Irene's Blog

Another Christmas day but today we had thunder and lightning and plenty of rain all day long. It was also warm and didn't cool down until around 8 o'clock tonight. We had a lovely time with everyone enjoying each other's company and a nice meal in the evening.

On 28th August, 2011 John and I flew to Adelaide where we'd booked into a lovely big hotel overlooking the beach at Glenelg - The Stamford Grand. It was lovely and we were really pleased with our room and the balcony which we hadn't expected to have. We hadn't been to Glenelg for about 27 years and noticed a lot of changes but it still has so much for visitors to enjoy. Each morning, we went down for a buffet breakfast in the Promenade Restaurant - what a feast was laid on every day. We made the most of it, as you do, which meant we were never hungry at lunch time. I can't think of anything they'd forgotten from what was on offer and the service was impeccable. Each and every member of staff we encountered were so helpful and really looked as if they enjoyed their job. The view from our balcony was lovely. The Jetty used to be so much longer with an aquarium and salt water swimming enclosure as part of it but in 1948 there was a freak hurrica...

Poor wee Corey. He's not at all well so when he snuggled into me today, I was happy to let him. He fell asleep almost immediately and 10 minutes later, I was in the land of nod myself. I hope he'll be feeling better soon as he's missed quite a bit of school this past week. Lachlan, his twin brother, has been ill too but he seems to be on the mend. I just hope their mum doesn't come down with the same thing.

We went to see the latest in the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN series today in 3D and even though I don't think it was as good as the previous ones, we still enjoyed it and still love the character of Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp, and Captain Barbossa played by Geoffrey Rush with the addition of Ian McShane who plays a really good, or should I say bad, Blackbeard.......I didn't recognise him at first. Dame Judi Dench has a small cameo appearance which was a nice surprise. I loved the mermaids - they were beautiful, seductive and enchanting, the only problem is...they want to eat you !!! We were in the Gold Class part of the cinema complex where you sit in recliner chairs, can have food and drink delivered right to your seat or press a button to summon someone to order food or drinks. As you can see, John was quite comfortable while waiting for the movie to start.

On Sunday 8th May, we went to see WALKING WITH DINOSAURS in Melbourne at Hi Sense Arena. We'd had the tickets for months and at last we were there. It really was an amazing show and the dinosaurs were spectacular. We enjoyed every minute.

My daughter and I took her two boys into Melbourne today. The weather was beautiful and the boys enjoyed their first train trip then a ride on the City Circle Tram around the city. We then walked along Southbank and watched a busker's performance before making our way back across the Yarra River to catch the train home. We had a great time and could easily have fallen asleep on the way home on the train Opposite the Parliament Building: One of the horse drawn carriages which takes tourists around the city: The Yarra River looking back towards the city: A busker performing at Southbank: Looking back at Southbank from the footbridge: The Eureka Building - tallest residential building in Melbourne:

Uncle Stephen bought a replica wrestling belt which arrived during the week. While he was at work, he left the belt out so the boys could see it when they came over on Saturday. Of course, they just had to try it on to see how it fitted - I think they'll need to grow quite a lot before the belt will fit them without falling on the ground.

The boys are staying over the weekend so I thought this morning, I'd take them to the local pool for a couple of hours. They had a great time in the kids section of the complex as they have quite a few water features that kept them amused. I hadn't been to the new pool before so didn't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. No doubt, they'll want to go back again and again.

What a lovely time we had yesterday. Jackie, Sean and the boys came for Christmas dinner so there were 7 of us altogether. I don't know how people manage to cook for many more than that, as I find 7 to cater for is enough. Gifts were exchanged with the boys showing off each item as they unwrapped it.....they really liked their hand held games machines. Toy aeroplanes from Australian Geographic were also a big hit. Dinner was delicious and need I add, that the desserts were out of this world. We all left the table having had more than enough to eat. We have a few leftovers which will do for a couple of days, then it'll be back to the usual - but I don't think anyone will complain. You can only take so much Christmas fare!

Another Christmas is almost here. The tree is up and looking nice - not too much in the way of decorations but it looks nice. The entrance hall looks lovely too and very festive. All of the gifts have been bought and wrapped and I only have to make my "clootie dumpling" and chocolate truffles then roll on the 25th. I feel as if this year I was much more organised than in previous years so here's hoping I haven't forgotten something that means getting caught up in crowds of shoppers at the last minute.

PAPA WITH LACHLAN AND COREY ON THE OLD RAIL BRIDGE We spent a lovely 2 days at Bonnie Doon, north/east of Melbourne. The weather was lovely and not too hot. The lake has certainly filled up after all the winter rain - it's at around 65% now. The twins got in some swimming and bike riding and their dad managed a few laps on his new trail bike on the land just by the lake. I think everyone tired themselves out with all the activity. The local wild cockatoos weren't backwards at coming forward when there was food available - they weren't so cute at 6 o'clock in the morning when they came down and made such a racket which woke us, before they flew off. I was having such a lovely sleep at the time too !!!

