Paw Steps to Happiness

Look who's looking after Mum's dolls !

2012-01-20T12:36:00.000+11:00

I am looking after Mum's dolls while she is knitting and sewing some clothes for them.

Ollie, can you please come and help me, I have too many to look after on my own !

I'm coming Bella !

Thanks Ollie, Can you look after the little ones, they are tired !

All right Bella,. I will take them for a stroll in their beautiful pram.

What a beautiful family Mum has, it's keeping her busy, and us too.

The family went to see the beautiful birds of Sherbrooke Forest (Dandenong ranges, Australia)

They are very friendly and not at all shy (if you have some seeds to give to them...)

This is a beautiful king parrot

...and a Rosella

Dad published an article on MyFrenchLife on a French new year's tradition, it's quite funny !

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Happy New Year !!!

2012-01-02T15:54:00.000+11:00

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration with our family, and we hope yours was great too.

Here we are with our beautiful sisters Amelie and Anais

Our lovely Mum and Amelie

Our Dad and Amelie

Mom and Dad made the thirteen desserts, which is a Tradition from Provence in France - read more about it here and get the recipe for delicious calissons here

For the new year, like most dogs, we don't like the noise of fireworks, but Dad found a way to enjoy a beautiful light show in silence. Do you know how he did it ? He took photos of the beautiful decorated houses while moving his camera and zooming to get these special effects :

We have not written many blog posts lately or visited our friends' blogs and there are two reasons for this :
The first one is that our brother was bullied at school because he was in our blog; Some school children made fun of him and picked on him when they found him in our blog by searching for his name. This made us sad because this is a blog about happiness and we didn't want anyone to be hurt because of that. So we will not put his name or photo any more in the blog.
The second reason is that our Mom and Dad were very busy promoting their book "Dear France, sweet country of our childhood". They also have a blog www.dearfrance.net - they have done some book signings and our Mom made some beautiful cards and bookmarks that you can see (and buy) on their blog. Here is a sample :

Best wishes of joy, health and happiness to all our friends for the new year !

Meet my friend Kitty

2011-11-16T07:31:00.000+11:00

It's not quite summer here in Australia, but already it is getting hot, so we have to wait until the evening for our afternoon walk. The good thing is, we get to see our friend Kitty, because he only comes out early and late in the day. Unlike all the rude cats in the neighbourhood who run away when we want to say hello, Kitty comes to say hello. At least that's what we think "meow" means; he is very friendly and not at all shy. So when it's time for walkies, we know it's also "Kitty" time and we're all excited !

Last Friday, it was our sister Amélie's birthday and we had a great party with lots of yummy treats !

I love Amélie's ears so much, she gave them to me, thank you Amélie, they really suit me well, don't you think ?

Take care my friends !

A soccer star is born

2011-10-30T21:57:00.000+11:00

Today, we are proud to introduce to you Arsenal Football Club's newest recruit, Bella the Westie, and we have some exclusive photos of her training in her home ground of Cheltenham.

Amélie kicks to Bella

She runs after it

Go Bella !

And she kicks it !

Oh no, it's out - it's going to be a throw in...

Bella goes for a head butt

Well done Bella !

Look she jumps to strike the ball even harder !

What a fantastic head butt !

With a player like Bella, Arsenal will be unbeatable.

I hope Bella has negotiated with the club to get lots of yummy treats and juicy bones...

On Saturday, Mom and Dad signed their book Dear France, sweet country of my childhood at Dymocks book shop. They also sold Mom's beautiful cards and crafts. They said that they met many delightful persons and that their book was very warmly welcomed. They want to thank all those who came, they loved meeting every one of them and hope to keep in touch.

Mom's creations were very popular, particularly the Procençal characters cards

My lovely sister Amélie was there too

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Provençal apron and wreath

2011-10-16T15:21:00.000+11:00

The local newspaper came to take a photo of Mom and Dad to talk about their book signing at Westfield Southland Dymocks book shop on the 29th of October at 12:00pm.
Mom made a beautiful Provençal apron that she is going to wear at the book signing.

Mom and Dad love Provence, they had some family and friends in Grasse and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and often went to visit them.

On the top left hand side of the photo you can see a Provençal wreath that Mom made.Here is a close-up.

Ollie went horse riding for the first time and did rather well.

I didn't do so well, I didn't know which way to get on !

I played Rummikub with Anaïs and Amélie, but Amélie won again !

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Blue, White, Red - Bleu, Blanc, Rouge

2011-10-08T08:28:00.000+11:00

Bella the Westie and Ollie the Papillon live in a French Australian family and they are bilingual : when their Dad says "walkies" they say "woof woof" and when he says "promenade" they say "ouah "ouah" !
Today they are dressed in Blue, White and Red , the colours of the French flag.

Bella le Westie et Ollie le Papillon vivent dans une famille Franco Australienne et ils sont bilingues : quand leur Papa dit "walkies", ils disent "woof woof" et quand il dit "promenade" ils disent "ouah "ouah" !

Aujourd'hui ils sont habillés en Bleu, blanc et rouge, les couleurs du drapeau Français.

"Tell our readers why we are dressed like that, Ollie."

"Dis à nos lecteurs pourquoi nous sommes habillés comme ça, Ollie."

"Our Mum and Dad have published a book about France, the country of their childhood."

"Notre Maman et notre Papa ont publié un livre sur la France, le pays de leur enfance."

"There are beautiful photos and art made by our Mum and Dad, vintages postcards and posters, memories from their childhood and their grandparents' childhood and lots of interessing facts on France, French traditions and way of life."

"Il y a de belles photos et oeuvres d'art faites par notre Maman et Papa, des cartes postales et affiches de la belle époque, des souvenirs de leur enfance et l'enfance de leurs grands-parents et beaucoup de faits interessants sur la France et les traditions et le mode de vie Françaises."

"There are some nice recipes in the book too, it makes me hungry just thinking about those delicious dishes !"

"Il y a aussi de bonnes recettes dand le livre, ça me donne faim rien que de penser à tous ces plat delicieux !"

If you are interested, go to the site : www.dearfrance.net
Si vous êtes intéressés, allez sur le site : www.dearfrance.net

Did you know ?
"Pooch" in French is "Toutou", pronounced "tootoo".

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !
Prenez soin de vous mes amis et passez un bon week-end !

