complainer.. I hate being a complainer and burdening people with my problems... I only have a handful of friends I burden them on.. and for the most part I just really like to support my friends and listen to them complain.. Is there something wrong with that??


Graham is pretty tired and worn out at the moment with school. Doing a medical degree is intense, most days he gets up before 7am and is at the hospital until 5pm and then studies at home until 9pm (when I start to yell at him to come out of his office already). But all his hard work pays off and he is a great student and an even better student doctor. If I was ever in the hospital with some unknown illness I would want Graham as my doctor.. he would figure it out.


I was recently told I better hurry up and have babies or I won't be having any.... I was also told that I might have problems having them on my own.. So next month I am having a surgery to work out what I am going to do. Thank goodness I live in Australia where my medical treatments are paid for by the government (if you like the sound of that America, start voting for a national health care system).


I also recently lost my Grandma.. She had a long and amazing life, and its been a real honor to have her as my Grandma.. She always made me feel loved and special. We had a lot in common where it counts. My family traveled to Connecticut for the funeral and I was unable to go to America to grieve with them. Luckily I have some of my Grandmother's family in Perth, her Sister in Law and Niece, so I did spend time with them. But it has been hard being way out here when all I wanted to do was go home...


My homesickness is pretty bad at the moment. I go through 3 month cycles of being homesick, then being okay.. then being homesick again. At the moment the homesickness is pretty bad.. about as bad as I had it when I first moved to Australia. I just want to go home and sleep on my Mom's couch and look out the big picture window and stare at the big cotton wood tree across the street. I want to sit on the back porch, I want to lay in the summer grass with Jack my parents dog. I want to listen to my Dad talk to his friends on the ham radio. I want to hide in the basement during a summer storm. I want to laugh with my American friends, drink bad American beer, and eat my Mom's cooking.  I want to go to the fair and look at gigantic pigs, eat a turkey leg and ride on a tractor pulled train. I want to buy a gigantic fountain coke from the gas station with about a ton of crushed ice in it and then drink it all in under an hour and not feel sick or guilty about it cause I'm an American.... I want to go to a "gas station" and not a petrol station.. I want to go for a run past corn fields and soy beans... I want to raft the Boise River with my girlfriends, paint our nails, and talk for hours about nothing and everything and take silly pictures.. I guess sometimes you just want to go home.


To put it mildly... Life is a bit HEAVY for us both... We could really use a vacation and time together... We have not had a vacation together (alone) in over two years.. So I am ready for this year to end and for us to start all over again.


Now.. I hope you don't feel burdened after reading this cause thats the last thing I wanted, or do I want you to feel bad for me.. I just needed to get some things off my chest.
Hugs and Kisses from way over here.....

I love my Dad!

Today is Father's Day in America! I am a lucky girl because I have one of the best Dad's in the world!

Me and my Dad 1994 ish, in Idaho



Now I am not a parent, but I can appreciate how difficult it must be to bring up a child in todays world. And I have to say I gave my parents a  fair run for their money. I was a sweet little girl until I developed an attitude and starting noticing boys, then it all changed. Luckily I have great parents who didn't give up on me, and guided me into a happy and successful adulthood.

My Dad always made me feel special, even over the years we had to spend living apart. My father has always given me excellent advice and has been far more patient with me then most Fathers can stand. Once when I was 18 I backed my car (I had not been driving long) into a stump in our yard, leaving a good size dent in the bumper, and creating a loud thud that everyone on the street could hear. My Uncle Steve was visiting our family at the time, and he saw me hit the stump. I jumped out the car and Uncle Steve said "Mary, is your Dad going to be mad?" before I could answer my Dad opened the front door, looked down at my car and the nice dent in the bumper and said "Ah, don't worry about it" and shut the door. Uncle Steve was more surprised then I was at my Fathers patience and understanding. What can I say I have one cool Dad, always cool as a cucumber!!

