A tourist in your own dot on the map...

It's always fun to be a little unpredictable.
It's the last day of the Easter hols and on Monday we are back to driving kids to school.

Old Petrie Town is a little historic village just over 5 kms from our house situated on Dayboro Road, Petrie. We'd heard that the Friday night markets were being extended, so on the spur of the moment we thought we'd have a wander around the stalls, so off we drove. When we got there we found that the  markets were no longer on but some of the quaint shops were open, as well as the Rock n Roll cafe and Cafe Down Under. Every Friday night the Classic Car Club members roll up in their 60's Chevys, Holdens, Buicks and even some old 20's cars, but mainly 50's, 60's vehicles, to meet at the Rock and Roll Cafe. A good sized screen is erected outside the cafe and tonight they were showing some B&W movie, I think it was a Dracula one. It was such a balmy night and plenty of people were enjoying hamburgers, fish and chips, soups, hot dogs etc while watching the movie and chatting with their friends. It's a good place for families to hang out and lots of kids were out with their parents. We decided to order early (about 5.30) because it does get quite busy there and we didn't want to be out too late, seeing Ross needed to watch the footy at 7.30! :-)
We ordered Barra, salad and chips and a jug of water and then sat down in one of the red vinyl covered booths to check out all the paraphernalia on the cafe walls. Vinyl records, sleeves, plastic flowers, a juke box and a life sized Elvis decorated the place - it's a lot of fun. Steel and laminate tables and chairs, cafe booths and a couple of red vinyl couches complete the scene. We enjoyed our meal, then checked out the cars and the few shops that were open. We walked around to the Cafe Down Under, which is down some stairs partially under a building, where you can buy a smorgasbord meal and coffee. There was live 60's music which was rather fun to listen to while we drank our coffees. It reminded us a bit of when we were on our trip around Oz and we'd  stop in some bush town to stay overnight, and there would be some band entertaining the travellers staying in the caravan park. All very relaxed and relaxing!
Anyway we had a lovely couple of hours together just mellowing out.  And best of all, we got home before the start of the match with just a couple of minutes to spare, so the man was happy!

So, yeah, I reckon it's a good to do something without too much forethought sometimes. We enjoyed ourselves and it didn't cost the earth, nor did we have to drive far. Sometimes it's good to become a tourist in your own area - you never know what you might find.

Me and Rossy

Yummy Fish, chips and salad

Rock n Roll Cafe interior

Me 'n Elvis

Ross with a loooong Buick

Some news in 2012...

I certainly am a slack blogger! Another year has passed with little to show for it blog wise.
It's been a busy term seeing me go back to work albeit part time, after at least a decade! A new baby boy has joined our extended family - Lachlan Craig was born on 10th March, 2012 to Anita and Craig. He is growing fast and beginning to sleep for long stretches during the night, which pleases especially his mum. Our grandchildren are giving us much joy especially seeing Jesse and Shontelle came to stay with us for a few days during this Easter  break. We had fun going to the pool, seeing the movie The Lorax, and climbing Wild Horse mountain on the way back to the Sunshine Coast.
We spent a few days at Marcoola for a good earned rest. I realise that I'm not as young as I used to be and going back to work has affected me more than I thought! I've also taken up swimming laps again, averaging 1.5 kms (30 x 50mtr laps) each day, as well as 300mtrs water resistance walking. By the time I've showered, dressed and driven home I'm ready for a cuppa and a nanna nap, ready to go back to work at 2.30pm! :-)
Ross celebrated his 67th birthday, so for 6 months I'm younger than him. Quite a nice feeling...:-))
Life is good even as we approach the next big age milestone, but not to focus on that but to be aware that time doesn't wait and we need to take every opportunity to seize the day, enjoy every moment we can.

Friends...

