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| Harcourt Post Office, opened in 1858 |
Hi Tiptoe!
Just wondering if you might suggest some places we might think of staying when back in Sydney. May have found a spot in Darling Harbour but we probably need a place to park the car. No big deal if you don't have any ideas but just thought I'd ask. Still working on snaps. have faith! Fondestos and Cheers to you and Generalissimo! Patrice!
Hi Kleenex Woman and Maggie's Mom!
You might like to know that I "ordered" Nana to write her paragraph, to add to the Sanskrit cypher. She was not happy that I left so much space. She plans to write more on the back of the cheque she is sending for the new loft!
Up at 6:15am this morning to send a few messages before others woke up. Kathleen left for work in Melbourne before 6:00am so won't see her until Easter weekend in Hunter Valley. Flamin' was up first and while she made sammies for trip ahead I fried up a panful of picnic bacon. When Sarge appeared I asked him to watch the pan and to add the overleft kartofellage once bacon was crisp while I had a quick shower. Stevo was just leaving for work in Bendigo when I was out of the shower so we embraced and said our goodbyes, thanking him for marvellous stay. Looking forward to seeing them both again in a few weeks. After most of the last minute packing was done, w all ate breakfast and the Goils washed up while I stripped our bed and took used towels and sheets into laundry room. We decided not to put on a load as neither Kathleen nor Steve will be back before the end of the coming weeknd and we didn't want the damp things sitting for two or three days.
With house tidied up and rooms double and triple checked for any missed possessions, we locked the door and deposited the key in the mailbox at the end of the driveway and took our leave of Old Oak at 8:25am. We were just a few hundred metres down the road when Cora Lee realized that she couldn't find her sunglasses! Rolled eyes and raised eyebrows but no scathing remarks from rest of us as we returned to scour the house for them. I took advantage of this annoying oversight, (Cora Lee was last one to car when we left initially, although I am invariably accused of causing delay!), to snap a few more pictures of the magnificent trunk of the remarkable tree which lends its name to the street address of the Gray/Carthew Homestead.
Lost possession found, we drove into Castlemaine to gas up and then proceeded along what we believed to be B180 towards Maryborough. Somehow we missed a turn and ended up on A300 to Ballarat. Mildy disappointed as I had hoped to take Flamin' and Sarge through the Mt. Avoca and Ararat wine country. Nevertheless, probably a more direct route to the Western Highway. Just before Ballarat we picked up M8, a dual carriage- way, for a few kilometres and then we found ourselves back on a two-lane highway, the expansion to the existing infrastructure underway off to our right. Adelaide about 600k from here so we estimated arriving in Tea Tree Gully somewhere around 5:00pm-6:00pm, depending on traffic, stops for gas, bladder voiding, etc., and the unrelenting needs/demands of The Sisterhood!
But a few elongated grey clouds in an otherwise clear blue sky. Slightly rolling, farm countryside, large paddocks/fields dotted with sheep. Closer to Maryborough we drove through fairly dense gum forest. Here, in the Pyrenees Shire, Flamin' opined that it reminded her of landscape around Shubenacke. You can take the Girl out of Nova Scotia but you can't take the Maritimes out of the Girl, Dear Reader! If the trees were poplars and conifers, instead of gums, could be on the highway between Winnipeg and Falcon, in many places. Fair bit of road construction with reduced speed, (80k from 100k), but otherwise no real stoppage/delay. However, just before noon I had to take that statement back as over the last hour we had to stop twice, for 5-10 minutes or more! If this continued we imagined we'd be much later arriving at Fairview Park than originally projected. In addition there was also more heavy truck traffic so this slowed us down as we are forced to follow semis until an "overtaking lane" was available.
Stopped for lunch at a few minutes before 1:00pm in a small farming community by the look of the town. Enjoyed the tasty chicken sandwiches Flamin' put together before we left Old Oak, together with two of Mighty Nikos' apples and some Australian soft cheddar, at a small park near the centre of town. We went across the street to a bakery for tea and coffee. Cool breeze so Sarge even went back to the car to put on his jacket! Classical music playing in the public toilettes, to soothe the savage teenage hoodlums who might trash the place, according to resident Sociologist/Criminologist Dottore Durston. Replenished, we set off at 1:30pm and crossed into South Australia, not far from the state line between Victoria and SA, around 2:20pm.
