Girl Friends

Jen & Leonie in front of Ficus Trees in Lattice Formation
Cute Llamas

Jen, Me, Gemma, Aunty Dympna skyping with Kim (on screen)

iPhone Geeks

Busy crafting and Photoshopping!

Don't you just love catching up with your girlfriends? You may recall I have mentioned Jen, the friend with whom I did my general nursing and midwifery (maternity) training. She has a younger sister Leonie, and we have known each other since 1970 - long before our husbands and children were on the scene. They both live with their families on the Gold Coast and at the last minute we arranged to have a girls' weekend here at our place in Ballina. They came prepared, each carrying their laptop and camera. From the minute they arrived in time for morning tea on Friday until the moment they left after lunch on Sunday, we were kept very busy with craft work or sharing computer (Photoshop & Skype) and iPhone skills. Jen had a new iPhone that she was getting used to, and as I have had mine for several months now, I was able to show her some handy hints to get the most out of her gadget. Leonie taught us how to use the photomail option in Photoshop which I find very handy, and Jen walked us through setting up the layers of a scrapbook page on Photoshop. We all learnt a lot.

Jen & Leonie wanted to check out their favourite shoe shop in the main street, so we wandered down there on the first day, and lo and behold, I found myself a pair of shoes to wear to my nephew's wedding. Now I just have to find a dress to go with them! Ha ha. Jen & Leonie never found any shoes...but they did find some other things!

For Friday lunch we went to a delightful cafe where there is a maze created out of ornamental figs (Ficus hillii) set on 1/2 acre. The maze contains more than 9000 trees and the paths are over 2 km in length. We were delighted to see some young llamas in the grounds, as were the group of children leaning over the fence trying to pat them. On the way home we dropped into a small country shopping mall and found some pretty bulbs for me to plant in readiness for next spring. After an afternoon spent learning new Photoshop skills, we got dressed up to greet our dinner guests - my sister Gem, her husband Bill and my Aunt Dympna. I had made salmon vol au vents served with oven baked potato chips (recipe courtesy of my brother Tony) and salad. Bill made a delicious apple and rhubarb pie for dessert, which was served with freshly whipped cream. As usual there was a lot of laughing to accompany the pleasure of sharing the meal.

Saturday started out very relaxed as we all went to a 45 minute meditation class run by my aunt. It was such a lovely day that we left meditation and walked across the road to a gallery cafe where my sister & aunt joined us for a coffee. Another day of craft followed before we visited my aunt to share in a Skype session she had arranged for 5pm with my daughter Kim in Copenhagen. My sister Gemma joined us as well, and I think Kim was quite sad when we signed off after about 40 minutes. Jen, Leonie & I then drove home via the beach - we were a bit disappointed that we had missed catching the sunset to try out our photographic skills, but proceeded to take photos of the waves and the red evening sky to experiment with various settings on our cameras. We realised we really needed a tripod!

Fortunately Murray was kept busy with sporting events on TV while the girls were visiting - Masters Golf & football being the main attractions. He stayed behind while the 3 of us walked to the nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner, but we returned by 9pm to resume our computer activities. It was quite funny seeing all 3 laptops set up in the study with us buzzing around like bees at a honey pot!

Sunday morning started with tea/coffee and toast on the back patio checking out the new growth on most of the plants. They are really flourishing and it will be exciting to return from the USA and see how they have grown in our absence. Even though it will be winter while we are away, Ballina area is designated sub-tropical, so it will be cool rather than cold such as our North Dakotan friends would experience in winter. Murray & I walked to Mass and on our return, Leonie & Murray made an amazing discovery. The father of Leonie's partner of over 25 years, Stan, and Murray's father were both from Poland, both went to England during the war and fought as a Rat of Tobruk then both emmigrated to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia on the same ship in 1947. How is that for a mind boggling discovery. Sadly, neither of the men are alive today. After a satisfying lunch at a cafe in town, Jen & Leonie packed their car and headed back to their families. Life is good - very, very good.

