Category: Travel

Just like old times

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I’ve been sitting here reading my google reader, eating an Easter egg, with Chanbe asleep in his cot, thinking “I really should blog” for about half an hour, so here I am! There’s just so much to tell! Uncle Benny left this morning after a lovely week-long visit. Hubs, Uncle Benny and I used to hang out a bit together back when Hubs and I were courting (yes, I just said courting) (meaning v.tr. 2) and we really miss those days. I’m happy to share that we recaptured some of that magic on our road trip down to Stratford! Just like old times… plus a baby 🙂

We had a fantastic visit with my family down south and the road from Bright to Stratford, via Mt Hotham was rather spectacular! Not that I could enjoy it on the way, as I was so car sick 🙁 But the trip back was really something! We were at the top of the mountain just before sunset so the boys took some gorgeous photos. It certainly was chilly up there! It was amazing to see ski fields minus the snow. There was a real deserted feel about the place, even though there were quite a few people around, hiking and whatnot. It will be marvellous to see it in the middle of ski season!

Hubs and Uncle Benny had a very manly weekend, drinking beer, going fishing on Sunday and catching some bream for dinner, and yesterday they went rabbit catching with friends of ours on their property. I cooked the rabbit for dinner last night! I’m not sure how I feel about eating rabbit… But anyway it was nice. 

The weather here at the moment is pretty magical and I’m trying to make the most of it while it lasts. The house we looked at at Mt Beauty was pretty nice, but we have a couple more to check out before we make any decisions.

That’s pretty much all there is to share at the moment, other than the fact that Chanbe turned 5 months old today. He’s doing wonderfully and we’re really enjoying his smiles and laughs, and the fact that he is having 2 naps every day! Yay! We’re heading to Melbourne this weekend for my Marriage Celebrant ongoing professional development day, and we’ll hopefully be catching up with a few friends as well. I promise to post more photos soon. In the mean time, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!

 Oh he’s a country boy now all right!!

Two from two

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So last night I mastered the art of cooking steak, and tonight, I conquered the fish. I cooked up some salmon steaks and some sort of white fish (blue grenadier?) and both were just lovely! Not that I like to brag 🙂

As we were pottering around today, we thought it might be nice to call my great aunt and uncle in Stratford to see if they were free this weekend for us to come and visit. And they are! We’re leaving tomorrow morning to check out a house at Mt Beauty that we might be able to rent from July when we move there, then it’s onto Bright for lunch then we head directly south to visit the rellies.

Really looking forward to it!

Visit

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This time tomorrow, Chanbe and I will be starting our journey to Brisbane. We are catching the bus to Seymour, train to Melbourne, shuttle to the airport, plane to Brisbane and will be picked up and taken back to Gran and Grumpy’s with a stopover at Ouma’s place. I’m getting tired just thinking about it! I really want to share this time in Chance’s life with family and friends in Brisbane so when Virgin had cheap flights, I couldn’t resist.

I think it will officially be the longest I’ve ever spent away from Hubs 🙁 I know quite a few people who spend weeks and/or months away from their partners and I have no idea how they do it, other than the fact that they are deeply committed to their relationships and I have so much respect and admiration for you guys (you know who you are.)

So if you’re around I’d love to see you! I haven’t scheduled any posts while I’m away but I’m hoping to have a bit of time to blog while I’m there. We’ll see how that goes…

Beauty mate!

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Today has been one of those ho-hum days. I’m tired and I’m sick of washing and trying to tidy our unit and am just generally nice and grumpy. Hubs cheered me up a bit before so now I’m (just barely) in the mood to write about our little trip to Mt Beauty yesterday.

