Monday 25th July 2011

As predicted, the earlier part of this week was wet and miserable.  It has fined up the last couple of days thank heavens and I have been able to get outside again.

Wednesday 20th July 2011 was a horrible day - belting down rain all day and the golf course was closed.
Peter had an early morning meeting to go to so I got breakfast in bed with my Sudoku book which seemed a good alternative to getting up and looking at the rain.   It is hard to get motivated on these days but I did manage to catch up with the ironing after I had wearied of my Sudoku.

Thursday 21st July 2011 was not any better.  The rain belted down all day again & we have had inches and inches of rain which was good for the golfers as the course was closed again today. 

We went over to the club at 1.00pm to meet up with David Grant (our travel agent) and Jan Willem & Carla (who we travelled to the Cape with).  We had a good chat about the trip & other travels that we have done & are going to do.  The course was deluged with water and the dams were over flowing.

Friday 22nd July 2011 we decided to do the household shopping as it was not much of a day with even more rain falling.  We called in to Bunnings to get a few things & I checked out the water features available as we are looking for one for the new garden at the first.  Friday Evening we went to the Club for a Wine Tasting and Trivia Night.   Our team was called the "Rain Lovers" and we managed to score 34 points which we thought was good.  It was a good friendly night and well supported by the members considering that it was a cold rainy night.  After the Trivia was over we went up to Kariong to help the winning team celebrate at the "Fosters Arms" which is George & Vicki's home.  George has an old fashioned English Pub bar full of amazing memorabilia & we all settled in there for a good celebration.  By the time we got home & I got the Golfer's Blog done it was 2.00am.

Saturday 23rd July 2011 we had a slow start to the day.  There was a wedding in the wedding garden in the afternoon so we spent the morning cleaning up the Clubhouse entrance and the Wedding garden.  That evening we went to Sam & Shane's house at Gwandalan & had dinner with them at the Gwandalan Bowling Club which was right across the road.  Shane & Sam are looking for a house to buy in that area as they like the area.

Sunday 24th July 2011 we were to have been playing golf with Rhonda & Wally Robertson but the course was still so wet we decided to cancel and re-book again later.  Instead we went over to Rod, Anne, Joel & Emily for a few hours.  It was a nice sunny day so I took Joel for a little walk & had a good cuddle of little Emily.  Emily has not put on much weight which is a bit of a concern and she is not a good sleeper.  They are both beautiful little children & they are the sunshine of our life.  After that we went for a trip to Wyee Nursery to have  look at their water feature display.  We also called into the Big Flower & a another nursery at Ourimbah & managed to find a couple of nice water features at the Big Flower nursery that I liked.  We had lunch at the nursery & then called into the Narara Valley Nursery to check out their stock.  Amazingly enough the Golf Course was open for play today so I had the Blog to update when I got home. We watched the Le Tour de France which we had taped which has become mandatory viewing as our Australian was riding so well & it was great to see him win after being so close in previous years. 

Monday 25th July 2011 (today) we were up early for F-Troop.  The course was still too wet to take out any vehicles onto the course so we did some clean up around the clubhouse & secured the new features at the Ladies Garden at the 13th.  It was nice to see some sunshine.  In the afternoon we watched a final of Le Tour de France which we had taped. 

Golf tomorrow is a bit of a worry.  I have not been playing golf a lot as we had been away and it has been raining non-stop. Tomorrow they have changed the event from Stroke to Stableford which is much friendlier with the course conditions so bad.  It is tee up throughout the green which does not appeal to me but I really need the practice.  I will see what tomorrow brings weather wise & make a decision in the morning.  At least this week they have predicted SUNSHINE which is very welcome.

Tuesday 19th July 2011

Winter has arrived with a vengeance with rain & very cold winds has had me fishing out my winter coat this year that has been in moth balls in the cupboard for many years.  I am not a wet weather person or a cold weather person so I am hanging out for spring to break through.

Wednesday13th July 2011 was a freezing cold day.  I spent the day out in the back garden pruning the roses and trimming until about 4 o'clock when it just got too cold to be out there. 

Thursday 14th July 2011 I had a "me day"  going to the beauticians for a manicure & pedicure and then off to the hairdressers for a cut & colour.  The weather was a bit better than Wednesday but still unpleasant.  Thursday Night we had a night out at the Malaysian Restaurant at Avoca Beach with Des & Yvonne Wilson, Don & Joan Briety, Robyn & Wally Johnston which was a good night out with good company & great food.

Friday 15th July 2011 we went to Erina to get a 70th birthday present for Ken Gardiner (now living at Megan near Dorrigo) who turns 70 on Wednesday of this coming week.  We also called into the plant nursery to organise delivery of some plants for the new garden at the golf club. It was another cold day so I watched some of the British Open Golf on Foxtel which was good to watch.

