A short jaunt up the road…

 

We started the day heading to Agnes Waters.  We stopped into Bundaberg and had a look around which isn’t really all that far from where we live.  But there was a few things to see.

A trip to Bundaberg isn’t complete without a trip to the Rum Distillery.  We signed on for a tour of the distillery and even got to have a taste test at the end of it.

And not being connoisseurs of rum, we chose the next best thing SARSPARILLA!!!  And let’s face it, Bundaberg has the BEST SARS in the world!!

 

We ended the day down by the beach at Agnes Waters.  We’ll head up to 1770 tomorrow am, but we’re in for a BIG drive tomorrow as well.  Everyone is asleep as I write this.

 

We had dinner/dessert at the local pub and this one’s for you Bobbie.  Pam nearly had a heart attack as this “Killer” bug (a rhino beetle) froze her in position with it’s menacing glare.  Those are my sunglasses next to it.  Yep..yep,…yep…yep…we grow em’ big here in Queensland.

 

 

Well, tomorrow’s going to be a big day so I’m off to bed to get some sleep.

The local “Hervey Bay” tour-- taking in a bit of history along the way.

The in-laws have arrived. And here we are catching up with all the goss after dinner.

 

 

Al and Heather left for home early this morning and the rest of us headed in to town for the “Hervey Bay” tour.

 

One of the highlights is the Urangan Pier where the occasional fisherman is hanging around to catch the ‘big’ one.

 

 

View out to the marina from the esplanade as we checked out the local history.

 

 

 

We stopped at the local pub for some lunch and then took a walk down to Queen’s Park and along the Mary River.

 

 

 

 

Here we have a Strangler Fig providing some shade in the park.

 

 

 

As we walked along the Mary River checking out the history of Maryborough, we came across……

 

 

some of these little guys feasting on the berries of an Umbrella tree.  Rainbow Lorikeets make a racket, but they are some of the prettiest parrots you’ll ever see.

 

 

You can almost feel the ambience of the place when you see the local gazebo that’s still in use today.

 

And once we finished our little walk around the historical part of town, we drove by this magnificent old dame to show Pam and Ron the architecture that Queensland is famous for.

 

Well, we’re now preparing for our trip tomorrow.  Plants are being watered, dog is being walked, clothes are being washed, and last minute packing is being accomplished.  We’re almost ready now.

A funny thing happened when I woke up this morning…..

You ever have one of those dreams that when you wake up, you’re reminded about it throughout the day?

Well, I’ve been having thoughts about getting another cat. I feel it’s time now.  I don’t know why, but I do.  So I woke up this morning with kittens on my mind.  And when I opened the curtains I spotted a  sleek black cat across the street, wandering through the neighbour’s garden.  And later on this morning, Chris mentioned something about kittens from what he was reading on the internet.  Yesterday, I watched a movie, Three Coins in a Fountain.  One of the ladies there was given a fluffy white kitten.

I’ve never really had good luck with cats, except for Georgie.  Georgie found us.  She was only six months old and decided to stay.  I didn’t get her spayed in time so she had her kittens a few months later.  She trusted me so much, that she actually had her kittens in the loungeroom at my feet.  The vet said most cats only have 3 or 4 kittens on their first litter.  Not my Georgie, she had 6!!  We did find homes and we kept a couple of girls as well.  Well, at least I THOUGHT they were girls.  When I went to have them desexed, the vet rang in the afternoon and said, “Uh, Mrs. Earixson?” “We have some good news and some bad news for you.” I said, “Okay” She said, “the bad news is that the cats are not female, but male.  The good news is that it’s only $175 for neutering.”  Sadly, we lost one cat to cat fever, and the other went out one day and never came home.  But Georgie stayed with us for 16 yrs.  She DID at one stage go missing for 8 months, but once she made her way back home, she stayed with us until her passing. 

And now the games begin.  “No”  I can’t have one yet because……..blah blah blah blah blah.  Well, I know Chris has been wanting to get another dog too.  So we may end up getting not only a kitten, but a new puppy as well.  And I can tell you now, it’s nothing to do with the “empty nest” syndrome either.  All of the kids have been out of the house for a while now.  I guess with all of the projects out of the way, we need something to occupy us.