Bit of a kerfuffle as Flamin' became agitated when her iPod was close to running out of juice. The USB port on the dash didn't seem to charge our various devices. However, she insisted on finding her charger which she claimed would work. After she rooted around in the luggage packed behind her, nagging Sarge, all the while, about where "he" had put "her" peripherals, she finally pulled out a cord, the same as the one I was using, grudgingly admitting that what we had told her all along was, in fact, true. We stopped for gas a short way on and Flamin', OCDU, (Undaunted), kept on at me to look for an adapter I had for my Belkin Garmin Goil/iPod. Unable to take her ADHD any longer, I found it and she was as happy as a clam until her iPad read-out informed her that it was not charging! Much more fussing and fuming. Not much difference between her behaviour and that of a spoiled five year old on a sugar high! Poor Sarge just shook his head, rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. Cora Lee and I were chortling away. I'm going to start calling Flamin' "Jackie", from now on as she reminds me of a hyper-active Jack Russell jacked up on speed!
Charging issue has not been completely understood or resolved, as of this writing, Dear Reader. We believe that the iPads will recharge if they are not being used. Flamin' was "ordered" to let her toy sit for twenty minutes, idling, so to speak. Preliminary findings indicate a slight rise in battery capacity. Remains to be seen whether she can keep her cottin' picking' hands off the virtual keyboard for long enough to see if this is the way the power outlets work.
Having put Flamin' in a straight-jacket so that we could complete the experiment, we inferred from the available data that both devices gained a slight charge when left to idle or sleep their time away. Opinion was to add a gag to her clinical restraint outfit but we took pity on her and after making her promise to behave we undid the fasteners and held our breath. Believe she was too exhausted with struggling against her chic canvas jacket to continue acting out so we cruised through Tailem Bend and Murray Bridge without so much as a peep.
By 4:45pm we were roughly an hour and fifteen minutes from The Seldom Inn, slaloming through the start of the Adelaide Hills, undulating and rather barren, at times, dotted with grazing sheep and cattle,seemingly more thickly wooded as we approached Adelaide itself. Sky was quite overcast with low, continuous cloud cover, bit of on-and-off drizzle. Sarge truly liked this as he is always turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, since these levers are reversed on the right-hand drive steering wheel column!
Just before we reached the outskirts of Adelaide, we passed an " Arresting Bed", the Ozzie term for a runaway lane for trucks which have lost their brakes! Maps we had on board didn't show enough detail to allow us to navigate to Tea Tree Gully so Flamin' did a Map Quest search and we used it to negotiate rush hour traffic. Didn't really have any trouble, other than a few wrong turns which didn't, happily enough, in the fianl analysis, take us further away from our intended destination. Pulle dinto #13 Baudin Avenue at 5:45pm, pretty much our ETA.
TNT were waiting for us and we had a warm reunion. After we unloaded car and were shown our rooms, Teens brought out some killer garlic dip, crackers, bread, olive oil , (Silver Acres Olives, Adelaide Hills, from Tina's brother's farm not far away from Fairview park when TNNT live.), and dukkah, a mixture of herbs, nuts, typically hazelnut, and spices, which Teens makes herself. Sarge had one of his last American Pale Ales and The Goils a glass of wine, , Balgownie, Yarra Valley fruit, 2009 Chardonnay, 13.5%, while Trev made me a cappccino with their whiz-bang Nespresso Machina!
By this time it was close to 7:00pm and Sarge volunteered to drive Teens downtown to have an MRI on her right knee. He wanted to get a better sense of the city and I wanted to update the Diaries so everyone was happy. Plan to have a quick shower before dinner so will sign off for now! Fondestos and Cheers, Dad!
Hi Goils and Los Horridos!
