Chew Stoke

Winifred, thanks for this lovely pic (and others) of Chew Stoke.  What a weird name!!!!  I just adore such places and that's why I can't get enough of 'Escape to the Country' on Friday nights.  Can you believe, they actually run three episodes one-after-the-other - I'm obviously not the only person who loves such beautiful shots of country UK.

Here in Australia I really miss beautiful old buildings and bridges, so keep these pics coming, please - you, too, Frank.  (And anybody who lives in an old country.)

This morning I walked up to a new cafe that's recently opened and got to chatting, as I do wherever I go, this time to a young woman at a nearby table.  Turns out she runs her own catering business and would love Manami to do some cakes for her.  It not what you know but who you know!
   

Royal Easter Show coming soon

Manami has entered this in one of the cake decorating sections of the Show.  As you can imagine, she spent hours on it.  We have our fingers crossed that it will be put on display and win her a blue ribbon!  The Show opens on April 5.


Time continues to fly by.  On Friday, Christabel, the daughter of my Finnish friend and her Australian husband, came for the day with her aunt from Newcastle.  (You may remember I mentioned her arrival in Australia some months ago.)  It was a wonderful day - we talked and talked and I will start skyping her mother to keep in closer touch.  It was quite an experience meeting Christabel, as she hadn't even been born when I knew her parents!  (They were in my French class in a town in the Hunter Valley.)  Finland has a population of only 5 million.  It's hard for me to conceive of such a small number of people way up near Santa Claus Land, all speaking a strange language!  Of course, Christabel's English is wonderful.

Look at me now!

Lina gave me this hydrangea as a cutting a few months back, and I can just imagine her (the plant) saying, 'Look at me now!'  Wow, what a success!

A left-handed mouse.  Now that's a concept I hadn't even imagined, so thanks very much for telling me about it, Winifred.  Nor had I ever thought about left-handed people and a mouse. How do they manage??

For once I'm up early.  (It's 7:38 right now.)  I have so much to do I need to start every day earlier as I'm much slower than I used to be.  The arm slows me down, but it's more old age!  Yesterday, for example, it took me the whole day just to supervise Emma's piano practice, sweep the floor, give and take English/Japanese lessons, buy a couple of things at the supermarket, go to exercise class and cook dinner.  I was in bed before 7pm.  Oh, and I had a swim in the rain when I got back from exercises.  


I'm pleased with the way my Japanese is coming along and the days go so quickly the books stay at the table all week between lessons.  (But I always take one of them on the train with me when I go anywhere.)  Mind you, I think I'm doing OK, but Emma roars laughing at my pronunciation.  The in-laws are coming along very nicely with their English, too.  Emma has just started to practise the piano, after a year of lessons, and yesterday she popped down at 8 to wake me up and ask to practise!!!  This was a first!  There's no way you can force a young child, so I have been very patient, all the while feeling very sorry for the poor teacher, who hardly saw any movement at all between lessons.

A bit of kulcha

  

I went to see the Picasso exhibition at the gallery last week and thought it was wonderful.  At any exhibition my downfall is always the shop at the end, though this time I limited myself to a story book and stickers for Emma and a notebook for a friend who should have been with me but had a death in the family so couldn't come to Sydney.  The gallery was teeming with people - I'd never seen it so busy.  Not everybody was looking at Picasso as we now have timed entry, which is good, but they were eating in the restaurant or visiting various other things.  Lots of groups of school children were being shepherded by their teachers.  Makes me glad I'm no longer a teacher...too much like hard work.


Have been going to a physiotherapist a couple of times a week lately with a right arm problem since my fall months ago.  A scan shows I have torn a tendon and, according to my GP, torn tendons never heal - a piece of information that really shocked me, as I had kept on thinking it was taking a very long time but would surely get better eventually.  The physio agrees with this but can work miracles to ease the pain and make movement less difficult.  She, however, was of the opinion it's not so much the torn tendon causing problems as the computer!  She's given me lots of exercises to do and warned me to always use my left hand on the mouse!!!  I tell you, that is easier said than done!!  Have you ever tried it?  Next to impossible.

If you go down in the woods today...

On Sunday our teddy bears took their mummies and daddies to Lisgar Gardens for the annual picnic.  I am now 'a friend' of the gardens, which involves being there one Sunday afternoon a month to welcome visitors and generally keep an eye on what they're up to.

What a crowd!  Does this answer your email question, Winifred?  There was face-painting, colouring in, drinks, a school band, and a teddy bear story.  After all the rain, it was wonderful to have a sunny day, even though the ground was still damp.

Sorry Frank, I can't answer your question about why your comment appears twice!  Gremlins in the computer is my best guess.


Why can't all those people causing wars get up in the morning and decide to have a lovely day like this????????  Who can explain human nature?

Sydney today

When will it end?

This is the Murray River near Moama/Echuca, where I was in February.  It hasn't yet gone over the top but I wouldn't like to live close by! If you look at the bottom of this blog, you'll see the level of the river then.  Haven't been able to contact my friend who lives there by email or phone. 


There is a YouTube site here:  http://www.mmg.com.au/flood-warnings-continue-as-more-roads-close-1.11949  (Sound is bad, so mute it.)

Here in Sydney it POURED all night - local flooding, traffic lights out causing huge problems. Below is Hyde Park, in the centre of the CBD, where I was just yesterday:

Wool, rice, wine and orange area

This is the Riverina area of southern NSW, where Lina's family comes from.  What a complete disaster!!!!

Not long ago I drove through here to Moama/Echuca on the Victorian border.

Hard to believe

These pics are from a NSW country town, Moree.  Can you imagine an area the size of France looking like this!!!


There are far too many rascals in the world, Winifred!  We hear all about the Murdochs and we have our own clowns running the country!!!


Dentists apparently charge an arm and a leg the world over, though I am lucky enough to have one who only charges what you get back from the health fund (except for a crown).


Hugo might be coming home today - they're waiting on a visit from the paediatrician to give the OK.


Later - Yes, Hugo is home!  Back to his usual smiling self.  What a relief.

Rain, rain, rain...

We were lucky to get that sunny day last week, as now we are back to day after day of rain.  You British folk would feel right at home in Australia now!  There are floods all over the place, though fortunately we are not affected here, but I do feel for the poor devils who have had to move out of their inundated homes.  Our biggest problem is having to pump out the pool every now and then so it doesn't overflow.


In the whole of summer we had only two hot, sunny days.  This was a first for me.

Yes, Lina, I did feel for that poor little lamb as I gobbled him up!  It's horrible to eat animals!!!!  Though I have to admit it was delicious.


Poor baby Hugo has been in hospital for two nights and days, with gastroenteritis.  This pic shows the new emergency centre and paediatric unit, which Philip says is first class. It's only a few minutes from home, so we are very fortunate.

6pm News - It's the worst flood event EVER, with 75% of NSW (an area the size of France)

affected.  Oh golly!