Zoom! and that was the holiday…….!

Burleigh Heads Queensland

Last week, DH, the boys and I jumped on a plane and headed north, chasing some winter sunshine. Only problem was, the Gold Coast which is normally full of sunshine was rather wet and grey. Fortunately we’d booked ourselves into a totally gorgeous apartment with more mod cons than home (million dollar view, cable TV, heated pool…) so we coped with the first 1.5 days of torrential rain! Oh if we could have rain like that where we live.                   

Anyway, the rain cleared and we got out to play in shorts and Tshirts which is a far cry from a Victorian winter where we’re huddled in fleeces. We hit the theme parks and I squealed in terror on the Superman Ride, oohed and ahhed over the dolphins and the seals and revisited my youth on the now low-tech corkscrew ride which is still a heap of fun.

We walked along the lovely beaches, tramped through some rainforest, played games of chess and 500 and I read a book or two.  I broke my healthy eating rules and had icecream and cheese and chocolate.  One week of eating will mean three weeks of hard work at the gym. Man, I’m not that fond of being 40…ish.

The boys have two more weeks of holidays so I’m juggling jobs and activitites and trying to wrestle Leo and Abbie into being well-behaved characters. Yeah, right! They have other ideas!  Anyone else out there taking a winter or summer break?  I love hearing about people’s trips.

I’ve Gone Polish!

I was walking home from the gym this morning and the Aust Post courier comes about 8am. Inside the box was a package and with a zip of excitement I opened the pack wondering where in the world the two books inside would be from…it’s always a lucky dip!

So far I’ve gone to France, Italy, South Africa, Serbia and all four of the Scandanavian countries. Today I discover I’ve gone to Poland! Can’t read a word but it’s totally cool to know that Wedding In Warragurra is now Zmiana planu.  Anyone out there read polish and able to translate the title for me?

The Surgeon’s Special Delivery

The Surgeon’s Special Delivery is on shelf  from today in Australia and New Zealand. I loved writing this story and it’s a fave of mine probably because unlike most books it didn’t give me grief at the begining, although it did at the end;-)

Perhaps it was becuase it starts with a death and a birth which is something I could relate to as my youngest son was born the day my mother-in-law died. 

If you’re stuck inside with swine-flu or the winter blues and you can’t get to the shops then order it online at eharlequin Australia

I hope you enjoy Tess and Cal’s story!

A Midday Snack? A python has a grand banquet!

As the mother of two boys I learn all sorts of facts I never thought I needed to know and one of them is that a python’s jaw is hinged so it can open way wider than a human’s. Why? Well, these pictures from the far north of Western Australia tell you why. For overseas visitors to the blog, a Goanna is a Really BIG reptile but pythons are not fussed by that!

The python wraps itself around the goanna crushing it and then and proceeds the very long task of swallowing it.

The dark bit against the goanna is the python's head and top jaw. Unlike a human jaw the python's upper jaw is not fused to the skull. It's only attached by tendons, ligaments and muscles. Also, the python's jaw is hinged back behind the cranium so that the lower jaw hinges with the upper jaw rather than with the cranium. The jaw bones are only loosely joined and the bottom jaw has another hinge about half way along. Pythons spread their bones apart and their prey slides in. Python teeth are sharp and backward curving - once inside, nothing's going to get back out.

At the three hour mark of digestion

It's a tough job but almost there

Done! I bet the python is feeling like he's just eaten five christmas dinners! It took Five hours for the python to consume the goanna. He won't need to eat for a few weeks now