Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you! Hope you had a good, relaxed holiday with family and friends.  Some of you are probably busy right now celebrating, and for others it all took place a couple of days ago.

As I mentioned before, it doesn't really feel like Christmas over here, but thanks to Marg we now have a little Christmas corner on our TV bench with snow and a little tree all the way from Canada! It was a nice surprise and very much appreciated.

Coming from different countries has it's benefits. We got to have two Christmas dinners! One on Christmas Eve (that's when we celebrate Xmas in Sweden) with meatballs and some Gluhwein (almost like our Swedish equivalent glögg) and one on Christmas Day with a big Turkey dinner and Australian Pavlova for dessert.

The weather has been cooler than normal for this time a year, but the last two days were really nice, so we've been on the beach, having BBQ:s and going for hikes during the day time.

 Santa sneaked in during the night:)

 Meatballs!

 On our way up Mount Tomaree

 Zenith Beach

 Christmas lunch on the beach!
 

Pavlova, Aussie Xmas tradition

 

 We went for a Xmas swim at the Ocean Baths and while I enjoyed the sun...

 ... a sunburnt Wyatt didn't

Gifts all the way from Canada, thanks uncle Charlie, Cass' and Grandma!

Visitors!

We've got visitors again! Wyatt's parents Dale and Marg arrived a couple of days ago and it's really good to have them here.  It's been over a year since I last saw them so we have a lot of catching up to do:) I'm looking forward to the next two weeks and hope for the weather to improve...

A visit to Newcastle Museum and a BBQ (as long as it stops raining...) in Nelson Bay is on today's schedule.

Giant Ants

We came across this huge Red Bull Ant last week in Salamander Bay when we were looking for the mama Koala and her baby.  I much prefer the Koalas.

Master Chef

We spent yesterday evening in great company and had some really good food.  Quintin and Sal were hosting us at their place, but we all contributed by cooking a dish each.  After a beautiful asparagus starter by Kim and Simon and prawns for a main dish, it was Wyatt's and my turn to show off:) Our lemon cheesecake turned out a little bit less firm than we wanted but it was still pretty yummie!

                            Solomon loving the attention

A baby and mother Koala

The very first month of work in Salamander Bay, a patient of mine advised me to walk across the street to the local library. This was because up in one of the eucalyptus trees was a lone adult Koala. Soon after when Jo came up we went looking, but had no luck spotting the elusive tree hugger. To my amazement nearly 9 months later, Johanna was by chance walking by and had a look, to her enjoyment she was able to capture possibly the same adult with a tiny addition. One crappy day at the office was soon turned around with this awesome sight. Ingrid and Beo, you guys would have easily spent a couple of hours watching these two sleep and eat....

Summer!

After a full week of rain, 16 above and storms, summer finally seems to be here.  The balcony got a good clean and we enjoyed a good dinner outside this evening!

Spider Encounters Part Deux

Just as we had talked previously that spring is in the air, the flowers are in bloom, the birds are chirping...well the large spiders are also back. Our first encounter with the Huntsman was one month into our stay. We were walking along the underground garage when a furry ball the size of an orange came charging towards us leaping (yes these spiders jump as they run) and looking for cover. The dread I had since that time as I hadn't had a chance to take a photo graph or catch it to get a closer look, well today we got that chance....

Before the capture, this little fella by Huntsman standards was about half the size of our first encounter..

Safely behind a thick insect proof jar...

The Aussie 10 cent piece is the size roughly of a 2 Euro coin or a Toonie (canadian 2 dollar coin)

Johanna is very impressed!!!!!!

We let the big guy outside so that he could patrol the apartment as one of their favorite dishes to eat are the dreaded cockroach or in Swedish Kackerlacka!