Pemberton WA Trip

Graham and I went away to Pemberton Western Australia last weekend. It was a great 4 day trip, and our first time going away together (not visiting family) in over 2 years. So this trip was long overdue!

 Kerri Forrest

On our way down to the southern part of Western Australia we drove threw a rainbow!!! It was amazing!! All the other cars on the highway around us seemed just as excited, people had cameras out, big smiles, and lots of funny faces as we drove threw this huge rainbow. It was so bright, and you could see each color reflecting off the windshield and hood of the car.. Graham was sad that there was no pot of gold on the other side.. just rain and a grey sky. But it was really cool.

Our trip was full of wonderful meals. We stopped at one of our favorite winerys, well it is our favorite West Australian winery. The Wine & Truffle Company in Manjimup WA.

http://wineandtruffle.com.au/truffle-hill-wines

The winery also has a beautiful restaurant, where we shared two dishes (smoked chicken and marron, with all kinds of truffle goodies, pate, spreads and bread) and enjoyed a bottle of white wine.

After this delicious lunch we headed out and enjoyed a little fly fishing. It was a beautiful day. Half way through the fly fishing I gave up as nothing was biting and just enjoyed the local birds. Three fairy wrens had been following me around the lake making all kinds of noise, so I just enjoyed their company for awhile. My Mom would have loved this!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splendid_Fairywren

We rented a nice little mud cottage at a place known for its wildlife. Warren River Cottages. We had a nice two bedroom cottage with a wood fire and full kitchen. The perfect place to hang out and sit in front of the fire with a glass of wine and a beautiful meal. It was fun to have a fire place and take turns keeping the fire burning. Some of you who know me well know that I have a hard time sleeping at night. I wake up about 4 times during the night and just roam the house. On our trip I discovered this was a perfect sleeping habit for keeping a fire going all night for warmth. Graham slept safe and sound as I kept the fire roaring all night long!!

On our last full day in Pemberton a big storm blew in falling trees and pulling power lines down. We lost power on our last night and decided to play a few games of scrabble by candle light in front of the fire. It was a lot of fun, after 4 games of normal scrabble we made it a little more interesting and played a game where you could only use words related to cats or cats you have known!! Having over 5 cats growing up and 1 big fat cat now you know I had lots of cat related words. Part of the game was telling your opponent how that word was related to cats.. Then your opponent decided if the word was appropriate to play or not. We thought of some good ones! Names/cat sounds are acceptable playing words..
 
We also enjoyed the meals at the Pemberton Pub, we both had smoked trout for dinner and then took up a place sitting at a table next to the front doors of the pub.. many people said hello as they passed, we started to feel like locals ourselves!!

 Pemberton Pub knows as the Pemberton Hotel

It was so nice to get away together.. We love spending time in the Kerri Forrest with the BIG trees, and just enjoying the bush and local wildlife and people!

 A few photos from our trip!

Graham keeping warm by the fire.

 Cooking us a nice BBQ breakfast!

 Beautiful Pemberton country side.

Feast of marron when we got back to Perth!! 

Scrabble by candle light.

 Woops.. we can't get out..

Sneaky kiss

Thanks for sharing our adventure with us!!

Till next time - Mary

Autumn in Perth

Goodness it seems this year has flown by. I am still stuck in March somehow.. and I have just mastered writing 2012 instead of 2011.

Trigg Beach.. we like to swim here. 

But its Autumn time again in Perth. How can I tell you ask..? Well there are 4 maple trees I see everyday on my way to work.. they have decided to let their leaves turn  brown and tumble to the ground.  The evenings have also grown colder.  Last week Perth had its coldest night in 100 years. It got down to 1.5C thats like.. hold let me look it up cause this conversion is not easy.. 34.7F.. It was cold, I woke up and thought, gosh my feet are cold and then went back to sleep. But for the most part the days have been sunny and warm. Warm enough that at noon you might contemplate going to the beach if you where standing or working in the sun.