I think I will take a moment to list a few of my favorite Dad memories.

• When I was 8 my Dad built me a battery operated Go Cart. He buildt the body and put together the motor, it went pretty fast for a battery operated Go Cart. I would zoom up and down our driveway. It was so much fun. I was a lucky kid!
• Dad use to send me chocolate covered cherrys in the mail. The best surprise a mail man can deliver!
• In 2010 I got to snorkel with my Dad in Fiji. That was pretty fun, and for a Dad with a fused neck, he did a great job and we got to see some cool little reef fish!
• When my Dad met my husband Graham for the first time, he took Graham out to one of his favorite bars in Indianapolis. Dad sure gave Graham a big welcome to the family, both Dad and Graham showed up back at the house 3 sheets to the wind. They had a great time, and it is still the drunkest I have ever seen my husband. HAHA
• When I was 9 the country theatre next to our house had a big community garage sale. At the sale there was some kittens being given away for free. I feel in love with a little black kitten with a long tail and big paws. My Mother told me I could keep the kitten only if Dad said it was okay. I took the kitten over to our house to ask Dad if I could keep him. Dad picked up the kitten gave him a cuddle and said "Yes you can keep him". I was over joyed, and that kitten grew up to be my most loved and favorite cat. Tomas. (I know thats how his name was really spelt) Thanks Dad for letting me have my Tom cat, my bestfriend growing up!
• My Dad use to make my school lunch. It was always the same, but always the best. Peanut butter and jelly, with extra jelly. I loved it!

Thanks for loving me Dad, and always spoiling me. Thanks for the support you have given me as a girl and as a woman. Your love and kindness means the world to me, and I am so proud to have you as my Dad!

Happy Fathers Day!
- Your Girl

Graham's 30th Birthday Bowls Bash

Well, its happened. Graham is 30.


I know, shocking!  You grow up thinking... gee 30, thats starting to get a little old... and then you hit 25 and you think.. nawww... 30 is just starting to get a little more mature, professional, and confident.. 
And its true.. 30 is a good thing. 


On April 16th we had Graham's 30th Birthday Party at the local Lawn Bowls club. (See an older post for more on Lawn Bowls). It was a great night! 


We had a BBQ and our guests brought side dishes! We even had a Croquembouche cake. Now I did not manage to get a picture of the cake, so bellow is an example of the what a Croquembouche cake is. This is what I ordered from a local cake shop called Fiorentina Patisserie. It was delicious and just the right size for 35 guests! For my American friends, imagine a cake of only chocolate eclairs... all stacked on each other.. and you have the Croquembouche! 

After Dinner we had a Lawn Bowls competition. We played in teams until we finally got to our two best players who won a $25 music store gift card each. They seemed happy about that! The party was attended by many of Graham's medical school classmates and friends, a few friends from the neighborhood, some of the lawn bowls club members, and even our local Butcher came by for a drink (what can I say thats just the kind of place Australia is). 


Graham's real birthday as on April 25th, and we were lucky to have Graham's Mum and Step Dad out for the weekend, celebrating Easter and Graham's birthday with us.  April 25th is also a war memorial day in Australia called Anzac Day, it is a public holiday. So we spent Graham's birthday going to a parade in the city to honor Australia's war veterans. Then we had some lunch with friends and later that night Karen, Graham's Mum made a yummy dinner! Much wine was enjoyed by all! Karen even brought over Graham's birthday cake with her from Sydney, a home made fruit cake. It was huge, and we still have some leftover. But don't worry, it lasts for at least a year.. Its fruit cake.. Graham is still eating birthday cake every night! And its May now!!!  hehe.. 


Below are some picture from the Birthday Bash!
Happy 30th Birthday to my husband and best friend. I love you!

 Friends at the Birthday Bowls Party!

 Rob and his family showing off some lawn bowls.

 Graham and Mary on the bowling green!

Kicking back smoking a pipe on the front porch after the party with Jason!

