When is a snake not a snake ........

Answer:  When it is a legless lizard or skink in WA.  Hello people and Happy 2013 :):).  I mention the aforementioned possible snake as I had one of those uniquely," I must be in Australia" moments on Sunday morning.  In my post Christmas spring (summer) cleaning /pre house inspection mode, I was putting the sliding screen door at the side entrance to the games room/kitchen area back on its runners, and then sweeping up accumulated leaves/flowers etc that had gathered where the screen door had been resting on its side, when, after the second scoop of said leaves onto the side garden ....... a small (4 inch, roundness of a number 12 knitting needle), possible snake,  shot out of the remaining leaves and wriggled snakelike  backwards and forwards on the footpath in front of me (me with bare feet at the time).  I am amazed that after over 50 years of my life without sight nor sign of a live snake as NZ (does not have them), my first thought on seeing the wriggling movement was not eel, but SNAKE.... followed by OMG if this is a baby one, where are the others (they lay multiple eggs don't they).... and where is Mama?  And yet, again it was so small, though I am reliably told that a small snake will kill you just as fast as a large one, hmmmmm.

 As I pondered my dilemma, I heard my as yet unmet neighbours moving and talking outside so after 5 minutes thinking am I going to feel dumb about this, I moved with the possible snake still in sight,  closer to their place (we share a drive) and yelled out,  would somebody mind coming and looking at something for me.  Paul (or call me Bones) immediately came over and I said as a   Kiwi I wasn't sure what I was looking at but was this a snake?  He did not immediately  fall on the ground helpless with laughter but a chuckle did ensue as he said it was not a snake but a skink or legless lizard - if I should see something about a foot long, yellowish with a stripe behind its head - that is a snake (right, I am getting close enough to spot a stripe so to speak,).  Panic over, the skink by now had moved near a crack in the wall and scuttled away, Paul (who hunts pigs and has them strung up under his back porch, slightly screened so not totally confronted by what looks like the killing fields for porcine creatures) went back to his, and I resumed my day, laughing at yet another Australian wild life interaction.

You may wonder why I was on high snake alert.  First of all the temperatures at the moment are prime snake lurking temps. Secondly,  two people in Geraldton  have been bitten by snakes in the last fortnight and last night a work colleague told me of his barking dog yesterday who had found a metre long snake in the back yard, so not wanting to have an up close and personal experience with a snake myself, I am wary about the great outdoors of my back yard, and  the garage, finding myself  looking for tell tale signs of wiggly lines in the sand as I go to the compost bin at the back of my garden  each and every time.

Summer has finally struck with temps in the 40's down to mid 30o Celsius over the last few weeks.  Further up the coast towns were on high alert over the past week for cyclones coming in , that resulted in a spectacular lightening show here the weekend before and finally thunder,lightening and rain on Sunday evening in Geraldton.  The upside to that is I did not have to water the lawn or garden that day, the downside was that immediately post rain, there was an outbreak of flying ants and grasshoppers/locusts (large) are appearing.

I note today that we are halfway through January already  as I check my diary.  I had a lovely Christmas with the WM and family.  We all went to midnight mass at the cathedral on Christmas Eve.  Gerard picked me up early as the choir were singing Christmas carols before the service which provided a lovely start to the festivities.  It was 3am before I finished my preparations as I had worked the few days before Christmas, having Christmas and Boxing Days off this time round.  I woke with a start at 7am, flying round loading gifts and food in the car to be round at the WM's place by 7.30am  where gift giving had just begun.  I loaded up all my parcels from NZ as the family have become accustomed to sharing my joy as I open each one.  They were not disappointed as I oohed and ahhed at the undoing of each parcel.

Bronwyn went to make pancakes for breakfast however as they had no golden syrup or maple syrup, Gerard did a Macca's run for hotcakes and hash browns instead so was an easy start to the day  (and what you can do when you run two Macca outlets,lol).   I shot home to skype family mid-morning here as they were sitting down to lunch at sister Kay's and to make some phone calls before returning for our Christmas lunch at 2pm.  We had roast pork, roast chicken and veg with baked ham (mine), crayfish and prawns with several salads to choose from as well and sat outside with trestle tables up under their back porch area.  It was a unanimous decision to save dessert which was in effect dinner later that night. New board games were played in the afternoon followed by watching the dvd "The Sapphires" in the evening. It was a lovely day with Bronwyn's sister's family in attendance (six extra adults) along with me and their six so lots of laughter, sharing of meal preparations etc which is what really makes the day.

Boxing day we collectively decided to go to the movies that evening. Half the group went to see " The Hobbit" and the rest of us went to see "Les Miserables".  What an experience that was!  It would seem I am lacking in the area of big shows as although I knew of " Les Mis, " being a huge show, I neither knew the story line or anything about it.  I went mainly because I wanted to see Hugh Jackman in the role and thought it was time I got a bit of culture at the same time, lol.  WOW, it was brilliant and totally riveting.  The WHOLE movie is SUNG - over two hours long. I found myself on the edge of my seat and totally entranced by the whole experience.  It is not a pretty movie, lots shot in grim surroundings, darkish, with the un-pretty poor.  Russell Crowe does a great job as does Ann Hathaway with some wonderful bit parts with the inn keeper and his wife who provide some comedic relief to the grim story of pre-revolutionary Paris.  I have found myself humming one of the main tunes since as it seems to have lodged into my head.  Gerard has downloaded the music from the film on his ipod so at some stage I will get him to put it on mine.

In between Christmas and New Years of course I have been working.  When not at work, I have had my little lad to stay several times for one or two nights at a time so have been kept fully occupied.  He helped me decorate the place before Christmas and then the week after came with much excitement to receive his gifts from under the tree as Donna had left things behind for both us on her last visit up.  At work I have been spending hours at the local swimming pool, usually tucked up with a book while the children from work and  have been at lessons or just playing for the fun of it.  It means we are out of the house, they are gainfully employed in healthy activity and I am chomping through my library books, lol.

Post Christmas, as I have taken decorations down and put the Christmas tree away, I have been back cleaning and sorting.  I have gone through drawers, cupboards, mopped floors, polished furniture, cleaned windows, weeded gardens and caught up on laundry so am feeling very virtuous with my start for the new year.  I have a you beaut diary that I compose lists of things to do for most days and am enjoying ticking things off as I proceed.  I have to pick my moments of business and tend to have a siesta the afternoons I am not working to cope with the heat - especially the humid heat post the rain.  I am down to sleeping at night just in night attire on top of the bed with the fan on in the ceiling non stop.  For all that I have only had the air con on about half a dozen times at its truely hottest when sitting in a darkened room has you perspiring like a tap.

This weekend I hope to go to Jurien Bay which is down the coast on the way to Perth.  Jude's sister and husband have a place there and though they will be in Perth, they have said Jude and I are welcome to go stay.  This is another place on my bucket list so am looking forwards to it.  I am doing four night shifts in a row this week, so sleeping throughout the day and will hopefully be awake enough to drive to Dongara at then end of shift Friday morning and then Jude and I will set off.

I hope all of you reading this had a great festive season.  My new years was spent watching the fireworks go off in Sydney on the telly before going to bed just after midnight as I had work for 12 hours the following day (which was spent at the pool) so win win for me, lol.  :)