Winter in Perth feels like one long September.. you get to April and then it seems to be suddenly September until November hits and the warm summer suns reminds you that you are living in desert land in the sun for a million years. I can't complain. I don't miss the snow, yeah its nice at christmas, but I am glad I don't have to put up with winter things such as heavy coats, gloves, slush, ice stuck to your windshield, not that that would happen to me.. cause I won't be owning a car for another 5-10 years.. But I guess I don't have to wait for a bus in a snow storm.. cause that would be way worse then picking the ice off your windshield.

However.. I do miss the small things that go with Autumn.. like pumpkin carving.. no one wants to do that with me in May in Australia. Nor does anyone want to go apple picking, or on evening hay rides.. I might be able to convince a few children I know, but for the most part the adults would think I was crazy (outside of my husband) he is up for pumpkin carving anytime!

Oh.. and I get to experience a whole new range of holidays with a more Autumn appeal.. Like Easter.. in Autumn not Spring.. makes Easter Bunnies and Pictures of Lambs look a little out of place. As well as Mothers day.. we get to celebrate in Autumn. The Mothers Day flower here are Mums.. you know the Autumn time flower you can get around halloween.. always makes me feel weird.. Here you go Mom.. have some Mums.. but I guess that makes sense Australians call their Mom, Mum.. so maybe we have it backwards in America?

Okay.. off to round up some kids to carve pumpkins.. and organize a hay ride! Who's up for it?

Swashbuckling Birthday

That's right you read that correctly! The title said “Swashbuckling Birthday”.

Did you ever want to recreate the sword fight scene from The Princess Bride or maybe be a little more like Captain Jack Sparrow? Well!! Thats what Graham and and a few friends got to do last Saturday night!

For Graham's 31st birthday this year I got him a Swashbuckling Stage Combat class!! As you can see from the photos.. It was a blast!!

Happy Birthday Graham!! I love you with all my heart, thanks for being the best husband a girl could ask for! Also I think you make a pretty sexy pirate!

Thanks also to Andy from Stage Combat Perth!! The class was the perfect gift! Check out Andy's website!
http://stagecombatperth.com.au/

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns
1 a Penny
2 a Penny
Hot Cross Buns

Remember that song!!!

Guess what.. I bet you never guessed... well if your from America anyways..
HOT CROSS BUNS ARE A REAL THING!!

And they are a BIG deal, well at least here in a Australia. I have no idea where the tradition started. But they are a Easter treat in Australia.
Easter is now my favorite holiday.. it used to be Halloween.. but then I moved to a country that doesn't take it seriously.. and I just love the Christian meaning of Easter. It is also my most favorite time at church, a time of joy and hallelujah! More inspiring then Christmas in my book... But I don't want to start a debate.. Back to the Hot Cross Buns..

Graham really enjoys making these at Easter time. I think he plans to make some this weekend for our little Easter celebration at home and to give to friends in the neighborhood.. They are deliate and like a bun of raisin bread (my Dad would love these) with a sugar sticky top.. That white stuff on top isn't frosting.. its part of the bread.. But all the buns get a brushing of sticky sugar.. So yummy..

I bought a dozen of Hot Cross Buns and shared them at work this morning for Easter. I got the chocolate chip variety.. I had to fight off a crowd inside the city bakery to get my hands on two bags of Buns.. It was a mad house.. men and woman fighting to get the last bags of buns.. You know I got my two no worries mate.. but I did have to be a little sneaky.. (first time I have used mate in a sentence)

Life has been busy busy lately. We just closed our latest show at work Restless about 2 weeks ago.. and we are onto our next production due to open in June when we get back from the Easter holiday. Still love my job. This next show is one I am really excited about. I think I have found my place in the world of dance and am slowly finding myself drawn to dance more then live theatre.

That being said I am working on another play in Perth. It opens at the Old Mill Theatre in May. Its called Parramatta Girls and I am Assistant Director on the show for my friend Siobhan. The show is about the Parramatta Girls Home that was open in NSW. Its a sad play talking about the abuse suffered by the girls in the home. We have a great cast and so far everything is coming along as it should. I am looking forward to this show opening!

Graham is about to start his pediatric rotation at a couple hospitals in and around Perth. He is not really excited about this rotation as its meant to be one of the hardest and saddest rotations during the degree. I think he is going to need some extra cuddle and special home cooked treats to get him through the long hours of work and study. Good thing its only for 10 weeks!

