POLLY~~~~~~READ YA POST

[barbaranoela]

And was so Xcited to hear of all the decorating that SIL does and that U had a wonderful time--

I would luve to see all that decorating---how I *USE* to luv to decorate also-----but since coming to AZ. naturally we dont---not even the apartment!!! Heck she even does the *bathroom* !!! It sounds terrific~~~
Doug and Lori do NOTHING!!! can U believe that---and how he talks about how wonderful our home looked @ the holidayz!!!

OH well,

Lou and I are talking----maybe next year take a break from AZ. and do something other~~~~

Missed U again---*lol*
Hopefully catch U later on

I bought myself a simple YOGA tape along with a book---so can keep in shape the parts of the body that seem to be FALLING---

And off Saturday for Tai Chi class---this I LUVE~~~~

Luve and Namaste
sis B.


PS. can U believe that I need a SPIKE TRIM!!! *LOL* just luving this crazy *DEW*

Taking Pics. cus Deb,Lynn ,Kris and Kait were HYSTERICAL when I told them----and Deb was yelling Go MOM go---hahahaha---
So they busting to see the hair!!!!

[MaggieRedwings]

Hi Barbara,

Not Polly here but Frank & I are thinking of doing something different next year too. We really did nothing this year and maybe we will do England at Christmas instead of August. We are still trying to decide.

I decorate my bathrooms but not with trees.

Love you, Maggie

[Liz]

There is always Australia

Love

Liz

[annie oakley]

ooh! I have always wanted to see Austrailia. I love the accent. Love Oma

[m]

I think Liz has an excellent idea. After all, its WARM there at Christmas. When I went on my New Zealand/Australia trip 5 years ago, I was really sorry I didn't spend more time in Australia. I only spent 4 days in Cairns so I could "do the Great Barrier Reef" which turned out go not exactly as I planned. I would LOVE to go to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and even Perth.
m

[Liz]

Accent What accent.

Now New Zealanders, they have an excent & Barb of course has a beautiful one that I just love.

Actually you can almost tell which part of Australia people come from by their different accents. Sydneysiders I think have a more 'Strine' accent & Melbournianians usually are a bit more toffy. I have found that Western Australians often sound a little English. 'Banana Benders' (Queenslanders) of course have a perfect accent.

While the Barrier Reef is beautiful, it is only a small part of Australia that people tend to gravitate towards when they visit. It is a very diverse country & even the 'outback' has a beauty of it's own.



Getting off the beaten track & away from the 'touristy' areas is the way to go. I have travelled over most of Queensland & quite a bit of all of the other states & there is much more to Australia of interest than the Barrier Reef & the opera house. Tasmania is beautiful also & if I wasn't a Queenslander I could live there, except in winter, when the last one out turns the lights out when they all come here to Queensland.

Not very biased am I.

Love

Liz

[m]

Liz,
I'm sure there is a TON of interesting things to see all over Australia. I only had 4 days tacked on to a 12 day vacation to New Zealand (which I absolutely loved) so I chose the one place/thing I had always wanted to do--swim in the Coral Sea on the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a prescription facemask so I couldn't see squat. I also got bit by a fish (a coral eating fish I think) and started to bleed so I had to get out of the water asap! I don't understand why no one wanted me in the water attracting sharks :) I also went on a safari-sort of day trip looking for the elusive cassowary bird. Did not see it. Nor did I see crocs, roos or koalas. It was at the end of the dry season so maybe wildlife was a little scarce.
m

[Liz]

Hi m. We went in search of cassowary's in Cardwell a couple of years ago but found none either. There was plenty of their droppings but no birds in sight. Cardwell is supposed to be teeming with them & there are warning signs up. They can be quite dangerous if they attack you with their spurs.

Crocs are often moved from inhabited areas because of danger to humans & the only place you can see them (hopefully)is in wildlife parks or reserves unless you go way up north. There was one near the jetty at Cardwell when we were there.

Kangaroos are everwhere especially out west. We have them here where I live also & you need to be careful driving especially at night, early morning & dusk. Have a look at my post of when we went up to Woodgate recently. There were dozens of them running around, some eating some poor persons veg garden bare.

You have to be a bit more observant if you want to spy koalas. You do see the odd one in certain areas.

Too bad about the fish bite. Wonder what it was? Only ever seen two BIG sharks in all the years we have spent on the water but I know they are there as evidenced by the fish we have brought up with nothing left but the head . Used to worry myself sick when our girls would jump overboard & swim around just inside the Cape at Moreton Island. They just had no fear. Trawlers used to clean their nets there & a bloke was taken by a shark there later.

Love

Liz