Tag Archives: visitors

Independence Day – A Reflection

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I know that I am a couple of days late for American Independence Day which is celebrated on 4th July. 6 years ago I had my own version of Independence Day as 4th July 2019 marked my last working day in the office. Interestingly enough, it took me another 3 weeks before I was sufficiently organised to even write a blog post which combines a measure of relief and optimism. You can read it here.

A themed dinner with work colleagues.

Well, here I am 6 years later and still writing this blog – I have actually been writing it since March 2011. Life has had some ups and downs, some expected and others totally unforeseen. We managed a mere 6 months of retirement before our collective worlds were turned upside down with the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020.

There was plenty of time for gardening.

There have been family events – milestone birthdays and weddings as well as several funerals. The death of my mother in early 2021 left an enormous void in my life and that of many others.

Farewell, Mum.

While Covid-19 did put a dent in our overseas travel plans for a few years we made up for that with road trips within Queensland and interstate once the tightest restrictions had eased. The addition of a new puppy in 2020 gave us plenty of distraction, too. We resumed travelling abroad in 2024 and have plenty of plans for later this year and beyond.

The household seems to revolve around Islay.

Our biggest post-retirement change was a move from Queensland to regional Victoria. Although we bought a home that was only a couple of years old there continue to be some modifications needed to make it completely to our liking.

We have settled into life in our small country town and life hums along in a regular rhythm of activities at home, volunteering, cultural events, visits from family and friends as well as travel near and far.

Enjoying a local Writers’ Festival.

Did I really know what to expect from retirement? Not really, but it is simply a matter of finding your own pace and space.

Rhubarb Is Ready

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I have been away from the blog this past week as other things have taken precedence. We have enjoyed visits from two groups of guests. I has been a delight to show them around our town and the surrounds.

Here are a couple of photos taken from the summit of Mt Tarrengower which overlooks the town.

An almost full moon as we looked east towards the town.

Sunset in the opposite direction.

Our house guests of the past few days departed this morning so I need to get back to some food prep and meal planning. The first step was to cut a generous handful of rhubarb from one of the clumps which are happily growing near the back fence. We usually have some stewed fruit on our cereal each morning so I chopped and stewed the stalks and have containers of stewed rhubarb ready to go in the freezer.

Ready For Guests

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You have probably seen photos of the guest room and it has been used once when friends stayed overnight last month. However, the other room has been a bit of a dumping ground for empty boxes and other items yet to be sorted.

This morning I spent getting both spare rooms ready as we have family coming to visit from interstate and they will be here for a week. I have even hung some artwork in the empty room.

The designated guest room is fully furnished.

The spare room is slightly more sparse but comfortable. The QS air mattress is made up with plenty of warm bedding.

We will be picking up our daughter and 2 granddaughters tomorrow morning when they arrive from Queensland. I am really looking forward to their visit.

Family Comes First

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I was looking back at the date of my last post which was a little over a week ago. Since then my focus has been firmly on my family. Even though GMan and I are the only ones living here, we are fortunate to have plenty of contact with family. Sometimes it seems to come all at once as has been the case in the past week.

Last Monday I went to Brisbane. I took my mother to a specialist medical appointment then we treated ourselves to lunch at Fuzzy Duck Cafe. I would recommend it. This was en route to visit my aunt who is in an aged care facility. Visiting has not been possible during COVID19 restrictions so it was good to be able to see her.

I stayed in Brisbane overnight and after another appointment the next day I picked GMan up from a dental appointment and we headed home.

It has been school holidays for the last 2 weeks and our daughter and granddaughters arrived on Wednesday evening. The girls stayed until Saturday afternoon while their mother went to work for the remainder of the week and picked them up again on Saturday.

During their stay we prepared meals, sorted through my fabric stash, went to the gym, shopped for shoes, went to the beach and park and checked out the garden.

Miss O making french dressing and learning the principle of adjusting the seasoning to taste.

Cutting broccoli for the soup.

A successful shopping trip to buy new sandals for Izzy.

More cooking – pizza bases ready for toppings.

The beginning of a dress for Miss O from a piece selected from the stash.

Some of the regular housework goes by the wayside when there are visitors and this time was no exception.

The refrigerator looked somewhat chaotic. There were several leftovers that I could incorporate into meals the following day.

I had invited my sister and brother-in-law for lunch on Sunday but had no specific menu planned for the meal. We did a small amount of grocery shopping late on Saturday afternoon.

Our lunch was predominately a selection of small plates and salads which worked perfectly as we sat outside in the very pleasant spring weather.

Photographing the spread was overlooked until I brought the salads out.

Homemade hummus, guacamole and sourdough bread, rice crackers, vegie sticks and brie for starters then kale salad, rice salad, cucumber and onion salad ad tomato wedges to serve with mini meatballs, vegie kofta balls and spiced cauliflower bites. Fresh fruit salad made the perfect finish to the meal.

While it sometimes works out that a particular period of time is mostly taken up by a single facet such as family events, I am trying to create more balance in the spread of activities in my week. More about that tomorrow.

Local Sightseeing

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The last few days have been pleasantly busy as we hosted some friends from interstate.  It was a great opportunity to do some local sightseeing and discover some hidden gems in our own backyard.

After meeting our guests at the airport in Brisbane and then having lunch we headed home on the road less travelled.  There is not a lot of interest on the highway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast so we took the scenic route via Dayboro and Mt Mee.  We had discovered this route a couple of weeks ago and you can read more about it here.

On Sunday we ventured to the Glasshouse Mountains lookout, a short drive west of Glasshouse Mountains township.  I had previously noticed signs about this but had never sought it out.  This is a fantastic spot with great views, picnic tables, BBQs and a short walking circuit.

2015-08-25 01 2015-08-25 02 2015-08-25 03Monday saw us take off in yet another direction where we sampled cheese at the cheese factory in Kenilworth before travelling along various back roads and finally ending up at Boreen Point on the edge of Lake Cootharaba.  We had a picnic lunch and then adjourned to an historic hotel for a quiet drink.  The Apollonian Hotel was relocated from Gympie where it was built during the goldrush days of the 1870s.

What gems have you discovered in your local area?

Where’s Wally?

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Not so much about Wally but perhaps you are wondering where I have been since my last post on Monday evening.

Busy with work most days but GMan and I had a rare weekday off together.  We spent the day at the coast with friends who are visiting from interstate.  The weather was glorious and we had a fabulous day.  However, we did not get home until quite late and then it was back to work the next day.  No time for blogging!

005 Here are a couple of photos that I took when we stopped along the way.  There was a reason that I took these in this location but more about that some other time.

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