STILL HOME IN BODY, BUT OUR MINDS TURNING TO WANDERING!

 

Hi All !!!

PART 1, WRITTEN LATE MARCH.

I’m going to open this blog with sadness,- sorry! Anne’s young great-niece, Sarah, whom she had visited just a couple of years ago, died shortly after Christmas, leaving her partner and a young son, as well as parents friends and extended family, all devastated. Actually, on reflection, there have been so many losses this year, including Gladys’ husband and our old friend Rod, Anne’s cousins Peter, Freda and Betty, as well as extended family and ‘almost family’ like Ronny and Jean. They all make up the rich fabric of our lives and memories, and will be sorely missed but fondly remembered.

Now here we are with the first rains of the season!! Isn’t it amazing that the green starts coming through after just two rains ! We’re totally ambivalent about the rain; it feels so good after waiting 110 days or more, but also it reminds us winter is coming and we better start getting organized for the great annual migration! This year we head straight, without sidetracking anywhere else, to our houseboat adventure!! Not true;- we’ll stop a few days with Tanya and get a baby-fix on the way through (except he’s no baby now!!)

Let’s see !? The past few months have been so full they have tended to blur! What have we done? The Peron annual street party was a great success, with this year’s theme being Cowboys and Cowgirls. Anne took them fairly literally! We spent the day on the water for Australia Day, along with most of W.A., I think. A distant cousin, Sherill, from Canada and more recently Indonesia, surprised us by looking us up and visiting, which was lovely. Then we had Geoff and Anita’s three for a couple of days at the beachhouse. They’re so good and so much fun, but we’re not getting younger or any more energetic! We went back to dancing but this time at a more sensible once a week pace, taking lessons in modern jive, Ceroc. Hopefully this time, by concentrating on only one style, we’ll be able to retain the routines (but don’t hold your breath!). The end of Jan. is packed with birthdays and various other social occasions, so by the time Gladys and her grandson Ashley arrived from England we were already tired! But we enjoyed showing them around, with emphasis on fauna; they were particularly lucky in the numbers and behaviours of all the animals and birds we managed to find for them!! Kangaroos, cockatoos, sea lions, dolphins,- you name it- all turned out for them and all performed above and beyond!! And they didn’t find our lifestyle too hard to take!! And although they didn’t have much time, we even managed a couple of days down as far as Yallingup and Busselton.

Then we fit in some more birthdays, and catchups with family and friends, followed by a month-long visit from Kris and partner Jo, and Jo’s youngest son, Jai. They came and went between Hans and Caroline’s and down south, but it was great to meet Jo and Jai ! They went back to Brisbane a few days earlier than planned, but we all really enjoyed their visit!

 

 

 

PART 2. WRITTEN LATE APRIL

I had written the above earlier. Now I have to tell about another loss, an unbelievable tragedy that has devastated all of us! Most of you would have known or known of Hans, pictured above; but for the few who might not, he was our very dear friend, my former husband and my daughters’ father. He had a terrible accident, fell from a ladder, hit his head, and never awoke! My daughter Tanya, Hans’ brother Christian, Caroline’s daughter Linda, and Camille, Christian’s daughter, all arrived from Canada and India; and daughter Kris and Jo turned and came back from Brisbane. So there was a large group of mutual love and support, with lots of tears, talking, laughter,and hugging. His Memorial, held at the Association for the Blind, was an amazingly moving tribute from family, friends and clients, many of whom had become friends over the years! It also celebrated how close Caroline has also become with the clients/friends over the years as well. Now, almost four weeks later, It is still all surreal and hard to believe he’s gone. Good-bye Hans; we’ll all miss you!

Now the weather is turning blustery and wet, and reminding us it’s almost time for our migration. We leave in just over two weeks! But a friend in Canada just sent us a photo of ice still on the Bay! Our houseboat is on land and the ice needs to be largely thawed before it can be launched, so wish us luck!? We may be homeless for a while when we first get there!! Anyway, if we don’t see you before we go, Cheerio to those we leave here; and ‘See You Soon’ to  our Canadian family and friends. And the rest of you are held close in our hearts as well until we see you next! 

Happy Trails

Anne and Kathie