Happy birthday to our sister Anais and our Dad Pascal !!

2011-10-02T18:42:00.001+11:00

Our sister Anais turned 19 yesterday and she had an amazing present from one of our admirers, Sue.

Sue is a very talented cake maker and decorator; last year she won second place at the Royal Melbourne show for a westie cake and we featured it on our blog. She was so happy that she made one especially for Anais' birthday.

It is really gorgeous, isn't it ?

It looks like me too, with my beautiful pink dress and my little yogurt bottle :

You can see Sue's beautiful cakes on her web site : Partake of Cake

Go and have a look, they are really amazing !

Here's the birthday girl Anais :

Anais with Ollie :

Last week it was Dad's birthday, and he got a beautiful book with outstanding photos of dogs, it's called "Dogs Gods" by Tim Flach.

Mum made him this beautiful drawing of me with some cute little birds, he loves itand so do I !

Itr's been a long time since we posted on our blog or visited our friends'blogs, here's what we and our Mom and Dad have been up to :

Publishing a book on France and our Mom and Dad's childhood : dear France, Sweet Country of my childhood". Click here for more details.
There is still demand for our book "Paw Steps to Happiness"; unfortunately it is out of print, but we are preparing a new book on happines. But if you have missed out on Paw Steps to Happiness, it is now available as an e-Book (PDF format) for only US $4.99. Click here to order.

Ollie dressed up as a little teddy bear, isn't he cute ?

Love is all we have, the only way we can help each other
Euripides

Take care my friends and have a great week!

Happy Father's day to our wonderful dad !!!

2011-09-04T14:57:00.000+10:00

In Australia, Father's day is on the first Sunday of September.

We had a great party for our Dad :

We dressed up

Mom decorated the house with birds, angels and candles

Dad is so happy to have his three lovely children Anais (18), Anais (21) and Matthew (12)

The children and Mom bought him some great presents and beutiful cards, he was so happy to have so much love.

Dad is so grateful to Mom, because it's thanks to her he's a Dad and she looks after the children with so much love, care, courage and patience (apparently you need lots of patienceto look after children, and Dad says the same applies to us doggies !!)

To our readers in Australia, we hope you had a great day with your Dad or with your children.

*** Tell your Dad you love him every day, don't wait until Father's day ***

I love my father as the stars - he's a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart."

Terri Guillemets

Take care my friends and have a great week !

I'm on top of the world

2011-08-30T21:39:00.002+10:00

I wanted to be on top of the world, so I asked Mom to put me on the garage roof

There's a great view from here !

Ollie, come and join me !

Hey look Ollie, do you see what I see ?

A BONE !!!!!

Quick Mom, get me down from here !

Sniff, sniff, yum, yum !

Bon appetit !

And after eating that nice juicy bone, a cuddle with my big brother Matthew !

Count your smiles instead of your tears, your courage instead of your fears

Take care my friends and have a great week!

(Thank you card)

This blog post is part of the Tasty Tuesday Blog hop hosted by Sugar and Kol.

Simple things bring the greatest happiness

2011-08-23T21:43:00.000+10:00

Every day you can be happy with simple treasures, it's what brings you the greatest happiness...

On Sunday we went to play at the park with our sister Anais :

We saw some beautiful wattle flowers, they smell so nice...

When we got home, we slipped into some soft and comfortable clothes.

I love this one, it says "I'm a star" - have you noticed Mum loves to dress me in pink ?

Sometimes Mum dresses me in pink too, but I must say I prefer blue like this one :

"Mum, bring us some warm milk with biscuits ! (please)"

"And a pillow... (pretty please)"

Aaaah, what bliss, it's heaven !

What about you dear friends, what are your simple treasures ?

To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven

Karen Sunde

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Beautiful and yummy cakes

2011-08-15T21:54:00.000+10:00

Remember that beautiful westie cake we saw at the Royal melbourne show ?

Well the lady who made it (it won 2nd prize) was so grateful for our compliments that she is offering to make one especially for Anais' birthday (2nd of October) ! Thank you Sue !

Check out her web site here, it has some truly amazing cakes, we particularly like Scooby Doo, Timmy, Bingo, Jack Russel and Scotty Terrier.

We haven't been blogging our visting our friends' blog lately because the whole family has been sick with a very strong virus, they are just getting better now, so we look forward to seeing your blogs - we do have to rely on our humans, the computer keyboards are not really made for dog paws !

When Mum finishes her yogourt, she always gives me bottle, I love licking the insides of it and the chewing it !

If you cannot do great things; do small things in a great way

J.F. Clarke

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Happy 24th wedding anniversary

2011-08-02T22:21:00.000+10:00

Mom and Dad celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary today, as well as the 10th anniversary of their arrival in Australia !

Here is an extract from Mom and and Dad's new book Dear France, sweet country of my childhood in which Dad describes how he met Mom :

At the age of 24 years, like many young Australians, I took my backpack and I travelled Europe by train and that's where I rediscovered the land of my childhood with new eyes. The following year I took a one-way ticket to France to live there, also with the hope of finding my soul mate.

I moved to Grenoble, finding not only my hometown but its majestic mountains that surrounded it. Finding a good pair of hiking boots, I went to discover the mountains by joining hiking clubs. One day, a colleague advised me to go to the club Montagne Amitié Soleil (Friendship Sun Mountain) because they were going to the Dent de Crolles (tooth of Crolles) the following weekend and it is a hike that interested me because my mother had lived at the foot of this peak that has such a characteristic appearance. The following week there was a hike in the Belledonne Mountains opposite the Tooth of Crolles. The stormy weather was not ideal for walking, but as lightning was falling around us, I had a coup de foudre (stroke of lightning), a French expression meaning love at first sight, because that's when I saw Isabelle, the love of my life, for the first time. We went on some wonderful walks, all while learning to know each other, and we were married the following year at the foot of the mountains where we first met.

To celebrate, they went to a theatre restaurant "Tivoli" and had a great time, it was a long time since they had been able to go out on a date, so they really enjoyed it. There was some great music from the 50s and 60s and some funny jokes.

We love Mum and Dad's wedding outfits and wanted to play bride and groom so mom found us some really nice outfits.

"Here comes the bride..."

"Will you take Bella westie as your lawful wedded bride ?"

"You may kiss the bride..."

