My Mate Marmite

The mission is completed. Marmite exists in WA. And not at the ridiculously over-priced English shop, but IGA no less– one of the largest supermarkets in Oz. After scouring the shelves with several sets of beady eyes, we spotted it hidden in between the hordes of Vegemite, pro-mite and other questionable yeast extracts so loved in this part of the world.

Several rounds of toast later, I can confirm it’s the real deal, though the Marmite title has been scrapped in favour of the aptly named ‘Our Mate’ which I kind of prefer.

Fin naturally is delighted, though Bay is sticking with the Aussie contingency and continues to opt for ‘daddy’s favourite’.  Breakfast times are now complete...

Monday Funday

Today was one of those days involving lots of ferrying around of children. First up was nursery, then ballet shop ( for ballet shoes and tights), library for storytime, playdate for lunch, ballet, then a big cool off sesh in Lucy and Charlie's pool. The littluns have decided this is their new second home so it's pretty taxing trying to peel them away when it's time to go. On the plus side their water confidence has taken an almighty jump and it means I get to sit around the pool with a glass of something cold and watch all the fun. Not much to grumble about really....

Le weekend

Despite the soaring temperatures we had quite a bit of fun this weekend. Yesterday started with a trip to view a house on Learoyd Street which was at the top of our budget but needing at least $100k to make it habitable. I always find it interesting to see how other people choose to live and this place truly left me flabbergasted. There were nooks and crannies everywhere and despite their obvious taste in vintage crockery, clocks and interiors, the house was otherwise remarkably odd. One double bedroom even had two bikes mounted on the wall....perplexing to say the least.

In short, we've decided to put house hunting on hold for a while. It's stressful and time-consuming and adding more pressure than we need at this stage of our new life. I already feel like a weight has lifted off a bit and we can focus on other things like building our careers again and seeing what other delights Perth has to offer.

With all house-discussions firmly aside (for now) we jumped in the motor and headed to the State Library of WA to browse the finalists of the Press Photographer of the year awards. It was inspiring to see so many talented photographers housed under one roof and there were some seriously special and unforgettable moments caught on camera. From state hero Danny Green's anger at an early fight finish to the naked gunman who brought Perth to a standstill last year - it made for an interesting and entertaining visit. Much to us girls delight, we also discovered pre-school storytime on Wednesdays and book-making lessons on Monday arvos. That's us sorted for this week then.

Today was mostly spent on the beach but we managed a quick stop off at Planet where I finally got my hands on Spaces - a photography book featuring an inspiring collection of homes where creative types live, work and play. Who wants to live in a mansion when you can find tranquility on an Amsterdam houseboat or at the top of a Welsh windmill? I can't wait to get through this one...

Morning tea

Yesterday morning I was invited for morning tea along with eight other school mums. Now I've got visions of the ideal pad for us Greens but it wasn't until strolling around the beautiful, quaint corridors of Monica's private little haven that I realised this was it, the bricks and mortar that dreams are truly made of. The veranda around the outside, the English style garden, the country kitchen, high ceilings, huge bedrooms...it's the kind of house you see on those amazing property shows when the pain-staking renovations and misery has passed.

The morning involved a multitude of home-baked culinary delights, flowers, delicious tea and lots of chit chat about our kids and school. Turns out Fin's making quite the impression amongst his peers and that he's gained a little prestige from being first up to win an honour certificate. We've even had a few offers of a swim after school which we're gladly accepting (anything to get out of our tropical hell hole). Another heatwave has hit so temperatures inside are at an all time high and the portable air con unit is starting to grumble with the extra work.

On the plus side, we handed our notice into the agent today which means just two weeks more of enveloping heat before we move our clan to cooler climes. The hunt now begins for a new humble abode - one with air con this time. Tres exciting.

Bargain hunter

The hefty price tags on supermarket foods In Perth has had a great impact on our shopping habits. Whilst we were often careful in the UK, I don't remember looking at special offers or price tags with quite so much interest as I do now. A mere glimpse of a 2 for 1, BOGOF, 3 for 2 or money off sign and I'm there like a shot, analysing said price, said product and how it might fit into our weekly meal planner (or indeed whether the kids will attempt to eat it).

Another thing I've become fond of is supermarket own brands and bargain ones at that. IGA have a 'yellow label' line of goods which are remarkably cheaper than non-IGA counterparts. Whilst Coles have an 'essentials' line much like Tesco's basics. Whilst the snob in me actively skirted anything with 'bargain' written on it at home, here I can't stop myself. I've even been known to delve into the bargain bin featuring food very much on its last legs in order to bag the Green team a cheap find, elbowing the lady next to me with competitive fervour.

Since we're living in the most isolated city in the world it seems doubtful that there's anything we can do to make feeding our family cheaper, aside from protesting outside IGA or encouraging a bunch of bogans to go on hunger strike with us. The mini Green's are the largest consumers of food in our house - they munch on enough fruit to feed a small army every week and require lots of snacks to keep energy levels up and melt-downs at bay. All this heat has also increased their appetite for ice creams - especially white chocolate Magnum's and fruity rocket lollies which are at least 4 bucks a pop.

Perhaps the clear answer is to start deducting pocket money to put towards the fruit cause, I'd doubt they'd even notice....

Now THAT sounds like a plan ;)

Jet ski fun and a little bit of crochet...

Well we're back in our stifling little house and positively steaming once again...

The weekend was good. The zzz's came and went between Shelleypingpong's midnight visits to her outdoor toilette but we had some time to relax in the cool, eat some nice food, bake cakes and enjoy some champers by the river. Fin also mastered the great art of the monkey bars and took his first ride on a jet ski, courtesy of new friends Lyn and John. The rest of us had a go on the doughnut ring - great fun, though admittedly I spent most of it wailing for John to go easy on the gas whilst attempting to rid litres of the swan river from my eyes/hair/ears...

Sunday's adventure was a visit to one of Perth's many upcoming free festivals. There's stacks of exciting events happening over the next month - ballets, concerts, gigs, cinema, contemporary dance, art - so we are excited, especially since it involves minimal damage to our rapidly dwindling bank account. Sunday's offering was a variety of hand made wares and though I went in search of a crochet blanket for our couch, instead I found a lady who runs crochet classes. Hence I will be attempting to make our very own crochet blanket, the key word being 'attempting'. Whether I actually finish it or not remains to be seen.

Granny chic here we come!

House-sit

There’s a buzz of excitement in the Green household this morning because this arvo we are going to (drum roll please…)

an air conditioned house!

Hurrah!

The family Green have been succumbed to house sit for the two K’s whilst they jet off to Sydney for the weekend, leaving us to keep on eye on their pad and look after Shelley the dog. I envisage calm tempers, hot food, make-up that doesn’t slide off, jeans, hairdryers, coffee! We might even have a hot bath should the temptation present itself and put PJ’s on so we don’t have to look at each others’ lily whites for a change. In fact what I’m looking forward to most is being able to sleep/cook/play games/read to my kids without the constant buzz and whirl of a fan in the background. Now won’t that be nice.

Until Monday…