Well,  we will be away for a little while.  That will give us some time to really think about this.  But ….aren’t they so CUUUUTE!!!

Update before the big day.

Rain, Rain, go away.  While it’s still raining off and on around here, the ground is very spongy.  And judging by the spider lilies bent over, perhaps too well.  We have a mini lake in the front yard…..

 

and a mini lake in the BACKyard.   Well, living in the sub tropics has it’s advantages…but it also has it’s disadvantages…like the heat and the humidity that come with it.  Sitting around 28/29 deg. C, with 90% humidity makes for a very uncomfortable day.

Chris has left for a couple of days and I’ve got the Scout for driving.  Yes,..he took the BRUMBY OLD LANDCRUISER!!!  and left me this lovely DEEluxe Scout.  Hopefully, it doesn’t cause me too many problems.   Both cars have been worked on, so it should be okay.

Well, Rob’s wedding is coming closer now and we’re almost all ready to go. 

Rally day around the neighbourhood.

Our idea of our neighbourhood is roughly a 100 klm radius.  So when the Scout club announced a Rally day in and near Gunalda, we accepted this chance to see our ‘backyard’.  And because this is the I.H. SCOUT Club, normally we would have brought the Scout.  Unfortunately, our scout has leaking issues and a problem with the carburettor (which is getting fixed tomorrow), so we took the T..T..T..Toyota Landcruiser instead. 

The day started out beautifully.  We stopped for a Macca’s coffee and headed south.

Our starting point was Bill Roddau Park.  There were six vehicles in all, but only one Scout.  We arrived 40 minutes early.

 

Chris and Steve were chatting while we waited for the last few people to arrive. Once we had everybody there, papers were handed out with questions about some of the things were going to see along the way.

The road was narrow and the sky was wide.  The rains finally cleared up to a typical Queensland day.

 

 

This is one of the earlier bridges built in 1886 which was not only used for cars, but for trains carrying livestock and crops to sell.

 

 

As our car clackety clacked across the bridge, we stopped at the park on the other side and walked around having a better look.

Once our information for the rally was taken, we gathered up the crew and headed into a little tiny town called Miva. 

 

 

There we stopped at the local cemetery to get some answers to the questions on our sheets.

 

 

This little cabin was leftover from the 1800’s as well.  Many farmers build newer houses on their properties and just leave the original homestead as an out building.

 

At the end of the rally we stopped in at Theebine Hotel for a counter(a countery) lunch.  We also found another car rally group and I couldn’t resist taking their photo.  Each car was done up very nicely too.

This is our group who attended the rally.  Thanks guys for a really great day~!

 

 

We had a wonderful day out today.  The weather was beautiful, the company was fun, and the BBQ lunch was memorable.  I wouldn’t mind doing this on a regular basis.  I love exploring.

The landscaping is done.

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Hey, …I LIKE this.  I was experimenting and came across this handy little gadget.  These are pictures of our house while we were landscaping the yard.  Well, it’s DONE!  We have officially finished the landscaping.  The fence which took the longest, is completed, the garden beds are done, and the planting of many trees are done.  Woohoo!!!  We’re now waiting on the rains to establish growth.  I’ve been meaning to take some current pictures, but the weather is so bad, that it would never do it justice.  But once the weather clears up, I’ll take the finished product.  The grass has certainly covered A LOT more area since these shots too!

Well, I’ve been rather remiss in writing on the blog.  We’ve been working in the yard, hence the photos,.. and we’ve been down to Jenny’s place helping them out with some more of their renovation work.  We just got back the other day and now we’re making plans for the year.

Our next trip coming up will be in March where we will start heading up to Cairns to see Robert and Casey get married.  We’ve got our clothes ready for the occasion AND we’ve started taking dancing lessons.  The waltz was a bit tricky for Chris, but we’ve nailed the Rumba down.  Of course, we’re not as professional as those you see on “Dancing with the stars” or” So you think you can dance”, but we do have the VERY basic steps down.   It’s certainly been a lot fun too.

