Coffs Harbour NSW

Flew into Coffs Harbour this morning after a somewhat fraught trip on Qantas. An earlier flight  from 

Tullamarine had been cancelled which caused a change of planes for the next flight to accommodate  the extra passengers and a change of gates.  It took ages to load, we were delayed taking off and it took ages to unload in Sydney. It was like an international flight. The delay then caused me to nearly miss the connecting flight to Coffs. They were calling my name as I struggled to find the gate. As I started to run I lost my favourite red scarf and only noticed when I was about to go through the gate. I dumped my bag and retraced my steps to locate my scarf, fortunately only round the corner. Back I came to walk out onto the Tarmac where the flight attendant said my bag probably wouldn't fit in the cabin. She tagged it and gave it to the baggage handling. No extra security.

The flight was pleasant but I suffered severe ear blocking. I was met by the ALIA representative Judy,Brooker who is coordinating the accreditation panel I'm on. Our hire car had a deflating tyre and Judy started to have a nose bleed. A good start!

We drove into Coffs changed cars and proceeded to the Novatel. It is a resort with two huge pools, a golf course, restaurant and lake. It is rather nice. Hopefully I will get a chance to walk around and see the beach. We lunched and got to work reviewing our notes. After a brief break it was back to the meeting and then dinner.

Bombe delicious for dessert.

The Novatel

Tomorrow will be interviewing the Course administrators, teachers and students of TafeNow.

Full of love and contentment.

I have had a few days of delight. My art is going well, the accreditation assessments are on track, the lectures are completed and now it is the exam and marking. I had a great walk from Richmond to Carlton with Janine, talking the whole time of course. We never seem to run out of topics. Then Monday was a tying up the work bonus day that went awry when the power went off. 

I thought it was just my internet connection and when the help desk guy asked me to check the power switch I was a bit irritated. Then when I did check I was mortified to discover it was a power outage.

My computer had been operating on battery even though it was plugged in!  

As I prepared to take myself to the Camberwell library the power came on much earlier than the power country had suggested.  Up and down the 6 flights of stairs but very pleased to be able to get back to work at home. It had occurred to me that I may not have been able to get the car out of the garage. Living in an apartment poses some rather different challenges when the power goes out.

Today I was minding the Zigman and we ditched the music program for the park. It was much more fun. We ran ragged chasing the blue soccer ball, slipping down slippery dips and swinging on the swings. We climbed up the tall hill that overlooks the park and where Ziggy had hurt himself previously. He was mindful and was telling me to be careful that I didn't fall. Very cute.  I decided to show him how to do roily poly down the hill. This I discovered is not a good idea. After rolling down half the hill i stopped because not only was I giddy ( remember how we loved that when we were kids) but I was nauseous! I thought I would throw up. I wonder if this is an age thing or because I had that balance issue a few years ago from an imbalance in my inner ear. This is such a great park for kids and adults.

Looking from the hill down on the park.

He went off to bed like a lamb when I said we would be going to play with Abby later. 

Sam ( Abby's mum) is very relaxed and now she has twin girls as well, she is pretty snowed under with the three kids in a very little house. I really admire her. I would have been a mess but she has the right idea and doesn't stress about the house . We had a great play and I am company for Sam too. I folded a basket of washing while we talked and minded one of the babies while she got the bottles ready. That extra pair of hands is so helpful even for a little while.   Our happy time was abruptly punctuated by a thump and then Ziggy crying. He had fallen off a chair he had used to climb out of one of the cots, something Abby does easily but he has never done before. He was okay but the heater wasn't quite as good   It sustained a broken supporting base. Fortunately it was more shock than physical pain. When we left Ziggy and Abby hug and kiss goodbye. It is very natural to them. 

We got home just before Jonathan arrived home and then I was out the door to battle with the traffic to get home before Bec and Nick come for dinner. 

I feel so lucky to have such loving relationship with them all.  Nick and Bec are coming regularly for dinner with my grand-dog Alfie.

we have such a nice time. I love cooking for them and hearing about their plans. Jonathan and Claire and Ziggy are equally as warm and sharing but at their place. I just felt so full of love tonight.

I finally feel settled.  For now anyway. Life is good, even on my economy drive. Happy.

What a weird day.

I have to get my car repaired after I scraped the passenger side door on a concrete pillar at my parking space.

 I had become very annoyed with my insurance company because it was so difficult to get onto them by either phone or online to lodge the claim. This has not been the case previously.  I was so incensed that after I finally (three days later!) got to lodge the claim I sent an angry note via the feedback facility.  It turns out they had moved to a national call centre. No wonder it took so long. Anyway they responded to my feedback with great apologies and hurried through all the necessary extras such as organising a hire car. They also explained that they were taking back the answering service because of the negative feedback over poor service. Yeah!!! 

