Why is it that when……

Why is it that when you mention that you’re on a diet you immediately get a craving for chocolate cake?

Why is it that when you plan a picnic, that’s the weekend it decides to rain?

Why is it that when you decide you want to read a book, your partner needs someone to talk to?

Why is it that when you sit down to eat dinner, the cat decides it’s time to go outside?

These questions were brought about because I had planned to take photos of Hervey Bay today and rain has settled in for the week.  Another day.

Christmas holiday on the Clarence……

Early in the year, our plans were to go to New Zealand.  However, after due consideration, (and finances),  we opted for taking a cruise on the Clarence River, near Grafton, NSW.  Our plans were to pick Camille up on the way through and we could spend some “quality” time with our granddaughter.

After an hour of catching up with Jen, we packed Camille’s things in and headed off.  Camille discovered my I-Pad and we now have LOTS of FREE games.  

 

We finally reached the spot where our houseboat was waiting for us and we all gathered our gear and with much talking and excitement, we boarded our home for the next 9 days.

This houseboat is the SAME EXACT one we had 20 years ago, when we took Jenny, Rob, & Lizzie when they were little.  A few alterations here and there, but the same boat.  We had a great time in this boat and we were excited about giving Camille a great experience too.

Well after a few lessons on what to do, where things are, and where you can go and where you can’t go on the river, we finally headed off.  We dropped anchor in Coldstream River which runs into the South Arm River.  It was isolated and protected from the winds.  The anchor struggled to hold us, but it finally grabbed and we were secured for the night.                                                                                                                 The first thing we did was throw the fishing line out. First fish of the trip, was a catfish, caught by me.  Camille wanted to hold it, but Papa said no, you can pet it’s belly before I throw it back in, so that started the trend of ‘petting’ the fish bellies, including eels.

 

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Camille was VERY impressed that Papa caught such a LARGE fish on the handline!  “Can I pet it’s belly?!” 

 

 

 

After a big breakky of bacon and eggs, we headed back up the river making our way to a little town called Maclean.

 

We stopped at a small sandbank to have some fun swimming and playing.  As we all piled into our floaties, we noticed that the anchor wasn’t holding, so Chris went back to the boat to secure it, and Camille and I stayed on the bank checking out the Pippie shells and small fish. 

Quiet time on the boat.

 

 

 

Camille’s keeping an eye on the ferry that crosses the river at Lawrence.  They were very friendly and even waved at Camille on the way through.

 

 

Time to pickup supplies at Maclean.  This is the same jetty where Jenny caught a huge Flathead when she was 12 years old.  Camille made friends along the river, inviting them in to see where she sleeps and maybe colour in her colouring books together.

 

 

 

View from the jetty at Maclean in the early morning.  The fog was lifting from the river.

 

There are quite a few trawlers that scour the river for prawns which are a popular dish for Christmas.

 

 

 

Papa teaching Camille how to fly a kite.  Once they were finished chasing the kite’s shadow, we stopped into the local pub for lunch, where Camille had her chicken nuggets and special fizzy drink.

 

 

The local rural Fire Brigade doing its bit for Christmas by having Santa toss handfuls of lollies to the kids at the park.  Chris and Camille just happened to be there at the right time.  Camille came back onto the boat with a shirt tail load of lollies.

 

We spent Christmas Day at Scotty’s sister’s house in the hinterland between Lismore and Ballina.  A house load of people greeted us with enthusiasm as we piled people & food into the home.

And as we starting leaving, the last minute photos were taken of the family members.  This one is of Jenny, Scotty, and grandkids.

Soon after we piled everyone back into the car and headed back to the houseboat where we settled in for the evening back on the South Arm River.

 

 

 

The next day was glorious as we headed up the South Arm River for a morning cuppa at a local restaurant while we waited for Scotty to arrive from his workplace.

Here, Cody and Mum are taking in the scenery as we head up river.