After arriving home from Jenny’s house, I’ve been inspired to really get committed to losing weight too.  So I’ve checked out a local gym and I’ve yet to check out the local swimming pool for an Aqua aerobics class.  So I’ll keep you posted on the success of that.

We’re off tomorrow on a 4WD rally with the Scout club.  Unfortunately, we’re not able to take the Scout.  The windscreen of the Scout has not been sealed yet and the last time we took it out, I ended up holding a cloth and a cup to catch the water as it poured out of the screen.  Also, the carburettor needs looking at.  So it’s the ‘brumby ol’ cruiser we’ll be taking.

As things unfold around here, I’ll start writing a bit more often.

Holding off the weeding ..for a trip down memory lane.

So here I am trying to avoid doing any more weeding than I have to.  So I thought I would trot down memory lane.

After some weeding this morning, I laid down on the bed and all I saw was more weeds in my mind’s eye, but then I opened them up and I saw our wedding photograph on the dresser.  We were so young. (sigh)

 

After some discussion about the wedding, the reception, the photographer,  and where the picture was taken, Chris headed outside to finish the fence off and I dodged the weeding to write in the blog. (hehehe)

This week has been interesting.  Sadly, at the beginning of the week, we had to put our poodle, Tillie, down.  She was 13 yrs old.  She had some complications with her hip.  One of the hardest things about having a pet is making that decision to put them down.  Bella, who sleeps through most days, didn’t seem to mind.  She too, took a trip to the vet who gave her a clean bill of health except for age.  She does need to trim down and her ball-throwing days are over.  Gentle walks around the neighbourhood are in order, along with a trimmer diet.  But Tillie will be missed.

And after making contact with a long lost school pal, some memories of school came flooding in.  Mind you, most of them are vague moments of time, but as I read the names on the school list, the names jumped out as I exclaimed to myself, “I know that person!”  and you wonder what’s been happening to them in the last thirty years.  Some are only names and i have a hard time putting faces to those names, but they’re the people who were in that stage of my life with me.  School was fun and the only time it wasn’t fun was exam time.  But the kids were great and the memories too.

And this week we also had Austar put in.  That’s Pay TV or cable or whatever you call it.  And we were so excited to see what we’ve been missing.  And of course, when you start up, you get LOADS of channels to explore.  And after about a week of Austar, I’ve come to realize, that most of the movies we wanted to watch weren’t on it, and much to Chris’s chagrin, I’ve become an avid Star Trek fan again.  So I’ve come to realize that we primarily watch the SciFi channel and the Documentary channel, OR spend most of our time SURFING the channels while listening to some jazz music.  Some how this is NOT what I envisioned.  I’m sure we’ll work it out.

For myself, this week,  the call came by way of my doctor to SERIOUSLY  look at my diet.  My cholesterol shot up over the past year and with my lack of daily exercise, it was time for an overhaul.  So no more chocolate, no more butter, no more 2% milk, no cheese, no bacon, and no more ice cream and pastries.  I’ve done pretty good so far, but I still need to get more exercise in and “WEEDING IS NOT EXERCISE'”, so I’m told.

So with that in mind, I’m off for a bike ride.  I’ve done SOME weeding today and I’ve got the blisters to prove it, but for now, it’s a leisurely stroll around the ‘hood’.  I will be so glad when autumn and winter come back in.

Renovations continue…..

The renovations continue after our layover at Jenny’s house.  Mind you, that layover consisted of two cars going down to Jenny and Scott’s house filled with tools, supplies, and dogs,  to help them out with their deck.  It took both vehicles to drop off all of the tools those two carpenters were going to need.  And of course, Cody made HIS appearance October 23rd, a week before we got there.  So while Chris and Scott worked on the deck, Grandma was ‘hanging out’ with the grandkids.  And once Chris was finished with HIS part of the deck, we returned home and started back up with our own fence.

This is the place  where I’ve been doing MY part of the painting.  With the music blasting away and the cool breezes flowing through, it’s been great.

