Arrived

Must tell you this:   Granddaughter aged 13 went with a friend from school on Friday to the Cemetery  just over the hill from home, we call it 'The Dead Centre'.  Anyway M and a friend went there for a look and M went to the loo whilst there.  Youngest son who lives here at home received a distressed phone call from M.  'What do you do when the toilet door won't unlock', she said, son says 'well get under the door', but wasn't to be as the door was a full one.  So son went to the Cemetery to rescue his middle child (teenager)  by breaking the door as he couldn't undo the lock or open the door!  I'm still giggling. Certainly not a nice feeling being locked in the Loo in a Cemetery.

It took us 4 hours to drive from home in Launceston to the Huonville Caravan Park, it was a very windy day with big gusts of wind every now and then.  When we drove into the Caravan Park we were greeted with smiles by the Owners as they have got to know us now seeing as we've been for several Christmases and Easters.  Our favourite site was there for us, down by the river with lovely green grass and a concrete slab to park the caravan on and when we open the door of the caravan we step onto concrete. 

We asked for the site next door for our eldest son his wife and their two little ones, so it was saved for when they arrived in a few days time, Christmas Eve.

The photos are of where we parked and a small part of the river, the sand is carted from 7 mile beach some distance away and cost $3,000.00 AUD, wow that is a lot of money but it sure keeps the children happy,  we all call the sand and the river 'The Beach'. 

There are more photos to come of the caravan park that I took as the days passed by.

The owner and one of his employees putting up the Christmas Tree.  My Santa in the caravan and some more decorations which I crocheted before Christmas and hung them on the curtain rods.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year.  I'm off again for Christmas be away till mid January. So take care and be safe.

These lilies are from my garden.

 

The City of Launceston's Christmas Tree.

Old digital Photos 1998

Old digital photos.  I really can't recall my first digital camera certainly had one in 1998 as the photos below were taken with it.  I somehow remember having an earlier camera with the resolution so small and nothing good to store the photos on only floppy discs - remember those?

The Launceston City Mall has changed over the years and was the first Mall in Australia in the 1970's.

These days the Mall in near empty of retail businesses and nothing like in the past.  We certainly don't have big shopping centres here in Launceston, it's just the times, buying online and so forth due to the decline.

The first photo is of the Quadrant Mall up around the corner from the Brisbane Mall.

A link to the Launceston Mall in 2012.

 

Both of the Brisbane Street Mall - looking south, looking north

Kayaking

Still Christmas time 2019 and Miss E, very first time Kayaking in Huonville, Tasmania.

 

 

  

Above is eldest son R and his son Master Z coming into shore.

Below are children not all that ladies :) playing in the sand.  Tons and tons of sand has been carted to the edge of the water for the children, the sand is very soft and not gritty.

Below we have Master Z with his big bubble and their family dog 'Summer'.

 

Fun at Huonville, Tasmania

Now I'm delving into photos and a video or two taken not long ago, in this instance it was Christmas last 2019 when eldest son, his wife and their two little ones, my husband and myself took our caravans to a place down south called Huonville Tasmania for a Christmas Holiday. 

There is a river /small one at the back of the property of the Caravan Park.

 

The first is a video of Miss E who was then 7 years of age blowing bubbles behind out caravan. The bubbles being normal pace then are slow motion. Video goes for 15 sec, if you blink you might miss it :)

 Then we have Santa who paid a visit Christmas Eve day to give all children a gift 2019

 

 

 

 We did our best to make it look like Christmas, so we bought this little Christmas Tree that has several different patterns to choose from, we chose the one that changed colours  and tied the tree to the table in case the wind got up.

Miss E found a 4 leaf clover and the two photos below are sparklers which were lit by the fire in a drum, she is trying to make a circle which eventually did happen after many sparklers.

Son and myself had a good time with our phones to get the correct effect.

Where the marker is, that's where we were plus you can see Launceston in the north, that's where we live.

Not the usual Christmas Day!

Christmas Day the weather was hot, hotter than predicted so the A/C went on, beautiful inside with the ducted system which we replaced when we came home from the long holiday in early November.

