Not much to say

Not much to report on the last week or so.....same o same o. We forgot little Michael's birthday last Sunday. We had noted it on the calendar so we wouldn't forget and then forgot to look at the calendar. Rang him last night and he seemed to have had a great birthday with 5 friends staying overnight. He got a bit of money for gifts and is saving up to buy some sought of bike..... he did say what it was but I have never heard of it.

Had a rather tiring day yesterday at Tebbutt as the weather was rather hot. I made everyone wear a hat and had to make sure they had sun lotion on for our garden club. We mostly did watering and put some mulch on the plants. I have to watch them when they have the hose gun as they turn around not thinking and wet everyone. One of the fish in the tank was sick so had to empty some water out and put in some medicine and fresh water and now the water is green. Hopefully this will fix him up.

Nellie was at exercises and was even moving her feet when she didn't think I was looking.
I think I am like a regular to them all now and expect me to turn up on Tuesdays.
Some of them certainly enjoy their trivia and this week I used the microphone so I didn't have to shout. I just found it hard to hear their answers as I am a bit deaf myself at the moment.
I got a bit carried away with the microphone and read to them about the life of Kingsford Smith. I told them all to listen carefully as I was going to ask them questions next week on him.

I went to the movies with Judy today and saw a good film called " Mao's Last Dancer" It is based on a best selling autobiography of Li Cunxin, a chinese ballet dancer who was invited to dance in the US and stayed. He married an Australian ballet dancer and now lives in Melbourne.


I mentioned previously that Tony was invited back to work on a casual basis. Well he has declined their offer and is sticking to doing little jobs for himself now an then.

Back on air at last.

You will be all pleased to know that we are back on air after 9 days of total isolation. I am able to get back to my farm and sought out the devastation. I now know how farmers must feel when their crops are ruined and all the money they must lose. I have replanted potatoes and couple of over vegetables and providing there are no other hiccups will be able to expand my farm when the crops are harvested.

Thank you Kerry- Ann who has been looking in on my farm and reporting the happening but unable to do anything about it. Also thank you David for letting me tend to your farm so I would not be completely lost.

Some things to tell you about David.......I know you just wanted a pig farm but in order to get this up and running I needed to plant some crops. At harvest I will then have some money to work with. Also I had to sell 1 horse and 2 of your goats to get enough money to buy the crops as I had spent the little money you had on fences etc. I will be able to sent these animals back to you as gifts. I hope you don't mind but I also adopted a couple of ugly ducklings that were found on other peoples property and needed a home...................doesn't this all seem real to you !!!!!!!

Sunday was the annual Buddy Walk and our family raised $1,110 towards this great cause. Unfortunately, David and Simone could not make this event as they were both still recovering

from flu like symptoms which they probably passed on to everyone on Saturday at Emily's 8th Birthday. Seriously, I hope you both are feeling better.

The weather was kind to us and we all meet at Circular Quay and walked across the Harbour Bridge to Nelson Park for a picnic. Felise didn't walk as far as she did last year as she had a "stitch in her side" . She was feeling better later and joined in with all the dancing but got a bit shy when a photographer wanted to take a photo of her. Jake had a great time too with so much open space and enjoyed wandering off.

We were entertained by the Japanese hip hop sensation "Love Junx" (all of whom have down syndrome). The crowd was enthralled with their amazing moves. After the performance Love Junx invited the audience to the dance floor to teach them a bit of hip hop and soon most of the Buddy Walkers were dancing to the beat including Felise.

We were all tired little teddies at the end of the day.

Photo taken at Zacs on my Birthday on Friday with David and Amanda, Gina and Peter and Tony. We are going to make this a monthly event.

Saturday was October Birthday day at Craig and Danielle's place. Emily turned 8 and scored a Sportacus suit which she would not take off for 2 days. Picture shows Emily in her Sportacus suit. (He is one of the characters in Tiny Town). One of her presents from David and Simone was a Goonies video and she was over the moon with this and wanted to watch it straight away.

Alvira and Jason were also there with their daughter Jazmin who is 5 months old. Jason was Craig's Best Man.

NEWS FLASH: Tony has been invited back to Fairfield Hospital to work on a casual basis........ will keep you updated.

I am so annoyed

There is a problem with Tony's facebook and I haven't be able to get on for 4 days now and I am hopping mad. I have sent them several emails and they say there are technical issues and are looking into the problem. This doesn't help my farm. All my crops are ruined and I was about to get enough money to expand my farm with those crops. I had planted potatoes and was expecting heaps of money but these would all have withered away by now.