10/10/10 - a date to remember. I went with my daughter and grandsons to see Alpha Pro Wrestling at Pipeworks just outside of Melbourne. It was a sunny day and a bit warm sitting in the sun waiting for the action to start, but once it did, we forgot about being hot. I wish I'd taken sunscreen with me though because when I got home, I could see how red I was - oh well, it'll soon pass and I'm not in pain. A few photos taken on the day, but don't ask me who the wrestlers all were......I think this is Mike Manson and right now, he must be the champion. Grandsons, Lachlan and Corey with one of their favourite wrestlers.......

Just got back from a few days at Echuca / Moama. Echuca is on the Victorian side of the border and Moama on the New South Wales side - the border is the Murray River. We stayed at the Riverview Resort but there was no river view. That didn't matter too much as it had a lovely pool, bbqs and tennis court and the units were all separate so it was more like a small village setting. The units all had their own two person jacuzzi and were very comfortable and well laid out. We had a cruise on one of the river paddle boats which was lovely. The River was flowing fast owing to all the recent rain and I'm sure a lot of soil was being washed into the river too as the water was brown.....we weren't swimming in it so it didn't matter. The paddle boat we went on was the PRIDE OF THE MURRAY We had a few lovely meals at the Moama RSL Club - their pavlova dessert is out of this world and with our Seniors Cards, we saved a bundle on their meal deals. What we saved, we put into the po...

While out shopping at SPOTLIGHT, Lachlan (the party animal) and Corey decided they'd try on a few hats and glasses. I, as usual, had my camera in my bag so snapped a few photos.

The twins got new shoes yesterday - as always, they have to have the same which can be a problem at times finding the same sometimes in two different sizes. I wonder how long these shoes will last as they seem to need new ones every couple of months......boys will be boys!!!

CAUGHT AT LAST - I hired a possum trap and set it in the afternoon and about 9.30 last night we went out to have a look and found that this pesky possum couldn't resist the apple put in for bait and he was well and truly trapped. I'm sure my son in law was right in his assumption that we'd actually barricaded the possum in and it couldn't escape to the outside world. It was probably in the eaves cavity sleeping soundly during the day and coming into the garage once it got dark through whatever small space it could find and making a right mess of our cars. We took it to a nearby park and let it go - it ran up the closest tree so here's hoping it doesn't decide to come back and resume it's nightly raids. At least now I don't think it'll be able to get into the garage since it was probably trapped in the eaves for a couple of days with no means of getting out into the garden. If it couldn't get out, surely it won't be able to get in.

Those cute little possums we have around us are driving us nuts. We've done everything to stop them getting into our garage at night but each time they get around whatever it is we've done. I've been boarding up anywhere that they can gain access, using anything I can get my hands on. My arm is aching from hours of hammering where I've boarded up the area around the eaves but they still got in last night knocking stuff off shelves and leaving garden equipment on the floor. I am at my wits end - they're not so cute when they poop everywhere and spray urine all over the cars. I have to wash down the cars, (and one is only weeks old), every morning then sweep out the garage so we don't tread their mess into the house. Son in law came over today to get on the roof to have a look at any places I might have missed but he couldn't find any spaces of any size that they could squeeze through. He suggested that maybe one of the possums could be trapped in the eav...

We had an Easter Egg hunt for the boys but I think next year we'll have to think of somewhere else to hide the eggs, they're getting far too smart and found them all too quickly. We had a really nice lunch afterwards - then the boys were allowed one of their Easter eggs. I think they've got enough to last them for weeks.

Quite often, when going into our garage, we've found items from a high shelf on the floor. We didn't think it was a possum because there were no tell tale signs such as possum poo and we all know how messy possums are in that department. I thought that perhaps it was a cat getting in , however, we've now discovered that it is indeed a possum because I saw it tonight. I'd blocked a space where I thought it was getting in only to find out tonight that it was it's exit I'd blocked and it was coming in from the back of the garage and being trapped with it's exit unavailable - I just hope it's got enough sense to realise that if it gets in, it's only going to have to go out the way it got in and going over the outside of the roof is a better option for it's nightly travels.

Today we went for a lovely drive up to Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges. We went for a wander along the street looking at all the little shops then had a Devonshire Tea at the PIE IN THE SKY restaurant. Looking at the meals being served to other patrons, I think we'll be going back for lunch sometime. We went into the sweet shop; they have sweets from all around the world and I almost had to drag John out of the shop before he got carried away At $3.90 for a Walnut Whip, I think that's asking a bit much considering the fact they seem to have shrunk since I was a child.