 

 

And then there was the incident with the kite being flown off the back of the boat, which then hit a high power line and disintegrated with sparks and popping.  As Chris frantically scrambled trying to get the kite to drop, it dissolved into nothing. Camille was horrified, Jenny yelled at dad to LET GO OF THE KITE!, but laughing at the same time, and Cody watched with dismay saying, “night, night, kite” .  All this being done while the driver of the boat (me) was none the wiser.                                   

Last day.  Early in the morning, Cody and Grandpa are enjoying a cup of coffee and hot cocoa while they watch the fish come to the surface and the ducks silently clean themselves for the start of the day.

 

 

 

Jenny’s excited as this is her first eel she caught.

 

 

 

We had a great time catching up with family and it was just the right amount of time spent too.  But now, it’s time to get back to work and get organized for the year ahead.

Charity Bike Run

Well, I did it. I made the 10 klm bike run last Sunday. I rode my bike down (7.5 klm)) to the office on Saturday, Sunday morning I rode (5 klm) to the start of the race, and then the 10klm run. The circuit ran along the esplanade and back along the Links Corridor, which is a bike path through town. Once back, I had a spot to eat and Chris popped the bike in the back of the car and we went home. The interesting thing was I noticed that it took me 50 mins. To do that and not even five minutes later, the leaders from the 26 klm run came in. What the? Hey, 50 minutes for 26 KILOMETRES?! Eek, I never thought I would be that slow. Hahaha.
I collected donations for the race, but now I realize that I could have driven myself to collect more. It was more like feeling my way through the waters, but then I realized how easy it really was.
I`d like to thank all the people who made a donation to the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Center.
All proceeds went straight to the center with a few more coming in by internet banking.
Next year I'd like to do the 26 klm run or better. In the meantime I just need to keep practicing.

Cycling continues….

Okay, since the last blog, I’ve maybe ridden a couple of times.  I tried Chris’s bike but his seat was super hard and I vowed never to use his bike again.  I rode a couple of times around the neighbourhood and on Sunday last, I rode about 12 klms.  I’m practicing for a charity bike run on October 16th, which is on a Sunday and it starts at 7am.  I’m going to do the 10klm run.  One of the other ladies at work cycles every morning and she’ll be doing the run as well, but she’s doing the big one at 64 klms, which is up hill and down dale.  But I’m not quite as experienced as she is, so I’m keeping mine a bit short.  I thought about doing the 26 klm run, which is the next one up, but I don’t think this little duck can make it.  But!  all in all, it’s really about getting money for the local neighbourhood center.  So!, I’m doing my bit.

I’ve thought about riding the bike to work in the mornings which is about 7 klms to and then it would be 7 klms home again.  Now THAT would get me up to speed!  But I haven’t quite grasped that one yet and with all these beautiful spring days, you’d think I would be busting to do this.  I have made all the excuses under the sun….” I slept in,… I don’t want to be sweaty when I get to work, …..I’ll just have a cuppa before I go,….”  well you get the picture.  So discipline isn’t my forte, but I’m WORKING on it.

Now tomorrow we have a meeting which starts at 7:30am, which means I’d have to leave at 6:30am to get there on time.  Hmmmm….can I do it?  Do I WANT to do it? and when I get there, where will I put the bike?….well these seem to be the questions I keep asking myself.  As NIKE said,..”JUST DO IT!”

And then there were two….

Well, I’m back on the bike again, and Chris came with me this morning.  So we did the usual circuit and both of us got a good run.  It really DOES get the endorphins going and you feel invigorated and alive.

I’m excited to go further tomorrow morning.  Chris is going to need a softer seat and some stretchy pants so he can be comfortable too.  I’ll have a look at the shops and see what I can find for him.  His bike LOOKS cool, but it’s REALLY uncomfortable.

And!!  I’ve started losing weight.  woohoo! Heading down the scales.

Dear diary…

Well, I’ve spent the last few days riding my bike in the mornings.  I missed this morning due to an early sales meeting, but I’ll go again tomorrow.

And what’s THIS?!  I’m GAINING weight?  How can this be?!!!!  Nooooo, it’s not supposed to do that.  Well, this is not going to put me off, so I’ll keep pushing it. 

