Send my friend to Australia!

There's a job opening for the Australian tourism board right now. They send you over to live on an island beach for six months as the "Island Caretaker," and periodically you send reports to the Queensland tourist bureau about how fabulous life is there.

I have no desire to do this job. My good friend Tonya, on the other hand, is dying to do it.

If you go to this link you'll get to watch her short video and vote for it. Everyone who applies has to submit a video and the most popular get shortlisted for the job. Vote early, vote generously, and vote often, from different computers if you can.

Horse girl says, "Squee!"

Sunday last (Feb. 8th) I did a lovely thing on a whim--I spent my weekly grocery budget and went to see the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions perform. And I got a really great seat for my not-much money, too! There were two rows of folding chair on the actual floor, a tiny half wall, and then the first row of stadium seats. I was in that first row. So I had a better view (I think) than the people on the floor, because I was just slightly raised.

I took pictures with my cell phone, which basically means, you can tell those white blurs are horses, but not much else. Nonetheless I share them with you. And a very brief video of a couple of the more spectacular "Airs Above the Ground" if I can figure out how to add it. I was trying to be a bit surreptitious, so they're kind of truncated, but still impressive. I really should go to more things like this. I had plenty of food to last the week without that money and I have a wonderful memory. I love when money goes toward experiences!