Girls' Weekend Getaway

Back: Holly, Debbie, Kate, Alexis, Me (Kitty), Peta

Front: Sara (birthday girl), Huibee, Jen, Sherron, Aimee

Over the weekend, I went with a bunch of girls to Anglesea, a small town on the Great Ocean Road, about an hour and a half drive from Melbourne. We were celebrating Sara's birthday at her dad's beach house. I had another handful of great moments of realizing what wonderful friends I've made here. That, followed by other moments, like at 2 am, trying to sleep, wondering just how I came to have so many friends who love to sing George Michael songs at the top of their lungs on a home karaoke machine? There was lots of eating and drinking, dancing and singing, spa visits and pedicures, a music festival and gorgeous walk on the beach.

The washed-up seaweed didn't smell so good, but it was fun to poke around in the tide pools and find little creatures.

When we were packing the car, Aimee (shown above), who is on our pub quiz team, and one of the first friends we made in Melbourne, got hurt. She jambed her little finger on some luggage and it stayed bent, something like this:

She said it didn't hurt but it was pretty freaky to look at. We discussed her medical care options on the ride home and agreed that the emergency room at the public hospital would be crowded and that they'd treat every single other person but her first. She eventually called a nurses-on-call hotline and they said it was important that she get treated right away, so she did go to the ER. "Mallet finger" is apparently very common. It's caused by the tendon slipping off its place on the bone. If the splint doesn't get it back in place by tomorrow, she will have to have a minor surgery to repair it.

We also had a giant stick stuck under Debbie's car on the way home...it made a terrible noise and we were guessing it was a fan belt, that would surely lead to engine overheating and, quickly after that, explosion, then death. What a relief to find it was only a stick. All that great relaxing and then a stressful last few hours.

Next weekend, we're going on a canoe trip through wine country. Summer is winding down and we can only hope for great weather like we had this past weekend. I have to buy camping gear for this trip, which makes me want to buy a car to use to buy camping gear. Stay tuned for mammoth purchase updates.