"Enough of this, I'm hungry, let's find something to eat.Mom, Mom, we're hungry !!!"

"It's so good to be a little baby, much better than being a bride"

"I couldn't agree more Bella !"

In case you are wondering, these are liquid yogurts that Mom buys for Anais and Matthew and we get to finish them, so we wait for them to drink their yogurts so we can have some !

Spring is just around the corner, we love beautiful flowers.

We are starting to work on our next book Smile every day with Bella, Ollie and friends.

If you send us a funny or cute photo of you or a piece of art or craft your Mom made, a favourite quotation or poem or anything else you like that we can put in our next book, we will send you a copy when it's published (we will only ask you to pay for the postage).

Love is all we have, the only way that we can help each other

Euripides

Take care my friends and have a great week!

What a wonderful life !

2011-07-26T21:04:00.000+10:00

We really have a wonderful life here, some could say we are spoiled, but I just think we have the loveliest Mum in the world. The other day I told her I wanted to be a princess of the 1001 nights and look what she found me a beautiful hat, like Scheherazade !

I asked Mum if I could have a palace and she found me this beautiful tent, because there weren't any palaces at the market. "Bella, I think this little tent will be wonderfull, you don't need a palace !" she said.

Time to take off my hat so I can play, it's hard work being a princess !

"Ollie, come and join me, there are lots of toys to play with".

"Ollie, press here and it plays music"

"And this little wheel goes around and around"

Who needs a palace when we have such a lovely house full of magical things, there are angels, birds and candles, I love it !

"Ha ha ha, I'm winning !"

This is just my size, look at the little dwarfs, aren't they cute ?"

We hope you have a wonderful life too, we'd love to hear about it...

“The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.”

Brian Tracy

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

Dalai Lama

Take care my friends and have a great week!

Collecting beautiful toys

2011-07-20T21:58:00.000+10:00

We love collecting toys.
~~Mom has~~ I have a beautiful doll collection, I love playing with them, I'm the Mommy...

... and Ollie is the Daddy.

We also have a great doggie collection

Look, we have Cinnabar, Priscilla (or is it Bailey?), Lorenza, Maggie Mae...

But the one I love the most is this beautiful cushion Mom found just for me to have sweet dreams...

Last week-end, our friends Linda (Cinnabar's Mom ), Jenny and Bianca had lunch at our house. Look at the beautiful purple coat (it's the favourite color of Linda, Mom and me too) Linda got me, I love it and it means Dad has no excuse when it's icy cold or raining not to take me for walkies !

While they were eating and talking, Ollie and I had a rest near the heater, our favourite place.

Isn't Cinnabar lovely, she makes a beautiful bunny too !

We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
Dr. Charles Swindoll

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Happy news about all the family !!!

2011-07-11T21:51:00.001+10:00

Mom and Dad went to the market with Ollie and saw their lovely friend Kate.

Kate is the queen of knitting and she made a lovely jumper for me and I wear all the time because it's freezing here in Melbourne !

She also made hats for all of us, I like this one but unfortunately so does Anais and she took it !

This one is a baby hat and it suits me very well !

Mom is now much better, she doesn't look like a raccoon any more, Dad is taking good care of her.

She wants to thank all of you who wished her a good recovery and Doctor Moss and his team: Stacey, Mike, Sammy, Jessica, Brooke, Lee.... they are all lovely.

During her recovery, Mom was busy like a bee, she made this hoodie (it is fake fur you know)

It's so soft and fashionable, too bad Mom I won't give it back, ha ha ha ha ha !!!

Behind us you can see the beautiful blanket Kate knitted ~~for Mom~~ for us, Mom made a felt hat with flowers, I'm keeping that one too. Mom makes a lot of things just for us, ha ha ha ha ha !

"Bella give me back my hoodie, don't be cheeky !!!"

Our beautiful Anais was very happy today because she passed her mid year Nutritional Therapy exams, congratulations !

Matthew was busy painting a little kennel for a little doggie Mom found at the market.

He is on vacation at the moment but he managed to catch chicken pox, so he was upset because he would have preferred catching it during the school term so he could be away for one week, it's not fair, he said !!!

Nice work Matthew !

Our sister Amelie came back from a trip with her darling Ray at Uluru, in the middle of the desert of Australia and we wanted to share these beautiful photos.

Amelie is so happy she jumps like a kangaroo !

It's especially beautiful at sunset...

"G'day mate, how're ya doing today ?

Sorry I missed your paw, I lost my glasses..."

"Yummy, I want more !"

"I love you too, you're very pretty, but I already have Amelie..."

"Congratulations Amelie, what a lovely baby you have, we can see you're very proud !"

"Rock a bye baby kangaroo, rock a bye baby..."

Amelie loves lizards, which one do you think she prefers ?

"G'day mate, I'm Gary the Goanna..."

Aboriginal rock painiting

Amelie is rock and rolling on a camel.

Take care my friends and have a great week!

Colourful love birds by our Mom who wanted to share it with all of you

Mom loves drawing birds but we have ordered for next time a picture with funny little doggies...

We have won a lovely prize in Jazzi's bunny contest !

2011-07-03T18:55:00.001+10:00

Hello everyone, we have been away for two weeks because our Mom was in hospital. The doctor found that her nasal passage was deviated and it was making it hard for her to breathe so she had an operation. She is recovering well but she has bruises under her eyes and looks like a raccoon !

"Thank you Bella and Ollie for comparing me with a raccoon ! It's a cheeky little animal that steals in rubbish bins - I know I'm cheeky but I don't go in the rubbish bins !"

"Oh Mom, even if you look like a raccoon I still love you so much !"

Just before Mom went to hospital, we received the prize that Bella won for Jazzi's Easter Bunny look-alike contest. Look at our beautiful prizes, we love all of them : a shoe, a hamburger, a frog, a blanket and a big foot. Thank you so much Jazzi and Uncle Ed ! Jazzi is a very special friend, because she was one of our first blog friends and she has been very faithful and kind ever since.

Look at what Mom found : a bunny hat, it's very big, but it will keep me warm in winter and can also sleep inside !

"Ollie, Ollie, I have a beautiful princess shoe, but where is my prince ?"

"Bella, kiss the frog, it will turn into a prince !"

My lovely prince...

"Ollie, it didn't work !"

"Bella I tricked you, I'm the prince !"

