Hot Weekend

We all went on a family picnic to Silver Sands (near Aldinga) just 30 minute's drive down the coast. The sausages cooked on the Barbi were very popular even in all that heat. Grandad had plenty of practice wicket keeping and Sophie is pretty good for 7! Emily prefers to potter around collecting shells (or eating cheesy balls)

It is a beautiful beach and you can drive the cars right on to the sand, set up BBQs and have a great day out. By the time we left some 4 hours later there were hundeds of cars - still plenty of room for everyone. It was the last weekend of the long Summer break as the kids go back to school next week (after Australia Day on the 26th)

The new shelter ($30 in Bunnings) was just what we needed for protection and shelter.

We played cricket and tennis, swam and generally lazed about. The temperature reached a sizzlin 34 but the sea breeze made it bearable. Only a couple of pink spots when we missed with the factor 30!

Charlotte's Web

These are just a few of the lovely cards I could make at classes at my favourite craft shop in Adelaide - Charlotte's Web in Finness Street (near the Westfield Marion Shopping Centre)

Adelaide - The arrival

Can't believe we've been in sunny Adelaide for over a week now and left all the cold, wet and snow behind. The temperature here is between 24 and 30 most days but peaked at 38.8 yesterday.

We've visited the seaside(Brighton), where we paddled and made sand-castles decorated with shells

Spent a few hours walking round the wildlife park at Cleland where we fed the kangaroos and wallabies
Yesterday, to escape the heat (39) we went to Westfield Shopping Centre and caught a glimpse of the Tour Down Under (cycling). and in the evening watched a cricket match at the Oval

Enjoyed a picnic lunch in the Botanical Gardens and fed the ducks.


On Sunday, after a lovely meal out at the Belaire Hotel we toured the hills area visiting 'opens' looking for the sort of properties we would love to buy next year once we get our Visa an come to live here permanently! Much of the spare time has been spent playing with our two lovely granddaughters or lazing in or by the pool.

That was the week that was

Phew, it has been a hectic one. Monday - holiday, Tuesday - shopping, Wednesday - work, Thursday - Dentist. Did the packing today to make sure we weren't over the baggage allowance. Our small cases are packed tightly and still have a couple of kilos to spare then off for a quick trim.

As most of the birthday cards I made have been posted, here is a photo of the ones done so far this year

Ouch!

One of my back teeth felt a bit 'odd' last night - rough round the edges and possibly a bit missing at the back. Phoned my dentist this morning and got a 2.30 appointment hoping it would just be a new filling but when she drilled it there were several fractures, some quite deep. As I am off to Australia next week and a standard crown wouldn't be ready in time I opted for a ceramic crown - a little expensive but will last longer than me!

I have spent 3 hours in the chair and had my tooth drilled right back, all old filings removed then a CAD camera scanned and plotted the shape of my new crown and it was made in a special machine which carved an exact fitted 'tooth' from a small ceramic block in about 20 minutes .

Just had it bonded in place and you cant see the join - its a perfect fit. Although it's an expense I could have done without, I would have been in agony flying next week and would have had my holiday ruined, probably needing emergency treatment which wouldn't be covered by my travel insurance.

Who do you think you are?

40 years ago!

While I was in bed with flu I watched several programmes in the series 'Who do you think you are?' It made me think perhaps it would be fun to do my family tree so that my granddaughters in Australia would have some reminder of their UK heritage.
Christmas 2009

As all my aunts and uncles, parents and a few cousins are no longer with us and other cousins and their children have married, moved and are no longer contactable, I had to rely on my memory. Of course, when doing trees you find they have multiple branches that get very tangled and go off in all directions - 4 sets of grandparents for my husband and I (5 actually as one remarried) for starters

Talk about not being able to see the wood for the trees! - in 3 days I have named and written down 118 relatives connected to the McCue/Tarrant family tree. It is so addictive too. I've found a couple of skeletons in the cupboard and look forward to learning more about our various ancestors in the coming months.

December? - Happy New Year

Not much action on here for December as I caught a bad bout of the Flu while singing in a choir and was bed-ridden for a few days and had a hacking cough for weeks. We had a quiet Christmas with Iain joining us for Christmas Eve, Christmas day and Boxing Day.

Finally feeling a lot better and the cough has almost gone. Hardly been out of the house for weeks except for a few quick food shops. Managed to make birthday cards for friends who have birthdays in January and February but won't show them all yet.

Busy sorting out clothes to pack for our annual holiday in Australia - can't believe another year has gone since the last one and this time next year we will be getting ready for the one-way trip hopefully!