I want to wish all my family and friends near and far a Happy Easter!
Lots of Love,
Me

Off with a BANG

ITS 2012!! 

Yes I know it happened over two months ago now.. but I haven't had time to update my blog.

So just let me fill you in.

Cast of Daisy Pulls It Off

Old Mill Theatre - South Perth

Nov-Dec 2011

A friend of mine asked me to be her assistant director on a show called Daisy Pulls It Off mid last year. We rehearsed for months and opened the show in late November. Daisy was an instant hit with the general public. It felt good sitting in the back row on opening night seeing this amazing cast deliver a outstandingly funny play. So proud to be a part of this show, and I am impressed with the final result, of course all the credit must go to the cast for doing a superb job!

Indianapolis Indiana

Lights on the Circle

December 2011

This past Christmas I got to go home for Christmas, big thanks to Mom and Dad for sending us home for the holidays. We where in Indiana from Dec 8-27 and had a great visit. As always it was hard to leave and say see you later to my parents and our friends.  A few high lights from are trip are:

• NBA game with Mom and Dad in the city
• Putting up the Christmas lights
• Hanging out with our good friends
• Waking up Christmas morning at my Mom's house
• Sleeping on my parents couch.. I have a passion for couch sleeping.. just ask Graham
• Hockey Game with Graham and the girls
• Night out on the town in Sarah and Kurtis.. we broke in their new sofa bed and woke up on Christmas Eve morning at their place, we are so lucky to have such good friends (we had hang overs and no it was not pretty) 
• Hanging out with my cat and dog family. So good to see our dog Jack and Mom and Dad's cats. I got to know a new family member "Tom Trash Cat" he lives up to his name, but that is another blog post. 
• Shopping with Mom
• Hanging out in my Dad's workshop
• Connecting to my Indiana roots, for the fist time in years I was around my people. It was great. 

Wolfla Family Christmas 2011

On December 27th we headed back to Australia and spent 10 days visiting with Graham's family. It was great to see everyone back in Sydney. I had not been in Sydney for 3 years. Some of the highlights:

• Spending time with Graham's Mum, Step Dad and Brother Simon
• Seeing Graham's Nan Marj and just hanging out at her place
• Dinner with my best buddy Mel, she made us a yummy dinner!
• Going to the beach with Mum, Simon and Graham
• Going on a hike with Graham through the bush land we use to live near
• Seeing the city and sitting down on the harbour looking out at the Harbour Bridge with Graham
• Catching up with friends Lisa and Jeff
• Re-do Christmas with Mum, Dad and Simon!

Karen (Mum) and Mary

Sydney CBD

(I know it was summer.. but it was cold in Sydney, look a scarf in Sydney in December!! FREAKY)

Graham and I made it back to Perth and jumped strait back into the grind. Work is busy busy for me at the moment, we have a show opening on March 9th. Not to mention I stage managed a Fringe Festival show called Proximity when we got back that ran Jan-Feb. It was a great project. It won the "Spirit of the Fringe Award" for 2012. Check it out here:

http://proximityfestival.com/about/

Graham is busy with school, he has been working in the hospital delivering babies and learning about womens health the past 2 months. Its not his favorite rotation so far. But all things must end and soon enough he will be studying something else he enjoys more.

We are still hoping a baby is in our near future.. but thats not up to us. 

Goodness.. I think you can consider yourself updated.

Class dismissed. 

XOXO

Mary Berry Egg Head (an old nick name)

30 Things for Ann's 30th Birthday

Ann and Mary August 2010

You may not know this.. but one of my childhood BEST Friends shares her Birthday with me! Her name is Ann, we meet during the last day of 5th grade in Boise Idaho.. at Horizon Elementary School. 

This week Ann and I turn 30. We have been friends for 17 years.. gee... a long time now..

So I am dedicating this blog post to her these 30 things are items I would like to buy Ann if I had unlimited funds.. or if I had time to make them myself. 

Although we live thousands of miles apart, you are always in my heart! Happy Birthday! I miss you!

1. A trip to Fiji for you and me and all the girls.

2. A grand piano

3. A dog who can play the piano for you, and one who does not get into the trash.

4. Money to make and market your own fragrance... lol..

5.  10 Snowmobiles plus a place to store them.

