Monday 20th October, 2014
Happy 17th Birthday Tanecia! Hope your day is as awesome as you are. Love you!
Monday, October 20, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Starlight, Starbright What Colour Is The Moon Tonight?
Wednesday 8th October, 2014
Starlight, Starbright what colour is the moon tonight? Red
Tonight was the eclipse of the moon and with clear skies we got a great view of the lunar eclipse and the red moon. Wow! the moon looked gorgeous.
This was a much better viewing than back in April when the last eclipse of the moon was held.....we could hardly see any colour change then.
Starlight, Starbright what colour is the moon tonight? Red
Tonight was the eclipse of the moon and with clear skies we got a great view of the lunar eclipse and the red moon. Wow! the moon looked gorgeous.
This was a much better viewing than back in April when the last eclipse of the moon was held.....we could hardly see any colour change then.
These photos were taken from our front garden. Tony put the cameras on the tripod and managed to eliminate most of the street lighting so as to get a better view. I think he did a great job.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Kangaroos Do Wander And Fight On Our Streets
Tuesday 7th October, 2014
The first week of October has flashed by and having had our last long weekend before Christmas the rest of the year will flash by just as quick I bet.
We had Katie come and stay over on Saturday night. I treasure these stays even more than before because they are becoming much less frequent. She spends a lot of her spare time with her friends now.
Because of everything that has been going on in their lives lately and it's also school holiday time, Kahra and Katie took some time out and went to Sydney for a couple of days. By all accounts they had a great time.
Tony is still having physio on his hand. It is healing nicely and this afternoon was another visit to the physio to see how it's progressing. She was happy with his progress and has given him a compression glove to wear as his hand is still swollen. She has also recommended some hand and finger exercises for him to do to regain his strength in his hand.
The perception of many people who live overseas is that we have kangaroos hopping down our streets all the time. It would have to be one of the most common asked questions when one travels overseas.
Well let me tell you, maybe we do, as witnessed by some residents living on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Two male kangaroos were trying to show their dominance to the "mob" that were sitting further down the street. No kangaroo was hurt, just the pride of one perhaps, dented.
This isn't the norm on our streets, but it shows that when man encroaches on the habitat of our wildlife we all have to learn to live with one another, even the wildlife.
The first week of October has flashed by and having had our last long weekend before Christmas the rest of the year will flash by just as quick I bet.
We had Katie come and stay over on Saturday night. I treasure these stays even more than before because they are becoming much less frequent. She spends a lot of her spare time with her friends now.
Because of everything that has been going on in their lives lately and it's also school holiday time, Kahra and Katie took some time out and went to Sydney for a couple of days. By all accounts they had a great time.
The perception of many people who live overseas is that we have kangaroos hopping down our streets all the time. It would have to be one of the most common asked questions when one travels overseas.
Well let me tell you, maybe we do, as witnessed by some residents living on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Two male kangaroos were trying to show their dominance to the "mob" that were sitting further down the street. No kangaroo was hurt, just the pride of one perhaps, dented.
This isn't the norm on our streets, but it shows that when man encroaches on the habitat of our wildlife we all have to learn to live with one another, even the wildlife.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Katie Is Officially A Teenager
Saturday 20th September, 2014
Happy 13th Birthday to our gorgeous granddaughter Katie! We hope that your day is as wonderful as you are, and that it is more wonderful than anything or anyone else in the world.
Earlier tonight we went to celebrate Katie's birthday with her. She had invited several of her friends over to her place for a bar-b-que and then some of them were going to sleep over.
Tony and I left around 9pm, the party was in full swing and the kids were having a great time.
For several months now we have had our suspicions that Kahra and Darrin's relationship had soured. Kahra seemed to be spending a lot of time this side of town. Last night she confirmed that our suspicions were correct.
She is still living at the house while Katie continues her schooling. Next year Katie goes to High School and so she has to decide whether to stay in that area or they move to this side of town and enrol Katie back in the school where she first started. That school goes from Reception right through to Year 12.
My concern is with Katie. She has got a very good bond with Darrin plus has made such a lot of really good friends. It will be so sad to see her leave her friends behind. Just seeing her with these friends tonight you could see how special they are to her.
I think it is already playing heavily on her mind because she said that she doesn't want this year to end.
It will be interesting to see which way Kahra goes.....stay down south or move up to this side of town.
Happy 13th Birthday to our gorgeous granddaughter Katie! We hope that your day is as wonderful as you are, and that it is more wonderful than anything or anyone else in the world.
Earlier tonight we went to celebrate Katie's birthday with her. She had invited several of her friends over to her place for a bar-b-que and then some of them were going to sleep over.
For several months now we have had our suspicions that Kahra and Darrin's relationship had soured. Kahra seemed to be spending a lot of time this side of town. Last night she confirmed that our suspicions were correct.
She is still living at the house while Katie continues her schooling. Next year Katie goes to High School and so she has to decide whether to stay in that area or they move to this side of town and enrol Katie back in the school where she first started. That school goes from Reception right through to Year 12.