Easter and Brother's Birthday

Sisters & Aunt on morning walk
Kim look - Peckle has laid an Easter Egg

Looking familiar? Another family meal

The Birthday Boy with wife Yudian (seated) and daughter Kate standing behind him

In our family we can use the flimsiest excuse to arrange a gathering of the clan. This time however not only was it Easter Monday, but we were celebrating my brother's birthday. My niece Claire came down from Brisbane with her family. Her youngest is only 2 and was excited to see an alabaster Easter egg laid by the cement chicken in the garden! My brother Tony (birthday boy) and sister Ret drove down from the Gold Coast with their spouses. My sister Gemma, her husband and our Aunt live here in Ballina, so not much of a drive for them. The furtherest attendee came from Darwin - Australia's most northern city. She was the birthday boy's daughter so it was wonderful that she was able to attend. I should also mention that one of my Claire's sons lives in Alice Springs, Central Australia, and we don't get to see him too often, so it was great that he was visiting his mum for Easter.

We started Easter Monday with a 5km walk at 7am. I was joined by my 86 yr old aunt, my two sisters Gemma & Ret, and brother in law Bill. It was lovely walking along the river, and we nearly made it all the way home. We spied a cafe not far from the end of our walk and without hesitation, we pulled up some chairs and enjoyed a coffee to kick start the day's festivities.

By 11.30am everyone started arriving at Holden Lane where colourful balloons were gently swaying in the breeze. Gem & Bill provided peeled tiger prawns served with two different dipping sauces and fresh bread slices as the appetiser. Murray cooked up a storm on the BBQ - scotch fillet steaks, lamb loin chops and beef sausages. Salads, hot potato bake & garlic bread were side dishes. There were three desserts: Yudian had made individual meringues, served with fresh passionfruit coulis and whipped cream. Gemma had made a rich ginger cake that contained 3 tablespoons of fresh, grated ginger. Then Ret & Pete had bought the birthday cake - a marble mud cake. It did have 'Happy Birthday Tony' written on it in icing, but we added bunches of bananas (lollies). Tony lives across the road from our 93 year old mum, and he often buys bananas and takes them over to mum. She loves them. We don't call him 'Banana Boy' for nothing!

After my nieces Clairie & Kate made quick work of the dishes, people started heading for home. As the Gold Coasters needed somewhere to have dinner, the six of us walked up to a nearby Chinese restaurant and spent another enjoyable few hours chatting, eating & drinking. Well, someone had to finish off the bottles of wine leftover from the lunchtime celebrations! The weather was still mild enough to not need a cardigan - just a short sleeved shirt. Thanks to all concerned for a most enjoyable family day.

Housewarming

Housewarming Note trellis in background. Not finished yet ...

Father Paul Blessing our new Home

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rita's Plate

I know. I know. We have been in the house for almost 5 weeks and have only just got around to our housewarming!! Well, get used to it - it is a slower pace here in Ballina, and we are loving it! We have one major addition yet to be added to our home to complete our settling in period; namely white plantation shutters made out of a lightweight, durable resin compound which come with a 20 year warranty. They should be in by the middle of April and will be fitted to the windows in all the bedrooms and our ensuite. But apart from those, we are pretty well done and dusted. In our opinion, this place is a real gem. From the front gate you would have no idea of the delights that lay beyond the brick frontage! The back patio is a popular area for us - we have a lot of our meals out there, as well as morning & afternoon tea. I was out there the other morning and took the photo of the pretty Rainbow Lorikeets feasting in the Lilly Pilly tree near the fence. We have added a lattice trellis to the existing fence so it is now 7.5' tall and in time we will have a flowering creeper growing along it to give us additional privacy and create a 'walled garden' effect. We will feel like we are in the garden of an old English cottage. Very tranquil.