6. A lake called "Ann's Old Swimming Hole" complete with a little cottage.

7. Season tickets to the 2012 BSU games.

8. Matching diamond bracelets for us both.. 

9. A life supply of your Mom's hot chocolate mix.

10. A beach party with the live act of your choice.. and a bon fire! 

11. Glitter shoes... with diamonds the soles. 

12. A no kill animal shelter named in your honor 

13. A new camera

14. A sky dive experience

15. Oh a week with the tornado chasers.. for me and you. Then I can face my fears and I will stop having nightmares about you and tornados. Don't worry they always end well..

16.  A new car!! But you know the kind of car you would never buy yourself.. like a Range Rover or Ferrari. 

17. A 3 week African Safari for you and who ever you want to go with. 

18. A night in a old jail.. You, Me, Kris, April, and Lindy.. that would be so funny and scary.. 

19. Your very own tilt-a-whirl ride for the back yard! 

20. Your own Island. Somewhere near me...

21. A million dollars to spend however you want.

22. A six pack of Dr. Pepper

23. A bird rehabilitation centre named in your honor. 

24. A Karaoke Machine.. the cool kind.. not the crappy kind. With a Juke Box, full of your favorites!

25. 1 brand new raft to use on the Boise River.

26. A tent that is leak proof, complete with separate rooms.. and kitchen area. 

27. A state of the art Motor Home.. guess you won't be needing that tent.. with a unlimited life time gas voucher from the oil industry.

28. Tickets to every concert touring to Boise in 2012.

29. A ski chalet in the Alps. Plus your own jet to get you and your loved ones there! 

30. A brand new Basket Ball!!

I hope you enjoyed the list.. unfortunately all I can afford to get Ann for her Birthday are items #22, #25, and #30.

Wish I was there to celebrate with you Anners! Thanks for loving me, and looking after me all these years! 

Your best friend down under!!
XOXOXO
Mary

Watch Out November

Hi Again,


I thought I would just do a general update. Things have been extremely busy for me and Graham. October flew by and now we are well into November!


Graham has made it through his 4th year of medicine unharmed (at least on the outside). He finished his last exams for the year last week and is having a great time being a house husband at the moment. This week he has played squash, golf and lawn bowls, he fixed our home desktop computer, did the laundry, made dinners, and did half of the dishes most of the week. He does not like to do the silverware and leaves them for me to do.. so kind of him. He is a free man from now until mid January, and I have to say its nice to just have his full attention. Wives of medical school students don't get a lot of "extra" attention, they are busy and need to spend tons of time studying... so its great to just come home and have a chat with Graham instead of saving up all the things I want to tell him over the course of a few days, and then unleash it on him in one big 40 minute long "update" session.


I have been busy with work, as well as outside of work commitments. I have been working as assistant director on a show at the Old Mill Theatre in South Perth. The show is directed by my friend Sue Lynch and is called Daisy Pulls it Off . The cast is made of up young people (under 17) and adults. Its an english school girls (boarding school) comedy. Its set in the 1930s and is full of gags and lots of sillyness. Its been a fun project for me, and has kept me busy while Graham was studying.  Some images for the show below. Daisy Pulls it Off opens on November 25th and runs into December.

I am also busy planning my 30th birthday party on November 18th with Graham. It has a Thanksgiving theme, but I think the only Thanksgiving themed item at the party will be my and the poor turkey. This being said I plan to soon write a blog about all the different ways one can purchase turkey in Australia.. I am blown away folks. Let me just say that there will be a 5 kilo turkey "log" at my party... yes.. your read that correctly. A TURKEY LOG.


I have also been spending time improving my running. I am running a short 7.5km run on November 27th. But I want to do this run well and in good time. I really enjoy doing my evening runs, the weather this Australian spring has been great for running, even if its been a little rainy. I am not sure if I am going to be able to continue my running during my American winter visit home.. but I might try.. (yeah after 2 burritos and a plate of wings, I am sure I am going to feel like running in the freezing air) But you can let me dream!


Well that about raps it up. More soon I promise..
PS. I am growing tomato plants for the first time in Australia at the moment, and ate my first one last night. It was delicious.