In the throws of organising this process and talking to them about my complaint I had several phone calls, the phone went flat, I needed the bathroom, the electrician was trying to contact me. On the phone, off the phone, on the phone, pull over and park, get home more phone calls. Ridiculous. 

Yesterday I enticed a friend to come to Pilates with me. It was a great session and afterwards we went our separate ways. Within a few minutes ( enough time to put my slippers on) she rang and said we were invited up to 807, directly above my place but two floors up, for drinks. It was such a nice impromptu get together with some other residents too. About an hour and half later I returned to have dinner proper.  That is one of the nicest aspects of living here. The ability to just be spontaneous because we all live in the same complex. 

I have converted all my lights to LED down lights to save money and energy. The last electricity bill was $ 300 for the quarter which isn't too bad but all savings  are important.  They are a fraction cooler in light tone but I am very happy and it only cost me the price of converting the dimmer switch. It is a government scheme and the lights are free.

The family are back from Japan today so I am excited to see them on the weekend.

I had a great time at art on Monday and feel really pleased with my pastel face. I let my inhibitions go and was very quick. It was exhilarating.

 I spent a couple of hours at the city library looking through art books for images to paint for our next class. The pho copier was broken and there was a queue at the other so I decided I would have to lug them home but I remembered the student lounge at CAE near seniors art store and they have a copier. What a relief. I was able to copy the pictures and then return the heavy books to the library; an excellent solution.

Golden day after a wet and miserable week

Today I spent lunching with friends at their new home at Dromana, a town on the edge of Port Phillip Bay south-east of Melbourne. The view over the bay was transfixing with little sail boats darting around over a tranquil azure sea. Gorgeous. This was one of the magic May days you get here. It was a treat after a wet and windy week.

Stormy weather engulfing the citySunset on a gorgeous day

The week has been intense for other reasons,  with hours of work for the accreditation program and meetings about the library course. I feel like I have been working full time. I have been out a couple of times this week too for dinner and an author talk. It was Steve Tolz and he was a very engaging speaker. I am keen to read his next book Quicksand. To top it off I scratched the car door on my infamous concrete pillar.  

I tried to lodge an insurance claim four times since Friday and I have not been able to get through.  Funny thing the horoscope predicted a lot of frustration  for Friday! That was spot on. Makes you wonder sometimes.  Just when I embark on an economy drive I seem to incur more expenses.  Then I popped in to see Irene and her new extension and knocked red wine over the arm and side of her beige fabric couch. I felt absolutely terrible. It will need special cleaning. I was really distressed. I felt like I was some jinxed person.  Fortunately Irene was very forgiving. A friendship is more important than a couch. I feel a little less terrible. 

I have been thinking about Michel and Monique, my French friends who are walking the Via de la Plata this May and I have looked eagerly for an email every day this week. I was really excited to receive one today. They are walking into Salamanca tomorrow. It has been cold. When I checked my notes we had experienced the same cold weather too. I had developed bronchitis though I hadn't realised that was what was troubling me. They are finding the walk tough. They will be over halfway now so I hope that will inspire them. I remember feeling a bit tired about this stage. I was sick of living out of my backpack and being cold. When I re read my notes I remember so vividly and it is a challenge to keep moving day after day. The walking became tougher again because the terrain was starting to climb steadily as we moved into Galicia. I remember feeling quite cold a lot unless I was walking fast.  The wind was bitterly cold even though the days were sunny. Following Michel and Monique's experience even though the emails are in frequent is unsettling but also interesting. I feel like it is a validation of my own effort somehow. It makes me remember I really did that walk.

This week I have loved my painting and drawing class and pushed the creative barriers with pastels. Scared witless really. I am intrigued by the fear that consumes me sometimes when I am painting.  The worst that can happen is a failed piece of art but it is important to me to not mess it up. It is good to be on the edge of fear, failure, self doubt, self knowledge because it is exhilarating when you succeed.

 My first pastel. All those colours were scary to use on his face and yet they worked. 

The last revelation this week was a film called the Economics of Happiness. It is a few years old I think but raised some interesting concepts  about growth, globalisation, and measuring the true cost of everything. I felt there was a lot of sense to their point of view. I will try and see it again and explore the ideas more thoroughly. 

Life is good for me, busy yet interesting. I have also managed to meditate everyday bar one in my Mindful May challenge. That is a small achievement too. 