Well I didn't win at cards on Monday night. In fact the only game I won was the last game.
Maybe the reason could have been that they decided to take all the 7s and 8s out of the pack.
This I believe and so did the majority of the others was stupid. Hopefully we can have them back in next week.

Had a good day at Tebbutt Lodge on Tuesday. I now have the run of the place and they even gave me a master key to get into all the rooms. I tend to take all the classes by myself these days as Vicki always seems to have other things to do. All the residents look forward to my trivia as when I arrive they always ask if we are having trivia. All except one gentleman who always shakes his head as much to say " you are not turning off the movie to play that silly game are you?" Only he is not able to speak but I'm sure he means that. I gave them some tricky puzzles this week that I had brought from home and they went down well. To my surprise even Nelly answered a couple of questions. I think she is getting used to me now. Although she does give me one of those looks now and then.

I have put in for another voluntary job. It was like applying for a real job that pays money. They wanted to know everything and asked for referees. I have sent the forms in and will see if I get an interview in the next 2 weeks. This one is an office job.

Happy 40th Birthday Kerry-Ann

Kerry-Ann celebrated her 40th Birthday with an evening out to dinner with husband, Michael on Saturday night and a sleep in on her birthday. Felise and Jake had a sleepover at our place and Kerry and Michael join us yesterday for a birthday lunch.

Unfortunately it was raining and we were unable to take the children to the park and into the fresh air. But we did have fun watching videos, playing hide & seek, building houses and lots of cuddles. Jake was a bit wary of Pinto and began to complain if he came near. I have never seen someone so obsessed with eating as Jake. Whenever it looked like I was going to get some food he would run to his high chair and demand to be seated.

We were going to go to the shops but as Jake was up around 5am he was ready for a sleep again at 9.30am so while he slept Felise and I built a house of blocks and played with the little dolls pretending they were coming to the house for a party. These little dolls were the ones Kerry and Melissa used to play with when they were little.

It was our turn today for Tony and I to have a sleep in.

Also last week was Craig's birthday. This is a picture of Craig with his Mum. Tony was painting at Margaret's and as Craig is on holidays he came over and they had lunch.

Euchre night, going for my 3rd win in a row. Rather large thunder storm at the moment so I will sign off to get dinner ready as it is a Public holiday today and cards are starting early at 6pm.

Another Wedding Another Birthday.

Saturday was rather windy when we arrived at Bel Haven Wentworthville for the wedding of Tony's ex work colleagues, Vicki and Neil at 4pm. We had the right day this time. The ceremony was held outside and the bride was late so I was glad when it was over so we could go inside and get warm. The place it was held at was where Catherine had her reception when she married Allan and it was then owned by Johnny Lockwood. Johnny was an actor and was on of the stars in 96 the serial on many moons ago.

After we had eaten and it was around 8.15pm and the speeches hadn't started we thought we

had better make a move before they did as it would be rude to walk out in the middle of them.....and you know how speeches waffle on. So we missed out on the wedding cake......and it looked such a lovely cake. We set our Navman on to Gordon Golf Club and headed for David's 60th surprise party. There were mainly teachers there from all the different schools he had taught and some from teachers college. They tell us David was surprised and had no idea that this was happening particularly as it was a couple of weeks after his birthday. Amanda had done a good job at organising and keeping it secret. David got a second surprise when we arrived and said he just thought we had not been invited.

This picture of the group was taken after everyone had left. Yes. I have on the same outfit I wore to the 50th Wedding Anniversary. Kristy did not attend as she had a migraine.

I have won the money for the second week in a row at our Monday Euchre night. Both times I have had to share 1st prize so hopefully I can win it by myself next week.

I looked after Felise and Jake as Kerry-Ann was working today instead of Thursday. So after hanging the clothes on the line, Jake having some yogurt and getting the children dressed we ventured off to Earlwood Library for Storytime for the under 5's. Felise got two chairs out, one for Jake and one for herself to sit on. They watched a short video then Steven read a few stories about pigs. Felise got a bit bored with the stories and proceeded to explore the library and give me lots of cuddles. Jake decided to stack all the chairs up and hide. When the singing started they both enjoyed this and Felise participated and Jake watched. They then coloured in pictures of a pig. This finished about 12 noon so then we went to McDonalds for lunch. When we pulled up at Mcdonalds Felise said "this is where David and Simone took me". We had nuggets and french fries and Felise polished off some for Jake. They then had a play in the playcentre before we returned home. After a drink of milk Jake was ready for a sleep and Felise got out the Lotto and won both games. We were just beginning to play a game where you take the children to Big school when Mummy came home.