Had a simply wonderful meal last night after Teens and Sarge returned from her MRI. Trevor and Sarge did chicken breats on the bbq while Teens finsihed her smashed spuds with Parmesano on top, together with two wonderful salads, a beetrrot, onion, and carrot one, finely diced in Wonder THERMOMIX, together with a divne Greek, cyclpean chunks of feta. All washed down with a Mandurang Valley, 2008 Cabbage, 14.3%. Dessert was a gluten free chocolate torte, drizzled with strawberry puree, again, courtesy ogf the WT! SNorts of Mark's, (TNT's son's homemade cream based liqueur, yums, and an extraordinary date palm liquer from Eulo, Queensland.
Bed shortly after Nana and Flamin' did most of the dishes that couldn't be loade dintot he dishwasher. We are in the room ususally occupied by Maya and Jade when they sleep over so we have pink sheets, pillow cases and duvets surrounded by Barbies wearing tiaras and menageries of stuffed animals and Smurfs and My Little Ponies and millions of chachkas of every kind know to young females. I woke screaming at 3:30am thinking I was Alice in Wonderland being chased by the Red Queen! Nana was the Cheshire Cat and kept disappearing in a cloud of snores!!!
Big day today as Flamin' and Sarge will accompany Trevor to hus gym, while Teens will drop me off at a local pool in Tea Tree Gulley when she goes to pick up Jade. I'll phone home, (I am now the proud user of mobile Flamin' picked up in Melbourne although I don't know how to use it!), when I'm finished and Trev will kindly come to collect me. Nana will rake until F/S/T return from gym and then they will head downtown to wander and shop. We will all meet around 5:00pm to watch Maya and Jade perform their CirKids gymnastics, end of season concert. Then we will go for dinner at the Adelaide Fruit and Vegetable Market, restaurant precinct much like GI.
Time to go to get ready for swim. Much warm love to everyone from Adelaide.
PS: Put a THERMOMIX on the credit card, as well, Chloe, house-warming present from Maggie/Molly to Ayn! Use it a Kabuki whenever you want! Spend! Spend! Spend!
Down Under Diaries: Melbourne/Harcourt North
March 20th, Day 8
Lazy sleep-in until just after 8:00am when Flamin'/Sarge and I went to gym. They worked out on the stair masters and I enjoyed
March 22nd, Day 10
Left Old Oak at 8:25am and were just a few hundred metres down the road when Cora Lee realized that she couldn't find her sunglasses! Rolled eyes and raised eyebrows but no scathing remarks from rest of us as we returned to scour the house for them. I took advantage of this annoying oversight, (Cora Lee was last one to car when we left initially, although. I am invariably accused of causing delay!), to snap a few more pictures ofto the magnificent trunk of the remarkable tree which lends its name to the street address of the Gray/Carthew Homestead.
Lost possession found, we drove into Castlemaine to gas up and then proceeded along what we believed to be B180 towards Maryborough. Somehow we missed a turn and ended up on A300 to Ballarat. Mildy disappointed as I had hoped to take Flamin' and Sarge through the Mt. Avoca and Ararat wine country. Nevertheless, probably a more direct route to the WesterHighway. Just before Ballarat we picked up M8, a dual carriage- way, for a few kilometres and then we found ourselves back on a two-lane highway, the expansion to the existing infrastructure underway off to our right. Adelaide about 600k from here so we estimate arriving in Tea Tree Gully somewhere around 5:00pm-6:00pm, depending on traffic, stops for gas, bladder voiding, etc. and the unrelenting needs/demands of The Sisterhood!
But a few elongated grey clouds in an otherwise clear blue sky. Slightly rolling, farm countryside, large paddocks/fields dotted with sheep. Closer to Maryborough we drove through fairly dense gum forest. Here, in the Pyrenees Shire, Flamin' opined that it reminded her of landscape around Shubenacke. You can take the Girl out of Nova Scotia but you can't take the Maritimes out of the Girl, Dear Reader! If the trees were poplars and conifers, instead of gums, could be on the highway between Winnipeg and Falcon, in many places. Fair bit of road construction with reduced speed, (80kpr from 100kph), but otherwise no real stoppage/delay. Now just before noon and have to take that statement back as over last hour we have had to stop twice, for 5-10 minutes or more! If this keeps up, we'll be much later arriving at Fairview Park than originally projected.) also, more heavy truck traffic so this is slowing us down as we are forced to follow semis until an "overtaking lane" is available.
