A Holiday in Tassie

`If we can revise our attitudes towards the land under our feet; if we can
accept a role of steward and depart from the role of conqueror; if we can
accept
the view that man and nature are inseparable parts of the unified
whole - then
Tasmania can be a shining beacon in a dull, uniform and largely
artificial
world'

We have just returned from a wonderful 2 week holiday in Tasmania. I have always wanted to visit Tassie and when I found out someone I knew was organising a tour group to visit in October we decided to join in. We were lucky enough to have perfect sunny weather for our whole trip and the whole experience was perfect. We travelled right around the island, missing nothing :), and the place we both loved best was Strachan, closely followed by Cradle Mountain. This is a `World Heritage Area' and incredibly special. We loved the scenery, the parks and gardens, the history, the food and wine and the friendly people. We also loved having a break from our hot and humid weather. The air in Tassie was fresh and cool and I loved having the chance to `rug up' in hats, scarves and jackets and sit in front of log fires during `happy hour'. Here are just some of our photos.

A `Fairy Pathway' near Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain
Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula.

The beautiful Macquarie Harbour at Strachan

An Arch of flowers

18 months ago my sister Anne gave us a little Star Jasmine plant in a pot which she had found at the local Market. It was Winter and there were no flowers on it but we knew we had to find the right place to plant it. I knew it was a climber so we went off to buy a Garden Arch. Then we had to find a place for the Arch and we decided to use it to frame the view and our Birdbath which the birds love. I planted a Honeysuckle on the other side, we fed and watered both plants and this Spring we have been rewarded! Not only do we now have `join up' we have loads of sweet smelling flowers. Thanks Anne!!

A Holiday in Yamba

This is the view from the Lounge Bar of the Pacific Hotel. The tables are all arranged along the windows and it is a wonderful place for a Sundowner.

This is Main Beach Yamba and this is a place where you could easily spend all day. The Kiosk has little tables and you can buy Lattes and even Sushi as well as the usual hot chips and ice creams

We have just returned from a holiday in beautiful Yamba. The Caravan Park where we stayed was right on the Clarence River which was especially beautiful at Sunset. There was a walking path along the bank which allows people to walk along the river from the beach to the Marina. With 5 beaches, lots of great beach walks (with just a little rock hopping), a cute little main street with coffee shops and bakeries and other interesting little shops, the smallest Cinema in Australia and some great Restaurants (including the Pub), this was we felt the perfect seaside town for a holiday. We plan to go back next year to celebrate Alan's 70th which will be in the October school holidays so everyone is invited to join us :)

Some Digital Art

I haven't posted much of my Art recently but I have been doing quite a bit and here are some examples :)

Tate turns 3

Our little Grandson Tate turned 3 yesterday so he started partying early on Sunday and I think he is still going. We stayed overnight on Sunday and we all had Pizza. Monday morning he had more presents to open and we had a much quieter day. His `big present' was a Trampoline but he received loads of great presents and had a ton of fun. So did we :) Abbey is now 6 months old and as you can see is just totally cute and adorable.

Spring has arrived

Spring has arrived here in South East Queensland and I know this because:

* Today I wore flip flops all day and bare feet around the house on our tiled floors
* We had to use our sun windowscreens on the car windscreen today to keep the heat out
* We have taken our comforter off our bed and I am putting our throw rugs away
* And finally the definitive indicator is that the first Jasmine flowers are in bloom

So now it is time to clean out our fireplace and fill it with pine cones for a summer display, I'm not looking forward to the heat of summer but I am loving the change of season. I took this photo of some wattle yesterday at Noosa where we went for a picnic by the river

Lazy Sunday

Yesterday Alan's sister Margie and her husband Ross came to visit. The weather was perfect so a ride was first on the agenda.

Max was on his best behaviour.
Alan helped groom Max and Ross watched from the sidelines, I took photos :)

Margie and Max enjoyed the ride.

After the riding we had lunch - a Leg of lamb which had been roasting in the Weber, Ratatouille
and bread with cordial. This was followed by an apple tea cake with Greek Yoghurt for Dessert and later a cup of tea. Before they left Alan took Margie out to harvest some fruit to take home - all in all a perfect day was had by all!