 

This is the final on the back fence.  All that gravel you see, is going out the other side near the water tank. 

 

As you can see there’s very little grass anywhere and the Leopard tree is still standing alone.

 

 

Chris worked in the hot sun spraying the bulk of the fence with the same colour as the house.  Those dark patches are where the insets are going to be.  Chris has already cut those out and they’re ready for pulling apart.  So more painting and carpentering ahead.

This little section here doesn’t look like much but in the sweltering sun and about 10 wheelbarrowfuls of gravel, I darn near doubled over. Do you KNOW how much each of those pavers WEIGH?!  “Great exercise” I told myself.  I kept having to stop and rest, but Chris took pity on me and gave me a hand. (after he fixed the floor in the boat, set up the water hose, and fixed the water pump. What can I say, I’m a wuss) We ran out of gravel and ordered some more in, but the next batch we received, wasn’t the same thing.  So we’ll have to take some from the back yard now and spread it out here.  But we can only go so far because…..

 

THIS is a problem.  there’s water coming out from under the pathway.  And it’s one of THOSE situations where you contact the builder who built the house two years ago.  They in turn contact the NEW plumber they’re using, who doesn’t WANT to fix the problem from the OLD plumber and this new plumber had already BEEN out once to fix the problem and it’s disconnected from the elbow joint again.  AND on top of all of this, it’s CHRISTMAS time which means the plumber is flat out trying to get other jobs done before they stop work. This problem means that we’re not getting any water to our tank which is shown in the above picture.  But!  thank goodness, our regular plumber has come to the rescue and is fixing the problem as I write this.

I started pulling weeds late yesterday afternoon.  I’ve got one patch done and a WHOLE LOT  more to do yet.  Once that’s done, we’ll top dress and then water the heck out of it.  The young agapanthas are doing fine and as you see, the Jacarandas are doing fine too.

One thing I have noticed, is that because it’s hot and humid and it’s only the BEGINNING of summer, we need to develop a different strategy.  Like starting EARLY in the morning, ( like 5am or 6am), and then finishing mid morning.  I just have to get myself psyched up to get UP that early.  (Okay, I TRIED that method, but couldn’t function so I  took two Panadol and drank two glasses of water and went back to bed) 

Good news though! We finished the back passageway before lunch today!!  We’re off to get a planter and some bamboo/palms to plant.  MORE GREEN!! 

Well, that’s what’s been happening in the neighbourhood at Hervey Bay.  With Christmas coming up next week, we’ll be making plans for catching up with family and friends.  I wish everybody a Happy and Wonderful Christmas and we’ll see you in the New Year!

Changing the look while we wait.

I haven’t written on the blog for a while.  We’ve been working around the house and between the tradesmen coming and going, we’ve been making plans and fixing things.

Today, we planted our very first tree.  It’s a leopard tree which is similar to a jacaranda, without the blossoms.  We hemmed and hawed over which tree to get and decided on this one.  This particular tree went in the backyard which will give us wonderful shade all year round.

And as we wait for Master Cody to make his appearance in this world, we’ve gone as far as we can on the fence before starting another section.  So yesterday,  we checked out the local landscaping and nurseries around here.  We’re just getting ideas for the moment, but decided it was time to plant at least ONE tree.  So between the Lemon Myrtle, the Tibuana Tipu, and the leopard tree, we decided on the Leopard tree.  And while it may look like a “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree, it will eventually blossom out and practically fill the yard.

This week, we’ve had the concrete painters here.  The design that we had before, didn’t seem to suit the house, so we’ve changed it.

We changed from “Truffle” brown to “Charcoal” black and put a diamond pattern in.

 

And Chris got to that point where he was on to the next section of the fence.  Not knowing which way to go.  Jenny’s due any day now and we’ve been waiting for that expected phone call where we drop everything and run. So he’s been tackling the fence section by section.

And after talking to Jenny this afternoon, it looks like Cody isn’t going to arrive until later this week.  So Chris started the next section of the fence and will start on another section tomorrow.

