Well we are still here and no sign of the Virus receding at the moment so we are happy to stay put in relative safety- compared to Europe. Tj was delighted and began her new list of things to keep me busy – lol . The Mural is now finished and I have moved onto the next project but in the meantime Tj found a set of monkey bars with swings on, on Gumtree – free , buyer to dismantle! Adam and Bob and TJ set off to pick it up and in no time it was installed in the garden ….. TJ said its a shame its green, the trampoline and the other swing and seesaw are black – “Bob could you paint this black please?” she said.
Grandad play with me ! 
painting time 
Mummy and Daddy need a massage
Well he did and the girls love it, it’s amazing how quickly they get confidence to climb to the top and Mia’s strength has improved tremendously and she can now monkey swing all the way across.
This week Adam got his bike serviced so Bob, Adam and Mia cycled to the park and Tj and I with Zoe went in the car with all the chairs, games, food stuff etc .We met up with friends for a picnic, still social distancing and not sharing our food but the children loved playing with their friends again and it was good to chat to other people.
Cycle to the park 
chatting 
Mia on her new bike
The next week was quiet, Adam and TJ working and the girls at school and day care. Bob was gardening and car cleaning and I was finishing my artwork in the garden. The neighbours who overlook the wall I have painted said it was a lovely picture so at least they are happy looking at it instead of a blank wall. I was quite pleased with it myself as I haven’t done anything like this before.
This next week is exciting because we are going on a little holiday up to Caloundra, about 1hr30 mins north along the coast. On Monday, Tjs friend Sam, and now my friend too, came over for a sewing day, its so lovely to find a fellow crafting soul. We made little bags for travelling, very useful when you have a holiday looming.
Tuesday morning, Bob had gone to take the girls to school and Tj and I were chatting, when we heard a screech of brakes…. we waited and then BANG ! there it was, an accident. Right on the corner of our road, we went over to see what had happened and one man was in his car in shock, the other had moved his car into our road and got out, he was ok. Luckily a first aider appeared from one of the houses and took everything in hand. The man out of the car called his partner and she arrived and gave him what for… it was her car and it was the second one he had written off in 12 months! oops bit of domestic there so we stepped away. The man in the car had just dropped his children off at school – luckily – he was taken to hospital in an ambulance very shook up but no visible injury.
Tj and Adam had their chat with Mias teacher online and were very pleased with the report on her progress. Just a bit more reading practice needed so I found some Roald Dahl books on marketplace and TJ picked up some Billie Brown books, this should help.
Thursday arrives and we are all excited to get away for a few days after 3 months in the house more or less. We left around 10am and drove up, stopping at The Maze for the morning as we couldn’t check in until 3pm. The entrance has a waterfall cascading across your path but a magic eye stops it as you approach, this fascinated the girls who thought it was magic. Its a great place for them to run around and get lost looking for clues to solve the puzzle. There is a tower right in the middle so if you do lose them you can climb up and see where they are. We took sandwiches for lunch and had ice creams afterwards in the café. We arrived at the cabin which was modern with 3 bedrooms and all amenities and a very large tv, we unpacked and then went out to get our bearings and look around. There were lots of Pelicans around, I love Pelicans, so I was delighted to see them sitting on the street lights. For dinner we had taken a meal with us that TJ had cooked the day before so we just warmed it up. Friday morning we had tickets to visit The SeaLife Centre, we were one of the first in and spent the whole morning looking at the wonderful fishes and sea life. When we returned to the cabin the girls wanted to go in the swimming pool which was heated but only to about 26 degrees. Brr it was a bit chilly but after a couple of hours playing they were happy tired and ready for fish and chips for dinner. Saturday was market day, we wandered through the stalls, stopping for refreshments then lunch and the beach in the afternoon. We travelled to a beach at Curramundi Lake where we watched some people parachuting out of an airplane and dropping onto the beach. We had lunch and the girls played in the warm shallow water. Sunday morning we went for a walk along the beach with the girls, it was a bit breezy today but we picked up litter and put it in the bin, I think Mia gets a scout badge for this. Tj had stayed at the cabin packing up their things so she came and joined us for lunch in a restaurant on the front before they set off for home to give them time to prepare for school, day care and work on Monday morning. Bob and I stayed an extra night as we had booked golf on a nearby course for Monday morning.
