Talk About Downsizing!

We have been very, very busy because on Feb 28th we got the call from Housing to say they had a place for us...we'd been on their list for almost 7 yrs...we had 3 days to decide and see if we could break our lease and it all went very well and we/I'd packed up and moved in 10 days lol 
What a riot, thank goodness for adult chn and good friends Mandy and Paul. I got window cleaners in, carpet cleaner, pest control and lawn mower man and did the rest of the cleaning myself. (Last night I dreamed we were still there and still packing...this is a recurring dream of mine...it's caused by having too many possessions I think!)

Now talk about down-sizing, we have one big bedroom, a lounge/dining area, toilet/shower room and washing machine/wash basin area lol There is a huge shed and a roomy outside locker, a lovely paved patio and a small front garden...it's in a block of 12 single storey semis for over 55 yr olds so there are all the hand-rails and easy taps etc that I need and it's so quiet although we're just a km from the major shopping centre, 500m from Spotlight and the library and 1.3km from Bunnings lol It already seems like we've been here forever.

Surrounded by our own familiar furniture and belongings we are very content...there's lots of storage room in the kitchen and a new gas oven...no more bending...

I couldn't get my sewing cabinet in but found I can sew comfortably on the little coffee table, I made 2 shopping bags this week and we got the china cabinet in (my pride and joy). I've been in the op-shops looking for curtains and found the lace one at the lounge window for $3 and a tray from the Lake District for 50 cents! Also some knick-nacks for the patio...

From the front window I can see our Thai neighbour's wonderful garden, she has Holy Basil, Vietnamese mint, bird's eye chillies and lemon grass etc, there are frangipane trees everywhere too. I have already planted basil, coriander, parsley, pansies and jalopeno chillies in my pots and am waiting for more reliable rain to plant out my lemon and lime trees as this will be our forever home now...

The rent here is less than half that we were paying to rent privately so it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, forever scrimping and saving can get quite stressful although we still had a good standard of living now we can save for the occasional holiday etc. 

Twitch is very happy too, on the first evening he saw fit to jump up on the settee next to Joe and almost into his dinner...

So that is what we've been doing for the last month, I'm glad the move is over, we are still unpacking and looking for bits and pieces and we have to find a home for our two seater settee but we have plenty of time for that!

Hope all is well in your world,
Love from Sue
xxx

A Sporty Morning

Hallo every-one! Today I had the pleasure of watching 3 of our grandchildren playing sport at the same ground..this is rare that they're all in the same place so it was heart-warming. Jacob won Player of the Match for his cricket team and Jessie won Player of the Match for her tee-ball team. Livvie played very well too and I got to cuddle and play with baby R.
These are all the photos I took, I want to share them here for other family members to enjoy...

Meanwhile at Priscilla's house...the view from the front door!

Such a contrast!

Hope all are well and enjoying their weekends
xox

Some Family Photos

I promised to share these photos that my first husband's cousin sent to me last week...he came to Australia for 2 holidays when my children were very young and I hadn't even seen most of the photos...me, 1975 at Palm Beach Jetty...

The house at Corella Pl we had built in 1979...it has since been demolished and replaced! We lived here for 13years...

Here's cousin Dave with a puffer fish he picked up on Safety Bay Beach...

and his mum, Auntie Sheila waving a crayfish at us...

Paul and Gordon, aged 4 and 2years ...

Paul aged 2yrs getting a drink!

I hope that can was empty...Paul is 21 mos old here...

Paul again on Safety Bay Jetty(hand-made jumper please note!)

Gordie aged 4 years at Coral Bay or Exmouth...

1979 and the local shopping centre, The Hub which is now undergoing major improvements...I love the 'old' cars in this pic...

 and last but not least, Gordie, Elizabeth and I in 1983-4 at the Rockingham Aquatic Centre(posh title for swimming pools)

Seeing these photos made me rather nostalgic, hope they made you smile...
Love from Sue
xxx

January Round-Up

Hallo every-one and thank you for all your comments, especially about the bush-fires, Lynda hit the nail on the head. I don't think they've caught any-one yet who may have started the fires.

