A New Web Site

OK. So a post 6-6½ years later is not soon or regularly. (See the end of our last post).

We had problems with our original Web hosting company for a while and lost our personal Web site and Deb's Kitchen and the access to the sites.

However, in six years, Blogger has changed. It's so much easier to set up a blog now so we've moved our old News page to debtony.blogspot.com and created another three blogs.

So, where to start?

We're still living in the North West of Sydney but we're no longer renting. We're living in a Federation-style home (circa 1925) with two (circa 1980s) extensions. We've had the roof, plumbing and electrical wiring looked into but I still stress every time it rains because one of the rooms tends to flood. It's the extensions that are the problem; the original house is fine.

Mitzi and Astra are no longer with us. We lost Mitzi in November 2004 due to liver failure, Astra in April 2006 due to a brain tumour. The two of them certainly packed a lot in in their 14 years. They were two well-travelled pets having moved house with us five times, both interstate and overseas. They were both wusses; both had been rushed to the vets after coming off second-best in fights.

Mitzi was a Houdini. I think there was only ever one yard from which she didn't escape. With every house we rented the first thing we looked at was how Mitzi-proof the yard was. I still remember the long Summer evenings in Melbourne walking along Darebin Creek and Merri Creek with Mitzi trotting along ahead or behind me, stopping to check out an interesting scent, and then racing to catch up with me. She loved her walks and Melbourne had some great off-the-leash areas.

Astra was a talker. If you were ever home late-Beware! You were sure to get a mouthful! Where have you been? What time do you call this? Where's my dinner?. You couldn't read without her walking all over the book or newspaper. And if you were working on the computer she'd insist on having a lap and then placing her (heavy) head on your arm while you tried to type.It was awfully quiet returning home after Astra was gone.

Too quiet! Two and a half months later and the new fur kids arrived.

Meet Chi (pronounced 'kye') and Quila (short for 'Tequila'). Both are chihuahua crosses: Chi probably chihuahua x pomeranian, Quila chihuahua x terrier of some sort (last we thought was border terrier). Chi was 6 years old when we got him and Quila was 18 months. The reason for the curling ribbon on their collars? They were our 40th birthday presents to ourselves.

Both of them are pound rescue dogs from PAWS. They were found wandering the streets of Fairfield separately and then placed in a pen together in Fairfield pound. Because they got on so well, PAWS was trying to find them a home together. We had a two-week trial period and Quila nearly outstayed her welcome. She preferred the lounge to her bed and was continually jumping up and settling on the lounge. She still jumps up if Tony and I don't put the barricades up. (I guess that means she won!)

Chi is the sensitive one. He runs at the sign of any trouble (whether it's him or Quila), loves his bed and is absolutely terrified of flies. (He tried to crawl under my yoga blanket one day because there was blowfly in the room!). Quila is the rebel. She's a spirited little dog. She barks at any possum or lizard that tries to invade the house, continually pesters you when it's time for dinner, and will grab any opportunity to take a lap when she wants it.

Enough about the fur kids. What about Tony and me?

Tony is still working as a consultant. In the current economic climate, work is pretty light but he works 2-2½ days a week with a marketing data analysis company and local credit union. Now that the AFL season has started he is also busy running MAFL, which involves tipping the results of AFL games, wagering on those that seem most profitable, and publishing the MAFL blogs MAFL-Online and MAFL-Stats.

I'm now working 3 days a week and becoming more involved in the area of Web site accessibility. The rest of the week is spent studying for a diploma in yoga teaching. It has been difficult (especially this year) trying to balance work demands with study commitments and still have some time for myself. Well, it's getting late and I really need to get some sleep so I can start catching up on yoga readings and assignments. We'll try and reduce the amount of time between posts. Please stay tuned!