SPECIAL VISITORS

Last Sunday we were invited to Sonya's place to meet some special visitors. Simon, a distant cousin of  Sonya, was visiting from Switzerland. He used to be the grandson's manny in Melbourne seven years ago. He stayed a year, then he returned to Switzerland. Now he has come again for a holiday in Australia. So he is staying with Sonya for a few weeks before heading off to Darwin. He brought a whole load of Swiss treats for Bill and the family. 

Simon on the back deck with Sonya and the boys.

Here are some of the Swiss goodies Simon brought. These are Lebkuchen (gingerbreads) with the Berne Bear logo. While Simon is here he is helping Bernie renovate an old house, which they have bought in Brisbane.

There were some other special visitors too. My son, Steve and his daughter, Evie. Evie lives in Brisbane but I hadn't seen her since she was little. Steve lives near Innisfail, way up in northern Queensland. I had Steve when I was a teenager and I gave him up for adoption. I first met him when he was 30. He is 64 now.

Evie was keen to meet her aunt Sonya and cousins, Fox and Banjo for the first time. It was the boys first time to meet their uncle Steve and cousin Evie.

A lovely family reunion. Me, Bill, Fox, Banjo, Sonya, Evie, Steve and Bernie. Bernie did a great job at catering for us. Simon took the photo.

I love patting our granddog, Chief.

MEMORIES FROM 1986

 Oh my goodness no posts in October at all. Shame on me. Well I have been a bit under the weather and Bill had a stint in hospital but we are slowly getting back to normal. I still am scanning my photo albums and turning them into photo books along with written memories of those times.

In 1986 it was all about the girls and their schooling and extra curricular activities. Carol was in Year Nine in High School and Sonya was in Year Seven in Primary School. Now days Year Seven is in High School. 

Carol-Ann in John Paul College uniform. 14 years old.

Carol played hockey, soft ball and she was in the school marching band and concert band playing trumpet.

Sonya also played softball, hockey and the trumpet. 

Sonya was also in the Jump Rope team.

Bill played trumpet in the Redland Bay Concert Band.

Sonya received a book prize at the Year Seven Graduation night. It was a book of Banjo Patterson's poems. She named her second son Banjo.

We all went to Sydney to visit my Mum and Aunt.

While there we took the girls to Manly, a sea side suburb of Sydney.

They went kayaking on the harbour side of Manly.

They had fun on the water slides too.

I was teaching in a semi rural school called Mount Cotton State School. Sonya came to the same school.

The quality of the photos isn't the best, still they are almost 40 years old.

UNDERWOOD PARK

 We took another walk around the lagoon in Underwood Park. It's Spring and the birds are building nests and laying eggs.

Moor Hens with eggs

Magpie Geese

Water Dragon

That's my man

GET BACK ON TRACK

 Long time readers of my blog may remember that I started writing my life story here in blogland. I also published the stories and photos into books. Well I kept on scanning photos and making books but forgot to write the stories here. So at the risk of boring you I'll try to catch up with the stories of my past. I have enjoyed scanning the photo albums because they have brought back so many memories of many trips away.

So in 1985 we were still living in our second house in Springwood in Wenlock Cr. We were both working, me as a teacher and Bill was employed by a big air conditioning company for commercial buildings. He was a sales engineer, designing and quoting the jobs. The girls were turning 13 and 11. Carol had just started High School at John Paul College and Sonya was in Year Six at Mt Cotton State School, where I was teaching too.

In the school holidays we went on short trips away for a week. We went to Stradbroke Island and stayed in a resort quite close to the beach. 

The board walk went all the way to the beach.

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After this we bought a pop up camper van and started going on camping trips. This time we went to Byron Bay and this was before it became the tourist mecca that it is now. It is south of here on the coast in New South Wales. It is actually at the most easterly point of Australia.

Besides swimming and walking on the beautiful beaches we also talked the girls into playing golf. They weren't keen but struck a bargain with us. They would play golf with us if we went horse riding with them

It was a rough country golf coarse in those days.

I used some horse manure for a tee.

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 Later in the year we celebrated Sonya's eleventh birthday at Dreamworld Tourist Park.

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Last of all a family photo in Daisy Hill Forest in 1985.

MY BABY TURNS FIFTY

 It's a long time since reading and writing posts. Sorry friends. I have been sick with a gastro virus again and just trying to get through the day's chores was hard. I'm feeling better now but still have nerve pain in my thigh.

 However, we have beautiful Spring weather, birds and flowers. And it is my beautiful daughter, Sonya's fiftieth birthday today. She is my youngest, my baby, all grown up. The family went to Japan to celebrate. We will celebrate later when they return and her sister can come from Melbourne.

Spring is here.

Holiday in Japan with friends.

My baby is fifty.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SPRING

 August is usually our coldest winter month. This year we have gone from Winter to Summer without any Spring in between. The temperatures this week have been in the high 20C/70F and into the 30C /80F already. I love this weather but when it gets humid too that can be uncomfortable. It can get quite warm walking around the village but the flowers are looking great:

Magnolia

Grevillea