Tomorrow is Craig's Birthday. Happy 39th Birthday Craig.

The red face of Luna Park

Photos of Bondi Beach and Luna Park

I awoke this morning and glance towards the open window and could see a red tinge outside. First I thought there was something wrong with my eyes so I got up and looked out. The sky was an eerie red/brown colour so I put on the news and found out it was a dust storm. Apparently there has not been one like this in Sydney since 1944. The wind has gradually been getting heavier throughout the day and rain is expected towards the evening. We have tickets to the Sounds of Ireland (something like Riverdance) at the Lyric Theatre at Star City tonight so I am hoping the weather is not going to be as bad as they expect.

A funny thing happened last Saturday. We were going to a wedding at 4.pm. I had arranged all the clothes we were wearing on the bed and was just about to wash my hair and get ready when I saw the wedding card and asked Tony did he want me to write it out. He said yes, so I got the invitation to make sure I spelt the names correctly and found that the wedding was not until the 28th, next Saturday. The thing is we had already made other arrangements for next Saturday .......Dancing 10 lunch at Raymond Terrace and in the evening brother, David's surprise 60th Birthday at Gordon Golf Club. So as we take another 3 people in our car to Raymond Terrace and we had to cancel, they have changed the date to 31st Oct. We will go to the wedding and then arrived later at David's party and he can get a second surprise.

AOTEAROA - Land of the long white cloud

On arrival in Christchurch we were taken to The Grand Chancellor hotel to meet up with our fellow travellers, Coach Captain, Leigh and Tour Director, Cheryl, for a welcome dinner. There were 25 on the tour; 17 of which had already completed a tour of the North Island. We were among the 8 that were only doing the South Island and we all seem to hit it off ok. The dinner was a delicious smorgasbord and after eating retired to our rooms for an early night as we had to be up at 5 am with bags packed and outside our door by 6pm the same time as breakfast. This sought of thing was to happen throughout the tour with the exception of Queenstown where we stopped in the same hotel for 2 days.

On our first day our coach left us to catch the Tranz Alpine train and would met up with us again at Arthurs Pass. The view from the train was breathtaking as it passed fields and farmland of the Canterbury Plains and followed the gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River into the South Alps. When we disembarked at Arthurs Pass we continued on to Hokitika to see skilled craftsmen carving Pounamo (Jade) or that was supposed to be what we saw but Tony and I decided to explore the town instead. After lunch with viewed the awesome Franz Josef Glacier and experienced a scenic helicopter flight with a snow landing.

We stayed overnight at Fox Glacier

Day 3 we travelled through the sub-tropical rainforest to Haast Pass and viewed the spectacular Thunder Creek Falls. Visited popular Arrowtown, a quaint and historic gold mining town. Continued on to picturesque Queenstown where our hotel room overlooked beautiful Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range. The mountains were allegedly named The Remarkables because they are one of only two mountain ranges in the world which run directly north to South. An alternate explanation for the name given by locals is that early Queenstown settlers, upon seeing the mountain range during sunset one evening, named them The Remarkables to describe the sight. We dined in style that night. Picture shows Tony and I with Peter and Gina, a couple who live at Thornleigh and dine at Zacs.
Day 4 was a free day in Queenstown. We took a ride by gondola to the skyline complex on Bob's Peak and discovered a view like no other spread out before you in a spectacular panorama. From Coronet Peak to the north, The Remarkables mountain range to the east and across the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu to Cecil and Walter Peaks in the southwest, it was magnificent and awe inspiring. The only time it rained the whole trip was this afternoon so we had lunch and ventured around the town. Late in the afternoon we boarded a vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw to cruise Lake Wakatipu and then enjoyed a wine tasting and dinner at Walter Peak High Country Station followed by a farm tour. I got to feed a baby lamb, it was awesome.

On the way back on the boat we had a singalong.

