0040. Christmas 2022 in Oz

Christmas time in Queensland.  December 2022.

Jacarandas at Christmas

It started with plans to maybe go to Perth for Christmas to spend time with Damien, Meisha and the kids.  But due to travel costs and D & Meisha's new house not yet being finished, that changed.  Then Sarah suggested they would like to come up with the girls to Queensland for the Christmas school holidays - and  over the next few weeks those plans firmed up - And that is what we did !

Needless to say, there were lots of other jobs that had to get done in the meantime.   First one for me

Launching Jamie's boat

was to help my friend Jamie to launch his "new" boat for his son Nick, down at Southport Yacht Club.  Originally we had considered driving down to Sydney in my Troopy to tow the boat back, but it all got a bit difficult due to the boat's size and the general logistics involved, so Jamie got it trucked up.  I just acted as a brake on the trailer when launching it at the Yacht Club once some basic preparation work had been done on the boat, and we were able to back it safely down the ramp until it floated off the trailer. There was a small hiccup with the boats engine initially, but Jamie got that fixed, and then he and I took the now empty trailer down to a storage yard where they are going to keep it for the meantime.  Job successfully completed.

The Silver Cross Pram

Some 45 years ago, our first son Damien was born when we were living in Dubai.  Janet's mum gave us a very swish Silver Cross deluxe pram that was then used in Dubai for both Damien and his brother Nick, and later in Melbourne when Sarah was born.  So all three of our children used the pram.  Since Sarah, the pram has sat in our garage - Adelaide, Brisbane, in storage while we were in PNG, Perth, and now Brisbane - So it has been in storage for some 40 years !   Always protected, and always covered, but still in heat and dust etc.  I did look at it about 10 years ago with a view to refurbishing / selling, but tyres were perished and chrome was rusting - it was just too hard, so it got put back in the garage.   This year it got pulled out again, I was able to order new tyres from Silver Cross in England,

The old perished tyres

and when I started on the chrome, it cleaned up really well - The sign of high quality chrome done 50 years ago !  When the tyres arrived, the old ones had to be chiselled off because they were so hard and perished.  Getting the new ones on was equally difficult, as they are so tight and such hard rubber, they have to be heated in boiling water to soften them and even then, require quite a lot of ingenuity and home engineering skills and muscle to lever them into place.  Eventually all done, and new rubber brake pads fitted, and the rest of the pram cleaned up beautifully - A real testament to the original build quality.  Due to Princess Kate and Prince William using a Silver Cross pram recently for their children in the UK, these prams still sell for prices in the $1000's !  We don't expect to get that, but do have the pram up for sale.  So far only a little interest........Sadly, big prams are kind of out of fashion today.

Botanical 

Over the past few months both Janet & I have been doing quite a lot of walking in preparation for hiking the Milford Track in New Zealand in January.  Most mornings would see us out doing at least 5 or 6 kms, and about 3 times a week we would increase that to 10 or 12 kms.  Hopefully this will be enough ! Walking through the Botanic Gardens that are close to us is always a pleasant walk, with some interesting plants and birdlife to see along the way.

I also decided it was time to make a last ditch stand so save the rendered side wall that runs right down the side of our house.  Cracks appear in the render over time, and I have discovered that if you fill / paint over the cracks early enough, it seems to prevent further water getting in the cracks and destabilising the render, at least for a little while longer.  Re-rendering the walls would be both a messy

The painted wall 

and expensive business, so any preventative maintenance is definitely a "good thing".  So I spent a

Filling cracks in the render

couple of weeks filling the cracks in the wall with cement, sanding that back, and then painting over it all to hopefully seal it.   As you can see from the photos, there were a LOT of cracks, so a lot of cement work, followed by 2 coats of paint over it all.  As usual, the preparation took the longest time - In this case moving Janet's enormous pumpkin vine away from the wall was an interesting job !  But all completed in the end, and very satisfying.  (Ed note 3 months later - No cracks reappearing so far !!).

Ice creams !

Sarah, Benn, Olivia and Evelyn arrived in Queensland a week or so before Christmas, having driven up from Melbourne, together with dog Alfie in the back !   It was great to have them all up here, and it was nice to see the

Swimming in the pool

swimming pool getting good use virtually every day.  I think they all found it a bit hot and humid after Melbourne, so the air conditioning got a good workout, and we set about finding other things to keep the girls busy.   Some locals always decorate the local Benowa street signs, poles and the bridge onto our island with tinsel, and it always brightens every thing up and puts a smile on people's faces, and of course Janet had also got the Christmas Tree up and decorated before everyone arrived, and I had managed to get fairy lights up around the house guttering, so we were all in a merry festive mood !  Adventures to the local stores to see Father Christmas were of course necessary, and ice creams were often involved when we were on the way home !

On Christmas Day itself, we gathered round the tree in the morning, enjoying a cup of coffee while the girls undid their stockings, and then distributed the presents from under the tree to everyone - A very happy time.  We managed to defer Christmas lunch till mid afternoon when 

Brussel Sprout

We also found several old Christmas crackers in the boxes of Christmas decorations - There always seems to be a couple left over each year !   So we decided to use up the old ones this year - But were a bit worried

Brussel Sprout

that their "bang" might have disappeared, so we also decided to try something that we also found in the boxes, left over from some previous year - A Christmas "pass the parcel" Brussel Sprout !  We didn't have a clue what it was, or where it came from, or how long we had had it, but it looked fun.  And so it turned out.  Most of the crackers did go "bang", but the Brussel Sprout was an absolute hoot - The girls loved the Pass the Parcel aspect, and as it was unwrapped, small gifts or party hats fell out.  Great fun.  I later looked on the internet and they are still available via Amazon etc, so I think we may be buying these in the future because it was so much fun, and just a bit "different".

Damien, Meisha ++

Nick, Tanja, & girls

Christmas really is a family time, and while we could not be with Nick &
Tanja, Hayley, Sophie and Emily, or with Damien & Meisha, and Poppie, Campbell and Charlee, they all sent us lovely photos of themselves over the Christmas period, and that helped us feel a lot closer.   We had a great time with Sarah and Benn and the girls up here, and really appreciated them making the time to come up here. 

In the theatre

On the train to Mary Poppins

After Christmas, Janet & I took Ollie and Evie up to Brisbane on the
train, and we went to the stage production of Mary Poppins, which was great fun, and an excellent day out for us all.  I think the girls really enjoyed seeing live theatre, especially when Mary Poppins flew over the top of the audience, and by the end of the show everyone knew the words to the Supercalifragilistic song off                                                                       by heart !!  A great day.  

After Christmas, the days flew by, and before we knew it it was time for Janet and I to head off on our next Adventure - To New Zealand.  Sarah and the girls stayed on at the house after we left, to enjoy the pool and the warm weather before they had to go back to Melbourne for school.  Benn had some business to attend to, but he came back and they all drove south together later on.

Meanwhile, Janet and I set off to New Zealand on the 10th January - Sarah very kindly taking us to the airport in the early morning dark so we could catch our early flight.   But more of that later..........