Friends. Just sitting here browsing the net and looking at a Texas lady''s blog; someone who is so creative, using op-shop finds and things that are old and new together. Someone whom I don't know, lives across the other side of the world but I can enjoy what she's about, because she took the time to post a blog with beautiful pictures.
Friends I realise can be anywhere in the world. A friend can be someone I've known for years, or just met yesterday. A friend can be a person who writes down their thoughts and ideas and you feel a connection with them.
This  morning a whole bunch of new and old friends met up to celebrate a lovely friend's birthday. Everyone was invited to say something about what she means to them. An hour later the words were still coming - words like: enthusiastic, loving, kind, joyful, encouraging, amazing, wisdom, strength. Many words were said to describe what she meant to her friends.
This is who she is. Full of love and joy and encouragement, yet she carries a great sorrow in that her husband died only last year of cancer. She has such faith in God...but not a soppy, religious faith. She has faith in a down to earth way. As she said after everyone of her lovely friends has spoken " I don't understand God, I don't know why He does what He does, but I trust Him and I know he has more things for me to do. Even when I'm lonely I tell Him about it."
Faith like this puts me to shame. Faith like this makes me realise I have so much to be thankful for. A great healthy (most of the time) hubby, four great daughters, 3 wonderful grandchildren and 3 sons-in-law. A house to live, cars to drive, food to eat and clothes to wear.
How much to be grateful for.
Friends are the honey of life; they sweeten my day. Whether I go out to have a coffee or cuppa tea with them, whether they make a comment on Facebook, ring me up, send a text or even when I read a blog of some lovely soul across the globe, a friend I haven't met, I love them all.
They are special, generous and make life worth living.  God bless you my friends where ever you may be. Mwah!

Family, friends and one year on...

I was reading a friend's blog which reminded me of my own and realised that many months have gone by without an entry. It's nearly a year ago since Ross and I set off into the sunset (literally) to begin our adventure around  Australia. It seems so long ago now, but the memories linger on, especially when I plug the external drive into the TV and let the 6000+ pics roll by! That's a lot of photos and I really haven't gotten around to editing them as yet. It's such a daunting task - 6000! pics to get my head around. Never mind I'll do it 'one' day soon. :-)

Toyota HiAce HiTop Camper Van for SALE!

 As you can see from the photo, we have regretfully decided to SELL the camper. We would love to do more short trips of a month here and there, but there are just two of us, yet we own three! vehicles. With insurance and registration fees going through the roof, it's not a viable option to keep it.  Seeing neither of us want to part with our own little car, it looks like the 'FBI' will have to be sacrificed on the altar of financial responsibility.
So....if you want a vehicle in very good condition to start your trip to wherever, just give us a call on 07 32857227 or email me at pattieone at hotmail.com.

So what's been happening at home with the Holmes' this year? Not a great deal. Life goes on. Ross is back driving the Coaster school bus, ferrying just 2 disabled students in wheelchairs to and from their separate schools.  He says it's the cushiest job in Brisbane and keeps him out of trouble, plus it's a little extra income now that we are officially retired and age pensioners. Hard to get those words out! It's not a good thing to own up to - life is good, but growing older is not exactly my cup of tea. However the alternative is not too good either. It's either live or die. Strange thing when I find myself wondering how long I still have to live...is it 10, 20 or 30 years? It's something that happens to all of us, but the last thing we want to face or think about too much.
Ross just recently set up an account to cover our funeral expenses! I was NOT impressed! However I can see his point...it's inevitable that we will have a funeral and someone's got to pay for it. Just quietly...don't tell anyone...but I reckon the kids can. Don't tell them will you. :-)))
Anyway it's food for thought ...

Since January I have been taking a Cert III IT course at Captain Cook College at Nundah. It covers basics in networking, setting up PCs, HTML, CSS and creating and uploading a website to the internet. It finishes early next month. They may be offering a Cert IV and I hope to go on to do  that course too. It's pretty mind boggling, and I am by far the oldest person doing the course, not only that but there are only two females in the entire class! The young guys are really kind and nice to me, even though I ask heaps of questions about stuff they already learned at high school. I'm enjoying it  though and it fills in two of my days, which is good.

With a large family now, there is always something happening in the way of birthdays, anniversaries or school events. Jesse turned 10 in April and Shonny's birthday is tomorrow. She turns 8. Georgia turned 1 in April too, so there's been birthday parties and get togethers which is great.

Coolum Beach April 2011

Ross and I spent a week at Coolum at our dear friends Pam and Neil's unit. We had several days of stunning weather, warm enough to enjoy the waves and the pool. The rain didn't stay away either (when is it going to stop?) so we had some indoor time as well. I also caught up with a couple of my good friends. Easter was fairly quiet with most of our girls and their families doing their own thing.  Labour Day weekend saw Ross going up to Coolum again, but this time to complete some work he started during our hols.