"Yes Ollie, you are a lovely prince, I love you"

All these emotions have made me hungry, I'll eat a hamburger.

Yummy, that was delicious !

Look at our frog collection, we love frogs, there are plenty in Australia.

Happy 4th of July holiday to all our friends in the USA, enjoy yourself and have fun !
Happy birthday to Stacey the lovely nurse who took such good care of Mum for her operation !

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom
Marcel Proust

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Raccoon picture by http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Darkone licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

Are you ready to stroll ?

2011-06-14T21:38:00.000+10:00

"Hey Bella !"

"Yes, Ollie ?"

"These strollers would be nice to go for a ride around the park, we should ask Amelie and Matthew to push us so we can relax and enjoy the scenery."

"Amelie, Matthew, come on, we are waiting !"

"Bella, Ollie, are you ready to stroll ?"

"Yes, we are, let's go !"

We went around the lake and we saw a Mummmy swan and her babies, they were very cute. After a while we asked to get off because we were missing out on all the smells and we also had to have a toilet stop !

Here in Australia it's winter and we'd like to show you our winter fashions.

Ollie has a nice warm hat.

I can be a pretty little blue riding hood and be warm at the same time.

Look at the beautiful jumper Cinnabar's Nanna made for her !

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Enjoy every day and share your happiness with all your loved ones.

Until next time, we give you all our love.

Rock-a-bye Puppy

2011-06-07T21:56:00.000+10:00

When Mum and Dad went to the flea market, we said "Please bring us lots of toys but don't bring back any fleas !". They found this beautiful bed, so I said to Ollie "It's time to go to bed now" because I wanted him to try it first.

"Bella, can you please rock me, I can't go to sleep"

"Rock-a-bye Puppy, Rock-a-bye Puppy..."

"Come on Ollie, sleep !"

"Bella, I'm not your little doll, play with Rosie the little doll instead !"

I think I'll join little Rosie in the bed

I'm so tired I don't need anyone to rock me

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

I had a lovely dream of a four poster bed....

We wish that all doggies can have a warm comfortable bed, lots of toys and a loving family to give and receive lots of cuddles, like we have. It's so important to be grateful for what you have and to share your love, don't you think ?

Take care my friends and have a great week!

Living the sweet life of a baby

2011-05-29T15:51:00.000+10:00

Hey look Ollie, Mum and Dad found this beautiful carrycot !

They can carry me everywhere just like a baby.

What a sweet life I have with lots of cuddles from Mum

Well being carried around has made me tired.

Ollie, you can go go in the carrycot, let's have a nap.

This is very comfortable, I love it !

Sleep well my dear Bella....

Life is the flower from which love is the honey

Victor Hugo

Beautiful image by Sue Alexander at Inspired Type

Take care my friends and have a great week!

Looking after my sweet little brother Ollie

2011-05-22T18:21:00.000+10:00

My sweet little brother Ollie's knee was hurting him so the vet put him on medication and said he had to rest but Ollie was too sad to miss out on walkies so I found a stroller for him to come with me.

I've put on a nice dress for the occasion and gave a hat to Ollie.

It's really comfortable.

Thank you so much my sweet sister Bella.

All right then, let's go !

After the walk...

That was a nice walk, but pushing the stroller was hard work !

Thanks Ollie, your head makes a nice pillow...

I can take my little Eeyores for a walk too, a pity all nine of them don't fit in the stroller, they'll have to take turns.

Hee Hee Hee, I can fit in the stroller too !

I'm ready now.

Hello there, can someone please push me !!!

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.
Dale Carnegie

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Bella the Baby sitter

2011-05-14T21:52:00.001+10:00

I asked Mum how I could earn a bit of pocket money to buy some treats

And she said, "How about you do a bit of baby sitting, Bella,

Dad and I are going out tonight, can you look after my little baby doll ?"

"I said Yes, of course, she is so cute !"

Mum said to give her a bath before putting her to bed

I don't like baths, I'll clean you mysef

I told her a story about little red riding Bella

Bed time now !

Rock a bye Baby, rock a bye Baby...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Poor little Ollie, he was limping and we took him to the vet for a check up.

Nothing serious but he's going to have to rest, no more walks for Ollie for one week...

To cheer him up, I bought him a big toy with the money I earned baby sitting!

Thank you so much Bella, you are such a sweet big sister.

Let me give you a hug.

We are so happy together

If there is light in the soul
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.

Chinese Proverb.

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

We love our Mom !

2011-05-09T21:20:00.008+10:00

Yesterday it was Mother's day and we gave lots of presents, cuddles and licks to our wonderful Mom.
We love her so much; she finds us beautiful outfits, cuddles us, looks after us, shares her yummy food with us (she just can't resist our puppy eyes) and also finds us amazing toys like this pram. She loves to put us in it, we are her little babies :

Bella, Wake up !

Dad's gardening, I'll see if I can help him

I'll go and see if there are any possums, OK ?

Come on Ollie, let's go !

OK Bella, I'm coming !

Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it to yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.Norman Vincent Peale

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Happy easter 2011 !

2011-04-24T19:09:00.000+10:00

We had a very happy Easter and we hope you had one too.

Ollie and I helped Amelie, Anais and Matthew to look for the eggs

I think we can thank the hen for these eggs.

So tell us, who is the prettiest rabbit of them all ?

This hat is really nice, don't you think ?

We can smell something nice, it's time for the Easter lunch !

I really enjoyed my first Easter

I love Easter and all the yummy treats we got !

Remember that happiness is contagious; it should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness

Maurice Materlinck

Take care my friends and have a great week !

The birthday party continues ...

2011-04-21T10:04:00.001+10:00

Our birthday party continued with Bowie (with a lovely Geisha outfit) and Oskar (with a beautiful tie) dropping in just in time for the pizza, yay !

The next day, it was raining and because of that, we had to wait for our afternoon walk - we don't think that's a valid reason because we don't mind the rain. After a while, I decided to complain about this : if you don't like getting wet, just get the umbrella, don't make us wait !
Dad thought it was funny, so he filmed me which delayed the walk even more !

PS what Dad finds really funny which you only see a glimpse here is how I make my point by pushing anything that's at my height with my nose...

I won a prize at Jazzi's bunny look alike contest, I am so honoured and excited, thank you Jazzi for organising this contest !