I may have to start a little earlier though, as the last time I went my usual route, it only took me 20 minutes instead of 30.  So tomorrow I’ll try a different route.  I’m working my way out to the Esplanade and when I do I’ll take a photo of the sunrise.

And I even tried Chris’s bike and will never do that again.  Not only was the seat too high, but it has to be the most uncomfortable seat I’ve ever sat on.  The gears worked great, but when I went to get off the bike I lost my balance and nearly fell over.  No, I’ll stick to my “girls” bike with the big cushy seat.

Dear Diary….

I DID it!  I finally got on the bike and went for a ride. I didn’t get up at 6am but 6:30am.  It was very refreshing.  It was a bit cool outside, but the air was clear and the sun still low in the sky.  I coasted out on to the streets where it was silent in the estate, but you could hear the early morning traffic on the main road.  I rode by one of the lakes where there was about 50 Kookaburras, some ducks, and even the fish jumped away as they saw me come up.  I only went for 30 minutes but Chris and I are going to do another ride along the esplanade later today.  I can’t believe I finally did it.  It’s hard to change habits especially when you just want to sit in the warm house drinking a warm sweet coffee and play on the computer.  Tomorrow, I will need to do the same thing again.  If you’re going to break a habit it has to be consistent.

Dear Diary……

 

I’d like to say that this is the start of my new diet and lifestyle change, but …it’s not.  I’m about a week in and so far I’ve gained 2 kilos.  That might be because I ate  a half a packet of Tim Tams.  I didn’t even know I had eaten that much and was surprised.  But….I did and I gained.  So that was a discovery for me.  Tim Tams cause weight gain.  I’ve have lost those 2 kilos, so I’m back to where I started.  And the biggest thing I’ve realized is that I need exercise which I have yet to do.

I’ve been trying to psych myself to get up early in the morning so I can do a bike ride.  I’ve always envied people who are energetic so when I see people my age and older riding their bikes I sit and watch with envy.  So!  here I am writing about my journey into getting healthier.  And we all know that exercise is the key. 

Okay, I will pass on what many people do not know….I weigh 99 kilos.  I WAS up to 107, but that was due to my thyroid medicine not being correct.  So it’s now fixed up and my levels are right.  The rest now is up to me.  My goal weight is 78 – 80 kilos.

So wish me luck.  I’ve set my alarm for 6am and my dessert tonight consists of a bowl of fresh cherries and a camomile tea.

There’s conferences….and then there’s CONFERENCES!

   

If ever you were going to go to a conference, THIS is the place to go!

The others would disagree with me, but I loved it.

 

 

       

Lady Elliott Island.  Located 70 nautical miles from Hervey Bay.  It’s totally isolated…no phones, no TVs, no radios, no outside communication.  Well, it DID have a general phone, and it DID have A computer if you REALLY NEEDED it.  But generally speaking, no forms of communication.     Ray White held their Central Queensland Conference here.  And since we’re now part of the Ray White team, we went along as well. 

I loved it!  Chris didn’t MIND it, but he’s not open to going there again. ( along with many of the other agents who attended)

 

You see, when we arrived, we were told that it’s the mating season for many of these birds.  These little fellows are called Noddys. And there were several other species of birds as well.  But in total, there were over 1 MILLION birds  on the island.  Lady Elliott island is the only the size of maybe 5 city blocks, roughly.  That’s A LOT of birds!  And of course, with that comes the smell.  Most people held their noses until they got used to the smell.  I noticed it, but didn’t mind.  I’ve smelled worse, like dirty nappies, rubbish tips, tanneries, to name a few.  So THIS wasn’t too bad at ALL.  AND!  I brought my wide brimmed hat! (smile)

We were then guided out to the resort area while our luggage was sent off to our bungalows.  Going through the dining/bar area, this is what greeted us on the ‘other’ side…

Tropical paradise.  Lady Elliott Island is an island made of coral reef.  There is NO sand.  It’s just crushed coral.  The whole island is surrounded by coral reefs.  The clarity of the water is unsurpassed.  And once we got passed the “oohs and aahs”, we followed our guide around as he led us to our bungalows.  Once we settled in to our bungalow, we booked in, picked up our snorkel gear, and headed in to the conference hall.

