Travel | 1000 Fields of Roses

A Little Bag Of Lollies

We’re getting closer to moving – should be done some time over the weekend.
Went down to the Post Office to get mail redirected, and also picked up a little bag with a smattering of the kind of lollies I remember from childhood – bananas, milk bottles, and spearmint leaves (although not the real ones in this case!) I enjoyed the little splash of reminiscing 🙂

There are a lot of boxes around at the moment.

It’s all pretty organised, though.
Tomorrow evening we’ll start with packing the truck, ready for the morning, and then it’s full steam ahead!

Still should be time for a cuppa now and then!

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on July 31, 2025 at 9:37 pm Leave a Comment

A Pearl Of A Weekend

Yesterday was our 30th (Pearl) anniversary.
Where did the time go?!

My Mum made us a photo framed with pearls.

I remember those youngsters!

We got back today from an overnight stay in the country.

Our room – the kitchen is behind on the left, and the bathroom on the right.
The price includes fresh bacon, and eggs from the onsite chooks, for breakfast.
It was a peaceful place, and we had a lovely time walking around the garden, sitting with a pot of tea enjoying the view, or talking over crackers with pate and a glass of wine.
Yes, we do know how to party!

A bit more of the view –

We reminisced about the years gone by, and talked about plans for the years to come.
It’s fairly common for us to take time to sit and talk, but there’s something about a cuppa tea on a wooden verandah, with mountains in the distance, that just takes it a bit above the ordinary…

We had hoped to see the stars last night, but it was too cloudy.
We caught the sunset, though!

❤

Published in:

on September 16, 2024 at 11:58 pm Comments (1)
Tags: anniversary, Munbilla, Woodman's Cottage

Loving The Serenity

Finally, the rain came!
My weather app was promising full on rain most of the day, but we didn’t get that until not long ago, and then, not for long.

Here’s a bit of colour, if you want a break from the grey!

🙂

It’s pleasantly cool, and peaceful in my little nook.
I’ve had a “Positive Vibes” incense stick burning, and have been meandering through time.
This morning I started a book – a memoir of time spent in Venice in the summer of 1957, apparently a transition time between the days of the “Grand Tour” and the advent of the package tour.

I spent a small part of the summer of 1994 in Venice. It’s one of the places I would have liked to see again, and to see better. My summer was firmly in the time of package tours, although I wandered round Europe on my own.
Sometimes I think about writing my memoirs of my travels. They wouldn’t be as glamorous as the book I’m reading – no taking care of titled children in the palazzo, rubbing shoulders with the elite! More stumbling around in my big boots and Tyrolean hat, trying not to collapse in the heat…
I want to remember what I can, though,
while I can still remember it.
My travel style was a bit chaotic – turning up to places and finding hostels when I got there, finding interesting nooks and crannies, but probably missing any number of tourist landmarks. This was long before you could look up your itinerary online. I’m sure I would be more prepared if I were to go again.

But, if I close my eyes, I can just hear the sound of the canals, the gondolas (and other water craft) clunking against the docks, the sound of many voices and languages… I can still, faintly, feel the heat radiating fom ancient stone.
And, just for a second, feel the serenity.

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on September 12, 2024 at 5:56 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Venice

Shedding Light On Years Gone

It’s hard to believe half the year’s over.
This week has galloped past me – is it time itself speeding up, or am I just getting old?
I’ve been rearranging bits and pieces around the place, and admiring the light at different times of the day. At the moment afternoon light seems to make my room look sort of pinkishy-orange.

It also brings out the beauty in a woven bag.

…as well as the stack of baskets I have yet to find a use for.

I still go out to the verandah after dark to look over our part of town, before closing the door to the night.
I took some photos in the darkness – my phone seems to have a night setting!

At times, ploughing through the mass of memorabilia, I wonder whether I should throw more stuff out.
Then I find myself looking again at tickets, receipts, letters and postcards from my journey through Europe when I was 25. I remembered more than I thought I could (and startled a largely uninterested son with reminiscences, when he had just come in to ask me a question…)

Disregard Frodo staring out at us.
Pretty much everything is in as good a condition as it was then. That plastic bag at the top contains my hair (which Biggest Boy thought was creepy…). I kept it because my hair had been quite long at the time, but Europe was so hot that I got it all chopped off very short, and didn’t want to just throw it all out. I’m not sure what to do with it now!

I also kept bits of currency, which is no longer used in the countries I visited in Europe.