Day 5 we travelled through the breathtaking Fiordland National Park, where lush rainforests meet snow capped mountains. Then boarded the boat for an unforgettable cruise on Milford Sound, the most accessible of Fiordland's magnificent glacier fiords. Lush green rainforest clung to sheer rock walls washed with waterfalls and in the foreground was Mitre Peak, a majestic presence dominating the skyline. Tony got a fantastic video of the waterfalls but in doing so was drenched by the spray. The water in the lake was so calm and peaceful and you could see the reflection of the flora in the water. We returned to the lakeside town of Te Anau for an overnight stay at the Luxmore Hotel. On the long journey back, as there is only one road in and out of Milford Sound, they put on a New Zealand film called "Whale Rider".

Photos show the tunnel going into Milford Sound by coach & on the boat. Also the Kea which is a species of parrot found in forrested and alpine regins of the South Island. He was very tame and came up right inside the bus. He is used to tourists and wanted food but it is illegal to feed them as they must find the correct food for themselves and not eat our food which is junk to them.

Tony catching a fish in Te Anau

On day six we had the option of having an overnight stay with the local people in the countryside of Dunedin or at the Kingsgate Hotel. Everyone opted for the hotel. Dunedin is a university city of Scottish heritage and New Zealand's oldest city. This is where Kerry's husband, Michael was born and his Mum and Dad still live. I rang his Mum but we did not have enough spare time to visit her. The night before we arrived there had been riots among the students from different universities throughout the South Island. However, we didn't see any evidence of this when we arrived. We certainly felt a bit out of place as everybody walking along the street seemed to be students. Baldwin St in Dunedin is regarded by the Guinness Book of Records as being the steepest street in the world - 35% gradient

The next day we went to Larnach Castle in Dunedin. This was more like an magnificent old house rather than a castle but it did have the turrets on the top. It was built in 1871 and during our guided tour we heard about its tragic and scandalous history. After exploring the large garden we headed off along the Waitaki River to Omarama to see the Moeraki Boulders.

Tony standing on a Boulder

The Moeraki Boulders are huge spherical stones that are scattered over the sandy beaches, but they are not like ordinary round boulders that have been shaped by rivers and pounding seas. These boulders are classed as septarian concretions, and were formed in ancient sea floor sediments. They were created by a process similar to the formation of oyster pearls, where layers of material cover a central nucleus or core. For the oyster, this core is an irritating grain of sand. For the boulders, it was a fossil shell, bone fragment, or piece of wood. Lime minerals in the sea accumulated on the core over time, and the concretion grew into perfectly spherical shapes up to three metres in diameter.

The original mudstone seabed has been uplifted to form coastal cliffs. Erosion of the cliffs has released the three tonne captive boulders, which now lie in a haphazard jumble across the beach. Further erosion in the atmosphere has exposed a network of veins, which gives the boulders the appearance of turtle shells. Similar boulders occur at Shag Point, and the nearby swimming beach of Katiki. In Hawke's Bay in the North Island, scientists have found that the central core of similar boulders contained perfectly preserved skeletons of turtles, sea snails and extinct reptiles, such as plesiosaurs.

After spending the night at the Heritage Gateway Hotel in Dunedin we headed off pass picturesque Lake Pukaki and stopped and viewed Mt Cook. They say it is very rare to see Mt Cook as it is generally covered in cloud but we were lucky. We continued on to the glacier-fed lake of Tekapo, where we saw the Church of the Good Shepherd, situated right on the lakes edge. The glacial blue waters are amazing. This was day 8 and our farewell dinner was tonight back in Christchurch where our tour officially ends. The next day was a free day to enjoy the sights of Christchurch. We ventured to the Museum then on to the Botanical Gardens where we managed to get lost and found we had been walking around in circles. Eventually we found our way out. We walked for kms to find a Golf Club House so we could buy a golf shirt with an emblem on for David's 60th. We found one and also brought a cap to match. However, when we got it home found that it was a women's one as it buttoned on the opposite side.......what a shame we should have payed more attention. We did tell the lady it was for my brother.

Pictures or Coach Captain, Leigh and Tour Director, Cheryl - Our travellers companions -

Farewell dinner (on the left is Leigh, Christine, his mother, Gina and Peter and on the right, Tommy and Cathie, myself and Tony).

The final day all we wanted to do was get home. We really enjoyed our trip but could not have taken living out of a suitcase and strict schedule for much longer. Eight days on the coach was enough. We certainly couldn't have done the North Island as well. We were also lucky to have such a nice group of people that all got on so well and worked together otherwise it could have been a nightmare.

In the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch





Me walking like a penquin on Franz Josef Glacier