My concern is with Katie. She has got a very good bond with Darrin plus has made such a lot of really good friends. It will be so sad to see her leave her friends behind. Just seeing her with these friends tonight you could see how special they are to her.
I think it is already playing heavily on her mind because she said that she doesn't want this year to end.
It will be interesting to see which way Kahra goes.....stay down south or move up to this side of town.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Tragedy At The Show
Friday 12th September, 2014
This morning we went off to the Hospital for Tony to have his follow up visit with the Doctor. His hand is coming along nicely and so they took off the huge bandage (much to his relief) and now he just has a small bandage over the wound.
They sent him to Physiotherapy where they made a small splint for him to wear mainly at night so that he doesn't make his hand into a fist when he sleeps. He has to go to his own doctor Monday week to get the stitches out.
After we were finished at the Hospital we went for a wander up the Mall. They still haven't completed the paving of it yet, but that what has been done doesn't look very inspiring. When Tony was working I didn't mind going for a walk in the Mall, but today I couldn't wait to leave. As far as I am concerned it has lost some of its magic.
Last Friday was the start of the Royal Adelaide Show but this year we didn't have to take Katie as she went with her friend Maddi. Tony and I thought that we might go ourselves but with him having his hand operated on we decided against it.
Today there was some tragic news. An eight year old girl died after being flung off one of the amusement rides. She was on the Airmax 360. So far the authorities do not know who is at fault and investigations into the tragedy are continuing.
I have yet to ask Katie if she and Maddi went on this ride. She used to get annoyed with me at times because there were rides at the Show that I wouldn't let her go on. I just felt that they were not suitable for her or her age at the time but as this tragedy has shown, you may meet the height criteria but a lot of other factors come into play as well.
Preliminary investigations are showing that perhaps the safety belts that are supposed to hold you in place may not have been adequate for this little girl. Even though Safety Inspectors inspect all the rides before and even while the Show is on there are no guarantees for one's own safety.
My heart goes out to all involved and this being the 175th anniversary of the show they added an extra day. The Show was going to be open on the second Sunday making it a total of 10 days instead of the usual nine. The officials have said that this will continue to be the case but this particular ride will be closed.
This morning we went off to the Hospital for Tony to have his follow up visit with the Doctor. His hand is coming along nicely and so they took off the huge bandage (much to his relief) and now he just has a small bandage over the wound.
They sent him to Physiotherapy where they made a small splint for him to wear mainly at night so that he doesn't make his hand into a fist when he sleeps. He has to go to his own doctor Monday week to get the stitches out.
After we were finished at the Hospital we went for a wander up the Mall. They still haven't completed the paving of it yet, but that what has been done doesn't look very inspiring. When Tony was working I didn't mind going for a walk in the Mall, but today I couldn't wait to leave. As far as I am concerned it has lost some of its magic.
Last Friday was the start of the Royal Adelaide Show but this year we didn't have to take Katie as she went with her friend Maddi. Tony and I thought that we might go ourselves but with him having his hand operated on we decided against it.
Today there was some tragic news. An eight year old girl died after being flung off one of the amusement rides. She was on the Airmax 360. So far the authorities do not know who is at fault and investigations into the tragedy are continuing.
I have yet to ask Katie if she and Maddi went on this ride. She used to get annoyed with me at times because there were rides at the Show that I wouldn't let her go on. I just felt that they were not suitable for her or her age at the time but as this tragedy has shown, you may meet the height criteria but a lot of other factors come into play as well.
Preliminary investigations are showing that perhaps the safety belts that are supposed to hold you in place may not have been adequate for this little girl. Even though Safety Inspectors inspect all the rides before and even while the Show is on there are no guarantees for one's own safety.
My heart goes out to all involved and this being the 175th anniversary of the show they added an extra day. The Show was going to be open on the second Sunday making it a total of 10 days instead of the usual nine. The officials have said that this will continue to be the case but this particular ride will be closed.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Not An Ideal Way To Start A Week
Monday 8th September, 2014
Today has been a rather stressful day. We had to be up early (like 5.30am) and be at the Royal Adelaide Hospital by 7.00am as Tony was going to have his hand operated on.
For the last 7 or 8 years the tissue from his fingers to his palm have been contracting, forcing his fingers, mainly his ring finger on his left hand to become bent. We have always thought it was due to his years of electrical work where instead of using screwdrivers like us normal people do, apparently some electricians use the palm of their hands to turn the screwdriver.
The condition is known as "Dupuytren's Contracture". Researching the condition we found that it is quite common among the Northern Europeans such as the British, Irish, Dutch (which he is) and the French and also among the Scandinavian countries. It can be hereditary (but he knows of no other family members that have had it). It is also found in those who have epilepsy, diabetic or alcoholics which thankfully he is none of those.
According to the doctors it is a very common problem especially among men.
