Meet Minnie

Introducing Minnie the pug.  At last we have a family pet and the kids and us big kids are head over heels.  She is adorable.

Minnie is seven weeks old.  Her dad is a pure bred pug and her mother is a jug (half pug, half jack russell).  After weeks of looking, we found her on the Trading Post and when we went to view her we knew weren't leaving empty handed.

She is already adjusting to life with us.  She is very playful and loves to chase and pounce.  She is a very bouncy pup.  Her favourite spots to snuggle are either in Henry's lap, or at the feet of me and Michael.  Milly, who has never really had any affection for animals, is doing a great job of playing and looking after her.  She's also the disciplinarian, telling Minnie the rules of where she can and can't go.

Minnie's first night in the house was spent downstairs in her bed in the kitchen.  Henry and Michael set up camp with her so she wouldn't be alone.  It wasn't a very successful nights sleep.  Minnie would sleep and then wake, and then wake Michael up by licking or clawing at his face.  Michael even found her nestled in under his arm sleeping, rather than in her bed.  She is certainly a pup who likes to snuggle.

It's only been 24 hours since we brought Minnie home but she is already a well-loved member of the family.

PJ Harvey

Geez, I'm a bit behind with my blog posts.  Got a few things to share, so I'll start here...

Polly Jean Harvey.  I'm a big fan.  Whenever she tours Australia I always get tickets.  The gig was in Sydney, which meant a little travel and the question "do we stay overnight or drive back after the show"?  Michael needed to go to work the next day and given he also would be commuting early the next morning we decided to make a night of it and treat ourselves to a kid-free 24 hour vacation.

Nanoo was on hand to stay over and take care of Milly and Buster, and Henry had a sleepover at a mate's house.  Michael and I were footloose and fancy free.  It was a little exciting.

We boarded a train and away we went.

After a relaxing trip we arrived in Sydney - our old home town.  It was 2.5 hours on the train and we thought walking to our accommodation in Darling Harbour would stretch the legs.  It was funny strolling around the streets.  We knew where we were going but still felt like tourists.  Plus we realised we no longer walk like city dwellers (ie fast and with purpose).  Wearing backpacks and sensible shoes, I'm sure we looked like tourists too.

Checked into our hotel and turned on the TV.  Not very romantic I know, but the Australian Open tennis was on and Andy Murray was losing, the day could not have been better.

We went out for an early dinner and I put on a frock.  We hit the bar and merchandise stand for some goodies.

There's always an interesting mix of people at a PJ Harvey concert.  The ages range from early 20s to late 60s or even older.  Her music isn't really something you dance to, which is why I always get seated tickets instead of standing.

The show starts and she is mesmerising.  Each concert is very different from the last and despite my crap photo below, it was awesome and worth the trip away to experience it.

We were up early (too early) the next morning to have a nice breakfast at the hotel before it was back to reality.

The light rail train took us to Central station and then we boarded the train bound for Newcastle.  Michael jumped off at Hornsby and I continued on to collect the kids and relieve Nanoo.  Our adventure over way too soon.  Got to remember to do this more often.