Congratulations to all the other winners

Here is the recipe for the delicious almond cake we had for our birthday :

Ingredients :

- 2 puff pastry doughs
- 100 g ground almonds
- 100 g sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 50 g soft butter
- 1 egg to glaze

Preparation:

Place dough in a pie plate, prick with a fork.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in large bowl until the mixture is foamy, then add the almond powder and softened butter and mix until you get a fairly smooth cream.

Spread the cream over the dough, place the second dough over it and close at the edges..

Brown the top of the dough with beaten egg and pierce small holes to allow air to escape.

Bake at 210 ° C (for approximately 30 minutes.

I think of the garden after the rain;
And hope to my heart comes singing,
At morning the cherry blooms will be white,
And the Easter bells be ringing!
Edna Dean Proctor, "Easter Bells"

Take care my friends and have a great Easter, have a great time with your loved ones !

We had a great birthday party !

2011-04-17T20:45:00.000+10:00

It was my third birthday and Ollie's first birthday and we had a great time.

Our friends came over from all over the world with wigs, masks and hats - thank you all for coming !

Daisy is very colourful !

Minnie has a beautiful hat !

Well done, Tessa, a wig AND a hat !

Christmas and the girls are very pretty !

What a beautiful mask, Cinnabar !

"Bella, look at the beautiful cake !"

"Ollie, look at the parcels, I wonder what's inside !"

"I love birthdays, when's the next one ?"

"I really love this hat with flowers and sequins"

"Mum found this beautiful dress to go with the hat !"

"Matthew and Anais, now that we've blown the candles, help us open the presents !"

"Bella and Ollie, you'll have to share the chew bones and dog biscuits"

"Look Bella, I got a cool new toy !"

"Ollie, look at this beautiful hand bag I got, I'll take when we go out !"

Hey don't worry if you're late, the party will continue, so if you want to join us there is still time, send your photos to westiebella [at] gmail [dot] com. We look forward to seeing you !

May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your purse always hold a coin or two
May the sun always shine warm on your window.
May a rainbow follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Snuggling under a blanket waiting for our birthdays and Easter

2011-04-11T10:56:00.000+10:00

April is here Ollie, And do you know what it means ? I'll tell you :

Our birthdays are coming up (14th and 17th) - that means having a party with our family and friends and lots of presents and yummy treats !
Easter is coming up (1 week after our birthdays) - that means a lot of fun with rabbits and eggs.
The days are getting cooler here in Melbourne, and what better place to be than snuggling up under a warm blanket together :

Sleep well my dear Ollie...

Hey, wake up Ollie, I can smell something yummy !

Our favourite crackers - a warm blanket and delicious crackers, pure happiness !

Jazzi is having a Bunny look alike contest, so I tried these rabbit ears.

But wait, do you really think I need rabbit ears, mine are big enough, aren't they ?

So tell me, who is the prettiest rabbit ?

My sister Anais went to Supanova, a pop culture expo and she dressed up as Rimmer, a character from a science-fiction comedy "Red Dwarf" that Dad, Matthew and Anais love (it's from the episode "Quarantined").
I don't mind how she dresses when she goes out, but I must say I was a little bit embarassed when she decided to take me on my walk like that - luckliy it was early in the morning and the streets were empty !

This is a really nice place to sleep and look out the window for Dad coming home...

Hurry up Dad, I'm waiting for you !

Our birthday party is coming up soon !
We'd love all of you to come along to our party - please send us a photo of you with a wig, a hat or a mask (They can be worn "virtually" if you don't like to have anything on you) and let's all have FUN !!!
Bella will be 3 on the 14th of April and Ollie will be 1 on the 17th of April, but the party will be on the 17th - we can't wait !

May you have enough happiness to keep you smiling
Enough hope to kep you happy
Enough success to keep you eager
Enough friends to give youu comfort
Enough enthusiasm to look forward
Enough determination to make each day better than yesterday

Take care my friends and have a great week!

Having fun with wigs, hats and masks !

2011-04-03T08:35:00.001+10:00

We love dressing up and having fun with all sorts of things that Mum finds in second-hand shops and markets. This wig with a nice bow is really lovely don't you think ?

And I love the dress too !

With this hat I'm ready for any party !

This T-shirt suits me really well

I'd love to go to the Venice Carnival, too bad we missed it !

It's a bit big for me, but I can put it on my ears :

I can do the same you know Ollie :

Dad went to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show; he saw our friend Linda there and some really nice flower arrangements :

And also some nice garden statues :

What a pretty bird !

It inspired Dad to do this light painting.

Sorry Dad, but we prefer the real thing !

Our birthday is coming up soon !
We'd love all of you to come along to our party - please send us a photo of you with a wig, a hat or a mask (They can be worn "virtually" if you don't like to have anything on you) and let's all have FUN !!!
Bella will be 3 on the 14th of April and Ollie will be 1 on the 17th of April - we can't wait !

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

Chinese Proverb
Earth laughs in flowers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Flowers are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character.
Lydia M. Child

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

A perfect dog bed...

2011-03-18T21:44:00.000+11:00

Ollie has found the perfect dog bed and would like to share with you how you can enjoy one just like his.

Find a plastic box of a suitable size and fill it with socks to about two thirds of the height of the box :

It really is very comfortable and cosy :

Time to sleep now, sweet dreams !

I love this little hat that Mom found me :

Mom says I look like Madeline, do you know her ? She's a pretty little girl who loves dogs :

Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see.

Mark Twain

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Cinnabar, Panama and Moomba

2011-03-14T11:07:00.001+11:00

Yesterday, the family went to see their dear friend Linda, the mom of Cinnabar; we couldn't come because Cinnabar has been unwell and although she is better, it would have been too much excitment if we had been there as well. So we stayed home, watched TV and ate dog biscuits, so we can't complain.

Her favourite spot is the kitchen, she loves eating and eats almost everything (except lettuce), unlike us who are rather fussy eaters - we think carnivores like us are not suited to eat fruits and vegetables !

Look at her, she is really gorgeous !

She has a beautiful collar :

How sweet it is to be patted, there are never enough hands for patting...

Cinnabar is also the name of a perfume...

and a beautiful red mineral (Mercury Sulfide)

Our family had a wonderful day with Linda, Cinnabar, Linda's parents and friends Jenny and Bianca, they were really spoiled - we hope one day we will meet Cinnabar in person too !

