US & OZ

The photo from OZ is pretty scary...have your hands by your eyes just in case you need to cover them.

Are you ready?

Here it is...

I don't think you'll have to look toooo closely to find the little australian murder machine.      

I don't know if that is really a poisonous one, but he sure looks pissed.

                                                                                                       -Kate

EEK...!!!!  A scary spider.  It might even be venomous.  There are all kinds of poisonous animals down undah.  Not sure what the proper scientific name is, but scary spider seems apt.  

Kate's pretty sure she's correct and the proper name is 'little Australian murder machine'.  

come-see; come-saw

Meanwhile, back in Kansas.  

Well, not really Kansas, but since I was talking about OZ it just seemed like a natural segue.  (not to be confused with a motorised 2-wheeled machine).  

Speaking of murder machines (another segue, thankyouverymuch) have you ever observed the tenacity of Blue Jays?  They are fierce, big bullies.  They knock all the other little chickadees off the bird-feeder and then knock all the seeds off the perch until they find the one that they like.  They have even been known to dive bomb little doggies.  My friend's childhood pooch as a matter of fact.  But, that's another story for another time.   

Or, maybe they feel badly for knocking all the chickadees off the bird-feeder and are putting some seed on the ground for them...?  

But, now I have photographic proof that they are the ones making a mess with the birdseed.  So, if I ever corner them and they say,
'who us?  we don't make no stinkin messes.  You must be thinking of those other birds'.
I can whip out this photograph and say 'AH HA!  PROOF!'  And they will sheepishly fly away and leave the chickadees to eat when and where they like.  

And, one more thing.  How about the contrast between the two photographs.  Kate's background is green and colorful.  Lush foliage that should be present in summertime.  My background is bare branches and even a trace of snow on the roof of the bird-feeder.  

  

US & OZ

Sorry I have been MIA.  Busy busy busy...  I am sure we are all singing the same tune.
However, I felt badly enough for neglecting my blog that I stopped on my way to the land of nod to sit at the computer and update it just one more time...
Who knows, maybe I will get one more post in before the end of the year!  Fingers crossed...
 

From OZ:

The girls enjoying one of the "pressies" that my mom sent them for Christmas! 

I let them open one a day early. :)

                          -Kate

From US:

My daughter taking a break from my photo-shoot in front of the tree.  

US & OZ: December 16, 2010

OZ:

The girls in their sundresses after a day of visiting Santa.

US:

Horses getting a dusting of snow.  Where are their blankets??  

US & OZ: December 14, 2010

OZ:

The Sydney Opera house packed for Oprah's Greatest Adventure.  Kate had some distant photos of Oprah herself, but said she liked this one of the Opera House and jumbo-tron.  

US:

One of my favorite houses decorated for Christmas.  I just love the style of this house.  

I covet it.  I wish it were mine.  Is that wrong?  

I think I may use this for my Christmas card next year ;~))

US & OZ: December 6, 2010

From OZ:

The girls were having dessert in their jammies tonight, and Lara decided to put her "cosi" on over hers. 

And her swimming cap.

                      -Kate

From US:

Bird waiting for me to fill up the bird feeder, but it was just too cold!  Sorry, chickie...

US & OZ: December 3, 2010

From Oz:

December 3rd, third day of summer...

Lara in one of her party dresses, showing me their christmas tree.

                                                              -Kate

From US:

Deer in the Woods

I just love this photo.  If there were snow on the ground I think it would be a perfect Christmas card.  

  

A Day Late & A Dollar Short

Well, as illness continues to make its way through the household it seems I have been forgetting to do some other things.  Oh, like decorate for the season and buy some gifts for my family to open on Christmas morning.  There's only 3 weeks left!


And, to post a photo from Gorgeous Kate down undah.  We are both a little too busy to do daily photographs, but when she sends me one I will post it.  I am looking forward to seeing Australia decorated for Christmas!

Kate sent me this photo yesterday:

Welcome back to Australia, here is a picture of some weird tree goo!! :)

                                                                                   -Kate

I just love seeing everything in bloom!

It is quite a contrast to this one:

berries hanging on to bare prickly branches.  

I am not sure what kind of bush it is, but it is in our back yard and those thorns hurt!

Thank you, Kate!

Well, I had a great time participating in the US & OZ photography series.  Thanks so much, Kate, for doing this with me.  I would love to do it again in December.  I hope you are available!!

I loved all the photographs, but I think my favorite OZ photos were from Day 1 and Day 2.  What can I say?  I love photographs of flora and foliage.

What do you think?  Which ones were your favorites?

US & OZ: Happy Halloween!!

Kate said that Australia just recently started celebrating Halloween and some people don't even know what it is.  That is why it is so sparsely decorated.  Plus, it is spring over there, not fall, so I am sure that makes it harder to decorate with the typical autumnal theme.  I do like the charm of the creative designs though.  What do you think?


From OZ:

the most impressive decoration in town.

                                                                      -Kate

From US:

Blow-up decorations.  I think I prefer the homemade Australian kind ;~)

US & OZ: October 30, 2010

Let's see what we have on this night of mischief...

From OZ:

I searched and searched for some Halloween decorations and until today there has been absolutely NONE. I finally found the first house with decorations and it was so laughable I had to share it. Supposedly the family I live with has "heaps" but I am yet to see any. Maybe they only put them out on the actual day? We will see.