Our lead in to the conference was interesting for some, boring for others, depending on your own position within the company.  I for one, usually get something out of these even if it’s a tidbit that will improve my performance.  So I’m usually encouraged.

The first part only went for one hour to reconvene later that night.  By this time, it was lunch, so we headed off to the dining room first and had lunch over looking this beautiful reef.

 

 

After lunch, we geared up and headed out to the boat to get to outer reef edge.  Sorry, but there’s no pictures of old fat people in snorkel gear.  This is where “old people’s talk” starts.  My knee held up while paddling around in the water.  Mostly, because I used my left leg most of the time or my arms to paddle along.  And NO, I didn’t swim around in circles.  (smile)  Chris wrenched his hip while putting his flippers on.  Afterwards, we found out that he had one of MY flippers and one of HIS flippers and it was tough trying to put on the small size that wouldn’t fit.  And while the boat is bobbing around on the swell, it was tough going.  Some aspirin later on helped.  I didn’t notice that I had on two different sizes either, otherwise I could have saved him the trouble. 

Back to the story….the snorkelling was FABULOUS!  We saw HUGE sea turtles, manta rays, fish that you would LOVE to have on the end of your fishing line.  The colours of the coral were great.  There were little “Nemo” fish (clown fish) Angel fish, and a myriad of other marine life.  It was great.  I could just float around all day.

But, it was time to come in.  Dinner time was coming up and we needed to get ready for the next session.

 

 

Just as the sun was setting on the other side of the island, we waited and chatted a while until the dining hall was open and queued up on the buffet.

Once session two was completed, some headed for the bar, others headed back to their bungalows.  Chris and I made our way back to the bungalow dodging birds in our path.  The noise was almost deafening.  There were two birds on our deck cooing out to any females that might be flying about.  I don’t know if you’ve ever seen any bats or not, but the amount of birds that were flying around, it was like the volume of a bat colony.  The noise was extremely loud especially in the night air.  Chris and I settled in to our bed and another jolt.  The bed AND pillows were firm.  I mean EXTREMELY firm.  These old fat bodies were used to cushy comfort with foam underlays, a woollen overlay, and squishy pillows, so THIS!  was a little uncomfortable.  And those that drank heavily probably never felt a THING!  In the middle of the night those little birds who were cooing so softly started screaming like babies and screeching….ALL NIGHT……LONG!  it didn’t stop until morning.  And the morning…….despite not getting much sleep…….

The following morning was absolutely glorious!  Chris and I headed down to the water’s edge.  Chris talked to one of the other agents while I snorkelled in the shallow areas of the reef.  That morning, I saw blue starfish and some good sized Bream. (fish)  We decided to have breakky and we headed back in for session three which was all morning and we stopped at lunch.  Free time for the rest of the day.  We headed over to the light house as did some of the others.  I forgot my snorkel mask and fins, so I just took pictures.

  

  

 

 

Tonight was the night for AUCTION!  And who better to specialize in auctions that REAL ESTATE agents!  And of course, I was called up first to sell off a cooler that helps keep your drinks cold.  I don’t know how I did, but I got the thumbs up from the boss, so it must have been okay.  We were given some token dollars to play since we were new to the business, but it was fun watching all the antics that people got up to.  Chris was one of the last few called and he was very sneaky about selling off his product an electric “ mozzie repeller”.  he sold it to me without waiting for further bids.  I was shocked, but everyone else took it in their strides. ( I think…maybe not…who knows)  Well, there were laughs all around.  Once the fun was over, everyone headed out either to the bar, or the beach or their rooms.  Chris and I settled down for HOPEFULLY a better night’s sleep.

Well, even the birds settled down.  No more screeching like babies, no more calls to each other in the night.  Only soft cooing.  We slept much better.  Chris was up early our last morning.  He got up to watch the sunrise and got some very interesting pictures.

