Saturday, December 4, 2010

Cats and more cats

In my first year in Perth, a cat adopted us and has since moved in with us on a permanent basis. When we moved to Cunderdin, we brought her along and she proves to be a one of a kind. She was definitely a house cat as she knows how to use the kitty litter naturally but I guess she had been wandering outside for quite a while as she refuses to be cooped up in the house for too long.

Furthermore, she is definitely a killer and she has already killed 3 snakes and brought them back home as a gift to us. Definitely could have done without it.

Yesterday, we found another kitten (about 3 weeks old) wandering around school and some people suggested that we just leave it where we found it as it was too troublesome to look after it. I was definitely against it as it was already very weak and looked like it was abandoned and I'm a soft touch when it comes to animals. My wife and I decided to keep it for the night and bring it to Cat Haven (23 Lemnos Street, Shenton Park WA 6008) which a not for profit organisation which was set up to look after and rehome cats. They have a shop, a boarding place and a vet. It's definitely better than bringing it to the SPCA as they do not euthanise the cat unless it's medically necessary. Bringing in a stray was very straight forward and if anybody wants to adopt a cat or get a new cat, I would suggest visiting that place.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Gardening

One of the many things that I like about living in Australia is the gardening culture that you have here which is lacking in Sin. Although there is a slow push towards community gardening in Sin, my aunt is into it big time, it's still seen as something that is not so important. Over here gardening is big time, be it ornamental flowers, native gardens or vegetable gardens.

Started small when I got here with some pots of herbs and in my previous house in Perth, the owner did up her garden fantastically well, considering that she is already in her 70s.

In Cunderdin, we started growing some fruit trees, Pinkabelle apples, lemon, 3 ways pear, and 2 different types of peaches, and a vegetable garden and they are growing well. We just had our first harvest of the Flat Angel Peach and it was sugar sweet. The vegetables have been harvested countless times and we'll start afresh later in Feb when we get back from our hols.

We got our trees we got them from Northam Garden Centre but usually get our things from Bunnings. They literally have everything you need for gardening and they are also there to give any advise that you may need. Bunnings can be found almost everywhere in Perth and if you are in the country or Perth, there's always Mitre 10, Home Hardware and Makit.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Renewing Visa

Our 5 years Permanent Resident Visa is up. Basically it means that if you want to stay in Aus without leaving the shores, you're fine since you are considered a permanent resident but you need to apply for a Return Visa if you want to go out of the country for a walk.

The process couldn't be any easier if you've fuflfilled the basic requirements which is live in Aus for the last 2 out of 5 years. All you do is go online, fill in the online form, pay using Visa and voila you get the visa which is valid for another 5 years.