Started to cook Christmas Dinner husband decided to visit eldest sons house a few klm away in another Suburb to see if the water had turned on outside to water some baby plants.
Eldest son, his wife and their little ones are on the East Coast of Tasmania on a holiday for several weeks and will come home for a day or two here and there to check things out.

I received a phone call from Husband whilst at sons - the house it flooded! A fitting underneath the bathroom sink had given way due to rust and being old, so husband was walking in water up to his ankles in parts, downstairs was also flooded with water up to just below his knees.  The water was turned off, he came home we had Christmas dinner, son and his wife came home about 2pm after being phoned earlier, thus we 4four did the best we could wading in water pulling ruined furniture and clothes, books, toys etc. all off the flood into an area outside.
Son and wife returned to the East Coast to continue their holiday but will come home again this week to take rubbish to the tip with our help.

About 4pm on Christmas Day, husband and I returned home to shower and prepared several salads and meat to take to the youngest sons house so we could all have Christmas Tea together - the evening turned out well.

This morning my husband removed the Carpet Roses out in the front garden, there were 3 which have/had been there for many years - always good to have a change.

The below photo is of the redone 1st front garden with the soaker hose in place to water.

Merry Christmas

Have a beautiful day, safe travels for those out and about.

The coming Christmas Weather!

Merry Christmas to all.

Tasmania, Australia can have odd weather in the summertime due to it's location.  There can be 4 seasons in the one day.  Many people have the idea that our summers are cold, well far from it most years.
The Christmas forecast is in the photo below with Christmas Day temperature predicted to be 30 degC, (86 F)with some cities being 40 degC (104 F).  So for those who live in the Northern Hemisphere just think of us down here cooking Christmas Dinner or heading for the shade to have a barbecue or a big shady old tree on Christmas Day, whilst most of you 'might' have snow outside!

Tasmania is 68,332 square kilometres (26,383 square miles) in area. The distance from north to south is about 364 kilometres (226 miles), and from east to west about 306 kilometres (190 miles). It is about the same size as Ireland, Switzerland or the state of West Virginia in the USA.

Cherries!

A change from the holiday posts this post about Cherries here in Tasmania, Australia.

Always my late mother bought cherries for Christmas thus it was and is cherry season.  When mum passed on I didn't concern myself with cherries at Christmas time, my dad did it wasn't always convenient for me to get cherries from "The Cherry Shed" near where dad lived, but did once in awhile when he was alive.
It's just a large tin shed that has a cafe attached where the cherries are sold from December to the end of the season.
The last few years having really fancied cherries my husband and I called often in the season to buy cherries - this year the owners of the farm have lost 2/3rd of their crop due to the weather in spring, plus there are no cherries at the moment.

Today we bought some cherries at a fruit shop just down the hill from home - 24.99AUD a kilogram.
They got their cherries from Melbourne, Victoria.  The cows got into the local crop and ate them all :)

The cherries and below outside the Cherry Shed.

It's nearly Christmas Day!

 Merry Christmas to each and everyone who passes this way. Be safe and have a wonderful time.

I'm sharing our city's Christmas Tree.  I borrowed the photo.
A couple of videos, one rather informative regarding the 'firsts' to Launceston, Tasmania, which I found interesting.
Then a Christmas Song, Elvis Presley and Martina McBride followed by
Ray Stevens - 'It's me again Margaret' ( you got to laugh at this one )
and
Jen Lilley with Eric Marstolf singing 'Baby it's cold outside'.
Lastly, a Tasmanian Devil in Costume.

Launceston, Tasmania.  The City of Innovation.

Wineglass Bay, East Coast of Tasmania.  

Elvis Presley and Martina McBride singing a

Blue Christmas.

Ray Stevens - It's me again Margaret!
Couldn't resist sharing this song seeing I'm called Margaret sometimes.

Jen Lilley and Eric Martsolf - Baby it's cold outside.
I really like these two singing together.  It's cheerful song.

Tasmanian Devil.

Wednesdays Fun!