  

  

I knew he couldn’t sleep, so I made a coffee and walked down to the beach to watch the sunrise too.

Later in the morning, we had awards to give out to the top performers.  Three of our Hervey Bay group received awards this year.  Maybe we’ll see  Chris’s name up there next year!  After that we packed up and headed out to the airport to wait for our plane to arrive to take us back to the office.  It was back to reality.

  

I loved Lady Elliott Island.  I thought it was great.  And while there’s not that much to do except for snorkel, eat, drink, and RELAX.  It’s a nice place to simply unwind and just enjoy BEING.

Long Weekends…gotta love em’.

Oh what to do on a long weekend…  Well, this is what we’re doing. (so far.) 

A bit of fishing.  As you can see there’s barely a mouthful of this fish.  We haven’t figured out what it is yet or if it’s actually edible.  The water was like glass on the bay and that’s the first time we’ve ever seen it that way.  It was an absolutely spectacular day for being on the boat.

And the Hot Rod show came to town, so we went down to the esplanade and checked out some of the cars that were cruising down the road.  I don’t know who was more excited, me…. or Chris who was exclaiming “Did you get THAT one?!…Come on Kath! Get up here and take a picture!!!!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only car I know out of this lot is the Hudson and that’s ONLY because I watched the Disney movie “Cars”….well, that…and Chris told me.  But even if I don’t know what the names of the cars are, I still enjoy the lines and symmetry and, of course…. the paint jobs.

And the long weekend isn’t finished.  We’re starting the day off with a Blueberry Coffee Cake. After that a bike ride, and we’ll finish the day watching the Bay to Bay boats arrive this afternoon.

And while Autumn has returned, keeping the nights cool and the days warm, we’re settling in quite nicely.

Officially Australian.

Well, the time has come.  We’re about to be sworn in by the Mayor for our citizenship.  We’ve been waiting for several months for all of this to come to fruition. 

So what’s it mean becoming an Australian?  Mostly, it means we can now vote.  It means we have a say in which politicians we want, to run this country. 

It also means we can apply for government jobs….to be a part of the ‘red tape’ brigade. (oh goody)   No, we’re not going to do that.  But we COULD!

In truth, I already consider myself an Australian.  I’ve lived here for over 30 years.  I know the ‘lengo’, I know those ‘hidden’ rules of conversation and engagement.  I know about the flora and fauna.  I know the majority of its history.  I understand it’s sport,…well,…except for Cricket, but I don’t feel bad about that because nobody else does either.

There’s a subtlety in Australians that’s hidden by their bawdy humour and their larrikinism.  They’re quick to take on new mates and open their hearts and homes to those in need.  Australians are a light hearted group as a whole and most know what’s going on in the rest of the world and understand how it effects them.  But they don’t dwell on the negative either.  They seem to be philosophical, but will take on the world for the underdog. 

Yes,…I will enjoy being an “Official” Australian,  And for my relatives from America, don’t worry, I have dual citizenship, so I will be BOTH.  And while my accent is still as strong as ever, I will ALWAYS be known as an American to the Australians. But in my heart, I’ll always be an Australian.

A new family member added to our nest.

This is the latest member of our family. She’s VERY affectionate and purrs like a well oiled engine. The folks at the Animal refuge center called her “Genna”. (short for generator.)  Her name now, is Maddie and she’s four months old. 

Maddie has explored the whole house now.  And Bella has discovered there’s a CAT inside the house!  So she’s been glued to the back sliding doors as she watches this,..this…CAT scampering throughout the house like she OWNS it or something.

Maddie sleeps with us at night and promptly wakes us at 4am.  Well, she wakes CHRIS at 4am but I sleep on despite the purring whiskers in my face.

You’ll notice that part of her tail is gone.  I thought she may have been a Manx breed, but no, she’s had an accident somewhere along the way as there’s a tell tale kink in her tail as well.

