spectacular storm...cyclone weather

we decided it would be a really good idea to go driving and then wandering around the jetty in a huge storm. it was awesome. we saw incredible lightning and the entire sky was orange. the jetty was gusting with wind and it started to pour soon after we got back home.  really incredible skies and weather here.

santas little helper

had to add another couple of photos of miski because she is too cute.  finally got a really good picture of her in reindeer antlers while she was passed out on the couch. trying to enjoy my last precious few days off...hoping it will rain.

Derby Christmas

merry christmas from derby! what a different christmas this has been for us. new country, new friends, new weather, no christmas tree, etc.  but it's been great anyway! yesterday we had a lovely lazy day together with the puppy. i made sweet potato casserole to bring to the orphan xmas party we were going to later on. thought a taste of an american dish would be kind of fun.  went to the christmas party and had lots and lots of food, drinks, and laughter.  my dish was a hit! we even had turkey and salad so it was almost like a late thanksgiving. but it was SO hot last night we were pouring sweat, which was rather unpleasant. not even a bit of a breeze.  zonked out early and woke up to have christmas with the little pup.  gave her a very special christmas breakfast cake, opened her presents and stocking with her and then jose and i exchanged gifts/cards and had a huge xmas breakfast together.  now we are going to snooze the afternoon away. to all those back home...merry christmas eve to you all.
love from nicole, jose and miski (woof!)

snoozin with the woof

for some reason this has been an exhausting week. it was absolutely blazingly hot today. taking a day off tomorrow and had a bit of a cat nap today with the puppy. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

jose's first day of work

jose got a great job and started today!  he went off in a very cute uniform feeling confident. had a great day at work and will be working there indefinitely while we are here in Derby.  yay!

merry christmas, feliz navidad, happy holidays, feliz año neuvo, happy new year, peace and joy to you all

christmas cheer!

 

 today was a bit rough, not feeling well, but i rallied and brought home some christmas decorations. jose took it all in stride and has been really positive and lovely when i am feeling tired or down.  brought me an amazing lunch today at work as a nice surprise!  i am a lucky girl. anyway we put up some of our decorations and got the table all set for our xmas dinner and breakfast.  can't wait for some holiday relaxation and puppies first xmas! happy holidays!

taco salad and xmas sugar cookies!

 

after making breakfast sunday and puppy training, we took a walk, lounged, then i made us lunch from left over burger patties and bread (another hamburger and bruchetta on the side). yum. then headed to the pool for a dip with emmett, came back and began making sugar cookies. i can't find molasses to make the family ginger cookies (sniff) so i thought i'd do something xmasy anyway.  forgot that i didn't have a rolling pin or cookie cutters but hey you do what you can with what you got.  also made the boys taco salad and we sat outside for the first time ever! it was beautiful out, yummy salad and delicious beer.  nice way to end a lovely weekend.

lazy sunday breaky and puppy training

sunday morning...nice and lazy start. made spicy scrambled eggs with tortilla strips mixed in, breakfast potatoes, and sliced bananas.  cleaned the backyard up, lounged a bit and then practiced teaching the dog to sit. it's going very very well because she is the best and smartest puppy ever.  no bias here! starting to look for a few xmas decorations because there aren't many around town and people here don't do xmas trees...very sad.

homemade blue cheese burgers!

so we all decided we needed a feed here this weekend. after jose and i madly cleaned our place today we all headed out to woolies for groceries. we picked up a heap of food and started making lunch. i decided to try my hand at homemade burgers. after a quick call home for some burger making tips, i ultimately made mine with oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, paprika, diced onion, diced bell pepper and then stuffed the patties with aged blue cheese. yum. Grilled those up on the stove while we boiled some sweet corn and cut up an easy asian salad with mint and toasted some turkish bread for the burgers. we put lettuce, tomato, grilled onion and mushrooms, pineapple, and sauces on top. it was HEAVEN! totally made me feel like i was home again. been missing a good burger here.  after we were all in food coma heaven. it kept raining on and off all day and was so lovely outside jose and i took miski for a little walk by the marsh.  it was absolutely gorgeous, with fresh cool air and cool sprinkles. at one point i felt a bit cold which was very welcome...i'd forgotten what that felt like!

enjoying cold beer with another fabulous sunset

after a rather difficult week for us all...i've had a remote trip and tons of follow up and jose started a new job only to be offered another job he'd prefer...we headed to the jetty with emmett to soothe away the sorrows with some cold beer and a beautiful sunset. it's been hot here but last night was beautiful, nice breeze and an amazing sky. we stayed long after sunset and just enjoyed the evening air. miski seemed to want to explore the waters (that would have ended badly) but eventually flopped down and fell asleep.  a perfect friday evening. more photos in derby album

soccer with the pup!

she is a natural, loves to play soccer and is learning all her new grown up skills so fast. she's a sweet little muffin. took her to the vet for the first time for a round of puppy shots and her vet (who is in town two days per week) is from Montana! i thought that was pretty amazing.  so another yank in the kimberley (what we call this region of australia).  it's been super hot and humid here, building up to the wet season that has yet to arrive. can't wait for the relief of the rains.  almost xmas...happy holidays everyone!

Fx trip and fantastic skies

had another remote trip to fitzroy. this time it's the end of their school year for summer vacation. so bizarre to have that in December. anyway the trip was good and the skies were amazing!!!  there are more pictures at the end of the derby album.

Hospital Xmas Party

xmas party at the hospital last night was a blast. started up the evening with a few at emmett's place and then wandered over to the party. emmett ended up being santa which was fantastic! great evening - lots of food, drinks, and good conversation.  the only thing missing was claire! more photos posted under Derby album.

Visit from Broome Speechies!

The ladies from Broome paid us a visit here in Derby to help out with some work items and we had an incredible time! They helped me out so much and we had a dip in the pool, a great dinner at Jila and fabulous conversation as always. Cheers ladies.

a new addition to the pack...

we have a new little addition around the house! after much debate and a rather confused puppy we have named her Miski (Quechua for sweet, like a candy). she's a rescue pup found with heatstroke on the streets here and my bleeding heart couldn't let her go to the pound. i think jose is rather annoyed but i'm hoping he'll come around and love animals almost as much as me someday.

fabulous skies

wow.  the skies here are the most amazing i have ever seen.  the lightning storm that evening was incredible. makes you feel good to be alive

wednesday surprise :)

this week was a little rough and i had been neglecting myself and jose a bit...and wednesday when i came home jose met me at the door and made me close my eyes. When I opened them the table was set with flowers, wine, a really lovely card and a fabulous dinner! i was totally surprised and definitely made my week a million times better :)