                                                                                        -Kate

I really wanted to post a photo of Halloween decorations to go along with Kate's, but I just had to share this one...

From US:

Today was my son's last baseball game of the season and look who showed up to ump...Santa Claus!  Just in time for Halloween!!

~Happy Haunting~

US & OZ: October 29, 2010

From OZ:

i saw her hunched over in the yard with her mom's camera...asked her what she was doing. 

"i'm just taking a picture of the poo." 

of course. it was a nice lookin turd.

                                                                 -Kate

From US:

Pretty sure the turd didn't come from this girl.  

She was at the school's Halloween parade.  

I was so taken with her that I couldn't help but take some photos.  

The owner didn't tell me to stop so I just kept on clickin'  

Doesn't she look like she has lipstick and eyeliner on?  

Maybe she was hoping to meet someone special...  

US & OZ: October 28, 2010

From OZ:

Australia likes to pretend that their economy is struggling just like the States...

but here is some proof. 

There are jobs here! Lots!

                                          -Kate

From US:

Finding a fuzzy caterpillar on an expedition.

US & OZ: October 27, 2010

OZ:

Picnic fun in the park. Can you tell Dora is very popular in Australia?

                                                                                                   -Kate

US:

A dark and dreary leaf soaked driveway.  

US & OZ: October 26, 2010

From the shoeless down under:

People can't seem to hold on to their shoes around here. :)

                                                                                                  -Kate

From the Halloween decorated US:

Frankie, our Halloween decoration.  He has been with us for about 10 years.  

He sings, 'who can it be knocking at my door, go away, don't come 'round here no more'.  The kids love him, and so do the adults!  

US & OZ: October 25, 2010

Sorry for the lateness of this post, but I am a bit under the weather (a terrible place to be) and have been dozing on the sofa.

Here is the photo from OZ:

Well it started pouring again so I went with this picture. 

I've been wanting to show off the butterfly stickers on my window. :) 

I think they have been there since the first au pair.

                                                                                -Kate

and the photo from US:

Kate has said that the month of October is making her homesick so I thought I would take a photo of home.  These are the delicious deciduous trees by Kate's house.
Don't they look stunning?
One thing I love about fall on the east coast is the color.  Even driving down the highway is more enjoyable when you can admire all the gorgeous coordinating colors of the leaves.

As I was snapping away I thought, I hope this doesn't make her more homesick.  My intentions were pure, I assure you!!

xo

Stay tuned...

for more US & OZ.  

This is Kate's suitcase and she is back from Fiji!!  

We are going to finish out the month with our daily photos.

Can't wait!

  

Photography Series Hiatus

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately our US & OZ photo series will be taking a little hiatus while gorgeous Kate in vacationing in gorgeous Fiji.  There are no phones, tvs, wireless.

nada!  
zippo!
zilch!

So, while all this makes for a relaxing and fun vacation it really doesn't help when you want to email photographs to people.
But, stop being selfish, geez...


Not to worry though.  She will be back before we know it so CHIN UP!

No tears!
oh, well, maybe that is just directed to me, but, well, carry on...

Have fun, Kate!  We look forward to your return!
xo

US & OZ: Day 6

I did not receive a photo from Kate before she left for Fiji.  I did get an email from her and I think she may have attached a photo to it, but it didn't come through.  She did, however, assure me that she packed her camera!!

So, here is the photo that I imagine she would have sent me:

hahaha, couldn't resist...
 that's not a knife...this is a knife...

anyhoo...back to our regularly scheduled programming...

My little one has finally mastered the 2-wheeler without the aid of training wheels.  She was SO excited and proud to ride around with her big brother.

Photography Series Update

I have been thoroughly enjoying the US & OZ series.  I love getting the lovely photos from our friend down undah and also love the challenge of taking a photo a day myself.

Today, however, we have run into our first glitch.  I usually get a photo from Kate bright and early in my time zone. However, today she is traveling to Fiji and I haven't received a photo from her yet.  I am sure it has to do with packing and traveling and time differences.  I really hope that once she gets to Fiji she has internet connection and we will be able to carry on as planned.  I really can't wait to see some photos from Fiji.

I will still take a daily photo and post it at the end of the day, but there probably won't be one from Kate.  We'll see...fingers crossed...

Let's all say a prayer that she has/had a safe flight to Fiji and remembered to bring her camera!!

Check back later~
xo

US & OZ: Day 5

From OZ:

This morning I made myself a coffee and the girls joined me for "baby chinos." The coffee shops here offer frothed milk with some kind of treat (marshmallows or gummy worms, etc) and serve it in little espresso cups for the kids, calling them baby chinos. 

How cute is that?  I love their little backpacks.  I also like that the doll's head is peeking out of the bag lest she suffocate.  That little girl is obviously a very thoughtful mummy.  

Kate has told the peeps at our local coffee shop about baby chinos and they might pick up the idea.  I know my daughter would love to try them!

Back here in the colonies it finally stopped raining and the sun actually peeked out.  It was a welcome sight.  Most of the plants were okay, but some of the more delicate flowers took a beating.  

Look at these little guys hanging on for dear life:

Their spines are broken, but not their spirit.  They want to provide the world with beauty and nothing will stop them.  

Also, in this picture there is proof that we own a hairy St. Bernard.  Can you spot it?