Mixed feelings

I have had a week or so of very mixed feelings. I have had a friend staying with me for nearly a fortnight while some renovations were taking place at her home. It was fun and we had lots of interesting conversations, particularly over breakfast. Her husband came for the weekends so it was a bit of a party atmosphere. My regular gym visits went by the board and we just went downstairs to the complex gym.  It was okay but nowhere as intense as I usually workout. I didn't realise how much I miss that extra effort. 

Also I have found myself much more work focused and the mind has finally settled into that sort of groove you get when you are working. It has made preparing the lectures a lot easier although now I am nearly at the end of the semester. I will try to keep the groove because I am going to teach next semester. 

I still feel the pull of other interests and the limitations of time to do them all. It is so much easier to commit to work rather than personal pleasures like painting and drawing or walking or writing. That old work ethic and the fact I am getting paid pushes work as a priority. Do I feel retired? Not really. When I had no work it was a different feeling altogether.   Do I miss working? I have attended a few functions with colleagues and found them enjoyable but the best part is NOT being involved in the politics or the goals etc.;  teaching has been fun and if I am really honest it makes me feel younger somehow. 

I feel the years creeping up on me. Many of my friends are past the 65 marker and that seems like a significant age. These are the fast times! I don't feel older but the public perception is that you are when you hit your sixties. It is a feeling that I want to resist. I am only as old as I feel. No age, no numbers.  It is as if working makes you more relevant. What does that say about my ego? Some work to do on myself yet obviously. 

I said farewell to my little man, Ziggy on Tuesday. He and his parents are taking a holiday in Japan for two weeks but I felt quite anxious about him going away. I don't know what came over me. I even checked the flight tracker for goodness sake!  I was giving him a cuddle before I went home and we were rocking backwards and forwards when he reached up and kissed me so gently. My heart felt like bursting.  Such a contrast to the lunch time trek to the market for some lunch and he refused to walk, so I humped in on my hip and then later on the way back I piggy backed him. We stopped to look at the budgies and the finches at the pet stand. They were very pretty colours and singing their songs. That delighted him.

Ziggy has been told by his dad (who studied Japanese at high school)  that he needs to bow and say Konichiwah and Arigato. He was so cute when he was saying those words and doing his little bow. Two and a half and he is as conversant with pomegranates and different cultures as many twenty five year olds. His great grandmother calls him a child of the universe and I think he is too.  We live in a country far from most others yet he is being exposed to all sorts of cultural influences at such an early age. 

 

I have been struggling with my painting but today when I took in my landscape my teacher Dorothy was really pleased with how I had continued with it. One of the other students also gave me encouragements. I felt so happy.

Painting in progress

 Today I selected a rather difficult subject of three young women playing instruments. We will see how that develops. Watercolours require such patience, an attribute that doesn't come naturally to me.  

I have been appreciating the beauty of the autumn colours that I can see appearing all around. These older suburbs have the huge European trees that change into glorious colours of yellow and red and brown.  But you will also see gorgeous camellias with pink frothy flowers and dark glossy leaves. It is a feast for the eyes. The sunsets are magnificent and my apartment gives me a stunning opportunity to observe the daily differences.

The painters came back unexpectedly to finalise the repairs from the water leak. The painter was so thorough he decided to paint the whole wall so the patch would not be noticeable.  That was a bonus as I had a few marks on the wall. I had to put the paintings back on the wall by myself. I ended up standing on the side board because I just couldn't get the wire back on the hooks. Thank goodness they made furniture solid at the turn of the century!

I have picked up my Spanish again and practise about 20 minutes daily, brain training 15 minutes daily and also meditating for the  Mindful in May challenge. I wonder if that is making me a bit unsettled? I am hoping that I will be able to develop a sustainable habit. I have meditated successfully off and on for many years but never have I been able to establish a regular pattern like going to the gym.

Magic Magnetic Island

Last weekend I flew to,Townsville, the gateway to  Far North Queensland for another destination birthday celebration. (Last year it was Hong Kong)  I met cousin Eileen and my brother-in-law Gary who were sharing an apartment with me overnight. We also caught up with an extended branch of the Leong family, Joe and JUdy and their daughter and family friends who knew the Leong family in Hong Kong.  It was a delightful afternoon going through old family photos, an amazing and detailed family tree and learning more about the Chinese in Townsville. 

Joe's father had established a general store in Townsville in the early 1920s. And  the business had survived until the 1970s.  JUdy was born in Townsville but still spoke Chinese. They have had a good life here and love Townsville. Joe told us that after he graduated in medicine from Queensland University he returned to Townsville and a hospital of 10 staff. Pretty small town in those days.