In the last 12 months his finger has been forced forward more. He couldn't remove his wedding ring because it was so bad and in the end had to cut it off. When he was last at the doctors he mentioned it to him and the doctor put the wheels in motion for him to have it looked at.
An appointment was set up for him at the Hospital and because his finger was more than 35 degrees they decided to operate. Last Monday he got the call to say that his operation had been scheduled for today and last Thursday he had to go in for his pre-op.
He was first on the list to be operated on and so I decided to stay at the Hospital. By 11.20am they rang me to say that he was fine but they wanted to observe him for a further 60 minutes and then he could go home. They said that I could come and sit with him which I did.
When I went in he was sitting in the chair eating a sandwich. He looked good but about 20 minutes later he lost all his colour, started sweating profusely and was feeling nauseous. The nurse said that this was common after an anaesthaetic and told him if he could be sick he would feel a whole lot better.
He didn't vomit but after about 30 minutes he started to feel much better and his colour returned. Armed with some pain killers we ended up leaving the hospital around 1.40pm.
He has to keep his arm elevated which is supposed to stop swelling and reduce any pain. So far he hasn't had to have any pain killers and his fingers are still feeling numb though he said he can just start to feel his little finger and thumb.
On Friday he has to go back to the Hospital for a follow up visit. I'm afraid Hospitals aren't a good way to start a week but i am glad it is over and done with.
Now to get him back to where he can do the dishes again, make me breakfast and make the bed. I wonder if he will be able to do that tomorrow...................lol.
Today has been a rather stressful day. We had to be up early (like 5.30am) and be at the Royal Adelaide Hospital by 7.00am as Tony was going to have his hand operated on.
For the last 7 or 8 years the tissue from his fingers to his palm have been contracting, forcing his fingers, mainly his ring finger on his left hand to become bent. We have always thought it was due to his years of electrical work where instead of using screwdrivers like us normal people do, apparently some electricians use the palm of their hands to turn the screwdriver.
The condition is known as "Dupuytren's Contracture". Researching the condition we found that it is quite common among the Northern Europeans such as the British, Irish, Dutch (which he is) and the French and also among the Scandinavian countries. It can be hereditary (but he knows of no other family members that have had it). It is also found in those who have epilepsy, diabetic or alcoholics which thankfully he is none of those.
According to the doctors it is a very common problem especially among men.
In the last 12 months his finger has been forced forward more. He couldn't remove his wedding ring because it was so bad and in the end had to cut it off. When he was last at the doctors he mentioned it to him and the doctor put the wheels in motion for him to have it looked at.
He was first on the list to be operated on and so I decided to stay at the Hospital. By 11.20am they rang me to say that he was fine but they wanted to observe him for a further 60 minutes and then he could go home. They said that I could come and sit with him which I did.
When I went in he was sitting in the chair eating a sandwich. He looked good but about 20 minutes later he lost all his colour, started sweating profusely and was feeling nauseous. The nurse said that this was common after an anaesthaetic and told him if he could be sick he would feel a whole lot better.
He didn't vomit but after about 30 minutes he started to feel much better and his colour returned. Armed with some pain killers we ended up leaving the hospital around 1.40pm.
He has to keep his arm elevated which is supposed to stop swelling and reduce any pain. So far he hasn't had to have any pain killers and his fingers are still feeling numb though he said he can just start to feel his little finger and thumb.
On Friday he has to go back to the Hospital for a follow up visit. I'm afraid Hospitals aren't a good way to start a week but i am glad it is over and done with.
Now to get him back to where he can do the dishes again, make me breakfast and make the bed. I wonder if he will be able to do that tomorrow...................lol.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Goodbye Winter.....Hello Spring!!!
Monday 1st September, 2014
Yay it's the first day of Spring but looking out of the window this morning you may think it's still Winter. After the beautiful days of last week where the temperature got into the mid 20's, this morning it's cold and wet and our maximum for today is 16C.
Life has been pretty normal around here lately (whatever normal may be). The last 2 weeks I have had to attend a job training course. I don't particularly want to look for work but if it's required of me I will do it.
You see, several years ago the government in it's wisdom decided to change the age for women to qualify for the age pension.
When I started working back in the late 1960's men retired at 65 years of age and women at 60 years. If your husband retired at 65 and you hadn't reached 60 you could get a Wife's Pension in the meantime.
But these rules have been changed. The government now wants everyone to work until they are 70 years. This will come in sometime in the 2030's, until then people can still get the age pension but every couple of years you have to be that bit older. Like by 2017 men can't get the age pension unless they are 67.
When Tony retired his superannuation wasn't enough for us to get by on and he was eligible for a part government pension. I was put on Newstart and this is why I have to look for work. If I don't want to look for a job I can do Volunteer work instead.........15 hours a week.
Having last worked in 1977 I now have no skills. Everything today is computer orientated. I can navigate my way around the computer here at home but I could never do it in a work environment. I don't know how to use Microsoft Word properly and have no idea what Excel or Power Point do. Even to do Volunteer work, if I choose to work in an office environment, I need computer skills.
