sucky saturday

So, after a pleasant few days wallowing in excessive feast and general merriment, things got kinda sucky yesterday.

First,  I took a bit of a tumble in a car park and managed to hurt my knee and scrape myself up a bit so am at home with my leg elevated on the couch.

Second (and this is cause for greater concern), grandma wasn't feeling too well in the afternoon so my parents and youngest sis had to take her to hospital. It looks like grandma will have to stay there for the next few days.

Christmas at home

It's nice to be in Melbourne for Christmas this year. My folks are visiting from Canberra and we are heading over to their serviced apartment for Christmas lunch (we are going to sneak the dog in as well). Judging by all the planning and shopping my parents have done since arriving in Melbourne, it will be quite a contrast from the boiled carrots and rice I had for Christmas last year in Nicaragua.

Merry Xmas everyone!

midnight intruders

The dog was restless last night, jumping in and out of bed and whinging. Nathan thought it was because Truffles was responding to drunks out on the street. I wasn't convinced.

Eventually, I noticed an animal noise that didn't sound like a seagull so I went out onto the balcony to explore.

In a nearby gum tree, fruitbats had gathered to feed on the blossoms and were making quite a commotion. I ended up switching on the radio to drown out the bat noises to calm the dog down – so that Nathan and I could sleep. I have no idea for how long the Eucalypts will be flowering but I hope the fruitbats move on after the flowers have faded and don't settle permanently in the trees.

the island

I'm currently on the Great Barrier Reef for an undergraduate marine biology field course. It's been another year of extensive jet setting for work. This, however, will be the last bit of travelling for the year and the last time I'll be on the field course (I will have to give this up when I become Deputy Head of Department next year). In the meantime, I'm just going to lap up the tropical surrounds.