I'm being slack ......... Autumn

 

 

I have been very remiss with our photo challenges - sorry Di!
I have some AMAZING fall foliage shots from US and Canada trip but quickly looked in my most recent album as today is the last day of May. Where has the year gone?
I took these leaves on the cobbles in Salamanker Place in Hobart earlier this month and the lovely pumpkins were in the Botanical gardens. We didn't have much time to sightsee but the lady I travelled with was keen to see Pete's vegie patch at the gardens so we jumped a cab and spent a lovely couple of hours there.

Harry's Pirate and Princess Party

 

It was great to catch up with Harry and family and meet some of his little friends at his birthday party.
They all had a great time and his big brothers helped greatly with the preparation and running the party.
It was a group effort with Nick and Sam mading the cake assisted by mum Katrina and Aunty Leelee.
Maureen was chopper extraordinaire while Brad did a great BBQ. Mardie did the shopping - she's good at that!
Pass the Parcel and the Treasure Hunt were a big success if a little confusing for some. It might make more sense next year. It took Sam to literally beat the pinyata though - Spotlight makes 'em tough!
There were some very tired little pirates and princesses by the end of the day.
A day to remember when Captain Feathersword turned TWO

Grandbabies turn TWO

 

I've been very slack and am a bit behind with my family blog.
Check out my WHC one to see why!
http://whc-steph.blogspot.com
I've been a busy bee but am coming down to earth again now.
Here is Zara's birthday party which we had on Easter Sunday in the park at Shellharbour.
We had a lovely day and as you can see my GB's are growing up.
Harry celebrated this month at a very different sort of party.

March Photo Challenge - WEATHER

 

I know I'm late - slacko.
Oh well - can't stress over such issues really.
Only one of these shots is a recent one but I don't think that matters.
I looked back in my folders and found these.
A nice rainbow (over the lighthouse at Kiama)
Early morning mist over the lake at Durras
A nice frosty leaf (taken at Katoomba)
And the sun coming through the clouds - a promise of a bright new day ahead(taken out the back one morning last week).
Now off to my bed.

Shopping with Mardie ....

 
Bunnings is so much fun!
And she had the playground all to herself!
It's hard to believe that we will be having a two year old birthday party in just a couple of weeks.
Where did the time go?

Who likes our new beach?

 

Last weekend we moved 'house' - well van anyway.
We have moved into number 62 at Merry Beach.
The beach is very accessible for we 'old' girls and the dogs LOVE it too.
It's a great spot and I'm sure we'll have many wonderful times there.
Anyone want to buy a good van at Durras North?

My Hometown ....

It's the last day of February so I thought I had better get my act together and do the challenge for the month.
Here is my 'current' hometown ALBION PARK RAIL.

The collage shows - Warilla Beach, Lake Illawarra, a view of the area with the red arrow pointing to our house and Minnamurra Rainforest.

I chose here for my hometown for several reasons....
Firstly when I moved back to Sydney from the bush in around 2002 I could afford a house here and be mortgage free.
I loved the 'open country' feel of the area and when I came down to look for a house, there was a girl walking a horse down the street - it made me feel right at home.
It is between the rainforest and the sea - 10-15 mins either way AND it was near my best friend Maureen who lived in Kiama.
So - I bought a house here at 'the Rail' and settled to my new life as a 'single' person.
Although there have been some changes to my original plans, it it has worked out well and I am happy here.
My DD Tracey and her family now live in my house and I share a house just a couple of streets away with my mate Maureen.
The beautiful Lake Illawarra is just 5 mins away and I love to look over it as I load my shopping into the car in the carpark of Woolies at Shellharbour Square. I also trundle down to the lake with my kayak and have a paddle sometimes - not as often as I would like.
If you look closely (click to make it bigger)at the lake photo in the collage you can see me paddling in the distance!
Just an hour up Macquarie Pass and you are in the Southern highlands towns of Mittagong or Bowral with their tulips and crisp autumn and winter (brrrrrr) days.
I like to 'adopt' a mountain range for mine - in Narrabri it was the Nandewars - here it is the beautiful Illawarra escarpment - so clear and crisp with the morning sun on the rock faces.
I now work 2 days a week just 10 minutes away in the picturesque old town of Kiama - life is good.
This is a shot of our house with it's lovely reserve out the back. We don't have much yard here but then who needs one when I can just go out the back gate with the dogs and we have all of this great area to walk?

Lastly a few more photo's of the area.

Yes there is a railway station here - Albion Park, but I usually catch the train the next station up - Oak Flats. It's a two hour trip to Sydney.
We also have an airport here - the Illawarra Regional Airport.
There used to be a QANTAS fight direct to Melbourne but we lost that a few months ago. The airport is home to HARS - the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society. The big hangar houses 'Connie' the only Super Constellation flying in the world. I remember seeing the '3 tailer's'at Mascot when I was a little thing. They also have a wartime Catalina flying boat, a DC3 and a couple of other historic old aircraft down there. The weekend is busy with small aircraft overhead practicing their 'stalls' etc plus helicopters and ultralights. There used to be a jet joy flight company called Topgun which was a bit noisy but they have moved on in recent months.
Then there's Kiama as I mentioned earlier. It's just down the road with it's trendy growers and craft markets on Black Beach. Zara and I love to go and feed the seagulls and pelicans.
Then sunset on Lake Illawarra - to get that shot, we went and sat by the 'Ski Gardens' with a glass of 'bubbly' and some nibbles waiting for the sun to set.
As I said - life is good.