Our lovely friend Peggy sent us some beautiful necklaces

What do you mean, they're not for me, they're for Mom ?

OK then, I'll have this beautiful cap

She also sent us some beautiful post cards :

This is the Panama canal :

Inside a beautiful church :

And a decorated cart wheel from Costa Rica :

Thank you so much Peggy and Mom !

If you don't know Peggy, go and say hello to her at her blog.

Today is Labour day in Victoria, and the day of the parade of the Moomba festival.

The official translation of the Aboriginal word Moomba is "let's get together and have fun", however it was later found that the word "Moom" means buttocks and "Ba" means on, but it was too late to change the name !

It is also the 30th anniversary of Dad's participation in the Moomba parade, dressed as a "bella ragazza" which means beautiful girl in Italian; well we can see the girl but we're not sure about beautiful, what do you think ?

The next year, Dad wanted to participate in the Moomba waterskiing championships

But he didn't get in, we wonder why...

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people going through such a terrible time, and in particular for Nana, Uyanga and their Mom who live in Sendai, one of the worst affected towns. Unfortunately we don't have any news, all we know is that their Mom is on vacation but sshe doesn't have access to the Internet.

Our Mom would like to thank everyone for their wishes and kind words for her birthday, she was really touched.
She will be happy to share her love and help anyone who contacts her.

Dogs do not waste time brooding over the past or anxiously awaiting the future, they are always in the present

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Happy Birthday Mom !

2011-02-28T22:02:00.001+11:00

Today is a very special day, it's our lovely Mum's birthday, so we want to look our best.

Luckily, Mum helped us and made a very beautiful hat for us.

Look, she bought a hat base, covered it in tulle and added some feathers and rosettes :

Yes and it fits me too, it goes very well with my bow tie, don't you think ?

I'm not sure which dress it goes best with though...

And I'm not sure which hat fits me best...

All these are important questions, but we must not forget one thing :

And what's that dear Bella ?

There's going to be a some yummy food !

Happy birthday Mum, I love you !

And me too !

For her birthday she got some beautiful gifts for her craft, a lovely ring, some decoration for our lovely home and a book called 'Tucked in : for everyone having a doona day', which shows you how to use your time in bed to explore your creativity and heal your soul - sounds good to us !

But the best thing about her birthday celebration is that she buys presents for everyone in the family to say how much she loves us, isn't that sweet ?

Our lovely Mum Isabella would like to share the special story of her birthday with you :

When Isabella’s Mum was expecting her, she was abandoned by Isabella’s Dad but also but her own family who urged her to abandon the baby. She tried everything she could do to be able to keep Isabella; when she left her at the orphanage, she told her she would come back, but despite all her efforts she had to formally abandon her at six weeks, hoping that she would have a good life.

Our Mum knows this about her story because it was recorded at the social department and given to her when she sought to find where she came from. She also knows her mother was Spanish and her dad of “mixed origin”, but because of the law in France guarantees the mother’s anonymity, she was not given her name even though it was in the file. Unfortunately when Isabella asked the social department if they could contact her to find out if she would agree for Isabella to see her or contact her, they lost her trace, probably because she went back to Spain.

Isabella spent 18 months at the orphanage before she was adopted. Her adoptive parents did not give here all the love she deserved; instead, they abused her emotionally, making her live a life of feeling guilty and unworthy.

But because our Mum is resilient, courageous and loving, she is not at all bitter about her story; instead, she lives a life of loving, caring, faith and gratitude, bringing joy happiness and sunshine everywhere she goes – even when it’s difficult for her. In fact she has never taken “the easy way” : when life in France was getting unbearable because of the violence where the family was living, she took the opportunity to come to Australia and faced all the challenges that it entailed, learning a new language, bearing all the insults that her adoptive parents threw at her. Now the family is happy here and we are part of this happy family ! What is wonderful here is to be close to Dad's parents, his sister Flo and aunty Mimi (her birthday was last week, Happy Birthday sweet Mimi !) and a lovely friend Linda.

Isabella always sees the best in people and the positive side of every moment of her life. She is very creative and loves all sorts of craft - this is something that heals her and it makes us very happy to see her creations and to see all her happiness shine through.

The only problem is that she is so selfless, she does not think about herself enough ! So we are always there (along with Dad, Amelie, Anais, Amelie and Matthew) to look after her and tell her how much she means to us and how much we love her.

If this story touches you or if you want to share your own story, please contact us, Mum would love to have a pen pal !

What a lovely story...

True love doesn't consist of holding hands, it consists of holding hearts

A house is made of walls and beams
A home is built with love and dreams

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Happy Valentine's day !

2011-02-14T17:11:00.000+11:00

If Valentine's day is the day when say to your loved ones how much you love them, then it's Valentine's day every day in our family, because we love doing that, each in our own special way - for Ollie and I, it's wagging our tales and licking and jumping with joy when we are with our family.

It's also an opportunity to wear some lovely outfits with hearts !

I love my brother Ollie

"And I love you too my dear sweet sister !"

Mum's been very busy crafting lately and she wants to share some of her creations with you :

This is her little treasure box filled with everything she loves :

Dad took a photo of this heart shaped rock formation when we were on vacation and then Mum coloured it in as a Valentine's day gift , he loves it !

Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing higher, nothing broader, nothing better, either in heaven or earth; because love is born of God.
Thomas a Kempis
Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and difficult as that.
Michael Leunig

Take care my friends and have a great Valentine's Day !

Fantastic Fashion Friday

2011-02-11T22:23:00.000+11:00

And tonight we present our spring haute couture collection by Isabella, modelled by Bella and Ollie :

I think Blue suits me very well :

I love wearing such beautiful outfits

White tulle is very nice too :

Panthers, where are you, here I come !

Et voila, c'est magnifique, non ?

After Ollie saw Jean Paul Gaultier had skirts for men, he had no problem wearing this lovely outfit :

Peggy has joined us all the way from Panama to make this Fantastic Fashion Friday truly international
Go and say hello to her

We're very interested to know your favourite outfit, last time it was this one :

A Big Little Life - A memoir of a joyful dog by dean Koontz

Many of you may already know the author Dean Koontz; he wrote a truly delightful book about his wonderful golden retriever Trixie who changed his life in so many ways.
Here are some quotes :

"Trixie lived to love and to receive love, which is the condition of angels."