I’m not able to do anything at the moment.  So I’ve been writing the Christmas cards up, posing a Christmas letter, and general ‘doing’ stuff, like making sure the washing is up to date, a bit of crocheting, a bit of reading..etc..I know, it’s a hard life but somebody has to do it. (hehehe)

Well, as you can see, things are RAPIDLY changing..(See Chris, I said “RAPIDLY'' changing.) around here and we all seem to be in some sort of limbo waiting for this grandchild to make his appearance.  Clothes are packed, toys are packed, computer bags are ready, dogs are vaccinated and washed.  We’re good to go.  The rest of this stuff can wait til later.  In the meantime, I’ll keep going over the gardening magazines for ideas and inspiration.  I might even make the Christmas list out and wrap a few presents.  We’ll keep you posted on the arrival.

Renovations are slowly coming together.

This is Mr. Fencer.  He’s a really sweet guy and he’s been very busy this week. He has finished one side fence and there’s three more to do.  He’s having to work around …

 

 

 

 

 

these guys.  The cementers have the foundations for the shed done, and now the driveway is being completed. The framing guy comes Monday to set the “garaport” up. This will not only provide a shelter for the dogs, but a shelter for the Scout AND a workspace for Chris.

And in the meantime, we have a brick fence going up in the front yard.  They’re coming back on Monday too, to finish off.

 

So our renovations are slowly coming together.  I’ve picked out trees and plants, for the most part.  And as you can see, this place is hot and dry, so we’ll need plants to suit this weather and drought conditions.

(This all brings back a sense of deja vu when Mom and Dad moved in to Cerritos.)

We’ve ‘made do’ with a Christmas tin on the post for the mailman.  It’s only for a few more days and we won’t have to worry about the weather.

So as every thing slowly comes together, I watch with anticipation.  My job will soon start.  I’m the “painter” lady.  Good thing I kept my ‘paintin’ clothes JUST for this occasion. 

A simple life in the ‘burbs’.

Well, this week, we’ve said goodbye to “Miss Daisy” and hello to a boat. The boat is an 18ft catamaran.  A good fishing and whale watching boat.   Miss Daisy, who was given to a good home,  will be sadly missed.  But it’s time now for us to explore our own backyard and a boat will be required for doing that.

Chris, with his ‘CEO hat’,  has been doing his thing in organizing all the tradesmen to set this, that, and the other thing up.

  We have the extra kitchen cupboards done so the kitchen now LOOKS finished, we just have to wait on the desk now.  The plumber has connected the water to the fridge, the slab for the shed is down and the shed gets completed next week.  The fence palings have been delivered and stacked ready for fixing. And the backyard looks like a construction site.   And, after many trips around the neighbourhood, It has taken us two weeks to sort out what we want to do with the fence, but we finally got there.  And we’ve also got an idea for what to plant in the front yard now.

We picked up Rob’s Scout for him at the beginning of the week.  He’ll be here this weekend to pick up “Doodle” (Doodle?!  are you serious?!!)  But it will be nice to see both him and Casey this weekend and weather permitting, our first day out in the boat should be excellent.

We had a lovely dust storm come through yesterday, but you wouldn’t know it.  With us being in a new estate and a new house being built across the street AND with no vegetation to stop the flow of dirt, the layer of dirt INSIDE the house is the norm around here.  I figured it was time for a clean up when I could write my name on the kitchen table and the CLEAN spots on the floor was where you had been walking.

I’ve started riding my bike again.  Although with the gusty winds this week, I missed my ride on Wednesday, but today is looking pretty good.  Even Chris has bought a new bike so we can enjoy rides down to the esplanade together.  I just have to convince him to RIDE down to the esplanade, not drive there.  It’s not THAT far!    And I’m also working on the photo album, sorting out which pictures to use.  My aunt and uncle sent some old sepia photos of my family, which I’ve printed and hung on the walls.  Now, I’m just sorting out the photos from our trip.

So as you can see, while we wait for our new grandson to arrive, we’re keeping busy.  Even the dogs are enjoying the hustle and bustle of ‘tradies’ going in and out of the backyard.

Now when did THAT happen?