Hillie and me at Picnic Point

Scene of the valley from Picnic Point

I took the opportunity to head to Toowoomba on Sunday afternoon to visit my fave sis Hillie. Such stunning weather, which we took advantage of by heading to Picnic Point the next day, to sit in the sun and enjoy the views of the valley below. It was great to be able to talk and talk while enjoying some yummy coffee and cake. We don't catch up often enough...must do that again soon.

Mother's day was another lovely day with 3 of my girls coming for lunch as well as Jason my SIL. So nice for them to be able to pop in. Lovely bunches of flowers from Steph and Jason, and Ross. Cards with sweet words of appreciation.  A beautiful dish from Tonia. Thanks girls. 
Life is good, even if I don't know how long my retirement will be. Cheers :-))

Being on the road...

Red Bluff Look Out, Shark Bay, World Heritage Area WA

A funny thing happens every morning in many parts of this great country of ours.  For those of us who live in a house and do the usual things in the morning, this particular activity is quite foreign.


Until hubby and I started off on our journey, we had no idea of this happening every single day, over and over again; and it is this: 


Just before the sun rises, as I lie (yes it is lie, not lay :-) ) in my bed in our little camper van, I can hear the now familiar sounds. A caravan door opens, feet shuffle along the ground - a sleepy kind of walk mostly - and they shuffle towards the toilet block. A campervan door slides open noisily and the shuffling begins again. A tent flap is unzipped and more shuffling feet, head to the wash rooms.


Next whispers of " good morning"; "hi" , "nice day" and then as the day progresses to where the sun shines on the scene, the voices become a bit louder to the more usual tone. Now people are chatting and the sounds of brekkie being cooked, cereal and milk being consumed, washing up being done wake up the camp. 


A bubble of activity explodes around camp sites all over Australia, and especially in winter in the north of the country. The move is on! The cranking up of stabilizers on caravans; the rolling up of awnings; the backing up of cars towards caravans; ground covers being swept and folded up; outdoor table and chairs being folded; last minute conferring between partners making sure everything is checked and secured. Then motors start up, final goodbyes are said to friends made in the camp, and vans glide quietly out of the park or 'freebie' on their way.


So where are they heading?
Well, to the next place on the itinerary. It could be 50 or 500 kms away, but the dwellers in wheeled homes are on their way. They may have stayed just one night, maybe three. Three weeks or even 3 months but they are on their way to their next stop. 


For many retirees this has become a way of life. Constantly on the move and often just to the next 'freebie' by a river (often a dry one in Northern Australia), a cliff overlooking a lonely beach or in a van park  There they will set up their vans, unpack their folding tables and chairs, unwind their awnings, put down their ground covers and rig up their lights and whatever else they have to make life livable. They'l stay overnight, three days, a week, six months or however long they want. These travelers are not in a hurry, they have plenty of time and seemingly are enjoying life on the road.

I've tried to work it out but can't. To me it seems so aimless. What really is the point? Travel several 100 kms a day, find a place to stay (hopefully with a loo) if it's a 'freebie' or in a caravan park (and pay the fees), unpack, set up camp, eat, sleep, get up, eat, pack up and do it all over again.

Now if you are travelling for a shorter time like 14 weeks (like us) you most likely will only stay in a place a night or maybe three nights most of the time. The days will be filled with climbing up steps set in rocks and then down to a  rock pool to see the waterfall. You may have to drive anything from 10-40kms on a dirt road to get to said waterfall. Then there are the national parks to see, flights to be taken to see islands in the sea or amazing rock formations. Cruises to take on huge man made lakes and rivers that run through ancient gorges. Walks through landscapes as ancient as the indigenous peoples of this land. Many places are hundreds of kilometres apart. For example to see a half a dozen dolphins being fed at Monkey Mia you travel 130ks from the main highway with very little to see along the way, let alone a station homestead, trees, a servo or human being. Don't get me wrong - it's all amazing, but there are lots of k's without much excitement.

Anyway... life on the road can get quite busy - as well as doing the sightseeing, driving long distances to see what you want to see,  you also have to eat, sleep, wash your clothes, shower (when there is opportunity), drive, pack up and set up most days. On top of  that, when you have power (read: electricity) you need to upload the countless gigabytes of photos your have taken with your digital camera, onto your laptop. This can take some time. They need to be sorted and labelled because if you don't, you won't know which rock, beach or National Park  you saw: where, on which day and in which area!