For the housewarming we invited over about twenty people who we have met since we started coming to Ballina. They all knew we were looking for a house and often asked how our search was going. So now that we have found our home, we wanted them to come and celebrate with us. Most of the next door neighbours already had alternative engagements, so we will invite them over separately. One couple have already been over and spent several hours with us on the back patio. Our family and most of our friends from the Gold Coast have already visited, so we didn't include them in this get-together. We were also pleased to invite friends who have retired to the lovely county town of Alstonville about 10 mins away. He was in the Air Force with Murray and we bumped into them in Canberra a few years ago. Murray & Brendan had not seen each other for over 20 years. Another pleasant surprise was one of our guests bought along a Catholic Priest who we hadn't met before. Father Paul offered to bless our new home and so now we feel doubly blessed. Firs for finding this home in the first place, and second for the spiritual blessing bestowed on the house.

The last photo above I took of a plate of melba toast with smoked salmon to show my friend Rita in Canberra that I do use the beautiful plate she created, fired and gave me. Thanks Rita!

Ballina Breakfast

Big Brekky

Dining Room finished

Ret & Clairie: Carpet Angels

Almost fully settled into the new house now. The dining room is completed and our spare bedroom is fully set up and has been officially used as a guest room (apart from Benn sleeping there on the first night). We expect to get rid of all the packing boxes this week, then we can reclaim the full use of the back patio. I had a skype with daughter Kim (Copenhagen) and was able to walk her around and through the house with the laptop's webcam giving her a bird's eye view. Mind you she will get to see it in person when she comes home in April for a few weeks, in time to attend my nephew's wedding in Sydney in early May.

My sister Ret from the Gold Coast and my niece from Brisbane (and their families) provided us with wonderful company and more pleasant memories this weekend. Ret & Pete were the bearers of chilled champagne (among other appreciated house-warming gifts) and we duly christened the back patio before my other sister Gemma arrived with her daughter Claire with her 2 year old son Billy and step-daughter Jordan. Claire & co were staying with us for the night, as Gemma & Bill had a visiting priest, Father Joseph from Tanzania, staying with them for a few days. Yet another very enjoyable evening was spent at the RSL (we should get a frequent user discount for our family) where Father Joseph enjoyed his grilled barramundi, one of Australia's good eating fish. Back home for some shenanigans. Claire & Ret tried doing snow angels, only they were on carpet - NOT quite as much fun as doing it in the snow, but I don't think they cared!

This morning we walked to Church for the first time - only 1.5 blocks from our gate - how convenient. Afterwards everyone (10 of us in all) was invited back to our place for a big brekkie - orange juice, bacon, eggs, sausages & tomatoes, croissants, toast & coffee. Murray did a great job on the BBQ and Ret, Clairie & Jordan's clean-up job was appreciated by the hosts!

New Ballina Abode

Benn unloading in new garage
Front of New House - (yet to add letterbox and Lane number)

Benn Assembling Dining Chairs - My Hero

Presto - our New Lounge (disregard packing boxes!)

Unofficial House Warming on Back Patio

Finally! We have now moved into our very own house for the first time in 20 years. Mind you the military housing we lived in throughout our career was top notch for the most part, but nothing beats having your own home. Tomorrow will mark the one week anniversary of our first night here. A week filled with more cartons than you can imagine, lots of lifting, and finding the right spot for our goods and chattels that have been in storage for 3 years. We are one room short, so Murray and I are sharing a study...hmmmm. Lots of compromise ahead I daresay.

My son Benn spent 3 days with us helping us move and if it wasn't for him, I doubt whether our 8 new dining chairs would be assembled yet, nor our TV connected to all the other devices ie video, DVD player, speakers etc. We needed his extra pair of hands to help us manoevre the 5 piece modular lounge into its right spot - there is no way that Murray & I could have done that heavy job alone. By the time Benn left, the worst was behind us, and we were left to unpack cartons and work out where to fit all the contents. Phew! American friends of ours are also moving into their new house near Tampa, Florida, so we know just what they are going through. Heavy going, but very exciting at the same time isn't it Rainie & Tom? Waiting for your photos!

