GETTING READY FOR THE GREAT MIGRATION !

                        
Surprise!! Based on my previous patterns, you never expected to hear from me after only 3+ months !! 
This summer so far has been a busy one, but in a good way. We’ve tried to get in as much beachhouse time as possible,  carrying on with the developments that Nick and the family started. The weather has been idyllic this summer, lovely and warm without getting too stinking hot very often. There were tail winds and threatening forecasts from a cyclone last month, and now as I write it’s cool and wet, but really we’ve had excellent summer weather, with at least 10 days of sunshine forecast now.
In January we had  visits from various family and friends, as well as the annual street party at Pt Peron, which was the usual success and all-round
fun. The theme this year was ‘Australian’; that gave a lot of creative scope!. 

                                             
 Maureen’s (almost annual) visit to Aus. got off to an amazing start, with a dolphin pod interaction just out from Pt Peron while she and Judy were kayaking. She also took a tumble early in her visit and sported an impressive mess of cuts, scrapes and bruises which didn’t slow her down at all; in fact, the very next day she helped me move a tree! We hitched a lift and travelled south with her through Hyden and Wave Rock to Hopetoun and Esperance; it’s been years since we’ve been that far south, and Anne had never been to Wave Rock. We spent time in Fitzgerald River National Park, and then Cape Le Grand National Park, just east of Esperance. Each bay, hill and beach was more stunning than the last. It’s too easy to lose sight of how grand and unique so many of W.A.’s attractions are, and to be put off by the distance!We then came home by bus while Maureen toured on,-‘climbing every mountain, fording every stream’!! 




















In the midst of all this came the sad news from Canada we had been expecting, but dreading. We lost our young cousin Kim; she has been one of the most remarkable young people we’ve known, facing her illness and death with amazing courage, grace and a loving nature          
  

We celebrated Anne’s birthday well, with Wanda and John, Maureen and Olivia, in Anne and Paul’s pool!! We also took a sunset catamaran trip out of Fremantle, joined by Caroline, Gay and Maureen. Great idea but we hit particularly blustery rough weather which meant we couldn’t get out to the islands, just up into the harbour, but fun.
 
We rounded off Maureen’s Aussie visit with a three day mini-tour of the northern suburbs, as far up as Yanchep, staying with Travel Club hosts, including friends Carol and Terry whom we had introduced to the Travel Club way back!! Managed a quick visit at Anita and Geoff’s before Maureen had to fly out and bravely face the cold!!  On her very last day here, the dolphins came to say goodbye, and she and Anne had an amazing two-hour interaction with them! It was Maureen’s third dolphin interaction of the visit; she had experiences that most of us living here haven’t!
We were at Rockingham, getting in some extra beachhouse time, and catching up with  beachhouse friends, when we got a surprise call from Kris. “What are you doing for the next couple of weeks;- I’m just booking to fly over tonight!!” She spent time with us and with Caroline and off down south to her favourite retreat ! Really lovely surprise! She was here for my birthday too! We had Alex and Olivia with us overnight to serve me my birthday (pan)cake; then we met Caroline for birthday Thai in Mandurah, before Kris flew out  the next day.  
Since then, we’ve been rather scurrying to get done the things we wanted to do before our next great migration! We’ve been able to do a fair bit of garden ‘revival’ at the beachhouse, have almost finished painting the outside of home, here in Yunderup and have made a bit of a start on the outside of the beachhouse. I feel for the poor neighbours; our house has had a prolonged case of ‘measles’ as one colour after another was daubed on, and they tried to be unfailingly polite/tactful about the prospects. Watch this space for final decisions and end product!! We’ll hopefully get it all done in time to leave for Canada and then have to wait for next year to actually enjoy it!!
That’s us about up to date!! I’d better publish this quickly before anything else needs including!!
We’ve had a week or so of rain (naturally when I was trying to paint) and the fields are greening up already, so it must be almost time to go!! We leave for Canada the 14th of May this year, so my next blog update will be from somewhere (??) on the Trent-Severn Waterway. So ‘see  you’ to many of you in Aus.; ‘see you soon’ to the Canadians; and to all the rest ‘hope to see you one day soon’.
Stay Well and Happy All!!
Annie and Kathie
The Happy Soon-to-be Wanderers