I stopped on the way to see Mum yesterday and took a few photos of the damage, it's a shame I can't share the awful smell of burned plants and probably animals too...it's really bad! The first photo shows how hot and dry the area is, all the grass is dead and tinder dry...

the fence is charred too

Once the rains come again new growth will spurt very quickly...

I've made another batch of soap using some calendula petals from a friend...this was a first time for me..the heat during saponification burns the petals but they are still very appealing, I used cinnamon oil for scent and some turmeric for colour...

The reason I went to Mum's yesterday was to collect a skinned whole duck her friend, Steve, had prepared for me. I jointed it when I got home and have it marinating in some lovely Chinese flavours as per this Jamie Oliver recipe...will let you know how it turns out. Steve also sent some duck eggs...

Finally finished a baby jacket for my gifting box and have almost finished another one...I love yellow and I've used this pattern many times....can you see the spotty buttons? I'm going to buy some modelling clay and have a go at making my own buttons...

 I bought the buttons at Spotlight on my home from giving blood...I also saw this child's chair for sale...I took a photo because it reminded of the blue suite we had in Morecambe, club armchairs and a real fifties style. This chair is darker in colour, probably very sweaty to sit in and must be leaching all sorts of toxins into the air but it still looks like fun!...

The girls are back at Tee-ball today...I haven't seen them for weeks so will go along and cheer! I also have that bracelet making kit I won from Spotlight to give them.

Can't finish a post with a photo of our cutie...Bunnies have the cutest derrieres (butts) and this one is very well camouflaged lol

Cousin Dave Stewart has posted lots of old pics from when my children were little...I'll do a post on them next week...some are very sweet!

Do enjoy your weekend, stay safe and give your loved ones an extra hug!
Sue
xxx

Kwinana Bush Fires

For the first time ever Mum and Dad had to evacuate their home of 46 years yesterday because of the threat from a bush fire burning a couple of kilometres away on the western side of the Golf Course. The Dept. of Fire and Emergency Services(DEFS) made automated phone calls to every-one in the affected area warning them they had roughly an hour to leave or to make ready to defend their property.

As this is such a rare event around here we don't even bother making evacuation plans or having a kit of essential items ready to grab and then run with. Around 3pm Elizabeth posted this photo from Rockingham Beach looking north to Kwinana, some 5 miles away...

Then fire warnings began to be posted on Facebook and they even mentioned Mum and Dad's road so I phoned to see if they knew of the danger. Mum was at home alone, not sure where to go or what to do really, Dad however had taken two friends/neighbours down to Rockingham for x-rays and treatment. I phoned the x-ray place to try to talk to him to warn him that the roads home were now blocked and that they had to evacuate. They'd already left so I phoned Mum again and she'd spoken to Steve-next-door who was going to stay and defend his house...he'd started the joint reticulation system on the front gardens to wet down as much as possible.

Mum then moved her golf car out of the carport to get her car out and bumped one of the carport supports causing some damage. We knew by now that she had to go to Council Offices where they'd set up an evacuation centre but Dad still wasn't home and wouldn't know of the danger or where she was.
Just by coincidence I'd cancelled an appt in Mandurah because of the heat so that meant I was at home when the fire became serious and I was able to help my parents, albeit long dostance!

This photo from the TEN news chopper shows the two fires, the denser one on the right is very close to Mum and Dad's home.

As Mum was finally driving up the road to safety along comes Dad with their friends so she put her car away and all four went to the council offices where they were very well cared for for the next 3-4 hours!

The fierce hot wind then changed direction slightly and sent the fire off towards the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline, the railway depot and many small industries and factories on Mandurah Road.
In all 17 helicopters were deployed to pick up and dump water on the fires...this one is picking up water at Kwinana Beach, photo by local resident, Anja Macvicar

Pic by the TEN new limited

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 this one was taken by local resident, David Ucyurek...

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 The Courier Newspaper

We have nothing but praise for the brave firefighters and the way the Kwinana Council handled the news reports and warnings and then caring for the evacuees...Mum said they were fed pizzas and Subway sandwiches as well as drinks.

It was 39C during the height of the blaze and now we hear that the fires were arson attacks...ABC News