Our first weekend in the new home arrived yesterday and my brother Tony and wife Yudian were keen to drive 1.5hrs down from the Gold Coast to check it out. They offered to bring hot chickens and fresh bread rolls for lunch. My sister Gemma, her husband Bill & our Aunt Dympna live here in Ballina, so we invited them to join in and together we would 'christen' the back patio. To add to the enjoyment, I got a call from Jen, my partner in crime for 4 years of general nurse plus midwifery training. Jen, her husband Peter and her sister Leonie were keen to drive down from the Gold Coast to visit and see the new house, so they joined us all for lunch. It was like the loaves and fishes - food just seemed to materialise. Bill made a delicious pavlova topped with fresh cream and raspberries, and Jen & Co bought some fresh iced tea buns. Delicious. Yes Jan, I am still talking about food.

Although we have been engrossed with moving in, our proximity (1.5 blocks) to the CBD is already coming in handy. As we are in walking distance to Australia's best RSL Club which serves great meals and is located overlooking the beautiful Richmond River, we have already beaten a path from our door to the RSL. Once we went with Benn, once on our own, and again with Tony & Yudian. Well, the house is still in too much disarray to take any decent 'Home Beautiful' pictures for the blog, but I trust the ones above are a good start!

First

Sun Princess Cruise to New Zealand

Peter & Ret departing Sydney (Opera House in background)
Tony, Murray & Yudian - departing Sydney Harbour

Aunty Dympna, Dorothy & Trish departing under Sydney Harbour Bridge

Milford Sound from the Pool Deck

Family Group Christchurch Botanic Gardens
(L-R Murray Trish Dympna (Aunt) Ret (Sister) Peter Dorothy Yudian Tony (Brother)

Murray at Blackjack table in onboard casino

Returning with tug support under Sydney Harbour Bridge

Benn dropped us off at the Wharf in Sydney where we met up with 6 other family members to join our cruise ship. My Aunt was accompanied by her friend Dorothy - they have been friends for 73 years since their school days. Now that is what you call enduring friendship - sadly both are now widowed.

The Sun Princess departed Sydney at 4pm on Friday 5th Feb under grey skies. We stood on the back deck as we sailed under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the majestic Opera House as we headed out to the Tasman Sea. I prayed for calm seas but my prayers weren’t heard – thank goodness for an early tablet of Travalcalm – I think it saved our bacon as we heard of many others who weren’t so lucky. Fortunately the seas settled after the first day. There were 2000 passengers, the majority of which were Australian.

As usual, New Zealand did not disappoint us. We had previously enjoyed a fly/drive around the south island with American friends Jan & Dick a few years ago, and I had attended a work conference in Auckland as well, but this has been our first cruise to NZ. For the first few days the weather was fine but cool, which was a pleasant change from our hot summer days in Ballina. By the time we reached the delightful seaside city of Napier, the weather had become quite hot, but a sea breeze kept us comfortable. I caught the first sunrise of the trip at 5.35am on the 6th day of the cruise – my sister & I basked in a hot tub on the top deck while admiring the growing orange glow on the horizon. Beautiful. At day’s end, around 9pm, the setting sun put on a different but equally colourful display in the western sky as it hovered just above the turquoise waters. It’s a pity our cameras cannot capture the quintessential beauty of our Creator’s colours.

The first three and last two days of the cruise were spent totally at sea. For the 8 days in between we docked at seven different NZ ports where we got off the ship and did some local sightseeing. At Fjordland National Park our ship cruised through Milford Sound which is just one part of this NP and is one of nature’s wonderlands. At its widest point it is 1.5 miles wide, and the majestic cliffs alongside reach 5560 ft high. The ship entered into the Sound to give all onboard a birds-eye view of the cascading waterfalls and scenic mountain surrounds (some with snow), before returning to the Tasman Sea. Dunedin & Napier were pretty ports and we caught a bus in to look around. In Christchurch we hired a small bus and the driver drove us around. We stopped to wander through the Botanic Gardens - the hybrid 'Tiffany' pink rose delighted us all with sight and scent. At Wellington we took the cable car up to see the view and were relieved to see our ship still in port and not drifting out to sea without us. In Auckland we walked into the city where we attended Mass and spent a few hours wandering around. Our last port was the Bay of Islands where all of us took a tour of a glow worm cave and later walked in the protected 'Kauri Forest'. Although the oldest tree in the grove we visited was 500 years old, it was nowhere near as impressive as the towering and beautiful Redwoods (Sequoia) trees in Northern California (North of San Francisco about 100 miles south of the Oregon border), one of which was 950 years old.