So here we were, running around like mad chooks trying to get furniture in, unpack boxes, get the electrician, the plumber, and the kitchen guys organized, all the while trying to clean up the caravan to sell. 

Well, we’ve sold the caravan.(woohoo!) The plumbers, electrician, and kitchen guys have already been.  The boxes are unpacked and ALL of the furniture is here.  And then arrives Jenny, Scott, and Camille for a visit to Papa and Grandma’s house.

The buzz of their visit started well before they arrived.  Both Chris and I were all hyped up for their visit.  The kids arrived about an hour after the kitchen guys left.  We all sat down to dinner and the talking didn’t stop until we all went to bed.  Catching up on this and that.

The following day we showed them around Hervey Bay.  We had a nice lunch of fish and chips, a play in the park for Camille, and a great walk down the jetty.  We were all very tired, but the only ones who got any naps was Papa and Grandma!  I’m just not sure if it was the sun and fresh air or the relaxation  after all of the unpacking and organizing we did, but we finished the day off with a BBQ and the boys watching the finals on the Rugby League while  us girls played a game of Scrabble.

But this morning, it happened.  The kids left…and there was this silence.   And it was in THAT moment that I realized that I’m in the same situation  LIKE MY GRANDPARENTS!  That whirlwind energy of the kids and grandkids coming in to the house  making it hard to focus on the many conversations around me and then that silence when they’re were gone, leaving me with those feelings of being old fashioned, (which to me is really a sign of being relaxed and comfortable).  And when did this happen that I’m not able to keep up with the conversations?   I can remember being able to listen to each child’s request for what kind of sandwich they wanted while  AT THE SAME TIME  listening to my husband call out for something he needed in another room, all the while listening for the dog that might get the postie as he drove by,  AND waiting for the baby to wake up.  This morning my husband asked me if I wanted a cuppa and while I HEARD him, I didn’t register that he was talking to me.  Is this a sign of getting old or do I just need some vitamins?  My focus doesn’t seem to be as good as it once was, but for the life of me, I don’t know whether to put it down to discipline or age.  The art of conversation seems to have disappeared from me and I’m not sure why.  Is THIS a sign of getting old or that I need to get out more?  Where did all my energy GO?!  hmmm…  So,  while Papa is curled up on the couch for a nap and I type away on the computer, I contemplate my situation.  Maybe I’m just going through a transition period from parent to grandparent.  Maybe I just need to get out there and do more exercise and meet people.  Who knows?  But for the moment, at least I can gather my thoughts and focus on writing this blog. 

A pause for reflection

Chris and I are relaxing this morning.  As the movers put the last of the boxes in to the house yesterday, our house began to look smaller and smaller.  (It looked so BIG when there wasn’t a stick of furniture in it.)  And last night, it dawned on me.  This move is really different.  We don’t have any kids on this move.  I don’t have to get drinks and food for everybody in between the unpacking of boxes.  No more excited noises about what they’re going to do in the THEIR bedroom.  No more chattering. I didn’t have to put the kids to bed last night or worry about the school run this morning.   This is the first time in 28 years that we’ve moved WITHOUT any kids. (sigh)  I don’t whether to be excited or sad.

At any rate, we’re both sitting here relaxing with boxes stacked up around us, not having to worry about kids going to school or getting the unpacking done quickly so we can go back to work.  It’s an odd feeling.

And while our minds are spinning around in circles with all of the things we need to get done, I just can’t quite focus on ONE thought.  I’ve made a list out and we’re slowly going through that,… along with adding to the list as we go along.

So today, we’re off to restock the fridge and pantry…oh! and get another set of drawers for our clothes.  For the life of me, I don’t remember having so many clothes before!  Hopefully, I can still fit into them.  I stepped on the scales yesterday and was horrified that I’d gained 7 kgs while away. (that’s 15lbs!!)  And Chris already knows that he’s gained weight.  How much?….don’t know,.. he’s afraid to step on the scales to find out.  So our diet may..I mean WILL.. need changing.

And now if you will excuse me,..I need to start unpacking some more boxes.