Sunday, 18 December, 2018

It's been a week of heat and humidity in Cairns.  Dad's course was only for the week here and everything went very smoothly.  He is now done for the year and is looking forward to getting some well deserved rest and relaxation in the next six weeks.  It is the rainy season in Cairns right now and it did rain every day we were there, at some point.  We were able to get out one day for some sightseeing, though.  One of the guys who Dad taught suggested we take a drive up to Port Douglas, so we did that on Friday.  It was a very beautiful drive between the ocean and the mountains (hills, really 😃).  When we got there, we checked out a few sights, but the humidity there was so high that we mostly enjoyed everything from our air-conditioned car.  I would love to walk the main street one day, though, and check out the stores - there looked like there were some cute shops to check out.

 More yummy meals from the 'Cock and Bull' pub (loaded nachos and shepherd's pie)

Dessert time - 'Death By Chocolate' - chocolate mudcake surrounded by chocolate mousse topped with chocolate ice-cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a strawberry on top - yummmm! 😃

 Scenery on the way up to Port Douglas

 Palm trees in Port Douglas

 Coconuts

 Dad in front of lighthouse in a park in Port Douglas

 Me on a beach in Port Douglas

 Dad taking in the view from a lookout in Port Douglas

 These trees are so pretty

 The marina in Port Douglas

 Old lighthouse in Port Douglas (front and back)

 Christmas banners which were hung along the main street (the pictures on them were drawn by local primary school children)

 On the drive back to Cairns, we stopped at this area which had a bunch of rock formationss (like inukshuks) - they have been stacked by people and when they get knocked down by the high tide or a storm, people come in and rebuild them

Yesterday was not a fun day - I woke up in the morning with not being able to lift up my left arm and so we went to a chemist (pharmacy) to see what the pharmacist would recommend I do until I could get in and see a physiotherapist back home.  After I told him what my symptoms were, he suggested I get an ice pack to take down the swelling, Advil as an anti-inflammatory and a sling to hold my arm still.  They all help for sure, but it's still a dull ache so I am hoping my physiotherapist will be able to tell me what's going on when I go for an appointment tomorrow

We arrived home this evening and I can honestly say "it's nice to be home" - we have been travelling so much in the past six months, that it's nice to be able to just come home to familiar surroundings and relax for a bit.

Sunday, 11 December, 2016

A busy week for us with a flight to another destination at the end of it. 😃

Dad finished up his course on Friday and he was very happy to be done!  All the guys were really happy with the instruction they received and they really liked the two instructors: Dad and John.  The guys in the class even asked Dad, John, and Dave (another instructor, but who was a student on this course) to go to dinner with them on Wednesday night.  It turned out that John had previous plans and Dave ended up getting sick that day, but Dad still went along and had a really good time with the fifteen guys who showed up.  They wouldn't let Dad pay for anything which was really nice of them.  After teaching for five weeks, Dad was tired - he often feels exhausted by the time he is done these longer courses.

The guys from Dad's course who took him out for dinner - it was to a Brazilian restaurant where it was all you can eat meat, etc. - Dad was in heaven

On Monday night, Dave, Dad and I went out for dinner.  We both got along with Dave really well and thought it would be nice to have a good meal and chat with him where they could relax and enjoy themselves.  We went to a local italian restaurant (which Dad's boss really likes) and they didn't disappoint - the food was really nice and the service was excellent!  We even tipped the waiter which you don't normally do here in Australia.

 Me with my iced chocolate at the Italian restaurant

 Dad, me and Dave with our meals at the Italian restaurant

Dad and I split this chocolate lava cake for dessert - it was so yummy!

I continued with my usual things this week  I am still stuck on my baby sweater since the instructions were not complete on the internet.  I am going to have to do some more thinking about it, but I still wanted to knit this week, so I started knitting a doll sweater - I am hoping that I might get some ideas from knitting that which might help me to figure out how to knit the baby sweater.