During our previous 2 cruises (one each to Alaska & the Caribbean) we agreed we would just enjoy the decadence for the duration of the cruise – eat, play and enjoy the ride while being waited on hand and foot. Well, that was okay as those cruises were only a max of 7 days. This latest cruise on the other hand was 13 days and had the added element of sharing bottles of wine at each dinner meal. Luckily my family and their spouses share our philosophy to enjoy the ‘now’. Each evening we perused the dinner menu and revelled in the chefs concoction of recipes. While there are about 8 main course menu items that were constant, the other six changed each day. My brother has eaten in renowned restaurants all around the world, yet was overly impressed with the culinary delights we tasted during the cruise. Yes Jan, I am still talking about food! One of life's pleasures for me as you already know.

After 13 days cruising the high seas it was time to fly home. Amazingly all eight family members are still talking to each other despite being in close quarters for almost 2 weeks and agree that it was a wonderful cruise. Now Murray & I are safely back in Ballina and have resumed preparations for moving into our new home next Tuesday. My son Benn has kindly offered to fly in and help out for a few days which will be greatly appreciated.

Family & Friends

Hostess Audrey Putts out
Happy 86th Birthday Aunty Dympna

Trish, Mark, Helen holding grandaughter, Murray & Michelle

L-R Benn, Daina, Sam, Peter, Peter, Ret, Dympna, Tony, Yudian & Murray

Sun Princess - our home for the next 13 days

It is February already - the year is really zinging along for us and I daresay for you as well. We have had several family get togethers and some delightful catch ups with old friends. First of all we celebrated Australia Day (26 Jan) with the annual Watson golf tournament at our friends Audrey & Grant Watson's place -they have landscaped their sloping front yard and built one grass green and 4 tee-offs. Quite a challenging course but with a fantastic view.

On 30 January we celebrated our Aunt's 86th birthday with a family lunch at Lennox Heads. It is one of life's pleasures for me to dine while looking over water, and this was no exception. The ocean was beautiful.

Friends of our from our Point Cook Air Force days, Helen & Mark, were in the area visiting their daughter Michelle who we hadn't seen for about 18 years. Benn & Kim used to play with her when they were all around 10-12 years old. She now has a son and daughter of her own and it was lovely to catch up with them all. The Ballina RSL Club catered for our lunch well, with the added advantage of the lovely view over the Richmond River. That same day we also had a family dinner there to welcome friends Bev & Keith from Alice Springs. Bev & my sister Gemma went to school together and have been good friends for over 50 years. They are visiting Ballina for a while, and in fact they are houseminding our B&B while we are on the cruise.

Cruise you say, what cruise? My aunt, her school friend Dorothy, my brother Tony his wife Yudian, my sister Loretta (Ret) and her husband Peter, plus Murray & I are heading off today for a 13 day cruise from Sydney to New Zealand and return. We stop at 6 ports and cruise the Bay of Islands up north as well as the Fjordlands down south. Last night my son Benn, his girlfriend Daina and Ret's son Peter and his fiancee Sam met together with all the cruising party for dinner. We had a sumptuous feast at a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Sydney. A great prelude to our coming adventure on the high seas...well, let the seas be high, but please let them be calm......fortunately our cabin has a balcony so we can get fresh air. Watch out for photos from the cruise on the next blog.