map of the maze 
the tower 
Zoe
The Maze 
fun for the boys too 
and a group selfie 
Our Cabin 
and inside 
A Pelican watching over us 
Sealife Centre 
A bit of rain but its gone when we come out 
Wow big teeth 
Seahorses 
amazed 
ARRRR… 
The seal show 
ooo a bit scarey for Zoe 
The tunnel wow 
dinner in the cabin 
Curramundi Lake beach 
just hanging around 
lunch at Curramundi 
Walk along the beach and a rainbow after the rain 
breezy day for a walk 
Mia putting the litter from the beach in the bin 
The sunday Market 
our beautiful Zoe 
The pool 
Girls wrapped up
Adam and TJ have ordered a carport to be built in front of the garages, it was supposed to be delivered today and the men coming on Tuesday to fit it but they are delayed. The carport arrives and sits on the grass until Thursday we are told – oh no Thursday is my birthday. Luckily they are delayed again so the installation is set for Friday – phew. Tuesday we get a delivery, its Adams new BBQ cover for his posh BBQ – well it covers most of it but there needs to be a slight alteration …..Mum … Haha, out comes my sewing machine again, for a $99 basic machine its performing extremely well so I set to making it fit, cutting a bit off here and adding a bit there … now its perfect. Thursday morning and I am woken by the Beatles song, When I’m 64 lol. The girls make me breakfast and give me presents before they go off to school and Bob takes me out for lunch and a shopping trip. I get a new cardigan, some tops and new ankle boots as the weather is cooler and I only brought summer clothes. I am also getting bored with the same clothes I have been wearing for the past 8 months. In the evening Adam and TJ take us all out to the Custom House Restaurant in the city. Its a beautiful building and the meal is delicious, washed down with a very nice glass of red.
BBQ cover adjustment 
Cover finished 
My birthday cake 
Customs House, Brisbane 
Happy Birthday to me 
The family 
Birthday hugs from Mia
Friday the men arrive to start the carport but a couple of hours or so in and they drill a hole in the support post in the wrong place ! Doh have to order another one, it wont be ready until Monday now. Oh well. At the weekend, Adam and Tj have one more treat for me, tickets to the Planetarium at Mount Coot-tha and a picnic in the botanical gardens park afterwards. Unfortunately the video they showed was much shorter than normal and only about 20 people allowed inside at a time but still worth a visit. Monday morning the installers are back and the carport is looking like a carport but they still haven’t finished it and have to come back Tuesday.
In the meantime its half term school holidays so Mia is at home this week. She loves painting and I want to expand her mind with different types, we have done watercolour and that was very successful so now for some acrylic pouring – so much fun but oh so messy lol
the carport going up 
Mia making a mess 
We love painting 
Some art work finished 
the botanical gardens inside 
the bamboo 
just a nice pic of me 
Zoe 
time for a swing 
a rare one of TJ 
JULY
Tuesday and its July already and we still haven’t got the carport finished but they arrive early and in a couple of hours its done.
Thursday Bob has booked a tee time at Karana Downs golf course, its a bit of a trek, about 45 mins but its a nice day and the golf is good. While we were out Adam found some artificial turf in a skip so he filled the car and asked us to make it fit the grassed area under the new carport as that grass would now die with no sun on it. lol it was a jigsaw ..
Karana Downs Golf 
Adams skip collection 
almost done
Busy weekend with Bob and I visiting the “Op Shops” that’s charity shops to you, for some denim material and some work trousers for Bob. In the afternoon, pizza and playtime with friends at the local Minninipi park, all the kids played lovely together. Then Saturday we were invited to an ex neighbours house for dinner. Their house is a new build, valued at around 1.4 million $, its a 6 bedroom house with a hairdressing salon in the basement and magnificent views of the city from the upstairs balcony. Dinner was Mexican and delicious. They had also just bought a new car and Tj has been looking for a 7 seater car so we climbed all over it and asked lots of questions to see if it was still on her list of possibilities – it was not because the tow weight was too low.
they have known each other since they were born. growing up now 
Pizza in the park
Sunday Tj had volunteered us for helping put posters up in Mia’s school … I didn’t realise they were stick on posters and rather large and no one wanted the job so I offered and ended up putting 16 of them up.
Monday morning and TJ has persuaded me to try Zumba with her, its Zumba Gold which is for seniors so I decide to have a go and actually enjoyed it. I will go again. Then off to the hairdressers for a good cut as its been 6 weeks or more and I cant do a thing with my hair!
Tj has been researching 7 seater cars, who would believe there was so much difference in their size, towing capacity, tow hitch design, internal design and price? Well Tj knows almost anything you need to know about them now and at the weekend they went off to all the garages to look at and test drive the “possibles” left on their list. Afterwards she had her 18 down to 2 or 3 options. On Wednesday they found a Nissan Pathfinder online with everything they wanted on it at a good price but unfortunately when they phoned the garage it had just been sold. Amazingly they then found another one almost the same but a model up at around the same price. The Volvo Garage in the city still had it and the price was negotiable so we dropped everything and went to look at it. The Salesman gave us the keys and let us go test drive it for 20 mins on our own. Adam put it through its paces, we stopped and turned it upside down, checking it over completely. (not literally though haha). It had belonged to a doctor and looked like it hadn’t had anyone in the backseats at all. Tj went into her bargaining mode when we returned with it and happily she struck a deal that was good for all. Now we just had to wait about a week for the paperwork to be finalised.