So it looks as if I have to go back to "school" to get some computer skills. They are talking about sending me to TAFE, a tertiary institution that allows for people to go and get skills, awards, diplomas, rather than go to university.
One of the courses they are looking at costs around $2,000 but the Job Agency is not prepared to pay for it. There is another course that I may qualify for that will cost nothing but I have to wait to see if I am accepted.
Believe me the next 17 months can't come quick enough, because in January 2016 I will be 65 and none of this will be relevant.
Talking of computers, Tony in his wisdom decided I needed a new one. My old one was still using Windows XP. This new one is super duper fast and has Windows 8. We decided to go to a computer place and get them to build us one (on Robyn's recommendation as she had just got herself a new one and went to this company and was very impressed with them).
I was apprehensive at first about trying to find my way around Windows 8. Surprisingly I found it not to be as hard as what some people have said it is. There is still a lot more to learn but I will get there. At least I can do the basics, for now.
I must apologise for the font changing midstream. As yet I haven't figured it out how to get it all the same. I don't know why it suddenly changed from one font to another one.
One thing the job agency told me was that I have to get my typing skills up to date. I am a one finger typist, and I am pretty quick, lol, but they said that's not acceptable.
So to practice, it looks as if more blog posts are on the way!
Yay it's the first day of Spring but looking out of the window this morning you may think it's still Winter. After the beautiful days of last week where the temperature got into the mid 20's, this morning it's cold and wet and our maximum for today is 16C.
Life has been pretty normal around here lately (whatever normal may be). The last 2 weeks I have had to attend a job training course. I don't particularly want to look for work but if it's required of me I will do it.
You see, several years ago the government in it's wisdom decided to change the age for women to qualify for the age pension.
When I started working back in the late 1960's men retired at 65 years of age and women at 60 years. If your husband retired at 65 and you hadn't reached 60 you could get a Wife's Pension in the meantime.
But these rules have been changed. The government now wants everyone to work until they are 70 years. This will come in sometime in the 2030's, until then people can still get the age pension but every couple of years you have to be that bit older. Like by 2017 men can't get the age pension unless they are 67.
When Tony retired his superannuation wasn't enough for us to get by on and he was eligible for a part government pension. I was put on Newstart and this is why I have to look for work. If I don't want to look for a job I can do Volunteer work instead.........15 hours a week.
Having last worked in 1977 I now have no skills. Everything today is computer orientated. I can navigate my way around the computer here at home but I could never do it in a work environment. I don't know how to use Microsoft Word properly and have no idea what Excel or Power Point do. Even to do Volunteer work, if I choose to work in an office environment, I need computer skills.
So it looks as if I have to go back to "school" to get some computer skills. They are talking about sending me to TAFE, a tertiary institution that allows for people to go and get skills, awards, diplomas, rather than go to university.
One of the courses they are looking at costs around $2,000 but the Job Agency is not prepared to pay for it. There is another course that I may qualify for that will cost nothing but I have to wait to see if I am accepted.
Believe me the next 17 months can't come quick enough, because in January 2016 I will be 65 and none of this will be relevant.
Talking of computers, Tony in his wisdom decided I needed a new one. My old one was still using Windows XP. This new one is super duper fast and has Windows 8. We decided to go to a computer place and get them to build us one (on Robyn's recommendation as she had just got herself a new one and went to this company and was very impressed with them).
I was apprehensive at first about trying to find my way around Windows 8. Surprisingly I found it not to be as hard as what some people have said it is. There is still a lot more to learn but I will get there. At least I can do the basics, for now.
I must apologise for the font changing midstream. As yet I haven't figured it out how to get it all the same. I don't know why it suddenly changed from one font to another one.
One thing the job agency told me was that I have to get my typing skills up to date. I am a one finger typist, and I am pretty quick, lol, but they said that's not acceptable.
So to practice, it looks as if more blog posts are on the way!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
A Day Of National Mourning
Thursday 7th August, 2014
Today is a day of national mourning for the victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 that was shot out of the sky over Ukraine on the 17th July.
38 Australians, including children, lost their lives along with 193 Dutch, 43 Malaysian, 12 Indonesian, 10 English as well as people from the Phillipines, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium and Germany.
This is the second tragedy to strike Malaysian airlines this year. Back in March Flight MH370 disappeared from the radar screen as it flew from Kuala Lumpur enroute to China. To this day the plane has not been found. There have been no signs of wreckage and it remains a mystery as to what happened to the plane. Australians were also on board this flight.
Today is a day of national mourning for the victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 that was shot out of the sky over Ukraine on the 17th July.
38 Australians, including children, lost their lives along with 193 Dutch, 43 Malaysian, 12 Indonesian, 10 English as well as people from the Phillipines, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium and Germany.