The Netherlands 10c piece is the tiniest I have. You can see that the Eire (Ireland) coin fits in the hollow of a film canister lid – it’s roughly the size of an Australian 5c piece. The Netherlands 10c is tiny, and very light as well.

Bits of paper.
Random coins.
It all seems fairly useless.
But I can hold them in my hands, and once again feel the cold of a wet Irish night, or the heat of baking Roman stone. And I can remember younger me, heading out to see the world, still able to hike any amount of miles with a huge backpack on my back.
Life is strange, sometimes.
But still sweet.
❤

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on July 2, 2023 at 12:11 am Leave a Comment

A Moving Experience

At least just over half of one!
We moved a whole lot of stuff to the new house today (and thank you to the wonderful people who came to help us!)
The most important things had to go first, of course.

Where will I put all the boxes of books if I don’t have my bookcases?

We’ll be doing the rest next weekend, with a few visits during the week to do bits and pieces.
We got the keys Friday. Had a look – there are some things that need fixing or changing. Definitely too many wasp nests hanging under the verandah for my taste. Of course, one would be too much for me…
It’s an old place, so some things are wonky (our built in cupboard doors slide to the middle when you try to shut them), and we’ll have to figure out keys, light switches, power points, and our bins seem to have disappeared.
However, this was the sight that first greeted us when we pulled up to the carport.

It’s all coloured glass and wood inside (tiles downstairs).

……

This makes me think of butterflies, even though they’re…not.

The shade in our “walk in wardrobe”.

Yes, that is a spa bath in the corner of our bedroom…
as tempted as I am to fill it up and have a go, it’s not plugged in, and using it would also mean cleaning it.
Maybe I’ll get a foot spa.
I’m thinking of filling it with some sort of cushioning and making it into a mini sunken lounge 😆

Also a part of our bedroom area is the magical hidden toilet.

We thought the door was part of the wardrobe, but slid the door across and there it was!
The light through the window obscures the glass slats, all painted different colours ❤
I did look in it today and surprised a spider and many ants (also in the cistern). It may need some work before we use it.
There’s also a lovely old basin hidden at the side.

Looking out to the verandah.

(I have a verandah! 😀 )

It’s surprisingly quiet, and cool.

There are still things to pack and transport. We’ll be here until the last minute, when the fridge and beds go over.
But – we’re on the move!

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Travel

on February 18, 2023 at 7:46 pm Comments (4)

Challenge!

The days are getting hotter – there have been a few when I’ve felt on the verge of spontaneous combustion…
so of course, what better time to sign up for a virtual marathon or two? 😆

I’ve been working on a couple of races from The Conqueror site. I’ve chosen some smallish ones – a Trek to Petra, and the Flower Route through the Netherlands.
The initial plan was to increase my walking, both in distance and frequency, but the heat hasn’t made that easy. I haven’t made it back to the pool yet this season. I did find out, however, that the daily walk to the mailbox and back is about 400m, so that helps. I’ve worked out distances for walks I do regularly, whether around town, or to and from bus stops. The real help, though, comes from the handy conversion chart that is on the site – both housework and grocery shopping can be around 500ish metres every 10 minutes!
So far I’m about 30% along each route. You get virtual postcards as you go, and a tree is planted every 20% of the route.
I see some pretty things in my actual walking…

…and I also find some interesting things in my virtual walking.

Petra doesn’t seem to have street view on the map, but I’ve looked at various parts of the Netherlands – my first “stop” was some sort of shop.

Pastries? Cheese? I can’t really tell…

Wandered into a little alleyway.

And of course, there are tulips! And other flowers – daffodils?

Also, strange half people…

I still have a long way to go.
But I’ll get there.
🙂

Published in:

on October 30, 2021 at 10:12 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: The Conqueror Challenges

Town Town?

This is about the town where I was born and grew up. I haven’t been there in about 25 years, so it was a strange mixture of familiarity and bewilderment…
Tony Robinson is always fun to watch, and there’s a sneaky little Baldrick reference in there as well 😉

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Travel

on May 26, 2021 at 9:54 am Leave a Comment
Tags: Time Walks, Tony Robinson, Townsville

Looking Through Windows

Here’s a great new song from Wild Eyed Wonder, with clips of views from around the world that people sent in to be included in the finished song 🙂

In this year of varied stages of isolation there have been many attempts to use the internet to get out into the world again.
There’s The World From My Window, a place to share stories from various individuals from their lockdown.
Or you can travel online via WindowSwap to see the view from the windows of people around the world…

Happy travelling!
❤

Published in:

Music
Travel

on October 1, 2020 at 7:34 am Leave a Comment
Tags: Chasing Horizons, The World From My Window, Wild Eyed Wonder, WindowSwap

Silver Lining

…without a cloud in the sky!