Our first photo

 

Look at this.
Due in September!
Any bids on the gender?

Learning the basics ....

 

Zara was very efficient at washing up her breakfast dishes this morning with a little held from Mardie.
As you can see the hard hat is essential wear.
She always gets it for me to wear when she arrives and she usually wears a yellow Bob the Builder one.
Now it's time to hang out the washing ... another life skill.
Ho hum eh?

Go the soft focus - there's life in the old girl yet!

 

The pool is a great place to be on these hot days.
Harry is very confident and we had great fun doing 'monkey monkey' around the edge.

Look at me .....

 

Harry loves glasses! And, here he is in Mummy's.
Quite studious I think perhaps he is going to be a scientist?

A weekend at Old Bar

I hopped on the train at Oak Flats on Friday morning at 8.45am and arrived at Taree at 5.10pm. It was a 'cool' ride and I read, slept, did word puzzles and did some revision on chorus songs. What a way to spend the day! I arrived rested and ready to spend a couple of days with the family. Here's a new photo of the boys.

This is a nice one with Henry the Lab which Katrina took in December last year.
Ben the eldest is holding Harry and Sam is standing at the back while Nick is on the back of the bike.
This morning, Nick and I set off into Taree armed with the newspaper and the GPS.
Not too much on offer but we managed a few toys for Harry and some clothes for Zara. We stopped for a drink at Maccas on the way home and Nicks comment was - 'we spent more on two drinks that we did at the garage sales!'
Oh well that's the way of it sometimes.

Brad and Katrina have gone out for dinner and a movie while Nick, Sam and Mardie are Harry sitting. Then tomorrow morning - the train epic again.
It's been a short but nice visit.

Happy Australia Day

 

We had breakfast in the Park at 7am on the foreshores of Lake Illawarra.
It was a nice cloudy morning, good music and a tasty $3 breakfast which was put on by Shellharbour Council.
Then home for 'Cockies Joy' - damper (cooked by Maureen)and golden syrup - YUMMO.
I even found some TOY boys! Everyone was having fun.
Now off to have a 'nanna nap' before heading off to sing at an Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony with Wollongong Council.
Happy Australia Day to you!

Strutting our stuff ...

 

Here we all are
singing up a storm.

Maybe we should recruit these
transient visitors to become members
of the Chorus?

Congratulations Cobie and Joseph

 

Wishing them health and happiness
in their lives together


Here they are
Mr and Mrs Harradine

A very special 'sing-out'

 

This afternoon, under the trees at Jamberoo Valley Lodge, members of Wollongong Harmony Chorus were priviledged to be able to sing at the wedding of one of our special members.
Cobie was the 'baby' on the risers until recently and we have watched her as she has developed into a beautiful young lady and a confident member of the front row.

Look ...... Magic!

 

It is time to 'thin' the carrots.
We pulled one out - washed it in the dogs water bucket and presto - crunch.
Zara thinks it was worth the wait.
When to we pull some more Mardie?

Who remembers 'Curly Pet'?

 

Mardie had fun curling up Zara's hair when she was looking after her last week.
I thought it looked cute - mother was not too sure though. LOL
Here she is sitting with Tammy our Siamese who is becoming quite tolerant of her (most of the time)and enjoys a gentle pat.
They were sitting quietly watching Iggle Piggle and 'The Night Garden'
What do they see in it I wonder?????

New Year at Old Bar

 

New Year at Old Bar was a quiet one with the family having to come to terms with the death of James, Katrina's ex husband and father of the three boys Ben, Sam and Nick. He was killed in an accident on his motor bike on the 22nd of December.
The family took comfort in watching Zara and Harry playing together and opening their Christmas parcels - Zara managed to put on four or five pairs of undies while Harry put his on his head - how often children can 'normalise' our feelings.
Nick was sporting his 'shark' bite - it was really caused by the fin of his surf board but he likes the shark story better. Here is a picture of his suture line the day that he had the stitches out. Then it was only two more days and he could get in the pool!
Sam looks a bit like Al Capone in his 2nd hand hat from Mardie and there are the 'kissin' cousins' - cute eh?
Harry enjoyed sharing Aunty Leelee's icy pole but wasn't too keen on staying onshore with Mardie while big brother Nick and Daddy Brad went off in the kayaks to set some crab traps.

Memories of Christmas 2008

 

Here are a few images of Christmas at the 'Rail' 2008.
Zara enjoyed opening her presents and we all enjoyed watching her.
Bailey thought the pink tent was pretty good too.