Saturday 16th July 2011 Peter played golf & I was at the golf club early to take delivery of the new garden plants and to clean up the front area of the club for two weddings that were to be held in the wedding garden that afternoon.  The weather had not been shaping up well in the early morning but cleared in time for the two weddings to take place without any rainfall.  Saturday Evening we had a "Gosford Townies" reunion at "Bistro Jinja" at The Entrance.  We had 30 people in total for dinner and it was a good reunion.  Those able to come this year were Carolyn & Garry Morris, Trevor & Margaret Andrews; Bob & Sue Clark, Ron Payor, Peter & Margaret Redman, Sue & Phil Hodge, Bub & Sue Wilkinson, Alan & Bev Grady, Brian & Lesley Gregory, John & Lyn McMahon, Ian & Julie Gunn, Les Place, Keith Jack, Vicki Woods, Rhonda & Peter Hall, Wendy & Ross Shepherd, Peter & Jan Martin which was a good turn up for a cold, wet and windy night.  The food was lovely & the restaurant in a prime position right on the waterfront at The Entrance Bridge.  We had a great night catching up with everyone.

Sunday 17th July 2011 Rod & Anne had a busy day & could not come over for the traditional breakfast.  Just as well as we had a late night last night and were playing golf at 11 o'clock so it all worked out okay. Our playing partners at golf were Sheena & Nigel Asken & we had a very pleasant day even though the golf was not wonderful.  We stayed at the club for dinner with Sheena & Nigel to finish off a good day.

Monday 18th July 2011 we were up early for F-Troop as we had a very busy day at the golf club planting out some new gardens.  We had 12 helpers for the morning so we got a lot of work done.  It was a good weather day for a change so we were able to plant out the new gardens.  Shane called in for a chat after work and said he and Sam were happily settled into their new temporary home.  He and Sam have both suffered attacks of the flu which has been so savage this year. 


Tuesday 19th July 2011 (today) was my golf day.  It was not raining but we had a freezing cold day keeping the temperature down to 15 degrees with a very biting wind.  My playing partners were Mary Ellis and Christine Drakeford and they were great company.  My golf was not good but Mary & Christine kept my spirits up during a dreaded par match and we had some good highlights along the way.

The weather is now threatening rain again with temperatures predicted 17 degrees for tomorrow so I might just find myself a big sudoku book, a blanket and a warm place to hide.      

Tuesday 12th July 2011

This week was all about pruning my roses - all 150 of them.  As well the frangipani, crepe myrtle and hydrangea all got trimmed so I managed to fill two trailer loads and two green bins and I am still not finished.

Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th July 2011 I worked mainly on the front gardens and we managed to get the outside front windows cleaned after I had given the climbing roses a good cut back.

Friday 8th July 2011 I finished off some of the side garden working until lunch time and spent the afternoon at Erina doing some shopping.  I had a look at the Apple Ipad that I would love to get but unfortunately some of the programs I like to use are not available applications on the Ipad so I am going to have a look at the Telstra & google friendly versions before I make a decision.   Friday night we went to the Golf Club because Peter was on raffle duty.  We had dinner there but unfortunately did not win any raffle prizes.

Saturday 9th July 2011 we did the household shopping before Peter went to work.  I called into the plant nursery and ordered some plants for the golf club and then spent the rest of the day pruning the roses in the back garden.  Saturday night we went out to Wamberal to celebrate Lauren's birthday with Col & Lauren. Di & Neil, Ron & Lynn.  We had a lovely evening & enjoyed some nice food at a very popular asian restaurant at Wamberal.

Sunday 10th July 2011 Shane called over before going to lawn bowls so we had a good chat with him.  Shane & Sam have sold their home at Wyoming and are planning on living up Gwandalan way - currently renting a house while they are looking. Rod, Anne, Joel & Emily arrived after breakfast & stayed until we had to leave for a luncheon at the Golf Club with some of my old work friends.  I found time to walk Joel to the trains but it was such a cold windy day to be outside.   We met up with my old work mates at the Golf Club about 12.30 and we had a nice table near the window where we could watch the golfers but not have to worry about the wind.  I caught up with Lorraine & Deano, Heather, Lindsay & Laurel, Don & Margaret and Nancy which was great because we do not get to see a lot of each other these days.  It was a long lunch as we had a lot to chat about.  Instead of going home we joined the golfers that had completed their golf rounds, stayed for Presentation so I could update the golf blog.  It was a big day.

Monday 11th July 2011 we were up early for F-Troop work and it was very chilly in the early part of the day.  We had a lot of catch up work to do as we have not been able to get on the course because it has been too wet.  I was happy with the work we achieved and had some good help in creating a new garden at the 14th.