This is the second tragedy to strike Malaysian airlines this year. Back in March Flight MH370 disappeared from the radar screen as it flew from Kuala Lumpur enroute to China. To this day the plane has not been found. There have been no signs of wreckage and it remains a mystery as to what happened to the plane. Australians were also on board this flight.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Totally Fed Up With Winter... And The Rain... And The Cold....And The Wind!!
Thursday 31st July, 2014
It's me....yeah I am still here. I'm like the bear, you know the one, who hibernates in winter. I've just poked my head out from under the blankets and guess what.....we have a wild weather alert out with very strong winds and possibly SNOW......yep snow in the Adelaide Hills and Flinders Ranges.
This month has been really cold with lots of rain and temps in the 11-12C range. Earlier in the year they said we would have a mild winter but I reckon it's been a cold one. Normally we have temps of 11-12C about two to three times a year but this year we have had quite a few days where the temperature has just made double digits.
I will be so glad when winter is over. This winter particularly, maybe it's because Tony isn't working anymore and I don't really have to be out and about, that I am feeling it. It's a struggle just to go out and do the food shopping......I prefer to stay home where it's warmer.
Still, we haven't been complete hermits. I have been busy with my scrapbook classes, now twice a month, we've been to the movies and during the school holidays we had Katie and her friend Maddi come and stay for a couple of days.
Among the wet and cold days we've had a couple of days where the temperature may not be high but the days have been perfect for getting out and about. Like one Sunday we went down to Glenelg, the temperature was only 14C but the sun was out, there was not a sigh of a breeze and it was just perfect.
People were on the beach and one brave soul was in the water. An ice skating rink had been set up at the end of Jetty Road and plenty of families were making the most of it.
Tony and I went and saw the movie "Blended" which both of us really enjoyed. It was what I call a "feel good movie", where we got some laughs and shed a few tears. The next one we saw was "The Jersey Boys". Having seen a stage production of this I was intrigued to see how it would portray as a movie.
I loved the story about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons but didn't like the actor who played Frankie Valli. He was OK in the role as Frankie Valli but I didn't like his singing.
Katie and Maddi came and stayed for a couple of days. It was so good to have her here again. I do miss not seeing her as often as we once used to, but she has grown up so quickly and spends a lot of time with her friends, which is good too.
She told us of all the sports that she has been playing for the school for the SAPSASA (I think it stands for South Australian Primary Schools Amateur Sports Association). She played Rugby (where her school ended up the champions), Soccer, Netball, Hockey and Football. They lost the Netball final but still have to play the finals of the other sports.
I don't know where she finds the time to do any schoolwork but Kahra told me that last term's school report was the best report that Katie had received all through her Primary schooling so she must be doing alright.
While here she got nostalgic and asked us if we would take her to her old school so that she could show Maddi. She also wanted to show Maddi where she used to live and the Kindergarten she went to. We did and she got emotional as she remembered back to her first day of school and walking through the gates. She still knew where her classroom was. We got lost trying to find the Kindy but she remembered where to go.
Well the news reports are saying that Mount Lofty got a 'light dusting' of snow early this morning. All I know is that we had lots of rain and hail overnight and it is f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g this morning. I spent a couple of extra hours in bed not getting up until around 9.30am. By then the sun was shining but we have had some more showers since and it hasn't warmed up much.
Today we have to go out and do some food shopping as there is not too much left in the pantry or fridge. I now regret not going out to do it on Wednesday when it was a much nicer day.
photos to follow
It's me....yeah I am still here. I'm like the bear, you know the one, who hibernates in winter. I've just poked my head out from under the blankets and guess what.....we have a wild weather alert out with very strong winds and possibly SNOW......yep snow in the Adelaide Hills and Flinders Ranges.
This month has been really cold with lots of rain and temps in the 11-12C range. Earlier in the year they said we would have a mild winter but I reckon it's been a cold one. Normally we have temps of 11-12C about two to three times a year but this year we have had quite a few days where the temperature has just made double digits.
I will be so glad when winter is over. This winter particularly, maybe it's because Tony isn't working anymore and I don't really have to be out and about, that I am feeling it. It's a struggle just to go out and do the food shopping......I prefer to stay home where it's warmer.
Still, we haven't been complete hermits. I have been busy with my scrapbook classes, now twice a month, we've been to the movies and during the school holidays we had Katie and her friend Maddi come and stay for a couple of days.
Among the wet and cold days we've had a couple of days where the temperature may not be high but the days have been perfect for getting out and about. Like one Sunday we went down to Glenelg, the temperature was only 14C but the sun was out, there was not a sigh of a breeze and it was just perfect.
People were on the beach and one brave soul was in the water. An ice skating rink had been set up at the end of Jetty Road and plenty of families were making the most of it.
Tony and I went and saw the movie "Blended" which both of us really enjoyed. It was what I call a "feel good movie", where we got some laughs and shed a few tears. The next one we saw was "The Jersey Boys". Having seen a stage production of this I was intrigued to see how it would portray as a movie.
