Ians Birthday (& our first night out in Manly)

Well Ian got another year older today ( as a demonstration of this, he had to ask how old he was). We went for a great meal at the Manly Ocean Beach House (http://www.bestrestaurants.com.au/booking/select_rest.asp?id=866) , which could only be closer to the beach if it was on the sand. We had a table right by the window, so we could sit back and enjoy a drink whilst watching the sun go down, listen to the waves, and watch the last few surfers. Whilst Ian gorged on seafood, I went for the tourist favourite, kangaroo. Yum, skippy!! We'd intended to explore a few bars, but after dinner we were so full, that it was all we could do to manage a quick stroll on the beach, and the walk (up the very steep hill) home.

Spider!

our first house spider..... unfortunately a redback (female - the worst), one of the most poisonous spiders here! Laura found it in the bathroom under the sink, and we didnt have any insect spray. In good bloke tradition I fashioned a flame thrower from a lighter and deoderant spray to dispatch it! Strange something so small can do so much damage, the coin next to it is a 5c piece (just a bit bigger than a 5p piece)

A little more info about redbacks....

"Another dangerous Australian spider is the Redback, related to the Black Widow, but many times more deadly. The Redback is common throughout the mainland and in Tasmania, in all but the coldest alpine climates and the most hostile deserts. Bites from the Redback are known to have killed at least a dozen Australiana in the 1st half of the 20th century. By the 1980's there were between 830 and 1950 cases of Redback bites.

Redback bites are the greatest single cause of serious spider bites in the country, outnumbering all the snake-bite cases and severe marine stingings put together.

The female of the species is the one you really need to be able to recognize as she is the one who can kill. The female Redback is approximately 10mm long, and is all black, except for the large red stripe on the body. The male Redback is about 4mm long, has a white abdomen and has four black stripes down the side of the body. The male may also have very small red markings on the body."

Our house

Seeing as several of you had asked for photos of the house, thought we'd oblige. Things look a little bare at the moment until we get all of our stuff. We'll put some more on when things look a bit better.

Picking the dog up from Quarantine

Well the day finally came when we could pick Taz up from quarantine, or doggy prison as laura liked to call it. We arrived at Eastern Creek quarantine station on Friday 10th March to collect him after 30days.

To say he was happy to be leaving was an understatement!!

A big thankyou to Rachel his carer for looking after him so well

Laura's birthday

Went to see Taz in Quarantine, then off to sign the lease paperwork for our new doggy frendly house.

We went out in Sydney to Altitude ( http://www.altitudesydney.com/ ), on the top floor of the Shangri-la hotel in the evening for a fantastic meal. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm Chocolate!