Mystery Footsteps In the Kitchen

Mr Sunshine was dozing in his recliner (it happens when you get old, doesn't it?) and I was reading when I heard something walking around in my kitchen. There were other sounds too that I couldn't make out.  Sort of scraping sounds. Maybe it was a bird trying to steal some rubbish from the kitchen tidy.  Maybe it was a possum, but possums are usually asleep during the day. It sounded too heavy to be a mouse or rat and too noisy to be a snake, but it was odd.
As I got up to investigate the chair made a squeaking noise and my mysterious visitor heard it and disappeared before I could see him (or her).  I hadn't seen a bird fly off as I thought I would and that just added to the mystery because I was thinking it sounded like bird feet on the vinyl.
In the next few days I heard it again several times. Usually as I walked in from outside something would scuttle away before I could see it.

Not today.  Today he just wasn't fast enough or maybe he was getting slower from the cool weather or not having anything to eat for a few days.  Here he is - or she is. I don't know how to tell the difference.  How about I call her "she" because she is beautiful and she has been very discreet?
She is a sand goanna, also called a yellow spotted monitor, over 60 cm (2 ft) long from nose tip to tail tip and she just couldn't find her way out.  She is only an adolescent.  When she is full grown, she will be more than twice as long as she is now,  like her friend who lives under the neighbours house.  The one next door would be nearly as long as me if I lay down next to her.  I'm not going to do that in the near future.  I estimate she is about 1.5 metres (5 ft).
Soon two of the grandsons are having a sleepover here.  They love wildlife, but a goanna in the house just might freak them out so we won't tell them where she was. 

I'll just tell them about the one next door.

Butterfly

I know that I posted about birdwing butterflies recently.  I know that there are a million things I should be doing rather than chasing butterflies around with a compact camera.  But I couldn't resist this fellow who let me get pretty close.  Unfortunately I only have Mr Sunshine's camera and this is the best it can do, but I'm still pretty pleased with it.

You know you have left the big smoke when...

          ...you drop in at the local community hall/op shop and nearly every one in the neighbourhood is in there line dancing.            

          ...the local kids' park is home to kangaroos.  This old man kangaroo looks with complete disdain on my intrusion into his domain. (Note his Willy Wagtail mate hitching a ride.  I didn't see the bird until I downloaded my photos.) 

           ...and there is really no need for the man-made silhouette of a kangaroo when the real thing is willing to pose - and much better looking.

      

  ...when we can leave our brand new letterbox just sitting on a box on the footpath and it doesn't get stolen or trashed.

          ...when you see lots of these beautiful creatures fluttering about.  This male Birdwing Butterfly followed his lady around fluttering directly above her to show off his colours every time she stopped to sipped some nectar.  She seemed to be more interested in the flowers than than her suitor.  He was much bigger than my hand span.  She was even bigger, but less colourful.

          ...when you have several kilometers of this without another person in site.

It's a tough life, isn't it?

Party day

Uncle Romeo and Auntie Juliet decided to have a combined birthday party this year. It was a great idea. Juliet had everyone organised to bring an item of food and it worked out beautifully with minimum fuss.  It was a VERY hot day so the children only spent a very short time in the sunshine. 

After a little bit of ball throwing, Little Bear, Dragon and Monkey spotted Romeo's open shed. Of course it was probably full of exciting things just waiting to be discovered. 

Behind the shed is the fence and behind the fence is the neighbour's yard and in the neighbours yard is a big dog with a big bark.  The dog could not get into Romeo's yard, but the kids didn't know that.  They also didn't know that the dog wasn't actually inside the shed. He just sounded like it.

As I took the last photo, Monkey burst into terrified tears and I put the camera down and gave him lots of cuddles. It's tough being a granny :)

When it was time for cake, scary dogs were forgotten.  Little Bear didn't want to miss out on blowing out the candles even though it was not her birthday.

Of course the youngest member of the family, Ladybug, didn't miss out on any fun with five bigger cousins to keep her entertained.

It was a great day. Happy Birthday Uncle Romeo and Auntie Juliet.

Moving on

There were times that this house drove us nuts.

Like when the roof used to leak before we got it replaced.

And when the rain used to come flowing through the back door before we sorted out how to stop it.

And... and... and...

But it is also filled with wonderful memories of grandchildren at play

And doing some serious jiving.

And learning to drive a compact model.

Sleepovers at Grandma's house.

Cooking up a storm in Grandma's kitchen.

Making a splash in the "swimming pool" on the footpath.

And helping Grandad in the garden.



It has been a great 18 years, but it is time to move on and make some new memories.

Soon...

Less than two weeks to go. . .

then our house will belong to someone else
"Grandma's park" will no longer be "Grandma's park"
the bank will be repaid and off our backs
the threat of having our house repossessed will be over
the packing will be completed
the giving away of everything we cannot store or keep will be completed
most of our financial debts will be fulfilled
the most stressful time of our lives will be over
most of the tears will be over
the photos will be all we have to remember our home of 18 years
But (staying positive) we will be living at the beach. Thank God for MIL's with beach huts.

'Tis a Puzzlement

Nothing to do with the King and I from where I stole the quote, but a jigsaw puzzlement. 

The jigsaw has 1000 pieces and took many hours to complete.  I had no guiding picture to work from.  Just a bag of 1000 pieces.  It was meant to be a mystery puzzle with a twist.  Completing the jigsaw was supposed to provide the final clue to 'Murder on the Hindenburg'. 

Unfortunately I don't have a clue because the book with the story relating to the picture was not in the box. The picture on the box had absolutely nothing relating to the picture in the puzzle.  At least I completed the puzzle and there were no missing pieces.  I will never know who was murdered and who was murderer. 'Ttis a puzzlement.