We headed there to check out the town where we will be living in a few months time. Hard to believe we’ll be moving in the not-too-distant future. I keep trying to get our current abode in a manageable state, but I think I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s too small and we have too much stuff so it’s always going to feel cluttered. (This added to my doldrums today 🙂

So anyway, we had a drive around and chatted to the 2 real estate agents there. They seemed pretty confident that we’d be able to find something at that time of year so that was reassuring. I just can’t wait to move to a house where we can actually have people over for dinner as well as stay with us! Having people over for meals or to stay is such a big part of who we are and it’s really hard living in a place where it’s almost impossible to do that. And I miss having an outdoor area where I can just sit and have a cuppa or a glass of wine and watch the world go by. As much as we love living in Wang, it will be so lovely having a bigger place!

We are trying to be good with our pennies at the moment so we made our own breadrolls for lunch. I felt like such a Mum. It was awesome! Here’s Hubs and Chance enjoying themselves on our little lunch seat:

We have already confirmed house guests for August (yay!) and hopefully there will be plenty more to come. Please. Join us!

Home sweet home (finally!!!)

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It has been one crazy week. We left Brizzie on Monday morning (it seems like weeks ago, not days!) and flew back to Melbourne on route to Wang. About half an hour before we were due to land, the Captain made an announcement that due to changing winds in Melbourne, we may have to redirect to Sydney or Canberra. Hubs and I started talking about what we would do if that happened, but decided to just wait and see, and thankfully, we were able to land safely. We picked up the kombi and headed straight to Nathan and Cal’s place – our home for the following 2 nights. Poor Chance didn’t know what was going on – the number of different places this kid has slept, I tell you what. But as usual he adapted wonderfully.

We had made plans to have dinner with Hubs’ aunt and uncle and cousins on the Tuesday night so we headed over early to do some shopping beforehand. Unfortunately on the way there, we ran into some car trouble. Long story short, we had to leave it at the mechanic overnight, so Hubs and I decided to get serious about buying a car – something we had been talking about for months. We jumped on line and lo and behold, found a car that ticked all the boxes. We took it for a test drive and committed to buying it there and then on Wednesday.

It’s a burgundy Ford Falcon (yes, we’re in the country now) Futura LPG station wagon. This is the first car that Hubs and I have actually chosen and bought, both separately or together. All of our other cars have been bought from (or given to us by) family or friends so it is a really exciting thing!! Another long story short, we were supposed to receive the bank cheque we ordered (only drawback of being with ING – no bank) on the Thursday and leave that afternoon, but it didn’t arrive til Friday morning so we didn’t get home til yesterday at 2pm. I got to drive “Sherry” home and what a ride! It certainly has some power behind it!

So we walked in the door, emptied the car of all our stuff and proceeded to do absolutely nothing about it. We were then invited to our friend’s place for lunch today so we only just got around to starting to unpack an hour or so ago, hence my presence in blog world! Hee hee! Chance is being an absolute dream, just chilling on the floor and being mesmerised by the mobile hanging over him, so we are actually getting a lot done. Blogging was a big priority for me! I’ve really missed it! I was worried after my hiatus that I wouldn’t really get back into it, and am so glad I’m a keen bean.

I have lots of half-thought-of posts in my head, including the one I plan to write on Monday/Tuesday, entitled something along the lines of “Day 1 of just me and the kid” or something perhaps a bit more eloquent.

Aaaaaaah it’s good to be home.

Third time lucky?

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I’ve started writing this blog post 3 times now, so hopefully I might actually post it this time! Life is so hectic and I don’t know how it happened but our 6 weeks in Brisvegas is coming to an end. We leave on Monday and have had a great time catching up with people and spending time together as a family. It’s been such a blessing having Hubs around to see all the changes in Chance that I’ve been able to see, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when he has to go back to work a week after we get back to Wang! I really love all the get togethers and socialising that comes with staying in Brisbane, but to tell you the truth I’m ready to go home. That’s really hard for me to say as I don’t want our families to think that I want to leave them, but it’s really tiring to be on our best behaviour for 6 weeks solid without much down time.