Sunday just gone was our 25th Wedding Anniversary – I have now spent half my life married ❤ That seems like a dramatic statement! I am very happy that we have come this far – here’s to the next 25 years!
Our boys are old enough to look after themselves, so we decided to have a long weekend in Caloundra. We stayed in a three bedroom unit, but it was still compact enough for us. The balcony looked out onto the beach, and it was only a short walk to the sand.
The main street was close, so we took in the markets on Sunday morning, and went to Kawana Waters Farmers Markets on Saturday morning to pick up good food for the weekend. We also got to say hi to an old friend as well as getting some great hand made (gluten free) sausages… if you’re in the market for quality sausages (and are on the Sunshine Coast) you can’t get better than Saintsational Sausages! 😀
Hearing the sea so close was good for peaceful sleep. The weather was bright and mild.

Our first sunset there…

Caloundra seems quiet and sleepy, especially in term time. We could just meander, and still feel like we got a lot done. There were bits of artwork dotted about the main part of the town as well, like sparkly gems waiting to be discovered…

King’s Beach was lovely, and not too busy even on the weekends, but we also had a walk along Shelley Beach, picking up shells and looking at the wildlife in the rock pools.

The sea was the most beautiful blue, and there were tiny fish and crabs, as well as bigger crabs, sidling along under rocks…

The weekend was meant to be a chance to spend time together, and we did that. It was also a chance to share good, quality food – whether crisp chips or gelato by the sea, or rich picnic food on the balcony.

Sunday’s breakfast – free range eggs, oyster mushrooms fried in butter, avocado on olive, feta and rosemary sourdough bread, and Saintsational sausages (chicken, lime, coriander, mango and coconut). We indulged in proper full cream milk (there was actual cream on top!) and the juice is “Energy” juice from the markets – based on beetroot juice, with additions such as ginger and celery… There were stops at various cafes for good coffee, finishing with Greenhouse Cafe on the Monday morning before coming home.

Lemon Curd gluten free doughnut 🙂

Such a lovely weekend! We were sad to say goodbye, but happy to be headed home…
Sunrise on our last day…

We had a good run home, and blitzed the unpacking/washing when we got back.
What more can I say?

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on September 17, 2019 at 5:51 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Caloundra, Wedding Anniversary

A Quiet Retreat

It’s Tuesday today… we’re still on holiday, although home now. We went away for the weekend, just to Windsor (near Brisbane) while the boys were away at camp. We rested, went to markets, drank coffee – a refreshing and peaceful stay!
It was touch and go if we would get there at all – Little Bean had been feeling “icky” during the week, then stressed up to Friday about ruining everyone’s weekend… right up to the bus left, he still wasn’t 100% sure. We would have been fine staying home with him, but he decided in the end to go…

Our first view… we stayed at PJ’s on Fifth, which we found through Stayz. It’s a site for holiday accommodation of varying types and prices. This one was someone’s house – the downstairs was modified as a self-contained flat. The owners weren’t there while we were, although they apparently are most times.

The bedroom 🙂
The place was pretty much two rooms (bedroom, combined kitchen/dining/lounge room) connected by a hallway with bathroom/toilet off the hallway.

Bathroom

View from the loo!

kitchen/dining/lounge

Looking through to the back yard – this was our view over breakfast…

We got there Friday afternoon and got food in for the weekend (chocolate! 🙂 ) Had a Thai takeaway, then off to Glory City Church for Friday night service. Lots of worship, lots of prayer – just right to start a great weekend!
Went to the Fortitude Valley Markets on Saturday morning (a bit of a disappointment) but enjoyed a brownie and coffee in Bakery Lane, which made up for it 🙂

We were hoping to see Riverfire from the house, but the houses opposite got in the way. Watched it on TV while eating another takeaway. (posh miniburgers and chips, which means they had lots of herbs, sea salt and a bit of aioli…) 🙂
Took in Northey Street Farm Markets on the way home Sunday morning, after another morning lingering over breakfast on the back patio. Home, kept the holiday vibe going until we got the boys home later that afternoon. Still feeling in holiday mood, even though I’m back to studying 🙂

I’ll finish with a photo of the flowers outside our holiday place.
Sweet and fragrant, just like our weekend!