First Grandchild

Three Generations (Adrian, Blayke, Murray)

Proud New Grandparents

Yes, three weeks since my last entry, but believe me we have been well and truly occupied. This is my first entry for the New Year and what exciting news to kick start the New Year. A new grandchild! The first grandchild for us. Murray's son Adrian and his wife Danielle welcomed a bonny Blayke Mitchell into the world. He weighed in at 8lb 5 oz and slept blissfully whilst we were visiting. We originally booked our flights 2 weeks after the expected delivery date, thinking it would allow the new family time to settle the little one in. Little did we know young Blayke wanted a bit more time to cook, and he didn't arrive until the day we flew into Melbourne.

Our Melbourne visit gave us a chance to not only meet the new grandson, but to catch up with Murray's kids and sister-in-law, and also visit with other friends. We stayed a few nights with friends Joe-Ann & Ross and enjoyed our time together.

Other good news to start our year off on a positive note was to complete the settlement of our Robina house on time on 15th January. Now we can concentrate on purchasing furniture for the new house! Selecting a lounge suite, ceiling fans, airconditioners, washing machine, dishwasher, outdoor setting, fridge, microwave, bed, bedhead, TV etc all takes time!

Sadly our plans to RV around Alaska with friends Marie & Eric (Sacramento) this year have fallen through as one of the highlights of the trip was to see the brown bears catch the salmon jumping out of the water. This tour was already booked out for this year, so we have now paid our deposit and secured a spot for next year. Instead of touring Alaska, we are now looking at alternative options (always one of the most pleasant tasks of any given day!) which is likely to include a flight from the USA to Denmark to visit my daughter Kim in Copenhagen. We will probably stay there for about 10 days, get a hire car and travel around Denmark, Sweden and environs. I know, I know - life is tough...

End of a Decade: Farewell the Noughty (sic) Nineties...

Kitchen in new Ballina House
Rear View of new Ballina House

Christmas Day Spread

Christmas Kitchen Elves

Christmas Day drinks with my 92 year old mother and brother Tony

Today is not just the last day of the year 2009 but it is also the last day of the decade! A time to look back and give thanks for all the wonderful things to be grateful for. For family, friends, good health & life's wonderful adventures.

The last year or so of the decade caused some anxiety with the global financial crisis. We took a hit and fortunately weathered the storm; however we have refined our modus operandi just the same. It has been the last few weeks of this decade that have been very interesting for us to say the least. We have bought a house here in Ballina and have a contract to sell our house in Robina. Murray and I both had an unplanned surgical operation in the week prior to Christmas - his was removal of a kidney stone and mine was removal of an ovarian tumour and ovary. We were both a bit uncomfortable at the family Christmas lunch, but we are firing on all fours again now.

Now we have the New Year unfurling full of promise ahead of us. We will kick start the first day of 2010 tomorrow with a family lunch on the Gold Coast followed by afternoon tea with parents of my friends Jen & Leonie. I did all of my general nurse & midwifery training (4 years) with Jen so have known her parents since 1970.

In mid-January we fly to Melbourne to catch up with Murray's 3 kids and friends from our Air Force days. In early February we are taking a 13 day cruise from Sydney to New Zealand with 3 other family couples (brother & sister and their spouses, and our aunt and her school friend).

Four days after our return from the cruise we move into the Ballina house. I am calling it our Ballina Retreat as it will be just that. It will be great to have a place to really call 'home' for the first time since I joined the Air Force 22 years ago. We lived in military housing for 20 years. Since leaving the Service 3 years ago, we have spent 6 months a year living in our motorhome in America and 6 months in Australia living in temporary accommodation with our goods being held in storage.

We will still be in settling-in into our Ballina retreat when it will be time to fly back to USA for another 6 month adventure in our motorhome. We are aiming for a mid-May departure this year to enable us to attend our nephew's wedding in Sydney before flying off to Los Angeles and onto Kansas City where our RV is stored.

After our skirmishes with health issues recently, my wish for the new year is good health, along with the usual wish for a heavy sprinkling of happiness. I extend that wish to you all too.

Happy New Year!