"When we take a dog into our lives we ask for its trust and it is freely given. But in the dog's life as in our own, there come those moments when we are not in control, when we are forced to acknowledge our essential helplessness...Looking into the trusted eyes of the dog, which feels safe in our care and knowing that we do not deserve the totality of is faith in us we are shaken and humbled...The only wisdom is humility which engendres gratitude, and humility is the condition of the heart essential for us to know peace."

"The only significant measure of your life is the positive effect you have on others...Every smallest act of kindness - even just words of hope when they are needed, the compliment that engenders a smile - has the potential to change the recipient's life. If by the example of her joy and innocence, a dog can greatly change two lives for the better, then no life is little and every life is big. The mystery of life is the source of its wonder, and the wonder of life is what makes it so worth living."

Trixie also wrote a book "Bliss to You: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Life " about finding happiness by emulating dogs : living in the now, enjoying each moment to the fullest; putting aside worries about things one can't control; loving unconditionally and striving to make others happy.
So we have something in common with Trixie, because we have a book, "Paw Steps to Happiness", where we show you how to find and share happiness.
Have a look at Trixie's web site.

Why are dogs lives shorter than human lives ?

People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - loving everybody all the time and being nice. Dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.

Shane (little boy who just lost his dog, from the book "Dogs" by Candida Baker)

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Haute Couture Fantastic Fashion Friday !

2011-01-28T13:05:00.001+11:00

Now that our vacation is over, it's back to work for us, we are resuming our Fantastic Fashion Fridays by modelling some great outfits that Mum has found. The Paris Spring 2011 Haute Couture shows are on this week and we think it's time doggies had their own haute couture !
Have a look and tell us your favourite outfit(s)

This is great for a night out on the town

I'm a black and white dog, but I love colours !

A bow for a touch of class

How's this for a "bad boy" look ?

Do you know the famous French couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier ?

He loves to mix different styles, patterns and colours.

If he ever did doggie haute couture, this is what it could look like :

Bella's hat is nice and warm

This hat is better suited for those warmer days

I love flowers

This is more on the wild side, I close my eyes and I pretend I'm a zebra in the African savannah - hang on, this is dangerous, there are lions out there !

A light outfit that is great to pick up sea shells by the sea side.

Enough work for now, time for a rest !

Sweet dreams my friends

If you want to join us for our next fashion parade, we would be delighted ! send us your photos at westiebella@gmail.com

Did you know ?
Scooby Doo's name was inspired by Frank Sinatra when he sang the phrase 'scooby dooby do' in the song 'Strangers in the night'.

If we can stop wishing for what we don't have and start enjoying what we have, our lives can be richer and happier. The time to be happy is now.

Lynn Peters

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

A happy start to the day

2011-01-23T22:33:00.000+11:00

To start our day, we love to have breakfast with Dad

It's hard to wake up though !

Thanks Dad, that's yummy !

What about me ?

YUMMYYYY !

What a great start to our day !

What about you, how do you like to start your day ?

News from our friends

This is our new friend Felix, before his hair cut, we wonder how he can see anything !

After his hair cut, in his favourite spot.

No Ollie, he did not grow in this flower pot, I will tell you about where puppies come from when you're older...

Cooper is a reading therapy dog and we bet that with his help, these children will be really great readers, well done Cooper !

Be glad of your life because it gives you a chance to love, to work, to play and to look up at the stars
Henry Van Dyke

Take care my friends and don't forget to take time to smell the roses !

(Our friend Dot)

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 12)

2011-01-15T20:13:00.000+11:00

Today was the last day of our vacation and we went to the rock pools one last time :

What's that ?

Mr and Mrs Starfish

Rock pools are great !

Our vacation rental house was great, it had lots of stairs so we got a lot of exercise, and comfy sofas to rest after we climbed all those stairs !

We have certainly enjoyed our vacation and sharing it with you; thank you for all your comments, we will catch up on visiting your blogs when we get home.
And now we are happy to go back home and catch up on all the new smells that have been left in our absence !

Wherever you go, go with all your heart
Confucius

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 11)

2011-01-14T09:13:00.000+11:00

Today the family went to the shell museum and look at what they saw, a dog made with shells !

In Australia, you have to drive on the left but because there are so many tourists from different countries, there are signs all along the Great Ocean Road to remind them to drive on the left because there has been so many accidents !

We have a visitor

He's hungry :

Dad has left some bread from him

Yummy !

Perfect kindness acts without thinking of kindness
Lao Tzu

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 10)

2011-01-13T10:28:00.001+11:00

Today we had a visit from this critter; I think he's scary but Ollie tried to eat it and it hopped away....

"Dad it's stopped raining, time for a walk !"

"This is lovely !"

Look at that !

We wanted to say hello to this bird

But it flew away to another rock :

I've rolled in the sand, so that means Anais will give me a bath when we get home :(

Mum loves artistic and orginal jellewery, so she went to see a local artist, Margaret Glance, who sells her fused glass jellewrey at the Apollo bay market every Saturday morning :

Here are some of the pendants Mum bought, aren't they wonderful ?

Kindness is more important than wisdom and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.

Theodore Isaac Rubin

Faith sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible

Take care my friends and see you soon !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 9)

2011-01-12T10:41:00.001+11:00

Today we went to Cape Otway light station :
Caper Otway Lightstation is the oldest, surviving lighthouse in mainland Australia. The light has been in continuous operation since 1848; for thousands of immigrants, after many months at sea, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe.
It was built after Charles La Trobe, first govenor of Victoria, argued for the establishment of a light station following a number of ship wrecks where hundreds of immigrants lost their lives.
Here is Charles in the telegraph station showing Flat George how a telegraph works.
A submarine cable link to Tasmania operated here but it only worked for 18 months !

George is learning how to use a typewriter :

Here is the light station :

It's raining but we are all smiling under our lovely red umbrella (Dad chose the colour to bring a bit of brightness)

The view from the top of the light station :

George loves the steps in the light station :

An anchor from one of the wrecked ships :

George reads a letter written by the light keeper to his boss asking for better working conditions and two cows to provide milk and butter for his wife and nine children :

There are lots of koalas nearby (look at how wet this one is !)

