Friendships

Pelican 181 on the River

Jen & Leonie Breakfast at Shelly's Beach

Flowers in our Day

In May 1970 (yes 38-5 years ago) I started my nurse's training on the Gold Coast. On that day I met Jenny, and we were great buddies during our 3 years of training. We then decided to do our midwifery (maternity) training together in Adelaide, and we shared a room for 12 months until our training was finished, and we both got married shortly afterwards. Jenny has a sister Leonie, and the three of us have been mates for all that time. Over the years we have been busy raising children and working, and although we always stayed in touch and caught up whenever we were in the same town, it was only this weekend that the three of us got together, without spouses or children, and had a wonderful time reconnecting. We had a common interest, learning how to work with photoshop tools, and we laughed and chatted for 2 full days. The girls booked a room in the motel across from my B&B, which was very convenient. Murray is still living away at RAAF Base Amberley, so the girls could come over here, set up their laptops, and we could share tutorials to our heart's content without interrupting anyone else.

We didn't just work on the computers though. On the first day we had seafood overlooking the Richmond River at Pelican 181, then went to the movies to see "Slum Dog Millionaire". Not quite what we expected, but I enjoyed aspects of another culture - India. Next day we had breakfast overlooking tranquil Shelly's Beach and admired the wildlife including a spectacular specimen of a water dragon, dolphins cavorting in the waves in front of us, and many birds. So peaceful. For lunch we sat in the cafe of a nursery, overlooking a macadamia orchard, and listened to the kookaburras laughing. We took some beautiful photos of flowers to adorn our future projects in Photoshop. We made our way to a gem of a place known as the 'House with no Steps' just out of Alstonville, only about 15 mins from Ballina. They had a very beautiful gift shop, an interesting nursery and an adjoining cafe where we sat and had our afternoon tea. We chatted and caught up on what all our kids were doing, and before we knew it, time had passed and we headed back to Ballina via a different, but very scenic route. We had planned to go to a restaurant for dinner, but preferred to pick up a hot chicken and slice up some avocado and sit on cushioned, comfortable cane lounge chairs in a delightful gazebo area at the back of the motel. I know it seems as though all we do is eat, but that is not quite right! After an hour or so, we went back in to do some more lessons on the computer before deciding to call it a night. I went to walk across the road and the girls walked me out, and as it was such a lovely night, with the stars of the Southern Cross and Orion's Belt twinkling away overhead, we decided to walk to the end of the street and sit on the bench overlooking the river. Around 11pm we noticed some rowdy youths heading our way, so we made a hasty retreat. They passed by without hassle, but we said our goodnights and rested our weary heads.

Sunday morning Aunty Dympna and I went to Mass together, and afterwards we picked up Jen & Leonie and treated ourselves to morning tea overlooking the river at the RSL club. Caffeined up we then went back to my aunt's to peruse her hand made card selection. She uses quilling, tatting and a variety of appliques to make her cards individual and appealing. She donates them to her retirement village by selling them at one of their stalls. Back to my place for one last photoshop tutorial, and then it was time for the girls to hit the road and drive 1.5 hrs back to the Gold Coast. We all agreed it was fun, stimulating (learning new things) and very relaxing. The opportunity to have time to reconnect with special friends will be one of many lovely memories of our 6 month stay in Ballina. You may have noticed the flower collage is not my usual style; that photo and the addition of the flowering gum to the group photo are my first photoshop efforts.