Having said that, I can’t wait for the fam to come and visit us down south again asap. It’s been so amazing having that support – always having someone there to take Chance for an hour while we grab some sleep or do some cooking or write a blog post. Like just now I heard Chance cry, followed by my Dad’s voice saying “Hello there. What’s going on? Maybe you need a cuddle.” I’m really going to miss that when we leave. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache 🙂

(Chance, 2.5 weeks old)

We’re going to spend a couple of days is Melbourne catching up with friends before heading back to Wang on Wednesday. I’m a little nervous about being so far away from our support networks, and with Hubs working full-time hours, but I know we’ve made some really good friends who are more than happy to help out when we need or want it. In the mean time, I just have to remember that everything always works out. Not always how we think it will, but it works out none the less.

Thank you to everyone for all their love and support and best wishes over the last 9 weeks, and in particular the last 6 weeks. We’ve enjoyed the chats and the beers and games of ping pong and pool, and watching the cricket and tennis, and celebrating life’s special occasions with you all. If I don’t get to blog again until we hit Wang, please forgive me, and know that I have lots to share with you in the coming weeks and months.

Wifey  xx

Our first Christmas as 3

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Hubs and I decided we would try not to have a crazy Christmas trying to run around to too many places this year, but it didn’t quite work out that way. The good news is, we had an amazing day and wouldn’t have changed anything! We did our usual Christmas eve at Nanny and Grandpa’s place which meant lots of food, drink, prezzies, and far too much dessert! (Is there such a thing??) I don’t seem to have many photos from Christmas eve, so we’ll move on to Christmas day.

We went to church in the morning and caught up with some friends and introduced Jr to them, then headed back to Hubs’ Mum’s for breakfast and presents with the fam. We then went to my bro’s place for Christmas with my side of the family which was, as usual, an absolute delight. There were 23 of us seated around an enormous table eating absolutely delicious food!

Khicken and Kturtle had only moved into this house the weekend before, so extra kudos go to them for a huge effort getting everything ready! And not that I can take (full) credit for our delightful little boy, but he was certainly a hit at the party!
We exchanged prezzies and stories and Chance got plenty of cuddles and kisses and even more presents! Not that I’m jealous or anything, cos I got the best present ever! Khicken and Kturtle uncovered my old teddy bear Gizmo, cleaned him up (with napisan among other things) and presented him to me! I missed you Gizmo!!
We then ended our Christmas day at Hubs’ sister’s place where there were kids, presents, freshly caught fish, a nerf gun that everyone wanted to get their hands on, and more kids. By 11pm we were pooped so we came home and crashed, only to be woken up by a very cute Santa’s little helper a couple of hours later. 
As far as Christmases go, this would have to be one of the best!

Wedding number 3

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On Sunday the 19th December, I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of 2 new friends of ours. You may remember this wedding – well, the wedding last Sunday involved Nathan’s brother Pete, and it was a truly wonderful occasion. The wedding was held at Emily’s (the bride) aunt and uncle’s old B&B come holiday home in Trentham, Victoria. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too crash hot – freezing cold and rainy – but that didn’t dampen the mood in any way. We had a wet weather plan, but ended up being able to have the ceremony outside in the courtyard and it went splendidly, despite being only about 12 degrees!!

Hubs took care of Chance during the ceremony, and it was lovely to see their faces amongst the crowd, even if it was only from time to time! It really was a lovely ceremony, and Pete & Em decided to self-cater which gave the day a lovely family feel. Oh, and the desserts were awesome! (And look at the scenery behind the house!)

We all had a great day and spent the night before and after at this gorgeous holiday home in Blackwood – we could have happily stayed there another week, just enjoying the surrounds, watching DVDs and enjoying good company. And thank goodness for the fireplace! I believe it got down to 6 degrees overnight. I don’t think Mother Nature got the memo that IT’S DECEMBER!!!!!!

Congrats Pete & Em!! And here’s a lovely little family pic from the day (and yes, our son is going cross-eyed. Focusing is hard at this age!!)