I loved the story about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons but didn't like the actor who played Frankie Valli. He was OK in the role as Frankie Valli but I didn't like his singing.
Katie and Maddi came and stayed for a couple of days. It was so good to have her here again. I do miss not seeing her as often as we once used to, but she has grown up so quickly and spends a lot of time with her friends, which is good too.
She told us of all the sports that she has been playing for the school for the SAPSASA (I think it stands for South Australian Primary Schools Amateur Sports Association). She played Rugby (where her school ended up the champions), Soccer, Netball, Hockey and Football. They lost the Netball final but still have to play the finals of the other sports.
I don't know where she finds the time to do any schoolwork but Kahra told me that last term's school report was the best report that Katie had received all through her Primary schooling so she must be doing alright.
While here she got nostalgic and asked us if we would take her to her old school so that she could show Maddi. She also wanted to show Maddi where she used to live and the Kindergarten she went to. We did and she got emotional as she remembered back to her first day of school and walking through the gates. She still knew where her classroom was. We got lost trying to find the Kindy but she remembered where to go.
Well the news reports are saying that Mount Lofty got a 'light dusting' of snow early this morning. All I know is that we had lots of rain and hail overnight and it is f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g this morning. I spent a couple of extra hours in bed not getting up until around 9.30am. By then the sun was shining but we have had some more showers since and it hasn't warmed up much.
Today we have to go out and do some food shopping as there is not too much left in the pantry or fridge. I now regret not going out to do it on Wednesday when it was a much nicer day.
photos to follow
Thursday, June 19, 2014
A Cold Wind Now Blows
Thursday 19th June, 2014
It only took me 3 weeks to finish my post about our trip to Kangaroo Island but I have now completed it. Well, all our nice weather has gone and winter has come to take it's place. The wind is icy and goes through you, the nights are freezing and we have more days of wet weather than dry.
I am looking forward to this weekend because for us it will be the shortest day of the year and for me that means the days will slowly get longer and the warmer weather will be with us once again.
Several years ago a group of Adelaide business men got together and decided to restore the City of Adelaide Clipper ship. This ship was used to ferry immigrants to South Australia back in the 1860's. This ship is the oldest Clipper ship in the world built back in 1864.
Back in September 2013 the journey began from Scotland to Port Adelaide where it arrived in February 2014 and sits until a more permanent home can be found.
It only took me 3 weeks to finish my post about our trip to Kangaroo Island but I have now completed it. Well, all our nice weather has gone and winter has come to take it's place. The wind is icy and goes through you, the nights are freezing and we have more days of wet weather than dry.
I am looking forward to this weekend because for us it will be the shortest day of the year and for me that means the days will slowly get longer and the warmer weather will be with us once again.
Several years ago a group of Adelaide business men got together and decided to restore the City of Adelaide Clipper ship. This ship was used to ferry immigrants to South Australia back in the 1860's. This ship is the oldest Clipper ship in the world built back in 1864.
Back in September 2013 the journey began from Scotland to Port Adelaide where it arrived in February 2014 and sits until a more permanent home can be found.
in it's hey day
and what it looks like today
Earlier this month they had an open day. We thought it would be good to go along and support this piece of history. While there Tony managed to buy a print of the ship that brought him and his family out from Holland "Zuiderkraus".
Also we tried some Hungarian Kurtosh also known as chimney cake.
It was nice but has a very short shelf life. To me it tasted like a donut.
We haven't heard from Katie lately. From what I hear she is very busy having a social life on the weekends with her friends and the last couple of weeks has been busy with the Primary Schools Sports Association. She has been playing Rugby and her team has gone through undefeated. She was awarded the "Best Sportsmanship Award".
Last night she was graded for her Kenpo Karate and is now a blue belt. We are extremely proud of her.
Currently the World Cup is being held in Brazil. In the early hours of this morning Tony and I decided to stay up and watch the game between Australia (Socceroos) and Holland. It was a fantastic game and even though Australia lost 3-2 I think we have come of age in the soccer world. I think I woke the neighbours with my cheering lol.
We ran rings around the Dutch for most of the game and even their Coach had to change their game plan. Australia played extremely well and were very unlucky not to score more goals. We really gave a huge scare to the Dutch and they had just come off a game beating Spain 5-1. Our next game is against Spain.
Soccer in this country is very popular among the younger kids but the main football game is Australian Rules. Then comes Rugby and Soccer is third. If any of the soccer players are any good most head overseas to Europe or England to try their luck. We have a reasonable league here and this years World Cup players have been mainly taken from the local league plus some of the overseas players. So for a very 'young' team they have done their country proud.
We now can't wait to see what they can do against Spain. Spain are the current World Cup champions but this time they have not been very good being beaten by Chile and Holland. We didn't have any high hopes of Australia doing well but so far they have surpassed all expectations. Chile beat us 2-1 and we had a goal disallowed because the player was off side otherwise it may have ended in a draw. Chile only scored their second goal in the dying minutes of the game.
