Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

As the mercury continues to rise around Australia hitting the high 30's and into the 40's we are all feeling perhaps a little more lethargic than normal.  It seems its difficult to really go anywhere to escape from the heat unless you are in air conditioning.  Even the beach is too hot on days like this!  Earlier in the week however the beach was perfect.  As I looked around this week it seemed everything was so clear - water, skies, glass etc and everywhere I went you could see reflections of the world in these things.  

Me well I love this weather and it seems like too many years since we have had a summer of hot days, full of  unlimited sunshine, blue skies and somewhat predicable weather (no storms brewing, no consistent rain falling) to me this is the summer I grew up with - of course we didn't have air conditioned homes and cars back then and most didn't even have a pool, we made do with hoses, sprinklers and cold showers in those days.

We have felt like we haven't done all that much this week, until yesterday when someone said - so what have you 2 been up to and then we started to prattle off the various things we have done - although most were either day or half day adventures we did seem to do a lot including some nice Nanna Naps in the air con as the heat zaps away your energy.

We had our last visit from our new found relatives from Texas and we all went out on the boat - which was a lot of fun, the boys (8 and 10) especially enjoyed being Captains for a while, but it was a nice day out and it was sad to see them go.  They were though especially kind and said, hey we have a house in England which isn't used if you want to use that for travelling - THANK YOU VERY MUCH!  We have our home listed on Home Exchange and while we have had some fantastic offers they were not at times or places we specially wanted to go to or when we wanted to go, also now the D2 has moved back home it does make the home exchange more difficult, so this is a perfect solution for us ..... we had really wanted to do a driving trip around UK this year and to be able to take our time and explore.  We are now able to do this - YAY!

So with that the next day we were off to the book shop to get some Lonely Planet Guides and travel agents to get brochures  to begin establishing where to go, what to see etc.  I have really enjoyed plotting this journey this week and with the heat dragging you indoors, this is been a good project to focus on.  

We went Antiquing at the Gold Coast Antique Fair at Jupitures which was really fun, it was good to look at all of the stands and their various items and what is valuable and what isn't, so a good indoor activity in the heat.  Amazing the things you remember from your childhood that are now quite valuable.

We couldn't really go out in the boat - a) because the fridge is still being repaired - grrrrr and its not great to go under ice for more than a day and b) have you seen the jelly fish around the Broadwater this week - its like a sea of Jellies, apparently though this is a good sign of a healthy waterway. News on the Jelly Fish Invasion

The finds from Currumbin

One of the finds at Burleigh

One of the Photos I took at Currumbin

A few days were spent on Currumbin and Burleigh beaches earlier in the week when the weather was peeeerfect doing detecting - and this week we actually found some real treasures yes $10 (we will be rich in no time) and some other bits and pieces.  Derek was like the beach Piped Piper as all the kids followed him around.  Of course I helped a bit, but have learnt to take a chair, book , camera and sit on the beach while he goes off for hours.  It was a great week for surfing at the beach and I must admit I spent quite a lot of time on these days walking the beach and going for a swim - very relaxing, very uplifting on these hot days.

The bone needed to be picked up and chewed

A trip to Buderium to visit Dereks Uncle and Aunty who were house sitting up there - Dereks Uncle Derek is a very good cook so we knew a good lunch would be had and we were not disappointed - another great meal Derek Senior thank you.  Derek Senior is in the Australian version of Come Dine with Me which airs this week on the food channel for anyone who has Foxtel. Article on Derek Seniors Come Dine with Me episode this week

My favorite photo of us this week

Another few days having lunch with my Mum and then the girls rounded off a week of family catch up and some new adventures. As well as lots of swimming and sitting in our theater with air condition blasting, wrapped up in donnas filled in the rest of the week.