Wombat Alert

Today I paint, paint, painted (so did Pooteewheet). But someone did come to see the house and left money (refundable with their first month's rent) for a tenant check. Sweet. I have to admit the place looks pretty nice at the moment: garage actually pine sol-ed...new paint in the upstairs...welcome mats inside and outside the front door...area rug near the back door by the porch...cinnamon roll smell wafting through the air...cigarette butts almost all gone (third pass - they keep turning up like rocks in an Irish field). And I appreciate the fact that I'm not there on a 24 hour stint this time.

I even got in some fun today, hitting breakfast at The Longfellow Grill with my brother-in-law and niece. I bought her a book off the discount kids shelf a few weeks ago and I've been excited to give it to her. She won't get to read it, or have it read to her, for several more years, because it's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, but I think my sister will appreciate and understand why I thought of her when I saw it on the shelf. It's called "Bloody Moments" and details a history of surgery and disease, right down to showing a cartoon guy covered with leeches and another one with an arrow pointing to where he has his probable STD.

I just got off the phone with her, and I guess the book is entirely appropriate as my niece is currently vomiting up everything she ate today. I guess those blueberries this morning didn't agree with her. I'd blame Pooteewheet, who's been sick, but her recent illness had no nausea whatsoever. There may just be a picture of someone being violently ill and/or suffering food poisoning in "Bloody Moments".

Speaking of my sister, here are a few historical pictures from her wedding. She got married just before 9/11 in Australia. Jenolan Caves to be exact, although we also spent some time in Bathurst hanging out with my brother-in-law's dad. Pooteewheet didn't get to go with me because she was in school. I wasn't so excited about going to Australia, as it seemed pretty much like Seattle, but with a much longer (and more expensive) plane ride, but I have nothing but good memories of the place, so it really made an impression. I guess anyplace where the currency rate is $1=$2 so I can buy a 24 oz. steak, two beers and assorted other food all for under $20 is bound to leave a favorable taste.

Here's a wombat crossing. I didn't see a wombat. The whole time I was there, the only animal I saw outside a zoo that wasn't a bird was a wallaby on the hill near my hotel room. Otherwise the place seemed completely void of critters. There were certainly no cuddly wombats wandering across the highway (fortunately for them...my dad seemed a little nervous about the whole driving on the other side of the road thing).


There were signs of animals. I'm pretty sure this is a pile of wallaby scat. You can be assured I didn't leave it myself, although I do have a picture of my brother taking a leak nearby.


Here's a picture from the wedding. LissyJo and my brother-in-law walking along a path to get their pre-wedding pictures. It was suprisingly cold...I say suprisingly because there were tropical birds not so far from here just hanging out and eating bread crumbs. You don't expect to need a coat to cover yourself up if there are tropical birds nearby.


Nice picture of LissyJo and husband to be on the shore of the little stream that runs past Jenolan Caves. I don't remember if this is before or after LissyJo freaked out and got claustrophobia in the caves (there are caves, it's not just some sort of name indicating there are caves somewhere within a 500 mile radius).