And she’s house trained as evidenced by the sand gravel scattered across the laundry floor in the mornings.  After further investigation, I strongly suspect that Maddie may be of male gender too as certain parts of her anatomy look distinctly male.  I guess we’ll find that out when the vet looks at her at de-sexing time in the next couple of months.  (no, I’m NOT able to tell the sex of a cat.  You’d think it would be apparent. Go figure.)

Maddie loves exploring. She’s discovered the bathroom, all the bedrooms, the pantry, the linen cupboard, and she’s discovered that she can jump on the rubbish bin to get to the top of the desk where I have my computer.  And she tries to hunt the cursor and anything else moving around the computer.  She watches my fingers type away and tries to attempt to bat them and play too.   I have found out that she definitely DOES NOT like the vacuum cleaner.  But she’ll learn in time that it will go around her, not through her. 

Well, having Maddie around certainly has given me a new lease on life too.  It’s fun to play with her and talk to her.  I love watching her antics as she explores the house. 

She’s already caught one big black spider and ATE it. YUK.

I’m hoping she’ll be a good mouser too.  We may need that skill later on.

Well, I for one welcome Maddie into our home.  She’s going to be a great entertainment and a wonderful little companion.

Homeward bound, worn and weary.

Well, we’re homeward bound now.  We’ll be home in about four hours.  Washing needs to be done, groceries need to be bought, and Bella needs a cuddle.  (I know this cause we have a psychic connnection.)

All of us are worn and weary.  And as we make our way home, plans start formulating on what the next step is. 

Pam and Ron are due to fly out in the next couple of days.  Chris is due to go to school in the next month to get his Real Estate License, and I have plans to go to school and pick up a job somewhere.  So with all of that in mind, I’ll grab another cup of coffee before we go.

From out bush to the “Outback”

Okay, before I start here, I need to let you know that while we were in Undarra last night, I’ve written 5 postings, so keep scrolling down to the next five blogs.  This one is the latest news in what’s happening.

We landed at Undarra Lava Tubes last night.  We had a good meal and headed back to the carriages for a restful sleep.  These carriages contained two single beds.  There were no coffee facilities or bathroom facilities.  The bathroom/toilet were in a separate carriage.  We could have gotten ensuited rooms, but I’m not sure what happened there.  But it was a unique experience at any rate.

We were all up early in the morning and packed the car before having this “bush’ breakky.  There’s nothing better than bacon and eggs on an open grill in the bush.  And we had plenty of coffee to go around.  You just had to watch out for

these guys as they will take your bacon or sausages away from your plate in the blink of an eye.  They also operate as the morning alarm to let you know what time it is.

 

Once we finished breakky we headed off on our tour through the lava tubes.  We took the two hour tour because we had such a distance to go to.

 

 

 

 

As we walked down in to the cave, we prepared to get wet.  With all the rain they’ve had in the last few weeks, the caves had knee high water in one and in the other, it was shoulder height.

 

Here’s Chris and Pam in ankle high water listening to the guide talk about the lava tubes and how they were formed.

 

 

 

 

The view as we made our way back out of the cave.

 

 

 

 

Well, we finished our tour and started heading to Hughendon for a layover stop.  This road is a “development” road which means it’s being developed.  So there’s part tarred/bitumen roads, part dirt road, and part boggy mess road.

We even crossed a few creeks that were overflowing with water.

Einasleigh Station creek.

 

 

 

 

The view from the other side of the creek.

 

 

 

But we did see a bit of life along the road apart from the guys who were working on the road.

 

 

Just before we landed in to Hughendon, we stopped in at Porcupine Gorge to have a “sticky beak”.

The river above is Gregory’s River which cuts through the station.  And this little guy was just ‘hanging’ around.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s been a very long day and a tiring one too.  The driver is having a sleep and the others are resting before their dinner at the local pub.  Tomorrow we’ll have to see if the road out to Larke Quarry is open as we saw a couple this afternoon who booked in as well and said they couldn’t get out there because it was too wet.  It could be that we go straight to Longreach in that case.  We’ll see.