Tuesday 12th July 2011 & (today) we had a much nicer day without the cold biting wind.  I played golf & my playing partners were Yvonne Cumming (winner on the day) and Yvonne Wilson.  We bought in one of the winners which was a good highlight and I won a bottle of wine in the raffles so it was a good day even though my golf score was not good.

I am hoping for a good day tomorrow because I want to finish off the back gardens  - another couple of green bins of rubbish I suspect.   

Monday 4th July 2011

We are home safe and sound from our Cape York experience.  We had a fantastic holiday & one that I would recommend to anyone wishing to visit the Cape but do not want to drive the distance.  We were well looked after with good accommodation, food, transport & information in all the areas we visited.  I will be putting  a detailed report of the holiday on my travel blog as soon as time allows.  I have some great photos & all the details of the trip will be on my travel blog.

Friday 24th June 2011 we travelled on the train with George, Tosca & Lynne to the airport arriving in plenty of time for our flight to Cairns.  It was a good flight & we arrived at the Bay Village (our Cairns accommodation) in time to check in & freshen up before dinner.  We met up with Jan Willem & Carla who were staying there also.   We had dinner at the Bay Village & an early night as we needed to be ready early in the morning for our "Wilderness Challenge" experience.

Saturday 25th June 2011 our tour guide Dean Nulty picked us up at the Bay Village to commence our 7 day Cape York experience.  Fellow travellers Roger, Heather-Jean, Joan & Pauline were on the bus making up eleven of us as a tour group in a 14 seater 4 wheel drive bus which made it comfortable.

We travelled through the Daintree Rainforest, the Bloomfield track, The Bloomfield River on our way to Cooktown where we stayed overnight .

Sunday 26th June 2011 we travelled to Lakelands, split rock to view aboriginal art, Lakefield National Park, lunch at Laura, travelling to "Musgrave" a century old Telegraph Station now a working cattle station where we stayed overnight. 

Monday 27th June 2011 We travelled over the Great Dividing Range stopping at Coen, crossed the Archer river, travelling to Weipa where we stayed overnight.

Tuesday 28th June 2011 we visited the waterfront of Weipa and Red Beach where the boys did some fishing and we sighted our first crocodiles - at a distance thank heavens.  We visited the old Weipa cemetery on our way out of Weipa where we saw some very historical grave sites.  We travelled via Batavia Downs to the Wenlock River  which is the site of the old Moreton Telegrah Office which is now a camping site.  We had our first experience in Safari Tents which are permanent tents with two single beds.  They were quite comfortable & very neat & clean.  The boys went fishing before dinner with the big one getting away. 

 After dinner we all sat around a campfire, had a few drinks , sang a few songs, toasted the marshmallows.

Wednesday 29th June 2011 we travelled the renowned Telegraph Track on the parts that we were able to.

We saw plenty of termite mounds, visited Fruit Bat Flats for a swim, and made our way to Siesia where we stayed for two nights.

Thursday 30th June 2011 we walked the traditional track  to the very top of Australia - Cape York.  It was not a difficult climb but it was dangerous because of all of the uneven and slippery rocks.  We did have a couple of slips in the group but nobody was injured.  It was a great experience.

Friday 1st July 2011 we left Siesia by ferry to Thursday Island. At this point we said goodbye to our guide Dean as our outback experience was finished.  Dean was an excellent guide & definitely made our trip special,  Thursday Island was an interesting experience as the 1st of July is their annual celebration and re-enactment of when the aboriginals saw their first white man.  That was a bonus.  We were taken on a bus tour of Thursday Island which included the Museum and the old fort at the lookout which had fantastic views.

We caught another ferry to Horn Island where we caught our plane back to Cairns.  The ferry was late & so was the plane.  It was a good flight and we arrived back at the Bay Village, Cairns just in time for dinner.

Saturday 2nd July 2011 we had a walk to the shopping Centre at Cairns which was bigger than Erina Fair. Our plane to Sydney left an hour late but it was a good flight with no problems.  We travelled home by train and managed to get one leaving Central as we arrived getting us home by 7,00pm.

Sunday 3rd July 2011 we went to MacDonalds for breakfast as we had no fresh food in the house & then went on to Rod & Anne's to spend the morning with them and Joel & Emily who is now 3 weeks old.  That night we went to the Golf Club to catch up with the golf news & to cover presentation for the Golf Blog. We had dinner there with some of our friends & caught up with all the latest.  Apparently we had a lot of rain on the coast while we were away,

Monday 4th July 2011 we were back at F-Troop with  a lot to catch up with there.  We stayed a bit later than usual as there was a junior classic on at the Gosford Course so I covered the presentation for the golf blog. 

It is hard to get back to reality after such a wonderful trip especially when I have 150 roses waiting to be pruned.