Thursday its raining and the school class catchup in the park is cancelled so Bob and Mia bake a cake for tea. In the evening some of the mums of Mias classmates have arranged a meal out. Tj invited me to join them for a Mexican meal – yes please !
It seems to have been ages since we had anyone over for a meal so TJ invited two families for brunch on Saturday morning. Adam made wonderful bacon butties and everyone brought something so we had a real feast. It was just so nice to sit and chat and enjoy the food and the sunshine and the children all just played. Afterwards we left the men to wash up and look after the children and us girls went to play Escape Hunt. So much fun and we cracked the code and escaped with only 19 seconds to spare .
Tuesday 14th July is Bastille day in France and Mias school are having a Bastille Day celebration, they asked the students to dress up in anything French. Mia has a book on famous women and she chose Coco Chanel as her person. I had been looking round the second hand shops for a couple of weeks for items and Tj found her a classic dress and this is how she went to school that day.
Do I look like Coco Chanel ? 
a bit of magic and $2 sunglasses become Chanel Sunglasses 
more magic
This week was a week of firsts, Tj met her new colleague from work in the park because they are all still working from home, she hasn’t seen him . Mia is back at the Scout hut for scouts after 3 months of Zoom meetings and the girls are back to swimming classes. I have been busy making new cushions for the outside chairs and I had a sewing day with Sam at her house this time, making a new mat for my sewing machine with pockets on the front for bits and pieces and a sewing scraps bin for my desk using patchwork. The old Lancer car being replaced with the Nissan Pathfinder has been serviced and put up for sale and within a couple of days we have a buyer coming to look at it.
The Lancer ready for selling 
My sewing bin 
My sewing machine mat with pockets 
Cushions for outside chairs
Friday 17th and Bob and I are just about to leave the house and Adam got a call to say that all the paperwork was done and we could pick up the new car. We arranged to go with the girls at 3.30pm and picked it up, Tj dropped the girls at swimming straight after and we all went to Birkdale Fish and Chip shop for a celebratory dinner. Saturday morning the lady came to inspect the Lancer and she agreed to buy it.
Poppy Pathfinder 
Fish & Chip Supper
So Saturday morning after the Lancer had gone we went out for a drive, all together in the same car, to Maleny Dairy Farm. Tj had arranged for us to do the tour of the farm and how they get and process the milk. It was a beautiful sunny day and we got to taste the milk from Natasha the cow , feed the week old calves, stroke Strawberry the sheep and watch the automated milking. The girls thought it was hilarious that Natasha pooped while Grandad was tasting the milk from her. The processing machines weren’t working on a weekend but we could see them all. There was a museum of old equipment that they used to use and we also watched a video of the family who own and have run the farm for many years. Finally we were given tasters of all their products, milk, custard and yoghurts. On the way home we stopped off at a beauty spot with a waterfall . The girls have decided to call the new car Poppy Pathfinder !
feeding the calves 
Milking Natasha 
tasters 
lunch 
The next week I had to personalize the girls cups, their wellington boots, because they are identical and their new money boxes. Tj wants them to learn to spend some, save some and give some to charity. The most exciting news was that 6 of us girls went to Bingo in the local club, never been before and some of us have never played Bingo. We caused a stir on entering because we didn’t know what we were doing or what we had to buy but eventually we were sorted with games for the first half of the session. We settled down and the first game was quite slow then the next one got quicker and it was hard to keep up! However, half way through I called a house and won $70! I was so happy. Then Sam, my crafting friend who had never played Bingo before said I am only waiting for number 47. The caller said that this being the jackpot round if house was called in 56 numbers or less and she had called 50 numbers. 5 more numbers were called and on the 56th number they called 47 – Sam leapt out of her chair shouting Bingo and won $1000. We were all stunned and as we were only playing the first half, we quickly left with our winnings and went to a bar to celebrate.
The last weekend of the month was very wet, it didn’t seem to want to stop raining. However, Tj had booked us all in to the snow play area in Southbank near the city and although, due to Covid is wasn’t as spectacular or as large this year, the girls had a great time playing until their fingers and toes were too cold. Mia earnt part of a Scout badge for building a snowman too. Afterwards we all had hot chocolate and toast to warm us up.
The last week saw Adam buy new doors for the rumpus to garage and the rumpus to garden, they only went for some screws or something and came back with a 650$ door for 150$ – what a bargain ! and a back door with glass in to let in more light. So guess what Bobs job this week was? – painting 2 new doors. He has finally finished repainting the deck table and chairs so he thought he was finished haha.
I have finally got behind the steering wheel too, just as they sold the little grey Lancer, so I have had to move over to the big Outlander car. However, it seems easy enough to drive, apart from the fact the steering wheel is on the wrong side, its automatic and very large! I have just lost my confidence a bit not driving for nearly 10 months now but the girls gave me hugs when I drove to pick them up from school and day care.
Hugs from my little ones
Look forward to August blog with our trip to Bribie Island, golf, cooking and sewing projects and much more….