Planning. Now this is vital. If your don't endlessly plan your next day's activities, you will not survive. Brochures are brought out after dinner and poured over. Routes are discussed, (tourist) attractions are weighed up one against the other, venues and info centres pinpointed on maps. If this is not done your next day could disappear without achieving your objective - see as much as you can see in any one given day in the particular area you find yourself in. No rest - the journey must continue!
Reading. I brought 3 books with me. One I have read through 1/2 way; one I have read 3 chapters of and one I haven't opened. There really is no time. One good thing on the road is that there is such a thing as 'book exchanges'. You will see a sign in a caravan window - Book exchange - 50cents each or in a Caravan park reception office there will be a shelf of light reading. Mostly trashy Mills and Boons, cowboy books for guys but you can pick up an occasional light read that is just right for a few snatched chapters late at night.
The other important thing when you are travelling we have found is gleaning information. 
Mostly from others on the road.  This can take some time and has to be factored in to your daily activities. Those more experienced have a wealth of knowledge about 'life on the road' and are usually very keen to be of help, and often love a good yarn so that it can be hard to get away 'on time'. 

You need to always know:

• what the condition of the dirt road is to a particular waterfall, outcrop, gorge, beach, 'freebie' or river - this can take endless discussion with strangers, fellow travelers, who you may or may not ever see again, but who are only too happy to 'help'. Their info is based strongly on their opinion and often is useless when you attempt the road your self. It can either be vastly worse or the opposite, infinitely better than what the informant told you.
• what kind of caravan your neighbour has - is it the kind that you would like? Not like? How much did it cost? Is it hard or easy to maneuvre? Is the layout to your liking? etc, etc, ad infinitum. 
• if  you want to upgrade to a bigger, better van.  This can be quite a discussion
• about previous vehicles, van, tents, campervans, motor homes, camper trailers that others have owned
• where the 'freebies' are 
• how far they are from where you are currently located
• what facilities there are, (loos - forget about showers)
• what the weather will be
• if you need to book ahead to get in a van park in a popular place
• how far before the next bowser (this is of utmost importance) cause if you don't fill up before you leave you might not make the distance to the next one.
• where to get good tasting drinkable water to fill up your water tank and containers. (Exmouth has the best water in Oz at the fish cleaning station near the Yankie army base on Exmouth Gulf)
• whether you can make fires or not

I could go on and on, but it's getting late, and I had better stop.

You get the idea.

Life on the road can be tough.

Life on the road can be endured or enjoyed.

So when I wake up in the morning and wonder why on earth I am sleeping in a car, I ask myself these questions:  

1. Am I homeless? -  Nooooo
2. Am I poor? (well, we are now lol)  -   Nooooo
3. Am I loving this?  - Not particularly
4. Do I want to fly home every second day?  -Yeeesss!
5. SO WHY AM I DOING THIS????  - Because it seemed a good idea?  :-)

The answer is,  that it apparently is something everyone who is an Aussie citizen and is nearing 'retirement age" should do.

'Everyone' says they LOVE it.

Many say they would do it for the rest of their life.

So what then is wrong with me?

Rocks, crocs and waterfalls

Rocks, crocs and waterfalls - this has been our catch cry for the 
 past 10 weeks.

After:

• 10,000 kilometres
• 2 flat tyres
• 1000's of litres of petrol
• countless rocks
• many waterfalls
• 100's of rock pools
• some crocodiles
• wild pigs
• 2 aeroplane flights
  
• several cruises
• gorges galore
• 1 less kangaroo to view (I hit it! oops!)
• 1 echidna
• 1 bustard
• many brolgas
• millions of corellas
• rivers with and without water
• jabirus (black necked storks is now the official name I believe)
• magpie geese
• lakes
• 100's of dead kangaroos
• many more live ones
• cormorants
• brilliant blue oceans
• estuaries
• beaches
• endless plains
• bright blue skies
• rain
• wild flowers
• boab trees
• clouds
• wind
• etc, etc

............. it's about time I put pen to paper, well, started typing :-) and recorded a little of what's been happening these past 10 weeks in Ross and my life.

27th June saw us finally setting off on our trip around Oz.

"The big lap", many call it. 

And a lap it surely is, but not one that goes for a few hundred metres but 1000's of kilometres.

Six layers add to my already cuddly figure! :-)

We didn't leave home til about 5.30pm that Sunday afternoon, but bravely set out in our little Toyota Hi-Ace anyway and headed off into the night towards Dalby. We got as far as Yarraman and experienced our coldest night for many years. We found out the next day temps had dropped to -3C overnight. I had 6 layers on and survived ok.