Koalas prefer the leaves of just a few eucalypts; they rarely drink so the leaves provide them with water. Their lethargic lifestyles (they spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping) enable them to survive on the relatively low energy diet of eucalypt leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are toxic but the koala has a stomach which removes the toxins from the leaves.

Although it is raining non stop where we are, we are not complaining; rather, we are praying for the people of Queensland who are experiencing the worst floods in decades, where 10 people have lost their lives and 90 are missing, with more flooding expected this week, particularly in the city of Brisbane : about 30,000 people are expected to be affected in Brisbane by rising floodwaters with more than 9000 homes expected to be damaged.

Spread love
It binds up together
It validates our lives
It gives us meaning
It brings compassion
It lets us see with new eyes.

Take care my friends and see you soon !

Mum and Dad should make a Flat Bella and a Flat Ollie to take us everywhere they go, don't you agree ? We are sure Mum is going to do that for us !!!

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 8)

2011-01-11T10:19:00.000+11:00

Guess who's come to join us, it's Flat George on his 2011 world tour !

Welcome Flat George, we're glad you could come !

It's raining, so we'll have wait for the rain to stop to show you the beach, we don't want you to get wet !

There are lots of steps in this house, we hope you enjoy them :

Look at our paw prints in the sand, can you guess which are Ollie's and which are Bella's ?

Flat George enjoys the beach :

... and also the rock pools :

Look at how the water is frothy :

There is some good surf, but today we forgot our surf boards !

Look at Mum's souvenirs, aren't they lovely ?

Wherever Mum goes, she loves to decorate with love to feel well.

When we get home, she'll be able to decorate with all her souvenirs !

Love is like a butterfly: it goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun and find your shoulder to light on, to bring you luck, happiness and riches today, tomorriow and beyond
Irish blessing

We think about all our furry and human friends with love - take care and see you soon

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 7)

2011-01-10T09:44:00.001+11:00

How happy we are on vacation, our parents are happy and relaxed and all their time is available for us, to give us cuddles and take us out to wonderful places.

But we do also let them do the things they love; Mum loves different sorts of crafts (sewing, beading, drawing, painting, scrapbooking); here's a funny card she found to use in her scrapbooking :

And Dad loves photography, here are some photos of flowers he took :

Don't these gum nuts look like little bells ?

Look at how happy and relaxed Mum and Dad are !

Today was cooler (22 C, 72 F), so it was good weather for making sandcastles :

Live the life you love and you will live a life of love

Take care my friends and have a great week !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 6)

2011-01-09T10:45:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another instalment of our summer vacation diary.

For those who are just joining in, we are at Skenes Creek, on the Great Ocean Road.

The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometre (151 mile) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I.

Point A on the map is where we live (Cheltenham), point B is Skenes Creeks :

Our rental house is in Surf Avenue, which is a good name because there is some great surf.

Skenes Creek is near Apollo Bay; it was named by Captain Loutit in 1845 when he sheltered his vessel, the Apollo, here from a storm.

We went to the Apollo bay market :

The most popular stall was this one : when this man pedals on his bike, it operates a blender which makes smoothies - that's very ecological isn't it ?

There are some great statues made by a local artist (there are lots of artists here)

After dinner we went to the beach; we can only go there before 9 am and after 7 pm, although my family saw that many people don't respect this rule, and what's worse, many people don't clean up after their dogs, so our sister Anais always carries extra plastic bags to clean up after other people's dogs.

The surf fishing is great :

There are lots of things to see and sniff in the rock pools :

We go there in the mornings too :

What a fantastic life !

Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation.

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 5)

2011-01-08T07:37:00.000+11:00

Today was the hottest day (100 F, 38 C), so we had a rest while our family went to the beach :

Matthew tried his new surf board

When's the next wave ?

This is great !

When they got home, they wet us to cool us down :

Thank you so much, that feels really great !

Take care my friends and have a great week-end !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 4)

2011-01-07T09:37:00.000+11:00

Today the family went on a boat trip to see a seal colony; the boat left from Apollo Bay which has a nice fishing port :

The fishing boats catch crayfish, shark, whiting, flathead and snapper in the southern ocean; here are some crayfish baskets :

After a 10 minute ride, the seal colony can be seen :

Aren't these seals cute ?

Some of them swam close to the boat :

Ollie, I can hear the car, our family is back !

We're so happy to see you !

Our friend the cockatoo is hungry, give him some bread !

More adventures tomorrow !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 3)

2011-01-06T09:22:00.000+11:00

Today the family went to the Otway Fly Tree Top Walk and we're glad we didn't go, here's why :

First of all, there are some scary creatures called dinosaurs, but as you can see, Matthew was very brave !

Look out Matthew, he's coming behind you !

This one looks very hungry !

Then they walked on this walkway 30 metres (100 feet) above the ground and then climbed on a tower where this photo was taken 45 metres (150 feet) above - that's way too scary for us !

Those ferns are beautiful though :

Look at how big that tree trunk is ! It is a Mountain Ash named “Big Boy”, the giant of the forest, 5 metres (16 feet) in diameter at its base and towering 65 metres (215 feet) in height. Wow !

This is a boomerang tree, does that mean that if you throw it, it comes back ?

The girls had a lot of fun too on the zip fly !

We much prefer the comfort of our sofa !

When they came back, we barked until they took us for a walk at the beach !

We saw some pretty starfish :

Look out, he can pinch with his claws !

Dad took some more "moonscape" pictures :

Then it was time to go home and have a good sleep :

See you tomorrow !

Daily Digest of our Delicious Deambulations (number 2)

2011-01-05T09:23:00.000+11:00

We went to the beach !

Amelie loves whales, apparently they can only be seen between April and October, but she managed to see one anyway BOL !

What a nice beach - it's not that warm yet (although it's going to be 99 F on Friday) but it's so much fun !

We made some new friends

We saw some beautiful rocks

Dad says this looks like craters on the surface of the moon - well OK, if you say so Dad !

Anais and Matthew love this place too !

There are lots of mussels, but we couldn't open them to have a taste :

Good luck to the fishermen over there

We wish you all peace in your lives and in the world

Good news, the house is free until January the 14th, so there will be two extra Daily Digests of our Delicious Deambulations !

We are so happy that our readers are enjoying our vacation diary, although our secretary is enjoying her vacation so much that she is late in visiting your blogs, so she'll have a lot of catching up to do !

See you soon !