Blackies Been Butchered

We spent the last few days staying at Jenny and Barry’s farm. Jenny and Barry have animals which they eat. Last night we ate Blackie.

When I asked Jenny how they cope eating animals they have known, she said “I have comfort in the fact they don’t have the stress of going in a crowded truck to the meat works. One minute Blackie was quietly eating grass, the next minute she was gone”

So all Blackie remembers is eating grass then a loud “BANG” as she was shot dead between the eyes, murdered for meat. And the sad thing is the butcher said she was only good for mince.

So last night we had Spaghetti Bolognaise. Other meals Blackie has starred in were Meatloaf, Cottage Pie and Tacos. (Any ideas for mince recipes would be much appreciated).

Blackies life, however, wasn’t all just a bed of green grass.

Not long after Blackie was born she got pregnant at just 4 months old. When Jenny told the vet, he didn’t believe her. She waited another month and called the vet again. This time the vet agreed that Blackie was indeed pregnant and had to abort her child. This meant Blackie had to suffer a birth that could have been avoided a month earlier.

When Blackie was old enough to have children, she got bow legged. The more pregnant she became, the more bow legged she got and looked pretty sad as she waddled about the paddock. After the birth, her legs straightened a bit but she was banned from having any more children. This led to her demise.

So long Blackie and thanks for all the mince!

Kates Engagement Party – Pre Party Photos

The food was prepared by professional caterers

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although it was difficult to keep Sue from telling them what to do.

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In the end she got her own way and helped roll the sandwiches.

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We lined the family up for balcony photos

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Kate and Josh:

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AFter the semi formal photos on the balcony it was time for a quick cuddle and kiss.(disturbed by Sue!)

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Sue says its time to party!

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Dory

Sadly our big aussie road trip is over and we are back in dreary old Sydney. Seriously, it is just like being in London with the amount of drear going on. I think London has sunnier days though.

We have been back for a week trying to sell Dory, but nobody wants to buy her. Brother Paul has decided to take her at a rock bottom price. At least it’s good to know she will be staying in the family. And I think she will enjoy the warmer climate up in Brisbane.

We are very fond of Dory and will be sad to see her go. She has not only been our transport, but also our home and protector for the last four months.

Heres a poem we wrote at the start of the trip:

This is a story
About a car named Dory
Who grew up in Japan
And had a big Plan
So to Aus she did go
To meet Mike and Jo
And embark on a trip
Around the coast to the tip
So away they went
Lots of money to be spent
We’ve no aim in mind
Just hoping to find
A little bit of Sun
And have loads of fun.

Cairns

We spent 4 days in Cairns. For those who have been keeping up, Me, mike, jenny and barry attended a 90min timeshare seminar in Surfers to get free tickets to a theme park. We also purchased 4 nights in Cairns and this included a seafood buffet dinner cruise worth $150. It was really nice. Only thing was we had to attend another 90 min timeshare seminar. We told them up front we werent interested and they let us go. So only 30 mins of our time wasted. It was nice staying in luxury accommodation and having a TV.

We did a snorkel trip out to green island but it was one of those freak tides that was so far out the coral was sitting out of the water. So the snorkelling, putting it politely, was crap!

Other than that, a cruisey few days and lots of nice eating out.

20 May – Mataranka Springs

It was just a short drive to Mataranka Springs and we arrived about lunchtime and set up camp. We did some well overdue washing and set off for a swim in the thermal pools. The water was crystal clear and 34 degrees. It still felt a bit cold compared to the outside temperature.

They used to have a smelly bat problem here (isn’t that a Phoebe song) but they have got rid of them by planting water sprinklers up in the trees.

It was a pleasant place to camp, very chilled out, as we were the only campers. All the caravans were away from us on the powered sites. I think we have been really lucky with our slightly off-season travel and there has been hardly any people around.

We finally dragged our shrivelled bodies out of the hot pools, drank some beer, cooked lamb chops with tzaziki for dinner, and then went to the bar to watch the live entertainment. It was a girl singing slightly off key but it was better than going to bed at 7pm.