6th Month Anniversary

Unbelievably we have now lived in Australia for 6 months and although the time has rushed past in some ways it seems much longer - we are so settled and happy here.  We have just walked round the nieghbourhood this morning and can't believe how lucky we are living in such a beautful area surrounded by breath-taking views, bush & parkland, woodland and stunning houses.  We miss Iain and many of our friends but really haven't felt homesick at all.  It's lovely having Karen and the family just 20 minutes drive away and we see them occasionally for meals and the odd bit of baby-sitting.

We love our new house and have spent many happy hours furnishing it and planning and planting shrubs, annuals and hanging baskets in the small but managable garden.  We now have the irrigation system working so can forget the watering cans, hoses and buckets for a while as it it programmed to run automatically.  Unlike in the picture above - the grass is now green and healthy again.  Its great to sit on the veranda and read, relax or drink coffee and admire our handiwork and the views to the hills beyond while being 'serenaded' by magpie-larks, kookaburras and many types of parrots.

Our social life is very hectic - lots of craft and cooking for me and plenty of sport for Clive.  I've taken up patchwork and aquafit and am trying to get card classes started but the uptake is very slow and may take time to get established.  The AFL season has started so Clive is visiting lots of different clubs to watch Aussie Rules Footie now the cricket season has ended. He is also a 'natural' at Bowls so is playing at the local club regularly.

We are involved with a large church in Blackwood and have made many good new friends there.  I also work once a fortnight in their Cafe helping to prepare, cook and serve light lunches for up to 90 people in a session. I was very involved with refreshments for the Christmas Carols on the Oval but never want to see a hot sugared cinnamon doughnut again! (The heat in the marquee was unbelievable and it was over 33 outside).  We loved our first family Christmas in the sun and look forward to Christmas 2012 when Iain will be with us too.

The summer has been glorious and we've spent lots of time on the various local beaches, visiting local markets, going to free open-air concerts and driving round the hills and wine regions.  We had a marvellous time during the Tour Down Under in January when we had the Singleton family to stay from Sydney.  Autumn promises to be a beautiful time of year too with warm(ish) sunny days, colourful trees and cooler nights.  Hopefully winter won't be too cold - it certainly will be nothing like winters in the UK.

We have had three short holiday breaks - Victor Harbor B&B (with a wildlife artist and her National Park Ranger husband) an overnight stay in an Eco-cabin at Warrawong Animal Sanctuary and 4 days at a Caravan Park in Goolwa (with a great boat trip along the Coorong).  We are already planning several Spring breaks to the Yorke Peninsular and the Loxton/Berri/Morgan area of the River Murray.

Things are finally slowing down to a more comfortable pace as we adjust to our new way of life in a very different culture and we look forward to the next 6 months in this adventure of a lifetime.