We went to the Jupiters Casino for the seafood buffet dinner which was excellent and we all indulged in  delicious seafood, oysters in particular! Joe at 81 and a slight fellow piled his plate high.  

Next morning was Anzac Day and while our intention was to go to the dawn service, the 5 am start and end of week tiredness as well as the journey,( from Melbourne it took 4.hours plus 45 minutes stopover) we all slept in.  

It has been a special ANZAC day because it is 100 years since the first. Much has gone into the commemoration around the country and in Gallipoli, The Western Front in France and other significant sights of battle. All the shows and reflections on the event has been very interesting and informative. War is such a waste of lives. 

 The cenotaph with wreaths

 Two stone fish.  Find number 2.

We explored the main streets of Townsville and the aquarium before catching the ferry across to Magnetic island. Townsville is very clean and the buildings in the CBD seemed well cared for. 

The strand 

As soon as I landed On Magnetic I felt a calm come over me. It is a very laid back unspoiled island. I haven't been here since a teenager but it doesn't seem to have changed all that much. The house we are staying in is at Horseshoe bay on the top of the island so we need a taxi. The local bus only meets the passenger ferry and we came over on the car ferry courtesy of Gary's cycling friend who managers it  I am falling in love with the island. It might be the granite boulders and the bush which are quite different to most other Queensland islands. 

The house is large where we are staying and has been influenced by Balinese architecture. I like it very much and it works well for a large party. The design of the bathrooms and no separate toilet leaves a bit to be desired but small niggles in the scheme of things. We are having soup and Chinese dumplings for tea tonight. This requires many hands which is a great icebreaker.  Over vodka tonics we chat, wrap and get to know each other. There are several friends and family I haven't met from cousin Barbara's maternal side of the family. We end up with 200 dumplings and delicious soup. 

      view from the balcony and dinner on the verandah looking out to sea.  The next day we swam at Arcadia beach, in crystal clear water, wandered the market at Horseshoe bay and had the big celebratory lunch at the Barefoot Restaurant and Gallery. Fabulous quality food.  

 The birthday girl and daughter and the whole gang below 

Later in the afternoon Gary, Roger, and Eileen and I went bushwalking to Radical Bay. We hoped to spot a Koala for Eileen but  alas that was not to be..

My departure on Monday was an early flight but the passenger hydrofoil is like a commuter ferry and I was easily able to connect by taxi to the airport.  Home to Melbourne by 3:00 pm in time for book club that night.  I am missing the tranquility of Magnetic Island and may try to winter they're next year. Or in the future. 

Now I have to start focusing on saving as I seem to have way too many bills. Working part-time and retirement haven't quite been balanced with my expenditure. It is an adjustment yet to be fine tuned. Another lesson  I need to learn.

Back in Melbourne but just for a quick stop.

Returning from KL  and I had a couple of days to get up to speed with my lecture program. I always feel like I am chasing my tail. I have had a break from minding Ziggy which was helpful but I did miss him.  I am relived to know there are only a few more lectures in this subject to go before the end of term.  I feel like I have actually got my head working or rather in work mode. It has taken a good six months to get back to that state. Is that good? I don't know but is easier to actually work when you are in that state of thinking. I am enrolled in art classes again and feel a little frustrated that I am not actually getting the time to practice my watercolours but will just go with what I am doing and not fret. 

The time will come. 

Coming back to Melbourne I have really noticed the change in colour of the trees. I went away while they were green and now they are shades of orange and red. It is glorious to see the colours. Autumn in Melbourne is really quite spectacular. The sunsets are beautiful too. 

 My view at sunset

I am happy to be here for awhile now except for a brief weekend planned in Far North Queensland on Magnetic Island. There are things to be done and going away just postpones everything. 

Also I feel like I have been spending money like water so I am very glad of the work. 

I had a voucher for a cruise two for one which was running out. I had to book something or lose it. I am not entirely sure it really was a bargain but they assured me that I had to be able to save a minimum of $500 before it could be used.  Anyway I had promised to take my Mum on another cruise so I booked one sailing around New Zealand for 13 days. I am sure it will be very pleasant and this one is supposed to be a little more up-market than our last to Noumea. I am still not convinced about cruising but it suits Mum at 91. I should be lucky to be so well at the same age! Anyway it is a treat for her and a chance to spend time together, no cooking and cleaning.  It takes Mum away on a holiday which she really doesn't get to do very often.

I feel like my life has got somewhat frantic again though I don't feel stretched like I used to.

The flowering gums near the station are alive with Loikeets.  Hard to catch the agile birds. Can you see a green face? It gave me such a feeling of joy to see these cheeky birds so close to home. We are fortunate to have so many fabulous birds in Australia and even within our urban landscape.