Keeping occupied

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So while we play the waiting game, Mum and Dad and I have been getting out and about (while poor poor Hubs is stuck doing work – make sure you give him lots of sympathy for his very very hard life! I love you honey!! 🙂 We headed out to Mt Beauty and Bright on Saturday and had a lovely time visiting wineries and breweries. Oh yes, those lemon, lime and bitters sure were something else! Obviously I let Dad do the beer tasting (okay okay, I had a couple of little sips) and Mum partook in a glass of wine. It was nice being out and about, and they even took me on a few bumpy roads to try and “start things off”. Alas, to no avail.

Dad with the first lot of tastings at Sweetwater – this was actually quite disappointing as the beers were mostly flat and not very cold. But if it makes a good story…

Next up, Dad tried a spot of fly fishing
But only managed to catch a couple of foxy ladies 😉
We then stumbled upon the Bright Brewery – this was much more impressive, with better beers (on tap) and a sampler tray with tasting notes. Mum took over driving after this place… 
We had a lovely day out and about, listening to old road trip tapes (The Bushwackers, Bullamakanka, Supertramp, Pink Floyd) and with Dad falling asleep in the back of the car on the way home. The weather was glorious and the company, wonderful as always. Hopefully Hubs will have time to join us on the next trip!

Our mammoth long weekend – days 4 & 5

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At 8am the alarm sounded and up we got. Well, up I got. Hubs had a little extra sleep while I showered and started getting ready. We had my Dad’s famous scrambled eggs with the works (speck, mushrooms, parsley, cheese, onion… anything else, Dad???) and some lovely strong coffee to start our day. We then packed madly (as is always the way!) and headed over to Hubs’ Mum’s place to say goodbye. Our flight left on time (10:50am) and arrived in Avalon just after 2pm Melbourne time (daylight savings is a bitch coming home!) As we were making our descent into Avalon, the pilot informed us that it was cloudy and 15 degrees. Wha?…. We just spent 3 days in 25 degree sunshine! Don’t do this to us!!

As we stepped off the plane, we knew we were home. It was cold and windy and gross 🙂 We jumped in the kombi and began the hour-long journey back in to town. I knew my cousin was down in Melbourne for the races, so I thought I’d see if she was free for a coffee, and luckily for us she was. We met her in town and had some great quality time with her which was just such a bonus.

We were talking about arranging to go out to dinner with some other friends, but when I rang our friends who we were staying with (same people as Thursday night) and they mentioned they were cooking a lamb roast, our minds were made up. But we still hadn’t hit the wall! We had a lovely evening with them and slept very well that night.

We didn’t set the alarm for the next morning but the trams woke us up at a very respectable 9am. We had a lovely breakfast with Liza and the boys and plotted our journey for the day – we’ve been looking for centre seats for the kombi for a few months now and Hubs had phoned a couple of wreckers on the (deep) south side of town so we left around 10:45am to go and check them out and hope for the best! It took AGES – we arrived after midday! I think we only went about 35km but that takes a long time in Melbourne traffic. As we drove into the wreckers, another gentleman pulled up and he got chatting to Hubs. He asked what we were looking for, for the kombi and when Hubs said centre seats, he said that we probably wouldn’t find any at the wreckers as he is there every week and hadn’t seen any. BUT he had some at his place which was just around the corner. He gave us his address and we parted ways.

I thought it was a bit weird but Hubs wasn’t the least bit suspicious. Of course we didn’t find any in the wrecking yard (didn’t even find any kombis, even though we were told there were 1 or 2 in the yard!!). We thought, since we had come all this way, we would take a gamble and check out this guy’s offer. And sure enough, he had exactly what we were looking for, in the right condition at the right price.

What are the odds of this chance meeting? Seriously! 5 minutes either way and this wouldn’t have happened. This was definitely a God moment. We then popped in to say hi to Hubs’ aunt and cousin on our way home and were back on the Hume highway around 4:30pm. On our way home we arranged for some friends who were up in Wang from Melbourne for the races the next day, to come on over around 8pm for dessert. We just couldn’t help ourselves!! We arrived home and Hubs went to pick them up as I made some delish blueberry pancakes and we had a lovely evening with them.

And if you think that was the end of our mammoth weekend, you’re wrong. We still had 1 more day to go…