Snaps ‘n’ Crackles #7 – the jetting off to Perth edition!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Snaps ‘n’ Crackles post.  The last one was on 1 June, 4.5 months ago!  I’m long overdue for a catch up chat over a cuppa.  There’s nothing like it!  So grab yourself a cuppa and pull up a chair!  I’ll try not to talk too much or for too long and I promise you can tell me all your things when I get to the end of this post!

Jetting off to Perth!

Yes you read that title right.  I will be jetting off to Perth tomorrow!  Who even am I?  I mean wasn’t I just in Canberra the other day?  What is going on? 

It’s called tagging along with ‘The Tennis Player‘ [hereonin abbreviated and referred to as TTP] on a work trip … that’s what it is.  It’s an opportunity to see Perth for the first time ever.  It also helps that his work is covering his airfares and all accommodation and airport transfer costs etc. 

This will in fact be the first time that either of us have ever set foot in Western Australia, and aside from that time I went to Singapore [in around 2OO7 or was it 2OO8?], this will be the longest flight I’ve ever been on.  Singapore was about 8 hours.  Flying to Perth from Brisbane is estimated at 5hrs and 4Omins, but flying from Perth back to Brisbane is shorter at 4hrs and 2Omins.  The difference has something to do with jetstream that usually gives a strong tailwind heading east.  Make sense to you?  I’m pretending I understand and nodding along.

It’s going to be a fleeting visit.  We’ll arrive in Perth around lunchtime [Perth time] tomorrow [Wednesday] and we leave late–morning on Sunday.  Even though it’s a short visit, I want to make the most of it so have been trying to plan ahead.  My plans at this stage are sort of like this, but subject to change at any point [except for Saturday & Sunday’s plans]:

• Wednesday afternoon:  check–in to hotel, walk around the city & explore, dinner somewhere.
• Thursday:  TTP is at Day 1 of a 2 day conference so I’m on my own.  I plan to further explore the city, including Kings Gardens, maybe using one of those hop on, hop off buses. Depending on how I’m going for time and how much we saw yesterday afternoon, I might catch a train or a ferry to Cottesloe Beach.  Thursday night there is a big conference dinner on.
• Friday:  TTP is at Day 2 of the conference.  My plan is to catch a ferry to Freemantle.   A ferry is my top choice as a mode of transport because I love cruising and water –  so relaxing –  and I mean how gorgeous to cruise along the Swan River and see Perth from the river.  Depending on whether I managed to see Cottesloe Beach yesterday, I may incorporate that into the day too.  There are markets on in Freemantle on a Friday.  This excites me!  
• Saturday:  We are booked on an all day [13hrs3Omin] bus tour to Margaret River, Mammoth Caves, Sandleford Winery and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, including visits to Busselton Jetty, Bootleg Brewery [for lunch & a drop to drink], and more!  Here’s a bit of its spiel: “Sample the produce of the local artisans, be amazed at the grandeur of the Karri forests and see where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. This is a perfect introduction to the Southwest for those short on time.”  The reviews are very good so I’m really looking forward to the day.
• Sunday:  Pack up, Check– Out, Get to the Airport, Homeward bound!

PERTH BLOGGERS:  I feel like I should be making arrangements to meet some of those bloggers I know who live in Perth, but it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind and I’m short on time in Perth so I first needed to sort out what I was going to do to be sure I saw as much as I could within the limited time.  The best I can think of to do is to say here that if you are one of those Perth bloggers who I know through this blogging thang and you read this and you’ll be near to where I am going to be on either Thursday or Friday [see above] and would like to meet up for a coffee or lunch then I would really love to see you!!  I will be on my lonesome so would love some company, even if only for a short portion of the day!  I will always be easily contactable on my phone via Facebook message or Instagram, so please do get in touch with me if you’d like to meet up!

I’ve been checking the BOM app on my phone to see what the weather and temperature will be like when I’m in Perth.  It is always changing but at the moment Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday look good but it looks like some hot days for us over there on Friday and Saturday!  It’s a dryer heat in Perth is it not?  Not as humid as Brisbane?  Hope so! 

Crochet update

On another topic, I have an update on my crochet blanket.  In case you didn’t know, it’s the first bit of crochet I’ve done in over 25 years so I’m super pleased with myself.  I made it with the intention of using it for the guest bed which is a sofa bed.  It turned out awesome but I underestimated in my sizing of it because it just covered the surface of the sofa bed and I would have preferred it drop over the sides a bit.  It was bothering me so I ended up extending the border on the blanket to make it bigger.  I feel much happier with it now.

Once a mother, always a mother!

Daughter:  It was just days after getting home from Canberra, when I received a call from my daughter when out shopping. She hadn’t slept in days, was feeling very dizzy and achy, her glands were up, she had a temp and generally felt sick and would I be home today?  She was calling me from work.  Well after that call, I was home quick smart.  My daughter has recently been in India.  She was one of 2O journalism students selected for a 10 day foreign correspondence trip to Jaipur, India (generously funded by the federal government’s New Colombo Plan).  She went to the doctor and she came home to stay for a few days.  She had various tests done.  She could have had Glandular Fever or picked up something nasty in India.  Turns out it was Glandular Fever, and even though that is not pleasant, I’d rather the devil we know than the devil we don’t … if you know what I mean.  She is much better now but still very, very tired all the time.

Twin 2:  He has an interview on Thursday and I won’t be here.  It is the third interview with the same company.  First a phone interview, then a face to face interview, now another face to face interview.  Please keep everything crossed for him on Thursday!  I will be the middle aged woman wandering the streets of Perth city on Thursday with everything crossed!!  That will be very interesting indeed!

Twin 1 & Twin 2 … turn 25 next month.  How can that be? 

First world problem!

Two keys on my keyboard won’t work.  It is driving me insane!  I am having to improvise and seek keystroke alternatives! 

I never realised how much I use the right curved bracket, or the number O [zero] or a hyphen or underscore!  Have you noticed I have had to use square brackets in this post and anywhere there is supposed to be a number O [zero] it is actually a capital O [as in Ohhhh not Zero]. 

To schedule this post to publish, instead of scheduling it to publish at 6:OOam, I had to schedule it to publish at 6:11am because on this occasion, using a capital O [ohhh] just didn’t cut it.  Also, confession time: on occasion, I admit I have copied and pasted a hyphen to use within this post from a previously typed post.  I was weak, I just couldn’t find an alternative! sigh 

Well I think I’ve chattered away long enough. How about you?  What’s been going on in your world?  What do you think of my Perth plans?  Your turn to tell me all your stuff now!

Ciao for now,

Linked up with Kylie Purtell for #IBOT