We woke to a brilliant new day, experienced cooking brekkie on our little gas stove, securing everything so nothing rattled and off we set. That day we got to within 60 kms of Roma and stayed in our first 'freebie'. To the uninitiated a 'freebie' is a spot somewhere along a road that you don't pay for. Hopefully there will be a toilet of some kind there, a fireplace or a picnic table, but in many places in Australia, there is just a semicircular curve alongside the highway where you can park for the night. Or you travel a kilometre or so down a track to find a level spot.

This freebie was devoid of any of the above but was situated under some big trees along a running creek. Two vans were already parked there and that gave us confidence to also pull in. It's never a good idea to park on your own, so traveling with others in that way can be good.

We set up our camp, cooked dinner and then wandered over to a good fire at which a lone bike riding camper was cooking his dinner. He invited us to bring our chairs and he picked up his guitar and began to strum, then sing. Piano Man, Bridge over troubled waters, Country road soon filled the cool night air. What a great start to our camping adventure.

Now here, I have to mention a very important part of the journey.

Unless you have zillions of dollars you don't quite know what to do with and you have a fabulous caravan or 'fifth wheeler' which has all the mod cons of on road travel, the word 'toilet' is a VERY important one. Especially for the female of our species. It can become something that consumes your thinking. When, where and how will I find a toilet? What will it be like? Clean, dirty? A water flushing one, or a  deep hole in the ground? Will it have loo paper? etc etc.

What if I have to go when there are no loos and no trees?

Well this can become all consuming and really never changes whilst you are on the road.

Subconsciously you get geared up for the nights that you park in places without such luxury.

That first night in the freebie we set up our little shower tent complete with bucket. Of course the next morning it had to be emptied. Ross said he would do the deed. After he worked out (with my help) how to get the folding shovel to become straight and stay that way, he dug a hole well out of the way and covered things up nicely. 

He then decided to go down to the creek to wash out the bucket. Unbeknown to me, he got stuck down the bank, in the mud and couldn't get back up again. He said it was no use calling out to me, because of the running water and the distance from our van.

Luckily he got out finally, or our journey would have been terminated right then and there! :-) Luckily we could laugh about it and put it down to experience! :-)

So, drama over, we headed off across western Queensland. Kilometre after kilometre rolled by. Through tiny little towns of just a servo and a pub to bigger ones. like Dalby, Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach, Cloncurry, Mt Isa.  

We were playing catch ups with friends who had left 2 weeks before us and were meeting us the other side of the Qld/NT border, so we didn't spend much time looking around in all these places. We did manage to see the tree of Knowledge in Barcaldine. The Black Stump in Blackall, the Hall of fame in Longreach and stopped at the bare patch of land that the small mining town of Mary Kathleen had become. Mt Isa was freezing - 14C at midday! We rugged up against the bleak winds and on our way out of town stopped at the last road house for many kms to have a well deserved shower. Then to Cloncurry across the endless plains and then the windswept roads to Camooweal at the NT border. Kangaroos littered the outback roads and we had to be careful as dusk is a dangerous time to drive, as kangaroos jump out without warning. 

Hall of Fame, Longreach

Our first flat tyre just before Mt Isa

We finally arrived at Wonarah Bore, a gazetted 'freebie' along the Barkley Highway after dark at about 8pm. We hugged our friends who had come down from the Gulf of Carpentaria to meet us. It was so good to see them. I cooked dinner and then, dog tired,  we curled up in our
little home on wheels for a good night's sleep, ready for the rest of our adventure.

Mary Kathleen no more  

On the empty plains NT

Our camp at Wonarah Bore 'freebie'

Sunrise at Wonarah Bore, Barkley Hwy NT

Click on the pics to enlarge them.

Christmas 2009

Christmas has passed, gone, it's over.

But...

What a great time it was.
Christmas is a busy time...
I always tend to stress. Well at least a little. Depends on whom you ask really.
But I guess as the hostess, you always worry there isn't going to be enough of everything. So I tend to go shopping several times during the lead up to Christmas.

Oh, I think I need more ...ummm:

• nibblies
• drinks
• dessert
• shortbread
• christmas cake
• christmas pudding
• brandy sauce
• lollies
• chocolate
• decorations
• maybe I should get another packet of baubles for the tree?
• another set of lights for the family room?
• garlands?

and yeah, that's how my mind goes...round and round.

