Inside

These photos were sent to me by the eldest son whilst he and his wife were in Sydney this week.  They went to two concerts, Metallica and Opeth, not my type of music.  I've never been or seen inside the Sydney Opera House myself, so it was pleasing to receive these photos and share them.

Inside looks amazing and filling up with people in readiness for the concert to begin, the Opeth one.  

The Kindle eReader

 I've mentioned before that I'm not a great book reader the main reason is if I pick up a book I read it until I've finished it and nothing gets done in the house.  Sometimes I get my husband to call me to put the book away and begrudgingly I will.  I occasionally will purchase a paper book.

I bought an eReader a Kindle back in 2010 or 2011 my first one and now I bought another this week, a Kindle Paper White Signature Edition brought out in 2024.  I'm reading the Virginia Roberts Giuffre book, Nobody's Girl.  Loving it.

My old Kindle below.

My new Kindle below and so improved with the Kindle case.

Yes, I like to have a Bible on my Kindle. I've only got a sample yet.

Meals and Trivia

Just a bit of Trivia regarding Launceston, Tasmania, Australia where I live. 

These two 'things' I found on the internet:  The sunniest town in Tasmania is Launceston, it's sunnier than Melbourne, Victoria which is a State of Australia north of the State Tasmania.  Launceston has 2,500 hours of annual sunshine, whereas Melbourne receives 2,300 hours of annual Sunshine.

The 2nd 'thing' is what is the foodie town of Tasmania?  Launceston.  The internet says it's a foodie paradise and gastronomic hub officially recognized as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2021.  A meeting place of food, culture, tradition and innovation that connects people with the land in a way that's deliciously down to earth.

Rather interesting I thought.

Some meals we had recently for dinner (evening meal).

The above three meat things are Rissoles with gravy and 6 vegetables.  I/we love potatoes, fortunately we can eat anything at aged 80.

I have a glass of wine most evenings with my dinner, this wine is the only one I drink and it's Brown Brothers Crouchen Riesling which is an Australia sweet wine.  The wine features sweet fruit flavours with a soft finish and aromas of tropical fruits and melons.

Chicken Stirfry and Rice

Baked dinner, baked pork and gravy with 4 vegetables potatoes baked.

Below is Spaghetti Bolognaise. 

Tulip time, Irises, Daffodil

 A few flowers from the garden in winter and spring.  The below flower attracts the bees, and this plant was shifted from the front garden to the back one, it's called ?rose and for the life of me can't think of it's name.  It has flowered all winter.

I've never grown tulips before this year I planted two colours red and yellow, the yellow hasn't come out as yet and it might not. We used to go to the tulip farm along the north west coast, you will find a post here of tulips grown there.

We moved the Irises in late summer to a different area in the garden, they are doing better but the wind knocked them about.

I love this coloured daffodil.

Curtain Springs, Northern Territory.

The outback of Australia.

Curtain Springs Station is an interesting place.  The area is: 416,400 hectares.  Acres: 1,028,948 acres. That is a huge area.  Curtain Springs Station came into being in 1956 with owners Peter Severin and his wife Dawn (dec) along with their toddler son Ashley and 1,5000 head of cattle settled there.  There are 4 generations now living at Curtain Springs Station.

You can read the history [ here ] and the site also shows videos.  If you have time and interested it's certainly worth visiting their site to read the history and what they do now.

We stayed for a couple of nights in the camping area as it is on the way to Ayres Rock (Uluru) a 1 hour and 16 minute drive away. There is no water but of course there is water underground, if there wasn't you certainly couldn't live in Central Australia.

Mt. Connor is larger the Ayers Rock (Uluru) Northern Territory and is seen on the way to Uluru.  Mt. Connor is 859 m high (2,818 ft) and lies within Curtain Springs Cattle Station. There are many camels in the area too.

These photos are far from Curtain Springs Station.

As you can see by the map, it's in Central Australia, far from towns.

The below photos of Curtain Springs were taken from Google Maps and it gives you some idea what it's like to live in the middle of nowhere with hardly any grass.

Port Germein.

Port Germein is 70 km south of Port August South Australia overlooking Germein Bay, the community of around 400 or so boasts great fishing and crabbing, wonderful walks, good markets with lovely beaches, mountains, national parks, wineries and a cute village.  We travelled there in 2004 and again in latter years, so the first visit is a long time ago and photos I took are from that year.

Port Germein was put on the map back in 1881 when its jetty was built to allow sailing ships to be loaded with grain. Because of its shallow beach, the jetty was extended a couple of years later which made it 1,680 meters.  Since that time it has been shortened a little by storm damage and various repairs, it is still the longest jetty in South Australia.  When the railway arrived some years late the larger ships could no longer moor, Port Germein went into something of a decline and things closed.

The AI below is of The Blue Swimmer Crab as I didn't have a photo of one, nor could I find a decent one and of course they are not as blue as the AI made it.  However, it gives us an idea of what they are like.  

The Blue Swimmer Crab is an edible, wild caught crustacean found in Australia and Indo-Pacific coastal water. They are also called the 'blue manna' or 'sandy', it is a popular food with a mild, sweet, nutty flavour, typically caught in bays and estuaries and used in dishes like boiling, salads, and pasta.

The Hotel above years ago and the photo below I took when we passed through which has now been renovated.  I noticed the balcony is the same as in the railing but very different now apparently.  

Mud flat which are not that attractive. If you click on the photos you can see the wooden bridge.

The Big Thong near or a bit inland in Port Germein.

Crystal Brook is a sweet town and we always had lunch at the Bakery there when passing through.   Crystal Brook is before Germein and is 197 km from the Capital of South Australia, Adelaide. 

'During WW11, Crystal Brook was the location of RAAF No. 32 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot, built in 1942 and closed on June 14, 1944.  Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supple of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of 900,000 pounds ($1,800,000).'  Wikipedia

Crystal Brook (or creek) supplied water to the town until 1890 when the Beetaloo Reservoir was completed, which at the time was the largest concrete dam in the southern hemisphere.

A Meal

 I'm not that fond of coffee but used to be.  These days we have a coffee machine so a decent cup or mug of coffee can be given to visitors and ourselves once in a while.  I usually drink water but have a cup of tea for breakfast. These beans below go into the grinder and are an Italian blend.  I add to the coffee for visitors, sometimes for us too.  Visitors seem to love it. What do I add?  Jameson Irish Whiskey is one spirit I use; another is Frangelico or Tia Maria both a liqueur. 

A Capuchino is what I prefer, one I made below.

Prawn Cocktail for Entree, and below Barramundi fish, salad and chips for dinner in the evening.

Sunset at Ballina, NSW

On the home front here in Launceston, Tasmania there has been very strong winds and rain.  Two people from the same family were standing outside in a paddock on the northwest coast and were killed as the tree fell. It was a large strong looking tree but alas - the wind.  Trees all over the roads, falling on houses in the whole of the State of Tasmania, no power for so many people fortunately we were lucky.  No planes flying, no ferry across the sea all too rough.  Today it's a lot better as many workers have cleaned the mess up over the weekend.  Now to continue todays post.

Ballina is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia.  It lies 740km north of Sydney and 185 km south of Brisbane, Queensland. The urban population in 2021 was 46,190 people. 

There are few lovely beaches in the area and of course fishing for those that love to fish. The town center has everything one could need.

We've stayed there a few times in the past as we travelled towards home and looked about the area.  

Photos taken at a caravan park and just a few steps to take these photos of the sunset and Richmond River.

The Big Prawn situated in the carpark of a hardware store known as Bunnings in Australia.