C'mon Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
The Merry Month Of May
Saturday 31st May, 2014
I can't believe that I last wrote on this blog a month ago. Here it is the last day of May and I couldn't let the month pass without writing anything.
Now what's my excuse for not being here......we are having too much fun. It's not that we are going out a lot but the weather here has been perfect. This month created another set of weather records. We had 10 consecutive days over 22C (71.6F). The last time this happened was in 1918.
Rather than spend my time in front of the computer we have spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine. Yes, we've had a few days where we've had rain but those days were spent catching up on sleep. As you know we love watching cycling races and for the last 3 weeks we have been watching the Giro d'Italia.
This year was the first year it has been telecast directly into Australia and for the first week it was more like Giro d'Aussie as the Australian teams and riders were winning stages and we had the Aussies wearing the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey). As the race has gone into the mountain stages the Maglia Rosa has been handed over to the mountain climbers but last night we had another Aussie, Michael Rogers, conquer the Monte Zoncolan.
I can't believe that I last wrote on this blog a month ago. Here it is the last day of May and I couldn't let the month pass without writing anything.
Now what's my excuse for not being here......we are having too much fun. It's not that we are going out a lot but the weather here has been perfect. This month created another set of weather records. We had 10 consecutive days over 22C (71.6F). The last time this happened was in 1918.
Rather than spend my time in front of the computer we have spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine. Yes, we've had a few days where we've had rain but those days were spent catching up on sleep. As you know we love watching cycling races and for the last 3 weeks we have been watching the Giro d'Italia.
This year was the first year it has been telecast directly into Australia and for the first week it was more like Giro d'Aussie as the Australian teams and riders were winning stages and we had the Aussies wearing the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey). As the race has gone into the mountain stages the Maglia Rosa has been handed over to the mountain climbers but last night we had another Aussie, Michael Rogers, conquer the Monte Zoncolan.
The crowds on top of Monte Zoncolan
Nairo Quintana in the Maglia Rosa. He's king of the climbers and will win the Giro d'Italia
Earlier this month Tony and I escaped to Kangaroo Island for a few days. Knowing that we had to go across by ferry I had worked myself into a lather. I do not like boats, ferries and the like regardless of how big they are. To combat my fear I stocked myself up with ginger........I had ginger tablets, ginger tea, ginger lollies, ginger biscuits, and barley sugar.
The morning we left was perfect. Not a sigh of a breeze and the sun was shining. When we got to Cape Jervis the sea was calm. The ferry from the Island was just berthing and the passengers coming off looked fine. I thought, "hmmm this may not be so bad after all". Once it unloaded all the trucks, cars and buses Tony had to drive our car onto the ferry. There were quite a few cars going over on our trip.... a lot more than we thought.
Cars and trucks lined up to go onto the ferry
We left around 10.15am and I was eating the ginger lollies and barley sugar like a child who was having sweets for the first time. Earlier, I had taken the tablets.
The trip over wasn't too bad. The sea was calm, all that worry for nothing! It took 45 minutes to get to the Island.
Goodbye mainland
ferry returning to the mainland
Hello Kangaroo Island
The ferry berthed at Penneshaw. We had to make our way to Kingscote as that is where we would be staying and Kingscote is regarded as the business centre of the Island. There wasn't much at Penneshaw, a supermarket, a couple of cafes and a hotel.
When we got to Kingscote there wasn't much more than what there was at Penneshaw. OMG!!! In the following days as we drove around the island we found it was like living in the past. I put it in the 1970's. There was nothing modern. I thought that they might have had a shopping centre but it was only strip shopping and not much of it.
We found where we were going to stay and I must say we were pleasantly surprised. We had booked into Acacia Apartments.
After unloading the car we headed off to look for something to eat. Not being able to find anything in the town we had noticed a place as we were coming into the town and so we went there. They didn't offer sandwiches but we did have a Devonshire tea (scones with jam and cream and honey and cream) and coffee.
We had to go and find a tourist information centre but the only place we had seen was the one back in Penneshaw and so we had to drive back there. One thing that shocked us about driving on the island was the amount of dead animals on the side of the roads. There were kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, possums and other critters that we couldn't make out.
Being a tourist place we thought that the council would clean this up. We had been warned to keep a lookout for the wildlife and to be especially careful driving at dusk because that's when the animals come out of the bush and onto the roads.
Back in Penneshaw we went to Frenchman's Rock and also drove to the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse.
While in Penneshaw we noticed that there were Penguin tours and so we decided to come back another night to have a look.
Heading back to Kingscote we noticed that the Island has some spectacular scenery.
Back in Kingscote we went to the Ozone Hotel for dinner. Expensive for a pub meal but very nice nonetheless.
On Wednesday we decided to go to Seal Bay and the Flinders Chase National Park. Two things I wanted to see on the Island were the seals and Admiral's Arch.