Stopped for lunch at a few minutes before 1:00pm in Nhill, small farming community By the look of the town. Enjoyed the tasty chicken sandwiches Flamin' put together this morning before we left Old Oak, together with two of Mighty Nikos' apples and some Australian soft cheddar, at a small park near the centre of town. We went across the street to a bakery for tea and coffee. Cool breeze so Sarge even went back to the car to put on his jacket! Replenished, we set off at 1:30pm and crossed into South Australia, not far from the state line between Victoria and SA, around 2:20pm.
Bit of a kerfuffle as Flamin' became agitated when her iPod was close to running out of juice. The USB port on the dash doesn't seem to be charging our various devices. However, she insisted on finding her charger which she claimed would work. After she rooted around in the luggage packed behind her, nagging Sarge, all the while, about where "he" had put "her" peripherals, she finally pulled out a cord, the same as the one I was using, grudgingly admitting that what we had told her all along was, in fact true. We stopped for t gas a short way on and Flamin', OCDU, (Undaunted), kept on at me to look for an adapter I had for my Belkin Garmin Goil/iPod. Unable to take her ADHD any longer, I found it and she was as happy as a clam until her iPad read-out informed her that it was not charging. Much more fussing and fuming. Not much difference between her behaviour and that of a spoiled five year old on a sugar high! Poor Sarge just shook his head, rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. Cora Lee and I were chortling away. I'm going to,start calling Flamin' "Jackie", from now on as she reminds me of a hyper-active Jack Russell jacked up on speed!
Issue has not been completely understood or resolved. We believe that the iPads will recharge if they are not being used. Flamin' has been "ordered" to let her toy sit for twenty minutes, idling, so to speak. Preliminary findings indicate a slight rise in battery capacity. Remains to be seen whether she can keep her cottin' picking' hands off the virtual keyboard for long enough to see if this is the way the power outlets work.
Having put Flamin' in a straight-jacket so that we could complete the experiment, we inferred from the available data that both devices gained a slight charge when left to,idle,or sleep their time away. Opinion was to add a gag to her clinical restraint outfit but we took pity on her and after making her promise to behave we undid the fasteners and held our breath. Believe she was too exhausted with struggling against her chic canvas jacket to continue acting out so we cruised through Tailem Bend and Murray Bridge without so,much as a peep.
By 4:45pm we were roughly an hour and fifteen minutes from The Seldom Inn, slaloming through the start of the Adelaide Hills, undulating and rather barren, at times, dotted with grazing sheep and cattle,seemingly more thickly wooded as we approach Adelaide itself. Sky is quite overcast with low, continuous cloud cover, bit of on-and-off drizzle. Sarge likes this as he is always turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, since these levers are reversed on the right-hand drive steering wheel column!
Just before we reached the outskirts of Adelaide, we passed an " Arresting Bed", the Ozzie term for a runaway lane!
You must have a picture taken in the Barbie bedroom!!
More Greetings from Head Hurtin' Land!
| Hi Sisters! I'll try to take a video with my camera, in order to do justice to the Pink Room! Teens dropped me off at Tea Tree Gully Waterworld on her way to pick up Jade. I started swimming at a few minutes after 9:00am and finished up just before 1:00pm. I had taken along Flamin's cell and Trevor had a missed call. He thought it was me ringing for a ride, as pre-arranged. He came to pool as I was finishing up my just 4 miles/6.5K. Very pleased with distance as it is longest swim since being away. Felt like the Millionaires as I was literally the only one in the pool after a few other swimmers left around 10:00am. Had my own personal lifeguar. It rained quite heavily on way to pool but by the time I was changed it had stopped. Still, extremely heavy overcast, few breaks of sunshine, and then back to fairly brisk wind with low cloud cover. Temperature ranged between 16C and 19C, according to large digital clock on a pole near pool, giving time/temperature. Teens is ready to leave so will say goodbye for now. She sends her hellos and best wishes to you both. Love and Cheers, Dad! |
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