What A Christmas Day Feast!

Hello World,

Well, they say every dog has its day and I had mine on Christmas Day! With all the Scottish visitors, great summer weather and yachts on the harbour, we went all-out to make it a memorable day - and it was!

Firstly, a few of the neighbours prepared an absolute feast for lunch! Freshly shucked oysters, prawns and Tasmanian crayfish as an entree, followed by boned, wood roasted turkey with mushroom, bacon and pine nut stuffing, wood roasted vegetables, barbecued butterfly lamb, barbecued salmon, and lots of pudding!

Of course this was all matched by some great French and Australian wines (well, lots actually). After all this was over everyone had to dance off such a great meal and the party went on late into the night.

I don't want to brag, but I did look my best! Visited the beauty parlour a week before Christmas where I had my beard trimmed, skirt combed, and ears trimmed - very sexy! On Christmas Day I wore my special red and green tartan collar with gold trim ribbon and everyone admired me greatly!

Boxing Day was fairly quiet as I rested on the couch watching the cricket between Australia and England, as well as the Sydney-Hobart yacht race start. I don't know much about yachts but they were very spectacular sailing out of Sydney Harbour.

The day before New Year's Eve I was struck down by a viral infection. Sadly, that ended the party season although I did sneak down to the Taste of Tasmania food festival for a couple of hours, just to see the yachts and enjoy some great food.

It's a tough life being a Scottie here in Australia, but as they say, someone has to do it!

Cheers until next time.

Now, THAT was a party!

Hello World,

Well, I must confess it has taken a couple of days to struggle out of bed and back to the computer to bring you up to date with the latest happenings here in Tasmania.

It's fair to say our neighbourhood Christmas party was a resounding success. I tell you, these Aussies and us Scots are a wild bunch when put together.

As I thought, my pizza plan was perfect. Lots of toppings were dropped on the ground and I was right there to catch it! The smoked salmon with goats cheese was my favourite - although the potato, rosemary and garlic came a close second.

I really recommend a woodfired oven like we have in the courtyard. The pizzas are fantastic - even if a wee girl like myself only gets to taste the scraps.

Anyway, everyone ate lots of pizza, drank too much alcohol and danced the night away - it was lots of fun, although we nearly had a blue between neighbours! (That's Aussie slang for a BIG argument!)

That would have livened things up a big, but then everyone decided dancing and having fun was prefereable to a "domestic" (typical Aussies).

Anyway, must go now - off to the beach today to enjoy the first days of our warm summer.

PS: Am I REALLY the only dog online with my own blog? I'd love to hear from any other canine who's as smart as I am.

Hello Again,

Well, life is getting pretty interesting here in Tasmania. You see, we're hosting the neighbourhood Christmas Party later this week and we need music ... that means downloading stuff ... and guess what!

The Boss (that's what she thinks anyway) doesn't know much about this technology stuff. For a wee Scotty dog like myself that means I can't just snooze under the desk. I have to be ready to jump out of the way as she hurls things around.

I'm not quite sure, but I don't think bashing the computer and yelling at it is really the way to get it to work - I sure wouldn't co operate if she tried that on me!

Anyway, back to the Christmas Party. In our courtyard we have a pizza oven. Yep, a proper Italian woodfired oven, so it's not hard to guess what's on the menu for the party.

I don't want you to think I'm obsessed by food, but the deal is the neighbours have to make their own pizzas. As they don't have much practice, a lot of pizza ends up on the pavers and, well, someone has to clean it up!

So that's it from me for today. One last tip though. If you're looking to download any music I have posted details of the best site at the top. (Believe me, I now know ALL about these things!)

Hello World!

I'm a wee Scottish Terrier who lives on a small island at the bottom of Australia called Tasmania. I live with my owner in Hobart in a house on a hill overlooking the harbour. There is a nice big deck where I can stand and bark at everyone who goes past.

Actually, my mates living across the road and I usually have a barkoff each afternoon - just being friendly and telling each other what our crazy human family has been up to!

Here in Australia we're gearing up for the summer holidays. Tasmania is a great place in summer - just after Christmas we have the Sydney-Hobart yacht race - one of the world's great ocean classics.

To celebrate we also have a week long food and wine festival. What's even better though is that the days are very long with lovely long twilight evenings ... and that means lots of barbecues!

Barbecues are good because they mean a wee thing like me can get under the table and grab anything that falls off a plate.

The whole clan is coming over from Scotland for Christmas so we should have lots of fun. Unfortunately, it also means I have to look my best so I suppose I'll be carted off to the salon for a "proper" haircut - I'd much rather be at the beach.

Anyway, must go now and I will tell you more in a few days about our great lifestyle here in Tasmania.

By the way, if any other dog out there is smart enough to have their own blog, I'd love to hear from you!