Some Oldies..

Me and my Dad in one of his old classic sports cars, this one was the Triumph we had in Boise Idaho. I think this photo was taken in 1998. It was a cool little car. But I don't recommend being boxed in on the highway by two semitrailer trucks while driving this model.

This one makes me smile. This is Graham and his Mum Karen in our Kitchen in Perth 2009. Karen always comes to visit for Thanksgiving, and here she was making a yummy hollandaise sauce. You can really see the motherly love coming through in this photo. And Graham is just being a ham.

Happy Easter! Here is Graham the Easter Bunny, well the angry Easter Bunny in this shot. But I had to take a picture! If you are looking to hire a Easter Bunny to hop around you yard and hide eggs Graham is your man!!

 (Easter 2005)

Our Wedding Day (the first time) in the American summer of 2005. This was all the guests we had! From Left, my Dad and Mom, center my friend Janice she was with me when I met Graham in Sydney, Graham's Mum Karen who traveled last minute from Sydney to come for our quite wedding, and Graham and myself. We where married by the then mayor of Greenfield, and had dinner in Carmel (Indiana). It was a beautiful day. This picture was taken on my parents back porch in Greenfield.

Let the campagne flow! My Mum in law is going to kill me for posting this one, but I love it. This photo always makes me laugh. This was right after Graham and I got married back at my parents house. Karen and I had had a few drinks! We seem to be attacking the camera while giggling in this one. Love it!

That's it for the old photos folks!!

Tomorrow is Graham's 30th Birthday party at the Lawn Bowls Club in Como, Western Australia.  So my next update should have some photos of that in it!

Happy Easter!



March Madness

So March has been a busy one at our house!

Work kept me busy with the opening of our latest show Thrill (a double bill), with one piece by a local Perth choreographer and another by a choreographer from New York City. It was a great show and I was kept busy with the 54 schools who came to see the performance during a week long series of day time school shows.  I saw over 700 high school students, it was a huge success for my company Buzz Dance Theatre.

photo by Ashely de Prazer for Buzz Dance Theatre

www.buzzdance.com.au

Graham was busy with school and study in March. He sure does work hard and often a week can fly by before I realize I have yet to tell him all my stories from the week. He keeps long hours. Up at 6:30am and is hard at work until after 8:30pm most nights.

We did find time to check out a local aviation museum a few weeks ago, that was a lot of fun and a hidden Western Australia gem. Lots of world war II relics and information. It was a good Saturday afternoon activity!

Things at the Wolfla house in Indiana have been busy as well. My Dad got a shoulder replaced which he is healing from now, and even the family dog did not escape a trip to the vet for surgery. Mom has had her hands full taking care of Dad and Jack the dog. They have also just had their kitchen re-done with a new refrigerator (they retired a 20 year old friend) and new granite counter tops!

I am getting excited because my Butler University Boys Basketball team has made it into the NCAA Final Four tournament in Houston this weekend. I was asked to a Butler viewing party in Sydney this weekend, but its to far to go! So my options are stay home and watch the game cast online (live blog updates on espn.com) or go over the Casino in the city at 5:30am and beg the sports bar bartender to put the game on the big screen. I might try my luck at the Casino because I would really love to watch it. If they won't play it (and they have ESPN) I will kindly flip them the bird and catch a cab back home and watch the blog updates..... People here think I am nuts. But they have no idea what a big deal it is. It is the only time I have ever wished I had expensive cable TV in Australia..

April promises to be just as busy. Graham's 30th birthday is on April 25th (Anzac Day).  We are getting excited because his Mom and Step Dad will be out to visit for it and Easter! We sure miss our family over in NSW and this will be a great time to catch up with them and make some new family memories!

Sending everyone my love. I have been saying special prayers for my family and friends in Indiana, Connecticut, and Idaho this Lent season, and I hope everyone is well, and knows how much they are loved and missed!
XOXOXO -Mary