HI ALL !
My last update finished a couple of weeks after we returned from Thailand. Most of you will be aware that when we decided to quit spending our 'winters' in Canada for their summers, Anne felt it was time to stay home and see more of Australia while we were still fit and able. So, as I mentioned in the last blog, the first things she did were to book us on the Rome to Singapore cruise, followed closely by the trip to Thailand ! ??
I must say the part of winter we did experience here was not as dreary as we'd expected. There were some drizzly dark and yukky days for sure, but there were also amazing flowers and plentiful bird life, with new families of ducks and black swans. 
Our increased fitness continued apace on our return from Thailand. We returned to our dancing lessons; went walking with a group of friends, doing 3-4 km most days; took up going to the gym (an 'oldies' program, but gym nevertheless) and for a while were more fit and active than we'd been in years!! However, all that fitness and health wasn't good for us! I ended up in emergency with a nasty foot infection (trying to wear closed shoes rather than sandals for the first time in many years); and Anne's other hip, which she had been nursing along since 2008, gave out on her finally and needed replacement, which she booked in for as soon as our schedule. permitted.
There were significant birthdays for cousin, Clint, and friend John, then a birthday party for Clint's daughter Georgia. Happy Birthday all! Interspersed were bits of babysitting and sports events with various grands and greats, including a fun day spent at Caversham !
Daughter Kris (Jarrah to most) spent time over here from Qld., not only visiting but helping with my family tree development on ancestry. She's working on long-term plans to move back to WA in a few years time, 😄 which will be great, but she has many things on the go/on her plate over there, so it will take time.
She was followed quickly by Anne's 'grand-god-daughter' (if there's such a title) from England. Anyway, Jenny and boyfriend Cilly had been travelling in various Asian countries, and managed to make it to us despite Bali's volcano threat. It was delightful to spend time with her again (and Cilly too), as we hadn't seen her in England for many years, and she hadn't been to Aus since she was a young pre-teen.
Then daughter, Tanya and her son James managed to make a long-awaited visit, spending 10 days with us, then a few days with Kris over in Queensland. A long-awaited trip for them and for us; thankfully Cristina's injuries continue to mend (on a 2 forward 1 back schedule sometimes, but getting there) so Tanya could feel comfortable being away. She had to miss Cristina's birthday, which was disappointing, but she fit almost everything else in ! She wanted to introduce James to Australia and to all his Australian cousins, catch up with friends, and colleagues at UWA and revisit as many of her old haunts as possible. (all in 10 days !) We gave it a good shot! They overlapped a bit with Jenny and Cilly and we all went to Busselton, Yalingup, wine-tasting, Gnomesville, etc. We spent time touring in Perth, Freo and on the Swan river. We did Octoberfest with friends and neighbours here and Hallowe'en down in Busselton, so it was a multi-cultural visit as well!
Then, three days after everyone had gone, Anne went in and had her hip replaced! She had cut it a bit fine, but managed to stay mobile while everyone was here. She's now approaching 3 months post-surgery, and is doing well. Recurrences of her old muscle problems slowed down her hip rehab over Christmas, but she's now back on track, walking and exercising regularly in our pool. She has to improve, for the fairly challenging trip we have planned at the end of March, but I'm getting ahead of myself. More later.
In between all this, we had an almost accidental business growing! For the last couple of years we have let out our guest room on those (sometimes rare) occasions when we don't have family or friends visiting. When we built the granny flat, aka Kannie Kottage, we would have preferred a long-term tenant,and we advertised to that effect. But pending a suitable tenant we started some holiday lets and it has mushroomed over the summer !! It will presumably settle down in our winter but it has kept us hopping ! We've met so many interesting people and our learning curve has been steep ! We've had unexpected and unorthodox guests, like the orphaned joey who arrived with a booked guest. In the ad I had specified 'no pets', but I was thinking of dogs or cats; it didn't occur to make a policy re kangaroos !
Then there was Christmas to prepare for! And no prizes for guessing what Annie's favourite pressie was ! Each year more and more houses on the canals in this area are aglow with lights, reflecting on the water. It becomes quite a sight and we have boat traffic each night to look at the lights, even this far from Mandurah. And to help us get further into the mood, Santa started Christmas here, as he does most years. He does his rounds here in a pontoon boat; we reach out with a crab scoop net for our lolly bags. As all that Ho-Ho-ing is thirsty work, many people put a cold beer in the scoop for Santa and his elves, so by the time he leaves here for the rest of the world, they are quite merry, indeed, and we hope he has the stamina for his annual marathon!
This year, as we were having Christmas with the family on Boxing Day, up at David and Katie's, we hosted an 'Orphans' Christmas' here at Yunderup, for friends and neighbours who had no family commitments on the actual day. A very long relaxing afternoon on the deck by the water, in good company, is a lovely opening to Christmas.
Then Boxing Day we had Christmas with the family, with all the wonderful chaos and commotion that only a houseful of kids can generate! Fun, if tiring!
Straight-away after Christmas we had our next round of Canadian visitors, friends of friends in Canada and now friends of ours too I think.. Jackie especially, and Patti-Anne have been on an amazing journey which involved voluntary work and photography with animals in Africa. Their stop here was partly to visit and to experience, but also to rest and readjust to ordinary reality.And more Canadians next! Some members of our travel club, Geoff and Katita joined us at the beachhouse for a few days. They were there in time to join us all for the annual street party and meet many of our Peron friends.
Our thanks to Ev and all the family because 'We loved to have a drink with Gordon, 'cause Gordon's our mate,' -one of the Peron mob, who turned 80 ! Imagine !
Our aim over the next while is to spend some more time at the beachhouse, especially as the holiday lets in Yunderup taper down after the holiday season. Like everyone, we find it so restful and relaxing there. Long may it last !
The other main focus over the past months, especially for Anne, has been a huge leap into family history, DNA and family tree! I won't give away any family secrets, but you would all do well to practice your bowing and curtsying!👑 And the change it has made to Anne has been remarkable! The totally technophobic lady who refused to power on a computer herself, and who touched even the mobile phone reluctantly and gingerly, now spends every spare hour on a tablet researching family back into the 1300's! Wow!
Now looking ahead, we have still more Canadians coming soon ! My cousins, Lynne and John, followed closely by my sister Maureen. It's Lynne and John's first visit, but Maureen is an old hand of course! We are looking forward to all.
And looking further ahead to the end of March, we will be taking a cruise along the Kimberly Coast on Australia's N.W 'corner', with friends, Alison and Graham. We'll be roughing it and sleeping in swags on the open deck! Wish us luck! We told the new young Physio that Anne's post-surgery goal from her hip replacement was to be able to get down to the floor and back up, which she hasn't been able to do for more than 15 years or so. You should have seen the Physio's face! 😏
Guess th-th-th-th-that's all folks. I should go fall asleep in bed, rather than over the keyboard. I'll get this out tomorrow and send notifications as usual.
Stay well and happy. Hope there's some Wandering in your futures as well.
Anne and Kathie
The Happy Wanderers
No comments:
Post a Comment