My knitting group (along with two other groups) had a catered Christmas luncheon at the Aquatic Centre on Friday.  There were party pies, party quiches, sandwiches, fruit and cakes - very yummy.  I also received two Christmas cards from ladies in my group and two gifts from the group as well - hand lotion and a bag with a lined booklet, pocket calendar and pen in it.  It was such a thoughtful gift and I was surprised and pleased to receive it.  I have really enjoyed being part of the group and they were very welcoming to me - they even told me to be sure to come back and join the group again the next time I get back to Melbourne.  I told them that I would miss them, but not their Melbourne weather. 😊

 The catered lunch for our knitting group

 The ladies in the knitting group

Judy and me (Judy is the lady in charge of the group and one skilled knitter)

Dad and I flew to Cairns yesterday - the flights (Melbourne to Brisbane and Brisbane to Cairns) were uneventful, but our luggage ended up being taken off in Brisbane for some reason and so it wasn't on the plane we flew on to Cairns.  Fortunately for us, we know this can happen and so I had put another set of clothes in my carry-on bag.  Dad and I are really trying to 'go with the flow' these days in whatever happens and so it wasn't stressful at all.  They brought the suitcases right to the hotel last night.  We picked up our rental car at the airport - a little red Hyundai Accent - and drove to our hotel which is right on the Esplanade and the views from our top level floor are amazing!

 The view from our hotel room

We went grocery shopping to buy stuff for breakfasts and lunches (there's only a small fridge and microwave in the room so our choices for dinner will be limited) and then we went and picked up a pizza from Pizza Hut.  I think that I must have eaten too much because later in the evening, I started not feeling well.  It took me ages to get to sleep and even when I woke up this morning, I still wasn't 100%.  We decided that it would be best if we stayed in the hotel - I just rested all day and Dad had to work on the course which starts tomorrow.  He started working on it last night, but the engine which he is going to be teaching about isn't done that often and so he had to do some revision on the instructor notes.  He also had to work out how he was going to teach one other fellow who also needs Dad to instruct him separately - he will have to do this after he teaches the engine guys and also on next Saturday - it's going to be one VERY busy week for him.

Tonight, Dad and I were going to go to a 'Carols by Candlelight' event which the city of Cairns was putting on, but just when we were about to leave for it (and for dinner at one of the vendors which would be there), it started pouring down.  We waited for a bit to see if it would let up, but no such luck, so instead we went out for dinner to a local pub (the Cock and Bull) which the hotel front desk man had recommended.  I read the reviews from TripAdvisor and they were really positive with many of them saying that the portions were huge.  We checked out the menu online and decided on the ribs with mashed potatoes and salad.  We ordered one meal and shared it - there was plenty for both of us in one serve - and it was delicious!!  I went up to the chef afterwards to tell him how much we enjoyed it and that we would be back for more meals this week - he was very pleased to hear that.  We are not too fussed about eating out too much, but this meal tonight was just like a meal we might cook at home and so we have decided to eat out a few more times this week than we would normally do.

 The 'Cock and Bull' pub - I am sitting on the right side of this photo

Our rib meal - see how huge it is and why we only needed to order one meal!

When we got back from dinner and while I was writing this blog and Dad was working on his course, we heard the fireworks which were part of the 'Carols by Candlelight' event - so we went out onto our balcony and watched them.  It would have been nice to have been there, but it rained all night and even began pouring down towards the end of the fireworks.

 Fireworks from our hotel balcony

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Another week here in Melbourne with much the same as the past two weeks...although the weather is getting a big annoying here - it's cooler here in Melbourne than when our winter is in HB.  We are looking forward to getting back to our 27C weather. :-)

Dad's course is still going really well - this week has been the first week of the practical part of the course which Dad really likes teaching.  They spent the week at the airport doing troubleshooting and testing on an airplane.  The guys really enjoyed getting their hands on the actual airplane and getting a feel for where things were on the plane.

I spent my week doing the same as I have been doing while I have been here: scripture study, piano, french, knitting, and classes at the Aquatic Centre (knitting, aquafit, tai chi and aerobics).  I am still working on the baby sweater, but I got to a point yesterday where I found out that the pattern I had, which I took off the internet, did not have a complete pattern - I got to the part where I had to start the sleeves and the pattern didn't have any instructions for how to complete the top part of the sweater.  I am going to take it into the knitting group tomorrow and ask Judy, the head of the group, what I can do.

Dad and I were planning on going to the temple yesterday, but it turned out that Dad had to teach yesterday morning.  I checked out the temple schedule and they only had sessions in the morning.  We were both disappointed that we couldn't go as we don't get to go as often as we would like.  Then, we had planned to go to 'Carols By Candlelight' yesterday in the park near where we are staying, but it turned out that a colleague of Dad's was coming in with his family to stay at the unit for about seven hours while waiting for their next flight and so we ended up giving the carols a miss this time.  Hopefully, they will have something similar when we are up in Cairns next weekend.

