Yay it's my b'day!!! Bloody 35 already, where has my life gone. Feels like the last ten years have flown by, especially the last 16 months. Yep that's right, we've been on the road for 16 months now, only seems like yesterday that we left. On my last b'day we were in Atherton Tablelands in QLD with our dearest friends from Cape York, Angie and Rod. Oh how the time flies....
Well the last three days haven't been so good. Marty has been really annoyed with me since my rowdy night on arrival at the caravan park. It has also been sweltering and we have become a bit distant l suppose you could say. A few things have come out that Marty doesn't want to be here. Don't know what to do as we are broke and need the money and l have guareebted full time work. Needless to say, my thoughts of how our time in Alice might be isn't ending up as planned.
So getting back to my b'day. Well Marty and l had had a fight the night before and the tension and silence continued throughtout the day. I got an iPad 3 for my pressie which l have so desperately wanted for a while now. So grateful that l got one. Sick of doing the blog on my phone, squinting at the screen and so forth. Anyway, the day started off ok, it was tense but at least we were talking. Marty made me pancakes for brekkie and then we packed the car and headed into town to Araluen Cultural Precinct for the morning. This place was great! We got to see some amazing local, and expensive, aboriginal art work in the gallery. Some of the pieces were the size of a small wall and fetching $10-20,000 each!! We also saw some great pieces by legendary Albert Namatijira that was showcased in a special collection viewing area. We then headed to another gallery which had a lot of taxidermy displayed of local animals and reptiles, really spectacular. Upstairs was a lot of local history showcased, especially relating to Hermannsberg, which is famous in this area for being the birthplace of Albert Namatijira and also the mission that was founded by a German in the 1880's. It was really interesting reading about the mission and how a local aboriginal man who was blind, named blind Mosses, brought about change and acceptance of the aboriginal people by the German preacher. Although there were some great stories told at the gallery, the aboriginal massacre was also showcased too. It was sad to learn the story of how many aboriginals were chased and slaughtered by white man, including woman and children. But we are here to learn by the past stories to stop tragedies like that occurring today, right? After leaving the air conditioned gallery we strolled outside in the heat were Meg turned on us and started sooking. We tried to have a look at the plane hanger and see the history of the plane service founded in Alice, but Meg just didn't stop whining about food and the heat. So that in turn got Marty and l grumpy again at one another. We finished up and headed home where the day kept taking turns for the worse. I felt for Amanda and Mark having to be around it, must have been a tad uncomfortable. They did try and make the day feel special though. She got me a beautiful pair of earrings and a heartfelt card. Sadly, the rest of the day was spent being grumpy and a little sad, and we ended up going out for dinner at Bojangles Saloon Bar later on. I've been been dying to go out to this pub for ages and last time we were here we left it some could go with the Woods. Was nice to dress up, just wish Marty and l could have let gongs go for one day, especially today. Made the Woods feel uncomfortable and that upset me a little too. As soon as we stepped into Bojangles, it felt like we were back in time ten years ago when we were last here. It really hasn't changed that much. Still have the horse saddles up near the windows to sit on, pity they don't have the nuts that you could crack the shells and eat though. Anyway, the meal was delicious and although tension was evident vetween Marty and l, it was still a great night out. The kids all loved getting up on the saddles and looking at all memoriabillia on the walls. Funniest thing was when l took the girls to the toilet and l couldn't open the door. Was a quirky place remember and practical jokes are part of the saloon bar. I nearly went up to the bar man to ask when Boo showed me that l had to push on the other side to open. After the embarrassment l went to wash my hands and the tap l put on worked another spout. Confused the kids...lol. Totally hilarious, lightened my mood. Before leaving Amanda reluctantly agreed to get her photo with me on the horse saddles. Must have been a sight seeing us pull ourselves up on them. After a few more laughs (much needed) we had the cake then headed off down the street to a place called Eddies ice cream parlor. OMG! It was the best gelato l have had in ages, probably since Darwin l suppose, so not that long, but in any case, it was delicious! The kids loved it and also loved the free juke box which they put on and danced around everywhere. Lucky for us no one else was in the shop at the time. After stuffing ourselves silly with food, drink and icecream, another b'day was over. Thankfully at the end of it Marty and l were a little better.
Now the fun begins to knuckle down and earn some money. Start work on Saturday, bit nervous but excited all the same. The boss of ED, JB is fantastic, so am liking forward to learning new things and looking after the local people again. One of the main reasons, besides the Woods, for wanting to be in Alice again is that l didn't really enjoys work in Darwin so l wanted to end my NT working experience in Alice Springs. I loved it here last time so want end my nursing experiences in the NT with good memories. Fingers crossed Marty and l can get a bit better again and that this next few months pays off......

Bell Xxx