Lucky we chose that day to go as it was the most gorgeous day, brilliant sunshine and hardly any wind even on the coast. Firstly we went to Seal Bay. It was about a 15 minute walk down to the beach and as you walked along the board walks there were plenty of seals basking in the sunshine. They say that the seals will go up to a kilometre inland to find bushes to rest under.
After Seal Bay we headed on down to Flinder's Chase National Park. We stopped at the Visitor Centre and paid for our entry into the Park and decided we may as well have some lunch. After lunch we drove down to the coast, about a 20 minute drive. The road was long, narrow and very windy.
At the end of this road we came to Cape du Couedic, this being the south western corner of Kangaroo Island. When we arrived we saw the lighthouse first and then had to drive down to the carpark. We walked along the boardwalk and on the rocks below were the New Zealand fur seals basking in the sun. Further around we came to Admirals' Arch....a spectacular sight.
I would've loved to have stayed at the Arch to get a photo of the setting sun but that's a promise we made to come back and do another day.
From here we took a short drive around to Remarkable Rocks. I was a bit wary about getting too close to them as people have been washed off these and gone to their deaths. Thank goodness we had dry weather, they say it gets very slippery when it's wet due to the moss. Until you get up close you don't realise just how massive these rocks are.
Just to see what we had seen today made this trip to Kangaroo Island worthwhile. The coastal views were also spectacular.
On the way back to Kingscote we came across this little fella......an echidna. He was slowly making his way across the road and so we slowed down for him to safely get to the other side. For that I asked him to let me take his photo but he was too shy, he would only lift his face far enough to see if I was still there. There was no way I was going to pick him up, he had his spikes in protection mode.
Thursday morning we started off at the Lavender Farm in Emu Bay. I always thought that there was English Lavender and French Lavender with the English Lavender having the strongest scent. I didn't know that English Lavender has so many different cultivars.
We also learnt that lavender is used in a lot of cooking....here they made scones, biscuits, honey, lavender bread, and icecream. Tony had the lavender bread, which was absolutely delicious and I tried the biscuits.
If there was a place on Kangaroo Island that I would live I think it would be Emu Bay. It was beautiful! It is only a small community but has gorgeous white sandy beaches.
From the Lavender farm we made our way over to the Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Oil Distillery. Here, they distill the oil just like it was done in the early days. No modern machinery here, other than the tractor that harvests the Eucalyptus trees.
the harvester
the pit where the oil is extracted
Oil on the left is raw and on the right the oil is refined
Pile of burnt eucalyptus leaves
A bit further down the road was the honey farm. Here we enjoyed tastings of different flavours of honey, cup gum, spring flora, stringy bark, sugar gum (my favourite) and coastal flora. They also make a creamy honey ice cream which you must have.
The Ligurian Bee was imported from Italy back in the 1880's and Kangaroo Island has been declared a sanctuary for these bees. No bee products are allowed to be taken onto the Island.
Then it was off to the sheep dairy. At the entrance it said that you could have tastings of cheese made with the sheep's milk and I'm thinking "nah, I'll give that a miss". The guy brought a plate over with some grilled Haloumi cheese splashed with lemon juice. I was very hesitant to try it but OMG it was absolutely delicious. They say that the difference between cows milk and sheep's milk is that with the sheep's milk you can't separate the cream and so the cheese is smooth and creamy.
We also tried their yoghurt, another tick of approval by me and their other flavoured cheeses. They were all delicious but my favourites were the Haloumi and Feta style. (I know where I can buy it here). So much for my pre conceived idea about sheep's milk cheese.
From here we went back into Kingscote and waited for the guy to come and feed the pelicans. Not only did the pelicans come but also the seagulls and sea eagles. We didn't go back to see the fairy penguins as this guy told us that there were none. Apparently the fur seals eat them and also eat a phenomenal amount of fish and he said that if it continues, then in around 10 years there'll be no fish in the area.
Friday morning was wet. It had rained all night and as we would find out it will rain all the way home. Today we will be leaving the Island and have to be at Penneshaw to have the car on the ferry by 2.00pm. The ferry is due to leave at 2.30pm to take us back to the mainland.
When we got down to the wharf and I saw the sea I started to panic. It was very windy as well as wet and the waves were crashing into the rocks and there were plenty of white caps on the water. I'd taken my ginger tablets earlier and had everything else close at hand.
The trip back was slow. Obviously the captain of the ferry knew how to handle the rough sea and kept the rockin' and rollin' of the ferry to a minimum. Still, there were some people who were sea sick. All I can say is thank god for ginger!!
As we were getting close to the terminal the dolphins came and swam alongside the ferry. Maybe they were letting us know that all will be well. I was so glad when we arrived back on the mainland and my feet touched solid ground. I'd still like to know how the cars don't get tossed around as they are not tied down. I don't know what was worse, coming back on the ferry or driving home in the rain and fog. At times we could just make out the bonnet of the car.
Finally we arrived home and it was so good. Kangaroo Island was nice but next time we go (if we do) it'll only be as a day trip.
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