Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Road trip: Victoria - Part 4



From Walkerville we headed north to Jeeralang Junction, near Churchill. Richard wanted to catch up with a high school friend. They hadn't been in contact for 39 years. The last time they saw each other was when they were in Year 12. They showed us around their sheep farm and we saw a lamb being born! Richard also liked seeing their pet parrot, dogs and pigeons.




The dog that guards the sheep.





Daughter Merrin playing with the pet parrot.



The next afternoon it was time to return to Canberra. We drove home via Cann River, Bombala and Cooma. We had a good trip with little traffic to contend with.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Road Trip: Victoria - Part 3

Phillip Island to Walkerville: July13 & 14


Venus Bay


Jim and Jane's house at Walkerville. We had a lovely time catching up with Jane. What a beautiful part fo the world! We missed seeing Jim as he was swanning around the country with overseas guests.




Jane's workshop. She started the firing about 6am
and was checking the kiln temperature
every half hour that day. She finished the firing at about 8:30pm.
It was a long and busy work day for her.
We had to leave before we could see the finished products, as Jane had to wait many more hours for the kiln to slowly cool down before she could open it to view them.
Later she told us that she that she had a mixture of successes and disappointments.


We saw the old lime kilns and the beach at Walkerville.
A little too chilly for swimming.



We encountered emus on Wilson's Promontory







Sad to leave Jane... hope to visit again sometime.

Road trip: Victoria- Part 2

Melbourne and Phillip Island - July 11 & 12.

It was great to catch up with Phil and Wendy in Melbourne. The kindly offered us their house to stay in on Phillip Island. We enjoyed a lovely day there.


The Nobbies - fairy penguin area.




Bass Straight

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

July road trip to Victoria - Part 1

Towong: July 6 to 11
Rick was experimenting with his mobile phone, which has an option to take panoramic shots.



We were offered a lovely retreat overlooking the upper Murray River. This was made available through a special foundation that helps those affected by a diagnosis of breast cancer. There are such caring people in the world!



The house was situated on a hill in a tiny place called Towong, in Victoria. It had stunning views of the Murray River and green pastures in the foreground, with snow covered mountains, including Mt Kosciuszko, as the back drop. We had a very relaxing time. It was freezing cold and foggy every morning until midday. When the fog finally lifted, a 180 degree spectacular view appeared!














The house had a Blue Wren theme. Rick tried many times to get good shots of these little birds. I included this one as it was the best. It was on the glass panel in the front door!

Birthday weekend: July 3 & 4




Cameron cutting his birthday cake, with Noah looking on.

I haven't written for a while. On the weekend of July 3 &4 we had celebrations in Canberra for those of the family with July Birthdays: Bruce on July 1st, Mum and Cameron on July 3rd .
Paul & Jeni , Mum & Dad, Deirdre & Paul and Miriam, Matt & Noah joined the rest of the family here in Canberra for the Saturday celebrations. Mum was disappointed that she lost her voice and hadn't recovered from a very bad cold she had had for weeks. Despite her being unwell, I think she and Dad enjoyed being with the family.

In the last month or two, Cameron and Richard have been working on Cameron's kitchen to upgrade the stove top and oven and install a dishwasher and new cupboards. It's looking good!

I am trying my best to manage the fatigue and body aches, that have come as a result of the recent treatment and medication. I have to limit a lot of my normal activities and adjust to a new way of living. This is a big challenge for me. I think a lot of the battle is being able to adjust mentally to my new health situation.

Looking forward to Stuart and Cherie coming this Saturday! They are staying for a week. After we have a welcome lunch for them in Sydney, we are bringing them home to spend the rest of the week in Canberra. It will be so good to see them and spend time with them.