Well now it's over and I have packets of this that and the other thing left over.
The upside is, that because everyone contributed to the main meal, anything that was 'left over' was sent home  with them, including drinks, nibbles etc. So my fridge is not filled to overflowing which is good.
The packaged bikkies, nibbles, chocolates and drinks etc will come in handy for New Year celebrations.

All our girls plus any relevant hubbies and children and those yet to be born gathered at our home at about 5ish, laden with goodies - food, drinks and presents. Also the lovely Nath, Sarah and Jack are with us tonight. So good they could come...they are a lovely little family...

Everyone was in good spirits and soon they settled into setting out the various dishes. The 'boys' sat around the table shelling prawns, the 'girls' in the kitchen  plating up their food.
Tonia had kindly worked out the menu and designated each dish to someone to prepare.
We decided to put both lounge suites in the lounge, and spread white cloths over the coffee tables.
Candles in true Holmes/Dijk tradition were lit and the Christmas tree shone with its clear bright lights. The tree looked quite beautiful with this year's colours of red and gold and gifts piled high under and around it. The children were wide eyed and wanted their gifts sooner rather than later.

They had to wait, because after the delicious finger foods we all piled into cars and drove off to church for the Christmas eve service at 7pm. Tonia was in the choir, Ross had to be there because he is on staff, so it was lovely to all go and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, as well as letting our meal settle, before coming back for dessert and presents!

By the time we got back we were ready for coffee, dessert, Christmas cake, cool drinks and PRESENTS. Santa (Ross) was already wearing his Santa hat ready for the job ahead. He had some keen little helpers, with Jesse, Shontelle and Jack helping him give the presents out.

We were all pretty chuffed with our gifts. Craig especially LOVED his new 'you beaut' mixer/beater machine for his kitchen. He was not parting with it and kept it on his lap for quite some time.
After munchies and drinks we had our 'secret' santa time. If you liked someone elses gift better you could swap. Most of us were happy with what we picked.

What a lovely night. Char and Dan and kids headed back to the coast as they had their family Christmas gift giving and church the next morning.
Anita and Craig headed off, as well as Sarah, Nath and Jack and Steph and Jason. All getting together with the the in-laws on Christmas Day. Ross, Ton and I tidied up the kitchen and the masses of gift wrap.
What a great night.

Christmas Day.
Ross cooked us bacon and eggs, tea and toast.
Then it was time to put the furniture back in the right places, vacuum the floors, straighten out decorations and get ready for morning coffee with my sisters Mieke and Tineke who were coming at 11am. They didn't arrive and just as I was getting concerned about their safety they turned up just before midday. They'd been to visit Tineke's son Peter and it took longer than anticipated.

We settled down to coffee, cake and nibbles and had a lovely time chatting away...so nice to have Mieke home from Holland.
Always a special time.
Then preparation for lunch began: ham, chicken, roast vegies and plum pud with brandy sauce.
Just ready to tuck in and Steph and Jason were at the door.
"We're starving"...
"Ok, I think there's just enough for you too".

Sitting down to eat, the bell ran again and there were our friends Dott and Keith laden with gifts, drinks, pudding.
They'd had lunch already so they joined us at the table and shared dessert with us.

Lots of talking, laughter and getting to know one another.
Later in the afternoon I decided there was quite a nice breeze outside and we could turn the aircon off and enjoy the outdoors. More cuppas, cake, talking, laughing out on thepatio, which I'd decorated with fairy lights, a huge silver star and baubles hanging from the beams.
Again the bell sounded and my sister Lenie and hubby Henk arrived. They'd shared lunch with some friends.
It was fun because as more people came there was great interaction between new friends...

It was just a really good day of fun and friendship.
At about 7.30 we spread the table again with ham on the bone, chicken, potato salad, green leafy salad, some nice breads, gherkins etc etc...and anyone who wanted to eat did; filling their plates and then sitting back out on the patio in the balmy evening.
We talked till late into the evening...some drifted off early  into the night and others lingered on.

Suddenly I felt very weary as I loaded yet another lot of dishes into my trusty dishwasher! Must have been the third that day!

Tonia slept over again and Boxing day was a lazy day of naps, reading a good book, pottering about tidying up and reminiscing about the past few days.

I was just so pleased everything went so well.
Thinking how blessed we are to have such wonderful, caring and loving daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.
All are well provided for; all are healthy and all love God.

What more can we want?
Thanks girls for all your help and care.
Dad and I are so thankful for you all

.