Yesterday, we were invited to dinner with our friends, Wendy and Norm Keilar (they were friends of Nana's and Poppy's first and they are now our friends, too).  They made us a roast lamb dinner with all the fixings and a pavlova for dessert - so yummy!!!  Their daughter, Marjorie, and her husband, Peter, also joined us - all four of them are such nice people and we always have a good time when we get together.  We offered to take them out for dinner next time we are in town, but Wendy said she would rather eat at home than eat out.  Marjorie was okay with that as she loves it when we come cuz she loves her roast dinner and pavlova. :-)  Hopefully, we will get to come back to Melbourne next year so we can come and visit with them again.

Pavlova which Wendy made for us - rather than putting fruit on the top, her family prefers mint chocolate shavings

 Muffler which Wendy knits for alzheimer's patients - they like to play with the bobbles on it - she has knit over 200 of them so far

Wendy, me and Norm

Sunday, November 27, 2016

This week, Monday to Friday, was pretty much the same as last week.  Dad finished up the theory portion of the course and all the students passed.  The next two weeks will be the hands-on part of the course which entails some visits to an airplane.  I continued on with my scripture study, knitting, French,  piano, aquafit, aerobics and tai chi.

On Friday, after Dad's work, we drove to Wagga for the weekend.  Auntie Norma, who is in a nursing home now, is not doing too well and so I wanted to go up there and spend some time with her.  We arrived in Wagga around 6pm on Friday - we first went to my cousin, Beth's house where we stayed during our time in Wagga.  Beth lives within a 3 minute walk from Auntie Norma's nursing home.  Beth has a second room with a single bed, but she decided to go and stay at Auntie Norma's house with Uncle Les (her dad).

After eating dinner, we went and visited with Auntie Norma - she has her own room at the nursing home.  When we first went into the nursing home, there was this horrid smell - fortunately, it dissipated the closer we got to Auntie Norma's room.  When we went into her room, she said to me 'oh, you brought my boyfriend with you' (meaning Dad) :-)   We had a really nice visit with her - her body is giving in, but her mind is sharp and so is her wit.  It was nice to have that time with her.  After our visit, we went over to Uncle Les' as my cousin, Cherylyn and her husband, Ross, had come down last Monday to spend some time with Uncle Les.  It was lovely to see them and Uncle Les again.

Yesterday, my cousin, Ian, came to visit Beth and so we got to visit with him as well.  After that visit, we headed over to see Auntie Norma again.  Cherylyn came in at lunch time to feed Auntie Norma (she can't do it herself as her hands shake too much) and we had some good chatting time and laughing time together.  After lunch, Dad stayed back at Beth's to do some work and I went and had another visit with Auntie Norma.  While I was there, I asked Auntie Norma what treat she would like me to buy for her from money which Nana had sent her.  She said she would like to have some lavender plants, so off I went with Beth and Cherylyn to buy her some.  Beth has set up a beautiful garden of various plants just outside of Auntie Norma's window at the nursing home, so she added the lavender plants to it.

 Auntie Norma with one of the lavender plants

Auntie Norma and me each holding a lavender plant

 Two views of the garden outside Auntie Norma's nursing home window

After that visit, Cherylyn, Ross, Beth, Dad, me and Ian and his wife, Loreen, went out for dinner to a local pub.  The food was pretty average, but it was nice to have more time to catch up with everyone.  Dad and I were going to go and visit with Auntie Norma again, but Ian and Loreen were going over, so we decided to let them have alone time with her.  So, Cherylyn, Ross, Beth, Dad and I went back to Beth's for hot chocolate and more chatting.

Beth, me, Cherylyn and Ross at Beth's house

This morning, I met up with my friend, Jenny, for about an hour - it would have been nice to have more time to catch up with her, but that's all the time I had today.  Jenny does catering and so, while we were chatting, she was busy making food for a client.  She cooks without a recipe at all - amazing!  It was really nice to be able to have some time with her if only a short bit.  Hopefully, next time I am in Wagga, we will be able to have more time to sit and chat.

Then, it was our last visit with Auntie Norma before we had to leave for home.  While we were visiting, my cousin, Kim came in to visit.  I hadn't seen her for about four years, so it was good to have a few minutes to catch up with her, as well.  So, it was like a little reunion with all my cousins this weekend.

 Driving out of Wagga towards Melbourne

'The Rock' - when I was a little girl, I climbed this 'rock' with my cousins - it ended up raining that day and we got soaked - I remember crying all the way home from being wet and cold :-)