I decided not long ago to make the Initials of our family on some Christmas Tree balls.  I bought some tiny flowers and glue, used old balls to practice on and below is the result of a few of what I have done.

The photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4, and I am thrilled with them, the photos are sharp where I wanted them to be, and blurred where I wanted them to be.

The new fascia and guttering all finished. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

& a 

Happy New Year!

May peace and plenty be the first

To lift the latch to your door.
And happiness be guided to your home,
By the candle of Christmas.

Christmas In Australia!

No, we don't have snow where I live at Christmas time, it's summer.
Living in the Southern area of Australia we have a hot 1pm meal, called Christmas Dinner.  People do have Barbecues, some have salads, some eat out for Dinner, many go to family and spend a fair bit of the day travelling, some stay at home, some have Christmas Dinner another day, then some don't do much at all. So with our weather Christmas is not always a hot meal.

The photos below is from an Australian Christmas Card which basically shows the opposite to the Northern Hemisphere's Christmas weather.

Christmas Graphics

Been making Christmas Graphics since October.  I lost them and had to redo.

I wish everyone that passes this way a Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Great Days Ahead!

Great days behind me, great days ahead of me!

Have had my dad staying with us before Christmas and after, then we wandered down/up the road about 1 hours drive to stay with my dad and have been home a day or two, who's counting!

Living with a legally blind man is very interesting even though he can see shadows out the corner of one of his eyes. He can't tell a male from a female until they speak.

Can't always have the TV on some days or evenings, this causes his eyes to draw out of their sockets, so he says.  

Lights have to be dimmed or not on at all.

Everything has to be put in the same place each time.

Each drink has to be poured especially in our house, dad can't see when the cup/glass is full.

Walking on his own has gone by the wayside when out and about, so it's hanging onto my arm in the special way that blind people do along with his white cane.

The past 3 years for me have been wonderful, living with my father in another city, living at home with my husband - juggling the two homes I have without a fuss.  Says something for my husband.  Once in a while he travels and stays with me at my dads house which is a large two storey house with a wonderful view of Bass Strait.  

We sit at the dinning room table and watch the Spirit of Tasmania sail past each evening sometimes we see it twice a day in the busy season. The sea can be seen from nearly every room in the house.

My husband and I are becoming grandparents again, twice this year and I am off to Queensland soon to be there before the birth, being our youngest sons and his partner's 3rd child, and it's to be a 'boy' as they have two girls.

This year they intend to get married in winter so another trip to Queensland.

My husband is going to take care of my father whilst I am gone for the birth.

When I return there is a birthday - I will be home before that, dad will be 88 years of age, and he's as sharp as a tack and uses his treadmill most days, his iPod earplugs listening to music as he treads :) 

From A Far

I have two lovely internet friends from Canada, such beautiful people with wonderful 'hearts'.  

I met both Ladies about the same time and have been corresponding with both of them via email.  They are 'B' and 'G'.

Now 'B' was looking for garden information all those years ago and came across 'our business homepage' as it was called in those days, wishing to know information 'B' sent an email & that started our long relationship.

When 'B's' mother passed on a few years later all that 'B' wanted to do was travel to Australia to be with me :) her husband being a commercial Pilot at that time was thinking of flying in a small plane to Australia but decided against it without a co-Pilot, just too many hours and many days.  So 'B' and I emailed just about everyday, I was her therapy & I suspect that my medical degrees came into being at that time.

'B' from the 2nd Christmas of our meeting sent me a small Christmas Cake wrapped in a cloth soaked in Rum, wrapped in cellophane and pipe cleaners to tie, then put in a box and posted.  This happened every year & I must say I never expected a cake each year.

Last year 'B' wrote that, that was the last year a Christmas Cake would be sent to me due to the cost of the postage plus I totally agreed.

Today, I just happened to be home for about 15 minutes around lunch time and the postman came in his van with a parcel.  There were tears of joy from me, for it was as always a surprise but this year more of one - it was my Christmas Cake from Canada with a Christmas Card saying:  "I just could NOT send you one this year"...:)

God Bless You, my friend from afar, & Thank You.