THE SAD DAY ARRIVES

 I knew this day would eventually be on us. It was time to say goodbye to our daughter and son-in-law. After being in Brisbane for six weeks going between us and David's parents, it was time for them to head home. However, they are going to take their time and stay for a few days in Gyra and Bellingen on the way. They have loved travelling in the country for the last twelve months and they are not looking forward to returning to the bustling, Covid ridden Sydney.

They had lots to pack. Besides food and clothes, they have painting gear, David's mobile studio for composing, their cycling gear and "the kitchen sink". Carol is the master packer and David is the carrier.

Bye, Bye, sniffle, sniffle. Hope to see you again before another year passes. Love you to bits.

LET'S GET OUT

When Australia reached 80% vaccinated, the state governments, except Western Australia, decided to open their borders. Little did they know that Omicron was on our doorstep and it came rushing in so now we are experiencing a huge rise in numbers of cases. This was annoying for us as our state had been virus free for the last eighteen months. So now we have to be so much more careful. Luckily, we had our booster sooner than expected as the health gurus said we only needed to wait four months instead of six since the last injection. However, we were still wary about mixing with other people and declined lunch dates and village functions. Our daughter was still visiting from Sydney and we decided to get out of the house and go for a picnic. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and showery but we still went to Moogerah Dam and had our picnic but we were driven from the picnic spot by a shower just as we had finished eating, luckily. We had never been here before and it was a very pretty spot except for the grey sky.

We headed for home but the rain stopped. On the way we saw a sign to Wyaralong Dam so we decided to drive in and check out the scenery. As it happened, there was a huge rowing carnival taking place. We watched them for a while and then found our way to the dam wall. It was an interesting one as it was a type of spillway wall. It was mesmerising watching the water flowing over.

This is a weed but couldn't help recognising a coronavirus.

NEW YEAR'S DAY IN HOSPITAL AGAIN

 This is the third New Year that I have had medical issues. They say stuff happens in threes. Well I hope that's the last of it. 2020 broken ankle, 2021 bowel blockage, 2022 bowel pain but luckily no blockage this time.

Our daughter from Sydney was staying with us so she was very helpful and her husband, David is a great cook and fed us well.

Salmon with Broccoli Pasta, roasted Zucchini, Asparagus and Caramelized Onions.

Carol and David have taken a year off work and are holidaying around the eastern states. They planned this before Covid hit hard in Oz. They spent time in the Snowy Mountains in NSW then through Victoria calling in to see her sister in Melbourne and then on the ferry to Tasmania. They loved hiking and mountain bike cycling there. Then the plan was to visit country Victoria before visiting the Flinders Ranges in South Australia but alas Covid hit Melbourne and Sydney and all the other states closed their borders to people from Victoria and NSW so our kids were stuck in Victoria country. They were disappointed not to be able to discover SA and not be able to come to Queensland to see us. However, they continued to enjoy Victorian country. They stayed in Airbnb on farms or by the sea. Carol decided she would learn to bake while she had time. She hadn't done much cooking because David does it.

She made us banana bread.

Bill taught her to make Apricot Pie.

Both of them enjoy painting and they did loads of paintings of the places they visited. David prefers water colour and Carol does both water and oil. She showed us some of the oil paintings she did while on holiday. I didn't take shots of their water colours unfortunately.

Finally the states relaxed the border rules and Carol and David were able to get through NSW to us in Queensland but they never got to SA. Just as the rules were relaxed we got hit with the Omicron variant which has taken off now and all states have got cases except WA only have a few as they have kept their border closed.

                       At last we have had our Booster jab. 

                                                     

CHRISTMAS 2021

Luckily our state border opened on the 13 Dec. So Carol and David were allowed to come from NSW to visit us for Christmas but they had to get a negative test and apply for a border pass before crossing the border. Then they needed another negative test five days after arriving here. Anyway they made it and we have been so happy to see them and have them stay with us. They also go over to the other side of Brisbane and stay with David's parents for a while too. 

Carol has become interested in baking bread and cakes, which is unusual because they don't eat a lot of carbohydrates, always watching their weight and fitness. However, she has enjoyed cooking Swiss Züpfe, a type of butter bread. She has also made Bernese Lebkuchen, which is gingerbread.

We celebrate on Christmas Eve like in Switzerland. The young ones like this so that they can go to their English and Australian families to celebrate on Christmas Day.

For our meal we had a traditional Australian fare. Prawns, Moreton Bay Bugs, potato salad, bean salad and Russian Salad. Bill showed Carol how to bake buns made from flour and yoghurt. It was followed by Carol's trifle and lebkuchen.

Carol making Züpfe.

Eating Züpfe for breakfast.

Christmas Eve dinner

Lebkuchen

Then it was present time.

The next day the young ones went to celebrate Christmas Day with David's parents. We went to Christmas lunch in the community centre. Our Managing Director and her partner cooked lunch for all the residents, who couldn't have lunch with their family for some reason. That was so generous and thoughtful of them. There were 23 of us and we had a lovely time.

Managing Director, Chiou See and Brendan.

FABULOUS FAMILY VISIT

 It is so good to have Carol and David visit for Christmas. Unfortunately Sonya, Bernie, Fox and Banjo couldn't come this year as they just moved into their new house and renovations are still in progress. David enjoys cooking and he is the cook in their family. He was happy to take over our kitchen and cook for us. He made some interesting dishes.

He doesn't plate up for us because he knows there are some high fibre foods that I cannot eat, like asparagus,  due to a bowel problem. Salmon with pasta, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus and onions.

With cheese, basil and chili to add.

Followed by apricot pie cooked by Bill and Carol.

Another day he cooked us salmon with roasted Cauliflower florets and leaves with pomegranate, walnuts and currants garnished with coriander.

We are so lucky to have him cook for us. All they ask for is to have the air conditioning turned onto freezing. After they have spent winter in Tasmania and Victoria they are not used to Queensland's tropical heat.

We finished of with banana bread cooked by Carol. Another delicious meal.